elsie says

I wish I was better about jotting these down.  Because Elsie says something absolutely adorable or completely ridiculous every single day.  But here are a few I did manage to remember.

Me: "Oh my word Elsie, your diaper is disgusting. Why do you poop so much?"
Elsie: "I'm Poopalicious!" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that one.

running through the Target parking lot with a recently potty trained toddler...
Me: "How bad do you have to go potty?"
Elsie: "Bad.  Like two weeks ago!"

Ryann:  "Why can't she wear underwear on Tuesday?"
Me:  "She has school on Tuesday.  We should probably get a day under our belt before we send her off to school."
Ryann:  "Under our belt?  I don't even have a belt."
Elsie:  "Me either!"

Elsie:  "Honeydew? I don't like honeydew! I tried some, and it was good, but I don't like it."

Elsie:  "Oh hi Fee-uh! (Thea) Did you wake up from a beautiful nap?  Oh oh, don't cry sweetie.  I'm here.  I got ya." yes, my heart exploded from the sweetness

thea - four months

I'm not as late as I was last month with this post, so winning?  Lately there has just been no time for blogging.  Being present for my children is certainly more important, but I also believe being the keeper of our memories is also important.  I need to get back to it!

Four months!  Suddenly Thea is a legit baby and not just a squirmy lump of a newborn!  Seriously, in the last two weeks she seems to have changed so much.  More aware of her surroundings, better control of her body, more social.  LESS SCREAMING!  I love it.

We had Thea's well check on Monday (the 30th).  She weighed in at 15 pounds even and measured 25.5 inches long, putting her in the 78th and 90th percentiles respectively.  For comparisons sake, Elsie weighed 15 pounds at six months.  Strong work Thea, way to be a beast!  Just kidding, I know she is a big baby, but it isn't as if she is incredibly chubby or anything like that.  She just looks like a six month old.  Not a four month old.  She is still pretty solidly wearing 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers, though the life of those seem to be coming to an end.  Today she spit up all over herself, and the easiest shirt to switch out in the closet was a 6-12 month.  And it really wasn't big.  Sad!  Stop growing sweet girl!

Sleep is still all over the place.  Usually at night I'll get at least a 6-7 hour stretch.  I've gotten a glorious 8.5 hour stretch once, and occasionally it is as little as 4 hours.  And a few times she has woken up 30 minutes after I've put her down for the night and I've basically had to start over, but then she gives me the long stretch.  Ultimately she is up at least once in the middle of the night, and if her first stretch is longer she is up again in the 5:30-6:30am range, but usually still goes back to sleep after that.  And sometimes we are up for two hours in the middle of the night.  You just never know.  She likes to keep me on my toes.

Naps are pretty much the same too.  Every day usually consists of two to three short naps, plus a longer 2-3 hour nap.  Sometimes that long nap is in the morning, but lately it has fallen from 12-3 or 1-4.  Which means dual quiet time.  Which means WINNING in my world.  But honestly I just like that three hour nap no matter what.  However more and more I can see those short naps are really starting to wear on Thea.  I've also been trying to get her to nap in her crib here and there.  That is going well.  Actually not at all.  She hasn't lasted more than 30 minutes in there.  That combined with the fact that she nurses to sleep, and she tries to roll over in the rock 'n play, means we need to explore a more structured sleep training method.  I'm dreading it.  We've done it with both girls and it never ends up being as bad as I expect it to be.  But still.  No fun.

Thea nurses a lot.  Another reason why I need her to stop nursing to sleep.  Not so much because I don't want to nurse her all the time.  But because I don't think she is really hungry all the time, she just enjoys being soothed that way.  We've yet to find my pump (the movers did such a great job labeling stuff...), but when we do I am determined to get her to take a bottle so I can have a little bit of space.  And I just don't see how I can leave her with anyone with the set up we've got going on right now.  Not to mention she spits up a ton.  I don't think eating less often will really help that because I don't think she is actually taking in more milk.  I think she just eats less at a time.  But maybe it will help.  Who knows.  Truthfully nursing has become a touch annoying as Thea gets more curious about the world around her.  Nursing in public is pretty much a joke (or anywhere without the stupid boppy).  With or without the cover she is constantly popping on and off and incredibly squirmy.  Even at home it can be tough to get her to stay focused.  But I'm determined to power through.  At least for another two months.  If we get in to a better rhythm with sleep I don't think it will bother me as much any more.

