Marx and Maddox's Visit

I was going through pictures from the past couple of months and realized I didn't post anything from when Marx and Maddox were here to visit besides Marx's baptizm.

Ben's cousins Laurel and Charlie live really close to my parents and the boys love to play with their little girls so we took them over for an afternoon. They loved the little kiddie pool and stayed in it for a good hour or so.

That is Marlee on the far left, she is 21 months and the little girl in the pool with the boys is Haley (pronounced Hal-lee) they are both so much fun. Haley loves Marx and asks me about him every time I see her, she was so happy to have them there, she chased Marx around trying to kiss him and Marx told her he will get in trouble if he kisses any girls. :)

They had a pretty good time splashing and getting as much water out of the pool as they possibly could, Mar and Deacon were in and out of the pool over and over again.

Filling up the pool again after they splashed half the water out of it. Deacon loves the hose, can you tell?

Marx and Hal jumped on the trampoline for a while after drying off, then it was back in the pool again.

Maddox wanted to have his picture taken, what a handsome boy! Love those blue eyes!

The boys (Marx, Maddox and Will) went yardsaling with Nana and found a couple of rockets. Nana already had several from her years and years of teaching rocketry and ELP. They were supposed to launch on Saturday night but it got really windy by the time it was cooling off enough to launch and we had to postpone it. We ended up launching the next morning before church at about 7 a.m. Talk about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. ;) The boys took turns launching, this was Marx's first attempt.

Retrieving the rocket, they went pretty far and it was fun to watch the boys chase them as they came back down. They wanted me to help in retrieval but since this was the day before Rowan was born I declined the offer.

Maddox's launch, he took off to retrieve it right after this.

All three boys watching Papa's launch, he went last.

Papa's launch. Papa used a "c" engine which is a pretty big engine for these little rockets and we ended up losing this rocket completely. We found the nosecone and the parachute but no rocket body. Woops. Maybe next time the Big Dog will be content with a smaller engine.

Maddox loved to hold Rowan, this was in the hospital but he held him as much as he could after we brought him home. We found Maddox standing next to the laundry basket that served as a baby bed just gazing at the baby several times. He was very proud of his little brother. When Kris came to pick up the boys Maddox asked him if he wanted to pet his baby brother.

Marx thought Rowan was pretty cool too. That makes 4 little brothers and One little sister for Marx, he is an awesome big brother. No more siblings for him though, both Julie and I are done!

The last day the boys were here Papa had a great idea to take them all outside and get them wet with the water hose, Papa got quite wet himself!

Papa and Deacon made sure that Will was nice and cool.

They did a pretty thorough job of getting everybody and everything soaked.

Four little boys and a water hose, who needs toys?

I just love the look on Will's face, the water looks pretty cool too. Nana and I watched from the window, by the time they were done there were 5 plumbers cracks out there.

We had so much fun with Marx and Maddox, they spent a lot of time with Will and Nana and Papa while I was in the hospital. I have such great kids, I feel lucky to have them.

Baby Rowan Sleeps.....

He sleeps in the morning....

He sleeps in the afternoon.....

And in the evening, until I try to put big brother to bed, then it's time to be REALLY hungry and want to eat RIGHT NOW!

He sleeps on his back...

And he sleeps on his belly (but only if Mom is awake to make sure he doesn't suffocate)

He sleeps without a blanket....

And he sleeps in a blanket all snuggled up! So, how come I am so freaking tired and sleep deprived? Welcome to life with a newborn. This morning he was up at 2 a.m. wide awake. Ben had mercy on me and hung out with Deacon when he got up so that Rowan and I could catch up on some sleep.

Deacon Wants You!!!

This was so great, reminded me of the WWII propoganda poster with Uncle Sam on it that says "I Want You for the US Army" I was actually just trying to get a cute picture of him smiling at me, he would not just smile, he did everything else except just sit still and smile for Mom! I think he's been around the camera too much!

Deacon likes to talk on the phone now, especially Daddy's phone! If Ben is trying to talk to someone and Deacon figures out he's on the phone he is instantly standing in front of him begging for the phone, then he gets on and doesn't talk. There was actually someone on the other end of the phone, Ben had been talking to Jenna when he got home from work and within 5 minutes this was who had the phone.

He's Getting Fat!

This was supposed to be the last one on this post but I had to erase it and reupload it and it won't go to the bottom so I am leaving it here. I don't want to redo the whole thing!

Rowan's first piece of mail, from the Urologists office, we have an appointment for next friday so we get to find out what the next step is in fixing his little issue. Everyone I have talked to has said surgery is definately going to be needed, not what I want to hear, but what can I do?

I just love that sweet fat little face, Rowan is really starting to fill out in the cheeks and seems to get fatter every day.

