4 weeks old, are you kidding me?!

I absolutely can't believe that my newborn babe is 4 weeks old today and will be a month old on Friday. The last 4 weeks have certainly gone by much faster than the last 4 weeks of pregnancy. I've spent the entire winter waiting and planning for Harriet to come and also for my mom and Melissa to come and see her this spring. Now, she's here, they've come and gone, and I'm left with "kids!" No longer do I have my darling Grace and my long-awaited newborn baby, I just have KIDS! It's so weird to refer to them as "the kids" now too. For the longest time we have referred to our offspring as "Grace." Now, they have a collective word to describe the both of them. It's really freaking me out.
I realize that a 4 week old baby is still a tiny thing, but my reality check hit me hard this week. Monday was my first "real" day with both of them by myself. My mom and sister left on Sunday and David went to work on Monday (he's been back for a while.) Monday was pretty ugly for us. Grace decided that she would test me to see how much I love her and Harriet decided to spend most of the day crying. In my sleep-deprived state, I wasn't very nice either.
However, now that we're on day 3 of being home together, by ourselves, things are getting a little better. We all went out to a store today and it actually went really well.Harriet is really a dreamy little baby. She loves to eat and cuddle (Grace stopped doing both at 2 weeks old and hasn't done either one since.) She does get bubbles in her belly from eating so much, but other than that, she sleeps well for the most part, and gives me time during the day to spend with Grace and do a few other things. She is really getting a personality too and I can already tell that she is VERY different from Grace. I hope that she will have the peacemaker qualities that she was blessed with in her blessing because we will probably be needing it in our household! David and I and Grace are all very strong willed and want things our way and it's already a stretch to make things go 3 different ways.I am also becoming very grateful that I don't have to go back to a full time job next week. I had to go back to work at school full time when Grace was 5 weeks old and it was terrible. Now, I'm working from home for the barn doing administrative tasks for Rita. It's working out really well. I can work in my jammies. I can work for 15 minutes, stop to feed Harriet, work 15 minutes more, stop to do something with Grace. It's great. I do miss the barn and the horses though. I'm going to go back to the barn this summer on Saturdays when David is home for my own personal sanity.I need to have David show me how to put more pictures on Harriet's little web-page, but for now, here are a few: The first 2 are at one week old, then 2 weeks, then 3 and 4 (today!)

Some fun with Mo Deb and Aunt Lis and Babe!

Well, the rain finally went away and we were able to have a few fun days with my family before they left. We took them to the barn to see Grace ride Tink. Grace didn't want to share with Sean, of course, but she finally let him sit behind her on Tink for a quick picture (Melissa has the picture in her camera.) We thought she was ok about it, but when he got off, she put her head down and said "I am so mad!" We thought it was so funny that a 3 year old could express that she was angry without throwing a temper tantrum about it.

Last Thursday, we went to Drumlin Farm. Sean didn't last too long, but Grace had a blast, we took mo Debbie on a hay ride, and we did some good shopping in the gift store there. Melissa really wanted to shop when she came, but she came to the WRONG place for shopping. I think we got her in a few stores though and she went back with ample souvenirs, including a darling Boston Red Sox hat for Sean.

On Saturday, we went to the Stow town "Spring Fest." Grace and I rode on a wild little ride on some train/car thing and she got a free pony ride (because we NEVER do that!) sponsored by the town police.

Mostly though, we just spent our time playing with the kids. Grace and Sean absolutely loved each other and entertained each other quite a bit. It made me really sad that I don't live closer to my sister so they could play together more and we could have a change of venue (sit on her couch with Harriet instead of mine!) But like my mom says "it is what it is" and I'm just grateful for what I have. I'm so glad they came and we could have fun and I'm glad that we are going to Utah in August to keep it up.

Wkh Frgh Errn

I just finished reading an interesting book about ciphers through the ages. Happy reading, uh deciphering!

Uhfhqwob L mxvw ilqlvkhg uhdglqj Vlprq Vlqjk'v Wkh Frgh Errn. Lw zdv yhub lqwhuhvwlqj wr uhdg krz shrsoh kdyh wulhg ryhu wkh djhv wr nhhs wkhlu phvvdjhv vhfuhw. Lw zdv hvshfldoob whoolqj krz oxfnb wkh Doolhv zhuh lq Zruog Zdu LL wr kdyh eurnhq wkh hqljpd dqg rwkhu flskhuv. Lw gudvwlfdoob uhgxfhg zdu fdvxdowlhv dqg wkh ohqjwk ri wkh zdu. Dqbzdb lq krqru ri pb ilqlvklqj wkh errn L wkrxjkw wkdw L zrxog sxw rxw d olwwoh hqflskhuhg phvvdjh iru doo ri brx wr uhdg. Jrrg oxfn ghflskhulqj!

