Cait's Blessing

Back in the day....an eternity ago...when Cait was 5 weeks old...so three weeks ago...we blessed her in church. NOW, I'm not a great newborn mom. I really struggle with this stage. I don't struggle nearly as much when they are 3+ months old, so normally that's when we bless our babies. But because of summer plans and other events (a new nephew being born soon...yay), the only time to bless this sweet baby of ours was when she was 5 weeks old. So we cleaned the house, bought enough food to feed an army and prepared our self for our visitors. They all showed up on time, and Ben gave our baby Cait the sweetest blessing. To mark the occasion, we took a few pictures outside. I mentioned earlier that my lens is broken...well these pictures were the first sign. They wouldn't focus at all. So sad. But at least we still have these blurry memories....and to be honest, some of them I don't mind being blurry:

Like when we're running around like crazy trying to round up our two other kids for the picture, when I'm grimacing because my life feels so out of control etc.

Or when that middle child of mine acts so much like a...well...a middle child

But then there are some pictures I wish weren't as blurry...like this one, where the middle child is only partly acting like a middle child and more so like a 2 year old, where the oldest looks sweet and angelic, where the Dad is smiling, where the Mom looks half decent and where the baby isn't crying. This one I would have liked in focus.

Overall the day was great. It was fun having all our families here...and it was actually kind of nice doing this with a newborn. She just slept in every one's arms all day long. And the best part of it all? I don't have to worry about planning it anymore...because it's DONE!!! hahaha...I'm so positive!

Anyway, just in case you were wondering, the middle child sometimes is sweet and angelic too. Like when she's reading to her baby sister. Yes. She's sweet and angelic...and THIS pictures is in focus! So I hope to remember it clearly!

Life

Life has been normal lately. Nothing exciting. Nothing boring. Just the every day normal kind of stuff.

Hailey started soccer - which means mom (me) and the three girls get to look like a gong show every time! That is unless Ben can make it, and then if he does I think a LOT less people feel sorry for me. Hailey takes the whole soccer business pretty seriously though...so do I. Paige takes her snacks pretty seriously, and Cait just sits there taking life seriously.

Paige had a sprinkler date with her cousins...oh she LOVES her cousins! She's not a big fan of playing with other kids. But when her cousins are around she gets right in there.

 Hailey got some new quad gear. This gear was actually MY mothers day gift. Ben asked me what I wanted: something for me, or something to ensure the safety of my children. Easy choice for me.

We gave the trailer it's first trip of the year. People thought I was crazy for travelling with a newborn...but the beauty of new babies is that they wake up in the night no matter where they are. So my sleep remained the same old crappy sleep. She did pretty good though. I can't complain about 5-6 hour stretches at 7 weeks.

And the baby got to sleep in her own bedroom. This was a direct result of camping. Up until now we haven't been able to get her to sleep past 6:30 am. That just doesn't work for me. BUT while we were camping, I got frustrated and left her in her 'room' and went and slept in the other end of the trailer. I could still hear cries (if there were any) but none of the grunty stuff she likes to do while sleeping. Well...turns out that when I'm not responding to her grunts, she'll sleep in until 8:30. And so the idea of her own room came up...and it was a GREAT decision!

Anyway, my real camera broke. Well the camera's ok, the lens is toast. I'm soooooo sad. So I've been using my iPhone WAY more then necessary. And that's ok for now.

I'm trying to remember

I'm trying to remember the newborn stage with my other two girls. And I can't!! Which is good I think...because I'm just not a good newborn mom, and it's nice when you don't remember how tired and emotional you are. But I'd love it if I could remember it a bit better so I could compare to this stage with Cait. I'm just feeling so worn down and I feel like there's no way it was this hard with my other two. But Ben keeps telling me that it was!! Cait's not even a bad baby by any means...she hardly ever cries. She naps really well and is generally pretty good at night. BUT two nights ago she woke up at 2am and wouldn't go back to sleep until 4:30! And I couldn't take it (I cried a LOT more than she did, that's for sure). Or last night she took two hours to put up sleep!!!! But then she was asleep and slept for 5 hours. So not bad at all!! I just hate how unpredictable it all is!

So I'm just patiently waiting for things to feel a bit normal. In the meantime I'm enjoying quiet moments where Cait just falls asleep anywhere. Or those sweet beginnings of smiles we're starting to get now. Or how much she just LOVES to be cuddled! Because these are things I actually want to remember!