First Month with Three Kids
As per past tradition - look at the First Month with Two Kids - the blog post today presents the Merit Awards in recognition of us making it through these past 30 days. The awards range in a large spectrum between hard work and extreme cuteness.
The full cast of the show is here: Gaius, Elena, Fae, Greg, Mara and Tammy !
Grandpa Gene makes a special appearance in the latter part of the month.
Welcome home, Baby Fae!
Here are the first moments at home from the hospital, on Fae's 3rd day of life. We celebrated with our special favorite cake: Whole Foods Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese frosting.
Fae, here's your new family, the older 50% very tired, the younger 50% extremely excited!
Here are the first moments at home from the hospital, on Fae's 3rd day of life. We celebrated with our special favorite cake: Whole Foods Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese frosting.
Fae, here's your new family, the older 50% very tired, the younger 50% extremely excited!
And indeed, they were so excited to welcome Fae into the family! Though the adventurers were quite wary and shy in the very first moments they met her, at the hospital.
He said: "No, I'll touch her when she's two and a half."
Quick-follow-up by the Time-Travel Award also for Gaius, because three days later it did happen - The Touch! It turns out he had meant two and a half days, not years; that should teach us not to rush to assumptions.
The "Sistine Chapel Reenactment" Award goes to Mara, on her very first touch of baby Fae, at the hospital. See the photo!
The "153 Blood Glucose After Four Large Chocolate Cake Slices" Award goes to Elena, who had been forbidden to have chocolate cake for the last three months and started to make up that deficit roughly six hours after birth. It's ok, we shared some with the nurses as well!
The Master Entertainer Award goes to Gaius and his spectacular RacRac acrobatics, by which Fae was thoroughly enthralled.
The Sleeping Kitties Award goes jointly to Fae and Willow, who have been spotted repeatedly cuddling during naps on top of Elena or Greg.There's something about sleeping Baby Fae that triggers Willow 's pile-of-cats instinct, she's so readily there, purring and looking happy! Maybe as our 0-th child she's thinking she's the biggest sibling and has brought us all this bliss.
The "High Style, High Love" Award goes to the big sister, with rainbow colored hair extensions and a warm eye-to-eye gaze with Fae. The Thinker-In-The-Background Award is shown in the same photo, going to Gaius.
The Burrito Camouflage Award must belong to Fae, who was the exact size of our beloved and versatile cylinder pillows. They're genuinely awesome, adults use them as neck support sleep pillows or for lovey-style hugging, or arm support during nursing, or baby propping, or amazing projectile in nighttime pillow fights! The home-made covers were a joint effort: Elena bought the cloth, Grandma Buny (from Romania) cut the tailored shapes, Grandma Tammy sewed them together 6 years ago.
The "Early Life Face Palm" Award goes to Fae as well, as she realized she had forgotten to nurse on the other side before falling asleep on the job. I told her I'd tell on her, so here I am, telling!
The "Pursuit of Truth and Obstruction of Justice" Award goes to Gaius for two reasons.Two, during the same time he's also been blocking everyone's path on stairs or any narrow pathways in the house. A cute way to ask for attention, now that he is the "Bunny in The Middle". By the way, this is an awesome book for families with 3 kids, and has helped him grasp the changes in a happy way!
The similar "Ambush Jump" Award is a little less welcome as it took multiple adults by surprise. We had to discuss how unexpected jumps are scary and may get us injured, and that they definitely cannot happen if the adult is holding the baby. That last boundary was upheld quite well immediately, as he is a very thoughtful Older Brother.The C-3PO or "Master Translator" Award is for Mara, who not only can speak to Willow and tell her when she needs to move, but has expanded her skills to baby Fae and can thoroughly communicate in cute cooing sounds (see video).
The Best Nursing Team Award goes to team Fae-Elena, for night-and-day action-packed adventures every 1-3 hours!
The Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Grandma Tammy who juggled 24/7 the entertainment of the two big siblings, diaper changes for Fae, food making, laundry duty, significant yard enhancement (tons of flowers, lettuce and more, pot relocation etc!) and general advice for backyard redesign!
The Sleep Maestro is Greg, who can get Fae comfortable enough to doze off in any position.
The Norse Mythology - Protection of Mjolnir was bestowed onto Fae by Gaius, who read about it in Greg's favorite book about the Norse Gods from when he grew up. We thoroughly recommend it for the outstanding illustrations, matter-of-fact stories and facts. Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, was used as protective charms for babies newly born. Gaius found a lego Mjölnir and made this for Fae:
The Youngest Scholar Award goes to Fae, who is studying hard already in her little Lovevery gym, with high-contrast pattern cards. Gaius immediately decided to take the role of curriculum planner - he changed the cards for her to learn more.
The 100% Whole Love Award is for everyone who held Fae for every moment of this first month! Just like Mara, she is like a little cup of milk; she tends to "spill" the second you lay her down, so she spends most moments on top of some person or another. Here's proof below.
oh such a beautiful post! many years to you all!!! 3 children, wonderful!! such a special (and I am sure exhausting) time!!! I love seeing these pictures and the joy you are having!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elizabeth! Indeed it is both special and exhausting! :-)
DeleteI love the wish for "many years", I never hear that in English but that's exactly what we say in Romanian, word by word! Yet another similarity between us!