Two Moon Monsoon

A monsoon was just happened to hit after dinner the other night. The boys did not have their baths yet.....so we decided to play in the rain. It was such a nice relief from the heat we have had. We could play outside without sweating! They were messy from dinner so I stripped them down and out we went! They were a little apprehensive about going out in the rain.....so I went out with them. We had a lot of fun!

Drew had a BLAST!

Carter spent most of his time laying in the puddles and coloring with a piece of chalk we left out there. Yes, chalk does work in the rain...amazing.

We even saw some lightening and heard thunder. It was so cute how nervous they were with the thunder and would run over and hold my legs. We played for quite a while and then hurried them into the tub so they could get warm. Boy was I SOAKED.

I love making memories.

Sweet Relief

We had a long day yesterday....sporadic napping....hot weather....cabin fever....

we ended up with these....

Heavenly......yes

and they have helped me today too.....yummm

Too Much Fun

My mother-in-law often accuses me of having too much fun with this little girl. She is jealous of all the fun dresses, bows, etc that I have for her.

I take a picture almost daily to send to Bry and family.....these are two of my favorites.

Adorable. Priceless. Perfect.

Just So......Carter

Carter is definitely my son. He loves to have things "just so".

He is so fun to watch playing with his toys. I will often check on him to find his toys like this.... 

and this.....

and this....

He got frustrated with his blocks the other day because he couldn't build the tower high enough without them falling so he gave up and used all the blocks to make a tower on the floor....well, more like a train of blocks, but hey - it made him happy!

He just makes me smile!

Mommy Mistake

I love these baby blues.

Now - I was making dinner yesterday and compiling everything I needed into the crockpot. The boys were on the counter helping, as usual. I got out the ground ginger...the smelled it and it was added.  I got out the curry powder...they smelled it and it was added.  I got out the cayenne pepper...the wanted to smell it, but I wasn't sure. I smelled it first and it didn't really smell like anything (the jar was half gone anyway). Drew smelled it....Carter smelled...well blew in it with his nose! Instead of sniffing he blew air out of his nose and I can only imagine puffed a little in his eyes. OOOOH the screaming. Poor boy! I rushed him over to the sink and began dowsing his eyes with water. He was rubbing, screaming, and squirming. It didn't last too long and his eyes didn't get very red at all. I am sure one little particle of that stuff would have killed!

Stupid me....seriously, what was I thinking!!!!!! He complained on and off the rest of the night, but was okay. Wow - I won't ever do that again!

Upside Down Drewbie

Drew has discovered a new show....

The Upside Down Show! He saw a little snippet of the show at the end of another show and really wanted to watch it. I recorded it...he LOVES it.

It really is a cute show that is so imaginative. They give Drew a fake remote control (for which he runs up to the TV to get from them) that when he pushes the button it can fast forward, slow motion, turn them upside down, etc. He giggles and giggles while making the button noise while he pushes it.

He has really become a fan of pretend play. It is so cute when he juggles and tells me he has six balls, then eight balls...and "oops" dropped one...He is such a crack up. He plays police officer and puts me in jail. We play pet store where different rooms in the house have different animals. He is so much fun! Oh I adore this kiddo!

Picking My Brain

I am constantly trying to think of new ways to introduce foods and make meal time more fun and successful. I rememebered the old toothpick trick. Kids think it is so much fun to eat with a toothpick. They successful consumed an entire peach (Drew ate about 1/4 of it and Carter ate the rest).

It was so much fun to dip the peach in sugar and eat it with a little stick. Carter even ate his sandwhich cut in cubes with his.

So much fun....too bad it does't work all the time, but hey - it was a great start!

We had to take them away when they started to put the toothpicks in the straws of their sippy cups and then try to drink.....ya....not safe. That was the end of that!

Bubble Headache

Arizona is HOT....especially when you are on an energy saving plan with the electric company. It is not very pleasant at our house from about 3-6 every day because those are our "peak house" and we shut off all major appliances, including the AC. It gets to be about 90° by 5:00 - whew. It does save is $$ though. Last month we saved about $60 with the plan!

Anyhow - we do baths about 5:00 to help pass the time in the hotness. Bry had bought me nice bubble bath a while ago that actually smells like roses (like my middle name - he is so thoughtful) I decided to let the boys have a fun bath and oh did they! They loved it!!!

Carter would clap the bubbles so they would fly everywhere. It was SO cute and so much fun, until I realized that the scent was giving me a horrible headache.

So - no more rose bubble baths from me, but they sure enjoyed it. I love these boys!

Three Months

July 15th, 2010

Miss Maylee - Three Months Old

Somehow I schedule Maylee's doctor appointments right on her month birthday - poor girl. They are complete with shots and everything. She did great this time and only cried a little bit after her shots. She is such a trooper. She is heathy and happy. The doctor is very pleased with her weight gain and said to keep at it. I was a bit worried she was gaining too fast, but he said that it is wonderful!

Her nurse visited the day before that and checked her out. She said she is doing well and is surprised at how well she holds her little head up already. She said that having older brothers will help with her development.

Maylee has had quite an eventful month....

