The Pacifier Snob!

I have come to the conclusion that Miss Claire is a pacifier snob. When we were still in the hospital with her I caved and had a pacifier brought down since she seemed to think I was a pacifier. The one that we ended up with is the ugly blue soothie. Nothing against blue, I just do not have boys so it's not my first choice.



I had already bought cute Gumdrop pacifiers in both pink and purple before Claire was born but they are just not good enough, I'm confused since the nipple shape is exactly the same but she acts as if she is being fed poison if I dare put them in her mouth!



Today we had to take Hannah to the doctor and somewhere between the doctor's office to Wal-Mart we misplaced the soothie. I bought a 2 pack of pink and purple soothie's and thought she would not know the difference. I was wrong! She will not take the pink or purple soothies and the only difference is the color.



When we got back home I took apart the back seat and found our precious paci. Of course, I am ultimately her favorite pacifier. Too bad "human pacifier" will not be a good resume filler when it's time to look for a job :(

Makayla's in Kindergarten!

Well we did it, Greg and I sent our sweet baby to school for the first time today. I was really worried that I would get emotional but I stayed strong. I think the chaos of the first day and since Makayla was home before lunch it still felt a little like preschool. The morning went pretty smooth and she was ready to go about an hour before we had to be there. Not only was she excited for today, she has the next 3 outfits all lined up! Even Hannah knows what outfits are to be worn each day.



Of course we had to take a ton of pictures before, because that's what moms do!



Sisterly Love




Makayla and Mommy




Makayla and Daddy




Makayla at school



And again in the classroom, she did great until we walked into the classroom and a couple kids were crying. I think it scared her so I had to step up the excitement and not stick around too long so the teacher could get things going. This is her at her desk, slightly overwhelmed.



I really think I am more nervous about tomorrow. It's our first full day away, it seems more official than a few hours in the morning. I'm sure Hannah and I will both be counting down the time until we can pick our Makayla up from school!

Tomorrow is the big day!

Tomorrow is the big day! Kindergarten.....Why would a school allow this baby to register for kindergarten......



After Makayla was born I was told so many times that she will grow up so fast. Or before I know it she would be going to school and I just didn't realize how true that would be! I have been having my midlife crisis over her growing up since she turned 5 and signing her up for kindergarten was just icing on the cake. I was getting caught up in the excitement with her to go to school but looking through pictures just reminds me of how quickly they do grow up.

Then we had the 2's.......a stage I never thought would end and I found myself again wishing time would speed up.



We survived the "terrible 2's" and when I think about it, they weren't so terrible after all.

When 3 rolled around, Makayla decided she was officially a "big girl" and no longer a "little girl." Yes, she told us this several times and the diapers and pullups went bye-bye. She started preschool and I loved watching her get excited to learn.



Four year old Makayla was still shy and so sweet. That was a sensitive year for her as our family life was going through so many changes but she stayed so sweet and helpful.




Now we have reached the big age of 5! Five has brought along a whole new confidence. The shy Makayla has been packed away and this mature, confident child has exploded. She couldn't be more excited to get to start kindergarten and I am really glad she is ready.



The last 5 years have flown by even though at times I never thought I would reach this point. I was told by a woman today that they [Makayla and Hannah] would be in high school before I know it. This time, I believe it! So now I will try to take in each moment and enjoy as much of their growing up as I can, the ups and downs!

One of those weeks

"I will be joyful in God my Savior"

I have been having one of those weeks. One of those weeks where it seems as if around every corner is another hurdle to cross. I continued looking forward feeling positive that things would turn around but still the hurdles were there, no matter how big or small. Finally today I hit my limit and while I was trying to tell Makayla to not cry or whine, I found myself crying over the same thing too! From there I just sank into a hopeless mood the rest of the day. Makayla and Hannah kept themselves busy playing, I took them to the park and out to lunch but nothing would perk me up. I know Claire felt my negative energy because everytime she was not eating or sleeping, she cried (and cried.....).

