If you've been looking at this blog recently you'll have seen that in many photos of Meera she is sitting in a black Baby Bjorn baby chair. This was delivered to our house from Babies R Us before Meera was born. We had put it on our baby registry, so someone who loves us obviously bought it for us from there. But... there was no packing slip and no note to tell us who this is from, and I can't get the info from Babies R Us. I have asked several people who I suspected might have given it to us if they were the giver... but so far have not figured out who it is. This is a very generous gift. And, as it turns out, Meera LOVES this chair, sits in it for long stretches of time every day, and it is by far our most used baby gear item so far. If you are the generous gift giver please email me to let me know it is you so that I can send you a thank you note (I'm finally getting to the huge thank you note project)!!!!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Question to the Blogosphere
"We're Your Big Brothers..."
We found this scene yesterday. I almost jumped right in to yell at the boys for being up on the table (a big no no), but then we realized what was happening. First we watched with overflowing hearts. Then Braydon started snapping pictures. And I grabbed paper and pen so I wouldn't forget the exact quotes~~~
"We're your big brothers Baby Meera.
We're your big brothers.
If there's thunder and lightening we will take care of you.
If you're stuck we will save you.
We will take care of you your whole life.
If you're lost we will find you.
We love you Baby Meera.
We're your big brothers."
Saturday, June 28, 2008
MorMor
My mom left this morning after having spent "six sleeps" taking care of us. She and my dad had been here before/during/after Meera's birth. They left after we had been home from the hospital one day. We spent our first three weeks home just us as a family of five. It was both a joy-filled and very-tough three weeks... but it was precious time for us (the good parts) and we made it through it (the bad parts), and that is just exactly how we wanted it. My mom's return though, for week 4, was a hugely welcome relief for all five of us! She became the expert at getting Meera to sleep, she was the boys' entertainer extraordinaire, she did all the laundry (Braydon's job) and all the cooking (my job), the cleaning, the moral support, the sit-and-chat-for-hours-on-end-with-the-nursing-mother, etc., etc., etc. This morning when she left we were all sad to see her go. She and my dad return though, in "five sleeps" for the 4th of July -- so we were o.k. as we watched her drive off (plus she left us with Braydon's favorite casserole in the fridge ready to pop in the oven tomorrow). I have had a life-long very (unusually) close relationship with my mother. She's my best girlfriend and my mom (what could be better?). I don't know what I'd do without her. As anyone who reads this blog knows, my parents are really supportive of us despite the fact that we live 9 hours apart. As far as long-distance relationships go, it doesn't get much better than this. We don't know how to thank them for what they do for us. The only way they really get repaid is with the knowledge that Braydon and I will be making sure that we're paying it forward in the future--- doing the same things they are now doing for us for K, O, and M someday.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Soccer Camp
This past week Kyle and Owen have been in Soccer Camp at Lehigh (click here). This was a one-week mornings-only day-camp program for 4-5 year olds. The boys have loved it. It is kind of sad to see the week end. Given that this was a "sports camp" for such young kids, we weren't quite sure what to expect. We were shocked by how much real soccer they actually learned/played! It was a great week for K & O. Kyle, especially did really really well. He loved learning a new sport, mastering the rules of the game, and gaining some real skills (this stuff is right up his ally!!!). Owen loved it too, and is obviously an incredibly naturally gifted athlete (anyone who's ever witnessed the boy do anything physical can attest to this about Owen), but Kyle... Kyle really really really excels at the following-directions/practicing skills/participating in team-sports kinds of parts of sports. Kyle is quite athletically gifted/talented in his own right and he has the drive/determination/focus/attention-span to really take it one step further. Coach Larry, the head coach, had the boys pegged by day 2. Among other things, he told me that he's "coached many boys throughout his years, and these two are all boy" (all I could do was nod in complete agreement with that one). He also told me that Kyle is really good at soccer and will "probably go real far" with athletics because he's "so incredibly coachable." These are things that we, of course, already knew about our boys. But it was interesting to hear the perspective of Coach Larry since this was K & O's first real exposure to team sports.
