Blessing

Today Jack is two months old. It was also his blessing day. He did well. When I got to church he was fussy so I worried he would cry during the blessing but he was a champ and didn't make a sound. He looked so cute in his little white outfit. He is two months old now and changing daily. His face gets more and more animated every day.

We still have some construction going on in our neighborhood. Tristan--the little BOY that he is--just loves driving past the digger every day. Chris took him and Kennedy down to see it the other day and let them take a turn "driving".
We have been enjoying having Nana and Poppa Kelsey here the past few days. We took a picnic to Duke Gardens yesterday and we couldn't have asked for better weather. The kids enjoyed running around while the adults sat in the shade to relax. This is the last fun thing for summer for us. Kennedy starts preschool in September. She is excited to be going every day.

A few words, pictures and a recipe

I know, I haven't posted in a while. What can I say? I'm busy. I love my job though. Last week Kennedy had a camp at her new preschool. I got a taste of what it will be like driving her to preschool every day. I burned through at least half a tank of gas. Not only that but in five days' time Jack got used to falling asleep in his car seat and sleeping there. Now I'm not sure if he remembers how to sleep. The last two days, especially, have been trying. I literally held him all day yesterday, except for two 45 minute breaks. I can't say I enjoy this stage of infancy. I know I should enjoy these times of holding him, but the truth is, I don't. I want to just be able to lay him down awake in his bed and walk out of the room. Four months is when the "experts" say you can train them to do that--seems so far away.

Yesterday I was really glad that I planned ahead a little bit and had a meal in the freezer I could pop in the oven. I did make some muffins to go with it though. They turned out really good. This is the recipe I used:

Carrot Zucchini Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups finely shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/2 cup finely shredded carrot
PREPARATION:
Grease and flour 12 muffin cups. Heat oven to 375°.
In a mixing bowl, beat the oil with eggs, sugars, and vanilla extract.
Combine the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; add to the wet ingredients; stirring until blended. Fold in the shredded zucchini and carrots.
Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or granulated sugar, if desired. Bake for 20 minutes.
Makes 12.

I had to take a picture of Jack's feet. With all of my kids I have been amused by their feet when they are nursing. Maybe it's because it's the only think I can see but they are just so relaxed. I never took pictures of the other two but I had to capture Jack's feet before it's too late. Soon he will be moving around too much.

Five Weeks and Smiling

Sunday was a depressing day for me. After five weeks, my mom left. Help! To make matters worse Chris left for a business trip in Rhode Island. Talk about being drop-kicked into reality. I was determined to take my kids to church even though I would be doing it alone. Happy to say I made it with only a few outbursts in sacrament meeting. It was a little stressful at times but we survived.

When I got home I called Chris on his cell phone. We talked for a while then he instructed me to go out to the mailbox where I would find a surprise. I took the phone with me and we kept talking. The mailbox was empty. I was then instructed to look east. Oh yeah, a treasure hunt! Just then our little tan Corolla came up over the hill and Chris was driving! Turns out his flight was cancelled and the next flight would not get him to the meeting in time for it to be worth it so he decided to stay home.

This week has been extremely busy with the three kids. However, I have been ok. I have just been pretending that having three kids is no big deal. Fake it 'til you make it, right?

Jack turned 5 weeks on Tuesday and he greeted me that morning with his first smile (this is not a picture of his smile). He smiled at me about half a dozen times. So cute. It's nice to get some feedback.

Juggling Act

Jack is a week old. It makes me laugh to think of myself as a new mom with one child. One seems so easy now. When I had Kennedy I stressed over everything. I called the nurse advice line at least once a week for several months. I remember calling one time about her sucking her thumb and she had a sore on her thumb from the sucking. Who calls about things like that? A crazy, stressed-out first time mom, that's who.

Two was ok to manage and it got pretty easy as Tristan got older. It was nice for them to start playing together. It would have been easier these past few months had I not been pregnant. How funny I must have looked at 8 months pregnant running down the street after my toddler who could outrun me by a mile.

So far having three is like a juggling act. One is always up in the air. . .at all times at least one of my kids needs something right now. I wonder how I will manage when my mom leaves. . .

So far though, Jack has been a heavy sleeper. I have to force him awake sometimes just to eat. He was gaining weight really well at first but the past few days he has slept almost the whole day. And, in spite of a rough first night home from the hospital, he has done really well at night. I feed him before I go to bed and he wakes up half-way through the night and then again in the morning when it's time to get up. I take him for a weight check tomorrow to find out how he's growing.

Jack

It's kind of a strange experience having a c-section. We checked in at 8:30 and several things had to happen before Jack was actually delivered. Labs were drawn, consent forms signed, monitors placed, etc. We waited around for several hours then all of a sudden I was wheeled down the hall, prepped and draped and they started cutting away. Even though I was numb I could feel them cutting at my innards. It was so strange to feel that but not feel the pain. All at once here came Jack up over the curtain so we could be (almost) the first ones to know his gender.
I think we were a highlight of the morning for the staff. They were all so excited when I told them we didn't know the baby's gender. Bets were placed left and right.
Jack is a beautiful baby. He surprised us with his blonde hair. He looks more like the Lowe side of the family right now. We'll have to see if he keeps the blonde hair. I think he will. He's been sleeping almost constantly since he was born 24 hours ago. I'm sure that will change soon.
Welcome to the world, little Jack.

The Day Before I Have A Baby

I can't remember what I did the day before I had Tristan but the day before I had Kennedy we watched "Finding Nemo". I remember because we had a similar experience bringing Kennedy into the world as Marlin did bringing Nemo into the world. Kennedy even had a lucky fin.

Today, the day before I have baby #3, I ran last-minute errands all morning and took my kids to the mall to have their pictures taken. My mom flew in last night and the kids have been hanging all over her today. Tristan has fallen in love with Grandma Mary and has nicknamed her "Grammy". I am glad she is here too. I was able to leave my kids with my mom this afternoon and pick up my minivan from the body shop--glad to have that fixed!

Whew! It is still really hard for me to believe that I will be giving birth tomorrow. Life is busy and I think things aren't going to slow down. I am a little nervous about having three kids but I have always felt that way about the unknown. I'm sure in time we will adjust and it will all become comfortable. One thing is for sure. . .the day before I have this baby I feel ready to have this baby out!

Harvest

We've been eating peas for several weeks now. I say we but I really mean the kids. Tristan just helps himself to any pea on the vine, ripe or not. He loves them so much he puts the whole pod in his mouth. I was getting upset with him at first but then I figured that he would be eating the peas when they were ripe anyway so I might as well let him enjoy it. I will give the ripe ones to Kennedy.

Today after church the kids and I went to check on the garden to see if it needs watering tomorrow. I pulled some carrots out of the ground, picked some beans and a small crown of broccoli. This is what I came up with. . .

Enough for one person. Since the kids have eaten most of the peas I helped myself. They were delicious!