Uh-oh...

Sometimes this happens on accident... and it makes me laugh. 

 

Smile...

Try as you might, but you can't help but smile when you see this. He melts my heart.

 

Just pictures...

One of my complaints about social media is that there are so many outlets... blogs, facebook, twitter, instagram, etc, etc. I have gotten sucked in to many (not all) and use each for for different reasons. The problem for me is that I can't keep straight where I post certain pictures and stories. I've always wanted my blog to be my main collection, but some of the others have proved easier lately. I've been lazy with posting and am needing another blog updating spree. For now, here's a few pictures off my phone that you may have missed...


Claire playing dress-up with Isaac.

We are in the process of picking paint colors... Miller Paint has free popcorn and hot chocolate (which are both helpful for keeping an almost-4-year-old occupied). 

 

Claire loves dragging our garbage cans back up to our house. I'm sure the novelty will wear off (probably about the time is starts pouring down rain), but for now we are enjoying the help.

 

Claire loves motorcycles and was thrilled when a very nice, but somewhat gruff-looking older man let her sit on his bike outside one of our favorite coffee shops.

 

At-home s'mores... a wonderful afternoon snack!

 

Precious memories are made every time we visit great-grandparents. 

 

Minnie Mouse, a black kitty, and Batman!

 

Documenting the day his baby acne was totally cleared up!

 

Isaac loved meeting Aunti Kels!

 

So many sleepy smiles in the first few weeks. 

 

One random morning Grace woke up an hour early. Rather than dinking around the house, we packed up and headed in to Portland where she and I had a yummy breakfast at The Original Pancake House before school

 

On the mornings that Merrick takes Grace to school, the rest of us opt for lazy mornings snuggling in our bed.

 

Before daylight savings ended our drive to school included some pretty fantastic sunrises. 

 

Grace's first field trip of the year was to a mini concert put on on the Oregon Symphony. She and Sydney sat together on the bus and one of the teachers snapped this pictures. I love these girls, their friendship and the fun times they share at school. 

 

Bedtime with three can be a challenge, but sometimes it looks more like this.

 

He's getting so big already, that I love finding these pictures where he still looks so tiny.

 

This year Grace's teacher loves having parents volunteering in the classroom. It is so fun to spend time with her at school and she how hard she is working.

 

Little Brother {six weeks old}...

Six weeks has flown by... and I'm actually posting this a week late. So really I should be saying, "Seven weeks has flown by." We are finding our rhythm and gradually figuring out this new normal. Adding a new person to our family hasn't been difficult, but managing our time efficiently has been challenging for me (Hannah).

*A picture a day for his first 50 days. 

Growing: He hasn't been officially measured since his 4-week appointment, but he seems to be steadily gaining weight and filling out.

Eating: Isaac eats 7 times a day, though I'm pretty sure he is working on dropping a feeding... I'm just not sure which one. Right now a "normal day" would mean eating at 6 am, 9, 12, 2:30, 5, 7:30 and 10. Lately he has been stretching the time between his lunch time meal and early afternoon meal which then alters our evenings just a bit.

Sleeping: He is still a great sleeper. His day time sleeping hasn't really regulated - he still sleeps for a little stretch between every feeding rather than having longer "nap" times. We've been keeping him awake more throughout the day and he is responding well, though when he is tired he gets really cranky. (Don't we all?). At night he will sleep soundly between his last feeding and the next morning (6 1/2-8 hours). Occasionally he will stir just a bit in his bassinet and require his binky to ease back in to sleep. He has been using a sound machine app on my phone and that is a miracle worker for him. We never used a sound machine with the girls, but it is like baby crack for Isaac. I turn it on and watch his eyes roll back and his body relax as he drifts off into dreamland.

Moving: A little early for any real movement, but he does roll from his tummy to his back. He really hates tummy time and does whatever he can to get off his belly.

Other stuff...

• All-in-all Isaac is doing really well. I'd say he is a pretty mellow baby. He has a fussy period in the evenings, but we are working through it. I think it is a combination of wanting to eat more often at night, being overstimulated by his crazy sisters, and being just about ready for bed. He seems to be harder to calm down than either of the girls were at this age, but honestly, it is hard for me to really remember. 
• His baby acne is almost completely gone. It showed up two days before he turned three weeks old, and hung around for just about three weeks. 
• His first awake smile was 5 weeks and 1 day. He's been smiling in his sleep since birth, but it is fun to see the social smiles. He also smiles with his eyes - hard to explain - but there is a very sweet reaction to familiar faces within his expressions.
• He turns toward familiar voices - mommy, daddy, and his big sisters. 
• He loves lights and pictures hanging on the wall. 
• He is still a sucker - binky or fingers.
• He is still in 0-3 month size clothes, but not for long. He is a little long for them, but the next size still seems a little big. (And on that note, thanks to everyone for the hand-me-downs... this kid is set!)

Siblings...

My three kids - all at the same age. When Little Brother was first born I thought he looked exactly like Grace. I still think he mostly looks like her - at least the same nose and mouth, but I'm thinking his eyes look more like Claire's did at this age. What do you think?