We're Moving!

In a week we are trading heat and humidity along the Gulf Coast for scenic, chilly, island life in the Atlantic! Our new home will be ....

                                                St. John's, Newfoundland!

If this seems sudden, it's because it was! We got the official offer relocate in April -- about 5 weeks prior to moving there permanently. We are thrilled to be moving there, and everything has fallen into place beautifully.

St. John's harbor. Our rental house is 6 minutes from here.

 Bright and cheery paint colors abound...

Gros Morne National Park.

Quick Facts:

* St. John's has the same latitude as Seattle and Paris.

* In 1949 Newfoundland became a province of Canada -- before then it was a British colony.

*Icebergs and Whales can be seen from the shore in St. John's.

* It snows. A lot. 

* St. Johns has the most Easterly point of North America.

* It's pronounced "Newfin-LAND"

* Newfoundland is 1 and a half hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

* According to Wikipedia, St. John's has a population of 197,000

And now, check out these ads on Youtube-- incredible, right?

The boys spent a week with their cousins in Idaho while Scott, Lesley and Helen went to St. John's last week. We fell in love with the scenery, enjoyed unseasonably fabulous weather, and ate some delicious caribou. (We skipped cod tongue, another local favorite.) We also found a house to rent.

This isn't our rental house. I was hoping this picture would show how tulips are spontaneously spouting up in lawns all over town. How fun!

The ladies at our hotel were head-over-heels for Helen. They got her presents at the store, brought her treats from home, and left their phone numbers with us, begging us to let them babysit her. Notice how there are two comforters in Helen's crib? When we first arrived someone brought up a port-a-crib and a blanket for each gender because they hadn't heard if our baby was a boy or girl-- lest our little guest be left to sleep under the wrong color. Everyone was really thoughtful and kind. When we had trouble finding a rental big enough for our family, even our restaurant waiters were calling around trying to hunt something down for us!

We spent most of our time "hunting a house" (as Ian called it) and not nearly enough time exploring. But it was fun to be driving down a quiet country road, then .... BAM! Humongous chunk of ice floating in the ocean!

 So we stretched our legs and had a look-see. 

Gorgeous.

We missed the boys like crazy, but thoroughly enjoyed spending so much one-on-one time with Helen. She is so fun! She seemed to appreciate all the extra attention too. She has never had so much time with her Dad, and basked in the constant Daddy-Fun-Time. By the end of the week she would pick him over me every time. Which was fine by me -- he got to hold her for the majority of the 8 flights we took over 10 days. 

More details to come once we are settled in. 

Texas Bluebonnets

Every Spring bluebonnets bloom across Texas. Overnight the blossoms turn up in every open field, and along the freeway. We finally joined the rest of the state in the annual tradition of taking pictures during the few weeks that the flowers are out. 

Rain was predicted, and it was a busy, busy Saturday afternoon. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity five years in a row, and we'd heard a park in The Woodlands had a field roped off for just that purpose. So while Scott was busy spreading mulch in the front yard, the kids and I combed through whatever clean clothes I could find (Ian is wearing Joseph's clothes, despite Ian's protests) and I quickly fed Helen and asked her not to spit up until we were done.

Saturday night we realized Helen was cutting her first top tooth. That may explain why our usually-content girl looked like this in 90% of the pictures:

 

And actually, if it wasn't one child foiling the picture...

...it was another... 

 

Or a combined Larson effort.

 

It was my first real photo-shoot with my new camera (Merry Christmas to me, love Scott) Unfortunately all the fancy features and settings do nothing to make unruly children cooperate. Neither did my promising the moon to my little models... "If you look at the camera while I count to five I will give you the biggest ice cream cone you have ever seen!" That only worked on Ian, and he was already mostly-cooperating.

I took over 400 pictures, and miracle of miracles, about 10 of them turned out pretty darn good. 

 

 

 

Brothers!

 

 

Helen ate several bluebonnets. And uprooted a dozen more.

When the boys couldn't sit still any longer, they'd run out into an open field and roll and flip and watch the kites high in the sky. Then they'd come back all grass-stained and flush-cheeked and sit for another 3 minutes of photos.

About the third time I'd dragged them back the bluebonnets, the whining and crying crescendoed. Just as I was lowering Helen from my hip to Ian's lap, she spit up all over the camera, the top of Ian's head, and an entire leg of his pants. (Ian: "That's okay, they are Joseph's pants anyway.") So we laughed, did some cartwheels on the grass, and went home. 

Next time I won't bribe with gum - they are chomping away in most of the pictures! And we will definitely bring Scott!

