Life as I know it - boys edition

     Hank is usually smiling at all times, unless he's tired or hungry.  He is not walking but running everywhere.  He loves blueberries, strawberries, peas, avocado, some meats, applesauce to list a few.  He's a good eater!  

At almost 14 months old, he's still on the bottle, which he gets before naps and bedtime.  He drinks water out of the cup just fine, but when given milk in the cup, he pushes it away and refuses to drink it.  I'm gonna have to tough out his milk in a cup strike here pretty soon.  He still takes two naps usually, though I am beginning to see that it won't be for much longer.  He says "hi" so cutely and high-pitched.  He also says "bah-bah," "mama," "dada," "nigh-nigh," "cookeee," and "Hayee" for Hattie.  

He generally spends his days trying to get into all of the things he's not supposed to get into: the cabinets, the water-heater, the toilets, his brother's toys.  He already plays the role of instigator very well.

    Ben is all boy plus an extra kick of testosterone pulsing through his blood at all waking hours.  He despises when his younger brother enters his room, so of course that is little brother's favorite place to be.  Ben doesn't walk or run around the house; he stomps.  His currents interests include, but are not limited to, super heros, football, trucks and cars, "going to work like daddy" (which includes putting on a belt and dress shoes and a button down shirt), and pretending to fix things or unlock/lock doors.

Not an ounce of estrogen exists in him.  He also recently discovered McDonalds.  I don't know how exactly, but there is one near our house, and every single time we pass it, he says, "It's open, Mom!!"
because his mean ol' mama always tells him it's closed when he asks if we can go.  How much longer
can I pull that?  Not much!  Especially with big sister in the back correcting, "No, mom, it's open.  I see lots of cars.  I see people inside.  Can we go?"  Thanks.  We have actually indulged him and gone there for lunch twice recently.  Every time I go, I am reminded of how much I hate that place.

This week

 Sweet baby boy stood up in his crib for the first time Sunday night.  I went in his room to put him to bed, which means rocking and cuddling and a final bottle and found him like this.  He was very proud of himself as you can tell by his smile :).

This boy loves his solids, but he is a messy eater.  Some of the puffs actually make it in his mouth.  Most end up everywhere but his mouth right now.  I made him homemade green beans for the first time this week, and he loved them!  He loves anything with a some butter and salt and pepper. :)

 My brother celebrated his 25th birthday on St. Patrick's day.  I made him this cake, but I used a buttercream icing because I didn't want the lemon to be overwhelming.  It was good, but came out a little dry.  Not sure why?  Maybe bc of the egg whites?  I liked the cake a lot; it's a good birthday cake cake, so I plan to figure it out.  How is my baby brother 25?!

I also did painting this past weekend.  We moved in early December and are just now feeling settled enough to start projects.  There is so much to do!  Slowly but surely.  I love this color.  It's a blueish green.  The color is from Sherwin Williams and is called "contented."  Best color name for my house :).

 Sean and I are so blessed to have a group of friends at our church who really desire fellowship and raising our kids in the Catholic faith.  We get together a lot. This past weekend we got together for burgers and prayer.  The kids always outnumber the adults, and I love that!  It is such a much needed support in my life to have these other mothers alongside me.

I took this picture to show how drastically my life has changed in the past two years.  Two years ago, I was having lots of tea parties and playing with barbies and coloring.  I still do that stuff with the girls sometimes, but since they are in school now, I do a lot of this now.  Ben is obsessed with football.  When he's not wearing this helmet, he wants me to wear it.  We throw balls, we play with cars and trucks.  We sing football songs and read dinosaur books.  We run everywhere we go.  I am adjusting slowly from the pink, peaceful play to the blue, rough and tumble play.  Boys are wired SO differently, and I am trying to embrace that and let go of what was.  NOT EASY for me!

 Sometimes at the park, we take up all of the baby swings, and I get my exercise pushing these 3 little monkeys.

This little boy is well-loved, and he knows it :).

Spring Break starts for my kids in one hour.  At 11 a.m. Hattie gets out of school and everyone will be home for the next two weeks.  I am looking forward to the break from school routine, but I hope I can find things to occupy all 4 of them for the next two weeks.  It'll be a little taste of summer.  Here we go!

