Busy

Fall is a busy time for any family, but this fall I think we have hit the busiest season of our life so far.  We have two kids at two different schools, Jay and I working full time and a baby in our family.  Starting kindergarten, preschool, Jay working a new job with longer hours and having our first experience in rec league sports has left little down time in the past two months.  I am hoping we have rounded a corner and some of the busyness is starting to die down with the approaching end of soccer season and just learning how to adjust to our new "normal." In the meantime we are savoring every moment we have at home together!

VBS

Our church had a week of VBS in July.  This year the theme was "Agency D3," a spy/secret agent theme.  The kids had a great time, especially since 3 of their cousins came to VBS with them. 

The kids loved doing the pledges and learning all the new songs.  

Guess Who?

The three kids at four months of age.  Can you guess who is who? 

 

Four Months

Esther is now four months old.  She was a champ at her four month check up earlier this week and weighed in at 14 lb 11 oz (1 lb bigger than Charlotte and 2 lbs bigger than Trey!) and 24 1/2 inches long.  She was just over the 50th percentile for weight and just under the 50th percentile for height.  Thus giving her "the healthy, chubby baby look" said lovingly by her pediatrician.

She spent a lot of time playing at church while I got ready for VBS this summer!

Holding her head up so well!

Esther in the nursery on her first day of VBS.

She is still an extremely happy and go with the flow baby.  She has travelled the state this past month and dragged along to swim lessons, Bible school, and park play dates with her older brother and sister.  She handles it all like a champ and has become very adept at sleeping in her car seat, swing, stroller, crib, or being rocked in a chair.  At church they have learned not to let her get overly tired, because then she is very hard to settle down.  Once she starts to rub her eyes if you give her the paci, wrap the muslin blanket over her (including her head) and rock her tightly she will go right to sleep.  At night she does great putting herself to sleep in the crib around 8 pm.  She usually sleeps till about 3:30 and wakes up to eat, then is back to sleep until 6:30 or 7.  Some nights she sleeps through the night, but usually she will eat about one time a night.  She was sleeping through the night great at 3 months of age, but all of our traveling has thrown her off a bit. 

She is a pro at snoozing in the car.

She is growing great just on breastmilk and her pediatrician said we could start introducing solids sometime before six months.  I am in no hurry to start that, but I will definitely be making her baby food like I did for Charlotte.  She eats every three hours during the day.  She is still on a three hour schedule where she is up for two hours, then sleeps for an hour, wakes up and eats and starts all over again.  This means she has about 4 naps a day with the longest nap usually in the afternoon and her last nap is a quick catnap during dinner time.

Charlotte loves to match her sister.  Esther is not so sure...

She loves toys and everything is going in her mouth right now.  Once she gets a hold of a blanket, her rattle or burp cloth it goes straight into her mouth.  She has started to do this with the other kids' hair or Charlotte's blankie if it gets to close.  The big kids had to come to her check up with me and the pediatrician talked to them about keeping their toys off the floor so Esther didn't choke on anything.

Lounging at her older sibling's swim lessons. 

Esther has rolled over from belly to back one time.  On her back she rolls over 3/4 of the way, then is stopped by her elbow because her hand is ALWAYS in her mouth.  If she could take her hand out of her mouth I think she would finish the roll easily.  She has learned to cross rooms by scooting on her back.  She will dig her heels into the ground and lift up her bottom and scoot around.  She has moved from one end of the room to the other and we have to watch because she will get stuck against furniture or walls and get mad because she can't go the other way.

That bottom arm gets in the way every time! 

Evening snuggles with Daddy

Happy Birthday America

This week at story time the librarian explained The Fourth of July to the preschool age kids as America's birthday.  It was a great way for them to understand this holiday! 

We had a wonderful day as a family! After a morning of water play at home we headed out to a parade, had a picnic dinner at the park, and finished up the evening at an elementary school with fireworks.  We successfully navigated the fireworks with no tears and everyone loved the show! 

