squirrel

Is that a squirrel storing nuts? Nope, it's Camille storing (hoarding) grapes. Once a hoarder always a hoarder I guess.

dance party

This is what the dance parties look like! They are very sweet.

more pictures

The picture of Camille is a pic of her and giraffe. I have a pic just like if of Av and monkey in that same outfit. The 2 of Avery are with her school bear Teddy. They all take turns bringing him home (ick) and taking care of him for a few days. This is her 3rd time with Teddy. It creeps me out every time but we wash bear. She loves him SOOOOOOOO much. She had so much fun with him and took him everywhere. She has mentioned 3 times since we took him back that she missed him. Glad we got a picture of her with Teddy.

what are these funny things and who put them there?

c singing old mcdonalds

camille singing wheels on the bus

camille singing happy bday

E walking up today

He was so cute. I was downstairs and I could hear him talking. I went up to find him playing with his puppy and so happy. Here he is.

outside

This week was so fabulous. The weather was so nice it made everything better. On Wednesday we went to the zoo. I was nervous to take all 3 so I talked a lot to the girls about how I could carry E (in a baby carrier) for awhile but I could not do it the entire time and they would have to take turns in the stroller. At the zoo they are not in the stroller much. They run and play more often but on the way down and up the hill a lot of times they ride. Last year too C used to throw fits about me carrying. I told her I could not carry her and we would just have to go home if she didn't walk or share the stroller with sis. They did so great and we had so much fun we were there ALL day. From 11:30 to 4:30. Skipping nap and all. Mostly E rode in the stroller. He didn't even sleep any of that time. He was too interested in being out and seeing everything in the fresh air. Down the hill C sat on Av's lap in the stroller and on the way back up I had E in his ergo carrier. It turned out great. Mostly the girls just played all over that zoo. I think everyone was just happy to be outside.

On Thursday after dinner we all took a walk in the dark. It was our first walk just to walk in a long time and it was so nice. We all enjoyed it. It was dark and we were all together and it could not have made me happier.

Friday we spent most of the day at the park. C, E and I went after music at 10. We walked and played until it was time to pick Av up at 12. We went back and had lunch and stayed till 3. So nice. I hope we have more and more weeks outside.

In C's music I brought the bumbo so E could sit in that and be a part of the circle. He loved it and looks so cute sitting with us.

new pics of my cute kids

In the one where Av is sitting on C she is showing how we sometimes have to brush C's teeth by sitting on her and holding her down.

Camille talk

Camille is very funny and all over the place. After school the other way we were all in our bed while John was changing from work. In the span of 5 minutes Camille tried VERY hard to nurse from me like E does (I really had to push her off me), then all of the sudden she said she wanted a big girl bed. It was so out of the blue it took us a minute to figure out what she was saying. When I asked if Emily (her school bff) has a big girl bed she said, "no she has a cot." Then she told us she was bad at school and when asked what she did that was bad she said, "I would not lay down when teacher told us to." hehehe it was pretty funny. The teachers had not mentioned it. Wonder how bad she was.

Here are some funny things she still says:

please hold me mommy

that's you monkey avery (she says that with anything, has not gotten your yet)

i had those tomorrow (she was talking about candy she had yesterday)

is that lunch (at dinner time)

i feel better after my nap (in the am when she wakes up)

school friends

Avery has been in school with Caroline for 4 years. They became friends early on and still are great friends. Through everything they are inseparable. Camille has developed a friendship like it as well. Emily is Camille's best school friend. They have been in class together for over a year now and their bdays are in a week of each other. Camille talks about her all the time and looks froward to school days to, "play with Emily!" This morning one of Camille's teacher came up to me and told me they were "like sisters" and "inseparable." Then this afternoon another teacher told me the same thing and that, "he has never seen any other 2 year old be such friends and so close as Camille and Emily." It's pretty cool. They must be together a lot if 2 different teachers mentioned it on the same day.

"mommy pack"

John is the best hubby!! I am a lucky girl. We kind of think vday is a silly holiday and should be more for the kids. A day for "I love yous" and small gifts to show you care. That's exactly what John and I usually do for each other. This year he out-did himself. He got me what he called, "a mommy pack." It was a box of good chocolates with 3 Jimmy John's gift cards and 3 Starbucks gift cards taped to it. Some of my favorite get-me-through-a-tough-day stuff. He knows the way to my heart!!!

