Grandma's Visit

The first week of Nora's life, Paul took work off and we were on our own. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was really nice to have our whole family together as we started off on our adventure with three kids. An added bonus of course was not having to worry about cooking dinner, since friends brought us meals every night.

After that first week, we were lucky enough to have my Mom come to stay with us, and Paul went back to work. My house always gets whipped into shape when she comes, and this week was no exception. She amazes me how much she can get done, all when entertaining two busy little boys. Nora seemed happy to meet her Grandma!

Ironically enough, my sister Miriam had her baby just two days after my Mom's arrival. John James arrived early, making little Anna a big sister and Miriam floundering to make arrangements for those first few days. Sorry, Miriam! I'm glad you have Mom to yourself now!

Benjamin took this picture during breakfast. Peter made a sharp break from his high chair this week, and has decided he much prefers standing on a chair (or as in this picture, not eating at all and reading books on the floor).

A typical shot of our evenings. Benjamin loved the new domino game Grandma brought him, and loved even more having her there to play it with him.
We have been home a little more than we're used to these past few weeks, which is to be expected. This summer has been really, really hot and sticky, so the boys haven't been able to spend much time outside. So we have to get creative to keep them from going crazy. We watched a LOT of Star Wars this week, had a lot of light saber battles, and Benjamin put together and took apart his Star Wars lego sets dozens of times. Peter has gotten in on the Star Wars craze too, and requests it by name (although it sounds a lot like "dinosaur"). His favorite character is "Baca" (Chewbacca), but he also likes the "Eeeee-woks."

Here Peter amazed us by stacking 15 blocks, and Benjamin amazed us with his self control by not knocking it down.
Another beautiful shot of Grandma and Nora.
Nora did a happy dance when her cord fell off this week.
Benjamin enjoyed reading books with Grandma on the air mattress every night. She is a great story teller!
Nora mostly did this all week, making us often forget we even had a third child.

My Mom finished making this beautiful blanket for Nora, and I witnessed firsthand how time consuming it is to sew on a ruffled edge. This was a labor of love!

Before taking Grandma back to the airport, we had a little lunch at our favorite pizza place.
And now it's back to just us. We miss you, Grandma! Thanks for coming!