It's official....I'm tired.

Okay. I'll admit it. I am officially tired.

I know there are people out there who only need 4 hours of sleep, I even know a couple of them. Right now I really wish I could be one of them. But I'm not. Never have been. If left to my own devices, I am pretty sure I would sleep at least ten hours every night. Maybe 12. Twelve sounds good. I would go to bed at eleven and wake up somewhere around ten or ten-thirty the next morning. Ahhhhh.....can you imagine?

*sigh*

But, back to reality. Even though I am tiiiiiiired, I am trying to enjoy everything that is happening now through my bleary, droopy eyes, because I know how fast this teeny tiny baby part of life flies by. I am even trying to enjoy the middle of the night bottles, especially since I know that these are probably the last middle of the night bottles I will ever get to do.

Cora has been awake a lot more this last week, and it is fun to get to know her a little bit as an actual person instead of just this cute little lump sleeping on the couch. Her eyes are still looking blue, and her hair is still dark, though it is lightening up a bit. She was up to nearly 7 pounds (6 pounds 14 ounces on Wednesday) and I can tell she is already bigger. She is enjoying her baths a little bit more. She doesn't cry during them now, but she just looks mildly annoyed instead. Here is an example of the look she gives me all during bathtime:

Now that she is ok with baths, she usually only cries if she is hungry or if we are trying to change her diaper or her clothes. She HATES it when we try to pull her hands through her sleeves, and tries to make it as difficult as possible by spreading her fingers out as wide as they can go. She loves being held, and she loves her binkie too.

I am still trying to make the adjustment from two to three but it things are going ok. One of the hardest things is just mobility. I am not even talking about leaving the house, just moving around the house itself. Every morning getting down the stairs is an adventure. Daxton is learning to go down the stairs, but he is nowhere near good enough to be trusted on his own. So, I carefully pick up Corbie with two hands and then cradle her in my left arm. Which leaves me one arm to chase down, wrestle, try to get a good hold on, and finally try to hoist Daxton up to my hip while I try to stand up. It is kind of hard to do...try to pick up a kid using only one hand next time you are bored. It can be done, but it is not as easy as you would think it is. I am getting better at it :)

Anyway, here are a couple more random pictures of the other big events of the week:

Daxton is learning to eat with a spoon! He switches which end of the spoon he uses and kind of dips more than scoops, but I was surprised at how good he was and how long he stuck with it before resorting to using his hands. That kid is very talented in the food-consuming area:

Arden had her first swimming lesson today! Preston watched the twiblings while I took her (thanks Preston!) She did pretty good, but she was getting pretty cold by the end of the class. After she got warm, she was pretty proud of herself, and even told me how she she "put my head unner the wader and say b-b-b-b-b-b!" She is so brave and I am so proud of her! Here she is before the class:


And here she is after class with her friend...they are both FREEZING but still so cute!

Dax has had a really bad cold these last couple of days, which means he is up all night too, so it is a 24-hour party at our house lately. So, we are going to lay low and skip church tomorrow and I am going to try really hard to sneak in a nap! Wish me luck!

Random Snapshots of our Week

Things have been a little crazy this past week. Preston went back to work so I was on my own, being triple-teamed for the first time. It hasn't been too bad though, Cora still sleeps quite a bit of the day away, which help to bring down the craziness level. This upcoming week is the first whole week I have to face with Preston back to work and three kids. Also, the sleep deprivation is starting to sink in a little, so wish me luck everyone!
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I just wanted to post a few little pictures so I can remember some little things that have happened. I know these first few weeks after a new baby comes home are always a blur to me, and so will be nice to have this blog as a journal to look back on.
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Arden and Daxton have quickly learned that when I am sitting down and feeding Corbie a bottle, I am slower to check on what they are doing than usual. Arden took advantage of this one day last week. She was in the bathroom "going potty," and after a while I thought, "Hey, she has been in there a long time...Uh-oh." I called out to her and asked her what she was doing, and she yelled back something about Halloween. Halloween? I got up to check on her and this is what I found:

"Look Mom! Just like Halloween!" I can only guess she was trying to make a mummy costume out of TP? I don't know why she was thinking about Halloween in April. Ah, the mysterious mind of a 3-year old.

