Big Kids!

Just a quick update from the sleep deprived Greer Household : )

Matty G is a sneaky little booger. The first few nights he slept pretty long stretches, ate, and went straight back to sleep in his bed. Eric and I thought "This singleton full-term baby thing is CAKE!!!" It still doesn't hold a candle to the complete mayhem that followed Ethan and Ella's birth, but he is getting there! The last week he has discovered that getting fussy gets a lot of attention. And it he does it enough in the middle of the night then he earns a spot on Mommy or Daddy's chest to sleep on! Fortunately he is also absolutely adorable so it makes it a lot easier to deal with.

All the kids went to the doctor in the last week to get check ups. I wonder if we will ever have kids that are over the 20th percentile. Matthew is in the 5th percentile at 6 lb 10 oz. Ethan is in the 3rd at 22 lb 14 oz (oh yeah and his 2nd bday outfit is a 12 - 18 months!) And Ella is our over achiever in the 14th percentile at 23 lb 14 oz.

The kids are still doing remarkably well with the transition with Matthew. Ella loves her "Baby Matthew" or "Baby Goodness" as she calls him. We have to watch her a little close because sometimes she is too affectionate : ) Ethan still is just vaguely interested in him. I am sure once he starts moving around and being more interesting, then Ethan will be more interested in him!

We can't wait for Halloween tomorrow. We have been knocking on doors in the hallways and practicing all week! I will try to be more timely about updating with Trick or Treating pictures.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ethan and Ella!!!

Last Friday we celebrated Ethan and Ella's 2nd Birthday. I can't believe my babies are getting to be such big kids! We had such a great time. Eric got home early from work so we could all play together. We had cake, played on the new swing set, and opened a couple of presents. Ethan got a Tonka Garbage Truck (one of his many obsessions) and Ella got a Abby Cradabby.

On Sunday we had a big family birthday party where Mimi & PaPa, Nana & Papa, and Uncle Jamie, Aunt Amy, & the crazy cousins came. We had such a good time celebrating with the family.

I changed the slide show on the side to show some of our favorite birthday pictures. Enjoy!

Off to try to relax for a minute at least..........

The Greer Three Ring Circus

Well in the last 10 days, the Greers have become a Three Ring Circus literally! Luckily I am a fan of the circus and the chaos that reigns there. Here is a quick update on our circus troop......

Ethan, the eldest ring, is warming up to the idea of being a big brother. When he first came to the hospital to see us, he was more interested in the buttons on my bed than his baby brother. We weren't sure if he even noticed Matthew until he said "Bye Matthew" as he rolled out the door. It took him a couple of days, but he has started to pay more attention to him. This picture is how he likes to greet Matthew. (We are limiting the WWF air time in our house from now on!)

Ella is really taking to being Big Sister. She has really gotten into her dolls and playing like she is a little Mommy, so she is up for the task. She is also thoroughly enjoying all the baby stuff around. Of course she thinks it is all for her!

Matthew is adjusting to life outside the safe womb and into the Greer Family Circus well. He is a very good baby. He eats, sleeps, and poops like a good boy. He really had us fools the first few days when he slept 4 and 5 hour stretches at night. We thought that this was CAKE!! He has since remembered that he is a newborn and is waking up a little more frequently. We aren't complaining though. It is still so much easier this go round! I am really excited because we have been able to master nursing. I wasn't able to nurse Ethan or Ella since they were so weak from being premature, so it was something I really wanted to be able to do with Matthew. It has been really special to be able to bond with him this way. Not to mention WAY easier than messing with formula and bottles. Cheaper too!!

Eric enjoyed taking most of last week off to spend with us at the hospital and at home. He has had a big deadline at work, so I know it wasn't easy to do. Ethan and Ella have enjoyed having a little more daddy time. One disadvantage to my nursing is that he has to wait until after meal time to get to snuggle with Matthew. Although he hasn't really complained about the lack of snuggle time at 3 am : )

As the ringmaster of the Greer Family Circus, I am doing about as good as I can be! My recovery from the C Section has been better than expected. The first few days were tough and I was thankful for my extended hospital stay. Now I am off all my pain medication and am getting around pretty well. I am excited to get back my driving and light exercise priviliges next week.

Eric and I have been so thankful to our family for all of their help. They have been so generous with their time. Nana & Papa and Mimi & PaPa have taken turns giving Ethan and Ella some extra lovin. This has helped enormously with the huge transition in our family. They are going to keep helping regularly for the next month or so until I am completely recovered from the C Section. (I cannot lift them until 6 weeks post op) I figure/hope/pray that by then they will be comfortable with everything and it will make things a little easier. I do ask for your prayers though. I am a little anxious about making sure that I am making all my precious babies feel as special as they are.

Welcome Matthew (aka Peanut!)

The day we have been waiting for all these months finally came yesterday. We finally got to meet our little Peanut!


On Sunday morning I woke up with what I thought was an upset stomach. I attributed it to the 2nd helping of Eric's yummy chili he made the night before. I struggled to get ready for church but was determined to go since I knew it was our last week to go as a family for a while. It wasn't until I was sitting in Sunday School that it hit me that maybe I was having really strong contractions and not an upset tummy! We rushed to get the kids when we were let out and hurried home. Mom and Dad came over to watch the kids while Eric and I headed to the hospital. It didn't take them long to determine that I was having strong contractions about 4 minutes apart.

By 3:12 I was in the OR and Matthew was born at 3:34. He was 6 pounds and 3 ounces of cutie patootie baby boy! He has lots of thick, curly brown hair. He loves to clasp his little hands together like he is praying. It is absolutely adorable : )

We appreciate all of your support and prayers all these months as we have been preparing for his arrival. I will post more soon. Right now I am going to eat my first real dinner!!

In one week.....

In one week and roughly an hour we finally get to meet our baby boy! My C Section is scheduled for next Thursday at 7:30 am. We still simply cannot believe we are making it all the way to the end. I think the next week will be one of the longest in my life : )

We are going to focus the next week on getting ready for Peanut and enjoying our last days as a family of 4. I have asked Mimi and Papa to babysit on Friday night so Eric and I can go to dinner by ourselves for the last time in probably a few months. And I think a trip to the zoo is in order this weekend with the kids!

By the way......nearly 38 weeks now......running around after the kids......shhh even picking them up......walking about an hour each day.....eatin Mexican food.....and still not dilated a bit!