The things we do for this!

I just couldn't resist this. I realize that this is more for me than anyone else. And maybe a little for the grandmas and grandpas, but it is just so sweet and cute that I had to show it off. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ignore all my loud circus sounds in getting Ellie to giggle. Ohhhh. . . the things we do!

Happy 31st!

Happy Birthday Jason!

On Sunday, Jason turned 31 years old. He was EXHAUSTED! Jason has been working a lot the last few months and this weekend was no different. He worked all day Friday, all day Saturday and night, and then again on Sunday. He got home at 12:30 pm, just in time to get ready for church! :) I told him to stay home and SLEEP, but you all know Jason. He went to church. So, after church he rested a very short few minutes and then ate dinner. Then we had a few friends over for cake.

Jason was so tied he was not too excited, but he cheered up after a few minutes. And. . . he got a very fun birthday present.

So, here it is. With love from all of us. Thanks everyone for chipping in. He loves it. (We all do!! ) And thanks to Libby and Jeff for loading it up with so many great songs and shows.

Sugar Cookie Heaven!

You all know of my deep devotion to cookies. And lucky me I have passed it on to my boys. Especially Jackson. He loves them almost as much as I do. And so lucky us. . . a wonderful new friend has moved to Pittsburgh named Libby Miracle. Libby has become my other half these last few weeks. And I have loved every second of it. So have my boys. They wake up asking about her. Should that hurt my feelings? :) The other day, Libby invited us over to her house to make sugar cookies with the boys. She has that very fun and cute set from William-Sonoma cookie cutters. Trains, buses, planes, rockets, cars. And the sprinkles to match. Jackson was in HEAVEN!Libby let the boys do so much. Actually, Noah mostly wanted to just walk around with the cookie cutters while Jackson and Libby were busy at work in the kitchen. And then Noah was focused on eating the cookie dough. My blood flows thick through his body! :)One of the best moments of the day was thanks to Jackson. Libby was getting all ready to roll the dough. The cutters were out and Jackson and Noah were so excited. It was finally time!!!! They were grabbing at the different ones and Jackson of course thought he needed to hold all of them. Even if that meant shoving a few under his neck. You have all seen him master that trick at practically birth. I have no doubt that he could carry around 15 cars at once, using his hands and neck. Easily. So, in all the commotion of grabbing and snagging, Noah seemed to have taken hold of a cookie cutter that Jackson had already taken dibs on. First, is was anger, then quickly tears. He has mastered that trick as well. Not cute! And then Noah decided he was done tormenting his brother and gave the cutter back. Jackson follows with this. "Ohhhh Noah. He is such a cute giver-backer!" Libby and I looked at each other and started laughing out loud. It was a classic one that I will not forget. If you can hear Jackson's voice in your head, then you should be laughing too.So, after a long process of making delicious sugar cookies, and no naps, we headed home. I am sure Libby was thankful to have it all end. Talk about a dose of birth control. Noah with no nap=NIGHTMARE! There is nothing more to say about that.We drove home, (Libby lives only a few blocks away) and got ready to have the babysitter come over while Jason, Libby, Jeff and I all went to PF Changs for Jason's birthday. It was great.Thanks Libby for having us over. Sorry about the mess we made, and the screaming 2 year old and the crying 3 year old. That will teach you to invite us over. :) Jackson is still talking about that "special day at Libby's." We are so glad you live here!

Chow time!

Well, Ellie had her first bit of heaven today as she got to try rice cereal. Not my kind of heaven by any means, but for someone that has a very controlled palate, well, rice cereal might just be like a giant bowl if ice cream to me. :)

She loved it. We were a little messy, but she got it all down eventually. And it amazingly didn't find its way into her neck rolls. Eww sick.

