Lately...

I feel like our days lately have been filled with a lot more craziness and sickness and less "fun" things.  We have been battling various sicknesses for the past few months (colds, coughs, croup, ear infections, snotty noses, etc.).  It seems with each sickness we get it takes at least 2 weeks for us to get healthy, as it's inevitably passed throughout each member of our family.  Sweet Maddy is now battling her 3rd cold in her 4 short months.  Ugh!

 

So between the illnesses and lack of sleep, here is what we've been up to.  In pictures and not in chronological order.

 

Dance classes!

Hanging out in Maddy's bumbo seat, watching TV.

Daddy wanted to watch football so he set the girls up with a show on the ipad.

Children's Museum with friends

Nursing their baby dolls before bed

Kens playing in the first snow of the year (at 8 am)

My sous chef

Being silly during bath time

Cheering on the Colts!

Potty Training

Pj's and movie day

Just looking cute

Little buns decking the halls (and more potty training)

Dedicating Maddy at church (more on this soon)

 Here's to hoping for some healthier days and fewer germs around here!

Madelyn: 4 Month Stats...

This morning we had Maddy's 4 month well check visit and she did great.  She smiled and talked to the doctor, giggled when she was tickled and impressed her with her rolling skills.  She got two shots and an oral vaccination and she did so well.  She smiled at me through the first shot and just gave a short cry after her second one.

 

She has officially surpassed Avery's 4 month stats in both height and weight (head is still smaller).  I'm not surprised as she is a great eater and her cheeks are looking chubbier each day.

 

Here are her stats:

Weight: 13 lbs 5 oz (41%)

Height: 24 3/4 in long (66%)

Head: 15.5 in (11%)

 

I am so thankful for a great well check and a healthy baby girl! 

And while I am at it, I'm also thankful it's finally naptime after a crazy morning (a poopy potty training accident while running errands, a fussy sick 2 year old and losing my keys while at the doc office).  Maybe I'll do a post here soon about how we are adjusting to three kiddos (and what our days look like).

Kensley: Birthday Parties

Yes, that title is correct...this year Kensley got to celebrate her 4th birthday with multiple birthday parties (5 parties to be exact!).  We decided to do things a little differently this year since she is getting older and really wanting to play with friends.  Instead of a family party, we decided to celebrate separately with our families over dinners and have a small friends party for Kens at our house.

 

The weekend before her birthday we met my grandparents and Aunt Carla at Ivanhoe's to celebrate Kensley and my dad's birthday over dinner and ice cream.

 

Then the weekend of her birthday we celebrated several times!  On Friday afternoon we have a playdate/birthday party at our house with some of our little friends and their moms (daddies were all working).  Since it was the day after Halloween (and actually ended up being the day of trick or treat), we invited the kiddos to wear costumes to the party.  We celebrated with cake, a craft, playtime (indoors and outdoors), presents and lots of craziness.  We had 10 little kiddos (aging 1 - 4 years old), 2 babies and 7 mommas.  If you are wondering if it was a little chaotic...yes...yes, it was.  But Kens had a blast and loved having her friends here.  She instructed people where to sit and what she wanted to do/play.  At one point I heard her talking to the two Elli/ie's (Cousin Elli and Friend Ellie), saying "Come on Elli/ie's.  Let's go upstairs."

The theme was "Ariel" per her request

The girls

Craft time!

She ripped through her presents!

 Saturday evening, we celebrated again with Nana and Papa.  Nana made Kens a blue cake with sprinkles.  She opened more presents and we spent the evening watching her new movie...The Little Mermaid.

 

Monday, we celebrated her actual birthday as a family.  Kens woke up to donuts for breakfast before school.  After preschool, I let her skip her nap and her and I went on a special birthday date.  I think she was most excited about skipping her nap!  Grammy stayed with the little girls, while Kens and I went to get pedicures and a Starbucks treat (coffee for me and hot chocolate for her).  For her birthday dinner, she chose her favorite rice (from Panda Express) and we, of course, had more cake and opened more presents.

Her last birthday celebration was this past weekend with Grammy and Grampy Roberts and Aunt Kym.  They threw her a princess themed party and we of course had more cake and presents!

We are thankful to all of our family and friends helping us to celebrate our big girl's 4th birthday! 

Madelyn: 4 Months Old...

