Sibling Bonding

We're approaching our fourth week as a four-member family, and sleep deprivation aside we all seem to be adapting pretty well. My biggest concern was that Joy would see Daniel as unwelcome competition, but so far she thinks he's pretty nifty. Not as nifty as board books and finger puppets, of course, but frankly who is?

Most of the time Joy and Daniel are each content to do their own thing, but sometimes Joy gets curious about baby activities and decides to give them a try.

She occasionally likes to sit in Daniel's seat, for example (we made sure to get one that holds up to 40 pounds), . . .

. . . and she even asked me to swaddle her once. I guess she really wanted to know what it feels like to be a baby (or an egg roll).

Out and About

Our family is adjusting reasonably well to our recent expansion. I wouldn't object to having a little more sleep, but hey, at least my energy level reaches the "functional" mark most days. :)

After getting home from the hospital, I spent the first few days resting at home. Lately, though, cabin fever has started rearing its ugly head, so for the sake of everyone's sanity we've been going out for some fresh air on a regular basis. Huzzah for mild So Cal winters!

If this picture looks a bit blurred, it's probably because Joy was pushing the stroller reallyreallyreally fast. I guess she wanted to make sure Daniel got a real E-ticket ride.

It was nice to get back to the park. We'd missed our friends (and the slides).

Here's Joy playing "Ring Around the Palm Tree" with one of the local squirrels. Ah, the simple pleasures of life.

Meet "Hezekiah"

A little son joined our family this week. He arrived two weeks early, and weighed in at 8lb, 8oz. "Hezekiah's" official name is . . .

. . . Daniel Phillip Hendrickson! I love his name, but after months of calling him Hezekiah, Little Guy, etc., sometimes I have a hard time remembering to use his official title. :)

Here's a picture of Mama and Daniel. He's got dark hair like his big sister, though not quite as much of it as she did on arrival.

Here's Joy meeting Daniel for the first time. She posed nicely for this photo op for about two seconds, then told Daddy to put the baby "away" so he could take her for a walk. Oh well, she's got eternity to learn to love her little brother (though we hope it won't take quite that long).

It's finally time to go home! Now the real fun (and sleep deprivation and endless laundry and major life adjustment) begins!

Welcome to the family, Daniel!

Hanging Around

We recently decided to check out a park near our house that we'd passed many times but never visited.

The swings and slides were nice and all . . .

. . . but our favorite toy was this zip-line thing. Little kids love it.

So do big kids. :)

Cousins, Sort Of

On my side of the family, Joy doesn't have any first cousins yet and all of her second cousins (my cousins' children) live out-of-state.

Thank goodness for first cousins once removed! My little cousin Sophia was born almost exactly a year before Joy, and the two girls have a lot of fun playing when my extended family gets together. It's fun to hear them giggle as they plunk away at a piano or scamper down the hall.

Of course, even when there aren't cousins of any variety around, aunties, uncles, and grandparents are lots of fun, too. :)

Latest Joy News

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. For those of you still checking our blog (translation: Joy's grandparents), here's what Little Girl's been up to lately.

Joy received a big puzzle for Christmas, and for a while she was content to let us assemble it (over and over and over). Before long, though, our increasingly independent toddler insisted on putting it together HERSELF. At first this resulted in considerable frustration for all parties, but practice does make perfect and Joy can now easily put the whole thing together on her own. Way to go, Joy!

Joy also enjoys having us read to her. Here Daddy is instructing her (and nearly all the stuffed animals we own) on proper dragon identification.

Joy's also getting ready to become a big sister in a month or so. When Baby Joshua recently paid us a visit, Joy loved helping me give him his bottle. We hope this trend of kindness toward babies will continue when her little brother joins us.

So there you have it. All things considered, life's good. :)

Cats and Walls

When Joy and I were out for a stroll the other day, I noticed a gray cat on a nearby wall. Joy likes kitties, so I quickly directed her attention to it, fearing it would run away before she got the chance to see it. Sure enough, the cat jumped down the moment it noticed we were looking at it, but instead of scurrying away . . .

. . . it made itself right at home home in the back of the stroller. Joy thought this was hilarious.

Little Girl also really loves walking on walls these days . . .

. . . especially walls with sprinklers next to them.