Outing to Cheddar Gorge

Yesterday we went to Cheddar, the home of cheddar cheese, and toured Gough's cave, where they still cave-age cheddar for over a year. And we bought some to bring home, of course.

(Jane got some gluten and the trip ended with vomit in our rental van. But before that, it was good.)

Jane was on break from school for this past week and will head back tomorrow. I'm taking a few more days, but I hope to be able to resume pick-ups and/or drop-offs sometime soon. Alice does well in the sling. Of course, things like weather and feeding schedule may complicate things.

Inside Gough's cave

Cheddar aging in the cave!

Jane reminding us to stop and smell the... daffodils

Lunch at a tea house (that almost certainly served Jane gluten)

My dad attempting to give Andy bunny ears

Alice with her eyes open, probably taken a week ago. She already looks different.

About to open a gift from folks in Andy's department

Grandpa John and Alice

Jane and Alice

Jane listening to her audio tour of the cave

Thinking about cheese

Jane, Grandpa, and I climbed the 276 stairs, called Jacob's Ladder, to see a bit more of the gorge

Jane was trying to climb on the rocks a bit, and my dad was trying to snap a picture of it. So I snapped a picture of him.

Arrival

Oh hello. Were you waiting for an update?

Alice Margaret joined us a little over a week ago. My dad and Karen came into town, and my water broke the night of their arrival. I "went back to sleep" (yeah right) on the advice of the midwife, the grandparents-to-be (-again) got Jane off to school, and shortly after I had a strong contraction. I told Andy it was time to go to hospital.

We arrived there around nine, and Alice debuted before noon! It was so different than Jane's birth, primarily in the speed! I didn't have time to sample the delights of gas and air for pain relief during birth, but I did end up using it afterward prior to having stitches. (It's good stuff.)

We stayed in hospital for two days and they just observed Alice's progress. She seemed happy enough for them and we were released home as planned. Andy's taken some time off work, Jane's gotten some special outings with her grandparents, and Alice is nursing, pooping, and sleeping well. The first two, anyway. Her sleeping is about what you expect with a newborn.

Buttery baby

Birthday!

Jane meeting Alice

Jane's Spider Gwen costume

Andy and Alice

Sisters at home

Grandpa John meeting Alice

The picture doesn't show it that well, but Alice is jaundiced. We're working on it!

Alice in the sling while we got coffee across the street

38 weeks

Starting last Sunday night, I really thought we were moments away from Alice's arrival. But here I am, a week later, still pregnant. Thankfully, we had some good help from friends and my load was lightened considerably by offers to drive Jane to and from school for the week.

We also enlisted some babysitting for Jane for last night so that Andy and I could go to a concert! A one-man band called the Suitcase Junket was playing in Bristol, which was a bit odd, because he's from Vermont and we saw him at least three times at local events when we lived in Western Mass. But in any case, he was here, we got to go see him, AND my favorite part of all, he played a song just because I had tweeted to him and requested it earlier in the day! It was so fun.

Andy has a cold or something today, which is a bummer. Jane was a bit sniffly for a day or two, and hopefully that's all this will be for him, too.

On to the pictures.

Muffins to put in the freezer as a nursing snack. They went kind of weirdly sideways, but tasted good!

Jane at a playdate sharing a can of corn with a friend. Obviously.

Picture from the couch when I was timing contractions, or I guess what weren't contractions, sometime between 12 and 4 AM.

Jane built a dog!

She got a little scratch and wanted to see how it looked.

Chris Smither (left) and Matt Lorenz

The Suitcase Junket himself, and me!