Giving Thanks

It seems as though the ladies are on the way to being "wake up once a nighters". Last night they both had their final Thanksgiving feast around 8pm, Hannah woke up for her first black friday breakfast at 2:30am followed by Leah at 3:30 am. We did not however stay up for shopping. Right back down to bed and then up at 6:30 for Hannah and 7:45 for Leah. While some of you may cringe at these times...this is pretty amazing for 6 week old babies. Let's hope I'm not jinxing myself by writing about it! One thing that hasn't been as easy this week...bedtime for all three kids. It's as though they all huddled together and decided that 8pm was no longer a time that they were willing to be in bed by. Thankfully we are in Winona and there are some extra hands to deal with three simultaneous screaming children (and sometimes four...baby cousin Oliver is here too!) And it's not crazy insane like you would think...everyone was able to have Thanksgiving dinner at the same time, take showers, play games together...again, some of you may not realize how truly amazing this is. We are very thankful!

Little Ladies and Big Boogers

Perhaps you will disagree, but the girls don't look identical to me. Can you tell Hannah from Leah? I'll give you a few seconds to think about it....
Hannah is in blue, and brown/cream stripes and Leah is in pink/brown stripes and cream. They are both pretty cute. And they both get a ton of boogers. Huge ones. I remember the first big booger....it came from Leah's tiny little nose. (we probably won't be able to say that forever, assuming she ends up with one of our noses!) Leah was freaking out one afternoon, breathing in and out super fast and crying off and on. I actually called the doctor, and while I was waiting for them to call back I decided to give the booger tool one more try (more commonly referred to as a "nasal aspirator", but that just sounds ridiculous. Booger tool is much more appropriate). After five attempts, the most ginormous booger came out of her nose. And then...happy Leah returned. Since then, I have become an expert with the booger tool. I didn't have to use it much with Joseph, but I've been pulling big boogers out of both little ladies for a few weeks. I feel a proud sense of accomplishment after extracting a 1/2 inch glob of snot out of a teeny nostril. Something that doesn't make me feel quite as proud....a toddler informing me in the car that he extracted his own booger and ate it.

Here We are!

Here we are, one month into being a family of five! And without even realizing it we even got Leah on the left. ;) And strategically captured the shot right after Hannah's bottle, just after Leah woke up, and right before Joseph went down for his nap. How's that for timing?

Just Joseph

Joseph Dominic is...
named after his Italian great grandfathers on mom and dad's sides
getting pretty good at going to the bathroom on the "potty" and brushing his teeth (still going in diapers too of course, we're not that good!)
into the zoo and playing tackle in the yard and in the basement with his dad
counting things and recognizing letters
teaching us which leaves are from locust trees, bumpy oaks, and maples
perfecting his toddler attitude and the art of "no"
still our little man, no matter how big he gets!

About Leah Rose

Leah is...
named after great great grandmother on Jessica's side,
a chatty eater, makes all kinds of noise while having a bottle,
excited by what she sees, opens her eyes as wide as they will go,
usually on the left side in pictures,
the one with a more oval shaped face (sleeps with her head totally to one side)
a baby that sometimes squawks like a bird!

About Hannah Lu

Hannah is....
named after great great grandmother on Jay's side,
affectionately called Hannah Bear at times,
sometimes calmed down by singing,
the baby with her big toes painted red,
usually on the right side in pictures,
very observant, often appears as though she is thinking,
easily startled into peeing while getting changed!

Halloween