Bro-mance

Chase is doing really well with school. I love his teacher. She expects respectful behavior on all levels from the kids. They are to respect her, each other, and school property. They have a strict routine, and the kids thrive while adhering to it.

Chase has made some friends at school. He is very outgoing and friendly. He will play with anyone. I love that quality about him. However, he has made a good friend at school. His name is Roberto Carlos. He is such a sweet and kind boy. They can't wait to get to school to see each other.  The teacher has to separate them because they talk to much. She told me that they come to her and ask I'd they can try to sit together, and she let's them try. She said she usually has to end up moving them, but she likes to give them an opportunity to try:) We were teasing that the boys have a bro-mance going on. It really is fun to see him make friends!

6 Months-Already!?!

September 18th means that our baby girl is 6 months old! How did that happen? She is as amazing as ever besides her affinity to party during the middle of the night. She is rolling all over the place! She can move from one side of the room to the other by rolling.

We have a new nickname for her. We call her “Big Baby.” Think the doll from Toy Story 3. If you can imagine that doll before it was all tattered and torn, Maggie looks very similar. We also call her Mags, Maggie Doo, Sweet Darlin’, and the Ga-Doo (Daddy’s favorite).

Appearance: She is long and thinning out a tad. She has little feet and tiny fingers. She is definitely a mix of her brothers with a girly twist. We think she resembles Chase’s pictures the most though.

Sleep: She is waking up 3 to 4 times per night. What a stinker! She wants to eat and then goes back to sleep, but it is still really hard on me. I think she is hearing us and knows that I am right next to her. The time is coming for her to be moved out of our room. We got the boys bunkbeds, so she will soon be in her own room. She is still taking a long morning nap, a long afternoon nap, and a short evening nap.

Diaper Size: She moved to Size 3 diapers in the middle of August.

Clothing: She is still wearing 9 month clothes. We had to buy her 12 month jammies. She already outgrew the other ones. Crazy!

Height/Weight:

Height: 28 inches (98th percentile)

Weight: 17 lbs. 5 oz.  (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 17 inches (75th  percentile)

Eating Habits: She still eats every 2 to 3 hours. I have tried giving her a bottle of formula at night before bed I hopes that she will sleep better. It really hasn’t helped. I think she needs the extra milk though. I tried rice cereal, and she hated it! We will be working on adding solids to her diet this next month.

Development: Like I mentioned earlier she is rolling everywhere. She pushes up on her hands. She is noticing if a stranger is holding her now and is not too sure about it. She is chewing on everything and drooling quite a bit. Maybe some teeth are on their way. She sucks her toes and almost curls into a ball while doing so. Love it! She is still a thumb sucker. She is grabbing at our cups and she pinches our faces now.

Five Months!

This update is super late, but better late than never. She is still growing like crazy. The biggest change from 4 months is that she started to soothe herself by sucking her thumb and holding her blankie. It is the cutest thing to watch. When we lay her in her bed, she almost immediately rolls on her side, grabs her blankie, and puts her thumb in her mouth. ADORABLE! I have never had a thumbsucker, so this is new territory for us. I think it is so cute now, but someday I will probably not think so. I am going to enjoy it for now
She took her first trip to Trinity Center in the outside world. Janna and I were about 8 weeks pregnant last year and SUPER ill. It was a much better trip this year. Maggie and Jake spent most of the time with the Grandmas in their cabin while we entertained the older kids. It was non-stop fun! Swimming, hiking, fishing, eating, mini golf, and family time. It was a blast! We already have our cabins reserved for next year!

