Time flies....

I am alive...I have been wanting to blog for, well, 3 weeks or so now but for the life of me I just can't find the time! Life with 3 kids has proven to be pretty busy. But so far our little Ivy Bean has proven to be quite a joy to have around. I have wondered, so is this what it feels like to enjoy your newborn? With Kate, it was a labor of love. It was exhausting and draining, and to be honest, just not that much fun. Kate was high maintenance, crying all the time. I was completely overwhelmed and consumed in postpartum anxiety. It just wasn't very rewarding, to be honest. Little Ivy Bean (and yes, we do use her middle name almost always...it's just so fun to say!) is such a sweet baby. She is cuddly, patient, calm, and sweet. And when she does cry (which she does do, don't get me wrong) it isn't half as loud as Kate's cry was so it's not that painful to hear. I only talk about Kate as a baby because for some reason Jim and I can't remember anything about Ezra's infancy. But Jim is as taken with Ivy as I am. I have witnessed him actually take her from people because he hasn't had a turn holding her for awhile. And the other night he fell asleep with her in the crook of his arm from 12 to 4 a.m., and he said he enjoyed it so much. It is so fun to watch because Jim has not been that way with our other two babies. He always says, "Ivy is such a nice baby." Jim has been great and really supportive in this crazy transition to 3 kids.

But things are going well. Ezra always says to me, "Ivy Bean crying! Ivy Bean crying!". He always uses her middle name as well, and if for no other reason, I am so glad we named her Bean just to hear Ezra say it over and over--it is so darling.

We have had a fun month with our little Beans, and we can't believe that she is already one month old (well, she will be on Friday). In some ways I feel like every day is my first day with her; I keep thinking, "what have we done for the past month?" But it is sad to think how quickly the first month has already gone by. She is already starting to lose her newborn look. Her skin isn't wrinkly and flaky anymore, her belly button is long gone. It is one of those things that you can't really think about for too long or it makes you incredibly sad.

My mom and dad came and my kids were in heaven. Ezra decided to skip the grandpa part, and just called my dad Mike the whole time he was here. He never left my dad's side, and both of the kids were so enamored with my mom.


This picture was so classic. Ez lifted up his shirt and said, "drink baby, drink!" My kids' reactions to me nursing has been...interesting, to say the least.



Who does she look like? I don't think either one of us, to be honest.


Ezra, in a rare moment of gentleness.


In all the newborn madness, I have still tried to do some fun Christmas things. So I had Kate and her cousins decorate gingerbread houses while I made sugar cookies for Kate's preschool performance.





Kate also had her preschool program, and she sang two solos this year--Silent Night and Away in a Manger. She did a great job...she doesn't even know to be nervous or shy about it.


And finally, with Jim's mom's help, we made a trip to the mall to sit on Santa's lap. Kate asked him for a baby doll, and Ezra asked him for the candy cane that he gives you after you sit on his lap. :)

And now my help is gone, and we are officially on our own. But if we do nothing else this entire month, I will feel like my kids got to experience some fun holiday festivities. It was so great to have both grandma's come and help me, and spend time with my kids. There were several occasions that they were so helpful and I would think, okay, so how would I have done this if I were alone with 3 kids? But Ivy Bean is a month old now...I guess it's time to sink or swim!