We decided to start her now because the last couple of weeks she has been waking up in the middle of the night. Let me clarify. Middle of the night to me, and I am RIGHT, is any time before 6am. Even 6am is pushing it. So, when Ellie wakes up at 4am, NO GOOD!!!! The Dr. told me I could let her cry it out, and if the rice cereal doesn't fix this, the poor little girl is not going to be happy. I hate the thought of letting her cry, but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do! And she weighs PLENTY to sleep all night long. But when is it that they can go a full 12 hours? Why can't I remember anything about babies? It's not like I took a big break once I started having kids or anything. :) So, any of you that have some words of wisdom in this subject, please fill me in. I feel a bit silly asking since I know what needs to happen (cry it out), but I guess I need some reinforcement.

This is not what the post was supposed to be about. So, back to the cereal.

It was runny, and she loved it. And now I am going to get the high chair out and begin that whole thing again. I hate cleaning those.

I went to look at a new double stroller today. What do you all like. I have the Combi side by side, but am not happy with it anymore. Where the heck is a cup holder?!!! Buggin. Does anyone have the Graco Duo Glider? I think it might be pretty good for me. But that is what I thought about the Combi.

The big 4 monther!

Today was Ellie's 4 month check up. And I can assure all of you that I did not take the boys with me this time. Refer back to my "Serenity Now" post. I wised up and arranged for Nadia, the worlds best babysitter to come over. Love her! So, Ellie and I went to the appt and she was perfect. Here are her stats:

15lbs. 14 ounces. . . 90%
27 inches long . . . off the chart
42.3 cm. . . 75% (head circumference)

Ellie is rolling over on her left and right. Not from tummy to back. Unless her arm is stuck and it forces her back to her back.
Smiles incessantly
Has a hearty belly giggle (which usually requires me doing a circus act)
Sucks her hands whenever possible
Enjoys riding in the car, especially if she can see someone sitting by her
Sleeps from 8pm until 6am. And then back until 7:30-8am
Takes 2 naps a day. Morning nap is 1-2 hour and the afternoon is 2-3 hours
LOVES bath time
LOVES her brothers. Noah can't get enough of her. And Jackson is very proud of her.
Talks all the time
Watches Baby Einstein (aka baby crack)
Sits in her exersaucer
Doesn't love her swing
Loves to be in her Baby bjorn
Is still nursing, with a bottle or two every day
Wants to be held as much as possible
Likes to put her fingers in mommy's hair
Has enough hair to make a curl on top :)
Is wearing 3-6 month clothing. But not for long.
And has small feet. . .for a such a big girl! :)

I do realize how old the pics are, but I am feeling a bit nostalgic thinking that she is already 4 months old. So I picked these ones to remind me that she is still my little baby. :)

The light at the end of the tunnel

Well, I think I have finally seen the light. For Jackson that is. Today was a hard day for me. Not the first half. But from nap time on it was a disaster.

Originally I was supposed to go to the park with a couple of girlfriends. Libby showed up at 11am, and since Ellie was still napping, she said she didn't mind waiting until she woke up. When she woke up we went to get in the car and Libby couldn't find her keys. We searched everywhere. And come to find out, I had them in my bag. Along with MY keys as well. Opps. I thought for sure Noah had taken them somewhere. So, on the way to the park, we stopped to get some lunch at Great Harvest (my idea. . . shocking I know.:)) and by the time we got to the park we couldn't see our other friend anywhere. Libby called Jodelle and found out that after waiting over an hour for us she left. It was ALL my fault. I felt so bad. So, I called Jodelle and we all met back at my house to hang out. It was fun. Aside from Noah getting bit (I think). We are still trying to work on the communication thing. And then all the kids were ready for naps.

After everyone was gone, my boys decided they were STARVING. (I did make them lunch, but they wouldn't eat it.) Clearly it was a stalling device. And it only made me more and more upset as the begging and whining continued. "Please Mommy. I'm starving. Just one more yogurt. . . . blah blah blah." That was Jackson. Noah was more like this, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! GEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" All while slamming his body around. And those noises were in the highest decibel you can imagine.

