Paternity Leave

One of the best things about Taber's job is that he gets 2 weeks of paternity leave with each baby. Last week was his first week off and it was awesome. It just makes me smile how he throws himself into the job as a stay at home parent.

He discovered the Moby wrap and now it's his favorite way to carry Camden. I think it makes him feel like he understands the burden of carrying a child while pregnant. I told him it wasn't quite the same since the baby wasn't smashing his bladder or punching him from the inside out. But he was convinced that it WAS pretty much the same and then started busting out pregnant poses and bragging about how his figure has hardly changed.

Besides helping with Camden, Taber has spent a ton of time playing with the girls.

He has taken them outside every single day. One day it was actually raining ice and he still took them to a nearby park to go sledding. I have a million pictures of them playing in the snow but these two are my favorites.

Brinley working on a snow cave.

The finished product. These kids are such little snow bunnies.

Taber is very ambitious as a stay at home parent. Besides taking them out in the snow everyday he also took them down to the Boston children's museum all by himself. I don't know if I'm brave enough to attempt an outing that big alone but he was all about it and it turned out to be a huge success. The girls played all day long and they didn't get home till after 6pm.

They painted

dug in the sand

Did science projects

sent golf balls rolling through motion obstacle courses, and much more. I couldn't believe how long they were gone. They're very lucky to have such a hands on Daddy who loves to spend his free time hanging out with his girls.

There have been a few other fun highlights besides being on kid duty. Taber went with a friend to a Celtics game last week and they were there when Ray Allen set the record for most 3 pointers in NBA history. He said that the crowd gave Allen a standing ovation for 5 full minutes. Pretty amazing.

We also had a night out without the kids to go to an Ugly Sweater Valentine's party thrown by our friends the McFadden's. We didn't win any of the prizes but it was great seeing everyone's sweaters and just having a night out with grown ups.

Wish I took more pics of ugly sweaters but my camera died at the party. Here are a few I took before it died. Funny stuff : )

Those are the highlights of week one. We are loving having Taber at home and I'm glad we have one more week before he has to go back.

Cam at 1 month old

Cam is one month old and a total charmer. Just look at those big brown eyes, he can do no wrong. : )

He still eats like a champ and is growing like a weed. None of his newborn clothes fit him and he's grown out of some of his 0-3 month stuff. I weighed him the other day and he's pushing 12 lbs. My girls didn't hit that weight till they were 3 months! Look how long he is in this picture, a little weed I tell ya!

He's a good little baby and spends most of his day sleeping and eating. When he's awake though he loves to chill in his bouncy chair.

He's a total ladies man and has already been on a few dates. Here is hanging out with Pearl who was born exactly a month before him on Dec. 13th.

And here is at on a date with Abby, born a week before him and also happens to be 1/4 Japanese like the Cam dog. (I think he's trying to look cool in this picture but he totally digs her)

We took him to church for the first time on Sunday. Here he is all handsomed up with his daddy.

His sisters are still crazy about him and are constantly petting, kissing and smothering him. Can't blame them though. That much cuteness is hard to resist.

Cam's room

When Taber's mom was out here she bought a new crib for Camden with some adorable airplane themed bedding. We were so excited because we've never had a crib or a nursery really. The girls just slept in a pack and play which we moved around depending on which room was most convenient. It's nice to finally have a crib and a cute room just for baby.

On the last day my mom was here she helped me put the crib together and set up the room. There's still a few things to add but I think it came out pretty nicely.

Kind of fun to see things go from pink to blue. Definitely love having a little boy in the house : )

My Mom is the Bomb.com

Having my mom here after Camden was born was the best thing ever. She is seriously my idol, and having her here for 10 days was like a crash course apprenticeship on how to be AMAZING at everything you do. I watched in awe as she whirled through my house, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, playing with the kids and working on projects. How on earth is anyone THAT productive all day? I'm still not sure, but someday I aspire to be just like my mom.

She can calm any baby and thanks to her skills I was able to take many greatly needed naps during the day. She also took him between 10pm and midnight a few times. Apparently he's decided that 10pm is party time so it was nice that she would "party" with him so I could get some Z's.

