Baby Drew, and a sneak peak at our next addition!

I took these pictures of Drew the other day, and realized that he has officially grown out of the 0-3 month clothing. Yes, that's right. He's only 7 weeks old. He has changed so much, I can hardly believe it! Every little thing he does is sentimental because this is the last time we'll have a little one in our home so small. Faith likes to hold Drew like I do, walk around, put him on her hip, and (needless to say) it gives me a minor heart attack. But, she sure loves him and just wants to be a big girl.

This is the sneak peak of our new addition! I know, I know. I'm crazy. Didn't I just give birth 7 weeks ago? Yes. But, didn't we promise the kids a dog as soon as we got into a house? Yes. When you love your kids, you do crazy things! This little Golden Retriever will be OURS beginning next Wednesday, April 8th.

We wrote a list of about 40 names - some silly, some serious - and will have to narrow it down in the next week.

She will be a BIG dog and will spend MOST of her days in the backyard. The kids had so much fun playing with our little GIRL dog and her siblings. Why a girl? So Faith can have a sister, of course! Well, maybe the next best thing. More details about HER later.

Clark and Drew just being cute - age 7 weeks.

John loves this boy SO much. Not an ounce of jealousy - just lots of slobbery kisses on Drew's head. Drew must not be allergic to Peanut Butter, because John left a little deposit on his face the other day, and we didn't get a reaction. Phew!

Happy Spring - it snowed today. But, that doesn't stop the kids from jumping on the trampoline.

Funnies: John said "Mom, I need to FLOOS my teeth!"

Silly Kids!

Tonight after we got our jammies on, we had a family Photo Shoot. Aren't my three "big" boys adorable? Getting them to hold still for this picture was difficult!!! Grant likes to do bunny ears, Clark likes to do funny faces, and John puts his arms in front of his face! Silly boys!

Here's our whole gang! They couldn't make us any happier! This shows their personalities so well! Look at Clark's smirk! I happened to catch John without his hand in front of his face. Faith is holding Drew maybe a bit too tight - doesn't his face seem a bit red? Grant is just happy to be there! In the background, you can see a sneak peak of our kitchen.

Mommy and Daddy with Drew. Drew's not happy, Daddy's half-happy, and Grant is thrilled that we let him take the picture!

Um...guess who took this one? JOHNNY! We all "fit" in the picture, but this wouldn't win any awards! We're just having fun, and that's what it's all about. Good night, Grant. Good night, Faith. Good night, Clark. Good night, John. I love you all!

Puttin' on the Pounds!

Our little Drew is getting not-so-little! His cheeks have really filled out in the past week, and he is looking more and more like our other kiddos did at that age. Drew loves his pacifier and loves it even more when he's held. Faith is our little "holder", and will run to him anytime he cries. I am so grateful for her.

We had a surprise visit from Amelia Bedelia herself on Friday night who came to read some books to the children about her adventures! They loved it, Grandma. Thanks for being so fun!

Did I mention that Drew has figured out how to cry? And I mean really CRY! Clark said "Mom, I had no idea that a baby could cry THAT loud for THAT long!" Mind you, it was about 5 minutes while I was finishing up something, but that was plenty for Clark to hear!

He brings just so much joy to our lives. I can't look at him enough. I can't kiss him enough. These precious first weeks of his life are slipping away and before we know it, he'll be a toddler. I'm trying to enjoy every single day with this sweetheart sent from my Heavenly Father. The children love to nurture him and help make him happy, each with their own style. Faith picks him up and sits on the couch with him, Grant says "Hello, little Drew bug" and then moves on. Clark "Hi...(picture a very high sing-songy voice)" and John puts his face RIGHT in Drew's face, and leaves sloppy kisses on him, multiple times a day.

At 6 weeks now, we are STILL waiting for Drew's smile to emerge. We've seen it in his sleep, but he's quite somber during the awake hours. Of course, Grant was this way. And look at him now! Mr. Silly Pants for sure. We'll appreciate the smiles even more when they come!

This week I made a trip to the ER, worried that I might be experiencing the RETURN OF THE BLOOD CLOTS! But, my lungs were clear. I was just extremely sore from all the nighttime hours attempting to sleep with Drew in my arms. Weird positions, EXTREME exhaustion and a hungry baby are not a good combination. We are in the midst of watching the entire series of LOST, which probably causes more loss of sleep than the baby does. It's our own fault, I know!

I can hardly wait for General Conference next weekend, where we will hear the words of our Prophets! We will also be blessing little Drew in our home on Sunday. Great pictures to come of ALL the family with this little guy! Next week...pictures of the house (as per request from our GV6th friends)

Every Single Day is special

When I nurse, I don't read books. I stare at my beautiful, miracle baby. He has brought so much joy into our lives in his short month of life. His cheeks have doubled in size, which makes him look more and more like our other kids. This one of him sleeping looks like Clark's hair...

This one looks like Grant a lot, and a bit of Clark's nose. I am waiting EVER so patiently for the first smile. He's almost 5 weeks, and it should be arriving any day. I will think of it as Drew's gift to me for feeding him every 3 hours for the past 35 days. Well worth it!

Here Grant is reading to the boys about "World Leaders", and even Drew is participating (on left). Grant was supposed to be holding him, but decided that the couch was doing a fine job. He's multi-tasking.

Daddy loves to give Drew a bath, and Drew loves to get them. He just sits there enjoying the warm water, never making a sound. For as much as he spits, he gets a lot of baths to clean out that cute little (chubby) neck. We love this little boy SO much!

Funny story about Clark.. (I do have 4 other children, who have adjusted quite nicely to the move, by the way). I handed Clark a cookie from Ikea in the car the other day. You know the ones that are round, with a round dollup of chocolate in the middle? Anyway, I handed it to him, and he said "Wow...these are well designed!"

One more funny... our John is known for having one volume...LOUD! NO matter how much you ask him to speak sweetly or softly, he retreats back to his normal volume within seconds. Last Saturday, while we were setting up the trampoline, I heard John yelling at full voice about something...right afterwards, Clark said (in a yelling voice himself) "John! You do not have to yell as loud as a fire engine!" Well said, buddy!

Presenting...Drew Michael Croshaw!

The kids absolutely ADORE him, and can't say enough how tiny he is, and cute, and sweet!

Drew was just out of his Bili Bed, hence the diaper-only attire. The kids just want to hold him all the time and I love it. It's really brought them together, and they love to just watch his every move!

Here's our little angel, in a super-soft blanket from Mimi. Who do you think he looks like?

This is what Faith spends her days doing lately - kissing Drew! I think she might even kiss him more than I do, and that's a lot!

They are so happy to have a new brother - AND we'll be moving into our new house this week. Thank you so much to everyone who helped with the big unpack yesterday. I can't wait to go and see it tomorrow morning!

We also had a delicious dinner brought by the sweet Nelson Family, complete with Rootbeer floats. That certainly hit the spot, and their generosity was amazing! In times like these, when I am on the receiving end, it reminds me to really Pay it Forward whenever I get a chance.

More of Drew...

This is Drew's home tanning bed - aka the Bili Bed. When we left the hospital, they delivered this for his continued treatment of his Bilirubin. The bed glows, as does the little paddle that we lay on his tummy. He was SO cute, and the kids loved the glasses. We were even tempted to color the glasses to look like Mr. Incredible!

Just home from the hospital on Saturday, Feb. 14, Valentine's Day! I can already tell that this boy is going to be a patient one! He just lets out these little mini-cries and then waits for someone to come. He is already such a joy in our home!

Drew's Bilirubin treatments in the hospital. Because his levels were still too high, they kept him one day longer than I stayed. At first thought, I didn't worry about it, because they said I could do a "Hotel Stay" at the hospital, and be right there to nurse him. But, when my sweet nurse, Marcia, said that the beds were all full and I couldn't stay, my post-pregnancy emotions went into overload and I just cried and cried!

It was SO hard to leave him there, but as it always does, everything worked out and we brought him home the next morning! We are just so blessed and can't even count our blessings fast enough!

Here's our little munchkin making a funny face. This shiny blanket was provided by Mimi, and does NOT work as a blanket because he slides right out. Maybe he'll like it as his little "lovey".

Just out! Sweet as can be, and already bringing such a peaceful Spirit into our home.

Ta Da! He's here...

Drew Michael Croshaw arrived on Wednesday, Feb. 11th at 1:10pm, weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces. The delivery was flawless, and I felt GREAT afterwards.

Just as the kids had requested for months before, they were able to meet their brother just 10 minutes after he was born, still slimy and everything!

Faith wanted to sit by me, and make sure I was doing alright - I can already tell that she will be my BIGGEST helper with our little guy!

Proud Mimi - doesn't it almost look like Drew is smiling too? This Mimi has done EVERYTHING in my place for the past 5 days, and I can't be grateful enough! So much for retiring, right mom?

Here's Faith and I in a picture taken by the amazing Grant! He covered ALL the details about this delivery, including the mountains out the window. Thanks for being so thorough, buddy!