In the gross motor skills department Thea is getting much better about pushing up on her forearms during tummy time, and is really gaining control of her head and upper body.  Still no real rolling either direction but she is definitely getting closer to going from back to belly.  Her only movement continues to be just rotating a little in each direction.  Thea has been more distinctly swatting at and grabbing toys.  When I am holding her she'll reach for my water or my phone.  And just recently she starting grabbing on to her feet.

Miss Thea has really found her voice this month.  She 'talks' all the time.  Falling right in line with her sisters no doubt.  When they get loud she gets loud right along with them, making sure that she is not forgotten amidst the chaos.  Having 'conversations' with her is so much fun.  I love watching her mouth move when she makes different noises, I wish I knew what was going on in that little brain of hers.

And her smiles.  Oh man.  Her smiles are still just the best.  A couple of weeks ago we discovered that Thea absolutely loves to stare at her own reflection.  She gives herself the biggest smiles.  It is just the cutest thing!  Another fun development this month are adorable little baby giggles.  Her best giggles truthfully come when she is on the verge of losing it because she is tired, so I'm not sure what to make of that.  But she definitely can laugh and I love it.

Something Thea hates is getting out of the bath.  Or shower rather.  But same idea.  She'll be in there all pleasant and enjoying the warm water, but as soon as you get her out she is beyond pissed and upset.  To the point you'd think she is in pain.  It is almost funny because she is so ridiculous about it, but really it is just sad.  This past month I braved sticking her in the tub with Ryann and Elsie, which they thought was absolutely awesome.  But the whole time I was worried they were going to dump water on her face and the seat takes up so much room that it just really wasn't the best set up.  It will probably only happen a handful of times before she can sit up on her own.  And at some point I bet Ryann will want to start taking her own showers anyway.

Right now our life feels like a tornado.  Things are happening faster than I can comprehend, the days feel chaotic and hectic.  There are definite highs and lows.  A third baby (and a threenager, Lord help me) changes the dynamic in so many ways.  But Thea?  Sweet girl.  I'm so glad you're in my life.  Watching you grow, learn, discover, it is such a privilege.  I wouldn't give that up for anything.  You and your sisters are a gift from God.  I love you.

thea's baptism

Every time I think I'll get back to posting regularly, all good sleep habits seem to go out the window.  Babies.  They're crazy.  So we're going to keep this short and sweet because truly there isn't much to say anyway!

Thea was baptized on October 18th.  She wore the same dress that both Elsie and Ryann wore, the same dress that my sister and I wore, the dress that my aunts bought for my mom when she was baptized.  So many girls on my mom's side of the family have been baptized in this dress, I absolutely love it.  In my opinion, our family doesn't really hold on to a lot of heirlooms or traditions.  So this dress means so very much to me.  I'm grateful to have it in the family and hope that one day my daughters will have daughters of their own who can also be baptized while wearing it.

The week prior to her baptism Thea had been taking a 2-3 hour nap in the morning, so I thought she'd be great for the 11 o'clock service.  Ha.  HAHA.  I can't remember how long she slept, 45 minutes?  An hour tops for sure.  So by the time we made it to the church she was a mess.  Chris spent the first half of the service out in the lobby with her.  He managed to get her to sleep (I think that was the last time anyone besides myself has gotten her to sleep!), and brought her back in for the baptism.  As soon as the water was poured on her head her eyes popped open.  And moments later she was back to tired and fussy.  So back to the lobby they went.

Ryann and Elsie were also incredibly well behaved.  Not.  Ryann wasn't too bad, but she had zero interest in standing with the family for the baptism, and wouldn't even sit with the other children in the front to watch.  Elsie climbed the steps and was jumping around.  So it didn't take long for them to return to the pews with Gramdma 'Nita.  And while we were trying to take pictures after the service Elsie slapped Chris in the face so he carried her straight to the car under his arm.  Good times I tell ya, good times.

