Oh, fine…maybe this tummy-time thing isn’t so evil, after all.

This is one of the more special gifts I received at Maya’s shower last month. The note reads:

Yes, I’ll take that.

Making cookies the other night, I heard this song on the local cable company’s holiday music channel. This says it all. (I cried, of course.)

The Best Gift
(sung as I heard it, by Barbra Streisand)

The best gift
That I ever got
Didn’t really weigh a lot
It didn’t have a ribbon ’round
And it sometimes made the terrible sound
The best of all it seems to me
It wasn’t neath the christmas tree
And yet, I guess I’d have to say
That it made all the other presents twice as gay
The best gift that I’ve ever known
I’d always wanted most to own
Yet in my dreams of sugar and spice
I never thought it could be so nice
The best gift that I ever get
Was sometimes dry and sometimes wet
Was usually pink but oftentimes red
As it lay so innocently in it’s bed
The best gift of the year to me
The one I hold most dear to me
A gift that simply drove me wild
Was a tiny new born child…

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Well, as much as I would have *sworn* that Maya was much bigger in the past two weeks, she’s still only 9 pounds, 6.5 ounces. The pediatrician’s not worried, and neither am I. She’s perfectly healthy, just petite. (Didn’t get a new length measurement)

4

Here’s a shot I took of Maya last week to give an idea of what a long-and-slender baby looks like. She’s proportioned like a 2-year-old!

This afternoon, we revisit the pediatrician, so I’ll have a weight and length update.

Other than the nieces and nephew, everyone’s getting photos this year. With a new baby in the house, that’s about all I can afford!

Maya and Alli

If Maya looks a little startled, that’s because she is. This is the *second* photo, so she was wondering what the *&^% that big flash from the first photo was!

Santa Baby, hurry down the chimney tonight!

Clay still loves “his” baby.

(boo, sssssssssss, bad pun!)

By the end of pregnancy, I think I’ve mentioned, I was around 195 pounds. (The week prior to Maya’s birth I was above 192, and I was averaging 2+ pounds per week.)

Within 2-1/2 weeks of Maya’s birth, I was down to 170. Not bad - 25 pounds lighter - but you have to keep in mind, I’m 5′3″. I took some photos in shorts and a jog bra, and they’re downright scary. Ah, the wonder of “before” pictures!

I started hiking at Palmer Park again shortly after Maya arrived, and once she hit six weeks, I started back to the gym again. I’m pleased to say that other than one Friday, I’ve been there every blessed Mon/Wed/Fri since. On the Friday I missed, I did a LONG hike on Saturday to compensate. So there.

Here’s a quick check-in of the stats as of this morning:
Weight: 156.2
Hips: 44 inches
Waist: 31.5 inches
Bust: 40.25 inches

What?!? Giving my REAL measurements? Sure, why not. What is, is, and if I pretended to be anything other than what I am, it wouldn’t change a thing! Last week, I purchased a pair of jeans that actually fit, and while I don’t plan to remain a size 14 (okay, they’re snug still), having something that fits in a flattering way is a great ego-booster.