3 weeks old

Oliver is 3 weeks old today! I feel so blessed everyday looking at him and realizing that I am a such a lucky mom to some pretty amazing little kiddos. Oliver is no exception. He is already sleeping through the night. Usually going to bed around 8pm and sleeping until 8am sometimes even 9am. If only his big brother Owen would realize that sleeping in is sometimes a good thing. He loves to get up at 7am and scream at the top of his lungs from his bedroom door "I AM UP" Funny man.

Today was a pretty low key day. I managed to clean the front yard today and do a few things inside. Laundry, tiding up the kids room, vacuuming. I even worked on some much needed girl scout stuff. Jason had to run to the office and do a few shopping errands so he took the "three amigos" out while I stayed home with the "twins".

They were being so cute together too, Ezme is really taking a liking to her baby brother. Trying hard to be "gentle" with him. Even repeating the word as she pets him on his head. Right now she is heavily into feeding him. Any bottle will do. So we have to be very careful that she isn't feeding him any of her milk.

She also seems to enjoy swapping pacies back and forth from him to her. A.K.A stealing his pacie for herself. Though she is getting better at this too. She is still a baby herself and doesn't completely understand why he has the same things she does. Even though we ditched the bottle with Ezme at around 5 months old she is finding that she has missed this long lost friend and tends to try to steal his. It still amazes me that in just a few short years (and trust me, they are short) they both will be heading off to kindergarten together. I have never cried when this milestone has happened, but expect the flood gates to open when they are gone. Watching one baby grow up is hard, watching two at the same time its enough to make any momma go through a box of tissues.

On the Mend

Today is day 3 of Ezme's antibiotics and praise the lord she is back to her old self. The best way to tell she is truly feeling better is the fact that she is back to eating me out of house and home! LOVE IT!! Her teeth are still bothering her, but we have managed the pain well and given her lots of frozen things to chew on to help ease the pain. However, she is still waking up at least once in the middle of the night. This isn't because of her teeth or the ear infection, its just Ezme. Its always the same time every night, so I am thinking its nightmares that wake her up from a dead sleep.

Our agenda today is to pick up around the house. Thankfully its looking pretty good. Its just a sweep through the downstairs and wash floors. Do a load of laundry and then vacuum upstairs. AMAZING!!!! And I have to say, I am pretty proud of the family for keeping up with the house. I am not so overwhelmed at the end of the day feeling like things are so horrible that it will take me days to pick it all up.

Olivia has a soccer game at 12:15pm and usually is there for at least an hour and a half. After, we are taking off to the fall Pumpkin show in Smithfield for an hour or two. Then probably going out grocery shopping and then come back here to clean my messy car. Which is really driving me batty. Especially with the cold weather coming soon, I want to get it vacuumed out and smelling pretty. Since my car is just an extension of my house, I tend to practically live in it during this time. Busy kiddos=busy lives!!!!

Cannot believe its almost the end of September!!! Gosh, I probably should get on the ball for Owen and Ezme's combined birthday and the baptism for Ezme and Oliver. CRAZY!!!!!!!

Ezme's 1 Year Well Visit

Well.....it wasn't e-x-a-c-t-l-y a well baby visit for Miss. Ezme. The poor little monkey is sick. We had a feeling for the past week that something was up. Her constant waking in the middle of the night, crying when being put down to sleep or for naps, and most shockingly her lack of eating anything even her favorite foods was the big tip off. I expected teeth and an ear infection and I was correct. Add insult to injury she has croup as well. So antibiotics have been ordered, picked up and first dose in. Lots of fluids, rest and as much sleep as she can get. As far as the four teeth that are coming in at the same time. Tylenol at night to help with the throbbing pain, and teething tablets and frozen chew toys to help make her gums feel better.

Here are the stats of my pretty princess:

Weight: 22 lbs 12 oz.

Height: 29 1/2 inches

That means she grew more then 3 inches and gained more then four pounds since her last visit at 9 months old. Now if we can get the princess to walk. She knows how, just refuses. I guess crawling is more of her liking at the moment. Pretty soon though she is going to want to keep up with her sisters and brothers, so she will eventually walk I am sure. Thankfully for mommy's sake and the sake of her back, she is able to crawl up the stairs now. Night time was never so much fun or easy! By the time she gets to the top stair, she is so tuckered out that she goes right to bed without a fight.

