life with three

i was a little proud of myself for keeping up with the blog for awhile (as in, a month and a half ago), but then remington was born. as easy of a baby as he might be, time seems to be in very, very short supply. what i wouldn't give to be able to take a nap or sleep in. sleeping in isn't an option, thanks to two small early risers and the host of birds who insist on making a ruckus outside my window every morning BEFORE the sun comes up. it's a no-win situation, but that's ok... when i'm ancient and senile and my kids put me in a home, i'll have plenty of time to catch up on sleep then. :)

daddy graciously indulged cole in his hard-hat obsession. he had an extra one out in the garage that he can't wear to work anymore because it has the old company name on it. what better way to put it to use than to fit it to the small noggin of a very imaginative little boy?

yup. coley loves his "work hat". it goes almost everywhere with him. last week when kelvin made a run to the grocery store for a few things and took cole with, he wore it to the store. the report was that he was a proud as could be, everyone chuckled when they saw him and someone even snapped a photo on their phone. meanwhile, cole was oblivious and as proud as could be to be wearing a hat like daddy. last night i caught him going potty with it on his head. i almost snapped a photo.
almost.


squish is lovin' the shades that auntie kandace dug up for her awhile back. someone must've left them at kelvin's parents' after the family reunion last summer and never claimed them. now she's using them... they're about 5 sizes too big but she doesn't care!! it's like cole's "work hat"... she'll wear them anywhere.


"i see you, grandpa!!"

remington spent some time with his grandma and great-grandma last sunday after special meeting. it's the first that my grandma really got to see much of him- between the bad weather when he was born to her coming down with a nasty cold, it just hasn't worked out for her and my grandpa to really see much of him.

cole adores his little brother... i was worried about how safe remington would be on the floor or in his baby papasan, and knowing there aren't many safe places to put him anymore where the kids can't get at him, i wasn't sure what i'd do. as it turns out, he's perfectly safe wherever!! whether he's laying on the floor or strapped in his seat, both cole and madi pretty much let him be. when they DO play with him, it's very gently. it's almost as if they know by instinct what is and is not ok to do with and to the baby...

madi likes to rub his back and tell him "hiiii, swee-teeee".

it's just adorable!!

oh yes, he loves his brother!!

madison knows all of her colors almost all of the time. i still credit my dad for teaching her while we were at the hospital for that false labor alarm. she picked up on it really fast and when we ask her what color something is, she's usually spot-on. way to go, madi!

remington chilled and watched madi color...

... this was his view. not bad! :)

cole and daddy!!

(yes, cole's got a weird look going on- not sure what that was all about, hahaha!)

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earlier this week remington had his weight check... he checked in at 9 lbs, 1 oz, so he's gained a full pound and three ounces in two weeks! we knew he'd catch up... i wasn't worried, but dr h wanted a little reassurance.

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my mom has off of work on monday, so assuming everyone's healthy and not SUPER crabby, we plan on spending the day with her. not sure what we'll be doing yet, but even if it's just hanging out at home or at the farm, we'll have fun.

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thursday night was "girl's night out"... first one in appleton! i was told by my dear husband that i had no choice, i HAD to go. so i went, with rem in tow. we had good food and lots of good chats and laughs at olive garden! thanks for the fun, ladies! :)

weekend helpers

mom asked if we wanted to bring the kids up for the day on saturday, so we all piled into the van and went off to spend the day at the farm.

the weather was nice- not too warm, not freezing cold, and this time there was no pure white snow glinting in the sun to give cole a migraine.

(yes, our preschooler gets migraines. it happened last summer too, when it was hot and muggy and he ran hard all day. the weekend we brought remington home and the kids stayed with my parents, cole played outside all day in the sun and snow- it gave him a migraine so bad he puked. poor baby!!!)

my dad's been working on cutting up and splitting one of the trees by the house, so kelvin and cole were able to help him with that.

cole was MORE than happy to help!! he even helped pick up the piles of sticks and leaves that were raked up- i was watching him through the window, and it's evident to me that even at a young age, he has a strong work ethic (as much as a small child can have, anyway) and he's so eager to jump in and do what he can. i can see it in the way he carries himself and the enthusiasm with which he goes about doing his little part to help out. makes me teary thinking of his willingness- i hope he can keep that in all parts of his life, he'll grow up to be an upstanding young man. and then the mere thought of him being a young man makes me tear up all over again. (say it with me: silly hormones!!) madison wasn't left out of the activity- she helped grandma rake up the yard debris left over from another winter up on the windy hill. she wasn't really sure what to do with the little rake, but she sure had a good grip on it, carrying it all over the yard, happy to follow grandma wherever she went.

umm, yup- sometimes using your hands is by far the easiest way. having a rake in the other hand for good measure helps too. :)

the kids had their baths in grandma and grandpa's tub so they could get clean and ride home in their pj's.

madi was less than impressed that bathtime was over, and sat in the empty tub with an empty cup, sobbing her little broken heart out.

she survived and forgot all about it eventually...

