Pages

Friday, December 7, 2012

Family Pictures 2012

Here are some shots from our yearly family photo session done on Mare Island in Vallejo. It was such a beautiful setting and most of the pictures were taken on the porch of a gorgeous old Victorian home (former military officers quarters).

Yes, Will is SMILING this year!!!

This kid actually turned out to be quite the model for the camera. Nevermind that I can't get him to do anything--the photographer could!! This picture is SO his personality!!

And this picture is SO Brooke's personality. Just a happy, happy kid.

Sarah started crawling very soon after this picture was taken. She was on the move!

Of course Daddy and I had to pose for the camera, too! I love the old brick building in this pic!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Crawling!!!!

I'm a little late posting this (I start every post like this, don't I?) but as of November 21st, we officially have a crawler! She seemed to crawl earlier than the other two and looking back at the baby books, sure enough, she is crawling a full two months ahead of both Brooke and Will. She has A LOT to keep up with, this little one! As the third child, she simple cannot be left out of any of the action!!

Other things to note this month....her teeth STILL haven't popped yet! She's drooling and slightly fussy and I'm sure they'll be here any day now. She stopped sleeping (well) through the night about a month or two ago but I wanted to get her past the 6 month growth spurt before I did any sleep training. We did the Sleepeasy Solution and within 2-3 days she was going to sleep all on her own and sleeping 12 hours at night. Ahhh....I like my sleep :) And so does she, apparently.

She's back to her good old sleeping self now. Our next step is to move her into the kids' room. First, Brooke needs to move into her own room. As of now, Brooke and Will enjoy sharing so much that she hasn't slept in her room at all! I guess if they all 3 want to sleep in one tiny room, I'll let them go for it. It's just a matter of time before they go all Lord of the Flies on me and start hurting each other :) I guess Brooke will figure out then that it's time to move :)


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

6 Months Old!

I've been a bit behind on posts but it's been crazy since school started! But I had to keep up on my milestone posts for Miss Sarah!

She is growing up before our eyes!! She is literally DAYS away from crawling and getting some teeth. Needless to say, all of these changes have disrupted her sleep in the past month. She was perfectly sleeping through the night at 12 weeks but for the past month, she's been waking up cranky around 4:30 again. Luckily she usually falls back to sleep most nights and doesn't need to be fed, but it's a bit on an adjustment since I was used to getting my sleep :) Ah, well. I'm sure it will pass after we get past this 6 month wackiness. She still takes (and needs) 3 naps a day including a 3 hour one, so I guess I can't complain too much.

The stats are that she is 18lbs, 10 oz and 28 inches long putting her in the 90th percentile for both weight and height. She's a big girl :) She just started eating solid food--her faves are sweet potatoes and pears. She really showed NO interest in solid food until last week.

We're about to (finally!!) invest in a fancy camera (not sure why it took THREE KIDS for me to decide we needed one!), so I'm sure I'll be posting lots of pics after that!!! I can't wait to start learning to take pictures with a **real** camera!!! The third kid might get the short end of the stick on a lot of stuff, but Sarah will have the best pictures of herself :) Plus, she doesn't protest when I put the camera in her face like the other 2!

Happy Half-Year, Sarah Marie!!!!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

4 Months!

I'm a little behind...Miss Sarah turned 4 months almost a month ago! But here are the highlights and lowlights from the month:

- She's in the 90-95th percentile for height. Crazy! But I did notice that she always out grows the LENGTH of her sleepers before the body part. She's 75th or so for weight. She's a chunk, but nothing like Brooke.

- She went through a short phase (about a week, seemed like a month) where she stopped sleeping through the night. A few nights I had to feed her. I forgot how much I enjoy my sleep. :) Luckily, it was over fairly soon!

- We tried rice cereal and applesauce with her a little after she turned 4 months, just for fun. As the pictures show, she wasn't a fan. I didn't start Will until 6 months, so I'm in no rush. Every once in awhile I will try, just to get her used to it.

- She's still a happy, smiley baby except when she's tired (every 2-2 1/2 hours) or when she's hungry. She's rolling a lot, grabbing at everything, "talking" and belly laughing at her brother and sister's antics! She's a happy princess.

