Birthday Girl

Today is my DD's fifth birthday. I tried so hard to make this a special day for her. She requested banana pancakes for breakfast, so I made them for her. She wanted a certain Princess backpack from Target for school (which starts on Monday) so I got that for her. She loves ice cream, so my sisters (who are in town for the weekend) made her this rather cool no-bake "ice cream cake". She wanted to do crafts again at Lakeshore Learning, so we did that (see below for photo of the girls and their necklaces). Along the way, things turned ugly. You see, when the cousins come for a visit, DD doesn't sleep. She goes to bed later and wakes up earlier. Simply--she was exhausted today! If it hadn't been her birthday today, I would have sent her to bed to take a nap many, many times. *Sigh*--but I didn't. Yes, there were moments where she managed to have fun. There were moments where she was adorable. More often, however, she was a big, crabby, grouch!

We're having her party in two weeks. I hope she's much more congenial then!

Four Month Weigh-In

DS#3 had his four-month checkup today. He weighs 14 lbs. 1 oz. and is 25 1/2 inches long. Apparently he is around 50% for both length and weight. He's definitely smaller than his siblings at this age, but it's good to know that he is still growing. Poor baby had three shots today and he's been cranky since. Of course, his two containment leaks, including one in his carseat haven't helped his mood...or his Papa's.

Another Catch Up

It's been another busy few days. On Saturday, I took DD and DS#2 to Lakeshore Learning to do crafts. Their craft was making crowns. Not surprising, DD was all about the bling, especially the heart bling. DS also chose lots of bling but in more understated colors and shapes. DD chose some shimmery paint as well while DS kept his crown paintless.

Yesterday, the older boys went to the pediatrician for their school physicals. DS#1 is officially 62 1/2 inches tall and 100 pounds (although he was 62 inches according to them a few months ago, but he was still a little bit shorter than me at the time). DS#2 was 54 inches and 72 pounds. Both were around 95% for height and 50% for weight. Both are growing boys, that's for sure. DD will have her appointment later in the month.

DS#3 will have his four-month checkup on Thursday. He has been trying to sit up, despite being placed in a reclining state. He still drools a lot and still loves to stick out his tongue. He slept through the night another three times this last week. So close and yet so far... I got this photo of him today during DD's swimming lesson. I just love that I can see his dimples!



We had some kid friends over at our house plus I got to scrap with my friend Jen today. I actually got some pages done over the last couple of days. Here's a page using an awesome August kit from
Scrapaddict.com. These photos were taken five years ago when DH and DS#1 first signed up for karate. I don't have too many great photos of them taking karate at that time, so these are very precious to me. It's been a great couple of days. I'm back to work tomorrow.

New Trick

This week, DS#3 has started pulling in his lower lip and sucking on it. We've been joking about how he's been so desperate to suck on something that he found his own lower lip the most convenient. He looks so adorable like this because he puffs his cheeks up and you can see his dimples better. He has also found his thumb. He often sucks on just his thumb as opposed to his whole hand. Both create lots of drool. We still think he has to be teething because of the crankiness and the drooling. Luckily, he hasn't been biting me. We can't see any swollen gums, though, so we're afraid that we still have a long way to go. He has also been playing with his feet more and more. It's just a matter of time before he puts those in his mouth.

He slept through the night the past couple of nights. I'm working tomorrow, though, so that usually means that he gets me up at least once!

The Object of Her Affections

DD can't help herself. She is constantly touching her baby brother. She loves to kiss him, hug him, and just be around him. She sometimes calls him "cutie baby" and often says, "He's SO CUTE!!!". She often gets underfoot of whoever is carrying him because invariably she'll be holding on to his foot and we just aren't able to see her there when she does that.

Her big thing the last few days is that she wants to "carry" him. This means that we put him on her lap while she is sitting on the sofa. That's all she is allowed to do because the other day she tried to help him "stand" and she lost her balance. He ended up tummy down on the edge of the sofa, but he easily could have ended up on the floor. He wasn't hurt or even startled, and I was right there next to her on the sofa, thank goodness.

