Big girl playtime

Baby sisters may be pretty cute... but they are not that useful in the eyes of a two-year old. Luckily we can find some interesting things for Alice to do while she waits for Estelle to get bigger.

Fort building.

"Making coffee" at the park.

Another fort.

Play dough.

And all the while... Estelle sleeps peacefully.

Family time

Our happy little family is busy going about our business - enjoying being together and getting as much sleep as we can! Guy and Lucy are marveling at how big Alice seems next to her little sister. Apparently this is a common phenomenon amongst second-time parents! Alice continues to be a superb big sister - helping bring supplies for Estelle's bath time and cooing over her when she gets home from daycare. It will always be this easy, right?

Luckily Guy is still able to watch just a little bit of tv.

Estelle is not so into it yet...

The girls having a tea (and milk) party

Estelle, snug and cosy in her new sling.

The amazing gourmet diaper cake made by Pascale.

Janette and Dave: thanks for the plant - this is what it looks like!

Two sisters, an auntie and an uncle

Auntie Katherine and Uncle Ben stopped by this morning to check in on the girls. Lucky for Katherine, that Alice was shy around Ben and so clung to her auntie with all of her might. Lucky for Ben then, that he got to hold Estelle!

Baby Burrito

Snaps

Newborns keep it simple: sleep or feed (poo as often as possible). There is only about 1 hour a day where she is awake and not feeding. This time is reserved for staring in our general direction or the space directly behind us. We take advantage of this time to stare back and converse with the "high-pitched shmoopy whoopy" voice. They should have newborns available over the counter at the pharmacy as a treatment for depression...

We received a package from Lynn and Paul containing this amazing handmade quilt.

Check-up on thursday: Estelle is doing very well and already putting on weight.

We had forgotten how hard it is to buckle them in. The arms and legs tend to retract creating an acorn-squash-like mass onto which straps must be adjusted

There's still some room here for the filling out.

Sisters Game

Can you tell which pictures are of Alice and which are of Estelle?

All is very well.

We made it home last night; the whole lot of us. Lucy is feeling very good; way ahead of where she was with the last recovery. Estelle is being relatively easy to care for so we are still relatively rested (relatively speaking). Alice has been just superb with the little one and we are proud as can be.

Estelle gave Alice a new doll to care for. Isn't that a thoughtful newborn. When asked what she wanted to call her new doll Alice spontaneously said Atuna!

Alice being very gentle.

It appears that newborn babies are very small...

Estelle is BORN!!!!

Estelle Chloe was a little rushed to get out. First confirmed contraction to holding baby was just over 2 hours; we could have used another 10 minutes to get to the hospital more comfortably. The entire process ended beautifully on Sunday, November 16th, at 7:20 pm. Estelle is a gorgeous little girl 6 pounds 6 ounces and 20 inches long. This is apparently normal but to us she seems ever so small; Alice was never this small was she... Lucy again was a super trooper and she is feeling great. More pictures to come... for the next 18 years.

Estelle was a particularly dirty baby.

Daddy got a squeeze in to help warm her up.

Look like anyone you know? Alice? Reynald?

No place like home!

My first Lava Cake

And I liked it almost as much as Dad did...

Unky G

We had a super visit from Unky G yesterday; who was not-so-secretly hoping that he would get a chance to see the new baby (ex-utero) before having to jet to PEI for a wedding and then back to work. No such luck - she is happy and comfy in her watery bed.

Luckily, Alice was able to distract him with her feminine wiles, as they played around at the park.

What's with the flopping around Gareth? Who's watching Alice?

Gran and Grandad also stopped by to read nap time stories

Try not to fall asleep Grandad!

Keeping you posted

We're on the final countdown this week for the arrival of our little bump... (39 weeks 4 days today) But there's no hurry, and we're happy to enjoy our final days as a family of 3, giving the baby a few more days to plump up.

Rest assured, we'll pass the news onto you as soon as we can!

To keep the masses happy, here is a 3D shot from our 38 week ultrasound (a fairly unusual procedure so late in the game, but our doctor wanted to make sure her growth was still on track)

... not just for kids ...

Lucy and Guy also got into the Halloween spirit at work, where we held a costume contest and potluck lunch.

The Holy and the unholy

Guy's work costume: himself, 15 years in the future.

He made up a t-shirt representing the company he would work for in 15 years (VanglostrataTinto) representing the Lunar division of the Lithium exploration group...

You kind of had to be there to get it - but the beard was hilarious!

Guy recycled the nun costume for later in the evening.

Where did my candy go?

Lucky us - we had a beautiful warm evening for trick-or-treating an a sassy, young cowgirl to roam the neighborhood with. So after handing out a few treats at our house, we saddled up and headed out.

(the now legendary fake smile rears its ugly - ahem, adorable - head)

Alice figures that she can take those two big pirates on - and make away with their candy too!

So who is all this other candy for? Since we hardly had any trick or treaters at our house, Alice started to help herself and fill up her own bag!

Post-outing loot inventory.