Four Weeks

Last Sunday marked exactly four weeks old for little Luke.  With the birth of each child, my heart grows bigger.  I feel so much love for my children - not just collectively, but individually.  Luke has a special demeanor about him.  He occasionally takes a pacifier, but he’s perfectly content to be held really close, swaddled tightly.  

Each day has been a little different up to this point; he’s growing too fast for me to count on much of a routine, but the feedings have been spreading out more & more.  (Last night he slept from 6:15 pm - 9:45 pm, and after a cluster of feedings & wake time, he slept again from 1:30 am - 6:15 am, his longest stretch yet.)

Gabe always wants to “pet him.”  I love being home in the mornings with my two boys while the girls are away at school.  It’s kind of surreal after going through a chapter with two little girls always at my feet.  Gabe has been throwing a few outrageous tantrums here & there, but he’s trying his hardest to be a big boy, and I’m proud of him.  

It’s hard to explain, but I miss my other kiddos at times!  We’re all learning how to adapt to life with a whole new person in our family as I figure out how to meet everyone’s needs.  The girls are learning to be more independent, and we’ve had a few frustrating moments as a result (preparing backpacks, frantically looking for library books on library day, cutting up own pancakes, etc.), but I love watching their minds work for themselves, learning to really apply the value of self-reliance.

Man oh man, I’d like to share more, but I have a sweet newborn who needs to be fed. :)

Love, Sharee

A Book Shower

A few sweet friends of mine (two sisters) threw a book shower for baby Luke and me on Saturday afternoon, November 15th.  If you knew Jenni and Hayley, you would know that everything was above and beyond.  I’m so bummed that I didn’t get a picture of those two girls, but then again, they were busy bustling around - making everything amazing the entire time. :)

Since Jared & I felt like we had enough baby stuff already, a book shower was the perfect way to welcome our new little guy.  When our family left Argentina 18 months ago, we donated many of our children’s books to an English Learning Center in El Quebracho.  Needless to say, our library is replenished now and all of my kiddos have benefited from it!

^^^ Such amazing women and friends.  I feel so blessed. ^^^

I really enjoyed an afternoon of woman talk. :)  I honestly can’t remember the last time I did that!!  It was definitely a boost, and I still feel so honored that I was pampered with such love and effort.

(And I’m pretty sure I’m enjoying all these books just as much as my little ones are.) 

Early November

A small part of me would like to forget about that month before I had a baby.  I dare say it wasn’t an easy time for me.  The 8 months pregnant/pneumonia combination proved to be a daily test of patience.  At the time I knew my life was about to change forever as it does with the entrance of a new family member, and although I wanted to enjoy my last few weeks as a family of 5, each day was a struggle.  

Little Luke is 3 weeks old now, and it is such a relief to have him here.  I can breathe easier (literally).  

Grieving the loss of my dad while pregnant was harder on my body than I realized.  It was near impossible to escape the roller coaster of emotions in the midst of my “year of firsts” as it’s called.  Whenever I found myself getting too sad, I’d do everything I could to "look up" and face hope head on, but as my physical body struggled, it was tough to get where I needed to be in order to cope.

I count my blessings that I made it through my pregnancy.  Even though my baby steps felt like they weren’t getting me anywhere, I can now look back and see that I’ve made progress since then.

        

I know these pictures don’t really have anything to do with what I’m talking about, but I’m so grateful to see smiles on my kids’ faces during this time.  I guess I wasn’t a complete failure.

AnnMarie was getting a little nervous that the baby would never come.

But he did...

and oh, how we love him.