Life Lately- Mother's Day & Levi's Dedication

This baby. I can't even. I am so smitten and amazed and humbled and just so in love with this little fella.

His little personality is really emerging and he's such a sweetheart. He can be really easy-going and chill...

 ...and other times, not so much. ;)

He has the most adorable snort-cry I have ever heard!

I should probably feel bad when he's upset, but mostly I'm just laughing a little because it sounds so ridiculously cute. #fifthchildprobs

But our nights are horrendous.
I'm trying so hard to take it all in stride because I KNOW these days are fleeting (the nights, too, even though they seem like they are unending), so I don't mind too much. I can usually comfort him somehow, but there are times when he just cries and cries and cries, and that's so hard.

 I admit that the better part of our mornings consist of lingering in our pajamas. Oops.

I do get things done, I promise, but I'm soaking it all in because I know these days will be gone before I know it. And before I'm ready for them to be. Wait. Did I already say that?
I'm so tired. :)

We discovered that Levi prefers sleeping on his tummy. I won't lie, this instills panic in me because of all the recommendations. One afternoon I was getting dinner ready and so I put him on his tummy for some tummy time, and when I went back two minutes later, he was out. He has wanted to sleep this way ever since. 

Of course now I can't put him on his baby pillow because that doesn't seem at all safe.

I'm really happy that our longer stretch of sleep is still happening most mornings from about 4 until 8am. No matter how rough our night was, having that extra time of sleep makes it seem a lot better. And it allows me to get everyone ready for school. Sometimes I lay right back down after getting everyone off for the day. I did on this day because our night was bad bad bad.
How sweet is my view when I open my eyes?
We were meeting up with one of my dear friends at Panera on this day!  

 Levi was a perfect angel baby the entire time out.

It was so nice getting out and catching up with a friend.

He still gets lots and lots of attention. There is never a lack of willing arms to hold him.

 Whether he likes it or not. ;)

I love how he studies Daddy's face

Ha Ha, Sophie thinks this is her new special bed. I find her in here several a times a day lately.

On Mother's Day, our church had a baby dedication for the new parents.
We send in some pics ahead of time, and they show them while we talk with the pastor and review the birth stats in front of the congregation. It feels special.
Levi didn't make a peep until the very end.

 He made lots of peeps after we got home.

My Mother's Day request - a picture of all five of us...wait, SIX of us!

 This is so special to me because everyone is genuinely smiling here. Sure, it has been a little hard, but for the most part, Levi has given us all such new joy. This photo lets me see it clearly.

My parents went on a trip to NY for their anniversary on May 10th, but of course they stopped in before they left. I love this one.
Levi doesn't look too sure of what's going on, ha. He is a complete and total Mama's boy, that we know for certain already.

I haven't decided if Levi enjoys being worn too much or not. Sometimes he settles right in, but other times, I can tell he knows it's just a surrogate for the real thing, and this boy loves being held. Between the six of us, he is in someone's arms nearly constantly. He won't learn to walk until he's three!

Here we are enjoying the sunshine and waiting for Isabelle.

We had another fun outing at Squam Lakes Science Center in Holderness, NH. It's such a pretty drive out there, especially when someone is quiet in the back seat.

He wasn't. For very long, anyway.

We survived.

They added this exhibit and learning center earlier this year - it was so cute!

We hung out on this nice deck for a long while, waiting for the crowds to disperse a little inside. There were water tables and other fun little stations set up on the deck.

This cracks me up. Total selfie fail! Look at that pout on the right!

  Levi slept in the stroller for a long time, but when he woke up he was hungry and inconsolable. It took quite a while to calm him down enough to feed him, and then we had a major blow-out that needed to be dealt with on a bench outside an exhibit. Classic.

I know it's normal, but baby acne drives me nuts. Thankfully it isn't too bad. And he relaxed on Daddy for the rest of our time there.

I look at Caleb and think, how could he possibly be a teenager? HE was my baby not that long ago. But it was. Ugh, time is brutal.

Isabelle loved the deer wandering around. We like this place because there is so much natural habitat left intact, and here we were walking along a high boardwalk that looks out over the animals. 

 This one got really close! I love the look on her face!

I can't believe it's only a few more weeks until summer! I'm ready...and I'm not. Mixed feelings, ha ha.

