Spring Break Blast!

Hannah Beth's view at the zoo. I guess she thinks I make all those animal noises.

Checking out the kangaroos with Papa

Mimi and Hayley loved the flowers

The Human Exhibit

These crazy humans escaped from the cage. Good thing they were pretty tame!

Is it me or does Hayley look so big in this picture?

Lazy lions

Lovin the train ride

So glad to finally be on the train

Happy to stretch out after many hours in the carseat

What a fantastic Spring Break. It was a far cry from last year when I was suffering from morning sickness in the worst way and it was FREEZING! This year, I was somewhat rested, not nauseated at all, and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful (in the 80s most days). We even broke out "Tiki Soaki" (our volcano sprinkler) at the beginning of the week because it was HOT. But the highlight of our week was our visit with Mimi and Papa.

We went to the zoo and enjoyed every minute of the warm sun, the animals, and the ice cream. We spent lots of time outside, read books, went shopping, and played hard. We were all sad to see them go home on Saturday and can't wait to see them in June.

Easter Sunday

I love Easter. Every bit of the entire holiday. I find myself loving Easter even more than Christmas as I get older. The message of Easter is the most important story that anyone could ever hear. And to know that it is not just a story.... it is Truth. The Truth that my God loves me so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for my sins, is the most amazing Truth to be told. A Truth that is not just for me, but for ALL of His children. A Truth that washes me with grace, mercy, and forgiveness everyday of my life.

Now that is love, God's unconditional love.

I used the Resurrection Eggs to tell the story of Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice to the kids again this year. For the two weeks before Easter, we sit together and open one egg each day. Each item inside the eggs represents a different part of the story. I would then read a part of the Easter story to them from the Bible and we would talk about what it all means. Sharing this time together really helped to prepare my heart for the true meaning of Easter.

Luke was really into the story of Jesus's death and resurrection this year. We talked about what Jesus did for us alot. He had many questions and I think he really is getting just how much God loves him. On Easter Sunday, they didn't have Sunday School so the children had to go to "Big church" with Chris and I. They called all the children down to the front for Children's Time, a short sermon geared for little ones. Of course the lesson was on Easter and Jesus's resurrection. Luke had his hand raised every time a question about the story was asked. Our pastor called on him 3 different times and each time Luke shared a portion of the Easter story from the Bible. It was like he was quoting scripture. So precious. The last question was about what the women found when they went to the tomb. The pastor called on Luke and he said " The women saw that the stone was rolled away and they were scared, but an angel told them Don't be scared. He is RISEN!!!!!" Well, when Luke said this the entire congregation began to applaud. He was so cute. His face lit up with the biggest smile. The whole time he was up there I was wishing that I had the video camera!!!! I think we may have a minister in the making!!!!!

What a blessed Easter we had together as a family. Church, then home to change clothes and over to a friend's home to share in Easter dinner with several other families. So much fun. And finally home for an Easter egg hunt, eating almost all the jelly beans that were found. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter too!

What's up, Doc?

Seriously, Mama. What's up with the ears?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Chris decided it would be a fun project to plant some "crops" and see how they grow this spring. We took one beautiful Saturday afternoon and planted some carrots, corn, squash, broccoli, strawberries, onions and tomatoes. Hoping for a harvest of at least one thing in our garden.

Revelations About Sleep

Now, this is not going to be earthshaking news to those of you with children. We all have learned that sleep eludes us when we bring home that first little bundle of joy. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that with each new sweet pea that comes home, the less sleep the mommy and daddy will get.

I have proudly earned the title of "Sleep Nazi" with some of my close friends. I am big on putting baby in the bed for naps and bedtime sleep. I try and establish a routine and specific bedtime by the time they are 3 or 4 months old. I have to say, that all 3 children thrive on routine and all in all do sleep very well. BUT...... here are some things that I have learned about sleep. No matter how much of a routine you may establish, a good night sleep for Mommy is a moment by moment thing.

Why, you may ask.

Of course, newborns get hungry every 2 to 3 hours. So of course we are up half the night feeding, soothing back to sleep and trying to squeeze in a few moments of shut eye before the next hunger call.

Then you move on to the night waking because they can't find a paci, or lovey, or Bunny Bunny. So you go to your little one find the whatever it may be, tuck them back in and back off to sleep land they go.

Then the list of things that happen at least 2 or 3 times a week.
1. need a drink of water
2. had a bad dream
3. the most dreaded stomach bug (I can hardly post about this one because I hate it so much)
4. the nighttime cough that won't let up
5. monsters in the closet
6. monsters under the bed
7. wind and rain and thunderstorms
8. just checking to see if you really are sleeping in your bed
9. need to tell you something very important that couldn't wait until morning

You get the point here.
(Sorry, even though you did not know I had stopped typing at this point, I had to run upstairs and get HannahBeth. She woke up from her nap at about the same time I sat down to type....)

Anywho.... I have been told that sleep does not improve as the little babes get older due to a whole new world of sleep deprivation due to things such as slumber parties and waiting for children to get home from being out with friends.

But in the midst of this sleep deprived fog, I have found MANY things to be thankful for:

1. a cup of coffee in the morning (or maybe 3)
2. a full night of sleep just when you hit your breaking point after being up 6 nights in a row
3. funny stories
4. and the thing that I am most thankful for and would not take a single wink of lost sleep back because of them. Luke, Hayley, and Hannah Beth

Now, I'm off to pour another cup of coffee and kiss my baby girl.

Hannah Beth's 3 Month Photo Shoot

My sweet friend and neighbor, Stacy, is such a talented photographer. She took these precious pics of HB that I will cherish for years to come!

My 4 Month Old

Hannah Beth! How on earth did you get to be 4 months old? You are such a sweet girl and we are all just madly in love with you. What have you been up to lately? Hmmmmm, lets see.....

You weigh 15 pounds and .05 ounces (90%) and are 25 1/4 inches long (92%). We joke that you are going to be taller than the entire family!

You are so happy and smiley, but you don't hand a smile to just anyone. You like to study each person first and make sure that you can "trust" him/her. You squeal with delight when someone talks to you. You just love to share your two cents. Good thing if you want to get a word in with brother and sister around.

You are grabbing at your toys quite well, although sometimes your little hand does not end up where you want it to go and pops you right in the face. It shocks you each time, but then you study your hand and usually end up chewing on it.

You are quite sensitive to sounds and voices. If someone or something startles you, your bottom lip pokes out and we know that you are about to let us have it.

You are doing a good job with sleep. Taking 3 to 5 naps a day. Most days one of your naps is about 2 hours long with the others ranging from 30 to 45 minutes. You are sleeping through the night (most of the time). To bed at 6:30pm, eat again at 10:30pm and up between 6-6:30 am.

You have mastered rolling from your tummy to your back and look surprised each time you do it. We clap and let you know that it is a good thing that you have rolled over and you flash us your big smile.

Oh, I just love you so much Hannah Beth. Can't wait to see how much you grow this month!

A Project a Day Keeps the Boredom Away

Luke had to come up with a collection of 100 things to display for his 100th day of school project. My creative little man decided to make his very own zoo with 10 groups of 10 animals (his words). We came up with a list of 10 animals he would like in his zoo and then searched online to find pictures of those animals. We cut, placed, and pasted all afternoon. I really enjoyed the time we spent together.

Hayley has show and tell every Monday so she and Chris came up with a "Coins of the World" project for her to take in one week. Chris pulled out his collection of coins that he has kept from the different countries he has visited. Hayley was so proud of the work that they did together and rehearsed what she was going to share about 1,000 times.

Are we really at the point of school projects? Wow. Can't wait for the first science project (note the sarcasm).

Dressing Up is Fun To Do

Pretty much since this girl could walk she has enjoyed dressing up and just being a girl. Give her a dress, high heals, lip gloss, a bracelet, and a necklace and she is in heaven. I remember when she turned two and HAD to wear a crown and sunglasses EVERYWHERE we went. Only take H to the shoe department if you want to spend at least an hour ohhhhing and ahhhhhing over all the glittery shoes and then proceed to try on 2 to 200 pairs. She never leaves home without some accessory and of course her purse.

She came downstairs dressed as one of her favorite "fancy" gals, Fancy Nancy. I love that she is such a girly girl. I wonder if her sister will follow in her footsteps or be more of a mix like me.

AHHHHHH!

Hannah Beth was taking it all in!

Mr. Ray from Nemo


Guys talking about life or fish.....

It has been so cold this winter. Usually it doesn't bother me to bundle up the kiddos and take them outside to burn energy, even if it is frigid, but Hannah is just too little to out in the weather so we have done ALOT of inside play. We started to climb the walls a few weeks ago and headed to the VA aquarium. Everyone had a good time. We all really enjoyed the new Restless Planet portion of the aquarium. And of course, the sharks were a huge hit.

Today I'm Not Listening...

Today I'm not listening to the "experts" who say don't let your baby fall asleep in a swing, she needs to learn to soothe herself to sleep.

I'm not listening to the "expert" who said to let her cry it out. This Momma has had about all the crying she can take in a 24 hour period.




I'm not listening to those who say holding her too much will spoil her. I don't think I could ever get enough of kissing her sweet cheeks and snuggling her close to me.






What I have learned over my 6 and a half years as a Mommy, is they eventually figure it out. She will sleep through the night at some point. She will fall into a nap routine. Yes, I have to foster these things, but seems to me that the older they get and the consistency in their routine, it all kind of falls into place.








I think I am writing this post to remind myself not to sweat Hannah's cat-napping and nighttime waking. We have made it this far. We are doing what works for our family and this Mommy's sanity.






After going to bed last night at 11:00 (right after Hannah's late night feeding) I was up at 1:10, 2:30, 3:30, 4:15, 5:40 and then up for the day at 7:00am. Hayley and Hannah wanted to see me several times last night, so today I am in survival mode.





Today, the swing maybe my very best friend.

From This to This

A friend from college, Jennifer over at Dance Like No One is Watching, wrote the sweetest post about her babies. Her kids being about 10 months apart in age, made me think back to Luke and Hayley as toddlers and how we survived those years. As crazy as they were, it has flown by in the blink of an eye(I know, so cliche) and I miss those babies in diapers. Yes, we have a new baby in diapers and I try to soak in every minute of her babyhood because I know that she too will be coming home from school one day and reading me a book, writing her name, and so on and so on.

So here it is.....

How did we go from this:

To this........

From this.......

To this........

From this:

To this:

From this.....


To this:

From this:

To this: