The first few weeks of Ada's life have flown by. She is already 3 weeks old. She continues to be a very easy baby and almost never cries. My recovery has been very rapid. I'm already back to sports, although tentatively.
Ada is giving us lots of sleep, by newborn standards. The longest over night stretch she managed was 6 hours and she did that in her first week of life! She still sleeps most of the time, but she is starting to be more alert. She loves hanging out on her change table with no diaper on staring at her mobile. Unfortunately the mobile crank broke so one of us needs to stand there and turn it for her!
Max and Darwyn dote on Ada. They love to hug her and go to her instantly if she cries. Darwyn is especially obsessed. She talks to Ada constantly, helps with every diaper change, gives her a soother and even helped grandma give her a bottle. Both kids like to help burp Ada and they both ask to hold her relatively regularly, so we've had lots of opportunity for good photo shoots (see a few below).
Little girl born at 20:12 this evening. Her name is probably Ada Sophia, though we're not completely committed just yet. Weight 3740g height 55cm. (That's 8lbs 4oz and 21.5in for you imperialists.) She was born in our home in a birthing tub, assisted as usual by two very capable midwives. Labour was fast an furious. Mom and baby are both doing spectacularly well. The first five hours of this baby's life have been the easiest baby hours I can ever remember. She fed well. Cried just long enough to be recognizable over the phone, then stopped. As I write this she's bundled up in a bassinet in another room while mom gets some sleep and I clean the house and surf the internet. I think she's squawked once in the past half hour. [Added later: okay, I just had to pick her up and calm her for five minutes.] She looks like Max.
Max turned 5 at the end of April. He opted for a superhero party. The night before we went to bulk barn to buy a superhero pinata and then to the dollar store to look for some things to fill it with. Darwyn wandered through the store pulling everything off the shelves and telling us that she wanted each item for her party. Finally, Gus asked her if she would just start telling us what she didn't want as that would be more efficient. She looked confused. Anyway, she has settled on a "frozen" theme for her next party and asks us continually how long it will be until her next birthday.
Max, whose birthday we were actually shopping for, was much quieter through the whole affair. He finally settled on getting some power rings (actually candy rings) and glow sticks to fill the pinata. We also added superhero masks for the kids to decorate, but I couldn't get them to calm down enough to actually do it. We made a spider man cake that I failed to take a good picture of, but you can sort of make it out in the "Happy birthday" video. Unfortunately, the video also had technical issues.
The highlight of the birthday party was definitely when Gus pretended to be a super villain. I came down stairs and told him that my plan was that he would act out the villain role so the kids could chase him. He gave me a "you have got to be joking" look. I got defensive.
Greta: Look, I would do it, but I'm too pregnant to run.
The pregnancy card works for everything. Gus finally agreed.
Greta: (holding up a black mask, bright blue wig and black cape) Oh and while you are at it, I thought you could wear this villain costume.
The look I got was withering at best.
I have to admit though, Gus really rose to the occasion. He was an amazing super villain. The kids went out to search for the escaped villain in the yard. When he was discovered he launched from his hiding place scaring them all and then took off. He hopped fences and put up an amazing chase. I've included some videos, but they don't do the scene justice. The kids absolutely loved it. They begged him to do it again and again and again and most parents reported that their kids were talking about it for a week afterward. I told Gus he might as well keep the costume in his closet and quit his day job :)
Anyway, I've included a few select videos and pictures for you to enjoy. You can see more pictures here.
Max attacks the pinata
Max's superhero costume
Max discovers Gus hidden in the empty compost bin
A close up of Gus's new look
Blast from the past - Max is not the only little boy that liked to dress up as a superhero
And here he is again with a tea towel costume
[Edit: That "tea towel costume" is supposed to be Man At Arms. -Gus]
Video evidence of the demise of the pinata:
Gus's career as a super villain:
A really crappy happy birthday video...but it does at least show the cake.
We built a loft in one of the sheds up at the river to house our ever-growing family. It's a bit tight for an adult but the kids love it. Greta found the perfect window for cheap on kijiji. Here's a picture I took of the kids late last night, after they'd fallen asleep. Observe Darwyn's head resting on the plywood floor in front of the potty, her body still on the foam mattress.
Another great long weekend up at the river. Black flies came out in force on Sunday afternoon. River's pretty cold but we still went in today. Full attendance including grandma, grandpa, Sue, Jeff, Annie, Charlie, plus a visit from Casey, Josh, and Eddie.