Mostly a Photo Dump

 Sean and I have gotten to go to the rodeo twice this year.  It's been two fun date nights.  One was for the cookoff.  His work sponsors a tent.  I don't really enjoy the cookoff so much - too many drunk people and smoke everywhere.  But I enjoy the live music and people watching.  We also got to go to the Jason Aldine concert Monday night.  That turned out to be really fun because the couple we had to go with through Sean's work networking cancelled the day of, so Sean surprised me and invited my best friend and her husband to join us.  Such a happy surprise when I answered the door when we were about to leave :).  And I knew a lot more Jason Aldine songs than I thought.  Good times.

 Hank now has a bottom front tooth and the other one is about to poke through.  He is crawling like a crazy boy and already starting to pull up on shorter objects.  I bet he'll be walking before his first birthday.  I've never had a baby walk that early.  He now says "mahmah," and I really believe he knows that's my name because it only seems to come out of his mouth when he wants me to pick him up.  Babbling is "dahdah" and "bahbah."

 Hattie just finished a semester of art classes that she really enjoyed.  We popped into the starbucks next door to the art class one Saturday morning before her class and had a little free mommy/daughter date thanks to a friend who surprised me with a starbucks gift card :).  Hattie had a chocolate chip, extra whip frap, and I opted for a skinny warm drink.  Oh to be young and not have to calorie count!

My granny turned 93 a few weeks ago.  She is an amazing, lovely woman.  Such a testimony of good, solid, joyful living to her every growing family.  We had a big family party for her at my aunt's house.

The weekend after my Granny's 93rd birthday celebration, I took Mary Ellen out to her house because she wanted to show us her chickens that she recently got back on her farm.  At 93 my grandmother decided to raise chickens again - how awesome is that!  She gave us 2 dozen fresh eggs and the handmade (by her) crocheted scarf that Mary Ellen is wearing.  Plus the beanie baby puppy that Mary Ellen was the most excited about :).

 Hank and his 2nd cousin, Anna, are about 2 months apart in age.  They sort of met for the first time this week.  They babbled back and forth and enjoyed pulling each other's ears and poking each other in the eyes, exploring each other, not really caring if the other minded.  Such cutie pies.

 Cousins - clean, silly, and enjoying each other's company.  We are so blessed to live one street over from Sean's parents now because when cousins come to play, we can easily join the fun or they can come over and join our fun, which was bathtime this evening.

 I found a much needed dining room light for our new dining room.  There was no light when we moved in and I have been patiently looking for something vintage.  Found what I was looking for this past weekend in a little antique shop.  Supposedly it's from the 1920s.

Hank flirting with the camera at the park.  He tilts his head and smile flirtatiously.  This is the way to my heart, and he knows it.

A certain 2 year old in our house threw a baseball through his bedroom window during bathtime one night last week.  A certain repentant dad allowed this certain 2 year old to bring the baseball in the house from the garage about 30 minutes before the window breaking.  Lesson learned and window pane replaced as of yesterday.

So glad it's Friday and that it feels like Spring outside!  Looking forward to the weekend ahead.

Hankie the Hankster

     Or perhaps that title should be "The Happiest Baby Ever."  Mothering four small children is no easy task, but God has blessed my latest blessing with the sweetest and most easy-going temperament of all of my babies.  Henry, or Hank, as we usually call him, only seems to make a fuss when he is hungry or tired.

     At just 8 months old, Hank is reaching all kinds of milestones.  His achievements are what has prompted this blog post since baby boy does not have a baby book.

     My sweet baby Hank at 8 months old is.........

     *Loving solid food.  As bad as I've been about documenting his life on paper, I've made up for it in food.  He's the first of my babies who I've actually committed and pretty much followed through with making most of his baby food from scratch.  I don't know if this gives him any advantage other than he loves to eat every last bite of his fruits and vegetables, but I enjoy doing it and I don't find it as challenging or time sucking as I thought it might have been.

     *Siting up like a champ!  He started sitting up around 6 months old, and I've been enjoying the sit and stay put baby for two months until.......

   
     *Crawling like a man on a mission.  Just two days ago, he decided to celebrate his turning 8 months ols by learning to crawl. He's been rocking back and forth on all fours for a while now, so I knew it was coming, and here we are!  I no longer have a sit and stay where I put you baby.  He's my earliest crawler of the 4.

     *Loving his brother and sisters.  Any and all attention he can get from them is encouraged with big smiles and squeals.  Ben, in particular, is a favorite, and while Ben can have moments of pure big brother evil, he is usually very tender and loving with his baby brother.

     *Sleeping through the night basically.  About two months ago he started sleeping through.  He still often wakes for a bottle around 5 a.m. but then will usually go back to bed for an hour or two.  He also recently dropped the 3rd nap, which I was pretty glad to see go.  Because of that nap drop, though, he is usually in bed and asleep between 5:30 and 6 pm.