Ice Cream & Fountains
Our family does not do well being housebound for long. We go a little stir crazy if we're cooped up for even a day. We're just not the sit-around types. But it is hard to get out with a newborn. Nonetheless, we've had a few outings so far in our short little (four week long) life as a family of five. We've gone out for dinner once, out to lunch twice, and run a couple errands. Our best outing, yet, though, was the Sunday before last. We went for ice cream (of course Kyle still chooses a milkshake and Owen still chooses the messiest ice cream cone possible), and then the boys ran in their favorite fountains. Meera was, as usual, quite unimpressed with the boys' fountain jumping tricks (see her yawning in photo below). 
Guest Blog Post from Grandpa Robert – First visit!
Hey, y’all –
That includes Braydon, Heather, Kyle, Owen and Meera Grace . . . . it was spectacular to see all of you this last weekend. The arrival began with gang tackling by the Boys, and softened by the joy of the introduction to the “small person” by Braydon and Heather. It brought back to me the powerful emotions of the welcoming of new people into the world. And the joy on the faces of the new parents, coupled by the power of the five of them as a family, was wonderful. There are times in one’s life, unfortunately too few, when one is stricken by what is just right, and this was one of them. Added to that was the arrival the next day of Sabrina (“auntie Sabrina”) who stepped in as parental support and looked perfect for the part.
Here’s a little side-light from Kyle and Owen. As we were sitting at dinner eating Lasagna, Kyle looked at me secretively and held out a small piece of broccoli. Asking me if I liked it, we exchanged a couple of whispers away from the table, and I acknowledged it was not my favorite. After that, whenever Kyle came across a dab of broccoli, he quietly placed it on the edge of my plate, and we swapped knowing glances. And, as if food times were a focus, the next morning Owen insisted on sharing with my shirt the syrup from the AM French toast. I thought being a grandfather to the boys was wonderful, but now there is even more for me to love and care about.
Thanks for inviting me and thanks for a wonderful visit.
Love,
Grandpa Robert
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Thursday, June 26, 2008
My Terrific Twinados Tighter Than Ever
There is something about this photo that takes my breath away. And right now this photo is so perfectly symbolic somehow. For the past four weeks, since their baby sister was born, these two have stuck together like the strongest glue. These guys have always been tight -- and I mean, super cemented together tight. But in the past few weeks they've weathered quite the storm together; what a huge transition to add Baby Sister to our mix. Our dynamic has shifted; their center of gravity has tilted; our life as we knew it has been turned upside down. We've had our high's and low's these past few weeks, for sure. But these two boys have stuck it out and have done it together. Yes, they fight like cats and dogs. But they play for hours on end like the bestest of buds --- no, not even the bestest of buds can compare... they're twins of the very best variety. They are bonded like none other. If I weren't so exhausted I'd go on and on and on about it. But instead I just have to let the photo do the talking. I didn't think they could get any tighter, but my terrific twinados are tighter than ever.
Meera Smiles
I've been wanting to post this but haven't because I was afraid people wouldn't believe me. But yes, I do know the difference between an infant's "real smile" and an infant's "gas smile." And I know for absolute sure that my girl is smiling real smiles. She first started smiling at me when she was 2 weeks old. Over the past two weeks I've had confirmation that I'm not crazy from several people who have come to visit. But now, with my mother's affirmation (she's visiting/helping this week), I have the guts to post this. My newborn Meera Grace is smiling up a storm... and she has been since Week 2.
Meera Grace 4 Weeks Old
As of today, Meera Grace is four weeks old. It seems cliche, but so true: in some ways it feels like the past four weeks have just flown by --- as if a blur, as if not even real... and in other ways it feels as if Meera has always been here --- hard to imagine we ever had life without her. Things we've learned about Meera Grace~~ she loves going for outings in the car/carseat; she likes to burp a lot; in the evenings she'll only sleep when being held; she loves the Bjorn. Things we've learned about the Big Brothers~~ they still love holding her; they still love giving her ooey gooey open mouthed kisses; and they love dressing her (with accessories too... the other morning I left the baby on our bed for a minute while a ran to the bathroom and when I returned I found the boys carefully putting two of my watches onto her wrists). Here are some snapshots from the past week.
