a blur of a month

Has it really been six weeks since Elise was born?... Crazy. It's been a blur of sleep deprivation and breast feeding. Despite feeling like I am incapable of accomplishing the smallest task, we are loving our wee one.

Although, nothing too exciting has happened around here aside from the poopy diapers and endless feedings, I have dug deep to come up with enough for my 'list of 5':

1. Halloween came in the knick of time to offer some excitement for my poor boys. We managed to carve pumpkins (Adam manned that one, thank goodness) and hit a few Halloween bashes. The boys had some good times. Isaac was a very scary vampire. On our way to the Pulley party, he was asking me if I thought people would recognize him. Bless Uncle Mark - he was very surprised that the super scary vampire was actually Isaac... just what Isaac was hoping for. Luke wanted to be Spiderman and has loved dressing up as the super hero on a daily basis. Asa was Mickey Mouse thanks to Grandma Pulley giving him a costume that saved me from having one more thing to do.

Isaac carved his all by himself.

Not Luke. But, he did pick out which picture he wanted on his :)

2. We finished the home improvement project that was started about a week before Elise was born. Yes, it was poor timing. Now that it's all done I'm glad that we did it and I feel like I have regained a tiny bit of my sanity since finishing... between trying to get everything painted and taking care of a newborn, I was worried I had completely lost it (my poor boys).

3. Isaac lost his 3rd tooth. Luke wanted to try to pull it out for him once he saw that Adam and I were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, not even his tiny fingers could get a good enough grip on it and it was Uncle Neil who ended up pulling it out a few days later.

4. We blessed Elise last Sunday. It was a great day with tons of family. I was a little worried about trying to squeeze two very large families with oodles of kids into our humble home, but it worked out. We are so blessed to have such an abundance of love and support around us.

5. I finally managed to schedule a 2 week checkup for Elise... just four weeks late. I knew she is doing fine, so I wasn't too concerned it. But, I was curious to see how she was looking on the growth charts... to see if all that eating is paying off (for her :). Here are her impressive stats: Weight - 8 lbs 5 oz (14%), Height - 21.5 inches (49%), Head - 15.5 inches (86% - yes, she is one of ours).

She has been a pretty good baby. I do wish that she slept better at night and that she was more chill, but at least she eats good and she isn't colicky, so I guess I'll keep her :). I think the hardest part about her is that she has horrible timing (I know - she's a newborn). It seems like anytime I need to go someplace immediately, or I need to stop Asa from taking off a poopy diaper, or someone knocks on the door, or I need to get my boys ready for school, etc., she is at her neediest. I know that I shouldn't expect anything else with four kids, but she could throw me a bone every once in a while :).

We all continue to love her to pieces, though. The boys still think she is the greatest thing since chocolate cake. She enjoys constant kisses and sweet words being whispered in her ears. Luke is still the one who is the most enamored by her. He cannot help but kiss and hug her almost constantly. Anytime she cries, he wants to know, "Why is my baby sister is crying?". Isaac still enjoys picking out which bow he thinks I should put on her. Asa continues to surprise me with how gentle he is with her.

So, what do you get when you have a newborn and don't do a post for a month? A butt load of pictures:

Luke wanted to show off his scarecrow.

Asa trying out a little pink.

Deer in headlights

Little goofball