I'm writing this post late, so most of my memories will be from pictures and from my calendar. The pictures are the best part anyways! I will dump the photos add some commentary, and count it as a win for being one month postpartum and documenting at least something.
One thing about Hugh is he LOVES books. He could sit and read books with you all day if you let him. He is learning the stories and here he's reading them to himself.
Getting outside with Lee has been a huge blessing! I have been grateful for the warm fall so I could move and walk and enjoy the fresh air.
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| Lee's first trip in the stroller without the carseat. |
We've introduced "Danny Go" at our house. It's a guy who makes up fun songs and dances about cars, airplanes, trash trucks, grocery stores, etc. We have loved getting our moves on in the evenings and teaching the boys how to be better at mimicking.
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| Jay, Matthew, and Hugh doing Danny Go |
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| Clothes sorting! Ugh, it's hard work and it seems like one kid is always needing to size up, which makes it feel never ending. |
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| Here's Jay, pushing his two sleeping brothers home from school |
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| Lee, getting more alert and his usual happy self. |
Big news in November is that Matthew started his job with TaxOps. He wasn't really ready to dive into work, and I wasn't really ready for him to go back, but he needed to start. His first week, we could already see the benefits. He got home from work around 4 PM and was able to hit the park with us, and he didn't have to make up the time later that night! So far, the job has been great! He really likes the people and enjoys working from home about two days a week, and tries to go into the office the other three. We are excited about this next chapter in his career!
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| Hugh laying down in the leaves |
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| Cheezers! |
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| Run and jump, Hugh! |
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| Jay, very excited to jump in this big pile at our house. |
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| Matthew was a great sport and let us all play before bagging it up. |
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| I spy, Hugh! |
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| Jay being thrown by Matthew. |
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| Me trying to join the fun, unsure how much I want to roll around in the leaves and trigger allergies. |
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| Hugh and Jay loving it! |
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| Daddy even jumped in! |
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| Hugh's happy spot, in the leaves! |
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| Jay at the park |
Lee is just a happy kid! He's a great eater, happy almost all of the time. He's busting out of the 0-3 month clothes and sleeping longer and longer. We all love him! He had his first Sunday at church at the end of November, we kept him home for a while to try to avoid all the sickness going around.
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| The snuggles, the best part of having a newborn baby! |
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| He is chunky, he's filling up that sleeve! |
My friend Rachel Jones came to visit and to meet Lee. We loved having her come for a few hours! Jay was so excited Mrs. Rachel came and he held her hand all the way home. She brought a sweet little stuffy for Lee, and fun puppets for the boys. She's always so kind and I feel blessed to call her my friend!
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| Jay and Rachel |
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| Story time with Rachel |
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| Jay taking care of the bunny rabbit puppet |
The boys have really started to lean on Matthew more for attention. When he's around, they can't help but be close! It's cute to watch and I am very grateful.
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| Jay, Hugh, Matthew |
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| We could see the northern lights, so cool!! |
Playtime. I really have tried to be present for playtime with my boys. When I am done feeding Lee, they need attention. They will often say, "you don't need to feed Lee" or "no feed Lee" or "why???" It's hard to explain to them why I am busy and can't help them with all the things, but I've worked to be more present for the times I am not feeding Lee and it's helped us all cope a little better with the big changes. We spent one afternoon at a friend's house and she was soooo sweet with Jay and Hugh. We have also been trying to teach the boys how to engage and play with Lee so they feel more connected to him, too.
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| Hugh, CJ, and Jay |
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| Hugh, Jay, and Lee - I love being able to go outside with my baby! It's a new experience after December and January babies. |
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| Jay playing peek a boo with Lee! |
Matthew and I went out on a big date! We went to Broadway's production of The Lion King at Buell Theater in downtown Denver. Matthew won tickets at the KPMG summer picnic and one of the partners offered tickets. These tickets go for a couple hundred per seat, so it isn't something we would normally do. I've never been to a Broadway musical, and it was incredible! The costumes were immaculate and the music was phenomenal! The singers and actors were amazing, too. We picked up a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and grabbed burgers for dinner. Jack and Roxy took care of the boys for us, and we had an awesome time!
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| I so wish we could have gotten pictures of the real set with some of the people in costumes, but it isn't allowed. |
Hanging out with Lee is probably everyone's favorite activity. Jay and Hugh love to help feed him, and he's so happy and sweet. I try to encourage Lee during tummy time by putting him near his brothers. He likes watching them play, so it works for all of us!
