More Nina Grandparents, Part II
On January the 8th, 2010 Nina had another check-up with Dr. Bultje, with little to report, and in this case, no news is good news! See this image larger.
Grandma Barb holds Nina in one of her many outfits of the day, this one a catchy pink and white number with a luxurious purple evening blanket suited for a night out on any town. See this image larger.
Here Grampa Ray models with Nina in purple jumper wrapped in a formal white blanket with pink border, perfect for office meeting or interview. See this image larger.
January the 9th, 2010 turned out to be a major day for pictures! So for the rest of this entry we will focused on that day. Here, Ian and I snuggle up to play a quick game of “Cars.”
If 90% of your body is asleep, this is about how much you can smile, sorry folks.
Grampa Ray helps build a tunnel that Ian had fun spelunking! See this image larger.
There’s a little smile! She actually fussed for a total of two minutes just for fun…
…and quickly discovered that Grampa Ray makes for a good crib. See this image larger.
Meanwhile Ian took the ladies on a trip to downtown Rockford to see ice sculptures!
Pretty cool stuff down there!
Ian poses for a picture with Grandma Sue — all grins this early in the photoshoot! See this image larger.
Proud Mommy and baby girl! See this image larger.
This picture looks like the perfect time to proclaim that Ian is doing brilliant as an older brother. Ian has handled having to share his parents with the sort of grace that only the bravest of children could know. I imagine this would have to be very hard, and I often think of what I must have meant to my brother when I was first born. That said, here he wanted Nina the heck off of him. Pronto. See this image larger.
Grampa Ray proudly holds two of his grandkids, while Nina flashes Ian a peace sign. See this image larger.
Eventually there got to be too many clicks of the shutter and we started getting faces like this from Ian… See this image larger.
A bribe of c-a-n-d-y was offered by a certain parent of his in the room who shall go un-named but wasn’t me, and blammo, just look at that genuine smile! See this image larger.
However holding grandchildren is all it takes to bring a grin to these grandmas’ faces! See this image larger.
A bonus amount of coinage from a change purse was also supplied, and Ian made quick work of putting it all in his robot bank! See this image larger.
Meanwhile Grandma Sue sneaks in a quick hug with baby girl!
This first shot is way out of order with the rest of them, but I thought it would be important to show the bili blanket as the whole thing looked. In time I’m giving myself permission to move this picture with the rest of those that correspond to this topic. Nina doesn’t look happy, does she? 
Grandma Sue showed up on January 4th, 2010 to meet Nina and see Ian again… this picture was taken on the 5th, as Ian listens with rapt attention to a Curious George story! 
Ian and Mommy use their Dyson’s to clean up the house a bit. 
They did a good job, no? 
Grandma Barb and Grampa Ray arrived on the 6th to see our cute little bundle! For those trying to keep track of the continuity, it was this morning, a bit before Barb and Ray arrived, that we found out that Nina’s chromosome test came back normal. 
We went out to eat at Cinqo de Mayo that night. Ian enjoyed a chip in some salsa, and showed off what a good little boy he can be at dinner! 
Ian goes for a ride on a one-Ray open sleigh! 
That night, and Grandma Sue takes Ian on another romp with George! 
Word of Nina’s birth reaches Ian’s daycare. They were kind enough to make dinner for us one night later on in the week. These are good people. I’ll re-format this image someday so that it fits better. Apologies. 
Nina’s flare for the dramatic surfaces all the time. 
January 1st, 2010 and we were all exhausted… whether from the waiting (chromosome test still not in at that point) or the holding of little Nina at odd hours of the night. That sun looks a little bright, huh Nina? 
January 2nd, Nina is being bathed in the sun’s rays from above, and the bili-blanket from beneath. As I mentioned elsewhere, her numbers dropped throughout the first week of the new year. 
Slightly different angle. 
Another slightly different angle. 
On January 4th, our first car trip as a family of four! 
January 5th… somebody looks worried that this is going to last longer than a photo-shoot. 
On the 29th of December, while Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia entertained Ian… 
Seth seemed to keep himself busy, watching the fish go by! 
Grampa Dave takes Ian for a “drag” around the house despite being very tired. (Did I mention they are building next to us?) 
There was fun to be had in warmer places as well! Sorry about the lack of Grandma Marcia pictures in this entry… she was a blur, doing things around the house! Thanks again!!!) 
By this time Ian had seen his sister many times. Was this maybe the first time Nina got a clear vision of her brother? 
…and an even clearer vision of Lucky! 
Soon we prepped Nina for her first trip to the physician’s office. 
As Dr. Bultje was not in town when Nina was born, this was their first meeting. 
