12 weeks old!

Well, I'm not doing very good about posting am I? It's not even that I don't have the time, I'm just too lazy! He's 12 weeks old already! I can't believe it! My midwife was here on Thursday so he got weighed and he's 14lbs. That's bigger than my other two were at this age. He has the cutest chubby little legs and the biggest smile. His smile has the ability to make me forget any blues I might have! He's had a cold and cough for the last two weeks, so sleep hasn't been that good, but I must be getting used to it because I hardly take a nap anymore. Before he got sick he was doing at last a five hour stretch or longer at the beginning of the night. He did five hours last night, so maybe he's getting better. When he was 7 weeks old he did a seven hour stretch and that was so wonderful! I needed that so bad. I had just had the worst week since he was born. I was actually able to sleep, too, which doesn't always happen. Not being able to sleep is probably what makes it so hard for me when I have little babies. It's happened to me every time I've had a baby. It doesn't happen every night, but sometimes it seems like it's every other night. I'll just lie there and not be able to fall asleep, or I'll fall into a light sleep full of dreams and wake up at the slightest noise and it feels like I didn't sleep at all. Most of the time I fall asleep fine at the beginning of the night but if I wake up before the baby does, I'll have a hard time falling asleep. I think it's getting better, though. I've been feeling better now, too. I hope it keeps up. I think I've finally just been able to accept that I'm just going to be tired for a while, especially with three kids under 4. This too shall pass, right? And then I'll wish I had my little ones back! Well, here's some pictures of my littlest man. This one was taken when he was about 8 weeks old. Here he his with his big brother, who still likes to hold him a lot. Here's Mischievo and his baby brother all ready for Lord's day at conference. This is the only official two month picture of him, unfortunately. Asleep in his swing, looking so sweet. Giving his daddy one of his big grins! He's also laughing now and has been since he was two months old. It's so cute. He's very ticklish. We did go to Sears to get some pictures taken around two months old. I'll have to scan one in when I get them back. I keep forgetting about them, they're probably ready to pick up. He was so good for his pictures. He's always ready to smile at people. He's a very social little guy. It was so much easier to get his two month pictures taken than it was when Little Miss Priss was that age. It was so hard to get her to smile! And I was trying to get Mischievo and Little Miss Priss together and it was so stressful. It was very hard to get them smiling at the same time. I decided to wait to get a picture of all three together next month when I do Little Miss Priss's 2 year pictures. So, anyway, life has been super busy. My husband has been so busy and working so many hours. It's been so hard. Then there's tons of projects waiting to be done around the house and yard, too. A few months ago my husband built a new shed and attached a chicken coop to it. That's finally all done and we just need to get a fence up and we can have chickens. We actually already have some, but someone is taking care of them for us until we're ready for them. I can't wait to have my own fresh eggs! I just got the cutest video of the baby! He's been talking away in his swing while I've been posting this. There's a mirror on the mobile and he was just talking away at himself! I'll have to try and get it on here, somehow. It's on the video camera and I've never put any of those videos on the computer before. I have everything I need, I've just never done it.

One Month Old!

Here he is, one month old! In some ways it went fast but in other ways it seems like it was a long time ago that he was born. Sleep deprivation makes it seem like a long time when you're in the middle of it, but when you look back it went fast! Does that make any sense?
So, anyway, he weighs ten pounds now. He sometimes does a four hour stretch which seems wonderful after 3 hour stretches or less at night. He's a pretty good baby, but has his fussy times, usually at night, but it doesn't take much to calm him down. It really interrupts our sleep, though. He seems to like his pacifier, which is a big help. My other two kids didn't take one, so this is something new.
So, the baby's doing good, but the mommy isn't always doing good. It's kind of hard to talk about it and I haven't told very many people about it. I have a hard time with postpartum depression and it's the pits. I didn't think I would blog about it, but I thought maybe someone else reading this might struggle with PPD, too. Sometimes it seems like other people have it all together, but you don't know how it really is. I know people probably think I'm doing just fine, because I don't tell anyone about it. I guess I feel ashamed about it sometimes, even thought it's not something I can help. I just wonder why I have to have such a hard time when other people do just fine. All I want is to be able to enjoy my baby and my other two children, but that is so hard sometimes. If I could have a full nights sleep I don't think I would have a problem. I usually feel better when they start sleeping longer. So, anyway, I have some good days now, so I think things are getting better. I need to learn how to trust the Lord better, I think. He will help me through, this, I know.

A double wedding and some exciting news!

Well, the double wedding was very nice and there was a lot of people there. It was good to see people I don't get to see very much. I wish I was able to take better pictures but it was very bad lighting, so they all turned out too dark or blurry. I don't think any of them look very good, but I guess it will give you an idea of what it was like. I hope someone else has some better pictures.

Here's Natalie, the groom's sister and Peter the bride's brother.



Paul and Martha, twin of one of the brides, Mary.


And here's Mary coming down the aisle with her father. I didn't get a clear one of Anna, it was so dark you couldn't see her, but she came down first with her father.


Luke and Anna got married first and here's a very blurry pic of them.


Wes and Mary were next.


Luke giving Anna a kiss right after Ron announced them and before they went back up the aisle.


Suzanna and Nathan


Here's the cakes.


I had to post this one of Little Miss Priss with her Grandma L. This a typical picture of her!


And now for the exciting news! At least, we think it's exciting. We're expecting another baby on April 24, 2008, Lord Willing. Hopefully, it won't be as late as Little Miss Priss was, but at least I'm prepared for it this time. We heard the heart beat yesterday, which was very exciting. I'm always so thankful to hear that heart beat. I always worry, until I hear it, that I've miscarried. I'm almost done with the first trimester and I'm so glad. I think the first trimester is the worst. You're tired and don't feel good and you're worrying about whether your baby is going to make it. At least, that's how it is for me. Thankfully, I don't usually get that sick, just a little queasy when I don't keep food in my stomach or wait too long to eat. Sometimes, it's just hard to think of what to make for a meal because nothing sounds good.