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i've been meaning to get to madison's 2-year photos for several months now... she turned two the middle of january, so today's shoot was long over-due. fortunately we can get away with it since kids don't change so drastically from month to month at her age. between being exhausted and the size of a small county (hello, can i get my own zipcode, please??) and the fact that madison isn't the most graceful little person around so we had to wait for some bruises and scrapes to mend and then wait again for some more, we didn't get to it until now. that's ok- she was happy to cooperate today, which REALLY surprised me!!

remington had a little time being an itty-bitty model too... you can see more by popping over to blink studio. i made a very airy crocheted square for a photo prop... by gathering up the ends and sticking a wee one in it, there's great potential for the ever-popular-can't-go-wrong suspended cocoon photos. however, remington wasn't into it, so i didn't get any (good) shots using the cocoon. maybe another time... but we did get several good ones, a few of which are over at blink. now i have to get hopping and decide which of madison's shots to use and get prints ordered. i also have to hustle on reminton's announcements, now that i have some useable photos :)

6-step program

this is the 6-step program:

1. observe your surroundings

2. lift your head up nice and high (i caught him halfway down)

3. tuck in your shoulder

4. get a little mad and push yourself onto your side

5. stop screaming and hurl yourself the rest of the way over

6. land gracefully on your back.

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yes, our 2 1/2 week old little man is already rolling over!! he did it twice last night and then several times today. the kids giggled uncontrollably every time he did it, so i guess they're as thrilled as mommy and daddy are over this not-so-little accomplishment. it's so weird to see such a tiny little person rolling over (from tummy to back, but still!!), but it's also pretty cool. he's got to master it all early so he can keep up with his older brother and sister, right?

way to go, remington!
*
~disclaimer: yes, the baby is always well-supervised while on the table, especially now that he rolls. :) ~

i should be napping, but...

every time you have a baby, you hear it at least a half-dozen times: "nap when the baby naps".

veteran parents know that's not really the case- there's ALWAYS something to do when your hands are free!!

right now, all three kids are blissfully napping.

and i'm blogging.

hey, my hands are free, so... ;)

cole still loves his baby brother. he's always asking to hold him, and i wish i could say "sure, sweetie" to every request, but sometimes mommy wants to hold the little guy too, ya know?

i'm SO glad he's this thrilled about having a baby brother, though- it's too sweet!!

saturday found auntie sarah back at our house for most of the day, which meant lots of snuggles and rounds of "look-it, auntie sarah...".

this kid should have NO problems burping, hahahaha!!

oh, three and a half years into it, these eyes still melt my heart <3

auntie kandace stopped by on monday on her way back to her house. she hadn't met remington yet, so we were especially glad to see her! she got plenty of snuggle time while the older kids napped.

(or not... sigh.)

gotta shove that paci in there!

we tried a new 'do for madi today. it turned out pretty cute!! putting her hair up is hard because for one, she's shorter on top and longer in the back, and for two, her hair is so fine that it breaks off super-easily. she's still got a "fringe" from several days of pigtails, and that was several months ago. headbands are kind of a no-go- she doesn't like the feel of the band around her head. cute hair styles are just going to be slow in coming for her, i'm afraid!

but still, the half-pony is cute on her!

cole calls it her "tony-nail" and she calls it a "maggie". why "maggie"? because the little girl next door has beautiful hair that she's seen done up in ponytails, so it makes perfect sense to her to call her ponytail a "maggie".

gotta love the way little minds work!!

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last night i handed remington over to kelvin for the first time since he was born. i hated to do it because i know it cuts into kelvin's night and he's the one that needs to get up for work, but i was so exhausted i could barely hold him, much less have the patience to wait for him to *finally* go to sleep. now that he's awake a little more, remington seems to like to stay awake quite a bit later than the rest of the house. we'll have to work on refiguring that and help him get his days and nights straight. i got a solid hour and a half before kelvin brought him back, and then i felt really bad because i knew that in two short hours, he'd have to get up for work. on one hand i felt horrible asking him to sacrifice some of his night, but on the other hand, i don't ask him to unless necessary, and that's next to never. and it did help a little- i'm slightly less fatigued today. i never realized that i'd be this tired, but it makes sense because my body's focused on healing (more so than with a normal delivery) and feeding the baby. another reason i think mother nature's not really a lady... hrmph.

one thing i've noticed about remington that i just love is how much he smiles in his sleep!! it's beyond adorable, and it's always such a wide grin.

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remington had his two-week well-baby visit on tuesday:

7 lbs, 13 oz (2 oz less than his birth weight)

20 1/2 inches (a whole inch longer than birth!!)

everything checked out great, but because he's not all the way back to or past his birth weight, we have to bring him back in two weeks for a weight-check. not a visit, just a quick weigh-in. he eats like a champ, though, so i'm not too worried.

