Today

Today felt like a lazy day. I'm not really sure why because somehow I also felt like I was busy all day. 

It doesn't make sense to me either. 

I completed most of the tasks on my to do list and that's always a good feeling. Of course, if you look at my house you'd never guess I even made a to-do list much less almost completed it.

That's the way it goes with a newborn babe in the house, and it's okay. Oh, and I have five kids now. How weird is that?!! I love every second of it. Except when Mallory screamed like a psycho pants half the night last night...

Matthew wore this monster outfit today. Since it's the girls' favorite I thought I'd better take a picture. 

 Lily and Kaylee squealed with glee when they came home from school and saw what he was wearing. They're such girls.

Riley and Matthew had lots of together time today. 

Also, Riley got her hair chopped off a few days ago. This is how she wanted it and I think it's dang adorable. Good choice, Riley!

That might be the cutest sad face I've ever seen. 

 Matthew loves his swaddler. 

(and I love it too!)

Because Mallory was up much of the night screaming like a psycho pants she slept until 3 o' clock this afternoon. She has also been sick with croup so I was willing to let her rest her sicky head all she wanted. 

When she awoke she was back to her usual shenanigans.

 She wears this tutu every dang day of her life. Around the house. To the store. To the doctor.

I love it.

About a Boy

and you better believe I have a million pictures!

Matthew Steven Floyd was born November 2nd at 3:17am.

He weighed 8 pound and 5 oz.

My most gigantic child by far!

and boy did I feel it.

but I'll spare you those details.

My labor with this boy was much like my labor with Riley's. Actually it was almost identical. I had been having weird cramps that didn't feel like contractions but absolutely were, though I didn't know it at the time. I decided to rest until I could decide what they really meant and then my water suddenly broke. In my bed. Yuck. I leapt out of bed where it continued to spill. We cleaned it up. Michael got dressed. He was very animated and excited and I was... nervous. To say the least.

We got checked into the hospital, I was wheeled upstairs, and that baby was born 5 minutes after we got into the delivery room (45 minutes after my water broke). Thank goodness for the angel of a nurse who delivered my baby. My contractions never got as intense as they did with my girls (they seem to be less intense each time) and I was surprised when the urge to push came. That was the hard part. For me that part is usually better than the miserable contractions. My nurse directed me and guided me as I cried and cried (I usually don't make a peep!). She was so kind and comforting and I was very grateful. 

They placed this sweet baby in my arms and I said, "Oh my goodness, he looks like a boy!" I was so worried he'd come out looking identical to the girls and I was so pleased that he had his own "little boy" look. He was and is perfect and I am head over heels.

I thought a boy wouldn't fit into our family of girls. But as soon as he was in my arms I was utterly and perfectly smitten. I am in love with this child and I can't imagine NOT having a boy. He fits in our family perfectly.

He's already showing me what having a boy is all about. He is the first of my five children to successfully launch poop into my hair. He has also introduced me to the adventure of changing a boy diaper. I have to say that I am quite impressed with the velocity and range of his pee stream. Not to mention the duration! I've learned not to pull his diaper back too soon during a pee pee episode (if I'm lucky enough to actually cover it up). There are great surprises in store if I get anxious to see if he's finished. I'm also getting super speedy at changing diapers. I'm not accustomed to having to work so quickly, but I'm learning.

After one week and 2 days of being a mother to a boy I can honestly say that I LOVE every minute of it. Matthew has such a sweet and special spirit. I am blessed to be his mommy.

Matthew is named after my Uncle Matthew and my dad (Steven). My Uncle Matthew passed away nine years ago. We were good friends and I miss him terribly. I hope my son inherits his wit and his good heart. I hope he inherits my dad's love for the Gospel, his patience and compassion, his sense of humor, and his creativity.

I love this little boy. I'm so grateful he chose to come to our family! The girls are completely in love with him. He is truly a miracle and we are all so blessed to have him in our lives!

And here is my attempt at "Professional Pictures". I'm not completely satisfied with them; I need some major practice. I still think he's pretty darn cute.

My Neighbor Showed Me a Spider!!!

Remember my account about my Grouchy Neighbor?? I never blogged about it again but since there is a new addition to the story and our relationship is beginning to unfold (I'm joking. Half- joking) I thought I'd fill you in...

After our encounter I started to feel a little guilty. I don't feel like I did very much wrong and I still felt like he was grouchy but I couldn't help but feel sad that our first conversation went so poorly. I like people and I want to have good relationships with everyone. I would never want to be grouchy and stinky-eyed with anyone; especially not a next-door neighbor! So, I wrote him a letter. It was a nice letter; a VERY nice letter. In fact, I showed it to my grandpa (who happens to be the kindest person I know) and even he said it was nicer than what he would have written. I don't remember it much anymore, but in it I introduced our family and told him a little bit about us. I apologized for our unfortunate conversation and told him that I am not prone to arguing although I do feel that it's important to stand up for myself and my family. I said some other things and told him I hoped we could be friends. I didn't expect a response and I didn't get one (although his wife gave us a huge sack of corn and some delicious tomatoes from their garden!). It was okay that he didn't respond. I was at peace with myself and I made sure to keep being a good neighbor and I waved and smiled and greeted him every time I saw him. And he greeted me back in his own way:)

Last week I ran out to my car to grab my diaper bag. I saw him outside and said 'Hello' and then I noticed that he seemed to hesitate like maybe he wanted to say something. I grabbed my stuff and headed back to the house when I heard him say, "My granddaughter won't have anything to do with this!" I whipped around, thrilled that he said something, anything, to me!

He was holding a jar in his hand.

"What is it??" I asked.

He held it up and showed me a DISGUSTING spider that he had captured and told me it was a cat face spider. Of course I shrieked a little (I hate spiders). I asked about his granddaughter and he spoke a few more sentences about her and about spiders and that was pretty much the end of our conversation. We wished each other a nice day and went our separate ways. and I. Was. Ecstatic.

I ran in the house and told Michael all about my 2nd conversation with our neighbor. And we high-fived and smiled at each other and it was really cool. Then I called my mom. Then I called my grandpa. Then I went out on my front porch and shouted to the world that my neighbor had shown me a spider.

Okay, seriously. I think that was a big step for him. I don't know him AT ALL but I imagine that he may be a little shy. Maybe he's uncomfortable around people. And I see his little spider conversation as kind of a big deal. It meant something to me and I am so happy. Maybe I'll make him the yummy looking pumpkin pound cake recipe I found on Pinterest.

(source)

And here is a picture of a cat face spider in case you were wondering what it looked like. eeew. I am shuddering right now.