Happy Birthday, Lauren!

Happy birthday to a wonderful aunt, sister and sister-in-law. We have been so fortunate to have my siblings in our kids lives. I am not sure what we would do without the help, support and love of my sisters and brother. Lauren visits every chance she gets and loves being around the kids who love being around here. Lauren has a great ability to dote on the boys but also make sure they sleep and eat well. I am so thankful for her and enjoy the relationship she has with Matt and Jack. Have happy birthday, Lauren!

Happy Thanksgiving

This year's host



Sisters, Aunt Lil and Grandma Johnson



Thanksgiving is a time for reflection and to give thanks. This year I have so much to be thankful for but what I am most thankful for is family.
The day before my mom was to host 25 people for a turkey dinner, she went into the emergency room with severe stomach pains. She is still in the hospital undergoing tests but is feeling much better and looks great.
Never have we been without our mom. She has always been there quietly taking care of us. Her absence yesterday was very hard but amazingly all of us pulled together and (at the request of my mom) we put on a Thanksgiving dinner. With my Aunt Debbie at the helm, we ate on time, the food was hot and delicious and the day was very enjoyable.
Without the help of the entire family, yesterday would have been a disaster and my mom would have been in the hospital worrying about what to do with all of the food going to waste at home.
I spoke to my sisters this morning and the house is clean and back in order. We are hoping mom will be home today or tomorrow.

Matt's Back Asleep

On Saturday we meet Kathleen's future in-laws. Griffin's parents, brother and sister-in-law feel like family already. It was a great afternoon and the kids behaved. Matt slept in some one's arms the whole day and Jack ran around like a mad man. Terry and I relaxed as much as possible but it is still hard to fully engage in conversation when all we want to do is sleep.

On Sunday, Terry and Jack cut the grass, cleaned the gutters and raked about 2 billion leaves. I can't believe that we will be putting up a tree next week. It seems like we were just gearing up for Halloween and now we are teaching Jack about Christmas.

Matt's Awake

Matt is waking up more everyday which has been great and awful at the same time. I was getting decent sleep before - a little at night and a little at Jack's nap time. Now I am getting a little less and yesterday Jack decided to not nap at all and then get up for some reason at 12:30 in the morning. Lucky for me, we all woke up in fairly good moods. Jack does not seem sick and I have several cups of coffee in me.
I think it is important to point out that Terry took care of the boys last night so I could got to bed at 8:00. Without a few hours of solid sleep I would be insane today. Jack being cute and a pot of coffee would not have sufficed.

After breakfast Jack took out the play mat and wanted Matt to lay down. I thought Matt was too young (plus I have a tendency to want to carry him) but I gave in. Matt loved it (for about 10 minutes) and Jack knew it. Matt also gave Jack a few smiles which thrilled us both. It was a great couple of minutes after a very long Thursday. I think Terry and I both deserve pizza and beer tonight.

Our Boys

Matt has been spending most of his days either asleep or eating but in the last two days he has been awake for about 30 - 40 minutes at a time.




This morning Matt was in a particularly good mood. We began the day with a massive search for his umbilical cord which fell off at some point last night. Jack loved looking at Matt's belly button but I don't think he really understood everything. It does not look pretty but I am really excited that the cord is gone.

After Matt ate, he enjoyed watching Jack play with his cars. It lasted for about 10 minutes but watching the two together was nice. I often feel guilty that I am telling Jack to wait until I put Matt to bed or wait until I feed Matt. I think now Jack is starting to see that Matt will be a play mate someday. If only he can stay awake!

Jack's House

Jack's best friend, Hayden, came over yesterday for a play date. The two played so well together and Courtney and I enjoyed listening in on their conversation. The younger boys either ate, slept or cried. All seemed very manageable and made for a fun morning. The best part of the morning was when Terry's mom was leaving Hayden said "Thanks for coming to Jack's house".



Today, my grandparents, mom and Aunt Debbie came for lunch and to see Matthew. Matt slept the whole time and Jack got all the attention. He is just loves having a new brother, it is like Christmas everyday for him with all the presents has been receiving. He also again loved hanging out with Pops, the two sang songs and played with trucks. Jack is now out like a light. He even asked to go to bed he was so worn out.

More Pictures

I can't stop taking pictures. I also can't get enough of Jack. I think we may let him babysit. He tells us to "help him" when Matt cries and told me to change Matt's diapers "over there" when he pooped.

Matt and Jack

This first week has been really nice. The last two nights, Matt fed at 11:30 pm, 3:30 am and 8:00 am so I have been getting a good amount of sleep. Terry is getting an incredible amount of sleep since Matt will not take a bottle yet. I haven't minded since Matt seems to return to sleep easily and I know Terry would take over if he could.
We have had a lot of visitors this week. Jack loves it and thinks everyone is coming to see him. His favorite part of the week, though, is having daddy home. He cannot get enough of Terry and it has been fun to watch. Jack seems to have grown while we were gone. He now needs a haircut, has been helping with the baby (more than I thought he could) and ate a hot dog today without having me cut it up. Terry and I are enjoying Jack even more now that Matt is here. We now appreciate how far along Jack has come way since infancy. We are looking forward to watching Matt grow and now know how quickly this time passes.

Matthew Sean is Here!

Terry and I just got home today. We are too tired to write but here are some pictures.

It's Halloween

After months of preparation, Terry and I felt we owed it to Jack to take him Trick or Treating - new baby or not. Jack had a blast going from house to house collecting as many suckers as he possibly could. Both Grandma's also went and had a great time.