Yay for Time with YaYa!

After enjoying an awesome visit with my momma, we couldn't wait for Brett's to come see us, too! YaYa flew in last Friday afternoon for four days of fun with our family. Even though I laid them down early, the boys were so pumped up that they weren't able to take naps before we left to go fetch her around 2:45. After a smooth pickup, we drove straight back home from the airport. 

Of course, the primary reason for YaYa's visit was to meet her newest granddaughter. They wasted no time getting acquainted with one another. 

"So, I've heard lots of really great things about you..."

Having a heart-to-heart.

Daddy was working at a football game that night, so it was just YaYa, Mommy, and the kiddos. YaYa was a huge help with Kaiser and Porter. They played together with a new game she'd brought them, and then after dinner she got them bathed and ready for bed. Porter chose their bedtime book, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.

Listening to the story of Mike and Mary Anne.

Goodnight kisses before heading up to bed.

Once the boys were both asleep, we girls camped out on the couch and watched Shark Tank. It didn't take long for Malone to doze off, snuggled up on her YaYa's chest. 

Two very tired -- but very happy -- campers.

YaYa's incredibly long day of travel had started at 2 am, so she decided to go downstairs to bed around 9:00. (Definitely a good idea, so that she would have the energy she needed to keep up with her grandsons the next few days!) 

Saturday morning Brett and I thought it would be fun to go back to Soergel's. Their fall festival had started the weekend after our last visit, so we looked forward to checking out what new fun it had to offer.

Posing for a pic with Sissy before we left.

Lovely ladies.

When we arrived around 11:00, the place was packed. We went straight to a ticket booth to purchase some tickets so that the boys could participate in a handful of activities.

Waiting in line for the train ride.

Porter was havin' none o' dat bidness!

Waiting patiently for the other passengers to board.

Would you believe this ride cost $3? (I guess that makes us suckers...)

Chasing balloons in a bounce house. 

(Porter flipped out and refused to go in there, too.)

It wasn't long before we were all feeling the hunger inside, so we stopped to sit down and eat some pulled pork sandwiches. Right by the picnic tables was the face painting station. When we first asked Kaiser if he wanted to get his face painted, he insisted that he did not. I don't know what exactly made him change his mind, but the next thing I knew, he was climbing up on Daddy's lap and asking for a pumpkin on his cheek. 

It tickled at first.

Sitting so very still.

Brother's wondering what's going on here.

Almost done...

He was so proud of it.

Scary Halloween face!

After face painting, we made our way through the cornstalk maze.

"Hurry up, Old People!"

The maze was quite long, but we managed not to get lost. :) Kaiser was anxious to go on a hayride to the pumpkin patch, so that's what we did next. 

Ready to roll!

Pumpkins as far as the eye could see.

Searching, searching, searching...

My hubby was on a mission for the perfect one.

Not really feeling the green pumpkin, Kiddo.

Porter took the search seriously, too.

Pumpkin -- check. Sunflower -- check.

Hard to see, but Malone was along for the ride, too!

Someone's getting sleeeeepy...

Around 1:30, I finally decided that I could no longer hold off on feeding Baby Girl, so the two of us retreated to our van to nurse. Meanwhile, Daddy, YaYa, and the boys went down to check out Soergel's market. They ate a few sweet treats, and came back with a few for the road, as well. 

That evening after naps, we went out to eat at Mad Mex. Despite poor service that had us waiting an hour and fifteen minutes for our meal (and ultimately resulted in $30 being taken off our bill), the kids held it together pretty well, and we got out of there with no meltdowns. Whew!

Sunday morning Daddy went into the hospital to round, then ended up having to stay to operate. YaYa and I took the kiddos to church. Malone and I snuck downstairs around 10:00 for eatin' time, and it was super-hard getting her to wake up enough to nurse.

Fistbumpin' in her sleep.

After the service was over, I got word from Brett that he was in between cases, so we waited around downstairs for him to come say hi. 

Listening to silly ringtones on YaYa's phone. 

The rest of our day was pretty quiet. We went back home and ate leftovers for lunch, the boys took long naps, and YaYa snuggled the lil miss. Brett and I actually snuck out to the mall while all the kidlets were napping; I told him I didn't remember the last time I'd walked into that place holding the hand of anyone older than age three!

Thanks for manning the fort so we could shop, YaYa!

It had been a rainy morning and afternoon, but that evening the weather was awesome, so after dinner we migrated out to the back porch. Porter requested to hear his favorite song on Daddy's phone, and it didn't take long before a little of his booty-shakin' inspired a full-fledged dance-off.

