3 Little Ones List

People are always asking how it is with 3 kids and whether the transition from 1 to 2 was harder or 2 to3.  I don't know...it is all hard but kind of a good hard.  Parenting is hard...harder than you would ever expect but when I say it is the "good" kind of hard I mean...in the end I know it is making me a person who is more dependent on God and less dependent on myself.  So, here is my list of things that I have learned/realized since having three little ones:

1.  I am one of those "late" people now.  You know, the ones you can always count on showing up 15-60 minutes late.  Yep, that is our family.  Kind of humbling

2.  I cannot do it on my own. 

3.  Planning the night before is no longer a "good idea" it is a necessity if we are going to leave the house before noon.

4.  Breastfeeding is easier with number 3...or maybe I am just wiser/more laid back with him.

5. It is impossible to have a completely clean house.  The dishes may get done but the floor will not be swept.  The laundry may get washed and dried but it won't get put away.  C'est La Vie

6.  I can go to the grocery with all three of them but it has to be the exact right time of day...a couple hours before naptime for Telia, right after a feeding for Caius, and before 5 for Ruby.  So, 10:15 a.m. is sort of doable if I have a short list.

7.  I can go about 3 nights on little sleep before I completely melt down

8.  I have had to change how I do things like cooking.  It is really hard to find the time to meal plan.  Right now I am doing good to get a meal on the table that is half way healthy.

9.  Nothing beats those 3 smiles, 6 arms for hugs, and all the giggles I hear throughout the day

10.  God has equipped me to parent these three children no matter how much I doubt that day in and day out.

11.  My husband is also a really good Daddy to our 2 girls and our boy

Happy Birthday Telia Abigail

One year ago today (at 3:31 pm) we got to meet our beautiful second daughter Telia Abigail. We have had a great year with her and although we didn't get much sleep until she was 10 months old, we wouldn't change it for the world. We expected Telia and Ruby to be similar babies and they weren't at all which has taught us a lot of humility. We are looking forward to getting to know Telia's personality even more this year as she strives to keep up with her big sister and gets to know her new little baby brother or sister (oh yeah, we are pregnant again).

One More Step Towards Being A Big Girl

Just over a month ago Ruby went from sleeping in this...

To sleeping in this...

Everyday is a little better as she learns new boundaries. We are tired but we know she was ready for it. Once she is asleep she stays in it all night and doesn't get out until we come and get her in the morning. This transition was easier on her than some of the other ones (i.e. taking the pacifier away and moving Telia into her room). I think it was easier because we did a better job preparing Ruby for this transition by telling her stories about a little girl named Ruby who got a new bed etc... We also prepared ourselves for the worst and it wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be...it hasn't been awesome but it hasn't been horrible. A friend told us a long time ago to wait and wait and wait to switch to the big girl bed and I am SO glad that we waited until we knew Ruby was ready. I think that has made a huge difference.

Teaching Ruby

I found the idea for this activity on Chasing Cheerios. This is a great website by a mom who is home schooling her daughter Montessori style.

This activity is great for identifying letters and for developing motor skills. Ruby calls it our "game".

Late night with Telia

We think Telia has her days and nights a little bit confused which has been pretty exhausting for us lately. I know it will get better but when we are trying to get her to sleep at 2:00 a.m. it can seem pretty hopeless. I was reminded of Psalm 131 this morning...my friend Sarah sent it to me when Ruby was 2 days old.

Psalm 131
A Pilgrim Song
1God, I'm not trying to rule the roost, I don't want to be king of the mountain.
I haven't meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.

2 I've kept my feet on the ground,
I've cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother's arms,
my soul is a baby content.

3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
Hope now; hope always!

Random Thoughts

* Ruby threw her last remaining broken pacifier away today! She got some Sesame Street stickers as a reward. Bedtime went okay. She asked for her paci and we reminded her that she is a big girl and doesn't need it. She cried for about 30 seconds and then went to sleep.

* My friend Rachel gave Ruby and Telia adorable dolls that her sister Melissa made. I will take some pictures and post them on here. Ruby is already attached to both of them and calls them Ruby (the bigger one) and Baby Telia (the smaller one). The Ruby doll had to leave us tonight because her arms were "sick" and Ms. Melissa had to fix them...she handled it pretty well.

* St. James Art fair was a lot of fun although I didn't really find anything that I wanted to buy. I did purchase a cute homemade ornament for Telia and we had a bunch of yummy food including a pumpkin roll and pumpkin pie ice cream. Mostly we had a wonderful time with our friends from the north Erik and Smith. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures.

* We have less than 5 weeks to our due date!

* I have been researching more in depth about cloth diapering and am thinking of upgrading my system. I started using the cloth diapers this week again with Ruby and tonight she threw a fit when we tried to put them on her...I am afraid the covers are too small and hurting her legs...especially since she kept telling me yesterday that her legs hurt when I would change her.

* Ruby is all about changing her babies diapers. Today she wanted to put a diaper on her bear and yesterday she kept telling me that Pooh Bear poo pooed.

* I am looking for a couple of cute matching outfits for Ruby and Telia to have. I also want a Big Sister/Little Sister shirt. I know, I am one of those cheesy mom's who thinks it is sweet when their kids match. I think I found some shirts on Etsy that are cute. Check out more stuff at the Lullaby Loft shop


* Speaking of Etsy...my friend, Kathleen, from college has a new Etsy Shop. Check out Kathleen Jean Photography by clicking on this This is my favorite picture that she has up.


* Brian and I have been taking the Financial Peace University class at church. It has really helped get both of us on the same page with our finances and is helping us be better stewards of our money.

that is all

Goodbye Old Friend

Ruby officially said goodbye to her pacifier about 3 or 4 weeks ago. After her 2 year check up we decided it was time to get rid of it since the doctor encouraged us and her teeth were starting to get crooked. After a little bit of research we decided to clip the tops of the paci's and just let her notice that they were broken. She did notice but still held on to them. She kept repeating "paci broken" but wasn't ready to throw them away. I would love to tell you that it has been an easy process and she has had no problems but that would be a lie. It has been awful. There have been days that I would've given her a new pacifier if I had one. There has been lots of crying and little to no naps. She also got a cold in the middle of the process which didn't help but we stuck to our guns. We have now cut the paci all the way down and she has thrown one away completely (and got a new toy for this). She still has one paci that she just holds at bedtime and has added 2 baby dolls to her bedtime routine. Some days are better than others. Yesterday, for instance, she took a one hour nap with little to no crying. Today, however, she has cried for a long long time and only slept for 1/2 an hour. It is like we are sleep training her all over again. I hope she gets used to this before baby Telia comes along. Please pray for us as we try to be consistent.

Updates

-- We just finished a 6 week class at our church and read the book "Shepherding a Child's Heart." We learned a lot from the other parents in the class.--Ruby and her cousin Holden hung out today at a neighborhood chilli cookoff.

 

--Ruby went to her 1 year check up and was 18 pounds 11 oz and 28 inches long.  She got her first ear infection 2 weeks later and by that time was 19 pounds 8 oz!  That is a far cry from her birth weight of 5 pounds 1 oz.

--I started watching a friends 4 month old during the week on this past Tuesday.  This is why I haven't blogged very much lately.  Little Moses is a great baby and it has been good for Ruby to learn how to share and be kind to him.  She really likes having him around.  We will be hanging out with Moses until November.  

--Brian and I just started watching "Band of Brothers"  

--The weather here in Kentucky is getting a little cooler and I am super excited about the fall. I get to carry around the fall colored purse that my friend Sarah made for me a few months ago. She also made Ruby's dress that she wore to her birthday party.