Things are looking up

I survived 16 days without a second vehicle. I was pretty close to a breaking point, but managed to hang in there. I was thrilled when we finally got our car back - Colin drove it to work and left me with the van today. FREEDOM! Our AC is working great (for now), and the washing machine also seems to have pulled through and is keeping up with all of our laundry. Things are looking up. Charlie has some pretty fussy moments, but I think the Prevacid has helped a great bit. I also have adjusted my way of thinking. I am not trying to put him down for naps in his room as much. He will go to sleep great, and is fine with me putting him down in his crib. The problem is that he wakes up 10-15 minutes later crying -needing to burp and/or spit up. Then I get frustrated because I am downstairs with the older boys - usually just getting started doing something with them (lunch or playing or coloring) when I have to run upstairs, and try to get the burp out, and then get him to relax and go back to sleep. Meanwhile, Jackson and Cooper could be getting into all kinds of trouble downstairs. So, recently I have just put on the Baby Bjorn carrier or the sling, and Charlie can doze and when he wakes up every ten minutes to burp, he just falls back to sleep. The only downfall is that my back is killing me. He's probably about 13 pounds. The other drawback is that Cooper and Jackson don't really get much time with my full attention.
But, overall, we're functioning better!
So, here are some pictures from the last week or so ...

Look how smart my little engineer is - making lincoln log houses without any help.

Cooper was trying out the bumbo seat.
And playing with his "ni-ni" (night-night = blanket).

Adrienne and her girls came over to play and keep me sane yesterday

(Colin left for work around 5:30 am, and then didn't get home until 10:30 pm).

Our friends, the Buckleys, came over for a visit today.
Cora took a turn holding Charlie. She's going to make a great babysitter in a few years!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

First, the good. We have three beautiful little boys. I adore them all. Also, I have a wonderful husband, and we have so much to be thankful for - our health, his job, our home, our friends and family .... you get the picture.

Now, the bad. Our AC went out for the third time since Charlie was born. I'm thinking about just renting an apartment that we can stay at everytime it breaks so we will save on hotel costs. This time around, Charlie and I stayed at our friend - Jessica's house. THANK YOU JESSICA! Colin took the older boys to the hotel. The AC is working now - but now we found out that there is a different issue - with the dampers or something - it will cost around $1200. Keep in mind that we replaced the outside unit in February. Not sure why everything is breaking...

A little more bad ... Colin's car broke down over a week ago. We've been without a second car for about 9 days. So, I am at home without a vehicle most days while Colin goes to work. Which, in reality, is not a tragedy, since I can't seem to manage getting us all out of the house anyway. But knowing you're stuck is frustrating. Hopefully it will be done on Wednesday.
I also think our washing machine might be broken. It smells like funky mildew water, and it's making ALOT of noise. Stinky.

Charlie seems to be in pain. Reflux. Gas. Spitting up all the time. Interrupting his sleep. Having to be held upright to keep him from screaming. Starts the second he finishes nursing - and lasts until ... whenever. Poor guy. Luckily, he will take a pacifier most of the time. Which, doesn't help him feel any better, but it least it keeps the screaming to a minimum. It's been hard to do much with Jackson and Cooper, because I've been trying to console charlie. So, we started Prevacid, and hopefully it will make a difference. We also are going to try formula soon to see if that makes a difference. Who knows.

Now for the Ugly: my thighs. And my butt. And the whole picture really. Listen, I know I just had a baby. And I can't expect to lose 50 lbs instantly. But I miss wearing real clothes. You know, like pants with a zipper! No more maternity bands, please.
I just started to "jog" again. I can't believe I'm actually able to. I feel like I haven't exercised in ages.

Here's hoping that things start to look up this week!

One Month Old

This morning I had a little photo shoot with Charlie after I got him out of the bath.

So far, he gets an A+ for today. He's been nothing but content all day. What a blessing!

I love his squished face here - and his crazy hairdo. Jackson is a ridiculously sweet older brother. He loves being close to charlie. Today we were eating lunch at McDonalds, and I had the carrier facing me, and jackson got upset and said,
"I want to be able to watch charlie while I eat!"

I have been wanting to do this with Charlie - since I never did with the other boys - take a picture of him in the same spot each month for the first year. It seems everyone is smart enough to do it, and then at the end of the year, they have a little collection of pictures as they grow. So, I propped mr. charlie up in his chair, and tried to get a couple of pictures. It may be easier when he can hold his head up a little better!

I should have closed the blinds - it was so much light coming in.
Oh well, next month maybe I'll get it right!

I kiss those cheeks all day long. Oh, he is so squish-able!


I should have let Jackson hold him sooner - because by this point he was done.
(Jackson was consoling him and saying, "It's okay charlie, it's okay. I'm right here."

And then he was really done.

New Tricks

Charlie is a little over a month old. Hard to believe its only been a month - kind of feels like a year. Today he cried for most of the day today- needed to burp or spit up at least 100 times. Well, it felt that way at least. He just went to sleep, and I was uploading pictures from the past few days. I had to post this picture that Colin took a couple of days ago, so I could show how cute he is. He started smiling this week (besides the gas smiles he was sporting for the first few weeks of his life). I'm going to bed now - and hoping he will be all smiles tomorrow.

Splash Park

On Monday, Colin and I got the boys in their swim suits, packed a picnic lunch, and went to a splash park just a few minutes away from our house. The boys were thrilled. The last time I took them, neither of them got wet at all. This time, Jackson only need about 2 minutes to warm up to the idea. From then on, he was all giggles as he ran through the water. Cooper got a little more comfortable, and poured water on Colin's feet - but never did get all that wet. Maybe next time we go ...

Hanging out on the side - nice and dry.

My fair skinned little boys

The sun went behind the clouds for a while, and poor Jackson was freezing.

Juice boxes are a big treat for the boys.

Cooper was sweet enough to share with his daddy.


Charlie hung out in his stroller for some of the time.

Fourth

The Bells came over to visit today - what a treat! It was so much fun to spend the day with them. Their girls and our boys played great together. We had ribs, potato salad, and mac & cheese. Yum! Oh, and apple pie and icecream for dessert. It was so delicious! The kids played inside and out - and we were actually able to have some adult conversation (about our kids, of course). Charlie slept for about 2 hours during their visit! He's been an angel for the past couple of days. I think he has slept more this weekend than he did all week for me.

Charlie sporting his comb-over.


Ann - looking cute as always.

Cooper - playing with his belly button.


They all took a break to watch a show. (We needed a break, too).
I love Jackson's train hat (thanks Aunt Trudy!).


Charlie was passing out at the end of their visit again.
He's snuggled up with a little dog that they girls brought him.

Such a fun day - we're so lucky to have such great friends.

Babysitters & Housekeepers

This week we paid our first ever babysitter to watch Jackson and Cooper. It only took us 3 1/2 years to suck it up and pay someone to watch our kids. Don't get me wrong - we've left them plenty of times with friends or family - but we've never had a babysitter that we've paid. She is our neighbors' granddaughter who is a junior in high school. The boys loved her. She even cleaned up all the toys as they moved from one thing to the next. Anyway, it's so nice to have someone that we can trust. I doubt we will be going out muchalone for the next year - but it will be nice to have someone to watch the older boys if I have an appoinment.
The next day we had a housekeeper come clean the house for the first time. WOW! I'm so glad I swallowed my pride and listened to Colin. I like to keep our house clean, but it's near impossible with two kids, let alone three. Let's just say I'm hooked! They cleaned everything! Even my toothbrush holder is sparkling. She is going to come every other week - at least for the next month or two. Woohoo! It's alot of money, but I think it is well spent. It keeps me from going crazy, which is important : ) When Charlie gets a little older, and is taking regular naps, it will be easier to keep up with all of the cleaning. But a newborn, a 1 1/2 year old, and a 3 year old make it near impossible right now.
In the fall, Jackson will start preschool at our church. He will go Tues/Thurs from 9:15 - 12:15. On Mon/Wed he will attend the P.A.L.S. classroom from 8:30-10:30. It's a class to help him with his articulation. He qualified to go because his articulation is fairly unclear. We weren't surprised to learn that his language is fine, he is a genius after all : ) But it's hard to understand alot of what he is saying... Colin and I can understand almost everything, but we were concerned about his peers and teachers not being able to understand him. So, we're really hoping he will figure out some of those sounds that are really tough for him, and he'll be speaking more clearly in no time. I've known from the second he started talking that something wasn't quite right - but he didn't qualify for services through ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) because he technically had enough words - they weren't so concerned with how he said them, just that the language was there. But, now that he is three, he can get some speech therapy through the school district. Yay!
I'm a little anxious about getting all three boys out of the house so early - 4 days a week, but I'm sure we will figure it out. Charlie will be about 3 months at that point - and maybe a little more predicatable about when he will want to eat/sleep. I think that nursing him and getting the other two dressed and fed is going to be the biggest challenge.
Enough words - here are a few pictures from this week -

Meet Rody - Cooper's current favorite toy.
It's a green rubber bouncy donkey. That's the best way I can describe it.
He LOVES it. His grandmother bought it for him around Christmas, and he has always liked it, but recently it's the go-to toy (Thanks Mawmaw!)

He regularly bumps his head or crashes into some piece of furniture as he bounces around the living room, but it doesn't seem to phase him.

Charlie took a ride on Rody, too.
He wasn't thrilled about it.

This week my wonderful moms' group fixed dinner for us! Yay! There is nothing better that someone can do for a new mom in my opinion. Everything was so delicious, and it was a treat not to have to worry about what/when I would fix. I didn't miss cleaning pots/pans either. I'm going to be sad next week when I'm serving Colin and the boys hot dogs or chicken nuggets.

The boys enjoyed all the yummy food, too.

Tonight after dinner, we got the boys' raincoats on and let them go out in the backyard to play in the rain. They've been going a little stir-crazy after being inside for the past few days.