Sweet Sisters

I can't lie.  Though I would have been thrilled to get a baby boy, I was secretly hoping for another little girl.  If not for practical reasons (such as, we already have ALL the baby girl stuff!), it was just for the friendship factor.  Now, before any of you start leaving me comments, I know that brothers and sisters can be best of friends too, but I don't think there is anything like two sisters. Besides, I grew up with a sister just 2 years younger than me and so it's what I've always know. We may have fought like cats and dogs until we were both older and no longer living in the same house, but now we are the best of friends.  I guess we just needed our space. 

It was really heartbreaking that Kate was so sick when we found out about Karsten and brought her home.  I was at the doctor with Kate when we got the phone call and at that time, we thought she just had a yucky respiratory virus.  The doctors told us that once she was fever-free for 24-48 hours, she shouldn't be contagious anymore.  We figured Kate could stay with my mother in law for a day or two until her fever passed.  Her Nana keeps her while Kevin and I work, so she thought it was so exciting to actually get to spend the night. The plan was for her to come home on Friday.  Kevin and I both went over there to spend some time with her. We hated her being gone but didn't want to take the chance of her getting Karsten sick. We missed her and were sad that she hadn't gotten to meet her sister yet!

On Friday, my parents came to pick Kate up to take them to their house until she got better.  Kate was excited to go fishing with Pick!  I got lots of pictures while she was with Pick and Gigi but we still missed her terribly. While she was with them, my mom took her back to the doctor and they determined she most likely had pneumonia.  They gave her yet another prescription and said she needed to be on the antibiotic for at least a full day or two before she was around a newborn.  So, we made plans for her to come home on Sunday.  I know my parents wished she was there for a visit under healthier circumstances, but I'm sure they loved their few days with her.

On Sunday, they loaded her up into the car and told her she was headed home to see Mommy, Daddy and baby Karsten!  Here she is, ready to go!

Karsten and I stayed home from church, and Kevin gave everyone strict instructions that Kate NOT get home before he did.  My parents pulled in around 12:30, which was perfect timing.  Kate was so excited to see both me and Kevin and then we asked her to guess who was inside.  Of course she said, Baby Karsten!!

We took the following video of our girls meeting for the very first time: 

If you listen closely Kate is saying "She's so cute. I always wanted a baby!"

Kate is loving her role as big sister.  She actually even calls Karsten "my baby".  She wants to feed her, burp her, hold her, change her, etc. 

She already asks if Karsten can do all kinds of things with her, and doesn't understand why she can't yet.  Kate and I just had this conversation on Thursday, after I realized we were supposed to be at Kate's dance class in 10 minutes (Apparently, your memory goes straight out the window when you get another kid. I'm blaming it on the sleep deprivation though.  I'll be using that excuse for a while.)

Kate - But I want Karsten to dance with me today.

Me - She can't, Kate. She's too little right now.Kate - Oh, but when she gets older she can, right?Me - Yep. When she gets older.Kate - When she's like dirt.Me - Huh? Like dirt? Kate - Yeah. You know mom. Old like dirt. (ie- "old as dirt")

Not sure where she heard the phrase but it stuck with her.

We're trying to do things to ease the transition for Kate - we have taken her separately to lunch, or to run errands; I took her on a Mommy/Kate pumpkin patch trip, and we've let her schedule stay pretty much normal with going to school and to Nana's house.  So far, she has done as well as can be expected with going from being an only child, to having a baby sister. She already is great big sister and loves her new role!