There are sometimes moments that make all the craziness of a day melt away.  The days have been going very well and honestly it's hard to believe Veronica is already 7 weeks old, she just fits into the family and is so loved by everyone.  Yesterday afternoon I was trying to put some of her clothes away that had been washed.  I set her on the extra bed in her room and hoped for 5 minutes to work with two free hands, something I definitely cherish these days.  Augustin came in carrying a book and was very happy to find a willing audience in Veronica to look through the book with him.  It worked well for me too because she was completely entertained and that gave me an extra 3 or 4 minutes to get things done and send a child running for the camera.  I really need to remember to keep it with me at all times, especially now that she's smiling more often.

Augustin was so excited to have her "like" the story and actually smile at him and I think she was happy for the attention too.  Look at that smile, that is one happy kid, so excited to share the story with her and to know she was enjoying his company.

Veronica smiling at Augustin

Augustin kept trying to look at the camera, read the book and get Veronica to smile...definitely a multi-tasking moment

I just love these moments, they really make my heart melt; there really is nothing like sibling love and those quiet moments shared together

Augustin got the present of a life time I think; well his life time possibly.  The week before Christmas I was looking for one last gift for him, I had the other two and wanted/needed just one more for him. I went to the local children's consignment store in hopes of finding something for him.  I discovered last year that consignment stores are often the best places to find nice gifts for the little guys.  As I was walking back towards the toy section I spotted a Lightening McQueen scooter.  That was it, that was the gift I was looking for.  He loves it.  The night he got it he could hardly get across the living room and by the next afternoon he was speeding all over the living room as if he'd been riding a scooter for year.  He took it outside for a spin on the driveway, but brought it back in because it was too cold outside.

Matthias told me tonight that next year he wants one of those battery operated cars kids can ride in.  You know the ones that are shown in every Christmas flier for the low, low price of $300.  His reasoning was, "Augustin always gets the toys with wheels."  Last year he got a cozy coop car to ride in and this year he got the scooter. I guess Matthias needs a toy with wheels for his birthday in June.

Now on to the smiles.  Veronica has been smiling for several weeks now.  First at Daddy and now at anyone who will talk to her...which is everyone in the house.  Matthias is particularly fond of trying to make her smile.  So on Thursday he kept asking me to get a picture of Veronica smiling at him. I tried and tried and this is all I got....

Cute but no smiles.  Then I walk away to go do laundry and Matthias yells for me to come back because she's smiling. I was literally about 10 steps away.  So I come back with little hope of actually capturing a smile on film, especially since he kept sticking his head in the way and her smiles weren't lasting very long.  Well, he was determined to get a picture of her smiling and sure enough we did.

Matthias was so excited.

I love these oldest/youngest photos. 

It's always so sweet to see Grant holding the babies and seeing how much he really loves them.  I remember when Matthias was born and he loved to hold him, then it was Samuel's turn and he was older and enjoyed him even more.  They shared a room for awhile and Grant seemed to really bond with him which was the start of a special relationship.  Now there is Veronica and Grant's now a teenager and still in love with the babies.  He'll walk up to me and put his arms out to hold her; my heart always melts.

Yesterday she was sleepy and Grant took her so I could set the table.  He was given the choice...baby or table?  He chose the baby...probably the smart choice; at least it was the most fun choice.  I look over and she's curled up in his arms, sleeping.  I'm amazed at how tiny she looks when he carrying her.  Thinking back to Matthias, Grant was only 7.5 years old and Matthias never really looked tiny in his arms.  Now with Veronica, Grant is bigger than me and she looks so tiny and sweet.  He is definitely in love with her; I love to hear him sing to her, O'Sanctisima and Immaculate Mary are his favorites.  So much love already and she's only 6 weeks old.  He is an amazing brother and I can't wait to see how they bond as they both grow. 

She's still teeny tiny, but Veronica is growing.  It may not seem like it to most people, but she no longer fits in some of her newborn size sleepers.  This newborn size is the best thing in a long time in baby clothes.  They fit from 5-8 pounds and actually fit new babies, especially those little ones like Veronica.  No more of this swimming in clothes for months while they try to grow into the 0-3 month size.  I thought it would be awhile yet, but I've had to put away two sleepers in the past 4 nights because they were too short.  This doesn't mean she's getting chubby at all, because she's definitely not chubby, but she's obviously getting longer. I did weigh her the other day and with a clean disposable diaper on she weighed about 8.5 pounds, so she probably closer to 8 pounds.

Here she is this morning wearing an adorable newborn size outfit she was given.  I'm putting them all on her because I don't think she'll be able to wear them much longer.

Yes, that's a bow on her head.  We're obsessed with them, especially if she's not wearing pink.  Brad doesn't like them at all, he thinks they look like garters on her head, but he quietly accepts them as part of her outfits, at least for now. I know once she has hair and looks more like a girl I may have to stop putting them on her.  Let's face it, after  5 boys, we're getting girly around here and why not?  Girls have cute clothes and accessories and Veronica is taking advantage of it.

And just because it's a super cute picture...here is the sleeping princess enjoying being held by Daddy.  I know I'm partial, but can you get much sweeter than that sleeping face?

We had a nice quiet night New Years Eve. We hung out at home with my parents and the Barnum's. We put the little boys to bed and then enjoyed some Apples to Apples which is now one of my favorite games. It is always so funny to listen to the conversations during the game. There was a Bon fire, but I stayed in and took a short nap in the couch before midnight and then was able to be awake to see the ball drop, toast with champeigne and head to bed. It was a nice quiet and fun evening.