Three little ones

When Philip is awake and content to be down, I sometimes bring one of the larger dining room chairs over to where we are, and make a comfy nest for him to lay in using the Winnie the Pooh fleece blanket my Mum made for him. 

The chair works great for now, and should be good for a few more weeks anyways. One of the perks of having small babies. :o) Thank you, Lord. :o)

But of course, he really doesn't need to have too much down time, because this sister loves to hold him, and does a very careful job of it too.

It's so precious to see again the nurturing heart God has placed inside of Hope. I saw it in her even at the young age of 21 months when Joy was born. This time it is all the sweeter, because she and I have talked about this and looked forward to it all pregnancy long. :o)

Getting some Vitamin D the good old fashioned way while napping in the recliner one morning. :o)

Thanks again for the blanket, Mum. :o)

With Philip in the safety of the recliner, I plopped the bouncy ones up on my bed for a jolly old time of folding the laundry. :o) Eventually Philip will join us too... when I can trust Joy's movements a bit more. :o) As you can see, Hope is having her own version of fun by dressing up in the clean laundry. :o)

The last load finished while the girls were napping, so my other tag along got to join in on this load. :o)

Thanks for the face, little man.

What? Did that burp taste funny or something? :o)

The towels quickly folded, I settled him for his nap. I sleep him in all positions - mostly on his back, but I find he likes him tummy too, and it does good for if he is more burpy. He comes by it honestly...

.... as you can see...

...they both still sleep on their tummies too. :o)
And since all of them were sleeping at the same time, I followed suit. :o) I think the Lord blessed me with a nap every day that first week, or at least time to lay down. Unlike the kids, I don't sleep through construction noise. Thankfully they slept even with the banging and shuffling going on downstairs as the renos continue. :o)

Milk-tongue-yawn! My favourite. :o)

Enjoying her own form of merriment - a game of chase with Daddy. :o)

Hope loves all the blankets. :o)

She told me she was shading his eyes from the camera flash because he didn't like it. :o) True. :o)

She loves to laugh! :o) Lives up to her name, for sure. :o)

First days on our own

The time had come. I had had 10 great days of rest while Mom was here, and then a weekend to transition in with Josh home, and now it was Monday, he went to work, and the adventure of three-under-three began in earnest. 

I saw God's mercies new every morning of that week, and would pray quietly to be filled with grace before getting out of my bed to start the day. I must keep this practice, for I notice much difference in my patience and peace when I do.

Scripture says the Lord gently leads those who are with young. I made the children and basic homemaking my focus during the day, and was blessed greatly with precious strength for each thing that came up.
Thanks to Philip's long naps, the girls and I have been able to have at least one period of "activity time" together each day. I find they do so much better when their curiosity and creativity have been engaged in a day... makes their toys and books seem more sufficient when they need to occupy themselves.

We had that Tupperware full of gingerbread cookies that needed to be decorated, and so we got right at it. Hope was a natural.

Joy was another story. She sure tried hard, but the Smarties had this runny look and her mouth had all these curious colours around it, so I decided I needed to focus on helping her decorate. :o) I would put the icing dots on, and she would hand me candies to put on top of them. Her finger dexterity still has a ways to go. :o)  Then, at the end, she got the job of putting all the cookies back in the Tupperware container - a job she most enjoyed. :o)

Meanwhile, Hope had fun making her own very artistic and orderly creations. :o) And of course, can you guess which cookie she wanted to have for her dessert that night? I won't say she didn't get a sugar high, but that's part of the fun!

We kept our evening slate free from exterior activities, save Wed night church for some of us. Philip eats often in the evening, so it has been wonderful to have Daddy home to play with the girls and do dishes while I feed the little man. :o)

Thankfully, he has a nice little awake time most evenings. :o) Helps him sleep good.

I've been glad to be able to keep my part of the girls' bedtime routine, which is to get them in their PJ's, and set out their cloths for the next day. Then either Josh or I will do their bathroom routine with them, and then he settles them for bed with stories, songs, and prayer. Of course, Philip needed somewhere to hang out while they were getting ready for bed, so I set him in one of the dolly beds. I thought it was great! Hope and Joy had other thoughts.

Hope was distressed because she wanted to be holding him...

and Joy was distressed that Philip was in her dolly bed!!! No sooner had I got him out than she got it!

Cheeky little toddler. :o)

Happy Hope.

Happy all. Storytime on the spare bed that is still in their room. :o) 

Then it was time for Philip to have a bath. Like I did with Joy as a baby, the kitchen sink was the location of choice for this need. :o) Works great for me, as I don't have to bend way over the edge of the tub to hold a wiggly baby in the water. :o) Philip loved it too. :o) And... I had a hot wheat bag in his towel while he was in the sink, and whisked it out and over onto his sleeper to warm it up too just before I whisked him out of the sink in that one chilling moment and had him swaddled up in his warm towel before he knew what happened. :o) Almost. :o)

His feet take after mine, whereas Hope and Joy's take after their Daddy's.

Just love how perfect and tiny our Creator makes things. :o)

Sunday Sweetness

We went to church as a family of five (five on the outside, that is,) for the first time on Remembrance Day. Philip didn't really like the lights in the sanctuary, so he slept through most of church, which made it easier to care for the girls anyways. Consequently, he had a nice awake time at home while we were having lunch. 

 This was the first time I saw either girl bring him a toy.

 It was too cute to not take pictures!

 I'm thankful for the blue sleepers I've picked up at good prices in the past couple years! Sure beats having to go out for new stuff when baby arrives!

 Is that sort of a grin, son?

 Uh, Hope... your head might be a bit heavy for his tummy....

There. That's better.

Our last days with Granny

I just loved watching my Mum love on Philip. 

 Hopey can't get enough of him either.

 I love how soundly newborns sleep. :o)

 Finally - a good profile shot! Quite the ski jump he's got, eh?

 Poor Mum. This is not an activity for eyes and hands of her years. Even I don't really like to help Hope do those tiny bead creations. :o)

 Trying for a sibling shot.

 Who's the clown in the middle?

 Afternoon cuddles with Granny on the couch while Joy brings snacks. :o)

 Once upon a time... my Mum made sleepers. And this was one of them. :o) Back when tiny Hope was born, my Mum tried sewing a few small sleepers for her. Trouble is, they were very wide and very short in the leg. However, they worked in a pinch for our little Mr. Man who wets through his clothes like a good boy should!

 Granny got him changed one last time before she hit the snowy roads to drive back to the farm on Saturday morning.

 Yay! He's looking at the camera.

 Hope has discovered she can hold Philip sitting up, and that is now her favourite and most asked for position. :o)

 Philip does prettty good with it for a while.

"I can chew on my fingers... why not yours too, Hope?"

 Hope is always asking me to take a video.... so she can watch it, of course!

 With Granny packed up and out the door, and Josh and Joy out running errands, Hope and I needed a special activity to do together while Philip napped. Mum had made a batch of gingerbread dough the night before, so it was the perfect thing for us to do together!

The candy cane cutter was her favourite one to use!

 Trying again for a sibling picture... I'll keep trying. :o)

 Despite what you might think from his faces, he seldom cries. He is such a good baby. He's really only cried a couple times, when he's hungry and I haven't gotten to him right away, or if something startles him.

 White-tongued yawn. Good sign. Good sign!

 Hee hee. I love his face in this one - "Don't come any further lady Joy, or I might get you with my mighty little hand!"

 Hope was trying to shade his eyes from the flash. :o)

More poses with his strong little hands. :o) He has amazing muscle tone, and I do honestly have to pull his hands and arms out of the way to feed him sometimes.