Finally, after dinner I had enough of the mood I was in. I was looking at 2 days worth of dishes, a pile of mail that needed to be opened, toys/crayons/coloring books all over our living room, kids telling me they were hungry after just finishing dinner and more crying from Claire. I looked tiny little Claire in her sweet, angry face and told her she was just going to have to swing for awhile. I turned on the Christian music station on TV and started dishes. And there it was, peace in my home! The crying stopped just long enough for the dishes to get done and the dish water to start draining. Makayla and Hannah were not fighting at all and picked up toys when I asked them to.

I went to my daily devotional while the girls' bath water was running and today's verses were:

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior" (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

I was so glad I had not read that early this morning, I do not think I could have possibly appreciated it had my day not felt like it was crumbling around me. No matter what I have been up against all week or what the following weeks will become, I can still be joyful in God. With that being said, I am also glad that tomorrow (or today) is Friday and I can use this weekend to regroup before tackling next week!

Queen Resort Party

Monday morning Makayla decided she wanted to have a party Tuesday and was busy planning it out. I had not agreed to it yet but she was completely convinced this party WAS happening. Since we have been completely confined due to the heat since bringing Claire home, I decided to let her have her party.

She originally called it "Queen Resort Party" and after I wrote her invites she wanted to change the name but I would not rewrite the invites. Also included on the invite, it said dress up cloths were acceptable. Makayla planned the guest list, planned the activities and I did the snacks. Monday evening we delivered our 3 invitations and all the kiddos were able to attend.

The party started at 9 AM Tuesday, the kids had playtime, dance time, snack time, coloring time and then more playtime until it was time to go.




I wish I had taken pictures of our wonderful hor d'oeuvres. We had banana cake rolls and strawberry cake rolls, cut into thirds, white powder donuts and tiny brownies. It was quite fancy! And Crystal Light to drink.

Everyone had a great time and now Makayla thinks she needs to have an event daily. She is busy planning a recital but I told her it would have to wait a little bit!

Claire-11 days old

I thought I would have blogged about our newest little princess by now but I have been too busy enjoying her! As I am beginning to type this she is waking up so we will see how much time I have! (I only made it half way through before having to put this post on hold :))

As many people know, Claire arrived on 7/21/11 weighing 7 lbs 13 oz and 20 inches long. I was induced when I reached 39 weeks exactly. The labor itself was freakishly easy, the last hour and a half was pretty painful but I seriously cannot complain.

I went in at 7 and I had my meds going and water broke around 8:30am. Around 10:00 am I was a little frustrated that nothing was happening, a nurse came down so I could go to the bathroom. She asked me to rate my pain on a scale of 1-10, I asked if I was even having contractions and she said yes. Pain rating = 0. I was allowed to stand up, I couldn't go far thanks to monitors and pitocin but standing was better than laying. Another hour-ish goes by, I call down to use the bathroom again. Another nurse comes down and asked my pain level. Again, zero. I was having contractions about 2 minutes apart and I literally was not feeling anything so she checked me. I was dilated to a 4-5 cm, yay! Throughout this entire process I was silently thanking God because I could not be happier that I was going through labor virtually painless.

The next couple of hours continued this way, lots of potty breaks, lots of popsicles and waiting. Finally around 1:30 or 2:00 I started feeling crampy and I was dilated to a 7. I went ahead and asked for some pain meds because I knew that the pain was on it's way. I had nubain and rested for awhile. The labor pains did find me at the end and about the time I started wondering why I did this again, it was time to push. Claire arrived at 3:30 pm.

Now a week and a half later we are all adjusting to our new life with a baby in the house. Makayla and Hannah are great with her when we are home alone. As soon as people come over or we are out they go overboard with affection for her, that seems to be slowing down too. Sleeping has not been too terrible, I expected to be sleep deprived for a few weeks at least and she typically only wakes up twice a night. Last night was just once!

Cloth diapering is going well, and I am suprised at how much I actually like it! Her little legs are too small for some of our newborn size so I am using half of my stash for now. I am still not sold on prefolds, I keep those for when I am going to be home and not running. Maybe once I have more skills I will appreciate them more but for now I will stick with the all in ones. I have kept a pack of newborn diapers on hand for appointment days and when Claire decides to keep filling diapers the second I get a clean one on her. It is nice to know that in almost 2 weeks we have not gone through a whole pack of diapers.

I have more pictures to upload and will sometime but for now I will take advantage of 3 girls sleeping and take a shower!