All the kids at about 4-5 weeks old

Alivia - I am struck by how much (dark!) hair she had

Will - this picture makes me laugh. . .he was HUGE!

John - seeing this reminds me how he was definitely not sleeping well at this age - notice the double swaddle and numerous pacis around the bed!

Baby Matthew - 4 1/2 weeks

First Smile at 4 1/2 weeks old!

Baby Matthew has actually been smiling for awhile, but this is the first time someone has caught it on film. And he seems to smile much more at everyone else but me. Hmmmm. . . .

Oh, and we all still cannot figure out who the little guy looks like!

Matthew is 4 weeks old!

We recently went for our 2 week check up (but actually he was 3 weeks old at the time). Here are his stats:

height: 21.25 inches (50%)

weight: 9 lbs 4 oz (50%)

head: 37.25 cm (50%)

Needless to say, Dr. Dawson commented "Well, we all know he is feeding well!" I was shocked to see he was already over 9 pounds! He is sleeping pretty predictably from about midnight to 5 am which is AWESOME. I don't recall the other kids ever sleeping that long this early. I have to really cluster feed him and hold him from about 7-midnight, but that is OK with me since he sleeps for 5 hours afterwards. I also feel that by that time of the night I don't have a huge supply of milk, so we have been giving a bottle of about 3 oz of either breast milk or formula.

Alivia and Will have gotten used to the idea of having him around and love to hold him every now and then. John likes to try and sit in my lap while I am breastfeeding which can be a bit tricky at times. :-)

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. . .