-Our newest nephew, Riley Edward Tanner, arrived just 2 days after Brynn. He was 7 weeks early so is spending some time in the NICU. We haven't had a chance to go visit him (been a bit occupied) but you can see some of his cuteness
here.
-Molly and Stockton finally came home 4 days after Brynn came home. I was glad to see them! But I will admit, the 4 days of peace and quiet were really quite great. And I have to thank my mom and dad who gave up the rest of their week to take care of 2 sick kids (they even took Stocky to the instacare-turns out he had a sinus infection, poor kid).
-We took Brynn to the doctor two days after she came home. The doc wanted a weight test and her bilirubin needed a double check. She was great for the bilirubin poke on her heel. She had been poked in her heels so many times in the hospital (blood sugar tests) that her heels were bruised purple, but they didn't seem to bother her. Her bilirubin levels were excellent, so no lights or going back to the hospital for additional tests. Her weight was up to an even 5 pounds-4 ounces in two days. They would like her to be back to her birth weight by 2 weeks so this was also excellent. I'm sure by now she is bigger than her 5 lbs 2 oz at birth. So, she is doing well-thriving actually!
-Brynn has a bit of hair-more than Molly had but less than Stockton (although hers is the longest of the three). One thing I always love is the way their hair goes crazy after a bath. It's so fuzzy and soft.
-We had a party to celebrate Brynn's one-week birthday. Okay, so it also happened to be Justin's 29th birthday. The kids were home by then and Justin's parents came down for cake and ice cream. Brynn got dressed for the occasion (she usually just hangs out in jammies).
It doesn't look like much but I made homemade Twinkies for Justin. They are good-better than the real things. At least I think they are.
-At less than two weeks old, Brynn still sleeps most of the day away. Who can resist a sleeping baby?
Her nights have been okay. For the first week, she had a period of wakefulness from 10 until about 2 and then would do pretty good the rest of the night. She also wouldn't stay asleep in the bassinet-she wanted to sleep right next to me in my bed or be held. The last few days have seen improvement. She goes to sleep after she eats (or while she's eating, rather) and she's been a bit better at sleeping in the bassinet. She is a noisy sleeper, however, grunting and squealing for quite a while before she's all the way awake and ready to eat. Justin sleeps through it, I don't. But we'll move her to Molly's room in the next two or three weeks, once we get Molly and Stockton moved to the same room.
-Justin had two weeks off of work. He is going back today. I wish he could stay home longer but glad he had this much time. A few things he did while he was home: took Molly out to dinner, slept in a hut with Molly, and made cars and robots out of cardboard boxes. Oh and in the last few days, watched lots of basketball games (March Madness, you know).
-So far our life with 3 kids has been mostly full of ups. Molly has been great-she loves her sister and makes sure she tells her many times a day. Molly is full of kisses and hugs for Brynn. Brynn seems to like her sister as well. She falls asleep when Molly lays next to her and likes to listen to Molly sing to her. Stockton had a difficult few days but I don't think he was feeling well. He has been better the last couple of days. He likes to point to Brynn's eyes, ears, and toes and rub her head. He's good at giving her hugs and kisses on the head. The only mishap we had was when my back was turned for a couple of seconds and Stockton knocked the bouncer over...the bouncer that Brynn happened to be sitting in. She was fine. Stockton just laughed when we tried to discipline him. I don't put her in the bouncer anymore if her brother is awake. Too dangerous. (Justin saw it happening and was able to catch Brynn so she really was okay.)
We will definitely need to quickly establish some sort of routine for both kids...get some normalcy back into their lives (and mine!). As mature as Molly has become, she is also feeling the change around here. The last few days have been long and hard on her. But she will adjust just like the rest of us and three kids will soon feel like the norm around here!
She gets really happy.
A few minutes later I come back and she's moved.
Oh, and in case you missed it, here's another view of that hair:
I don't think we could have picked a better day to be there. I am definitely making a spring-time trip to Temple Square each year. The tulips were amazing...some of the bulbs were huge!
In other news, Brynnie turned 2 months on the 7th. She was healthy at the doctor and up to 8 lbs 11 oz. She is such a good baby, sleeping super long stretches at night (all night sometimes), smiling, cooing, and just being content for the most part. We love her!!
-Brynn was blessed by Justin. He did great job. In the circle were Grandpa Moyes, Grandpa Gene, Eric, Brett, Bryce, Christopher, Justin's friend Brad, and Bishop Moreland (who was released that day).
Stockton stuck close to my side and didn't really want to play any of the games. He was a little uncertain of the hunt as well. When I put an egg in his basket (because he didn't know what he was supposed to do) he got mad and dumped it out. Then he figured out it had candy in it...he grinned and then went hunting for more, walking around saying "eggs?" over and over.
-The Easter party at my mom's never disappoints. Justin was stuck at work so the kids and I went down a day early to spend some extra time with my family. Grandpa took Molly to Plain City's big hunt. When she got home she got to decorate eggs.
Then they got to hunt for eggs. Stockton knew exactly what to do this time.
