Erin turned 9 on February 7th, so on the Friday before, she had her birthday party. 
It was a late night party where they watched The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. We provided snacks and treats, started the movie, braked for cake and presents, and then sent the girls home. It was fun, (It was easy!) and the girls loved it. I made this really cute birthday cake. 
On Sunday the 6th, (My sister's birthday), We had Sean's baby blessing. We had a lot of friends and family come. Thanks to all who could. 
My mom made his cute outfit. He also had the sweater and blanket that John was Christened in 37 years ago. His Grandma made them. That was really special to us. 
Sean is such a sweet little baby and we love him a ton, but he has been very difficult. He had a hard time gaining weight! It took him 2 months to be back to his birth weight of 9lbs, 15oz. He went as low as 8 lbs 9oz at one point. It's not because we haven't tried either. I nursed him faithfully with very little supplementing at first. Then as he kept losing, and/or not gaining quickly enough, I supplemented more. The more I supplemented, the fussier he got. I tried everything I could to continue nursing him: Waking him continually, Pumping after, Pumping during, compressions to keep him sucking. Nothing worked. I didn't produce very filling milk in the first place, and on top of that, he was a lazy little nurser. We just got to a point where nursing was just more frustrating than rewarding, and then we called it quits. Now Sean has 8, 6oz bottles each day and has chunked up big time. He's now about 11 1/2 lbs. (according to my not very accurate scale). The biggest thing we've noticed about him though is that he's happy, and that makes us all very happy. After nursing 3 kids very successfully for until they were each 1 year old, I now have a formula fed baby. It's completely new territory for me, but in a way it's a little liberating. Thank heaven for formula.
I just had his 3 month old picture taken today. When I get them, I'll post them asap.
I've been a little busy, and this is the first I've been able to blog in a while. Let me give you a brief overview of the past couple of months. Here are a few pictures of Sean in the hospital.
My Mom & the boys. 
John's Mom Came to stay with us for a few weeks around the time he was born, so we were well taken care of. It was nice to have someone there to do everything, so that I didn't have to worry about it. 
We had a nice Christmas dinner one night (thanks to my Mother-in-Law and John) and John took them up to temple square to see the lights. 
My Mom and Dad and Brothers Roger and Richard came to see us too. My dad:
This is Richard and Callie
It was fun to have a new baby at 
Sean came home to a house full of eager siblings. They all love him and want to hug him and hold him, and feed him, and entertain him. 
They just can't get enough! Especially Colin! I think Sean has been so good for him. He now feels like he's one of the big kids. He's even finally decided to go in the potty and stop sucking his thumb! What a big boy. 
Erin is always wanting to help. She'll wash her hands just to hold him and she'll entertain him for half an hour sometimes! 
Devin is not quite as motivated, but if I give him the job of watching the baby while I do this or that, he is so happy, and has a great time. In fact, Devin is really good at getting Sean to smile.
He's here! Sean Brendin Doyle was born Monday, November 29th at 11:08 pm. He weighed 9 lbs., 15 oz., and was 20 1/2 inches long. Not a small baby by any means. It's a good thing he came early! Already we can tell he has such a sweet patient personality. The kids are so excited to have him here too. They love their little brother. These are some of the really cute pitcures taken while we were at the hospital. I'm wishing I could go back and retake my other kids' newborn mugshots! More photos to come soon!
The next night we carved the pumpkins. Each of the kids picked out a pattern and helped pull out seeds and mark the pattern and then John and I carved. 
Erin pretty much did the whole thing on her own this year! She had a little help here and there to speed her along, but she did most of the work. That was awesome! 
Then John and I each carved our own. What a great tradition. 
John dressed up for work too. He came up with his own costume.
That night was the ward Halloween party. It was a lot of fun. We had a soup/
We got ready quickly, cause it had been pouring rain, and was just letting up. I didn't know how long the lull would last, so I shoved them all out the door to trick-or-treat. Then we went to our neighbor's house for a hot dog roast that ended up indoors because of the rain. I thought for sure it would rain all evening, but after dinner it let up again, so the kids all went trick-or-treating together. By the time we got home, it was late, and they were all wet and tired. We took off the costumes and make-up before I even though of pictures. I did get pictures of the morning after though. I can't believe how much candy they got! I guess that's what I get for sending them out twice!