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| Hugh feeding Lee |
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| Jay feeding Lee |
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| Kinetic sand time with Hugh, Jay, Me, and Lee in the bouncer |
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| Tummy time and looking for the hide and seek pictures in the Friend magazine. |
Jay is slowly adjusting to being a big brother! He's the most thoughtful, kind and loving kid. He always wants to help, and if he's helping, he is soooo happy! We did see some regression over the first couple months of Lee's life with behaviors and various challenges, but he's coming around to a better place now. Shelby uses a "visual" schedule with him at school and if he has a safe body during activities he gets gold stars and stickers, followed with a candy at home if it's less than three. He's responded so well to the schedule and it's helping him get back on track.
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| Jay is starting to recognize himself in a camera and smiling. My friend took this picture of him at school while he was playing with her class at recess. |
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| Jay with his mentor buddy. This little boy is in 2nd grade, non-verbal autistic. Jay LOVED playing with him and was so sweet. |
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| Look at all these cars Jay lined up! He did awesome and was so proud of it! |
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| See how Jay's legs are wrapped around mine. This is how he sits whenever he sits on my lap or Matthews. He wraps his feet behind our legs as he straddles our legs. I'm sure someday it will stop, so I had to snap a photo to remember. |
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| He is still napping almost every day, and this is how I found him one day. So cute! |
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| He's working so hard on his lines, tracing and drawing, and making huge progress. |
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| Super helper, always wanting to help how he can. |
Hugh is also adjusting to being a big brother. He loves doing all the things Jay does for therapies and also loves being close to Jay. They are sometimes too close, and Hugh doesn't love that, but they are figuring the brother thing out day by day. He's getting braver and stronger at parks, climbing more and learning new ways to use his strength.
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| Hugh and his line practice |
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| Jay and Hugh climbing up at a net at the park |
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| Hugh was more than happy to let Jay do the leg work on pushing this around. |
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| They both had a great time at this park! |
Right before Thanksgiving our family got hit with the first raspatory virus of the season. I could hear it in their breathing and it turned to croup. I took Jay and Hugh to the doctor and they diagnosed with the flu and croup. We got steroids and drank lots of fluids. We didn't have to do a full round of the medicines, and we were so glad when the boys got better. Matthew worked hard to keep the boys away from me and Lee, so he ended up getting sick, too. I love him and am so grateful he protected me and Lee.
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| Hugh, Me, and Jay |
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| Hugh, Me, and Jay - can you tell they are sick? |
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| When Jay starts laying around, you know he isn't feeling well and it's so hard to see! |
Thanksgiving! Nathan and Michela came in the week of Thanksgiving and we had a great day with them on Tuesday! They were kind enough to come up here and play with us for a day. Dawson is one year older than Lee, and it was so fun to see him moving and grooving and enjoying life. Hugh and Jay loved Dawson too, and thought it was soooo fun to have them here! We played a game during naptime and enjoyed a delicious dinner. It was fun to visit for a little bit after bedtime, too. Nathan and Michela are awesome parents and we were grateful they came to spend the day with us.
Thanksgiving Day was also a blast! I got easy assignments of sweet potatoes, jello, and pumpkin cake. The rest of the family went all out to put together a delicious meal! Jenna had beautiful tables set up, and we all enjoyed dinner at Mike and Jenna's house. Everyone was so sweet with the boys! I truly didn't see Hugh unless he got hungry or had to use the bathroom. He was surround by toys and cousins, and couldn't have been more pleased. Jay bounced in and out of everywhere, as usual, but also had a great time playing with cousins. Mike helped him build a marble track out of magna tiles and Jay loved that! Jessica was the Lee whisperer for most of the day, and Lee loved the cuddles. Being able to spend the whole day with family was so fun!
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| Lee's first Thanksgiving |
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| Emery playing with Hugh |
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| Cambrie and Lee |
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| Uncle Mike, Cambrie, and Hugh enjoying the marble run |
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| Evening meal of pie and leftovers |
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| Lee and Aunt Jessica |
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| James and Kate giving Hugh hugs goodbye. Hugh was so sad to leave! |
On Black Friday, we had our second Thanksgiving at the Bryce's. All the Bryce's LOVE holding Lee, so he was passed around to everyone and loved it. The smoked turkey Jack made was so moist and delicious. We ate lunch and dinner, so kind of Thanksgiving twice that day. While Matthew napped the boys, I played games with Lindsay and Allen.