*Camille was being a stinker and would not get in the picture*

life

Life is pretty ironic. Yes you can make things happen for yourself but a lot of times it's fate that wins out in the end. A good friend of mine just reminded me that when we met (5 years ago) I was a full time working mom and had no plans to change that, ever. I loved business and wanted it to continue to climb the career ladder. Now here I am officially (we will see for how long) a stay at home mom. It was not the path I was on and not what I ever saw for myself but for now I am content. I know that I will look back on these years at home with my kids and feel so lucky. Right now it's just an adjustment. Something I will have to get used to. Will I get used to it and love it? Or will it not be my cup of tea? I have always thought it was not my cup of tea but I'm beginning to think I was born to be a mom and I just really never realized it.

giggle

E is giggling now. It is the cutest sound of this earth. I know I said the same thing when C started but it's true. I find myself trying to act so silly just to hear it. He is still pretty stingy with them yet but I can't wait for the day when I am cooking dinner and I hear him laughing with his sisters. Actually I take that back, I can wait. He is already growing too fast so for now I will stare at his sleeping face and be content with that.

Prince

Everett has become the Prince of the household. That's his new nickname bc he is not picky about much but he does want a perfect environment to nurse in. Quiet background noise is okay but anything other than that is not tolerated. It's not that he's too distracted to eat, Camille got to the point where she would rather look at everything else than nurse. It's not that. He will be happily eating and if I talk all the sudden to the girls or they make a new noise he pulls off and gives me this look of disgust. The lip comes out and if it was a loud noise he looks sad/scared but if it was just something that bothered him he gives me a mad look like, "how dare they." He is too much!!!

Park

We went to the park this weekend. First time since E has been born. Usually in Dec we get out and take walks and sometimes even bundle for the park but this year that was out of the question. Just too cold. It was beautiful on Sunday though so we got out and walked. Felt soooooo good. It was our first walk with 2 strollers. We got some comments from strangers, "you have your hands full" or "enjoy them they grow up too fast." By the time we walk to the park, around the loop, to the playground and home it's 2 miles for J and I. Pretty perfect and all three lasted in the strollers. Of course at the playground the girls got out and ran, slid and swung and E got out and was put in the ergo carrier he loves. We even attempted to fly a kite but just was not quite windy enough. We also had a picnic in the park. It was a perfect day!

vday ballerina/butterfly/princesses

(please don't look at the messy house in the background or the crazy hair the girls have. I went out both nights of this weekend so I'm barely hanging on)

vday krispy kremes

go Cards

Yes they both now have Cardinals Basketball jerseys. I would like them better if they are green but the cute girls make up for the color.

shoes

Everett in shoes for the first time. I thought they were so cute and wanted to get a picture. He was not happy at all about the shoe photo shoot at the time.

filling out valentines

Here are the girls filling out vday cards for their class. I wish I would have started it last month with Av. Didn't think about the fact that for the first time she needed to write not only her name but her classmates names on them all by herself. It was very stressful the 2 nights before her party trying to get them all done but we made it. She did a great job and was one of only 3 that filled them out by herself.

E sleeping

Everett likes to sleep just like Camille used to. With stuff over his face. Either that or he is playing and falls asleep mid-play and the stuff ends up over his head.

exersaucer

Everett starting using his exersaucer this weekend. He really seems to like it. So cute. He is getting too big too fast. The girls swarm him when he's in it. They are really jealous and want in too. We keep telling Camille we used to call it baby jail for her bc at the end she hated being in it. Wanted to be on the move but right now it's very new and seems exciting.

weekend

Friday night I went out with some girlfriends to celebrate baby #3 for Marci. While I was gone J had a great time with the girls. They were being so good he had a hard time putting them to bed by 9. They were in Av's bed reading stories together. They were also playing school. Camille would hold up a flash card and say, "what is this Avery?" Av would answer naming the animal. Av also spent a lot of time this weekend sorting her vday loot. She got a lot of it!! The pictures are of Everett showing off his skills with his hands, Camille "reading stories" and Av sorting her loot.

skinny tall dude

Looks like E is going to be a skinny tall dude. If his newborn checkups mean anything that's the path he's on. He is 25.5 inches long and 14lbs. That puts him above 75% for height and right at 25% for weight. Both of the girls were 13 lbs and 3 ounces and 24 inches long. He is growing out of his 3-6 month stuff. it is just long enough and will not last much longer. His check up went great though. The doctor thought his eyes were going to stay blue too. He's a happy little boy wanting to smile and "talk" to the doctor. He has regressed a little on sleeping. He has been up twice a night for about 5 nights now. Not exactly what I want but I am dealing. The doctor thought it was either bc he is congested or bc of teeth which he did see the starts of coming in. Hopefully soon we will all get rid of this cold and sleep much much better!

