Spring break in Minnesota

Thursday morning we went to Minnesota to meet Otto and play with all of the cousins.  It was a pretty good trip up.  Edith continues to love her car seat.  For 30 minutes, she quietly looked around until she fell asleep for almost 3 hours.  She really is a good traveling baby.  It was her first overnight trip.  We stayed three nights and she slept just as well as she does at home. 

The day we arrived happened to be Aunt Julianne's birthday, so Angela prepared a taco salad meal with a cake for dessert.  Little Otto loves to sleep.  We didn't get to see much of his eyes, which reminded us of Alena when she was a baby! 

Friday we got to see Julianne and Sam's new house for the first time.  Julianne already has it looking good despite only living there for a few months.  It is in Minneapolis and is closer to her in-laws. The Pennimans were at school and the toddlers needed to nap, so then we went to the Como Zoo.  Edith and I walked around the conservatory and enjoyed the warm, humid air while Ben took the big girls around to see the animals.

That evening we went to a pool.  Aunt Julianne managed to find Alice's old swim suit which fit Edith well.  It was her first time swimming.  It was so loud in there that she didn't look like she knew what to think.  She seemed to like it well enough, but her favorite part was when I took her to the shower to rinse off at the end.  The pool was shallow enough for Nora, Nina, and Alice to walk around and slide down the little slide in the middle.  They had a ton of fun!

Lily, Alena, Finn, and Nora made a spa in the bathroom.  They all put on their swimsuits and soaked in the tub.  Lily later did the girls' hair while Finn got to guard the door.  They also prepared a very elaborate play that had Native Americans and many battles.  It was another nice trip visiting the cousins.  We really only see the girls at meals and bedtime they are so involved with playing and it ends up being pretty relaxing.

New babies

Two new cousins joined the family this month.  Otto Dean Hostetler was born on the 11th weighing in at 8 lbs, 6 oz.  Miles Vernon Mitchell Cahalan was 7 lbs and was born on the 16th.

On Monday of spring break we had the Cahalans over to play.  Sadie went scouting around and found Nora's candy stash in her "jewelry box" (the little armoire built by Grandpa Ed for dress up costumes.) The other girls were all out collecting pellets for the ball family.  Ever since we moved into our new house the girls have been collecting balls the size off bb's.  We think maybe the neighbor has a pellet gun.  The balls come in different colors and the girls assign family rolls based off of the color.  The funniest one is the dirty white one has been labeled the grandpa.  They have built houses, beds, trampolines, and swimming pools for the family.  Anyway, when the bigger girls saw Sadie with a sucker, the ball family was forgotten.  Alena got down yet another candy stash (one I didn't even know about) and let everyone pick a sucker to enjoy. 

Good thing they came over on Monday, because Miles was born on Wednesday!  We all went to Mercy Hospital Wednesday evening to meet him before we left the next morning.  We were surprised to see him sporting strawberry blond hair!

Daddy goes on a trip

Daddy went to Houston, Texas for 6 days for a convention for work.  Right before he left, I started running a fever and had a sore throat.  I was feeling a little better, but the second day he was gone, I lost my voice!  The girls were at Grandma Diane's house for the day and we stayed for supper.  Alena was nice enough to read the bedtime story for the night.  The next day my voice was back a little. The weather was beautiful and the big girls played outside with Rowan having a squirt bottle fight. All of the girls were great the whole time Daddy was gone.  I was also lucky enough to get more help from Grandma Dee and Grandpa Ed.  Grandpa Ed had Nora collect sticks from around the yard and Monday night we had a hot dog roast with s'mores.  The grandparents stayed two nights to help out, and Daddy finally came back Tuesday after bedtime.  We were really happy to see him and he was happy to be home!

Nora wore Daddy's Star Wars socks while he was gone.  The girls built a robot out of Legos.  Edith got a little relaxing in between kisses from Grandma.  Daddy showed off his pictures from his trip.  He fed a stingray and saw a white tiger!

Three months old

Edith is more fun each month.  Now that she is three she can grab her foot, roll over consistently from front to back, and pull my hair!  She still is ready with a smile and has laughed a couple of times.  She is going to bed around 9 and gets up one or two times a night.  Inevitably in the middle of the night when I change her diaper she immediately poops in the clean one so I have to do it all over again.  It doesn't matter how long I wait to put the fresh one on.  Quite the little jokester! She just tried out sitting in the bumbo.  She didn't really care for it.  The sad development is her hair spike no longer spikes up!  We miss that cute little style.

Visiting Great Grandpa

Great Grandpa Harold and a bunch of cute girls.  It is the end of February and no coats!

More birthday celebrations for Daddy?

This weekend we went down to Washington to visit Great Grandpa Harold.  He met Edith for the first time.  Then we went to Dino's and ate pizza with Grandma Dee and Grandpa Ed.  The girls then played at Sunset Park, Daddy and I went down the Rocket Slide, Grandpa Ed gave Alena a new fox fur for her fur collection, he made a lot of maple syrup, and then we had a birthday mandarin orange cake.  Whew!  We love the hair that is always sticking straight up on Edith's head!

