Victory

Just some cute pictures to make you smile :) I do need to brag on myself for a quick bit. I had a momma victory this morning. I attend a MOPS group twice a month. Where we meet at and where I drop the kids off for child care are in two totally different buildings. Like across the street different buildings. This was my third time going with all three kids. Each time going I've thought of different plans on how to get Brody and Aubrie dropped off all while having Parker. (Really this story is so silly for you moms who have 3 plus kids! But go with me!) Today I brought the sit and stand stroller (duh!). So Parks got to stay in his car seat and stroll in the stroller while B&A stood in the back of the stroller! It worked so beautifully that I carried my head a little higher and ACTUALLY even got complimented saying how well I was handling all these kiddos! And really looked like I had it all together. Ha! I assured that mom that it was all an allusion and I really knew nothing except for survival ;) But hey, I did it! For that I celebrate :)

Aunt Jodie and 1 month

We had a very special visitor, my Aunt Jodie! What a true blessing and extreme help she was! She was a breath of fresh air helping out anywhere she could :) Thanks again so much for coming!!

 The kids, of course, ate her up! They thrived on her undivided attention. Aunt Jodie's specialty is making popcorn. So every night before bed, she would make buckets of goodness for us that Brody and Aubs would "help" with.

 The weather was terrible while she was here. Which turned out to be a blessing because it snowed her in for an extra day! Yay!! She took these two crazy kids to the mall almost daily while she was here to "burn off some energy" and give Mike and I some quiet time and did kitchen clean up after every meal! Have I mentioned how spoiled we were to have her here! We are somehow contemplating how to get her to move down here and be our nanny ;) I can always dream, right?!

The Parks dude is 1 month already! I can't believe how quickly it has gone but yet again I can't believe we are only one month into this adventure; it feels like Parker has been with us forever. At 1 month he is on a pretty good routine. Eating every 3 hours (we are just now stretching to 3 1/2 hours), able to stay awake for about one hour after feedings, and getting one middle of the night feeding somewhere between 2-4 am. His only hangup is sleeping alone. We are finding his little personality HATES being alone. It's pretty crazy. Sadly he's done his fair share of crying, learning the art of sleeping by himself, because with two other kiddos running around we just can't hold Parker all the time. Brody cried A LOT when he was a baby. So I asked him if he remembered crying. He told me he doesn't remember it. I hold tight to those words as I think our son will have emotional damage due to his crying. He wont, I know it, it just breaks my momma heart hearing him belt it out :(

Brody and Aubrie continue to eat up each and every moment with their new brother :) They think he is the coolest thing! Brody thinks he sleeps way too much and Aubrie rushes in with a blanket for him each and every time he cries (she's a really good momma!). This transition has been hard for sure, but the joys of watching all three love on each other makes it worth it.

Today is my first day home with all 3 kiddos by myself for the whole day! I've been spoiled and incredibly fortunate to have Mike home so much and for unexpected snow days keeping him home even longer :) And my Aunt Jodie was here for along weekend also (oh my how are we going to survive without her!) and left this morning. All the kiddos are down for a nap at the moment. I attempted a nap in my quiet home but it didn't last. I just dread falling asleep and then being woken up by a baby crying. So I will indulge in my chocolate ice cream instead ;)

So, how has it been being a family of 5? Absolutely overwhelming! We love it, of course! We love having baby Parker apart of our family. It's just a lot of work. Honestly I thought this would be a super easy transition. Adding Aubrie was super easy. But oh my goodness. Maybe it's something with Mike and I being out numbered or we are both now in our 30's?? (This getting old thing really takes a toll!!) Or we have 3 babies under the age of 3. Who knows, but I was definitely thinking ridiculous things when I thought this would be easy ;) Our whole way of thinking has been crushed and stepped on and needing to be re-invented. I know we'll get above the water eventually and this will all become second nature, but wow, 3 has really thrown us for a loop! Here are my minor freak our thoughts at the moment, #1- When will I ever go grocery shopping? Or even will I ever venture out of the house again during the day while Mike is working? I used to love taking the kids grocery shopping with me, but it would take an hour to just get out of the house now. And then how do I coral 3 kids to 1 one mom?! #2 - Who in there right mind will ever babysit 3 kids at the same time? Will we ever have a date night again? #3 - I need sleep! ;) When will I sleep for more than 3 hours at a time again?

The great thing with adding number 3 to the mix is that we know without a doubt these minor freak outs only last a season. Truly I grin a bit at the thought of how overwhelming life is right now because I know, without a doubt, we will survive and our feet will get back on the ground. We just can't let the kids catch wind that we have no clue what we are doing ;)

Sweet cousin Ashlyn came for a visit and got to fall in love with her new baby cousin :)

Brody and Aubrie continue to adore their little brother :) Their has not been a single jealousy moment yet in the 3 weeks he's been here!

Just tons of love and kisses for Baby Parker. We laugh because really Parker had to be born huge. It's his size alone that's going to save him from Brody and Aubrie's "love" ;)

Yep, they are pretty cute with him! Brody gets super excited when Parker is awake. He quickly shouts, "I see eye's!!!" Apparently Parker sleeps too much for Brody ;)

As of last Wednesday, Parks dude weighed 9lbs 7.5 oz! At 2 weeks old he outgrew his newborn diapers. We barely can sneak him into his newborn clothes anymore. Most of his clothes are Brody's when he was a baby. So Mike and I stand in his closet and select our favorite outfits of his so he can at least wear them once and we can get a picture before he outgrows them by the end of the day ;) We still are speechless at his size! He has been such a great baby! He cries when he's hungry and when his diaper is being changed and that's about all. Watch out though, his cry can be heard about a mile away :) He is our big Roley Polly, and we are just in awe of how perfect he is!!