Family- August 2009


STACEYALECK.COM	Amanda Rachel & Robin Beatrice Amanda was born on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at 3:16 pm Robin was born on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 9:24 pm August 2009 Welcome Robin! The big news this month, of course, is the birth of Robin (the baby formerly known as Bam)! Robin was born on August 6 after many hours of labor and boredom (click here to read the abridged birth story). She weighed in at 6 lbs. 15 oz and was 20.5 inches long (though only measured 19.5 inches at her 2 week check up, so she seems to be shrinking already). Compared to Amanda, she was HUGE. Ironically, Stacey fared much better after this delivery, and was up and out much sooner. Amanda's life has been turned upside down now. We are all trying to manage this transition, but it is difficult. Luckily, Amanda loves her baby sister. She loves to hold her, look at her, touch her, and give her "big gentle hugs." For her part, Robin tolerates it all well. Providing some continuity in Amanda's life, she continued to go to camp each day until it ended near the end of the month. After a 2 week hiatus, we'll gear up for a new year at preschool. Amanda also had her first visit to the dentist this month. She did a spectacular job and will tell you that the dentist was fun. She even got "prizes": a sticker and a new toothbrush. Unfortunately for Stacey and Aleck (and Amanda in the long run), the dentist says her teeth are already crowded in her mouth, and that when she's older and her adult teeth come in, it will only get worse. We started saving for orthodonture work this month, as well.







	Rockin' Robin!
	If you've been following our family saga recently, you will know that Robin was overdue and Stacey was more than ready to get her out weeks earlier than she came.


	"PUT ME BACK IN!"










	Overheard this month
	After meeting Robin: "Am I four now?"



	Robin meets her Grammy and her Oma at the hospital



	And she also meets her Grandpa Dave and Aunt Lois (and she sleeps on someone's arm)


	Overheard this month: Amanda's Names for Robin
	"My Baby"
	"My Robbie"
	Amanda's pronunciation: "Wobin Beatwist"


	Cousins! Robin meets Samantha and Emma





	Great-Great Aunt Helen, Great Aunt Sheila and Great Uncle Mickey (not pictured) come to visit with Amanda and to meet Robin.


	Overheard this month
	Looking at Robin swaddled in a blanket: "Can we unwrap her?"



	Playtime!


	Hanging out in the Gymini with Amanda and Grammy (and Luna)


	Grammy and 2 of her girls



	Tummy Time-- she got her head up just a little bit!



	Camp Rolls On...


	Amanda continues to have a great time at camp and looks forward to it each day. It has helped provide some normalcy for her during this time of transition at home.



	Here she is making some goo and then eating a snack they made at camp (possibly the goo? We don't want to know).


	Overheard this month
	Stacey:	"You have my cheeks."
	Amanda:	"No, Silly Mommy, you have your own!"










	Here she is concentrating really hard on making a tree for their Imagination Land scene. No clue on what she's wearing...



	On the last day of camp, they had a carnival, complete with a moon bounce!


	Overheard this month
	Asking for nail polish remover: "Can you get the toenail remover?"



	Robin's Baby Naming Ceremony
	Rabbi Isserow prepared a wonderful ceremony to bestow Robin's Hebrew name onto her. She is named after Stacey's stepdad Ron and Ron's father Lou. In addition, her middle name is a tribute to her Dutch heritage.
	Robin, already taking after her namesake, slept through the entire thing.


	All dressed up and ready to go!



	We don't have too many pictures from the event, unfortunately, but here are the few we do have.


	Overheard this month
	"Just a minute is a long time."


	Hanging Around (and sometimes upside down) at home with Amanda and Robin






	Robin meets some of her friends on the blanket.



	On the left, Robin models her Wendy Bib; on the right, she makes use of a hand made burp cloth from Donna



	Overheard this month
	"I’m the Princess, Mommy is the Queen, and Daddy is the Kingdom"










	Sisterly love.


	Overheard this month
	In a strangled voice: "Excuse Me." Regular voice: "That’s how you say ‘excuse me’ in Hebrew."



	On A Walk


	Amanda loads up her shopping cart with her babies and pushes... until it gets too cumbersome, at which point she decides to pull it.



	The Daddy Mountain
	After reading a book called The Daddy Mountain, in which a little red headed girl climbs all the way up her Daddy, a new game was unleashed in our house. Amanda was very taken with this book, causing us late fees at the library for the first time in years. In the pictures below, she makes it all the way to the top, and then shows us the way to get down from the top of Daddy Mountain.





	The Daddy Elevator
	A somewhat less-intense climbing adventure, the Daddy Elevator was borne out of Aleck's unwillingness to stand up when Amanda asked if he would play. It's carried out by Amanda riding Aleck's feet up and down.




	A Change of Scenery
	Sometimes just sitting on the front lawn is like a whole new world (with the same toys from inside)




	Overheard this month
	"I shoot (shooed) the bugs away!"



	Oma's Here!
	Oma came to visit when Robin was first born, and then came back later in the month to help out when Amanda was home for 2 weeks between the end of camp and the beginning of school. She was a tremendous help and Amanda had a great time playing with her. Robin loved her willingness to just hold her all day long.





	An Outing with their Cousins!
	As soon as Oma left, Stacey needed activities to keep Amanda occupied until school. Robin had her first road trip up to Baltimore to go to Build A Bear with Uncle Steve, Aunt Michelle, Samantha and Emma.




	Amanda made a firefighter monkey named Parachute (and wanted to make sure he was safely strapped in).


	Overheard this month
	"We're going on a trip. We're going to North Carolina's market."



	Little Mommy


	Always observant, Amanda took it upon herself to climb into the glider, hook the nursing pillow around her, and nurse the stuffed dog. She made sure to feed him from both sides, just like Mommy does for Robin, and then tried to burp him.




	See all of these pictures and more at our photo gallery