Daddy's birthday and back to work

It was a big weekend for Edith!  Saturday morning we were eating pumpkin waffles.  Edith was still refusing to take a bottle and we were really getting down to crunch time with me starting work in 2 days.  We had a bottle out and I looked over at the maple syrup and figured it wouldn't hurt to try to use it to coax her to eat.  We poured syrup on the nipple and Edith licked it all off.  Soon she was sucking from the bottle with no problems!  Subsequent bottles did not require syrup.  Now she is a pro, but prefers the fancy bottle brand Nuby; no Wal-Mart special for this little one!

Sunday was Daddy's birthday.  We had strawberry pie made by Grandma Diane to celebrate.  Alena helped pull together a surprise for him.  We all put on our Star Wars shirts and took a family picture.

Monday was my first day back to work.  It went pretty well.  Daddy took two days off work to help with the transition.  He reports that everyone did well.  He even had some pretty flowers delivered to my desk.  Kate had everyone clean the lab so it looked good upon my return and I enjoyed meeting Erin for lunch.  It was relaxing to eat lunch with a friend and not have to be responsible for any kids, but I was happy to come home at the end of the day (to a great supper made by Daddy.) It is pretty amazing that my 12 weeks are up already!  Edith has changed a lot in that time!

Ah goo

Edith has her grumpy times, but she is definitely the most talkative of our babies.  She loves to make a gurgling noise while cooing at whoever will look at her and talk back.  She also loves to smile at her family.  Daddy will make her laugh by rubbing his head on her belly.  All three girls have loved that trick! Edith is also rolling over from front to back consistently.  She can really get her head up when she is on her belly.  And Nora is still rolling her over.  Bedtime is still a little challenging.  She seems to need to scream a little before settling down for the night.  She has been going to sleep around 9 or 10 and wakes up 4-5 hours later to eat.  Lots of times she is up for the morning at 6 and goes down for a nap in her car seat after I make the rounds dropping off the other girls.  She loves that car seat!  Now she frequently stays awake while we are out.  I carry her in her seat into the house and then she falls asleep.  She just doesn't want to miss any of the excitement of the car ride.

Poor Jones never catches a break!

Bottle strike

Saturday night Ben and I went out to eat and then to a magician at the Paramount.  Grandpa Steve came to stay with the girls.  Edith is refusing to drink from a bottle and he reported that she screamed for 1 hour and 10 minutes before falling asleep.  Even with the new bottles she has yet to find one that she will tolerate.  I am going back to work in a couple of days so she will be experiencing a baby bottle bootcamp with Daddy on Monday.  Hopefully it goes better.

After a lingering cold with a fever, Nora has been diagnosed with pneumonia.  She was sick when Grandpa was over.  Will he ever agree to watch the girls again?

Some Edith Firsts

On Thursday morning I put Edith on her belly.  She enjoys some good belly time and does a good job of getting her head up to look around.  I went to feed the cats and when I returned she was on her back.  Nora was suspiciously in the area and has been known to roll her over, so I asked her if it she was the one who rolled her over.  She laughed and said no, so I wasn't convinced, and I couldn't convince Edith to do it again.  Saturday morning it was just the two of us, and I witness the roll!  So it was real!

Edith has taken a few bottles since she was born but now with only two weeks before I get back to work it is time to get serious.  Of course she decided that she now refuses a bottle.  We went to Target and bought several new bottles and borrowed different ones from Aunt Melissa.  She better choose one to drink from soon!

Edith also has her first cold.  So far it isn't getting her down but it is hard to hear her breathing through all of the snot.  Alena was helpful and remembered where we stored the snot sucking bulb.

The girls love to entertain the little one.  Nora attached a rattle to both of her hands, but she got her own foot out of her pajamas.  Alena even practiced reading with little sis.

A visit from Cousin Alice

Alice and Julianne came and stayed with us for three nights.  It was their last hurrah before the new baby comes along.  Nora and Alice had a great time playing with each other.  When Alena came home from school she read some books to them.  Alice thought that Edith always should have her pacifier, even while Edith was sleeping or nursing!  Grandma and Grandpa came up for a day and brought Aunt Kristina.  She is in a walking cast from bunion surgery and is enjoying 8 weeks of FMLA.  Nora and Alice took a nice bath together.  The girls dressed up like underwear super heros.

Two months

Edith turned 2 months this week!  With her new age she has changed her attitude and has become a lot less grumpy.  As long as someone is paying close attention to her at all times she is pretty happy.  She will smile and coo and still loves to kick.  If you go into another room she will express her displeasure!  Today she had her check up at the doctor.  She is 23 inches (67%, though I wonder if the measurement was off a little), 10 lbs, 8 oz (23%) and her head was 39 cm (67%).  She checked out good with just a little diaper rash.  She got 3 shots and an oral vaccine.  She was angry at the sticks, but quickly recovered.  The doctor said she had excellent muscle tone and was impressed by how she could hold her head up so well.  She said, "she doesn't know she is only 2 months," because she did so well.  I think all of that screaming must have made her stronger. Alena and Nora both joined her at the doctor because it was a snow day, despite the roads being fine.

