Lots o' Baby Pictures

So -- I'm finally getting around to another question. How much does Isaac look like his sisters?
They all had about the same amount of hair (which is not that much) -- and it was all pretty equally dark. All three have their Daddy's ears. When Isaac was born, he reminded me of Ellie. Not that they looked just alike, but that his face was shaped more like hers. And his lips are more like Ellie's lips, the top lip tends to be more prominent (whereas it was Annie's bottom lip that showed up more in most of her pictures). His eyes are way bluer than either of theirs ever have been -- the girls both had eyes that were much more gray than blue, whereas his are more blue than gray. Who knows what'll happen with that though?

Here are Ellie pictures from the first three weeks:

Here's some Annie pictures from that first several weeks:

(OK, so that last one might've been a little bit photoshopped. But not much, this basically was the first 4-5 months at our house after Annie was born.) :-)

And here's Isaac's in the first few weeks:

So, I don't really know how much they look alike -- I really am the world's worst person at figuring out who babies look like. I think they look like siblings though. Holding him and nursing him is very deja vu-ish at times.

Another question I've gotten (look at that, two in one day! I'm an overachiever!) is what it's like having a little boy?
He makes my heart melt. I mean, all my kids did, but I think there really may be something different to the whole 'mother/son' thing I've heard so much about. Annie and Ellie loved me, and I could hold and cuddle them for hours. But when they were pissed, they needed Daddy to swoop in and calm them down. He could swaddle, rock and shush way better than Mom ever could. My trump card was that I could nurse them, but there was no denying that Greg was better at calming them down through non-being-a-pacifier means. Isaac though -- this kid loves me. And not just for my milk. :-) In the middle of the night, when he's fussy and swaddling and rocking just aren't cutting it, he will instantly fall asleep when Greg puts him in my arms. He doesn't even want to nurse, he just wants me to hold him. I love it.
It is different having a boy after two girls, it's taken some mental adjustment. But I haven't tried to call him 'princess' in over a week. :-)
He has also been much calmer and a better sleeper than the girls -- apparently boys are less drama from the get-go. :-)
I've only been peed on a few times. He can definitely get more distance -- but he has nothin' on Annie. That kid peed on us every time we opened up a diaper. And even without any special equipment, that girl could pee a good 12-18 inches. Isaac on the other hand seems to save all his pee for his diapers -- which overflow and flood out his outfit and blankets at least once a day, despite us changing his diaper every 2 hours or so. The child has amazing bladder capacity.

I'm gonna go for a third and final question for the day -- How are the girls adjusting?
Annie and Ellie LOVE Isaac. They love to hold him and cuddle him and kiss him. They both kiss him at least a hundred times a day. They're smitten. Ellie LOVES to come help me burp him . . . I'd prefer she not want to come and constantly smack him on the back. She gets mad at how often I stop her from using him to help her get up from a seated position -- apparently Mom is quite mean in not letting her lean her entire body weight into his stomach.
So, they love him.
Life in general -- they're less happy about. Nothing major, just a lot more whining and crying than we're used to (or that Mom has a lot of patience for right now.) Ellie's a major Daddy's girl, and follows him around the house whenever he's home. She freaks out over the littlest thing, and the two fight over every little thing right now. Sigh. Annie's got more attitude and sass than any 4 year old has a right to possess -- and although we don't let her get away with talking back, we're trying not to make a big deal out of it, hoping once life settles into more of a normal rhythm some of it will disappear. (Let's hope.)
Annie has been quite helpful though -- if I'm nursing when Ellie and Annie wake up, Annie will go downstairs and get yogurt out to tide Ellie over until I can come downstairs to fix a real breakfast. (Ellie has to eat within 10 minutes of waking up or so, or she freaks out. The child can't go long without food.) They will both go and get me diapers, bringing me anything I need, and even help put away the laundry, unload the dishwasher, or clean up our rooms.
They're fighting bedtime even more than normal, if that's even possible. Ellie can spend a good 2 hours in bed at night without falling asleep. Poor Annie has to fall asleep listening to her little sister blab and talk and cry and sing and shriek and freak out and laugh and chatter for hours at a time.
I keep telling myself things'll go back to normal (or reach some new normal) sometime in the not-too-distant future. Right?