These are the Days: 2014

Saturday, October 25, 2014

This and That

October is always a busy month and this year is no exception!! Busy good though, not busy bad...

We took a short weekend trip to Wild Dunes with mom/dad/erin/patrick/abigail over Columbus Day weekend. It was so great for me to be able to take Emmy to the beach and introduce her to the salt air and the ocean- both boys got to go to the beach as infants and for some reason, it was important to me that she go too. It was a great to be with my family- for so many years, even now, it's been hard to all be in the same place at the same time. We were missing Stewart a lot- but getting a majority together was really fun. It's so fun to see what the boys can do as they get older- particularly watching Barron take them to bike ride up to get ice cream, knowing that Davis is riding his own bike the whole way. It hardly seems real that he's old enough to do things like that. The beach in October is good for the soul- the sweetest was running out one morning with the boys to see the sunrise. We were all still in our pi's and we got to watch the beautiful colors in the sky. We also celebrated Mutsy's birthday- which first started several years ago during an October trip to Holden Beach. Davis doesn't forget anything! Quick updates on each of the three...

Emmy is doing great. She's 13 1/2 weeks and continues to be a really good sleeper. I work really hard each day to keep her on a routine/schedule. It keeps thing predictable and running smoothly. Change in the routine sometimes goes ok, and sometimes not. But overall, she's going with the flow as well as I could ever hope. She's "talking" so much now- today I literally went back and forth with her for an hour- even got the first attempts at laughter out of her. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. She's working on her neck strength, and rolls from side to side. She needs more tummy time so she can learn to push up. Davis is great with her when she does do tummy time- she just needs more of it!

Jack is Jack. I am so thankful for the time I'm getting with him while Davis is in school. I feel like I am finally hearing his voice without the influence of his big brother. He can be so amazingly sweet in one moment, and then a whiny pouty grump the next. I am still trying to capture a pic of his pouting face- I have to hide my laughter when he makes it because it's just so ridiculous. He's very opinionated about what he wants to wear, what cup his drink is in, if you brush his hair, etc. And lord help you if you get it wrong! But then, he will tell me things like "mom, you're pretty" and wrap his arms around me, melting my heart. I know I baby him a little too much. And, we have high expectations of him without providing the consistency we gave Davis at this age. But, he is a sweetie and puts a smile on my face every single day.

Davis is doing really well. We had his teach conference this week and got really good feedback. He's a great reader and very good at math. His conduct has improved a lot since being on the medicine. His teacher seems to be the perfect fir for us this year. She seems to understand who Davis is and appreciates the things that make him wonderful, but also a handful at times. I am so grateful that she knows that his excitement and enthusiasm can be used for good things- and I was happy to hear her say that he is a leader and really good with the other students. That she will use him to pair him up with those who are having difficulty with a concept because he's good at helping. He is a sweet big bother to Emmy, and to Jack. He can have his moments of being very bossy and overpowering, but his intentions are good and he and Jack seem to actually enjoy each other.

Whew- time for some fun photos and captions!

Kinsey Family Farms Annual Trip

My boys are getting so big!

Emmy's first glimpse of the beach!

She likes it.

Happy happy.

Nothing like passing out in a beach chair.

Mutsy's sixth birthday.

Cousins

Nana and Papa John

Family of Five

Cousins

My loves on the kitchen counter.

Barron's kid-friendly fire pit- several nights of making smores!

Jack at the bus stop- carries his chair down EVERY DAY.

Beach Fun

Sunrise Pics- here and all following

Friday, October 17, 2014

12 weeks

A quick post on the 12 week mark, which was Tuesday. For each of my three kids, the day of the 12 week mark has been emotional because it marks the time that maternity leave would be over if I were a full-time working mom. It's the day that I am fully aware of how grateful I am to be in the position to stay home with our kids. I am grateful for a husband who wants the same things for our kids that I want, and that we've found a way to make it work. For each of the three, I just soaked them up on that day of turning 12 weeks old, knowing that I just didn't have it in me to leave them for a full-time job. The feelings, emotions and opinions I have go so much deeper than what I have time to express at the moment. But, for both Barron and me to have the chance to grow up with a SAHM, and for me to be able to in turn do the same- it's such a gift. To the kids, and to me. This has been on my mind so much this week, and yesterday, I had another moment of knowing that being here with them is important in the small ways more than the big ways. Davis got off the bus yesterday with tears brimming in his eyes. He waited until the bus pulled away to actually start crying, and held my hand the whole way up the street, rather than running ahead as he usually does. He was upset over something minor in the scheme of things, but important in his world. He has been exposed to the world of pokemon cards and trading at school. He's managed to collect a few cards from people who have just given one to him and so, he had planned that that day he was going to make his first trade. Well, two kids forgot their cards and the one other kid didn't want to trade for his one card. Anyways, I'm sure it's an incident he will not remember by the end of the weekend, but as I hugged him and let him cry, then talked to him about what happened.... I wondered, who would be there with him if I were not? Who would get to have the hugs and snuggles from Jack? And coo and talk with Emmy all day? I can't even bear the thought to think that would ever have been anyone other than me.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Growing By the Day

