Back to Reality

Ian made it home just before the kids went to bed on Friday night.  He texted me on his way to not have the kids brush their teeth.  He brought them fun German chocolate eggs with little toy surprises inside.  They were a huge hit.  We hugged and ate chocolate and then sent the kids to bed.  Ian went to bed a little bit after them since he had been up traveling for about 14 hours.  It worked out well though because he slept all night and then was mostly back on our regular time for Saturday.

 

 Ian brought a whole bag full of fun European candies and chocolates.  He also brought home magnets from the two main cities he stayed in.  We always get magnets when we are on trips.  :)  It is nice to have him back.  We finally had a relatively quiet Saturday together!  I ran a couple errands with Weston while Davin went to a birthday party then we watched the BYU game.  Go Cougs!

 

Saturday night was our ward's Harvest Festival and chili cook-off.  I made a chili and the kids got all dressed up in their Halloween costumes.  It was a really fun, well-organized party.  Ian was in charge of the pumpkin bowling game, so I was on my own with Beckett and Talia.  It was ok.  Talia mostly just liked getting candy, so I helped her "play" the games while carting Beck around.  It was exhausting, but we all had a pretty good time.  I loved that they had a photo booth room.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is the big day, Halloween!  Weston is already in his costume and off at school.  I missed his costume parade because it was at 8:15am.  Sheesh!  Davin has a Halloween party at preschool in about an hour too.  We are all excited for trick or treating in our own neighborhood tonight.  More on how that all goes soon!

Single Mommyhood

Ian got the opportunity to go on a business trip to Ireland and the Netherlands this last week.  He left early Saturday morning leaving me on my own with 4 kids under 6.  I was a little nervous.  It has been ok.  I certainly don't envy single moms or moms whose husbands travel a lot for work or are in the military and are deployed.  It's hard. 

Lucky for me I have an awesome sister who lives only 20 minutes away!  Mel and Brad came over Saturday afternoon and stayed with us until Sunday night.  They helped out with church, which ended up being pretty fun because it was the Primary Program.  The boys did great at singing all the songs and reciting their assigned scripture with their class.  I thought the ward did an amazing job putting together a concise, spiritual, cute program with over 100 kids.  We really did have a super fun time hanging out with Brad and Mel.  Incidentally Talia LOVES Brad.  It's really cute.

After Sunday I was on my own, but I tried to make sure I had plans to see/talk with other adults every day.  Monday I didn't and it was a long day.  It was my cleaning house and doing laundry day.  I did take Beckett and Talia for a walk while the boys were both at school.  She played on the playground and liked being in charge of where we went.

 

 

Tuesday I went and visited my friend, Natalie.  She's always great company and Davin enjoyed playing with her son who is his age.  Natalie fed us homemade soup and rolls for lunch and then offered to watch all of the kids so I could run to Walmart and pick up a few groceries for the rest of the week by myself.  It was great. 

Wednesday I met up with my friends from our old bishopric, Alison and Michael Ann, for lunch at Thanksgiving Point while Davin was at preschool.  We had four kids with our group but we managed to have a nice visit to catch up with each other.  And Michael Ann got to meet Beckett!

Thursday we woke up to the first snow of the season.  It was just a dusting, about half an inch, but it was a cold day and the snow kept coming down on and off all day.  Mel came over after work and we went to pick out our Halloween pumpkins!  The first place we tried was closed because of the weather, but the next place was open.  We didn't stay long because it was freezing, but we all got a pumpkin we were happy with.  :)  After we picked out our pumpkins we went out to dinner at Burger King. 

 

Mel stayed and helped me out with baths and getting the kids to bed last night.  Once they were all settled we curled up and watched Twilight.  Mel had never seen it!  It's such a horrible movie, but in a fun way.  We made fun of it and laughed and criticized the actors.  It was great. 

Today was crazy hair day at school for Red Ribbon Week.  Weston has been excited to do this double mohawk hair all week.  He's such a goof, but hopefully a drug free forever goof. Talia must have sensed that crazy hair day was just around the corner because last night she insisted on all of her new flowers in her hair at once. 

