One Month Old

Its hard to believe Otis is one month already! He is so fun and we love this little guy, even in the middle of the night :). He has been putting on weight like its going out of style. He is peaceful and happy and I love his soft little skin. I also love the baby fat all over him that makes him feel so squishy. It has been so wonderful to have a new baby at home. The kids have been so sweet to Otis and understanding towards me, especially while nursing. Otis is eating every four hours and has been sleeping 5-6 hours at a time at night, its been great! It really feels like we have had him forever!

We have been so blessed through Otis' birth. So many family and friends have reached out and brought dinner, helped with the older kids weekly (!), gone to the store for me (when we first got home), visited and spoiled Otis with gifts from clothes to diapers and wipes. We have felt so loved! It has made this transition very smooth :) THANKS TO ALL!!!

Otis, we love you little man!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!

side note: The above picture was taken yesterday as we were trying to get Oti's baby pics done... He was not cooperating. But I love his little smile and his chubby chins :) Hopefully we can get some good pics taken soon.

Hair Time

Leah and Mylo doing each others hair. I didn't get a picture of Leah doing Mylo's hair... But it was cute and he had an I-don't-like-this face that was really cute too. Then it was Leah's turn to get pampered... She seemed to enjoy it more than him.

I love this boy and that face! and those eyes!!!! They melt my heart!!!!

I also love this little stinker. She is getting so big! I also love her eyes... I think she is very purdy! But, then again, I am her mom and I think the world of her.

What I love most of all is how nicely they play together (most of the time), it makes our day wonderful!

Just Peachy

Milli has been getting along just peachy since Otis' arrival. She has been her happy self. She will come up to Dave and I and give us hugs and kisses and will tell us she loves us, its very sweet. However, she has also become very self sufficient, which is great unless she is climbing on the kitchen counter or the bathroom counter. She will grab a stool or a chair from the toy area and she knows she can climb on anything. She has helped herself to an apple or a peach (pictured above :)), and that is fine with me. BUT, the other day she was caught playing with the knife sharpener, good thing it wasn't a knife, but come on! In the bathroom she is often found washing her hands and sopping wet, with soap in her mouth, or with the TP rolled all out on the floor. She has become a bit more of a handful, simply because she wants to do it herself. She will tell us when she is ready for a nap, not complaining about that... but when she is in her room she will often remove her diaper because she is wet or stinky! Love that girl, just not her mischief lately :)

Creative Kids

The kids had a creative moment the other day. Well, they have a creative moment all the time, but this was really creative. They made glasses out of legos and then put on a show for us that was mostly "beat boxing". It was a pretty funny show. I especially loved Leah's out fit and that Mylo was wearing Leah's old boots.

Confessions

I have been feeling more like myself lately, its great! BUT, there are days that the hormones are all out of whack and the lack of sleep makes things even worse. I feel bad for my kids, they almost have their mom back, so I know soon enough I will be doing fun things with them again.

I wish I fit into more of my old clothes. Even maternity clothes don't look so great with the flabbiness that is going on in my mid section. I know its still early and things will go back into some what of the original place... but hurry up body!

I need sleep!

I love nursing my little O. He is getting chunky and cuter every day. It makes me feel good to see him gaining weight. It makes my gallons of milk more bearable. BUT, if he has a belly ache its because of some weird thing I ate and it will happen again if I don't figure it out. I haven't had a Dt. Coke since we got home from the hospital!

I have always wanted to be blond. I know that sounds dumb, but maybe that is the hormones talking :). I will be keeping my dark hair... I still like it just fine.

I feel inadequate as a mom sometimes and I question my every move with my kids. Such an overwhelming responsibility. I know I am not the best and I have a lot to work on. I think this is what gets me down most days.

I dread night time. I used to love it! This was the time that Dave and I could hang out and be by ourselves and chit chat with no interruptions. Now, I pray and pray that Otis will have a great night sleep, like he does during the day. He is sleeping longer stretches at night (six hours at a time), but often he just wants his binky or has a burp. He might not need to eat but he is still getting me up.