He LOVES his Little Sister! I will bring her in to wake him up from his nap and his face will immediately light up. Without her, he is super grumpy after waking up!

Sometimes they love each other


Monday, August 27, 2012

First Day of 2nd Grade

At Brookey's school, 2nd Grade is a big year! In terms of academics and the church/spiritual part of things. Her teacher is one of those wonderful, tough-but-fair-everyone-loves-her-sort of teacher. She'll definitely be pushed academically. In April, she'll take her First Communion which she will prepare for in the next 8 months. It's such an exciting time. For all my friends who have had 2nd graders previously, they all say this is one of most memorable school years.

She was SOOO excited to start!!! Hope the enthusiasm continues when homework packets start next week :)


Will is starting a preschool curriculum at "Ms. Maureen's"--his new childcare/preschool on Tuesdays/Thursdays. He's gone there one day already and I swear he is already smarter. She makes me look bad :)

Won't be long until Sarah joins the "group shot"
This is the best shot I could get of her class & teacher

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Balance

Last school year, I worked 2 days a week at Brookey's small Catholic school teaching kids who needed a little extra help. I absolutely loved my job. However, I questioned my ability to to be sane enough to handle actually going to back to work with three kids.

If you asked me one month ago if I was going to go back, I would have said NO WAY, no how. I know people may see my situation from afar and think: "She works TWO days!! How can she not go back???" In my experience, most all of those people do not have three relatively young kids! I just could not fathom the craziness of having to balance everything I do at home PLUS trying to be coherent enough to teach two days.

Well, over the past month there have been several amazing things that have fallen into place (many of which I cannot explain except chalk it up to God's grace). So all the details aside, I am going back to work 2 days a week!! I almost feel like the decision was made for me in some strange way. All the stars just aligned and both Scott and I were amazed at how things just came together.

I did a "test run" of the whole going back to work situation last week when I had a few meetings to attend at school and it actually felt amazingly liberating. I could actually drink my coffee in peace, uninterrupted!! I got to socialize with my amazing friends/coworkers who are all awesome. And the best part--all my kids were happy as clams to break free from Mommy for a bit. I couldn't ask for a better situation--doing what I love, working at my kids' school, having amazing people caring for my kids and I get to use my brain a little :)

So right now, I feel like everything is in balance. I absolutely could not do anymore than 2 days and keep everything in balance the way I want it. Family ALWAYS comes first, no matter what. First and foremost I have to be able to have the energy to keep my family first. Things will be crazy, things would be crazy if I didn't work, too! Even crazier, I think!!

School starts tomorrow!! Bye bye summer....it was fun while it lasted...home with 3 kids all summer. Doesn't get much crazier than that!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Family Vacation to Tahoe!

We just got back from our very first "vacation" as a family of five! We went to Tahoe (stayed in Squaw Valley) and had the most amazing time. Honestly, MUCH better than I expected and the whole trip far exceeded my expectations in just about every way.

Sarah was a little angel and Brooke and Will had an absolute blast at the resort. The worst part of the vacation was the fact that we didn't have the foresight to stay longer!! We could have stayed another 3 days at least! Oh...and the laundry Monday morning....oh, the laundry....

The view from our room at the Resort at Squaw
The waterslide was definitely the highlight for all of us! Buddy even went down all by himself...not bad for a kid who got kicked our of swim lessons last month!!!

The beach at Sand Harbor in Incline Village. The water is so clear and amazing (and cold)!

Two of my friends happened to be staying there at the same time so Brookey got to play with her school friends! Here they are making S'mores.

Sarah was clearly unimpressed with the lake. She closed her eyes and passed out about 10 seconds later!

Me and Sarah at the beach/park in Tahoe City
Scott and crew in Tahoe City

The girls had to take a self portrait!!!Smile, Sarah!
We had silly fun in the photo booth at the arcade! Clearly, we don't know how to use a photo booth!!
So much fun--can't wait to go back!!!!!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Will You Accept This Rose?

