Family of 5 Acclimation

It did not take us long to realize that the biggest adjustment to being a family of five is how little down time we have. We had lots of visitors after Graham was born, however we have very little photographic evidence of any of these visits.

We did get to the pediatrician to make sure this little nugget was as healthy and perfect as we believed him to be. He was. This child is a healthy, solid, alert little guy with a strong set of pipes and a determination that I didn't think a one-month-old could possess.

Sometimes, he sleeps. Not often, but sometimes.

And sometimes you get that perfect moment of combined exhaustion

I thank goodness for cell phone cameras during these times. I'm not sure we would have any pictures of infant Graham without them!

His first little smile face, staring right at Gran

His smooshy little cheeks are irresistible, and there are teeny baby traits that I notice and appreciate so much more as our older kids grow out of them. The small, directionless hands of a baby, not quite sure where to go or how exactly to use them is fun to watch and remember from our no-longer babies.

Gretchen and Alex are adjusting to their new life too. They do their best at being helpful with an infant, bringing their guys to help make Graham comfortable and giving a little extra umph to the bouncy chair when he gets bored. 

There is a balance between letting the kids be "helpful" and asking them to just leave the baby alone that is different this time around. Perhaps it's just the beginnings of being unable to control the movements of three little ones at once. It has taken some adjustment time for this Type-A personality.

Watching a mini-person start to figure it out will always be an amazing thing. Watching his eyes focus increasingly far away and starting to move his little limbs with more purpose is a welcome respite from the exhausting nights and chaotic-feeling days. Make no mistake about it, 3 kids is a test of all of our time and patience. 

We adore him, even if he doesn't want to match jammies

Halloween 2016

Halloween is always an exciting time of year, especially with children, es-super-specially with a new baby in the house! 

Gretchen is giving baby Graham some pre-Halloween snuggles

And with that new baby in the house, we were not focused on costumes for the big kids - which is where Costco come to save the day (again!). We rolled into Halloween with an adorable Rainbow Dash (who is a My Little Pony character, which is back from the graveyard of 1980s cartoons) and small, super-buff Batman. They pull off these looks pretty perfectly! 

As with most holidays, there were many Halloween celebrations to be had. The first was the Halloween parade at Alex's preschool. A great event that is as cute as it is hysterical as you watch these tiny people get dressed up, parade around the common room at school, and (about 50% of the time) burst into tears and hysteria at the notion of NOT going home with their parents at the conclusion of the parade. 

Batman played it cool. 

These teacher are saints! So many screamers and she's sporting a 10-point-smile!

And then, there's the main course of Halloween, and our neighborhood makes it a really great night! Here is the (almost) full Trick-or-Treating crew of our little neighborhood. 

For the 3rd Halloween in a row, we were happy to have our friends, James, Lauren and their son join us for the festivities. This super-family fit right into the theme!

I adore these women and the neighborhood that brought us together

Our neighborhood mom-crew!! They make bus stop fun, we save each other in virtually any kind of pinch and some are cool enough to even get dressed up for Halloween! But not me. Having a newborn means that I wear my baby wrap as an accessory but don't have any kind of time to think of a costume. Someday....

So here we are - a family of 5, out enjoying the beautiful, warm weather Octobers that Texas promises us, and swatting mosquitos off of our brand new infant. Happy Halloween!!!