And then there were 3

This week has been my first taste of real life with three boys. My mom went back home and I've had all three boys during the day while Jon's at work. Phew. We're surviving. I told Jon its pretty much a constant rotation between moments of calm and moments of chaos. And it changes quickly. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on things but next week will be my true test. Bennett goes back to preschool after a week off for spring break and Jon will travel overnight for a couple of days. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I even left the house with all three boys today. It only took me 45 minutes to feed the baby and get everyone dressed and out the door (after I was completely ready myself) and I considered that a success! Sheesh. I'm really going to have to master the art of planning ahead. We met Jon for lunch at Chick-fil-A and after he went back to work, I took the boys down to the playplace. I'm not quite sure I'll do that again very soon but it was nice to get out of the house.

Second attempt at a shot of all 3, slightly more successful than the first:

Both boys still love to hold Channing. It's so sweet. Bennett is wonderful with him and has actually held him and entertained him for me when he was crying and I was trying to do something. Dawson is actually super sweet and gentle with him until we get in the car. Channing's not too fond of his carseat and is usually crying. Dawson starts yelling at him every time. "Stop crying! I can't hear!" or one day it was, "Stop crying, I'm trying to read!" He gets pretty worked up. Don't you just wish they understood that's exactly how we feel when you're crying?? :)
Two weeks old here:

I mentioned to Jon about a month ago that since later this year is our 10th anniversary and my (gulp) 30th birthday, maybe he could get me a nicer camera. This is something I've dreamed about for a very long time but just tried to be content with what we had. Well, he completely shocked and surprised me this week with a package in the mail that he said was a little gift for having our final child. It was a new (and super fancy) camera. I started crying, I was so happy. I have zero photography knowledge but couldn't wait to read the manual and get my hands on it. Here are just a few "test" shots:

My niece, Quinn, and Dawson coloring while the big kids were at The Lorax with my sis:

I had it on the wrong setting in these next two. (Macro instead of Portrait- because when its on portrait I can't turn the flash off. Hmmm. Something I need to figure out. Is it better to just turn it to the no-flash setting rather than use portrait? Can you tell how much of an amateur I am by the way I phrased that question? :)

I would love to take a photography class. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to. I'm just so so thankful for my thoughtful husband! I tried to think of another time I actually cried when I opened a present. Couldn't really think of one. (Ok, so maybe its because I'm 3 weeks post-partum and just slightly emotional.) But nonetheless, best gift ever.