Magazine and Candy/Nut Sales

 

 

Wow, is it really that time of season again!! Girl Scout time that is!
I am very excited for this year to begin. There is so much going on and planned its hard to keep track of it all. One of the first items on our agenda is our fall fundraiser. And if you know me by now, I am not big on fund raising. Especially in this economy where money is tight and jobs are slim.

However this year, there are many things that my troop wants to do. From field trips to the pumpkin patch, to camp outs at the Zoo. With your help we can make these things happen. Some of the proceeds of each sale goes directly to help support the cost of these trips. With every can of candy sold, we will receive $1. And with every magazine sale, our troop will receive $1.50. This may sound little in the beginning, but honestly, the amount adds up quickly.

The biggest project we will be working on this year is raising funds so our troop girls can purchase new items for the new JOHNSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY-CHILDREN'S WING. The girls would like to earn money to help purchase meaningful items of their choosing to help make the children's library that much more special. Some of the items they would like to purchase is furniture that is age appropriate and child friendly, puzzles, puppets, headphones and listening equipment, and maybe even books!

Each of the girls will also be participating in a Read-A-Thon as well to help earn money for our troop. I believe this is a great opportunity to help the girls feel a sense of community. Knowing that when they visit, they can really feel as though they were apart of the process of making the library a better place for everyone.

So, if you would like to purchase any of the items you see below, or order a subscription to a magazine, please feel free to contact me or any of the girls in our troop!! We will be happy to help you!! I promise you by experience, the candy and nuts are YUMMOLICIOUS!!!!!!

**NOTE** For a larger view and description of the item, please just double click on the pictures.

Oliver is 2 Weeks Old

Why does pregnancy have to be so slow? But when your little one finally arrives it just zooms by? Two weeks have just flown by in our house. And sadly, we haven't really stopped to admire life as a family of 7. We are crazy busy these days. But despite our busy lives, we are truly in awe at how handsome and wonderful Oliver is. He has made my heart so full I can't even explain. Never, and I mean never in a million years did I think we would be blessed with all these wonderful kiddos. Many moons ago, when Jason and I first met, he would talk about children. Though he wanted to wait until he was well into his 30's before starting a family.

When we were blessed with an unexpected gift, this being Olivia. I think his love of kids and his spark for a "large family" only grew. I cannot begin to tell you how lucky I am. To have a husband and father who is so dotting, loving, caring toward his children and their everyday care. Besides my own dad, I have never really seen any father involved with their kiddos everyday lives like he is. I am a proud wife to say that he is all mine!!

Now that we have Oliver, he is an old pro at being a dad. From changing diapers, to feeding and even the occasional accident, he does it all with style and grace.

Oliver is really a great baby though. Still feeding ever 4 hours and even sleeping through the night. He is missing his 4am feeding and sometimes even his midnight feeding. But I try to limit his missed feedings to only one, as he is still a little jaundice and he needs the extra calories. My little tall bean poll needs to get some fat onto him!!

Here are a few pictures I managed to snap the other day of him. Isn't he handsome!!

Sleepy Baby Oliver

 

Mommy please, I am too tired for pictures

 

Welcoming our new little man!

 

First Day Alone

So today was my first official day alone with all 5 kiddos. How did I do you ask? Well, it wasn't that bad to be honest with you. Jason wasn't suppose to work today, but due to some timely deadlines, he decided to go into work to get some things done.

The kids were for the most part good. I had my moments with Emma-James, but all in it was a peaceful Friday. The "twins" napped while Olivia did some school work and I cleaned house. Emma-James and Owen played outside in the backyard or watched a cartoon or two. By the time daddy came home at 5pm things were slowly starting to pick up in the WHINE department. The kids were getting hungry and tired, so him arriving when he did was perfect timing.

This weekend we are planning on getting the house cleaned up and hopefully work on getting the front and backyard cleaned up as well. Jason is going back to work full time next week, with some time at home here and their to help with the older kiddos while I take Ezme to her well-baby visit or Emma-James to her school testing.

I am not going to lie. I will DEFINITELY miss him tons. Having him home the last 2 weeks have been such a blessing. Not only was it nice to have some extra hands. It was just nice to finally see Jason not so stressed and busy. I think he needed the time away from work just as much as I needed him home. But now, its back to the grind. Emma-James has started school, the kids are busy with Soccer games and practices. And Olivia will be busy studying for the NECAP testing taking place next month. I will say this, having one extra kiddo around seems to fit into our family nicely. Its as if he has been here all along.

Oliver's Doctors Appointment

Oliver had a follow-up doctors appointment today just to make sure that he wasn't getting worse with the jaundice. He did fantastically. Looks like he is getting a good amount of "mommy" milk. And if you know of my past struggles with my milk coming in, then you know that this is a HUGE accomplishment for me. I did well with Ezme, but dried up faster then I wanted too. So I am hoping to extend my nursing abilities longer this time around. He is doing so well, why mess with a good thing.

On other news, he only gained about 5 oz. in a weeks time. We would have liked to see him be back up to his birth weight, or a little more. But we aren't worried. He is still a little jaundice. But it is slowly getting better. I am guessing by the middle of the week, it will be completely out of his face and belly. Because it never reached his arms or legs, he isn't in the danger zone. So this is good.

Little man also grew about 1/2 inch as well. So he is getting taller. Still looks like a skinny bean poll. Totally cute.

He will go back again at the end of September for another check-up. Meanwhile, I will be taking Ezme in next Thursday for her 1 year well-baby visit. Poor Dr. F. She is going to be seeing a lot more of us!!!

EZME!!

That's right. My Ezme is 1 today. I am sad. Happy, but sad at the same time. My baby girl is now a year old. I have yet to figure out how this happened. It seems like just yesterday she was born and made our family of five a family of 6. An even number. Never in the world did we expect we would be blessed with a new little bundle so soon after Ezme's arrival. I think this, compounded with the fact that our lives are *VERY BUSY, ALL THE TIME* made this pregnancy and her first year just fly by. I tried very hard to make the days longer, and the months last forever. But I just wasn't able to stop time. Darn thing.

Ezme is truly the sweetest little girl. She is always in a happy, smiling mood. Even on some of her worse days, she still tries to put a smile on her face. Even her goofy faces you can't help but laugh at. With striking blond hair and her blue eyes, she is definitely one of a kind. Not really looking like her brothers or sisters, she has her own unique look about her. She is very strong willed and truly has a mind of her own. I am amazed at how well she molded into our family, as if she has been with us forever and not just a year.

Her vocabulary is growing everyday. Her new words are "baby, no, yes, fish," and still uses Mama and Dadda. Sometimes she will throw in kitty. I am thinking we are going to have an early talker on our hands. Great for her. Bad for us :-) She is still trying hard to walk on her own, but her stubborn personality isn't allowing this to happen. She tries, and when she realizes what she is doing, will quit immediately and return to crawling. Its only a matter of time, but I am hoping it is soon. She is HEAVY!!!!! She also has managed to master crawling up the stairs, which really makes life a little easier for mommy when trying to get both her and Oliver up to bed. Right now it's one less stress in my night time routine.

She is going to bed fantastically. Usually she is in bed with her sister Emma-James and Owen by 6pm. However, she is still on some nights waking up for a sippy in the middle of the night. We have tried to curb this on most nights with just water, and it seems to work. I think she ends up having a bad dream, and just cannot fall back asleep.

We are hoping to have a big 1st Birthday/Baptism for her and Oliver sometime around Owen's 3rd Birthday. We wanted to have it during labor day weekend, but our lives have just been so busy that we didn't have much time to prepare the backyard before the big event.

I am sure you are all waiting for wonderful pictures of the Birthday Girl. So please enjoy. If you can, send the little one Birthday Wishes too. I am sure she would love to know how special she is when she gets old enough to read this.

