Thompsons: Us Minus Two

We've been so lucky having family come to help out with our family since Spencer arrived. Shauna and Kaylee were here for the first few days of his life. The day they left, my Mom came to stay for five days. She's amazing. She made meals, cleaned, took care of kids, ran errands, got Ellie to gymnastics, took kids for walks, and more! I was able to nap with my sweet baby snuggled on my chest for a few hours every day. It was my version of heaven :)

Because she was so busy doing everything, I only snapped one picture of my mom with Spencer...and she was in her pjs, so I'm betting she'll appreciate my not posting it on the blog :) But here she is doing what she does so well: taking care of my kids!

Then it was time for my mom to head home...because my sister had her baby! We were due on the same day; the babies are only six days apart. It will be so fun having them the same age!

Ellie got to meet baby Coral before I did - she's a sweetheart!

When my mom left for home, she took Ellie and Hunter with her - for an entire week! I was home alone with the two little boys that week. It ended up being a really good thing since Dallas has really struggled since Spencer was born. He needed lots of one-on-one time; and he definitely got it!

My sister Joni and her family stopped by for a quick visit on their way home from a trip. It was so fun introducing them to Spencer!

Spencer with cousin Alice

Spencer and Henry Max

Spencer and Nora - Nora loves babies; we sure wish we lived closer for her to babysit for us :)

Spencer with Maggie

Spencer with Aunt Joni

I know it was a sacrifice for Joni's family to make the trip here to meet Spencer. It melted my heart when she told me, "I just had to come see him! If we didn't come now, I wouldn't see him until he was several weeks old and that was just not okay!" I love that our families are close and that she cared enough about meeting him as a newborn to make the trip.

While the big kids were away...

These two boys bonded :) Dallas loves to hold Spencer! Every chance he gets, he climbs up on the couch, wiggles his little body into the back of the couch *just so* until he's ready, holds out his arms and says his version of "I'm ready!". I help him hold Spencer while he touches him, strokes his head, points to his eye, pats his back, and holds him gently. After less than 30 seconds, he tries to pick him up by the shoulders and lets me know he's done :)

Spencer's poor little bruised eyes! I'd forgotten how bad they looked - the bruising is completely gone now.

After Spencer's doctor's appointment, we had a day-date with Daddy. We met up with him at a donut place for a treat mid-morning. I should have taken a picture of the bismarks we had - they were bigger than Spencer's head :)

This kid...oh my heart. He makes me laugh all the time. I had been trying to get some photos of him showing all of his teeth, and I finally succeeded! His little personality really shined the week the big kids were gone.

Such a reverent boy

It's so fun to see how different he starts to look when his eyes are open more!

As for the big kids, they had such a wonderful time at Nana's house, they would have been happy there forever! They played outside, went for walks, went to playgrounds and parks, played in the water, spent time with cousins, went bowling, and much much more! I was tired just hearing about all of their adventures every day. My mom is truly an angel.