Sleepy & snuggly

Two babies!

Somehow this feels a little familiar...but Aaron looks a little less bedraggled this time around.

Happy Festivus

At Juniper's very lefty preschool, we celebrate the secular Festivus for our winter holiday. Instead of a pole and the airing of grievances, OCP's Festivus involves costumes, lanterns, a parade, singing, and the airing of thank-yous for the teachers and school director.



Juniper with her Festivus costume and lantern.



The parade sets off.



March!



Juniper took her marching seriously.



Miss Shannon jumped in for a snuggle when Juniper was a little overwhelmed by the big post-parade crowd.



It was pretty adorable to hear all the OCP kids singing the Festivus song (to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."):
"Stand up tall and spread your limbs/You're a fall tree in the wind/Pretty leaves are falling down/Some are green and some are red/Now it's time to go to bed."


Christmas photos to come soon! We had a great holiday, with much of Aaron's family in Atlanta for a visit.

Cyborg baby?

1: We're joining up with the Cylons to create a new breed of machine-human superbaby.

-OR-

2: We're lucky to have an audiologist in the family who did Hazel's newborn hearing screen at home.

Baby madness!

Keeping a 3-month old, a 2.5 year old, and a 6-week old is about equal parts chaos, fun, love, and insanity.

Four-eyes

Look who has glasses!

We'd noticed that Juniper goes cross-eyed when she looks at something up close and took her to the eye doctor to have that checked out. It turns out that she has strabismus, a condition where her eye muscles are not working together to focus on objects. Left untreated, the brain might start to ignore the information coming from one of her eyes, leading to a lazy eye (which has its own host of potential unwelcome consequences). Juniper is not nearsighted or farsighted but is now wearing bifocals to help correct the strabismus.

She was a champ during the exam and glasses fitting, and so far she's pretty enthusiastic about the glasses. I think it helps that both of her parents and many of her adult family and friends also wear glasses. We'll see how it goes once the novelty wears off.

(A post script for all the Applegaths: Am I the only one who looks at Juniper's nose and smile and sees Katy Applegath Baker?)

Cute cousins

Juniper and her cousin Luke. Seeing Juniper with Luke and Hazel makes us realize just how much she has grown - in both size and ability.

Knock, knock...

Juniper comedienne from Sally Honeycutt on Vimeo.

Still life with octopus, ukulele, and banjo

Photo assistant

Umbrellas are much easier to carry than sandbags.

Updated Stats

Hazel had her one month check-up yesterday. The doctor confirmed what we already know--that she's healthy and growing well.

Weight: 11 lbs 10.5 oz (97th percentile)
Length: 23.6 inches (95%)
Head circumference: 14.8 inches (46%)

Splish splash again

Because Thomas isn't the only one who had a blast playing in the puddles at the Oakhurst Community Garden.

Nice to meet you

Bedtime adventures

When I left Juniper's room, she had on her PJ shirt and no pants. This is what we found the next morning.

DeeDee's visit

Hazel doesn't know it yet, but she's a lucky kid. Both of her long-distance grandparents came to visit in her first few weeks of life. Janet was delighted to snuggle with Hazel...



...and to play with Juniper. They had a great time together.

To the library

The day after Thanksgiving, we had a trip to the library that was full of misadventures, but still quite fun in the end.

Misadventure #1: the library was closed for the holiday.
Save #1: deciding to bring Juniper's big wheel tricycle to ride around the empty parking lot.

Misadventure #2: the last time Juniper rode her tricycle in our driveway, we left it outside our fence, and it seems to have disappeared.
Save #2: deciding to bring Juniper's little horse instead of the tricycle. This save was for real.



Juniper had no problem entertaining herself while waiting for the tricycle/horse to arrive. The normal rule in parking lots is that she has to hold a grown-up's hand, so it was an unusual treat to be able to run around like a wild child with no fear of cars.



Once the horse arrived, she had a blast riding it around the empty parking lot.



This gentle slope allowed Juniper to discover the joy of coasting down with no feet.



We pointed out the handicapped ramp for even better coasting. (My public health self is compelled to point out that there was a grown-up at the bottom of the ramp to stop her. And that we bought her a bike helmet today.)



Meanwhile, Hazel slept.

Jason and his girls

"Hey guess what?"
"I love you so very much!"