The Watson's Great Adventure: Two weeks!

As expected it's been a whirlwind two weeks! It's incredibly hard to believe John has been with us for two weeks, but also hard to believe he hasn't always been a part of our family! However, let's rewind to before John's arrival and I'll share some leftover Halloween photos! We kicked off the day with some pumpkin pancakes and some fun straws.

But the treat of the day was Amma's arrival! She got in just in time to pick up Matthew from school and then head downtown for trick or treating. The kids' costumes were a hit and they certainly scored plenty of candy!

We even met one of the Calico Critters!

Back home it was time for dinner and more funny straws!

Then we headed out to visit a few houses in our neighborhood, which gave James' Jawa costume its first real chance to shine!

We then spent the weekend hanging out and working on house projects, and of course legos! Amma brought Catherine some legos and Matthew was eager to "help":

And there were lots of stories with Amma:

It was a great week following Halloween but of course we were all waiting for the "big event" and making sure Amma knew her way around town to shuttle big siblings to preschool and kindergarten.

Anyway, since I covered John's arrival in the last post, here's what we've been up to since then! One of my favorite newborn outfits is this dinosaur sleeper. Here's John in it:

And Matthew:

Though it eventually worked out, I tried to take some baby in a bucket pics. Unfortunately, I didn't have the touch the first time and John kept cantilevering his head out the bucket so it looked like it was unnaturally floating. Luckily he still has the cutest little face:

And though naked baby photos are adorable, he's also pretty cute in his sleepers. I love the "I surrender" sleep pose:

And his inquisitive eyebrows:

The next day I figured out some baby in the bucket tricks and we tried for another attempt. I think it would be much easier if I could make smaller babies! Sleeping babies in good light are adorable! Here's a ridiculous number of pics of that :-)

"Please Mom, no more pictures!"

Grumpy old man face:

Tiny baby fingers!

Baby in the hat we got from the hospital!

I loved the hat we got for Catherine as well, but as a summer baby she didn't get a chance to wear hers until we went camping. I'm not sure exactly who makes the knitted hats for the hospital but both we have received are some of my favorites!

More baby in a bucket:

We ressurected our "Grateful Tree" and the first time I asked the kids what we are thankful for, they unanimously agreed the first leaf this year should be John.

And more sleepy pics:

And an awake and confused baby after taking him out of the bucket!

Much like Matthew and Catherine, John is an alert baby. All things considered he's a fairly good sleeper in the crib/bassinet which neither Catherine or Matthew were, but when he's "awake" (or what can be considered awake with a newborn) he's pretty intense and screams a lot. Again, it may have something to do with the siblings of the house, but he seems pretty sensitive to overstimulation and will often fuss at the top of his lungs until you put him down by himself in his crib and then he's totally chill. Of course we're still figuring each other out and this may all change tomorrow/in 55 seconds. The beauty of newborns is amidst the stress and sleep deprivation, you never remember all of this part when you go to have another one! :-)

Also, in between the time I started this post last night and am currently working to finish it, he's figured out how to roll over from tummy to back which is breaking my heart *sniff*. We also had to go in to the doctor two days in a row and he had put on a whopping 5 ounces, literally overnight. The nurses were cheering and whooping it up but I wanted none of it, as it'd be nice to have a small baby for at least a few more days! Or course I am eternally grateful that he's healthy, but couldn't he be a smaller healthy?!?!?!

It's been a crazy two weeks but Matthew and Catherine have been awesome. Poor Catherine has been battling a fever/virus and double ear infection so we've been more housebound than we originally would have been. Matthew had a few days off for parent/teacher conferences and veteran's day so we all got some extra bonding time. Matthew's first parent/teacher conference went really well and we are very proud of him! He also loves his little brother and is pretty diligent about giving him cuddles whenever possible.

Catherine is doing well at preschool as well and I think it's been a good thing for her this year. She's always been socially fearless but up until this fall had never really socialized without Matthew and was fearless because she was mostly tagging along with Matthew and the older boys. At playgroups she's been rather clingy recently, I'm hoping her transition to big sibling will help this a bit. She is definitely a super-proud sister and we've spent the past week of her illness trying to keep her germy hands off John while not stiffling her budding relationship with him. Academically she's trying to keep up with Matthew and is currently "practicing" sight words with him. It's adorable and slightly scary to think about what she knows now and how far along she'll be in two years if she continues picking up things from Matthew!