Paci Kiss

Here is Liam giving baby Kate a "paci kiss." Probably one reason why she ended up in the hospital with RSV last week. Everyone was sick (Grant had pneumonia, everyone else had a respiratory virus) and she unfortunately got it as well. Hard to keep her sweet face away from her loving siblings. She is doing fine now...no cough or congestion at all. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

One month old already??

Cannot believe our baby girl is one month old already! We went to the doctor today and she is back up to her birth weight of 8lbs 7oz--hooray! The doctor is happy with her progress and gaining since we have started supplementing with bottles. Crazy to think that she is one month old and still just as little as she was when she was born. It is funny to me because my grandma and my in-laws are both on vacation and were worried that when they came back she would be so much bigger, but all of them saw her right after she was born so really she hasn't grown a bit! She is such a good girl. She hardly ever fusses, sleeps great, coos and smiles all the time. We are so blessed by this little one. She seems really focused and intense. She looks you right in the eyes when you are feeding her so intently; like she is examining you and taking it all in. I really cannot express how much joy she is bringing us all. The kids all love her so much and cannot wait to see her everyday. They all talk in a sing-song voice just like we do when we talk to her. It is truly adorable, especially when the twins talk to her. Hope she continues to be a sweetie and easy on her momma, especially since I only have 2 more weeks until I have to go back to work!

Aunt Pam and Uncle Jack visit

My Aunt Pam and Uncle Jack came to meet baby Kate and play with the other kiddos this past Saturday. Aunt Pam made a delicious lunch to share including some very tasty desserts which we definitely appreciated. All of the kids had a great time hanging out and playing. They all snuggled up on the couch with Aunt Pam to watch the movie "Up." It was great to have them visit. Hope to see them again soon!

A visit from Aunt Jill, Uncle John, and Cole

My Aunt and Uncle and their grandson came to visit last weekend to meet baby Kate. Cole and the twins are around the same age and they had the chance to play. The twins took to Uncle John and sat right on his lap. Cole saw this and headed right for the middle. We couldn't resist getting a picture and then an attempt at a photo of all the kids. It was great to see them. We hope to see more of them at future birthday parties so that Cole and the kids can have cousin time. Aunt Jill brought a totally adorable outfit for baby Kate which I hope to get her in soon! It was a nice visit. So glad they could come!

St. Patrick's Day Magic

Last year I got a little crazy and creative for St. Patrick's Day. Leprechauns visited us and left chocolate coin candy in return for our "gold" that we created. The also played tricks on us by turning our milk green. Mia and Jackson have been talking about St. Patrick's Day frequently since it is now March and were talking about what the leprechauns were going to do this year. They were mentioning all the tricks they were going to play and what else they were going to turn green. Being 4 and 5 years old, the discussion of course gets somewhat foul. Jackson told Mia that they were going to turn their poop green. This made both of them burst out laughing for a few minutes. I decided to ask Jackson how the leprechauns were going to do this. He replied, "They are going to magic our butts!" Of course, more laughter ensued. I smiled to myself after telling them to take the discussion to the bathroom. After all, that kind of talk is only appropriate for the potty. Goofy kids!

Mmmm, donuts!

Here are the faces of two happy boys after eating some delicious powdered donuts!

Baby Smiles

Here are a couple of pictures we caught of baby Kate smiling. She is much more alert now and "talks" to us with coo's and ahh noises. She definitely has at least one dimple when she smiles really big.

She really is a good baby-sleeps from 10 or 11pm until 3ish and then goes back to sleep until around 7:30 or 8am. She is hardly ever fussy which is a definite difference from her big sister Amelia. The only issue we are having is her weight. She lost the normal amount of baby weight (was down to 7lbs 11oz from 8lbs 7oz when we left the hospital) and then we went to the doctor for a weight check a week later after my milk came in and she was still at 7lbs 11oz. I, of course cried in the office thinking I was starving my baby since we had only been nursing the whole time. She was peeing and pooping and not crying too often so I figured that she was getting enough. We have had to supplement with formula with all of the kids except Mia at the beginning-so it is nothing new, but I was really hoping to exclusively breastfeed. We started supplementing with formula and pumped breast milk bottles after every feeding with Kate and she has since gained 4 oz back. She will be one month old on Monday and probably won't be back up to her birth weight by then. I feel terrible, but she is really doing fine. The doctor said I have not hurt her in anyway and that it is good that she didn't lose any weight, but you still feel like you suck as a parent. I typically am an all or nothing kind of person which is why in the past once we have started supplementing, I kind of gave up on the breastfeeding. It seemed like so much more time to breastfeed the kids and then give them a bottle. Why not just give them a bottle and be done with it? I have a different attitude this time around. I have been trying to pump at night when she sleeps so I can build up my supply and give her more breast milk instead of formula. I know all of this isn't that big of a deal in the long run-I wasn't breastfed and I turned out ok, but it is something that an initial new mom or even mother of 5 stresses out about. Probably too much information for most of you, but I wanted to vent and to keep everyone updated about little Kate. I will post again sometime next week about her weight when we return to the doctor.

Speaking of our doctor...God bless her! She is totally awesome and makes you feel so much better about everything. Matt and I joke that we are on the VIP list there. She has personally called us several times before regarding something or another. Often when I call to get one of the kids in for a sick visit, the receptionist will say that they are full, but she will check with the nurse and ironically they can always fit us in. Helps to have a handful of kids that help pay their bills I guess!

Anyway, that is enough blogging for the day! Hope everyone else is doing well. More posts this week!