Adjusting to Life As a Family of Five

The first few weeks as a family of five were spent just kind of figuring it all out.  We were grateful to have meals brought to us by family and friends to help us transition and just focus on making sure everyone got the attention they needed.  :)

Ashton came home to visitors!  Tristan's mom had stayed the night with the boys so Tristan could stay at the hospital with me so they were here waiting for Ashton to come home.

You can see how yellow his eyes were from the jaundice.  Luckily, it cleared up quickly and with no problems or light therapy needed (like Ethan had).

We were pretty tired (still are) and I told Tristan one day while he was bathing Ashton that he needed to look more happy.  This was his response.  I hope Ashton knows how crazy his dad is!

First sponge bath.  Not so happy.

He did calm down once Tristan started washing his hair and massaging his head.  I can't blame him.  Who doesn't love a good head massage??

Snuggled up and happy.  Little did we know he was busy making a mess inside that towel after his bath to get him all nice and clean.  He's already a little stinker!

We tried to find ways to keep the boys busy.  Ethan has preschool 4 days a week in the afternoon, but in the mornings we tried to do something fun at home or Tristan would take them out to do something.  One morning they painted.  Ashton supervised.  :)

Meal time is always messy when it comes to Carter.  After dinner one night he literally looked like he had been in a spaghetti tornado!

Sleepy boy

1 week old!

Carter has been going through this phase where he likes to unzip his pajamas and leave it like this.  What a goof!

Playing around at home one day.  Ethan was channeling his inner D.J.

One afternoon while having some floor time I caught Ashton sucking on his 2 middle fingers.  He hasn't done it since, but that might be because I introduced a pacifier to him.  We'll see if it becomes a habit.

One night in his glider he was holding his hands up funny like this:

But Tristan and I were sitting on the floor and this was all we could see!  he looked like a little bull hiding under his blanket!

It has been so nice having Tristan home to help our little family transition to a little bit bigger one.  Ashton seems to be very mild-mannered and content most of the time.  Hopefully he stays that way!  I'm so glad to have our little Ashton here as a part of our family.  The boys love him and are always asking to hold him or asking about how he is doing.  The way a new baby multiplies love in a home is such a blessing!!

The Arrival of Ashton Reid Bernard--9/20/2013

After EAGERLY awaiting the arrival of our newest little man, he finally decided he was ready to come into this world!!  Introducing:

Ashton Reid Bernard

September 20, 2013     8:04 a.m.

8 lbs. 5 oz., 20.5 inches long

 I woke up around 4 that morning with what I thought was a Braxton-Hicks contraction so I went back to sleep.  Another painful contraction woke me up around 6 so I decided to take a shower and make sure I had my stuff in order just in case.  By the time I was done showering I told Tristan I thought we had better call someone to come and head to the hospital.  I didn't want to cut it too close like I did with Carter.  We arrived at Capital Medical Center around 7 and checked in through the ER and they wheeled me up to my room.  I was at 5-6 cm at that point and in full-on, intense labor.  By 8:04 our little guy was here--even though our doctor wasn't.  She didn't make it in time--AGAIN.  I guess my babies just like being delivered by nurses!

 We spent a quiet afternoon at the hospital while Tristan went home to spend time with Ethan and Carter and take Ethan to preschool.  They came back around dinner time and that's when we had some visitors arrive!

 Grandma Bernard showed up right about the same time as Tristan and the boys.  Look at that happy grin from a proud big brother!

My mom and dad showed up shortly afterwards.  Carter was equally excited and was all smiles while Papa Walker took his turn holding him, too.

 K.K. and Anderson also arrived right about that time, so we had a full house!  Ashton sure knew he was loved!

 Finally a picture with my little man!  I was pooped by that point!

 Our new little family--that's not so little any more!  We will need a bigger bed if we have any more kids!

 The boys wanted a chance to hold their brother and both did a great job.

 Carter was so quiet, calm and still while he held him--which is not at all like Carter!  Both boys love their little brother so much already.