pretend birthday

Sunday I was sitting with Av working on her letters. She was doing great. Camille was running around having pretend birthdays. At one point Camille said it was Avery's bday. We both kind of ignored her. A few minutes later Av decided she was done. After we cleaned up she turned to Camille and said, "is it still my birthday?" It was pretty darn cute.

life with Camille

Things have been a little rough with Camille again. She just makes me want to pull my hair out (or really something way worse). On Friday she decided in the middle of the hallway of Av's school she didn't want to walk any more. I was carrying Everett in his car seat and just couldn't carry both. No amount of talking, bribery or punishment was working. What was I to do? I had to get Avery to her classroom and I couldn't and wouldn't at that point carry her. No way I was giving in. I told her I was going to leave her there and walked down the hallway. She didn't care and didn't move. I stood at the corner and watched Camille stand there blocking everyone's way and watched Avery the other way take herself to her classroom. I must say that everyone could see that I was having a very bad morning and no one offered to help. I really wanted to leave Camille there at that point. Monday she didn't want to take Avery to school so she was just sitting there and not at all letting me get her out of the house. Again what could I do? I have to get Av to school and Camille has to come. Can't leave her here but oh how I wish I could. I end up yelling and then I hate myself afterwards for it. I am just at a loss on how to deal with her and I get very stressed in time crunches getting the 3 of them out of the house. It's hard. Very hard. Life is hard and I know how lucky I am trying to remember that. I know yelling is not good so I try so hard to hold it together with her. She just pushes and pushes until I can't hold it together any longer. So lately I have been measuring how my day has been on a yelling scale. Today was a great morning she didn't push even once so the yelling mommy monster didn't even have to be stifled. She can be so sweet and cute though too. She loves and needs to be cuddled every morning. Love that time with her. She talks in her little voice and in her 2 year old speech and it's just so cute the words and sounds she uses. After dinner last night we got ice cream. She ate every drop of the ice cream to the point that she used a spoon to get the ice cream out of the cone and then tipped her head back to have the last few drops run into her mouth. Nothing like a 2 year old on a sugar high. So cute. She pointed to her cone and said, "no like that!" This was after she ate 2 cup fulls of green beans. She loves green beans. Hopefully her teachers at school got that diaper. Ok I know I am all over the place with this post. I just want her to know someday how difficult she was and how much she drove me crazy but how much I love her for it. She really challenges me.

grasshopper

The girls and I were doing puzzles and a grasshopper was one of the pieces. Camille piped up and said it was a grasshopper and I was surprised she knew that. I asked how she did and Av said, "bc it looks like a grasshopper." Like I was the silliest person in the world. I asked how she knew it was a grasshopper and Av said, "bc of Abby's Flying Fairy school." So funny. For those of you that are not regular Sesame Street watchers that is a segment on SS.

swaddle free

Well one night anyway! It went great. He actually slept better last night than he has in about 2 weeks. Only ate once at 4. He was up at 530 too but I just popped the paci in and he was quiet again until 830. Camille slept through too. It was a great night. Feels so good to only be up 1.5 times. I think in the swaddle he was cold (so sad it took me this long to figure out). I used to tuck a blanket under the swaddle too but then one night I found it too close to covering his head so I took it away. I think that was the last good night of sleep. Last night he slept in a sleeping blanket and I think he was warm and cozy all night. Hope we are on to something!

dance party

Av has become obsessed with dancing. I could not love this new obsession more. As soon as John walks in the door every night she asks for a dance party. (his iphone is used as the source music a lot of times) Just the girls dance a lot too though. She loves her CDs being played in her room or the Just Dance Party on the Wii. Boy is it a great workout so I am always on board for it. She puts on her tutu (that Shelly got her years ago and she would not touch it forever) and calls it her ballerina. She is too cute. I plan to sign the girls up for dance this fall and I hope Av will actually do it.

high chair

I was cleaning the kitchen today and wanted Everett to be in there with me, off the back of his head, but up so he could see me and hear me talking to him. Bright idea, the high chair. Here he is in it for the first time ever. He looks so small in it. I gave him a few toys to play with after I took these pics. He seemed to love it. Sooooooo crazy bc it was not very long since I was strapping Camille in it. As much as I hate the ugly thing and how much room it takes up that high chair will be out of my life forever way too soon. Makes me want to cry.

my 3 cute, runny nose kids

almost 4 months

Everett is back to loving his paci. We will see how long it lasts. He is not as obsessed with his hands so maybe that's why the paci is back in the picture. I have to admit I'm happy the hand obsession or should I say the thumb sucking is starting taper off. His cute little thumb in his mouth is very adorable but not something I want to become a habit. He's starting to really use his hands for what they are meant for. Playing and grabbing things.

