(written last Thursday, but it took us 4 days to get the pictures uploaded…  <sigh>)

Yes, Malin has finally arrived and is already hard at work entertaining the boys while I hide in the den to write this post.  She flew in last Friday and in typical Katie and Joel fashion, we checked her flight status too late.  Her plane left almost an hour late from New York and yet made it to Seattle 40 minutes early.  What is up with that?  During her flight, we were wrangling little boys who were a still bit on the cranky side and wanting to go to bed early.  So caught up in the home drama, we checked her flight status a little too late.   Yep, Malin sat alone (ok, she was with another au pair whose family was also late in picking her up) at SEATAC airport waiting for me to arrive.  In the end, Malin let me off the hook by telling me she had only been waiting around 10 minutes, but I had checked out the baggage claim area and noticed even the carousel had quit moving bags around.  SORRY Malin!  Luckily, Malin had stayed with us for a couple of days in October and thus this was not an anxious wait.

Since then, we’ve taken Malin to the typical tourist destination in Everett - Costco (she was only sightly impressed – her jaw did not drop open like Laura’s, much to my disappointment).  It was Nicholas and Dexter’s first trip too and they seemed as impressed as Malin.  However, we had dressed the boys in the sweaters that Joel’s friend Kim had made them and Kim, if you are reading this, we have had more WOW comments about those sweaters than you can imagine.  You should go into business knitting children’s sweaters.  Everyone loves those sweaters.  It doesn’t hurt that there are two beautiful boys modeling them too. 

Anyway, Malin has taken her own tour of Everett by night.  Earlier this week, we sent her off to apply for her social security card.  She left for the SSN office around 3:30pm (10 minute drive from our house) and got back around 5:30pm.  A couple of missed turns had Malin seeing all the sights but she did make it back safe and sound through the help of friendly strangers, and an hour and a half of practice.  I’ve stayed home this week to introduce her to the boys and help her get a routine going.  We had a great day yesterday playing at the Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett followed by a rip roaring good time in the bath.  I’m not sure who laughed more – Nicholas, who turned the shower onto his brother twice, or Malin, who witnessed this grand event and then tried to prevent it from happening again.  Poor Dexter.  He had not been ready for the soaking.  Dexter is definitely not a water baby but Nicholas is.  I think Nicholas thinks he’s a fish because the last two times in the tub, he’s flopped onto his belly and tried to breath water.  He’s also learned to blow bubbles too so I can’t wait to enroll him in swim class again.

Laura, the boys still love you.  They look at your picture on the frig and shout out while pointing at you – kind of like “Laura!”  However, they are taking to Malin as well.  They’ve flirted up a storm with her but they might just be working the magic to see how much they can get away with.  In the last week, they learned to climb up on the couches.  Life has just become so much more interesting.  Dexter just smiles brightly at us when we yell at him to “Sit Down” on the couch.  Yeah, right Mom.  Nicholas likes to smack the front of his head into the ground now when he throws tantrums.   You are missing out, Laura.  Just the other day, Dexter had 6 poopy diapers in a row.  You can’t say that his colon doesn’t work.  Oh, and at their 18 month appointment in December, Dexter weighed 22 pounds, 10 ounces and his brother weighed in at 25 pounds, 10 ounces.  Dexter is slowly closing the gap.

The transition for all of us is going well so far.  Malin is studying up to take her driver’s license exam.  I go back to work tomorrow and the boys will continue to keep us on our toes.  Here are a few pictures from the last few days.  Enjoy.