Simply Drew

Some mornings, I just watch him sleep...

Ava's Favorites

Twice this week, Ava has come home twice this week with "treasures" asking me to take a picture and send to someone. 

First, she came home so excited about her new Belle ring.  She needed me to take a picture to send to Aunt Lolli b/c Aunt Lolli's favorite princess is Belle! 

Later that week, the girls and I ran by the store on our way home and Ava INSISTED she had to have Oatmeal Pies because they were her favorite.  I made the mistake of saying Pa loved those too and then I pretty much surrendered winning that battle.  I quote, "Well, see now Mom I HAVE to have them!  Pa and I are Astro buddies and my buddy LOVES these Oatmeal pies!"

School Lunch

All last year I never was able to go eat lunch with Carli.  She never asked me too and I didn't impose.  Naggy and Grammy got invited a couple of times but never me.  Today Carli asked me to come eat lunch with her.  It was the last thing she said before she told me good night and the first thing she said when she saw me this morning, so you better believe I went and had lunch with my girls today!  It worked out very well b/c Naggy was still here to watch Drew. 

Ava's lunch was 15 minutes earlier than Carli's.  Ava talked my ear off explaining the cafeteria lines and what each teacher did and when we could throw our trash away, etc.  Talked non-stop and still managed to eat her entire lunch!

The girls lunches overlap by 15 minutes.  Carli arrived in the cafeteria and her eyes lit up.  Made my day!

Ava had to leave.  She was heartbroken.  Not really, it was time for recess and she was ready to go play.  So Carli and I had 15 minutes to finish her lunch.  She ate her entire lunch too but at least she shared a vanilla wafer with me!  :)  She told me all about her journal she writes in every day after recess - I learned more about her typical day in this 15 minutes than I had in four weeks of school!

It was time for Carli to go to recess and she wanted to go home with me.  But I pointed out if she left she wouldn't get to write in her journal all about her upcoming birthday trip to the Great Wolf Lodge, so she told me to go home AFTER I got a HUGE hug and kiss.  

Yep, feeling pretty special today!

Just Rollin'

I don't usually buy things off of Zulily.  I actually put lots of things in my cart but rarely do I follow through and buy something.  But then I saw the perfect shirt for Carli, and I just had to buy it...

Grammy and Pa gave the kids these swing cars for Christmas in 2011.  Four years later, the girls favorite thing to do is to "go for a walk" up the hill and then leave Drew and I behind while they ride down the hill all the way home!

Toys in the Trash

I try to teach my kids to take care of what is theirs and in order to do that they must put their things away.  I try not to nag them, and I let them reap the consequences of broken or lost toys because it was their choice not to take care of their toys.  Once a week we have our floors and bathrooms cleaned...it is my splurge and saves my sanity.  Seriously.  Totally worth the money I pay - especially the clean bathrooms!  So once a week the girls absolutely MUST pick up the play room and their bedroom and once a week there is a 50/50 chance they simply don't do it.  After washing their clothes the day before and putting them away and changing their sheets, I was not in a very sympathetic mood when it came time to pick up the playroom.  I simply told them to pick up their toys, and if they treated their toys like trash so would I.  They picked up a few toys, but made no real effort to do their best at putting things away.  So true to my word, I put their toys in the trash...

Girls Day

For the first time since Drew was born, I took the girls to get their hair done and left Drew with Keith for guys day of watching college football.  The girls had their hair trimmed and layered and I had four inches chopped off my hair and had it thinned.  Not a huge difference, but we had a good time doing "girly" things while the boys did "manly" things!

Fashion Statements

Carli LOVES to wear fluorescent yellow shirts on PE days because she claims it is her PE teachers favorite color.  Ava wanted to wear her Diamond Diva jersey to school and when I turned down her wearing her softball socks too (b/c they are really HOT!) she compromised and found some white tube socks to wear instead.  Regular fashion diva's over here!