"Let's get this party started!"

Good idea to stretch before breakin' it down. :)

They are by far our favorite form of entertainment!

"YaYa, can you do this? Can you do this? Can you do this?"

Clearly he gets his killer moves from Daddy.

Attempting the wheelbarrow.

Taking a breather before bathtime.

Malone was asleep during all of the backyard shenanigans, but after the boys were down, she was wide awake for some more quality time with YaYa.

I am just in love with her beautiful nightgown.

She works that tongue like nobody's business.

On Monday I dropped Kaiser off at school at 9:00 while YaYa stayed home with Porter and Malone. Since it was a long day and I wouldn't be picking him up until 2:30, we were able to get out and about to do some shopping and eat lunch. Our first stop was the Harley Davidson store. While YaYa was looking for a gift for a friend back home, Porter tried on some biker apparel.

"How do I look?"

He and his sister also checked out their selection of motorcycles.

"It's nice and all, but my mommy says it's way too dangerous!"

She was unimpressed.

After finishing up there, we headed to TJ Maxx so that I could look for a top to wear for Malone's newborn photo shoot the next day. While I was searching in the women's clothing, YaYa and Porter ventured off to the toy section, where they found a fire truck and racecar that ended up coming home with us. :) She spoils her grandsons so! We spent longer than anticipated in TJ Maxx, so we hit up Subway for a speedy lunch before heading home so that I could feed the girl and her brother could lay down for his nap. Then I went back out to pick up Kaiser; he was tired after hours of playing, but perked right up when he saw the new vehicles YaYa had bought awaiting him at the house!

Fighting fires and rescuing people -- all in a day's work.

I don't have any other pics of the rest of our night, but it was our standard dinner time/playtime/bathtime/bedtime (made easier and more fun by YaYa being there, of course!). 

When Kaiser woke up on Tuesday and asked, "Where are we going today?" I gave him the choice of visiting the Children's Museum or the Natural History Museum. He chose the latter, which was perfect, since YaYa had never been before. When she woke up, he was excited to tell her that we were going to see the dinosaurs that day! Since the museum doesn't open until 10 am, we had some time to goof around at home beforehand.

Busted out the Elmo gloves for a few rounds of the tickle dance!

Sissy was fading fast as we got ready to leave.

I fed Malone a bit earlier than usual, then we headed over to Oakland and arrived at the museum around 10:30.

The boys wanted to go check out the waterfall before we went inside.

Getting a hand down the steps.

We passed fairly quickly through the hall of dinosaurs; Kaiser was less interested in looking at the skeletons and more anxious to dig for dino bones!

Roaring like a T-Rex as he passed by two of them on display.

I was really impressed that once we got to Bonehunters Quarry, Porter was willing to wear the protective goggles that are required for the children to dig. (Last time he refused, and therefore was unable to use anything but a magnifying glass.) Both of the boys had a fantastic time using their chisels and brushes to excavate. They moved from spot to spot, making all sorts of great discoveries. :)

"Let's get digging!"

Porter the Paleontologist.

Pausing from his work to adjust his goggles.

They enlisted YaYa's help unearthing a dinosaur skull.

After quite a while in the quarry, we returned our tools and moved on to the BugWorks exhibit.

Sorting through hundreds of plastic insects.

Observing a creepy-crawly behind the glass.

Next we headed upstairs to walk through the Hall of North American Wildlife. Right as we entered, Kaiser spotted a video display and asked to sit down and watch it.

Completely focused on the wild cats.

Our trip through the exhibit was a quick one, and then we moved on to the Hall of Ancient Egypt. I found this exhibit the most interesting, and could have spent lots of time reading about all of the artifacts, but alas, Kaiser and Porter were getting antsy for lunch, and my stomach was actually kind of growling, as well. 

Fascinating.

We went downstairs to eat, then left immediately after that. I wanted to try to get the boys down for their naps early, as Tiffany was coming over to take Malone's picture (along with a few family photos) late that afternoon. (More on that fantastic disastrous experience in her next weekly update.) After two stressful hours of pictures, we opted to order in pizza that night and kick back at home. I wish I had taken some final pictures of YaYa and her grandkids, but at that point I hit a wall of physical and emotional exhaustion, and honestly had seen quite enough of a camera for the day. :-/ Kaiser and Porter wouldn't see YaYa the next morning, since her flight left before they wake up, so they said their goodbyes before going to bed that night. Brett and his mom went to bed not too long after the boys; 4 am would be calling mighty early!

