Catie is 1 month!

This past month has flown by!  Obviously there were lots of changes with the addition of a new family member, plus we have had lots of visitors which we all have loved.  Catie even celebrated her first holiday, Easter.  I think Catie has grown a lot and does not look like a newborn.  I could say that she looks like a teenager since she is dealing with some baby acne.  Poor Catie!  I'm hoping it means she'll have nice, clear skin when she is a teenager!  (I've really hoped all of the kids have inherited my skin.)  Catie has given us lots of smiles, though never when we have a camera nearby.  I'd like to say that we're closer to getting on a schedule, but we're not.  I can usually get her to sleep some to all of the boys' nap time.  It's getting easier being home with all 3 kids.  I even took them all to get Robbie and Alex's haircut Friday.  I'm not ready to take them to the store or out for lunch by myself, though.

I have appreciated all of the phone calls and people asking how I'm doing.  I am pretty much all healed up from the surgery.  Every once in a while I get a little sore doing too much or I stretch a little too long in the morning.  I'm tired from getting up with Catie at night, that's why I look forward nap time every day!  Matthew is great helping on the weekends, letting me sleep in and taking the kids to run errands so I can stay home and nap.  Unfortunately, Saturday and Sunday are back to back and I really need a weekend day during the week! :)

Today was the first time we all went to church and stayed for both services.  I had to leave Sunday School early to feed Catie, but I figured that was better for us than to have her wake up right at the end and cry until we got to the restaurant.  And she slept through our lunch so we were able to eat without having to take care of her.

Catie - 1 week

1 month

We did take Catie's picture yesterday when she officially turned 1 month. :)

Happy Easter!

We had a nice and quiet Easter weekend here.  Saturday we let the boys dye Easter eggs.  We let them dry for a while, but the stickers we bought to put on the eggs didn't want to stick.  I think it was too humid for the eggs to dry properly.  We tried again Sunday but it still didn't work.  Oh well!  We did decorate some plastic eggs, though.  The boys seemed happy to do that for a little while.

Robbie is ready!

Robbie's first egg

Waiting for the eggs to finish

 Our finished eggs!

Our church had 3 Easter services Sunday morning.  Matthew and I originally talked about going to the 9:30 service, but then decided we should go to the 8:00 on instead.  It was a pretty fast morning, but it ended up being the first time in a long time that we were there early!  Robbie was even the first kid in his class.  After church I sat outside with the boys to try and decorate the eggs while Matthew set out the kids' baskets and hid Easter eggs in the family room for them to find.  Unfortunately the boys knew that the eggs had candy in them, so all they wanted to do was open the eggs and eat the candy!

The baskets

Checking out their loot :)

Time to find some eggs

Sweet siblings

The best we could get

"I want to give you a hug!"

Matthew made Easter dinner: ham, green beans, au gratin potatoes and rolls.  I was going to make deviled eggs, but we didn't cook them enough and the yolks were still a little raw.  Oh well.  The rest of dinner was delicious!

I propped Catie up in her bassinet so she could "join" us for dinner.  Hopefully she enjoyed her first holiday!

Unrelated to Easter, but this happened on Easter:  I've been trying to see if Alex's two year molars are coming in yet.  After bath time he let me feel around a little bit and part of his bottom left molar has already poked through!  He is handling it much better than the rest of the teeth, so I was surprised to feel it.  I figured he's let us know when his molars were coming in!

The Eikelands Visit!

Before I get into their visit, last Friday Matthew and I took the kids to the zoo.  I am mentioning it because it was Catie's first (of many) trips.  I don't think she was too impressed, though.

Up close with the rhinos!

Feeding time for the snake.  (We didn't stay there too long.)

The kids feeding the giraffe.

The boys were so excited that the Eikelands came for a visit.  I love that the cousins get along so well and play great together.  I'm sure it's a little hard for Kayleigh being the oldest, but she doesn't let it show if it bothers her.  Somehow Erik snuck in the house first and was the first one to hold Catie.  Actually, Lisa brought some goodies for me and was busy bringing it in, giving Erik the chance to hold her.

I'm not really sure what the kids did all day, though they were outside a lot.  I guess Lisa and I just let the dads be in charge. :)  We were pretty sure the kids weren't going to take naps, so we let them watch "Frozen" and rest a bit.  While they did that, Lisa and I went to Kohl's and Target to do some shopping.  We were at Kohl's longer than planned, but we both walked out with $10 in Kohl's cash...and probably spending more than we planned!

The Eikelands made plans to meet with friends for dinner and then head home.  It was a short visit, but we loved having them here!

Mini mommy

Elise stealing Alex's water

This is what a tired Alex looks like. :(

When we were looking at these pictures tonight, Robbie said "Elise is sitting in my lap!"

Silly faces

The girl cousins

Brian and Catie

The big cousins

Silly faces

It's really hard getting a picture of 6 kids ages 6 and under!

2 week check ups

I had my 2 week check up Tuesday.  It wasn't anything too exciting, the doctor just checked to make sure the incision is healing.  She said it looks good, though I didn't expect her to say otherwise.  She also said that I could drive again!  It's not like I jumped in the car and went cruising, but it is nice knowing that I could if I wanted to.

Catie had her 2 week check up yesterday.  It was mostly to make sure that she has gotten back to her birth weight, which, considering she was only a couple of ounces shy of it last week, I wasn't too worried about that, either.  She weighs 9 lbs, 3 oz and is 21 1/2 inches tall.  That's almost a pound in 9 days, plus an extra 1/2 inch.  I told Matt most babies shrink their first few weeks as their heads round out, but Catie didn't have to worry about that.  (One of the perks of being a c-section baby!)  If she keeps growing like this she'll be bigger than both of the boys!

And, just for fun, here's a cute picture of Alex.

Catie is a week old!

It's hard to believe it's been a week since Catie was born.  Robbie loves to "hold" her, though it doesn't last too long.  He will also put a blanket on the floor for her to lay on.  If she starts fussing, Alex will bring her a pacifier.  

Catie had a weight check on Monday to make sure she was gaining weight.  She weighed 8 lbs, 5 oz, so I'd say she's doing just fine!  They will check her again next week when they want her to be back to her birth weight.  I don't think that's going to be a problem as she's only 2 oz away less than a week after birth.

Catie has been a great sleeper, only getting up a couple of times at night.  Hopefully that continues as she gets older!

Our 1 week old baby

Alex is talking so much more lately.  I even noticed it after spending a few days away from him while in the hospital.  Tonight before bath time I sang the "Let's Get Naked" song.  Yes, I made up a song about getting naked to the tune of "Let's Get Physical."  I remember when Robbie first started singing it.  It cracked me up.  Tonight Alex busted out singing along with me, too.  I love it!