     *Loving drumming and clapping.  He can't drum or clap yet, but his favorite past time is to watch us drum a book or a table or to clap for him.  These two things make him very happy.

     *Saying "dada" and "bahbah."  We are still working on "mama." ;)

     * Growing slowly.  He's long and lean, and sometimes it's a battle to get him to take 24 ounces in a day.  He's never been a big eater, which was the source of much of my anxiety while breast-feeding.  Now I know that it wasn't me, it was him.  Wish I had known that little fact sooner!

     *Lacking teeth.  He still has a toothless smile, and I'm loving it as long as I can.

(all photos by Katielee Photography)

Finally an Update!

It's been waaay too long since I've updated this thing.  So at 5 in the morning, when my body has decided it will sleep no more, I've decided to finally do a little update post......

Baby #4 and me

- While I'm up before the sun today for no apparent reason, I must say, I have slept the best throughout this pregnancy than I have with my others.  I have 3 busy children to thank for that.  However, now at 36 weeks, comfort to fall asleep and an empty bladder are hard to come by, so sleep is getting harder to come by.

- Cravings: I eat watermelon like it's going out of style.  I prefer to eat it doused in lime juice.  We seriously go through 2-3 watermelons a week.  This is part of the reason that it's hard to come by an empty bladder!  Other than the watermelon, I love cookies and milk, cereal, and cheetos.  And with the help of those very healthy cravings (ahem!), I've packed on about 27 pounds to date.  I don't know what it is about cheetos, but those have been a consistent craving for all of my pregnancies.

- Still no name for baby boy.  Atleast we have a short list.  But depending on the week, if you ask me what his name will be, I'll give you a different answer.  Right now, we are between Henry "Hank" and Brooks for a first name.  Thomas as a middle name for both.  Though it could be something completely different, too.  Thoughts?  Opinions?

- Fears: Giving birth.  After having Ben naturally and suffering through the pains of back labor, I find my mind dwelling on it a bit these days.  I do plan to go natural again as I do think it is the right way to go for me, but fear of the pain of labor gets a little overwhelming these days as I creep closer and closer to my due date.

             Juggling it all.  This will be baby #4 for us.  I've been through growing pains with a new child's birth 3 times already.  Each time it is a struggle to learn a new normal and adapt.  Between the hormones and the healing and another person I'm now responsible for, I know I have a few emotional and tired months ahead of me.  And the fact that this baby will come in the summer is both brilliant and crazy of me (as if I had something to do with the timing!).  Good on the one hand that we don't have to be any where at any time.  Bad because I'll have 4 kids staring me back in my tired face all day, wondering what we're going to do next.  I am somewhat prepared.  Prepared as I can be.  The girls are signed up for a few summer things, and I've hired a college girl to help me out 2 days a week.

- Excitements: Witnessing God's miracle first hand.  Meeting this little one for the first time.  Seeing what he looks like.  Getting to know him.  Cuddling my curled up little ball of love.  Nursing.  Seeing my two girls and Ben be big sisters and a big brother.  Newborn smell.  Newborn noises.  Figuring out what his name will be.  Growing as a family.

Hattie

All dressed up for her farmer program at school.

- Hattie will be a first grader at the end of next week!  Woah!  She has enjoyed school so much.  And overall, the decision to do public school has been a good one for us so far.

- Big milestones for Hattie this year: becoming a strong reader.  learning to skip and hula hoop.  learning to snap.  understanding the concept of addition and subtraction.  getting her ears pierced. losing her first tooth with presently, a very wiggly second tooth!

- She is a joy to raise!  Hattie is my straight-arrow, first-born who aims to please and wants to do well.  She is a great big sister, very tender and nurturing.  She is mostly obedient.  She is a thinker and artsy, a perfectionist.  Very internal verses external.  Things stick to her heart longer, which challenges me to be a more thoughtful mother.  She has the best appetite and will try anything I put in front of her.  She often says, "This is better than I thought it'd be, Mama." :)

Mary Ellen

At almost 4, she still loves the baby swings at the park.

- At 3, Mary Ellen wasn't quite ready to leave the nest, so I pulled her out of preschool early in the year and kept her home with me.  A very good decision for both of us.

- Big milestones for Mary Ellen this year: learning to color in the lines and her drawings are becoming more sophisticated.  Her people now look like people!  learning to dress herself and put on her shoes.  waking up dry at naptime (still working on nighttime!).  getting her first "real" haircut - just a good trim.

