Pics From This Week

Just a very quick catch up as I am beginning a 24 hour shift alone with the kiddos - on very little sleep and with another breast infection.
Colin took Samuel out for a bit and Juliet was napping, so Jude and I spent some quality time playing with stickers. He would choose the sticker, I would hand it to him and he would put it on the paper. It's amazing what a little alone time with one kid will do for their mood.

Here is a picture of Colin's mom with the kids before she headed back to Cali.

Here's the current construction project in our house - Colin is putting an insert in the fireplace and tearing out all the brick. He will replace it with a concrete facade.

And here is Juliet - she is now 7 lbs. as of yesterday!! I let the doctor know that I would probably be doing an alternate vaccine schedule and she let me know in the most respectful way possible that those diseases are out there and babies used to die all the time of them. Ouch.

Fun With Beans and My Worst Pic EVER

Ok, I have to mention that I'm running on pure exhaustion - Juliet has "woken up" and is now allowing me only a few hours of sleep per night. Remember that when you see my picture below.

I tried a new fun activity for the boys. I will never do it again. I bought them pinto beans in bulk and gave them measuring cups, pie plates, bowls and spoons to play as they wished. Big mistake. They were all over the floor and Jude decided to shove handfuls in his mouth and spray them out all over the living room. I was feeding Juliet, so I couldn't do much to stop it. I instructed the boys to start cleaning up - that involved Samuel standing in the middle of the floor with a toy mop, crying because Jude wouldn't help. Jude then began eating these pinto beans. Ew. Here are the pics:

Jude loved them - and Grandma B was here to change those diapers!

Jude did actually sit down and play with them briefly.

And here is my worst picture ever - I was trying to nap with Juliet on my chest - Samuel came in for the snuggle. I am so incredibly tired that I can't even pose for a picture anymore. Won't these years of my life be just a blur...

Here is Juliet on a hand made blanket from Colin's mom's friend. Beautiful!!

Juliet and I

Have you ever realized how few pictures you have of yourself with your kid(s)?? I'm always behind the camera and I just want to thank my sweet friend Roseann for taking this picture of Juliet and me today.

What's Keeping My Kids Busy

Ok, so my kids have been on lockdown for awhile - I don't want Juliet to get any nasty viruses, so I'm trying to keep the older two healthy. That equals a lot of at home time. Here are some pics of what they have been up to. I had the ingredients for these cookies since before Christmas, but with all the craziness that has happened in the last four weeks, I didn't have time to make them (find the recipe here). A couple of days ago I got the energy up to have Samuel help me make them and it was so fun!! Colin didn't love them, but I thought they were tasty.

We have been switching out car seats and had them in the house - Samuel decided to strap in his toys - safety first.

And in Juliet's car seat we have Curious George and Woody from Toy Story - what a winning combination.

The doctor advised us to give Juliet tummy time every day so her skull wouldn't get flat in the back. Unlike my other kiddos she actually enjoyed it! As a side note, Juliet was 5 lbs. 9 ounces as of Monday, which is great weight gain for her. She still isn't nursing much, but she shouldn't be born for three more weeks either.

Samuel and Jude woke up at 5:40 yesterday morning (my coffee habit is getting worse by the day), so we did some homeschooling. Samuel wrote his name - he only needed help with the "s". Yay!

Samuel really focuses on writing.

Jude was coloring - can you tell he's teething?

Juliet Pictures

Here are pictures of Juliet right around 3 1/2 weeks old. So tiny and sweet! Samuel snuck in there for a kiss. He loves his sister so much and is already asking for another one. She's looking a little chunky in this picture - look at that round face!! I think her face is the only part of her body that she is depositing fat.

The token baby feet picture. You have to love the purple color of poor circulation.

My Boys

Colin has decided to start potty training Jude and he started sporting Samuel's Spiderman unders.

He also goes without underwear, but adds accessories like the fire hat.

Jude helped himself to his sister's leftover bottle.

And Samuel shows me his food.

Catching Up

Sorry for the lag in posting - we were without phone and Internet for a few days. Oh, how disconnected from the world I have felt!! I love myself some blogging. Well, here are a few pics:
Samuel's 4th birthday was on New Year's Eve. Colin and I can't believe 1) that we have a four year old; and 2) that we have three kids. When did that happen?! At any rate, due to Juliet's early delivery, we have yet to buy some Christmas presents and we didn't have a moment to plan a party for Samuel. So, it was intimate - just family and he still had fun. One of these years we will have to plan a wonderful party for him.

He specifically requested this cake - chocolate with half black and half white frosting.

Here's Juliet during a diaper change - look at her little tummy!

Ok, so she had a bit of a goopy eye that I couldn't Photoshop out, but she was getting ready to go to her first doctor appointment here. She's doing great - gaining weight like a champ (even without the formula added to my breast milk!).

Here's her first bath at home - it was like thirty seconds long because she was cold and screaming. I'm not sure she even got all that clean, but the nurses in the NICU claim that babies this age don't get that dirty. I'm not sure I believe them.

This is how she spends the bulk of every day downstairs - in the Pack N Play surrounded and swaddled in layers of blankets with an arm covering her face.

She always tries to block out the world with her hands. She has very long fingers and we are not sure where they came from.

She also discovered her lungs last night -so if you see me and I have bags under my eyes (which I always do these days), you will know why. I find myself stumbling downstairs at about 7 a.m. making a beeline for the coffee each morning. I think caffeine is the only thing getting me through right now. So tell me, if you have dealt with the newborn stage, what was your vice to get through the sleepless nights? I remember my friend Wisa told me she would drink a cup of coffee at 10 p.m. and not think twice about it. Brilliant. I may have to try that. One of my friends from church said she read her Bible during the late night nursings, making the most of the quiet nighttime hours.