in a fog

It's a foggy, foggy day, James is back to work from his Paternity Leave, so Rachel and I decided to stay inside and introduce Caroline to Baby Einstein. (This was Rachel's FAVORITE DVD collection as a toddler, and she still watches them on occasion.) Caroline looks a little shocked by it...maybe we should've waited a bit longer!

So, we've hit the 6-week mark! I can't believe it's been that long already, and it also feels like we've had Carrie in our family for much longer than that. I've been so spoiled since her birth. Between visits from family and friends and James off of work, I have had so much support! It was so fun to spend time with James and just hang around at home. What a treat.

To top it off, over the weekend we started seeing REAL smiles from Caroline! It is so rewarding as a parent to be getting positive feedback! We're not doing too bad at night right now either. Caroline has some colicky hours each evening still, but she will sleep 4 hours, eat and go back down for 4 more. I can't complain too much, but regardless, I still feel like I'm in a fog...

2 white dresses

On Saturday, Eliza was baptized! It was amazing to be part of it all. Eliza has such determination to do what is right and be a good example to her peers and siblings. It's so neat to see her growing up!

After the baptism, she's just glowing!

Then on Sunday, Caroline was blessed. What a sweet ending to an incredible weekend. We're grateful our parents and Marci were there to share it with us.

And finally...why you don't see family pictures of us! It's very difficult to get everyone looking the same direction. (This particular attempt ended with tears and gnashing of teeth.)

Five Guys and a trip to the park

We've had such a fun week with both sets of grandparents and Aunt Marci here! A few of the days have just been GORGEOUS. We headed to the park to enjoy Virginia at its best and finished the day with great burgers from Five Guys. YUM!

Grandma's first visit

A few pictures from Grandma PenGwen's first visit when Caroline was 2 days old. (I'm finally able to blog!)

Rachel loves Caroline

Caroline peacefully dreaming.

Rachel loves to play with Caroline's little unicorn. I think Caroline recognizes Rachel's voice as much as mine or James'...you can't miss the high pitched "squeaky" baby talk from Rachel. It's so sweet to see them together!

Happy Halloween

So, I'm a little late on the Halloween picture scene. This is my first week of life on my own as a mother of 4--no Mom, no James. The challenge has been getting the kids off to school. It seems like we're off to a good start and then Caroline needs to be fed, and it ends up we're racing to meet the bus. After school hours are even more CRAZY. I have yet to make a real dinner since she was born. I'm sure it'll just take time to get the kinks worked out of the daily routine.

We did have a great Halloween. James took the kids to the trunk-or-treat at Church, and I stayed home to answer the door...a total of 4 times! And, of course some of those 4 came just as I had gotten settled feeding Caroline. Oh well...it was fun and a little scary. I've decided I don't like to be the one at home answering the door alone. Two boys kind of freaked me out with their masks. Then I started thinking of all the random things that could happen... ;O