ONE MONTH, TREE DECORATING & THE ZOO

Colbie is 1 month today!

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Baylor putting a hook on a bulb.


Hanging bulbs.


Colbie hanging out in her bouncy seat.


Having fun!


Sober girl!

We decorated our tree and got out the Christmas goodies Friday evening. It was a mess, but fun! The kids got into checking out all of the decorations and Christmas books and fun stuff they haven't seen in a year! We also went to the lights at the zoo and dinner Friday evening too. We finished up decorating and cleaning Saturday during the day. A very festive week!

The Toledo Zoo's Lights!!

Averie loves butterflies these days.


Big, beautiful, colorful tree!


How Colbie spent her time at the zoo.


Averie and Baylor in front of the fountain.


Averie and the gorilla.

3 WEEKS OLD

(handmade t-shirt by Mimi!)
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Sweet girl is 3 weeks old today! Unbelievable. She is so sweet. She does her usual routine during the day - wakes around 8am (with or without me stirring her), eats then has awake time. After awake time which is usually spent with everyone at the breakfast table... once she gets fussy or sleepy she goes down for a nap (she naps either in her pack-n-play or bassinet or in someones arms). After naptime she wakes to eat, which usually ends up being about 3 hours from her last meal! And the cycle happens all day long in the same order. She also has been eating around 7:30pm, which works well with the kids bedtime. We are typically getting the big kids ready for bed by then and I can nurse her while they get jammies on and books picked out. And by the time she is done eating, the kids are ready for bed and I can put Colbie in her crib to get the big kids down and then get Colbie ready for bed. It works out well because she hangs out with me in the living room and can still settle down for bed out there with the tv on and everything. Eventually she will be too easily distracted and will have to go to bed in her bed at a regular time, but until then we enjoy her being with us as night.

Averie has become a little mama. She always wants to check on Colbie, and calls her a sweet girl or baby butterfly. She holds her several times a day and is always so sweet to her. I can also count on her to fetch things for me, breastpads, burp cloths, the boppy... anything! She is also able to entertain herself when I am busy. She plays alone (and with Baylor), does art projects (she says alot, "mama, I am going to go do art!"), organizes games with Baylor and sets up and plays blocks, little people or with the Dr. set. She is amazing. And getting her and Baylor together, they sometimes can entertain each other for hours. They role play, school, play mail, Dr., do art, dress up and so many other things. Just last night, I don't think we heard from them for an hour and a half (of course they were in our sight on the porch just playing away). They also rarely argue and never have had a physical fight. They might make each other upset and have a hard time communicating sometimes, but typically are able to figure it out. It is very amazing and I am so lucky to have such wonderful big sibs for Colbie to watch and learn from.

Baylor absolutely loves his sister. He loves her from more of a distance than Averie. He is super sweet with her...he touches her soft hair and cheek, holds her hand, talks to her and loves on her, but it is random and more so when no one else is close by. He has taken more of a quiet approach to everything when Colbie is involved, but when he is playing and Colbie isn't close by he is every bit a BOY! He is noisy, wild, playful and excited. He has been running around a lot, with more energy then I remember from before having Colbie. I suppose that could be normal, taking out some of his big brother uncertainties by being wild, active and kind of channeling his energy into that. But regardless, he is doing amazing. He is still a great listener (when he turns his ears up and can hear me... haha). He is also a helper. He will sit with me and keep me company when I am feeding Colbie. He also is the first to snuggle me when I am not holding or feeding Colbie. So I guess he isn't holding her against me too much. I love how he plays so well and gets so into the activities that he and Averie come up with. Their play goes from one activity to another... it is so neat to watch. They will be playing art, make mail, deliver it, head to school and play dress up all in a logical order! It is so amazing (and can make for quite a messy house...) to watch them play and transition from one activity to another. I love it! And have learned to step in and encourage them to pick up before moving too far into another activity. Because once everything is out, it is extremely difficult for them to clean up everything, it just becomes too overwhelming. And I can't blame them. If they only have to clean one area at a time, it is manageable.

