My babies at 3 months...a comparison!

I've been meaning to compare baby pictures of the kids to see if Hannah really does look more like Chris than the others did. What do you think?

Aaron


Claire


Hannah


I think Hannah looks a bit like Claire, but Aaron and Claire look more alike. Maybe?

Hannah Rose, 3 months old

I can hardly believe Hannah is already 3 months old! She is so much bigger now, probably close to 11 pounds or more. She sleeps really well, too--from 7:30 to about 4:45 usually. She loves her big brother and sister, and they love her to pieces. She's very happy and smiley, and is on a pretty good schedule of eating, playing, then sleeping.

I took some pictures of her today! We went in the shady front yard, but it was still pretty bright for her, so I got scrunchy eyes. She has her Daddy's brow line. Most people say she looks like a little Chris.

Aaron's first two weeks of Kindergarten

Aaron is doing great in Kindergarten! He's so funny--such a stickler for the rules. Apparently the first week they mostly concentrate on learning the rules, so every day when I picked him up he would tell me the different rules for his classroom, lunchroom, and activity rooms.

He hasn't really learned anyone's names, so I'm not sure how he's doing with making friends. I'm sure he's playing with other kids, but kids never ask each other their names so he probably just doesn't know them yet.

I'm pleasantly surprised by all he is learning. I had been so worried that much of what they do would be boring to him since he already knows so much. But they're making it fun for him! In art class they're actually learning some art skills (it's not just coloring!). In PE they learn different exercises. In library they learned what the parts of a book are called. In computer lab (what Aaron says is his favorite, because he loves computer games!) they are just playing Starfall, which he's already familiar with, but he still loves it! In music they're using different instruments, which he enjoys.

Last week he started having homework every day (except Fridays). It's so funny to me that we come home from school and have to work on homework. I'm really entering a new season of life! Last week they learned the letter L and numbers 1-5, so his homework involved drawing things that start with L, practicing writing L and the numbers, and working on recognizing and writing color names. He takes alot of pride in doing something his teacher will be pleased with. I hope that continues! I'm going to scan some of his homework from last week, because I was so impressed with how he did!!

Building a Lego house

Tonight we got ready for bed early and built a garbage house with our extra time! I love playing Legos with them!

Garbage truck legos...what else?

Do you see it? A garbage truck, two men on top, a claw at the back picking up a little lego garbage can. Bad quality pic from my camera, but I found this while he was taking a bath and thought it was so cute!

Another great Bento lunch!

I just made Aaron's lunch for tomorrow and I have to share! He has rolled ham slices, pepperoni, sharp cheddar, and Ritz crackers (for making little sandwiches), fresh grapes, some fruit cocktail (he's been dying for me to send something he can use a fork or spoon for, just because he wants to try it out), and what will be his favorite dessert (I think)--mixed nuts with marshmallows and a gummy worm. I'm calling it "worm in the rocks".

Hannah smiling and cooing

Hannah is getting quite animated. She particularly loves laying on her changing table--I almost always get smiles and coos when she is in a fresh diaper and looking at me. She's started doing some little laughs too. I could just eat her up! I took some video of her this evening. The kids were wild in the background and at one point Aaron was quoting scripture to Claire, which really cracked me up. They were being really sweet to Hannah at times, and it just melts my heart!

Aaron's First Day of Kindergarten

I never would have dreamed that I would go from holding a newborn in the hospital to sending him to Kindergarten in the span of a few short days. Seriously--where did the time go?

Aaron has been so excited about starting Kindergarten. Claire has been too--she just knew she would get to go too. Last week we practiced our new morning routine all week, which starts at 6:30 since our school is an "early school". I made a list to hang on their bedroom wall that tells them the steps of getting ready...

Step 1: Wake up at 6:30.
Step 2: Get dressed (shirt, pants, and socks).
Step 3: Eat breakfast.
Step 4: Brush teeth.
Step 5: Put on shoes.
Step 6: Go to Kindergarten!

Every day last week we had to wake them from a dead sleep at 6:30. This morning, when we headed for their room at 6:30, we heard them chattering about what step 2 was, and about how today was the first day of Kindergarten! I think Aaron must have been so excited he woke up a little early, but he stayed in bed until 6:30 on the dot, because he knows the rules! He told me, "When the clock was on 6:29, I said 'Almost time'!"

After breakfast of cheese grits and scrambled eggs (his new favorites), he was off to Kindergarten!




We took the whole family this morning, and parked close to the school so we could walk. Aaron felt confident as we entered his hallway that he knew the way to his class (we had visited at a "meet the teacher" last Friday).


Here he is with Mrs. Anderson! She is so energetic and I think we're really going to like her!


He ran into the class and I called to him, "Aaron, aren't you going to tell us bye? Do you care that we are leaving??" Ha ha ha! He ran back and gave everyone big kisses--including Hannah. It was so sweet when he and Claire hugged.



