A day on the Shatto Milk Farm

I find myself determined this summer to find fun, inexpensive things to do with the kids and as a family when Josh is home. It seems as though every summer since we've had kids has flown by and we barely had a chance to enjoy it and then the summer ends and our list of things we wanted to do hasn't been touched. SO this past weekend the Shatto Milk Farm had a free family day and off we went! Now, I wouldn't usually sign us up for a "free" day because of the amount of people that attend said events but I thought surely it wouldn't be too busy as it's quite a drive from KC. Well, I was wrong. When we pulled up the entire field to the left was packed with cars! I was surprised by the amount of people to say the least. We got everyone unloaded and I carried Evan in the baby carrier and we started the hike to the farm. The funniest thing to all of us was the amount of people in flip flops! It is a cow farm people! At the very least one should wear tennis shoes lol!

We started the day with touring the milking barn. It may have a more technical name but that's what I'm going to call it. There was a line but it didn't take long at all to move through. We got to walk through where they bring the cows in to hook them up to the milking machines. As we walked by, the kids could touch the hoses and feel the suction. Isla didn't really want to but Aiden thought it was funny :) After we walked through that section they had two cows out for the kids to milk. Aiden and Isla jumped right in and milked a cow! Then we went through the tasting room and we all got to try a couple different flavors of milk. The kids loved that! Afterwards we went outside but it was stifling hot so instead of waiting in line for a free hot dog we decided to visit the other barn and see more cows and then we headed into the store for milkshakes and ice cream. The kids did really well and only had a few moments throughout the tour. They really enjoyed seeing the cows and it was something different to do where we all learned/experienced something new!

 This picture makes me laugh! We asked the guy behind us to take our picture and this is the best one. Oh well :)

They LOVE them some ice cream! 

 

Evan--1 Month

Our little baby boy is already 1 month old! It's crazy to me how exciting it is to finally have our little one here and then a month later, it feels like he's always been here. We really couldn't ask for a better baby. Evan is so relaxed and chill and he pretty much hangs out fuss free most of the day. The only time he starts to get upset or restless is close to the time he needs to eat or when he needs a nap. He is eating 4oz of formula every 3 hours and for the past 3 nights he has slept from 12:30 am-5 am and then he goes back to sleep until about 8 am which is a blessing when Josh is out of town. He is definitely out of newborn clothes and wearing 0-3 and 3 month clothes. His hair is still long and he hasn't lost any of it yet and his baby acne is starting to clear up. His eyes are such a pretty shade of blue and I'm really hoping they stay blue! Evan started smiling on purpose this past week. It takes him a little while to make it happen but it's worth the wait when it does :)

Here are a few pictures of the big boy!

Nicolle 

Adjusting

  With a new baby this summer also came the season of traveling for Josh for work. He is now a member of the bridge inspection team which means he will travel to places like Nebraska and Oklahoma to inspect bridges. It's a good opportunity for him to do something different with the company and something he enjoys but on the flip side he has to be away from home. Traveling for work isn't something we ever really expected but it is a blessing that I stay home otherwise I may have lost my mind if I was still working! Who am I kidding... I'm on the verge of losing my mind daily :)

Watch and enjoy!
http://youtu.be/F3je9jQf38c

  My sister told me about this and I laughed out loud the entire time I watched it...maybe because I relate to it so much right now! I love my kids more than anything but they have become pros at testing my patience the last couple weeks. I know they are still adjusting and every day I try to think of activities or something we can do to keep them engaged and maybe on some better behavior. Evan is such a chill baby so hopefully we can start doing some more activities to keep everyone happy. I have some things in mind and I will let you know how it turns out ;)

Nicolle

Family of 5

The first week home was busy of course. We were all trying to figure out how to be a family of 5! We had a couple visitors every day to meet the newest addition to the family and everyone who stopped by was kind enough to bring a gift/diapers/outfits. We are so thankful for the generosity of everyone through this transition. It's so nice to know we can count on our family and friends to help out when/if needed.

The first day or so, Aiden wasn't really interested in Evan and basically just ignored him but he finally gave Evan his binky once when he passed by and the next day he wanted to love on him and eventually he wanted to hold him. Now he loves on him and is very concerned when he cries or fusses. Aiden loves to say "Hi buddy!" and give him kisses. Isla is so excited to have him here now. She looks forward to her time to feed him and hold him every day. She helps me when I need diapers/wipes etc. It's nice that she is old enough to do little things like that. I'm happy and surprised with how well the kids are adjusting. Of course they have their moments when they are wanting some attention and I try to give them just as much love as I did before the baby. I often find myself in awe when all of the kids are in the living room and I realize I have 3! And that I carried them in my belly. It's an amazing miracle.

Josh was able to stay home for the first week and the kids and I really enjoyed having him home! Isla is such a daddy's girl anyway, but I really feel like Aiden bonded with Josh on a whole new level and it warmed my heart to see that. Aiden is such a lover and he has definitely been loving on Josh more. Josh and the kids tackled some projects while he was home too. They planted our strawberry garden, blackberry bushes, raspberry bushes, tomatoes, jalapenos and cilantro. I'm not Josh take care of our funny farm as he calls it. We were also having trouble keeping the birds out of the strawberries and when Josh asked Isla what she thought we should do, she suggested all on her own to put a scare crow in the garden so that's just what we did!

We did warn a few neighbors to not panic, and that there isn't a small child outside in the garden lol!

Evan has had no trouble adjusting to home. He is apparently used to listening to the kids scream and carry on because he just slept right through it all! He did have what I call "Smelly belly" which was his umbilical cord not drying out completely and smelling really really bad. The pediatrician said it wasn't infected and that it just needed to be dried out. She recommended using a blow dryer on the cool setting to help dry it out. The first time I turned on the blow dryer I think Evan thought his life was ending but then as the air blew on his belly he just laid there completely relaxed! The umbilical cord stump has since fallen off but it's not completely healed yet so we have to keep an eye on it. He sleeps so much more than Isla and Aiden did that sometimes it doesn't feel any different having 3. At least for the first couple weeks. He is starting to stay awake for longer periods of time now and he will let you know when he's hungry! He must think he needs to be really loud in order to be heard over the other two :) Other than when he's hungry or getting his diaper changed he really doesn't get worked up and he's pretty content.

Evan had his two week well-check on Saturday and he is back up to his birth weight and everything else checked out fine. He is eating 3 ounces of formula now every 3-4 hours and he will sleep for 3-4 hours at night.

Here are a few pics from our first couple weeks :)

Sleepy smiles