Newborn Pictures

We had Briggs' newborn pictures taken the week after he was born.  He stayed wide awake for his entire photo shoot, thus not cooperating for any of those sweet, sleepy newborn poses.  And although Staley preferred to use her own little camera to take pictures as opposed to being in them and Adelie was 2 days into hand, foot, and mouth disease (we thought it was teething), our photographer did a great job of capturing our sweet little baby and our new family of 5.

Adelie's mouth was hurting and she didn't feel well, so her expression looked like this in most of the pictures.  And, of course, no family photo these days is complete without Shell, Adelie's mermaid Barbie.

My sweet baby with his big sisters

My beautiful baby boy

The Lasts

With both my girls, I was always looking forward to their firsts.  First smile.  First time rolling over.  First steps.  First words.  I was always anticipating those next milestones.  Sometimes I even wanted to speed them along so we could experience what was to come next.  But with Briggs, it's a little different.  Yes, I'm excited about his firsts and will celebrate each one that comes along.  But it's a little bittersweet because, with Briggs, I will also be more aware of his lasts.  As a woman in her late 30's (let's be honest--pushing 40) with 3 kids under the age of 5, another baby doesn't seem to be in the cards for us.  And so, with each phase of life that Briggs passes up, it will be a last for us.

I know that all the lasts won't be filled with sadness and nostalgia.  I probably won't be sad about our last middle of the night feeding.  I'll probably handle it okay when we've experienced our last diaper blowout.  And I won't shed a tear about the last time I get spit up down my shirt.  But I know there will be a last time my little baby falls asleep on my chest.  I know there will be last time that he can wear those teeny-tiny diapers and itty-bitty socks.  There will be a last bath in the baby bathtub.  There will be a last time he wraps his little hand around my finger.  And eventually there will be a last time he sits on my lap, a last time he calls me 'Mommy', a last bed time story, a last lunch I pack, a last graduation.

And so, I am trying to appreciate these little baby moments.  In the midst of the craziness of our life, I'm trying to take the time to hold and cuddle this little bundle that fits so nicely in my arms.  I am trying to soak in Briggs' baby-ness.  Because, before I know it, my last baby won't be a baby anymore.

They Say...

My girls are so fun right now.  (Well, except for when they are crying about ridiculous things, arguing, or tattling on each other.)  Adelie talks so well, and she continually cracks me up with the things she says.  She has lots of little phrases that are so cute, like how she always says "pick up me"  instead of "pick me up."  Or how she says CaroLION instead of Caroline when talking to/about her little cousin.  Or how she always says "a tiny little bit" as in "I wear my Sofia nightgown for a tiny little bit."  (This is her way of asking if she can wear her nightgown a little longer before getting dressed in the morning.)  She still generally answers affirmatively with "yup."  And in her agreeable way, if I ask her to do something, she'll often answer "Sure."  When we ask if she needs/wants to use the potty, she'll often decline by saying "I'm fine."  Since her birthday, when Adelie says her bedtime prayers, her 'thank yous' now generally include "thank you for my birthday party."  And, of course, if Staley is saying, doing, or singing something, Adelie is usually right there with her doing it too.

"I play soccer for a tiny little bit."

Staley has her own Staley-isms that make me smile.  When picking out new books or movies at the library, she will often proclaim, "I'm really curious about this one." or "I'm really interested in this one."  And, according to Staley, her favorite colors are now pink, purple, rainbow, and cheetah.

Staley has had 1 practice and 3 games for her soccer season.  She really enjoys playing, but has been known to kick the ball towards the wrong goal or get distracted by other things going on around her.  She always runs after the ball (sometimes with reminders), but is not very aggressive and is pretty gentle about how hard she kicks the ball.  At her last game, she was busy hugging one of the other members of her team while the other team was scoring.  She has not scored a goal, or really even come close.  However, after her last game, she told Zach, "I think I scored a lot of goals."  Maybe not super competitive, but at least she's making friends and feeling confident in her abilities.

My little soccer player

My girls always make me smile.  With who they are.  With the things they do.  And with what they say.  My life is full... more than just a tiny little bit.

One Month

As hard as it is to believe, Briggs is already one month old.  He's no longer a little newborn.  He's filling out and growing on a daily basis, already weighing about 10 lbs.  He has outgrown his newborn clothes and newborn diapers.  He doesn't need the newborn insert in his tub, and I probably should remove the newborn insert for his carseat.  It's not surprising that he's growing so fast as he eats every 2-3 hours during the day and for the past several nights every 2.5-3 hours.  (For his first few weeks, he would sleep 3-4 hours between feedings at night, but he hasn't been doing quite so well the past week.)

