Rest

On Monday I was stroking Norah's head while she was whimpering in her crib, fighting sleep, when my dad came over from next door. He brought over a little plate with eggs that had just been cooked with caramelized onions and spinach, and brie melted on top. "Here, you eat these, I'll be with Norah," he whispered. It was almost 11 AM, and I hadn't eaten a thing since last night. I gladly took the eggs to the table, and slowly enjoyed my little breakfast. I could hear Papa lifting Norah out of the crib, and her fussing stopped. When my eggs were gone, and I quickly took a much-needed shower, and then peeked into the girls' room. Two of my favorite people were asleep, likely rocked there by each other's breath and beating heart. Norah was finally content and quiet, except for her gentle snoring.

Norah and Papa

My dad, at the awesome age of 59, and Norah, almost two months old.

I sure do love these two. Now I need to get some good pictures of Mimi and Norah.

Sisters

For the last month now, I've been wanting to take pictures of my three girls all together.  Funny how it just kept not happening.  Like a thousand other things in life right now.  But this morning, the girls were all awake and cheerful at the same time.  So I threw a white blanket and pillow on the floor in the living room, and snapped a few pictures.

I love how much of their personalities comes out in all of these.

I love the black and white, too.  I think this one is going to go on the wall at some point.

I also got a couple of sweet pictures a few weeks ago when Norah was seven days old.  She's changing so fast!

And last but not least, the two great videos. I love how much my big girls love their baby sister. 

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter!  The weather was nice (for April in Idaho).  Most of my family was around, and all of Bryan's (except for Christa).  We did breakfast in the graveyard before church (since we have our own church building now, we don't have to get up at the crack of dawn), and we had a nice big Easter dinner at Bryan's parent's house with all the family.  We even managed to get my sister to snap a family picture.  But of course the picture with my iPhone actually turned out, and the ones on my nice camera have someone looking crazy.

But here we all are! 

And just for fun, I pulled out last year's photo.  I love how much we've all changed in a year.  2013:

And then of course I had to dig up the year before that.  2012:

And the year before that.  2011:

Yep, lots of change in just a few short years.  It's fun to think about how much things will change next year.

Baby Will

Bryan's sister Jessie had her baby on early on Thursday morning.  Baby Will was born on his grandfather Kenneth's birthday.  (Which, I might add, was the day I guessed he'd make his grand entrance.)

At almost 9 1/2 pounds with lots of dark hair, William Kenneth Trotter is a pretty handsome little fella.  We got to meet him later that afternoon, and I'm glad I remembered to drag my camera along.

Chloë and Elaina were sooo excited to meet their new cousin.  We slathered their hands with sanitizer, and they promptly covered Baby Will in hugs and kisses and affectionate pats.  Chloë actually started sobbing when it was time to go home, because didn't want to leave.  Even after we got home, she would still burst into tears and exclaim that she missed Baby Will.

We have since had the pleasure of spending time with this sweet family a couple more times.  Kaleb and Jessie are absolutely wonderful new parents; aglow with excitement, wonder, and sleep deprivation. 

We love you so much already, Will!  Thanks for making me an Aunt!  We are so excited to see what God had planned for your future!

Thanksgiving

Samuel flew in from Denver.  My parents drove down from Bonners.  Katie and her boyfriend Collin and his two daughter came from Sandpoint.  And then we all cooked and feasted and rested together.

Christa Moved

Bryan's dear sister Christa moved to Portland earlier this month. We are really bummed that we don't get to spend every Sunday with her, but we're really excited for her new opportunities.  It's only a seven hour drive, so it's not like we'll never see her again.

She stopped by on her way out of town to give the girls hugs.

We had to get a picture of her and Janelle, too.

We will miss you and your contagious joy, my dear sister.  We pray good things for you in Portland.