Jack's First Spring Roll Experience. . .

Blog Slacker

I'm having a hard time believing it has been a month since I've blogged. I feel like my days are moving faster than ever. I'm really working on enjoying this stage of life with my 3 little ones, but I will not lie---the past few weeks I have been WORN OUT!!  My Riley is sleeping all night (around 8:30ish until 6 or 7) but I don't think I've had a full night of sleep for weeks. My 2 and 3 year olds who are typically great sleepers have had issues sleeping through the night for various random reasons. One morning at 2am I hear noises and find Jack coming down the stairs wanting to watch the Wiggles and crying his eyes out when I tell him it is bedtime. I mean who doesn't get the urge to watch the Wiggles at 2am???  Another night I am startled from my sleep with the "presence" that I sense next to me---don't you love it when you open your eyes to your child staring you in the face in the dark??  It freaks me out!! Then of course my reaction scares her and she is crying, "My alarm is going off!"  Apparently my 3 year old is capable of dressing herself head to toe but does not have the ability to hit the "snooze" button. : )  And my favorite part of all of this is that the next morning I'll say to Tra, "Did you hear Hayley come in last night?"  You can guess what his answer typically is. . . "WHAT?? She did?? I didn't hear a thing!"  Although in his defense, I think there have been a couple of occasions when he got up with one of them and I was clueless. : )   I've come to the realization that I will most likely have fewer full nights of sleep than nights with interruptions for most likely the rest of my life. : )  And I'm becoming okay with that. I'm learning to roll with it. 

Here are a few things that have gone on lately that I want to remember:

The other night Hayley was picking out a Bible story to read and she chose "Jeremiah" in her little toddler Bible (by the way--does anyone have a Bible for kids that you love?? Let me know b/c I'm not nuts about the one we're using right now.) I started reading and she goes, "Jeremiah?? Like, Jeremiah was a bullfrog. . . and continued singing the WHOLE SONG!!  I was cracking up saying, "How do you know this song??? Where did you learn this song???!"  Hysterical! Apparently the learned it in music class at school. 

This girl is really making me laugh lately---another incident was one afternoon I was unloading groceries and she was looking through all the "loot" and found a new box of band-aids and very dramatically exclaims, "OH MY GOODNESS!!! MOM!! You got new Dora Band-Aids!! I just LOVE them! OH, thank you SO MUCH!! You are the BEST HELPER!!"   

At the pediatric dentist we go to (we LOVE her--Dr. Sandra Armstrong if anyone needs a referral), I went back to meet w/ the dentist after the kids were finished up pushing Riley in the stroller and she says to me, "Hayley tells us your expecting again?"  WHAT??  I said, "Well she knows something I don't know!" 

She told them I had a baby in my tummy and it was going to get REALLY BIG and that it was a little boy. Hmmmm. When I asked her about it she said she was talking about Riley being

 in my tummy. So it was just a misunderstanding. It just makes me laugh thinking about the conversations that most likely took place b/t the dentist and the hygienists, "That lady is out of her MIND having another kid right now!" And to set the record straight, we are NOT expecting. : )

Jack has really started to blossom with is vocabulary. One of my favorite things he says is, "Nooo, not yet."  He always shakes is head back and forth rapidly when he gives us that response. It's typically after we ask any question--"Do you want a snack?" "Are you ready to go to bed?" "Do you want some juice?"   

When we were getting ready for Adalyn's b-day party a couple of weeks ago I was telling him we were going to see Adalyn, and started naming other family members when he jumped in with, "PoppaMimiCow?" Which stands for "Poppy, Mimi and Scout."  It's like in his mind they are all ONE. And you don't have one without the other. : )  

We are doing swimming lessons with Hayley and Jack and Jack LOVES going to "sim." Tra gets in the pool with him and he can now go under for a good 5 seconds. It's amazing to see how much progress he has made in just a few short weeks! Hayley is doing great too, but she is fighting her nerves much more than Jack.

