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.

At home

She's just so darling - she can even make a chunky old car seat look cute!

My mother, "Oma," arrived several days after we came home.

 

Nana was able to get both Elsa and Nora to give us their first smiles when she visited after their births.  Beatrice was still to young to smile for this visit, but she did offer up some cute yawns instead.

Beatrice Grace

Beatrice Grace Dunham

Born June 26th, 2014, 8 lbs. 2 oz., 19 inches long.  She is perfectly healthy, has the sweetest, mellow demeanor, and looks very much like her siblings when they were newborn.  

I am so glad we were able to be at the smaller hospital in town where Elsa and Nora were born.  Everything felt much more relaxed and comfortable to me (at least as relaxed and as comfortable as a hospital can be) than at the big medical center.  The c-section went well and thankfully was not quite as bad of an experience as I had been dreading - I still hated it but I wasn't a complete wreck through the whole process like I thought I might be.  I was way too wiped out to take any of my own photos for several days, but that's what grandmas are for right?  Joel's mother took plenty in the meantime.

Joel helped me get through the surgery and then held her almost all of the time we were in the hospital.  I am so blessed to have him be our family's Daddy.

The girls thought it was funny that I couldn't feel or move my legs, and I think at first they were equally excited to get to play with the hospital bed as meet their sister.

Elsa presented Beatrice with the hat she made, which is thankfully larger enough to still fit her when it gets cold.

and Nora gave her a "Pooh bear" snuggly toy - Nora's and Elsa's Pooh bears are perhaps their most important possessions (along with Oliver's which they insisted on keeping in the nursery to "help 'member him"), so it was very important that Beatrice receive her own right away.

We were so blessed to have Joel's mom, Nana, come to help with the older girls, plus it was the first time it has worked out for her to actually be in town for a grandchild's birth.  We only stayed in the hospital for two days, and we are so very thankful for her help!

Lemonade Stand

I wasn't expecting too much out of our yard sale last week, so I was pleased to get about $100 out of it.  Elsa prepared for the sale about as much as I did.  She selected a few toys to sell, made necklaces and bracelets, made swirly "chameleon" crayons (with a crayola crayon melter), and made and sold lemonade.  Nora helped with advertisement and asked everyone who came to our driveway if they wanted any lemonade, and then directed them to the table, helping to get cups and napkins.  

They made $45.90!!!  

People would haggle me over quarters, and then walk over and give Elsa a $1 "tip"!  She decided to put most of her earnings in the bank (to save up to buy a chameleon, of course).

Lesson learned - cuteness sells better than lightly used, good quality housewares.

Simple summer

My mom reminds me that when I was little and we were living on a boat she would give me a simple bucket of water to play with.  Our girls have a bit larger space to play, but it is still just a few inches of water, sometimes accompanied by a "fountain" comprised a propped-up garden watering wand.  I haven't told them that this is actually a "baby pool," and they sit there together, pouring and splashing, as happy as can be!

Backyard camping

Elsa has been asking about camping for maybe a year now, so when Joel read to her about the "Great American Camp Out" in her Ranger Rick magazine, her reaction (a very emotional expression that THIS was IT!  It was time, FINALLY!) convinced us that we should give her the as much of a backyard camping experience as we could muster at this point.  It went really well!

We made a "campfire" in our grill:

We set up our play house "tent" in the very back or the yard, and Tabitha took it upon herself to inspect and guard it from any unwanted visitors:

Only Joel and Elsa actually slept out; Nora was happy to have a special night to sleep with mommy inside. She enjoyed helped them set up for their adventure and made sure Elsa had all the necessary items (pooh-bear, a big pile of books, flashlights and lantern, snacks, etc.):

They loved counting the stars as night fell, but interest in the stars was soon lost to the fun of roasting marshmallows:

This was their first experience with s'mores.  Once they understood why we called them s'mores they giggled like crazy every time they asked for "s'more, please!"

Elsa said she and daddy stayed up "past midnight" reading by flashlight.  She was so happy to try camping finally, even our makeshift-back-yard version!

Elsa's six!

With her current obsession with chameleons, the theme of Elsa's birthday party was a no-brainer.  Plus, we quickly realized that we could have a lot fun using mostly things we already had, like pipe-cleaners!  We saw how to make these little guys online, and Elsa and I had a really good time making them together over several afternoons (and then hiding them around the house and yard - they can be surprisingly hard to find!).

  

We decided on rice krispies instead of cake, with was a good choice for sculpting a lizard.

Elsa's invitation list was rather eccentric for a 6 year-old, and included several of her special adult friends, including "Mr. Nate" who introduced her to chameleons in the first place.

I've also discovered the best way to get a whole group of kids to smile at once - put Joel behind the photographer!

Many of the kids came dressed in monochrome to pretend to be chameleons with Elsa.  We had a chameleon hunt (for all the pipe-cleaner lizards hid by the grown-ups in around the back yard) and a chameleon "eating" contest with the party blowers.  We laid out stickers with the sticky side up that the kids had to "lick" up with their chameleon party blower "tongues."  It was so funny and the kids had a great time!

Elsa is one to savor things she likes, so opening presents took longer than I expected.  No ripping open of boxes here - she slowly and carefully opened each one in turn, and had be to goaded on to keep going because it was getting late in the evening!  Those familiar with Elsa or even just the photos on this blog will know she is a dramatic little girl, and her genuine delight with her presents was a joy to everyone there.

She loved all her gifts, but the best expressions caught on film (thanks to my friend, Kim, who had my camera so I could just sit and enjoy it all!) were for her beanie baby chameleon from mommy and daddy,

... a singing cat card from Mr. Nate,

... 9 rolls of scotch tape OF HER VERY OWN! (her craft endeavors have rapidly depleted my modest desk supply),

... and, joy of joys,

Her very own chameleon (hand puppet) from Aunt Naomi.  

Elsa is not the mothering type (Nora is our nurturer), but this chameleon gets carried around the house, gets taken on stroller rides to the farmers market, is put to bed and tucked in every night, and is frequently getting caught around the house perched or hanging on furniture with his prehensile tail.  

When Elsa is into something, she is very thorough, as you can see by her green "chameleon" fingernails shown with her new musical jewelry box from Aunt Emily, which has also become one of her most prized possessions. 

Her best present, though, was my mother, her "Oma," showing up as a complete surprise the morning of her party.  Even if I did have my camera ready her reaction was too ecstatic to have captured as more than a blur.   She jumped for about ten minutes at the surprise.  When she finally settled down she said (and I wish I could have captured this on film), "Oma, you're better than any birthday present!" 

I loved working with Elsa to prepare for her birthday.  I did not set out to plan a big event or anything, but we just had so much fun brain-storming together, planning the games, and making all the little chameleons, party-blowers, and rice-krispies.  Those afternoons together and then seeing her delight overflow have been the most pleasurable highlights of the last few months for me.