Our Halloween in pictures

Happy Halloween! Our day was packed with treats (and at least one trick!). Here's the rundown:

If you look closely, you can see our little fairy waving at our
little unicorn during their preschool costume parade.

Kalina participated in a class production of The Big Pumpkin,
as performed at the home for visually impaired women across
the street from preschool. Both Grandpa and I agreed that she
was the best performer, despite her nerves that she would
mess up or forget her line, which was "Drat!" She's since used it
frequently in everyday conversation. And by the way,
there's no chance she would forget it: every child had the same
role and the same line. The best part, as I told Kalina later,
was her giant smile as she came up to have her chance at
picking the big pumpkin.

The kids finally figure out how to pluck the big pumpkin
from the vine: cooperate!

They also sang some sweet little Halloween songs.

Naomi dressed as a ladybug for Halloween, and also put
on a smile. :)

Elise thinks that dot markers are facepaint. I
had to leave the room to laugh hysterically into
my hands before I could (gently) scold her. I
think she knew I was bluffing when I pulled
out my camera--never before have I felt the need to
get a picture of her making a birthday card. She
totally knew my story was a cover-up, and could
see the smile in my eyes as I cleaned her up
after the picture. Trick or treat? That is the
question!

A flower fairy and a unicorn headed out into the
rain for trick-or-treating with Mommy! We were
the only ones, but that meant we got extra
candy (not that we needed it).

Naomi's first Halloween!

We bypassed the usual kitten pumpkin and opted for a fairy
and a unicorn. Daddy's an amazing pumpkin artist.

When you tell a 3-year-old, "No treats until
we're home" (mostly because it's raining), she
takes you literally. Elise dug into the Tootsie
Roll she'd been eyeing just one step inside
the front door. 

Cute things

Elise and Woolly

One of the worst possible things that can happen if you're a caterpillar is to be found by a young child who is, in fact, interested in caterpillars. Especially if you're fuzzy or, woolly, in the case of a certain woolly bear caterpillar that used to live in our yard, but now lives in a small bug cage that gets carried place to place by a toddler. And given rides.

Poor Woolly, as we call him! Elise is beyond delighted with her new pet, found for her one evening by Daddy. She loves to hold him and does so as often as possible, either taking him out of his cage inside the house when she forgets that it's against the rules (no holding bugs in the house!) or frequently asking to be taken outside so she can hold him and watch him inch up her arm or on her shirt. She's surprisingly gentle when she has to pull him off to drop him back in the cage, although we usually let Kalina do the task, just in case.

And we use "him" loosely--for a while, it was a girl caterpillar until Elise realized we didn't really know for sure. He's been to the park, as well as for multiple rides in the van, our toy grocery cart and our toy car. He's been down slides, and he's been spun in circles many times. We gather fresh food for Woolly daily, and Elise is aware that at some point we'll have to release him. Hopefully he will survive long enough for that reward, as he's been quite the trooper.

The big girls were fighting
over who got to hug the
baby. The baby won.

Elise to Kalina: "If I saw a kitten I would run outside...I would ask a grownup, then run outside and bring in the kitten as quickly as possible."
Kalina to Elise: "If I saw a kitten, I would bring it inside and paint it rainbow colors. Then I would go over it with some shiny stuff so it shines."


Naomi has found her hands and her voice! She also smiles on request if you ask nicely and she's in a good mood. So now her pastimes are: staring at the world around her, very contemplatively; sucking on her fists and cooing out adorable little conversations.

She visited the pediatrician last Monday (the 21st) for her two-month appointment and weighed 9 lbs. 7 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long. She's tiny! The baby did not mind the examination, despite the fact that she'd finally fallen asleep mere seconds before the nurse asked me to undress her and get her ready to be weighed. She did mind the shots, very much. So much that I actually called a friend to pick up some infant Tylenol for me, which she very kindly did. What kind of mother of three doesn't have infant Tylenol?!?

Aunt Debbie gets to hold
Naomi!

We traveled to my cousin's wedding! In a different state! Five hours away! And survived to tell about it! It was hard, but not as hard as it could've been. In short, the baby slept through most of it!

The big girls loved the trip, and especially the hotel stay. Matt and Elise decided to sleep in Grandpa Tom's room, which Elise turned into a mini-sleepover. Long after the light had been turned off, she was still chattering away about how sleepy she wasn't, and had both the guys cracking up every time she opened her mouth.

Kalina, on the other hand, was happy to turn out the light and go to sleep--she takes after her mommy!

What does Elise do when
faced with a table full of
Hershey's kisses? Eat
them as quickly as possible,
and raid neighboring tables
for more.

The wedding was lovely--Elise's favorite part (and probably Kalina's, even though she's less vocal about it) was the endless supply of Hershey's kisses on the tables at the reception. They also liked the desserts, potato chips and punch. What's not to like? Naomi did not like the wedding--it was too loud and there was no place for her to relax. She was thrilled to be back in our somewhat quiet hotel room, and even happier to be back on her playtime blanket at home.


The big girls and I have a shaky, unofficial agreement. They can visit each other in their rooms at downtime as long as I don't "know" about it. That means even if they get into a fight, achieve minor injuries (and believe me, our injuries are usually quite minor) or spill caterpillar excrement on Kalina's carpet. I need to figure out what to do about this, but I'm buying time by pretending I don't know about it.


And that is all for now. Happy Halloween! Pics to come!

Aw!

1...2...3!

Starting to smile a couple
weeks ago!

There were a lot of things I fully anticipated when expecting my third child. I knew that Elise might feel more displaced than Kalina (and to adjust my parenting style accordingly), that I would be likely to allow snacking in front of the television out of desperation, and that there would be no naps whatsoever for me.

And there were things I didn't know: that many times when I left the room for a second Kalina would quietly assume the role of baby-watcher, that Elise makes up lovely lullabies and that Naomi would not be able to function without being swaddled until she was a month old.

But one of the very most surprising things about having a third child is this:

It's not that hard.

Some of Naomi's biggest smiles have
been for her sisters. Kalina noticed/
decided that Naomi likes to be
patted on her tummy.

I should probably only whisper that rather than shout it from the mountaintops, as I don't want to make the mommies of one or two children cry. To them, I would say that it's actually harder to have just one or two, at least at first.

I should probably also qualify my statement: it's not that hard because I have plenty of help. We're unashamedly living off frozen (homecooked) meals and the kindness of others. If that weren't the case, I probably wouldn't even have time to write this blog in the first place, so you'd all be left wondering. Probably for years.

Here's why mommying three isn't nearly as stressful as mommying one or two:

Sisters enjoying their blankies
together.

As a new mommy with one child, you have no clue what you're doing. Every new development throws you for a loop, plus you really don't know whether they'll ever sleep through the night (or speak in more than one syllable, or quit being terrified of lint, or wear more than one specific pair of shoes, or say "thank you" without being prompted, or whatever the current struggle is). You also feel like you should be able to parent perfectly. Hah! The jokes on you, and you spend your first year or so learning that.

As a veteran mommy with a new baby, you are torn completely in two as you try to balance the immediate needs of two demanding little people. Your older child instantly has to learn patience, sharing and all those other tough things that stymie even grownups (and mommies themselves), while you effectively grow an extra arm (or the nearest you can possibly come to that). You just feel bad for everyone all the time.

More smiles! We can't get enough!

As a mommy of three, I watch my older children play cutely together while I try to get the sweet new baby to smile. Then they come over and help me, and the baby smiles on all of us. It's not so bad. I also have no grandiose ideas of good sleep (nor need of it in my old age), and everyone's well used to waiting patiently, or at least waiting.

(It's also not always quite so good, although I've only faced tears from all three at once, once.)

With three small children, the days are as interesting as they are long. With one, I can now see that life was a bit...quiet? Now, I'm constantly entertained--even if some days are more drama than comedy.

One of our biggest challenges is the drive to and from preschool. Getting out the door on time? No biggie. Keeping the baby from squalling the entire trip, so we don't have to yell to each other to be heard? Nearly impossible for most of the first eight weeks of the baby's life.

One of Kalina's new
favorite hobbies: baby
holding.

Things have improved on that front, however. Naomi doesn't yell quite as loudly if she's swaddled (or is at least more likely to go to sleep), and for an easy $12 a swaddle blanket that works in the car was delivered to my doorstep. (This is one of many reasons Target and I are good friends.) I've also very recently learned one trick of keeping her happy in her carseat--if I hold the carseat and swing or jiggle it gently, she calms right down and often goes to sleep. This is not possible, of course, in a moving car, nor is it good for my back. But I've learned that the condition of your back inversely correlates to the quality of your mothering.

We also get just plain bored. The baby's young age, plus the stress she endures every car trip, keep us home except when absolutely necessary. Even on preschool days we can pretty much only stare at each other after about 4:00, as Mommy is out of ideas that only require one hand and won't create a giant mess (having used up all the really good ones weeks ago), and the kids resist my brightly marketed but still lame attempts of, "Let's make a block city!" or, "Who wants a coloring page?"

I would be much more fun if I weren't trying to soothe a baby who has never really liked the hours between 4:30 and 10:00, but then, so would a lot of things. Not that she's colicky--she just isn't a late afternoon/evening kind of a girl. My current best strategy is to lure the children to the front yard with snacks, and then hope the neighbor kids can play, or at least that one of the girls will turn up a new pet pillbug, which can keep us busy for a 30 minutes, if it survives that long (or even if it doesn't--our pillbugs are often quite "sleepy").

But really, these are very minor things. Babies are now a piece of cake (still confusing at times--I just give up sooner), and preschoolers can be tamed. While we aren't usually (ever?) able to complete Pinterest-worthy crafts and take Pinterest-worthy photographs of them, make our own flax seed-based meatballs for the freezer or spend a full day at the zoo, we can make hedgehog pictures out of leaves, add flax seed to the ultra-easy muffins we were making anyway and walk to the park on a nice morning. Not too hard at all.

In fact, some would even say we're having fun.

Happy 3 to Elise!!

Birthday morning!

Cute little 2 1/2-year-old Elise. We all just loved her--although she would be quick to correct you if you called her that. "No, I'm big!"

Yes, Sweetie, you are big.

Bigger than her years. Elise will confidently strike up meaningful conversations with anyone--not letting her small stature deter her from speaking as an equal, and asking real questions. She understands patience and sharing better than most kindergarteners. Her sense of humor keeps us laughing with her, not at her. Elise keeps up with the big neighbor girls and Kalina's friends, completely clueless that she's kind of too young to really be able to do that very well.

"Happy birthday to me!"

No, in fact, Elise seems to have no idea that for many people, 2 1/2 means tantrums, whining, making giant messes and breaking stuff. Not that she's not capable--she simply has many better things to do. Most of the time, anyway.

And now she's three! For us, that's meant three years of pure sunshine in our house. Elise is about as pleasant a little person as one can be--sweet, sincere, easygoing and pretty much hilarious.

The ever-helpful big sister. 

And what else? Elise's jumping skills are unmatched, as is her arm strength, as is her smile. She can count to 18, as long as she skips anything after 12. She takes singing and dancing very seriously, often solemnly making up words to songs about upstairs and downstairs, puppies, and more, as well as performing "ballet." She "reads," "writes" and draws pictures using much more imagination than realism, but the realism is certainly on its way. Elise loves to participate in any project or activity--but she also knows when to ask for help, including from God Himself. She knows how to follow rules, but also thinks it's pretty entertaining to break them--even if Mommy doesn't. She loves people, and is comfortable with kids and grownups of any age, except, possibly, pre-verbal toddlers, who she likes to chase relentlessly (we're working on that). But she's equally happy playing on her own--or, more likely, with her animals or her favorite little doll, Ellie. And she'll listen to stories for more time than I usually have to sit down and read them.

Were you wondering what was in the
dog-shaped package in the first picture?
It's Hoppy Bunny!

Elise loves a little bit of adventure, but not too much. Some of her best adventures happen in her mind with Pink Bear--they duo is often known to catch a family of snakes, deer, bears, etc. on their way home from work and put them in cages. Or drive to a hotel for a vacation. Or fly to the moon.

In fact, as you'll find if you ever have a conversation with her, Elise and Pink Bear have lifetimes worth of experiences and adventures spanning every possible topic. She'll confidently tell you stories to match and surpass anything you've ever done. So if you rode in a hot air balloon, she probably did too. And ate ice cream while on board, and talked to a bird, and then it turned into a boat and they went under water and saw a shark. And Pink Bear was scared, so they hid, and then threw purple rocks at the shark. And so on.

Kalina took this picture of me
and my birthday girl!

She's happiest when pretending to be a baby animal--usually a kitten, bear or penguin, and can spend entire days "in character," happily indulged by her big sister.

And, in fact, Elise is very often happy! She always has been, and I hope she always will be.

Elise at three often lives in two worlds--the "big kid" world and the "little kid" one, which often involves stretching back into babyhood on soft pink blankie, holding soft pink bear and recharging. Aw!

As you can see, we've so much to celebrate in little Elise!

A tea party with the new tea set!

And it was quite the celebration. Marked by Grandma and Grandpa's arrival in town the night before, the morning launched us into a flurry of activity as we opened a present (a "Hoppy Bunny" Elise can bounce on), welcomed Grandma and Grandpa, and got Kalina out the door for preschool. And for a few hours, Elise had Grandma and Grandpa all to herself. The weather not being particularly friendly, Elise decided she wanted to take them to the mall play area, where she showed off all manner of tricks, particularly her amazing jumping skills.

A low-key afternoon of playtime and purple-frosted graham crackers led into evening, when Daddy's return home from work kicked off the big celebration. And what are the top two things on any 3-year-old's mind when it's her birthday? Presents! Cake! She dug into both with little restraint and few manners, which I probably hadn't done a good enough job preparing her for. There's always next year--or Christmas--right?

We all enjoyed sitting back and watching her, except good-natured, ever-helpful big sister Kalina, who easily forgets that Elise really is big enough to help herself to her gifts. Not that I can blame Kalina--after all, the gifts were every big as exciting to a 5-year-old as to a 3-year-old. Elise weathered the "help" in stride, as did Kalina weather the gentle admonitions of, "It's Elise's birthday, Sweetie!"

And fortunately, when you share a house with your favorite playmate, you know that you'll get to share in the spoils when it's all over. My favorite comment of the evening: "Kalina, we got some Little People!" Because isn't everything more fun with a sister?

The fun could've lasted all night, but we weren't about to let it, knowing we had several big grandparent-filled days ahead--and a rainbow kitten pony party with a couple little friends!

Elise and friends at her party

Nothing says 3 like rainbows, kittens and ponies--not, at least, according to Elise. We'd planned her party for Saturday morning and invited two sets of sister, all roughly near Elise's age (actually, one is almost Kalina's age but gets along great with Elise). The night before, the younger of each set had to bow out due to illness. With enough distraction, however, Elise was still excited.

Now, why would I be crazy enough to let my 3-year-old have a themed birthday party with friends despite the fact that there's a newborn in the house? I'm not sure of any reason other than that I probably am a little crazy. Besides, it's not really any harder to plan a tri-themed party than a single theme, and lots of the supplies and activities (and even the playlist) could be reused from Kalina's.

Not sure I've ever seen him prouder.

In fact, Elise has been planning her party ever since Kalina started planning hers, a fact that not only pretty much forced me to give her a party (because how could you tell a 3-year-old who thinks she's 5 that she can't have a birthday party even though her sister did three months ago?), but ensured the rainbow paper chains and extra party hats didn't get tossed. I began stocking up on pony napkins, kitten plates, and more, making sure each theme was well represented. Easy-peasy.

We'd filled treat bags and made lemon cupcakes, and pretty soon we were welcoming guests. Our first activity was to fill pony necklaces with layers of rainbow-colored sand. Rainbows and ponies. Check and check.

Pinning the tail on Rainbow Dash,
and winning!

Then we moved on to Pin the Tail On Rainbow Dash (a favorite My Little Pony pony). Daddy provided the stunning artwork for this activity, a feat he was as proud of as his thesis. And rightly so! The only mistake, according to Elise, is that Rainbow Dash wasn't purple like she'd wanted. Because Rainbow Dash isn't, in fact, purple. And then we did the Rainbow Walk--back by popular request.

After some pizza, we pulled out the cupcakes. The kids' cupcakes were topped with My Little Ponies, courtesy of ebay. And the uproar began. Each child singled out a pony they wanted, and while there were no arguments, the sugar-filled treats' desirability rose exponentially.

We could barely convince the girl that we needed to put candles on her cupcake, light them, sing to her, and have her blow them out before she could begin the process of choosing her cupcake, plucking off the pony and licking the frosting off. (Appropriately, this is how each girl claimed her pony. She licked it.) How do you convince the birthday girl to wait through all the once-fun-now-tedious traditions before claiming her prize? Certainly not with a timeout. We barely managed. And the house didn't burn down, either. Elise sang Happy Birthday the loudest of everyone there before digging in.

Order of operations: 1. blow
out candles. 2. take
cupcake.

After a few presents and some final playtime, it was time to say goodbye. Another great year, and another great party!

Special thanks to Grandma for holding the baby in a dark, quiet room the ENTIRE time so that Mommy could join in Elise's ENTIRE special party--and Naomi would survive it germ-free! We saved her a pony.

Special thanks, also, to Kalina, who patiently watched as Elise received all the attention, most of the gifts and the first turn for everything, and who mostly politely allowed other people to choose various goodies she'd earmarked, and who through it all, once I believe choking back disappointed tears, managed to smile graciously and help her little sister enjoy a lovely third birthday.

Does Elise feel 3 yet? She does not. "I still feel like I'm 2 1/2." Elise mentions every so often that she's still growing into 3.

I suppose when 2 1/2 is so much fun, there's no hurry to be 3! I'm not in a hurry, either.

Happy birthday Elise, love you!

World's Cutest Baby version 3.0
1 month old!

Pediatrician visit!

Naomi had her 1-month appointment! (1 month of sweet newbornhood--gone. 1 month of new baby smell--gone. 1 month of sleep deprivation--gone. You win some, you lose some.)

I've learned that Naomi does not like the car after all. Not even a little bit, as Elise would say. Naomi is happiest (read: the only time when she is not crying) when she is swaddled and held while the holder is actively walking around and possibly bouncing; or eating, or asleep. She also doesn't mind the five minutes after a diaper change. Unfortunately, these conditions describe a car ride not at all, unless she happens to be asleep, which she finds mighty tricky unless she's swaddled.

As we'd been to preschool twice and Target once already before the appointment, Naomi had had a stressful morning (as had I).

She didn't mind the scale, and she didn't mind the exam table too much. The rest of the trip, except for the brief amount of time I was able to get her to sleep in the waiting room, she minded very much.

Especially the shot, as everyone in the entire office and waiting room soon found out. A sympathetic stranger helped carry the carseat while I tried to console my littlest and wrangle my middle away from rolling around on the germy floor or hurting my oldest. Success eluded me. This was not a shining moment, but it was a very long one.

All the misery aside, Naomi now weighs an even eight pounds and is 21 inches long. Growing like a champ, but still in newborn clothes (cute!). Her mean diaper rash has finally found a solution. The doctor wondered if she'd smiled, yet, and I think she has--a couple days ago I noticed a grin that I couldn't quite attribute to just gas. Or maybe it was just because I really, really needed it to not just be gas.

After her shot, Naomi took a giant nap or two, and was finally back to her usual self by evening, when I held her for five hours straight (minus diaper changes) to keep her happy. And when Naomi's happy, we're all happy!

Elise's first preschool! And so much more...

Elise the preschooler!

About a month ago, we bought Elise a backpack. It's just her size and looks like a puppy. She (reluctantly) takes it off to bathe and sleep, and also to pack and repack several times a day. And last Tuesday, for the first time, she wore it to preschool!

Elise's teacher had requested that a parent accompany each student on the first day, and it almost killed me not to be the one to attend. Considering, though, that the germs in a 3-year-old classroom could do quite a number on the newborn, it wouldn't have been responsible. So Daddy got to go to preschool instead!

Here's the official report:

No, I did not bribe them.

Elise's version: "We had cookies for snack! With sprinkles!" It took a lot of prying to get anything more out of her since all other activities paled in comparison, but I did learn that she made a friend (Margot), and they did circle time, went outside and read stories about cookies. They did not do a craft.

Matt's version: "I have no idea how the teacher will be able to wrangle all those kids by herself."

Elise, for her part, was a step ahead in that she already knew how to stand in line without wandering away. This is a learned skill; it comes instinctively to very few toddlers, apparently. Matt couldn't blame her when she saw the other kids dashing off and considered, for a moment, joining them. I am already imagining the other bad habits she will have the opportunity to pick up.

Three sisters! Two smiles.

Elise has been yearning for the preschool playground ever since we first dropped Kalina off a year ago. As an official student herself, she finally got to play! She loved the tire swing, and had no interest in the sandbox for whatever reason.

Later in the week, I learned that the kids actually did do a craft--they'd glued paper chocolate chips onto a paper cookie. It fell out of her backpack, and that's the only reason I know.

Happy and awake at the same time?!?
Another one of those little-celebrated
milestones.

The girl can't wait to go back, and nearly cried when she learned she couldn't until the next Tuesday. ("Mommy preschool," which included baking cookies with m&ms and chocolate chips, however, proved to be an excellent diversion--and Naomi miraculously managed to sleep through the entire project). I'm not sure she knew, though, that Daddy won't be coming with her every time, and this revelation rendered her, in her words, "scared."