I can't leave out Riley!! This week she started rolling over from her back to her tummy! It's so hard to believe it's already time for that! She loves being upright and facing out. She is so smiley and LOVES her brother and sister. Hayley makes her laugh harder than any of the rest of us. It's so sweet!!

Last thing---I'm impressed if you're still reading and not a close friend or family member---I've started going to a Ladies Bible Study and the book we are going through is AWESOME---It's called Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp. I think every Christian parent should be required to read it when they have a baby. I know there is not one formula that works for raising and parenting children, but it is sure hard to go wrong, in my opinion, with Biblical principles and teachings. I have really enjoyed this book and encourage any other parents out there who are interested in gaining wisdom and insight into parenting to get your hands on a copy of this book!

I'll try to be a better blogger. Have a great weekend!

Giving BIG. . .

Sunday night we were blessed to be part of an AMAZING experience. We have a monthly service on Sunday nights at our church. Last month we were told that this month we were going to have a "party" at our next Sunday night service. It was not the kind of party anyone expected---it was BETTER!!  We actually lived out the verses in Acts 4---"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."

It was incredible---people who had needs over $2000 were asked to stand, then those who had needs under $2000. Those who remained seated were asked to pray about who to give to and how much to give. There were also baskets of cash up at the front and several leaders of the church standing up there ready to give it away!! The people standing were asked to come to the front and make lines to be prayed with and receive from the baskets----and when they started walking out of the aisles to go down to the front, not ONE of them made it very far because people all over the church started standing up and walking towards them to hand them cash and checks. There was hardly a dry eye in the place. It was the sweetest experience. Several gave testimonies afterwards---some were not even members of our church but just visiting! Can you imagine?? One lady said, "I needed $500 for bills and before I left my seat a lady handed me a check and it was for $500!"  Our "homework" for the month was to be givers and pray about opportunities to give. 

What a precious God we serve---He meets our every need! Sometime even to the exact PENNY! And it wasn't just money that was given away---if anyone had ANY need---need for healing, prayers for struggles they were going through, etc. people were there to pray and ask God to meet those needs as well. It was such a great faith booster and a reminder that "My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

So I encourage anyone stumbling across this blog today---many who already have a personal relationship with Jesus, but possibly some who do not---if you have ANY need---Jesus not only wants to meet it, HE WILL meet it. Not always in our timing or in the ways we think He will. In fact it is usually in circumstances we could never have imagined on our own. Also, I want to encourage you, blog reader, to join me in praying that the Lord will lead you to give extra big this month---not necessarily of money either. I believe He will provide plenty of opportunites of TIME for us to give to others. How we would ALL benefit from someone giving their time to us---a listening ear, encouraging word, a phone call to let you know you're being thought of and prayed for, a note in the mail just to say hello. : ) 

I am extra thankful this week, as Easter is just a few days away, of our most precious gift of all--"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

 

Dreams. . .

I have always had very vivid dreams. Most of the time they are crazy and make no sense whatsoever. When I was a kid I had some pretty scary ones---some were reoccurring and I would be afraid to go to sleep some nights b/c I would be afraid to have them again. One in particular that I still remember---I would dream that I was dreaming and I would "wake up" and really feel like I woke up but would actually still be sleeping. (Does that make sense?)  At that point my bedroom door would open and this lady that looked like a witch would come in and start walking toward my bed and I would be frozen and unable to move or scream or anything. It was horrible. Then I would wake up for real and be scared to death that I wasn't really awake. I'm praying against things like this for my children. Anyway---I had a horrible dream last night that I was holding Riley and trying to clean up a broken wine glass that Hayley knocked over in and around my bathtub. (I spend so much time in my bath sipping on glasses of wine---must be where that one came from)  : )     I was worried about her stepping on the glass so I was telling her to get away and picking up the glass and I heard splashing and looked down and Riley was completely submerged in the bath---face up looking straight at me. I had somehow managed to drop her in the bath without knowing it. I reached down to get her out and couldn't get a grip on her with my free hand---the other one had broken glass in it. I finally was able to get her out and she had been holding her breath the whole time and was perfectly fine---no coughing, no crying---just fine!  There was more after that----like I left Hayley in a hotel room to watch Riley while I took Jack to some soccer game. But when I went to check on them really quickly---I guess I just left Jack with the "team"--- Riley was closer to 3 years old and Hayley hadn't changed ages, but they were just laying in a bed playing.  WEIRD, huh?  Not sure why I decided to blog about this. If anyone has an interpretation you would like to share, feel free to do so! I believe the Lord still speaks to us in our dreams and it is possible He is saying something to me through these. It is also possible that I simply have vivid, crazy dreams. : )  