 

Davin was supposed to do show and tell today but I completely spaced it.  I think spacing one thing this week though is not too shabby.  We are all excited for Ian to come home tonight.  We have already made him a welcome home treat and decorated the front door with welcome home signs and he is on his final flight home as I type this.  I'm most excited to have a back up at night with Beckett again.  That and my snuggle buddy.  I better sign off before this gets too mushy. ;)  Anyway, I am definitely feeling grateful that we were able to get through the week with minimal meltdowns and decent nights with Beckett.  I am also so appreciative to all everyone who kept me company this week in person and on the phone.  Love you all! 

Newborn Photos

A couple of weeks ago my sweet and talented cousin, Kim (of Kim Bullock Photography), took these beautiful photos of baby Beckett.  I'm so excited to get a few printed out and hung up.  I love having newborn photos to remember how cute and tiny my babies were.  If you are looking for a great newborn photographer in the Salt Lake Valley area you should definitely check out Kim's website!  Here are some of my favorites from our shoot.

 

It was fun to visit with her and let our older kiddos play together.  Beckett was good for the pictures even though he stayed awake for most of the shoot.  I wasn't really planning on being in the photos (which is why I'm unshowered and my hair is in a ponytail) but I'm so glad that she took a few of me with Beck.  I sure love my baby boy! 

Fours

I feel like I'm finally catching up with my normal life since I had Beckett.  We are falling into more of a routine and I'm getting a little more sleep at night.  I am truly surprised at how well I am adjusting to having four kids.  Because four is a lot!  (Check out Weston's number sentence of our family!  Woah!)

Beckett is four weeks old today!  (Not quite officially a month since I like to count on the actual day of the next month, so technically this Sunday.)  He started wearing his 0-3 month clothes this week instead of his newborn clothes.  I have mixed feelings about this since as he outgrows his clothes I am getting rid of them.  I'm a little sad.  And a little excited about the next phase of my life.  No more having babies, but raising kids. 

 

 I am feeling a lot of satisfaction and purpose in staying home with my kiddos.  This has not always been the case since I've been a mother.  I didn't immediately have this sense of well being and contentment with being a stay at home mom when I had Weston.  It was tough for me.  I think it's taken me a long while to hit my stride as a mom. 

Part of that may be that four kids keeps me much busier than just one.  Or that some of those kids are old enough to carry on intelligent, interesting, funny conversations with me, which helps mitigate the loneliness I struggled with when I first became a mommy. 

Another part is that I know just how fast these babies are going to grow up!  I mean, my tiny sweet firstborn is going to be 7 years old in just a few short months.  He is already almost smarter than me.  It makes me cherish these newborn moments with Beckett all the more.  He is my last little lump and he will be smarter than me all too soon.  :)

OK, I think this is starting to get rambly.  Talia is calling for more juice and Davin needs to be picked up from preschool in ten minutes, so it's time to wrap it up.  The last sentence essentially sums up my days here with four little ones.  Now if I can just figure out a way to get Talia to start talking more and screaming less my life would be just about perfect. 

Scrub-A-Dub-Dub

I don't know if I've ever mentioned that Ian is the world's best infant bath giver.  He has been the preferred bath giver with all of our babies.  They are quiet and relaxed when Ian bathes them.  He is thorough and gentle.  I hypothesize that this is because Ian values his long, hot showers and knows how to enjoy them.  He therefore knows what the baby will enjoy.  He runs warm water continuously throughout the bath so it doesn't get cold while he scrubs them down.  He then smothers the baby in lotion and puts him in his jammies.  Voila!  I am handed a clean, delicious smelling baby. 