Cora is such a beautiful and sweet little girl. She loves to sleep, but for the past few nights has decided to have an hour or two of awake-time around 2 or 3 a.m. She is so cute with her eyes open that I almost don't mind (almost....) She has more hair than Daxton, I have never had a baby with any kind of hair before. Here is her cute little back so you can see her hair:

Dax is so sweet, he makes me smile all the time. He just the smiliest little guy you will ever meet (unless he sees a bottle that is not in his mouth.) His favorite game lately, other than catch of course is peek-a-boo. He will hide under his blanket, behind the couch, whatever, and play peek-a-boo for hours if you let him. He turned 11 months old this week, and is so grown up. He wore a tie for the first time to church today. Doesn't he just look ready for Harvard?

With two babies taking bottles, our sink usually looks like this:

Sometimes I feel like I am always either filling them up or emptying them out (I will not subject you to a picture of what happens when you have two babies in diapers).

Though things are hectic now, and they will be for a while, it is nice to be able to steal little moments like this one when we can:

Say it with me....Awwwwwwwww!

My three babies

Sometimes I can't believe that I am the mom of three kids three and under. Who would have thought just a couple of years ago that I would have three babies! I tried to get a picture of all of their little feet, but it was HARDER than I thought. No one would hold their feet STILL!

Before Daxton was born, I still thought of Arden as a baby even though she had just turned two. But once we brought Dax home, it seemed like she suddenly became a full-fledged big girl overnight. I didn't think that the same thing would happen with Daxton and Cora, but it kind of has. After we brought Cora home, Dax has somehow has turned into this HUGE guy who all of the sudden seems a lot more like a toddler than I ever realized. I can barely believe how big and smart he is. See for yourself the BIG part:

(Cora didn't like her first bath, obviously. She did much better today!)

Bringing Corbie has made me realize just how big and smart Dax is now. He can do so many things, it is so amazing how much he has learned in his short 10 1/2 months. He is really trying to grow up so fast, and can even stand up all by himself...for a few seconds. His latest word is ball ("BAAAOOOOH!") and he loves to play catch. He is even learning to give kisses. He kisses with his mouth wide open, and leaves a big slobbery circle on my cheek, leg, whatever. The only way I can tell it was a kiss is because he makes a "aaaawaah!" noise when he does it and then looks up at me and seems very pleased with himself. Hopefully he will get better at it before he starts dating :)

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I have realized that I have got to make sure to soak up the little bit of babyness Daxton has left before it is all gone and he really is a toddler. Anyway, here is a comparison of my two "little" babies in their cribs:

Cora:
Daxton:

Dax is fascinated with Corbie and loves to look at her. We have to be careful though, he still will try to sqeeze her face sometimes, but he IS getting better slowly. He loves to talk to Cora and I can tell without looking when he is talking to her because he raises his voice up an octave or so and talks to her in this funny, high voice that makes me smile.

Arden has been such an amazing helper, sometimes it is hard to believe she is only three. She is such a good helper, and will run upstairs and grab burp cloths, fetch hand sanitizer, help me get the baby dressed, etc. etc. etc. But sometimes she still has her baby moments too, and still loves to be held and snuggled...when she is in the mood, of course. I hope that Cora is a snuggler too, I feel bad for people with non-snuggly kids!

Here are a couple more pictures of Corbie, with her EYES OPEN! Yes, her eyes do, in fact, open occasionally. She still sleeps about 22 hours a day, but she is starting to be awake more and more, especially in the evenings. We still usually have to wake her up to feed her at night, and she usually goes right back to sleep, but who knows how long that will last!

Her eyes look blue to me so far. Preston is hoping they stay blue so that we can have a set of matching blue-eyed babies.

To my daughter

To my daughter, Cora Briony:

I am so glad that we got to bring you home with us today. We have known you were coming for a while now and felt sure you were meant to be in our family, but it is so nice to actually have you here. In person. So soft and warm and sweet. Sleeping in your daddy's arms.