On an totally different subject---any Biggest Loser fans glad to see who went home last night? I won't write the name in case anyone hasn't caught up on DVR yet. : )  I LOVE that show. Tra and I are in the middle of se

ason 2 of Prison Break. It's one similar to 24 where every episode leaves you unable to turn it off until you see "just one more."  And we've been LOST fans since day 1. Another show I really like and that I watch in the afternoon sometimes during naptime is Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. And last thing---while I'm on my tv topic---is everyone aware that Beth Moore is on "Life Today" with James and Betty Robison on the Daystar channel every Wednesday?? She speaks for about 20 minutes on certain topics and it is SO good. Today's was especially good---about renouncing strongholds in your life and the power of our words and the power the spoken word has over the Enemy.  Gotta have my "Beth fix" every week! That woman is overflowing the the Holy Spirit like no other person I know! So thankful for people like her in my life who can help steer me in the right direction in my daily walk. 

Last story for this random post---The other day I was at Chesley's house making a "special delivery" and about to leave. I was looking for Jack and couldn't find him. I called his name a couple of times and asked Calista (who was also at Chesley's) if she had seen him. She gave me the weirdest look as if t

o say, "What do you mean have I seen him?"  As I was processing her look I realized. . . I was HOLDING HIM. Yes---I could very possibly be losing my MIND!!  : )  Gotta love "mommy brain."  

And here are the reasons for my loss of brain cells---I wouldn't trade them for ANYTHING!! Thanks, Nana, for the fun package you sent!! Getting ready for Easter!! 

And look at that little Riley smile---most likely laughing at one of the bunnies!  

Jackalopes, Sleep (or lack of) and Dinner

This morning Hayley was eating breakfast and randomly said, "I like Jackalopes. They're good. I like to eat em'."  I sat staring at her w/ a confused look on my face trying to figure out what she was talking about when I realized she was talking about CANTALOUPES!! Ha ha ha!! That kid cracks me up!

Riley slept last night from 11:30-6:50!! That would be even more exciting if Hayley wouldn't have come down to wake me up at 2:30 saying she was soaking wet. I know I will get a whole night's sleep again. . . one day. : ) 

Tra and I got to go out to dinner last night w/ our third wheel (Riley) and had the best time. Riley slept in her carrier the whole time. LOVE that girl. Valentine's day is extra special to us b/c it is our engagement day! It's so fun to think back on that night. He surprised me w/ a proposal after a mere 6 weeks of dating--I know CRAZY. And topped it off with taking me out to dinner and BOTH of our families were there to celebrate with us!!  It was one of my red letter days for sure. And that was 7 years ago---it seems like it was just yesterday! 

A Day Late. . .

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

When I woke up this morning. . .

. . . I didn't think the phrase "Put the poop back in the potty NOW," would have come out of my mouth. GROSS.

