Ooyga...

I can lift my head!

Owen singing to Harper in the hospital

53 Week Update

Owen's baby sister Harper Adele McCarthy arrived July 26, 2012 at 10:11am, weighing in at a whopping 8 pounds, 1 ounce and 20 inches long. She was perfect and healthy and has been such a joy to have in al of our lives. She is a wonderful eater and an even better sleeper at night. She at most times sleeps 3 and sometimes 4 hours throughout the night allowing her mommy to still feel like a normal person in the morning.

Owen is such a great big brother and still really likes her. (So far he has not asked to return her or take her back!) He thinks her belly button is absolutely disgusting and will not go any where near her if it is exposed and he is not a big fan of her crying episodes. Though I must say for something so tiny she is soooooo loud when she belts it out.  Owen covers his ears and at times Darren and I want to to! Owen has a special song he sings to her when she cries or is unhappy and a lot of the times it works like magic.  She is starting to stay awake longer throughout the day and recognizes our voices and faces while speaking closely. It is so nice to have another baby in the house. Darren and I are in love....again.

Owen had his first sleep over at his friend Aidan's house. It went really well with a few "I want my mom" comments made at night, but he did it and made it through the night. He called me in the morning and wanted to know if Harper was bigger than him since he wasn't around for 12 hours.  I assured him that he was still the bigger sibling in the family and will most likely be for a very long time. He seemed OK with that. He played for a bit in the morning and then hit a brick wall which pushed him over the edge. It quickly turned from good to worse and Owen came home over emotional and ready to see his mom and dad that he realized he missed too much. Maybe a 4 1/2 year old is not ready for a sleep over, but we thought he did a GREAT job. But I think we will keep him home in his own bed for a bit longer!

My mom, dad and Aimee visited and we had such a nice time. They were a lot of help and it was great to have them here with us. Papa and Grandma took Owen to swimming lessons and got to see how awesome he is at hitting baseballs.  They got to enjoy their new granddaughter, which made me happy. Aimee had so much fun with Owen, who kept her very busy throughout her stay. Owen made us all laugh when Aimee mentioned she had to go to the gas station to wash her windows.  Owen told her, "Mi Mi this is Trail, we don't have water at our gas stations. Apparently he has heard Darren and I mention the things our great city is lacking in.

Mo and Dan are also in heaven and have enjoyed having a grand daughter at their fingertips. They have been such great help as well as Darren and I have become acquainted with being a family of four. Thank you to everyone for all the love, phonecalls, kisses, gifts and help they have given us throughout the past few weeks. We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives.