Big sisters

The older girls' reactions surprised me a little.  I had thought that Elsa would like the baby OK, but that Nora would adore her and take her in as another of her beloved baby dolls.  

Instead, Elsa loves to hold Beatrice any chance she gets and talks to her and can't keep her hands off her.  

Nora loves her too, but is finding her arrival more challenging than we, or I think even she, anticipated.  I think it is a mix of being an active 3 1/2 year old (it is so hard to be "careful" around the baby when you are so excited about her that you want to jump and bounce around her head!) and adjusting to being a big sister again.  She has done very well transitioning from being the baby to being middle child with Oliver, then back to being the baby and now middle again, but it had not been without a few bumps along the way.  I love it that she tells us what she is feeling and thinking - she will actually say things like "Daddy, I want you to give me some attention now, please" - rather than just acting out about it, so we can try to meet her needs along the way.  She does think her new sister is very cute and loves to help out as she is able.

And Beatrice is getting used to her new situation with her sisters as well, namely the mixture of startling noises and the abundant affection they show her.  They call her Baby Bea.