I'm so excited---I found a gymnastics place where Hayley and Jack can take a class at the same time! Hayley goes w/ a 3/4 group and Jack and I will do a mommy/me class in a separate group, but we'll all be in the same gym! (Actually, it will be Jack, Riley and me---she'll get to be in the little Snuggly pouch thing if she isn't sleeping in her carrier--which she did today!)  I've been so bummed b/c it is something I've especially wanted to get Hayley into, I just didn't know how to make it work w/ the other 2 tagging along. We did a free trial class this morning and it was so cute watching her do everything. She loved it. I didn't know until we got there that Jack and I could do a class at the same time, so he sat with me in the bleachers while we watched Hayley for an hour. He did pretty good, but did have some meltdowns b/c he wanted to go "pay" too! So I'm looking forward to going back next week and seeing how he does! And an extra special treat--one of her friends from church is also in the class she is in! We didn't know it until we got there today---fun!!

Why did they have to move LOST to Thursdays??? Every Wednesday I've gotten so excited only to have the let down when I remember it isn't until tomorrow night. 

And that's my random post for the day! : )

WHEW!!

Today was one of those days that I imagined in my head it would be like having 3 children. It started out with Hayley getting up earlier than usual and she found me laying on the guest bed in Riley's room (I had fallen asleep there after getting up what seemed like at least 20 times to put the paci back in the mouth.) LOVE IT when that happens. I wake up and feel like I didn't even sleep since I am on top of the comforter and not in my own bed. So I take her back to her room and go down to Riley crying in daddy's arms needing to be fed. (Riley, not daddy) : ) Hayley comes back down as I'm feeding Riley and hangs out with me as I get ready for church. She complains of a tummy ache and I respond every time with, "I'm sure your pretty hungry. It will feel better after you eat." So I make her breakfast, still complains of tummy ache. Says, "Mommy, I have to stay home from church b/c I'm going to throw up." I say, "Noooo, you're fine! We're going to church." We get to church (all 3 kids in coordinating outfits---not typical for me to do but made me want to do more of it--they were so cute!) While sitting on floor w/ Hayley putting her shoes on the right feet : ) she starts to whimper, "If I go to my class I'm going to throw up!" At that point I start to panic. This girl LOVES going to class at church, school, wherever. You don't have to bribe her to go places. I say, "I'm sure you're going to be okay. You'll be fine! (Big smile on my face trying to cover up concern.)" So she goes. We make it through w/o being paged, get in car and head home. And then it happened. For the FOURTH time in her life she threw up in the car. So it's chaos from there for what seemed like the rest of the day. We get home, get 2 clean kids in house, transfer H from car to garage, strip down to take to bath, Riley's screaming at this point, Jack's hungry, Tra's cleaning out car seat/car. CHAOS. So we get everyone situated finally--things are going better. Hayley feels better, is up playing acting FINE, she and Jack take off around the corner and go upstairs (so I thought.) Tra had gone to get the car washed and cleaned out, Riley swinging, I'm eating lunch (finally) talking to my mom on the phone. After a few minutes I head upstairs to check on them and I hear them in my bathroom. So I go in and they are standing in the shower---Hayley has my little pair of scissors in her hand and you can imagine it isn't pretty. Thankfully she didn't think to cut her OWN hair---but she did decide to cut her brother's hair. Lots of hair---chunks in the shower floor, shirt covered in hair. It actually doesn' t look too bad and we're considering having her cut it on a regular basis. : ) Ohhhhh boy. The day ended with Riley crying if she wasn't being held from 5-9 and Hayley again complaining about her stomach and at 9:00 I headed out to the store for my weekly run and actually enjoyed the quiet time in the car and walking around for an hour by myself.

And if you're still reading---(didn't mean for this to be so long!) I guess you need crazy days like this to fully appreciate the days that are semi-normal. What a joy to have these crazy days though. I wouldn't trade them for anything! (Well--- maybe a spa-day) : )

THANK YOU!!!

How cute is this template and header??? Amanda (see link) did this for me and I LOVE IT!! Thank you for using me as a guinea pig! It is going to be extra fun to blog now! 

Bummer!

Apparently the new, cool template I downloaded the other day caused problems on other people's blogs too and erased their links. What is the deal with that??  Oh well---back to my search for a cooler, cuter blog template that doesn't cause problems. : )  Sorry Angela and whoever else was affected by that particular website. For now, I will settle with blogger's pink template.

