With big sister at Mother's Day Out, Coleman can enjoy his swing and even take a nap without fear of "hugs", love rubs on the head, or having his eyes poked out as Catherine names his facial features.

Sir Linc-A-Lot on his....horse protects baby Coleman from the feared Lasagna kisser below (it's all around her mouth).

Ahhh, sweet Catherine. My wild haired girl!

It is hard to believe that Coleman was 4 weeks yesterday. He is out of preemie clothes and into newborn and smaller 0-3 month clothes. He has had some nasal congestion which caused some scary nights since he hasn't really learned to breath in/out of his mouth. It doesn't help that when he spits-up, it occassionally comes through his nose. The doc said he would eventually teach himself not to do that as well. It is interesting what these little babies have to learn by themselves in their first several weeks of life.

About 2 weeks ago, I took Catherine to the doctor thinking she had bronchitis. Her symptoms were fever and a tight cough. I find out that no, she did not have that. Instead, it was a double ear infection and the flu!!! I was shocked. The way the doctor (not our usual one) looked at me told me she couldn't believe I had no indication of her ear infections. Looking back, I had 2 clues but they were a WEEK before. I did feel terrible, but at the same time I was glad to know that maybe Catherine wasn't ignoring me. She just couldn't hear me! It was a blessing that the flu was VERY mild, and she never complained about her ears.

A Catherine story: At 10:45 pm the other night she wakes up. I go check on her, try to figure out what was wrong. Could her ears be hurting as they heal? Is she hungry? She didn't eat much supper or snack. I couldn't really come up with anything. So, I gave her a dose of Tylenol just in case it was her ears and put her to back to bed. Well, I hear her whinning and talking to "ga ga" (who is Lincoln sleeping across the room). At midnight, she starts to cry and I ask Brad to go back up and check on her b/c I was feeding Coleman. To my surprise, he is back down in just minutes. I know he didn't sing to her or rock her like I had done a couple of times b/c I didn't hear it on the monitor. So, how did he get her to be quiet so fast? He says, "I told her that she had cried enough and it was time to go to bed. And if she kept crying she would get a spanking." We usually save spankings for defiant issues so I was surprised he said that, glad she didn't test him on it, and was somewhat jealous. When I tell her that she will get a spanking for 'x' behavior she just smiles or laughs. So I am making sure now that I am consistent with Catherine and that I follow up with whatever I say. I was like that with Lincoln at this age, and it worked so why not with Catherine? Who knows!

Are you wondering what my verdict is on 3 so far? At a big 4 weeks in? Well, it has not been as bad as I thought it would be. Of course I think, well, I stressed with Lincoln b/c he was first and I had NO clue what was going on. I stressed with Catherine b/c she was tiny and had the "failure to thrive" title. All I thought about during her first year was how much she ate . And so far with Coleman, I have none of that. Once we get through with this congestion, I pray that he continues to do well. Please, continue to keep us in your prayers as well!!