Cookies!



I don't know how we accomplished it, because wow...Christmas cookies are stressful...but somehow we did it.
To keep Dylan happy and my hands free for the chaos, she had to be in the baby carrier the whole time (which has been the case lately, between our busiest time of day, which happens to be her crabbiest: 5-7pm).

As usual, we had detailed perfection from Dawson, and sprinkle mounds or frosting craziness from Jamie.

 

Our New Normal

Our new normal consists of the following:
-Curling up on the sofa with Dylan for naps
-poopy diapers
-force feeding bottles in hopes of some sort of extended period of sleep (so far 3 1/2 hours is the max)
-yelling at d & j to: "stop fighting", "be quiet", "go downstairs", "go upstairs", "get your shoes on", "get your pjs on", "be quiet!","shhhhhh you will wake up Dylan!", "find the pacifier"...or any combination of those barks 
(poor kids, never knew what was coming when Dylan was born!  I think between all the craziness, they kind of like her though.)
-being late to most scheduled events
-poopy diapers
-a very dirty and un-organized house (ahhhh!)
-trying to get Dylan on some sort of schedule.  So far no luck...but it pretty much looks like this: eat-->poop--> awake-->poop-->sleep(poop while sleeping)-->eat-->repeat
-weird bouncing and dancing and shoossing noises all day, especially between 5-7p
-poopy diapers
-Three cute kids that crack us up

Oh, and by the way, Jamie's normal includes writing a lot of notes, lists, reminders to herself (she must see all the notes/lists that David and I write to ourselves). 

We find them all over the house.

Dylan + Us

Just a few shots that I forgot to post after we had these taken. 

(Even though she doesn't look anything like this anymore!)

Smiles and A Few Other Visitors

A few faces from today.  (5 weeks old.)

Carly & Audrey (neighbors) were very excited to hold Dylan last week, finally.

Jennifer (a friend from work) stopped by this week to see the nugget.

Another friend from work, Abbey, stopped by too.

And...this is Heather, who we miss already.  She used to watch the neighbor girls (Audrey & Carly), and sometimes Dawson and Jamie too.  She moved away last week.  This is her stopping by on her last day, to say goodbye.

Happy One Month Birthday Dylan!

Dylan is one month old already. 
It is all a blur. 
She is a very sweet baby, except around the witching hour of about 6:30pm, then she gets a little feisty.
She is still eating almost every two hours exactly, all day and night long. Which explains why everything is a blur right now. So, we still don't really have much of a schedule.  We live on baby Dylan time.
Last doctors visit she had plumped up a bit...to 7 lbs 12 oz.  So she is probably just over 8 lbs by now.
There are no more worries of jaundice, so that is good news.
She is much more alert now and awake for longer periods of time....and in the last couple days has been flashing a few smiles :)
Dawson and Jamie are still loving on her and are still adjusting to having to share the spotlight and get a little less attention.
Happy Birthday Dylan!

Family Photos

We had some family photos taken again by my friend and coworker, Lindsey, of Lovella Photography.  Love her work! 

Here is a preview...

Dylan's First Bath

Yay...the stump fell off! 
So, it was real bath time for Dylan!

There was no crying for this bath.  She seemed to really like it. (The space heater on the kitchen counter didn't hurt either.)

Christmas Decorations

This year, it is likely that the Christmas Tree is the only thing we will get out as far as Christmas decorations go...since the main floor of the house, and exterior still have a lot of work to be done. I'm not even sure where to hang the kids stockings, since there is no fireplace mantel and the stair railing needs to be painted still. (Any other suggestions?)

The tree is an upgrade from last year though, since all we did in the apartment last Christmas was take out our tiny two foot tree and put that up. So it was exciting for d & j to have a big tree to decorate. (By decorate I mean - clump all ornaments on one side right next to each other. Classic.)

 

 

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend we went to Kalamazoo and had two Thanksgivings...one at David's parents on Thanksgiving and one at Janet's parents on Saturday.

The Great-Grandparents were also able to meet Dylan, over the weekend, for the first time. 

(Great-Grandma V met her too, but we don't have photos because Dylan was sleeping and we didn't wake her for the visit.)

Great Grandma & Grandpa K

Game of Dutch Shuffleboard at Grandma & Grandpa O's, before dinner.  (The game is about 40+ years old...but still fun!)

 

Cousins

The Cook

Cousin Katie

Cousin Jack

This was taken on my phone, and I wish it was more clear, but it is a great picture of all three at Grandma & Grandpa V's house.