Oh my! Where has the time gone? I can't believe that Lola is already 8 weeks old today! My little girl is growing up too quickly...but we are enjoying every minute of it. She really is the sweetest thing. And her brothers definitely think the same.
I'm actually surprised how easy the transition to 3 kids has been. Then again, Garrett is in school all day and Lola is still sleeping a lot. So talk to me in a few months and we'll see how well I'm faring.
So much has happened in the past two months. Not only did we celebrate Lola's birth on March 5th, but we also celebrated Isaac's 3-year old birthday on March 15th! And since Lola was only 10 days old, my mom graciously put on one fantastic birthday party for Isaac. Full of balloons, dinner, gifts, and a yummy cake and candles. Thanks, Mom! And Happy Birthday, Isaac! If I'm shocked that Lola is already 8 weeks...it's even crazier to think that Isaac is 3!!!
We officially moved into our new home (that we are renting from my parents) a week after having Lola, which we absolutely love! I was so nervous about "leaving the nest" (aka: my parents' home), since living there is all we've known since moving here. They are our best friends, our full time entertainment, and our source of comfort at all times. It was surprising how fast my mom fell into the roll of "mother" again, and I the "daughter." She took such good care of all of us...I knew I was really going to miss her. But considering the fact that our new home is exactly one mile from my parent's house, and after a small adjustment period, which also included a new baby and unloading WAY TOO many boxes, I think we are finally to a point that we can recognize a normal life again. We have our schedules down pat and everyone is good to go!
Here are a couple pictures of the new place...
Just looking over them again, I'm reminded how much work we've already put into the place painting, painting, and more painting. It being a brand new home made for a lot of white walls that were screaming to be painted! So paint we did! I think Jeff finally had to put my mom and I in "painting time-out!" as it seemed as though the painting would never end. But it finally did and I think it all turned out amazing! The house is not quite as large as our Dallas home, and for that I am SO grateful! We had to be a little creative as to where we placed all our Texas-sized furniture, as well as how I organized each closet, but in the end it works perfectly. And now I only have 2 bathrooms to clean instead of 4! And no stairs to climb!!! And did I mention the yard work? Jeff can literally mow the lawn in about 15-20 minutes. It's wonderful to have simplified our life tremendously.
A few weeks after Lola was born, my sister-in-law (and best friend) Natalie (married to my little brother, Kent) brought her two kids (Ethan and Ella) out from Sunnyside, Washington to visit us and Grandma and Papa. It's not an easy trip to make...as it takes 3 plane rides and over 12 hours to get here! So I so appreciated her willingness and excitement to come visit. And as always, it was so fun to be with her and the kids! Each of our first two kids were born around the same time: Ethan and Garrett are only 12 days apart and then Isaac and Ella are 3 months, 12 days apart. (Sadly, I was on my own this time around with Lola's pregnancy.) But even with a combined 5 kids, we had a wonderful time together and I missed her even before she left. We kept busy the full 9 days she was here, taking the kids to the park, the pier, the bookstore where Grandma loaded up each kid with their favorite books, the mall's playground,
and the MOSH (Museum of Science History) where we were able to experiment with all things Science (how bubbles are made, how magnets work, etc.),
play in the museum's play area filled with a huge tree house,
and an area filled with water where the kids experimented making their own dams,
meet a live box turtle and possum,
and even walk through a life-sized replica of the human body, starting at the mouth and finishing...well, you know how it goes. :)
We also went to dinner at one of the best restaurants Green Cove Springs has to offer: O'Charleys! (it's our favorite because kids eat free AND they have the 2nd best rolls ever...nothing can compare to the rolls at Texas Roadhouse!)
and visited The Landing in downtown Jax where we went to lunch right on the St. John's River.
And if that wasn't enough I had a huge to-do list I made sure Natalie knew I needed help with! She is, after all, the next up-coming Martha Stewart! There's been so much pressure (self inflicted, of course) to decorate the perfect nursery for Lola (come on, this is something I've dreamed about for years!)...and I knew I'd never get it right without Nattie's input, personal touch, and amazing eye for putting colors, patterns and material together. So I literally put Lola's room on hold, didn't buy a single thing for it, and waited until Nattie was here to help. And I'm so glad I did. I was not disappointed! She helped me refinish an old dresser/armoire that my mother-in-law had given me, which I love, but just needed a little updating. We painted it black to match Lola's crib and it turned out awesome.
Then, with Cassie and my mom's help as well, we all made the 2-hour visit to JoAnn's Fabrics and picked out the perfect combination of material for the drapes and bedding (thanks, Cassie, for finding the "main fabric" which is my favorite piece). And finally, I had Nattie take some pictures of Lola that we'll hang in her room. Although we are almost done, it's all still a work in progress. But don't worry, I'll post pictures soon. Thanks again, Nattie, for all your help! Love you! Miss you! Come visit again soon!
Another exciting event is that my parents and 20 other family members were able to travel to CHINA for 12 days. My mom, and sister Alison (who actually lives in Shanghai), worked with a travel agent in Utah and prepared the most amazing travel itinerary anyone could ever dream of. It took soooo much work, but paid off exponentially! We would have loved to have gone along with them, but having just had a new baby and a new move, it definitely wasn't possible this time around. So we've had to live vicariously through my family's stories and pictures...which you can find on my
mom's blog, my sister,
Alison's blog, and my sister-in-law,
Natalie's blog. Please take the time to read their travel journals...you WILL NOT be disappointed!
We also enjoyed celebrating Easter...with our 3 kids! Unfortunately we had to do it sans-Grandma and Papa George as they were still in China, but we had a wonderful Easter morning and did the best we could at getting a family picture after Church.
Sorry, Jeff...by the time we tried to switch out the parent in the picture, the kids were done for. Maybe next year.
And if the last two months weren't busy and hectic enough, I thought I'd throw in one more life-altering event...potty-training Isaac.
Looking back I honestly don't know what I was thinking! I didn't potty-train Garrett until he was 3 years 9 months!!!!! Embarrassing for both of us, I know. So with Isaac turning 3 in March, I wasn't planning on doing it until this summer, you know to give him (uh, me) some "more time." But with my parents out of town and "a lot of time on my hands (yeah, right!)," one day I just went for it. And I've learned that once you start the process, there's no looking back! I can't even tell you how many times I cursed myself for boarding this one way train! But even though there were numerous times I wanted to give up, I just kept thinking: if I can just get through this week, he should be good to go. And what do you know? He was! And we're done. Now we've got only one child in diapers...which is the way it should be. So here is a big congrats to Isaac (shown here with his potty-trained goal prize: "big Prime toy") and an even bigger congrats to ME!!!!!
And lastly, our April could not be complete without Jeff and I celebrating our 9th Wedding Anniversary! Yea for us!!! We were able to have a wonderful date-night, full of shopping at the amazing St. John's Town Center and dinner at my favorite, Cheesecake Factory! And most importantly, thanks to my mom, we were able to do it ALONE! NO kids were invited. For 4 hours we were in paradise...and then got to come home to heaven. Thanks again, Mom, for watching all 3 kids! I do have to say itt was entertaining to leave her with a long list of "this kid likes this" and even longer "to-do" list, but without fail, she was the perfect Grandma and the kids loved being with her as always. And to my "Love," thank you for a wonderful 9 years. It's definitely been a roller-coaster ride...but one I wouldn't want to take with anyone else. I love you more than I ever thought I could and am so grateful for all that you've given me...2 amazing boys, 1 little princess, and a father and husband I could only dream of long ago. Here's to another FIFTY-9 years!
As always, I've left you with a novel to read. So I promise it won't be as long next time around!
