Cecilia

We are all absolutely in love with this baby, but we are deep in the throws of adjusting to life with 3 kids. Most days it's pretty hit or miss and there have been plenty of tears (from all of us). Luckily, the girls are fascinated with Cecilia and are constantly asking to hold her, smooch her, give her a nuk, and bounce her chair. Nora asks at least every 10 minutes to "hold Cee-ya Jane?" These are the good moments. Unfortunately this has been a lot of change in a short time and we're all riding the emotional roller coaster. Nora has taken her stubborn, independent tendencies to a whole new level. Erin has been channeling her inner demon and throwing epic tantrums over things like making her bed and picking out her clothes. Matt and I know that this is all a reaction to the changes in their life, but patience is hard to come by these days.  I'm sure that there are easier days ahead, but for now are trying to focus on appreciating our newborn.

Our Friend Oscar...

  

Oscar Peepers Lee will always be a part of our family.  He was born on a farm just outside of Madison, WI on June 22, 2000.  He was right there with us as Fran and I got married, when Duncan arrived, and he greeted both baby Erin and Nora as they came home from the hospital.  Here's 7-month-old Erin in 2008, and here she and Muggy are with Oscar this past weekend when we had to put him down after he blew out both back ACLs and couldn't walk.  Muggy took Oscar to live with her in Bend, OR three years ago- he loved it, and we can't thank her enough.  It was a sad day, but Erin handled it very well.  We had fun watching videos of Erin as a toddler crawling all over Oscar, and him not even flinching.  The Oscar stories could go on and on, but I pulled out some pictures that capture Oscar at his best.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a happier note, we were able to be in Portland to join Fran's family at Kara's wedding held at a beautiful vineyard over the weekend, too.  The clouds and rain stopped just before the ceremony, and it turned into a nice evening.  Here are some photos, followed by some random ones from home.  Cecilia is doing well, and is turning into quite the sleeper. 

   

 

 

Introducing Cecilia Jane Prekker!

  

The newest Prekker arrived just ahead of schedule yesterday 9/12/13, at 12:34 pm.  Cecilia Jane is 7 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long, certainly smaller than Erin or Nora!  It was a foggy and rainy morning in Ballard, but by the time she was born we had sunshine.  Fran did an amazing job (no surprise) while Grandma Beth was home getting Erin and Nora off to school.  In the afternoon, Erin came straight from Kindergarten to meet her new sister, and later we included Nora in a family pizza dinner at the hospital.  We'll head home sometime today.  Compared to her sisters at this stage, we've noticed that Cecilia has a soft cry and a full head of very dark brown hair.  Enjoy these first pictures of our larger family!

 

 

 

First Day of School Photos

It was a beautiful summer in Seattle, that went by way too quickly!  Above, Nora is just about to walk Erin to her first day of kindergarten.  Erin just finished her first week (1/2 days to start with) at West Woodland Elementary.  Her teacher is Mrs. Leveque.  'Thrilled' would be an understatement for Erin's attitude towards school.  Tomorrow she starts full days, which will be 8:40a to 2:50p. 

Although they're not in the same class, Erin really looks forward to seeing Tess each day at school.  

 

Nora has started Zoom preschool two mornings each week.  Below she is by the front door, ready to go!  This is her first experience with a couple hours by herself away from home.  So far, so good.  

 

We squeezed in some last minute summer fun during the week before Labor Day.  Erin, Nora, and I met some friends to hike the 'Swamp Monster Trail' at Tiger Mountain in Issaquah.  We went about 2 miles total and there are illustrated signs along the trail telling the story of the swamp monster.  By the end, the 5 year old crowd was totally into it.

We headed over to the east side and got to walk and climb all over these pirate ships (below).  They had real cannons and cannonballs, which led to a very detailed discussion about gunpowder and reasons why pirates may want to shoot at somebody, all extremely interesting to Erin.  We enjoyed bringing lunch to mom at work right afterwards, this was Fran's last hospitalist shift before the baby is due!  

Grandma Beth is staying with us now as we eagerly await the arrival of Erin and Nora's little sister, some of us (dad, Erin, Nora, grandma) more eager than others (Fran).  Hopefully the next post will be baby pictures!

Weekend in Whistler

 

On the heels of our dad & girls trip to Mt. Ranier, we were on the road again last weekend.  Destination this time was Whistler, BC!  We're not big skiers, so we decided to check out Canada in the summertime.  Turns out Whistler got its name in the 1800s from the call ('whistle', I guess) of the hoary marmot.  There you go.  

Mom was able to come along this time, and boy was I glad she was there.  The drive along the water from Vancouver north to Squamish was absolutely beautiful.  Unfortunately, we spent over 5 hours on the road (not counting bathroom and meal stops) and got in well past bedtimes.  Saturday afternoon at the hotel pool was certainly a highlight of the trip.  Nora was not to be outdone by Erin, as the sequence below shows!  