Riley turned 2 months old yesterday! She is so much better in the evenings lately. She is doing lots of smiling and cooing---so fun! She's also wanting to hang out in the middle of the night more than usual lately. Lots of "bonding time" last night. 

Hayley picked out the book "Love You Forever" last night before bed. I cannot EVER get through that thing w/o choking up! And then I get to the part where the mom drives across town and climbs into her "little boy's" window and crawls across the floor and picks him up and rocks him in her lap and it kind of creeps me out. That's just weird. It is a sweet book though. 

Jack is becoming more and more his own person. Last night I learned he does NOT want his food to mix together---never mix guacamole with his beans!! He screamed and cried about that for several minutes. Tra and I were having a hard time being serious trying to get him under control b/c we were laughing so hard! He is very much into routines at bedtime in particular too. He has a certain order he likes to do things in and heaven forbid if you mess it up! Hayley is actually the same way. Hmmmm. I wonder where they get their OCD-ness? I'll give you a hint---it's NOT from mama. : )  I say that, but I have those tendancies. Our everyday plates and bowls are 3 different colors, and I always make sure to order the colors before I put them up out of the dishwasher b/c I don't want 2 of the same color together. So maybe I'm weirder than I thought. : )  I need to finish this book I "borrowed" from my mom (sorry I haven't returned it yet, mom!) but I love the title---"Everybody's Normal Until You Get To Know Them."  But life would be boring if we were all normal! Hope you other "weirdos" out there have a great day!

A New Look!

I'm so excited about my new blog template---not too excited that somehow my list of "Blogs I Read" was deleted.  That's like losing your cell phone in the sense that I don't have people's blog addresses memorized!! : (  I've been wanting a cuter template for a long time but haven't been able to figure out how to make it happen. This particular one was SUPER easy! The link to the site is on top of my page. It's the nice orange strip that I will change to a softer color if I can ever figure out how. : )

Hope everyone has a great week! 

Road Trip!

Thursday morning Tra went to the dr. and found out he had bronchitis and spent the rest of the day in bed. As I went about my day I thought to myself, "Stay at home and take care of 3 children by myself AND a sick husband, OR take 3 children to Austin to stay w/ parents and celebrate my mom's birthday." Either way would take some serious effort, but I opted for our first road trip of 2008! We said goodbye to dada at 7pm Thursday and were at my parents' house by 10! We didn't stop on the way there. Riley did great and slept the whole way. Hayley slept half of the way, and Jack kept me company the whole time. About an hour outside of Austin he was wanting his juice that he had dropped that I couldn't reach, so I handed him my large chick fil a cup of ice water that was about a quarter filled and he spilled it ALL over himself. I thought about stopping to change him but he stopped screaming after a couple of minutes so I kept on truckin'.  Poor baby was SOAKING wet when we got there. : (   He's the best little kid. We had such a great time being w/ Nana and Big D! My dad was working in Florida all week and we surprised him at the airport Fri. morning by all going to pick him up! Neither of my parents had seen Riley since she was 2 weeks old! Needless to say, they were both very excited to have us hang out for the day yesterday and this morning.

We headed home around 1pm this afternoon and made it back by 5. I stopped to get gas in Belton and ended up feeding Riley and making the dreaded trek into the gas station w/ all THREE children b/c Hayley had to go potty. grrrrrr. At least she let me know she needed to go and didn't go in her car seat. It actually went fine--much better than I played it out in my mind--and we got treats for the rest of the way home. I'm hoping Jack doesn't get sick tonight from eating a whole package of Skittles. : )  Whatever keeps em' happy---if the babies ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!!  : )  I was in such a hurry packing before we left, I forgot my camera. So no pictures of the weekend. It sure was fun! We love you, Nana and Big D!!  (These pictures are of the last time my parents were here---Nana making gingerbread house w/ Hayley and Jack and Big D holding Riley for the first time at family Christmas party!