- Mary Ellen prides herself in being "the funny one."  Just yesterday she asked me, "Mama, who's the funniest in the house?"  "Who?" I asked.  "I am!" she proclaimed.  She is definitely more external than internal.  She acts more on emotion.  She's 3, afterall, so I am interested to see how much of her personality is her age or just truly who she is.  She is a performer - loves to sing and dance.  Loves to laugh.  Loves to pretend.  Plays very well by herself.  You don't want to cross her, though.  She's our firecracker!  She wants carrots and hummus every day for lunch.

Benjamin

One of the only recent pictures I have of him because the boy doesn't sit still unless he's confined.

- My baby boy who will soon be a big brother.  It has been such a joy having a son and seeing how different he truly is from his sisters.

- Big milestones for Ben this year:  So many!  At almost 19 months, Ben's talking up a storm.  He is learning new words every day.  Right now my favorite phrase he says is, "Doh doh door."  "Shut the door."  He is obsessed with opening and shutting doors.  Really he's obsessed with opening and shutting anything.  He loves repetition.  He loves reading books.  He knows where his eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and mouth are.  He calls his belly button a "bo-bo."  He is obsessed with MY belly button right now and loves to kiss it, though he has no idea what's growing inside :).  His favorite place to be is "ow-side."  He throws fits like his sisters never even dreamed of throwing.  Sean took him, without telling me where he was going, to get his first big boy haircut.  Goodbye baby hair with no pictures to show for it :(.  Hello, big brother haircut!  He loves peas.  And peanut butter on a spoon, not in a sandwich.  He loves roast and mashed potatoes with fresh green beans.  He hates most things from a can.  Smart boy who knows that fresh is better but makes it hard for mom on quick lunch days!

Cookie Monster

It's official: his grandma, Tutu, has spoiled him rotten.  She is the reason why he got his first taste of an oreo.  And, as is pretty clear in the above photo, he's a fan.  Oreo's #1 fan!

We're just gearing up for first birthday cake fun over here.  It's only a little more than a month away.  I cannot believe it.  {sniff, sniff}.

The {Almost} Perfect Sister

Last night I got to accompany Sean to a cocktail party that's thrown at the beginning of this annual convention they do in the insurance world each year.  I was excited to go {in the minority for sure!} because I like to get dressed up, I like an open bar, and I like talking to other adults, even if it is a lot of awkward small talk.  Is stay-at-home mom written all over my face?

Thankfully my sister, in the kindness of her heart, agreed to watch the kids.  I love her for her readiness to spend time with her nieces and nephew.  I love that she lives close to us.  I love that my kids love her and think she's so fun.  Problem #1 for the night to happen - finding a sitter - solved!

Problem #2 - what the heck am I going to wear?!  Being the stay-at-home mom that I am, I hardly have anything in my closet that even resembles a cocktail dress.  But really, even when I wasn't a stay at home mom, I hardly had anything in my closet that resembled a cocktail dress.  One of my biggest strengths and weaknesses is that I am so practical.  The core of who I am just will not allow me to spend $100+ on a dress that I am hardly ever going to wear.  I just can't do it.

But my sweet, kind, fun, twenty something year old sister loves to get dressed up.  And her budget and inner core are very different from my own, so I got to raid her closet.  And even though she is 2-3 inches taller than me, and we are built very differently, as we analyzed while I went through her closet hours before the cocktail party, I found a dress that worked!  She even provided the matching shoes - my feet are still paying the price of those heels! - and jewelry.

Problem #3 - my hair.  I have a hate/hate relationship with my hair.  It's just blah dark brown, hasn't been cut in over 6 months, has no body, and I just plain have no idea what to do with it.

About a week ago while surfing pinterest, I found a hairstyle I wanted to duplicate.  It had a step by step video, it seemed easy enough, and the girl seems to have similar hair as me.  So what if she's a hair-stylist and went to school for this and does hair for a living?  I could totally figure it out and make it look just like hers.

I tried for an entire hour to fix my hair in this do.  I think the video is slightly over 4 minutes.  Sean was being very patient, feeding the kids and getting everything ready before my sister came over and we had to leave.  I just needed to be alone and concentrate.

I finally got the hair done to my liking.  I thought it looked pretty good if I did say so myself.  And I did.  To myself.  In the bathroom mirror.  Now I only had 20 minutes left to do my makeup and put my dress on, but that's double what I normally have, so that was fine.

