3 Months!

As I promised it is an all about James post. We have been calling him J and the boys have picked up on it too, so J is easier to type than James anyway.

J is about 15 pounds we are guessing and he is eating a sleeping superbly. It is hard to believe that at this point with the boys we were moving into our house. Anyway, he is very good natured and loves to smile and be talked to. He loves faces and things to look at. We are also having issues because he will crane his neck and try to watch TV. It seems no matter where we turn him he tries to watch. He gets his last feeding at 9 and he sleeps until 6. He takes several naps and sleeps very will during those naps during the day. He is an awesome example of what Babywise can do.

He also loves to "talk" he is still trying to laugh out loud and it just won't come out. He has not rolled over, but until the last couple of days he went through a phase of hating tummy time. He enjoyed it today and I got some great shots after his bath while the older boys slept. I am not sure how to use all the settings on our camera. I am a point and shoot kind of girl and the lighting was not right for that so black and white will have to do.

Here is another one I got before the big boys woke up from their nap. Yes, that is a Mohawk and you can really see how much hair he has. It is so light sometimes in pictures he looks bald. I just got done scrubbing his forehead in the tub so it is still a little red and peeling. The picture does not do his beautiful big blue eyes justice but only seeing him in person would I guess.

I love the rolls. Don't you wish people said that about adult pudge rolls? I am sure I will think of a million other things to write about but I have two two year olds climbing on me and asking for snack-they woke up from nap early. J. and I are going on an excursion tomorrow to Seattle. It is my first time traveling with just one and Daddy's first time alone with 2 (or any for that matter) all on his lonesome over night. I am not sure which one of us needs more prayer. Let's hope it goes well so I can get away more often!

I will tell you more about what we are doing in Seattle later when I have pictures because the pleading for snacks is getting louder, but sweet because a please is being added to the plea. I am also being slapped in the face with the smell of poop, the story of my life right now!

It has been a very blessed and happy 3months getting to know you, J!

What Am I Doing?

I think I ask myself that question a couple of times a day along with "what do I need to get done today" and "where does all my time go"? I know the answer most of the time for instance it is not even 9:30 and I have already changed 6 diapers 3 poop and 3 "no poopy just pee-pee" as Gavin would say. We are also starting things up at church so there is all the prep and stuff that goes along with that. James will be 12 weeks next week so I will post more about him at that time. He is a great baby and I am so pleased to get to know him more and more each day. It also helps that he is sleeping at least 8 hours every night-that makes us all happy! Anyway, sorry for lack of pictures and stories-there are too many to choose from because it has been too long. Goodbye for now!

G-man!

So it is Gavin's turn. Gavin is a very active little boy. He is always on the go. He is very concerned about his brothers and very thoughtful. He is also very obedient. With him all you have to do is raise your voice and he will stop and do what you say. I think the biggest problem we are having is that he loves his little brother too much!

Because he is so physical he also is always getting hurt. He falls constantly and if something could get hurt it will probably be him. Just when one ouchie clears up he seems to get another one. With his porcelain skin every little bump and bruise shows too. In fact, we were at the pool the other day with some friends and his foot fell in one of the drains. He was fine, just startled. The life guard said she had never seen anyone do that, leave it to Gavin. He still loves to wrestle and be close to his family.

He is also so strong. Yes, he climbed up by himself, but Daddy was there for support.

He is starting to talk more, it is just not very clear and sometimes he needs a translator. I am amazed how observant he is. The garage door, air conditioning, and the washing machine all sound the same and every time one of them comes on he says it is daddy (the garage door). The other day he said it is "just the air conditioning" when it came on because that is what I always tell him when it is the air.

He has the most contagious laughter and he laughs often at his brother or when he is tickled. He is such a sweet little boy with a huge heart.

Drew Funny

So, I stole the title from Gavin even though this post is supposed to be about Drew. Gavin always says this when Drew does something and then he starts laughing. I decided to post a little segment about each of the boys so I will start with the oldest (by a minute) Drew.


So, Drew is our talker. We have had people say repeatedly OMG they are talking and yes, they have started and Drew has not stopped. He talks a lot about bounce houses popping; things he does and doesn't like; bikes; lawnmowers; and trucks. I am amazed at how much he knows, is learning, and remembers. We can not go to Wal-mart without him saying he wants to play on the slide because there is a Burger King on the way in, with a playground that we frequent.


He loves to dance and is so observant. We were reading a book the other day and he said messy hands. Sure enough on TV there was the faucet commercial where they were cleaning their hands. Just today he saw puddles (does not happen very often here except due to sprinklers, but it rained this morning) and he said he needed to clean them up because they were wet and messy.


