Story Time

Tell me a story...

Corinne's been a bit tough lately. Although all the books say that they cry their most at 6 weeks of age, all the grandparents have kept us in the dark with little quips like "she's an absolute angel." Interestingly, she has a weird cycle. Every other day she IS an angel. A bit of crying here and there, but taking to her naps VERY well. The in-between days is a totally different story. I like to call these 'mama days' since this is when she most resembles her mother ;). Just joking Mel. On these days she's more like a demon stuck in Ned Flanders' house, where not even Pat Boone's Greatest Hits could squelch her discomfort. All this aside, she is an infant and there's no getting by this anytime soon.

Tomorrow is her 6-week visit to the pediatrician. She is scheduled to receive 5 shots. I've heard that this is a tough time for not only her, but also her parents- Oh boy, I can't wait. We'll keep everyone updated on her status sometime after tomorrow's visit. In the meantime enjoy a few more pics below.

Anna and Corinne

Like Father Like Daughter

Meg, Just Watch it!! I'm drying my nails from my professional mani/pedi I recieved earlier.

Denise and Corinne

Whew, all these visitors...

and none here to see us :(

Kentucky Charm

Over the weekend my (Melanie's) friend Britney, an old friend from UK days, came to brave the household with a newborn and new parents. It was soon evident that Britney had far more experience calming a screaming newbie than we did. Corinne was no match for this mom.

Watch out, Corinne, you're going down!Believe me, we were taking notes! Especially when Britney coaxed one of the biggest grins out of Corinne yet.

Thinkin' about it... Tee-hee-hee, you funny lady!You would think it was yesterday that we were dining on Tolly-Ho burgers and fries at 2:00am. We've moved on now by taking Britney back to the airport stuffed with Charleston's finest crabcakes, fried okra, cornbread, banana pudding and key lime pie. We also have other activities occurring at the 2am hour. ;-) Thanks for making the trip, Brittania, we miss you already.

To Swing or Not to Swing

First, I must apologize for my tardiness with this post. Would you believe that we are totally consumed with baby care that I cannot even find time for updates? Or would you believe that our new cable package is hindering my computer performance (see recent blog entry).

Anyway, I find it tough to update often since there really isn't much change at this stage. Corinne is a wonderful bundle of joy, and if there is any change to document it's got to be that she's become a bit more fussy during the day. She fights naps between feedings about every other day. Unfortunately, today is a "no nap" day.

During these tough days we've sought input from others (grandparents, other parents, Yahoo Answers, Dear Abby, and more). Most ask if we have a swing. We don't- at least not yet. Mel purchased one over the internet, after much bickering about the model we should buy. For the first time in our marriage our financial argument was reversed. I wanted the more expensive swing (it just looks so comfortable), and Mel wanted the less expensive, small swing (looked like a bed of nails on springs-just kidding). So we went to Babies R Us in North Charleston (we rarely venture to that part of town due to the obscene amount of traffic) to look at our swingin' options. Of course, they had the one I liked, and the model that Mel liked, but not the correct pattern. After perusing the aisles of Babies R Us for half an hour, we left--empty handed.

So Melanie and I discussed the reasons we each wanted the swings we chose. Mine was that I've used this swing (not personally, but some friends have it and you might have well spiked the kids milk with valium). Melanie's opinion was that her swing was smaller and would not take up as much space. Both points were well made, and when we returned home, Melanie went on the B R US website and found my model with her theme (aquarium). So, needless to say a virtually perfect compromise that won't get here for four to five business days. Please hurry UPS, please.

Here are some pics to tide y'all over:

Doesn't this look like one of those donuts that people put on a toilet seat after having VERY sensitive surgery?

A Beautiful Pair

"The Contortionist"

"Kid's toys? Huh!"

Tummy Time and First Real Bath

Tummy Time

It is suggested that under close supervision you can give your infant "tummy time" in order to begin to build some muscles in the neck, back, and head. Melanie has begun giving Corinne this time and we've captured some pretty good images during this exercise.

"A few more years and I'm outta here"

"This is the biggest and tastiest doughnut I've ever tried."

"Found my Thumb!!"

Bath Time

Since Corinne's umbilical cord finally fell off the other day we are now able to give her a real bath. She took to it real well considering it was quite chilly in the house. She did not make a peep. However, if I had a hammock strung up across warm bath water I'd probably be pretty relaxed too.

"O.K. Mom and Dad, you can take my picture-JUST COVER UP THE JUNK."

For those of you who do not know Chloe very well, she finds the strangest positions in which to sleep. Occasionally, I will throw some of these pics up on the blog. This was taken the other night.

"None of us are getting enough sleep around here!"

Finally, A funny political quote:

What we really expect out of the Democrats is for them to treat us as they would like to have been treated"

-John Boehner House minority leader from Ohio

2 weeks old

Things are still progressing for Corinne and family. The day following her first doctor's appointment last week she had what seemed to be an eye infection. I thought "isn't that great, her first visit to the doctor's office (a known vector for disease) she catches a bug." Well, it was nothing to worry about- just a blocked tear duct. We denied her food for a day, until the crying was so intense that the build up of tears in that eye forced their way through the little gland. Just joking, a few warm water rubs and she was fine.

