Name Necklace

Audrey helped me make this necklace for her (learning the letter N). I didn't think through to realize that the letters would all fall together once she wore it, but oh well.I got new pajamas for Audrey, (she's been wearing Christmas jammies for months!) and she was sure that one of the pajama tops was a normal shirt. This morning, she insisted on wearing this top. She also wanted to wear the thin little pajama shorts. We agreed to compromise, and she wore jeans instead. You can sort of see her necklace in this picture.

Gifts from our neighbor

Our wonderful neighbor Irene made this hat and booties for Ian. He's pretty much outgrown them already, so I wanted to get pictures to remember.

He was done with picture taking after the first two:

Five weeks

Ian had his one month appointment this week, and he is definitely growing! He weighs 10 lbs, 14 oz (75th percentile) and is 23 inches long (95th percentile). I captured some smiles in these pictures, but they aren't really social smiles yet. Probably soon!

My sweeties

Audrey has been much more interested in Ian this week, wanting to hold him and talk to him. Love it!

Letter M: we made a macaroni necklace and a mask, which she was supposed to color and decorate but went for the understated look instead. We also ate some yummy M foods and played music! This was a fun letter.

Strong as his sister

Wow Ian!! Four weeks old.

History Lesson: Yesterday

On April 14th:

The Titanic hit an iceberg (1912).
Abraham Lincoln was shot (1865).
"Black Sunday, " worst storm of the Dust Bowl (1935).
The first space shuttle, Columbia, took flight (1981).
Mrs. B was born (my dad watched Columbia take off while my mom labored).A very nice birthday with Thai takeout and my favorite Coldstone ice cream! Thanks Mr. B. And my kids were happy and fun all day, couldn't ask for more!

Easter

We gave Audrey her Easter basket after church and were completely ready with camera in hand to snap her reaction. However, she already knew that plastic Easter eggs contain candy, so she beelined straight for the first egg and immediately starting stuffing her face with chocolate. These are the first pictures we could get. I had to put the book back in for the picture because she knocked everything over in her hurry. She cracks me up!

Ian pic

Three weeks old

Letters K & L

This week we learned the letter K. We made a kite krispie treat.

We pretended to be kings, made kisses with lipstick on paper, and made kites with tissue paper.

Today we started letter L and made lambs by tracing our hands on black paper, cutting them out, and gluing cotton balls to the palm. Audrey is "baa-ing" in this photo.

Decorating Easter eggs

Last night we dyed eggs for the first time as a family. We kept it pretty simple, and Audrey thought it was fascinating and wonderful. We cracked and peeled them soon after decorating to make potato salad, and Audrey thought that was fun too!

She took a big bite of the yolk ("Look, it's a ball!") and wasn't too pleased.

I love my Daddy!

Daddy

Just wanted to say how amazing Mr. B is. He has been constantly helpful with the kids and household tasks for my whole pregnancy and these first few weeks. He registered for a parent and tot swim class for himself and Audrey (they thoroughly enjoyed the first class today), and he lets me take naps when he's home. He also watched Twilight with me. I could write pages about how good he is to me. I am so blessed!

Big sister

Audrey has been a very sweet sister today, giving Ian lots of love.
Tomorrow she starts swimming "lessons" with her dad, so we were trying on swimsuits to see what fits. I don't think she'll be needing that hat at the YMCA though...

Two weeks old

Ian is about 2 1/2 weeks old and is already growing out of his newborn clothes! This outfit may only get a few uses. I feel like life is slowly getting back to its usual pace; I feel more human at any rate. We've actually had a few short outings, and I've even left Ian with Mr. B a couple times while I ran to the store. Hopefully the rainy weather will let up soon and I can start taking these kids on walks--we are a bit stir crazy.

Jam starts with J

Right now we're learning the letter J, and so I decided we would make strawberry jam. I've actually never made jam before, but I'd heard that freezer jam was easy. We had fun stirring and measuring together, and Audrey wrote the letter J on one jar of jam (with help of course). It takes a day to set before you freeze/refrigerate, so we will be tasting our results tomorrow!