Grandpa Day at the Ranch with Will

Grandpa likes to take Will for special days at the Ranch every now and then on Mondays. Today they went to Bertram and did all sorts of boy stuff. Grandpa sent this picture of Will with their catch of the day.

And when Will walked in the house he was holding a severed raccoon foot that they had collected from a trap. I promptly put it in a plastic bag and made Will wash his hands. Needless to say, they had a great day!

Matthew - 16 days old by Jill Bee Designs

My sweet friend Jill came over to photograph Matthew to add some newborn shots to her portfolio at Jill Bee Designs. Lucky me! I love the shots she took. . .

Thank you Jill!

First Bath for Matthew

Alivia and Will were thrilled to "help" give Matthew his first bath.

Matthew is 2 weeks old!

Daddy Daughter Dance at Veritas

Matt took Alivia to her first Daddy-Daughter Dance last night. They had such a good time. Alivia was beyond thrilled to have some one on one time with her Daddy and had several discussions with me throughout the day about what she was going to wear.

As much as Alivia was thrilled, Will was exactly the opposite. He sobbed in my arms for about 10 minutes after they drove away and was acting like such a toot before they left. At one point in my sleep-deprived state I yelled, "Get control of yourself Will!" Note to self: NOT the best way to handle an emotionally-fragile 4-year old.

I tried to make the evening fun for Will with ice cream, watching an episode of Diego, and a game of "War" and "The Ladybug Game," but I think it paled in comparison to a fun night out with Daddy. Sigh. . .

Me and The Boys

Cute prom pic at the Dance

Alivia with her friend, Charis, from school

So sweet! I love that Matt is the only man in her life right now. . .

9-day Check Up

On Monday we went to see Dr. Dawson for a check up. He had told me I did not need to come in until 2 weeks, but his office gave me this earlier appointment because he was booked solid. Actually, I did not mind coming in a little bit earlier - as a breastfeeding mom, it is just nice to make sure Matthew is gaining weight and that his jaundice is nothing to worry about.

His stats:

weight: 8 lbs 12 ounces (gained 1 ounce!)

height: 20 inches

Dr. Dawson was more than pleased with his weight gain and gave us a clean bill of health. We have to do some special bloodwork in 2 weeks so we will see him again then.

All in all, Matthew has been a good baby. There are times when he will go up to FIVE hours at night before I need to feed him again which is VERY unlike my other kids. During the day he will cluster feed occasionally, but most of the time will go about 3 hours between feeds. He likes to take his time with nursing, so I hope I can speed him up with that a little bit. I still can't figure out who he looks like - maybe John? But I really think he has his own little look. Everyone hopes maybe this will be the child that finally looks like Matt!

I sort of feel like I am coming out of a fog and emotional haze of last week. The hormones were really crazy last week and I would feel extreme sadness and joy within minutes of one another. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Today I fixed my hair and put on real clothes! That felt good. Tomorrow maybe I will try make-up! :-)

Matthew, it has been a joy to get to know you this past week. I can't wait to see how your personality grows!

Hospital Visitors

We have come such a long way in terms of our community of friends since we first had Alivia. Matt and I laugh when we think our only visitor with Alivia was my parents and sweet Mandy Cloud. This time around, we were blessed with numerous friends that came by on Sunday to see us and love on Matthew. . .(Not pictured: the Dugans, PRip and KRip, Liza and Ian Sanchez-Alward)

My dear friends Amy and Jill

The Schoolers brought us lunch from P. Terry's

Sweet Rebecca with Matthew

Melissa and the Blue boys - they were excited to hold him - so cute

And dear Mandy - always faithfully visiting us with each baby!

Matthew Meets His Family

The three older kids stayed with Mimi and Grandpa while we were at the hospital. On Saturday evening, they came up to meet Matthew for the first time. I think Alivia and Will just needed to see Matt and me to make sure we were OK. They had no interest in holding Matthew and everyone just stayed a short time. On Sunday, Alivia and Will had warmed up to the idea and were more comfortable at the hospital.

Will's face when he first walked in and saw me and the baby is priceless

John still looks like such a baby himself with that crazy paci! None of the kids wanted to hold him at this point.

Aunt Emily dropped by on Sunday

Where's Peyton? (He has a germ-phobia and stays away from hospitals)

On Sunday, Alivia and Will returned and Alivia was more than ready to hold her baby brother.

Daddy sweetly talking about how tiny Matthew is. . .

Mimi and Matthew

I have been surprised by how Will has embraced the baby - he is really sweet with him. Anytime he cries Will says to me, "I think the baby is hungry, Mommy."

Upon arriving home on Monday, we had a visit from Avery and Paige

Grandpa, Matthew and Alivia