river farm

We've been enjoying some gorgeous spring weather lately. Sweater weather, no humidity, and no mosquitoes. It's likely to end soon but we've been trying to enjoy it while we can. We spent a morning at one of our favorite spots a few weeks ago, River Farm. Elsa and Oliver were thrilled to be out of the house and free to run and play. Elsa was quick to make friends with the few other kids that were there. Oliver mostly wandered and explored on his own. There were so many beautiful flowers blooming and everything was so green.

Sleeping Simon.

saturday outing: green spring gardens

A few weeks ago we had our first Saturday outing with Simon! We spent a few hours exploring at Green Spring Gardens. The weather was gorgeous and the kids were thrilled to find tons of turtles at the pond and even some goslings. I loved watching them run and play and explore.

10 days old. Slept through the whole outing.

Wildflowers everywhere!

The kids loved playing with this moss. Elsa kept calling it "allergy" (she meant algae).

Still asleep.

my mom.

We were so incredibly grateful to have my mom with us for a few weeks when Simon was born. It was so helpful to have an extra pair of hands as we adjusted to life with a newborn. And helped three other kids adjust to the new family dynamics. The kids loved the extra attention from Grandma. She brought a game for the girls called Frog Juice that they loved playing with her. And Grandma indulged Oliver in his love of the book "One Was Johnny" and introduced him to the YouTube video of the Carole King song.

My mom has a special touch when it comes to babies. She's always able to calm them down. She was always willing to hold Simon which I particularly miss as I'm having to do many things one-handed these days. She would sacrifice sleep at night to take turns getting Simon back to sleep after he would eat. She even managed to get him to sleep for 8 hours straight one night! Yes, she's amazing. (She also probably sacrificed sleep by having to share a room with Amelia and Elsa.)

We miss you mom!

First bath!

Simon's first outing to Five Guys.

one week old.

I'm a few weeks behind here. The blog has fallen to the bottom of my to-do list. My instagram feed is where it's at lately (very heavy on the strawberry pictures right now after our recent adventure picking berries). You can click here to see my Instagram photos if you're not an Instagram user. (But you probably should be. It's a much happier place than Facebook.)

These pictures were taken when Simon was one week old. One of these days I'll actually get out my real camera instead of going with the more convenient iphone.

 

The first week with Simon went by in a blur. He slept most of the time and was a champion eater. We spent the first week calling him Oliver most of the time (and still do frequently). Simon's arrival has made Oliver seem giant (particularly his head). 

Oliver has mostly ignored Simon, although he does like to point out different parts of his face and occasionally pat Simon when he's crying. When we first brought him home, he would point to him frequently and say "baby cry, baby poopy." 

Elsa has been a huge help and loves to calm Simon down when he's crying by singing to him and bouncing him in his bouncy chair (which he loves). She even managed to play on the ipad while bouncing his chair with her foot so I could finish up a batch of strawberry jam.

Amelia has been equally helpful, but in a way I didn't expect. She decided to be Oliver's caretaker and give him some much needed attention, which he has loved. She started referring to him as the "King of the World" and herself as his servant. She puts on a little apron (a washcloth which she tucks into her pants) and gives him baths, gets him dressed, reads to him, gets his breakfast for him, and plays with him. She even wrote up a list of "treatments" that needed to be done to him while she was at school.

A random photo of the girls one night when they took their pajamas to a new level.

Coming home.

We decided to only spend one night at the hospital and brought Simon home on Thursday evening. He was greeted by three very excited siblings. My mom was an incredible help while we were at the hospital. It was a huge relief for me to have her here and know that the kids were well taken care of while I was at the hospital.

Simon's welcoming crew:

 

That sleepy newborn state in the first few weeks is so sweet. Cuddling with a tiny sleeping baby is the best. My view during the first few days home:

 

This was a rare quiet moment one morning before Amelia left for school.