When my trendy, fashionable sister walked up the driveway to babysit, I pranced out in my her heels and dress, wanting her to say how fabulous my hair looked, that she couldn't believe her practical, plain sister could do her own hair outside of the regular down, flat, drab look she normally has and have it come out looking so great.

You have two bald spots in the back of your head was what she said.  Brutally honest, trendy, fashionable sister.  Apparently I hadn't pinned the back properly and had pushed the pins up in such a way that showed two bald spots on either side.  The front looked so pretty and perfect, but there was no way I could walk around all night with two bald spots in the back of my head!

There was no time to fix it.  We were already running late, and Sean's patience was thinning by the second.  So I pulled the pins out, ran my fingers through my hair, tsked at myself in the mirror, and was ready to go.

Running low on patience husband was not so keen on taking a picture before we left, so I quickly gave Hattie my phone and said snap it!

The only photo of my fancy-shmansy night out :(.

I had to go with the regular old flat, I obviously don't know what to do with this mop, hairstyle.  But the silver lining is Sean decompressed in the car, and I got over myself.  We had a good time! 

And I need to make a shout out to my seeester!  I am so thankful for her.  Thankful she was there to spend time with my kids while I got to have a night out on the town with my husband.  Thankful she loaned me a pretty dress and stilettos and earrings to match.  Thankful when I called at 8 (when we said we'd be home) and asked if it was ok if we stayed out later, she said yes, even though she was tired and had to go to work the next day.  And, most importantly, I'm thankful she didn't let me walk out the door with two bald spots in the back of my head.

I am now on a quest to send her to beauty school, so she can learn to fix hair {particularly mine!}.  Then she would be the perfect solution to all of my date night problems!  Because, you know, that's her ultimate goal in life. ;)

Serving Others

I am starting my second year in a young mother's group at my church.  It has blessed and enriched my life more than I could have hoped.  The group is the answer to a prayer I've prayed for a long time, a prayer for the 3 C's, as I'll call them - community, connection, and communion with other Catholic mothers of young children in my area.

This year we are studying and discussing God's Plan for Marriage and Family by JP 2.   Last night, the key phrase I walked out the door of our first gathering with was to serve, not to be served.

What a beautiful marriage would be in store if my husband and I could just live by those words daily!  If we would decrease, HE could increase.  

Living out the gospel every day is so hard, isn't it?  Selfishness is such a nasty seed that can be planted in the heart.  It leads to ugly things like anger and resentment.

The answer is humility.

If our God, our Prince of Peace, our King of Kings can humble Himself to become a man, to come down to this earth from the paradise He created and SERVE mankind out of LOVE, why can I not joyfully serve the ones I love the most!  I am called to do that.  I am called to do much more than that.

This is why marriage and motherhood are so hard and so necessary to the transformation of my soul.  Nothing has challenged my motivation or put my soul under a microscope like marriage and family have.

The ugliness of self-centeredness was there all along, but I didn't see it as often or as strongly when I was single and allowed to live according to my own desires and will.

To serve, not to be served.


And it doesn't take marriage or children to live this way.  We are all called to be His hands and feet on this earth.  We each have our own vocation.  And the seasons change, but the words never do.

To serve, not to be served.


Sometimes we are our biggest obstacle in doing His work, right?  And it's hard to see because our society is so me! me! me! focused.  And life is so clogged with sin and hurt.  Our bodies are so weak and tired.  Disappointment is ever-present.

But He is here.  Still serving.  Giving us the strength and grace to keep going.  To keep doing His work. Being His hands and feet.  Serving.  But we have to humble our hearts to accept His Work.

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

And, just on a lighter note, imagine what driving and traffic would be like if we lived by these words!?  Ha!  Who needs marriage or kids to see our ugly selfishness?  Just get in the car and drive.  Next time someone is trying to cut me off, which happens often now that I have a mini-van (but that's another post for another day), I think I'll roll down my window and scream at them, Be humble!

Or maybe not.

We have to be His hands and feet to show His heart.

My Little Man

He loves to grunt and rough-house.  He's SO LOUD all the time.

At 10 months old, he already gets into way more than the girls ever did.

He lights up when we go outside.

Anything in the shape of a ball is his favorite toy.

Pillows are not for sleeping; they are for tackling.

He gets angry and throws fits that little girls just don't make.

He eats just about everything.

And has an obsession with the broom and vacuum cleaner.

A rough and tough mama's boy for sure.

Daddy's pride and joy.

Having a little boy is so much fun!

31

My better half turned 31 today.  I texted him this morning and reminded him that he's now closer to 40 than he is to 20.  Not very nice of me.  But, the truth is, being closer to 40 looks way better on a man than 20.