It was so amazing to be there when you were born. Your birth mother is one of the kindest people I know and she let me be there at the very moment when you took your first breath. It was a much quieter breath that I expected, I kept waiting for you to start crying like your big sister did when she was born. But you seemed to be very calm about coming into this big, bright, cold, strange place. You just looked around a little, and then once you were wrapped up in a blanket, you closed your eyes and went right back to sleep as if it is what you expected all along. It seems you have been sleeping ever since. I have been waiting all day for you to wake up for a while so that I can look into your pretty blue eyes and so you can start to get used to me too. But you seem satisfied to open your eyes for a minute or two to check on things and then close them again and drift back to sleep. I wonder if you are saving your active time for 3 a.m.

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After watching you be born, it was hard for me to leave you there in the hospital, but I knew your birth mom was there taking care of you and that she needed some time with you before she could say goodbye. She loves you more than you will ever know. It was so very hard for her to let you go this morning. She did it because she believes that it is what is best for you, but I know that it ripped her heart out to do it. I know that my arms are full tonight because hers are empty, and I will be forever grateful to her for bringing so much of my family to me. Your birth father loves you too, and he wants you to be happy. I know he misses you and wishes he could be with you. If you open your eyes to check on things tonight and see some tears in mine, it is not because I am sad, because I am so happy. It is because I am thinking of them and how much they have sacrificed, and also hoping that they can find some peace tonight and in the days and weeks to come.

Your big sister Arden is so excited that you are finally here. She already loves you so much, and is so glad to have a little sister who can wear dresses and "pretties" in her hair, since we don't let her put those things on Dax. She is already three years old and has so much she wants to teach you. She wants to teach you how to walk, how to do somersaults, how to color. Maybe when you get older she will teach you how to ride a bike, how to put on makeup, how to drive. I know that there will be times when you will fight as sisters do. But hopefully you will get through those times and be good friends when you are all grown up like I am with my sisters, and that you will help each other when you have your own children. Sisters can be hard, but they can be your best friends too, and I hope that you and Arden will become best friends.

Your big brother Daxton probably looks huge to you since he is about 5 times bigger than you are. But really, he is still a baby too. He has only been here in the world for a little over 10 months himself. He smiled when he first saw you, and it melted my heart. But about 30 seconds later he tried to climb over the top of you so that he could pull your hat off and eat it, and it was then I realized that he doesn't know what it means to be "gentle" with anyone. Please be patient with him during these first few months, he is still trying to figure everything out like you are. Like we all are, I guess. I will try not to let him pull your arms off or steal your binkie too many times. I hope that you two "twiblings" will be great friends and playmates for each other. I always wanted a big brother growing up, and I know that when you are older Daxton will look out for you and keep you safe like big brothers do.

I am so excited to get to know you better when you finally decide to wake up. I am excited to watch to you grow and see if you look like your big sister or not. I am excited to see if your hair stays dark and curly or if it all falls out or turns blond. I am so excited to be able to take you to the temple in six months and have you sealed as part of our forever family. But right now I guess I should take advantage of the fact that you are sleeping and get some sleep of my own saved up while I can.

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I love you, and I will try to be the best mom I can be for you.

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Welcome home, little Corbie.

6 pounds and 7 ounces of beautiful baby girl!

Cora Briony ("Corbie") was born today, Tuesday April 14th, at 4:05 p.m. Both Preston and I were lucky enough to be in the hospital for her birth, thanks to our wonderful birthmom and friend. Cora weighs 6 pounds, 7 ounces and is 18 inches long. She has a little bit of soft curly brown hair. We couldn't tell what color her eyes are because she mostly kept them closed. Here are some pictures that we took of her shortly after her birth:

Even though Cora is bigger than Arden was by almost a pound, I couldn't believe how tiny she looked! I guess it is because I am used to carrying Daxton around all day. She is soooo sweet, and I can't wait to hold her again! She is spending tonight and tomorrow in the hospital, and we will hopefully bring her home tomorrow (UPDATE: She won't be discharged until Thursday, so we will hopefully bring her home then!).

