A couple of random pictures

Naomi has been a very lucky girl and been given a number of gifts to congratulate her on becoming a big sister.  Here is one of her favourites, from Auntie Heather, Uncle Theo and her cousins.  I particularly love that the pink fairy dress is, here, being sported along with jeans and pink welly boots (or wra wra as Naomi calls them)

Also back in action is the sling that Auntie Fay bought when Naomi was very small.  I love this sling and I am very happy that Miriam seems to love it too, Sandy and I love the look of the tiny legs sticking out the bottom, very good being little on display earlier today as the sling was used to help our over-tired baby take a nap!

Compare and Contrast

Lots of people have been saying to me how much Miriam looks like Naomi and I tend to agree, I thought it would be interesting to compare a picture of Miriam with one from when Naomi was small.

So, here is Naomi...

and here is Miriam...

As you can see, apart from some extra hair which is a bit darker, they are indeed very similar, definitely sisters!

Miriam Barbara Elizabeth Brownlee

So, after more waiting than Jay would like, but still two days before her due date Baby II made her appearance into the world.  Miriam was born at 2:18am (for those who like to be precise) on Friday November 9th 2012 weighing 7lb 10oz and has already made her mark on the family.  All of us, even the previously smallest member of the family, love her lots and we're all trying to work out what her various cries and squeaks mean, but (so far) she really is a chilled out wee girl who is quite happy to go with the flow and even deals well with being poked in the eye by an over enthusiastic big sister!

About an hour old, having already stolen Mummy's heart

Miriam slept most of her first night/day, this is us still at the birthing centre

Daddy came back to visit the next day but having not got home till after 6am he was tired and proud in equal measure!

With Daddy came a VERY excited big sister, this was the first time they met.

Naomi wanted a cuddle, it was very awkward for everyone involved but also very sweet

A much appreciated fruit basket (and chocolate and a book) from Open Heaven

Partly for her own safety Miriam now spends a fair amount of time in the Moses basket, slightly out of reach of Naomi!

It's hard work being a baby

Sandy loves babies that look incredulous, here is Miriam's first effort!

Believe it or not there is a baby in there!  Naomi just loves trying to help, some of the time it is even helpful!

NO PHOTOS!!!

A proud big sister shows her sister off as we make a trip to Tesco,  Miriam was less convinced.

I fear that Naomi might be sad when the flow of presents dries up, for now she loves all her big sister presents and helping Miriam open her well-done-you're-a-baby presents.

Much of this week has featured this activity

I'm pleased to say that cuddling has got better and easier as you can see here (though Naomi still has an odd camera smile!)

So, that just about sums up our first week.  We are all tired, Naomi too, but we're working out how to be a family of four and having some fun along the way.  I am very pleased that Sandy isn't going back to work till the end of next week but at the same time it will be exciting to see how it works when the children outnumber the parents while Daddy is at work.

Looking forward to seeing you all out and about and to those of you in Aberdeen direction, we'll see you at Christmas time when we travel North for the winter (aren't you supposed to do that the other way round?)

Dancing

While the limbo period of Baby-II-nearly-here continues, Naomi keeps us well entertained. She's a little ill at the moment (as am I) but she's still full of energy.

One of the things she really likes to do is dance, and particularly to our odd tastes in music. Here she is a few days ago having a bit of a ceilidh with her bear, accompanied by the legendary Shindig.

Now a couple of recent pictures...

As winter nears, it's even getting cold in England now!

 

 

Naomi has taken to enjoying mummy and daddy's bed on the occasions she comes into our room (this is during the day when we have to get something from there, mind: she's very good at staying in her own bed during the night). She's also most particular about making sure it's quiet when this happens. She even pats my pillow indicating that I'm meant to be sleeping too. At the end of a long day at work it's hard to turn this down!

Broons

The Broons is an essential piece of reading for Scots; it's where expressions like "Jings, Crivvens, Help ma Boab!" can be readily found. So we were most pleased to see Naomi enjoying our Broons Annual prior to bathtime a few nights ago...

Excellent!