Newborn news. Whew. It's been a crazy month - our first month with a newborn. Our daughter, Coralyn, was born on June 2nd after 62 hours of labor. That's not a typo. Sixty-two hours. Ugh. But she's completely worth it!

She's been running our household ever since and we're absolutely loving it. Seriously - we're having a blast. OK, most times I have a limited idea of what day it is and there are moments when sleep deprivation takes over and I feel cross-eyed, but I'm surprised at how infrequent that's been. And since both Marc and I are taking time off for the summer, we make up for it with naps during the day.

We are very, very lucky. We have an incredibly mellow, happy baby who ramps up her feeding frequency in the evenings and then sleeps 4-5 hours at a stretch. She doesn't cry without a reason and we're getting better at anticipating those reasons. Believe it or not, it's a LOT of fun!

The past month has been a whirlwind of activity on the visitor front, as well. My Aunt Elaine and Cousin Amanda were here for a week and a half, including being here for Coralyn's birth. They were a huge help and a major source of calm and nurturing strength for us. They cooked, cleaned, got up in the night to help rock Cora back to sleep, held my hand, rubbed my back, told me it was all good (repeatedly), ran errands and even mowed the grass and planted flowers! Our first week home was incredibly enjoyable, due in large part to their support. Elaine and my Uncle Ron are on the way back to visit again, as I type this. They should be here tomorrow - can't wait!

Then Grandma Hanna-Marie (Marc's mom) came for a 5 day visit and cooed over little Miss Coralyn. We all enjoyed her visit and even went to a fish fry and high tea - activities on both ends of the spectrum. We're going to Michigan soon and will get even more Grandma time and some Grandpa Brian time for Coralyn. Next to visit was Grandpa Paul (my Dad), who flew in for a surprise 4 day trip from summering in Alaska. I came downstairs early in the morning and much to my surprise my dad was sitting on the couch! Marc snuck out while I was sleeping and picked him up. A very nice surprise, and a great visit. He'll be back in October with Grandma Paula to stay for a couple of weeks. Plus, we've had so many local visitors including Barb, Becca, Pete, Julie, Wyatt, Shawn, Kathryn, Robin, Larry, Keith, Jeff, Khurshid, Vince, Darrin, Joe, Patrick, Tibor and TONS of neighbors. We are grateful for all the love and affection given to us and our new addition.

We're going on our baby tour - towing the airstream along and cruising around the country for a month or so. With gas prices so high, we'll spend more time visiting and less time cruising but that's the point of the trip, after all. We'll get to see some family Cora hasn't met yet and re-visit some family who've already spent time with her, which will be great as Coralyn has changed already, even in the last 5 weeks. She's now smiling, cooing, gazing at her bird mobile and other moving objects. We've put together a photo album of her first month. If you'd like to see it, drop me a line!