Day 36

Playdate potential (3/31/11)

Day 35

3/30/11

Day 34

3/30/11

Day 33

3/28/11

Day 32

3/27/11

Day 31

3/26/11

Day 30

3/25/11

Day 29: One month old

3/24/11

Day 28

3/23/11

Day 27

I noticed right away that Natalie's ears are different. (Compare the left ear in yesterday's photo to the right ear in today's. The right ear has a middle fold of cartilage.) Megan was born with this same feature, and I took her to the pediatrician to have it checked out when she was a baby. Her doctor said not to worry, and that people's ears are not always mirror images.

Move forward 12-plus years. At Natalie's two-week check-up, the pediatrician (a more conservative partner of the doctor who'd once assured me that Megan and her ears were normal) noticed Natalie's ear quirk. I believed she used the word "malformation" in describing it!

The good thing is, I've seen Megan grow up healthy and fine, despite her ears. (She does have a problem hearing when she is asked to turn off hand-held electronic games, but she has an exceptional ability to hear conversations, through walls, that are none of her business.) And the extra fold of cartilage has shrunk as her ears have grown.

We'll call Natalie's ears unique. Or notable. Or just like her sister's.

Day 26

3/21/11

Day 25

Sunday nap beside Dad

Big sister catches up after spending Spring Break away.

(3/20/11)

Day 24

Lazy Saturday

(3/19/11)

Day 23

3/18/11

Day 22

Saint Patrick's Day: Can't pinch me!   (3/17/11)

Interlude

Waking Up: A Three-Step Process

1: Stretch

2: Peek at who's holding you

3: Wail

(3/17/11)

Day 21

Wearing one of Megan's old outfits (3/16/11)

Day 20

3/15/11

Day 19

3/14/11

Day 18

Asleep in Wichita Falls

Day 17

Look! My gown matches my blanket!

Day 16

Megan left for spring break with her dad, after a packing marathon (for me, not her) that left me in need of a huge nap. I embraced my unproductivity and ended the day with just this one measly photo, taken with my cell phone.

Aaron and I went out for a belated anniversary dinner that evening and left Natalie with my mom for two hours. She slept the whole time (the baby, not my mom). Here's how she looked when we returned. Still sweet.

Day 15

This day, March 10, was Natalie's two-week check-up. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 inches long. She screamed really loudly when the pediatrician messed with her. We hovered.

It was also Aaron's and my four-year anniversary. We both agreed that Natalie was a fine, fine gift -- better than any we could have dreamed of asking for.

Day 14

Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Sisters

Day 10

Pinky pink

Day 9

She smiles when her dad holds her.

Day 8

Morning

Day 7

Bedtime

Day 6

Little flower

Natalie with great-grandpa Gibby

Day 5

Dad does diaper doody

Day 4

Sleepy

Cousins: I can never catch both of them sitting still -- one is always blurry!

Day 3

Ready to go home

Day 2

Day 2, almost 24 hours old

Day 2, checking out her cousin

Day 1

Day 1, sister's first good look

Day 1, first look at Dad

Day 1, first cries

Of course not

Natalie was born February 24 at 1 p.m.. She weighed 7 pounds and was 18.75 inches long.

We brought her home two days later. Of course we moved her little bed right out of the cedar closet and put it beside my nightstand. This little baby will never sleep in a cedar nest. She will be right here beside me where we can listen to her breaths and monitor her every squeak and sigh.