Exhibit A - We're both 21-22 in this picture (*sigh*) -

It feels like so long ago.  We were such babies.  Already engaged babies.  Sean was about to leave for Mexico to study abroad for 3 months.  He was so skinny.  A young wuss, as I remember his older brother calling him.  Of course I thought he was hot.  And he was. :)

BUT

Today, at 31 years young, he is way hotter :) -

And that's just the icing on the cake, because with age (and 3 babies), comes maturity.  That 21 year old boy is now a man.  10 years ago, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life.  Today, he definitely doesn't have all of the answers, but he works hard to provide for his 3 children and enables me to stay home doing what I absolutely love doing, mothering full time.  And he's good at what he does, so he's climbed the ranks, made a name for himself.  A name I'm proud to belong to.

He has a big, tender heart.  He's witty and sharp.  He's good with words and patient with me.  These are a few reasons why I fell in love with him to begin with, and now, ten years later, all of these personality traits I love so much about him are refined and stronger.

This weekend, we got to steal away for a date night to celebrate his birthday, thanks to his mom who offered to watch the kids.  We went to church together, alone, with no hooligans distracting us.  I heard one of the best homilies I've heard in a long time, but I wonder if it's just mostly because I actually got to hear it ;).  It was nice to just be together, worshipping, with NO KIDS.

Then we went out with Sean's aunt and uncle for Mexican food because in our house, nothing is a celebration without a good margarita.  And Sean's new found love, tres leches, was his birthday cake of choice.  We had a good time.

And the festivities will continue tonight when everyone is home for a more child friendly birthday dinner for Daddy!  You bet there will be balloons and streamers, homemade cards and singing, and sticky hands and lips as we celebrate 31 years of the coolest (and hottest) man we know.

Happy Birthday, honey!
You're like a fine wine that just seems to get better with age.
Lucky me. :)

Sugar and Spice

The other day Hattie came home from school very excited to show me a drawing she had done in art class.  Her art teacher asked everyone to pick their favorite place "in the whole wide world," and then they had to draw a picture of that place.

And what did my sweet Hattie draw?

Her house! :)

I was beaming.

"You picked to draw our house as your most favorite place?" I asked.

"Yes," she said.  "Some kids drew a picture of the zoo or the beach or the mall, but I just love to be at home the most."

Baby girl melting my heart.

That right there is better than any raise or bonus or promotion that anyone could ever give me to tell me I am doing a good job.

Then she explained her picture.  We were all inside watching her pick a flower outside, and Ben was crying (as Ben tends to do these days - teething!).

"And the tiny little house next to ours is Mimi's house, but it's far away, so I had to draw it small," she said.  I thought that was pretty amazing for her to add depth like that to her picture.

Definitely a work of art to be forever cherished by my heart.

And the picture's pretty good, too.

7 Quick Takes

I'm linking up for 7 Quick Takes at Conversion Diary for the first time.

      ~1~

Kindergarten ain't not joke!  Hattie has matured so much this first week in kindergarten.  She has to like walk herself to class and like tie her own shoes and open all of her food packets without any help whatsoever!  Who knew my child was so capable!?!

I am quickly realizing that our church preschool is a sheltered environment, and I WANT TO GO BAAACK!  I miss it.  I am having a hard time with the letting go thing.  I can NOT imagine how I will leave my child in College Station, Texas (WHOOP!) for her freshman year of college in t-minus 13 years and just drive away.  Thank goodness for baby steps!

~2~

We had well check-ups Tuesday after school.  Who plans doctor appointments on the 2nd day of school?  I was already stressed and tired, and then I had to be at the doctor at 4 pm.  We waited in the waiting-room for ONE HOUR before they even called our names.  Ben was a teething, miserable mess, and the girls teetered back and forth from being hyper to hungry.  It was a hard, hard afternoon, BUT I could still see the silver lining: my kids are well, on-track growth and developmental-wise.  They are healthy in every way possible.  An occasional hard afternoon that wares on my patience is nothing to fuss about......... so I tried not to.  Still, I was glad to put everyone to bed early.

~3~

 This is my current favorite show.  Seen it?  Most of their experiences are so similar.  In the 3 episodes I've seen, the people who died all saw light, except one.  That one was enveloped in complete darkness but still felt safe and warm and "home."  I just find it so fascinating and a little bit scary.  

