My brother Ken, his wife Kenna, baby Zoë and Kenna’s sister Dora are visiting us now, and already we’ve had quite a few adventures.  My mom is currently unavailable to spend time with us, and Dad is busy caring for her, so I was responsible (and willing!) for meeting everyone at the airport on Thursday.  Dora arrived first and we took her up to Revere Beach to have Kelly’s roast beef sandwiches for lunch.  While we were sitting on the beach watching Evan chase the seagulls, I decided to check Ken’s arrival time on my iphone, only to discover that they had already landed!  Somehow, we drove back to the airport and parked before they arrived at baggage claim; so the timing worked perfectly.  Unfortunately, I did not have enough room for 4 adults and three kids plus their luggage in the car, so I took all the luggage and made them take the T to Coolidge Corner.  We had dinner at Panera and soon Jon arrived and we drove the whole bunch back to my parent’s place.

Friday was the first “explore Boston” day.  My dad took our visitors downtown; where they visited Chinatown and Quincy Market and walked a little bit of the freedom trail.  Saturday was spent in Salem; my haunting grounds.  They toured the Witch History Museum while Jon and I took our kids to lunch.  I enjoyed walking through downtown Salem on a beautiful summer day. I saw many new shops and boutiques that would be fun to go back too the next time I need to buy a gift.

And now I come to today.  Jonathan joined his two brother-in-laws, Ken and Phil, on a hike up Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  That left us women to plan a fun day with the kids.  After visiting with my mom in the morning and afternoon, Kenna, Dora and I took Evan, Karen and Zoë on another downtown adventure.  We took the train to haymarket and took the North End by storm, first stopping at Mike’s Pastries for treats and cappacino.  We then walked along the freedom trail and saw a parade honoring Saint Domenico. Evan donate a dollar to the cause and received a pretty card with a prayer in Latin.  After the excitement of the brass band following the Saint, we stopped at the plaza in front of the Old North Church for a little food, sleeping and running around.  We walked through Chrisopher Columbus Park to the Aquarium, where we spent an hour or so before dinner at Panera at Rowe’s Wharf.  By this point, we were all pretty tired, so Evan, Karen and I headed home.

We had a lot of fun on this full day with the Moms and Aunt!  Pictures from the day are up on Flickr!

Evan & Karen
Originally uploaded by MurphMutt

Dear friends and family:
Please forgive us for not sending you a Christmas card… things just away from us this year. In it’s place, I’d like to share some of our most favorite memories of the year.

2008 Highlights
- The year of Karen: We knew in January that she was going to join us. Most of the year was spent in anticipation of…
- Meeting Karen for the first time. October 22nd was a very special day. Since that day, she has integrated herself into the fabric of our family. I can’t imagine a time without her!
- Watching Evan transition from a toddler to a preschooler. In January, Evan was not speaking in full sentences. Now, he speaks of abstracts and truths, his feelings and his desires. We have interesting conversations and I love hearing him narrate the adventures of his trains.
- I (Alisa) finished all my schoolwork and exams this year, so I am full into the research stage of my PhD. In some ways this is harder than the exams because I have to schedule my work on my own time. Of course, I haven’t been doing very much on my maternity leave, and I’m looking forward to getting back to work part-time in January.
- Jonathan received another promotion at work and continues to earn the respect of his colleagues. He attained his “bareboat” sailing license over the summer and now looks forward to sailing in exotic locations.

We have been blessed with the opportunity to see most of you this year. Hopefully we will be able to see you again soon!

Here’s wishing you a safe, joyous and prosperous 2009!
Love,
Alisa, Jonathan, Evan and Karen Manning

We were at the pediatricians this morning with Karen.  She’s grown a few inches, or straightened out, so she’s now at 21 inches, and she has surpassed her birth weight; she’s now 7 pounds 5 ounces.  According to the pediatrician, everything looks great!

In other news, Evan had his halloween party at preschool this morning, and within 5 minutes of arriving, he was out of his bear costume. “I’m not a bear, I’m Evan Manning!” he said tearily.  When the kids had a little parade through the halls of their school, he put on the head covering, so at least he had a fuzzy head and ears.

Karen the morning after she was born.

On Wednesday evening, October 22nd, at 6:25 pm, Karen Jeanne Knodle Manning made her debut into this world. She weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce and was 19 inches long. She was alert and happy immediately after birth. We have some pictures up on our flickr account of our new daughter.

We went home from the birthing center the next morning and since then we’ve been hanging around the house, resting and spending time together as a family.

Our First Family Photo

Evan is enjoying his little sister, although I’m sure he wants her to do a little more.  He gives her kisses and sings her lullaby un-prompted throughout the day.

And Karen is doing wonderfully.  She’s eating well, when she’s not sleeping, and she is easily soothed when she cries.

I’m feeling better every day.  Jon has made me promise to relax and let him and our visitors take care of everything.  So I’ve been doing my best to take care of myself, although I look forward to resuming some of my most favorite activities.

Jon’s been super-dad, taking care of Evan, Karen AND me these last few days.  His food has been delicious and his willingness to swaddle Karen and play with Evan AND take the dog for walks has been endless.

So, we’re going to continue to get to know our new little angel and we’ll try to keep you updated along the way!