 Eventually everyone needed to go get on with their Friday night, so my parents went and got me dinner while Tristan took the boys home to help get them down for the night.  He got back to the hospital around 9 and we settled in for the night.  We had a late visit from the pediatrician, who wrote up his discharge papers.  Ashton did really well and we were all set to head out first thing the next morning.

All ready to head home to our family!

 It's hard to believe that our THIRD little boy is here with us now after anticipating his arrival for the last 9 months!  We are so glad to have him here with us and can't wait for the fun and craziness that is to come!

Carter Turns 2!!

Since we were expecting our third little man to come any time, we didn't have a lot planned on Carter's actual birthday.  Ethan has preschool in the afternoon, so we were kind of limited by that as well.

We started the day off with a special birthday breakfast.  Carter decided that he was a big boy and wanted to help with the pancakes.  Making the birthday boy work for his meal I guess!

A special pancake for the special boy!

Diggin' in!

Later that evening Carter opened his gifts.  He and Ethan couldn't wait to get the new sheets on the bed to try them out!

He fell in love with this stuffed seal when we were down in Westport in July, so we grabbed it for his birthday.  As you can see, he was very happy to see it again!

And his new "big boy" comforter with Elmo on it.  He was very excited!

We got an ice cream cake from DQ this year.  Carter prefers ice cream over cake, so I figured this fit the bill (and allowed a very pregnant, very tired mama a break!).

Listening to his birthday song

Making a wish!

So excited!

Yummy!

We are so thankful for this completely goofy, loving, rowdy boy.  I can't imagine our family without him.

A Pre-Birthday Trip to the Zoo

We decided to make a quick trip up to the Point Defiance Zoo the day before Carter's birthday for some fun.  Ethan has preschool on Tuesday afternoons and we didn't want to be rushed to get back for that on Carter's actual birthday.

The resident peacocks greeted us as we arrived.  We found this other one huddled in the corner napping.  Summer is definitely disappearing quickly!

 We were really lucky with how the weather turned out.  It rained the night before and drizzled on the way up there but it was sunny and nice while we were there.  The boys wanted to wear their  rain boots and it was a good thing they did.  They took advantage of the puddles and did some puddle-spalshing!

 We hit up the aquarium first.  It's always a favorite for both boys.  We hadn't seen the new stingray touch tank yet, so it was fun to do something new first.

Carter peeking in on the stingrays.

 Carter was super excited to pet them, but Ethan was kind of standoffish.

 Finally, right when we were getting ready to go see the sharks he changed his mind and really enjoyed touching them, too.

 Checking out the shark resting on the sand

 Carter loved all the colorful fish tanks

 The octopus was actually visible that day.  She is usually hiding and hard to see!

 We stopped by the tide pool touch tanks, too, and the boys had fun touching the starfish, sea cucumbers, crabs and sea urchins.

 Stopping for a photo op!

 We also managed to see the baby clouded leopards--finally!  Every time we go to the zoo it seems like they have them put away.  This day they were out playing and attacking each other.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  (Sorry about the glare.  I had a hard time getting a good picture!)

 Carter and Dad visiting the elephants

 This is the younger of the 3 baby Sumatran tigers at our zoo right now.  She was napping in the sun but I managed to get a picture of her furry little head.  She was super cute!

 We also stopped by another new exhibit at the zoo where you could be in a room with free-roaming birds and feed them.  There were flying all over the place and I think I almost got hit a couple of times! The boys really liked being able to get so up-close and personal with them.

 Carter was really excited about the meerkats!

 Wrestling with the polar bears

The birthday boy and his big brother on the way back to the car

 On the way home we stopped at Sonic for happy hour to get the boys a birthday treat.  Ethan and Carter shared a Slush and I got a yummy peanut butter cookie milkshake.  Soooo good!

Look at that happy face (and chubby chin!)

 Slurping it down!

 When we got home the boys wanted to use spoons to get every. last. bit out.  And, yes, Carter is using a tablespoon to do it!  :)

 High on sugar!

 Ethan was lovin' an excuse to have a "Slurpee".  He loves them!

It was fun to get out and go celebrate our little man as we prepare for our next little one to join our family (hopefully soon)!