My Experience with Babywearing

I have had 3 carriers- a sling, the moby and the ergo

The Sling

Pros- small, easy to fit in a diaper bag, great for newborns, easy to put on
Cons- I was constantly checking to make sure the baby's chin wasn't touching his neck.  You have to buy the correct size and it is hard to gauge the correct size when you are pregnant. 

I had this one for Trey, but honestly he slept so well in his car seat that I didn't use it as much as the other ones.  I was also the most worried about how he fit in, but that could be that I was new mom so everything made me more nervous.  I wore it from birth until Trey was about a year (then I didn't really wear him again because I was already pregnant!). 

Moby Wrap- I had this for baby Charlotte and Esther.

Pros- Charlotte loved it, most like being in the womb, soft and easy to wash, I put it on before I go somewhere then when I get to the store I take the baby out of the carseat and put her in the moby.  It has much more back support than the sling.  One size fits all so if you lose weight after the baby you can just tie it around you tighter and it still fits.  I wore this for walks, going to the library with the baby and even apple picking when Charlotte was about 10 months old. 


Please forgive my exhausted look, this was the baby that didn't sleep :)  This is the moby with 2 week old Charlotte.  If I needed Charlotte to take a good nap when she was a newborn I put her in the moby. 

Esther in the moby at 2 months old.  She hated having her head tucked in so I always I had to hold her head.

Cons- For the newborn carry you have to tuck the baby's head into the fabric so it is truly hands free.  Charlotte did not mind this and liked being tucked in.  Esther hated it, even when she was fast asleep in the moby if I attempted to tuck her head in the fabric she would wake up and start screaming.  Also when you are out there is a ton of fabric to wrap around you so it is hard to keep it from touching the floor while wrapping. 

Ergo- Love this!! It is by far my favorite carrier of the three.  I have only had it for Esther, but I use it all the time. 

Pros- Great back support and easy to put on by yourself.  I can see how it would still be comfortable as baby gets older.  My  husband is willing to wear it if necessary (He wouldn't come close to the sling or moby:)  Esther loves it and she is not a fan of the Moby.  I feel very comfortable bending over wearing it as it is truly hands free, where as the other two carriers I always felt the need to keep one hand on the baby when I would bend over.  It also has a shade that you can pull over a sleeping baby to keep the head completely covered.

Cons- You have to get the newborn insert to use from birth-about 3/4 months.  About 3 1/2 months I stopped using the newborn insert for Esther because she had plenty of head control.  Trey had a very floppy neck so I probably would have had to use the insert longer for him.  Most expensive carrier.  The insert can be a bit warm, but if you are wearing baby anytime other than that hot summer months outside it is fine.  Plus if you have a newborn, you usually aren't outside for extended periods of time anyways.  Inside my house or a store I didn't find the newborn insert too hot. 

Esther in the newborn insert.

If I had to choose just one carrier I would invest in the ergo with the baby insert.  It is the most expensive, but I think it has the most longevity and is very supportive for the wearer's back and hips.  I thought about the K'tan breeze, but I don't know anyone personally who has a K'tan, so I was hesitant to buy it since I already have so many carriers :)  Also for help figuring out how to use each carrier there are tons of you tube videos!  Just search for the different carrier in you tube and watch the videos that demonstrate the different holds.  I found the videos way more helpful than the owners manuals. 

I bought my Ergo carrier and newborn insert off zulilly.com so I paid half the cost of it.  I don't know how often the Ergo is sold on zulily, probably every few months, but it is worth checking into.  I found the first 2 months of life I wore the baby all the time, even at home, just because it made my baby's sleep better and it was easier than sitting on the sofa holding them all day.  Once my baby's got out of the newborn sleeping all the time phase, I mainly use the carrier when I am out and about.  It is so much easier than lugging around the car seat or having to deal with the stroller every time I get in and out of the car. 

Family Blessings

I am so thankful the Lord blessed my kids with a wonderful family.  Not that Jay and I are great, but that they are supported by a network of grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins that love them unconditionally.  My favorite memories as a child involve my extended family.  I loved spending a week with both sets of grandparents in the summer, sleepovers with my cousins, and learning how to babysit by taking care of my little cousins. 

