Broadening the Brotherhood

Every day we are easing more and more into the new lifestyle of being a family of five.  Doug went to work yesterday for the first time since Penn was born.  I was nervous about the day with the big boys and Penn to care for (despite the fact I still have my super helpful mom here!).  Doug has really handled so much of the big boys' routine since bringing home Penn.  But thankfully, yesterday was very encouraging and positive.  I took Koen out on a bike ride in the morning while Penn napped and Tavin played with Gramma.  Then when we got home I fed Penn while Koen and Tav played with Gramma (as you can see, still relying on Gramma, but hey, it's progress over relying on two adults!).  The rest of the morning, lunchtime and early afternoon we spent in the backyard.  Koen and Tavin kept each other occupied in the baby pool for hours.  It was amazing.  They got along great.  

After a little waketime, Penn also came out and took his nap in the shade for an hour or so.  Pretty cute...

Tavin napped really long due to the active morning in the sun and Koen had a nice rest time. Penn was super sleepy all day, so he had a nice nap in the afternoon too.  I had some down time with all 3 overlapping their nap/rest times, so that was a blessing.  After all the naps were done and Penn was fed again, the boys (all 3!) and I took a walk down the street to a neighbor's house.  They had invited us over to hang out in the backyard where their baby pool was set up.  My big boys were excited to get in someone else's pool and they had a blast.  It felt so nice to doing something normal again...we saw several neighbors on our brief walk down the block and introduced Penn, we had a lovely visit our neighbor friends and the boys got all their energy out.  We returned home in time to meet a friend bringing us pizza for dinner.  Such a blessing not to worry about making dinner a few nights a week!  Thanks, friends!  It's such a relief knowing that for awhile, I have a break from the meal planning and cooking.  Not to mention that for those nights when we do make a meal, Doug has been taking on most of that responsibility.  Seriously, Doug has been amazing!


So, today Doug is off due to the holiday and he took Koen and Tavin to the outdoor pool at the gym for a good chunk of the morning.  It was nice to have the house quiet and just focus on Penn again this morning.  He is so precious.  I'm so thankful for this little blessing!  The big brothers got home for lunch and then after lunch Koen went straight to nap due to some overtired behavior and the fact that he and Doug have fun plans for this afternoon (hopefully a blog post on that later).  Tavin and I got to play, just the two of us for awhile.  I think he's been really craving that time.  It felt good to me and I think he loved it.  After I fed Penn again, Tavin wanted to "kiki baby" = carry baby.  So, here's Tavin settling in to being a big brother (we have to work on head support, I know).  He looks pretty proud!

Well, we are keeping it pretty simple here.  I'll keep you posted of our progress adjusting to our new family rhythm.  Thanks for all the support and prayers!