One Month Down

Well, I have survived one month!  Don't let me hear you say "Wow, that flew by" or "One month already?" I have counted every single day - all 28 of them.  Man, that also means this is the shortest month I am going to have.  Darn!  Each day has presented its own challenges as we have tried to establish a routine.  But, as my dear husband once told me . . . Don't count the days, make the days count.  So, that is exactly what I have tried to do.  (While still counting the days - what can I say?  I'm a multi-tasker.)

The first two weeks were so difficult.  I was a big blubbering heap of hormones.  Everything made me cry - the pair of socks he let behind, my big empty bed, the kids asking for Daddy.  Benaiah didn't sleep at night.  So, on top of emotional I was also sleep-deprived.  Huck and Eli were super fussy, and Jonah was aggressive.  He pushed his brothers down more times than I could count - which made them even whinier.  I really didn't even know how to handle him.  It was not your cut and dry misbehavior.  We had put him through a lot (new house, new baby, no Daddy), but I still wanted him to realize he had to behave.  We were stuck in the house most days.  We couldn't really go anywhere because Benaiah was so young.  It was even too cold to play outside.  I was about to lose it because it all seemed overwhelming and so difficult.  Even though thousands of people have survived deployments it didn't seem possible. 

Then, we started to pull it together.  The boys started to level out.  We were able to go a few places.  (Those places with carts big enough to hold everyone or with people waiting to help me unload.)  Danny and I established a time to communicate that worked for both of us.  Benaiah still wasn't sleeping at night but I found some night time hobbies like meal planning for when Danny gets back and finding new recipes to try in the meantime. 

Now, we are in the swing of things.  We have a routine for each week and the boys are getting much better at behaving.  I go at least a few days in between each break down and Benaiah has started sleeping at night.  Woohoo! 

Some First Month Highlights:

~ Jonah started soccer!
~ This is more of a low light - Jonah managed to get two black eyes on the same eye in the course of two weeks.  Gotta love playgroup!  :D
~ Benaiah went to church for the first time.
~ I celebrated my 27th birthday - We could have a whole post about this one.
~ Sinus infection - yuck!
~ Jonah and Benaiah both had check-ups (and yes, Jonah did survive the finger prick).
~ Huck and Eli finished cutting four teeth each - finally!

Now only seven more to go. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Happy One Month, Benaiah!

One month already?  It is amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun taking care of four wild boys!  No, really, it has been fun but also hard work!

Here are some facts about Benaiah's first month!

~ He is practicing to become Batman.  He stays awake at night and sleeps all day!  He hasn't started fighting crime during those hours but he is fueling up for it :D

~ He is loved so much by all his big brothers.  I have to keep a gate between them because they will literally smother him with love.  Jonah can crawl over the gate though so they are "best friends" - so says Jonah.

~ Benaiah is the first of my children to really LOVE a paci.  He has a hard time getting to sleep without it.  Which, of course, means if it falls out I have to replace it.  Whew!  Tiring!  However, it gets him to sleep and then I can sleep.  We can break bad habits later; we are in survival mode now.

~ He is such a strong boy!  He flipped from him belly to his back at five days old!  I thought it was a fluke but he can do it again and again if he hates "tummy time" enough.

~ He went to church for the first time on my birthday!  He was so handsome, but slept through the whole thing.  Once the sermon hit 12:30 he woke up - he had had enough.  Ha!

~ We don't have up-to-date stats, but at two weeks he weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 inches long.  His feet are so long that I had to start putting him in 0-3 month clothes just so those big feet would have room!

We are so in love with out littlest man!  Can't wait to watch him grow, grow, grow!

Hatching Another Box

Yay!  I have another box ready to ship.  Well, actually it has been ready for some time but I didn't want it to get there too much before Easter.  He has received the other two boxes; they arrived on the same day.  Even better, I got to watch him open them on Facetime!  He loved everything in them . . . especially the LOVE!

The decorations on this box are my favorite so far.  What do you think?  It is his "Easter basket" so it had to have green Easter grass.  This is a pre-filling shot.

Then, surprise! Each egg opens up to a chick with a message.  Most messages are Easter themed with words like "hoppy" or "eggcelent".  These little guys are my favorite part!

So, I have to admit I am running out of practical ideas so most of the items in this box are snacks like Oreos, dried fruit, more brownie in a mug mixes, jelly beans, Skittles, and his Cadbury eggs!   I had to throw those in there because I think this is the last box that will be able to carry chocolate without arriving in a melty mess!  This box does contain some razor refills and Danny's "flavor" or deodorant.  Apparently you go through that stuff pretty fast there.

The rest of the box is where the love is stored.  The boys made these for Danny.  My little guys actually love painting with their feet.  They fight over who gets to go next.

I made these juggling chicks!  I think they are so cute.  They only take five minutes to whip together . . . unless of course you happen to leave the hole way too small to put the beans in and have to insert them one by one.  But who in their right mind would do that?  ;)  If you want to make some you can find the tutorial here. 

Well, this box is off and I am off to put some kiddos in bed!