Really started smiling, but of course hard to catch on camera. I have a video I will try to post with Bry's help.

 

First long road trip to California.

HATES her car seat these days. She lasts about 2 minutes before she starts screaming. I have come to accept it as a normal sound in the car now. Hopefully this stage won't last too long.

Still naps a lot and pretty well.

Her swing is worth its weight in GOLD - she LOVES it and it saves me when the boys need to be fed, etc.

She is finally fitting into a lot more of the adorable outfits I have for her.

She sleeps well at night giving me about a 5-6 hour stretch before needing to eat. Yay! The doc says as she gets bigger the longer she will be able to go, but her tummy is still so small.

She is starting to push up onto her arms during tummy time. She seems to be quite the strong little lady.

She is not a fan of the Moby wrap anymore. I am not sure if it is too hot or if she likes being held by my arms...either way, I hope she goes back to liking it again before too long.

I think she looks quite a bit like her daddy. She definitely has his eyebrow shape. I will need to get a baby picture of his to compare. Little dolly!

Night time is her cranky time. Most nights consist of a lot of walking and bouncing. I am not sure if she is a bit colicy, but she sure can be fussy.

Now that she has started her shots she can be held a bit more by other people. She is such a little peanut and it is fun to share her cuteness with others!

Her brothers still ADORE her...most of the time. They are not happy when I am playing with them and then Maylee wakes up and I get her. They always ask for her to take another nap. *smile* They are so funny.

STATS:

Weight: 8 lbs 7 oz
Height: 21 inches

Three

For some reason in my mind I thought going from one child to two would be the hardest. It was not bad AT ALL. Carter was an amazing baby and Drew adjusted well. One for each hand....one for each parent. Easy breezy.

Three.

This is a totally different story. All my kids are great. Carter is in his terrible two's and getting his molars, Drew longs for play activities and bugs his brother, and Maylee cries a little more than Carter, but really they are all great....but it is having all three that is the juggling act! Julia put it quite perfectly today as I was venting my exhaustion about it all.....She said that juggling two balls is easy, one for each hand....but when there are three there is always one in the air. That is how I have felt these past couple days. This mom stuff is getting tricky.

Acting insteady of reacting....consistency...communication....rewards...punishment....
equality....playing...fighting....crying...laughing...hugging....hitting....kissing...biting...
sleeping.....not sleeping....diapers...laundry....eating...not wanting to eat....sweeping.....throwing...
working.....not working.....summer heat....cabin fever....grocery shopping....dishes.....

The list goes on and on and my mind swirls in circles. I try to reorganize my game plan each night with a renewed sense of trying to do better. Some days are better than others, but it is hard. I love it, but this has been quite the learning experience.

My current challenges include keeping a balanced diet for me and the boys, getting dinner done on time as well as keeping the pantry stocked (getting to the store is a trick), teaching Carter not to scream whenever he is unhappy or frustrated, keeping Drew from bugging Carter and making him scream, and keeping the newborn happy and healthy.

I know other moms have much more on their plate than me - but this is where I am right now. I am learning and balancing. There is a time and a season for all things. I am enjoying all these moments and trying to make the most of it all.

Any ideas to help the boys get along better more often? They play some times, just not alll the time. How do I get Carter to stop screaming - my ears can't handle much more. I would say I should pray for patience....but we all know where that got me last time....I was blessed with more situations to practice patience *smile*

Good thing I have such a wonderful and supportive husband who is my rock and safe place. He is my foundation and best friend. And I am SO glad my kids are so stinkin cute and I love them so much - it makes it all worth it.

Whew - I feel better just getting all that out there. Here is to the ending of another rather successful day and preparing for the next.

I know Maylee looks a little scared here...but wouldn't you be?

Auditory Sensitivity

I am very audio sensitive. I don't like loud music (usually, unless dancing is involved), loud TV, loud talking, loud screaming.....etc. It drives me batty.

But I LOVE LOVE LOVE my noise makes. Each of my children have one. We started when Drew was little and we lived in an apartment where a young couple with no kids lived next to us and would come home late and slam their toilet seat down at 1:00 in the morning. We needed something to help him sleep.

My kids don't sleep without them now. It is good, but can be a pain. It is good because no matter where we go we take the little gems and it is a constant, comforting noise they are used to, but when the power goes out....oh man....not good.

This past weekend it was great to have them with the fireworks. We were not about to keep our kids up until 9:30 for them to be scared of the loud fireworks and deal with tired kids the next day....so they went to bed normal time. The fireworks came....the noises blasted....and the boys slept. It was beautiful.

I just had to share my love for these little priceless treasures (which are actually kinda pricey if you ask me) but I would not go without them now!

We are weaning Drew off of his and slowly turning down the sound...and starting Maylee on hers and slowly turing up the sound. It does sound like rushing water in my house during nap time and night time though....I prefer the "waterfall" setting since it is the loudest.

Bed Bugs

Looking at this picture makes me cringe.

I found one.

A baby one.

On my bed.

On my baby's blanket.

Next to her sweet little head.

I about died.

It died.....

Yuck!