He's a sweet, sturdy boy who loves his meals and is able to tolerate a great deal of sibling loves, which bodes well for his future.
The kids got to visit Patrick at the hospital and there was great joy. Bradley makes the most amazing two tone "AAwww" sounds when he sees Patrick. Eleanor wasn't as sure about the baby at first, what she was sure about was the hospital food sitting beside my bed. It seems graham crackers trump new baby.
 |
| Bradley making his "aww" face |
 |
| Yup. We've made a fair number of little people. I don't see why people act like having three kids in three years means we'll be busy ... |
 |
| Abby and the little guy! |
Literally two minutes later:
Our leaving the hospital photo. I like having a picture of how tiny the baby is the first time in the car seat, all too soon these children get big and it becomes a feat of strength to haul them around in this thing.
It feels so good to hold an infant again, I didn't realize how much I love tiny baby snuggles. I also didn't realize how gigantic Eleanor is. Nathan and I both commented on how she went from feeling so small to so big as soon as we had an infant to compare her with.
Labor was not as nice with Patrick as it was with his two older siblings so my recovery has been a bit slower, which has been frustrating. I spent the weekend after he was born laid up with some back pain so I was very happy to get to spend a little time with Bradley and Eleanor in their room before bedtime last Saturday. They were excited to see me and Bradley started "accidentally" falling down on his rug and telling me he had fallen in mud. Eleanor ran by and I told her I hoped she would not fall down in mud too and she promptly fell onto her bottom and then flopped down on her back on the floor. I told Bradley that Eleanor was muddy now too so he started "cleaning her up" with a couple of the small lovey blankets nearby. Both Eleanor and I thought this was great so when Bradley fell down again a minute later I asked her if she was going to help clean up Bradley with the same small blankets. With great enthusiasm, she grabbed them and started circling Bradley while whacking blankets at Bradley's face and chest and legs with great vigor. Bradley and I both blinked a few times in shock and then we all started laughing. I tried to tell Eleanor to be a little more gentle but I said this while laughing so I don't think she took me very seriously.
 |
| This is what I'm dealing with. Oh dear. |
The little cuties have done really well transitioning to having a new baby brother, I really don't know which is happier about Patrick. I guess Nathan and I have both been bringing Patrick into Eleanor's room whenever she wakes up in the morning or from a nap. Nathan made the mistake of going in there all by himself the other day so Eleanor had to ask him "Where baby Patrick?" She also wouldn't stop fussing when I came into her room with Patrick the other day and it turns out she was upset with me because she wanted more Patrick cuddles in her bed before it was time to get up and tackle the afternoon. Eleanor sounds like a wounded puppy when she's sad about something, she whimpers piteously until she gets what she wants. She got what she wanted.
Patrick has a fair number of people looking out for him. Lucky boy!
Patrick is going to be able to sleep through anything.
Team effort care! Note that Patrick has been given Bradley's favorite egg toy.
Instant classic video
Bradley begs to have Patrick on his lap at every opportunity
And even Sookie is on board. Sookie lives for this. She's our nanny kitty, she comes running when a baby cries and Patrick is lucky she hasn't gotten cozier than this when I nurse him. She used to lay down on top of Eleanor.
Nathan has had a fairly glorious weekend thus far.
I ... don't even know what to say about this photo.
We have family pictures to look forward to! We had them done this past Monday so I should be getting the cd of photos within the next week or so. Thank goodness Abby was still here during the photos, Patrick was just fine but his older siblings were a little hyped up.
Here's an unrelated video of the two of them prancing around in their "boat" while asking for Toodles (from Mickey Mouse) to come help them solve problems.
Look, so photogenic!
And even smiles for Mommy!
And a little video of just the Patrick boy. Poor thing gets hiccups at the end.
I am so crazy about this sweet little fella.
Abby is owed a huge debt for all she did in the two weeks she was here, things went a lot smoother both for time at the hospital and time afterward because of her. Not every person could handle this.
Video 1: Popping Balloon Mayhem
Video 2: Eleanor is Good at Hiding
And here is a photo for proof that Bradley legitimately enjoyed having Abby around when he wasn't busy trying to hunt down and cling to Mommy.
Not that Mommy minds it too much when it happens ... Bradley cuddles are a pretty wonderful thing to behold.
We're settling in pretty well and now that I'm mostly recovered (I even lost my voice last week. Not fun.) things are going fairly smoothly. We're crazy about our sweet Patrick boy and can already not imagine our family without him!
Family dinner with a snoozy boy.
So very tired!
