Oops – I missed baby boy’s 2 week b’day post! It was quite a busy day (in my defense). I was the last one up in our group at 7:45 AM – and my main mission was to get everyone fed, dressed, and out the door to visit my mom before pictures at Target.

Yep, we have found that Target is the BEST source for pictures for us! We have taken each child on their 2 week b’day to have their picture made in the coming home outfit my parents have gotten them. Only one child was a day off, not sure what the reason was anymore….

Anyway, it’s the best deal for us. No sitting fees, $3.99 portrait sheets, as many people as we’d like – and this time we even received a coupon for $20 off of $75 or more! We’ve never spent over $50, but this time, we set a record – almost $295 before savings, $107 final price. Of course, my parents came along to order some themselves too, so we didn’t spend this much on our own.

These have been a lifesaver for us, you can’t find pictures that cheap elsewhere – at least not with all the options they give us (we haven’t found better prices, they could be out there I guess). Be aware, only the basic pics are that price, and you have to have a coupon for them (shouldn’t be hard to get on their mailing list, or check coupons in the paper maybe?). Any upgrades cost extra, so we usually forgo those.

Okay, back to our day. The baby would NOT take a nap for anything! I couldn’t believe he was so awake all morning long – until after 11, I think it was! I finally had to turn on the TV for the older ones, so I could put the baby in the playpen while I showered.

It only took 6 hours to get everyone ready (since we had to add lunch in now), get the clothes picked out for our pictures, loaded up and out the door. By this time, we only had 2 hours at my moms. I used this time to iron our clothes. I soon discovered why I gave up ironing years ago – it’s not fun!

We made it for our photo shoot only a few minutes late – pretty good considering I’m still fairly new to 4 children! We even got our 50 shots made in an hour. Perfect timing, cause the baby was ready to eat just as we finished. Should I mention it took over an hour to pick out our favorite pictures? Yeah, don’t ever ask me to make a decision quickly.

Actually, it seemed pretty quick for us. We ended up saying yes to more pics than we usually do, although many are the smaller sizes. But we’ve got some REALLY good shots – some of our best ever! DD has one that should go in a magazine!

It was funny, baby boy was SO alert AFTER the photo shoot – I guess he’d slept long enough by then, plus had a full tummy. Oh well, I think we had one pic with his eyes open.

Stats – on our basic digital scales, he’s at least 8 1/2 lbs. – anywhere up to 9 lbs. That’s 1 lb. since last Thursday. So eating is going well!

Sleeping – He sleeps GREAT, when he’s sleeping next to me or in my arms. LOL. DH says he can’t blame him, that he has it made. I guess he does! Part of me would like him to sleep in the playpen at night, but he hasn’t made it all the way through the night in it yet (not that I’ve tried too hard).

And yes, I keep mentioning the playpen because we don’t have him a crib set up. We have a crib, but just don’t have it up. For one, I don’t want to have to get up and go to another room every couple hours during the night to feed him. And two, I don’t trust leaving him with the little ones just yet.

They would never want to hurt him, but don’t understand how offering a blanket or toy could hurt him – especially if it was thrown over the side of a crib. SO, we’re just using the bassinet on the playpen in our room for now.

We’re holding our breath and praying for God’s protection right now. My grandfather visited the other day, but didn’t mention beforehand that my grandmother had been sick. (Or else we would’ve asked him to visit with her later) She didn’t come, just him, but he held the baby for a while, as well as asking the other little ones to give him hugs.

Well, the next day, yesterday, my grandmother finds out she has pneumonia. YIKES!! This is highly contagious, and you CAN be a carrier WITHOUT having it yourself. I am SO mad at myself for 1) not asking if everyone was well first and 2) asking him to wash his hands when he walked in the door.

I usually am pretty firm about health things, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Now, I’m having to suffer through the worry of wondering if we’ll all come down with pneumonia – it’s not a fun feeling. Esp. when I think that I  could’ve made it less likely. It also doesn’t help that the world is starting to get panicked about this swine flu thing.

Come on people, if you are sick, or someone in your house is sick – STAY home and away from healthy people!! A runny nose or sore throat isn’t always just a simple cold or allergy – it can grow and mutate into something worse. That was the case with my grandmother. She was just tired and had an earache. Nothing was wrong when she went to the dr. last week, but one week later she has pneumonia.

I’m really having a hard time fighting off the worry, though I am better today than yesterday – thanks to some sleep last night and praying about it.

Other news, child #3 has made changes since baby brother came along. Friday, we moved him from his baby bed to a toddler bed. At 20 months, he was ready! Of course, he still likes big brother’s bed, but has done much better with his bed than the crib. It’s also helped that we have a Finding Nemo “fish” pillowcase and quilt on there. This was a great find at Wal-Mart with our oldest son years ago for only $9!!

Can you believe they charge over $35 for these things!!! We watched this one for ages as they kept marking it down, finally snagging it at $9 – we were thrilled! Not that they know who Nemo is, but they like fish.

Okay, my little ones are in from playing outside, so my time is over. Until next time,

“Little Mommy”

PS – We have a new home on the web, for ‘family’ highlights. Give me a shout at Candace @HeavenInOurHomes.com, sharing a little about yourself and how you found us, and ask for the link!