~4~

I just love this picture!  Hattie is so tender and maternal with him.  I love. it.  This picture speaks volumes of why siblings ROCK! :) 

~5~

Sean bought me a sewing machine two years ago for Christmas, and I just opened it up this past week to try and figure it out because I found something that I both want and feel like I could sew.  I spent about an hour with that sewing machine before I got frustrated and walked away (gave up!).  This common theme of not being able to follow written instruction just keeps popping up in my life.  When will I ever learn!?  I'll tell ya when: when someone who knows a thing or two about sewing machines comes over to my house and shows me how to thread it and use it.  Any takers?  My learning style = reflective observation.

~6~

I am going to see The Help this weekend - can't wait!  Did you read the book?  I did.  It was good.  I am in a book rut right now.  Any suggestions?

~7~

She spent all day on Tuesday being a kitty-cat.  She told me early in the day that she was a kitty-cat, and her name was Rose, and that was the end of it.  She wouldn't break character for anything.  It was a loong day trying to figure out what her meows meant.  I finally got to a place where I could tolerate all of the licks "kisses" I got on my arms and legs.  Her brother was amused atleast :).  She is a mess!  Such a performer, this one is!  I love almost every minute of it!

At Summer's End

I will miss my girls for sure.  And kindergarten feels like the big leagues - I feel like a small fish in a big pond.  BUT I am so looking forward to spending some one on one time with my sweet, squishy baby.  And the girls could use some time apart from one another, fo sho!

This morning when I walked in to wake them up at 6:45, they were both sitting at the edge of their beds. Nervous, no doubt.  Hattie couldn't eat much breakfast.  Her tummy hurt.  Mary Ellen ate all of hers.  I don't think she fully understood what was coming.

 By the time I got Hattie to school, she had lightened up, and her nervousness turned to excitement.  The halls of the school were packed and overwhelming, even for me.  However, as soon as she walked in her classroom and spotted a friend who she had met at a kindergarten social recently, she left my side, and never looked back.  Her teacher had them sit in a circle and asked them how they were feeling.  My Hattie, almost the smallest kid in the class, was the first to shoot her hand in the air.  She answered, "I was nervous this morning but not anymore."  She's going to do GREAT!

My bear, my sissy, my sweet Mary Ellen had a harder time.  She always does with leaving my side.  She's only 3!  But I know she will soon be asking me every day if she gets to go to school today.  She's only going 3 mornings a week this year.  And that's plenty for her right now.

It's going to be a great year!  And I know by the end of it, they are going to seem so much bigger and look like such babies in their first day of school picture to me.  This whole growing up thing just is not fair, I tell ya!  Can't I just freeze time?

Great Gift Idea

For Hattie's birthday, she got a butterfly garden.

I would say it is one of the best gifts Hattie has ever gotten.  It costs less than $15 at Walmart.  It's fun and easy.  Both my girls checked on the caterpillars and/or butterflies several times a day.  And the whole kit comes with a great informational guide about how the caterpillars turn into butterflies and why they do the things they do while transforming.  Sean and I even learned a few things.  And, most importantly, it pacified the hankering that Hattie has for getting a pet right now ;).

Last night, we said goodbye to our two friends, named Rocky and Sleepy.  Rocky because Hattie thought the caterpillar looked like a rock all curled up.  Sleepy because the caterpillar never really moved, so I told her it was resting when I really thought it was going to have the same fate as caterpillar #3 who, sadly,  never got to spread its wings and fly.

Here's a picture of the girls watching the butterflies fly away.  I love the look on M.E.'s face :).

 It was bitter-sweet for Hattie, but one actually sat on her finger for quite a while, long enough for me to run inside and grab the camera and snap a shot.  That was special for her and eased her goodbye blues.

We definitely plan on doing this again some day.  Probably around the time someone starts begging for a dog or cat :).

It's Been Too Long

This summer has been the best and busiest summer I've had since I became a stay-at-home mom.  I think it's been a combination of my children's ages and the fact that I, for the first time ever, hired a sitter for two mornings a week to keep Ben while I spent those morning doing anything and everything with the big girls.  I remember when Mary Ellen was a baby and needed that morning nap, the mornings were so long trying to entertain Hattie while her sister slept.  I wasn't looking forward to that when summer was nearing, and I knew the girls would be home all day, every day.  Our budget allowed for me to either put Hattie in a summer camp of some kind 2 days a week or for me to hire someone for Ben while I took the girls out on "adventures."  Thanks to a friend who gave me some great recommendations for sitters, I'm glad I chose the latter and got to enjoy the fun things of summer with my girls while Ben napped comfortably at home and was well cared for by his baby-sitter, who happens to be a very sweet, beautiful college girl, so I'm sure he didn't mind :).

