Frankenglasses

About two weeks before Noel was born, Claire got hold of my glasses again. She loves glasses. This time she handed them to me and they were bent up pretty bad. One of the ear pieces came off all together. So I took them to walmart for a repair. Unfortunately, the break involved getting a new ear piece which they didn't carry for my frame. So they put a random purple ear piece on my brown wire frame glasses. It was free, but anyone who looks closely will see that I'm wearing frankenglasses, a term invented by Aaron. (Here are some new pictures of the kids.)
Yes, newborns ARE very serious people. I'm not trying as much this time to get him to smile. I think I was always tickling, poking, and prodding at Claire to get her to smile for the first 5 weeks with no success. In two weeks we'll see if we get some smiles from Noel.
Claire is doing better at interacting with her baby brother. She has her baby doll that she practises on. We are getting better at helping her hold him daily and giving him gentle hugs and kisses. Before we were trying to keep her away all together. I think it made it so when she did get a chance to get near him she reacted a little to hard. Things are much better now.

my family

Here is my family. Aaron and I were discussing how weird it is to say "the kids" now. Claire is still learning how to be gentle and control herself around her little brother. I just about had a heart attack yesterday when I saw her shaking his bouncer vigorously with him in it. We had a woman to woman talk about being gentle and careful with little baby brother. So far she hasn't done it again. Anyone have suggestions for teaching a 21 month old about gentle and soft? Know of any good discipline techniques for a girl this age?

Noel has the cutest little elf ears.
We finally got him a swing off of craigslist this week-end. I love it and I think the baby likes it too. Look at him all relaxed in it! We also paid $50 for double stroller at a garage sale. I think we paid too much, but its too late now. It was dirty and is about 4 years old. But it works. Noel's car seat fits in it and I used it for a trip to the doctors office yesterday for his 2 week check-up. Claire seems to like to ride in it too.
He's starting to become more alert and he's losing that scowling brow. My mom left Monday morning and and so now I've been by myself with them for two days. It's going o.k. but I miss mom. You really learn to appreciate all your parents did for you once you have your own. I can't imagine having 3 kids under four in the late 70's like my mom did. I feel like living on the second floor in an apartment is the worst deal. My parents lived in military housing in Germany on the sixth floor or something with no elevator. The laundry was in the basement and they only had cloth diapers. I can't imagine. How did she do it? I guess I can do 2 under two on the second floor.

One week

So here he is. One week old. He was weighed yesterday and he's already gained his weight back plus some. He's 8 pounds! Claire didn't make it to 8 lbs until she was 4 weeks old.
Hanging out with Dad.

Hanging with big sister.
If you can't tell, his shirt says, "Automatic Sprinkler", courtesy of Johanna. He earned the right to wear it this morning after going through three diapers in one changing. Everytime the fresh air hit him... geyser...

5 days old

This is Noel's first time in the bouncer.
Here is a picture of Noel on his first outing to the park.
It's been rainy and windy her for the past week and we have all been stuck inside. Claire especially enjoyed getting out today.
We wanted to do a little comparison of Noel and Claire at 5 days old. So here is Noel.
Here is Claire at 5 days old just about to have a bath. I see some similarities, but it is so hard to know what they will look like at this age. Noel has much darker hair than Claire had. Noel has more meat on him, but he was born a pound heavier than Claire.

Anyway, the first five days have been really nice so far. Mom is here and has been helping so much. Claire has been getting adequate attention I think and we've all been able to get at least some sleep. I'm scared about what it will be like with two under two by ourselves. Aaron goes back to work on Monday and it doesn't seem like he's had enough time off. Claire always wants to be near her little brother, is sometimes a little rough, but we can tell that she loves him.

Welcome Home Baby Brother!

Aaron and I made it to the Hospital around 6am to check-in. After getting settled and changed they gave me my IV and started me on what they nurse called "Super Pitocin" around 7am. After a short but intense labor and delivery, Noel Spencer Adams was born April 1st, 2008 at 10:22am!
We can't tell who he looks like? We guess more like Aaron?
Claire and Grandma came to visit.
Here is his unhappy face.
We are happy to be home with Claire and baby Noel. Give us a call, e-mail or stop by if you can. We are ready to show off our new growing family and see and hear from friends and family!

P.S. Forgot to add he was 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20.5 inches!