conrad jay - week 3

Things got a little more real this week.  Conrad has still been trekking along, but he is coming out of the super sleepy newborn phase.  Don't get me wrong.  He still sleeps A LOT, but he sometimes needs more help getting to sleep and doesn't stay asleep quite as soundly.  That's real life.  Trying to get a newborn asleep, while the toddler needs a snack and the older two are fighting over a toy.  That happens multiple times a day.  

The older three went on a couple of adventures with Dad this week, while Conrad and I stayed home.  He'll be ready to join in soon enough.  Speaking of joining in, with the birth of Conrad, Ivan magically became one of the bigger boys.  He's now ready to join in on it all and he knows if he's being left out.

The boys went to Schermerhorn Park in Galena.  It held a lot to explore.  Water and a cave.  Can't beat that.

And then some more hiking in the rain.

"Boys, do you want to go outside?"  "No, we are too busy playing with this box."

Summer is here.  With the excitement of a new baby, it hasn't quite felt like summer yet, but it was starting to this week.  In the mornings, we've spent quite a bit of time in the sunroom.  I think it's everyone's favorite new place.

Especially Ivan's.  If we leave the door cracked for him, he'll just go in and out and in and out.  He loves the control and freedom he has in the sunroom.  We just have to keep the outside door locked, because he somehow figured that one out and ended up on the deck in the rain. No fear, that one.

The swing is my favorite spot.  Conrad's too.

These boys are a hoot.  And the games they come up with.  If you couldn't tell, they're all monkeys here and they had no idea what to do with that book.

Conrad took his first trip to church this week.  He was awake through most of it, but happy in my arms.  

Silas LOVES Conrad.  He looks for him when he wakes up in the morning and is quick to his side anytime he's awake.  His face kinda tells it all in this photo.

Napping.  It's what I do best.  More sleep, please.

See, I told you.  Big boy.  Ivan thinks he's ready to join the other boys on the bench.  

conrad jay - week 2

Brothers have been enjoying playing in the rain, so it was only fair that Conrad got in on some of the action too!

Here's Conrad getting his first bath at home.  He loved it.  

 He was super chill in the nice warm water.

 And his brother's thought it was a hoot!  We've always got lots of helpers.

This position sums up most of his week.  Lots of sleeping and eating.  Towards the end of the week we've settled into a night time wake pattern of sleeping a 4-5 hour stretch and then two more 3- 3 1/2 hours.  I'm used to a lot more sleep than that, but I told Jason that it's amazing how quickly your body can just adjust to less.

Grammy has been a super BIG help this week of Conrad's life.  The boys loved having her around and we were all sad to see her go on Thursday.

We consoled ourselves by taking our first family of 6 outing to get ice cream in Carterville.  Thankful for our van and room for everyone.

I can't believe we haven't visited the Superman Museum before this.  They even had superman ice cream.

And the rain hit before we made it to the park, but that didn't stop those hooligans from playing.  Conrad and I stayed in the car.

The other crazy cats are still at it.  They've done a really good job of playing together (for the most part) and occasionally, they'll come entertain us with their many talents.

Jason took the boys to church on Sunday and Conrad and I stayed home for one more week.  I spent most of the time just holding him.  And nobody else was there to need me.

The weather's been so nice that we've been able to get out most evenings and go to the park or biking.  The boys love to bike in the church parking lot close to our house.  It's got a pretty nice hill that allows them to pick up some good speed.

Silas has really upped his game on the balance bike!  I think he's going to be ready for pedals really soon!  He's ready to go fast!

This face does a nice job portraying Amos' love for speed.  He's quite the bike rider and we have a plan to upgrade him to a mountain bike for his birthday.  Hold me.

 And this one.  No fear!  Pick out my feet.  No hands!  I can do it all.

Sleeping baby lips, because not much is cuter.

He snoozed for a whole nap just like this.  Even with all the crazy going on and lots of head patting.  Definitely still in the sleepy newborn phase.

Jason attended Joplin's graduation looking like this!  Just kidding, but we all were pretty amazed the the costume that Master teachers get to wear.  It easily converts to...

 After playing in the rain for an hour, he came in, dried off and pretended to play in the rain inside for another hour.  Rain.

Tuesday brought not one, but two doctor's appointments.  We decided to combine Conrad's two week appointment and Ivan's 18 month. Conrad did great.  He's already up 1/2 lb from his birth weight and checked out perfectly.

Ivan is healthy too!  He was showing off for the doctor and nurses.  Too bad the appointment had to end in shots.  Luckily, our nurse was quick with the suckers and the crying was very short-lived.  He walked out of there with a sucker in each hand.

Doctor appointments wear a little one out.