Time Flies

They say time flies when you're having fun - or maybe when you're just really busy with a bunch of little kids! Time really is flying because both apply to me: I'm really busy with my three kiddos and I'm having fun (most of the time). Megan is 8 weeks old today and I wonder where the time has gone. She is now smiling like crazy and I love talking to her because I can see in her little face she's totally engaged. She tries to talk back now and then with a "coo" or an "ooh". It's really cute. We were at the doctor the other day for a rash and she weighed in at 10lbs., 11oz., exactly 4 pounds more than her birth weight. Those four pounds are definitely showing too. Her face is round now and she's got a double chin. Her legs have some chub on them and she's not swimming in her clothes anymore. We're still working on her falling asleep on her own in her bed. It's often hit and miss, but she's getting better at either just falling asleep quietly or only crying for a couple of minutes. Progress is also being made during the night. We've had many nights of 5 hour stretches between feedings and sometimes it's even longer. But then she'll only go 3 1/2 or 4 hours the next night, which is frustrating because I get my hopes up for long stretches consistantly. Last night, though, was a record 6 1/2 hours! I'm just hoping for the full 8 hours soon. The only difficulties we encounter are the late afternoon and evenings when she sleeps in short spurts accompanied by lots of crying. Of course, if we hold her constantly she's fine and sleeps pretty well. Somehow she knows when we lay her down and she lets us know that is unacceptable. Other than that, she's a really happy, sweet, easy baby. I only regret that she gets bigger and less newborn-ish every day. Soon she'll be mobile and won't like being cuddled all the time. Until then, I'll get in all that I can and cherish that my shirts have her smell on them even when I'm not holding her.

A Life Saver

With Danny working really long hours the week before he went out of town for five days, I couldn't bear the thought of spending those five days alone. Pretty much I'm a wimp, so we invited my sister-in-law, Heidi, to come for a visit. She and her little boy, Hunter, agreed to come and truly were life savers!! I couldn't have stayed sane without her. It was challenging for just the two of us managing the four kids ages 4, 2, 11 months, and 6 weeks, but so worth it and so much fun. We tag-teamed playing each others' kids (though poor Heidi did most of the work while I fed Megan all the time), fixing and cleaning up meals, bathing the kids, holding Megan in the evenings when she's quite fussy. We tried getting out every day: a visit to the library, eating at Blue Plate Cafe, going to the Space Center, swimming with friends, and making a trip to The Unclaimed Baggage Center once Danny was home.







I have to just mention what happened at Blue Plate Cafe that proves I'm totally shameless and shows what having three kids does to a person. I thought it risky of us to try taking the kids to breakfast without Danny there to help, but we wanted to do it anyway. Just before our food came, Megan began to fuss in her carseat. So I took her out hoping to get her back to sleep by the time our food arrived. Not a chance. The food came, and as luck would have it, the normally mellow Hunter also started to fuss, so both Heidi and I were pretty tied up. I needed to get Dallin and Emily's pancakes cut and such, and so I outright asked a kindly-looking lady at the table next to us if she'd hold Megan for a minute. She readily accepted and insisted that she hold her while I ate my meal. So, I resorted to having a complete stranger hold my baby at a restaurant. How weird is that! I felt like I had no choice and she seemed to love it. I was really grateful to her.







My favorite part of Heidi's visit, though, was in the evenings once the kiddos were all in bed (minus Megan half the time). We just chatted for the couple hours we had before Megan's last feeding. It was great, and just wonderful in general having someone around. We said a number of times how much fun it was working in the kitchen together, etc. I can't imagine what it would have been like for five days all alone. I'm sure Danny would've come home to me in a straight jacket!









The kids playing together for the first time. Emily "tainted" Hunter by giving him her Sleeping Beauty Barbie to play with.













Cute Hunter. The last time we saw him he was only 5 months old. He's gotten so big and so fun.





Heidi took this shot of Dallin smashing his face against the mesh of our playpen.



Heidi reading to all three kids. This is seriously what it was like the whole time: us trying to juggle everything. Bless Heidi's heart! Notice Emily's handiwork of playing hairdresser. When all was said and done, I counted a total of 13 clips in Heidi's hair.


The kiddos in the bath.





Heidi with Megan.

I found Dallin napping like this on the floor at the foot of his bed.

Emily dressed Heidi up all fancy and I had to get a picture. Heidi really put up with a lot. Bless her heart again!


Thanks for coming, Heidi and Hunter!! We miss you guys!

The Dixons' Visit

Last week we had a terrific visit from Mom and Dad Dixon, Stacy, and Ben. They just left yesterday and we are all in mourning! It was so fun to have everyone here and they were all so wonderful in putting up with crazy sleeping arrangements, too few kitchen chairs, a crying baby in the middle of the night, the endless whims and demands of the grandkids, and everything else that goes along with not being in your own house. They were also wonderful in just helping out in every way. Here's a brief rundown.


They came bearing gifts, as always: a bunch of cool rocks for Dallin (he loves rocks).

Fancy dress-up stuff for Emily. For both to share, they brought play food items and a ton of animal figurines.

Grandma holding Megan for the first time.