My mom is also an amazing cook. She made us so many yummy dinners and treated us to her legendary chocolate peanut butter fudge. The girls helped her make the fudge and we all helped lick the pot which brought back many fond childhood memories of doing the exact same thing.

I think the other thing that amazes me most about my mom is how she cleans like a maniac but still has down time to hold the baby, play with the girls, read a book or cook a meal. It's like, if I do one of those things I can't do anything else. But she seriously kept my house SOOO clean and washed and folded the laundry every other day. Like I said, the bomb.com.

While she was here she also got to volunteer at Teya's preschool for a day. The kids all loved her and fought over who got to sit with Mrs. Cindy. Teya was very proud to have her Grandma at school.

Teya also got to go on a special one on one date with Grandma where they went to lunch, shopped at the mall and painted a butterfly so she could have one to match Brinley's.

It was so wonderful having her here and very sad when she left. My first day on my own kind of kicked my butt. Especially after being so spoiled by my mom. I happen to have pictures of me at the beginning and end of that day. ( I normally don't sit and take pictures of myself but since I actually showered and did my hair that day thought I should document it. Then at night I looked in the mirror and it was so hilarious I had to take another pic.)

Um yeah, I got a little frazzled. : ) In my defense, Taber had an overnight scout activity so I was really REALLY all on my own that day (and night). Anyway, just goes to show I'm still far from reaching my mom's level of awesomeness but hopefully with her example to learn from, I'll get there someday.

Camden's first photo shoot

He's just 3 weeks old so it's still early to tell, but I think Mr. handsome may have a future in modeling. Okay, maybe I'm just a seriously biased mother but I know that I could stare at him all day long so why wouldn't other people want to? ; ) Hope you enjoy the pics!

Who doesn't love a nakey baby?

Daddy's boy with his Tonka truck. No pink ponies for this guy.

I love how his hand is on his belly in this one.

Sleepy little nugget

Yummy cheeks that are perfect for kissing

These two can't get enough of their baby brother. He's definitely a keeper!

Snowmageddon

As you can see from this picture, our mailbox is buried. The snow banks are as tall as I am. Lots of snow days and being snowed in at home. I'm glad we have plenty of hot cocoa : )

This is our front yard. You can barely walk in it it's so deep.

Teya climbing up the snow bank to get the mail.

Our deck. I hope it doesn't collapse.

The igloo got a few extra feet of "padding"

It's been fun and all but I'm glad the groundhog saw his shadow today.

Friday Foto: Like Father, Like Son

Several people have told me that Camden looks just like his Daddy. I pulled out Taber's baby picture today and you know what, I think they're right!

Wise beyond her years

Little Miss Teya has hit the boy crazy stage, which has been somewhat horrifying to Taber. Every time she talks about her "prince" (a little boy from preschool) or getting married (her new favorite topic) He gets visibly stressed out and looks like he's going to have an anxiety attack. He has told her in no uncertain terms that she cannot get married for a long LONG time.

Well last night the marriage topic came up again and we were pleasantly surprised with what she said. Here's how the conversation went:

Teya: Daddy, when I'm as big as you, THEN can I get married?

Taber: Well MAYBE, but only if he's nice

Teya: Don't worry, I'll bring him over and you can ask him questions.

Taber: Oh? Like what kinds of questions?

Teya: You know, like if he's nice to me...

Taber: That's a good one. What else?

Teya: And if he loves Heavenly Father and Jesus.

Taber: Wow, that's a good question too. What else?

Teya: You know, like all the important things. Like all the things you do for Mommy.

I was just beaming after I heard her say that and I rushed to write it down so when she actually IS dating and looking for Mr. Right I can pull it out and remind her that:

1) She was willing to have her father interview her potential suitors and grill them with important questions

2) Even at 4 years old she was wise enough to know that a man should be nice to her, love Heavenly Father and Jesus, and treat her how her Daddy treats her Mommy. (And granted, Taber has set the bar pretty high on that one but I'm glad she knows how a good husband should treat his wife.)

