Everything Nice

I love... ...love... ...love... ...having a daughter. This little angel is 4 months old today. She is sweet, social, smiley, and beyond easy. She has been a great addition to our family, and has brought us so much joy.

Raising 3 young children is

Exhausting.

Challenging.

Chaotic.

And so worth it.

Prom Revisited

Last Saturday night Jason and I attended the annual gala (aka, fundraiser) for the hospital where he works. As you can see, it was a black tie affair. It was fun to dress up and go out together, and I got to find out what it would have been like to go to prom with Jason. All we were missing was the limo and the corsage. Except that I was in 8th grade when he was a senior, and that would have been creepy. We had a really fun date, and even won something in the silent auction (but it's someone's Christmas present, so it's a secret!).

There's something wrong with me

The other night I packed up Maddie's newborn (0-3 month) clothes and cried as I folded her little onesies...she's getting so big, so fast. I recognize how messed up that is. As I said to Jason, it's not like she's going off to college (although that will be here before I know it...excuse me while I go cry some more).

I snapped this picture with my phone before church on Sunday to show my mother-in-law that I finally bought Maddie some "girl" clothes (a dress and tights...which she didn't own before in her current size) and to show Jason (who was in Kentucky taking an exam) that I was on time for church. "So why can't you be on time when I'm around?" he wanted to know. Obnoxious.

Going to church with my 3 little kids was brave, reckless, and a little bit pointless. I had to pass Madeline off to someone (thanks, Christa!) and someone else came to sit with Ethan (thanks, Regan!) while I spent sacrament meeting putting Colin in time out. You might think the picture below is not a great one, since Colin is so blurry, but it's actually a perfect representation of my (and his) life right now.

Too adorable

Madeline is just shy of 3 months and we think she's just about the sweetest, cutest thing around. I love, love, love this stage. She's a happy, good natured, excessively easy baby. She's growing great. At her two-month check-up she'd gone from 40th percentile in weight to 70th. She's still getting up once or twice a night to eat, which I don't love, but she's so easy that I can't complain. She's a great addition to our family and we're so glad she's ours! Maddie was talking non-stop to Jason tonight so he took some video of it.

Congrats, Jason and Leanne!

Jason and Leanne have been wanting to do an adventure race together for a while. They found one happening in the Raleigh area, so decided to go for it. They competed in the 12-hour co-ed division...and won!!! They took first place in their division and came in second overall, beating out a bunch of all-male teams. I'm so proud of them. They researched, trained, planned, and obviously brought their a-game. Leanne's got pictures on her blog here.

You guys rock! Looking forward to the next one!!

Terrible Twos

Colin apparently got a hold of a job description for "Two Year Olds" and is striving to cover every possible angle of this delightful age. Lucky for him his mom still thinks he's adorable and entertaining, even if she does spend half her day parking him in his time out chair.

Colin turns 2!

Colin turned 2 on August 30. He is a little bundle of passion and energy. A lover and a fighter. A clown and effortlessly cool. He keeps us entertained and frustrated.

He got to celebrate his birthday twice, once with Grammy and Papa before they left, and once on his actual birthday. Grammy made him an ocean/fish cake. He's clutching the present she and Papa gave him.

Ethan told me Colin wanted a train cake, "cuz he likes trains."

Colin takes birthdays very seriously.

Showing off his presents.

With mom and dad. I can't get this kid to smile for the camera. He's a very happy kid until the camera comes out. Then he gets deadpanned or looks away.

He's healthy and happy and stubborn and independent. He'll say "Bye. Later." and go out and play in the sandbox by himself for an hour or more. I have to drag him inside. He's very tall...97th percentile for height and only 65th for weight. He just started preschool (and LOVES it). He adds so much joy to our family. We love him to pieces!

One Month!

Madeline is a month old. She is still mellow and completely adored by her family. She has occasional fussy periods but overall is very easy going. She loves to be held and does not seem interested in being on any kind of schedule, but she sleeps pretty well at night and usually goes back to sleep immediately after her middle of the night feed. At 4 weeks, she is 8 lbs, 12 oz, 22 inches long and as smiley as can be.

Ow

We had a great week. My mother-in-law came to visit and help out with the kids, Ethan started kindergarten, Maddie turned 3 weeks old. All very fun and eventful. I'll have to post pictures later. Last night at 2 am my father-in-law flew in to meet Maddie and spend the weekend. This morning Jason took Ethan and my in-laws on a 3 mile hike in the state park by our house. I stayed home with Madeline and Colin. Twenty minutes before they were due back, Colin really wanted to carry Maddie to the couch to hold her. I was carrying her down at his level and he was "helping" me. We were 3 feet from the couch when I walked into the wheel of a metal Tonka dump truck. I wasn't even walking fast. It really, really hurt, but I didn't think much of it. I sat on the couch and it hurt more and more. I looked down and knew my toe was broken, because it was sticking out at a 30 degree angle and swelling fast. I called Jason, and we spent the afternoon at the ER (expedited because he's a doctor at the hospital we went to, thank goodness). They set it, taped it, and gave me a lovely boot to wear for the next week. I feel clumsy and stupid and I'm in pain, but at least I'm not stuck using crutches with a newborn to take care of.

First Day of School

Ethan started kindergarten! He was a little sad the first day, but loves it now. He's in school for 30 hours a week. That seems like so much, and by the end of the week he's exhausted, but he loves it and is really happy. He's growing up so (too!) fast.

