Trying to Find the Time...

Finding the time to blog is definitely difficult at times.  But what is also difficult is finding the free hand and the pause in time to take photos!  I'm trying to keep up with Koen and Tavin and not miss a special moment with Penn.  We are actually settling into our daily life pretty well.  At this point the 3 boys seem to be on a pretty predictable schedule and Penn is just an amazing blessing in this area as he continues to sleep, eat and nap well.  His wake times are still fleeting as he is exhausted from his daily growth and the boys bustling around him, but he often has sweet smiles and happy moments in these times (and there is of course the fair amount of crying and struggling through, especially in the evenings).  


Some days I purposefully don't take pictures if we are doing something that we often do regularly (like a familiar playground or trip to the library, etc.) as if there are no pics on my camera I feel less pressure to blog (good pressure, but still it's another thing to do).  But I don't want to miss Penn's sweet expressions and moments as we continue to get to know him in these early days and I know from experience that he will change so quickly I will want to look back on them!  So, here are a few faces I have managed to catch in between playing with the big boys, so many feedings, meals, holding Penn a lot, laundry, cleaning, well, you get the point!


Look at that yawn!  He often gets upset after these big yawns, too much of a stretch for him I think.  It makes me sad when he cries afterwards.

But on this day he was actually quite happy for a few minutes.  Often after he eats we sit and stare at each other.  If I say, "smile," and give him a big smile he usually returns the expression.  Melts my heart every time.

Sometimes after Penn eats though, he's just passed out in a milky coma as I call it.  Here's a glimpse.  Yep, he's totally out!

Last night Doug wanted to go out as a family.  Its ounded like a great idea originally especially with the heat and the fact that I still haven't found much motivation for dinner prep.  We don't usually head into the suburbs, but we had a gift card for Olive Garden, so that was our target.  Unfortunately with the traffic we got there about 20 minutes later than we would have liked.  Then there was a 30 minute wait when we got there.  So, we reset the boys' expectations and Doug took them to Chick-fil-A at the mall and I ran two errands down the road.  The boys did great with the change of plans (they had been excited to take Mommy out on a date, so we were so thankful that Koen especially was flexible and rolled with the punches).  Doug and I just skipped dinner out and ended up treating ourselves to pizza after the big boys were in bed later.  Here's a shot of Penn riding along all night in his car seat.  He mostly slept, but he perked up for my errands.  

Doug got some special cuddle time (and lots of hang out cranky time too) last night after our weird outing.  It's fun that Penn stays up after the big boys go to bed right now.  It gives us some special time to just be with him.  He's often cranky during these hours, but I still am thankful for the elongated one-on-one time.

Today I was attempting to get good pictures of Penn at every turn and he just hasn't cooperated, so here's the best thing I got (literally deleted about 15 blurry or super sad pictures).  He's a pretty handsome guy even when a little out of focus.

Now, I know I've been blogging a lot about Penn and not so much about Koen and Tavin.  This is no reflection on my feelings towards the boys, just the fact that Penn is new material for photos, etc.  Koen and Tavin have been troopers daily doing really similar activities that we've been doing all summer.  As mentioned before we stick to the favorites playgrounds with friends, walks in the neighborhood, gym pool on Daddy's day off, pool in the backyard when stuck at home with Mommy, etc.  Koen and Tavin have been so great this summer with all their time together, getting used to Penn and our new family dynamic and having long visits from Gramma and Aunt Abbie that just ended this past week.  I'm so blessed by all my boys that just take these things in stride at such a young age.  We are missing our family, but I think we are doing well settling into the norm here as just the 5 of us.