Field trips

Will & Ellie Kate have had some awesome "in-school field trips" lately. The first was an amazing face painter. They begged to keep the paint on an extra day. Will cried the next morning when some of it had worn off. "It's all my fault! I turned on my side." Poor kid!

Next was a balloon artist. Will is a knight. Elle is a fairy.

Patrick - 1 month

At one month:
Patrick weighs 11 lbs. 4.5 oz (80%) and is 22 in. (64%).
He eats about every 3 hours, including overnight, but usually goes back to sleep easily.
Loves to lay on the changing table and look around.
Does great with tummy time.
Likes to be held facing out, no shoulder time for this one.
Is wearing lots of his 3 mo. clothes already.
Still reminds us of an old man - will be interested to see if his personality matches.
We love you, little man!

Newborn days

Clearly my blogging has suffered as a result of adding a family member. Honestly, I'm typing one-handed right now and this post will only be as long as P's nap, but I have lots of updates!
In general, I'm loving my time at home with Patrick. He's a good baby, except for a few of those eternally fussy days. He's eating about every 3-4 hours, occasionally has some snacky times that I try to break quickly. Nursing every 60-90 minutes does not make for a very happy mommy! I am currently on meds for mastitis - not fun, but we'll make it through.
The spring weather has been great for my mood as we've gotten out for walks several times. I'm anxious to be cleared to do more exercising, though not sure when I'll have time for that! Theoretically, there will be a sleeping and eating pattern emerge soon, right? The whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" thing has never worked for me. I value that time to shower or eat or start laundry. And honest;y, the sleep deprivation doesn't seem quite as bad this time. (I've probably just jinxed that.) W&E are still loving their brother. It's a celebration every day when I bring P with me to pick them up from school.. One of the most amazing, unexpected things that has happened since we had Patrick is how  close Will & Elle have become.  They play together a lot more know - it's very cute.
Some photos to remember these newborn days:

is there anything cuter?

unhappy, but still cute!

I think he looks like Will here

Introducing...

Patrick Marshall! (named after his grandmothers - my mom is Patricia. J's mom's maiden name is Marshall, which is also J's middle name)

Born February 15, 2012 at 8:07 a.m.

weighing 8lbs. 7 oz. and measuring 20 in. long.
He's absolutely wonderful! His chin is similar to Will & Elle's, but his nose is entirely different. In general I think he looks quite different than the other two did. I'll try to post pics to compare later. So far he's a great baby, even sleeping some!

Delivery and recovery went very smoothly - best of the 3 for me. The big kids are totally in love with their baby brother. Will especially adores him. He sings to him and wants to hold him and touch him all the time. Elle is a big helper and is sure to let us know anytime Patrick is crying :)
I'll post more as I get time; this announcement was just long overdue!