Weekend Fun

Cory and I got back yesterday from a weekend ski trip in Beaver Creek, Colorado. One of the ophthalmologists that his eye clinic works with invited us and one other couple to join them at their house in Beaver Creek for a few days. Cory left last Wednesday and I joined him on Friday. Cory skied and I did a lot of relaxing. It was so nice to have a weekend to escape the demands of being a mommy, but I was very ready to get back to my babies yesterday. Also, I was so busy sitting by the fire, reading a book, napping, getting pampered with a massage, drinking a glass of wine, or going out to fancy dinners that I did not take one single picture! You will just have to take my word for it that we had a great time!

The kids stayed with my parents while we were gone and they had a great time! They spent their weekend reading, playing with cars, eating donuts for breakfast, and playing with Addison and Aubrey. The biggest hit of the weekend was some new blocks that my dad inherited after learning that they were going to be used as fire wood. There were four big boxes of blocks and my mom said that the kids played and built cities with them for hours.

I was a little worried about leaving Lily at such a young age, but she did great too! She spent a lot of time hanging out with her Granstan and slept like a champ for my parents.

I am so grateful to my parents for watching the kids so that Cory and I could get away for a few days! You will never know how much I appreciate and love you!

Apparently, Aubrey thought it was "Dress Like a Nerd" Day! She found these glasses in the dress up box and wore them most of the day- what a funny girl!

Eden's Bathroom Obsession

Eden is obsessed with spending time in the bathroom right now. I truly believe that if I would allow it, she would spend most of her waking hours in there.

She LOVES water- she always has. Recently, this has extended into a love of washing her hands and brushing her teeth. (Think about it- they both require the use of water!)

Eden has also figured out how to use the drawer pulls on the cabinets to help her climb up onto the counters. She can then wash her hands and brush her teeth without my help. Now if I can just get her to stop brushing her teeth with my toothbrush!!

Three Months Old

Lily- you are three months old today! You are growing and getting bigger (and fatter) every day! Your daddy said last night as I was giving you a bath that you are getting rolls on your rolls! Here are a few of this months highlights:

- You continue to be a very laid back baby. I think as a third child you have to be! You are usually content to sit in your bouncer and look around as I try and get things done around the house.

-You are a very happy little girl! You have started smiling all of the time and it melts my heart each time you look at me with that beautiful grin! Your favorite time to smile at me is while you are nursing.

-You laughed a real laugh for the first time this week while mommy was making funny noises at you. There is nothing more precious than to hear you laugh. I hope we will start hearing it a lot more often this next month.

-You are currently wearing a size 2 diaper and are moving into 3-6 month clothes.

-You started sleeping through the night this month. I usually put you in bed between 9 and 10 and you sleep until 7 or 8.

-You are a much better napper than your brother and sister ever were. You take a 1-2 hour nap every morning and a 2-3 hour nap every afternoon.

-You like to sleep with your arms above your head. You still don't like to be swaddled and you don't use a pacifier, so putting you down to sleep is easy. You are also very good about falling asleep on your own with anyone having to rock you to sleep.

-Your fussy time at night is almost gone- Hallelujah! You now lay on the bed and kick your legs or talk to mommy and daddy before you go to bed.

-I love when you nestle your head into my neck and fall asleep on my shoulder. I hate even thinking about when you will be too big to do that anymore.

-You have perfected the "pouty lip before you start to cry" face. It makes me laugh every time!

-You have started cooing and "talking" to us a lot this month.

-You like to sit in your bouncer or lay on the activity mat and "play" with the animals that are hanging on it. You have really started looking at things this month.

-Parker and Eden still adore you. They start looking for you as soon as they get up in the morning and want to sit next to you while you play in your bouncer or lay on the activity mat. You are very lucky to have a brother and sister that love you so much!

I still feel so lucky that God chose you to be in our family! I can't imagine life without you and am looking forward to seeing what new things you discover this next month!

The Party

Addison and Aubrey got to come over on Saturday. Parker and Eden were both so excited when I told them they were coming. As soon as they arrived, Parker and Addison started playing. I overheard them talking about a party and then they started gathering up EVERY toy in my house and putting them in the living room. I am really not kidding- EVERY. SINGLE. TOY. Toys from the playroom. Toys from Eden's room. Toys from Parker's room. And even the few toys from Lily's room.

When I finally asked them what they were doing, they told me that they were having a party and all of the toys were invited.

I, unfortunately, was not invited. I did, however, get the job of helping Addison and Parker put all of the toys away after the party was over. I hope this is the last toy party we have at our house for a long time. It completely wore me out!