Once again, we were sad to see our mom/grandma leave us, but we know we must all, at some point, return to our normal lives. Malone, Kaiser, and Porter loved every second of their time with YaYa, and Brett and I were so grateful for her willingness to lend a hand -- snuggling a baby, giving a bath, feeding a meal, changing a diaper, or reading a book when needed. We love you so very much, YaYa!

And so here we are, in our second stretch of life sans family visitors. Thankfully, it's been a good few days. Next up on the calendar? Pops is flying in this coming Thursday, and will stay for a whole week of fun. Can't wait to see my daddy!

Malone Marie: Week 2

Well, another week flew by, and here you sit, my 2 week old beauty! (I'm only one day behind getting your update posted this week, so I guess that's progress...) 

This second week has been a bit quieter than last. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I was flying solo as a mommy of three for the first time; aside from a handful of outings (mostly errands and appointments), I gave myself a break and let us all hang out and play/eat at home. Here are some highlights from your past seven days:

• We've had the privilege of seeing your eyes a lot more, as you've slowly but surely grown more wakeful with each passing day. I said last week that my goal was to start establishing your eat/wake/sleep routine, and for the most part I'd say we're on our way. The longest waketime you've had thus far was nearly 2 hours, but I'd say that 1 hour and 15 minutes or so is more typical/better for you (so you don't get waaaaay overtired). There are still some stretches of time between daytime feedings that you sleep straight through, either because you are in your carseat or just because I can't for the life of me keep your sleepy self awake. :) This next week, I hope to focus more on reading your sleep cues and putting you down in your crib when you show signs of tiredness, so we can work our way toward a more definite schedule (or at least, as definite as it can be when you've got two busy older brothers who have places to go and people to see!). You're doing a great job sleeping in your own bed so far. Sometimes when I lay you down, you make a fuss, but it usually only takes one or two visits from Mommy to get you calm. I lean down and pat you (you seem to prefer that to being rubbed) and "shhhhh" in your ear, and that does the trick. (I say that fully aware that, come tomorrow, it very well might not do the trick at all!) :)

Life. Is. Exhausting.

Like a boss.

• On the eating front, you are still nursing roughly every three hours during the day, and typically going 4-5 hours between feedings at night. You wake up anywhere in the window of 2-4 am, and thankfully you go right back to sleep immediately after eating. Because you're generally more alert, I haven't had to pull out any cold wet washcloths to wake you up while you're nursing, but we often will stop for a diaper change (you're not a fan; it ticks you off a little) to liven you up so that you will finish. 

• You have refrained from pooping on me this week (thankyouverymuch), but have amped things up in the spit department. Holy moly, can you ever spit up! Now, most of the time your episodes are first thing in the morning, when Mommy has an insane amount of milk for you. I think it just overwhelms you, and after guzzling it down, your tiny tummy can't handle the volume. The past two mornings, you have straight up projectile vomited all over both of us. I couldn't care less about being drenched in spit, but it is just so heartbreaking to watch, and to see how uncomfortable you are as I'm trying to wipe you down! I'm trying to stop frequently to burp you during every feeding, and I might start pumping a bit of milk before I go in to feed you in the morning. I am thankful that, like Kaiser, you seem to be a "happy spitter"; I don't think get the impression that it causes you any pain.

• Because of all the spitting up you've been doing combined with your relatively short nursing sessions, I was a tad nervous that you might not be putting on the weight that you should. After your first pediatrician's appointment the Friday after you were born, we were told to schedule a weight check for this past Tuesday (when you were 8 days old). I was so anxious to see the number that popped up when I laid you on that scale. You can imagine my shock/excitement when I saw 6 pounds 10 ounces! You gained 11 ounces (jumping from the 9th %ile to the 19th %ile) in just 4 days, and were more than half a pound over your birth weight, which they want you to reach by 2 weeks old. Way to grow, Baby Doll! The nurse practitioner who we saw, Natalie, was very complimentary of you and how well you handled being poked and prodded while she examined you. Natalie said you looked fantastic, and to keep up the good work! We'll go back to visit Kathy, who we normally see, just after you turn 1 month old. 

Checking to make sure Sissy's doin' okay.

My adorable owl.

