Halloween fun

Our Halloween was pretty laid back this year. I thought it was kind of a dud but Joe thought it was the best one yet. We went to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat party Friday night and decided to just skip out on trick-or-treating Saturday (Joe talked them into staying home and watching a movie and eating candy--he's too good of a salesman :). It worked out well since we only got two trick-or-treaters the whole night! I guess no one goes out around our neighborhood. We didn't even carve pumpkins this year since I never got around to buying them. We did make some sugar cookies since I felt bad about the pumpkins (not that the kids even noticed).

Here they are:
Here's our little princesses (what else?)

I was kind of hoping they'd branch out and want to be something else but then I came to my senses. These required zero effort and money and definitely made them happy. And don't they look pretty? Natalie insisted on wearing the Tinkerbell crown, too :).

They were happy to see some of their friends, Audrey and Liberty, dressed exactly like them at the party.

What cute girls

(I love that my two have mouths full of Laffy Taffys)

Nathaniel ended up just sporting some Halloween gear his Grandma Allen got him. He didn't enjoy the photo shoot but I think he looks pretty darn cute.

I love that little face!

How the Girls are Adjusting

I think that for the most part, Elizabeth and Natalie have done really well dealing with life with a new baby. I am so glad they have each other because that has been what has saved us as we've been mostly cooped up in the house. They play together really well (they fight really well, too :) and that keeps them from getting too stir-crazy.

Here's a moment I caught on camera that I wanted to remember. It's a sample of the sorts of things they do together:

Putting on a play

They pulled a chair over to be the stage and Elizabeth would whisper Natalie's lines to her while she recited them. The funny part was listening to the lines. It was a cross between the Rumpelstiltskin story (the featured play in Berenstain Bears Get Stage Fright) and a talk in church.

Another way they spend their time is using up about 12 pieces of paper a day each in drawing pictures and writing things and giving cards to each other and to Joe and I. The paper scattered throughout the house is annoying and we are certainly not helping the environment but I don't want to discourage it since it is such good practice writing for Elizabeth. Natalie has also started writing some letters.

Last night was a particularly hard night for me with Nate and Joe ended up getting the girls cereal and putting a movie on before he left so I could sleep in a little bit. Elizabeth later gave me a piece of paper with this on one side:

And this on the other:
And she followed through on her word. She really was good today and very helpful. She's a good girl.

I had to post this for fun, too. Joe and I found this word in one of Elizabeth's many writings:

It took us a minute to figure out what she was writing and then we realized it was "drink".

Here she is in her soccer uniform at one of her games (edited for privacy):

Natalie has been so good during all of this. In fact I think we've had more behavioral issues with Elizabeth than with her since Nate was born. She hasn't gotten much attention lately but she is still so sweet. She has chosen a few ways to act out, though, including drawing on the walls (which she hadn't done since she was 18 months) and having accidents. We are having the hardest time ending the potty accidents. She will go days without an accident and then five or six days with an accident every day. I am trying to really reward her for staying dry and give her some more one-on-one time. We'll see if that helps. She stayed dry today at least!

Both girls love their new little brother and always want to hold him. They love to proclaim how cute he is and give him kisses. Neither one enjoys his fussy periods but they seem to handle it pretty well. Natalie gets upset at times but they both seem pretty good at blocking out his crying. And, blessing of blessings, neither one has ever woken up from his crying at night! They are deep sleepers, I guess. Joe and I can't really sleep with him screaming that loud but I guess they can.

I like this picture because of all of us I think Elizabeth has the most patience with his crying:

More than one time I have been helping Natalie with something and Nate has been screaming and I will find Elizabeth next to him saying calmly, "Don't worry, Mommy's coming back."

Here are some cute ones of Natalie with Nate. I think they look alike:

These girls love their brother!

One Month Old

I can't believe Nate is already a month old. The time really has gone fast. It will probably be Christmas before I know it, too. He is also changing so much and getting chubbier every day. It is fun to watch but it makes me sad, too.

I'll be honest--this has been a hard month. He has a lot of extended fussy periods that have made it hard and have really worn me down physically and emotionally. At first we were convinced it was just reflux and I still think a lot of it is that. He definitely has all the symptoms. In fact, on his 1 month birthday I took him in to the doctor to get some medicine for him. We haven't noticed much of a difference since then, but it has only been a few days. We'll see what happens. He has been napping in his car seat and sleeping in his crib with the mattress elevated which seems to help a little bit.

Still, I think sometimes that he may just be colicky. His hardest times are at night before going to bed. He just cries and cries and there's not much we can do to calm him down when he gets like that. Sometimes his binky works, most of the time not. Sometimes going outside helps, a lot of the time not. He likes to be held away from our bodies and bobbed up and down but I can only do that for so long before my arms get tired. It's making me realize how spoiled I was with the girls, at least as far as crying goes. I don't remember many inconsolable crying bouts.

Don't get me wrong. They had their own challenges. Elizabeth's reflux was mostly manifest in her spitting up at night through her nose and mouth. We would jump out of bed and find her bluish and barely able to breathe until we suctioned her. That was not fun and we are still paranoid to this day because of it.

Natalie's reflux consisted of lots of projectile vomiting. It was always right when I had just finished nursing her. So, of course a few minutes later she would be starving again and I'd wouldn't have much to give causing frustration for both of us. Also, not very fun.

I hope the medicine will help ease some of the pain for Nate. It's so hard to watch him scream and not be able to do anything about it. It also wears on Joe and I. It makes it so my evenings are completely taken up, hence the reason for this post taking me almost a week to finish.

I don't want to dwell on the negative, though, and I want to record some things that I love about my little Nathaniel right now:

I love...
-the way you grunt and stretch when I'm changing your diaper.
-when you sleep with your mouth wide open (like I do).
-your little double chin.
-your smiles; they remind me of Daddy's smiles. I can't wait until you smile at me.
-the look on your face when you hear a noise you're not sure about like the shower or the dishwasher.
-how you love your baths.
-the precious few times you snuggle on me when you're awake.

These black and white ones are more that my sister-in-law took. Thanks again Lisa!

Loving bath-time (I love that chubby arm)
I love his sideburns and receding hairline :)

I love how tiny he looks lying on our bed

Here are some Elizabeth took that she was proud of: