april happenings: week four

We've been walking to Asher's soon-to-be elementary school in the afternoons to play on their playground.  On the way home today we found some inch worms and the kids were mesmerized.

Hadley couldn't seem to keep a hold of hers (eek, sorry worm) so she found a special rock to show me instead.  :-)

Inch worms don't interest Noel.

Speaking of Noel, though, this guy has been busy growing!  He's still sleeping in the mamaRoo every night - it's become a fun way to watch him grow.  Getting so darn big!

Asher made this "Horton Hears a Who" inspired craft in school for Dr. Suess' birthday month and I can't stop laughing.  I love it.  I love Kindergarten.

Hadley took over my rocking chair yesterday because "I need to feed my baby good milk, mommy".  Well, ok.  :-)

Multi tasking moms make the world go 'round.  

Baby holding, check.  Pancake making, check.  Cozy robe wearing, check.

On Friday Asher and Hadley had their school art show.  Guess who's penguin has the purple hair bow?  :-)

My in laws gifted me these awesome pajama pants for my birthday.  I love them!  Super comfy and make me feel like I'm truly one of the family.

Drew's aunt took this photo of Hadley and I when we were at a 1st Communion party this weekend and I just love it.  This little girl has a big piece of my heart.

These 2 have an entire sectional at their disposal and this is where they choose to sit.  Close and comfy.

I can't believe it's May already - let's go spring!

april happenings: week three

Once we got back from Florida it was back to reality with the bigger kids in school.  I love the quiet times I have at home with Noel while he's still so small.  Hadley is only gone for 1/2 days, 3 days a week but it's enough to give us some special time.

For some reason, he was feeling especially clingy today.  Bless his worried little heart!

Oh my word, chubbbb.  haha!  He's totally normal on the growth charts, but the double chin gives him such a chubster look.  Love it

We had a few nice days and hit the park after school.  Noel and I are still loving the Solly.  I'm already sad for when he outgrows it.

spring break getaway

With Asher being in Kindergarten this year, it's our first year of real school, with a real schedule.  Preschool had days off, of course, but if you missed some or decided to take a family vacation no one cared.  This year Asher's days are tracked and we had to be at school when it was in session!  Even though we knew we'd have a little baby Drew and I decided to plan a trip to Florida during Asher's spring break since it would be the only chance we had to get away.  It was a bit of a gamble with a 2 month old, but I'm so glad we did it!  We all needed a break from the cold and everyday.

Noel was the wild card in this equation, but he did wonderfully.  He was still little enough to just go with the flow and not be bothered by sleeping in a new place.  Since I'm his food source that was easy to bring too.  :-)

This munchkin and I spent a good amount of time snoozing by the pool or walking around the community with him in the Solly.  Everyone offered to watch him so I could go with the bigger kids to the beach (and I did once or twice) but with Noel eating every 2 hours it was just too fast to really make all of the effort worth it.

Asher and Hadley love the beach and made themselves right at home.  

It's so fun just to watch them having fun!

Noel made it down to the beach once.  He was exhausted by the effort.  :-)

Of course we spent a lot of time in the pool too!  Asher and Hadley are both getting much better at swimming, but they need all the practice they can get.

Um.  Hello, cutie.  Baby swimsuits are THE BEST!

The only bummer was that Asher got sick a few days into our trip and was dragging for a bit.  It ended up being a virus of some kind - luckily he rallied before we left.  The next time we come to Florida we'll have another toddling guy!

april happenings: week two (florida edition!)

This week my iPhone captured all of the fun we were having in Florida on Spring Break!  Noel took his first airplane trip at almost 2 months old.  He did wonderfully and slept in my arms the whole way!  We made it!

The big kids and Drew headed to the beach while this sleepy guy and I hung around the house.  He needed to rest so I was fine with sitting by the pool.  Honestly, I recommend a warm climate escape to all winter postpartum moms.  After being in the house for the past month (more or less) it was so nice to sit outside and go for walks without being worried about freezing the new baby.

His little legs and toes were out!

Poor Asher started feeling yucky a couple days into our stay.  He tried to power through, but just wasn't feeling great.  We sat outside together a few times, but afterwards he mostly just wanted to go inside to rest.  It ended up just being a virus (after we went to urgent care to rule out an ear infection) and he was able to rally for the last few days.

This happy boy turned 2 months old while we were in Florida - April 15, 2016

On the way home Hadley showed us how to wait for a plane - ha!

We had such a fun 1st trip as a family of 5!  Longer post with better pictures on the way!

noel august {two months}

Noel August, you are TWO months old!

At 2 months Noel, you are all smiles.  The only time you frown is when you're hungry - which is still reliably every 2 hours.    

At your 2 month birthday you started sleeping a 6, 7, sometimes 8 (!) hour stretch!  You still go down pretty late, around 10pm but it's kind of nice for me since it means that we are sleeping our long stretch at the same time - woot!

Naps are every 1.5 hrs or so and usually in either the swing or my arms.  I'm ok with that - we will nap train when you get a bit bigger.

You love the play mat.  You track things really well with your eyes and reach for (and grab!) your toys.  The doctor says that's pretty advanced, which we already knew.  ;-)

At 2 months, Noel...

* eats every 2 hours during the day and 1 or 2 times at night

* is exclusively breastfed

* loves baths and the swing

* sleeps on and off throughout the day

* makes great eye contact

* reaches for toys

* wears size 0-3 month clothes

* wears size 1 diapers

* holds his head up well

* rolls a bit, but nothing over yet

* has already ridden on a plane and visited Florida!

Noel, it's been 2 months since you joined our family and we all can't remember what things were like before you came.  Your brother and sister adore you and love to show you everything they do.  You are the most popular person at school, solely because of how much they talk about you, I'm sure.  Noel, we'd love you no matter what, but thanks for being such an easy going baby.  You make our family complete in the best ways!

april happenings: week one

This was our last week before spring break and I feel like we were all limping towards the finish line. We all needed a break!  Poor Noel, included.

Hadley now expects face painting at every party she attends.  We've been lucky to be invited to some fun birthdays this winter.  Lucas' 1st birthday Mickey Mouse bash was so fun!

My guy Gus has been all smiles lately - love, love this baby stage!  It's so satisfying and exciting when they respond to you with a big gummy grin.

But he's still small and needs to snuggle.  Perfection.  :-)

Hadley hasn't been far from my side lately, so she's learning all kinds of useful life skills.  Like how to pump breastmilk.  :-)

She loves sharing a smoothie with me, but always requests "smoothie but with NO salad!" - don't tell her but there's lots of spinach in there ;-)

Asher had his turn to present the "All About Me" project to his class on Thursday.  I'll be honest - with a newborn at home this wasn't our maximum effort project, but we did our best and he was really proud.  Love him so much!