I needed an excuse to get some of my girlfriends together so I threw a Bachelorette Finale party last Sunday!

We chowed down on Chocolate and Champagne cupcakes from Sift (Cupcake Wars Winner!!) that they customized to fit the party's theme. Each cupcake had an edible long-stemmed rose on top. So cute!

I also made the night special for the girls by customizing a "date card" for each one of them. When they RSVP'ed to the party, I secretly contacted each of their hubby's and asked them to plan a special "date night" for each lady. During each commercial break, I presented each girl with a personal date card and long stemmed rose from their hubby. They were so SHOCKED. I can't believe all of their husbands kept it a secret and I was able to pull it off. Needless to say, I have already gotten a few texts from my friends out on "dates," cashing in on their date cards.

Such a fun night!!!
Cupcakes, champagne and long stemmed roses..what more do we need??

Tiger Jr.?

Ok, HORRIBLE analogy! Maybe Nancy Lopez, Jr :)

Brookey went a Jr. golf camp last week here in Hiddenbrooke. I am shocked she even wanted to go, but I have to say I was quite pleased! We went to Play it Again Sports and bought her a putter and she was super excited about the camp before it started.

Quite frankly, I thought she would HATE it after the first day. Two hours at the driving range just hitting balls...and I didn't expect her to even HIT the ball!! She's had never even picked up a golf club before.

Well, low and behold, she absolutely loved it! Her coach said she did awesome and actually hit the ball straight and far (i guess "far" for a 6 year old).

Now she's begging for more lessons, so we'll see. I'm just thrilled she enjoyed herself! :)

Monday, July 30, 2012

12 Weeks!

Ahhhh....12 weeks old! Almost 3 months. Depending on who you talk to, they'll tell you different things about when babies start to "settle" into the world and things get easier. A lot of people say this time is around 12 weeks and boy, has this been true for Sarah! We went through some rough patches with her reflux, growth spurts and just general fussiness for a couple of weeks (of course, it SEEMED like a couple of MONTHS!). But now, it seems to be smooooth sailing (until teething or the next growth spurt happens!!)

She's evolving into an amazing napper. 4 good naps a day and 9-10 hours without eating at night. Bedtime is 7pm and she sleeps until I wake her up at 7am. Although we do wake her and feed her/change her diaper around 10pm before we go to bed and put her right back down. This "feeding" worked SO well with Will and really helped cut out the multiple night feedings.

Now that I have the routine down it's about to all change when Brookey starts school. It's sometimes crazy having all 3 kids at home at the same time, but I AM NOT looking forward to school starting. I really like having my own schedule and not being dictated by bell schedules, homework, spelling tests, school projects and early bedtimes!! She starts in exactly one month, so I'll be enjoying it to the fullest!!

Some fun facts about Miss Sarah at 12 weeks:

1) She talks, A LOT. I swear I don't remember the other 2 "talking/cooing" as much. I feel like I can actually have a conversation with her!

2) She smiles, A LOT. I get many of those heart-melting smiles pretty much every time I look at her!

3) She loves sleeping on her belly. 

4) She pretty much only cries when she's hungry or if she's been awake more than 1.5 hours. Thank the Lord that I read Babywise and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child otherwise I never would have figured out the 1.5 hour thing!!! Learned that one with Will :)

I have big eyes--i don't miss much!!!
Mommy having some fun dressing me up

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

I tried not to have toooooo many expectations of Sarah when she first arrived. I knew as a 3rd child, she'd have her own unique personality and I couldn't compare that to the other two. However, I did have two "expectations" which were: 1) Sleeping through the night by 12 weeks and 2) Being able to put herself to sleep without having to carry her around for hours on end or have her only be able to sleep in her swing or something like that.These are two things I learned with Will that are vital to keeping a happy home :)

Of course Scott told me NOT to set ANY of these expectations because "you never know what kind of baby you'll get." Very true. Once 11 weeks rolled around I began to feel disappointed that Sarah was still waking at night, and not really seeming to move forward with sleeping more hours at night. In fact, she was regressing.

