Sarah Avery has been a joy. She is probably the easiest baby we’ve had, which is saying something. Stephanie recovered very quickly from the cesarean, something she attributes to not having gone through twenty four hours of labor and pushing before the procedure.

Sarah sleeps for most of the day and night. When she does wake, she feeds, looks around for a few minutes, and goes back to sleep again. Miss Low Maintenance.*

Jan and Julius were here for a couple of weeks to offer some support and keep Jamiee and the boys while we were in the hospital. Julius stayed busy doing odd jobs around the house. There were plenty of odd jobs to keep him busy in a thirty five-year-old new house. Jan stayed busy taking care of the boys, cooking, doing dishes, laundry and shopping. We owe many, many thanks to both Jan and Julius.

While they were here, we celebrated Jacob's third birthday. Jacob and Jan went to a party store where he selected themed decorations for his party. He chose whales of course. Whales, dolphins and sharks. Stephanie even managed to cut a whale shaped cake for him. Jacob had a couple of “friends” over his age. He also got a kid’s digital camera for his birthday, so look for a few choice Jacob images coming to this space soon.

We are pretty well settled into the house, and it definitely feels like home. It feels like our home. There are things we like about it, and there are improvements and renovations we hope to make someday. I’ve been spending the bulk of my time in the backyard, cutting down the neglect and overgrowth that has been accumulating there for some years, and in the garage trying to sort through boxes and find permanent homes for everything. When we chose this house, we kind of felt like we were settling on a second tier choice. But now that we are here and have moved our lives into it, we feel very good about it. It's wierd to think that this is where Jacob, Toby and Sarah will be as they start school. This will be a good home for us and for our family.