(For those of you who are wondering: we were debating what to name her all day, and even until after she was born. We had pretty much settled on Cora a few days ago, but then I ran across a name I hadn't heard of before that I really liked too...Adalie Isabel ("Addy"). So, we switched back and forth between Cora and Adalie all morning, but after she was born Preston thought she looked more like a Cora. So, Cora she is! (unless we change our minds again really quick!) :)

HAPPY EASTER!

It was such a beautiful morning I dragged the kids outside in front of our weeping cherry tree for some Easter pictures. They were so excited for their Easter Baskets this morning. Daxton is too young for candy, so I gave him some eggs with one piece of candy inside so he could shake them around. He loved it. Arden, of course, is all about the sugar.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Baby launch: T-minus....FOUR DAYS????

Many of you know that Arden was born about 3 weeks early because she wasn't growing like she should (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) and so the doctors decided to take her early. We were worried the same thing might happen this new baby girl (Briony? Cora? Colbie? Something else altogether? Still not sure!).

Well, the ultrasounds our birthmom had last week showed that she is having the same problems. The baby is measuring at least 3 weeks behind where she should be. They had to go in for more tests earlier this week, and the tests show that the baby isn't getting enough nutrients to grow anymore, but seems to be healthy otherwise. The doctors decided to wait until next Tuesday (4/14) before starting her in hopes that the baby's lungs will be developed enough by then to let her breathe on her own. But, if they waited any longer than that, it could be dangerous for the baby. So, in less than a week, our baby girl will be here!

We have a few million things to finish before the baby comes, but we will be ready. We are very excited, but also a little scared and worried because of all of these problems the baby is having. Hopefully she will be small but healthy like Arden was. If you could please keep all of us in your prayers, we would really appreciate it, and I will (as always) keep you posted!

Baby's Room

We have finished painting the baby's room (except for one big touch-up still left) and moving in the furniture, so I thought I would post some pictures. I don't have much up on the walls, I need to find some pictures or shelves to put up. Also, I am still waiting for my curtains to arrive, but this will give you an idea at least:



The chair rail turned out to be a little harder than Preston thought it would be. (Thanks for the help, Brandon!!)

Anything else!

I am just doing a post so that the last post will move down a spot, and I will stop getting phone calls. (it was just a JOKE! Read to the END!).

It is April now, and I am trying to have a more positive attitude about the weather. It can't be winter forever, right (RIGHT?!?!?!?). At least it didn't snow today. I must have been complaining a lot lately because today when we got in the car and pulled out of the driveway, Arden looked around and said, "Look! No snow! Not snowing today! Mommy not saying "stupid!" Mommy so happy!" Hmmmm...I must watch what I say. I should try not to pass on my hatred of any snow that falls after mid-January to my kids.

Anyway, I haven't taken any pictures in the last couple of days, and I can't do two posts with no pictures, so I thought I would find an old picture of Arden from when she was the same age as Daxton is now to see how similar they look...here they both are at 10 months.

They have about the same amount of hair...it used to drive me crazy that even when Arden was dressed all in pink people would think she was a boy because she had no hair (and pulled whatever girly things I tried to stick to her head off immediately).

I talked to our birthmom today, and if all goes well, we have 4 weeks left until our little unnamed baby girl is born. She has to go in for an ultrasound tomorrow because they want to be sure the baby is growing properly...they took Arden a little more than 3 weeks early because she wasn't growing fast enough, so they just want to measure this little one to make sure the same thing isn't happening. I will keep you posted!

Can You BELIEVE it!??!?!?!??!?!?!?

So, I haven't been feeling too great lately. Not terribly sick, just not quite right. I thought I was just tired and stressed out over the baby. But a few days ago I found out the real reason. I'm PREGNANT!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!?!?

We decided we still want to go ahead and adopt our baby girl that is due in a month or so, and then we will have another one in 8 months or so! I can do 4 kids 3 and under, right?? I hope this one is a boy so we can have two of each!

Also, I just wanted to tell everyone, April fools! Wouldn't that just be toooo funny?