Vogue

Earlier this week, my incredibly talented sister took newborn and family pictures for us. I've put off posting this entry because I had a lot of difficulty narrowing down the nearly 400 pictures to only a few favorites.

Anja was a rock star. Ian did well, too. Until the very end when he projectile pooed all over Dan's foot.

Anja by herself (she was helping Jill test the lighting and the tests turned out this great!):

(Both bears were made by Dan, by the way. The bigger one is Anja's and the smaller one is Ian's.)

And then the official photo shoot began:

One of my current students made the hat for Ian. Love it!

Holding

Anja, as previously mentioned, loves holding Ian. Yesterday, we finally let her hold him on her own. She was in big sister heaven.


Until he got hungry.

Waking up is hard

Staying Home

Anja really battled us in going to daycare this morning. She does on some occasions, but I think it's especially hard for her now. Monday and Tuesday, no problems getting her out the door. But today she wanted to stay home with Mommy and Ian. Seeing the weather outside, can't say I blame her. Plus yesterday, I finally had a rare opportunity to play with just her. Usually when she comes home, Ian's hungry, then it's dinner time, and then bedtime rituals. Can't say I'm a fan of daycare evenings. Finding a balance is going to be the hardest part. I knew that before, but now it can actually be heart wrenching. Luckily, she's a very sweet, intelligent, and attentive little girl. Which is why the bribe of "2 more days at Lisa's this week and then you get to spend a bunch of time with just Mommy, Ian, and Nana!" worked this morning. Get ready, Nana! She told me she needs to go shopping for new clothes with us!

Big Sister

Saturday morning Ian and I got to make the trek home. I'm not sure who was more excited, Anja or I. She spent the whole day helping me with Ian or imitating things we were doing with her own dollies. She absolutely loves being our big helper and is quite thrilled at the opportunity to do things like give him his Nuk or take his dirty diaper to the trash can. (In fact, after daycare yesterday, she found one that I hadn't gotten around to throwing out yet - horrible, I know - but immediately stopped what she was doing and proudly announced that we had to wait a minute. She was busy throwing Ian's diaper in the trash.) Even when he cries while she's trying to go to sleep, she worries about why he's crying and needs to see him in order to know he's okay and calm down enough to go to bed.

And my favorite big sister moments so far? I love it when I'm holding him and need to switch locations and she runs over with her two little arms held outstretched (and very close together) telling me "Give him me! I take Baby Ian! I carry him!" And my favorite? When Ian cries and she tells him "It okay, Baby Ian. I'm here. It okay. I still here." and then sings him a song or 2 to calm him down. Even more impressive? It works. He has always stopped crying when hearing his 2 and a half year old big sister singing Old McDonald, Twinkle Twinkle, or Row Your Boat.

And Baby Makes Four

Ian Norman joined our family this morning! Born at 7:49am, Ian weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and 21" long. Anja came to visit and really liked holding Baby Brother! Both Ian and Mommy are doing great!

Flip Side

Things really are going well. After our hospital stay Tuesday night, Susi and Kif seem to have settled into an uncomfortable battle of periodic pain and a follow up of cursing. I can't say I blame either of them. At this point, I can't see Kif really wanting to be so cramped in such a small space and I can't see Susi wanting to be so cramped with such a large baby. This has become a pure waiting game. We know there is a finish line and a final date but like watching a painfully slow movie, the viewers just want to get to the next scene.

We had a similar feeling last night at dinner. Anja has started to develop an increasing desire to be at home. Frankly, I can't blame her. She wakes up in the morning, has Daddy drive her to Lisa's house, then eight hours later, Daddy or Mommy pick her up and take her home. One meal, a couple of TV shows later, and she is in bed. Even typing that makes me feel like a moderately terrible parent. Nevertheless, she's developed a tendency to not want to go to restaurants with us. We're pretty respectful toddler parents and we tend to go to dinner before the "rush" if possible and try to placate the toddler as best we can to prevent substantial meltdowns. Last night this meant that only Susi or I could eat at any given time - not both. I suspect this is going to pass, she's been getting her 2nd-Year Molars and I think they are causing her some discomfort and irritability. Teething combined with a general two-year-old's fickleness has made for a toddl-monster.

But at least the pictures are cute.