Snow Much Fun!

We took the girls sledding in our backyard this afternoon while Noah napped.  We weren't prepared for how fast the sleds would zip down the hill but we all ended up in the woods at least once.  It scared the girls so they weren't too fond of sledding after they ended up in the trees.  They did, however, love throwing snowballs at us and each other.  Michael and I had fun sledding, we'll just have to make the girls do it more until they like it too.  :)

Downtown Sights

Last Thursday we spent the afternoon/evening in downtown Pittsburgh and had such a great time.  It was snowing and cold but there was so much to see so it didn't bother us too much.  The Christmas tree in the center of town and ice rink around it was impressive.  Maybe next year we can take the girls skating. 

 There were Christmas trees all over downtown which thrilled the girls.  Especially those with pink and purple decorations.  :)

Noah was such a good boy hanging out in the stroller.  He never made a peep!  We are so blessed with our laid back, easy going boy!

 The gingerbread house displays were so neat!  We've never seen so many gingerbread houses in one place!  They also had statues of Santas from many different countries and a story and painting to go with each one.

 We finished up the evening eating dinner and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory - what a treat!!

Christmas Treats

This weekend the girls and I made some sweets to share with our neighbors.  The girls had so much fun making the Santa buttons.  Actually, they really enjoyed eating the ingredients for the Santa buttons.  :)  I lost track of how many Hershey kisses Audrey inhaled before I made her get down.  They were both good helpers and we had lots of fun.

Growing Boy

Noah is growing so fast!  At his 1 month check-up he was 10 lbs. 3 oz. and 22 inches long which puts him in the 65th percentile.  He's wearing 0-3 month and some 3-6 month clothes and is doing well with putting himself to sleep at naptimes after just a little bit of fussing.  He's given us some longer stretches of sleep at night going 5-6 hours between feedings and only getting up once to eat.  As you can see below, he loves to look at himself in the mirror and plays well in the floor gym. We are so thankful for our laid-back, easy going baby boy!

1 month old

Hard to believe a month has gone by - it's both sad and a relief.  He's been a very good sleeper but not a very good nurser.  I've cried so many tears over our struggle with breastfeeding.  He does great nursing in the first 3-4 minutes but then falls asleep and it's nearly impossible to get him to wake up to finish a meal.  So, I've been pumping and feeding him breastmilk in a bottle which is working for now.  Of course he takes a bottle great because it doesn't involve much effort from him.  I'm hoping that as he gets older, he'll get better at staying awake while nursing.  He's definitely growing... he put on an entire pound in 7 days a week ago.  That's more than 2 ounces a day when they're only supposed to gain an ounce a day at this age.  He's outgrown most of his newborn outfits and can no longer wear newborn diapers.

This boy loves his carseat which is wonderful.  He takes most of his naps in it during the day and sleeps in his crib at night.  Thankfully he's a good rider in the car as well which is something I really prayed for knowing he'd spend time each day riding back and forth to Anna's school.

And then there's the ugly green soothie pacifier that all of our kids have loved.  He's really taken to it in the past week but still finds his thumb too.  He's had lots of gas bubbles in the evenings this past week and thankfully sucking on the paci has helped relieve some of those.  Overall he's doing really well and is really starting to interact with us by cooing and smiling which thrills all of us, especially his big sisters.

The Swing

We are thankful for the swing!  It was our saving grace with Audrey and seems to be with Noah too.  Anna hated it as an infant but Audrey loved it and so far Noah does too.  We tried to sell it after Anna didn't like it but the Lord must've known we'd need it with the next two.  :)

Anna's Kindergarten Feast

 Anna had a feast at Kindergarten yesterday and she was so excited!  Daddy went with her and they had a great time playing games and eating yummy food.  Both classes, morning and afternoon, also performed a beautiful song for the parents.  Great job kiddos!

In the video, Anna is the third one in on the top row.  Michael zoomed in part way through and you can see her better then.  He was taping with our camera and the camcorder so he had his hands full.  :)

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!  We are so blessed and praise our Lord for all that He's given us.  We've enjoyed a relaxing day enjoying each other, watching the parade, and eating a yummy turkey dinner that we purchased from Bob Evans.  Michael did a wonderful job getting it all ready and making a few more sides to go with it.  We each took turns saying what we were thankful for and also did some thanksgiving crafts.  What a great day we've had praising the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

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Our New Addition

Here are some pictures from the past 3 weeks from right before our little man arrived to the present.  We're so greatful for all of the prayers that have been sent up on our behalf and for our mothers whose help we couldn't have survived without.  Michael's mom came and cared for the girls while we were in the hospital and my mom came last week to care for us when Michael went back to work.  We are so thankful for God's perfect timing and for working things out just right as only He can.  Enjoy!

2 weeks old

Noah is 2 weeks old today and wow, the past two weeks seem like a blur!  It's amazing how a new baby changes things.  He's a great sleeper and fairly content baby BUT he's such a sleepy eater!  Here he is passed out alseep on the boppy pillow when he should be nursing.  I have the hardest time keeping him awake and am having to pump to keep my supply up because he likes to eat a little and then nap - not good.  He's slowly starting to get a little bit more alert during feedings so hopefully he'll soon be able to stay awake for a full meal.  We go to the doctor for a weight check tomorrow and are praying that he's on the uphill now and has gained some weight.  We're loving our sweet baby boy!

Entertaining Noah

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1 week old today!

Hard to believe our little guy is already 1 week old!  He is so sweet and so loved by his 3 mommies and daddy.  :)  The girls can't get enough of him and love to read and sing to him.  What a blessing he is!

A few pics of our newest Sweetie...

Noah Michael is here!

Born at 8:06

Weight:  7 lbs & 13 oz

Length:  19.5 inches

Mom and baby are doing well.

Another Baby Update

Nothing new to report really... had another check-up this morning and all is still the same, even the weight gain, woohoo!  Of course, I haven't had much time to eat Halloween candy so that'll probably change before Thursday.  :)  I met with the doctor who'll be doing the c-section and she is just wonderful!  I'm so thankful God has worked it out that she will be my doctor.  I asked her tons of questions since I've never gone into a planned c-section and she put my mind at ease and even hugged me before leaving the room.  Our Lord continues to work things out so perfectly as only He can... first, by allowing Michael's mom to get the needed subs so that she can be away from work and come stay with the girls Thursday through Sunday.  This will elmininate the girls needing to be switched between people while we're in the hospital and I'm so thankful that she will be able to care for them and that they'll be with the same person while we're gone.  Also, Anna does not have school on Thursday and Friday as that's when parent/teacher conferences are.  I was fretting a bit about how she'd get to school and just the routine of it all and now that's not even an issue.  These things, along with several others, point toward the many reasons as to why having this baby on November 4 is the best plan.  Of course, he could still come before then which would be great but everything is working out wonderfully - Praise the Lord!

Trick or Treat!

Cinderella and Snow White had lots of fun tonight trick or treating.  Audrey did not hesitate to grab handfuls of candy, I had to hold her back, and if it wasn't so cold they probably wouldn't have wanted to stop going from house to house.

 And they're off... leaving Mommy in the dust.  We got in a good workout climbing hills and lots of steps in this area where nothing is flat.

 We went to Miss Robin's house and the girls were thrilled to see her puppies who also were dressed up in costumes.

 Miss Robin's husband works with Michael and she has been such a blessing helping us out with the girls since we moved to PA.  She's our "on-call" person if the baby decides to come on his own and we need someone to stay with the girls.