Goodbye Grandma and Grandpa Seibert- June.

We couldn't keep Grandma and Grandpa forever, and we bogged them down with chores, so by the end of the week they were ready to go. Grandpa was a big help with some tasks we'd been saving around the house- especially after he installed ceiling fans in our bedrooms. Things are much more comfortable upstairs now. Their other main task was to keep Henry and I entertained all week. We had a great time.

Henry discovered the comedy of Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. I think he likes it.

Henry also fell deeply in love with his new Dick and Jane book and took every chance to read it out loud to anyone who would listen. (Grandpa got to listen to a lot of it while he installed ceiling fans.) On Sunday, he brought it downstairs and read us 70 pages straight. Way to go, Buster!

Top on Grandma's agenda (besides ALWAYS volunteering to change dirty diapers) was haircuts for the whole family. Since my hair grows straight forward and is always in my face, mama won't let me grow it long- even though it is what papa and I want.

But my new short 'do is pretty cute. Thanks Grandma!

Next up was mama's haircut. While she got her hair cut, I grabbed her sunglasses and beer and chilled out in the lawn chair. Like we told Grandpa, this is Southern living.

You can't really see it, but Grandma got Georgie a cute little dress with fish on it. Georgie liked it so much she gave Grandpa a big smile.

Now that Grandma's gone, there aren't nearly as many arms to hold George. She doesn't really care for that.

Mama bribed us with cookies to get a nice picture with Grandma and Grandpa. Of course, she also forgot to turn on the flash for all the good smiles. At least we're not picking our noses.

I even got to hold Georgie on my own (kind of)! Today, I thought I'd be funny and started calling Georgie "Christopher" again. I thought this was hilarious.

Thanks so much for spending the week with us, Grandma and Grandpa! We couldn't have done it without you!

Lots of Georgie- Mama.

I was taking a nap with Georgie on the couch when Henry wanted to take videos. (17 minute videos, to be exact.) He must have an eye for good light, because I got these shots.

Georgiana's really gotten pretty. She's not so splotchy anymore and she's filling out nicely. And the baby acne hasn't set in yet.

We'd brag about how she's slept 6 hours straight a few nights in a row, except that after those 6 hours, she wants to get up, even if it's only 5am. Grr.

Georgie's a super nurser. Tons better than Henry and June. Third time is a charm. But she's much needier kid than the other. She constantly needs held (hurry up and get here, Aunt Jenni!), doesn't like her nuk (though she's getting better), and does not care to be swaddled. Unfortunately, for baby George, she still gets swaddled at night and has to deal with having her nuk shoved in her mouth when she tries to get up to have fun at 4am.

We took so many good pictures, Georgie started to wake up. And the waking up pictures ended up my favorite.

"Ugh. The camera- AGAIN? Is that thing stuck to your face? And now you have Henry taking video coverage?"

I think this one might go on the baby announcement, I like it so much.

Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?

Poor kid.

Kid swap- Henry.

Last weekend, James and his family came over to meet Georgie. James wanted to stay and play, so mama told him he could come back this week. So she set up a morning swap. James came over to our house and June went to theirs to play with Andy.

Mama thinks she got the easy side of the deal. For the most part, James and I get along and play well together. There was a little sulking because both boys were trying to assert themselves as the leader. But the promise of juice boxes and Fruit by the Foot helped clear up any animosity.

After snack time, we painted suncatchers and rounded out the morning with a few rounds of Candyland. I won the fastest round of Candyland ever. James was a good sport about getting sent back to the beginning of the board over and over, but mama had to have a talk to me about being a sore winner. It was hard for James to be a good sport when I kept yelling "I'm winning! I'm winning!"


June had a great time at her playdate too. Here's a little back story. This play guitar goes in and out of vogue at our house. Lately, it's a big deal to June. She spent an hour sitting on her chair and playing it the other night.

So Andy has a similar guitar that plays Backyardigans songs. Apparently, June was so enthralled with one song, "Hold on Tight," that she spent the entire morning playing it over and over again. Lucky for June, Miss Kerri also has a CD with 36 Backyardigans songs on it and she made a copy for us. Too bad we haven't heard the other 35 yet. Every time a new sing came on, June pleaded for "Hold on Tight again!" So mama set it on repeat and we've heard it about 200 times now. But it's worth it because every time it comes back on, June is still pumped to hear it again! Plus, now she also insists on dragging the step stool over by the stove so she can listen and dance. How cute is that?

First bath- Georgiana.

If two kids in a bathtub isn't noisy enough, add one more kid to the mix.

Luckily, they didn't put me in the tub with Buster and Sister. They are crazy.

This is what life has become. Me screaming, Henry running around half naked, and Junie drinking bath water.

After I got used to it, my bath wasn't so bad.

The big kids have been getting lots of threats over getting too rowdy in the bathtub lately.

We mentioned that my umbilical cord fell off at the park. Mama attributes it to the fact that after my bath I got a nice warm up and dry off from the hair dryer. They really dried out my cord. Papa thinks my cord is gross, and mama agrees that the gunk underneath it can get pretty nasty. But a bath and a blast from the hair dryer got rid of that.

And to top it off, a nice cuddle with papa. Mama swears she has the exact same picture of papa with June. She just needs to find it.

After our bath, June asked to hold me for the first time. This picture is so darn cute.

June certainly has been regressing a bit. She doesn't want to be "big girl June," but instead "Baby June."

