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What it's REALLY like.

10/21/2014

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People warned me the transition from two to three is the hardest.  To be honest, I'm not sure that's really true.  I mean, it's no piece of cake, but it's actually not SO bad.  Okay maybe it is the hardest transition, now that I really think about it, but it isn't SO much harder than the other two!  I would say the thing that makes it harder is that when I'm tending to the baby for whatever reason, the other two FIGHT.  Before, when it was just Riley, I could easily put on a show or hand her an ipad, and she would be fine while I fed/changed/rocked the baby.  But this time?  That works sometimes, but many times while I am feeding or trying to get Cole to sleep, the big kids FIGHT.  Drives me crazy!!!

But we are getting the hang of it.  Lack of sleep is hard, as it always is with a newborn.  But the big kids totally and completely adore their baby brother.  It's almost overwhelming, how much love there is.  Every time I sit down with Cole, they swarm.  Like, run over and smother him with kisses and head touches and they sing him songs and want to hold him and be around him constantly.  When he's sleeping they want to know where he is.  When he's crying they want to help make him happy.  It's cute, and endearing, and a little overwhelming at times. :)

Riley sometimes gets super excited and hyper around him, and I need to just remind her to stay calm.  Jackson occasionally pokes him in the eye, and has hit him a total of three times.  He is gentle and nice to his brother 95% of the time, which I think is a great percentage!
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Sometimes it's hard to strike a balance.  A balance between keeping the little, very needy baby happy, and tending to the big kids equally.  Cole loves to be held.  All the time.  He's getting a little better, but mostly he wants to be in my arms and walked around.  He doesn't sleep well when he's put down.  So he requires a LOT of mama attention, which I know can be hard on the big kids.  One way we've gotten around it a little bit is by playing outside A LOT.  They go outside, and it's quieter inside for baby Cole, and they have lots and lots of fun!
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Cole is the sweetest little guy, and he reminds me a lot of Riley as a baby.  She loved to be held as well, and was pretty content as long as someone had her in their arms.  Cole is the same way.  Sometimes though, if he's fed, and not tired, he will tolerate being put down.  Not for too long, but I might get 5-10 minutes!
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These pictures above were taken over 2 weeks ago when his skin was still kind of bad... poor guy.

He kind of likes his MamaRoo (most expensive swing everrrrrr) but not really for lounging... it keeps him asleep, but it doesn't put him to sleep, if that makes sense.  But he will hang out in there for a few minutes, especially if Riley is with him and reading to him!
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Before Cole was born, I had the genius idea to sign the kids up for soccer.  The thing is, I messed something up, because Jackson's soccer is at 3pm, which is right during his naptime.  So he never ever goes, because, well, I cherish nap time and can't bring myself to mess it up.  But one day, we got all bold and SKIPPED his nap, and took him to soccer.  And wouldn't you know, on the one day we go, he is the ONLY kid there!!!  Probably because were the only people crazy enough to bring their 2 year old to soccer in the 95 degree heat, but whatever.  So since no one else was there, Riley got to join in and play with him!
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He was so hot and sweaty but he had a really good time!!  He's a lefty, for sure. :)

Other favorite activities these days are sitting on the porch and waiting for daddy to come home, and then getting to drive the car up the driveway.
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Jackson may be my  little wild child, but he loves to sit and do art.  Painting, coloring, gluing, etc... And he loves to play with this random sensory bin I put together ages ago, it's just sand and "dirt" and black beans and trucks.  So simple.  So many hours of fun.
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And lastly... my little water baby, Riley Bug.  On the hot 95 degree day we had to very briefly bring out the sprinkler (there is a drought after all...)  She ran through over and over and over again...  Jackson wanted nothing to do with it, but Riley had a great time!!
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Now... in 2 days Cole will be SEVEN WEEKS old.  Seven!  Where does the time go????
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October!!

10/15/2014

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I love October for many reasons.  It's my birthday month!  It means it's time for fall and pumpkins and pumpkin flavored things.  Baby Cole turns one month old.  HALLOWEEN.  All good things.  And now that we are fast approaching Cole's 6 week mark, I thought I might as well share a few photos I took of my big one month old!!

I took this picture in the front yard!  It was a last minute decision on an extra hot day, and I'm so glad it worked out!
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At one month, Cole decided he wanted to be held to sleep all the time!  Sometimes he could be fooled into sleeping in the mamaroo, but mostly he just wanted to sleep in my arms.  He had a few days of being fussy, but really, if he's being held, he's happy.  He doesn't really cry for no reason.  If he is crying, he's hungry, or he wants to be in someone's arms.  Guess you can't really blame him!
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He weighs at least 10 pounds now, up over 3 pounds since we left the hospital!  He loves his paci, being held, riding in the car (most of the time), and he still has most of his hair, although it's getting lighter!  His big brother and big sister are still obsessed with him, and want to be around him and holding him constantly.  He particularly loves Riley!  He loves when she talks to him and sings to him and holds him.

Not much else is going on at just one month old... a little bit of tummy time, a lot of sleeping, lots of diaper changes... you know, the usual. :)
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Newborn Photography Model!!

10/8/2014

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So mannnnny many months ago, I found out that two of my favorite newborn photographers were teaming up to hold a workshop.  In Northern CA.  Right after my due date.  It was as if the stars aligned!  I was so excited at the thought of them being able to photograph my little guy, I was trying to figure out ways to get them to do a full session either before or after the workshop.  But then they changed the location to Southern CA.  And then pushed the workshop date back a week.  And I thought there was no way I would make it to my due date, so my little guy would be too old to be a model.  And the appeal of it being so close wasn't quite the same since I would now have to hop on a plane with a newborn.  BUT.  Sure enough, Cole made it all the way to his due date.  We worked it out for him to be a model.  And he was pretty darn good for being 15 days old!!

