Cranky Colin Update

Ok, apparently Colin just likes attention and likes to keep me on his toes. Last night, he was great. He ate around 7pm, then was fussy for about an hour as he was trying to decide to sleep or not to sleep. He finally was asleep in his bed around 8:30pm and only got up to eat at 2:45am!!! Best news of all... he went right back to bed after that! Now it is 6:30 and he is awake with us, but just content. He must enjoy keeping me guessing. Doesn't he know that I like schedules!

PS. At the Drs yesterday, they weighed him. He is a porky 10lbs 12oz. I just checked the girls baby books and they were both over 11 lbs at 6 weeks.

6 Weeks and Smiling!

Colin was 6 weeks old yesterday and he must be a man on a schedule because they say that babies smile around 6 weeks and yesterday was the day that I first noticed his beautiful smile! It has been hard to catch on camera - as the smile is few and far between at this point. The last couple of days he has been super cranky! I had divided his days into 4 categories... almost grumpy, grumpy, sleeping and eating! Today, I took him to the dr and we are going to start to give him some medication for reflux to see if that helps with his grumpiness and sleep at night. People ask how he is sleeping and my response is always, "Could be better, but he is a newborn...." I just don't know how to get him into a schedule or know what he needs vs. what he wants at night. He has been getting up 2x a night (I thought to eat), but then last night he came in bed with us and he only got up once. I will NOT let our bed become routine (I'd never sleep) but it made me think that maybe he doesn't need to sleep, he just wants company in the middle of the night. Any suggestions are very much appreciated! Let's hope it helps and that we see a happier Colin soon....

As for our other kids... they have been playing outside all the time and loving it. Unfortunately, up her in the north country... it is black fly season and it looks like Sadie is allergic to black fly bites. Here is what she looked like after an evening up at my parents lake where she got lots and lots of bites. Pretty silly looking, huh! Thankfully, it didn't seem to bother her at all and just added to her spirited personality!

Happy 6th Birthday Natalie!

Today Natalie turned 6 years old! Time truly flies by... she has grown up so much this year and has celebrated so many milestones; kindergarten, the tooth fairy, riding a 2 wheeler, learning to read, becoming a big sister (again) and so much more. She is an incredible daughter, sister and friend! We look forward to another great year full of memories, laughter and love.

Natalie got a "big Kid" scooter from her mom and dad and she was very excited. Outside riding around the neighborhood by 7:30am. Here is a picture of her as she opened it.

Then we had a big friends and family BBQ to celebrate the start of summer and her birthday.
The weather could not have been better... 70's and perfect sunshine. I had some stress getting ready with three kids (as soon as I got into something, Colin or one of the kids would need me), but I got great help from Nick and my Mom in making it go off without a hitch! It was super fun! Colin got all dressed up and was looking good. Sadie was her typical self... a goofball and Natalie was feeling on top of the world with all her friends and fun!

All in all.. it was a great day!

Colin plays...

Colin is 5 weeks old today and just this week he has started to wake up a bit. He is taking note of the world around him and looking at things. Yesterday he spent some time in his crib and was just so fascinated by his mobile. He watched and watched and watched. He had his legs and arms going as he watched. Here is a picture of him checking it all out. I also put the stuffed animal next to him so that we could watch him grow. I'll take another picture of him next to it when he is 2 months old and we can see how much bigger he got.

This picture is a close up of him while he was in his crib. Super cute, huh!

Other things going on... Colin and I went for our 1st run together and it was a huge success. I ran slow, but it felt great and he looked content as we strolled along. My stroller was great. It ran super smooth and so easy to push. I am hoping to be able to do that with him on a regular basis.

Let the celebrating begin...

Next Sunday, Natalie will be 6 years old and the celebrating has officially begun. For all that know me, I love birthdays and start celebrating mine about a month before it arrives. Apparently, I have passed this excitement onto Natalie. She has been very excited about her upcoming birthday and has been talking about all her different celebrations! Yesterday she was surprised by her Aunt Nadia and Uncle Tony with a new BIKE! This bike is huge and she looks like such a big kid riding around on it. Natalie and Sadie ride their bikes all the time and Natalie had been loving her cousin Tony's bike because it was big... now she has her own (Sadie lucked out too, because know she is riding Natalie's old one!)

This afternoon was her gymnastics party with her friends at the
YMCA. Natalie invited a couple friends from her class, as well as some
other Kindergarten friends. They did a full hour of gymnastics and then
got to enjoy cupcakes and ice cream! Yum, yum. Natalie loves gymnastics!

