October 12
Life with two children
The family is now adapting to a new life with two children. Elin is growing fast - she was already at 9 lbs at her two-week checkup. Sarah was initially a bit reserved, but now she loves to take care of Elin, comfort her, have Elin in her lap, or just touch her soft cheeks. She seems to grow into a wonderful big sister.
Today, we had 68 degrees. Fall has definitely come, but it really still feels strange. It IS mid October after all, and yet this is almost mid summer temperatures in Sweden that we're experiencing. Fall colors have started to come. We probably won't get to do any excursion up to the Cascades this fall, but the colors around here are vibrant as well, as is evident from the pictures below. Sarah is getting all hyped up about Halloween and the outlook of going out in the snow to cut a new Christmas tree again. Yesterday, Sarah and Peo bought a (plastic) jack-o-lantern lamp that Sarah absolutely NEEDED to have. It's frightening enough so she doesn't want it in her room, but downstairs is fine.
It really is a period of big changes for Sarah. Not only has the family been extended and Sarah has had her first "real" haircut, but she also started preschool the day after Elin was born. The first couple of times were hard on her. She was worried we wouldn't come back to pick her up, but she seems to have settled in now, and today, she actually didn't want to go home when school was over. Preschool, baby sister, what more? Oh yes, we have also put on new tires on Sarah's favorite car (yup, our Subaru, nicknamed "Lightning McQueen" by Sarah). The guy at the tire center at Costco in Woodinville was very child friendly, and when I mentioned that I wanted one of the old tires back so I could make a swing set out of it, he offered to dig up an old bigger, better tire for us instead. Sarah loves the new swing!
Sarah's new friends from preschool will lead to a lot more birthday parties, is my guess. It has already started - with a Build-a-Bear party last week. Strangely, this was Sarah's third visit to Build-a-Bear in Bellevue in about a month. We now have a Pumpkin Bear, a Pooh Bear, and Another Bear, all made at the same place. Sarah really enjoys that.
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