Even Daddy got hugs.


I didn't really cry when we were leaving...I only teared up a little as we were walking down the sidewalk back to the van. When we were leaving Claire said, "Why do we have to leave Aaron at Kindewgawden?" Then she said, "But I don't WANT to get back in the van without AARON!" Later that morning we went to a "cry breakfast" with my friends Tammy, Stacy, and Amanda, who all had kids starting K this morning. Claire enjoyed that, then we had a playdate with her friend Emma Kate, and she had a blast playing girlie things and locking Emma Kate's baby brother out of the room. He he he! After that I think she wasn't so sad that she was spending the day without Aaron. We stayed busy and it kept her mind off of him I guess. It worked well for me too, and 2:30 was here before I knew it!

This afternoon Mammaw surprised me by stopping by so she could stay with the girls while I went to get Aaron. I walked again, and picked him up at the door. He was so excited to see me!


I didn't get many details about the day. Of course he can't remember any of the kids' names. Some things he said:

"We ACCIDENTALLY didn't go to art today. It was an ACCIDENT. But tomorrow we have music!" He did tell me they met the art and music teachers, but didn't GO to art. Maybe next week they won't forget. ;-)

"My favorite part is going to be computer lab, but we didn't do that today." He can hardly wait to play on the computers they have in the classroom!! As if I never let him play at home!!

"I made a sun visor and colored the apple blue! And the leaf green and the stem brown." He told me he did a painting of...what ELSE? A garbage truck! He wanted to show it all to me and was a bit disappointed when it wasn't in his folder, like his preschool art work always was. Maybe they send that stuff home on Fridays? I have no idea.

Did you play on the playground? "Yes SIR! We won't go out there when it's raining. My teacher didn't tell me that, but I just know that." He told me they played on "hot slides"--I think recess is just before noon and it was blazing today!!

Did you eat all of your lunch? "Yes! I ate some of it while the teacher was coming around with the trash can." We've been telling him he won't have long to eat his lunch so he's going to HAVE to learn to eat faster. But I do think he ate everything I sent today! Some of it apparently at the last minute.

Speaking of his lunch, here is his first school lunch, packed in his new super-cool bento-style lunch box. The idea of a bento box is to reduce wasteful plastic baggies and convenience food packaging, and give you the tools to pack a healthier, appealing lunch. I like it so far! He had PB&J, some graham crackers, raisins, dried cherries, and a coconut macaroon. :-)


Tonight I got all 3 kids in bed by 8:00 and I'm feeling very prepared for tomorrow!!

And to think...Claire will go in just 2 short years. I am really going to savor my time at home with her and Hannah, because I now know how quickly it flies! I'll be a mess when Hannah goes in 5 years!!

Hannah loves her big brother

When I scheduled my surgery, I racked my brain for someone to keep Hannah. My friend Michelle immediately came to mind--she is so good with babies, and she breastfed her children so she understand the issues that go along with that. I called to see if she would keep the baby, and she offered to keep all three! I just knew she was crazy, seeing how she has 3 of her own, but she insisted.

The kids did great--Claire loved Emma Grace's doll house and girl toys, and Aaron and Cade played very well together. Little 1-year-old Avery Beth had trouble staying away from Hannah!

Michelle told me that when it was time for Hannah's first bottle, she got really mad and worked up. She could tell Hannah was hungry but she wanted her MAMA! Michelle called Aaron over to talk to Hannah, and as soon as he started talking to her, she calmed down. How sweet is that?

Gall Bladder Funnies

A couple of weeks ago I found out I have gall stones. I was having my third attack (since Hannah's birth), in serious pain in the bathroom floor, when I started realizing it might be my gall bladder. Gall stones are common in women who have had multiple pregnancies. We Googled it, and I talked to my sister-in-law who had her gall bladder removed 5 years ago, and I was convinced it was gall stones. A trip to the doctor and the imaging center for an ultrasound confirmed it.

I was scheduled to consult with the surgeon tomorrow, but on Sunday I had another mild attack and Monday I called the surgeon to see if I could move up the appointment and possibly get surgery this week. They had a cancellation for a Tuesday surgery, and I took it! Sign me up--get this thing out so my life can get back to normal!!

The surgery was laporoscopic, and went very well. I'm at home recovering nicely. The best part of the experience--the funny things that I said while coming out of the anesthesia.

As soon as I woke up, Chris told me my friend Allison had her baby that morning and had texted us a picture. I was so excited! I tried so hard to focus on the picture on the phone. Then I passed out again. I woke up a few minutes later, and Chris asked me if I remembered that Allison had her baby. "Allison had her baby??" I said excitedly. And he showed me the picture again, and I was excited about it all over again. He said we did this about 6 times, and I was excited all over again every time.

Before the surgery we had been joking about Chris getting a text from his girlfriend. So afterwards, he asked me, "What's your boyfriend's name?" and I said, "You're a goofball. But you could tell me your girlfriend's name right now and I wouldn't remember it." Ha!