Levi's Newborn Photos

I'm still over here pinching myself that he is really here, and that he's really mine. We just love him to pieces.

I knew I wouldn't be hiring someone to take photographs of him as a newborn so I scoured the internet looking for images that I liked so I could try to get some myself. So many details to capture, I love each and every one! Truth be told, I really reeeaaallly wanted a swaddle newborn picture, but Levi didn't like to be swaddled very much, and every time I attempted, it was slightly disastrous. :)

I also really wanted one with me, and the fact that I didn't get it nearly breaks my heart. I have lots to treasure for sure, but those ones we dream of are the ones we seem to miss the most.

Here is our sweet baby boy:

Levi, Nine Days Old

Attempting to prep for swaddle pic, exhibit #1

No likey

Ten Days Old

Two Weeks Old

At two weeks, we weren't having it
At all

 Twenty Days Old

One Month

Levi's birth story is HERE
Other newborn pics are HERE

I'm writing this on February 1st in an attempt to capture those moments. Time is so fleeting. Oh how I miss those brand new days together.

Fun at the Zoo

Levi is three weeks old. I can't remember what it was ever like without him! He is the greatest gift and we are all quite smitten.

I'm feeling pretty good, although I'm still completely swollen from the extra IV fluids they gave me for the antibiotic drip (it was burning so badly, so they diluted it more, which ended up filling my body with twice as much fluid.) My abdomen and my feet/ankles are the most swollen- obviously, ha!- and I'm anticipating another few weeks before I see much progress, so I'm trying to give myself grace and focus on what matters more: loving this sweet, soft little baby.

 21 days old

Since our school system has vacation weeks in late February and again in late April, we decided we'd take Levi to the zoo on a bright, sunny day during April vacation. We brought Mimi along for reinforcement. :) 

I have to say, I was a complete basket case at even the thought of driving anywhere with Levi for the first couple weeks after his birth- I was totally intimidated! I don't even know why, it's not like this is my first rodeo. So funny how things affect us sometimes. I finally worked up the nerve to go to Toys 'R'Us to look for a baby wrap/carrier with him, but I dragged Isabelle with me for moral support. She was a big help! After that first voyage out, I've never looked back. So funny!

So here we are at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA. It's very small and quaint, but I've always thought the people who work there take such good care of the animals, and that makes a world of difference to me.

We had explored about half the zoo when little Levi started to come unglued. I had him in the jogger, where he slept peacefully for about an hour, and then I knew I'd have to find a spot to feed him. I am not ashamed or embarrassed to nurse in public, howeverrrrr, I still feel that it's a private thing between me and my child, and I don't feel the need to share that with the world staring at me. We found this little bench near the monkey exhibit and I thought it looked quiet enough to relax a bit and feed him. It was chilly so I covered us both up pretty well, and it's a good thing I wore a long scarf because I leaked all over one side of my top and had to cover that up after. Ugh. Hormones.

 22 days old

Maybe someone is not such a big fan of the zoo?

Uh-oh, that's cue for Mommy to take over ;)

Later in the day...

look at that perfect little pout!

Ack, just want to eat him up!!!

I had to maneuver a diaper change on the passenger seat of the van, and Levi was not happy about it. And feed him again before we left. The boys are pretty good about it, as it can be a tad awkward. Then we set out for ice cream cones!

 I had a few licks and they were so yummy! And huge!

All tuckered out - sometimes he sleeps with his mouth wide open and it cracks us up to no end :)

I had just buckled Levi back into his seat and placed him in the van, and he stayed asleep! Jonah wanted to take a selfie with me. :) 

Such a nice day!

I realized that I didn't take even one picture of an actual animal at the zoo, ha ha ha! I think our favorite thing was watching the monkeys- there was a brand new baby, and it was so mischievous and funny. I watched for a long while while I nursed Levi. They are quite entertaining! I was hoping that the river otters would come out and play, because they're one of my favorites, but they were lazy bums and just slept the whole time, ha.

We've visited the Stone Zoo several times throughout the years, and I have actual animal pics from our other trips, like this one.

After today, I think I'm getting the hang of this five kids out-and-about thing... although Ethan stayed home to work on a big project, so then again, who knows?