This week, her celebrating will continue with a party in her classroom on Thursday and then a BBQ with friends and family on her actual birthday. fun, fun, fun...

1 Month Old...

Today Colin is ONE month old! Here is a picture of him taken this morning while he is being held by one of his biggest fan! Other than having a horrible acne breakout (don't you love hormones!) he is looking and doing great! I am ready to have a more predictable routine with him and am struggling about how to make it happen. I am going to try this week to wake him up in the morning at the same time, so we can start the day at the same time and at least make the days more predictable. We will see how that goes... it will be super hard if the night has been long or if he had recently eaten.

For the most part, he is a good baby. He can have some cranky times... especially in the evening, but overall he has spent the past month eating and sleeping lots.

We continue to feel so blessed by his health. When I look at how perfect he is, I am still in a disbelief that only 4 weeks ago, he was such a sick little baby! Sometimes, I have some hormonal moments, when I feel jipped of what it was "suppose" to be like when he first arrived. I laugh at myself about how planned I had thought his birth would be. I had planned the way the girls would meet him, the way my mom would 1st learn his name, how Nick and the girls would be back and forth from the hospital multiple times a day and I even told people I was looking forward to my 4 days in the hospital because it would be so relaxing!! HA, HA! I can get sad when I think that it didn't play out that way and we don't have any of the "normal" pictures or memories of him in the hospital with me in my room... but in the end it doesn't matter because he is okay.

As for me, I am feeling good. Not as tired as I thought I might be (of course there are days...). I started walking this week and it felt GREAT to be back in action and doing something for my body. Earlier this week, I went to the gym and Colin and I walked the track with him in the carrier. Today, I did a real workout at the gym while Colin was home with Nick and the girls were at babysitting room. It felt so wonderful and I look forward to that becoming part of our regular routine and for when I can start to run again.

That is all for now.
Here is to health, happiness and nights full of sleep!

A day in the life of having big sisters...

People ask me all the time how the girls are liking having a baby brother in the house. Well... the LOVE it because he is a good additon to their ongoing "house" game they play. At this point, Colin is agreeable to play along (unless he is in a cranky mood). To the left is a picture of Sadie nursing one of her babies. She has yet to try and nurse Colin - Thankfully! And below that is a picture of Colin hanging out on the play mate with one of Sadie's children. It is a hoot to watch. Usually, Natalie is the mom and Sadie is the sister and they they have lots and lots of babies. However, more and more Sadie is being a mom. They often play that they are taking their babies to Florida and talk about how hard it is and talk about their "husbands." Very funny!

Mother's Day 2008

What a great day! My 1st Mother's day as a mom of three and it was perfect. Great weather and good family time. We had awesome weather... sunny skies and 70 degrees and played outside at home all morning long. Then in the afternoon, we met up with friends at the Great Escape for the beginning of the season full of fun! Below is the 1st picture of me with all three of my kiddos. Aren't they beautiful kids... I am one lucky lady!

Giumarra Babies all look the same...

I don't know if these are the best pictures to be able to tell, but all 3 of our kids have had the same look when they were babies. I don't have a picture of Natalie as an infant (we didn't do digital photo's yet...) but here is a picture of Sadie as a newborn and Natalie is almost 3.
This is another picture of Sadie as a newborn.
This is Colin at 2 weeks.

He is now 3 weeks old and doing well. Yesterday he was super cranky all day. He was either sleeping, eating, being held (by me only) or crying. It was a long day! I am hoping that he is just going through a growth spurt... nothing more. I won't be able to handle this crying all the time!!

Full Circle Moment

This weekend my Dad was in the play, OUR TOWN, put on by the local Glens Falls Community Theatre. He has been practicing for weeks...

Saturday night (while my mom watched the kids) Nick, my brother and I went to go see the show. My Dad did great (he was the STAR of the show!) It was so cute to watch him acting and being "in character"! It was one of those full circle moments, when it use to be that my parents would come and watch me in a play and feel all proud... now I was watching him in the play and feeling all proud. Great job, Dad!!

Colin's 1st playdate...

Today, my friend, Rachel, and her daughter came over to "play." It was Colin's 1st official playdate! Sadie and Rachel's older child were at their sitters' and we were able to truly enjoy our visit with each other and the babies!

This is Hannah... she is 8 weeks old, just 6 weeks older than Colin. Isn't it crazy to see how fast they grow. She seemed so big and so interactive compared to Colin.

Hannah and Colin had their lunch at the same time and then they both got the hiccups right after eating and they seemed to get a hiccup right at the same time. It was pretty funny! It will be fun to show them this picture many years from now!