Hibernation

Hibernation: It's what bears and moms who have just had a baby do in the winter. I have to admit, before I had little Brielle I was nervous about this. I thought, if anything is going to bring on the baby blues it is being stuck in my house all day long, every. single. day. At least until cold, flu, and RSV season is over. But guess what? Staying home all the time is actually kind of great. You get to wear your pajamas all day, every day, and nobody cares. (Another bonus to this is that right now, pajamas are what fit me best) I get to play games with my kids, that I was somehow too busy to play before. I get to read new books on my sweet Nook color I got for Christmas. I get to sing songs for Princess Belle (Ashlyn) to dance too. I get to snuggle my baby and hold her just because I want to.

I thought I would be dying to get out of the house again, but it has been just the opposite. I send Tim out for things we need, opting to stay home in my warm house snuggling my baby. Maybe it is because I am a newly minted over-the-hiller at 30, or maybe because life is busy with four kids (four! I have four kids! What?! I catch myself saying this a few times a week...) but I have appreciated the slower pace to my life that staying home has brought. Or maybe I just appreciate it more because I know it won't last forever and I don't know how many more times we will be doing the newborn thing aound here, like maybe one. At the most. Or maybe I am just developing that phobia of leaving your house. Whatever it is, its nice. One downside of staying in for the last 3 1/2 weeks though, is that when I have left, I swear to you, I have forgotten how to drive. I get in the car and it just feels weird, like I am 16 again. Or maybe I am just tired. I am getting like 4 hours of sleep a night, isn't that enough? Am I rambling? Do you want to see some pictures?

Another thing we do staying home all the time...Ashlyn and I set up photoshoots for Brielle. I am the photographer and she is my assistant. Her main job is picking which bows to put on Brielle. It is fun, here are a few from our last session...

Isn't there something just perfect about babies? I love, love love it.

Their skin is so soft and they just snuggle up in a little ball when you hold them.

And they smell amazing. I love just smelling her breath. Is that weird? You should smell a newborn's breath soon, if you have forgotten what it is like. It is heavenly.

We love her, she is a good little baby. She gets lots of attention, and hugs and kisses and doesn't seem to mind that her sister likes to squeeze her face. She's a keeper.

Oh yeah, I have other kids too. (Believe me, they have not let me forget about them : )

Here are my boys, it is hard to believe they were ever tiny like that. Especially that really big one. They still love their Legos. They are some of the best things ever invented. Jace is standing over me as I type this and wanted me to tell you that those things are Battle Cars. And they shoot lasers out of the headlights.

Ashlyn loves to dress up. When Jace is at school she sometimes convinces Braxton to dress up with her. Her absolute favorite thing to play is that they get married (dance) and then get married some more. (dance again) Braxton only agrees to this on two conditions: 1) If Jace isn't home and 2) If I make him.

If Braxton isn't home, or isn't in the mood to be bribed, I get to be the prince. She has told me several times though that Braxton is better at dancing.

Jace is currently in his first season of Jr. Jazz b-ball. He loves it. He says it is his favorite sport.

Here he is being a good sport and smiling for the camera as his mom yells name. One day soon, I am afraid that will just end in him ignoring me. Hopefully not too soon. Or ever.

Okay, enough for now. My baby wants to eat.