He's a deep thinker, even when he's sleeping.

Likes:  Briggs likes eating, sleeping, and baths.  If he is not hungry or tired, he's generally a happy little guy.  He prefers to be held, but can be content in his bouncy seat, pack and play, or play mat for short periods of time.  He seems to do well with car rides and in his stroller as long as there is movement.  He likes listening to music with Zach with Waylon Jennings as a current favorite.

My little mellow man

Dislikes:  Being hungry or tired.  When Briggs is hungry, tired, or unhappy, he will definitely let you know.  He has limited patience when his needs are not met immediately.

Skills: Briggs is a good eater.  He can sleep through some very loud household noises.  (Think two sisters running past him sleeping in the pack and play, squealing and screaming while he soundly sleeps through it.)  He is strong, lifting his head really well when he's held or on his tummy.  He will turn his head side to side during tummy time.  He has limited control of his arms, but is starting to sporadically hit at his hanging toys or rattles.  Briggs is also a master at spitting up.  He happily spits up consistently, and has christened some of his favorite people.  (Here's looking at you, Aunt Melissa.)  Smiling is a relatively new skill, and we generally see more smiles in the morning than the evening.  And Briggs added another new skill tonight.

He took a bottle like a champ.  Apparently eating is eating.  He's just big on milk.

Although his skills are still pretty minimal, Briggs has already mastered looking cute, cuddling, entertaining his sisters, and filling our lives with joy.

Our little one month old

Easter

What a fun and full Easter week-end we had.  Our Easter festivities started on Saturday with brunch and an Easter egg hunt with my family.  A highlight for all the kids was getting to play with Uncle Ethan, who came home from Chicago for the week-end.  (I think Ethan needed a nap after spending the morning playing with all his nieces and nephews.)

All dressed up...

for Easter fun...

with cousins.

(Isn't she looking so grown up??)

On Saturday afternoon, we gave the girls a special Easter treat.  Big girl bikes!!  We had actually gotten one for Staley for her birthday (in January), but then decided it was kind of cruel to give her a bike that she couldn't actually use for several months.  After further thought, we decided that Adelie should probably get one too since otherwise she'd just want to ride Staley's all the time.

Checking out their new bikes.

Adelie hasn't quite gotten pedaling figured out yet, but she's still pretty excited about her Minnie bike.

Staley is good at pedaling, but steering is still a work in progress.  She looks pretty snazzy on her new princess bike, even if she's veering off in the wrong direction.

On Sunday, we started our day with church.  The girls then found their Easter baskets while Briggs had a morning snack.  They were pretty excited about their new Paw Patrol figures.

Not the stellar Easter sibling photo I had hoped for, but it was worth a try.

Adelie wasn't too keen on picture time, but Staley was more than happy to pose for me.

And Briggs never complains about having his picture taken.

We then headed over to Zach's aunt's house for a scrumptious Easter lunch and an Easter egg hunt.

A successful cousin photo.

Both girls loved hunting for eggs.

After a quick nap/rest time, we then ventured over to my aunt's house for some more family time and yet another Easter egg hunt.  Luckily, the thrill of finding plastic eggs doesn't seem to fade for either of my girls.

Adelie found a slinky in one of her eggs.  Winner, winner!

Briggs spent much of his Easter like this.

We even managed a Walles family photo.

We had a wonderful week-end of spending time with family, riding bikes, finding eggs, eating good food, playing, laughing, and celebrating the good news that our Savior lives!

We are so very blessed!

Easter Miracle

It's the Easter season.  That joyous season where we celebrate the miracle of Jesus' resurrection.

Well, we had our own little Easter miracle today.

A picture.  Of all 3 kids.  Looking at the camera.  And smiling.  (Well, I give Briggs a pass on the smiling.  He did only just figure it out 2 days ago.)

It really is a good Friday!

Say Cheese!

For the past week or two, Briggs has shown some signs of smiling, but I was never sure it was voluntary.  I'm a stickler about firsts, so I want to make sure it's an absolute before I make the declaration.  On Wednesday this week, Briggs gave his first definitive, voluntary smiles.  And he's been practicing ever since.  

My smiley boy!