Happy Birthday, Jack! (and a Hayley story)

One of the funniest things Hayley has said lately is, "Hey mom, for Christmas I want the Charmin video!" Yes, Charmin--as in the toilet paper. They have those cute little cartoon bears on the commercials. : )  She was very disappointed that they do not have a video. Then a couple days later when a Charmin commercial was on she said, "I sure do wish I had some Charmin. Next time you're at the store, will you get me some?"  So we may be saying goodbye to our "Quilted Northern" on our next toilet paper purchase.

 Jack is officially TWO years old! We had a fun family day on his actual birthday. We loaded up before breakfast, drove through a donut place and brought them to a bounce house place. We all 3 played in the bounce houses while Riley hung out in her stroller sound asleep. After a couple of hours we headed home for lunch and naps, got up and loaded up again--this time with dad--and went to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner! We went for Hayley's birthday in August for the first time and they LOVED it. We didn't know it, but last Wednesday night, kids' meals were $1.99! They also had a guy going around making balloon animals, and a guy in a frog-suit costume walking around waving to the kids. The looks on their faces when the animals "come to life" is priceless. It was a GREAT day! Happy Birthday precious boy!! 

Happy New Year!

I went on a blogging fast the first week and a half of this year and it appears I am still fasting! I've actually been a faithful reader---just haven't taken the time to post. Things are going great over here with 3. Riley is such a good baby---until about 6pm-11pm.  I have always been skeptical of the "colicky" baby thing. God humbled me with my 3rd. I can count on one hand the number of nights she hasn't screamed and been fidgity since about her 3rd week of life. So for the past month (she's 7 weeks tomorrow!) every night we are bouncing, rocking, feeding, patting, bathing, ANYTHING trying to calm her down. It is so weird and SO exhausting. I know many of you have gone through the same thing with yours and can empathize. Hayley and Jack were both so calm and chilled out as newborns. So this is a whole new experience for me. Any ideas or suggestions to help calm the child down are MUCH appreciated and welcomed. Thankfully during the day she is an angel and very easy. She's still and angel at night---just a noisy one. : )  

I took all 3 to the mall by myself for the first time last week and it was so funny to watch

 people's mouths drop as they said, "You have 3!!"  I wanted to respond, "Great job! You can

 count!"  Hayley is turning into such a little lady and is so much fun to hang out with all day. She says and does the funniest things. One of my favorites lately is "Today is today, right mom?" To which I respond, "Yes--today is today." And she says, "Today is not tomorrow, right?"  And we go on for a little while and I'll throw out an occasional, "But tomorrow it will be today and today will be yesterday."  It totally shoots her wheels off---yours too, didn't it?? : )  She also likes to put Jack down for naps in her bed at the most random times. It's hysterical because Jack obeys her. Sometimes he just plays along for fun, but other times it hurts his feelings and he goes reluctantly into her room, lays down and sucks his thumb while crying his eyes out and STAYS in her bed until I come up and tell him he does not have to take a nap and he does not have to obey Hayley. It's sad, but it cracks me up to see him in there laying down by himself just crying. Poor buddy. I'm having a hard time believing he is turning 2 on Wednesday! Goodness---where does the time go??

 

Family picture

I got a new computer picture program for Christmas so I was going through old pictures and ran across this one from Thanksgiving 2006. My how things change in a year! I love this picture of all of us at the lake! I need it in a frame! 

Random question. . .

Hayley, Riley and I were driving home from a visit to the dr. yesterday and Hayley asked, "Hey mom, is a pickle a fruit?" I don't know when the last time was that she even saw a pickle. And why is she concerned about which family it belongs to? It made me laugh out loud. : ) I LOVE this age!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We certainly did. I have LOVED all of the Christmas cards and cute pictures of your families---we did not end up getting ours out like I had hoped this Christmas. Oh well---maybe next year we will not have a major event 3 weeks before and I'll be more on the ball!