Well, I guess all I can say is that I am incredibly happy and thankful for everything I have. Totally blessed. And in love with my family! Now to work on baptism plans and announcements...

COLBIE'S NEWBORN PHOTOSHOOT

Photos by Shawna Keener

UPDATE

All 3 posers! Baylor's first time holding Colbie.


Sweet girl after a bath. All wrapped up!

So... this might be a long post or a short post. It depends on how long little one sleeps! ;o)

Well, I cannot believe that Colbie is here. But at the same time, the delivery seems like it was weeks ago. I am totally in love with Colbie, as well as her brother and sister. They can't get enough of her, especially Averie. As far as the delivery goes, it was very uneventful. We got there right at 6am, got hooked up, an IV, they monitored "c" (the hb was going up and down from about 145 to about 165). I talked to the anesthesiologist, he was very friendly and calm. I liked that. Everything stayed on schedule. We wheeled back right at 7:57am. After I had to chug the alka-selzer. YUCK. In the delivery room, I got my spinal (which took at least 15 minutes because of my curved spine). They before long my butt was numb and my Dr. was cutting. Matt came in shortly after. I love the whole birth experience. I know it is far from "natural" but it is so amazing. I can feel the shifting of the baby and hear the Dr.'s working. The baby must have been a little wedged because my Dr. got the head out just fine and said, "There's the dark hair!!" And then started to say "IT'S A..." and then stopped because the baby wasn't actually coming out yet. Matt thought something was wrong, but I could feel that the baby hadn't "popped" out yet. And a few seconds later baby came out, crying and gurgling, they suctioned baby and said "IT'S A... (pause because her legs were blocking the "goods")... GIRL!!!" We were so elated. And she was born the same time as her big sister. They brought her by my left side and she was instantly a Colbie! Something about her little, purple, wrinkly, wet body. Ha ha! So she went to the little room beside me and Matt went and took her pictures and got to see her. After a few minutes I called him over to show me the pictures, I thought her forehead look like a little monkey forehead (in a good way!). And she cried and cried and really kept making a lot of noise... she never really stopped even in recovery! She nursed for a bit in recovery and as soon as we were settled, A and B came in and met their sister. They found out she was a girl because we put a pink hat on her. After they checked her out grandma and grandpa and GG came in and met her. After I got some pain medicine and my feet could move, we rolled to our room. The kids actually were only allowed to visit that first day because the next day (that Thursday) the hospital had a new rule starting (no visitors under age 18). It all worked out fine because I came home Friday afternoon so we were only apart for a day.

Now that we are home (and have been for a week), things are falling into place. Colbie is on an amazing schedule (a flexible one). She slept well the first night, waking for a couple feedings. She also had a little bit of a difficult time settling back into her night time sleep... but nothing a little jiggling and rocking couldn't fix. Even now, when she gets worked up, she has a very loud angry cry! It's so cute! She has been eating pretty regularly at 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, 11pm, 2am, 5am and then again at 8am. Obviously we adjust to her needs if she wakes up earlier, but after she eats we give her a diaper and keep her awake for a bit (as best as we can keep her awake...). She usually has some awake time after each feeding. After she is awake for a bit and she seems sleepy or starts to get fussy, we swaddle her and put her down for her nap! It has worked well so far and she seems to be a good napper. It sometimes takes her 20-25 minutes to fall into a deep sleep, but she sleeps for a good hour to hour and a half after that. Then wakes up to eat and does it all over again! :o)

So... I guess that covers our day to day routine right now. Matt has been back to work for a few days, but my mom has been helping. Not sure how I will manage my time once I am officially on my own, but we will figure it out!!

We had a photo session today with Aunt Shawna, I will post those pics next week once she gets them edited and back to us. It was so much fun! :o)

RANDOM PICS

When I have 2 hands...I will do a big update!! Stay tuned!!!!!

MY DOODLE BUGS

My ladybug, buzy bee and lightning bug. All set to trick-or-treat!

Baylor's belly even lit up!



Averie added lots of glitter to her wings.


The sweetest buzzy bee ever...