Chris and Betty Ann DiSilvestro (Mel's aunt and uncle) stopped by this weekend to not only see little Corinne, but also to get away from the daily grind for a day. It was short, but very welcomed visit.

Speaking of the daily grind, daddy went back to work full time today. I also worked at the Cafe on Sunday showing off pics of my beautiful daughter to my weekend regulars. I recently have entered the 21st century by purchasing a video ipod. It was pretty funny seeing some of these folks attempting to use the device. "just touch it to the right" I'd explain. Inevitably, they could not figure it out and the screen would "time-out' before they could figure out what I meant. Crazy technology! Mostly, I was just worried that they may find some of the downloaded videos i dont want anyone to see;)-just kidding, I haven't figured out how to download videos yet;-)

Finally, in all of our sessile activities since Corinne's emergence, Melanie and I realized how crappy our Cable TV package was. It was called "Baby basic" when we ordered and basically it just insured that we received all of our network channels with good reception. The premium channels in this package were QVC, Hallmark and Oh! (as in Oh my god this really sucks). So we decided to upgrade. Coincidentally the upgrade occurred just in time to avoid our fearless leader's spin on the state of our country. Rumor has it he won't mention Iraq-Hmmmm, I wonder why?

First Doctor's Appointment

There will be many firsts in the upcoming months for little miss Corinne. Today we took her to her first appointment with the pediatrician. This being a totally new experience for Melanie and I, we had no idea what to expect. Would she be getting shots today? Temperature taken? Examination of her stool? Anything would be a surprise. After filling out the paperwork, the nurse came in to prep for the weigh-in. She asked us to remove Corinne's clothes. "All of them?" we asked. "Yes" she said. "Even the diaper?" we continued. "Yep" she replied. Melanie and I didn't want to get her in the buff since it was rather cold in the room, but with gj's hat, and Mimi's blanket she should have no problem. The nurse walked in as we were getting the diaper off and turned on the water to wash her hands. At that exact moment urine squirted from Corinnes bottom as if the sound of the water running made her go. Is this possible? Is the sound of water running linking to the urge to go pee a learned behavior or instinctual? We will set up a study and get back to you after the peer-review process. ;)

By the way, the doctor said that Corinne was doing excellent, Melanie's feeding must be beneficial since Corinne now weighs 7 lbs 7 oz. Remember, her birth weight was 7lbs 1 oz and her weight the day she was released from the hospital was 6 lbs 13 oz. So in 8 days she has put on a whopping 10 oz. Must be those Johnson genetics showing (let's hope not too much though).

Here's a few more pics to keep y'all happy

This is Jody Plotkin with Corinne. Jody is Joels youngest and came over with Suzi a couple of days ago to see the little one.

Close-up of Corinne. Please, please, please just let me sleep!

This is from the day we brought Corinne home. That outfit was the same Melanie was wearing the day she came home from the hospital. Chloe gets a good sniff-of jealousy!

Harry Houdini, ahem- I mean Corinne at the hospital. Notice her leg band. They give each child two, one for each leg, but Corinne is an escape artist and had no problem getting that off. Keeping her socks on is a full-time job.

Sorry some of these pics are late- they were lost somewhere in the computer

Corinnes cute outfit that Heather gave her. the kitten on her shirt is wearing ear muffs, and her hat says "I've been a good girl". Heather wanted to get Corinne her first gender specific outfit and presented it to us at the hospital.

A History Lesson

For those of you who do not know much about Charleston, SC it is a place of incredible history. From the site of the first shot of the Civil War (Ft. Sumter), to the Beach where the movie Glory was based on (Morris Island-I forget the name of the Ft.), all the plantations and associated gardens, as well as the haunted mansions and restaurants downtown there is a history lesson around every turn. So today we thought we'd start Corinne out with a brief review of where she lives by taking her on a tour of the historic landmark in the neighborhood-Ft. Lamar!

James Island (where we live) is slightly southeast of the peninsula of Charleston, and is separated from the peninsula by the Ashley River and Charleston Harbor. James Island is inland of Folly Beach and Morris Island and provided a great spot for the confederates to set up large forts to protect Charleston from southerly attacks.

Ft. Lamar is an earthwork built by the Confederates and its remains are less than 1/2 mile from our front door. Before it was completely finished, the Yankees attacked on June 16th, 1862 that comprised troops from many Union states (including the 8th division from Michigan). This confrontation was called the Battle of Secessionville and has been considered one of the most significant Civil War battles that occurred in South Carolina. The Confederates held their ground and won this conflict. Sources say that the Yankees were sent reeling into the marshes and creeks just to get away from the barrage of musket and cannon fire (probably the mosquitos too!).

I have provided a few pics below of our trip today!

Melanie and Corinne in front of the monuments where i learned all of the above

(it was a history lesson for all)

Corinne just can't appreciate the history of the area. At least not yet.