The Party Animal Himself

KC is our Siberian cat. At two years old he is something like an older teenager in cat years, and has the attitude to show for it. He has recently had his outdoor privileges revoked (probably permanently) and it is turning him into a real grouch. He is however a beautiful cat. Will and Eva love him and decided that we needed to mark his second birthday with a party. The event was a blast and we had 15 kids total in attendance for various cat themed activities. These included a speed contest for drinking out of a cat bowl, distance contest for shooting a Cat-a-pult, and cat trivia. At least those were the planned events. In reality we had younger kids listening to stories and petting KC while the older kids climbed trees and staged a pine needle battle. 

Here is (I think) the entire crew in attendance for KC's birthday party. They are gathered at the table to eat mouse shaped cupcakes - it was VERY difficult to get all these kids in one place, even with food as a bribe. This was the first party (and last for a while) where we mixed five year olds (Eva's friends) and 7+ year olds (Will's friends). There is a huge developmental difference. Five year olds are still interested in listening to stories and playing in something resembling control. The older kids (boys) quickly turned the party into an indoor/outdoor pine needle battle.

Here are some of the (mostly older) boys hamming it up on the bridge with Maris just deciding to join the fun. Somehow in spite of an incredible amount of running back and forth over the pond bridge, no one fell into the water. There was a huge amount of throwing pine needles at each other with many ending up in the pond, but no harm occurred that could not be fixed with soap and water. 

Lyra... 21 Days Old

Here she is, starting to develop a personality. She now has her own blanket, courtesy of Aunt Cherie and Uncle Kevin. Lyra looks a lot like Will at a similar age, but with eyes that are bluer than Will's. 

Sisters Forever!

Enough said. 

Lyra at Two Weeks

Our beautiful baby is getting a bath. Cathleen says she will most likely start a growth spurt next week, but I don't know how she could eat more frequently than she does already. 

Big brother in love

Will was unimpressed with having another sister, until he actually held her. Now Lyra has him wrapped around her tiny fingers. 

Future Piano Student, and Teacher

Eva & Will take piano lessons with a wonderful teacher (and performer), Julie Zupan. In this photo, Julie is holding Lyra, who will hopefully be another student in a couple of years. Eva just finished her lesson and is excited because she is starting to read music.

The Western front... Sort of

Will wanted to do a diorama of trench warfare based on a WWI diorama he saw in a book, except set in the Korean War. Eva, who studied Korea in school colored the Korean Flag. So, if you look closely we have South Korea fighting the US in a WWI trench warfare environment. 

Lyra Helene Phelps at Four Days Old

We sent out some background on Lyra's name in the birth announcement, but in case you missed it, here it is again.

Lyra (pronounced Lî · ra from the Latin for Lyre) is one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra is a small constellation, but its principal star, Vega, is one of the brightest in the sky. Lyra took its name from the stringed musical instrument well known for its use in Classical Antiquity. Lyra is also the main character in Philip Pullman's magnificent trilogy His Dark Material. Helene is a variant of Bill’s mother’s first name, Helen. 

New Year, New Baby!

New baby with her happy family! Lyra Helene Phelps was born at 3:25PM EST today. She weighs 6lb 8oz and is 20 inches long. She was actually not due until January 6th, but we have thought for a couple of weeks that she would be early. We will have (many) more photos up over the next few days. 

When you have a baby at home, some things are done a little bit differently. Yes, that is the baby wrapped up in the blanket. And yes, that is pretty much the same kind of scale used to weigh fish... 

Here she is in detail. Will thinks she looks like him. I think it is too early to tell. So far she is a very calm baby - no crying even when she received her first shot. She has brown hair and (right now) green eyes.

Will had wanted a brother, and when he first heard we had a girl his response was "Oh Noooooo". But as soon as she held his hand, his outlook changed completely. I think she is going to have her older brother wrapped around her finger.