The big girls have been big helpers with a new baby in the house. They can usually be talked into running to get a diaper/blanket/whatever and are very interested in taking care of her. Life with three is busy but pretty fun so far!

Maisie is doing better than I thought- she has her meltdowns here and there (little diva!) but is really good around Janie and only wants Mom to hold her- I had forgotten Francie did that too- even when Jannie or Heff held baby Maisie she wanted her back on my lap. She climbs up on the couch next to her or stands next to her bassinet and squeaks a high pitched "Hi Nay-Nie! Tick-a-tick-a!" and likes to poke/point to her eye/nose/head (sorry Janie). She wants to hold her all the time but then throws her arms up and goes "All done!" after 3.5 seconds. (And I just realized in this picture she has confiscated her big sister's favorite polyester Minnie PJ's and somehow I don't remember the fight that should have ensued from this injustice!)

Francie is more maternal and will "babysit Janie" while if I have to grab something from another room. She is good at holding her head and kind of gets that you can't throw her around :) She tells people when they come over "You should probably wash your hands before you hold my sister. You might have germs on them." (flu season thanks you France) She tries to teach Janie lots of things already- manners, Spanish, right from wrong :) and takes her job pretty seriously.

"What's that!? A baby crying? go get her mom!!"

Francie has been getting into her "Responsibility Chart" for doing her chores and having good behavior. Of course Maisie goes in and messes up all the hard-earned magnets so we had to give Maisie her own chart- random animals and numbers that stick on like her sister's. She's happy with that :)

and a random review of our week…

2 out of 3 knocked out! Francie and Maisie spent the morning at Jannie's house Wednesday swinging, playing and going to the San Carlos airport for lunch! Francie was so worn out she fell asleep on the couch- which NEVER happens. We let her sleep from 5:30-8pm so of course she was wide awake with me until 11pm- we watched "Survivor" which she calls the camping show. At least she was in a good mood after such a late nap.

Heff cookin up dinner- our first night home by ourselves as a family of five Wednesday night

Thanks for the dinner idea from Oma for all the chard and kale we had from our FarmFresh delivery sitting in our fridge- Heff made a yummy dinner with bacon and onions sauteed with the greens. Maisie had a solo dinner with us while Francie and Janie were still sleeping! Francie woke up and goes "I missed dinner?!" like we don't have to practically force her to sit down and eat most nights ;)

Tuesday night Em & James came over for dinner with my parents to meet Janie- they were out of town for the weekend. Thanks for coming and for the treats guys! We had a seafood feast with filet of sole and shrimp salad. I love this "sit on the couch with the baby while people cook at your house" thing!

Jannie and Stinker #1 making appetizers for everyone

Maisie in her favorite apron squeezing lemons - I wish I could say they were for sidecars but I think these were for dinner!

Speaking of which- I love this eCard Molly Coogan sent me!

So tiny in the MamaRoo- which Janie likes but really just likes to be held- I'm not complaining yet since Heff is so good covering the big girls but you might see a lot more swing time once we get back to real life Janie!

Making a cake with Jannie- Francie was begging for Funfetti but Jannie was at Andronico's and they don't carry the high-class cake mix so she got sprinkles and they made a "homemade funfetti cake." It was delish- Heff and I take a slice off the cake every time we walk by it in the kitchen- still a few bites left :)

Big hugs for Jannie before she left to meet Grampa for dinner Thursday night since he won his case! Good job Grampa and thanks for all the help this week Jannie!

Bedtime! The bedtime routine hasn't changed much but it is more of a challenge with two of us and three of them! Maisie gets a book or two on her couch in her room (Jannie and I redecorated the day before Janie was born :) while she has her bottle (no more milk bottle in bed as she decided binky was more important- oops did I just admit I gave her a bottle in BED for a year of her life?!) then she goes in the binky/pillow/comforter haven of a crib with the rail down and we just cross our fingers she stays there. She gets it by now (no bed, no binky) and stays down most nights.

Some days she gets cranky and asks for binky- when we remind her only in bed she runs in to her room, climbs in her crib and takes a "hit off the binky!"

Oh the sisterly love. Playing happily one minute…

and too much one-sided "love" the next

and why not end with a sleeping baby?! Janie is so sweet- I know we haven't hit the 2 week "wake up" age but she pretty much still sleeps most of the day and does okay at night. The first week she was awake for 2 hours at some point in the EARLY morning (between 2:30am-6am- ouch) but last night at a week old she finally managed to be awake for a good hour around 11pm, eat at 3am and go right back to sleep until 7am, eat again and snooze until 10am! I can handle that… but I'm sure it will be a different story tonight since I am proclaiming out loud we had a good night :) I can deal- she's worth it.