Friday, September 28, 2007

Friday afternoon

Sylvia and I picked up Andy from school today using our brand new (well, only slightly oil-slick-marred) stroller with a jump seat/standing pad for Andy. There's not much room to sit when you're still using the infant car seat, which requires the front seat to be reclined, but Andy made it work. He also loved standing, facing forward so he could peer in to see/talk to/kiss Sylvia.
Andy loves going "higher and higher!" on the swings these days.

Checking out a plane above.

For a rough-and-tumble kid like Andy, it's funny that one of his pet peeves is putting his hands in the gravel at the bottom of the slide.

Sylvia was very accommodating and slept for an hour while Andy enjoyed the playground. She's 2 weeks old today!

The many faces of Sylvia

Here are a few gems from my afternoon with Sylvia yesterday!

Sneezing
"I'm this big"

The Construction Site

In a stroke of brilliance, Shawn set up this mini "construction site" at the top of our driveway and bought a few bags of sand and gravel for Andy to work on with his many construction trucks. Now, as soon as he's home from school, he's out there working in the dirt!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

WHY ME????

I just need to face the facts: something is out to get me this week! It must be payback for the easy labor??? I don't know - but with heavy coffee pots nearly hitting my head, Andy getting an ear ache and staying up all night, the general sniffliness around our house with a new baby, our nanny having a melt down that I still haven't figured out how to address, and the relative lack of sleep, I was already pretty much at the end of my rope... AND THEN, I decided to go shopping. Bad move - I should have stayed home and shopped on line like a sane person!! Instead, Sylvia and I went for an outing to Woodinville's outlet stores. True, I got some good deals at Osh Kosh for long sleeve shirts for Andy, but then I headed over to Hanna Anderson. UGH.

Between me and the store was a parking area that was roped off with caution signs. I, being one can short of a six pack, followed a family of FOUR and another woman right under the tape to cross the empty parking area to get to the store. It appeared to be roped off for no reason other than to keep cars out. Unfortunately, while all of those other people apparently had hiking boots on, I had on flip flops and about four steps in I went SWOOSH, feet into the air, and fell on my ass into the thick FRESH OIL that they had put on the parking lot. My feet, hands, and jeans were absolutely covered in this thick layer of wet, black crude. Thankfully, Sylvia was in the stroller -- I was not carrying her in the car seat -- so she was fine. The woman who I had been following turned around and helped first get the stroller back to dry land and then, after I scrambled out of the muck, she gave me a roll of paper towels and helped me wipe off the thicker layers. Once I'd cleaned off the thickest layers of crud and wiped down my flip flops and the stroller wheels, I headed into the store looking like a freak covered in black. Luckily there was an understanding saleswoman, seeing as I was the idiot for crossing the tape, and she showed me to their back bathroom and found me some sweat pants I could buy. My jeans went straight in the garbage (as did my flip flops once I got home). I was able to wash most off my hands there, but it took paint thinner once I got home to get my hands and feet really cleaned up. Below, a photo of my feet AFTER an initial cleaning. I'm not leaving the house for another week.

Remlinger Farm

Andy had a great time with Nonna at Remlinger Farm today. He came home with stories of riding his first horse ever (apparently it "ran through the water"?), floating "by his own self" in the canoe, and riding the ferris wheel with a pretty hilarious older boy who made him laugh and laugh. Thanks Nonna for giving Andy such a great day! He looks worried but let me assure you that he was quite enthusiastic about his horse ride!

First Bath




The Boys

A typical day - Shawn continues harvesting hops, Andy trims my flowers (oh well) and Herbie broods about his new position, one further down on the totem pole.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Harvesting the Hops

Today, Andy helped Shawn harvest the hops for beermaking later this fall.
Giving us his biggest smile!

Fun on the Activity Mat

Sylvia is doing great - she's eating and sleeping well and is the happiest, smiliest little girl! She is so alert that I decided to see how she liked the activity mat and she loved it, especially the mirror, which she stared into for ages. She kept trying to reach out and touch it.





Andy is recovering from his cold and an ear infection -- great timing right during the new baby and new preschool changes! The doctor said he couldn't hold Sylvia for a few days. It's killing me - he so wants to interact with his little sister! In the meantime, he is patting her head and giving her lots of kisses on the top of her head only. He stayed home from school on Thursday and Friday, and I stayed at my mom's house with Sylvia Thursday and Friday to avoid the worst of the germs. Shawn has taken the brunt of the work on, keeping Andy busy on errands and trips to the park, locks, beach, etc. Aside from the cold/infection and the trauma that brought us this week, we're doing well adjusting to our new life as a family of four!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Big Brother

Yes, I know she's wrapped in her big brother's hand-me-down blues -- don't worry, I'm drying a huge load of pinks as I type so she'll be properly enwrapped!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

4 days old





Andy draws our family for Sylvia.

Sleeping

Well, Sylvia is already sleeping better than her older brother did in the initial days. She's getting 2-3 hour blocks of sleep (the 3s are usually during daylight hours, dang). Andy was up every 45 minutes. So, this is looking good! Here are a few shots of Sylvia resting in her pack n play.

Ready for a Rainy School Day!

Andy was ready to face a rainy walk to preschool yesterday morning. That's his brand new rain jacket, and a hat that nonna made him when he was just a baby, which luckily has stretched with him because it's his very favorite!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Sylvia Grace

We are so happy to welcome our little girl, Sylvia Grace! She arrived Friday, September 14, at 6:20 p.m., after just four hours of labor. She was 8 lbs and 10 oz; 21.5 inches long. She's doing very well in her first day and a half, eating and sleeping well and looking pretty darn adorable if we do say so ourselves. 15 minutes after delivery.



After her first bath - note the broad shoulders!







Andy meets his little sister on Saturday morning!

Anxious to hold her...

One of the first things Andy said was "She's SO cute."







Andy was pretty excited when Sylvia reached out and touched his lips with her fingers. He said "she's a tiny little baby." Sylvia also brought Andy a present - a giant CAT excavator toy - that Andy is now bringing with him everywhere he goes.

Melissa and Sylvia

Melissa & Tod's daughter Bryn is 7 weeks older than Andy and we snapped a photo just like the one below when Andy was born. So we had to take a similar photo of Sylvia with their newest daughter Macy, who is just 6 weeks old herself!

With Auntie Jen









Dressed and ready to go home.

Finally home!