Appearance: Not much has changed. Her hair is growing so slowly. It looks like it will be strawberry blonde. She is nice and plump with lots of pinchable rolls. Love it!
Sleep: She is on a pretty regular schedule. She wakes up once or twice. She gets up for the day around between 7 and 8. She is back down for a nap within an hour. She takes long morning naps lasting about 2 or more hours. She only awake for 1.5 to 2 hours max. She is then ready for another nap. This pattern lasts all day. She finally is ready for bed around 9 or 9:30.
Diaper Size: She is still Size 2 diapers. 
Clothing: She is in all 9 month clothes. She is a big girl!
Height/Weight: Nothing new to report.
Eating Habits: She still eats every 2 to 3 hours. I am breastfeeding her. She is a great eater.
Development: She is still very happy! She loves to smile and laugh. She is on her tummy more to play. She squeals and screams quite a bit. She will roll sometimes, but is still pretty safe on a bed. She is not showing much interest in crawling. We started putting her in the Johnny Jump Up. She loves it! See video below. She gets lots of good exercise

9/11/2011

We will never forget!

Chase's First Day of School

Chase had his first official day of school on August 15th. He was very excited to go. My Aunt Karen, Emily, and Valerie came over to be with us his first morning. They stayed home with Parker and Maggie while I took him to school.

When we got there, he was eager but also wanted me to stay with him until the last moment. He had a big smile on his face. He did a good job listening to his teacher and standing in line. Not an easy thing for an active 4.5 year old :) As the teacher told the kids to say goodbye to us, he ran over and gave me a big hug. So cute! I felt a twinge of sadness leaving my boy in someone else's care. However, I felt mostly ok with the whole idea.

I went back to pick him up with Bridget and Parker. He was SUPER excited to see us all. He said he had a good day, but didn't want to talk too much about it. He was too excited about our plan to go swimming after we left school. I asked if he behaved, and he said he only had a "few troubles." He said he talked a little bit and played in the bathroom. Not too suprising :)

Last week was a big week for us. Chase started school and Abe went on his first business trip. Abe left early Tuesday morning before the boys woke up. They woke up looking for him. My mom showed up later and watched the kids while I dropped Chase off. He looked a little overwhelmed walking in by himself, but he was ok. He was ok when we picked him up as well. That night my cousins came to stay with us which was super exciting.

Wednesday morning we woke up to Emily and Valerie here, and the boys were so happy to have them here. They played non-stop with them. Amazing amounts of help! The only problem was that Chase did not want to leave the fun. He cried and went and hid. So sad :( We got him ready and headed out to grab some lunch. He wasn't happy when we left, but we prayed for him. He had a good day, and was totally fine when we picked him up.

Thursday morning was another rough day. He was missing his Dad, and we were still having lots of fun at home. He said he didn't want to go, but we just kept on going. I walked him into school, and he was not happy. It breaks my heart to leave my sad little boy. After getting in the car, I totally fell apart. I just prayed and asked the Lord to calm his little heart. The Lord heard my prayers. His teacher reassures me he is totally fine within in minutes of me leaving. Abe came home that night which was a huge blessing!! The boys were so happy to see him not to mention me :)

Friday we woke up with just our family in the house. We had a calm morning. Chase got ready for school and was totally happy and ready for school. I dropped him off without one problem. Such an answer to prayer.

Chase's first week of school was filled with ups and downs. We made it, and the weekend was so refreshing and a nice break from the school schedule! Phew!!

The Bouncer

                                                  Here is our girl getting some exercise!

Do I really look like that!?!?!

 

With all three of my pregnancies I have gained about 35 pounds. I lose the first 20 pounds really fast. Usually within a week or 2. The last 15 come off soooo slowly. It is hard work. It also has gotten more difficult to lose with each pregnancy.

For me it is always a shock to see a picture of myself when I am carrying extra weight. On an everyday basis it is difficult to see, but a picture sure makes it all clear . This week I saw a picture of myself in a swimsuit. Let me just say I hardly recognized myself. It is time to get to work.

My eating is decent. I could definitely cut back on some junk food, but overall my eating is pretty good. I need to get to exercising. I started yesterday, and I hope to get back into running. I hope to get back to my normal self. I refuse to be a person who lets themselves go after having babies. I have too many examples in my life of people who have returned to normal after many pregnancies. I know it can be done, and I have done it twice already. I am ready for round 3!

My goal is to be “normal” by Christmas. Hopefully, I can reach my goal