Then they got presents.
-Molly knew all about the Easter Bunny this year so that was the first thing she asked about when she woke up on Easter morning. The kids had to find their baskets first. Stockton got a football pillow.
Molly got an umbrella and rubber boots.
The Easter Bunny also hid chocolate eggs all over the house. Molly had to find all of them with no hints or help from mom and dad. She was a really horrible hunter. She finally found the last one today (one week later).
The pinwheels were by far the hit of the night.
Now bring on the sunshine!! We are so ready!
Brynn...ahh we sure love her. I have been blessed to have really mellow, easy-going babies, and Brynn is no exception. She really has been great! She is almost 8 weeks now...still small for her age but she is filling out! Her newborn clothes fit perfect now and most 0-3 clothes are still a bit big. I would guess she's somewhere around 8 - 8.5 lbs now. She loves to lay under her little gym and watch the toys that hang above her head. She won't take a binky but has done okay without one. She likes to be walked to sleep and hasn't figured out how to put herself to sleep. She takes short naps in the day but has been sleeping 6, 7, or 8 (8.5 last night!) hours at night. She sleeps best in her swing. For the first month she would nurse every two hours but now she does every 3 hours or so. She also started smiling a couple of weeks ago which is so fun to see!
Stockton...22 months old now! He seems so much more grown up since we brought Brynn home-not to mention HUGE! I can barely carry him around nowadays (seriously, after carrying Brynn all day, it is hard to carry him for longer than just a few minutes). Stockton was the one I was worried most about with the new babe. I thought he would be jealous and I thought that he would be rough with the baby. But I needn't have worried-he has become a sweet boy in the last couple of months. He usually doesn't pay any attention to Brynn and when he does it's to rub or kiss her head. He calls her "babiesh." Stockton is into balls and cars right now. He is especially partial to basketball-he likes to watch it on TV, see it in books, and play it with anyone who will play with him. He's been nervous of anything that's out of his comfort zone-people he doesn't know, loud noises (like big trucks or motorcycles driving by), and things like slides. He sticks close to Mom or Dad whenever we are around other people. Stockton never lets us forget a prayer-every time we sit down at the table he immediately folds his arms. He loves applesauce and rice. He is starting to say a lot of words and even learning some letters (thanks to Molly who is teaching him his letters and numbers). He knows A, B, C, H, O, S, T, and X. We will be making the transition from crib to bed this week so we'll see how that goes!
Molly...4 1/2 years old! Wow! Each day is filled with a little bit of drama (like when she spills applesauce on accident and her reaction is this: "Now I can never have applesauce again!") but she really is a good girl. She has an amazing memory and can remember stories told to her months ago or songs after hearing them only once or twice. She has been an awesome big sister to Brynn, but I knew she would because she is so great with Stockton. She never runs out of hugs or kisses! Having Molly around has made having Brynn easier. She is a huge help with Stockton...she will read him books, sing songs with him, or just play with him whenever he is being a little more needy and I can't get to him. Molly is always drawing or coloring a picture for someone. She is looking forward to some fun summer activities (Disneyland, swimming, and hiking to name a few).
A friend of mine took these pictures. I think she did a great job. Molly and Brynn were great, that's why there were more of them. Stockton, on the other hand, was not okay with getting his picture taken. He cried whenever we tried. She did manage to get a couple good ones of him but notice that he's holding a ball in those pictures.
Other good new to report: I survived my first week!
-We took Brynn to the doctor two days after she came home. The doc wanted a weight test and her bilirubin needed a double check. She was great for the bilirubin poke on her heel. She had been poked in her heels so many times in the hospital (blood sugar tests) that her heels were bruised purple, but they didn't seem to bother her. Her bilirubin levels were excellent, so no lights or going back to the hospital for additional tests. Her weight was up to an even 5 pounds-4 ounces in two days. They would like her to be back to her birth weight by 2 weeks so this was also excellent. I'm sure by now she is bigger than her 5 lbs 2 oz at birth. So, she is doing well-thriving actually!
-We had a party to celebrate Brynn's one-week birthday. Okay, so it also happened to be Justin's 29th birthday. The kids were home by then and Justin's parents came down for cake and ice cream. Brynn got dressed for the occasion (she usually just hangs out in jammies).
It doesn't look like much but I made homemade Twinkies for Justin. They are good-better than the real things. At least I think they are.
-At less than two weeks old, Brynn still sleeps most of the day away. Who can resist a sleeping baby?
Her nights have been okay. For the first week, she had a period of wakefulness from 10 until about 2 and then would do pretty good the rest of the night. She also wouldn't stay asleep in the bassinet-she wanted to sleep right next to me in my bed or be held. The last few days have seen improvement. She goes to sleep after she eats (or while she's eating, rather) and she's been a bit better at sleeping in the bassinet. She is a noisy sleeper, however, grunting and squealing for quite a while before she's all the way awake and ready to eat. Justin sleeps through it, I don't. But we'll move her to Molly's room in the next two or three weeks, once we get Molly and Stockton moved to the same room.