9 Months!

Weight: 20 lbs 9oz, 80%

Height: 28", 70%

Head Circumference: 18", 90% 

This adorable girl is getting older!

 

Everything goes in her mouth. She started crawling last month, and now nothing is safe!

She grabs at and studies everything and now passes objects between her hands. And she's got the pincer-grasp down pat for picking up puffs. Unfortunately she also bats at the spoon when I am feeding her. 

She cut her two bottom teeth in early January, and another one on the bottom right emerged last week. 

Bye-bye gummy smile, Hello pearly-whites!

In February she began really rolling and slithering across the floor. Pretty soon after she began doing a lot of 'downward dog', then getting on her knees and revving forward.

It was fun to watch her quest when she'd spot an item across the room... all that slithering was a lot of work! Then she'd always roll over on her back to enjoy sucking on her quarry. 

Now she crawls in the more typical fashion, but she's still sort of lurchy. And when she gets close to an object she seems to abandon crawling for squirming on the ground for the last several inches. Once she came looking for me in the bathroom, but for the most part she is satisfied with whatever is available in the room she is in. 

 Isn't it funny how once a baby crawls, you don't have to trim their finger and toe nails as often? 

She's got incredibly long, brown eyelashes. And isn't that pair of dimples adorable on her creamy soft skin? 

She continues to be pleasant and content, which the nurses and doctor commented on repeatedly today at her well-check. (Severe double-ear infection and she is happy as a lark and sleeping well?!) And everywhere we go people comment on her bright face and ready smile. Baby Helen is saying Mama and Dada, and yesterday while Scott held her she was gazing as his face and saying "Daddddd! Daddd!', really enunciating the last 'd'. I've noticed that when she is awaiting food in her highchair she always repeats "Nuh, nuh, nuh!" She has held the bottle herself since we switched to formula back in January. She still isn't much of a drinker (averaging about 7 ounces three times a day) and insists on warm bottles. But she loves baby food. People are always impressed with the way she eagerly opens up for each spoonful of peas!

We love our Baby Girl and think it's so fun to get to know her better as she grows. 

6 Months

Helen began eating vegetables (and loves peas, green beans and mixed vegetable) but gags on all fruits (like pureed apricots, bananas and blueberries!) She started rolling over more frequently, saying "Ba Ba Ba" and "Da Da Da" and began to watch her brothers with even more interest. She loves to "stand up".

She is learning to sit, but always arches her back and locks her legs so that it's impossible to get her into the sitting position. I have to trick her into it. When she is laying on the ground, her legs are up in the air. I grab a wrist and an ankle and, keeping her sort of folded in half, pull her gently up into sitting position. Voila!

Check out the outfit Ian selected for Helen. While the mixed patterns are a little dizzying, notice how the colors all coordinate! Ian loves to pick her clothes, and Joseph loves to select her bow and headband. 

She still needs pillows behind her, otherwise she lets out a good cry when she topples over (which is currently about 60 seconds after sitting her up). Even though she doesn't move around much yet, she is still content to be on the floor. She also enjoys being held and will hold onto my shirt with a tight little fist while I carry her around.

 Even though Helen and her Daddy don't get to see much of each other right now, (she wakes up after he leaves for the day, and goes to bed at 6 pm, an hour or less after he gets home from work), Helen absolutely adores him. She lights up and starts her legs 'a kickin' when she sees him, and is thrilled by his tickles and funny voices. Their relationship is sweet to watch. 

Helen normally lets out a couple small whines to let me know when it's naptime or bedtime. But if I have stashed her away in the baby carrier while I do dishes or chase the boys on their bikes, she is even more content than normal and naptime and mealtimes can easily pass without a sound from her -- she is just so happy to be carted around with a good view!

People frequently comment that Helen looks a lot like Joseph, especially in the eyes. I actually think her looks and temperament are more like Ian at this age. Her wider, chubbier face, puffy cheeks and dimples, ears closer to her head, and her little lips just seem more like Ian as an infant. She's very even tempered, patient, pleasant and more low-energy (she will sit and examine things for long periods of time and doesn't need a change of scenery very often). All of this reminds me of Ian. Joseph was very high energy and physical, and thrived on attention and interaction. (We thought it was so funny how Joseph would stare intently at someone until they finally noticed. Then he'd grin and start talking to them.) 

Also like Ian, her Little Blues are beginning to change to Baby Browns. 

A doll crib my mom and I found at the Round Top antiques show. I love the bedding and mattress my mom made for it! They boys really enjoyed using it for their own babies until I hid it away in the attic. 

Our baby girl is so much fun!