Third child syndrome

Poor Brendan. I fear that he is going to suffer from third child syndrome. Each child gets a little less attention than the previous one. We have less pictures of Liam than we do of Rori and I'm sure there will be even less of Brendan--at least of him by himself. Today he had his one month doctor's appointment and I noticed something. Bill wasn't coming with. We hadn't even talked about the possibility of Bill coming with. However, With Rori and Liam, Bill came to just about every well baby appointment for the first year! What's sad is that this is probably only the beginning of the third child syndrome. I can only imagine that it gets worse with every baby. I'm pretty sure that the only documentation that the Dugg*ars will have of their 19th child are his or her birth certificate and whatever footage gets taped for their television show! So I am vowing to make an effort to catch more of this special boy on camera.

Baby Fat

I am feeling discouraged and frustrated. When I had Rori and Liam the baby weight practically fell off on its own from nursing/pumping. I could eat a double cheeseburger and large fries and still lose 3 pounds. I expected the same thing to happen after having Brendan. Unfortunately, that has not been the case, which is what is leaving me discouraged and frustrated. I have no clothes that fit, except for sweats, my hair is flat and shapeless because it hasn't been cut in ages, and I haven't had contacts for about six months now. I'm clueless as to why Bill would even want to come home to me. My mom says the weight is more difficult this time because it's my fourth baby, but I'm pretty sure that Heidi K*lum isn't having this problem...

So, two days ago I decided to go to the gym. It was the first time in about six months that I worked out. I pulled on a pair of men's shorts, over my hairy legs, squeezed my giant tatas into a sports bra and threw on a giant t-shirt. I wanted to wear a sign that said, "I look like this because I just had a baby." I have to say, that I was pretty proud of myself though, because I was able to do 30 minutes on the elliptical machine without killing myself. I wasn't sure what kind of shape I was in, so that was encouraging. When I went yesterday, I went with more confidence, (and shaved legs) and even did some weight lifting. I am hoping that I will notice some improvement in my weight loss and hopefully fit into some pants that do not have an elastic waist soon! Wish me luck!

One Month

Happy One Month Birthday to Brendan Rhys!

Darth Vad*er and Princess Jasm*ine

This year for Halloween, Rori wanted to be Princess Jasm*ine from Aladdin. She picked out a beautiful dress that looked like something Jasm*ine would wear. We were sure that Liam would want to be something to do with Cars--probably Lightning McQ*ueen. However, he had been watching St*ar Wars with his Papa lately (I was a bit leery and thought Liam was too young, but it was Papa's favorite movie). So, when Papa took the kids to the Halloween store, Liam insisted that he wanted to be Darth Vad*er. Unfortunately he wouldn't wear the mask--but I will get a picture of him with it on at some point :)

We went trick-or-treating with some friends from church, and while it was a freezing day, everyone had a great time. I wish I'd gotten more pictures, but there were so many kids for us all to keep track of so it was tricky.

Princess Party

Last weekend was the "annual" princess party at the park district. It's hosted by the park district's school of dance. My mom and I took Rori again this year. I wasn't sure if she would enjoy it as much--since she is a whole year older now :) Thankfully she still loved it. She wore her Halloween costume which is Princess Jasmine. I think she looked lovely.She met Snow White, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Cinderella, and more! Then the Princesses taught all the girls a dance. Rori loved it and told me that she is ready to take ballet now. Thank goodness, I was worried that my only girl wasn't going to want to take ballet--which was her mama's passion growing up!

It was a wonderful time and I can't wait until we can take her to Disney to really meet the princesses!

What I've been up to

I have really wanted to get on here and post, but I haven't been able to, so I fiugred I'd document the reasons why I haven't had a chance.

First, I've had lots of laundry and dishes (I didn't feel the need to take a picture of those things, because I'm sure that everyone knows what that looks like ;) )

Second, I have been attached to this

What is that contraption, you ask? That is a hospital grade breast pump. I'm pretty sure I could milk a cow with it.

Third, for some reason, I don't know if it's the arrival of Brendan or if it's cabin fever because the weather is cold and rainy, but Rori and Liam are out of control crazy. They have been fighting with each other and not listening to us. It's getting a bit better, but it wears Bill and I out.

I've also been trying to catch a few of these:

I asked Bill to be my stunt double, because if you think I'm posting a picture of myself on my blog less than 2 weeks post partum, you're crazy!

With all of the above, I've also been enjoying this:

and this

I also wanted to add that my dad is doing well after his surgery and wanted to thank everyone who prayed for him last Monday!
So, in a nutshell, that's what I've been up to!

Big Boy!

This is going to be quick--just pictures, I'll post the birth story later, and I wanted to thank my friend Anna for posting the stats! She offered to post the pictures but of course we never got them emailed to her :( So here is my handsome boy!