No Moms Allowed

Yesterday, I asked Claire and Carlie to pick up their toys, SEVERAL times. I was nursing Colton, so I wasn't able to over see the cleaning up. After I was finished feeding Colton, I went to see how the cleaning up was going, and the girls hadn't picked up a single toy. So, I picked up every single toy/doll house/littlest pet shop and put them ALL in the garage. The girls have NO toys as of right now.  After I put everything away, Claire drew this lovely little picture. She told me it says "No Moms Allowed"    She sure is funny!

4 Weeks

Colton is 4 weeks old!
He sleeps 3-4 hours at night.
Probably weighs over 10lbs now!
Almost smiles
Likes to hold his head up when you hold him up on your shoulder
Doesnt really fit in newborn clothes anymore. The red outfit he's wearing in those pictures are 3 month.

3 Weeks

Oh how the time flies! Colton is already 3 weeks old! Im not sure how much he weighs, but he is definitely packing on the pounds! (probably more like ounces)

Claire FINALLY decided Colton was ok to hold on her own! She kept saying that after she was 5 she would hold him. But I finally talked her into doing it NOW! He wasnt so happy about it, but Claire looks pretty happy if you ask me!

Colton LOVES napping on my bed in the mornings. This is usually after our 6 am feeding. He loves having his hands up by his face.

Colton also started taking a binkie. Well, kind of. This one works the best for him though. We tried 4 different kinds, and this is the only one he wont spit out right away or gag on. He still doesn't love it though. He will suck on it for a few minutes, then once he's asleep or 'pacified' he spits it out.

Colton spends more time awake, and we love it!

He hasnt given us a REAL smile yet, but im sure he will in the next few weeks. We've been putting him on his tummy a bit more, because he is always lifting his head up while he's on my shoulder. He can lift it up, and turn it so he's looking the other way.

A few other random bits:

His umbilical cord fell off on Saturday.

He still nurses really well.

He still sleeps really well at night. Usually about 3-4 hours at a time.

I think he has a favorite blanket to be swaddled in. He doesn't HAVE to be swaddled, but if he is, he prefers a certain blanket I think! It will probably end up being his 'blanky'.

Ssssnake!

(Sorry Facebook friends that have already seen this picture!)

Claire and Carlie were playing up the street a little and found this dead snake. Its a baby King Snake (according to my neighbor) Claire brought it down to where I was so I could see it. Ewww!!

Parowan

Last weekend, we made a weekend trip up to Parowan. We hadn't been up there since June, and I was itching to get out of Vegas. Colton did pretty good in the car. We only had to make a stop in St. George to feed him.

The girls were pretty excited to be out of Vegas as well. They got to play at the park, play in the garden, and hang out with Autumn!

Colton and I did a lot of hanging out in the house. I dont have a sling for him yet, so we just stayed in and relaxed.

Saturday we headed up to Brianhead to take a little walk, BUT it was raining cats and dogs when we got up there. So, we had a picnic in the truck, and watched bikers come down the mountain trails.

The girls had fun playing outside!

I wanted to spend SOME time outside, so I just set Colton in his carrier out on the patio. He didnt seem to mind.

The garden is out of control!! There are SOOOOOO many weeds! It was just weeded the first week in July! Aaron and his dad weeded quite a bit Saturday. The girls enjoyed finding all the veggies that have grown!

We picked some of the veggies that were ripe. (not shown, eggplant, 1 tomato, and watermelon <-- that wasn't ripe)

Sunday we headed home! We had to stop again in St.George to feed Colton, so Aaron and the girls took a walk around the St.George Temple!

The weather was a little crazy up in Parowan, but it was much cooler than Vegas! It was SO nice to get out of the house, and out of the heat!

2 weeks

Colton is 2 weeks old today!

He weighs 8lbs 12oz.
He is 21.5 inches long
He still nurses really well.
He stays awake longer now
His umbilical cord hasnt fallen off yet
He still doesnt take a pacifier
He sleeps anywhere from 2-4 hours at a time. At night he's been sleeping about 4-5 at a time.
He does great in the car

Colton is such an easy baby! I am SO thankful for that! I prepared myself for him to be a baby that cried a lot. So far, he's been great! He still only cries when he is poopy or hungry.  I am doing pretty good. I have had some minor back pain, but when I take my pain meds, it goes away.  Claire and Carlie are doing somewhat better. BUT, they think that when I am nursing they can disobey me because im sitting down, and not likely to get up. That is no longer the case. I've mastered walking around while nursing, and i can now take them to timeout if needed!   Aaron is back to work fulltime, so he's not around as much to help out, but when he IS home, he does whatever is needed of him.

