The Scream

Yesterday we all went to the Washington Pavilion. The Pavilion houses several art galleries, an Imax Theater, a science discovery center, and various theaters. It's a great place in Sioux Falls. After spending an hour or so in the Discovery Center, we moved over to the children's art room, which is a place where kids can do arts and crafts and other activities. In the room is a big replica of the painting "The Scream" with the mouth cut out. The kids are supposed to throw little bean bags at the painting and try to get them in the mouth. After watching Nathan do this for a few minutes, Z started working at it. Every time he threw a bean bag at the painting he'd scream "Eat it! Eat it!" Ah . . . art appreciation!

Pictures of Eden

Eden Hitchcock arrived in the outside world on Friday, March 25 at 12:32 p.m. after a scheduled c-section. We checked into the hospital at 10:00 and were in the recovery room by 1:15. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and measured 20 and 1/2 inches. Below are some pictures of her first few days.

All ready for surgery.

I see a head! (Sorry if this it too graphic!)

For the last three years Nathan has been regretful of the fact that he did not take a good, hard look at the placenta when Z was born. So this time he took a picture to preserve the moment. Our doctor said it was the first time she'd ever seen a dad take a picture of the placenta.

Brand new.

Daddy cuts the cord!

7 pounds, 11 ounces.

Happy to be done so quickly and easily!

Yaya and new granddaughter.

Mommy and new daughter.

Big brother Z, who got nearly as many gifts as Eden did. Our friends are so thoughtful!

Wide awake.

Proud big brother.

At home with Daddy, happy to sleep.

I love this picture.

Z getting in on the feeding.

Getting used to a new family member.

Daddy and new daughter.

Eden's First Minute

Introducing our little Eden!

Father and Son

A few weeks ago Z began to notice that Nathan wore ties to work and soon requested some ties of his own. Nathan ordered a set of 4 ties for Z, and they came in the mail the other day. Z was very excited! His first official tie-wearing was to church last Sunday, and he and Nathan wore matching ties -- both decorated with sailboats. Z was so proud! Aren't they handsome?

Countdown

On Friday the 25th Christina is scheduled to head to the hospital to get that baby out into the breathing world. Baby seat in car? Check. Bassinet? Check. Oodles of pink, girly dresses? Check. All we need is our little girl.

Stay posted.

New Videos

Two new videos of Z. On the top he's taking a bath and singing a new song we did at church this week (which Nathan wrote). The chorus is "Sin doesn't have a hold on us / Sickness doesn't have a hold on us / Death doesn't have a hold on us / Only Jesus does." Z clearly doesn't have all the words down yet. The one of the bottom is of Z trying out the new stroller we bought. This particular stuffed dinosaur has been playing the role of baby for a few months now, which is funny because his name is Scar, and now Z calls him Baby Scar.

Z's Letters

Z is learning his letters -- both identifying them and writing them. He's particularly interested in the letters in his name, so he's been working hard on those, as you can see from the pictures. The first picture is not related to the letters, but I was going through some hand-me-down clothes the other day and found this Spiderman shirt (from Quentin, I think). Z loves it, and wanted me to put it on the blog so all the cousins could see his new Spiderman shirt!