Tuesday, April 21, 2009

4 weeks old


(This was my dress when I was a baby)
I know, I know, I'm late. I thought about this post all day on Sunday and even took pictures of Olivia, but the day slipped by without a word. Then, yesterday I thought about being late and needing to post, and yet I did not. So, here we are today! Hope you enjoy!

Olivia's fourth week was pretty good. The weather was a little up and down, so we were in and out. Almost any day that we can get outside is good. We ventured out for our second walk as the circus. I'm not sure if I've explained the scene before, so I'll give you a glimpse today. When we go for walks, it's a little crazy. The boys ride in the stroller, which is a type of tandem double. I wear Olivia in my front pack carrier and one dog walks on each side of the stroller. I have tried several times to have Cheyenne walk on the right side of the stroller with Piper, but she is a left side walker. So, as you can imagine, we take up the whole path. People must pass us at their own risk. (Apparently my little sweety does not want to be talked about, as she has been crying since I started typing!) The people who probably get the best laugh at our walk are all of those driving by. I just can't help but wonder what they are thinking when they see my little circus on parade. Anyway, this walk went really well. Not a single bathroom break for the dogs and the kiddos relaxed and enjoyed the fresh air. I even got a bit of exercise and was not sore the next day. We did venture out for a walk the week before and I was sore for three days. There is a reason they put boundaries on exercise after having a baby!

I'm not sure what else we did last week, but a few discoveries have been made. Olivia seems to be regularly irregular with her BMs. She had one on Friday, then nothing on Saturday. Well, it seemed that she was storing everything up for a giant explosion Sunday morning. I just have to say that I'm glad Albert bit the bullet on that one! So, then there was one BM Sunday morning and the next one was Monday evening. Most newborns poop several times a day and they are much smaller. My pediatrician friend says this irregularity is ok and her daughter is also regularly irregular. I must admit that I enjoy changing wet diapers much more than dirty ones, but one giant one is quite a task!

Oh, and we attempted a photo session on Saturday. I need a little extra deodorant for these endeavors! That might be TMI, but I really have to work at things like this. I was hoping to get individuals of all of the littles, a good group picture and a picture of Olivia and Albert's arm. Everything turned out great except for our special Daddy picture. So, they will have another Daddy/daughter session this week. Maybe in our next house I'll set up one black backdrop  and one white backdrop and do my own pictures. It has to be less stressful! Well, we did manage to get some good ones and thankfully the store has an excellent military discount, so though it is stressful, I will probably go back.......

This was Olivia's first week in cloth diapers. It went pretty well. It's a little tricky to get the cover snug enough around her thighs and I don't really know when to change her since she's not pooping all the time, typically I change my newborns when they poop. Overall I enjoy cloth diapers much more than disposable. I have been having trouble with getting the wipe caught on the Velcro of the disposables and it has been a pain. So, I'm glad the pretty well be done with that. Now if I can just remember to change her frequently.

Here are some pictures of the kiddos from the last week. Hope you enjoy.

The day before Easter we went to the zoo. Olivia slept the whole time, with a bit of a break for some lunch. The  boys had a great time. Boaz took a bit of a nap, but Canon was ready to go the whole time! We packed a lunch and played at the playground before heading home. Canon slept on the way home, then both boys thought their cat-naps were sufficient for the day. 
Later that afternoon our next door neighbor set up an Easter egg hunt for the boys. Canon had a great time picking up all of the eggs. He shared a couple with Boaz. Bo was more interested in the neighbor's dog, Shelby. We had a fun time though.

Here's our trio on Easter morning. It was cold and raining, so Olivia didn't get to wear a pretty dress. Maybe next year! (I'm not sure why this is underlined, just ignore it!) We did have a fun time teaching Canon the true meaning of Easter. In order to teach the boys the true reason for Easter, that Jesus is ALIVE, we played with Resurrection Eggs and made Resurrection rolls. I have a couple of other ideas that will be implemented next year, but this was pretty good for the attention span of a 2 year old little boy. Though, when asked what the real meaning of Easter is, Canon shouts "to save the life!" I think that will work!
And, just for your enjoyment, here is a picture that I like and one of the last ones of me pregnant with Olivia. Enjoy!

3 comments:

Melissa said...

Hi Robin,

Your little daughter is SO precious! Congratulations (a few weeks belated :) )!

I am totally impressed with the adventures you're already having with your kids -- walks and a trip to the zoo! With just two I have not been so brave! I would like to make a sling to carry little Peter in, and then take Nathanael in the stroller or wagon. I can identify with the "setback"...I felt so good after Peter was born -- I think the equivalent was 8-10 weeks postpartum with Nathanael. But on Easter I tried out my sister's Wii for the first time, and had a great time playing baseball, bowling, tennis (my favorite) and Wii Fit. The next day I spent a couple of hours browsing at JoAnn's with my mom. Well, BIG mistake! I felt the repercussions for days afterwards -- I felt more sore than when I came home from the hospital! I came to the same conclusion: Yes, there IS a reason they tell you to wait six weeks... :)

Today is the first day we've put Peter into cloth diapers (it looks like we're using the same kind from your picture -- Proraps and prefolds?). We also have some issues with the leg opening. I keep working with the cover, pulling the front edge up while bringing the velcro tab over, and that seems to help...But regardless, they still seem to hold messes in better than disposables! :) Now I just need to make more wipes...

Take care, Robin -- God's abundant, merciful blessings on you and your little growing family!

Kim said...

Ahh...what a special picture of Olivia in your dress. I don't have anything like that, but do think it's neat.

It must be a girl thing - Hannah was regularly irregular and still is in my opinion. She was just like Olivia. Nothing and then everything everywhere - nice!

You mentioned it being hard to remember to change Olivia (or something like that). I did that, too. Some days I would discover an overly full diaper. What I tried to do was just to change it after I fed them. That was my little reminder.

michellelivingston said...

I love Olivia's new picture! My mom has saved some of my clothes too. Its interesting to hear your adventures with cloth diapers and wipes. I will have to see it in action when you move here. Maybe we can use that idea to be a bit more green for God-- right now we are into recycling! Its amazing how much can be recycled- our trash is so much smaller now.