Lately.

I'm seriously obsessed with this boy. I never knew the heart could hold so much love for someone who I just met only a few weeks ago. You'd think I would have expected it because I've fallen head-over-heels in love with two other people overnight just 2.5 and 4.5 years ago when I met his big brother and sister, but for some reason I'd forgotten and it's hitting me like a ton of bricks. Just looking at him makes my heart heavy and every moment with him is like the best moment of my entire life. I think I'm intentionally soaking in every minute with him because he's probably our last baby and I don't want to forget a thing. 

I love me a tiny baby booty 

Handsome little dude 

My take on Texas Caviar 

(whole kernel corn, rotel, dark and light kidney beans, cilantro, mexican blend cheese, corn tortillas)

Afternoon sandbox fun 

I love me a tiny nursing baby. Once the initial let-down occurs, I get a big surge of happy hormones throughout my entire body. I wish I could bottle up the sensation and save it for rainy days. 

Okay, I know I'm biased, but how freaking cute is this boy? 

Seriously, though, I can't enough of this boy. 

"I make this diaper look ah-mazing" 

I have a new found obsession with Thirty One bags. My MIL and SIL are consultants and I have avoided even browsing through catalogs because I knew I'd fall in love. And fallen I have. My newest obsession is their Inside Out Bag. I LOVE me a good messenger bag. I loved them before I had babies and love them even more now. I am a HUGE fan of Skip Hop bags because of all of the storage space and many pockets and use them any time I have all three kids in tow. But whenever it's just Harrison and I, I find the Skip Hops to be a little too much storage and a bit too bulky.

I've seen my SILs carrying their Inside Out Bags and I kept thinking to myself how convenient it would be to toss whatever I need for just Harrison and I into a bag and be on our way.

I finally caved  and mentioned to my MIL that I wanted one and she said my other SIL had one that I could use  until June's Thirty One special so I could order an inside out bag and utility tote (Ry and I want another utility tote like my SIL, Meg, gifted us after Harrison was born). I haven't even really had a chance to test this baby out yet, but I've packed it with all of our daily necessities and I'm beyond impressed. Truthfully, I'm more impressed with this bag than I have been with any of my Skip Hop Bags (I have the Duo, Studio and Via Backpack). I managed to fit my wallet, diapers for Harrison, Pull Ups for Marija, baby wipes, pajamas for all three kids, two extra outfits for Harrison, First Aid kit, sunblock, zipper bag with random things and coupon book into this bag. And that its reversible makes it even that much more desirable in my book. I seriously can't say enough positive things about this bag and have a feeling it will be my Summer bag. Sorry, Skip Hop's, you're being retired for a whole. I promise I'm not being compensated at all for this post or this bag, it's just something I really like and wanted to share with you fellow mommas. If you want to order one or want more info, here is a direct link to my SIL's profile. 

I looove me some baby feet. Can't get enough :) 

Harrison meeting his Uncle Al for the first time 

And meeting his Aunt Patty too 

Seriously, could my heart swell any bigger? 

This boy sure does love his Baba 

Tata with her youngest grandbaby 

 Harrison is all smiles and giggles for his Tata

Catching Up.

I'm a little behind in the blogging world. I'll be honest, we've been so busy lately that I either haven't had the time or the energy to visit this space, but tonight I'm making up :)

Superheroes in the dollhouse. No barbies here, haha! I think they made a fair compromise :)

First real smiles for his Tata! He gave his first tiny smiles on 5.11.13 and then his first REAL one for his Tata on 5.14.13.

 

Ry and I had a few hours to ourselves the other day and it was really nice to run errands and shop without buckling/unbuckling multiple kids from car seats, wrangling kids in and out of strollers and shopping carts and hoping we didn't forget something because we were distracted. We missed our older kiddos like crazy, but it was nice to have an afternoon to ourselves with our youngest of the pack. It trips me out to think back to when it was just Franky and I thought getting out of the house was tough and that I had to bring so much stuff with us. Ha, I bring less stuff with me on outings with THREE kids than I did with just one. Trippy how things change, huh? I like to think we get wiser with age.

Good thing his siblings can't read. (Just kidding. We don't play favorites! ha!)

My BIL and SIL hosted a garage sale this past weekend so Ry and I hauled a bunch of stuff over and hung out for the better part of the whole weekend. As an avid people-watcher, I have to say, it was a LOT of freakin' fun! We sold some stuff too, so that was a huge perk! One afternoon, while Franky, Marija and their cousins played in the sandbox in the backyard, Harrison and I laid back in the hammock while he nursed to his heart's content.

Seriously, does it get much better than a chubby, hungry baby in a hammock? So. Damn. Relaxing.