Dear Grandma,

Thank you so much for all you've done for us since Maddie was born (or more accurately, since one hour after I went into labor). The babysitting, overnights, the crucial delivery of the peanut butter milkshake to the hospital, the laundry, meals, cleaning, baths, baby holding, etc. It would have been a much harder adjustment without you! And thanks for leaving the brownie mix in the pantry. Colin loved "helping" us make them this afternoon:

P.S. Dear Grandpa: Thanks for all your help and support, too, and especially for fixing my dresser drawer. It works great!

Love,

All 5 of us

Clones

When we first saw Madeline, Jason and I were shocked at how much she looks like Colin. Ethan even comments on it all the time.

Madeline at 2 weeks.

Colin at 4 weeks.

We think Colin's pretty cute, so it's a good thing as far as I'm concerned!

Antics

Colin isn't even 2 yet but he is determined to keep up with his brother. This is what he learned this week.

And this is his favorite thing to do for some reason.

Two Weeks

Our little princess is 2 weeks old today. The time goes faster with each kid. She is a dream so far. She has a good stretch of sleep at night (ranging from 6 to 9 hours) and only fusses during the day if she wakes up and finds that she's not being held (the horror!). She's mellow and good natured...let's hope those traits stick around.

She loves having her hands up by her face, and sucking on her fists. Her hands were right up by her face in every ultrasound we took of her.

I tried to capture a few shots of her this morning, and of course the boys had to get involved.

The boys have been shipped off to my mom and dad's for 48 hours. I had the most perfect, peaceful day resting with Maddie and recovering. I would feel guilty sending the boys away, but my mom and Colin are in the middle of a mutual love affair, and Ethan's only concern was whether or not he could take with him the toy he was playing with.

Madeline's eating great and already back at her birth weight. Oh, and we found out at her one week appointment that her head circumference is 25th percentile. Both her brothers had head circumferences in the 99th percentile range. This goes a long way toward explaining why they both took 2 hours of hard pushing (each!!) to get out, and she took less than 20 minutes.

Adjusting

I wasn't sure how the boys would react to a new baby. They love her. Sometimes a little too much. Ethan is handling it all really well. He's told me several times, "I love my new baby sister so much I feel like I can't stand it." Sweet. Although we were talking right after she was born about why she eats all the time and how she's trying to get bigger really fast. Ethan said, "That's good, because I really want a little sister." I replied that Madeline is his sister, and he responded, "Well, you know, like one I can play with and stuff." Apparently a "little sister" is more fun than a "baby sister."

Colin comes up to me several times a day with his hands outstretched and says, "Baby, peeese? Peeese??" He always wants to know where she is, and tilts his head to the side and says, "Ohhhhh," in this really cute voice when he sees her, and is constantly trying to jam her paci in her mouth (which she usually doesn't want) or pick her up.

He gives her lots of hugs.

And kisses.

I think he basically thinks of her as a new pet. He loves all animals, stuffed or live, and he's been equally enthusiastic/affectionate about the baby. Although he has had about half a dozen epic meltdowns since her birth, which we weren't experiencing before. I'm not sure if that's because of the new baby, because his second birthday is rapidly approaching, or both.

Madeline has basically done nothing but sleep and eat since her birth. A week ago I was alone with all 3 of them for an hour while Jason went biking. We were watching TV, and I had Colin plastered to my left side, Maddie in my lap, and Ethan plastered to my right side. They were all being really good, but I looked down at the 3 of them and felt overwhelmed at the thought that they were all my kids and my responsibility. Then I thought about the fact that my mom had 6 kids, and I tried to mentally picture looking down at twice as many kids. Crazy! I guess that's why you add them one at a time (usually). I've since adjusted mentally to the thought of 3...although the practical application of taking care of 3 will take some time. On our first outing as a family to Target, we managed to lose Colin while we were checking out. We found him one lane over browsing for candy, but it was a bit of a reality check that we managed to let him get out of our sight without our knowledge for a minute or two. Scary.

Ethan wants the world to know that he is big enough to carry her all by himself. (I think this makes my mom nervous...sorry, Mom.)

And he also requested that I document his new Transformers shirt.

Breastfeeding in the 21st century

My mom told me that before she would start nursing, she would get some books to distract the older kids while she was stuck in one place. It was great advice, but I had to update it with current technology. (I do read to my kids...just not while I'm breastfeeding.) The boys love playing games on our iPhones, and it keeps them both happily occupied while I'm feeding Madeline.

More Madeline

I'm supposed to be waking Madeline every 4 hours at night to eat, but Jason convinced me to just let her sleep the last 2 nights since she is eating great and her jaundice is clearing up. The little angel slept from midnight to 6 am. She's still in that groggy newborn sleeps-all-the-time mode, but is becoming a little more alert every day. We're all really enjoying her!

Pictures from Day One

My parents brought the boys by to meet their new sister. Love the cautious look on Colin's face. 

Ethan warmed up quickly, but lost interest just as fast. "Can she crawl or do we have to carry her everywhere?" and then "When is she going to turn one?" He was more entertained by the hospital bed and the chair that turns into a bed for dad (the "Transformer" chair).

First family photo. I don't know that Colin is embracing the whole middle-child thing. Not that there's a chance he will ever get overlooked with his personality.

This is exactly what Maddie has done for 98% of the day. Since it's not my first time around the block, I know that means I might have a rough night ahead.

Jason's enthralled. He's wanted a daughter for a while, even though "I have no idea what to do with a girl." I have a feeling she'll let him know...

She can open her eyes...she just doesn't want to right now.

Wrapped snug in the blanket her great-grandma Kelley made her.

One of my parents caught this...she is either yawning or rooting...