Pictures of Alden, Sibling Love

A few of my favorite pictures of Alden in his first six weeks of life...

The girls love their baby brother.  Adara introduces him to everyone we meet (That's Awl-den.) and Emily has gotten pretty good at giving him his pacifier.  They both love to hold him.

I like to hold him too. :)

not good for my productivity:

settling him down for bed after a lot of crying... and savoring.

Westport!

Alden took his first trip to the lake and met all his cousins over Memorial Day weekend. :)  So happy to have summer started!   

 (Rosalie was fishing, Adara was baking dessert, and Daniel was throwing sticks.  Who needs toys??)

 This kid could star in a John Deere commercial. 

 Girl time.

 Exploring the creek above the Sandy Beach with Papa.

Watching cousin Michael clean perch.  Lovely.

(I also got to take a trip back the next weekend with a group of mom friends.  Such a different and lovely experience to be there in peace and quiet, and 8 other women to take turns holding Alden. :) )

Romp & Stomp

I started bringing the girls to Romp & Stomp when Emily was 2.5 and Adara was a baby.  Hard to believe that now we have a new baby there in a carseat, Adara is the 2.5 year old, and Emily won't be with us there in the fall!  It's a simple program run by our pastor's wife at the local library, but the kids love it.  Interactive stories, dancing, stamps, and always - the parachute.  Adara and Dori have a little routine every week where while the kids are cleaning up the balls, Adara lays down on the parachute and Dori pulls her in and tickles her.

Sad that it's done for the summer, but looking forward to weekly playground dates instead. :)

Groves ladies visit

We were lucky enough to have Mom Groves, Aunt Becky & Auntie Eowyn all here at the same time a few weekends ago.  :)

And also, we met our neighbors' talking bird.

Eikhoffs

Boy are we going to miss this family!  Our kids have spent multiple days a week together over the past three years...so many kid swaps and play dates, community group meetings, family dinners... it's hard to imagine life without them.

Alex & little Emily have been as excited about baby Alden as his real siblings.

Emily was devastated Alex wouldn't be here for her 5th birthday, so when they came back this weekend for Nate's med school graduation, she chose to celebrate by planting seeds.  I took them to the local feed store and Emily chose watermelon, bell pepper, carrot and lettuce seeds, and Alex chose some white flowers.  I'm not entirely optimistic that any of it will actually grow, but they had a great time planting, and the feed store gives out free popcorn. :)

Hike up to Boston Lot, lots of fun throwing rocks into the lake.

He's Here!

James Alden Groves arrived just before 6pm on Monday April 28th.  He couldn't be more perfect, and his big sisters are beyond delighted with him.  The awe on their faces when they met him was priceless.

My labor started at 1am on Monday, but stayed slow all day... until about 4:15 in the afternoon when things moved into high gear very quickly.  After an uncomfortable drive to pick Alasdair up at work, we stopped in at the Eikhoff's (where the girls were) to tell them we were headed in and hug the girls goodnight.  After a few more stops on the way to the hospital so I could walk during contractions, and a very long walk from the parking lot, we made it to a delivery room about 15 minutes before Alden made his arrival.  I am very glad that's over!  Everything since has gone very smoothly, and so far Alden is a champion eater and sleeper.  As parents, everything seems a bit easier the third time around.  And we are so so grateful to have Mimi here taking care of us!

 

 (There seem to be more pictures of Emily than Adara with him, probably because the newest big sister has a harder time being still and gentle.  She informed me adamantly that "boys aren't fragile.")