So even though like Taber said, we don't want to even think about her dating for a long long time, it's nice to know she is a wise little girl who knows exactly what she's looking for.

Week 1 of newborn insanity

Well Camden is officially one week old and what a week it has been! I guess I forgot how insanely all consuming caring for newborn is. In a recent email my friend said, "It's amazing how these little people can turn the house upside down, isn't it?" and she's right, it is amazing. One tiny 8 lb bundle of squishy helplessness can really throw your life into chaos.

Things that have been difficult:

- Nursing every 2 hours. The kid is like an alarm clock. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12...day and night, on the dot he wakes up and starts rooting and hollering until he gets fed. I feel like I need to duct tape my eyelids open just to stay awake. I'm glad this phase doesn't last forever.

- Soreness in my "childbirthing areas" and soreness from nursing. I want to jump back into housekeeping and taking care of everyone but between my fatigue and just being sore it's been hard to get much done.

- Taking care of a circumcision. Obviously we didn't have to deal with that with the girls so this was a new challenge. It's almost all healed now but those first few days it was so heartbreaking every time he'd wet his diaper and it would just make him scream.

-Teya and Brinley have been sick. Both with fevers and deep chest coughs. This has been stressful because I feel paranoid about germs around the baby and also have two very high maintenance little girls who want mommy to hold and care for them while they're sick. It's tough to balance, and when all three kids are crying (like they were last night at 2 am) I really wish I could clone myself.

- My self esteem takes a hit every time I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I know I just had a baby and need to go easy on myself but I'm just being honest. I have bags under my eyes, a big droopy belly, and my crazy hormones have caused me to have some pretty unflattering breakouts. I'm glad we're snowed in and no one has to see me like this because it ain't pretty!

Things that have been major lifesavers while we're adjusting:

-Taber's mom has been here all week and I seriously don't know how on earth I could've survived this week without her! She's played with the girls, done the grocery shopping, cooked our meals, washed the dishes, changed diapers, held the baby so I could sleep, and just been an angel all around. She leaves tomorrow and then my mom will be here to take over. I'm so grateful to have such awesome Mommies. : )

- Our neighbors came over after the big snow storm to snow blow our entire driveway. We've had so much snow since the baby was born and Taber's been at work and not around to shovel so this was a huge blessing.

- Friends from church brought in meals the first couple nights and I can't tell you how much that meant to me.

-Friends have helped with preschool carpooling and watching the girls to give me and Grandma a break. I really have the greatest friends you could ask for.

-Taber has gotten up at night to change diapers, give the girls medicine, and hold the baby when he's fussy. I know it's hard for him because he has to get up and go to work early in the morning but he never complains. I married the best.

Things that make all the craziness worthwhile:

-Feeding Camden in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping and it's just me and him, and he looks up at me with his big dark eyes and we're both just smitten with each other.

-Holding Cam over my shoulder to burp him and he falls asleep there in a cuddly little ball. It's so sweet I can hardly stand it.

-Seeing Taber so excited about having a son. He asks me to text him pictures every day so he can see how Camden's growing. As soon as he gets home from work he jumps right into baby duty and holds him every chance he can get. It's very sweet to see the bond they have.

-Seeing the girls so excited about their baby brother. Even though they've been sick it's impossible to keep them away from him. They just want to love him up every second they can.

So I guess even with the challenges that come with a new baby I really can't complain. I have the greatest network of support from all our friends and family, I have a wonderful husband who is a caring hands on father and I have 3 beautiful healthy children who make me smile every day. Someday I'll sleep through the night again. Someday my reflection won't be tired and droopy, and someday I'll figure out how to manage my household with 3 kids. Until then I'm glad I have lots of help : )

Here are some pictures from Camden's first week:

Flowers delivered to our door from Taber's coworkers. Such a sweet and thoughtful surprise.

Having fun dressing him in all his little boy blue clothes

Teya adoring her squishy chunky little brother

Cam the man relaxing after a good feeding. What a handsome little devil : )