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!