She turned 12 weeks last Saturday, so of course that little stinker decided to start sleeping through the night the Friday night before her 12 week birthday! She slept about 8 hours that night and it's been 3 nights and she hasn't turned back. Last night she slept almost 10 hours. Yep, she's the princess--making me wait until the very last moment!!! Love her!

Friday, July 6, 2012

2 Months Old!

Sarah Marie is two months old!! She's really settling in and becoming such a joy to our family. Here are some highlights from the month:

- Her 2 month stats: 12lbs, 3oz (75th %tile); 24 inches (75th %tile); Head 14.5 (10th %tile!!). She STILL has a small head!!!!

- We figured out our sweet little girl is like her sister and Daddy and has acid reflux. The Dr. said it may be a temporary inflammation since issues only cropped up after her 6 week growth spurt. At any rate, our sweet angel turned into a screaming, vomiting mess about couple of weeks ago. The Dr. put her on a low dose of Zantac and within 24 hours I had my baby back! It was amazing. So happy she's not in pain anymore.

- She had her first "extended" outing on the 4th of July. We spent most of the day at a friend's house, then watched fireworks at 9:30. She lasted the whole day without a peep, even being passed around and with kids screaming all around her. She even stayed bright-eyed through the fireworks, although at 9:45, enough was enough :) She had everyone convinced she is a little angel....

- Well, she may be a little angel but she is not an angel the same way Buddy was an angel. She actually has opinions about things and will squawk and voice her opinion if she doesn't like something. She's major drama and will stick out her bottom lip when she's upset. She also doesn't just fall asleep at the drop of a hat. She likes to be rocked and talked to and cuddled. But once she's asleep, she stays asleep. I'm really learning to appreciate her "style" and not try to compare her to the other 2.

- I think she's getting pretty close to sleeping through the night. Right now she wakes once around 3:30 or 4:00. She used to wake at 1:30 and that feeding has slowly been pushed to 2:00, then 3:00 and just gradually later and later. So there is definite progress. She wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning, which is perfect for me.

Since we got the reflux under control, things are moving right along!!

She loves her brother and sister! Even if they are always bugging her!

Mommy's sad attempt to make me a girlie-girl

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A Pic for Daddy

Here's my first shot at getting the kids all together for a group picture. I think it turned out as best as I could get it!! We gave this to Daddy for Father's Day :)

I know I'll look at this picture years from now and just wish I could have bottled up the kid's ages and kept it. Brooke with all her toothlessness, Buddy and his pure goofiness and then there is Sarah and her innocence, totally aloof to what in the world is going on! Good times!

June, 2012


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

What's for Dinner?

I am shamed to admit that I have not cooked one single meal in five and a half weeks!! It's a feeling that is completely foreign to me, since I usually cook dinner 5-6 times a week.

Ever since Sarah was born, our friends have been making us dinner nearly every weeknight and bringing it over to us. This has been such a Godsend for us, especially after Scott went back to work and I was left to do it all myself without an extra set of hands.

Now, at five and a half weeks, I'm starting to feel a little guilty! Physically I am able to do everything, including some pretty intense workouts! I have been that way since I left the hospital! So the fact that people are bringing over home cooked meals every night is starting to make me feel a little helpless! Is it possible I look more helpless than I actually feel??? LOL!

I'm writing this post because my meal delivery service ends today and I am finding it funny trying to make a grocery list and think about what to cook. I'm lost. Also, because I am once again overwhelmed by the graciousness of the people that surround us. It never ceases to amaze me.

On that note...back to my grocery list. Hopefully I can remember how to turn on the stove...

Monday, June 11, 2012

One Month Stats

Miss Sarah had her one month Dr. appointment last week. She's weighing in at a hefty 9lbs, 8oz (50th percentile) and 22 inches (75th percentile). She's definitely grown a lot in these 5 short weeks! The funny thing is that her head circumference is in the 5th percentile!!! They told me in the hospital she had a tiny head...thus she was the one-push wonder!!! I find that amusing because from the looks of this picture, her head DOES NOT look small!!! :)

Anyhoo, not much else has happened. We've hit a few bumps in road the past week with regard to sleeping and falling asleep on her own. I'm reading a book called "The Wonder Weeks" and it says that each time a baby makes a developmental milestone, issues can occur. The first "big" milestone apparently happens Weeks 4-5, so I guess she's right on track to encounter some bumps! But we're working through them!

