Hanging around the house

Last week was my first week of having all three boys home at the same time. For the most part, we got back into our routine of playing outside, taking naps/having quiet times, and me preparing supper. I'm loving being a mama to three boys because they're always up to boy things. Like this....

Levi found a baby lizard outside and he played with it until we told him he HAD to leave it alone and let it be. 

Mason continues to be obsessed with his "magazines"= trader magazines that list heavy equipment and trucks for sale. We have a huge collection of these thanks to my Uncle Pat, who's a truck driver and brings us back ones from Canada. There are tons of different activities with these beyond Mason's favorite of studying EVERY page and talking about which ones he's going to buy. Levi gets in on the action, too, usually by cutting out individual pictures. 

Part of our routine always involves heading down to the garden in the morning and then after supper. On this particular morning, I had picked some muscadine grapes. Levi and Mason chowed down on these while Tyler watched. 

 Little man...I love you!

I convinced Levi and Mason to weed out the tire where we pulled up our watermelon vines. They're big helpers in the garden!

My three sons, by the okra. 

 It's not going to be any easier getting an "all smiling and looking at the camera" picture with there little boys involved! Ha!

Saturday Levi and Mason spent the morning with their Grandma and Da. Tyler and I enjoyed some swing time. He has his mouth open all the time...catching flies!

 He continues to be a good baby--still very noisy--especially when he burps his man-size burps. But overall, he's really easygoing and rarely cries unless he's hungry. 

The big boys returning from their morning at Grandma's. 

Hello there, Mr. Curious! His hair is already receding in McLeod fashion--maybe he'll get my curls when his other hair comes in (probably not, though- because Levi and Mason have their daddy's straight hair). 

Tyler's 1st Two Weeks

Tyler celebrated his 2 week birthday yesterday! We've really had a great past two weeks with him in our family. Levi and Mason are doing well with their brother and Tyler is a sweet (and easy, right now) baby. Here he is, watching Mason play with play dough.

He's a very alert baby for his age, having spells of being awake and observant for 2+hours at a time. He looks much older than 2 weeks right here--maybe it's his outfit? Either way, he's cute!

Levi especially loves his baby brother. He wants to be around Tyler all the time and I have to remind him (constantly) to get out of Tyler's face. Tyler doesn't seem to mind all this up close and personal contact, however. 

Carey brought over her crew so the cousin group could gather--look--SEVEN cute kids! Ryan is holding Tyler, then there's Mallory, Mason, Levi, and Weston holding Parker (9 months old). What fun they're going to have in the coming years!

Once Tyler's umbilical cord fell off, I gave him his first bath. He liked the experience. Really, he's such an easy baby...rarely cries unless he's hungry. 

Clean boy, all bundled up in the towel that dried off Levi and Mason from their baths when they were infants.  It's really neat being able to reuse stuff with Tyler. 

And here he is yesterday, heading to his 2 week check-up with our pediatrician. Tyler is growing right along--already at 8 lbs 2 oz (birth weight was 7 lbs 8 oz), grew half and inch and his head is growing, too. We're watching his head growth more closely than with the other boys because his fontanelles are larger than average (meaning, he has bigger soft spots on his skull). His newborn blood screens came back normal and he's an active, vibrant baby so there's no cause for worry right now--I'm just much more cautious with his head (and have to be extra diligent with watching Levi and Mason around him). 

Levi and Mason have spent this week at Papa and GinGin's so it's been extra nice for me to connect with Tyler. We've sat out on the porch; checked the garden and chickens; walked over to our neighbor's home site; shopped at Target, Marshall's and Hancock Fabric'; had the oil changed on my van (already his 5K on it!); and had lunch today with Ashley at Jason's Deli. Tyler is a good sleeper--usually has a bottle around 9 p.m, sleeps until 1, has a bottle, sleeps until 4, has a bottle and sleeps until 7. Hiccups sometimes keep him up at night (Levi claimed that Tyler gave him hiccups--I explained they're not contagious) but overall, his night schedule is pretty manageable. 

Tyler Ryan McLeod Arrives!

This past Wednesday, our third son arrived! Although I had been feeling contractions all day, I didn't actually start timing them until around 8:30. We had put the boys down and were starting to watch a movie. My midwives had advised me to head to the hospital once the contractions were 5-7 minutes apart--but once I started timing them, they were only 3! So around 10 p.m. we called Ashley's parents to come over and watch the boys and we left for the hospital. 

When we got to the hospital around 10:30, my contractions were coming every 2 minutes and I had dilated to 6 cm (9 cm is the final). The nurses worked quickly to place an IV in me so I could have an epidural (pain medicine), but I had a feeling I wasn't going to have the luxury of a pain-free delivery.  Instead, my midwife Pam, Ashley and Charlene, the nurse, coached me through a crazy fast natural delivery. Around 11:40 my water broke and then almost immediately after, our baby boy arrived at 11:43 p.m. weighing 7 lbs 8 oz. 

He was extremely alert, staring around at his surroundings and taking in everything. Amazingly, my pain after the delivery was very low and I felt great!

Because it midnight here in SC, I called my brother in Colorado where it was 10 p.m. to tell him the news. 

Ashley headed to the nursery for the first bath. 

Levi and Mason came to visit with Mama and Papa. Levi is a very proud big brother. Mason was still a little unsure of everything. We waited to settle on a name for this newest McLeod until we were gathered as a family. Out of  choices, Levi and Mason chose Tyler (we had been discussing names for some time and Tyler was consistently a favorite). We chose Ryan for the middle name to honor Ashley's friend Stan's younger brother who was killed in Afghanistan. So here we are with Tyler Ryan McLeod. 

Ashley taught Tyler how to play Angry Birds while we were in the hospital. 

Here is Tyler, alert, dressed and ready to go home on Friday morning! 

and here is Tyler in the carseat, now resting. 

Once home Levi wanted to be around Tyler all the time!

Saturday morning Ashley's grandparents came from McBee to meet the newest McLeod boy. 

Grandma Ann and Joe. 

Grandpa. 

Saturday afternoon Carey and Weston stopped by to bring us supper and meet their newest nephew and cousin. 

Weston is so good with little ones--he has lots of practice since Parker is 9 months old now. 

Tyler has had several periods of being very awake. Here's Papa enjoying some time with his third grandson. 

Look at that sweet boy!

Mama and Papa left this morning to go back to NC. They'll be back in a week to take Levi and Mason up for some Papa and GinGin time. 

And here's Tyler this morning, checking out everything! So far he's a really sweet baby. He's a consistent eater so he's already almost back at his birth weight. The biggest thing we notice about him right now is how many noises he makes ALL the time--lots of those little baby grunts, etc. 

And to give a comparison between Tyler and his brothers...here are some newborn pictures of Levi. 

 

and Mason.