2014 - Week 25

Monday started off pretty low key. The big girls had spent the night at my in-laws’, Christian was off to work, so it was just me and the babe to start the week. We had a pretty typical day, hanging out around the house. Lots of nursing, little napping. The usual. Christian picked the girls up after work, we had some dinner, played for a while and it wasn’t long before it was time for bed. Christian and the girls don’t usually get home until around 6:15/6:30, so we don’t have a ton of family time during the week right now. The weather is taking a little turn right now…it rained most of the day (canceling baseball), and some pretty big storms rolled in overnight. Thankfully, the storms didn’t seem to bother the girls.

On Tuesday I had my 6 week post-partum check-up. Good times. Everything went well though. I checked-out fine, and got the all clear to resume all activity. I’m due for my annual in a few months, so we’ll be discussing some birth control options at that point. I’ve always just been on the pill (and the mini pill while nursing), but I’m getting pretty sick of taking that, and really don’t want to do that forever. We don’t intend on having any more children, but I wasn’t ready to make that permanent when Eliza was born…though I’m now kind of wishing I had. I’m still hoping over time I can convince Christian to get the big snip, but we really haven’t had the discussion yet. So, for now, I’m considering doing the IUD, though I’ve heard some horror stories about it. Only time will tell at this point. Once home from the appointment, the babe and I went on a nice long walk around the neighborhood, and I did some cleaning around the house. Christian picked the big girls up, we had some dinner, and then our friends Sara and Bella stopped over to chat and play for bit before bed. Storms rolled in again overnight…nothing better than sleeping to a storm (as long as everybody sleeps!)!

Our sunflowers are coming in, LOVE them!

Wednesday was pretty good day. I spent the morning doing some cleaning around the house. My BFF Kari stopped over with her kids for a belated birthday lunch…Chipotle, delish! It was fun catching up with her, we don’t see each other nearly enough, and it sucks, but it makes our visits that much better. Though our girls are about 4.5 months apart, I’m pretty sure Eliza will be catching up to her little Addie in no time at this point! This afternoon, Eliza and I went on another long walk, before picking the big girls up and heading to baseball. Luckily today’s rain held off until after the game. We’re getting soaked!!

Future BFF's!

She's such a helpful big sister this time around

Thursday brought even MORE rain…we’re already close to reaching the June record for rain, with plenty of June left to go. It’s been a wet, wet spring, and the weather is reeking havoc across the state right now. Mudslides, landslides, flooding all over the states. Tornadoes breaking out. Pretty crazy. Luckily for us we live on plains, not too close to any water, so we don’t deal with any flooding really. And being close to the city tornadoes are pretty rare, but I feel just horrible watching the news reports of how it effects everybody else. Eliza and I used our walk to head over to Walmart today to do some grocery shopping. Other than that, it was a pretty quiet day around the house.

A momentarily relief while she momentarily takes a pacifier

On Friday, all of the girls were home with me. We had some breakfast, did some playing, watched some movies. Eliza and Amelia took their naps wile I watched some TV and Olivia watched her videos for quiet time. After their naps, we all went up to the park for a while, until Eliza decided it was time to go home of course. Christian brought home some dinner and we all had a pretty quiet night at home. The end of a pretty quiet week.

Happy baby at the park

I don't know why, but our marigolds usually die off pretty quickly. This year they look great!

Saturday started off with a quick breakfast and all of us heading off to swim class. I’m not liking these separate classes at all, so I’m hoping I register early enough next session so we can avoid this. Trust me, I’ve already checked, but registration is not up yet. Dangit. We all stopped into Target for a few things after class, then made our way home for lunch and naps. After naps, the big girls got to spend some time outside, running through the sprinklers and basking in the warmth (finally). After some play, dinner and relaxing, the girls were all off to bed, one by one, and Christian went out to celebrate his friend Lorenzo’s birthday. I wish I had the energy to stay up and enjoy my time home alone…maybe one day!

