Life with 4

I don't take many pictures these days. Poor Lydia will wonder if her newborn days even existed based on the lack of pictures. Poor kid.

Joseph is in another turnaround. I think for the last three kids, he has either just ended a stressful turnaround or started one right when we have a baby. So he is working 3am to 3pm and then picking up Ashton from school. That way, I don't have to worry about feeding Lydia at just the right time in order to get Ashton. Plus it entails loading, unloading, loading again, and unloading again 3 kids to go get her. I could do the car line but it takes FOREVER.

Tanner and Gemma have done well at staying home most days and playing around the house. We try to get out to at least the grocery store, library, playgroup, etc. most days. But we've definitely slowed life WAY down. Tanner really loves to build his robot space machines as seen in the picture above. So he's happy we have more time for that. Ashton is the one who needs to get out of the house every day. Gemma and Tanner are much more content to stay home and play.

Joseph's mom arrives Wednesday night and it will be nice to have some extra help. Since Lydia is strictly bottle fed now, it really frees me up to do whatever is necessary. Plus I scheduled a bajillion doctor appointments while she is here. Lydia will have her one month appointment, Gemma has her heart check up, I have my 6 week check up, a work meeting, and maybe another meeting in there. But I am sure the kids will wear her out every day. They wear me out most days too.

So far, four weeks into having four kids, the biggest difference I see is this. Before, almost always, one kid needed something. One of the three kids needed me or needed help with something. Now, it seems like two of them always do. One of them is almost always Lydia but that's alright. This time around, there are more sibling disputes to settle, more snacks/drinks to get, more clothes to find, etc. I do appreciate Ashton and Tanner's help. They do a lot for us and it definitely is noticeable. But I feel like there are always two kids requesting my presence whereas before, it just felt like one. Maybe when Lydia gets older and more independent, it will go back to one kid the majority of the time.