Jack David - 3 Months

As expected, this was another busy month for all of us.  Jack has changed so much in the last couple of weeks.  He no longer has the newborn look and is becoming more of a little person everyday.  There have been so many milestones this month and I am so so glad that I have been able to see them.  I feel like I missed things with the girls because they were in daycare.  I seriously don't know how I was able to leave them so young. (8 weeks for Kaitlyn and 12 weeks for Madi)  There are days when I question why I run a home daycare.  Just one look at his sweet face and I have my answer.

Weight: About 12.5 pounds

Length: ??

Sleeping: He started sleeping through the night at the end of August.  Though, last week he was up once or twice every night.  I'm hoping that was just a fluke and that things will go back to normal soon.  Bedtime is anywhere between 9:30 p.m and 11:00 p.m.  He usually wakes up around 7 a.m, eats and then goes back to sleep for a couple more hours.  

Eating:  Still exclusively breastfed and nursing on demand.  In the morning and evening he nurses every 2 hours.  He usually takes a pretty long nap in the middle of the day so he goes a little longer.  

Clothing:  0-3 months, though I'm not sure how much longer his sleepers will fit.  About half of them are a little snug.

Diapers: He could definitely move up a size, but I'm cheap and I want to try to use up all of the size 1 diapers first.

Milestones: Sleeping through the night, rolling to his left side (He could roll over if he could just get his left arm out of the way.), laughing (not quite a giggle yet), playing with his hands, grabbing onto nearby objects, holding his head up for at least 30 seconds, lots of smiling and "talking", and his first road trip to Oklahoma.

Eyes: Brown

Hair:  Most of his newborn hair is gone, except in the back.  I can't quite tell the color of his new hair.  Most days it looks brown, but occasionally it looks blonde.  I guess will find out soon.

Likes: Being held, being talked to, Mommy, swinging, being naked, baths

Dislikes: Being hungry, wet clothes, tummy troubles, spitting up, pacifies (I've given up trying)

The Parents: We're doing better.  We still have lots of projects that are keeping us busy (and tired) and we haven't quite established the routine that we need.  Hopefully, this month that it happens.

Mama: I've lost almost all of my baby weight, but most of my pants still aren't fitting like the once did.  It's definitely time to start working out again.  If only I had time. Ha!  I keep telling myself that I'll be able to once I get caught up on all of my new house projects.  Also, I'm surprised that I'm not bald with all the hair that I've been losing.  Postpartum hair loss is in full force.  Seriously, how long does this last?  

The Sisters:  As obsessed as ever!!  They are constantly checking on Jack and hate it when he cries.  We still see a bit of jealousy every now and then, but I think they're used to him being here now.

1st visit to Great Grandma Bogle's house

Madi is Four!

Okay, so I realize that I am a month late with this update.  But late is better than never and I don't want you to think that I forgot about you.  You are impossible to forget and you make sure of it.   Life has just be a little crazy these last few weeks.

Madi, 
You are truly one of a kind.  You might appear shy at first, but that quickly changes once you have warmed up.  You are not one to just blend in and it's very rare to see you following the crowd. You are a definite leader and I love this about you. 

You still have a vivid imagination and can make almost everything fun.  I love watching you build scenes your with Barbies, Calico Critters, cars, or Frozen toys and listening to your pretend conversations.  You love being outside, whether it be in your Barbie Jeep (you are always the driver), riding your bike, or swinging in the backyard.  You also love to sing and dance.  You frequently ask me to turn on the Christmas music so you can show off your skills.

You are the sweetest little girl when you want to be, but can also be very headstrong.  You know what you want and it can be very difficult to change your mind.  These last couple months have been a trying time for you.  So much has changed that you have had no control over.  I am glad that all of our major changes are over for now and that we can establish our new normal.  

During these three months, you have become an awesome big sister (and little sister).  You constantly trying to take care of Jack (sometimes a little too much).  If he's crying, you are right there trying calm him down.  I'm sure that you will be the best on of friends once he is a little older.  You have a special bond with Kaitlyn (when you aren't fighting) and I'm sure you will with Jack too.

This year your birthday occurred during one of the busiest times of our lives, but we didn't let that stop us from celebrating.  You spent the last two days as a three year old being spoiled by your grandparents.  Then you came home and we celebrated your birthday at home with a cookie cake. 

You had to pretend to blow out your candle since we couldn't find the lighter.

Watching the solar eclipse.   Pretty cool birthday present.

We waited until the following weekend to celebrate with friends and family.  You really wanted to have your party at Mercury Gymnastics (You called it the nastics place.), but it just didn't work out.  Instead, we had our first party at our new house.  

You enjoyed playing on our water slide with friends and family.  Followed by a cook out, a Princess Poppy birthday cake, and presents. 

Happy 4th Birthday, Madelyn Rose!!  You are so loved!

Kaitlyn's First Day of Kindergarten

The first two weeks of kindergarten are in the books.  While I'm still in shock that she's old enough for school, I am not sad.  Kaitlyn absolutely loved preschool and was so excited to start kindergarten.  (I was almost as excited her.  School = routine)  I know that this will be a great year for her.  She loves to learn and has an amazing teacher who cares a lot for her students. (She called us the first day to let us know that Kaitlyn had a great day.  She even said that Kaitlyn reminds her of herself as a child.)  I am looking forward to watching Kaitlyn grow both academically and emotionally.

I thought it would be fun to ask Kaitlyn a few questions before and after her first day.

