Life

Welcoming Emmaline to our family has been easier than I thought it would be (especially now that she sleeps through the night!). It's funny. I was telling my mom the other day that I would never again fault her for letting my baby brother get away with SO MUCH more than I ever got away with. Emma slept in our bed for her first month of life. She naps in her swing. She is kinda on a feeding schedule, but if she starts crying for food early and I am not up for listening to it, she eats. She gets held A LOT. Lily we were so strict about schedules and no sleeping anywhere except the crib. We were a little slacker with Ava, but Emma is getting away with murder :) She has not been a super easy baby, so that may be some of it, too. Ava was so easy going. Emma is not a difficult baby, but she is not as go with the flow as Ava Bug. I hate that I am not able to nurse her. Hate it. In lots of ways it is a ton easier to just give her a bottle, but I miss the quiet nursing time.

Our house is wonderful (I am going to get pics up once we paint, I promise). It does amaze me, though, how much longer it takes to clean. I could clean our whole apartment in a couple of hours. Like really good and clean it. The house is like a 5 to 6 hour ordeal if I don't stay on top of things. I could vacuum almost our whole apartment without unplugging the vacuum cleaner, now I have rooms I can't vacuum without moving the plug! It is slowly starting to feel more and more like home. I love having a washer and dryer. LOVE IT! It is ridiculous how much pleasure I get out of doing laundry. We'll see how long that lasts :)

Overall, things are good right now. Mostly happy kids, mostly happy momma (when my hormones are not whacked out, but that is getting better, too), Daddy is doing well at work and getting in lots of surfing and fishing. We are having fun and settling into a nice routine. It's great having Lily in school. It gives me a day to get stuff done with just two. I am amazed at how quiet the house is without Lily here. She is not who I would contribute most of the chaos around here to (that would be my Ava), but it seems like when she's not around, Ava is more chill.

Anyhow, just wanted to get down a few thoughts about how things are going right now. Something to help remember this time in life.

How Emmie Likes to Nap...

...amidst the massive quantities of laundry piled in my living room :)

Monkey Bread

The girls and I made this yummy recipe from my MOPS buddy, Rebecca, for breakfast this morning. They had so much fun dipping the biscuit pieces in the sugar mix!

How much sugar can I get on one piece?

Monkey Bread

3 cans of buttermilk biscuits
3/4 cup of sugar
1 Tablespoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Cut biscuits into quarters. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small plastic bag. Shake each biscuit piece in bag with the cinnamon and

sugar until coated. Spray 9 x 13 pan. Arrange biscuits in pan. Cook butter with brown sugar on medium heat until bubbles, stirring often to avoid burning; add vanilla. Pour evenly over biscuits and bake 25 minutes.

Lunch with Mimi

We had a fun lunch at Applebees with Mimi, Aunt Jill and Cousin Ari today. I got this cute shot of Ava with her Mimi. I love that kids smile!

2 Months!

Emma Bean,
Today, you are two months old. You started sleeping through the night this week! Yay! We are getting more and more smiles out of you, although, you didn't want to give me any when I was taking your picture today! You weigh 11lbs 4 oz and are 22 inched long. You are such a little mommas girl, and though there are times I wish you would let someone else comfort and hold you, I have to admit that I love that you save 95% of your smiles just for me :)

You are starting to perk up a lot more and we are seeing more and more of your awake time. You like to lay on your playmat and stretch and watch your crazy sisters. You love the sound of running water and are very content to sit in your bouncer in the bathroom and let me shower. You are a little snuggler and you love to have your belly and forehead rubbed.

Even though you didn't cooperate for our "mini photo shoot," I was able to get a couple of smiley pictures of you in your carseat later in the day. You are always really happy when i first put you in your car seat because you can look at momma :)

First Day of VPK!

My "baby" girl started pre-school today. I cannot believe she is old enough to be in school. I know it's just pre-k, but golly. We went last weekend to get her backpack and lunchbox (pink and pinker, of course), and she had so much fun picking them out! Here she is with all her gear in her cute little uniform, so excited for her first day:

Here she is with Ava Bug, who desperately wanted her picture taken, too. She was funny hamming it up for me!

Such a cutie pie! Don't you love the outfit? That dress is about ready to be retired into the to too small pile and the crocs with Lily's fuzzy slipper are classic!

Lily got off to school great. She got to be line leader and waved goodbye to me like a pro. I did tear up a little...I'll admit it. It was really strange to not have her with us all day. She was so excited when we picked her up and said she had a great day...until, she realized that Ava had gotten to go out and do stuff without her! It was so funny. She got herself into such a sour mood about it. What a stinker!

Some Good Clean Fun

What does

a can

of shaving cream

plus

two silly little girls

equal?

SOME

GOOD

CLEAN

FUN!

Time to get rinsed off!

So stinking cute.

Think she may have a shot at being the next Coppertone Baby :)

A Couple New Emmie Pics

She's getting bigger!

Fro Duck

Lily Gets Glasses!

So, it turns out Lily needs glasses. Not a hug shocker considering the vision Nathan and I have. We went last week and she got her eye exam and picked out some frames. Pink Hannah Montana Frames with pink rhinestones, of course :) They are actually pretty cute and it completes the mini-Mommy look!

Trying on her glasses.

Since, we couldn't bring her glasses home the same day, I let both girls pick out some new sunglesses. They are so silly!

When we picked up lily's completed frames with her new lenses, they gave us a plain purple case for her to keep her glasses, well, that just wasn't glitzy enough for my girl! We got some gems and she jazzed that baby up!

Much better :)

Lily's New Look! Love it!

Conversation with Lily

L: Mommy, are shooting stars real?
M: Yeah, Lily, shooting stars are real.
L: Some day can I wish on a shooting star?
M: Sure, Lily, if you ever see a shooting star you can wish on it. What would you wish for?
L: Hmmmm...I would wish to be a princess forever and ever.
M: That's a good wish, Lily.
L: What would you wish for, Mommy?
M: Hmmm...I don't know. I already have everything I want. I have you and Ava and Emma and Daddy.
L: How about you wish for a better house?
M: Well, Lily, I like our house. I don't need a better one.
L: Well, you could wish for a pink house.

July on Facebook

July 7: Finally, we have the internet! Yay!

July 8: Can't believe Emmaline is two weeks old today! Man, that went by quick!

July 8: Baby girl smells like pooh...dare I wake a sleeping baby an hour before she should eat to change her stinkiness? Hmmm...I'm gonna go with no. It obviously isn't bothering her, right?

July 9: Ava, Lily and Baby Cousin Aubrey are all watching Baby Neptune. Too cute :)

July 11: Emmaline has sisters kissing her on both sides...she looks scared to death :) She better get used to it, though!

July 12: I have gotten nothing productive done yet today...and, it's been kind of nice :)

July 16: Amazed at how my G-ville MOPS mommas are still such a support and blessing! I miss you girls! Thank you all for your advice and encouragement! And, Pidge, thank you for putting your sweet Carrie in touch with me! I will be emailing her back this afternoon :)

July 19: It's suppossed to "feel like" 100 degrees today! Yikes! Boy, am I thankful for our shady neighborhood today :)

July 19: Well, after struggling to put on weight at first, Emmaline is officially a little chunk. She is 3 1/2 weeks and weighs 8 lbs 12 oz. She put on 14 oz in 1 week! I wish I could contribute it all to Momma Milk, but maybe now that she is gaining better, I will be able to cut back on the formula...

July 19: Lily's Song: " Everybody's smart! Everybody's smart! But sometimes you're not. Sometimes you're not. Soooometiiiiimes yooouuuurrr'eeee NOT! Pizza, pizza, PIZZAAAA!"

July 20: Got all Lily and Ava's clothes put away. Ava went up a size in clothes and shoes since we moved. It was fun unpacking the next size clothes for her (Lily's old stuff), it made me remember when Lil was Ava's age and Ava was a baby. Now, we have sweet Emma and all new adventures!