Emmy will be 11 weeks old on Tuesday. I've seen big changes in our baby girl the past two weeks. She is noticeably more alert during her awake time, and she stays awake for up to an hour and half during the day (and often longer for the last evening awake shift she has). The real fun is just beginning! My favorite thing to do with her is "talk" back and forth- she loves it! Coo, goo, aaah-gooo, etc. are her favorite words and they are accompanied by numerous smiles and even a laugh here or there. We will "talk" back and forth for up to 20 minutes at a time, and we have each other's total attention when we do that. She will also do it with other people- the cutest was watching her do it with Davis. He was just delighted. She's a pretty good sleeper- continues to be the best of the three. I have been working the last week to really try and have her take her naps in the crib- at least the ones we are home for.... we did have a day this last week where we were not home for a single nap until the evening! That's life with three kids, I suppose. So, she's getting better with that, which is important for when we finally do move her to her room at night. She's also getting to where things will wake her up during her nap- such as noisy boys and barking dogs- so, being in her room will be best. She's doing great at night- she typically has her last feeding around 8 pm, goes to sleep by 10 pm and doesn't wake to eat again until anytime from 4 to 7 am.... She does often wake up around 2 am with a lot of gas, and I am able to calm her quietly without having to get out of bed. That's the main reason I've still got her in our room. I think it's helping everyone sleep more at night. If she was in her crib, she would be screaming, as she does when she has gas during a nap. She does have her own witching hour each day- mostly during the time before and after her 8 pm feeding. She's getting good at holding her head up by herself now. She gets tired after a bit, but I can tell she's getting stronger every day. She's paying more attention to her brothers too- and they are easily able to get smiles from her. She's a sweet and happy baby and I absolutely adore her. She makes me laugh and smile every day, and I can't get enough of her cuteness. Having a newborn is hard work, and it's constant. I feel like I am on a stop watch all day- constantly worried about what I can fit, or likely won't be able to fit, into each window of time between the deadlines of feedings. And, even more, trying to keep a schedule that allows her to take her real naps without interruption. If she's on an 8-11-2-5 schedule, I do not have to wake or disturb her nap to take and pick up Jack from school, or go to the bus stop to get Davis. If she's off, even by an hour, every day-time nap is disturbed and we get off schedule, which makes her a lot more fussy and me stressed because she's fussy. SO- we do what we can and I try to plan my days out. But, I will definitely feel less pressured when she can stretch her feedings out to even every 3 1/2 hours instead of 3. 4 will be a dream :)
The boys are good, getting settled into the school year routine. Davis has been taking his medicine for about two weeks now and we're getting very positive feedback from his teacher. He seemed a little off for a few days, but now seems fine. We aren't seeing any of the negative side effects such as loss of appetite or insomnia. The medicine wears off not long after he gets home from school, so I don't really get to see the changes. Except, when he does his homework. He is always happy to do it, and we do it first thing when he gets home. The biggest difference I notice is that I on'y have to read the instructions to him once, maybe twice and he will get it correct on the first try. When he isn't taking medicine, it's a struggle to read the instructions to him without him interrupting 8 times because he thinks he knows what I"m going to say, or he rushes to start before I finish so he either doesn't get all the pieces right, or misses the point because he's not paying attention. He's very smart- my hope is that being on the medicine allows him to slow down and take his time so that he's able to do the work. I submitted the parent referral for him to be tested for the gifted program. I hope I am making the right decision on that. So, he's adjusted quite well to kindergarten and I miss him a lot during the week. That said, life would have been very difficult if Emmy had been born at the beginning of the summer rather than the end.
Jack is proving that the three's can be harder than the two's. He's a different kid when he's alone, vs. with his brother. Great in both situations, just different. I got to be the parent reader in his class on Friday, and it was fun to see what an incredibly sweet and positive environment his classroom is- his teacher is amazing, the best we've had at the preschool. I am so glad he goes 5 days, he's getting so much there that would be hard for me to do here with a baby. And, we get more time together than we did before. My favorite part of the day with him each day is walking down to the bus stop and waiting on Davis. We have lots of sweet little conversations about things, and I've taught him songs I taught Davis but never Jack, we play I spy, and it's just nice. It's only about a 15-20 minute experience each day, but I love it.
Barron has been busier than ever at work and we are approaching the October 15th deadline. Shortly after, he will move offices and start up his new role with CIA Tax as well as keeping on with BMB. There's a lot of work and a lot of pressure, but it's also all very exciting. Despite all the extra pressures, Barron is the sweetest dad and husband. As he says, he leaves one job to come home to the next. With a newborn, there's not much of a break for any of us! We were able to unexpectedly carve out a date night this past Friday and have some time just the two of us. I loved having an evening just with him- and being able to finish a conversation without interruption- bliss!
I haven't posted about our newest purchase- a new car! A Platinum Sequoia to be exact- this is Barron's car, and the family car on weekends and for trips. Pics in the next post!
Stats on Emmy at her 2 month check-up-- she weighed in at 10 lbs 10oz. She got three shots and an oral vaccine. No fever, just fussiness for 24 hours after.
Picture time!!