Owen's happy last day

Owen had his "happy last day" at Interlake at the end of June. The kids sometimes do treats for these ocassions, and when they do, teachers encourage preschoolers to give the guest of honor any messages they have.

Tristen to Owen: "Thank you for growing up with me, and thank you for coming to Interlake."

Tillie!

Tillie arrived! She was right on time: one day before her official due date.

Tilia Jane Marshall Krumm, or Tillie, is named for Tillie Baldwin -- a famous rodeo trick rider -- and the plant genus Tilia, which has somewhat heart-shaped leaves. :)

Born July 20 at 1:23 a.m., she weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz, and was 18.5 inches long.

I had a really nice, long manageable early labor -- and then a short active labor and near parking-lot delivery. Yikes!

I had LOTS of help getting through the birth: Darren and Kat came over and spent the night with Tristen; doula Kim James coached me through labor and delivery; Amy played the roles of sherpa, snack provider, wheelchair fetcher, drink holder, and more; and Chris was a pillar of love and support.

Our nurses at Group Health -- Jan and Lyena -- were just incredible, and we're grateful to Dr. Demer and a resident who was wonderful, even though I can't remember her name, for pinch-hitting the delivery. We didn't give Dr. Dacey enough time to get to us, but she has been incredibly supportive since.

Thanks, too, to all the folks who participated in Tristen plan and to our great family and friends who have  showered us with love and support --and not just through birth, but throughout our family planning endeavors and pregnancy. Chris and I both feel super lucky right now.

As you'll see from the pix below, Tristen is SUPER excited to be a big brother. We keep expecting that to wear off, but so far he can't stop smiling at her, hugging and kissing her, marveling at her poop, and narrating her every movement.

Tillie Baldwin.

Tillie Jane Marshall Krumm.

Tillie and Amy.

World's best doula.

Tristen meets Tillie.

We are four.

Waiting for Tillie

My first act in parenting Tillie? Giving her the space she needs to take her time. Tristen was such a surprise at 37.5 weeks that I've been ready now -- at work, at home -- for a month. It's hard not to be impatient.

All of us are eager to meet her. Last Saturday morning, there was a baby crying out on the sidewalk in front of our house. Tristen, who had still been sleeping, lept out of bed and came running out to the living room as if it were Christmas morning: "Where are you?! Is she here?! Did Tillie come?!"

Meanwhile, for those of you who have been asking after belly pictures, which I NEVER would have done if it weren't for Molly, her enthusiasm, and her photography skills....

Cloud City Coffee coloring contest

Chris and Tristen are now "featured artists" at Cloud City Coffee, which is just a block from our house and a second home for us. They are featured with all the other neighborhood kids. :)

The two of them spent a full morning altering the original drawing to include spaceships with little aliens drinking coffee, among other enhancements.

Lightening Lad and Lieutenant Robie

Lightening Lad: (1) has super vision and can burn things with his eyes, (2) is really strong and can lift up the world,  (3) can take people's eyeballs out to look inside them like a doctor, (4) can build special building with blocks, (5) knows everything in the world.

Lieutenant Robie: (1) shoots fire out of his belly,  (2) can gobble up robbers, (3), has really sharp claws, (4) can swallow apples whole, (5) has invisible stripes.

There are times...

"There are times when I love you," Tristen told me. He was sitting on the couch next to me as I edited his birthday pix. Then he reached up and kissed my shoulder. I snapped this picture a few minutes later as Chris was reading him a story before nap.

Thing is, I know just what he meant. There are times when I really REALLY love him, too. Like this weekend. It was a perfect birthday weekend -- full of smiles and laughing and five-year-old chit chat.

Today we continued to chill and wait for Tillie. I sat in the yard while Chris weeded and Tristen deadheaded the hyrangea bush to make room for this year's blooms. He was careful with the clippers and eager to show off how much of a bucket he filled with the old dry stuff.

At one point I asked if he wanted to sing. He said that he wanted ME to sing -- a song about Tristen and Tillie. "Tristen row the boat ashore," he suggested. "I should row, because I'm the oldest."

He is VERY proud to be 5.

I'm sure it goes without saying that Chris and I are just overwhelmed with pride, too.

Five!

Tristen is five. We celebrated with an end-of-June birthday party (just in case Tillie came early) at Arena Sports Inflatables Fun Zone. I needed the party piece to be easy this year, so we went for "birthday in a box." It turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made; Arena Sports made things VERY easy.

Tristen had requested a cake with "Superman and Spider-Man playing soccer," so that's what we went for. Who would win? Superman, with his lightening speed? But how would he ever score on his web-slinging friend?

A slideshow from the party:



For Facebookers, the link: https://picasaweb.google.com/kannamarshall/2011JulyTBdayParty?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPezgKmI2e2QnQE&feat=directlink.

On his actual birthday the following weekend, we started off with a pancake breakfast, where we surprised Tristen with a new bicycle. He also got an awesome new marble run.

Note the creative mixing of marble runs. Yay, Dad!

Note two possible exits. Yay, Mom!

Owen's family and Amy joined us for dinner and some serious slip-n-slide action. See also "Fun ride chicken!"

And of course, cupcakes, ice cream, and fortune cookies for dessert. My fortune said something about a nice event soon happening. Let's hope so! :)

We ended the day with a homemade volcano.

Fun ride chicken!

I don't know what that means, but it's what Tristen and Owen yell as they're hurling themselves toward the slip-n-slide. So funny!



For Facebookers, the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz3luB267oA.

Drink Silk!

Continuing our tradition of product placement, here's one from Tristen's birthday breakfast. That's Amy drinking creamer in her coffee. :)