So many pictures, so many domestic happenings, and so little time to blog!
As you can imagine, adding a fourth child has changed up our routine. Well, truth be told, we don't really have a changed routine yet--we're still figuring things out. And my mom was here till this past Tuesday, so I've only had the kids on my own for the last few days.
There's nothing momentous to tell, but here's a little photo journal of our recent life . . .
Six weeks old
Clara is a delight! Everyone loves her. Josiah came up with his own pet name for her: "Honey-bun-boo." I'm not sure how he thought of that, but he thinks it's quite funny and has stuck to using it for weeks now. The girls like to copy him and so use it, too, though they more often call her "Baby Sisser Flara."
Two weeks old
Just under three weeks old
Four weeks old
As with each child, we marvel at Clara's meeting of milestones and above-average skills. :) She has pretty good neck strength and lifts her head easily and well. (Of course, she still flops plenty, too!) She gained over three pounds in her first month of life--at her one-month check-up, she was 9 lbs 5.5 oz!
Three weeks old
Four weeks old with friend James Jr.--two weeks her junior, but a couple pounds heavier!
James Jr. is only 3 weeks old here, but he started out at 9 lbs 2 oz . . . Clara may never catch up :)
She obviously smiled at me for the first time at a little over three weeks old. (She possibly smiled at Jeremy and Grandma a day or two before.) Now she more readily smiles at me when she's alert and fed--big, dimpled, beautiful smiles. Pretty soon she'll be smiling at her siblings. They're always eager to see her awake ("Let me see her eyes!" Josiah says), so I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see her responding to them with smiles.
A day after her due date--almost two weeks old!
Six weeks old--she's filling out!
She likes to look at fans (like her brother did), and she startles more
at noises. Unfortunately this also means we're leaving the newborn
ability to sleep through everything. I have more trouble getting her to
sleep when her siblings are in and out and about; and she takes better,
longer naps when laid down in our room in her bed. (She slept her first six-hour stretch last night!)
During my mom's stay (just under four weeks), I mostly didn't have to worry about laundry or getting up early or cooking everyone breakfast or wiping poopy bums. It was wonderful! She capably handled lots of household and child-related work and allowed me a more leisurely recovery. Because of her, I was able to better enjoy Clara's newborn days--with plenty of time to cuddle and nurse her without constant interruption. I also had the luxury of sleeping in with Clara because my mom graciously got up with the older kids.
They loved having Grandma around (Josiah even started calling her "Dramma" vs. "Lala/Glala"). Most days they played outside and she joined their games. I asked Josiah what his favorite game to play with Grandma was, and he said "Dread Pirate Grandma."
The girls are forever pretending to be animals, so sometimes they were lambs and Josiah and Grandma made a sheep pen for them. Sometimes they were newborn colts just trying their legs. Sometimes they were Santa's reindeer (and Josiah was Santa and Grandma was his wife). Together they made a campfire of sticks (unlit), swept up their house (patio), traveled abroad on their ship (the fort), baked plenty of pies (dirt and leaves), collected gold (leaves and rocks), etc.
My mom made some great progress on potty training the girls while she was here. They mostly wear undies and stay dry/clean during the day now! We have to be on top of making them sit on the potty regularly (and long enough to do something), but they often tell us on their own when they need to go. They still wear diapers for nighttime and naptime, though, and will use diapers if they have them on.
Indoors the kids continue to love their Duplos. Lydia loves building houses or castles. Abby likes to make trains for all the guys to ride. Josiah is thoroughly Boy in his love and design of guns. Tonight he asked Daddy to help him make a "skewer" (bayonet) on the end of his Duplo rifle. (I'm not even sure where he's seen such things . . . He always has a stash of weapons both indoors and out. And we often must remind him to shoot animals, not people.) Sometimes all three collaborate (usually with encouragement from us) in a building project. But often they fight over the platforms, the long pieces, the last few pieces, etc.
Grandma also took the kids to Chick-fil-A (which Josiah calls "Chipotle with the cows") and Einstein's Bagels, as well as to the park and the zoo. They each enjoyed an individual outing with her, too, and still talk about that. They still often talk about when Pa and Grandma from Flagstaff took them to Chick-fil-A and Burger King and let them watch Lassie and Flipper! (Today they played pretend games involving both Lassie and Flipper.) "Maybe sometime you and Daddy will leave and we'll watch those movies again, Mom," Josiah tells me.
Lydia enjoying her cup of water and ice from "the bagel store"
Abby on left, Lydia on right
Starting with Josiah, the three big kids came down with a cold this week. Josiah and Abby have a croupy cough and a runny nose, and Lydia started coughing yesterday. They've been reasonably good about covering their mouths when coughing (in the crook of their arms, just like Pa taught them!), but I'm still concerned about Clara catching the sickness. So the constant task of keeping them a safe distance from her has certainly added to the stress of the last few days!
Lydia especially misses cuddling with Lala
Can you believe these angelic children get into spats?
Colds make everyone feel miserable--but not miserable enough to actually take naps or just lie quietly on the couch. So we've dealt with lots of fighting, crying, tantrums, whining, bugging, etc.
Still, I'm thankful the kids normally play pretty nicely together!
Well, it's past 1 a.m. and I'm squandering sleep to write this . . . I probably shouldn't stay up later, because I'll certainly pay tomorrow! Let's hope everyone sleeps in (no naps + cold + late sunrise = later wake-up? I pray so!). But I may see this face at 6 a.m. . . .
. . . and almost certainly this one at 3 a.m.!