Emily took advantage of fresh blood and played hair dresser with Stacy. The whole visit Stacy was subjected to that and getting all fancied up for her wedding day. She was a good sport and will be such a fun mom some day.

They took the kiddos on outings in the mornings. It was so nice for me to have some time with just Megan and time to shower, etc. This day they went to the outdoor mall to play in the splash area and for lunch.

One day they all went to our favorite restaurant The Blue Plate Cafe for breakfast.

Then off to Burrit on the Mountain, a cool place where there are complete reinactments of what life was like in Alabama in the 1800's. Here the kids are panning for gold.

They got to see basket weaving too.

Grandma spent a ton of time in the kitchen making dinner each night. She and Stacy also made some meals for the freezer so I can just pull them out when I have one of those days. So helpful!



Grandma and Emily made these yummy cookie things called woppy pies.

Grandpa was a life saver. Multiple times a day he'd sit down with the kids and play games with them. They loved it.

Grandpa with Dallin and Megan.

Every afternoon we all took naps and Emily always insisted that Grandma take a nap with her.

Ben and Megan. He was the official Megan-waker-upper and he did a fantastic job. He couldn't get enough of this little girl. He'll make a great dad some day.

Another day they all went to the Space Center.

Grandma and all the grandkids.

Thank you so much for coming and thanks for all the help, everyone! We loved having you and miss you already!

Two and a Half Weeks In

Well, we're more than two weeks into life with three kiddos and it's been going very well. Actually, it's not for reals yet since my mom's still here. She leaves tomorrow and I'm REALLY trying not to panic. If you ask me in a couple of weeks, you might get a different story. Anyway, here are some of the latest happenings.





















This 4th of July was unique for me because we live in a place where fireworks are legal. Danny went to the mother of all fireworks stores and picked up a few kiddie ones. The kids loved them, especially the sparklers.

Going to Bruster's ice cream shop with the grandparents just might becoming a tradition for us.

Last Sunday morning before church. Both kids are doing wonderfully with having a new baby around. They ask to hold her and love giving Megan kisses. Dallin is just a sweetie with her and is always talking to her in a cute baby voice. Emily also is very good with Megan. Just today she brought Megan one of her stuffed animals from her crib.






Megan is thriving! At first the doctor was concerned about her weight gain and jaundice. She'd dropped down to just 6 lbs. and wasn't gaining the weight back even after more frequent feedings over that first weekend. By the end of that week, though, she'd gained 3.5 oz. in three days. As of last Thursday (one week later), she'd gained 10.5 oz. in a week and had surpassed her birth weight. She weighed 6 lbs., 15.5 oz. Hooray! As for the jaundice, for some naps we put her by the window in her diaper in Emily's wooden doll cradle to get indirect sunlight. She fit in there just right. She's now doing just fine in that regard. She's a good sleeper. She's mostly still asleep whenever we put her in her crib for naps, which has been easy. At night she's been going 4 - 4.5 hours between feedings. Usually it's just once that I'm getting up to feed her between 2 and 3 o'clock. She really is a good baby!


With me nursing and Danny doing mostly doing the other kids, it seems like I'm the only one who interacts with Megan. Here's some rare Daddy-Megan time.

Megan is still a very sleepy baby, but she's awake more and more.


Her first bath.

Grandma and Megan.

Welcome, Baby Megan!!

Well, our sweet baby girl finally arrived on Tuesday! Here are her stats: she was born June 30, 2009 at 11:10 a.m. She weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and is 19 inches long. The general consensus is that she has REDDISH hair. :)

Here's a brief rundown of that morning's events:
- at 7:15 we arrived at Huntsville Hospital
- by 8:00 we were in our room
- at about 8:30 I was hooked up to the hydrating IV drip and the pitosin
- at 8:50 the doctor broke my water
- at about 9:30 I got the epidural
- at around 11:05 it was time to push (just a couple of pushes)
- at 11:10 our tiny Megan was born



The nurse held her up for a photo op. Megan's got a good set of lungs.


Danny holding her for the first time.

I held her right after she was born, but this is the first time holding her after being all cleaned up.


Isn't she sweet?




Grandma brought Emily and Dallin to the hospital that afternoon.


Dallin was very curious and was so sweet with her. He loved all Megan's tiny body parts, especially her toes.

This was taken on Wednesday, when Emily did a much better job welcoming her baby sister to our family.

We brought Megan home from the hospital on Thursday.

So far, Megan is a really good sleeper. So good in fact that she's hard to wake up to feed and keep awake while she's nursing. We rarely see her eyes, so it's a treat when they're open. She is just a cutie and is a very mellow kid so far. She hardly ever makes a peep. We are so happy to have her finally here. There is something indescribably sweet about having a brand new baby in the home. I love rocking her, putting my cheek on her fuzzy head, holding her against me, and smelling that unique newborn smell. We're just hoping for a smooth transition into being the parents of three. Danny's been wonderful at playing with Dallin and Emily. My mom's been so helpful with the kids and especially doing all the rest things like cooking and cleaning. Scary to think that what now takes three of us to do in order to keep life running smoothly, will soon be all on my shoulders. I try not to think about that part. :)