Fully Into December

Michael:
is still trying to get over his cough, and still trying to study when there's never a time that studying sounds fun. It's pretty hard to get anything at all done around here... he's probably got some library time ahead of him soon.

Maddie:
surviving the nights, keeping my head above water during the day. I've become obsessed with staying on top of laundry and dishes because I feel like once one of those goes, everything goes, so I'm becoming kind of obsessed with those. Westin helps me a lot with putting laundry away. We had a ton of book orders this weekend after a large Instagram account shared about the book, so that was fun to stay on top of too. Then I got our Christmas cards out Saturday and that felt great to check off. 

Westin:
is always, always up for a game of Cover Your Assets or Checkers. He is always up to be read to. He is always up to be cuddled with at bedtime. And I feel guilt for how much I can't do all of those things as much as he wants right now. But I read a couple books to him every day and a couple games every day and... no cuddling at bedtime. But sometime soon I hope it's better around here to spread my time more rather than feeling like all of it is going to Asher and Camden.

Bennett:
is our easygoing kiddo right now and I love him for it and worry about it. Bless his sweet soul. He will be home all this next week back on virtual school because of Covid cases in his class. He's bummed about that and I am too but it's just a week before break. He's such a sweetheart.

Camden:
has sleep problems and they're just not ok right now. I feel like I am mentally prepared that Asher is going to need me a ton at night but when Camden does it puts me over the edge. He wakes up way too early, plays way too long in his bed at night, and is just a high maintenance little bedtime guy right now.

Asher:
such a sweetie. We tried walking to school with the stroller, walking while wearing him, and driving to school this week. He's not a fan of the stroller yet. But car rides and wrap walks seemed to be ok. It's just so cold right now, poor cutie. He seems congested and that makes me sad for him, we haven't really taken him anywhere so I guess it's just from the germs that we all bring home. But hopefully he gets over it quickly.

 

Last week with Grammy and Grandpa

We were so grateful for another week of help from Grandma and Grandpa Daetwyler. They had Camden on bike rides in the mornings, countless games of Cover Your Assets with Westin, park trips and cooking with Bennett, help with Asher, and just kept our heads above water for another week while we try to figure out four kids who are all still very needy :) I love them so much and I am just beyond grateful for their help.

Michael got sick at the end of the week and has zero voice today. He's not feeling well at all. I woke up with mastitis on Saturday so it was a rough day of being on our own for the first time and both of us totally under the weather. But I'm on antibiotics and already feeling way better, so today we've caught up a little. But tomorrow is my first day alone with these cute boys and it's definitely nerve racking. 

It was so fun to get pictures this week of my book in different Costcos and Deseret Books from family and friends! This year was all about this book and this baby to me, and right now I feel like I made it to the sweet part -- nursing by the Christmas tree while the books are getting stocked by someone else onto store shelves. It just feels like a good ending to a year of lots of different kinds of hard work.

Westin is loving a new engineering club he goes to on Mondays. Bennett came home sick from school this week but seemed to perk up again pretty quick. Throwing up at school is the worst, poor guy. Camden is still being a pro with his glasses. I don't know if that's because of Jenny's work with him still or if he's finally registering that he does see better with them on (which would also be thanks to Jenny) but I'm glad it's not really an issue anymore. Asher is only sleeping on his side and not sleeping very well at night, but I have way, WAY less night anxiety with this baby than my others. That's because of two reasons -- 1) I'm not afraid to go to bed at 7pm anymore. That used to be unheard of and make me so sad to think about since nights were my favorite time of day. But I'm just so dang tired that it doesn't even feel like a choice anymore, it's just what I do. I did that for a lot of this pregnancy and just straight into his newborn nights too. And 2) I know these nights are numbered. You technically know that with your other babies but now I really do know he'll sleep someday, and it's going to be ok, and our nights together are our quiet time. 

Our life definitely has felt turned upside down, but that's normal with a baby and we're going to be just fine :) He is one month this week, which is pretty crazy to me, and that first month down is no small accomplishment! He's such a sweetheart. I love his serene face when I give him baths and the way his hair dries in a spiky curl, I love holding him by the Christmas tree, and he's still so tiny and sweet to hold. I found Bennett reading Asher books this week, and Camden runs to get me every time Asher cries. These brothers are so sweet.

Books going out!

This piano makes me so happy.
A piece straight from my childhood, with my grandma's names above it.

Poor sick Bennett, 
took two naps this week.

Grandma was first to put presents under the tree!
The boys were so excited.

My view each night.
Never would I have let my other kids sleep like this.
We've entered survival.

I love seeing them see Christmas magic.

Treasured those naps I got with baby while Camden was bike riding with Grandma and Grandpa.
Life is about to speed up around here.