Friday was Brookey's last day at school. So today was our first day at home...all four of us! I was nervous how it would go, but despite Sarah having a really rough day, we did great! Brooke and Will (although they have their moments), are good helpers and just adore their sister. They also really understand that there are times I have to be with Sarah and I basically have to ignore them. They are both pretty independent and play on their own very well. I'm sure we'll have our rough days but so far it's been OK!!! We're taking it one day at a time!!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

4 Weeks Old!

Miss Sarah turned 4 weeks old this past weekend and she's chugging right along! I can tell she's growing because she no longer fits into newborn diapers!

This week we had our first trip to the pool. I was a little wary taking all three kids by myself but I can't stay home bound forever! Ya gotta do what ya gotta do! It worked out fine--she slept the entire time and we had a nice, shady spot. Gotta love the sleepy newborn stage.

Sleeping has been up and down this week. With every passing week, I keep hoping nighttime sleep with stabilize but it's still kind of all over the place. We're on a schedule/routine during the day and I wake her to eat if needed but she still sleeps a ton during the day which I think affects her nighttime sleep a little, especially this week. She's been lasting anywhere from 3 to 5 hours at night. Random. I'm not worried yet considering she's only 4 weeks! She needs the food right now.

She went through a growth spurt this week which was exhausting--up every 2 hours on the dot at night.  Luckily it only lasted a couple of days.

She's slightly more alert this week, so we tried the bouncy seat a few times. She's pretty content there for about 15 minutes. I also put her on the playmat for a few minutes. She still has yet to go in the swing.

Ready for church

Sunday, May 20, 2012

2 Weeks Old

At two weeks old, Little Sarah has beefed up! At her Dr. appt, she had not only gained back all of her birth weight, but added a few ounces, too. She is now 7lbs, 10oz.

I think it's strange when I tell people she's "14 days old." It seems like she's been with us forever! She's fit right into the family and we all just adore her so much...especially Brookey and Will. She's a pretty mellow, calm baby. She can sleep through everything which I guess is a great skill for a third kid...she pretty much has no choice! Aside from a night where she had a little tummy trouble, her sleep patterns have been good. She wakes up around 2am, then again between 5 and 6. She goes back to sleep after the 5/6 feeding until I wake her up to take Brookey to school. She naps most of the day and I wake her to eat every 3 hours. Right now, she just can't handle too much awake time. The swing, bouncy and playmat all overstimulate her, so we haven't used them at all.

A friend of ours came over this weekend and took a few pictures of her, so hopefully they'll turn out cute. I have never done newborn photos before so it was a fun experience. I just snapped these with my camera because I felt like dressing her up :) I have forgotten how fun girls are!!


Monday, May 7, 2012

Welcome Baby Sarah!!!!

She's finally here!! A SHE!! I have to admit, I can't believe "it's a girl!" But couldn't be more thrilled!! Sarah Marie was 7lbs, 6oz and 19 inches long. She was born at 1:35 in the afternoon after less than 3 hours of labor and one push! More on that later :)

Brookey is so excited to have a sister, she may have peed her pants when we announced it was a girl :) Buddy on the other hand, took a bit of time to warm up to the fact. My parents said he refused to look at the pictures we texted from the hospital and was quite angry when he found out the news. Then he screamed at Brookey for "making it a girl." Poor Little Boy.

However, after a day of visiting with her and now that she's home, he is just the best big brother!! Every time he sees her, he uses his little baby voice and says, "Ohh...baby so cute!! Tickle! Tickle!" It's hilarious. And he's being a great helper, without my even asking. He wants to get diapers and wipes and help feed her. I think he's found his nurturing side :) I told him today, "See, having a little sister isn't so bad, is it?" To which he replied, "No, it's not bad. She's so cute!" Preciousness!!!

The birth a joke--we went home when she was barely 24 hours old! I'll post her birth story soon--it's pretty short!!

