Just a few not necessarily congruent thoughts on the last week…
We are home from the hospital. And so glad to be home. Peter and the girls surprised me and Caleb with a balloon bouquet on the mailbox for our homecoming. It was very sweet and the girls were super proud of themselves for their part in the plan.
Caleb continues to be a pretty easy baby. He likes to eat and he likes to sleep. And we like that he likes it.
The girls absolutely adore Caleb. They want to constantly give him hugs and kisses. So far there doesn’t seem to be any resentment towards him. Peter and I have had some emotional turmoil directed toward us however.
We have been trying to do some fun things that aren’t all about Caleb as a way of keeping peace in the house. One of those is the introduction of a bike trailer as a fun daddy/daughter activity for Peter and the girls. The girls have decided that it is their “carriage”. When Peter told me about their terminology, he added, “You know what that makes me, right?”
Some people have asked if Caleb’s nickname is going to be C.J. and the answer is that we are planning on just calling him Caleb. Alethea and Lydia however call him “Baby Brother”, “Baby Caleb”, or just “Baby K”. I actually favor the later as a nickname since it hints at a future career as a hip hop artist.
Overall, this first week of being a mother to three has gone as well as I could have hoped and better than I expected. I’m hoping that as we enter week two, we’ll be able to settle into a bit more of a routine and tame some of the emotional upheaval the girls seem to be experiencing.
Planning to take one-week pictures of Caleb tomorrow. In the mean time, enjoy these of the girls playing outside this afternoon…
Thanks for stopping by!
I remember all too well the emotional turmoil that was directed at me and Paul when Emmy came. She was sweet as can be to Em, but man, did she have some words and actions for us in those first few months. Sounds like you guys have a good handle on it and some proactive ideas to curb it! You’re such good parents! Caleb is definitely a cutie and reminds me so much of Alethea as a baby, except I see that he has some nice hair growth coming in! So glad it’s going well for you all. Have you heard of the tag-a-long and ibert options for bikes? We’re looking into that since we’re moving right next to all the anoka county trails. Our neighbors have those and their girls LOVE both. Maybe Peter will feel less like a horseman if the girls are actively participating in their bike rides :-)
Yeah, it seems like everything is an issue for the girls EXCEPT for Caleb. He can do no wrong. Sigh. I’m a little discouraged to hear it lasted a couple months for Ava. I was hoping we’d get through it in a couple weeks, but maybe that is me being too optimistic.
Caleb does look a lot like Alethea, although his eyes are quite a bit different. The girls were both born with some hair, but it fell out pretty quickly and took a while to grow back in. I imagine Caleb’s will do the same.
We decided to get the bike trailer mainly for Lydia and Caleb, so we could do family bike rides with Alethea on her own bike, but Caleb isn’t big enough yet and I’m not up for bike riding, so for now it’s a daddy/daughter activity.
I think it lasted so long for Ava because of her age. She actually hasn’t totally grown out of it yet, and year four has been the hardest for us as far as her attitude. I’m sure you’ll be fine! :-)
It’s funny how every kid is so different. 3 has been the hardest age so far for both of the girls. Alethea’s 4s were much less stressful than the 3s. I guess we’ll see if she tops 3 with 5 though!