The grass is always greener...

...after it rains. We have had several days of nice, steady rain this week. Today was beautiful...sunny and about 75 degrees. The boys played outside most of the waking hours of the day. Eli managed to cover himself in mud so he came in early and was hosed down in the shower. He was not happy about not being able to go back outside. I should have taken a picture of him but I didn't think of it till now. Oh well, here is some proof the grass is green again (not sure what Wesley was thinking about but he looks pretty serious):

After dinner we took a long walk with all the boys. Roz drove to a church friend's house for a birthday party sleepover. So she didn't join us. We had Hayden and JD in the double stroller and Jer pulled the older 3 in the wagon. We got a few stares. One house was having a party and I swear they all stopped talking and watched us walk by.

There really is not too much going on here. We stay busy just keeping everyone changed and fed! Forgot to report that JD's weight on Tuesday was 6 pounds 8 ounces. The doctor was pretty happy with that and so was I! We did switch to new bottles. JD was collapsing the nipple on the little preemie bottles from the hospital. I've noticed since we switched to the new nipples he has been breastfeeding better too. He still can't take all his feedings that way yet but it is going better than it was.

We are trying to put Hayden up with the boys again this weekend. Jerry is sitting up there right now outside the door with the video monitor to yell every time Eli gets out of bed. Last night they were still up there causing trouble after 9pm. I went up there and found Justus on top of the dresser, Eli was making a mad dash for his bed, and Hayden was wide awake with a crib full of blankets, stuffed animals, and books. Where was Wesley you ask? Sound asleep in his bed where he belongs. At 2:30am they were at it again. Thankfully, though it only took one trip upstairs and they were quiet again. All four were awake though. So they must have slept in this morning right? WRONG! Up at 5:45 am! I think it was still dark. We are going to stick with it though. I think last time we gave up too quick and didn't let them get used to the new arrangement. If this doesn't work though we are going to probably bring Eli down here since he is the real trouble maker. He can get up with me to feed JD in the middle of the night. Maybe then he'll sleep in. If that doesn't work we are considering an ebay auction.

One last photo before I sign off. I can now type with two hands. Up until this point this post was typed with one had since I was holding the baby with the other. Boy, that really slows down my typing and please forgive any typos! Since the weather cooperated I put JD in "real clothes" instead of just a sleeper. He looked like a big boy (with really skinny legs)!!!

Sweet Sixteen

Happy Birthday Roz! Sweet Sixteen!

Good news...Roz passed her drivers test this morning! She went to the mall this afternoon and is gone again tonight. She has taken the Honda key off my key chain and is now calling it "her" car. Jeez...she's only had her license one day!

We celebrated yesterday. Had an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. It was very good. We still ate it even though it feels like October outside. [Our hot, dry weather is over. It has been chilly and rainy the past couple days. I'm not complaining!] Below is a picture of Roz with the card I made for her. We were talking the other day about this card I remembered from when I was in high school where you use candy bars to write out the message so I googled it (how did people live without Google?) to find the saying and sure enough there it was! I had Jerry go buy all the candy bars. He took the boys along...bad decision. Eli sees Roz later in the day, "Hey Roz! We got you a bunch of candy for your birthday!" Wesley and Justus shout, "ELI, it was supposed to be a secret!" Eli cries. Ugh! Roz was still surprised though since she didn't know what I was going to do with the candy.

When Roz was opening her gifts Justus and Wesley gave her pictures they colored. You should have seen Eli's face when she asked him where his was! He said "um" several times and then ran off. I think he felt really bad. He doesn't like to color like the other boys. It was so funny. Then today he did sit down and color for a little while but only long enough to color one picture (all the same color) and say "This is for Roz!" then he was done.