Ready to go home at 25 hour old!
Big sis is SO proud!
Sleeping Peacefully

Sarah's "Birth Story"

As I write this, Sarah is just now 2 days old and we have been home since yesterday! What just happened?? Did I really just give birth??

As of mid-last week, Sarah was a "planned" delivery. I was contracting and all of my dialation and effacement stats were prime for a scheduled induction. I really wanted to go into labor on my own, was feeling fine and could have definitely been pregnant another week or so. However, I worried about Brooke and Will and where they would be, and how I didn't want to bother anyone in the middle of the night! I was also worried I wouldn't make it to the hospital in time :) So when my Dr told me he was on call at the hospital all weekend, I decided to put my mind at ease at schedule an induction so my parents could be here with the kids.

Induction horror stories are rampant (the "evils" of Pitocin, etc), however, my story is pretty darn rosy. I think mostly because my body was already primed and READY. Goes something like this:

9:00am: Check into the hospital
9:30-10:45: Fill out paperwork, read my celebrity trash magazines, Scott and I wonder if I'll be able to have a margarita by Happy Hour (5pm!). I think it's unlikely.
10:45: Low dose Pitocin started
11:15: Start feeling contractions, pretty painful!
11:45: Dr breaks my water
12:00: Holy crap, contractions every 2 minutes, pain!! Nothing THAT horrible. It sucks though, I'm not smiling anymore. Where's the epidural chick?!
12:30: Got the epidural...ahhhhh......
1:13: Nurse: "Maybe I should check you, your contractions are really close. You're 9cm...no wait....10!! Get the Dr!"
1:25: "Um, I think she's coming out..."
1:30: Dr. arrives, I push once and...
1:35: Sarah Marie is born

Zero "tearing" or stiches and I was/am in virtually no pain afterward--even after the epi wore off. The most pain was probably just the site of the epidural, but that's pretty much gone now.

It's only Day 2, but Sarah is a champ so far. Totally fallen into a 3 hour schedule (I have to wake her to feed her, though). Her first night home was good, too...she ate at 10:30pm, then woke up at 3:00 & 6:00am to eat. She makes all these funny little noises at night, so I think I'll have to move her away from my bed a little but I slept pretty well last night! Probably better than when I was preggo and certainly better than my night at the hospital.

I'm sure she'll "wake up" in the next few weeks and it will be more challenging, but right now, I am enjoying every moment of this newborn stage!! We're all so in love with her!!!

Monday, April 30, 2012

38+ Weeks: "Any Day Now"

38 weeks have gone by and at my weekly Dr. appt on Friday he said I was 3 cm and 100% effaced. He also said baby was super low. Although you can walk around with those "stats" for weeks, I think this baby will be here in the next week. The Dr said "any day" and to jump in the car at any twinge of a labor pain since I am 45 min away from the hospital with a history of fast labor. Ok-I'm not taking it that far (i've had more "twinges" than I can count!!!), but I'm pretty sure this will be a fast and furious labor!

Q&A this week:


1) So the preggo pizza didn't work??
Not completely! The night I ate the "labor inducing pizza," we were 5 minutes away from leaving for the hospital in the middle of the night. Had steady, 10-15 min. apart contractions from 9-12am. At 11:30pm, I showered and thought for SURE I wasn't going to make it to the hospital in time. After that, I was feeling so tired so I laid down for a minute. Well, I woke up 3 hours later to pee, so apparently it wasn't in "real" labor!! =sigh= I never had "false labor" with the other two or any type of contraction that wasn't the real thing!! This is just annoying!!!


2) What was up with the pregnant cowgirl look?
Don't ask! My feet are still swollen from those boots!!! Probably the only picture I will take 38+ weeks preggo, too! It was for the sake of my daughter's education :)

3) When's the next appointment?
Wednesday!

4) Are you having a boy or girl?
One or the other :)

Quick and Easy Meal Prep for Breakfast + Lunch + Snacks!

Ready for a SUPER quick and easy meal prep?! No joke, it took me longer to find all the lids to these containers than it did it prep my b...