Our physician looked at Nina and said her Jaundice was maybe a “15 out of 20” where “20” required hospitalization, and anything above 15 would mean it was time for the bili blanket to bring the number back down. 
We were at Home Depot purchasing a new clothes washer when I got the phone-call that Nina’s number was actually an 18 out of 20, and that the bili blanket was on its way to our house. This is what it looks like, it is a flat pad at the end of a length of optical cable, that becomes lit when the machine is on. The light helps her break down and get rid of the stuff that’s making her yellow with jaundice. Sunlight also helps, which is why that “soak up the sun” song was appropriate for the video. 
The blanket did not make for a good sleeping surface, so Nina was up a lot. She wanted to be held. Everybody took shifts throughout the week. On the 30th, while Ian was being watched, it was time for Nina’s cardiologist appointment. I ignored about 32 signs that said to turn off my cell phone so that I could snap this picture. Look at how many sensors they put on her! 
This was also the appointment where a 45 minute ultrasound in silence was followed by the prognosis that Nina’s heart had some serious issues, and the potential for a Down’s Syndrome baby was first described. The cardiologist drew out this picture for us and compared it to a drawing of a normal heart. 
The bold general of a one-man unwrapping army surveys his battlefield, and envisions the wrapping paper carnage to follow. 
Somewhere there’s a piggy bank in an unemployment line as a result of this robot. Welcome to Michigan! 
Ian graduated from “mega” to “duplo” blocks… It seems like only yesterday he was facing backwards in his car seat. 
Nina watches from the safety of her bouncy chair as packages are torn asunder. 
Froggy towel approves of SuperWhy’s Super Duper Computer! 
Daddy performs the “hip hip hooray” dance from SuperWhy. 
Ian was mesmerized by the left-turn action of this light/aquarium. (Which he loved!) These fish turn left more than NASCAR drivers! 
A stuffed animal puppy for Nina… “Lucky,” and boy is she! 
His mouth is forming the “een” of Lightning McQueen. 
His mouth is forming the “whyyyyyy” of SuperWhy. 
I think everybody that saw these little trains fell in love with them. It wasn’t so much their scale as the number of features built into them given such a size. They chugged, whistled, hissed, and lit up! 
The best Christmas gift ever, as held by Grandma Marcia. 
The best Christmas gift ever, as held by Grampa Dave. 
Mommy and the loves of her life. 
This is it. This is the definitive picture of Ian meeting Nina. Melissa was in bed, my arms were full and so were Marcia’s… Grampa Dave pulled off this picture and so this is it! (Earlier pictures that I posted were either of their second meeting, or minutes after this one was taken. 
December 27th was our Christmas Eve, as everything had been postponed due to a little surprise visitor! Here she’s prepped and ready to head home… her first trip in a car seat! 
My sleeping beauties! 
When Ian looks this bored watching “Tad’s Christmas” for the 40th time, you know we’ve all pretty much got it memorized! 
Grampa Dave happily inspects the first female Chapman (that didn’t marry into the name) in 4 generations. (I think.) 
I know that someday she’ll emerge as a beautiful butterfly! 
Something scared the mittens right off of her! 
December 4th, and Ian wakes up to a rude surprise! 
“Wha?” 
Snow! And like six inches of it, all at once! 
Am I the only person that thinks there are miniature Marge Simpsons outside the window? 
December 6th. Those breakdancing lessons are really paying off. 
December 7th. That hat doesn’t fit anymore, silly! 
December 17th. Ian’s daycare’s Christmas program… someday I’ll have video. I’m afraid you may not find it all that interesting, as Ian decided on the way to the concert that “I’m not gunna sing.” 
December 18th. *Daddy, this present is flat. It can’t be any good.* 
With the wily grace of an elephant, Ian attempts to pilfer somebody else’s cookie. Not yet, kiddo. 
Story time! 
During the book exchange, Ian managed to pick a Curious George book, which was great because he has been on a George kick lately. (He loves the books, not the TV show, believe it or not.) 
*Nuthin’ up my sleeve…* 
“CANDY!” 
*More?* 
Finally, Ian gets his cookie! 
Finally the morning of the 27th dawned, and it was time for Nina to come home. 
I remember this part with Ian as well… the clock strikes the time at which you should be allowed to go home, and you have to wait for somebody to check you out and tell you things. 
With Ian I think I packed up my camera and un-packed it a few times. With Nina I kept it out until the last minute. 
Diaper looks a little big on her doesn’t it? 
And finally to the car seat… 
…and home. This is not the first time Ian saw his little sister, nor the first time he touched her — but it did look like the first time he understood a little bit about what was truly going on here. Love this picture. 
The 
The bouncy chair returns! 
Welcome home, little girl. 