Ezme 2 hours old

 

Ezme home from the hospital 2 days old

 

Ezme 2 weeks old

 

Ezme 1 month old

 

Ezme 3 months old. Look at the amount of hair she had. And how dark it was

 

Ezme 6 months old

 

Ezme 10 months old

 

Fun with Cupcakes

Ezme enjoyed her first cupcake even though she should have waited a few extra days to celebrate her first birthday. How could we say no? Here are a few pictures of her messy self.

Sending mommy kisses from across the room. This was taken just before the "MESS" came full force

 

Cheese!

 

A WEEK OLD??

Wasn't I just posting this time last week about how nervous I was about the epidural and how scared I was of the needles, the birth and my recovery. Now the little man is a week old. WHY DOES IT GO BY SO FAST????? WHY?????? Isn't their a way to bottle up time and have it slow down. I just love it when they are this little and compact. They grow up so fast. The days just fly by and soon its weeks and months. Blah.

It really doesn't seem to be a week since he was born. Things have just flown by and already we have done so much. Trip to the Boston Aquarium. Visits with Jason's family. Errand running and even the important and traditional Target run when we first get home from the hospital. Crazy.

He is really a terrific baby. I mean, honestly, I couldn't have asked for more. He sleeps wonderfully. Eats every 4 hours on the dot. Loves to be changed, doesn't mind being naked, and even loves baths. He loves to cuddle too. Snuggling his head into my next and sucking on his fingers. Such a sweetie.

I have managed to put him on the same schedule that all of the kiddos have been on. It really works for us too. It doesn't interfere with the kids supper or bedtime routines and it works well with Olivia's school schedule. So I am happy about that. So right now, he is eating at 8am, 12pm, 4pm, 8pm and 4am. I am not sure if that will change as the weeks go by. I am hoping he will stick to this schedule and in a months time he will drop the 4am feeding. He already wants too, but because of his slow weight gain and jaundice, I am reluctant to let him do that just yet.

At birth he weighed in at 8lbs 1oz. When he left the hospital he weighed in at 7lbs 14 oz. So we were pretty happy with his minimal weight loss. However, when I took him for a well-baby check up on Thursday 9/3. He came in at 7lbs 11oz. So he ended up loosing 3 oz. since leaving the hospital. He is a sluggish eater too. Only eating about 2 oz. every feeding. We would like to see at least 3 oz. But he ends up throwing up the extra ounce and sometimes more. Definitely not like the other kiddos. The girls, Olivia and Emma-James were eating almost 8 ounce bottles by 3 weeks old and both of them needed solids by 8 weeks. Owen and Ezme were good eaters and didn't need the extra calories from solid foods. But they did drink a good amount of formula at an early age. So having a stinker baby who isn't into bulking up so soon is kind of odd. But like they say, no two kiddos are alike.

Here are a few pictures my hubby managed to take during the first few days of his arrival. Enjoy.

Minutes old. Baby Oliver. The scale says 8lbs 1.4oz.

 

Mommy finally able to hold her little peanut. I was admiring his double chin

 

Mommy and Oliver enjoying some quiet time at the hospital

 

Oliver enjoying some snooze time in the pram. Get in now little boy. You have a world of LOUDNESS awaiting you at home

 

The (Irish) Twins

They might look different in size now. But just wait two years from now when one is 2 and the other is 3. Telling the difference will only grow harder as they get older. Especially when they enter Kindergarten. Gosh, seems so far away, but it comes so quickly. I will cherish these moments for sure.

Ezme 11 months old. Oliver 4 Days Old

 

Trip to the Aquarium Boston

I wanted to do something fun with my family before they leave in the morning. So Jason and I decided to head to the Boston Aquarium since my mom has never been. Despite living in Boston for more then 6 years. I thought it would also be fun for my nephew since the last time he went was when Owen was a baby. So I am sure he doesn't remember much. Here is a few photos of the day's adventures. It was really fun to get out and enjoy the day too. All the kiddos were fantastic and I felt great.
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Owen tried so hard to get this little guy to come off the bench so he could bring him home. He just loves "babies"

 

Oliver enjoying the time in the stroller. He is so adorable!!

 

Close up of the handsome little man

 

Ezme decided to sleep for a bit. Looking at Fish is exhausting work.

 

Ezme feeding a bottle to Owen. So cute.

 

Olivia, Emma-James and Owen