Girls and Boys

On the way to preschool this week, Meredith anounced that "I wish my daddy was a girl." We had a discussion about mommies versus daddies and it became clear that Meredith was saying that she wanted an "all-girl family." (Daddy is the weak link apparently.) After some persuation Meredith acknowledged that boys have their good points as well. She confided that sometimes she likes to play with the nice boys at preschool. (Her emphasis.) I tried to get to the bottom of what would be so great about a girl-only household, but didn't get many specifics.

I wasn't too bothered by the request to reassign my gender or be replaced. The next day Meredith wanted to pretend to have a wedding where I was the groom. It is very interesting to watch a preschooler try to make sense of the world. "Why?" is the most used phrase in our house these days. Sometimes "why" is used because she doesn't understand what is being said in the first place; sometimes "why" is used because she is intensely curious; and sometimes asking "why?" is a great delay tactic.

Goofy girls

We have two girls how know how to be silly. Today was "crazy hair and mismatch day" at preschool and Meredith enjoyed playing the part.



Sleepy...



We spend lots of time on the couch these days, sleeping and trying to sleep into the night.



About to bake some chocolate cake...





Yes, the girl likes the pacifier sometimes.



Silly hair and mismatch day...

Fried worms

This morning was Jen's last day of her criminal procedure class. Slowly but surely, her law school experience is drawing to a close. Now, she just has to finish her papers and finals, study for and take the bar exam in July, and then she'll be a bona fide attorney.

While Jen was at school, Meredith, Elaine and I had some fun at home. First we had a dance party. Meredith was a little impatient, having to wait for the "fast part" of the song "Free Bird." In recent weeks she has expressed so much interest in every song she hears. She wants to know the name of the group, the name of the lead singer, how long ago they sang the song, and whether the group is still around today. So with Lynard Skynard and the Beach Boys I say "sorta." Meredith likes listening to "Help Me Rhonda." She asks what it's about and is satisfied with the answer that a boy is singing a song about asking Rhonda for help. Often, she asks what songs are about and if they are happy or sad.

After this morning's dance party, the three of us ventured out to get some seeds for the vegetable garden. Meredith requested broccoli and dwarf sunflowers. During the early afternoon, Meredith played with her neighbor friends with enthusiasm. The three of them spent a good half hour digging, collecting, smashing, touching, burying earthworms in the garden. There was some suggestion about eating the worms. Meredith responded with the not serious idea to fry the worms and then eat them. Truly, preschooler conversations are the most unusual and random ones out there.

Backyard fun

There hasn't been much to report in the last few days. Elaine is a growing girl. Her chubby cheeks, chubby legs, and double chin are coming in. We're starting to get into a regular schedule. Elaine likes to sleep during the day and stay up late. At about 10:00 PM every night, she starts crying. Her stomach upsets her a little bit. By 1:00 or 2:00 AM she is ready to go to sleep for the night. Dad takes the first half of the night and mom takes the second half. During the day everyone tries to catch up. So, much of the last few days has involved trying to sleep.

The warmer weather this week has meant more outside time. Meredith spends every possible minute in the backyard in the sandbox or swings. She loves to play with her two friends and in their adjacent yards too. Much of Friday (she stayed home from preschool) was running around pretending with friends. It's at moments like that it is hard to remember that Meredith was once as tiny as her sister Elaine. Time flies.

Pictures from the last week

Recent pictures...

Sleepy girl.



Catching up on some sleep from the night before.

April snow brings what?

Newborns aren't supposed to be expressive, except when it comes to sounds. Smiles and other facial expressions are usually attributed to, umm, gas. But we swear that Elaine is making all sorts of interesting faces at us. She smiles all the time. And she does so many other things with her face that we have yet to label. Sure, she can't really control her arms, legs, or neck very well yet. I swear that after a good meal or staring at a light for a few minutes, the girl really starts to beam with the biggest smile. She even responds to sight and sound with smiles. Particularly, she likes to hear her mom's voice and look at lights and things with contrast. When her diaper is being changed, she looks at the quilt hanging on the wall and smiles and stares at it with an expression of awe.

Meredith has been bummed out as the weather has been really cold and snowy this week. She's been unable to play in her sandbox and outside with her friends. We got a couple inches of snow on Wednesday in a nice Minnesota April snowstorm.

Earlier today, Meredith had her first swimming lesson. We've been going swimming with her at the YWCA for a while now, but this was fer first experience in a class. She was pretty excited by the lesson, but had a hard time adjusting to the fact that it only entailed a 30 minute structured class and that she couldn't stay in the pool and do whatever she wanted. Meredith was also confused because a number of friends at preschool have swimming lessons after preschool and Meredith thought it was strange we would have swimming lessons on a Saturday morning and not in conjunction with school.

Elaine is a good eater and sleeper. At her doctor's appointment at 13 days old she was 7 pounds, 6 ounces--up nearly a half pound from her birth weight. She's been out in public on a few occassions this week. I forget how much attention newborns garner from strangers. The number one statement is "she's so tiny." Yes, she is.

On Wednesday, the whole family tagged along to Meredith's music class (during the snow). Elaine was showed off. Meredith got to try a violin and a cello. She handled the bow quite well. Maybe in a few years Elaine will get to take this music class.

One Week

It' been one week since Elaine was born. She is seven days old. Each day seems to be a little different from the previous. We've discovered that her most difficult part of the day is the 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM. She is rather fussy and only wants to be held. So I've been staying up with her and getting to sleep around 3:00 AM, and being able to catch up on the other side.

Last night we spotted a slight infection on her belly button stump. We brought her to the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics for this little girl who is not quite 7 pounds. The infection is fairly superficial, but they want to keep a close tabs on such things in newborns. Elaine did a pretty good job on the medicine.

Yesterday we had an early Easter dinner. I cooked a duck we have had in the freezer for a couple months with a sweet potato stuffing. Grandpa Kerry made some traditional home made noodles with gravy. His mom's recipe. We sat down and had a nice "feast" as we called it. Earlier Meredith was pretending she was Cinderella going to the ball. We tried to convince her the feast was part of the ball (so she would come to the table). Eventually, Meredith saw fit to join the feast.



Two cuties...


It's time to dye eggs with Grandma Gail!


Grandpa Kerry adds some flair to his egg.


The sisters are checking each other out.

White as snow

It snowed in Minnesota last night. And got cold too. On the way to preschool this morning, the snow-covered ground inspired Meredith to sing "Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow" over and over again.

By the end of the day, the snow had melted, but it's still darn cold. One of the coldest April days in a while. Elaine's been a bit fussy recently. We've seen it connected to when she spits up, she gets upset until her next feeding, whether for five minutes or over an hour. Today, Jen got some good advice from a nurse on reducing spit-up occurrences. Implementation has been immediate. It's also involved a pacifier this evening. Elaine took to it with much enthusiasm.

Today Meredith got a hair-cut and did a great job. She got a sticker. She was also excited to see Grandpa Kerry arrive from a long drive. She had been counting down the days to his visit. Our friend Laura, stopped by to see Elaine and dropped off a whole bunch of lasagna she made. We were very grateful.

Sweet sleep...


Elaine is starting to move and stretch out her arms.


Elaine looks at some fun stuffed animals that were part of a gift from her relatives Tracy, Kit & Elise Powers and Becky, Jeff, Erik & Emily Nodland.


Meredith has been enjoying to pretend to play an imaginary violin. She likes to play the real piano too.


Meredith's an old pro when it comes to haircuts. (Grandmas, stickers, kid-friendly programming on

What is she thinking?

Extensive scientific research has only given us a limited understanding of how newborns' brains work. What is really going through their minds? How are they making sense of what they experience? To what extent can we even understand the proto-thoughts of a newborn?

In the last couple of days, we've gotten an interesting window into Elaine's thoughts. She is a very alert girl. Spending long periods of time looking all around the room with the slightest bit of calm consternation on her face. Of course, newborns can't focus beyong 18 inches from her face. One wonders what she thinks of the faces, shapes, lights she sees. Elaine is also a keen listener. We don't know how she regards the voices and music she hears. She does stop and listen intently when one speaks or sings. She does recognize her mom's voice and often starts seeking food when she hears it.

Elaine treats us to a variety of facial expressions--both while she's awake and in her sleep. We're already debating whether she makes faces like her sister, her mom, or her dad, particularly with her furrowed brow.

Today was a more relaxing day, Elaine slept and ate a bunch. She had some spit up, but was able to keep some down. Meredith went back to preschool today. She brought a picture of her and her new sister to show her teachers and her friends. She was very proud.

Meredith loves to spend time around her new sister. It's been a big change for her and has resulted in a mixed response. After being asked to go back to her bed for the fifth time about an hour past bedtime, she yelled, "You don't let me do anything!" I thought it was a more likely response from a 13 year-old, not a three year-old. Yet, there she was expressing her thoughts on the parental attention deflected from her. Though, earlier in the evening, she offered to help change Elaine's diaper and was an excellent assistant. We know she's going to be a great sister and will teach Elaine so many things.

Rainy days

It's been raining a bunch here, which is fine because some of us are trapped inside as it is. This morning though, it was nice enough for Meredith to go and play outside with her grandma for a bit.

Last night was the first one home with Elaine. It was a long night for most parties. Elaine wanted to eat more than was possible and wasn't the slightest bit interested in sleep. I actually spent the middle of the night watching Muppets in Manhattan while trying to console her with limited results. Of course, I only could hear snatches of the movie, but was able to follow the plot with minimal difficulty.

In the middle of the night, Jen got up with her (though she was previously being interrupted every hour or two to feed Elaine). Soon, Grandma Gail generously took a shift and the parents got some sleep. What this meant was that much of the rest of the day was pretty low key, as we caught up on sleep. Meredith also had trouble getting to sleep due to the excitement of her sister being home and the volume of her sister's crying.

In the evening, Grandma Gail made a nice chicken dinner that was followed with a birthday cake for Elaine. We put two candles for her being two days old. Meredith helped by blowing out the candles and eating Elaine's slice for her.




Blowing out the candles on Elaine's 2-day old cake.


Pretty flowers celebrating Elaine.


Little wrapped up bundle of joy. We tell Meredith she's wrapped up like a burrito.


A tad upset