Grandma & Papa Meet Beckett

This last weekend Ian's parents, Grandma and Papa, came to visit and meet Beckett!  They arrived on his 3 week birthday.  We had a fun lunch at In N Out with Ian and enjoyed some Sweet Tooth Fairy cakebites.  That afternoon Grandma and Papa took Weston with them and went shopping at the BYU Bookstore for some Cougar gear.  They are definitely BYU fans and were excited to be able to come during football season so they could catch a game while in town.

Talia in her cute rain coat at the Sweet Tooth Fairy

Friday night Ian and I snuck out for a quick date.  We had a great time chatting over cookies and hot chocolate at Paradise Bakery.  I miss being able to get out of the house without kiddos more, but I'm sure eventually it will get easier.  We appreciated the free babysitting!

Saturday was the BYU v. Oregon State football game.  Ian and the boys went with Grandma and Papa to the game.  They were gone most of the day and had a fun time.  I hung with the babies and watched the game from home.

 

 

 

 

Grandma and Papa came to church with us and then headed off to drive back home.  It was a quick but fun visit.  Definitely nice that Ian could be home for most of the time they were here.  Thanks for coming and playing with us Grandma and Papa!

2 1/2 Weeks

I have now been a mom of four kids for two and a half weeks.  So far the transition has been easier than when I had three kids.  Beckett is an absolute dream baby.  He rarely fusses, sleeps well, eats well, and is adorable.  He is so wide eyed and just stares around when he is awake.  He sometimes fusses more when I try to hold him when he's awake.  He prefers to lay flat on the couch or be propped up in his boppy and check stuff out.

 

The other kids are adjusting to their new baby brother well.  Davin has been fussing and inexplicably bursting into tears about small things lately, which I think is his emotional response to the changes in the house, but these little outbursts aren't too horrible and I'm trying to be patient with him and talk him through them.  Talia was a screaming horror for the first week or so, but every day she gets a little better.  She can still be really demanding and difficult, but she is mostly kind to Beckett and loves him.  She brings me diapers when I'm changing him and loves to give me his binki.

My awesome mother came and stayed with me for the whole first week after Beck was born.  It was so great having her here to run interference with the bigger kids, snuggle Beckett, help with nights/mornings, cook, clean, and keep me company.  We really had a nice week.  We took Beckett on his first outing to the mall for some baby and make-up shopping when he was 5 days old.  We had a few visitors come to the house to meet Beckett too.  Aunt Barbara and Uncle Terry brought him this adorable little lumberjack outfit.  I am definitely still missing having my mom around, but I guess I eventually had to get back to real life with my family of six.

 

 

 

 

 

The Monday after we brought Beckett home was Weston's school's Fall Carnival.  Ian took the boys.  They had a blast.  They got their faces painted (I can't get over how funny/cute it is that Davin wanted a butterfly on his face), played on the playground, enjoyed the inflatable, but spent most of their time launching rockets.  I think it was good for them to have a big kid outing after all the baby excitement.

 

 

 

 My first week on my own with the kids was busy and pretty exhausting.  I attempted to go to the grocery store on the first day.  That was a bad idea.  It was really hard.  I will be grocery shopping at night while they are in bed for the next year.  Sigh.  I am really trying to take things easy, but with 4 kids it's hard to not be busy.  Plus going anywhere is a major deal and we have had doctor's appointments, school, and errands to run.  I even attempted a "for fun" outing to the Thanksgiving Point gardens.  We just walked behind the waterfall, had a snack, then walked back to the front to buy some tulip bulbs, but it was enough.  I am trying to enjoy getting out in this gorgeous Fall weather!

 

Today is one of the few days so far that we don't have anything on the calendar, which is why I am finally blogging (in my pajamas).  Luckily Beckett is getting better at going back to sleep after he eats at night, which means I am slightly less exhausted during the day.  He even slept a 6 hour stretch last night!  There are still times when I feel a little overwhelmed and everyone needs something or the babies are both screaming, but overall I am feeling very satisfied with my busy stay at home mommy life right now.  More on that to come. . . right now I have to go get Talia off time out (for screaming, as usual) and maybe hop in the shower while Beckett is still asleep.