I miss my daily dose of Dt. Coke. I know I was not addicted to it, since I have not felt any "withdrawal" symptoms. But, it is such a great treat! I miss it!!!

I have been so impressed and in awe of the love people have for me and my family. We have been the recipients of so much lately, its amazing.

I don't know how single parents do it. Dave has been my life saver lately. He makes me take a nap and lets me sleep in. I love having him home all day and I hate it when he is gone.

Ok... that's enough. I am done for now :) Life is good... I really shouldn't complain.

Three Weeks

Its hard to believe that Oti is three weeks old! It really seems like he has been with us forever already :) BUT, the last three weeks have flown by... maybe it feels like one really long week. I have been really tired :)

Otis had his two week check up a few days a go (a week ago really) and he is growing and that makes me so happy. He is now weighing 8lbs. 7oz! He gained over a pound in his two short weeks of life. It makes the two gallons of milk I am now carrying around all worth the back pain ;). His jaundice was under control in just a few short days, but soon got a cold! We have been battling his cold for a week now. It is making things very hard for me, but I cannot expect him not to get sick if we have three other monkeys running around.

However, we have all been enjoying him A LOT! He loves to be cuddled and loves his day time sleep :) Mylo has said some funny things while holding Oti. This last week Mylo said, while holding Oti, "Are you looking in the mirror? huh? are you?" I had to laugh... We have said several times that Otis looks like Mylo. I am guessing Mylo is very flattered by this.

Oti had his first blow out this week. I have never documented my other kids blow outs, but this might just be the last of the firsts. I am just glad the little guy is pooping like champ :)

I am in love! I mean, Oti can already pull a silly face for a picture... what's not to love?

Oti has been a wonderful (other than the cold). He lost his belly button last Sunday and he got his first bath at home, he loved it! We all love to touch his hair, I just love his little faux hawk. Dave and I like to watch his silly faces while he sleeps.

We love our Oti!

Out with FOUR little Monkeys

Dave had some filming to do this morning and I had to get to the store for some necessities. So, after feeding Oti and getting the kids some what decent looking, and myself (a very difficult task as of late) we piled in the car and made our first trip to the store. It was a nice adventure. I talked to the kids before getting out of the car, so that they would be good listeners... and it worked! They were all pretty good. It was not stressful and we all left happy :) I guess I can do this mother of four thing after all.

One Week Old

Otis is one week old today. The week has gone by so fast. He is growing and his face is changing and his eyes have been open for more than five minutes at a time :). The kids are completely in love with their baby brother. They want to hold him every time I have to feed him. He is weighing 7lbs. 15oz. It appears that he is eating cream! We love this little guy.

Its been wonderful to have so much support and help from family and friends. We feel so loved and thought of, it has been wonderful! There have been moments when we have all been doing our own thing, but we are all in the same room and it feels so nice to have all four of the kids in one place. We were eating dinner and Oti was in my arms and it, again, was so nice to have our whole little (not so little) family at the dinner table together. It has been a great week.

I am in love!

I love these kids! A few of them have driven me crazy today, but I love them! I feel SO blessed to be a mother to FOUR kids. They make me smile, cry, worry, laugh, cry and more. But I just love them all more than I can express. They are all so different and yet they all have a lot in common. I love their kisses and love and even when they are driving me crazy. How could I be so lucky?!?!

Otis Update: He has had a high bili so has been under lights since we arrived home a couple of days ago. Yesterday I took him to the Dr. to get checked and he weighed 7lbs 4oz. He has lost two ounces since birth, not bad. Today I took him to get his bili checked again and the little tank has gained FIVE ounces over night! YAY!!! So happy Oti is growing and that he is liking his milk :) So, he is now at 7lbs. 9oz. Eat baby, Eat!