Newborn and Mother

Three pictures of Irene Borge Harris with her brand new beautiful baby daughter, Amy Lynette, born at "Ahus" hostpital near Oslo in Norway.

First pic of all five together

This is the first photo taken of all five of our children together after the birth of little Amy.
From Left to right: Thomas (8 next month), Emili (4½), Amy (three hours), Lena (11½), Kelvin (2 months from 10). 

Daddy and brand new daughter

This is a shot of brand new baby Amy sleeping in Daddy's arms only two hours after her birth today at a Norwegian Hospitol near Oslo.

Having children changes people

I read this a few days ago but forgot to blog about it until today. So in honor of our new arrival, I offer a quote from Brad Pitt:

It really changes your perspective on the world. You know, I've had my day. I made some films, and I've really had a very fortunate life, and it's time for me to share that a little bit. [Having children] takes the focus off yourself, which I'm really grateful for. I'm so tired of thinking about myself. I'm sick of myself.

You feel you want to be there and not miss out on anything. It's a true joy (and) a very profound love. You can write a book, you can make a movie, you can paint a painting, but having kids is the most extraordinary thing I've ever taken on.

Amy Lynette Harris born today

After all this time I can hardly believe it. Our new baby girl finally arrived today:

Amy Lynette Harris (name not 100% final)
4.64 Kg (10.23 lb)
51 Cm (20 inches)
Born: 30 July 3:46 PM

Yes, she is kinda ugly in the picture, but aren't all newborns? Come on, she's only an hour old! ;)

I'll upload more of the mother and child in a jiffy...

Batting practice

Emili certainly is the big slugger in the family! She absolutely loved the batting practice net at the fourth of July festivites yesterday.
That yellow blur is the ball coming her way. She hit three or four out of ten balls on her first attempt. Notice how she really needed to choke up on the bat to be able to swing. The bat probably weighed as much as she did! ;)
I should probably mention that our camera ran out of film so these pictures are all taken with my cellular phone: a Sony Ericsson w810i. It has a pretty god 2 megapixel camera and a great walkman with room for like 90 mp3 songs! :) Kelvin did really great and hit six out of ten balls. 

4th of July in Norway

All four kids took part in the relay races at the fourth of July celebrations this year. Lena and Emili were an inseprable team. Emili (4) had a hard time trying to carry Lena (11) during the Wheel-barrel race, so Lena carried her both ways.
Kelvin (9) and Thomas (6) won first and second place in the watermelon-eating contest! The prizes were quite generous. They both got big bags full of goodies including Bey-Blade, Legos, candy, Hubba-Bubba, Pringles, and more.
All of the children (everybody) who participated in the relay races also got a bag of treats. It was an all around great time to be had by all. We plan to attend next year as well.
The two winners stand pleased and pals waiting for their prizes after the contest was over. 

Frogner Park, Oslo

The kids and I took a trip to Vigelandsparken, also known as Frogner park in Oslo, on Sunday July 2nd.

Every year, Americans in Norway have a big celebration for the fourth of July on the nearest Sunday.

This was our first year attending. It was a fantastic celebration! The boys won the watermelon eating contest! We all had a great time! :)