Mabry's here!

Whew. We've been very busy the last three or four days. Miller and her daughter Mabry arrived Wednesday, and Nathan arrived last night. How fun it is to have old friends visit! And even more fun to have their new baby girl to coo over, too.

Speaking of Mabry, since I know everyone wants to see her, because let's face it, we all love new babies (especially when we get to coo over them but don't have to get up in the middle of the night and feed them). And isn't she a doll?















Being a new mother has not slowed Miller down in the slightest. She still has more energy now, at eight weeks postpartum, than I think I've ever had! As evidenced by this picture of her giving William a ride around the house:





















Okay, maybe motherhood slows Miller down occasionally.
















But not for very long. You'd be amazed at all the stuff she's managed to fit into this one trip to Nashville. We've swum laps at the YMCA twice--that should be one clue. (And my God, am I out of shape. Do you know the last time I swam laps? Yeah, no, neither do I.)

But wow. I guess I'd forgotten just how tiny a new baby can be. I know William's not that small anymore, obviously, but it's amazing to hold a new baby and think, "My child used to be that size. Do I even remember those days?" And for me, the answer is, "Not that well!" I was so sleep deprived. I guess I can go back and reread this blog and find out what I was thinking. If I was thinking anything at all--anything other than "please please please let me get some sleep." Mabry is just darling and so calm and sweet. She never seems to cry. She just fusses the littlest bit, and it's so cute. So different from William, whose cries could break glass even in the earliest days. And it just seems impossible that William was ever that size. Miller says she weighs around nine pounds. William weighed 26 pounds and 12 ounces at the pediatrician's office on Wednesday. (For yet another MRSA-related visit. Sigh.)


Miller's mom and dad have been here, visiting and spending time with their new granddaughter. They took a bunch of us out to lunch at this place called Pucketts' Grocery out in Leiper's Fork. They're brave to embark on a meal in public with three babies, William being the oldest. The others were Mabry, of course, and Yago, the (almost) eleven-month-old son of Shab and Santi. Here's a photo of Shab, Yago, David, William, Miller and me. The boys don't look that happy in the picture, but they seemed to have a good time during lunch.














So right now, Mabry is off bonding with her grandparents and aunt Dorothy. Miller and Nathan are at the wedding they came to attend. William is in bed. David is watching the Red Sox game. And I'm finally, finally getting around to looking at all the pictures I've taken over the last few days. I'm glad I got a few good shots. Children change so much, so fast that I hate to miss the opportunity to capture the fleeting expressions.

Yesterday, I was holding Mabry and smelling her sweet soft little head, and I marveled that my own son was ever once like that, so small and helpless. I looked across the room and saw him gleefully tossing beanbags around the family room, and it just seemed like a very long time ago. Miller remarked that it must be nice to get feedback from my child, and I have to admit that it is. When I do something like make a funny face or read a book or even ask a question, William always responds. I remember, though, wondering if he'd ever do that. Isn't it amazing how much he has grown and changed in just these short months?