Elise's initial preschool success wasn't completely out of the blue. After all, she had a big sister to reassure her ("We can wave to each other if we see each other, and I'll play with you on the playground, Elise!"), and we'd played "circle time" at home, complete with backpacks and cubbies. (Playing preschool will be convenient, as I can already tell, since they let me be the teacher and they do whatever their
"teacher" tells them. "Now, class, it's cleanup time!" and, "Now it's teacher naptime!" I'm imagining the possibilities.) We've been taking turns and waiting patiently since birth. And really, what more do you need to know when you're not even three years old?
_______________________________

First day of pre-K for Kalina:

No tears. No tears!!! NO TEARS!!! Need I say more?

(Yes, I do need to say more: Kalina has a lovely teacher, and has had lovely projects already--like finding a nature item and writing clues about it, and getting every family member to trace their hand on a piece of posterboard. She's starting Spanish after school, and will continue piano lessons after school, too. Fortunately, school only lasts 2 1/2 hours three times a week, so we're not overdoing it.)

_______________________________

Tummy time on a blanket made by
a friend.

Second day of preschool/pre-K:

I knew I'd have my work cut out for me today. Not only would it be my first day completely solo, but I'd have to get Kalina to preschool, pick her up, rush the girls home for a quick lunch, rush out to the pediatrician's office, and return home in time for a late "downtime." All while dodging germs with a newborn. And letting the 2-year-old "help" carry the carseat through crowded hallways.

Yup, it was too much. We were early for Kalina's drop-off (yes, you read that right--early!), although we had forgotten her backpack and the favorite book she was supposed to bring. The book that she had remembered to pack all by herself. We were right on time to pick her up--with one exception. Spanish had already started! I wasn't the only parent who didn't realize they'd be starting Spanish on the second day of school when we'd only signed her up the day before. It threw me for a loop, I won't deny. Nevertheless, I was glad they were already digging in, and I reasoned we could still make it home in time for me to fix a proper "car lunch" of cheese, cracker and apple. Kalina was happy to see us, and we accompanied her to the Spanish classroom.

Naomi's first bath! The big sisters
helped make sure she had a few toys.

Naomi was hungry! No matter, Kalina's sweet piano teacher (who works at her preschool) whisked us into her classroom and let us hang out there. Elise spotted the large blue rug the kids sit on for music class, and immediately became a baby duckling. She swam and splashed quite happily while I threw her food (mostly Goldfish crackers and cake), and didn't want to leave when it was time to go get the diapering supplies from the car.

Clean diaper in place and dirty cloth one stashed safely away, we waited for Kalina's class to end. And waited. And waited. Don't get me wrong--I'm glad she's getting plenty of Spanish education. But by the time we'd returned to our van, we had exactly enough time for me to dash into the house, grab some crackers to toss at the big girls and refill my water bottle, and dash back.

Thank goodness Naomi loves to nap in the car, is all I can say.

By the time we returned home from the pediatrician, we were all ready for a good long nap. No one, of course, took one (except the baby, who was by now so stressed out from all her adventures that she spent the next day and a half sleeping, nights excluded.).
___________________________________

Does it look like Naomi's
smiling while Elise pets
her soft head?

Pediatrician visit for Naomi!

Naomi is growing cuter by the day (which is saying a lot--she started out pretty adorable!), and growing bigger, too! At her 2-week appointment, she weighed 6 lbs., 7 ounces (well over her birth weight!) and had grown an inch, to be 19 inches long. It's astounding to me how a baby can grow an inch in two weeks.

After we verified that Naomi does not like the scale any more than her Mommy does (or her big sisters at that age), we discussed the fact that Naomi was cosleeping because she won't sleep alone in her crib at night (and only on occasion during the day). The doctor frowned a bit and we discussed other options, but wouldn't she have frowned more if I'd told her the baby was crying by herself in the crib all night? Any veteran parent knows that the crib is where you put a baby to wake her up for feedings! Nevertheless, we're certainly making an effort, as Noami is no longer the quiet, peaceful sleeper she was last week.

We learned that the cute but sometimes alarming squeaky wheezy noises she makes are simply her vocal cords adjusting. Better get them primed and ready, Baby, because you'll have two big sister chatterboxes to keep up with!

And that was all! We'll see the doctor again in a couple weeks for the 1-month visit.

At home, we've learned that Naomi might be a bit sensitive, but (new this week!) is content to calmly scope out her surroundings for a good five to ten minutes when her needs are met. She's starting to like lights, and loves being swaddled and riding in the car. She makes the cutest little almost purring/cooing noises when she feels the need to make noise, but not unhappy noise. The baby also seems to enjoy tummy time, which has been known to calm her down more than once. I believe she'd like to sleep on her tummy, but the mean doctor (who we actually really like) says she can't. She actually does not like pacifiers, however, so that might change up our sleep journey a bit, for better or worse. Stay tuned, because you know I'll keep you posted.