He (as Grandma Susie said) thinks he can converse on a grown up level and would like to think he is a grown-up. He is strong willed yet lovable. He loves to make people laugh. He has even started praying with us which is awesome to hear from a 2 year old! He even mentioned Jesus the other night so I guess our Bible reading every night even though we don't think they are listening they are. He also loves books and can point out so many things and talk about them in the books as you can see. I am amazed by him every day! I can't imagine my life without him. I just realized we waited for him for two years and now we have known him for two years and it was so worth the wait for him. I know God had a plan when he had us wait for the creation of Drew. I look forward to seeing what he becomes and the young man that he is.
Here is "Drew funny" trying on Daddy's basketball shoes:

Love you, Drewly!

Birthday!

So this post is not for the faint. I am giving you fair warning so don't say I didn't tell you so.

I didn't post on James' one month milestone so I will post about his birthday.

We went in for a scheduled C-section at about 9:30 on Wed. morning the 24th of June (his b-day). This is our last family photo as a family of 4. Grandma Greene took it right before we left. I don't think the boys knew what was going on but they did not like Mommy leaving which lead to tears from me also. I think there is that part of me that felt bad because their life was about to change and they had no idea what was going on. I still don't think they completely understand because they always ask if the baby is going with us. They still don't really call him by name, but occasionally we have a breakthrough.

We arrived at the hospital around 10 by the time we found the birthing floor and found our chart we checked in and prepped for the surgery. My doctor does not usually deliver at this hospital but does have rights to do so. So when we got there we found out that he thought it was 12:30 not noon like we had thought. We also found out that it must have been multiples month because there were twins born the previous day and a set of twins and triplets born that day as well. Anyway, of course I was starving and anxious which led to an eventful time of getting my IV in. What is a little sweat and light headed when they can't find a vein-there had to be a little drama. Poor Andrew, he wiped my brow and face and neck as the sweat poured out and I struggled as they tried to find a vein. So they took blood and it stopped and finally they called the nurse anaesthetist in to poke me in another spot. So we finally get into the room and the epidural was much easier this time-no pain. I forgot to mention an important facet. I wished for natural childbirth and some contractions and I got that-be careful what you wish for. Andrew really thought we were going to have to go the night before and have him but I slept like a baby (well as good as a woman who is 39 1/2 weeks pregnant can sleep) once I fell asleep. So by this time of the day the contractions were about 15 to 20 minutes apart and pretty painful. So the whole almost fainting thing and poking around in my veins was not enjoyable.

Anyway, we get to the OR and I get my epidural and Andrew got suited up. Then I look up and the nurse anesthetist looks just like my future brother in law. It was really creepy how much he looked like Will. Andrew said the same thing later so it wasn't just the drugs. Again I just wanted to sleep so Andrew tried to keep me awake. The doctor rolled in at about 12:45 and he got cleaned up and suited up. James Miller Greene came into the world at a little after 1. They had to do quite a bit of pushing this time because he was head down and there was not as much fluid as with the twins. So here is the picture. Isn't that amazing. This was right before they suctioned him.

It was nice to see later because of course I can't see anything that is going on. This was my first glimpse of him and the first thing I said was look at those long fingers and toes-just like daddy!

This was the view that I got when they were cleaning him up and weighing him. I did not get to see that with the boys, Andrew got some great pictures but it was neat to see for myself. Isn't Andrew a great photographer?

The Will look-a-like was also a great photographer, you could tell he had some practice.

So Andrew went with the James back to our room while they stapled me up. Then they wheeled me back, which I don't remember and I got to hold our little guy for the first time.

We took a little cat nap and then he was ready to eat. He looked at me with his head raised for a little and then he was all business. He latched right on and nursed like every hour for the first 10 hours or so. Anyway, I can't believe that was just a month ago.

He is now smiling and I even heard a chuckle the other day. I know people are down on Babywise but he is sleeping around 7 hours consistently- from 10 or so to 5. We are still working on the awake time-he is a drowsy little boy. He had gained back to his birth weight in less than a week. -He also managed to pee and poop all over the scales and wall at the Dr. Andrew said he would have been way over his birth weight if the weighed him before the blowout! Anyway, we are all adjusting to the new addition. We are just the 5 of us this week and surviving. Let me leave you with a picture of James taken last night right before his first bath. His belly button just fell off yesterday, I don't remember the boys' taking that long. Hope to get announcement pictures done soon, this month has slipped away!

Happy one month Baby J!

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July and did not even have to go anywhere. It was our first time alone with all 3 boys and we lived to tell about it. We did learn some things about our big boys. They don't like bounce houses and fireworks. I guess when I think about it that doesn't sound like a good combination anyway does it? Our court had a big party with a huge water slide and 2 bounce houses and of course fireworks. There was also plenty of food. The boys and I made and appearance but retired early.

Here are some pictures to remember the day and James' first holiday!

Our New Little, Sweet Pea

Our first family picture

James Miller Greene

Born at 1:02 PM

Wed. June 24th

7 lbs. 10 oz. 20 inches long