Lucky for her, she's so cute she gets away with sitting in the bouncy chair.

What a stinker.

After the kids went to bed, I got to stay up with Grandpa. That drives Henry crazy.

Grandma and Grandpa Seibert- June.

Like George said, Grandma and Grandpa Seibert rolled in on Sunday.

Henry got his camera out and took a picture of Grandpa with Georgie. He's also discovered the video mode on the camera. Today he took a 17 minute video of Georgie sleeping before he filled up the video card. At least we found something that kept him quiet and still for 17 minutes.

Grandma sure likes her newest granddaughter. Did we mention she's the sixth girl? The two boys are never going to catch up with the girls.

One of the presents Georgiana brought Henry was a Dick and Jane book. Henry loves that he can read it and will read it anytime there's a request. He read Grandpa about 8 pages.

When I wake up every morning, my first question is "Where's baby Georgie?"

Grandma asked "Where's baby June?" I said "No baby June. Big girl."

This picture makes mama want to cry. Buster sure loves holding his little sister.

Before I was born, Henry would tell everyone "Mama will take care of the baby and I'll take care of June." Today, he finished cleaning up the toys and vacuuming for mama and declared "I think I'll just take care of everyone."

With Henry in charge of things, it gives the rest of us time to relax and catch up on cuddling.

Photo shoot- Georgie.

Grams and PawPaw left to go back to Ohio on Saturday, leaving us all alone. Luckily, our neighbors had a party, so we headed over there for free food and margaritas. I got cuddled by all the moms. Henry found three other 4 year old boys to play with. And June found two 7 year old girls who spent the entire evening guarding her on the playground and entertaining her. Mostly, mama and papa loved spending three hours uninterrupted. We had so much fun that we all stayed out until 10 pm.

On Sunday, we spent the day catching up on sleep. We had a great 2 hours when everyone in the house slept. Hopefully this continues after I stop sleeping 18 hours a day. But we'll take it while we can.

During the quiet time, mama took the opportunity to set up a photo shoot. We took these on Sunday, and I already look different. You'll be glad to know that I'm filling out and I'm not so splotchy anymore. Mama's going to have to work on keeping this blog updated.

I'm a pretty content baby. One of mama's favorite things about me is how I act when I'm waking up or falling asleep. Usually, I spend a few minutes looking around with just one eye open. On the sleeping front, no one can really complain. I'm up until around midnight. We all go to sleep and I wake up 3 or 4 times to nurse between midnight and 9 or 10. but mama doesn't mind because after I nurse, I go straight back to sleep. And last night, I slept 6 hours straight, making it the longest stretch of sleep mama has gotten in about 4 months.

I don't like to be put down. Luckily, there are lots of people to hold me all the time. We'll see if mama can keep it up when everyone leaves. Mama read somewhere once that a newborn is used to being held 24 hours a day, so any time not being held is a big adjustment. It also helps that mama has a sling.

Good news on the belly button front! Yesterday, we spent the morning at the dock park. It was a little cooler, but still very muggy, so mama unbuttoned the legs on my sleeper. When we got back to the car, Grandma noticed that my cord fell off! We never found it, so it must be somewhere in the park. Papa says I'm instantly more likable without that gross blue thing.

I'm breaking mama's heart with how much I'm changing. Yesterday, I started making cute cooing sounds. And today, mama noticed that I was moving my eyes around looking for everyone.

But most of the time I just look like this.

The last day at the hospital- Georgie.

There was another way that the Anderson hospital was different from Madison's. On Thursday night, mama had just finished nursing me for an hour and a half straight. And I was still hungry. Mama wasn't really into this, so she asked the nurse if she could give me an ounce of formula so I would settle down. Red alert! The nurse and the lactation consultant both assured mama that if she gave me formula, it would guarantee that I'd never nurse again. Mama said thanks for the advice and please go get the bottle.

Oh, that's the good stuff. A quarter ounce did the trick. And later, the nurse told mama that they gave me another half ounce in the nursery. I guess they'd already given up on mama.

Over the next two days, I got a bottle every night before bed. I sucked it down straight and was super happy. And you'll be glad to know that mama is still nursing me, despite everything the lactation consult told her.

On Friday morning, mama said we were leaving the nice, quiet hospital and headed home. WHAAAT? The kids there are crazy! NOOOO!

But the insurance company said we could stay, so mama and papa restrained me so I couldn't run away.

All ready to go.

When we got home, June delighted everyone by calling me "Baby Georgie" and not "Christopher." Sounds like they may accept me after all.

Henry was very proud to hold me.
How sweet.

Apparently, he thinks babies are the same as kittens.

What a great big brother! He's always trying to make sure I'm happy. When I'm not being held, which is a rare moment, he wants to make sure I'm in the swing or bouncy seat. And he is in charge of turning it on. And mama has also noticed that all of the boxes of diapers she's stocked up have been moved from under the bed upstairs to beside our changing station downstairs.

And he takes almost as many pictures as mama.

So far things are going pretty well. Henry, obviously, loves me. June has had a few bad moments, but she doesn't really seems to know that it's my arrival that seems to be messing everything. Luckily, she seems to be catching up on sleep and her mood is improving. Papa is trying to juggle being with us and keeping up with classes. Mama is feeling great. She wants to publicly thank our friend, Miss Page, who recommended Cramp Bark to mama to help out with postpartum pain. We had to search across the Upstate to find it, but she got some and it's amazing! Thanks for the advice, Miss Page.