This and That

January has been uneventful so far, which is a good thing after the rough week we had at the end of December. Our days are filled with lots of playing and hanging out around the house. Time seems to be flying by and there are many days that I blink my eyes and it is bedtime. Life with three kids is fast and furious and I am loving every minute of it! (Although I could do without the three year old tantrums!) Lily keeps growing so quickly and it's hard to believe she is almost 3 months old.
She got to have her first Bumbo experience this weekend. The Bumbo is a great contraption that helps infants sit up and look around before they are able to sit up on their own. Lily made us laugh while she was sitting in it because as she looked around, she kept bobbing her head like a little Bobblehead.

Eden didn't want to feel left out of the Bumbo experience so after Lily got tired, she grabbed a book and did a little reading in it.

Parker is in the middle of a growth spurt and I can not keep the food coming fast enough. He is constantly telling me he is hungry and asks for seconds or even thirds at every meal. I can not imagine what he will be like as a teenager.

On Saturday, he woke up and helped himself to a bowl of marshmallows (without my permission!) before eating 2 muffins and a banana for breakfast. Thirty minutes after breakfast, he started asking for a snack. I made him wait a little while and then he had a mid morning snack of CheezIts. For lunch he ate a stick of string cheese, two helpings of pepperoni, two helpings of blueberries, three helpings of grapes, two helpings of chips, and a box of raisins. I can't remember what he ate for his afternoon snack but I'm sure it was a large portion of something! For dinner he ate three helpings of spaghetti and then finished the evening with a bedtime snack of goldfish and Nilla Wafers. I don't know where he is putting it all and I have a feeling that a trip to Target to buy several new pairs of pants is in my near future.

Happy 40th Anniversary

Today my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and my sisters and I were able to take them to dinner in Fort Worth. We almost had to cancel due to the rainy/snowy weather, but luckily it stopped long enough for us to be able to go.

My parents have been such a wonderful example to Cory and me and are proof that when you work hard at it, you can have a long and successful marriage. I hope that they have many more years of happiness ahead of them.

Captured!

Lily has been smiling for several weeks now, but we have not been able to capture it on camera. She is such a little stinker- as soon as we grab the camera, she stops smiling! We were finally able to get this smile a few days ago. It is definitely not her best smile, but we will take it!

How Uncomfortable!

Parker has pretty much given up his afternoon naps. While I am sad to see them go, I know this is normal and it has actually made bedtime a little easier because he is so tired by the end of the evening that he doesn't put up a fight.

I still require Parker to have a quiet rest time while Eden and Lily nap so that a) he doesn't wake them up and b) I can have an hour of free time for myself! For several weeks, Parker stayed in his room during his rest time. Then one day he decided to move everything that was in his room to the hallway right in front of his bedroom door. (He told me today that he couldn't stay in his room because the bear in his room might get him. Hmmm, I wasn't aware that we had a bear in the house, but whatever! As long as he is quiet, I am not going to fight that battle.)

Yesterday when I went to tell him that rest time was over, this is what I found:
He had fallen asleep playing in the hallway! I am not sure why he didn't just go crawl in his bed instead of sleeping on the cold, hard tile. I guess when you have to choose between comfort or creatures (or bears), it is better to be safe and uncomfortable than stuck in a room with an imaginary bear!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2011!

We are all finally feeling better and I even had to start back to work today (sniff, sniff). I have enjoyed the past two months of maternity leave so much. There is just nothing like those first few weeks of bonding with your baby- getting to know them and finding out what makes them tick. It still amazes me after three kids how different they all are. Lily has such a sweet disposition so far and I can't wait to see how her personality unfolds over the next few months. She has finally started sleeping through the night which made going back to work today a lot easier.

Although I would have loved to have had a few more weeks at home, I know that as the new year and semester begin, work is where I have to be. I am so thankful that I only have to work part time and am only away from my babies for 4 hours a day. I can't imagine how hard it is for working moms who are gone all day. I am also extremely grateful that my mom is their caretaker during the time that I am at work. I couldn't ask for a better situation and I never worry knowing that they are in her care.

Every time we start a new year, I always like to stop and reflect upon the past year and think about what might be in store for our family in the upcoming year. I have never been one to make a New Year's resolution, but I think it is always good to have goals to strive for during the year.

This year my goal is to slow down and try to enjoy every single moment with my family. The one thing I have learned about raising kids is that they grow up way too fast. It is so easy for me to get caught up in the daily laundry, cooking, changing diapers, etc. that I don't stop and enjoy the little things. I don't want to look back in a few years and not remember how Parker and Eden chased each other around the couches with the dump truck and doll stroller. Or how Eden always pulled her hair bow out as soon as I got her in her car seat. Or the precious first smiles that Lily is starting to give me. Or how Parker had to take his two blankets and his blankie bear EVERYWHERE we went!

I know that the new year will not bring only perfect days. There will be days when I am not as patient as I should be. Days that I am tired. Days when I wonder how three kids can create so much laundry! But I pray that those days will be much fewer than the days where I can just enjoy my kids and be content with the stages they are in right now, because I know that these days will not last forever.

I have no idea what 2011 has in store for us, but I sure am looking forward to finding out!