Life at Home

The past few weeks have flown by. Olivia turned 3 weeks old today, but I could swear it was just 3 days ago that we brought her home from the hospital. I survived my first week alone with the three kids this week, although I can't say we left the house too much. Here's a little glimpse of what we've been up to.

Olivia spends most of her time lying around looking cute...

And even more time sleeping...

Grandma spent a week with us, and one afternoon she gave us a sewing lesson. She gave a sewing machine to Grace for Christmas and has been keeping it at her house because I had no clue had to use it. Now that she's given me a tutorial, the machine is here, and Grace and I have several plans for sewing projects.

The kids have spent several days in their pajamas, and their hair is rarely combed...but at least they're (mostly!) happy.

After I gave Olivia a bath one day, Grace and Charlie gave one of Grace's babies a bath of her own. They made a huge mess, but it kept them occupied for at least a half hour, so it was definitely worth it!

This week we were surprised with a big snow storm. (I don't think it surprised anyone else, but I haven't exactly been keeping up with the news lately.) We ended up with close to a foot of snow!

Grace got herself ready for the snow by herself...it was quite the ensemble!

I absolutely love these pictures of Charlie in his snow gear. He totally reminds me of the kid from "The Christmas Story". He did not want his picture taken, but I think that just makes it cuter!

Grace and Charlie have had a lot of fun "playing" with Olivia. They both had really bad colds her first two weeks of life, and didn't get to spend a lot of time close to her. This week they felt better and can't get enough time with her!

One morning, they loaded her bouncy seat up with some friends for her to play with.

And perhaps the greatest success so far...

Olivia took her first bottle today!! Since Charlie NEVER took a bottle, I was thrilled that Olivia did it without complaint. I know all to well that a baby taking a bottle equals freedom for mommy!

Both of the kids loved helping feed her!

It's a busy, crazy time, but we're doing our best to soak in and enjoy these days!!

Sisters

And one of the three munchkins together!

Cousins

In case you've never heard the story of my sister-in-law Kate and I, let me share our history with you. I met Kate our freshman year in college. We lived together the next three years, and in her I found the dearest friend. So when her and my brother Ryan fell in love and got married, I was overjoyed! My best friend had become my sister. We've only grown closer as we've begun raising our families together.

Last spring we both found out we were expecting our third child. A few months later, we both learned that we were having girls. Due just a little over two weeks apart, these little women were destined to be great friends from the beginning. Kate welcomed beautiful Emma on January 13th. Since Olivia took her sweet time in coming, the two ended up being closer to a month apart in age.

When I took Olivia over to take pictures yesterday, Kate and I couldn't resist getting these two cousins together for some pictures. It was pretty hysterical. One would fall asleep just as the other woke up. Then they would switch. We gave up on our plan of sweet photos of two sleeping babies nestled together, and just let them lay next to each other and "play." It was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Olivia just wanted to snuggle in next to her cousin and kept trying to suck on her cheek.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of these two cutie pies together for the first time...

Photo Shoot

Yesterday Olivia and I went to visit Auntie Kate for a photo shoot. I am so blessed to have such a talented and generous friend to capture my sweet little girl! Here are some of my favorites from the many, many pictures she took.

Batman!!

Grammy and Bop came for a visit a few days ago and brought some things for the kids. They gave Charlie these Batman pajamas which were a BIG hit. They gave them to him around lunchtime, and he put them on immediately. He reluctantly let me wash the shirt after he threw up on it, but kept the pants on while he waited for the shirt to come out of the dryer. We have seen a lot of these jammies this week, and I just love watching him play Batman.

Oh yes, there's even a cape!
My favorite thing is that the pants are WAY too big for him. As he walks, they go lower and lower until he just steps out of them. Then he sits down, pulls them back up, and starts all over.

Showing off his big muscles

I just love this boy of mine!