Sleep all the sudden has taken a huge turn for the worse though. He sleeps till 1 and then is up every 2 hours after that. Not even to eat. I hear him in there playing and he is totally out of the swaddle. When I go in there I can see him trying to go back to sleep but he needs my help for that. I know when he is trying to put himself to sleep bc he throws his head back and forth looking for his source of something to suck. He wants his paci and to be swaddled back up. So I do and out he is again. What I don't understand is why he is waking every 2 hours or so to begin with. Either way it's time to get rid of the swaddle. He has become dependent on that to go to sleep and that's not good. So sometime soon when I can muster up a night to suffer through we will throw out the swaddle blanket. This is how I found him this morning though. Out of the blanket. Maybe he falls asleep that way but moves and works his way out and that eventually wakes him up. He still had his paci in his mouth from when I gave it to him at 7. This pic was taken at 8:30. Pretty funny he still had it. Notice the paci is purple. It's Camille's old one. It stays in his bed and is only used there.

He is still just the sweetest cutest baby ever. Does not cause any problems. He naps when he wants to where he wants to and the sleep at night does not matter on the day time sleep. He's just easy. Way easier than the other 2 are now or were then.

He is a very sensitive little boy. He scares easily. Noises scare him or make him jump. He gets that really sad look on his face when his sisters are sad.

I know I say this ALL the time but I can't believe he is already 4 months. He is my baby and he is growing way too fast. I HATE it. The other night John was playing bball and the girls were in bed and Everett and I did kangaroo care for the first time in a long long time. It was so sweet and I just cherished every minute of it. I held him so tight and told him how much I loved him. We both enjoyed it so much!!!

tough girl

Camille is a tough cookie. She is so crazy strong, determined, smart and pretty bratty. She knows exactly what bugs people and does it just to bug them. Specifically her sister and Stella. She is really good friends with Max. They play amazing together. She is kind of a tom-boy. Loves balls and rough-housing. I think that's why they get along so well. They are not even in school together but really like each other. She is tough but the one thing she hates or scares her A LOT is being upside down. She hates when John or I try to carry her upside down just for something fun to do. It's pretty funny and to tease her we like to do it. heheheh maybe that's where she gets her love of bugging people.

bad bad 2 year old

While I am making my muffins and thinking I am the mother of the year Camille in the matter of 10 minutes managed to purposely kick over a lamp shattering it to pieces and then bit her sister. Oh my maybe I do want to work and send her to school full time. The thousands of glass pieces and the lamp landed on Everett's bumbo that he had been sitting in this morning. Thankfully he was not in it or we would have had a nice afternoon in the ER. After sending her to her room and cleaning up the mess she came down and started fighting with Avery over a necklace and bit her when she didn't get her way. Back to her room she went. I am not sure what I am going to do with that one.

SAHM

Stay at home mom.....I'm embracing my new stay at home mom status. (it's not definite that I'm staying home but as my job is moving to Cleveland and I'm not, and since no one can afford the luxury of having me do their work anymore at GE it looks like it's my fate. Plus between the 3 kids and everything I need to do around here and all the therapy I take Av too I really only have 12 hours a week that both girls are in school that I could work.) John is starting to get used to it and like it. I have time to do the errands he usually has to try to fit in like oil changes, registering the cars and lots of little odds and ends neither of us have had time for. The laundry is always caught up now and put away. I have been cooking. Last night I made a potato soup (that was really easy, don't tell him though) and he was impressed. I was partly hurt (but not really) that he didn't put much stake in my cooking skills and very proud that he loved it. As did I and the eater Camille. Today I used browning bananas and made whole wheat from scratch muffins that both girls gobbled up. Maybe this will not be so bad. Time will only tell.

Everett has a peanut

Is Camille's new saying. She means penis. heheheh I was changing his diaper the other day and she said, "what is that Everett has?" As I was trying to explain it to her she moved on and started playing with a toy. Guess she was very interested. But every so often now she out of the blue states "Everett has a peanut" or "daddy has a peanut." heheheh