 

Erin's turn!!

Mom and the (3!) girls spent a relaxing Saturday evening snuggling in bed.  You can see that something really has their attention...  Probably Dad playing ukulele, or maybe a deer outside our room, or... 

 

A Disney movie! 

Erin picked out Cinderella from the rental place by our house in Seattle as a treat to take along.  She loved it. On Sunday, we finally succeeded in escaping the tourist trap of Whistler and hiked along the Ancient Cedars trail just north of town.  Almost two miles in, we had some impressive thunder and then heavy rain a few minutes later.  We took these pics a few minutes before the storm.  Nora didn't waste words on the soggy hike back to the car: "Dry clothes!  Dry clothes!"

Panthers and Lava: A Weekend With Dad

 

With Fran working all weekend, I took the girls to explore the southeast side of Mt. Ranier National Park. This trip was classic "last minute" planning by me, but we certainly had luck on our side.  Beautiful weather and a comfortable condo at White Pass Ski Resort, nothing fancy, but just right for us (more on that later).  Our first day we headed into the park to the Grove of the Patriarchs.  A long clarification ensued with Erin re: what exactly is a patriarch, and what does that have to do with some 1,000-year-old trees.  This 1.5 mile walk to an island in the middle of a mountain stream is one of my new favorites.  We have to bring Fran back to experience it.  So peaceful, and no Ewoks.  We were in and out by morning snacktime, so had the loop mostly to ourselves. 

  

 

This was the entrance to the trail.  Erin did a great job hiking.  Nora rode in the frame pack she has nearly outgrown, and was able to give me a scalp massage most of the way. 

I've never seen the giant redwoods in California, but the trees on this small island were absolutely spectacular.  I think the girls thought so too. 

Erin inherited Mom's photography skills!  She snapped this rare picture of me using the "big camera", do I look nervous? (don't drop it, don't drop it...).

This cool foot bridge sways and creaks as you walk over it.  Crystal clear water below, and cold!
 

 

My little hikers... and Nora hamming it up.  Now back to the ranch...

The photo above just about captures the essence of a weekend with Dad.  Pizza and milk food groups covered.  The living room of our small condo is below.  As soon as we got in, Erin cracked me up with this little exchange:

Erin: Dad! I found a book about this place! And its got a map of Mt. Ranier!!
Me (seeing her rifling through the bedside table): Erin, that's the Bible... (and taking a closer look...) and that's a map of Jerusalem.

Ah, our heathen children.  God bless 'em.   

 
To say the bunk beds were a hit would be an understatement.  Here's the fort Erin made for the 'kitties'.  Hours of meowing...

This morning we explored Sunrise, the highest spot you can drive to in the park, ~6400 ft I think on the eastern slope of Ranier.  I like this location even more than Paradise, which we discovered with Grandpa and Grandma last year. 

Erin's impression of the size of Ranier, up close.  Not sure how the hiked-up shorts fit in, but they're there too.  Huge wedgie. 

 

The drive up to Sunrise was stunning.  But here's where the panthers and lava come in.  Erin has some very particular things she's curious about (I don't think they're quite phobias, but close).  One is the Titanic sinking, another happens to be panthers.  I think this stems from one of the Little House on the Prairie books where a panther drops out of a tree and mauls one of Pa's relatives.  

Anyway, we're driving through the woods and Erin asks if there are any panthers.  I say no.  (Fran later points out that a cougar is also known as a panther, so answer probably should be 'yes')  Then we cross a small bridge over a stream and I pull over right after to stretch our legs.  We're right in front of a sign identifying the landmark as 'Panther Creek'!  Erin goes bonkers. 

Lightning struck twice a little later on.  In our car discussions, Erin learned that Mt. Ranier is a (sort of) active volcano.  She peppered me with questions like "Will it erupt now?", "What do we do if it erupts?", "Can cars drive faster than lava?", etc.  I try to reassure her that we're safe, there are scientists monitoring for signs of an eruption all the time (Erin's follow-up question: "But when do they go to the bathroom?"), and the mountain will not explode.  We all felt better until we walk into the visitor center at Sunrise and the whole exhibit is about mudslides triggered by eruptions that bury cities, molten hot boulders shot out of volcanoes like cannonballs, and surrounding cities' emergency plans for evacuation when Ranier erupts.  Great. 

 

Sunrise is surrounded by alpine meadows, and there were wildflowers all over though this photo doesn't do them justice.  After a hike, we ate lunch at the Sunrise Lodge (below) and capped off the morning with some ice cream.  'Sharing' had been working all weekend, but Erin had to draw the line somewhere!  Before Nora could get too many spoonfuls, Erin gulped down the majority and learned about karma via an ice cream headache.