Yesterday, I took a quick shower while DS#2 and DD entertained DS#3. When I got out of the shower, I heard DS#3 making whirring sounds over and over, and I heard DD "singing" (or rather, making high-pitched noises). It was hilarious listening to that. Today, DD was playing Peek-a-Boo with him and he was laughing and laughing. I wish I could have taken a video, but that would have involved putting him down.

We often try to tone down DD's affections, because she can get a bit annoying, but I hope that she always feels this loving towards her baby brother--especially when he starts trying to grab her toys.... :)

Winding Up

The kids have two more weeks of summer vacation. I feel like we're not winding down, however, but we're winding up instead. DS#1 has soccer practices every day this week from 5:30-7PM. He also had an orthodontist appointment today at 4PM. I worked last night, so I was a little tired today. School hasn't even started yet and I feel overscheduled already. Of course, the baby's containment leak right before DH and DS#1 left added to the chaotic feel this afternoon.

DS#3 seems to store up his poop and then lets it go all at once. He has at least one huge poop and resulting containment leak daily. DH is usually the one that handles it, but I was the unlucky one today. What was worse was that after I gave him a bath to clean him up, I turned to get a towel, and he pooped some more--in the tub! Ugh! I'm not going to go into more detail, but I'm glad this day is over!

I'm sorry I haven't had much time to add photos to this blog lately. I'm lying in bed right now trying to feel the little man as I'm typing this. I can only upload photos from my computer downstairs. Maybe tomorrow...

New Friend

First of all, a retraction of sorts, of my last post. DH says he is NOT a "happy homemaker". He says that he was just tired of eating out all the time and tired of maids that only pretended to clean. No matter what the reason, I still feel lucky to have him do all of that work, though. :) We all did a bunch of cleaning this morning, so we could have people over this evening.

Tonight, we invited my scrapping friend Jen, who I know from the Scrapaddict.com Design Team, and her family over for dinner. Her boys played with my kids while we talked, and we also got to meet her DH. We all had a nice time, I think. I'm glad to finally have a scrapping friend here in town. Last year, I thought I had found one. She was a reservist RN who I met through work. Although she was very nice, she has grown kids and doesn't have quite the addiction to scrapbooking that I do, so we didn't have too much else other than scrapbooking in common. We do still keep in touch, however.

I was so excited when Jen moved here in June. Jen has a young family and she loves to scrap as much as I do, but the best part is that she is so easy to get along with. They've been here just a little over a month and we've met several times. I've really enjoyed her company and I hope she has enjoyed mine, too. We haven't yet scrapped together, though, but I hope that we can do that some time soon!

Happy Homemaker

I never thought I'd see the day. DH has turned into a "homemaker".

Early in our marriage, when we were both still in school/training, we barely had any free time let alone free time to clean our apartment. We decided then that we would always have a maid to clean our residence, so we could spend our precious free time having fun together instead of cleaning.

Recently, our regular maid suddenly stopped coming to our house. I found another maid that some friends used, and I gave her name and number to DH. To my surprise, he said that he would rather clean the house himself!

Ever since he started "staying at home", the kids have still gone to daycare or school. I could appreciate how difficult it was to get anything done while the kids are around, and he wanted to have time to write. The kids also enjoyed being with other kids, so daycare was a natural choice.

About a year ago, DH decided to take DD out of daycare (the boys were both already in school). She went to school with the boys this past year, but for the summer, he again decided to keep all of the kids (including the new baby) at home with him. This surprised me because he had complained of not having enough time to write this past year. He has been limited by the bad weather, but he tries to go out and "do fun things" with the kids.

DH has also never enjoyed cooking, whereas I used to love cooking. Slowly, over the years, he has learned some quick and simple recipes from me. During this last pregnancy, I never knew what I wanted to eat until I was ready to eat. So, I started cooking less and less. I also get so discouraged by DS#2 and DD being very vocal about not enjoying what I did happen to cook.

DH has thankfully picked up my slack. Recently, he even started planning meals ahead of time, going to the store and having all the ingredients ready before the day he was actually going to make that dish. Tonight, he took the next step. He actually made a couple of dishes with the express purpose of freezing them so that we can just reheat them at the appropriate time.

I couldn't believe it. I can't believe it. I'm so proud of DH, though. He's doing this all for me and for our family. I absolutely picked the right guy! :)

What's in a Name?

