For Nana & Papa and Gpa & Gma Richardson, far away in Missouri

Please pass the helium

After a family day at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on Saturday, we had a party at my Mom's house to celebrate Mom's retirement, Lily's birthday (the real day isn't until the 25th) and my Aunt Jane's move to Denver. We put all the older cousins in charge of decorating while the adults were at the temple. Becky got an all-in-one helium kit from Walmart and I supervised while the kids experienced the joy of helium induced euphoria.

It looks quite innocent here, but being the naughty aunt that I am, I set a fabulous example by sucking up some helium and singing "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth".

Rachel (Don's oldest), Lily and Dani (Becky's) were full of giggles singing "Oops, I did it again" (see the video below).

Beautiful Rachel is turning 16 in June. I said to her, "I can't believe you're going to be driving in four months." She said, " I'm driving now, and I'm GOOD!" Love that girl!

Gil (Becky's oldest) was singing some song about Tommy on the docks. I have no idea what song it was, shows you how out of touch I am.

Good times!

Chubby Lubby Baby Beau

(A note to my readers: I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but a lot happens in the first 6 weeks of life! It's mostly for my own personal family history, so feel free to skim if you want.)

Mackay was born hungry...

one hour old

10 hours old

...and he hasn't slowed down a bit!

almost 4 weeks old

almost 6 weeks old

His chubby cheeks are proof that he thinks nursing is a recreational activity, not just a source of sustenance. The truth is, he's been the heartiest of our three kids from the beginning. He's alert, strong, and latched on the very first time I tried to feed him. The girls both had to be in the nursery for awhile after they were born (Lily had trouble thermo-regulating and had to sit under the heater, Amelia aspirated meconium and had to be in the NICU for a few hours on oxygen), but Mack was healthy and ready to eat right from the start.

30 minutes old

about an hour old

Two days old

By the time we left the hospital, Mack had only lost 3 ounces.

He is a voracious sucker. After nursing Mack several times the first day, I was growing weary and wanted to use the binky to assuage his need to suck. Dan wanted to wait awhile to make sure the nursing continued successfully (plus we're dealing with a very binky addicted Amelia right now) so I put the binky away. Later that night, I gave him to Dan so I could sleep and after about 10 minutes of Mack sucking on his finger, Dan was like, "Holy cow, this kid's gonna give me a blister! Ok, he can have the binky." Uh-huh...

Two days old

Two days old

Mack is a big fan of the binky now and likes to hold onto it with his hand if he happens to stumble upon it.

Six days old

Six days old

almost 6 weeks old

almost 6 weeks old

You'd think after the two binky addicts we've already had, we'd be smarter this time and not let Mackay get hooked, but the truth is it's a wonderful crutch for parents! It's just too handy to put that thing in his mouth and go from screaming to silent in 1.6 seconds. I think we'll try to wean him off it by 12 months, or at least only let him have it in bed, rather than having the Binky Fairy come at 3 years old.

Mack has big hands with thick fingers, especially his thumb.

Six days old

Six days old

That'll definitely come in handy when he needs to hitchhike home after crashing his car at 16 (if he's anything like his Dad, anyway).

He has funny toes on his left foot, just like his sister Lily. We call them piano toes. Fortunately, they even out over time.

One hour old

When I took Mackay's newborn portrait on day 6, I discovered that he had a diaper rash. After changing so many girl diapers, I was still getting used to the different equipment. I was always in such a hurry to close his diaper lest I get peed on, so it's no wonder I hadn't noticed his bum was bright red!

Six days old

My kids have such acidic poop and are quite prone to diaper rash. It took almost 4 weeks to get rid of Mackay's rash. That kid is a poo machine! I can count on two hands the number of times I've changed his diaper when it's only been pee.

Funny story (I think everyone has a funny baby boy pee story; Becky you must write about Connor's in the comments section): Lily was watching me change Mack's diaper when he was about three weeks old and was curious about his circumcision (which he had at 11 days old). I was showing her where the foreskin had been and where the cut was made. He started peeing and wouldn't you know it, it was aimed right at Lily! Mack peed right in her face and she was like, "He peed on my eye! Good thing I closed it in time." Oh, we laughed and laughed!

Did you notice that Mackay has blond hair?

2 weeks old

2 weeks old

With the girls, Dan and I all having dark hair, Dan keeps saying that we need to find Mackay's father and tell him he has a kid. That might fly except that Mack looks just like Dan!

So far, Mack has taken a bottle pretty well. We made the mistake with Lily of never giving her a bottle when I was home, so when I left and Dan tried to feed her she wouldn't eat. With Amelia we gave her a bottle early on and with me shooting she had plenty of opportunity to be bottle-fed, but she just preferred her Mama. Fortunately, Mack doesn't seem to be as picky. Lily feeds him a bottle after school occasionally and last week when I did my big shopping trip to Evanston, I thawed some milk from the freezer, thinking it was going to be complicated to find a good place to nurse in Walmart, and he ate 3 ounces with no problem.

One week old

You forget how much a newborn sleeps (unless it's nighttime, of course). Eat, poop, sleep, repeat. That's the extent of their day. At about three weeks Mackay started being more alert and making eye contact. He recognized voices and started tracking sounds with his eyes. I love it when he's awake; Lily and I call him "bright eyes".

9 days old

9 days old

'Course I love it when he's asleep, too. :)

12 days old

3 weeks old

For the first four weeks Mackay slept in a little bassinet (recognize it Katy?) beside our bed.

3 weeks old

At 4 weeks old, after Becky came and whipped us into shape, Mack started sleeping in his crib in his own room. While he didn't sleep for any longer periods than before, I sure slept a lot better without all the fidgeting and whimpering throughout the night.

Mack is mildly amused by his mobile, but mostly he doesn't appreciate being left alone in his crib while he's awake. Sometimes I put him in his bouncer to nap when he doesn't burp well after eating. He started having belly aches at about 4 weeks because he wasn't giving up the air bubbles after eating. He'll have a bad day every 3 or 4 days, where he doesn't burp well and fusses a lot.

5 weeks old

Mack is a STRONG baby. He lurches all over the place when you try to burp him, has since the first time he ate. He's got a strong neck. When he was a week old Dan layed him on the floor on his stomach and he lifted his whole chest off the ground. Interestingly, he doesn't push with his legs very much, not like the girls did. He's focusing on his upper body strength right now. He'll have plenty of time to build leg strength when Daddy gets him out on his first bike!

almost 4 weeks old

Lily continues to be a huge help. Whenever Mack is crying and I can't get to him, Lily picks him up and cuddles him. "Biggie to the rescue!" is heard several times a day.

almost 4 weeks old

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mack. I love his bright eyes, cute little lips, and the way he's holding on to his Biggie:

almost 4 weeks old

Amelia has come a long way with Mack in the past few weeks. She has grown accustomed to him and his need for Mama. She still needs several hugs and snuggles throughout the day, but she's generally patient when I'm feeding Mack. She likes to climb up and watch when I change his diaper or when he's watching the mobile in his crib. She's very concerned that he has his woobie with him, as she is utterly and irrevocably addicted to hers. We've had a few "lost woobie" incidents recently that have made us reconsider whether we want to let Mack get attached to his. Lily's snuggle friend was a burp rag, but any burp rag would do so we always had one around and it didn't matter if one got lost. But the woobie is so dang cute, I love to see Amelia snuggling hers.

5 weeks old

Along with his double chin, Mackay is getting chubby legs. I love to change his diaper and squeeze his little thighs. Looking through Lily and Amelia's baby pictures, Mack definitely resembles his sisters. He looks the most like Lily, but he has filled out a lot faster than the girls did. I'll have to do a post comparing their baby pictures.

5 weeks old

Just as Lily did, Mackay started losing his hair on top at about 4 1/2 weeks. Dan calls him "cue ball". And apparently one of his sisters hit him on the head with a hammer.

5 weeks old

Mack has a little lizard tongue that he's constantly flicking in and out.

5 weeks old

Lookin' super cute in a "real" outfit instead of the standard newborn sleeper. I think this outfit came from my friend Esther.

almost 6 weeks old

Mack started trying to smile a little bit at 5 weeks. He can't do it consistently, but you can tell he's trying. Occasionally he'll break out in a huge 'ol grin and we love it!

6 weeks old

Mack has a bad case of baby acne that started at 6 weeks. We thought he was going to skip that phase because the girls both got it at 4 weeks, but he eventually broke out all over his face and scalp.

6 weeks old

I had my hopes up this week because Mack slept through the night three nights in a row, but he was back to his usual 3-4 hour sleeping pattern last night. Ah, well, I guess I can sleep when I'm old.

We sure love our sweet baby boy. I am equally wistful and anticipant each day as I watch him grow. He's lost his newborn look, but soon he be smiling and that will be a whole new bundle of fun, watching how the girls interact with their smiling brother.

Horse Training 101

Start with an intelligent horse, preferably one that can read.

Why you shouldn't take pictures of your baby with a wide angle lens at close range

It makes it look like you had a conjugal visit with an alien.

P.S. I'm working on a big post of Mackay pictures from his first 6 weeks. Stay tuned!