Getting bigger...

Our tiny little peanut is growing fast. Today he went to the doctors and he now weighs 8 pounds, 3 ounces and is 20 1/4 inches long. Our pediatrician, Dr. Michel, or "Dr. Eddie" as our kids call him actually gave me a high five for the weight gain. I think tonight we may actually try moving him into his crib in the nursery to see if he sleeps any better. He still wakes up about every 3 hours to eat, but he is a noisy sleeper and it has been keeping me up at night too. Now that I know he is gaining weight, I won't feel like I'm starving him if I don't get up immediately when he stirs.

My neurologist appointment last week went fine. He seems to think that since my legs have gotten a bit better on their own, that they will continue to improve. Thankfully my reflexes and strength have started to come back and I was given the ok to drive and carry the baby, that was all I was hoping for. On Friday I do have to have an MRI done, just as a precaution to make sure there is no bleeding in my spine from the epidural that is causing the numbness. I'm not that worried anymore, just as long as eventually I am back to normal.

Since Mason can't move to get away from me yet, I have been going crazy taking lots of pictures of him. We may not think he is too cute in these pictures a year or so from now, but to us, right now he is the most adorable thing ever.

Adjusting to baby

Having three kids is hard work! Since Mason has entered our family, we have had to make some changes at home. Poor Gavin has taken the addition of his baby brother the hardest and has been acting all out if sorts. He has never been overly affectionate, but now always asks to snuggle and hold hands. He has been having major tantrums over little things and has not been sleeping well. I am hopeful that this is just a stage and that he will soon adjust to our new family dynamic. My heart goes out to him though, now that he is stuck in the middle of the baby and the big boy he doesn't quite know how to act.

Cameron is in love with his new brother. He is always asking to hold him and tries to tickle him and make him smile, despite the fact that I have explained that babies don't smile when they are this young. He is quick to give the baby back though when he smells like "yucky poop."

Mason so far (knock on wood) has been a great baby! We had one really hard night in the beginning, but since then he has been doing amazingly well. He's a great eater and is happy to just sit quietly and look around when he is awake. He's like a little clock when it comes to eating, every three hours almost on the nose and he is awake and ready. I am just crossing my fingers that he stays this way!

Jeremy just loves to sit and hold Mason. At night he puts him to sleep on his chest while he is downstairs. We both just love to sit and stare at him, wondering about what he is thinking and who he will be when he gets older.

My legs are slowly getting better. I am able to go up and down the stairs without the crutches now, but my knees are still pretty numb. I have an appointment tomorrow with a neurologist that hopefully will be able to give me some answers. The biggest thing about all of this is the fact that I can't carry the baby and I can't drive. Hopefully after tomorrow I will be told that driving is ok. My mom and my sister Becky have both been a HUGE help with coming to pick Cameron up from school and driving me around to run errands and just get out of the house! I am anxious to recover from this and get on with life.

We definitely feel blessed to have three healthy little boys. Our house is full and our family is complete. Now is the hard part- raising them. Hopefully we can have a little fun in the process.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

And the crowd goes wild! This year Spring has sprung in our home with a little leaguer in our midst. Cameron is finally old enough to play T-ball and Jeremy and I have been so excited to see him play. His team is the Red Wings and they had their first game on Saturday. As much as Cameron has loved baseball so far, he was much more excited that he gets "Big League Chew" gum at his games. The game itself was hysterical. One little boy decided that he had hit a home run and ran all around the bases despite the fact that his teammates were still at their bases. Twice a little boy got tackled because two other boys wanted the ball. I don't think there were any outs the entire game, but those kids had a blast. Cameron was up at bat four times and he was proud to tell us that he got the ball in the field three times during the game. Since Jeremy was big into baseball growing up, I see this as the beginning of many, many Saturdays spent at the ball field with three little boys in our family and I wouldn't have it any other way!

He's Here!

Mason

Mason Harding Johnson arrived on Wednesday, April 9, at 2:41 pm. He weighs 6 pounds, 13 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. He is our smallest baby and has been great so far! His middle name is my mom's maiden name and a tribute to my grandmother that passed away in January. We think he looks just like his brothers and will fit right into the Johnson clan. We came home today and are trying to adjust to life again. The only complication associated with Mason's entrance into the world is the fact that I had to push for over an hour and a half because he was coming out face up which makes it much more difficult. Because of how long I had to push and the fact that my knees were up by my chest for all that time, I have some nerve damage to my legs and will have to walk with crutches for about two weeks because my knees and calves feel completely numb. It's not exactly the ideal situation, but considering all that could've gone wrong we still feel incredibly lucky. We are just so grateful that he is here and he is healthy. Thank you for all of the well wishes and prayers in our behalf and also to everyone who came to visit. We can't wait to show him off to everyone!

Play Dough Recipe

Today Gavin had a playdate with his good friend Coleman. We made play dough and this is the best recipe I have found. It's not sticky, it doesn't require any strange ingredients, and it smells so yummy!

Kool-Aid Play Dough

1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. salt
1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid
1 c. boiling water
1 1/2 T oil

Mix all together in a large bowl. Let cool. Store play dough in a tupperware or ziplock bag.