Andy's 1st Playdate

Andy had his first non-cousin, preschool friend playdate today.  This is a big deal in our family.  Andy always has been really good at playing independently.  He has a play idea and runs with it.  It's great for me as he keeps himself occupied for hours, but it's not so fun for friends when they want to play with him (or he doesn't want others to intrude in "his space" or "his play idea.")  At the beginning of this school year, we'd ask Andy how his day was and who he played with.  He would respond with a laugh and say, "I didn't play with anyone, I played by myself!"  Lovely.  Today was a proud day as a mom.  Andy has grown a ton over the last 5 months.  I have noticed it at home with Katie - they are buddies and play well together (they also are normal siblings and argue and push each others buttons.)  Right now they are upstairs playing with their cars and telling silly stories.  A kairos moment.  We also have noticed a shift when picking Andy up from preschool.  He has a bunch of preschool friends and constantly asks if he can have friends over.  It has been a bit of a challenge with Abi in the picture, but we finally scheduled a playdate.  It all started with the note below that he asked his teachers to help him write to me.  And today was the big day.  I was beaming - the boys were adorable and SO excited.  Katie had fun too : )

Dinner with the Roses

We met the Roses at our favorite spot, Varlamos.  We probably had the quickest dinner in the history of dinners, but what can you expect with 5 kids ages 4 and under.  In the book, Bringing up Bebe, the author talks about how the French dine with their children at peace and in control.  Well, we're definitely not French.  It was chaos...but so much fun.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Thanks Roses!

Quotes from Andy

I don't know if Andy is picking things up from preschool, just growing up and learning to piece sayings together, or just silly.  Maybe all of the above.  Here are a few quotes from Andy this past week:

1)  I was helping Katie pick out a book to read at night.  Andy grabbed a book and said, "try this one on for size."

2)  We were driving home from preschool and were talking about Andy's and Katie's day.  We were talking about hitting and celebrating that neither Katie nor Andy hit someone at preschool that day (yes, celebrating) and Andy interrupts me and says, "Speaking of hitting, looks like we're home."

3)  I was bathing the kids in the hot tub and it was Andy's turn to get his buns washed.  He stood up and then sat down quickly.  I asked him, "Andy what's wrong?"  Andy replied, "nothing."  I asked, "then why did you sit down so quickly?"  Andy responded, "I don't know."  I pressed, "Andy are you uncomfortable with me washing your buns and your penis?"  Andy responded, "No mommy, it feels oh so good."  And he continued to play with his boats like it was no big deal.  Awkward mommy moment #1.

Katie's 1st Haircut

At 2 1/2 we finally decided to get Katie's hair cut.  It was time to get rid of the long mullet/tail that had grown over her lifetime.  She was very excited to go on a girls date to get her hair cut.  I would have taken more pictures, but as soon as we stepped foot in the salon, she started screaming and clung to my leg.  Soooo....we only have the "after" shot.  It's still long, but more one length.  As soon as her hair cut was done, she was all smiles again.  Oh Katie, she sure knows how to turn it on and off when she wants to.

 At home with the braids out

Abi at 11 Weeks and my day in a nutshell

Abi continues to grow and is more expressive by the day.  One thing I have noticed with documenting is that I don't have time to use my good camera.  Thank goodness for my phone's ability to take a decent picture.  Sorry Abi, the quality may not be as good, but at least I'm documenting!  These days I am thankful for our swing that is Abi's happy place, tinted windows in the Suburban so I can feed her in the preschool parking lot, and that she only wakes up once at night.  She is thriving, healthy, and a happy and mellow girl. And each night I literally fall into bed in exhaustion.  

My day in a nutshell:  Hear Abi cry, get coffee, feed Abi, talk to Katie through her monitor that I will be up to get her in a second.  Change Abi.  Get "special chocolate milk" ready for kids, turn on burner for Andy's oatmeal, get Katie, change Katie, fix Andy's oatmeal, start Katie's toast, Abi to swing, Andy and Katie eating breakfast with a cartoon on, 2 minutes to myself to get ready for the day, Katie and Andy in preschool clothes, Abi in car seat, lunches packed, do katie's hair, pump, kids, backpacks, coats, snacks to car, all three kids in car, all three kids out of the car, drop Andy off at school, Katie and Abi back in car, Katie and Abi out of the car, drop Katie off at school, Abi back in car, head home, workout/dishes/laundry/put toys away/shower/email/grocery shop/maybe go to the bathroom, get Abi in the car, get Abi out of the car, pick up Katie from preschool, get Katie and Abi in the car, drive to Andy's preschool, feed Abi in back of car, get Abi and Katie out of the car, pick up Andy, get Andy, Katie and Abi back in the car, drive home.  And it's only 1pm!  Repeat...

Here are a few of Abi at 10 1/2 - 11 Weeks

 

 

Early Valentine's Day Celebration

Since Monday was a holiday, we decided to get all of the cousins together for a playdate.  Since we don't get to see each other as often during the winter, and we like to celebrate the holidays by making cookies, we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day early.  Betsy had decorations and crafts all set for the kids and I brought up the food fixings.  We made heart shaped pizzas, made heart shaped cookies, and painted.  I know the kids had a blast as they were very tired at the end of the day...and so was I.  We feel pretty darn lucky to have our cousins so close in age.  Thanks for a fun and crazy day, Bets!

The Little Kids' Creations (Nick, Andy, Miller, and Katie)

Katie's Pizza 

The "little" boys

The "Big" kids doing some shirtless crafting

 Cookie time!

Katie focused on eating the frosting (Abi in the background)

 Happy dude

 Finished art projects - up for display.  Aren't they cute?!?