This just made me laugh.
"Come to me all who are crushing it."
Glad it's not that :)

Bath time!

We got many more good family photos but this is a little sneak peek that I keep cracking up over.
The elbow.

My dad sent me pictures of my book in Costco and then called me afterward so excited,
and it just melted my heart. He's so sweet, and it's so fun to have them there.
That was a big goal for me this year and I just love how excited my parents get for me.

Sweet Bennett, reading to sweet Asher. 

Camden LOVES the Christmas tree. I can't wait to take him on a Christmas lights drive this year.

Fresh from the bath!

 

Happy Birthday Westin! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Another week with Asher!

These hazy newborn days! So sweet and so tiring. I'm feeling loads better than his first two weeks, and entering the stage where I'm itching to get back to doing everything I want to be doing and then the pain comes back when I do too much. Just a couple weeks away from feeling ok with doing lots more, though. Our bodies are amazing.

Grandma and Grandpa Daetwyler are here this week and we're so lucky and grateful to have them here. They're so much help and heaven knows we need it right now. The Walkers were in town Wednesday through Saturday, and Katie visited on Monday and Saturday.

Michael:
was on call this week, but it was luckily very slow. Not like the week leading up to Asher's delivery, go figure. He put up Christmas lights outside with the Walkers and his dad in an hour or two, which was so much better than our experience figuring things out last year... including my trip to Home Depot with Camden to buy a 20-foot ladder. Not my most enjoyable errand. He also has had major Camden duty this week for that daddy's boy whose mom is occupied with a little baby. He's the cutest dictator we know but oh so draining :)

Maddie:
feeding baby, healing, catching up on sleep when possible, shipping books. That's my life!

Plus: try to make sure my other kiddos and husband know that I love them very much, too, and soak up baby time through all the busy time.

Westin:
Turned seven!! Sweet boy. Also... Seven-year-old emotions, man. He loved seeing cousins this week when the Walkers visited for Thanksgiving and when Katie came up two different days with her boys. He blew out candles at breakfast on Thanksgiving and with a brownie that night when most people went for pie. He requested a taco bar for our post-Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. He loved getting a science kit and cowboy boots (that mutton busting was a real highlight for this boy), and he sure has fun around cousins. We love our Westy boy.

Bennett:

is so chatty lately! Always full of stories. He's got a big heart. I'm not gonna full on rank my kids on hardest to easiest but... if I did, Bennett would rank as my easiest right now. Ok I guess I just did some ranking. I won't detail the other three though :)

Camden:

skipped a nap for the first time this week. Just played and played until we called it at 3pm. I'm really hoping we can keep that nap around a while longer so that we can hang on to some sanity around here. But also the thought of being DONE with naps in 3 years is incredibly stress relieving to me, particularly for traveling.

Asher:

Holy cow this is a long list of people to update on now. Family of 6?! We hung our stockings up today and that's when it really hit home... four kids. This is legit. Asher is a side sleeper which is technically illegal in the baby world but, we're doing what gives us rest. The last few nights he's done 4-hour stretches to start out the night and I go to bed when he goes to bed, around 8 or 9, so I've caught up on sleep a little. Then he's up every 90-120 minutes after that initial stretch. But it doesn't feel too horrible, though I bet this schedule is the source of my headaches that keep popping up. That or the fact that I eat dessert after basically every meal right now. Holidays.

We're sending the big kids back to school tomorrow and the weather has been uncharacteristically beautiful for a Colorado November and December -- no snow yet?!? So Camden has some bike riding with grandpa in his future this week, and me and Asher have some naps planned.

I'm blown away by the support of my parents, Jenny, and Michael's parents. We have made it through the hardest stretch of keeping our heads above water and we're going to get a little more on top of things each week at this point. Those first two weeks of healing after a c-section... I'm just grateful they're behind us and looking forward to getting to know sweet Asher more and more.

"No one interested in Westin's Tacos. Closed."
Apparently we weren't ordering food with enough enthusiasm from Westin's pretend restaurant... whoops!

Breakfast these days.
Don't worry, closely followed by second breakfast.

Sally has cooked so much this week for so many people.
I'm so grateful for all her help. She made Thanksgiving so wonderful.

Happy Birthday, Westin!
With his own pie creation that he made while Grandma made our Thanksgiving pie supply.

Downtown for the lights!

Our splash pad turned to ice skating for the season.
Fort Collins is so cute!

Baby's first lights trip!

Living the same life.
If only we could be neighbors during it.

Science experiment time!

The boys moved big chairs in here for some fun seating while we watched home videos.

Our little Christmas tree...
I planned on getting a new one this year and researching and deciding on one is just looooow on the priority list right now so another year with our tiny one it is :)