OMG the SNOW!

It just won't stop. It snowed a "measurable amount" again last night. Oy!
Here is Franklin demonstrating the depth of the snow. Notice, he's also making P in the snow...heh heh.

So, we've had to get a little creative with our time, in order to not drive each other crazy. Yesterday we went to the Children's Museum and renewed our membership. They have a new (temporary) Clifford exhibit, which was much cuter than I anticipated. Henry could have stayed all day and played with the conveyor belt which took giant foam bones to Clifford's giant food dish.
I decided that today we would do some cooking together. First, Henry browsed through his cookbook (Salad People) and chose some recipes. Then he made a shopping list. He started strong with "pie shells" but things got a little illegible with "scallions" and "milk". We were planning to make a quiche for dinner and salad people for lunch. Before going to the store I managed to get a cute photo of Henry and Clara together...of course, she was sleeping...
After returning from the store I set Henry up with some new window markers. He did a little bit of window art while I prepped for Salad People Assembly. My main goal was that this would brighten up our view a little bit...
Here Henry begins work on his edible art.
And here he is about to dive in. He ate everything but the cottage cheese...which he tried to spit back out on his plate. He insisted he didn't want his salad person to have hair. He had a variety of other options, but wanted to keep it simple.
I'll let you know how the quiche goes tonight!

Busy Days

We've been up to a few things in the last few days.
Clara has spent a lot of time napping and looking cute :We both went to visit the midwife who helped to deliver Clara:
Henry and his dad went shopping for new fish:

Mom was here for the weekend (and still is, due to the weather) so Pete and I got a chance to go out to dinner with Liz and Van:
We celebrated Van's new job with Coke:And laughed at him as he tried to change the channel on the t.v. By the way- apparently if you get stuck in the back room at Merle's you also get stuck with the crappy new waiter who, when you ask what kind of beer they have, responds with "well, do you know what kind you want?" The next night I made a new (to me) recipe from the Silver Palate cookbook: Chicken Monterrey. It was pretty tasty!
Pete and I had been to a movie in the afternoon (The Savages) so there was a bottle out for Clara to have. Henry helped her to finish it.
Grammie got some face time with Clara during dinner.
Look at the back of that head. So cute.
We've got more snow now. Continuing to feel housebound. If you have any warm weather where you are, please send some our way!

House of Illness

Well, I may have to knock on wood again (if you believe in that sort of thing) but I think we are really truly on the mend this time. It might be thanks to the chicken soup...

Or it could be the hours of quiet time (video watching) that we've had...

Or maybe it's the magical influence of the lunar eclipse...
Or the "silly kitty" that comes to join us at "brepfas"...

Most likely, I suppose, it's the medicine. Clara's round of meds ended and Henry's began after a trip to the doctor yesterday. The good news is that Henry only seems to have an ear infection. His lungs sound fine. And we didn't have to give him any purple medicine (ibuprofen) this morning! He's still a little fussy and fragile, and his nose is still runny, but we'll take whatever improvement we can get!

Happy President's Day!

I thought I'd steal a minute while Clara's sleeping and before Henry is escorted back home from his grandparents' house. I know he'll need some attention when he arrives, because apparently he is running a fever again. Henry's health for the past few days looks like this:
Thursday: vomited on bed
Friday: ran a fever, slept most of the day
Saturday: mostly okay, some coughing
Sunday: earache started
Today: runny nose, cough, fever again
Tomorrow: who knows? He will have to stay home from school, since he won't have been fever-free for 24 hours. I might be making a run to the library to check out some movies.
I will be forever knocking on wood, but for now Clara seems to be in good health. Pete and I are holding our own as well...for now. I do have some chicken soup cooking on the stove, with lots of garlic. It wards off more than just vampires, you know. And there is orange juice in the fridge...we usually only buy orange juice if Will or Dad are coming to visit.
So here are your Clara pictures for the day. Take note of the hipster outfit from Auntie Amber. Also, the shoe-socks from a friend of Mary's.
I hope this president's day finds your home healthier than ours! In honor of the day I'm in the middle of reading Lincoln and Whitman, a pretty interesting read if you're inclined to like that sort of thing. One thing about nursing a baby- I have lots of time to read again!

Lounging in the Boppy

Clara's medicine smells like cat pee bubble gum, and I accidentally just licked some off my finger. I guess I thought it was sticky from the mousse I had for dessert.
The Boppy seems to have given Clara the hiccups.
Her eyes are still of indeterminate color...I think.
Does she look bigger? She's nursing more these days.

More Valentine's Pics

Though Henry had perked up a little bit in the middle of the day, he was really still feeling pretty crummy. When Pete got home they laid down to read a couple books and Henry fell asleep again. He awoke long enough to eat a little applesauce, take some Tylenol, watch a video and go back to bed. He slept soundly enough that Pete and I were actually able to have a nice dinner.Joyce requested a picture of the two of us. Do we look tired? Yes. We were. (I could probably have used a little mascara, but who has time for make up?)
Here are the pretty tulips Pete brought home to celebrate our 15th Valentine's day together.
And here's Clara. She put on a pretty pink dress to party with us. Check out her cute cute legs!
I hope everyone found a little bit of love to celebrate in their own lives!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Valentine's Day has had a rough start, but it seems to be getting better.... we'll keep our fingers crossed. Henry was acting very cranky, and I should have gotten suspicious when he didn't eat all of his oatmeal. But I didn't really recognize that he truly wasn't feeling well until he laid down next to me on the bed while I was nursing Clara and fell asleep...at 8:30 in the morning. He napped for about half an hour, I took a shower and later when I was trying to change the cover on the changing table I heard some coughing. Poor little guy threw up all over our bed. I managed to strip the bed before the damage was too bad. Got Henry in the tub and the bedding in the wash. Got the carpet cleaned up and got Henry bundled up on the couch with a video. Then Grandma and Grandpa came over. They were going to sit with Clara so Henry and I could do some grocery shopping for a special dinner. It ended up being a solo shopping trip for me. a sad, sick boy....fortunately he missed the quilt when he got sick....most of it landed on Daddy's pillow

Anyway- he seems to be feeling better. He's had a little apple juice and some toast. We're about to go try for a nap. Here are some Valentine's images for you to enjoy:

artwork from school

a table of gifts

we still have a few cookies left... Henry was in charge of sprinkles

the dessert I'm looking forward to after the kids are in bed...(there is also wine)

a valentine smile

a boy on the mend

Sweetheart

Clara and I won't be leaving the house today, but that's no excuse for a baby to look shabby. (I, on the other hand, am in sweatpants and an big ol' maternity shirt. But I showered before 8, so that bodes well.) Here's the little sweetheart in a cute pre-Valentine's day outfit. She's already outgrowing some of her newborn outfits...we've moved on to her 3 month clothes. When I checked the tag on this one this morning (the first time I've put it on her) it said 12-something lbs. I'll have to be careful so we don't let the days slip by without trying out all of her fancy clothes!

One Month Check-Up

Clara and I left the house today because she had her scheduled one-month check-up, which had also become a post-hospital check-up.
The report is that she's doing pretty well. Her lungs sound pretty good. Her breathing is much easier. She may still cough for a month or so, but it doesn't seem to bother her too much.
She's now weighing in at 11 lbs., 13 oz. Up from 9 at birth. Her weight, length and head are all in the 95th-97th percentile. No surprises there!
Last night she slept from 10PM until 4:30AM, which was pretty great!
And now here is a series of photos from last night's photo shoot. I was trying to get just one good shot of Henry and Clara together (wearing their matching pants from Aunt Joyce) but even though they were both fresh from their baths and looking cute, neither was in the mood for pictures. Here's a sampling of what I came up with:




Oh well. Perhaps I will have better luck next time.