Madelyn Joy is 4 months old!  She had several milestones this past month and seems to have completely grown out of the newborn stage.

 

A few weeks ago, Maddy slept through the night several nights in a row.  She hasn't done it since, but we're hoping she starts to do so again soon!  She is just waking once in the early morning to eat.  The time change has thrown us all off and she is now waking earlier in the morning (around 3:30 or 4 am instead of her usual 5 or 5:30 am).  She is usually up for about an hour as I struggle to get her back down...she just wants to talk and smile!  Once she's back down she usually sleeps until 6 am before getting up for the day.

 

I am happy to say that we've made great strides in the nap department.  She still isn't thrilled about going down, but she is fighting us less and is going down much easier.  I'm finding that she is really needing to nap in her bed as opposed to "on the go".  She'll fall asleep when we're out and about, but wakes easily and doesn't get the good nap that she needs.  Her afternoon naps are usually the longest around 2.5 - 3 hours depending on the day and our schedule.  We've struggled some as she tends to wake up mid-nap and we either have to rock her or pat her back to help her get back to sleep.

 

She is still nursing every 3 - 4 hours during the day and gets the occasional bottle.  We have been giving her a bottle before bed 3 - 5 nights a week.  She appears to be eating about 4 oz (according to bottle feedings).  She is still spitting up some and the amount usually varies from day to day.  This past month she has also been drooling like crazy...it seems like her clothes are always wet!

Maddy is still our little thumb sucker and I think now she might prefer it to her paci.  She will still take her paci when she is getting tired or falling asleep, but really doesn't use it other than that.  Most of the time when we go to check on her in her bed, she is sucking her thumb.  It definitely comes in handy as she can soothe herself and she looks so cute doing it!

 

Maddy can now roll from back to tummy.  She is quick to flip over now as soon as we lay her down on her back...it's making diaper changes a little challenging already!  She enjoys playing on her tummy with her toys and we've really noticed her trying to pull herself forward with her arms and drawing her knees up underneath her.  She manages to scoot around her crib and now we know how!

 

Mads is really loving her sisters and loves to watch them play.  She smiles and laughs whenever they show her any attention.  She isn't the biggest fan of her baths these days unless she is in the tub sitting up with her sisters.

 

 

Maddy is wearing a wide range of sizes as most are hand me downs (and seem to have shrunk some throughout the years).  She can wear 0-3, 3 month and 3-6 month sizes clothes and pj's.  She's still in size 1 diapers, but will probably move to size 2 once we are through our current stash.

 

She is still the happiest, little baby.  She does have her screaming fits and fussy times, but for the most part she is super content.  She smiles so easily and has the most adorable little giggle that typically comes with hiccups.  She, of course, loves to be held and loves to see everything going on around her.  Oftentimes we'll find she has drifted off to sleep in the midst of all the craziness happening around her.  She is making lots of noises these days...grunting and blowing raspberries.

And now for our monthly photo shoot.

Maddy loves to sit up and pull herself forward.  She is constantly trying to sit up when we lay her back.

 

We can't believe this little girl is already 4 months old! 
Happy 4 month birthday, Madelyn!

In her own words: Kensley {4 years old}

We asked Kensley a bunch of questions on her birthday and hope to continue to do this each year with the girls.  Here is a glimpse of our big girl in her own words.

1. How old are you?  four
2. What makes you happy?  blankey
3. What is your favorite animal?  dolphin and doggy
4. What is your favorite thing to eat?  mac & cheese
5. What is your least favorite thing to eat?  broccoli
6. What is your favorite thing to do?  play
7. What is your favorite TV show?  Little Einsteins
8. What are you really good at?  tricks
9. What is your favorite movie?  Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
10. What is your favorite color?  blue
11. What is your favorite song?  Under the Sea
12. Who is your best friend?  Cousin Elli and Friend Ellie
13. What do you and your mom do together?  go on dates
14. What do you and your dad do together?  play
15. What is your favorite sport?  swimming
16. Where is your favorite place to go?  on vacation (to Gulf Shores)
17. What is your favorite book?  Fancy Nancy
18. What do you want to be when you grow up?  a Mommy  

Dear Kensley: 4 Years Old...

Dear Kensley,

 

You are 4 years old and I honestly can't believe it!  Where have the past four years gone?!

