Sorry for the delay...

Following up our first week home with Parker was the arrival of Aunt Tara (many hours later than expected, due to weather related flight delays and poor information and staffing by United Airlines).
Aunt Tara, of course, took millions of pictures, and Ray and I took a few... and then, suddenly, our camera broke. Yeah, the expensive digital SLR. Not a major break, just the little spring that holds in the memory card... but not something we could do anything about. So we brought the camera in to the local Nikon dealer, who said they could not fix it, and had to send it back to Nikon. Estimated return: 6 to 8 weeks. Great. This is on top of my digital point-and-shoot camera starting to get even MORE cranky than it's ever been.
We got copies of Tara's pics, but due to various issues, I was having problems editing them (turning them, taking out the red eye, etc.)... and so yes... I know. MUCH TIME has gone by since I've posted pics on the blog.
I'll try to make up for it this week. This coming week which should, incidentally, be pretty interesting. Daycare let us know last week that they decided they will transition her to T2 (toddler 2, the next room up) over the next couple weeks. Timing? Not fabulous. I'd talked with them in late winter when her good friend Celia moved up to find out when they were planning on moving her... preferring they do it in the Spring, maybe early May, so she could get settled before the baby arrived. They told me they would transition her in the fall, along with her other good friend, Claire. Part of the issue was due to space in the next class. I decided this was fine, since the plan at that time was to take her out of daycare during most of my maternity leave.
Since that time, they have changed their minds to move both Maia and Claire up now. And Ray and I have decided to keep Maia in daycare for 2 days a week for the summer. She really LOVES to go, and thrives on the structure and interaction with her peers and teachers. And I think that staying in part time will also help her transition back to full time in the fall a little easier. So we'll save some money (about 1/2), and I'll have some days to do fun things with her: take her to the Meijer Gardens, the Zoo, the park. And some days to get some one-on-one time with Parker (like I had with Maia during my leave with her) and get some things done for our household.
In the mean time, she is LOVING being in the T2 classroom with Celia (I'm told they're both excited to be re-united). Most of the kids in the T1 classroom are now at a very different stage than she and Claire. And while I know that the interaction with the older kids is good for the younger ones, it gets a little boring for the older ones eventually. The verbal skills, for example, are vastly different.
And Parker? Parker is doing well, and finally having more awake time, now that I'm off the pain meds (by 2 weeks post surgery, I'd been off the narcotics for 5+ days, and off Ibuprofen for 1-2 days). He's still been a champion sleeper... sleeping anywhere between 3-5 1/2 hours a night. Amazing! He does seem to really like to be held, and there have been a few times I was not able to get him to sleep without holding him. However, he generally falls asleep easily, and doesn't seem to have as intense a need for a paci or a swaddle. He's really a very good baby so far, and seems to be rounding out already. I finally started driving yesterday (2 weeks after he was born) and we ran some errands together. He slept the entire time (about 3 hours), and did great! It was also really nice to be able to get out independently again.
Alright. Pictures coming. Soon!