Easter

We got out the flannel board for Easter week again, acting out the stories that we love now more than ever. Lukas especially loves the goriness of it all. On Thursday we read about the last supper and the imminent betrayal of Judas.

A nice illustration in the DK Illustrated Bible

Communion, remembering the death of our Lord
and asking for his quick return

The flannel story. Notice Judas has been kicked off.

We got to celebrate Easter with lots of people. We skipped the sunrise service, but joined the Avras and others from church and the neighborhood for breakfast, where I got to practice my Spanish and threw in the usual amount of Bengali for good measure. We saw more friends at church and then had supper with my (Melissa's) family. Here are some photos that Heidi took during that time:

Silly Caleb

Sweet Jesse

A family of 5!!

With the new one

Theo is 2!

Isn't he handsome?! We love him. He's funny, always up for a wrestling match, quick to say sorry, quick to forgive, lavish with his kisses for Frida, a good hugger, gaining new words, abilities and pounds every day, and we just love his belly laugh.

He was so excited about his photo birthday banner,
exclaiming, "T-t!" (Theo).

He got a Duplo boat and monkey from Lukas

And stickers from Auntie Hanna & Uncle Isaac

And Duplo train tracks from Grandma & Grandpa

Frida is here!!

She's here! And we just think she's wonderful. The only disappointment anyone has expressed is Lukas' surprise that she wasn't born with "girl hair". We have explained that we will let it grow. 

The Story

Toni, our favorite midwife, broke my water at 12:15 and labor started within half an hour. We were all just a little worried she would fall out after Lukas and Theo's quick labors, but Frida had other plans! She was sunny side up and definitely more work to push out, but at 6:13 she made her debut and we loved her right away. She nursed for 4 hours straight, except for when Toni weighed her at 7 lb 7.5 oz, and measured her 20 inches. My favorite part about giving birth at the birth center is that I get to go home 4 hours after birth and sleep (lay, not sleep) in my own bed and just stare at the brand new human lying next to me without anyone coming in to bother us. She slept from 10:30-5:30.

Just as I was about to fall asleep around 2, Theo started crying inconsolably. By 4 or 5 I called the nurse line, worried he had intestinal intussusception again, as all the factors were identical to his 6 month episode (both boys were a week into a fever/cough virus, and then as Theo was inconsolable he wouldn't eat or drink). The nurse recommended we take him to the ER right away so Daniel did and I wept as Daniel drove off with my 2nd baby and not myself, who needed to stay with the two other babies, one brand new one who really shouldn't be in the ER. We prayed the doctors would know quickly whether it was intussusception, and that if it was God would heal it. Daniel was home 2 hours later with good news of healthy intestines, and doctor reports that they were just as surprised as us that he didn't have it! Maybe God healed him? Maybe it was something else? 

Needless to say the first few days of Frida's life had 2 very tired parents and two under-the-weather big brothers, but we were still delighted with her, and unable to stop kissing her soft reddish hair. 

The Baby

Some of Frida's favorite activities in early life include: sleeping, drinking milk, watching her brothers, looking at lights, being snuggled and swaddled, riding around in the backpack, joining Lukas for bedtime stories, showing off her plethora of adorable clothes, bathing, and being adored while doing all of the above. 

Lukas was explaining how things work here in the outside world.
Frida listened carefully.

He finally got to hold her!
It took a while for the cough to go away.

Napping with Theo