Happy Mother's Day 2009

So it seems that it is already time to put up more pictures, as the little one continues to grow and change at an alarming rate. William is now 3 weeks old, and has managed not only to make it back to birth weight, but pile on a couple extra pounds as well. I have not weighed him recently (will be doing so this Friday when he reaches 4 weeks), but I would hazard a guess that he is approaching (if not surpassed) the 10 lb mark. He is a champion "eater" and is well on his way to becoming my "chubby" baby.

Maria continues to adjust to having a sibling. Most of the time she seems to be adjusting well, although she is fighting some of her normal routines (naps and meals mostly). We are sure this will sort itself out, and are just grateful that any resentment or jealousy hasn't been taken out on William.

He's here!

So after a bit of waiting (but still a few days early), we were very excited to meet the newest edition to our family. William Aaron Betke made his appearance at 10:34pm, weighing a very healthy 8lbs, 7 3/4oz, and measuring 19 1/2". He has, so far, been a very content baby making our adjustment to 2 children relatively smooth to date.

Maria is trying very hard to be a big help, wanting to participate in many diaper changes and offering to hold Will throughout the day. We'll have to keep an eye on her just to make sure she doesn't try to "help" too much without our assistance. So far, she has been a bit clingy and whiney (she hasn't really napped since the baby's arrival), but isn't showing any really unpleasant displays of jealousy and we hope things continue this way.

Someone is 2!

It has been a long time since I last updated, but now that the craziness of March is over I thought I should get at least one update in before the new baby arrives.

Maria is now two years old! Can you believe it?? She is still tall and thin (35" and 25lbs), full of energy and the gift of gab. Thus far the "terrible twos" have been pretty temperate, meaning that most of the time Maria is pretty easy to handle. Maybe she's saving up for those "trying threes". Of course all that could change with the arrival of a younger sibling, when Maria realizes that she is no longer the center of attention.

We celebrated her 2nd birthday on two different occasions. On the day of her birthday, March 14th, we had Grandma and Grandpa Epler over for dinner and cake, and Maria was able to open her first few gifts. For as big of a "tomboy" she seems at times, our little girl is definitely still a "girly girl" too. She loved her princess clothes.

Then on the 21st (when Aaron could be home), we had a second party with just a few people (for my sanity). Maria celebrated that afternoon with her friend Mayah and cousin Benjamin. We also got in a good visit with Auntie Donna, Uncle Jason (Aaron's brother and his wife), and Uncle Matt and Auntie Erin (my brother and his wife), as well as Mayah's parents Trevor and Joyce. Maria seemed to really enjoy herself, and with cousin Benjamin staying the night she got a lot more time to get to know her cousin. They seemed to be getting along really well by the end of the weekend. All in all it was a great time, perhaps a little tiring for me, but a good time.

Hopefully we will be updating again in the near future with news of Baby Betke.