 

This past year has been a big one for you as you have grown up so much.  You have grown in your big sister role, having to adjust to a "pesky" little sister that loves to get into your stuff and is a constant source of competition, but she is also one of your best friends (and you tell her that often).  You also have moved into a more "motherly" big sister role as you love doting on sweet Maddy.  You tell me often that you love having a baby sister.

 

At four years old, you have quite the imagination.  You are constantly coming up with fun games, interesting conversations and have lots of ideas to play with your sister.  Pretending is one of your favorite things these days and we love to hear what all you come up with.  Ever since preschool started this year, you and Avery love to play school.

 

You are thriving in preschool this year and are trying so hard to learn how to write your letters, numbers and perfecting your drawing/coloring.  You get frustrated easily when you "just can't do it", but we encourage you to keep trying as writing takes practice.  You can now write your name (with a little help in looking at a sample we have written)...we didn't do you any favors in giving you a name with 7 letters!  You are very social and love playing with your friends.  You often gravitate towards older kids whenever we are at the park, pool, library, etc. as you want to be included.

You are very particular and organized and definitely a creature of habit.  You know exactly where things should go and you have a place for everything.  You can tell whenever your sister has been in your room and has moved or played with your toys.  You also thrive best with routine and tend to get upset when things don't go as expected (ie: no tv show before bed because we got home too late or 1 book read instead of 2).

Your eating habits have improved greatly, but dinner can still be a challenge at times.  Some of your favorite foods consist of pancakes, fruits (strawberries, raspberries, apples), mac and cheese, fried rice (specifically from Panda Express and you refer to this as "my favorite rice"), pepperoni, peanut butter sandwiches and cheeseburgers.  You love all sweets, but some of your favorites include: cake, ice cream, candy and donuts.  You still prefer milk to water and juice, but you have become quite the fan of apple juice lately.

I have a feeling you are starting to drop your naps.  Some days you just lay and chat or play in your room until it's time to get up.  Or if you fall asleep it sometimes can take at least an hour before you do so.  If we've had a busy morning or day previously, you will fall asleep for about an hour and a half nap.  You got to bed around 8 or 8:30ish and some nights it takes you until 9 or 9:30 to fall asleep (especially if you took a late nap).  You make lots of excuses to get out of bed...you have to potty, you are scared, you need more water, you need your blanket folded back up a certain way (Yes, this is a for real excuse!  See above about being particular.). 

You love to watch TV or movies and some of your favorites right now are Sofia the First, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Little Einsteins, Cinderella, Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid.  You also LOVED the Polar Express last year and requested to watch it often.  We eventually were able to put it away, but I have a feeling it will be another favorite of yours this holiday season.

You love to dance, dress up, do crafts and play outside.  You also love to be out and about and like to know what the schedule is for the day.  You still tend to get really excited about things, so we usually opt to wait to tell you about fun things/outings until they get closer.

You are very inquisitive and ask lots and lots of questions.  It's funny to hear the things that are going through your head.  You are definitely teaching me a lot through your innocence and curiosity.  You also have the best memory!  I seriously can't believe it sometimes the things you remember.  You are familiar with our "routes" around town and often tell me "this is the way to..." or "this is where so and so is".

So far you are LOVING being four.  You keep telling me that now that you are four, you can help with more things.  You also keep telling Avery that you'll teach her ALL about three year old things so she knows how to do them when she turns three.  Ha!  You are definitely anxious to grow up as you ask lots of questions about the future and how old you have to be to do certain things (drive, go to a certain school, be a mommy, etc).  Don't grow up too fast, sweet girl!

 

 

 

 

 

 Kensley Elise, we love you so much!  We are so thankful for you and are so proud of the little girl you are becoming.  

 

Happy 4th Birthday!



Halloween 2013...

This year we participated in several different Halloween activities where the girls were able to wear their costumes...a Halloween party, Zoo Boo, Preschool, Trick or Treating and at Kensley's birthday party.  This year, Kensley was Ariel, Avery was Tinkerbell and Maddy was a Ladybug. 

 

Here are pictures of some of the festivities (birthday party pics to come later).

 

Showing off their treat bags from our friends' Halloween party

At Zoo Boo...look at that Tiger checking out the girls!

Trick or treating got moved to Nov. 1st this year due to bad weather.  So we were able to trick or treat with our cousins and friend Landon.

Such a sweet little ladybug!

The two Ariels (no this really wasn't planned!)