Once when the nurse was by the bed, I must have heard her say something about calling in some prescriptions. I woke up and said, "Medicine Shoppe, 893-7400" then passed out again.

The nurse also asked "Do you need a note to go back to work?" and I said, "No, not unless my kids want one." Who says I wasn't all with it? I was making jokes!

When we were leaving, I remember thinking, "How can they send me home in this drunken state? I'm not even awake yet!!" I was sitting in the wheelchair next to the van while Chris put my bags in. I asked, "Oh, did you remember my clothes?" (I had remembered that when I took them off they put them in a bag under my hospital bed.) Chris looked at me funny and I looked down and said, "Oh, I'm wearing them." Chris said the nurse was cracking up at that one. I asked Chris later how I got them on, and he told me I sat on the side of the bed and he helped me get dressed. I really don't remember that!!

Chris said we kept having the same conversations over and over again. I was trying so hard to wake up but I couldn't make myself do it. I don't like feeling that way! But it sure made for some funny stories!

Fostering Independence

Aaron and Claire are definitely growing up. We've been finding ways to foster independence in them, to help them learn responsibility and to help us out since we've got three kids now. Really we're focusing on Aaron...but since Claire wants to do everything her big brother does, she is learning to do things for herself, too.

Both of them have chores they do every day to earn stickers on a chart, and they are paid a small allowance at the end of the week if they get enough stickers (right now it's 21 for Aaron and 14 for Claire). We're starting to teach them to put 10% in a give bank, 10% in a save bank, and the other 80% in a spend bank. (I made the banks out of Crystal Light containers...they turned out cute!) Aaron can hardly wait to get up to $5 in his spend bank so he can buy a new Lego set at Target.

Aaron does chores like taking out the trash in the two small trash cans (his favorite job!), putting away the silverware out of the dishwasher, stripping the sheets off his bed when I need to wash them, setting the table and clearing his place afterwards. Claire helps with the silverware and setting the table. She's actually better at clearing her place than Aaron is, but I think it's because she doesn't make as big of a mess when she eats! They also both put away their own laundry, and I let them help me put away the groceries. They fight over who gets to stack up the yogurts in the fridge!! I know they won't always be so eager to help...so I'm living it up now.

We've also been teaching Aaron how to bathe himself. We supervise while he washes his own hair and body. Claire has also learned how to wash her own body (but I'm not letting her wash her own hair yet--she has too much of it and I want to make sure it gets good and clean). This makes it possible for me to bathe Hannah at the same time, in her little baby tub.

They also both know how to put in their own videos, and Aaron knows how to change the input on the TV and navigate the menus to get to the right episode. He can also get on the computer and get to the game he wants to play (we have them bookmarked for him) all by himself. It blows my mind what kids these days know how to do with technology!!!

I'm amazed to see these little ways the kids are growing up. That's what parenting all about I guess--training them to eventually live on their own one day, as a productive member of society. Chris and I have been discussing lately that we also want to make sure we do some intentional things in our parenting to make sure the kids are glorifying God in their skills, character, and actions. I'm praying we can be the example we need to be to raise Godly children! I fall short every day, so I am so thankful for God's grace!

Hannah's checkup, and other various stories

Hannah got to go see Dr. Charles yesterday! She wasn't too happy about it, but I was thrilled to find out that she weighs 9 lbs 10 oz!! That's almost 4 pounds she's gained in her two short months! Go Hannah!! She got her first round of shots and ended up sleeping most of the day.

Claire also had her checkup, and she's weighing in at 27 pounds and exactly 3 feet tall. She's doing well! We had left Aaron with Mammaw for the day so I only had the two girls with me, and we went home for some lunch, then to the grocery store. I realized that having just the two of them for a while gave me a taste of what life will be like in a little over a week when Aaron is at kindergarten all day. I asked Claire, "What do you think you'll do all day when Aaron is at school?" She thought about it and said, "I will play with you, and read books with you, and watch videos!" Later she added "And go somewhere." She is not going to know what to do with herself without her favorite playmate!! I'm looking forward to some one-on-one time with her though. I feel like I haven't gotten to invest as much time with her as I did with Aaron when he was her age.

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Some funnies the kids have said recently:

Aaron: "Mommy, how can we take some months off of the earth?"
Me: "Months?" (thinking I misunderstood...)
Aaron: "Yeah, months. If you could, and you did, then there will be less months until Christmas."

I guess the birthday gifts are wearing off and he's ready for round 2!

A few weeks ago we got to go to Maggie Moo's Ice Cream shop with our playgroup for a behind-the-scenes tour. Claire loved Maggie Moo's, and even Maggie Moo herself (she's a cow). However, I realized Claire was confused when she pointed to a picture of a moose in a book just a few days ago and said, "That's a moose like when we went to Maggie Moose!"