We also finally got birth announcements out and Grandma Dee put Edith's picture in the Washington Evening Journal.  He picture was so darling she even made it onto the front page!

The big girls

I am operating a shuttle service now.  First I take Nora to St. Matthew's by 8:30 then I drop Alena off at Erskine.  Nora gets picked up at 11:30 and Alena at 3:45.  Edith lives in her car seat.  But she loves her car seat!  She likes riding in the fancy new minivan and it usually puts her to sleep.  Some mornings she will sleep in the car seat the entire morning from drop off and doesn't get out until after we pick Nora up.  Having an attached garage is great!  Nora doesn't bother even getting shoes or a coat on for the afternoon pick up (which saves about 5 minutes of complaining.) She will walk barefoot across the garage floor to the van and get in by herself.  But when we get home, she insists the floor is too cold.  Alena brings her bag into the house and goes back to carry Nora inside.

The weather finally warmed up to 25 degrees.  I took the big girls into the woods at the end of the street.  Alena wanted to climb every fallen tree she could find.  They also have been making forts and sometimes use the trampoline as a zoo with lots of stuffed animals.  I found "Alena's list of things to do": wrestle, hug, meeting, smell KB (kitty blanket), surprise Nora, fort, get warm, and sneaking for snacks at night (which received the most stars. I don't know what snacks she was sneaking.)  Alena loves to lay on the register and get really warm.  She frequently sleeps without a shirt, which is probably why she is cold in the first place.  Sometimes when I go up for the night and go around to check on the girls Alena is missing from her bed.  Locations she has been found: on the register in the family room, the foot of our bed, a tent in Nora's room, behind the glider in Edith's room, and in Edith's crib.  Daddy is in charge of returning her to bed for the night.

Grumpus

Edith was giving the name "Grumpus" because she can be pretty grumpy.  She is 8 weeks now, and has gotten happier, but right before bed she cannot be satisfied.  She has been known to scream for an hour for no apparent reason.  Daddy jokes that her bottom eyelids come up instead of her top ones going down when she is really mad.  She will look at us in the eye and then scream.  This way she can let us know that it is us that is the cause of her rage.  Usually she finally goes to sleep around 9 and is still getting up twice in the night.  When she isn't grumpy she is pretty happy.  She smiles and coos and really likes to lay on the ground and kick her legs.  Nora loves to try to make her happy and so does Alena when she gets home from school.

Big sisters

Edith's big sisters love her.  Her she is eating breakfast with Alena and Nora.  They waved American flags to amuse her.  She is very patriotic already!  Both girls have been a big help keeping Edith happy.  She will lay on the floor and kick, and her sisters will talk to her and give her toys.  She can't quite grab them yet, but it won't be long.  Nora calls her, "my baby." Nora also loves to sing. (Especially when she is in the bathroom.)  The other morning she was singing, "My Baby Girl" to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree" to a very captive little sis.  Another morning she had Edith follow me around the kitchen by pushing Edith in her bassinet.  Edith really thought that was funny.

 

The big girls do like to sneak away.  If all is quiet, it usually means that they are on the tablet playing a game or trying to watch their favorite show, Zoboomafoo.  Here their shirts are off because they got really hot jumping on the trampoline.

Ruby is a big sister too.  Ruby likes to sit on my lap while Edith is nursing and will snuggle into Edith's back.  Sometimes she is unappreciated!

Nora is always giving Edith Puppy.  I think Puppy is taking a nap here and is wearing a sleep mask.

The girls thought Edith should have some hair accessories.  She is 7 weeks and still has all of her hair.  She was so happy that they were playing with her!  Grandma Diane made the girls matching pajamas for Christmas.

Happy birthday to me!

It was another cold birthday with wind chills -20.  We decided to stay around the house and celebrate.  The neighbors invited us over for lunch.  Rowan received foam blocks for Christmas.  The kids made a foam pit with two old couches as walls and a mattress on the floor.  There were 4 4 year olds and Alena jumping in the pit.  It is officially the best basement in town, and makes our trampoline look boring in comparison.

Daddy made a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache.  It was very delicious!  Aunt Kristina came to eat supper with us and celebrate.  Alena was unfortunately not feeling well and didn't even want cake.  She was laying in front of the fireplace and I went to sit with her.  All of a sudden, she vomited on the floor.  Kristina used her nursing training to quickly grab a bowl.  Alena felt much better after that!  Kristina's boyfriend Aaron came by to pick her up and the story didn't deter him from enjoying a piece of cake.  The night ended pretty well with Edith sleeping her longest stretch yet, 10 - 4:30.

Daddy had flowers and a chocolate cupcake delivered from Hy-Vee on Friday.  We were just returning from the library when we got the surprise.  I shared with Nora.

Edith eats out

Edith went out to eat for the first time on Friday night, a day shy of her 6 week birthday.  Alena and Nora had a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Jensen's house, so Edith, Daddy, and I went to The Lost Cuban.  She slept in her car seat under the table for the entire meal.  It was a pleasant night out.  I think she slept so well because she was wearing a cozy sweat suit from Aunt Julianne! She was in a good mood all day and was smiling at me her entire bath.