JD Update

Little JD is settling in nicely here at home. He is on a pretty good schedule. Eats about every four hours. Mostly at 10, 2, and 6 both am and pm. Works out pretty good for me since it is not meal time for the other boys at that time. Jerry is off of work right now to spend some time with us. He goes back on Thursday. I don't know what I'll do when he goes back since right now I go back to sleep after the 6 am feeding while he gets the rest of the gang fed and dressed. They seem to be getting up extra early these days. For now we moved Hayden back downstairs and JD into our room in the bassinet. We aren't sure who was waking up who but Eli and Hayden were getting up around 5am...too early for us...we all need our sleep! Thankfully, JD is a quiet sleeper and it is working out well for now. Eventually though we'll just have to bite the bullet and deal with the early risings. JD can't stay in the bassinet forever.

Everyone still runs right over to touch and kiss JD whenever he is brought into the room. Wesley has been a big help lately and keeps asking for "jobs" to do to help us out. As you see above he is always willing to keep an eye on little JD...he is such a good big brother. Justus finally wanted a turn to hold JD (see picture below).



JD has another doctor appointment Tuesday so I'll update with his new weight. He has been taking more and more each feeding which is good so I think he'll have gained nicely. I wish I could say breastfeeding is going well. JD seems more like the twins in transitioning from bottle to breast. He tries hard but I don't think he is getting much. I'll keep at it though since it is worth the hard work in the end. Waiting for a bottle to warm up when you're holding a hungry baby is a pain. It is also nice to doze off while breastfeeding during the middle of the night feedings. That doesn't work when you're holding a bottle! For now I'm still pumping and feeding and filling the freezer with milk since I make about 3 times what JD drinks. I called a milk bank in Michigan today to start the process of donating. I decided against donating to the same place I did last time since I have heard some negative things about their parent company. It's more than JD will ever use and I hate for it to go to waste.

He is a real cutie...

Big Brothers

All the boys were excited to finally have little JD home. Wesley was the most excited. He had dozed off when we were gone, but popped right awake when we got home. I didn't even get JD out of the carseat before he was checking out the baby's little fingers and ears and hair ("Oh Mom! It's soooo soft!"). He wanted me to find him a chair so he could just sit there and stare at him. The other boys were taking a nap so they didn't get to see him until a little later.

Justus was the least interested. He looked but didn't want a turn holding JD. Hayden kept waving and saying "hi babies!". He can say "JD" too. When he reached in to touch the baby his hands looked so BIG all of a sudden! Eli reacted more like Wesley. He wants to constantly touch and check on the baby. He loves to rub his head and had probably kissed him about 100 times since he got home. When I fed JD in the living room I was swarmed. Hayden kept saying "baby's drink". Wesley wanted to know when he could have a turn feeding him. Eli wanted to sit right there on the chair with us.

Things were a little chaotic at bedtime when Hayden had to go sleep up with the other boys for the first time. Eli kept throwing stuffed animals into Hayden's crib and Hayden kept throwing them back out. Eventually everyone did fall asleep. Unfortunately, they were all up a little after 5 am this morning. I hadn't fallen back asleep after the 4 am feeding/pumping so that was a little rough. Hopefully it won't happen every morning. I was trying to cut out Hayden's morning nap (yes, he still naps in the morning...he is the only one who has kept it up so long) this week but he was falling asleep in his chair at lunch then only taking an hour nap in the afternoon. He was getting pretty crabby in the evenings, not his normal self at all. After the early wake up this morning I ended up giving in and putting him down for his morning nap anyway. So project "Eliminate Morning Nap" was a failure.

Off to feed the baby...

JD's Homecoming

Here are a few shots of JD's homecoming!!

At the hospital in his carseat...ready to go!

Welcome Home JD!!

Big Brother Wesley checks out his new baby brother!

Today's the Day!!

Just got a call from the doctor...his question to me: "Do you want to take JD home?" YES!! I think our previous preemie experience is working for us. The doctor basically said you know what to do so you can take him home. Jerry is going to take a half day and we'll pick little JD up around noon. I'll take pictures and post them later...just wanted to share the good news!!!!