Sunday was our first attempt at spending the day out and about with the baby in tote. We had some breakfast, packed up our bags, and we were off on our annual strawberry picking outing. Typically, we pick strawberries and hit up a beach after for a picnic and some swimming. Unfortunately, this year, it was raining, again, and it was the only day we could fit in strawberry picking with our friends. Not long after we arrived and started picking, it started raining and we had to make a dash for the van to wait it out. We were able to finish though, and  got lots of yummy berries. Instead of the beach, we made our way to a park down the road with a covered picnic area, ate, and the kids played in the rain for a while. They were so wet and dirty and gross afterwards, but they had a blast anyway. We parted way from our friends, and decided to stop at Olivia’s BFF, Bella’s, house to do some swimming at their apartment…got to make up for the lack of beach a little bit anyway. We went back to their place after swimming to watch some World Cup soccer (boooooring) and have some pizza for dinner. By the time we were finally home, it wasn’t long before the big girls were off to bed, and I couldn’t believe we had really been away from home all day. I’m pretty sure with Amelia we barely even left the house for the first 6 months, let alone spent an entire day out and about – such a huge relief!

Until Next Week XOXO

2014 - Week 24

Monday started off nice and slow. Olivia and Eliza decided to catch up on some sleep and slept in, while Amelia and I cuddled up on the couch and watched some lame cartoons. It was far from the usual morning routine around here, and pretty nice to spend a little time with my diva. Eventually the whole house was up…eating, playing, crying, fighting. Life as usual. We ended up going on a nice long walk around the neighborhood with Olivia’s BFF, Bella, and her mom. It was nice to get out and moving, and of course to catch up with friends. Eliza really seems to love being outside too, it seems to calm her quite a bit. After naps and a snack, we were off to meet Christian at baseball. After baseball, while the girls and I made our way home for baths and bed, Christian made a quick run to the mall…it may or may not be coincidental that my birthday is tomorrow. I do have to mention that Eliza is really starting to smile and coo more and more every day. I just love it, I can’t wait to be able to interact with her more, it’s so awesome!

Out on Our Walk

She's Working on Her Focus...

Tuesday was my birthday…31 years old! Gosh, these 30’s really crept up on me fast. It is much less emotional than last year though, that’s for sure. The big girls came barging into our room before heading off to school to wish me a happy birthday, and then I spent a majority of the day with the youngest babe. Perfect birthday company. My dad and stepmom stopped over to visit and take me out to lunch, which was great. We had to make it quick with the little one, but it was great. I took a birthday walk with the babe, then my mom stopped over with some flowers after work. Christian and the girls brought some dinner home (and cheesecake, DELISH!) and we spent the evening relaxing together. Not as exciting as birthday’s past, but it was just perfect!

My Birthday Goodies!

My Birthday Buddy

On Wednesday I work up particularly refreshed…Eliza gave me the awesome gift of a 6 hour stretch of sleep! WHAT! Oh man was that just what the doctor ordered! Most of the day was pretty calm and relaxed around the house. We were painfully low on food in the house, so I did force myself to do some grocery shopping. I decided to take the moby for a spin and seriously, how did I ever life without it?!? It mad shopping so much easier…I had the whole cart open for groceries, she slept pretty much the entire time, it was amazing! My new lifesaver, that’s for sure. Other than a baseball game this evening, it was a pretty low key night. Nothing wrong with that!

While Shopping, I Finished up Eliza's 0-3 Month Wardrobe - SO DANG CUTE!!

Being behind on posting, I don’t have much recollection of what happened Thursday or Friday…being that I don’t have any very descriptive pictures of either day leads me to believe we didn’t do too much. I did finally get a picture of Eliza smiling…kind of anyway. My phone is kind of slow, so it was the end of a smile. And the big girls were home with us on Friday. I didn’t post anything about losing my mind that day, so it must have went pretty well, LOL! I do know that Wednesday/Thursday Eliza continued her wonderfulness with a SEVEN hour stretch of sleep, but followed that up by completely falling apart with an evening of little to no sleep Thursday/Friday. Oh the joys of completely unpredictable infanthood.

Smirk!

My Girls!!

On Saturday the girls were back into swim class, so they were pretty excited. Unfortunately, I waited too long to sign them up this time, and I couldn’t get them classes at the same time (Olivia is in Level 3, Amelia Level 1). So, our time at swim class has doubled, and I have to deal with a super antsy kid during each class. Horrible planning on my part! After class, I dropped Christian off at home and the girls and I were off for a playdate at my friend Kelly’s house. The kids had a BLAST playing, so I’m hoping we can finally start getting together more often. Eliza held up pretty well too. We had some lunch, chatted, she caught me up on some of the stuff that’s been going on at work, and then some wicked storms rolled into town. Once I could tell Eliza was reaching her “out of the house” limit, we made our way home. Meanwhile, Christian helped his friend Mariano replace his brakes, and later went out for a couple drinks with friends after the big girls were in bed.

I took a snooze with the babe this afternoon...lovely!

Sunday was Father’s Day, but it was not too exciting. My dad is always out of town over Father’s Day, so we don’t really celebrate. Christian had loosely brought up the idea of having a BBQ, but I’m just not in a place to host yet another BBQ at our house right now. Too much going on, and I’ve already been sucked into three of them since having Eliza. So, we just took it easy. We had a  lazy morning around the house, finally getting ready and heading to Perkins for breakfast. It was our first meal out with all of the kids…thankfully, Eliza fell asleep just as we were getting there and slept through the meal. Christian did his own celebrating and ran to Home Depot to do a little shopping before taking the big girls over to his parents’ house. He visited with his stepdad for a while, then left the girls there to spend the night. With that, another week came to a quiet end.

Daddy with his Girls

Until Next Week XOXO

2014 - Week 23

After a rough, long, fairly sleepless night, Eliza was a perfect little angel on Monday. It was so refreshing…I got to spend some time outside with the big girls, I got some cleaning done around the house and I regained a little bit of my sanity. Oh man, you definitely forget what these newborn days are like, that’s for sure! The big girls were on pretty good behavior today, which also helps with the sanity level. After some lunch and a late nap, we were all off to meet Christian at baseball. I love seeing Olivia grow from week to week, getting more confidence and getting more into the game. I hope she sticks with it over the years. After baseball, we took some baths, I trimmed Amelia’s bangs and they were off to bed.

Tuesday was a VERY big day. Christian was off to work and the big girls were off to school. Eliza and I had some breakfast, cleaned up and were off…by biggest baby was graduating from Pre-K today and I could not believe it! All the kids got to wear little caps and gowns, the teachers gave a little speech and handed out little diplomas and I’m not ashamed to admit that I got a bit emotional. I can’t believe in just a few short months she’ll be off to kindergarten and how fast these last 5½ years have gone. She was so proud of herself, and SO excited to see little Eliza in the crowd with me. After the ceremony, we took some pictures, had some cake and I hung out with her to play for a little bit. The directors and teachers were excited to meet Eliza, and of course, I had to visit Amelia so she could show off her little sister too. I was nervous, but thankful that Eliza was on her best little baby behavior so that I could be in the moment with Olivia. It was such a great morning. We made our way home and settled in for the rest of the day. I ended up having to pick the girls up from school today because Olivia had her baseball pictures, and Christian wouldn’t be off work in time. So, I loaded Eliza back up this evening and we picked them up. On our way out the door I noticed something strange about Olivia that I had not noticed earlier with her cap on…apparently, she decided to cut herself some bangs. I tried restraining myself while I asked her what happened…of course, she had NO idea what I was talking about. As if I wasn’t staring at a huge chunk of freshly cut hair. She finally told me that after I cut Amelia’s bangs before bed last night, Amelia told her she should cut some too. So, in the middle of the night, when she went to the bathroom, she took it upon herself to do just that. I could have died. I know it’s basically a right of passage for most kids, especially little girls, but it was seriously hard to contain my frustration with her over this. Ugh, kids! Thankfully, she has her hat for her baseball pictures! Pictures were chaotic, but went pretty fast and we were quickly on our way home. The rest of the night was pretty quiet after that…the girls watched some videos, we had some dinner, and they were off to bed.

Happy Graduation, Baby Girl

Baseball Pictures

The Haircut...

Well, after a couple of quiet, sleepy days, Wednesday was a rough one…with a capital “R”. Eliza just would not nap, at all, and spent pretty much the entire day nursing. These days just exhaust me beyond belief. Another reason I will not question our decision that she is our last! I just don’t have the energy that I used to have. After a long day, I was off to pick the big girls up from school, and to meet Christian at baseball. He works too late to pick them up on baseball nights…it’s kind of pain to drag Eliza in and out of school to pick them up, which is why he’s been on school duty, but I guess that’s just the price you pay, LOL. After baseball, we were home for a quick dinner, some baths and bed. The evenings just fly by on baseball nights.

Thursday was probably the toughest day that I’ve had yet, and I was left feeling extremely grateful for Christian tonight. Eliza was just not a happy camper at all today. Anytime I tried to lay her down, or put her down at all really, she just screamed bloody murder. If she wasn’t nursing, she wasn’t happy, and I was getting very overwhelmed. Christian definitely came to my rescue tonight though. After getting the big girls, ready and off to school, working 10+ hours, picking the big girls up from school, making us dinner and mowing the grass, he got Eliza to sleep and took her into the living room so that I could finally get some rest. And man did I need it. I think sometimes she just needs to be away from me…like she can just sense my presence and by doing so she decides she’s starving and she needs to eat. Anyway, I’m feeling pretty lucky, that’s for sure. The bright spot of the day was receiving the photos from the session I had won on facebook today. Even though she didn’t cooperate, we still got a few really great shots, and I love the. But, it makes me even more sad that she wasn’t able to get more…they turned out so great and I just LOVE her style, I would have loved to get a whole shoot from her. It did put a big smile on my exhausted face though, and was perfect timing for a little reminder of how fast they grow!

On Friday, my Mom took the big girls out and about for the day. The way this week has been going, it was probably a good thing. And, I ended up having to run some errands anyway, so it was good timing. Eliza’s medical bills aren’t going through because she hasn’t been added to my insurance yet. I finally got a notice from my insurance that they won’t add her until they have a copy of her birth certificate. Seriously, that can’t be handled at a later date? So, we were off to the Department of Public Health to purchase her certificate. Then, since it’s right down the road, we stopped into my work so that I could fax the paperwork in to the insurance company. It was fun popping in and surprising my coworkers though, and was a nice little bright spot for them to visit with little Eliza for a bit. After a little visit and everybody getting in their baby cuddles, we made our way back home for the day. It was a pretty quiet night at home…Christian worked pretty late, the girls got home about the same time as him. We had some dinner and settled in for the night. Definitely no late nights around here with the new babe!

On Saturday, little Eliza turned 1 MONTH! Can you believe it?!? It’s already been a month since this little wonder joined our family. Time is just going way too fast! According to my scale and measurements, she is now 10lbs 2ozs (up from 7lbs 14ozs at birth) and 22.5” (up from 20” at birth). She’s just growing like a weed! She still wears mostly newborn clothes, but the jammies are getting tight, lengthwise, and she’s on her last package of newborn diaper. Her sleep, day and night, is very inconsistent and all over the place still. I’ve gotten a few smiles from her, but they are quick and few and far between. She does not like to be alone, and so far, if she’s awake, she’s likely eating. We did experience a new little first with her today though, which I hope continues…I put her in her swing and she fell asleep all on her own. Not once, but TWICE! I couldn’t believe it. While I spent most of the day inside with Eliza, the big girls bounced between inside and playing outside and Christian did some cleaning in the garage and built a trellis for the garden. After picking up some dinner for the girls and I, and finishing up his project, he and a friend were off for dinner and a beer while all us girls settled in for the night. While I’m cherishing these moments, I’ll be excited for the day that I can actually hang out on a weekend night like a grown up again, LOL.

LOL, caught a goofy smile during a nap

She fell asleep, all on her own!

Sunday was a busy day. I put Christian on dad duty for the day (other than baby feedings), and I got to work on our disaster of a basement. I got the living room picked up and organized, I got the spare bedroom (aka, storage room) cleaned through and organized, and I got the playroom all put back together. All that I have let to do…at some point…is get the “princess area” out in the common area put back together. I think the day our kids outgrow the playroom and all those toys I will be JUMPING for joy! While I cleaned, I finished up Season 2 of “Orange is the New Black”…which was just released on Friday. Ugh, now it’s going to be a loooooong way for Season 3! Christian ended up taking the big girls to meet Olivia’s BFF Bella, and her dad, at the splash pad for a while. They had a blast running through the water, playing on the playground and eating some ice cream from the ice cream man who conveniently parks himself right outside the park every day. Bella mom, Sara, arrived home about the same time they did, so we ended up having a BBQ with them and hanging out. Sara and I stayed inside with Eliza, chatting and catching up, while the guys grilled and played with the big girls. It was pretty much bed time when they left for the night, and with that, another week came to an end.

She likes to pretend she's asleep, then wake up furious when I put her down. It's awesome. And don't let the picture fool you, she still hates the pacifier.

Until Next Week XOXO