Smiles for Gmama ♥

Legos with Uncle Johnny 

Mama's girl ♥

Mika loves him :) 

I've been feeling a little homesick lately and have been really missing my family. Having my dad (in AZ) and sister (in CA) so far away sucks because sometimes phone calls just aren't enough. I've missed my momma, brother and sister too, as well as my cousins, grandma, aunt and uncle. I've felt really badly because I hadn't taken Harrison to meet my aunt, uncle and cousins yet (they live an hour an a half away), so kind of spur-of-the-moment, we decided to make a day trip out of it to visit them. Harrison woke up me around 4 am to eat, so I fed him then jumped in the shower and packed the diaper bag. Around 6, I woke all three kids up and got them in the tub, then dressed and in the car for the ride out my family's way. We were on our way by 7 am and arrived at Grandma's house just in time for one of her infamous breakfasts. It was the perfect day and I loved every second of it.

Looking back at Marija's baby pictures, I can see a lot of her in Harrison. He's like the perfect combination of both Franky and Marija.

My brother's new ink. How freakin' sweet is this tattoo? My dad has done all of my tattoos to date, but I want to add to my Franky piece on my ribcage and am thinking I'll be using my brother's artist because his style is very similar to my dad's. 

Playing soccer in Gmama's yard 

My brother Johnny with Franky and Mimi 

My beautiful cousin, Monica, meeting Harrison for the first time. She is Franky and Mimi's Godmother. 

My nana with my littlest love. Oh how my heart swells to look back at these pictures of them. 

Smiles in his sleep for his Auntie Monica 

I looove me some baby feet! 

Nana had everyone near tears when she said that Harrison looks EXACTLY like my Uncle Frankie as a baby. She barely put him down the entire day and just kept looking at him, memorizing every curve of his tiny face. He has smiled here and there, only for my MIL or my mom but this day he seriously smiled over and over every time she talked to him. I'm talkin' huge, gummy, ear-to-ear smiles. It truly was amazing to see and absolutely brought joy to my heart. My Uncle Frankie passed away 18 years ago in a really bad car accident. He was only 23 years old and in a way, was the heart of the family. He was always fun to be around and never failed to lift you up on your worst day or bring a smile to your face.

Something about seeing my beautiful mama with my babies just fills my heart with love and joy.She loves them so much and is such a wonderful grandmother. She's equal parts firm and affectionate, spoils them like crazy and showers them in kisses.

Okay, seriously though, how freakin' hot is Gmama?! I pray to God I look like her when I'm a grandmother someday! 

My beautiful little sister Colette with Mimi. Colette is going on 19 but will always be my "baby" sister. 

This girl freakin' slays me. She has from the moment I first laid eyes on her. She is so smart, so tough, so strong-willed, so independent, so full of life. I think some of my frustration with her at times comes from how similar we are. I basically gave birth to myself personality-wise, lol!

Baby boy seriously couldn't take his eyes off of Nana (she is my mom's mom).

In Harrison updates, he poops almost every diaper change, just like his brother and likes to nurse every 1.5-2 hours. He naps all throughout the day, sometimes just for a little while and others for a 2-3 hour stretch. He sleeps in 3 hour blocks through the night, waking only to nurse, then knocking right back out. He is very similar to his brother in this respect. Marija pooped once a day or every other day and ate every 3-4 hours, if I remember correctly. One thing about him that trips me out is that he does the same kicking stretch now like he used to do in my belly when I'd feel his head in my cervix and his feet in my ribs. Crazy to see him do on the outside what I felt him do on the inside just a few short weeks ago.

Those lashes. He has the same long lashes his siblings have, who all get it from their daddy, who has equally long, feathery lashes. 

My kids love their Auntie Colette 

My beautiful Auntie Shiela. She played a big hand in raising me (she and my mom are sisters and best friends) because of how close she and my mom are and how often we all were together. When we first moved to MI from CA, we lived with her. I love how she loves my babies. 

Seriously, though, how freakin' cute is this kid? I fall even more in love with this kid by the minute. He has me utterly and completely wrapped around his tiny, chubby fingers.

In other news, wifely duties have been fulfilled and it was fine, same as after Marija was born, except this time it hurt a little more. I'm blaming it on the episiotomy. It was less of a sore muscle feeling (like after Marija) and more of a stretching feeling. Almost like being a virgin again. I apologize if that's TMI, but I believe in honesty and I value mommas who speak openly about things like this because uncensored advice is the kind I gravitate toward the most when I'm curious. I remember looking down there a few days after Harrison was born and expecting it to look awful from the episiotomy, but it looked normal, same like after Marija. The stitches looked very different, though, because I only had a surface tear with Mimi but had many stitches from the episiotomy this time. But just like the last time, I was surprised at how normal everything looked just a few days postpartum. Crazy how our bodies go right back to normal so quickly. In momma fitness news, at 7 weeks I was at 124 lbs and am at 124 this week too. I feel like I should be happy with where my body is at now, but until I'm fitting into all of my pre-pregnancy clothes, I won't be satisfied. So, six pounds and some more pounding of the pavement and I'll be right back where I was a year ago!