1 week

I cant believe Colton is already 1 week old! We brought him home last Friday afternoon, and things have been getting better and better everyday.
He nurses like a champ
Sleeps really well
Only cries when getting his diaper changed, or when he is ready to eat
He poops a TON!
Has GAINED 4oz.  <-- Im prett excited about that, because I was SO worried that I wouldnt get the hang of Breastfeeding. while I was pregnant I would have nightmares about not being able to nurse. But, that is not the case with Colton!

We originally had him sleeping in our room, in his pack'n'play. He did ok in it, but he only slept for maybe 2 hours at a time, then would start moving around. Yesterday we took a little nap in MY bed, and he slept GREAT. So, we decided to move him to his room, and let him sleep in his crib, and he slept for 4 straight hours last night, woke up to eat, and slept another 4 hours! It was amazing!

I am feeling really good. Im a bit sore some days, but nothing too bad. I am so thankful for the generosity of people that have brought dinners over! We have eaten very well this past week!

Can I brag for a moment?

I honestly have the greatest husband! He is such an amazing dad! He has been such a HUGE help with this baby. He has always been so helpful with Claire and Carlie, that I kind of forget that he helps out so much. He was SUCH a GREAT help in the hospital. He even held a leg while i was giving birth! (with the twins, he just stood by my shoulders) He woke up with me in the hospital and helped with anything I needed. He has been SO patient, so calm, and a great cheerleader during this nursing process. He has kept me calm when I start to stress out. He is just simply amazing.

Aaron, THANK YOU for all the you do! I appreciate it more than you know! I LOVE YOU!

Look at that face!!

More Pictures

We just love him!

Colton is here!!

Colton Aaron Valentine . Born July 22 @ 2:49pm. 8lbs 4oz 20.5inches long. We are home, healthy, and just loving our little boy!

2 funnies

We were over at a friends today playing, and Carlie kept telling her friend to call her Lee, instead of Carlie. Uh no kid! Your name is CARLIE not LEE!!  

Carlie saw some oranges on TV, and asked me to buy some, because she wanted to try them. (she doesn't like them) I asked her why, and she said "because I think oranges would be delightful!"  

That girl is FUNNY!

Gratitude.

Every Sunday I try to ask the girls what they learned in church. I also teach in Primary so I know what lesson they had. But, I stayed home from church today, and wasnt able to coax them into telling me what they learned about! So, when I first asked them, they didnt really say anything, they just said they read a story, and colored a picture. Then a little while later, they must have heard something that sparked their memory, because they both started talking about saying 'Thank You' and being greatful. Then almost in unison they said "We learned about Gratitude! Thats when you say 'Thank You"!!   Im glad they remembered what they learned, and I love hearing them talk about their lessons!

38 Weeks

Tada! Here I am at 38 weeks. I'm only dilated to a 1.5cm. I probably wont be going into labor this week. I'm totally OK with that though!  I feel great still. If I sit up in the car, for too long, the baby gets all crazy and I swear it feels like I'm having contractions, but apparently I'm not! I'm still sleeping pretty well. Sometimes it takes a while to fall asleep because I start to think about baby stuff, and I can shut my mind off, but I think that's pretty normal. I get crazy hot in the middle of the night. If I wake up to pee early in the morning, its hard for me to go back to sleep. I've gotten most of the house in order for him to come. I think he will sleep in our room for the first little while, so I haven't really worried about putting his room together. Right now, its still the girls playroom!

Big Girls!

Yesterday we went to 4 different Targets looking for these car seats! They were on clearance, and we got one at one Target, and went to 3 other Targets to find another like it! The girls are FINALLY in big girl booster seats! No more 5 point harnesses for them! They can unbuckle themselves, but they have a hard getting themselves buckled. Its hard to believe they are big enough for these seats now! My girls are growing up so fast!!

And here are some random pictures of the girls. They got these ZhuZhu pets from their Aunt Autumn, and are in love with them! I think they are kinda weird, but the girls love them, so whatever!

3rd and 4th of July!

Normally we head up to Parowan for the 4th of July, but this year, since I'm 9 months pregnant, we had to stay home. We still had a great time though! Saturday, we went to the Wysons for their big celebration. The girls got to swim earlier in the day, then we came back for dinner and fireworks. The girls competed in a watermelon eating contest. I don't think they knew they were supposed to eat the watermelon as fast as they could! They spent most of the time jumping on the trampoline!

Once it got dark out, the Wysons put on an AWESOME firework show! It lasted about 15 minutes! I love their firework shows!

Then on Sunday, we went over to Aarons dads house for a BBQ and more fireworks. The girls had a blast playing in the pool. The girls do SO well in the pool! They had a lot of fun with their cousins there! After we swam for a while, we ate, then did some fireworks. It was a great weekend! Independence day is by far one of my favorite holidays. I love spending time with great friends and family!