Jack turns TWO next month!! WHAT???? How is my baby boy already turning 2?? Apparantly the more kids you have, the faster your days go. I feel like they went a lot faster when I had Jack, and then the past 3 weeks have really flown by. How I want to enjoy every crazy moment! We've definitely had some crazy moments, but overall it has been such a great transition over here. Looking forward to more days like today of just being at home and being mama.

The picture is of Riley and her cousin Ryder in their matching Christmas pj's! I think it's so cute how Ryder appears to be smiling and he's only 4 days old in this picture! He is so precious!!!

2 weeks. . .

We've been home with Riley for 2 weeks now and things are going SO well! She had a clogged tear duct yesterday but we massaged it out and it is looking MUCH better---poor baby! It was matted closed yesterday morning and pretty goopy and gross looking. We had our first outing just me and all 3 kids to McDonald's yesterday! It was a spur of the moment thing and I'm so glad we did b/c I got to run into a bunch of girlfriends and their sweet kids! It was fun seeing all of you!! What a treat! Everything went really smoothly---Jack and Hayley ate and played and when it was time to go, we left with no tantrums or anything! Riley just slept the whole time we were there. So far for me, going from 2 kids to 3 is MUCH easier than 1 to 2. I think a big part of it is that Jack is almost 2 instead of almost 18 months (like Hayley was when he was born). And he is such a laid back kid overall. And Hayley is such a good helper and she and Jack play together really well most of the time. I am trying to enjoy every minute---even the crazy ones! I'm so thankful for these precious gifts and have had many moments of being overwhelmed (in the good sense) that God gave them to me! And every night when Tra gets home and plays with Hayley and Jack, gives them baths, builds with blocks, plays in the pillows, then holds Riley and spends time with me---I'm overwhelmed even more.
Here are some pictures that crack me up:

Santa came to Tra's work last Friday night and all the families were invited up to have pictures taken. Jack isn't a Santa fan. : )


And the one of Hayley feeding her baby is the greatest! Right after the picture was taken she goes, "Okay sweet girl---time to switch sides!" Ha ha ha! Future La Leche leader???

Pictures. . .

Here are a few pictures of Riley! Things are going great! She is such a good little baby. . .
Before (7:00am)

Home with all 3 of my babies!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

For anyone who hasn't heard yet, our sweet Riley Kate was born at 3:51 pm on Tues. Dec. 4. She was 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. We just got home this afternoon so I'm hoping tonight after big sister and big brother are down I can download pictures and I'll post a few. We could not be more thrilled about our new baby girl. She is a GOOD baby (so far!) and looks JUST LIKE HAYLEY!!! It is weird how similar they look. Thanks for the prayers, emails and calls! Stay tuned for pictures!

39 weeks. . .

Check out the last line of my baby ticker up there ". . . unless I'm feeling extra snuggly." My kids LOVE being in my tummy!! Even Hayley at 41 weeks had to be "forced" out with pitocin after making hardly ANY progress being in labor on my own for about 12-15 hours and a vaccuum at the end! : ) Today is officially my last day of being pregnant. Tomorrow (unless a minor miracle occurs today) I will wake up pregnant and go to sleep with my baby in my arms! (not that I will most likely sleep much tomorrow night---and I won't hold the baby when I am asleep---I know it's not safe) Tra and I got to go on one last date last night---Cheesecake Factory. YUM. We were going to see a movie but got too late of a start. We're both SO excited about tomorrow and finding out who this is! My mom will be here later today. My hair is cut, my toes are painted, my bags are packed, my lists are made---we are READY!! My Hayley is sick. She's running fever and stuffy. I was afraid this might happen b/c Jack was sick last week w/ similar stuff and I had a feeling she might end up catching it. So say a prayer that whatever it is will be short-lived and she'll be well enough to come see us in the hospital tomorrow or at least on Wednesday! Keeping it all in perspective---thank you God that all she has is a cold and it will GO AWAY!

Stay tuned for pictures!!!