Vacancy Sign

Marin decided to build a nest on her swingset last week, in hopes that some birds might come live there. She even told us to put out a sign. So far, there have been no takers, and the nest seems to have washed away in the recent heavy rains. However, Marin's friend Ella who lives 3 houses down has a robin's nest under her deck, so we were able to have a close encounter when we last went to play!
If any birds are reading this, call 180024LABOR and we'll set it back up for you!

Sisters!

Update from Piperville...

Piper is now 10 days old. She's eating like a chow hound, and as a result had gained back all of the weight she lost plus 2oz by her 1 week appointment. She still only does baby things...cries, sleeps, eats, poops, repeat. She seems to sleep an awful lot more than Marin did.

The first bath at home!

Granny came to stay with us on Day 6 and is staying through next Saturday. It's great to have an extra pair of hands around just to hold a kid or empty a dishwasher...thanks, Granny!

Granny and Gram both say she looks a lot like Marin did, so we're expecting a family resemblance.

Mom and Dad are getting enough sleep on account of the fact that we don't need to get up to go to work. Sarah sleeps in during the morning and Ed takes a nap every once in a while.

Gram and Pa stop by frequently, too, and let Piper take naps on them!

Meanwhile, back on the farm...

So what's Marin been up to since Piper's been home??? Here's a sampler...

Marin now has a stool that lets her wash her hands, try to brush her teeth, and access her vast collection of barettes, clippies, and doodlebops. We spent about an hour one morning sorting them all and putting them into their own bags by type of hair holder.
Marin has been spending a lot of time by the trees in the backyard. First she declared that we needed to make a bamboo ladder to climb the pine trees to get the pine cones on top. To make them, we gathered grass from the park, dried and fresh leaves, pinecones, sticks. We're still looking for driftwood. Notice there was no bamboo on that list of ingredients. Then, on Friday, Marin picked up a stick to be a magic wand and declared that she would turn the pine tree into a tomato. This is what she's trying to do in the photo above. After many attempts, Granny helped her by showing her how to turn pinecones into dandelions. Granny knows that you have to start wizardry with small steps. She must read Harry Potter.
Spider Swinging!!
Cousins!!
Hanging out and loving her little sister

A few days later...

Well, we've been home now almost 48 hours and are existing as a family of four. No one has killed anyone else, yet, so that must be a good sign. We came home at 6pm on Friday, and it was good. No one coming to poke, prod, cuff, or otherwise wake us up. Things have run pretty normally this weekend, except for shorter stretches of sleep at night, particularly as we waited for Sarah's milk to come in...which happened today. Everyone is feeling great. The worst thing is poor Piper's face...she was born with long, long fingernails and spent the first day and a half clawing herself. Luckily, Sarah lopped them off as soon as we got home. Piper is wearing some good battle scars, though.

Marin is a great older sister, but the attitude and challenges to parental authority have been up a little. It's been a little hard, too, because rain and wind here in Minnesota have made it harder to get outside, Marin's favorite. A few more pictures to enjoy!

This is how much Piper liked being strapped down!

A little girl in a BIG bed...
Pa's birthday was Saturday, so we went for cake, and Marin wore her Big Sister glasses from the Stoddens.
The Littlest Murray
Sisters Lounging!

Welcome, Piper!

Hi, it's Marin. As you can see, I'm the big sister. My parents are way too busy with the my new sister, Piper, to blog, so they told me to post a few pictures to satisfy the hungry public. It's past my bedtime, so I can't say much more until later this weekend. Enjoy the pictures!