December 21, 2015: the day I got my first grey hair

Lo started crawling and little d got two nerf guns. Coincidence? I think not!

The littlest of littles

I've been trying to spend more one on one time with my kids lately...

Roughly translated that means I can't for the life of me figure out simultaneously napping 5 month old twins with their 2.5 year old sister during the 2ish hours I have to myself while d is in kindergarten so I'm trying to be optimistic about having no time to nap or clean or read a book during the day (sadly, my favorite pastimes... I probably need a hobby someday).

Today Lo took a ridiculous nap on the way to the gym... Then while I was at the gym he continued to sleep... And when we came home I had to wake him up. That boy sure loves his morning nap!! (Lan usually takes a longer evening nap to make up for the lack of morning nap) but then it messes up when I put them down in the afternoon because Lan is falling all over himself he's so tired and Lo  is ready to carpe diem. So we 4 (kevs and little a) played for awhile till he got bored and she got tired and then it was just Lo and me.

Not even six months old and the boy loves balls of any size, but the best ones are the ones he can hold in his hand. He is learning to grab with intent and loves taking his binky in and out of his mouth (giggling the whole time of course!) and reaching for it when he shoots it out of his mouth in the crib.

It is fascinating to watch him... He has always had a lot of flailing crazy and jerky movements but when he sees a ball (or something he really wants) he gets this focused look on his face and you can almost see the synapses (is that a correct reference? I don't even know) going from his brain to his hands as he manages to grab this ball. He's been doing it for a few weeks now and of course getting better each day at controlling his body...

He is just so lovely and his smiles are divine. Look at that concentration!

I thank God every day for giving me such happy babies. They may not be good sleepers but they sure do make up for it with the happiest, most infectiously joyous attitudes... Have you seen the movie inside out?? They have their sad moments (going too long without a nap or a feeding) but I can see that Joy is quite clearly head of command in all of my children but especially my babies which makes managing the days (and nights) much easier than it would be otherwise.

Littlest little Lo at 7 weeks

Sweet little Lo!

My little little tiny boy... looking back at the pictures of the other siblings, Lo is by far my smallest baby, befitting as he is the baby of this family (even if it is only by a few minutes).

He may be small but his spirit is enormous. He is a calming presence and even when he cries as loud as he can it is never even close to the loudness of his other siblings, which is not a bad thing. His cry is this adorable, nasal little cry, usually snorting when he is really upset, which is super adorable. He is a skinny little thing, takes his sweet time nursing and usually pops on and off like a dozen times while nursing. He will NOT nurse unless he is really really hungry, so I usually have to wait 3 hours between feedings with him. I never worry about him overeating like I occasionally do with Lan but his laziness at the boob makes for a whole lot of milk leaking all over the place when I nurse him. Unlike Lan, who likes to keep his hands right up near his face at all times, Lo does not mind his hands being swaddled and it actually works to his benefit because he manages to keep his beloved binky in his mouth and not knock it out when his hands are swaddled.

Lo was the first of the twins to smile and he smiles easily. I can look at him and he smiles! A big, gummy open mouthed smile that just.....oh. It is so magical. He reminds me so much of little a at this age. He is so easygoing and loves to be around people, cooing and making little "agoo" noises (which he was just doing with little d this evening and my heart about exploded it was so cute). He loves having people around him and while he is usually content, if someone is in front of him and then leaves he cries. He falls asleep easily and just about everywhere... I don't know for a fact (maybe when I am getting more sleep I will be able to keep track of it a little bit better) but I am pretty sure he sleeps more than Lan.

He does not like tummy time and his head control is a little bit weak, but makes sense since he seems to be smaller and have less muscle tone than his brother. When Drew or the other three kids are doing anything, they are making noise. Lo seems to be more like me in his enjoyment of just being quiet and enjoying the silence. He is so tiny for his size one diapers and the 3-6 month clothes I have both boys in look huge on him, not because he isn't big enough (he is taller than Lan) but because he hasn't filled them in like his huskier brother yet. I could not ask for a better youngest child in our family. He is a dream baby, a fabulous snuggler, and is just so incredibly pleasant to be around nearly all the time.

Lo's blessing from his daddy (slightly longer than his big brother's blessing by about 45 seconds, but to be fair that is probably just because Drew had more time to think about stuff) : Drew blessed him that he...
Will be a strength to his friends and family.
Will be strong in the gospel and have the desire to share that gospel and peace you feel from it with those around you.
Will be a great asset to your family.
Follow the example of leaders in and out of the church.
Feel the atonement in your life and follow the example of your Savior Jesus Christ.
Feel your family and Heavenly Father's love and strive to live in accordance to gospel.
Feel the spirit leading and guiding you, have the spirit of discernment and be able to recognize right from wrong and have a desire to follow the right path.
Bless you with a desire to do missionary work with dedication and hard work.
Bless you to shine as example to those you come in contact with and constantly look for opportunities to bless the lives of people you come in contact with.
Take a young woman to be sealed in the temple.
Make studies a priority in your life (spiritual and school and work, whatever path you choose).