Harriet's Blessing Day

David blessed our little Harriet today. It was such a different day than when we blessed Grace. We had horrible weather (as you can read) and I was just not on top of my game. Grace and I had a "discussion" about her hair this morning. I lost. She wouldn't do it so that we could have a cute family picture. We did take a picture, but it just wasn't what I wanted it to be. That's ok though, not everything turns out like you hope, and like my mom says "it is what it is." I did get Harriet all dressed up though and she looked beautiful. She is so much different from Grace. She wore the same blessing dress - 6 weeks earlier and it didn't really look too big on her. She has an entirely different personality and has brought an entirely different spirit into our house. We absolutely love her to pieces. I am in love with her. She is a lot more like me than Grace is. Grace is such a different soul. Sometimes I have trouble relating to her, but Harriet just seems to be a "mini-me" even at 2 and a half weeks old.

We did make it to church on time -even with a 2 week old baby, an 8 month old baby (cousin Sean) and a 3 year old toddler. We were all dressed and ready and we didn't forget anything - amazing! I did get caught off guard though, the blessing came much quicker in the sacrament meeting than I was thinking it would and I didn't have Harriet ready to hand off. It startled me so much that I didn't get emotional during the blessing, but I did afterward. David teared up during the blessing and gave her a unique blessing all her own - much different from Grace's, but just as special. She was so good through the whole meeting - didn't make a peep once. It all came and went so quickly, I kind of feel like I missed it, but I do remember it all. Very weird - I guess that's what happens when you have more than one kid. You get all caught up with so many other things that you can't just focus on the one thing that you want to.

Anyway, it was really cool to be able to bless her on Mother's day with my own mom here and also Melissa here on her first mother's day with her baby. We had all the "mom's and babes" together and it felt really good. We're having a blast together and I'm so glad that my mom and Melissa could be here for it.

Rain rain go away...

Friday night the rain started coming down. Saturday the rain came down some more. Today it continued to rain. As if it isn't bad enough that it rained out 2 Red Sox games, we now have lake side property. We always thought it was great living across the road from the river, but now that we have beach front property I'm not so sure. I woke up this morning to find a duck swimming on my grass. Or at least it use to be grass. Now it is under 3-4 inches of water and still climbing. Anybody have a canoe? Grace is one person who is enjoying the rain. Yesterday I had to MacGuyver her some rain pants out of duct tape and grocery bags and we went out to stomp in puddles. We each got a little more than we bargained for and after splashing around for 30 minutes had to come in throughly soaked but happy. If the rain keeps up though, I may have to go for the house boat.

Reenforcements have arrived!

Since Harriet was born 3 weeks early, we were all caught a little by surprise. Luckily I have been able to stay at home while everyone adjusts to another little one around. Luckily (and just in time as dad was getting a little worn out) some of Michelle's family has arrived. On Friday, Debbie, Melissa and Sean flew into Logan airport. Unfortunately they brought the heavy rain with them, but so far we have had some fun despite the weather. Trust me, I am glad that my mother-in-law is here for the next week. Grace loves that her Mo Deb, Aunt Meliss, and cousin Sean are here. She is keeping everyone entertained and is exerting her role as grandchild #1. Hopefully the rain will let up soon and she can show her Mo Deb and Aunt Meliss all the fun things she does around Boston.

I like to eat, I like to eat...

On Wednesday Harriet went into the doctor's office for her 2 week appointment. The goal was to be back to birth weight. However, our little chunky monkey not only got back to her birth weight, but had added another 8.2 ounces. She is a little chow hound and is doing her best to help her mommy slim down. Apparently there is no exercise program quite like the breast-feeding plan. Eat as much as you want and still lose weight. Michelle has lost most of the weight she gained during pregnancy and is looking very good for being 2 weeks removed from delivery. Harriet is doing her best to eat, poop, and sleep. Now if only the rest of us could get some sleep.

Drumlin Farm

Over the last 2+ weeks that I have been at home helping with the new baby I have been able to do a few fun things with Grace. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been very nice over that period. But we were able to take advantage of one nice day and have a fun daddy-daughter trip to Drumlin Farm. Grace loves Drumlin Farm and especially this time of year when all the baby farm animals are being born. This year there are new chicks, piglets, calves, lambs, and goats. Besides the new animals, Grace goes to Drumlin farm for the hay rides. Sometimes it is with horses, but this day a tractor was pulling the wagon. Grace had a lot of fun and I had to do some smooth talking to convince her that there was more to Drumlin Farm then tractor hay rides. Besides the domestic farm animals, they also have a few wild animals. One of the new animals is a "black" red fox. Grace is fond of foxes since Shadow trapped a little fox in our yard last year. We still have foxes in our neighborhood (we saw one when we were on our dog walk last week) and so Grace and I enjoyed looking at the "black" red fox and we were pretty entertained by it. Of course it wouldn't be complete without being able to pet some of the domestic animals. All and all a fun day for dad and daughter. Too bad it took me so long to post about our adventure.

Tag, I'm It I guess!