I don't know why, but I started calling my family members "Sweetie" around the time DS#3 was born. I think it was because he is/was such a sweet baby. I sometimes even call him "Sweetie Baby", which drives DH nuts. What really drives him nuts is that DD is trying to be like me and is starting to call DS#3 "Sweetie" also.

I remember around the time we were first married, I felt the need to call DH cutesy names like "Pookie" or "Pumpkin", but he would have none of it. He insisted (and still insists) that "Dear" and "Honey" are okay but he frowned on my using any other nicknames. I just think those sound so "old" like something our grandparents would call each other.

So, I guess I'll continue to call DH "Dear" or "Honey", but right now, I'm still going to call each of the kids "Sweetie". :)

Exciting Things

Here is the precise moment after DS#1 removed the new Harry Potter book from its packaging. Doesn't he look excited? DH and I didn't really sense his excitement until yesterday when DH suggested DS check the mail early since we sometimes get our Saturday mail earlier than on the weekdays. After that DS started asking to check the mail every few minutes. Finally, after we got back from lunch, we saw the mail carrier across the street at the other community mailbox.

DS wanted to wait outside near the mailbox since he couldn't see the mailbox from our house. We suggested that he take his soccer ball with him to pass the time. I took some photos of him playing outside, and I planned on getting a scrapbook page done by the time I posted this, but alas, real life got in the way again.

In any case, DS#1 got his book. He started reading it right away, of course. We made him take a break for church and dinner then he read until around 9:30ish last night. DH started reading a little then, but DS#3 kept him from reading more. DS#1 picked the book up again this morning and finished it by lunch time.

Speaking of exciting things, here is DD with DS#3 in her lap. Every morning, she wants to hug and kiss him right away, and she just cannot keep from touching him. She kisses and hugs him quite often, and sometimes it can get a little annoying, especially if you're trying to calm him down and she's hanging on his foot. Still, it's nice that she cares for him so much. Everyone says they look so much alike. What do y'all think? I think they both look adorable, but then, I'm a little biased. ;-)

Harry Potter Mania

As I type this, I'm at home with my two youngest children who are sleeping. DH is out and about with the two older boys trying to find a good Harry Potter party. They started out at Borders, but they didn't have any magic shows, which is what the boys really wanted to see. DH called a while ago to tell me that they were headed to Barnes and Noble to see what they had there. We ordered the book from Amazon, so they won't be picking up a book at either of those locations. I was secretly hoping that the book would arrive a little early, but instead we probably won't get it until tomorrow afternoon when UPS usually delivers packages here.

DH and DS#1 will be duking it out to see who gets to read the new book first. Actually, they'll probably handle it like they did when the last book was released. DS#1 will read it during the day--ALL day. DH takes it at night when DS#1 goes to bed. Of course, the problem is that this time, DS#2 is interested in reading it, too. Of course, he still has to read the last four or so... I'm not sure when I'll have time to read it myself, but I wish I had enough time to re-read the first six. I would love to remember the little details. There's a review of the book in our local paper today, with a "spoiler alert" warning. I was SO tempted to read it.

DH and the boys just got home. I guess there wasn't much in the way of "activities" at both stores. There was a photo op with someone dressed up as Harry Potter and apparently, DS#1 looks more like Harry Potter than that person did. Too funny! Okay, I'm starting to ramble. Happy reading to all!

Another Free Day

I wish people would stop hurting each other. I got called in to work again last night when some guys got shot and had to come to the operating room. I got to go home after my case was done, and it was a good thing, because I was exhausted! I slept most of the day, but I did manage to make some dinner. I haven't cooked very much since I got pregnant last year, so this was unusual for me. Luckily, DH has taken up my slack. He actually cooks now--I'm so proud of him, and thankful that he doesn't mind doing that. I also managed to complete a couple of pages in DS#3's baby book. I've completed up to "7 weeks old", so I'm a little behind since he is now 14 weeks old. The most important thing is that I got to spend a little time with the kids, so that always makes it a great day!

Rolling Along

Apparently, my little man rolled from his tummy to his back twice today. He also rolled from his back to his side, but his arm got in the way. I missed it, but I'm sure he'll have more in store for me very soon. :)

Beach Photos

Here are the photos I promised I would display. I changed my header above with some closeups of the older kids. Doesn't DD look like she is modeling those seashells for some gameshow? The boys really look like they're having fun. Even DH got in on the action and was helping DS#2 build his little fort/sand castle. DS#2 really gets into building and was upset when we had to leave his creation on the beach.
DS#3, on the other hand, was sleeping most of the time. In the photo on the left, he was perched inside the back of the van. In the photo on the right, I was holding him and trying to get a photo of him looking very peaceful. This leads me to a list of things that made me smile during this beach trip. Most involve me observing my family since I was pretty much stuck sitting on a chair holding DS#3 during Day 2 of our trip:

1. My kids really getting excited about building sand structures
2. DD asking if she can take home the various "cool-looking" shells she found on the beach
3. DH digging in the sand, helping DS#2 build a castle/fort
4. DH and DD walking along the beach with her running alongside him
5. DD holding hands with DS#1 as they stepped into the crashing waves
6. DS#2, who was upset about having to leave his sand creation at the beach, being appeased when I told him we would take a picture so he could remember it forever
7. Digging my own toes under the sand so that my feet would be covered completely with sand
8. Trying to make a tunnel with DS#1 and finally figuring out that we should make a big mound first and then making a hole through it, rather than trying to make an arch that kept collapsing
9. Hearing DS#1 explain that DD wanted to make her drawing "evil" so he had instructed her to give him "fangs"--she is such a "boy"!
10. Hearing all three kids tell us that they want to go to the beach again! :)

Impromptu Beach Trip

DH and I are planners. We decide to do something only after much research and planning. This week, we decided that, since I had Friday and the weekend off from work, we would go to the beach about three hours from here. To be more exact, DH made the hotel reservation on Wednesday for Friday night. Actually, he tried to make a reservation for Thursday night, but he couldn't find a hotel that we wanted to stay at that had rooms left. So we left yesterday after 11AM and got back this evening.

Yesterday we got there in time to check into the hotel first. We didn't know exactly where to go to find a beach, so we just started driving and looking for signs. Once we got to one beach, we were able to drive right up. It was very windy but it was around 4PM so it wasn't too hot or too sunny. Still, we were able to lift up the back hatch on the van and leave DS#3 there in his carseat for most of the time (he was sleeping). The kids had so much fun making sand "castles" that they barely went into the water. They also wanted to go back to the beach today instead of visiting some of the tourist type spots we had planned.

Today, we stopped at the Visitor's Information Center and got directions to a beach that had restrooms and showers. It was very sunny and hot, but there was still a nice breeze. Shielding DS#3 from the sun was a bit more challenging, since we didn't bring any kind of umbrella or covering and we weren't able to drive right up at this beach. Luckily, he again slept for most of the time. I had to hold him wrapped in a towel to shield him from the sun. The price was that I didn't really participate in any of the sandcastle building this time. I just watched. It was very relaxing to watch my family play and interact with each other, however. All in all, it was a very disorganized and stressful trip, but we all had fun in the end.

I don't have time to post photos tonight, but I'll try to post some tomorrow!

Free Day

I got called back into work this morning at around 1AM. Two trauma cases came in at the same time, and another was possibly on its way. I felt surprisingly awake at 3AM this morning. In any case, I was sent home at around 5AM after my case ended. I was very tired, but excited that I was going to get the rest of the day off. DS#3 was good to DH and did not wake him up while I was gone. Yes, this is the second night in a row that DS#3 slept from about 10PM to 530AM. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this continues.

Everyone let me sleep for most of the morning then the whole family went to the gym. Our gym starts taking kids at 3 months old, and DH wanted to check out the whole system so he can make use of it. The whole thing requires some pre-planning, as spots for infants have to be reserved 48 hours in advance. They'll feed and play with the babies, but they won't change their diapers. The older kids enjoy the "daycare" too because they get to play on the big play gym and other areas AND they can play on one of the many computers. Guess which area my older kids played in--computers, of course!

Anyway, I was able to get about 30 minutes on the elliptical machine before they paged me. DS#3 was apparently very hysterical, but he stopped right before I got there. He was quietly sucking on his fist when I saw him. We went home while DH took the other kids to the outdoor pool and water slides there at the gym. He was in a good enough mood to let me take some photos of him with the chair I used to take photos of DD in. I want to be able to see how he's grown relative to the chair.

