Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Mother's Day

Possibly the greatest perk of sending my kids to school over homeschooling is Mother's Day gifts. It's weird to make the kids make presents for you, so I never got any of those fun things. This year I loved all the little gifts and papers the kids brought home for me!

Catherine's awesome preschool did a Mother's Day Tea for all the students and mothers. It was super cute. It was obvious the kids had worked really hard on all their projects and songs. Thank you, Jon, for taking some time off to watch the little ones while I got to attend!

Partying with Catherine

Enjoying the delicious feast.
She made me eat all her blueberries. 

Jon took me out to eat and let me take a nap, which is really all I ever want: food and sleep! It was nice actually having him home for Mother's Day for a change. 

Things We Do In May

We build a castle for the Princess:

We fight over holding Elise: 

We fill the giant tub with bubbles: 

We gaze adoringly at pictures of Uncle Aaron: 

We turn into creepers (the Minecraft variety): 

We play in the mud and then get upset:

Or don't get upset:

We pass out after our Cinco de Mayo fiesta: 

We play on devices (a LOT).
Except Elise.
She just doesn't get it: 

"Talking to Mom is way better than playing on the Kindle": 

We are force-fed pacifiers by our friends: 

We wear blue to support our friend Thatcher, who has apraxia: 

And we play on huge piles of dirt instead of the playground: 

More Elise

What can I say? We spend a lot of time together.
She gets more pictures than everyone else. 

There was that one time we voted:
A very accurate portrayal of my emotions while voting this year.

Morning Princess:

This is what it looks like when you poo-splode and spit-up all over yourself simultaneously.
While in the parking lot:

Quite pleased to be driving home naked:

Talking to Daddy:

Big blue eyes and drooly lips:

We sure love our Elise Bug!

Cousin Time

Daniel & Wendy are our closest family, and they're 5 1/2 hours (and $50 in tolls!) away. But we happen to be on the way to many places they visit, so we are happy to host them a few times every year. 

The kids had a blast together. I let Seth ditch a day or two of school to play with his cousins. Worth it. We mostly just hung out close to home, but we did manage a trip to DC to the National Zoo. Parking was a bit exciting (as was the traffic), but we spent many, many hours there to make up for everything. 

Having a baby and toddler means my hands are usually too full for pictures. I did snap a few of the kids on the carousel:
Catherine rides

Catherine was so happy to have Megan with her

Aaron enjoyed the ride, even if it was a little scary

Seth picked a mount on the other side...best picture I got!

We stopped for a late dinner at Chickfila, figuring we'd let the kids run themselves tired in the playplace. Which was, unfortunately, closed for cleaning. The kids sat (im)patiently in our booth and watched the empty room:

Crazy cousins!
Thankfully Wendy got them to open it up eventually and they did their crazy running together. Thanks for some awesome adventures, Bloods!

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Elise at Two Months


The second month of life with a newborn is always the hardest. You're a pretty easy baby, but we still had to survive a few weeks of fussing and a lot of time walking you around.

Month Two, A Photo Essay:
I am so, so tired.

I am past exhausted, but still won't sleep.

You've fed me, changed me, walked me, and pacified me.
WHY AM I NOT ASLEEP!?!?!?
Month Two is not my favorite.

Here are your amazing two-month-old skills:

*in size 2 diapers at night. We're trying to use up the size 1s as quickly as possible.
"Ooh! Definitely ready for bigger diapers, Mom!"

*you've outgrown all your 0-3 month clothing and fit quite snugly in your 3 month clothes. You are a tall baby.

*Official stats: 11 lbs. 23.5 in. Your head is 37.5 cm. So taller, smallish-average weight, and a small head.
Waiting for the pediatrician

Shot time!
You weren't thrilled, but got over it quickly.

*You still prefer to sleep in Daddy's arms. Mom doesn't hold you properly (something about that dangling head--she just can't get it right):

*You are getting some deliciously chubby thighs. I love them.
Thighs!

Not even your chunky thighs can fill the parachute pant legs.

*There is no question about that hair now--it's RED.
Red, red hair!

*We're still fighting small battles with the baby acne. It's mostly gone from your cheeks, but will flare up on your forehead or temples.

*Your siblings love playing with you. You don't always enjoy their games, but can't do much to protest yet. And so things like this happen:
Never mind that it was like 75 degrees that night...
Seth was sure you needed all the blankets.

*The spit up! You are a fountain of spit up. The worst part is how unpredictable it is. Some days you don't spit at all, some days you and I go through several outfits. Sometimes it's right after you eat, sometimes hours later. I will be very, very happy when this stage ends.
This picture courtesy of you simultaneously blowing out your diaper
and spitting up all over yourself.  Skills.

*Also, pooping. Pooping is still a huge ordeal that generally interferes with sleep. I also blame it for your spit-up, since you are constantly trying to nurse while pooping. It can't do good things for a tummy.
Forget that Sunday nap, Mom.
Just hold me while I poop.

*Finally starting to smile! It took you a while to get it right--you would contort your face into some great expressions while you were figuring it all out. But now you smile when we pick you up from a nap and I love it!



*You've also started laughing. You're usually more prone to laughing at bedtime, and you prefer to laugh at deep voices and singing. You spent the entire intermediate hymn at church laughing in Dad's arms while he sang.
Elise selfie

*You LOVE talking to us. You want to stand on our laps, look into our eyes and pull monkey faces while we talk to you. Sometimes you even coo or blow raspberries back. Talking to us almost always gets you to stop fussing.

*I think I've discovered your true origins. All you need is a dye job and an earring:

*You're starting to want a consistent morning nap, which is (of course) at exactly the same time we have to leave to take Catherine to preschool. You do sleep in your car seat, but not as well or for as long.

*You're starting to give me a solid chunk of sleep at night, usually from around 10 pm to 2 am. Occasionally 3 am. Hooray! You're usually up for the day between 8 and 9 am.  Still pooping from 5-7 am, though.

*You learned to roll over! Then forgot. Then remembered! But you don't do it consistently. So you're stuck doing tummy time. You're pretty good at holding up your head and shoulders, especially when someone lays down with you and talks to you.
Head up...

...and over she goes!

Despite this being the hardest month, you have still been a pretty easy baby. If someone could just hold you in their arms all day, you would be perfectly happy. And your smiles and laughs make it worth all the fussing and lack of sleep. Tired as I may be, I still love your grin when I pick you up in the morning! Looking forward to happier days and (hopefully) longer sleep at night!