Before

What is the name of your school? Kellybrook 

What is your teacher's name? Ummm... What's her name again. (Mrs. Hubbard)
Are you excited? Yes and a little nervous.  

What are you looking forward to the most?  Riding the bus and for you to take me to school on my first day.  (Sadly, she only got to ride the bus for three days since our new house is no longer on a bus route.)

She wanted her nails painted blue.

Waiting in the gym on the first day.  All butterflies were gone.

Inside her classroom

After

Did you like it/ have fun?  I Love it!!! Can't wait to go back.  I liked preschool, but I LOVE kindergarten!

We're any of your friends from preschool in your class? Just one.  Caeden and Gunner are in a different class.  I don't know who their teacher is.

What was the best part? Ummm....there were too many things.  I loved riding the bus home today.  We had gym and library. 

Thank you Mrs. Hubbard for sending us this picture.

Jack David - 2 Months

I had this written and ready to post on the 18th, but it just never happened.  I knew it would be a CRAZY day, but I had no idea just how crazy it would be.   The movers showed up early (thank goodness) and my dad got there shortly after that and we sit didn't get everything out by our 5 pm deadlines.
Then we didn't have internet for a week.   It was scheduled to be hooked up on Saturday, the 19th, but the technician went to the neighbors house instead.  I called every day and every time I was told that someone would call me later in the day to get it rescheduled.  Never happened.  Spectrum really needs to work on their customer service.  Now that we finally have internet, I can post Jack's two month update.

Weight: 11 pounds, 15 ounces (25th percentile)

Length: 23 inches (53rd percentile)

Sleeping: I'd love to say that he was sleeping through the night (his sisters both did at 6 weeks), but he's not.  Jack still sleeps quite a bit during the day, so he doesn't usually go to bed until 10:30 or 11.  He then sleeps most of the morning, waking every 3-4 hours to eat.  The longest he's slept is 5 hours and that's only happened a handful of times.  I desperately need his bedtime to change now that David is back at work and can't stay up with him.
Also, we moved Jack to in his crib the night before david went back to work.  The first week in the crib was pretty rough.  He was waking up every two hours.  I think this had to do with the fact that he had never really slept laying flat.   We had him sleeping in a rock and play in our room at night.  It's been couple of weeks and he's back to waking up only once at night.  

Eating:  He's still exclusively breasfed.  He has successfully taken a bottle the few times that I have offered and a couple from Grandma and Papa.  During the day he eats about every 3-4 hours.  From 3-11, it's about every 2 hours and then back to every 3-5 hours over night.

Clothing: Mostly 0-3 months.  He can still wear a few newborn onesies, but not any sleepers.  Three month clothes are still a little big.

Diapers: Size 1

Milestones: Smiling (8/8), sleeping in his crib (8/9), cooing (8/11), first time being babysat by Grandma Kathy and Papa Dave (8/12), staying awake longer than an hour.

Eyes: They're turning brown.  They were a grayish blue at birth.

Hair:  His newborn hair is thinning and his new hair is starting to come in.  It looks like he has a residing hairline.  I think he will have brown hair like Kaitlyn.

Likes: Being held, his swing, eating.  He's starting to enjoy laying on his playmat.

Dislikes: Being hungry, tummy troubles, and spitting up. 

The Parents: We're (still) tired!!  This past month has been CRAZY!!  Between buying and selling houses, packing, moving, school starting (for David and Kaitlyn), and having a newborn who doesn't sleep through the night yet, we're not getting a whole of lot of sleep.  Hopefully, we'll be better next month once we establish our new normal.

Mama: I'm doing well, though I still haven't lost all of my weight.  I assumed that it would take longer this time, but really thought I'd be back to my pre prego size by now.  (I was wearing my normal clothes just a week after Kaitlyn was born and a month after Madi.). Now that the move is behind us, it's time to get serious about losing these last few pounds and inches.  Otherwise, I will not have any pants to wear.  (I borrowed some shorts from my mom, but I won't be able to do that with pants.)

The Sisters:  They are still obsessed with him.  They are constantly kissing or touching him and wondering where he is. We don't worry about them being alone with Jack as much.  They've learned to be gentler around him .

Five on Friday

Just a few random thoughts for this Friday.

One

 This was the fastest/shortest summer that I can remember.  Apparently, having a baby and moving within eight weeks can keep you extremely busy.  Here it is already the second weekend in August and the unofficial end of summer.  Unfortunately, we were only able to mark a few things off our summer bucket list.  Maybe we'll be able to squeeze a few more things before the fall.

Two
Today is the start of the last weekend in our first house.  The weekend will be filled with lots and lots of packing, cleaning and a couple last minute repairs to the house.

Three
It's also the last weekend before Kaitlyn starts kindergarten.  I'm planning on taking her to school that morning, but there won't be time for a special breakfast.  Instead the two of us (well three if you count Jack) are going to  have our special back to school breakfast on Sunday.  She has requested a pink donut from Lamars and eating it at HyVee.  We might even try to squeeze in little back to school shopping trip

Four

I've learned a couple things about moving.  A) we have a lot of crap and b) moving was much easier before having kids.  We're hiring moves, but we still had to pack it all.  This is the current state of our house.  Boxes EVERYWHERE!

Five 

 After a summer of absolutely no bedtime routine, I am excited to get back into our old routine (or as close as we can with an infant).  I need my time in the evening again.

This is why we need get back our bedtime routine.  Madi couldn't even make it through dinner.