The Gang

Freya Turns Three

Among the many things I missed those first weeks was Freya's 3rd birthday party. However, with the many photos and videos that both David and Gwendolyn took, I got a pretty good idea of what the party was like. Here's the Wren upon arrival, in her full ensemble. Enjoying one of her (and Freya's, and David's) favorite foods.

And here is one of Gwendolyn's own shots - she has become a quite a photographer recently. I love the candidness of her pictures (catching people very much off guard) - and her perspective - this is what the world must look like from Wren's eyes!

Getting ever more skillful at the piñata.

And enjoying a chocolate reindeer cake.

Happy Birthday, sweet Freya!

Housebound

For the first few weeks after Simon's birth I did not leave the house (if you don't count our trip to the pediatrician when Simon was 4 days old - driving straight to Panama City and straight back - for a traumatic heel prick and the assurance that Simon is doing fine). Needless to say, I've started to feel really strange. We've had lots of visits to the house, but I began to get a little stir crazy.

Here's the view from bed, a taunting glimpse of the world outside my reach.

And here's the view of my lap, sweet warm sleeping baby. Beautiful quilt from Aunt Lou. And a computer full of work piling up.

Simon Naps

It Takes a Village

And Gamboa has been wonderful! A few of the many kind things people have done for us in the weeks following Simon's birth: delicious, fully-cooked dinners, arriving warm and ready to eat on our kitchen table; many, many playdates for the Wren, on days she was bouncing off the walls but we were too tired to leave the house; a wonderful chicken soup Graciela made the day after Simon was born - with chicken broth and root vegetables, the kind women drink after childbirth in her hometown; the bat girls whisking Gwendolyn off for an afternoon at the zoo, complete with popcorn and popsicles; not to mention baby clothes, flowers, empanadas, cookies, brownies, hummus... and much much more! Thank you, Gamboa.

Happy Easter!

 Bunny ears arriving with perfect timing - thank you, Aunt Francie!!!

At 9 am, the Gamboa kids converged on the park, where egg dying was in process.

 Then the hunt began!

 Freya and Gwendolyn, examining the loot.

 

The whole crew.

And Little Simon, curled up in the shade, sleeping through the entire event.

Song for Baby Brother

(Rare) Moments of Calm

Little hands, little feet

Cling

After I'd left Simon for a few many minutes too long alone in his pack-n-play, he was incredibly glad to see his father. Note the hand on David's shirt - a mixture of relief and prevention - hoping that by clinging hard enough this would not happen again.

Ready...

...set...

twirl!

jump!

and admire!

The beautiful new dress Taisie just sent. Perfectly timed, arriving just days after Simon's birth. When some special Gwendolyn attention was needed.

Excessive

We are definitely in the new-parents-all-over-again, photo-crazy mode. This is just a few of the many photos I've taken in the category of "gwendolyn holding her little brother" - even this small subset is a little excessive. Enjoy!

 

 

 The discovery that Simon will nurse for a moment or two on Gwendolyn's finger - exciting!

 

 

 

 

Getting to Know One Another

 

Gwendolyn has been so excited about her new brother. Besides wanting to hold him (almost constantly!), she loves it when he touches her, and is often exclaiming "He likes me! He likes me!" I was worried that it would be so long before they could actually interact that Gwendolyn would be really disappointed in her brother, but even these tiny interactions seem to be thrilling.