• You seem to have found your lungs this week, Sister. Your once-tame cries letting us know when you were hungry, tired, or uncomfortable have been replaced with much (much) louder wails. Your face scrunches up and gets all red, and you clench your fists and straighten your arms out in front of you. I like to describe you as "fightin' mad", and you're not afraid to let us know it! I'm sure this is just a preview of things to come... :)

Throwin' a hissy on Daddy's chest.

• I am in love obsessed with your hair (and, for that matter, pretty much everything else about you). I just think your hair's the coolest. Even though I comb it down after washing it, it always spikes back up when it dries. Also, the hair on the left side of your head grows forward toward your face, whereas the right side grows down like normal. I told Daddy that I think it makes you look emo; all you need are some skinny jeans and some funky thick glasses to complete your look! :) I can't wait to see if it stays dark (or stays on your head at all). Fingers crossed!

 Seriously, those locks rock.

• You are doing fairly well (or at least not completely flipping out) during tummy time. You've started to get a grip on the floor behind you with your toes and push back in an attempt to left yourself. You love doing tummy time on our chests, and are getting better at raising up your head to look around. As you can see in a couple of the pictures above, Mommy is letting you sleep (in short stretches) on your tummy, as well. At night you are always swaddled on your back, but you seem to sleep more soundly this way during the day. 

• I'm somewhat embarrassed to say you haven't had anywhere close to the number of sponge baths that your brothers had had at this point. It's just hard to find the time! (Rest assured I'm making sure to clean the poop and spit-up off you, though.) The couple of times I have laid you out on a towel and given you a proper bath, you've been super cooperative and calm, letting out sweet little grunts as I rub the soap on your head and body and then gently rinse you off with a warm wet cloth. I'll be glad when your belly button stump falls off so we can bust out the baby tub and have some real fun!

So fresh and so clean.

• We have been blessed to have YaYa visiting us the past four days. I'll do a separate post about her time here, but I think it goes without saying that you have gotten lots of extra special attention from her. Just like Oma, she is pretty smitten with you, and you two have had many opportunities to cuddle and chat with each other. I'm quite sure that, if she were allowed, YaYa would have you in her arms every hour of the day! :)

YaYa, meet Malone. Malone, meet YaYa.

• Kaiser and Porter continue to be kind and gentle with you, but they've definitely become more accustomed to your presence and aren't going out of their way to fawn over you like they did when we first brought you home. I've told several people that, for the most part, they still live in their own egocentric almost 2- and 4-year-old worlds, where pretending to be racecars and playing with construction trucks usually trump a baby lying still and quiet. I feel certain that, as you become more interactive, they will be more interested in trying to play with/entertain you. Until then, know that you are well-loved by both of your big brothers!

Watching Porter work on his word puzzles.

Kaiser wanted to take your picture like Mommy does.

• I'm sure I've said this already, but you sure do have Daddy wrapped around your finger. You are his princess, and it melts my heart to see him love on you. I know you don't realize it yet, but you are so blessed to have him as a father!

Few better spots to be than this, in my opinion.

• I don't have nearly as many firsts to report as I did last week, but you did have a couple... 

• You went to your first playdate last Thursday. We were invited over to Miss Kacia and Harlow's house around 10:00 and stayed through lunchtime. Miss Jen, Michael, and Lydia were also there, so you got to meet them for the first time. Of course, your brothers did all the playing; after nursing first thing when we got there, you promptly passed out and stayed asleep the entire time. While you were dozing, Jen let me borrow her woven wrap and helped me wrap you in a front carry. You were perfectly cozy and content, and Mommy sure did appreciate having her hands freed up! (I ended up bringing Jen's wrap home to try it out; there's a good chance I might need to purchase our own.)

• You also took your first trip to the pumpkin patch last Saturday. We returned to Soergel's, where we had taken the boys two weeks beforehand. It was so strange being back there so soon, but this time with you outside of my belly instead of inside it! Again, most of this "first" experience was spent peacefully sleeping while strapped to my chest (and the rest nursing in the car). Though your outfit wasn't visible since you were tucked in the Beco, here is proof of just what a pretty girl you were: 

Precious punkin on your way to the patch.

And because I just can't get enough of seeing your face...

Good grief, that chin is cah-ute.

Almost bedtime, but you look ready to party!

Methinks my camera got a bit too close to your mug. :)

Such a lady, lounging in your fancy nightgown.

Practicing your "spooked" look for Halloween?

My Malone,

It's been such a treat getting to know you better this past week. I am still having a hard time believing that I have been blessed with such a beautiful daughter! Words can't describe the joy you've brought to your Mommy's world already. I could gobble you up, Dumpling! 

XOXO