Kairi's first few months...

Since Kairi's birth, I've learned a lot of things about babies, and how to care for them and their development. I still ask questions all the time, but that's natural (or at least I'm told it is...I sometimes wonder). 

One of the most fun things was seeing Kairi's name on the billboard in front of the mall. The Freeman hospital system does a baby announcement board that announces what day the baby was born, their weight and name. It's only up for a few days, so if you want an image of it, you gotta get out there. A day or so after Kairi and I were discharged, me, my sister, Marissa and her now boyfriend Sam, loaded up in Mom's blazer and drove out to see the billboard...there were a lot of baby names and we waited for it to cycle through. Then we saw it. We were standing in front of Logan's Roadhouse, but couldn't get a decent picture from there, so Marissa and Sam braved the traffic, and went out and stood on the median. The result is what you see to the left. 

Another funny thing is where she slept when she and I went to stay with my parents right after she was born. As you can see, she slept in a laundry basket. We put a couple of blankets under her and wrapped her up like a burrito, and she was just as snug as a bug in a rug. And oh, so adorable, I must add. Even now, when I look at her when she's asleep, I just have this feeling of wonder...absolute wonder. Sometimes sheer terror too. I sometimes look at her and think to myself, "how on earth did I get so lucky that I can have this perfect little being in my life?" 


And naturally, she has everyone wrapped around her little fingers...all ten of them. I think there's one person wrapped around each finger...me, Tarrence, my mom, my dad, my sisters, my brother, Patrick's fiance, Misty, and my aunt Donna, Kairi's great aunt. That's one thing I joke with my family about...with all these family members she's got, she'll never want for anything...Lord knows she's getting her share of hand-me-downs from my cousin Cassandra's little girl, Brooklyn. 

And now, more pictures of Kairi. This was shortly after she was pulled from me during the C-section. As you can see, she's already had the umbilical cord cut...mom had already seen her by this point. This is from my sister's facebook album "Kairi's Debut". If I remember it correctly, this is one where she put a caption stating she was a drama queen already...*sigh* I hope she grows out of that. 

This one is from the first time Tarrence got to hold her. When I was getting ready to go in for the surgery, I didn't know if I wanted my mom in there with me or Tarrence. Both would have done well enough for as lucid as I really was, but when it boiled down to it, I knew my mom would be much better at comforting me through the procedure. In fact, Tarrence even said so, so my mom went in with me. Tarrence and Marissa were in the hallway outside, waiting. After she was born, this was one of the first stops they made...letting Tarrence hold his little girl for a few moments. I love this picture so much for the look of happiness on Tarrence face. I think that's Rissa's hand holding the blanket out of the way so she could get a shot of him and Kairi. 

Here's my sister, Marissa, and her favorite (and only) niece. I was in the recovery room after the c-section when this was taken. Kairi doesn't look thrilled in this shot, but I don't really remember. Everything is kind of fuzzy around that time. I do remember getting to hold her and love on her for a little while before she was passed around to various family members who were there: my sister, mom, dad, Patrick and Misty, grandma, and a random mishmash of aunts and uncles and friends. Rissa had dubbed herself Kairi's favorite aunt...but in all honesty, she's not that picky yet.

And this right here is why I love my brother. He looks so terrified to be holding Kairi. In fact, I think he asked Rissa right after taking this picture if he looked scared shitless, and I think the vote is unanimous that, yes, he did. It was funny right after she was born and he'd hold her for a little bit, then have someone come take her from him. He kept saying he wasn't that good at hand-offs. He's gotten better since then...especially since she's learned how to hold her head up. He doesn't have to support it that much anymore. And by the way...all the little bows that you see in these pictures from the hospital...yeah, we still have them. 

Four generations of the Lung/Tyler/Ambers women...My grandma, Mary Ellen, who is convinced that Kairi is her first great grandbaby...she's her fourth...*sigh* that's a hard thing...the Alzheimer's is getting bad. But I know she loves Kairi anyways, even if she can't always remember who she is. Then my mom, Denise, for whom we got Kairi's middle name. I'm in there too...don't make fun of my glasses, I know they're broken. Get over it. And my little miss, Kairi. She's got a brain squeezer on...my friend Meagan's word for those elastic head bows on. It was so funny when we first started putting them on her...her head was a little small for them, so they'd slip down over her eyes. It was always so funny and cute at the same time! 

And here's four generations on the other side of the family...my grandmother, Mary Anne. My dad, Greg, myself and Kairi.

This is one of my favorite pictures. So favorite, in fact, that I have a copy of it on my desk at work (speaking of which, I need to remember to get a frame for it). It's one of her first true smiles caught on film. This was taken the day before Halloween, so for the occasion, she had her Halloween outfit on. It had a cute little spider on it, and said "Halloween Costume Party". TOO CUTE!!! 


Okay, Kairi's waking up now, so time for a bottle. 


More later.