First set of photos taken by Erin Tole Photography...
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Next set of photos taken by Rachel Vanoven Photography
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And that's not even all of them!  Want to know something even crazier.... since I didn't think there was any chance of this happening, I had already booked another photographer for a newborn and family shoot.  Soooooo there are a LOT more pictures.  I haven't gotten those ones back yet, but I've seen a bunch of them and they are amazing as well.  You can never have too many pictures, right??
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Catching up with September.

10/8/2014

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Hard to believe it's already October!!  September went by pretty quickly, and if I don't do a catch up post I'm never going to get around to posting pictures and I'll never catch up!  So, here we go...

Mr. Mischief decided that pouring the entire bottle of syrup out onto his high chair was a good thing to do while I went upstairs for 30 seconds.  And I completely crushed his excitement by letting him know I was not pleased...
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Meanwhile, these two were just hanging out...
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Yes Riley is still obsessed with baby Cole.  She wants to hold him and touch him and sing to him and just be with him all the time.
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And the thing is... he loves her too.  She really can calm him and keep him happy by talking and singing to him.  He will last quite a while sitting and being held by her.
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We are still going strong with preschool pictures around here.  I'm so glad we do them, they are so cute!
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This little guy is so full of character and personality... and mischief.  He is such a little monkey!
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There was a local festival and Riley got her face painted, and she kept it on for a full 2 days... And don't mind the messy hair, it's pretty standard around here.  But hello baby Cole!!
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Do you like her matching sweatshirt and face paint and blue eyes?? 
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This poor little guy, just after 2 weeks he got some seriously bad baby acne, that sort of spread and turned into this body rash.  It looked awful.  I finally took him to see the doctor, and it seems to be a combination of baby acne, eczema, and a bit of a yeast infection, so we got a little cream to use sparingly, and it actually really really helped clear it up.  Now he's just left with some eczema and flaky cradle cap skin.  It's tough being a newborn!
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So Jackson has this weird love-hate relationship with flies (or any flying bug).  He LOVES to see them, to look at them, and to try and touch them.  And he can and will get really close to them if he can, but if they fly anywhere near him?  He completely loses it.  Like, the world is ending, scared for his life kind of crying.  It's the craziest thing.
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There have been a lot of art projects this month.  Lots of drawing and painting and stickers and stamping... you name it, we've done it. 
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And while the bigger ones do art projects, usually the little one is doing this... although, that's not really true, he's usually eating or in my arms.  So this is actually a rare moment.  Unless in this picture he's actually crying, then it would be pretty normal.  Being put down = crying.
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Can we talk about how happy it makes me that both my older two actually like having their picture taken these days?? 
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And we will end September with my little sleepy, smiley, baby acne baby.  Love this little guy so so much.
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Just hangin' out with three

10/3/2014

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Everyone wants to know how life with three is going.  Well, the first two weeks were part easy, part hard.  I mean, lack of sleep with a newborn is always hard, no matter how many kids you have.  And I was sore from his birth for a little longer than I expected, so that made things harder.  But Cole was a pretty sleepy, easygoing baby, so that made the transition a lot more smooth.  And the big kids adore him, so that helped as well.

It's all an adjustment.  The first two weeks were spent figuring things out (like... how does one actually ever go shopping with three small children??)  Takes us a bit longer to get out of the house, get in and out of the car, etc etc.  Laundry is never ending and we go through so. many. diapers.  But we're figuring it all out!  Around 2.5 weeks though Cole got a lot more difficult, just very unsettled, and wanting to be held all the time.  This definitely made things more challenging, and we are still figuring it all out.  But we'll get into a new groove eventually!

I must say though... having two mornings a week when the big kids are in preschool is amaaaaaazing.  I have just me and a baby.  We can do whatever we want.  Or run errands.  Or nap.  The other day, I watched The Price is Right, just because I didn't know what else to do (that could be done easily while holding a baby).  I love these big kids to pieces, but a little "baby only" time is nice too. :)
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It's pretty cute, when I go to pick them up from school, I obviously have to bring Cole with me.  And they FLOCK to him, want to touch him and kiss him and say hi and show him off to everyone. They sure do love their baby brother!
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I mean, he is pretty darn cute, right??
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Riley is currently obsessed with (1) Jake and the Neverland Pirates and (2) Legos.  So we got her a Jake Lego set after Cole was born as her gift "from the baby."  She loves it.
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And this guy?  Gosh he is wild and crazy and full of energy, and I just want to kiss his cute little face and record all the crazy things he does!  Like throwing all of the things all of the time!!!  Like running EVERYWHERE, and giving me a heart attack when he runs without looking where he is going.
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And this girl... mostly sweet, with  a bit of crazy.
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Ya know, just playing chase on the roller coaster while baby sleeps in the other room.  Two crazy kids, I tell you.
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We never put Cole under this play gym, as soon as it comes out Jack and Riley just cannot resist and want to run over and touch and play and just... overwhelm their baby brother completely. At least nobody can say he's not the most loved baby ever, right??
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10 days old

10/3/2014

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Playing a little bit of catch up seeing how baby boy is 4 weeks old!  And I promise, updates about Jack and Riley are coming soon, they are both doing extremely well!!

And this little guy, back when he was 10 days old and his skin was still baby soft and free from all acne/rashes.  His skin is terrible right now, I first thought it was just baby acne, but now I'm not so sure, I'm going to try and take him to the doctor I think to get it checked out, just to be sure there isn't something else going on.  But here it looks great!!
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