Up the stairs we went. I was mad. And poor little Ellie was just bearing through it all. :(

When I put Noah in his crib, he continued to freak. And Jackson just covered his ears with the pillows. I went to put Ellie down and she fell right asleep. But soon woke up to Noah's outrageous screaming.

I went in the room to settle him down but it only made things worse. And I tried all tactics. Screaming back, threats, sweet talking, love, cuddles, scary faces. You name it, I tried it. But remember the days when we would start crying, turn into a monster and lose ALL control? That is exactly what happened.

So, I removed Jackson from the room and put him to sleep on my bed and closed the door. I then sat in the bathroom with the fan on and tried to escape it all. Any of you that have seen my house and the size of it know there IS NO ESCAPE!!!!!!! So, after awhile, I went to read a book. Noah was still freaking.

Finally Jason came home. Dinner was ready. Banana bread in the oven. And after I cleaned up Ellie's MAJOR blow out (up to her arm pits and covering her back and the swing seat) she had another bath and we ate dinner. But before we began, I informed Jason of my day and the lack of happiness it was for me. He had a little talk with the boys. We'll see if anything changes. I seriously doubt it. But. . . here is where I can see the light!! Was everyone wondering when I was going to get to the point?

Part of dinner was a side of veggies. Noah LOVES to eat veggies. So we always have them for him. And the last year or so I have completely given up on expecting Jackson to eat them. Too many lost battles over that one. But tonight was different. I was still a bit on fire if you know what I mean and told him that he WAS going to eat them. And he did. Scary mom works after all. :)

Jason and I had told Jackson that when he is 4 years old he will have to start eating fruits and vegetables. But the tables have turned!!! I am a new mom with a new son. :) I will let you all know how long this actually lasts. But for now, I can see the light! Who knew having a child that eats his food can make you so happy?

Nothing much

I really don't have much to say, but have been feeling some pressure to update my blog. I have to admit, I still check every one's daily, and feel the same disappointment when some blogs are still dating back to July. You know who you are!!! :)

This weekend has been fun. I had a wonderful girls night out last night. Shopping, dinner and then a movie. It was more of a girls afternoon/night. Jason was post call so it worked out perfectly. Aside from the fact that it had been 9 hours since I had last nursed Ellie and had another 6 to go when I walked in the door until she would wake up and want to eat. I was pumping almost instantly as I walked through the front door. And lets just say, my milk is so NOT drying up.

We saw Becoming Jane. It was very good, and also a bit sad. And long. (The long part may be coming form the discomfort I was feeling as my milk continually came in every time I switched positions in my chair.) Which I know is nothing to my extremely pregnant friend that sat on the side of me. She is dilated to a 5 and 100% effaced. And walking around as if everything is normal. We also had the pleasure of sitting 3 rows from the front. That was a treat. One that I haven't had the joy of since I think I was 7!!!!! I had to roll my eyes back and forth to catch the whole scene. Lucky for me there weren't too many action packed adventures in this one.

Speaking of action movies. Jason and I went to see the Bourne Ultimatum last weekend and it was great. The camera was shaky, but I really liked it. So, Jason and I got seated and Ellie was with us too. The first sound she made I quickly began nursing and planned to spend the movie doing just that. She was wonderful. The young man (or pervert) sitting in front of us turns around and says, "She was so good. Not a peep out of her." I said, "Yeah, she was nursing the whole time." and he said, "Yeah, I am going home to nurse too." And smacked his girlfriend on the butt.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!!! Jason and I sat there is silence. Our faces all squished up in amazement. Who says that? Barf. I did give a courtesy laugh because I really was caught off guard. Normally, anyone who knows me knows it would have taken all my strength to bite my tongue, but I think I started dry heaving instead.