And now we are nearing the end of summer, and it's true that I am sad to see it go.  In just six short days, we will be back to having to be somewhere at certain times and carpool lines and packing lunches.  I am looking forward to having some time alone with Ben again while Hattie goes off to kindergarten and Mary Ellen goes to preschool 3 mornings a week, but it will be an adjustment for all of us.

As we close on Summer 2011, here is an update on my kiddos and what they've been up to:

Hattie turned 5 on July 4th.  She is ready for kindergarten and is so excited!  We have "meet the teacher" this Friday, and she is ready.  I am nervous.  Most of her summer at home has been spent playing barbies and littlest pet shop with her sister.  They have played so well together all summer.  They fight, yes, of course, but Mary Ellen is finally at an age where they are good playing partners, and she's pretty easy-going about allowing Hattie to boss her around while they play.  That's their dynamic.

 Hattie's favorite place to be is at the YMCA pool.  She worked really hard all summer perfecting her swimming skills.  While she's not a strong swimmer yet, she can definitely swim.  And I'm so proud of her for just kind of figuring it out herself while watching and playing with other kids at the pool.  We did no swim lessons this year.

Hattie has become a fairly good writer and reader.  Sean or I can tell her to write a word, something easy that she can sound out, like cat or dog, and she can sound it out and write it, and it's legible!  I'm so proud of her.  She's always just wanted to learn and do well and please.  I think she's going to be a shining star in kindergarten!

Mary Ellen just turned 3 this past weekend.  At 3, my middle child is in love with all things girly and prissy.  She loves her barbies, dress up clothes, jewelry, purses, and makeup.  Just this past Sunday, she was enjoying her new birthday presents while Sean was watching her and her brother.  Hattie and I went school shopping.  One of her presents from her grandparents was makeup.  Sean went in the bathroom to shave, and when he came back to the playroom he found this:

Poor Ben!  The things he will be subjected to because he has two older sisters are endless.

Mary Ellen has always played well by herself.  I guess it's a second/middle child thing because I've heard other moms say this about their second child.  She is just more independent and has no reservations about doing what she wants, when the thought comes to her mind, like putting makeup all over her brother.

If you've been around Mary Ellen at all this summer, you have probably witnessed her obsession with swimsuits and braids.  Not a day goes by that she doesn't request to put her swimsuit on and demand that I braid her hair.  She is very conscious of being dressed to impress at all times and wants to get out of her pjs almost as soon as her feet hit the floor in the morning.

Mary Ellen has a very tender side to her, too, though.  She still cries when we leave her in nursery on Sundays, probably because we aren't consistent with it, but she goes often enough that she knows the women there.  I know the first day of school will be hard for her.  She will definitely shed tears.  She is very close to me, and does not like when I leave the house without her.  And when I return, she always runs up to me saying, "Mama's home!!!!" like it's the best thing ever :).

Ben, or my Benny-boo, as I so affectionately call him, has grown and grown and grown.  The secret is out: this boy loves to eat!  It took him a while to warm up to solids, but now, he devours most things I give him.  I am finally bumping him up to taking solids 3 times a day.  With that, he eats about 22 ounces of formula.  He is much bigger than the girls were at this age, take it from me and my aching back!  At 9 months, he is still not crawling, but that is due entirely to the fact that he learned to go from his tummy to sitting.  So anytime I put him on his tummy, he almost immediately sits up.  And his sisters have been too kind with giving him something to play with when all of his toys are out of reach.

I love having a son and I love the age he is right now.  I really think 9 months is the best baby age.  He has finally dropped that 3rd nap and is taking two solid naps a day.  He is teething his top two front teeth, which stinks, but he's also processing and learning so much.  His babbles and squeals are to die for.  And the way he says "mama" when he sees me, melts me.

I guess the biggest difference between him and his sisters at this stage in the game is how mad he can get.  If I take something away from him he protests much louder and with much more force than his sisters ever did.  The girls have always backed off fairly easily, but he challenges me more, already, and he's not even a toddler yet.  Also, he is way more into Sean than the girls were at this age.  If Sean is around, Ben can't take his eyes off of him.  He watches his every move.  It's funny to me how when Ben says "dadda," it's always so happy and playful.  When he says "mama," it's usually in a whiney voice, like he needs or wants something.

So that's what the kiddos have been up to.  Growing and ever-changing and developing.  And for that, I am so thankful to my God who has let me borrow and love these precious lives He's created.