Trains and Ice Cream

The kids finally filled their "caught ya being good" jars.  When asked what they wanted as a reward, they agreed the best treat would be ice cream (specifically at "the place by my preschool" which is Menchies).  So, we decided to go to the Science Center and check out the train exhibit and then head to ice cream.  The train exhibit was okay, but I don't get too excited about model trains.  The kids thought it was cool, but were ready to move on to something else pretty quickly.  The Thomas the Train Lego train table was the highlight and the new layout of the Science Center was fun too.  Afterwards we headed to Menchies and the kids got a deluxe waffle cone bowl with chocolate ice cream and m&m's. 

It's not working

Katie has been absolutely not interested in potty training.  I'm not surprised as she has been this way with crawling, walking...pretty much anything that we try to encourage her to do.  She likes to do things on her own time in her own way.  In the past couple of days, she has been asking to go pee pee or poop on the potty.  AND she actually acknowledges that she has pooped...versus saying, "no poops!" even though we can smell her across the room.  I look at this as progress, although I am not pushing the subject until the summer.

Last night, she was adamant about pooping on the potty.  I took her to the bathroom and she asked me to help her get undressed (and then pushed me away and said, "I do it!").  Yep, miss independent.  After she was naked, she sat on the potty and sternly said "privacy!".  So, I closed the door and stood outside.  When I tried to check on her, she jumped up and shut the door.  Then I tried to check on her again...but she had locked the door.  Not just the push lock that you can open with a knife...an older version sticky twist lock...and she couldn't unlock it.  Lovely.

I spent about 30 minutes trying to explain to her how to turn the lock, but she partially wasn't really interested and once she tried and couldn't do it, she was stubborn and said, "can't do it!"  She partially occupied her time by unravelling a whole dental floss container, but otherwise was just sitting on the potty...waiting.

Kyle finally came home from work and had to take the door of the hinges.  Once the door came off, Katie stayed sitting on the potty and calmly said, "It's not working."  Ahhh, the joys of potty training. 

Working on the door...hard to get leverage.

Talking to Katie through the crack in the door. 

"It's not working..."

Obstacle Course

During these cold, dark months, we spend a lot of time in the basement after preschool.  Andy and Katie have been really interested in making an "obstacle course" almost every day.  They put their animals inside or food and make believe.  Besides the pain of putting all of the cushions back on the couch, it's cute to hear them playing together.  

Abi - 10 Weeks

Time is flying and Abi is changing by the day.  She is cooing, smiling, trying new sounds, sticking her tongue out, and has discovered her hands...in her mouth.  Last night she slept for 11 hours and the night before she slept for 7 hours.  She isn't consistently sleeping, but I will take whatever she gives us!  Her most active time is in the evening - around 8 - 9pm after her night feeding.  Then she decides she's tired, closes her eyes and is out for the night.  We have moved her to our closets, which is nice and dark.  Soon we'll put her in her crib and see how it goes.  The only time I take pictures of her is when we're in bed feeding as it's the only time I sit still for a moment.  She loves the swing and bouncy seat and likes the urgo the best.  We love this little girl so much.  

As Katie says to anyone who stops to look at Abi, "she's tiny, tiny, tiny."  Abi is riding the 2% and sticking to it.  She is growing, but she still is little, so we continue to monitor her weight.  Otherwise she is thriving and a happy little girl.

10 week Stats:

Weight:  8lbs 2.5 ounces - 2%

Height:  21 1/2 inches - 5%

Head:  36.1cm - 2 - 5%

Cake Pops

While I was pregnant, the kids and I were on an expensive habit of going to Starbucks to get a bacon breakfast sandwich for me and cake pops or scones for them.  Now that I don't have an excuse, instead of paying for the cake pops, we decided to try and make them.  Andy was particularly disappointed in the result as they didn't taste or look like the Starbucks ones (or the cool ones on the box), and he didn't even finish his (one of two dozen).  Instead, he decided that it would be a good idea to decorate them for his cousins and mail them to all of them (watch out cousins!).  Oh well, we tried, and it was a fun afternoon activity.

The posed photo

The real photo : )

 

Siblings?!?

Do you think they look alike?!?  These are pictures of all three kids at around 2 months old:  

1)  Andy at 10 weeks; 2) Katie at 8 weeks; and 3)  Abi at 9 weeks

Abi - 2 months old

Finally, I took some time to take pictures of Abi.  At 8 weeks, she has entered a new phase and is starting to be responsive.  It is so rewarding to get feedback after 2 months of constant feeding, changing diapers, and changing clothes.  We are having a hard time telling who in the family she looks like - as of now she is a good combo.  She is a good baby - and doesn't fuss unless she's hungry or just uncomfortable.  Our biggest concern with her is her weight gain as she's still pretty little.  She isn't on much of a schedule, except for eating around every 3 hours.  She loves her binky, bouncy chair and swing.  

I am writing this when she is 10 weeks old.  Last night she slept from 10:30pm to 7:30am and I just had to document it because I feel like a new person today : )  I did have to check on her a couple of times to make sure she was still alive...but she did it!  I won't jinx myself by saying we're on a new sleeping trend, but I will take what I can get.  

Happy New Year!

January 1st was a BEAUTIFUL day.  We had a lazy morning in our jammies and then went for a walk around Queen Anne hill as a family and made a special trip to Starbucks.  It was a great way to kick off the new year.  Abi was giving me a lot of smiles and the kids were playing really well together.  I am a little nervous to get back into the "real" world of having a schedule and needing to get places on time and not having Kyle home with me, but also am excited to get back on a schedule. 

Loving their new cars and track.

We walked in on the kids playing tea party with "their baby Abi."  It was pretty darn cute to 

listen in on their conversation.