Rowan had a doctor's appointment yesterday, he weighs 8 pounds 13 ounces and according to them he is only 19 inches long, they checked twice so I am thinking WIC was wrong. I can't believe that at a month old Rowan is not even as big as Marx was at BIRTH!! By the time he was one month old Marx was a whopping 12 pounds! Every baby is so different. I am really happy that he is a pretty easy baby to get along with, I would definately be pulling my hair out if I had to comfort a colicky baby like Maddox was. He sure is a sweetheart now, but back then he was SO hard for me to handle.

SMILING!!!! First time I caught it with a camera, he only does it at random in his sleep.

Why Does A Baby Need A Bath, Again?

This is the best pic I could get with Deacon trying to get in on the action too and a squirming wet baby in the bathtub. That tub has been around since Marx was born. My Mom found it at a yardsale for $3 and I have certainly gotten every penny out of it. I found the tub at Target also, it's normally about $30!!! Talk about the Yardsale buy of the day! ;) I thought maybe Rowan would have made peace with the bathtub by now but he really does not like it one bit. He had one bath that he did not cry through, but otherwise he has yelled through them all. I think maybe it has to do with being naked more than anything, he yells at me when I change his diaper too!

That's better, all wrapped up in the towel is so much warmer than that darn bathtub! He was so content he pooped in the towel.

After drying off and getting a new diaper and sucking on the pacifier for a minute, things are looking a little better. Look at that belly he is starting to get! He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces at the WIC appointment Thursday and was 19 1/4 inches long.

Aw! What a sweet little face! I see so much more of me in this little guy than I have in any of the others.

I just love that forehead. He definately got that from Ben.

And Suddenly the Pacifier is My Favorite Invention!!!

None of my babies have ever been really interested in a pacifier, I tried to get them all to take one, but they just didn't care about them. This little man had me in Target last night at 7:30 looking for more pacifiers, they are the only ones who carry the right brand (he only likes one kind) and they had one pack of the right ones in the right color (sorry, I'm not buying the pink ones, no matter how desperate I am!). I feel like I am being paid back for a conversation I had with Jenna about pacifiers, she told me I was gona need a million of them (I had 4) and I laughed, thinking I would never need to use one! Oh My Goodness, this baby loves to suck! If I didn't use a pacifier I would be sitting on the couch all day long with a baby attached to my chest. I hate to admit that the stupid things have saved my sanity, Ben and I agreed that a pacifier is better than a thumb because you can take it away. I do not want to be attempting to break a thumb sucking habit.

One night after a bath, fell asleep in the middle of a crying fit, he was mad at me for getting him wet. He's still so tiny but his little belly is starting to get fat. This really did have a purpose, his little bum was raw from him pooping so much, I was letting him air out for a few minutes, there was a diaper under him, just in case he peed.

If you want Rowan to sleep, change his diaper, swaddle him, feed him and give him a pacifier, he will fall asleep pretty quickly and usually sleeps for at least 2 hours. He has a few hours of awake time now, but he gets tired easily, a bath will wear him out.

I was holding him off between feedings, trying to get him to go 2 hours between them. He's a pig as it is, if I would let him he would eat every hour. It's really just that he wants to suck all the time. This little outfit came from Auntie Kerra. I love how he is holding his hands.

Before going to bed last night. He sucks harder when he is concentrating.

Cute Baby Rowan

I only let him sleep on his belly when I am awake, he sleeps better that way, but I don't trust him to hold up his head yet. He tries to lift his head and look around if he is facing someone or on a shoulder. He was awake for about an hour this morning, just laid there looking around. He bonded with Daddy for a little while and squeeked at him every few minutes. Still have not heard him get really upset. He cried for a while in the car the other day, but Deacon slept through it and I didn't think he even sounded that mad, eventually he stopped and went to sleep. I hope he stays as sweet as he is now.

Love those little feet, they are so tiny, only the smallest socks that Kerra sent us fit him right now. He is still wearing preemie clothes. Benny keeps commenting on how small he is, Deacon was so much bigger than him, I never thought the 1 1/2 inch height difference would make a baby seem so much smaller! That little owie on the bottom of his right foot is from the PKU test that was done Monday.

Such a darling little face, my Mom thinks he looks more like me than Ben and says he looks like a little Asian baby. I can see that a lot more in this pic, he looks like a chinese baby or maybe a little Indian baby. Either way, he sure is cute. I love all that beautiful hair!

I love the top of his head, I am constantly playing with his hair. This is such a peaceful picture to me, nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby. That is a perfect little head.

Look at how long his hair is! Rowan has the most hair of any baby, I thought Deacon had a lot of hair, but Rowan has twice as much, it hangs over his ears and over his collar.