I better get this out of the way so that I won't be hassled by my wife or Jared. BTW-have you been hassled by Capital One lately. For a "no-hassle" card I must get hassled twice a week. Anyway, onto the tag...

Four jobs I've had: (Michelle says I have only ever had 1 real job)
1. Technical Staff-MIT Lincoln Laboratory
2. Graduate Student at the University of Utah (hey, I was cheap (slave) labor for 5 1/2 years. I think that should count!)
3. Undergraduate research assistant at MIRL
4. Gofer at Salt Lake Valve and Fitting

Four movies I never get sick of: (not necessarily my favorites)
1. Braveheart
2. The Matrix
3. The Wedding Singer (come on you have to love the 80's music--classic)
4. Babe (hey there is a talking pig)

Four places I have lived:
1. Stow, Massachusetts
2. South Salt Lake City, Utah
3. Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Murray, Utah (was unincorporated when I lived there)
5. Brazil--shouldn't count, but since Jared did it.

Four TV shows I can't miss: (but would if it weren't for the DVR)
1. Alias (Jennifer Garner--need I say more?)
2. 24 (Michelle keeps saying every season she won't watch it with me, but she keeps coming back)
3. Commander in Chief
4. Whose Line Is It (Wayne Brady is hilarious)

Four favorite foods:
1. Black bean chicken aspargus enchiladas
2. Kung Pao chicken (New Dragon Diner in SLC is still the best)
3. Yanni's Special (the greek seasoning on the chicken is to die for)
4. Popcorn

Four sites I visit daily
1. Fantasy Baseball
2. The Salt Lake Tribune
3. Yahoo News
4. Craigslist (I've got to find a kayak)

Four people I'm tagging:
1. Honestly, do we really need to keep this up?
2. Although if you are reading this Jeff, get online and get a blog going!

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. On my bike going up to Big Mountain
2. On my bike anywhere
3. Outside (too much rain and ticks right now)
4. At work (I'm banned right now. We always want what we can't have!) Not really! I would rather be in a kayak on the Assabet river.

Were there any surprises to people out there?

I've been banned!

Yesterday I decided to go into work for a few hours. Michelle and Harriet were both doing reasonably well and I felt like I had things to get done. I was planning on working in the mornings and coming home after lunch this week as Harriet and Michelle are recuperating. However, when I showed my face in my group office at work, my group leader saw me and asked,

"Why are you here? Are your priorities really that out of whack that you came into work when your family needs you?" Needless to say I was flabbergasted. I had already taken 3 days off plus the weekend so I was expecting to get some work done. And honestly, it was nice to have a little "me time". Anyway, he told me that he didn't want to see my face for a week maybe two. Then he set me up with a laptop so that I can do some work and check email from home.

This would not happen in the industrial world. You just have to love the MIT environment. So while I have been banned I guess that I will still have plenty of work to do around home. Now back to the dishes and diapers.

tag, you're it!

Hey Jared, I'll take you up on your little game. After all, I'm stuck inside the house with a newborn (I should add, that I'm grateful to be at home with my newborn) and this will make my day a little more fun...

Four jobs I've had:
1. desk job at an insurance company for 15 some-odd years
2. veterinary technician for a small animal hospital
3. high school chemistry teacher
4. my current and most favorite job - riding instructor at a horse barn

Four movies I never get sick of:
1. Singles
2. Office Space
3. The Black Stallion
4. Napoleon Dynamite
(Ferris Beuler should be in the mix too.)

Four places I have lived:
1. Stow, Massachusetts
2. South Salt Lake City, Utah
3. Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Lander, Wyoming

Four TV shows I can't miss: (I would miss every single one if I didn't have a DVR)
1. Alias
2. 24 (if you watch one episode, you have to watch the whole season, although I vow to stop watching it after this season is over!)
3. Oprah (it's my quiet time in the afternoon after too much kids PBS programming)
4. Desperate Housewives

Four favorite foods:
1. chocolate - alone, with carmel, on top of anything...
2. anything Mexican in a flour tortilla
3. lobster bisque at Scupper Jack's restaraunt
4. crab and cream cheese wontons or rangoons from just about any Chinese place

Four sites I visit daily
1. Boston Globe
2. honestly, I don't surf the web much, so that's my only daily site
3.
4.

Four people I'm tagging:
1. David (he says he'll do one)
2. Melissa
3. the only other blogs I read have all been tagged by Jared, however, I'd love to see what they all have to say for themselves...
4.


Four places I'd rather be right now
1. I am right where I want to be - at home with my baby
2. if I could choose a second place to go, it would be to Salt Lake to be with family
3. at my barn riding a horse
4. San Diego sounds fabulous as I sit inside on a rainy New England day

David just informed me that everyone else who's been tagged has done their lists in some sort of chronological or preference order. I have no particular order to my lists for the most part. Does there really need to be order to a list of 4 things? I guess I'm just use to things being out of order lately...