So, back to last night. After the movie we all hung around on the corner and just talked about the usual. Birth, husbands, shampoos (lol), clothes, and OF COURSE. . . . .Eclipse. Is everyone loving it as much as me? Wow. I have loved reading those books. Very entertaining. And easy. Which is why I love them. They are so light. Well, sort of. I did have a few nightmares when I was reading Twilight. Jason was on call and so I was all alone and fearing vampires. They are fake right? Ha. Which is why I am up at this late hour. I read Eclipse and to avoid another restless night of werewolves and vampires I had to put the book down and do some blogging.

And that is my update. Nothing funny or exciting. Just my day to day. Not really day to day. I wish GNO was a day to day thing. But Jason has reminded me so often that the money tree I live off of DOES NOT EXIST!!! :)

Tomorrow is church. I wonder if I will be getting a new calling since the one I have now is moving to a different building. I was supposedly working with the Spanish group as the Relief Society leader. But seeing that I had a baby and that I pretended to not know it was my calling, (kidding. . . kind of), I am pretty sure I will be getting released. :) So, another day awaits me that I have to get up and make breakfast and then clean up all the spilled milk.

The pictures are just for fun. Clearly not anything I have talked about. Although, that pic of Noah asleep on the table is a classic. Just one day with no nap and that is the outcome. Or maybe he was faking it so he wouldn't have to eat his left over chicken nuggets. Whatever the reason. . . it meant early bedtime!!!! I carried him upstairs, changed his diaper and put him in his crib. All without even so much as cracking an eye lid. The skills of a mom. :)

Attention Attention!

OK, this is for LISA, SANDY, JOCELYN, and ADRIENNE. I tagged you all last week. What the heck!? Aside from Lisa being a little confused about what it means, there is no excuse. HAHA!!!! I'll be waiting. And I want to add WHITNEY as well. Can I even do that? I guess I just did. About Sweet Home Alabama as my #1? Those movies are in no specific order. Jason and I went and saw the Bourne Ultimatum and it was pretty good. Minus the shaky camera. Did anyone else notice that?

To the park!

So, today we went to the park to get a little exercise in and it was HOT HOT HOT. It was Jackson and Noah in the double jogger, Ellie in the bjorn and me all sick and sweaty. I met up with a friend there (we both just had our third baby and are desperately trying to loose a little extra baggage if you know what I mean).

As we were walking Debi, my friend saw a furry caterpillar and wanted to share that with her 5 year old daughter. Ewww. I backed away so they could do that little moment by themselves. Anyone who knows me AT ALL knows I H-A-T-E bugs. And especially spiders. I can not believe I ever played in a creek when I was little and caught crawdads. That is so nasty. (I just called Jason, he is at work tonight as usual, to ask him how to spell "crawdad" and he goes, "You know what those are?" And I said, "I am so sure. YES." and he again questions me, "Those little lobster type things?") And then a little throw up came into my throat! So, once again, I can not believe I ever touched them. Back to the caterpillar. When we stopped to look at it, the heat set in and I could feel the wet dripping down my back. I had to get Ellie off of me!

We finished our walk and when I took her off, my tank top was a perfect outline of her squished up body on me. A little cute I know. But also too sweaty for my liking!

The kids played on the playground there and then we went home. We stopped at the gas station to get our fix for the day (aka diet coke) and then went on. Debi has three little ones like me. So, she sat in her Odyssey while I ran in and then I did the same for her in my odyssey.

For any of you that wonder why we wold go to a park to walk, well, refer back to my "Rained Out post and you will see that all of Pittsburgh is made of big hills. And like I said there, or at least was thinking, it is no good walking with all those kids up the hill. I guess if I did do that I might not have such a hard time getting rid of some of this weight. :) But I love the challenge!!! HAHA. And the park is ALL flat. That's right. . . FLAT!!!! And heaven sent. :)

So, what I am saying is that it was hot and sticky today. This humidity can really feel gross and even a little on edge. On the way home, I looked at my arm and saw thousands of little grains of salt. SWEAT SALT! (I have to admit, I licked my arm just to see). :) Salty. Thank you Pittsburgh.