Some day we won't be such a circus when we are in public, right?

thea - three months

Oh Miss Thea.  Dearest third child.  I am late with your post.  The pictures were taken on time, but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and write it out.  I swear I will never miss a month, I won't do it.  But that doesn't mean they'll be punctual!  I love you just the same, and if you didn't regularly feel the need to use me as a human pacifier, and if I hadn't spent a chunk of time watching baseball (totally worth it), I might be more on top of things.  :o)

No doctor's appointment this month, so I did my best to approximate her weight.  Based on my scale, minus a tad bit for her clothes, I'd guess she weighs in right at 14 pounds, maybe a touch over.  Ryann and Elsie didn't weigh 14 pounds by four months, so I'm still always amazed at how big Thea is.  We'll see if this is a sign that she will be the tallest in our family or something!  Which no, I didn't even attempt to measure her length.  I'm so bad at that.  Aside from a few things here and there, she is solidly in 3-6 month clothing, and wearing a size two diaper.  I still haven't really put shoes on her, so I have no clue what side she would wear.

Sleep has gotten better to some extent this month.  I've given up on anyone else getting her to fall asleep, and have also said screw it and just nurse her to sleep most of the time.  So I'm not near as exhausted from the little song and dance jazzercise routine I used to do every time she needed a nap.  But she doesn't really stay asleep in her car seat anymore (except sometimes when she does, and it is sitting on the kitchen counter and she still manages to nap for like two hours in the midst of our family chaos), and you never know whether you'll get a cat nap or a three hour nap, so planning a day is just kind of hard.  And when she is tired she is pretty much inconsolable, unless it's a boob.  A boob does the trick.

At night, for the most part we are getting a solid 6-7 hour stretch at the beginning of the night.  Before daylight savings she was sleeping from about 9pm-3:30am.  Then she'd sometimes be up for 1-2 hours (ugh) or go right back to sleep for another three hours or so.  The last couple of nights she's been in bed by 7:50pm, and woken up between 1-3am, then slept until 6:30am.  Thea is still sleeping in the Rock n Play in our room, but my goal is to switch her to her room by the end of the week.  We finally got shades on her windows so it should be dark enough in there for naps.  For now I'm just going to move the Rock n Play to her room, but if she does well in there for a few days, I'll brave the crib.  For some reason I feel like she'll take to it better than Elsie did, but I'm probably just trying to be optimistic or something.

It is nearly impossibly to catch on camera, but Thea is just so dang smilely (unless she is tired of course).  Her entire body smiles with her.  Chris can get the best smiles out of her, especially right after she wakes up.  Sometimes she seems like she smiles so hard that she loses control of her neck muscles and just has to bury her head in my shoulder.  Or it is some sort of shy move.  I have no idea, but man I love those smiles.  Just can't get enough!  No giggles or laughs just yet, but sometimes I think she is trying to.  She'll do this thing where she sucks in a bunch of air and it makes a noise, and eventually I think it will turn in to a laugh.

Thea has begun to really track sounds and try and figure out where they are coming from.  When she hears something loud or strange her eyes get super big and crazy and she whips her head around until she can zero in on the noise.  She is also really great and tracking objects and people.  She particularly enjoys watching her crazy sisters.  She is also stupidly good at tracking down screens.  It starts early!  I both hate it and love it.  If the TV is on she finds it, or if someone has a phone out, she zeros in on the screen.  But at the same time, if she is really fussy and nothing else is working, I can sway with her in front of the TV and she usually stops screaming.

She still spits up a ton, we go through like a million burp cloths a day.  Elsie has gotten great at spotting it and will yell at me "Baby Fee-uh is leaking!"  Haha.  I'd love to know what makes my babies so spitty.  I mean, I don't know any differently and feel like spit-up is a problem for a lot of people, but I know there are babies who don't really spit up at all.  Why?!?! How?!?! I'm so tired of both her and I smelling like sour milk.  Inevitably she always pukes in my hair on a day I actually wash it.