Charlotte and Nana

Grandma, Uncle Mark, Grandpa, Trey, Charlotte, myself and Jay

Charlotte and her cousin Jacob

 This past week we saw a lot of family.  At a bridal shower for my cousin I met a woman who was asking who all the different people at the shower were.  I tried to explain the different people and how we were all related and she was just in awe.  She kept saying, "That is so wonderful that you have so much family and you all live close together."  She wasn't in the car with 3 kids for six hours that evening so we could make it back home, but even with the long car ride I wouldn't exchange that time for anything.

Trey playing football one Thanksgiving with Uncle Mark.

Trey and his cousins Chandler and Halle

Trey and his cousin Nellie

My kids have grandparents on both sides that are still setting a wonderful example of a Christian marriage and raising a Christian family.  They spend weekdays with Grandpa and Grandma when I work.  The memories they are building everyday with their grandparents are priceless and ones I know they will treasure when they are adults with their own families.  Trey and Charlotte just got back from a week at Nana and Papa's house where they had so much fun and didn't want to come home.  They are constantly asking to have sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's house or Nana and Papa's house.  Both Jay and I's parents live in the house where we grow up so the kids are playing with our old toys and asking their grandparents questions about life when their mommy and daddy were little.  

Charlotte's baby dedication with both sets of grandparents

Besides just grandparents my kids have cousins.  One of the best childhood relationships to have is cousins.  I didn't have a sister, but I had plenty of girl cousins to grow up with.  We didn't fight like sisters might but we had all the positive aspects of a sister relationship.  I have a cousin that I see maybe every year or two, but yesterday as soon as Esther was awake she came and took my baby and just held her.  Even though I hadn't seen her in a long time, we are just as comfortable with each other as ever and want to love on each other's children.  My kids love their cousins in a special way and are building relationships that will last forever with their cousins. 

Chandler and Trey- 1 month old and 4 months old

Jacob, Trey and Chandler

Charlotte and her cousin Halle

Charlotte and her cousin Jayla

 The kids also love to ask about our brothers and what it was like growing up with them.  Jay has one brother and I have two.  The kids love their all their uncles and aunts and they think it is so neat to find out how everyone fits together in our family. 

Uncle Mark and Charlotte

Newborn Trey and Auntie Jill

Uncle Mark and Uncle Stephen changed Trey's diaper in the hospital.

When I was pregnant with Charlotte many people told me that best gift I could give to Trey was a sibling.  I have seen that truth in so many ways, but I also think one the best gifts Jay and I can give our kids is an extended family that loves them.  I appreciate the fact that even though we don't live in the same town as most of our family, we do see them very often and that we are all committed to making sure our kids have those family memories as they grow up. 

 

I realize I have very few pictures of Esther with her extended family. I have to remember to work on this the next time we get together!

It's Officially Summer!!

To celebrate the first day of summer we had some friends come visit for a swim in the creek.  Last summer the creek was too high to swim in because of massive rain amounts all summer.  This summer the weather is cooperating much better for swimming.  Trey and Charlotte had on their bathing suits and floaties for 4 hours before we left!  They love to be in the water.  Trey's favorite part was throwing the rocks and Charlotte's was swimming to each person in the creek.  Esther came in with me for few minutes and dipped her toes in the water.  Then she got sleepy and took a nap in her stroller along the bank while we swam.  We had so much fun with our friends and look forward to many more evening swims this summer. 

Charlotte found this swimming hat to wear. 

The creek is the perfect depth for the kids to be comfortable walking around or swimming. 

Charlotte was like a fish in the water and did not like that she had to stay near a grown up.  

It was great having friends to swim with! 

Esther slept for about an hour in her stroller. I guess all the fresh air wore her out! 

There was a rocky area in the middle of the creek that was perfect for skipping rocks.  

Sorry for the poor quality pictures.  I had to zoom in on my phone from the bank because I didn't want to risk my phone taking a swim in the creek with us!