Jokes!

Reilly has been introduced to the world of jokes. We have been getting this magazine called Clubhouse Junior, put out by Focus on the Family, and the back page always has some kid-sized jokes. I introduced Reilly to them a couple months ago and now it's the first thing she looks for when the magazine comes in each month! And she thinks they are hilarious, even if the play on words are words she doesn't understand :) Here are a couple of her favorites:

1. What is a porcupine's favorite dance? ----> The Hokey Pokey!!!!!

2. What is a horse's favorite store? ----> Old Neigh-vy!!!!

3. What is the lion's daughter's name? ----> Au-ROAR-a (Sleeping Beauty)!!!!

a bunch of firsts...

first full 2hour nap on daddy's chest.
LOVE how Layton's arms are wrapped around daddy like he's giving a hug!

first trip to a restaurant as a family of 5!!
--we went to Panera for lunch when Layton was 8 days old (July 16).

first bottle!
Daddy (and the kids!) gave Layton a bottle for the first time on day 11 (July 19). he did fabulous, although he did seem like he was drowning the whole time he was drinking!

first date night "post baby"!!
We celebrated our 9th anniversary on July 20th. DeeDee and Poppi came down to keep the kids so we could go out for dinner at 131 Main. We were so proud that everyone did great while mommy and daddy were away, including Layton taking his 2nd bottle! Such a gift.

first "tummy-time"!
had to keep him from going to sleep the whole time he was down there!

first family birthday celebration for Layton!
We celebrated Shawn's 32nd birthday on July 24th with a big brunch, fun "Hoops and YoYo" birthday cards and the fabulous birthday hat that Aunt Sandy gave the kids last year! It was a pretty low key day since Daddy wasn't feeling too great.

this isn't a "first", but I had to get this picture of my sweet sleeping baby.

not a "first" either, but holy cow, look at those lips!! To me, this looks just like Shawn!!

first time wearing an "outfit"
Memama gave Layton this super cute outfit in the hospital and Reilly picked it out for him to wear yesterday (July 30). It looks like his legs are 2" long but really the pants are sagging down! Presh.

he's growing WAY too fast....

Ok, this is SO cliche, but it really is hitting me hard this time!! My sweet baby boy is growing WAY too fast! I can't get over how much Layton has changed in just 18 days! And I must say, every single night I just hold him while he's eating and praise God for how well he's doing. I'm amazed that in just 2 short weeks, Layton is on such a great schedule and in the past few days has even started falling asleep on his own in his crib WITHOUT sucking his thumb, like his brother AND sister did. He's basically taking 4 two-hour naps and eating every 3 hours...around the clock :) If there was one thing I wish I could change it would be for him to extend his sleeping at night a bit past the 3 hour mark, but if that's the only thing we're dealing with, I'm totally fine with it! He is like a perfect alarm clock and seriously wakes up within 5 minutes of the 3 hour mark. But, I am so grateful that even though he's still waking up twice at night, I'm back in my own bed and asleep within 30 minutes, having fed him and put him back down. Praise the LORD!

Reilly and Braxton are still over the moon about their little brother. They both kiss him probably 50 times a day and Braxton, thankfully, has learned how to do "gentle kisses" finally :) This is my first full week at home by myself with all three kids and I'm feeling pretty good about things. The only real challenges we've had have to do with normal behavior issues with the big two...nothing out of the ordinary :) I've managed to get out of the house once per day with all three kids, even if it's just up to the Chick-fil-A drive thru and back home. It's all about priorities people :) The morning/wake-up time is definitely the most challenging. Since we have set 8:00 as our "start the day" time since Reilly was born, it's a bit tricky managing all 3 kiddos wanting to eat breakfast and start their day at the same time. Braxton needs to be taken to the potty, Reilly needs help pouring milk, Layton wants to EAT and needs to stay awake so he doesn't just keep right on sleeping through the morning. I've definitely missed a few breakfast meals myself this week, but I guess that's just par for the course!! And, quite honestly, it probably does me some good to miss some calories, given that ALL of our friends/neighbors are spoiling us with some amazing meals and desserts which are really just packing on the pounds instead of helping me to get rid of this baby weight! But once again, we are so grateful. I will say that life with three kids means that there is ALWAYS something to do or someone to take care of! Holy moly. There's always a toy to pick up, laundry to finish, dishes to clean, something to put away, a child who needs me for one of 100 things. I literally don't think I stop moving from the time I wake up until the minute I lay down at night. I know this will just take getting used to and I know that this is just a stage....so that keeps me focused :)

The other challenge has been to find things to do for Reilly and Braxton instead of just letting them sit in front of a television set for hours everyday. We are trying hard to stick to our limited tv schedule but this summer has just been so.stinkin.hot that it's hard to keep busy inside! And now that we are more tied to the house, it limits our ability to go out to fun places. So, we're trying to get creative. I guess it goes without saying that I'm definitely ready for FALL right about now!

Here are some pics from our week.....

here is a picture of the 3 canvases I put over Layton's crib from his newborn pictures....LOVE them!

there's a baby in the house!

We were SOOOOOOO blessed to have my mom (DeeDee) around for the entire first week of Layton's life! It was such a gift to have her here to help with Reilly and Braxton so I could focus on Layton! She was awesome about taking the big kids out every day to do something more exciting than just sitting at home staring at me feeding a baby :) We had lots of sweet times with baby Layton while she was here too.....here are a few shots from the first week:

first "bath"....he didn't seem to mind too much!

I swear I feel like you can see those chubby cheeks get smaller and smaller throughout the week! And now he looks SO different; now that all the swelling from birth is gone! EVERYbody says he looks just like his big-sister and we totally agree! It's really crazy how identical he looks to Reilly's first pictures....same lips, same shaped face, same nose, blue eyes. Crazy!

Layton's Homecoming!

I don't know if it's due to my impatience to get into my own home with my own routine or just the simple fact that I cannot STAND to be "tied down", but once again, I asked to leave the hospital after just 36 hours of giving birth! And my wish was granted :)

Before we started packing up, Grandpa and Nanny stopped by for a quick visit to meet their new grandson...

had to get some shots of my sweet chunky boy during his first days since I knew he would never look like this again!

We were discharged just around 5:30pm and couldn't WAIT to get home! It's just so hard to constantly have people and nurses and nurse techs coming in asking how you're doing, what you need, can I check you here and there and how's the baby and when was the last time he ate, pooped or peed??!

getting in his car seat for the first time!

The kids, with the help of Poppi and DeeDee, were fast at work all afternoon on our welcome home banner and surprises!

Reilly seriously asked if she could read Layton a book within 5 minutes of us being home! She is quite excited about having a new baby at home :)

Layton's hospital visitors.....

DeeDee and Poppi were troopers that stuck it out through the night while I was in labor at the hospital. Layton is named after Poppi and my grandfather, "Boyce", so it was special to have a picture of Poppi and his new grandson right away.....

Our 1st visitor was my good friend Alli....and I was almost in tears when I saw the amazing surprise she came in with....a GALLON of Chick-Fil-A sweet tea!! After being in labor for 8ish hours and delivering a babe that is one of the best things ever!!!! :)

So special to have Nana and Aunt Kelly in town to see the new baby!
one proud cousin!
1st diaper change....the best Daddy in the world!
Memama drove all the way from Ocean Isle to be the 1st visitor once we got into our post-partum room....she totally surprised me :) What a fun treat to have her there to meet and greet her 3rd great-grandson!

We couldn't wait for the kids to come up to the hospital since they have been SOOOO excited about having a new baby! They were so super cute and couldn't get their hands on Layton fast enough!! It was so sweet.