So big!

Hurricane Irene

It was a hurricane alright.  A category 1, but enough wind and rain to keep me up all night, or was that the tornado warnings?!  Little Sister and I listened to the storm for quite a while.  10 hours without power, all night long, with the kids one the first floor, Little Sister in my arms, pacing, while Daddy tried to catch up on sleep from his last night shift.  It was a long night scanning the radio for the only station I could find out of Boston, checking the windows at every loud wind sounds just in case I could see a tornado, up and down the steps checking on the big kids who slept like rocks through it all.

Woke up at six this morning with our flashlights, all huddled on the bed with flashlights watching Jenna clap for the first time.  What a great end to the storm.  An hour later we had our power back and saw the storm moving away on the radar.

Praise God the storm is past and breaking apart!

Puddles

We ran an errand this cloudy morning and the kids work their raincoats, in case it rained.  Brother prayed in the car asking God to make it rain since he was wearing his raincoat and all.  It started pouring while we were in Lowe's, so I pushed the race car shopping cart out in the garden section letting the kids get soaked in their raincoats...they loved it!  It was also to show Brother that God hears our prayers (an illustration since it was pretty obviously going to rain today, but kids need those so that the bigger prayers are easier).

It rained again when we got home and we are just back from puddle jumping. We live in a very well drained area, but there was one puddle worth the jumps!

Little sister wanted to "jump" right in but had to settle for some belly laughs (which have been a long time coming) and big smiles from the stroller!

Happy puddle jumping!

Time marches on...

She started in reverse, but is willing to push forward for high tech toys like Mommy's camera, the remote and a cell phone!

I tried to get her to crawl towards her tower of nesting cups and she wouldn't.  Tank, our dog, got so impatient he got up from his nap and came over to knock it down!

and she's three

My little big girl is now officially three.  This does not seem shocking or new since she's sorta felt like 3 for a while.  She reminded us, every now and then, how very two she was with her temper tantrums!

My little tom-boy wannabe, who can throw down with her brother like nobody's business, has turned into a twirling, dancing, mommy-I-want-to-wear-a-dress, girly girl!  I love it when she says "No kiddin, get outta town!" when something surprises her and the way she totally and completely loves her brother and especially her little sister.  She affectionately calls her "My baby" as in, "My baby is crying, mommy go get her." 

I am so thankful for my sweet little girl!

getting wet

My kids like to announce when they are going to be shy...they were shy with the water at first, but quickly got over it!  Friends make it even better!

Little Sister

She's 6 months old today!

The girls

She rides!

She's sits!

5 months!

My littlest lady is 5 months old.  She is growing so fast and is such a cuddly bunny.  In fact, she's so cuddly she cries if she is not being held!  We have a moby wrap which she adores and she gets great joy out of watching Big Brother and Big Sister run circles around her!

She's not quite 5 months here, but this is the moby wrap.  She sits straight up now and looks all around.

She can sit with a hand on her back.  She has rolled from her belly to her back but doesn't like it.  She could probably roll from her back to her belly but that makes her reflux worse.  She screeches, blows bubbles and coos all the time...unless she is in her car seat, than she just cries.  Her smile and dimples are the cutest and her laugh, which is rare, makes me giggle too!

My 3 Lovelies

It was so nice today outside.  We walked to the store on the corner and Brother wore shorts...his legs looked so funny!  Little Sister is just getting strong enough for Brother to hold her, and he sure does love to hold her.

Big Sister has a fat lip from a fall she took.  It's healing alright and doesn't bother her when she eats, but she looks a little pathetic.

Little Sister wants to be sitting so bad, she can't stand it!

Ain't no April Fool's!

It's snowing at my mom's today.  April 1, two weeks into spring.

Tummy time

Cell phone pictures, blech!  I thought my other camera was broken, but it needed new batteries, if only I had some...

Little Sister is getting all the camera time because Brother and Big Sister don't really stand or sit still long enough!

Little Sister

Dad was trying to get all the names right in a conversation with Brother and he said:

"Dad, you can call them Big Sister and Little Sister, I'll know who you mean!"

(we don't just use brother and sister on the blog, we use them at home too!)

The Crayola Factory

Almost every morning my kids ask for a , craft.  I am not an especially crafty person, but I do my best.  We installed their very own boards to display their art.  A string with clothespins that hang just above their beds.

We had a great time at the Crayola Factory!

Tokens got the kids new markers and crayons.  It was more thrilling to put the tokens in and watch the markers fall...I don't think we've colored with them yet after three weeks!

Of course the baby needed to eat and coffee got spilled and we were five minutes into the trip, but Grammy and the kids colored with special markers on black paper to make designs appear!

The baby bounced around from person to person, landing on Daddy for most of the trip.  The Crayola Factory brings out the kids in all of us!

I never really thought of all the things that Crayola makes such as; crayons, play dough, model magic, paint, chalk, things that glow, glue sticks, colored pencils, and the list goes on.  We saw how markers and crayons were made, we even got some "hot off the presses"!  I thought it was neat that the paper around crayons is held together by cornstarch and water.

A teaser!

I know I've been remiss in posting...here are some recent pictures until I get time for a longer post!

Brother

I told Brother that he has three girls to take care of and three girls to take care of him.

He thought about it for a while and said..."No, I have two girls.  Sister and baby sister."

I said, "What about me?"

He said, "You're a grown-up."

Enough said.

The latest model

November 17, 2010

7 lbs. 11 oz.

20 1/4 inches long

 

The baby

Well, she's due in five days!

Hope she comes a little sooner, my ribs would appreciate the relief.  Brother and Sister are ready to see her and Granddad comes on Tuesday.

Hooray!

Being 4

Brother is continuously frustrated with being four.

He's too small for things like "helping Daddy get the sick people well," stirring things on the stove, having the patience for a little sister (soon to be two little sisters), swinging by himself, and reading.

He's too big for things like sippy cups (because that means the cup stays at the table), bucket swings (because Mommy can't lift him), and riding in the stroller.

We get one or two meltdowns a day on average.  One just occurred the other day.  It involved Sister and her babies (see previous post) and Brother's need to establish rules and for everybody else to play by them.  As he sat on the step next to me, wailing, I told him he needed to calm down so we could talk.

His reply: "Mommy, sometimes you just need to find the end of your cry.  I haven't found mine yet."

New addition

Haha!  Not the baby yet!

Sister is collecting baby doll toys that will mimic Mommy and Baby when she comes.

So far she has a baby doll pac 'n' play, stroller, high chair, bottles, diapers, cradle, potty seat, diaper bag and wearable carrier.  Her newest addition came from a yard sale today:

She likes her some baby dolls!