This afternoon, after they all got back home, I took the older boys to see the new Harry Potter movie. It was a great movie, but then, we're all HP fans. It made me want to re-read that whole 900-page book again. The movie just capped off a really nice day with the family. :)

13 at 13

Today, DS#3 is 13 weeks old!!! He also happens to be 3 months old. I didn't get to take a photo of him in the chair I wanted to, so I hope I can do that tomorrow. We've been wondering how much he weighs, so today, I weighed him at the Lactation Consultant place that we used to go to. He weighed 13 pounds! That means he is almost out of the Size 1 diapers and soon we will be using Size 2 diapers. He has had quite a few containment leaks recently, and DH thinks that's partly because he's running out of room in his diaper.

I took the above photos of him yesterday. He really has been smiling a lot lately, especially when he is supposed to be eating. He also has been sticking out his tongue pretty often. On Saturday, when I was at work, DH put the phone up to his ear so I could talk to him, and he ended up licking the phone. I just heard a "Gross!" and giggles over the phone from the kids. He has also begun to grab toys, like one of the hanging toys on his play arch. His favorite seems to be the one of a smiling sun with ribbons hanging down. He loves to grab the ribbons and put them in his mouth. In fact, he usually has something in his mouth, and it's usually either his fist, or a burp cloth.

Happy Three Months Old, Little Man!

Catch Up

I'm trying to catch up on posting our activities of the past week or so. DS#2 was supposed to be at Cub Scout Camp for four days last week, but because of the constant rain we've been getting, he only went for 2 1/2 days. He had lots of fun swimming, doing crafts and other activities. He even got a prize for being the best at Archery. Here is a photo that DH took when DS#2's pack was in charge of bringing down the flag. His smile says it all--camp was fun!

As I stated previously, my family was here earlier this week. DD got attached to this pair of sunglasses owned by her cousin E. E is the most girly girl I've ever seen--except for her mother, that is. She is 10 months older than my DD and my DD just follows her around and wants to do everything with her. I thought DD was hilarious when she pretended to talk on the phone with these very grown-up looking sunglasses on.

Finally, everyone keeps pointing out how DS#1 is just a hair shorter than me, and how it will only take another good meal for his height to surpass mine. Well, DS#1 already has bigger feet than I do, and DS#2 is catching up fast. Here is a photo of our feet. DS#2's foot is on the left, my foot is in the middle, and DS#1's foot is on the right. DH's feet are only a toe longer than DS#1's, and my feet are only a toe longer than DS#2's.

Happy 4th!

We had a pretty sedate holiday today. It was raining this morning, so no one really felt like leaving the house. My Mom and Dad and dear sis and her DD were here for a couple of days. Dear sis took my DD and her DD to Sea World on Monday. DH took the kids and dear sis and her DD to Sea World on Tuesday. They got lucky both days as far as not getting caught in the rain. Mom and Dad stayed home and got to bond with the baby. He really is very interactive now. He'll often stop eating just so he can stare at you. When you look back at him, he starts to smile. It really makes it all worth the effort.

DH tried to take the boys to see the new Transformers movie but it was sold out of the showing they were going to see, and after being told that they should line up an hour before the next showing just to get a seat, they decided to postpone it for another day. DH was also going to take the older boys to see fireworks tonight, but they're now just setting off fireworks with the neighbors. At least they're having fun.

The only other "holiday activity" we did today was grill burgers. Like I said, we had a pretty sedate holiday, but being with family is always a good thing. I really should post every day, but I just don't have time some days. I'll try to catch up on photos in the next few days. For now, here's a cute photo of DS#3 smiling and wearing his 4th of July outfit courtesy of my dear sis. :)

Whoosh!

That's the sound of money being sucked away by Disney. I just booked a vacation to Disney World at the end of September when the kids have a week off from school!!! I'm EXCITED!!! Can you tell?!!! Am I crazy for wanting to take a 5 1/2-month old to Disney?!!!

I think that means that I have 88 days to scrap the photos from our last Disney vacation three years ago...