Photo Contest

How much would I love to win this photo contest? So much! Aren't her pictures wonderful?

Teeball

The last several weeks Charlie has been doing a teeball skills class "Busy Bee Teeball" at the community center. It is obvious that Charlie is one of the only kids who doesn't go to preschool as he can't seem to figure out lines or roll call. But, it is pretty cute. These pictures would make you think he was super focused on teeball but really he is super focused on showing off for whoever is watching that day and running laps around the gym. Della and Caroline join me each week and Della is Charlie's biggest cheerleader. She often runs out in to the middle of the gym to give him big hugs. Even if he doesn't get to hit because he can't stand in line long enough to get to the front. :o)

Potty Trained!

Could it be true that my little baby girl is old enough to be potty trained? It is true. She is growing so fast. Today she told me she was coloring "to get ready for kindergarten". Thankfully, I still get to keep her at home for a couple more years. But, after moving Caroline to cloth diapers and suddenly having twice as many diapers to wash, I decided it was time for this little bug to move in to big girl panties. We did the three day method, which was new to us and it worked wonderfully! Click here for the details on it if you are interested. The first three days were HELL! She peed all over the floor for three days straight. Then, on the fourth day we stopped pumping her full of liquids and she stopped having accidents. We've had a couple accidents here and there but for the most part she is trained! Even for naps and nighttime. As you can see from the pictures, she hasn't totally mastered pulling up her panties by herself.

Boston

Last week we went to Boston for a long weekend to visit our friends Jake and Kylee and my cousin Leanna and her kids. We figured if we wanted to do a trip this year, now was the time. It's hard to leave when I'm nursing and newborns are so easy to travel with. Anyway, we had a blast and got to see lots of fun Boston attractions. Some of the highlights for me were Minute Man National Park, Mike's Pastries and Old North Church. I'm pretty sure that Brett's highlights were quality time with Jake (his first love before me), Texas Roadhouse and getting to watch ESPN on the airplane. Caroline's favorite part was getting her mama and daddy all to herself for the first time ever. Here are some pics from our trip.

Caroline meeting her cousin's Alistair and Sofia. How cute are they? It made me kind of sad to not have Charlie and Della there to squeeze in this chair.

Our first Red Sox game. I'm such a fattie right now, as you can see!

It was so sweet of the whole stadium to sing "Sweet Caroline" to our little sweetie during the eighth inning. Or do that every game? :o)

These two are trouble. Don't worry, we didn't let them go on the subway all by themselves with the babies. We were chaperoning.

Caroline really liked the brewery tour at Sam Adams. She didn't believe that I used to be in the beer business. She thought I was always in the milk distribution business.

An obligatory picture of a sweet old building in Boston.

Lobster Roll and Chowdah in Quincy Market? Of course.

Brett really enjoyed the lobster roll. Can you tell?

Who is this chunky baby? Could she be this big?

Me: "Brett, please pose with the Mike's Pastry box for the blog."

Brett: "Grrrrrrrrrr. I hate that blog."

This is what was in the box. I almost died when I ate the cannoli, it was that good. I thought I was going to puke but kept eating it anyway. It could not be wasted.

I just love the old buildings in Boston. Enough to risk my daughter's life to hold her up in an awkward position for an interesting photo of their rickety old streets in the North End.

"You have a baby, in a bar." Caroline really needed a black and tan and a shot of Jameson before she boarded that plane back to Seattle.

Speaking of planes, she was a perfect traveler. Brett and I actually loved the plane ride because we got to watch cable channels and snuggle this little peanut.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Happy 4th Birthday Charlie! My baby boy, you are no longer a baby, are you? I'm tearing up just looking at your sweet face in these birthday party pictures. Where did the years go? Everybody told me it would go fast. They were right. It has been an amazing four years. I have been brought to my knees continuously as God challenges me in raising you. He has taught me patience, love, and discipline. Every challenging moment with you has been a redemptive one for me. I thank God that you are the gift he gave me to humble me and teach me his love. I look forward to the years we have to watch you grow and learn. Please know Charlie that I love you more than I can put in to words. Even when I fail terribly at being your mama, my prayer everyday is just to love you better. You are the toughest little guy I know Charlie. Your smile and laugh are infectious. You adore your sweet little sisters. You want to be just like your daddy. You are wise little man. Your sisters and your dad are the best things you've got in this world. Your mama loves you Charlie. Thank you for blessing me with four beautiful years. My prayer for you, Charlie, is that your strength will be in the Lord not in yourself. May he use you and your strong spirit to glorify himself.

Psalm 18:1 O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,and I am saved from my enemies.

My Babies

Who are these big kids and what did you do with my little babies? I hardly recognize Charlie and Della anymore. They are so grown up!

Tulips

We are here, we are still alive! I really miss blogging. To be honest, I just miss doing anything. Having Caroline has been such a blessing and going to three has been our easiest transition but our time is very limited. It is all kids, all the time. And sadly, I haven't had much time to blog. Brett's brother and sister-in-law are visiting this weekend and that means lots of help with the kids and lots of fun activities. Today we saw the tulips and played in the mud a bit. Can you believe how big Caroline is getting?

Birthday Party!

Here are some pics from Della's 2nd birthday party. It was obviously Barbie themed. Mama Sue made a Barbie cake. The kids were so impressed when they saw it that Charlie said "I like that cake. Will you make me a Ken cake for my birthday?" Poor Caroline, we made her wear a feather hat to match her sisters. She was not impressed with the feathers in her eyes.

Happy Birthday Della!

Dear Della,

Where did two years go? On Saturday we celebrated your 2nd birthday. I can't believe you aren't a baby anymore. You are already a big sister! You have brought such joy to our family this year. We just adore you. A day doesn't go by that somebody doesn't look at you and just say "Isn't she the cutest?". You have the most bubbly, fun, outgoing personality of anybody in our family. You pretend to be shy but you aren't at all. You talk non-stop and use such full sentences and phrases. I think your vocabulary is better than mine. It has been so amazing watching you grow and seeing the differences between raising you and your brother. Disciplining you is a piece of cake compared to your stubborn big brother. However, the drama and emotions are a new part of parenting I'm still trying to figure out. I love the way you laugh at life Della, your love for food (you got that from me) , how much you adore your big brother and the way you already mother your baby sister. Your curly blond hair brings a smile to my face everyday and those big gray eyes of yours brighten up our house. This will be a fun year for you. You will learn to ride a bike (your birthday present), figure out how to be a middle child, and hopefully learn to learn to sleep through your brother's 6am tormenting. I wish I could freeze time most days and capture your funny comments, loud outbursts and bouncing curls. I know someday they will be just a memory because the years pass to fast. I thank Jesus for you sweet girl and look forward to spending your third year of life with you.

Love, Mommy

The Big Kids

I've taken to calling Charlie and Della the big kids. We didn't want you to think we'd forgotten about them so here are some pics from a snow day last week. Della did a great job dressing herself, don't you think? And here is one nap picture so you know what we've been up to. We've been taking lots of family naps. :o)