Naomi can also recognize the word milk. Twice now, I've mentioned the word to her and she's stopped mid-cry. She smiles in her sleep, and laughed in her sleep for the first time today.

As for sleep, she's getting better at sleeping in her crib during the day, but either she's scared of the dark or we're simply not patient enough to give her a good chance to sleep there on her own at night. Occasionally she has lots of trouble settling down to sleep, and will be awake and fussy for hours, but often when she does she'll sleep for a healthy amount of time and even settle herself a bit. Except when she doesn't. And other than dealing with pacifiers, I anticipate exactly the same ups and downs we've had with the previous two, despite the fact that we really are working to instill good habits from an early age.

Big sisters are still in love with her. What do they love most? Seeing the contents of her diaper. But they also enjoy keeping her company during tummy time, singing her little songs, and climbing on her crib and handing her toys while helping me put her down for her nap.
___________________________________

Nothing is ever quiet at our house! But it is very, very cute.

The first week home

Me and my birthday present!

Naomi is home! And we think she likes it! Even though she's spent most of the time sleeping (most of the daytime, anyway).

Day 1: We arrived home on my birthday! What a present! I'd celebrated myself last weekend--now it was time to celebrate Naomi. The big sisters had been kept up from their nap to greet their new little sister, and did so with appropriate exuberance. I learned that while I was away, Kalina had mastered Daddy's dart gun, which she could fire with surprising accuracy as Elise darted among the darts retrieving them. I was pleased to see that the girls were alive and well, although it took me a bit to get reacquainted with the fridge and pantry.

Ready to go home!

Day 2: Naomi's first visit to the pediatrician! At 8:15 a.m. Why this cruel timing? Because it's safer for the newborns to arrive before the germs do. I threw a few things in a diaper bag, and Naomi and I headed out just the two of us (our first mommy-daughter date!). We discovered that she weighed 5 lbs. 11 oz.--the same as she had the day before when leaving the hospital. But this was a good thing--many babies are still losing weight at that point. I no longer felt quite so bad about the long stretch of time I'd allowed her to sleep the previous night. Naomi is perfectly healthy! We discussed how to keep her that way, and the doctor advised me to be as pushy with hand-washing as a first-time mom. But he also said that now's a pretty good time to have a newborn--not to many germs floating around yet, and we can always go to a park if we need to get out. We scheduled a bunch more appointments (the next one is at 2 weeks), and headed back to the safety of home.

Home!!

Having slept relatively well the night before (owing to the ultra-sleepy newborn stage combined with the fact that since we're not first-time parents, we can nod and smile at the nurses' commands to wake our baby every three hours to eat), I began to put myself and the house back in order while Naomi slept, and slept and slept. I did wake her often to eat in the daytime, and I did hold her a lot. Who could resist?

And we hit a milestone! Not one that's on any of the books, but since it was cute, I'll write it down. Naomi started smiling in her sleep: big, goofy grins, no less! What was she dreaming of? Couldn't have been puppies, ice cream or snow on Christmas mornings, but it must have been something special to her. Milk? Being swaddled? The adorable outfits she's been wearing? Mommy???

The big girls continued to want to hold Naomi, the only downside being that Naomi cries almost every time they hold her. Both big girls are very understanding, however--even Elise knows that babies cry all the time. She is quick, however, to have me take the baby back. As is Daddy at times.

The baby is just hanging out,
happy and awake. I had to
get a picture.

With a sleepy baby and an extra pair of hands at home, I made dinner! Actually, Naomi woke up just as I was about to start, so I started dinner and directed Matt through the rest of it. Regardless, we had a real meal, and Naomi joined us.

Day 3: Daddy and the big girls went to church. Naomi slept, and I continued my quest to make the house look decent again. The big girls decided that diaper changes are worth dropping everything to watch, and that the swing makes music. Now, swing music plays on repeat for hours every day. They are not yet sick of it. Nope, not them.

I'd noticed that the baby, for the most part, spent her time during the day sleeping, eating or crying. There's more to life! I wanted to tell her. But for one of the first times today, Naomi's eyes were open and not tearing up--and in this moment, she noticed something really cool waving in front of her face: her hand! She was entertained for at least a minute, and I even caught it on film.

The baby first spots her hand
Cool, she thinks.

Daddy babysat Naomi for the first time on his own, while Kalina, Elise and I got frozen yogurt! All went well until it came time for Daddy to take off a Band-Aid the nurse had put on Naomi after her Vitamin K shot. Poor Daddy gets all the tough jobs. It was stuck tight (an alcohol swab helped), and fortunately I arrived home just in time to pick up the pieces.

Day 4: I was tired, probably having overdone it the previous few days, and so was the baby. While the more intrepid family members enjoyed a trip to the zoo, Naomi and I put our feet up and rested. We needed it: I'd been on my feet too much, and Naomi was, after all, less than a week old.

We've learned by now that Naomi prefers being held. Sometimes she's too sleepy to notice, but the rest of the time she'd like to be warmly cuddled in someone's arms. She's not too picky most of the time, but has been known to play favorites (sorry, Daddy).

I really like this hand!

We started tummy time, an unpopular attempt to make sure Naomi doesn't end up having to wear a helmet to reshape her head. She managed to roll herself over, having had enough of that silliness (you'll thank me later, Sweetie!). It doesn't help that anytime she's awake, she's hungry.

Nights had been deteriorating, so we may have purposely tried to keep Naomi up a bit in hopes that we could help her learn that daytime lasts from about 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., not 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Day 5: Our re-education process may have paid off! Naomi slept several very healthy chunks of time last night all by herself. I slept so long (2 and 3 hours at a time!) I was almost disoriented upon awaking, and Matt got his third full night since the baby was born, a fact that he doesn't feel like discussing. :)

Nursery sweet nursery. Couldn't
resist doing a little decorating for my
newest little girl!

Matt, Kalina and Elise spent much of the day at Grandpa's house and a children's museum, while I tried to relax on my last day of "maternity leave." Naomi tried to relax, too, mostly in my arms.

Day 6: We decided that our first day without Matt should be a "Big Girl Fun Day!" We dressed Naomi in a cute outfit, made chocolate chip cookie bars, enjoyed a few "big sister" presents, had a friend over in the afternoon and ordered pizza for supper.

Naomi and I learned that newborn sleep is random. She spent a good 24 hours needing to be held in order to sleep (including the previous night), or simply not sleeping but choosing, instead, to remain in a "fussy wakeful" state. I spent about the same amount of time typing things like, "Newborn sleep patterns" and "Why should it be this difficult to get my 1-week-old to sleep?" and "WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?!?" into Google. I learned that it's me, not her. Newborn sleep is, for all intents and purposes, random.

In other news, Naomi's umbilical cord stump came off! It's no less weird and unsettling the third time than the first. Fortunately, the friend who visited is a nurse, and she assured me that everything looks great.

Day 7: Continuing the theme of random newborn sleep, Naomi drifted off to sleep in her crib, with only a little Mommy help, for her first nap of the day. I learned that she likes to be petted on the forehead, like a kitten, to help her relax and close her eyes. She spent the rest of the day peacefully napping acting like last night, another tough one in which we couldn't set the baby down if we expected her to sleep, never happened--I'm hoping it bodes well for tonight. When Kalina woke me up in the morning, it took me a good two minutes to realize she wasn't Elise. Ah, sleep deprivation--my old constant companion! But Naomi sure is cute. I dressed her for success in one of her most adorable outfits and carried on with the day.

The big girls visited their new preschool classrooms with Grandpa and met their teachers, a day I hated to miss but couldn't justify risking my newborn's health for. After all, what's germier than a preschool classroom?

Kalina and Elise remained excited about their new sister, and are always happy to check on Naomi, shush her, sing sweet made-up lullabies to her, wave toys in front of her face, swing her in her swing and turn on her infernal swing music (and, more often than not, leave the room right afterward and stranding me with it). Every diaper change is a spectacle sport, and the goodwill they feel toward their little sister has not yet faded into the jealous resentment I'm keenly watching for.

I'm grateful the weather is hot now (it switched from gorgeous to blistering as I entered the hospital) because it gives us a good reason to hole up inside. The girls are playing wonderfully together, and I even get to put my feet up now and then. Having nearly driven myself into labor with all the preparation I did in July and August, I think I've earned as much of a rest as I can possibly get. In fact, it's almost cozy having a newborn!

And that concludes our first week at home! Here's hoping they can all be so sweet!

Some of the highlights of Naomi's photo shoot in the hospital: