October 2013- December 2012 (Several months later!)

October highlights

Lila had her first preschool field trip

 

 

We celebrated my mom's 63 birthday!  Here are the girls at 3, 33, and 63

 

 

She could blow out candles this year! God bless her precious donor and family.

 

 

Brendan completed another season of soccer!

Our first family outing for apple/pumpkin picking

 

Trunk or Treat!

 

 

Halloween!  It was rainy/cold/unpleasant this year.  The kids still had fun!

 

Monster Lila



 

 

Mallard Duck Brendan

 

 

November Highlights

 

Parker was busy growing several new teeth

Jason and I went to a Murder Mystery dinner with our friends.  So fun and our table solved the mystery!  We last minute found out our theme changed from 1950's to the 1920's.

 

Played in the leaves

 

By far one of Brendan's most favorite activities!  Feeding the birds at Kensington.  We took my mom with us and she loved it just as much!  

 

 

 

First snow of the season.  Little did we know that we were in for the snowiest season ever on record for our area! Brendan wrote "interesting" in the snow.

 

 

December highlights Part One

 

 

Mom's side Christmas party.  So fun!  All the families spent the night at my aunt and uncle's house.

 

Parker loved his dog cousin.  They are the same size!

Brendan and I attended a very cold and snowy Owl Prowl.  We were able to hear the calls of an Eastern Screech Owl and Great Horned Owl.  Also smores to warm us up!!!

Waiting to see Santa!

 

September

A new "season" is upon us.  It is full of routines, alarms, homework, soccer, and school.

We now have a second grader.  Brendan was so excited to begin school that he was up and ready an hour before we had to leave.

He is in a split 2nd/3rd grade class and has lots of friends in his class.  After school he told me everything was great and he loved lunch and recess.  He is riding the bus again and we have yet another new bus stop.  Luckily they are getting closer to our house:)

Lila is almost a preschooler.  She starts in just about a week and a half.  She is thrilled and SO ready to go!  She has a few friends that will be in her class and a brand new backpack just waiting to be filled with her work!  She has been doing "schoolwork" this summer and loves workbooks, writing her name, and cutting with scissors.

Parker. Sweet baby Parker.  You have a new nickname. Buddy.  I am not sure who even gave you that name but it has stuck.  You and Brendan are now sharing a room and you are sleeping in your crib.  You love stretching out, sleeping on your side, and on your tummy.  You have been a little fussy lately and I think you are working on some teeth.  You are rolling all over the place and you are just a few days shy of your half birthday!!!

4 months

Someone is now 4 months old...

I took him to his check up last week

Weighs: 15 lbs 7 oz (75th percentile)
Height: 26 inches (90th percentile)

We were given the go ahead to start solids.  He had rice cereal for the first time a few days ago.

 

 

He is sleeping from 8:30pm-7am and takes 2-3 naps a day.  His morning nap is usually the longest at 2-2.5 hours.  He loves napping outside which is awesome because he takes 2-3 naps a week at my best friend's while we are swimming in her pool.

Afternoon pool nap

 

 

He is wearing some 6 month and mostly 9 month clothes.  I am sure he could fit into 12 month clothes as well but I am just not ready for my baby to be wearing such big clothes. 

Baby sizes are weird or he is just huge.  He has an 18 month rash guard on here.

 

He is a Mommy's Boy with capital letters.  He will cry and fuss some days with friends or family and then I take him and he immediately stops or settles down in a few minutes.  He did this at a family party and I felt so bad for Jason's grandma.  She doesn't get to see him that often and he just cried and cried until I held him.

A friend tried holding him while he fussed.  He just wanted to be in my arms.





He smiles all the time and has begun giggling a lot more.  He is usually pretty happy unless he gets tired and just wants to be held for a nap.

He also rolled from tummy to back on the 4th of July.  Two days shy of 4 months.  He has done it several times now.  He is getting pretty close to rolling from stomach to back.  He gets on his side and gets stuck.  He does scoot himself in a circle when he is on his back for playtime.

Your brother and sister are loving you so much!  They are always talking, chatting, kissing, and hugging you.  Brendan tells you all the time how he loves you the most in the family and you are the best.  He will be so excited when the two of you start sharing a room!!!


Loves her baby brother

Brendan upset because his cousin is holding Parker and he wanted too.

Hugging or smothering

In the next month or so we will work on switching bedrooms around and Brendan and Parker will be in a room together and we will see how Parker likes sleeping in the crib.  Right now he is in a rock and play and sleeps so soundly in that thing.  He will also be traveling out of state for a weekend and trying some more new foods!

Love you Parker!

Summer Days (Catching up)

Oh how I love the relaxing summer days.  No schedules. No plans. Warm breezes and sunshine...

Sounds dreamy right? 

Our summer days usually include the 7 and 3 year old yelling, fighting, and just overall annoying one another.  I try and hide out with Parker while he naps just because it is quiet and I can say, "Shhh!  The baby is sleeping! Work it out yourselves."  Mom of the year over here.

We have had some fun despite the pretty picture I am painting here.  My best friend has a gorgeous pool so we have been over there a couple times to swim.  Brendan and Lila were both brave the last pool visit.  Brendan jumped off the diving board several times and Lila finally figured out how to "swim" and even swam in the deep end! 

A couple weeks ago we had a huge storm come through our area.  I was at my mom's house. She lives about 20 minutes away from us.  My cousin was up visiting from Ohio and we saw all these storms were coming.  It was the slowest moving storm ever.  Heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and wind for over an hour.  We waited it out and both left my mom's just around 6pm.  My husband told me not to come my usual way because the road was closed due to a down power line.  Little did I know that my area took the brunt of the storm and literally almost every road to get to my town was closed due to flooding.  We had a flash flood on a couple of the streets in my neighborhood, down trees, and several families had flooded basements.  I was in the van with three kids for 2.5 hours.  At dinnertime.  It was all kinds of awesome.  Lights were out everywhere.  Roads were flooded everywhere and my cell service was not working.  My cousin made it home to Toledo before I made it home with the kids.

The day after this huge storm we left for a weekend to Northern Michigan with our neighborhood friends.  We all had no power and our friend's husband stayed behind to deal with the flooded basements and generators.  Our power ended up being out for 24 hours longer than anticipated.  We got to throw away all our fridge/freezer food when we got home.  We did manage to have a great weekend up north.  You never know when you have three families (5 adults, 8 kids, and 2 dogs) in one house.  It was fun!  Minimum arguing and lots of laughs.  We went on nature walks, relaxed, and had 2 beach days.  Brendan and I did some birding and added a few new birds to our list!

Next up is our weekend trip to Kentucky for my cousin's wedding reception at the end of this month.  My mom and I also want to get up to Mackinac later this summer with the kids and take a drive through Shiawassee to use her nice new binoculars and spot some birds.

Happy Summer!

2 days of hospital bliss

Parker and I had an exceptional time during our hospital stay.  I decided to take the full 2 day visit because when else will I have uninterrupted sleep, meals brought to me, someone taking care of my baby at night, a phone that you just pick up and they will bring you anything you want. 

With Lila I only stayed one night and was anxious to be home.  This time I was begging them to let me stay.  My nurse the morning of discharge almost let me because she said all her other patients were tired and grumpy.  I had gotten 6 hours of peaceful sleep because I sent sweet little Parker to the nursery for a sleepover. 

I fed him around 11ish, changed his diaper, and got him ready for the nursery.  The sweet nurse would come scoop him up around 11:30pm for the night.

The next morning a little after 6am they would wheel him back to my room all cozy and sleepy.  They would also feed them before they brought him back in case I was still sleeping.  He sleep both mornings for another 2 hours!  He was exhausted!

Then I would just cuddle, kiss, talk, and snuggle him until some visitors would come see us.  My mom and a few friends were able to make it up the first day and then Jason and the kids came after Brendan got out of school.

 

 

The second night I did the same routine.  Feed, change, and they would swoop in just when I was getting sleepy.

 

 

This is how my breakfast was served.  Beaumont does it right!

Then we had to start preparing to go home.  The doctors all came in early to clear baby and I. My meds were filled at the hospital. I still giggle because my male doctor was like you won't even need these right and my female doctor was like make sure you take your meds so you don't feel any pain.   I told him that and he goes, Well I'm a man.  I never had a baby.  I don't know.  But he also told me I should have another child because they would miss me at the office.  Bed rest with 3 now doesn't that sound like fun...

Getting dressed.  Someone was unhappy to be unswaddled.

 

The newborn outfit my mom got and it barely fit.  I am used to small babies.  This guy surprised us.

 

Big Sister loves this boy

 

So does daddy

 

Slightly jaundice so having some sun

 

 

And we're home

I missed that 24 hour phone from the hospital.  At least I had the older kids to get things for me.  So guess it wasn't so bad leaving:)