Big brother

...and middle child

India night

We made chapatis from the recipe in Gourmet to accompany our curry tonight. My staff was happy to help with the flattening of the dough rounds.
They turned out pretty well for a first effort, but most were smaller than the suggested 5 inches.

7 Years

Easter

The girls in their finery. Nora is wearing a dress Mark's mom made and Helena is wearing a gift from Wendi.

The Easter egg hunt after nap time. Here Henry helps Nora find one of her eggs.
Note the car Henry has clutched in his hand.

Dinner menu:
Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Glazed carrots
Roasted broccoli
No Knead Bread
Chocolate mousse and strawberries

Signs of Spring

Flowers,
baby bunnies
and little chicks.

Easter eggs

Everyone has a job

This conversation is courtesy of Bedtime for Frances.
A small bug was sighted on the wall.

Nora: We don't need to worry about the bug, it's just doing its job, same as the wind.

Henry: Hi Baby Bug! Hi Baby Bug! Working?

Tummy Time

I've been a little better at remembering to put Helena on her stomach. Perhaps she will crawl like other children. It is safest to do this while the other kids are napping, but there is more to look at when they are awake. Sometimes too much.

Egg Hunt

Every year Mark's work puts on an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Last year Nora was unclear on the purpose and a little overwhelmed so she didn't get any eggs. Henry sat on the bunny's lap, but Nora refused. Over the last year Nora has periodically brought up her plans for sitting on the bunny's lap at Easter time. And she did. Henry wanted nothing to do with the rabbit at close range, though he was enthusiastic at a distance. They both picked up eggs in the 0-3 year old group. Henry found the experience a little stressful. He found one egg and then was ready to call it a day. He did go back for a second one with some encouragement, but then he had had enough.

Cute baby

Andrea came and took some more pictures of Helena. Here she is at 3.5 weeks. At almost one month old she is starting to settle in. She has dropped the 11th feeding and usually eats 8-10 times a day now. She went 5 hours without eating the other night (but wanted company, so I wasn't able to sleep the whole time); there is hope that more rest is coming. She does not approve of the pacifier, but would love to suck on her fists if they would only hold still.

Yes, well

"Oh my goodness, there's another one!" said the lady in her sweet southern accent as she passed our cart at Costco and saw Helena.

Thursday

It is fun to see the kids develop their relationships with each other. Many of Henry's first smiles were for Nora and it looks like Helena will follow suit.

About average

Helena, pictured above wearing Aunt Liisa's pajamas, is 2 weeks old. She weighs 8 lbs, 12 oz and is 21 in. long. She is about the 50th percentile for all her measurements. She eats every 2-3 hours and we have had a few (relatively) good nights, though the last couple have involved a lot of parental interaction.