As usual, our October weather has been all over the place. The week before Halloween was gorgeous, perfect weather for jumping in the leaves. Photographic evidence of doing too much: baking and packaging three dozen cookies for the kids' school carnival, finishing sewing Alaina's costume while babywearing, then cooking dinner for ten and carving pumpkins. Doctors say that most cases of mastitis are due to a mom not getting enough rest, and sure enough, I had a fever within hours. Carving pumpkins at Ryan's Alaina didn't want to follow a pattern or accept any help and loved hacking away at her pumpkin. Connor was quite proud that he did all of his carving by himself. The kids (including Ryan's girlfriend's) After carving pumpkins, we "Boo-ed" some neighbors. I took Alaina to Anthony's work to trick-or-treat around the building. The Cornstalk Carnival is the kids' school's biggest party of the year, and the kids loved playing all the mini games for prizes. Alaina's finished Rainbow Dash costume: Connor as Iron Man: Harrison as Superman: Gettin' all the bad guys: On Halloween, Nana called me to make sure I'd be home for drop-off of the golf cart. Um, what? They rented one for trick-or-treating, and at first I was shaking my head at the extremity of the idea, but it DID prove to be quite handy as an adult shuttle, even allowing me to be out with the kids for a few minutes while leaving the baby at home with Nana. We picked up Connor from the bus stop in it. He was thrilled! To offset the inevitable dinner of candy, I had prepared some more healthy options for snacks. It didn't really work, but it did assuage some of my parent-guilt. How cute is this carrot/hummus pumpkin patch?! Monster smiles: Anthony's brain defined in one photo: All ready to get that candy! Alaina with her best buddy, Mady.

I don't know what's going on with the format of my blog and don't care to fix it at the moment, so sorry for the ugly/confusing layout!

I'm slowly trying to dig out and catch up. I had been feeling so good physically after having Harrison that I made it my goal to continue life as close to normally as possible, but it caught up with me this week. I got mastitis which knocked me on my butt for a few days and taught me a lesson about taking it slower. Three weeks ago (!), Kelly came to visit. We celebrated her August birthday a couple months late.
Connor adores Harrison and always wants to hold him. In the middle of October, Mom and Dad came to visit! It was a bit of a shock to see Dad get out of the car with facial hair! Connor and Alaina loved having them here, showering them with attention, and even back-to-back trips to McDonalds. :) We had our first snow of the season while they were here. Snowball fight! I had intended to take a picture of our yellow leaves against the beautiful blue October sky, but this is a visual representation of how I feel like time is just getting away from me lately! Dad was great to bring stuff to have the kids help him spruce up their train track. Harrison has long, beautiful fingers, and may be getting sick of the camera in his face. Mom had fun activities planned every day for Connor and Alaina that kept them happy and engaged. It was nice to let Mom and Dad take the reigns and just park my tush on the sofa. Did somebody say "milk"?! Alaina has slowly but surely warmed up to Harrison as the days go by, and has just recently asked to hold him. I think the older kids will really start to enjoy him once he starts to laugh.

The past three weeks have absolutely flown by and it makes me a little sad! It's just so fun having a baby in the house again, and while there are elements that are not my favorite (what I wouldn't give for 5 hours of unbroken sleep and to not be constantly covered in spit up/milk), everything is just so much sweeter this time around. While I'm tired, there are no angsty thoughts of "Is this kid EVER going to sleep?". Instead of "When can I put this baby down?!", I'm savoring the smell of the top of his head, and I just rush around to get a few things done if he's content for a few minutes. I've tried to continue life as normally as possible after the first week home, and while my house isn't as clean as it was a month ago, the transition has gone pretty smoothly. It's kind of strange to realize that this huge, monumental shift has occurred, but have everything feel the same as it always has, just with more diapers and less showers. Here's a recap of the first week after Harrison's birth: Connor and Alaina were very excited to meet their little brother. We had to have an initial talk about the fragility of soft spot and being very gentle, and they have both done very well. Connor loves to hold him, while Alaina maintains more of an observant air. They both constantly say how cute he is. Going home from the hospital! It was a treat to come home to flowers from Ryan and a gift for Harrison from his girlfriend. The first few hours home were a bit surreal, since Connor and Alaina were still over at Nana and Papa's and it was so QUIET. I enjoyed a lovely shower while Anthony and Harrison snoozed together (that hat was huge when we brought him home, and it fits him perfectly already). Connor can't get enough baby snuggles! Who can blame him? It feels like Anthony, Connor, and I are battling over who gets to cuddle him. Luckily, Mama is the food source, so I win out! At 5 days postpartum, Marinda and Mary Ann came to visit. When the tickets were purchased, we were all certain that I'd have a month old baby at that point, but I am actually so thankful that they came when I needed their help the most! I regret that I was pretty terrible at taking photos while they were here, but they helped out so much. They got the kids ready for school and out the door, then one would hold the baby while I made phone calls (I don't remember so much paperwork with the other two kids!) and the other would be making meals or doing housework. They'd pick up Alaina from school while I fed the baby, then they took us out to lunch. Alaina is currently in girls'-lunch withdrawals! She got a taste of the good life and liked it! After lunches, I'd be showered with baby gifts, then we'd fetch Connor from the bus stop. Marinda and Mary Ann played with my kids, helped them with their homework, made us all dinner, then helped get the kids to bed. It was like having two live-in nannies - awesome! Thanks for taking the time away from your families, you two! You were lifesavers! Mary Ann gave Harrison his first real bath at home. She did the same for Alaina when she was a newborn! Here's a visual interpretation of the above paragraph: It was sad to see them go, and Alaina told me she has plans to save up all her money to go visit Aunt Mary Ann and Aunt Raminda. A few days later, I took some pictures of Harrison's newborn details that I don't want to forget. I'm glad I did, because he has changed so much already! I love newborns' hairy backs... ...and how the soft brown hair at the nape of his neck is so much longer than the rest. I've yet to find anything better in life than brand new baby feet! I love the spotty nose and how his irises take up most of his eyes... And these tiny hands with long, skinny fingers. We feel very fortunate to have three healthy, beautiful children. We are on cloud nine!