Meanwhile, Ms. Patty gave us a travel swing to use at my office in Alto for Mr. Drew.  Turns out he loves the thing so we brought it home a couple of weeks ago so we could take it on our Labor Day trip to camp.  While I was cleaning out the car in order to pack it full for the trip, Drew literally took a 2 hr nap outside in 85 degree garage swinging...

 

The Poof Chair

Fourteen years ago my parents gave me the most awesome birthday present ever...the poof chair.  It was the biggest, softest bag chair I had ever seen and it quickly became a fixture in Hannah and my freshman dorm room. 

 

Four years of college, two years of grad school, marriage and three children later...the poof chair has served me well.  It's current home is in the girls room.  Keith or I sit on it every night as the girls go to sleep and more recently it has become an awesome babysitter while I change sheets in the girls room or put up laundry!  

 

 

Seriously...the best bean bag chair EVER!

 



Sunday Family Pictures

Every Saturday night, the girls pick out what they plan to wear to church on Sunday morning.  Usually I am okay with what they pick out but when Carli picked out the same dress she had worn the last two Sunday's I told her no to branch out.  She pouted.  I pulled out four dresses and told her to pick one and she refused.  So I told her to sleep on it and in the morning if she didn't choose one of the four, or I'd let Daddy pick it.  She went to bed not happy with me!

Sunday morning she was still not budging from wearing her same dress and I was not budging from her not wearing it.  So I brought her the outfit she had picked for Drew to wear that morning and told her to pick an outfit to coordinate with Drew so we could take their pictures together.  Apparently that was all it took.  She quickly picked a dress from my four choices and directed me on how to do her hair and then made sure Daddy coordinated too. 

And that my friends is how you get a very fashion opinionated six year old to get dressed on a Sunday morning without the world coming to an end!  :)

The Battle of the Nap

It'd be AMAZING if on the third baby I had this whole nap thing figured out...but alas, I'm simply not a baby whisperer.  Despite my best efforts to not nurse Drew to sleep, some days it is simply the only way and even then he will go from this...

To this...so cruel.

And about the time we reach this point...

 

It's time to go get the girls from school and he wakes up as soon as he realizes he is in the car seat and screams the entire way.  Oiy...

 



Drew is 2 Months Old

Drew turned 2 months old on Sept 1.  We went in for his 2 month check up/shots the following day.  Boys are so different from little girls.  We thought Drew was BIG but turns out he's an average sized little baby boy!  He's suppose to be bigger than his sisters were at 2 months!

 

At 2 months, Drew weight 12 lbs 7 oz (49%) and was 23 inches long (45%).  His noggin was 15.75 inches which put him in the 74% there.  He's a pretty proportional little fellow! 

At 2 months old, Drew consistently sleeps 4-5 hrs for the first stretch at night and then after nursing will go 2-3 hrs before wanting to nurse again.  He is still sleeping in his nap nanny but loves to sleep on his belly during the day for his naps.  He is not really on a schedule as he does not nap consistently BUT he does eat about every 2-3 hrs.  He gets the hiccups all the time.  He likes to lay under his floor gym and stretch out and move his little arms and legs.  When he hears his sisters voices at the end of the school day, he smiles.  He is starting to coo and every once in a while he will have a little giggle.  He is finally starting to get little rolls on his arms and legs.  He has "little old man" hair!  He is perfect.

Drew is one happy baby when he's not struggling with his reflux.  We had him on Zantac which worked but caused horrible gas and constipation.  We tried another med that did not work and our insurance refused to do Nexim which we know would work!  So our pediatrician had us buy Prevacid in the 15mg capsules.  We cut open the capsule and give him half of it.  They are little beads, not a powder and the easiest thing to do is wet our finger and just put on his tongue.  Then we follow it with nursing or some grip water.  It has worked well thus far.  We also have started giving him some EM-X in the mornings.  Our hope is that after a couple of weeks we can just give him EM-X and not use meds at all.  Fingers crossed!