Even though she doesn't tolerate it for long, Thea is getting much better at tummy time.  She can prop herself up on her forearms and look all around.  Occasionally she'll make some sort of an effort to roll over, but it hasn't happened in probably at least a month.  She has started rolling to her side from her back, and if I give her a little resistance she can push over to her stomach, but she can't pull her arm out from underneath her once she gets there.  As much as I just lay her in random places while taking care of her sisters, I can handle little to no mobility for a while longer.  She does manage to pivot her body around on the floor, all the sudden I'll notice her feet are pointing a different direction than when I laid her down.  Lastly in the gross motor skills department, Thea has discovered her hands.  She regularly has her fists shoved in her mouth, and she'll hold one up in front of her face, staring at it like it is the most amazing thing she has ever seen.

This last month has had more good days than bad.  I can see the light at the end of the fussy new baby tunnel.  It's dim, and still a ways in the distance, but we're getting there.

Thea, I can barely remember the days that you weren't a part of our life.  I'm so glad you're here.

halloween 2015

Another year, another costume idea brought to life by my one and only amazing mom.  A while back I decided I wanted to go with a circus theme, and as we got closer to Halloween it only seemed more fitting.  We were going to make Christopher a concessions guy, but he wasn't able to attend the party we went to, so I said screw it and didn't put together a costume for him.  He was so disappointed, I promise.  Ha.

On the 30th my mom, Elsie, Thea and I went to Ryann's school to watch the costume parade.  Ryann was so incredibly excited, and couldn't contain it even a little bit.  I couldn't stop smiling because she was so happy.  After the parade Thea and I stayed for her class party.

totally missed the focus on that one, but I can't get over the look on her face :)

That night the girls and I and my mom went to our friend's annual Halloween party.  She definitely throws a good party.  An awesome face painter, a bounce house, great food.  It was a little chaotic with a baby who was really just ready for bed, and I wouldn't have survived without my mom, but I'm glad we went.  The girls loved getting their face painted as usual.  Ryann requested a rainbow brite zebra.  I have no idea where she came up with that but she was pleased with the results.  Naturally Elsie wanted to be a kitty.  No surprise there!

We kicked off Halloween morning with some monster donuts (thank you pinterest).  The bulk of our day was filled with errands and just hanging out.  A little after five we met our friends for a Trunk or Treat at their church.  Ryann was so funny, I told her we were going to a Trunk or Treat, and she got so mad.  "But mom I want to go Trick or Treating!!!!!!"  Once we got there and she understood what was going on she was rather pleased.  After we made our rounds through the cars, we got a little hay rack ride around the parking lot.  By then Thea was awake and wanting to eat so we went back to our house.  While I fed her Chris took Ryann and Elsie to hit up a few more houses.  Once we were done for the night the girls ate a bit of their candy, and surprisingly both of them more or less requested to go to bed.

All in all a good holiday!

fall fun

We had another stretch of not so great sleep (from anyone, I swear) plus a ton going on.  So I'm trying to play a little catch up over the next few days.  Or however long it takes me which is going to be forever and I'm never going to be 'caught up'.  Oh well.

As I started typing this I realized I never posted any photos from our Cider Days adventure (back in September!).  It was our first attempt at taking Thea to any sort of event.  I was nervous that she'd be a complete mess, but she did us a solid and slept nearly the entire time in the carrier.  There was camel rides, an exotic petting zoo, bounce houses, some food and a craft fair.  And cider.  But seriously.  Just cider.  No donuts, no slushes, no exciting cider items of any sort.  I was disappointed.  But all was forgotten when I ate a funnel cake drizzled with nutella.  Yummmmm.  We spent way too much cash, but had a good time, and it felt good to get out of the house and really do something.

Then a few weeks ago we headed out to the pumpkin patch.  It was no KC pumpkin patch, that is for sure.  But we went when it wasn't busy at all so that was nice.  I had high hopes that Thea would again sleep through most of the outing in the carrier, but no dice.  She absolutely could not stand the wind and was gagging and screaming like a crazy baby.  So we ended up grabbing the car seat and lugging her around until she passed out.  The big girls did a bounce house, a little train, and a giant slide.  Plus just some running around and getting dirty.  We snagged a wagon full of pumpkins, drank a cider slush (making up for the lack of one at a cider event!) and headed home.  Maybe next year we'll be up for the hay rack ride, but we'll just have to see!