Clementine: First Days

It's been a busy few days as we get used to having a newborn in the home again. It's in a lot of little things, but when it's 1:20pm and you're finally getting around to eating (and re-heating) the oatmeal with fresh strawberries that you made four hours earlier for breakfast, you know something is up.

But you don't want to hear about that. You want photos.

Resting in the blanket mommy made for me.

Sleeping with Duncan. Xavier is sharing already.

This pretty well captures Xavier - always in motion!

The tradition continues with the birthday party! Complete with "0" candle and scrumptious coconut cream pie with white chocolate and almond, courtesy of Grandma Clark

Clementine enlisted Xavier's help in blowing out the candle.

Xavier is loving the new baby. Not least because he's gotten several new gifts, like these toy cars from Grandma.

Grandma Clark also made this gorgeous blanket for Clementine, which Xavier had to check out first. (Yep, it passes muster.)

Actually, the blanket was apparently made for him originally, but Alyssa claimed that the colors were too girly for a boy. We're not so picky about those types of things, but it is indeed beautiful and suits Clementine well.

I woke up yesterday and had to capture the adorable scene next to me.

Papa loves holding his little girl!

Shannon & Marc sent this amazing Edible Arrangement with loads of chocolate-dipped strawberries, apples and oranges. Anyone looking for a "Congratulations!" gift that will be thoroughly appreciated need look no further. Thank you SO much.

We've gotten lots of wonderful gifts, including a surprise visit from friends Emily & Jennifer who brought a big bag of new baby clothing! Not knowing if we were having a boy or a girl, we resisted buying much. If you've noticed the same outfit on Clementine for the first 2-3 days you weren't the only one. Thanks to them we are now much better stocked with lots of cute stuff - and in a good diversity of colors too!

I, for one, am reassured that it's possible to find girl clothing in hues other than pink. While I certainly like pink more than the next guy, the pink-washing and princess-ification of all things "girl" is a bit sickening. Fortunately our friends know our feelings on this subject and really came through with a great selection of exactly what we needed. They will certainly be featured in upcoming photos.

The Clarkwests came down today to see their new niece/cousin, and also introduced us to a new game, "Forbidden Island". It was good times. They also helped us polish off what was left of the Edible Arrangement, which as you can see, wasn't a lot. The kale even got used promptly for a green smoothie. Yum!

Continuing the gifts for Xavier theme, Soren gave him a new train, "Rosie", in honor of his new little sister. This led to the construction of another impressive train circuit in our living room and a good time had by all. Xavier, of course, showed his new acquisition off to Clementine in another tender moment captured here.

Many thanks to all who have brought meals, gifts and your presence at this special, though sometimes difficult time! They've been an incredible help as we adjust to life with this new little bundle of joy.