*

we're trying to get madison to go without her paci. i noticed yesterday as i was getting her ready for her nap that the tip of her pink gumdrop paci was almost completely bitten off. knowing that it was close to coming off and could choke her, i showed her that her paci was broken. she looked at me with a blank stare (denial??) and then i told her that when something's broken and we can't fix it, we have to throw it in the garbage. i then told her we couldn't fix her paci, and asked her if she'd like to help me put it in the garbage. we walked together to the garbage can and she tossed it in. it didn't seem to phase her- she went down for her nap without a fuss, not once asking for her paci. she also didn't sleep, but at least she didn't scream. and at bedtime, she didn't ask for it like she usually does. i was surprised, and expected her to wake up upset at some point in the night at least once. she didn't. and she didn't mention it this morning when she got up. we DO have another one hidden away just in case but regular nap- and night-time use of her paci has come to an end. granted, now that she has nothing to chew on, she's on day two of not actually sleeping during naptime, but we'll work on that.

i've heard horror stories about pacifier-weaning, and i have to say that i'm blown away by how easy it was. i'm glad... at the same time, i tear up because it means she's growing up. i didn't mind her having a paci (at least for a little while longer), probably because it seemed to keep her a little younger for a little longer. it was her security thing, and now she doesn't need it.

my baby girl's growing up... *sniff*.

(silly hormones.)

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one more thing: i just want to say that i've gotten some awesome support in regards to having a cesarean and the difficulties i've been having in letting go of not having a natural birth experience. whether it be a comment left on a post, an email or a message on facebook, i appreciate every single one. it means a lot, especially when i still feel a little overwhelmed by it all (because it all happened so fast, i think). thank you- you know who you are!!

visitors and dreams

hard to believe we've been home for more than a week already!

remington is SUCH an easy baby... hopefully that doesn't change. and madison is warming up to him on her own terms- she's been happy to rub his head and give him kisses here and there, which melts my heart.

as for cole, he's still in love with his baby brother; he doesn't like it when he cries and tries to "fix" whatever's wrong. yesterday he actually laid down on the couch next to remington to snuggle him... cole NEVER sits on our couch, much less lies, he always bounces! it melted my heart all over again.

kelvin got me a moby wrap... i LOVE it!!

remington does too- he slept so soundly in it that he forgot to wake up to eat.

it's like getting an extra set of hands, and will be a total lifesaver when we go grocery shopping.

i know this because i already tried it... baby in the moby, two kids in the cart. it was the quietest, smoothest trip to the grocery store EVER. i have no clue why cole and madi were so well behaved, but i won't question it. i know, i know... i shouldn't have been out that soon, lifting kids and groceries, but it had to be done, and i'm going to have to figure out a system anyway. :)

lil dude, taking a snooze.

here's the "owl" on the back of remington's head... the two swirls are the eyes and the ridge between them is the beak. funky, no?

auntie sarah came over yesterday (and will be back today) to meet her newest nephew! as you can see, he was delighted... i just wish i could have gotten this shot at a different angle, because his grins are *the* cutest.

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now for another little bit of honesty. i just have to get this out of my mind, because the longer it sits in there, the worse it will get.

everyone has dreams. big dreams, little dreams, dreams of all kinds. some dreams stay just that: dreams. others have an opportunity to be fulfilled. it seems that as long as one's still alive and kicking, the attainable dreams are still possible.

one of my most prized dreams was to have a natural labor and delivery. since kelvin is happy with three kids, i was so excited to have this one last chance to have the birth experience of my dreams. i was prepared: i had my exercise ball, lotion and a massage tool, even music. oddly, the one thing that i really wanted to hear was hank williams' "lay down beside me". odd choice for the delivery room, yes, but it makes me feel so safe and relaxed. anyway, my plan was to labor at home as long as possible, go in to the hospital when i felt ready and avoid pitocin and the epidural altogether. i knew i could do just fine without one, as long as there was no pitocin, and more than anything else, i wanted this birth experience to be what i was dreaming of.

obviously, that didn't happen. and knowing that remington may very well be our last baby, my simple dream of having a good labor and delivery experience is gone. i'm quite certain that hormones play a part in it, but every time i think of what i wish could have happened, i cry. my chance to attain that one dream is gone. not just the whole "no drugs all natural" thing, but that feeling that the world disappears. mommies, you know what i mean; when you're in labor, it's like time stands still and the world goes away. there's nothing like it! this time, i didn't even get that... the one thing that makes each birth so memorable and special, i missed out on it.

i know, it sounds silly. i don't intend to sound like i'm upset because i didn't "get my way"... and when it comes down to it, i'm so very thankful that remington's healthy and that everything turned out ok in the end. there wasn't any way we could have prevented my developing polyhydramnios (the term for too much amniotic fluid, which occurs in a mere 2% of pregnancies, and in 2/3 of those cases, there's no explanation for the condition), and we did what was advised to be the safest. but part of me wonders, if i had just gritted my teeth and opted to wait, would my dream have come true? maybe. or i could STILL be in active, unproductive labor. i guess there's no way of knowing... all i know is that it's going to take some time for me to accept the fact that my chance at having my "dream birth experience" is gone. there will undoubtedly be more tears shed over it, but eventually those will go away too.

and, like i said before, i'm so thankful that our littlest man is healthy and safe- and really, that's all that matters, right?