Growing up

Kid grow up so fast.  That's what they all tell us right?  Now Connor is in 1st grade and as a mother I can only hope that my not-so-much a baby any more will start out into the world on his own in a positive way.  After years of protecting my child now I have to start letting go of control.  I worry a lot about how mean people can be, and only hope that he can keep coming to me when something goes wrong in his life.  I know I'm never going to be perfect, but I hope I can always be there for my children.

I think the thing I most hope for when raising children is that they can be great people and that others can recognize that.  Of course I think the world of my children, but will others?  Most likely no one (except who they marry someday) will ever see my child on the pedestal that I have placed them.  I only hope that someone doesn't knock them off.

Recently I was forced to think about this because when I picked up Connor from school he came running out into my arms.  He showed me the manila folder in his hands and said, "Mom I got Student of the Month".  Emotion took over and I could feel the tears well up in my eyes.  Why?  I kept thinking... Why am I so emotional about this???

Years and years I had thought about how I wanted to raise my children.  Ways that I wanted to discipline and to reward.  Ways that I wanted to teach them to be great, selfless people with a great feeling of self-worth.  I never knew if I would ever get it right.  In fact,, I thought maybe there's never going to be a child who doesn't at times hate their parents.  But this first glimmer of hope gave me the re-assurance that MAYBE I could parent right, and MAYBE others could see that portrayed through my son.

While you're on your phone...

So I'm the first to admit that electronics have started to take over our lives.  Look what I'm doing now - blogging.  What would I have done in the past?  Written in a journal.  But now my journal entries are out on the internet for all to see!  Maybe it makes me feel a little more sane when people give me feedback on what I write...I don't know what it is.  As a stay at home Mom I blame it on my lack of grown Adult activity.  Facebook and Blogging makes me feel like I'm still a part of society even though I might not talk to an adult for days at a time besides my husband.  I do have to admit though, it sometimes sucks some of the precious time I have with my family.  It's very addictive.  I have to stop myself from turning on the computer first thing in the morning so I can spend some quality morning time with my family.

My story is actually about Aaron's pre-school.  I've noticed when I arrive early to pick Aaron up 99% of people in line are on their cell phones or reading books on their kindles/nooks/ipads.  Not talking of course, but texting, checking something on the internet, or using an app (I'm the 1 person that leaves the cell in the car - usually).

So it doesn't sound so bad right?  Perfect time to do things on your phone when you're in line waiting to pick up your child.  I would say about 50% of those people have younger children with them in line!  Most of the time the child in line gets ignored, shoved away, or told to be quiet while their parent is glued to the screen in front of them.

On this particular day a Mom had a little boy with her.  She was talking on her cell phone and texting as normal.  Her child was pulling on her leg, and she kept pushing him away.  I was sitting on the floor with Maya, at eye level with the little boy.  He eventually gave up on bothering his mom, and started pulling at his overalls.  Quickly he decided to put his arms through the slots and down went his pants!!!  I looked around and all the adults around me were entranced in their phone conversations or applications.  I was tempted to say something to his Mom, but since NO-ONE noticed I decided to wait and see what happened.

The little boy stood there pants-less for about 30 seconds or so, and then he looked down at his overalls around his ankles.  He smiled and pulled them up.  He struggled to put his arms through the slots of his overalls and eventually was able to get them back on!  I looked around again and no-one noticed!

About 5 minutes have elapsed at this point and his mother finally looked down at him.  He grinned widely at  his mom, and she started to frown.  She grabbed him by the overalls and pulled him in close to her.

She yelled at him, "Tuck your shirt into your pants!  What are you doing to your clothes?!?"

If she only knew...

Creating Traditions

When I first became a Mom I was so excited and obsessed with starting traditions in my own family.  I thought I would create some amazing happy memories with my own kids and I was over the top excited especially about the holidays!

Soon I came to realize that little kids can't really help with a lot of the ideas I have like decorating, making pumpkin pie from scratch, and even down to carving pumpkins, all the work came down on me as soon as they realized that their hands were going to get goopy!  Now traditions went from fun to work for me.

As the holidays approached this year I almost started to dread having to do this work since now I have three children including a 7 month old who NEVER wants to be put down!

In the store one day Connor pointed out the pie pumpkins and said, oh Mom!  We need to make pumpkin pie.  Reluctantly I grabbed three pumpkins for them (only 70 cents) and put them in the cart.  I couldn't believe he even remembered.  Usually he doesn't even participate in making the pies.

The day finally came where I had to either make the pie or the pumpkins were going to rot.  Connor was overjoyed when I asked him to come help me.  Soon I realized a 6 year old is actually helpful more than a hindrance   After I got the pumpkins opened he scooped the goop out no problem!  He placed the seeds in a bowl of salt water and was really excited to try baked pumpkin seeds.  Soon the pies were done, and I realized...wow...I'm so glad I started these traditions when they were young because now they are getting easier and it's something they will remember from when they were really small.

I had to remind myself when we went to the pumpkin patch this year.  I went without Brian, drove 60 miles round trip so they could pick a pumpkin out of the patch.  By the end I was holding Maya and hauling over 80 pounds of pumpkin and Aaron in a radio flyer over rough dirt terrain.  But hey...It made for good Christmas card pictures and I have to keep reminding myself, in a few short years it won't be so hard.  Traditions and memories are worth the pain!

My Drama King...

Aaron has always been my loving little boy.  I can't count how many times he says, "I love you so much Mom" in a day.  He's so animated, articulate, and such a sweet kid most of the time.  He really can melt anyone's heart that he comes in contact with.

With that comes the flip side to the coin as well.  He's always been very dramatic and can say things that hurt my feelings very deeply.  Things like:

"You're breaking my heart Mom"

"My heart really wants Video Games"

"Nobody loves me"

"I'm just a bad boy"

I feel so guilty as a mom because I can only deduce that he really feels like this because of the way I'm treating him.  When I was a kid I really felt this way sometimes.  I look at how I treat him though, and I just don't understand where he's getting it from.  If he does 1 thing that I need to correct it's the end of the world.

Lately he hasn't been going to school as well, so in order to get him to go to school I did three things.  1st I drew hearts on his hands after reading the kissing hand.  That way he knows that I was coming back for him if he got sad.  Then we started giving him smiley faces in the morning for everything he did right.  This helps when he says, "I'm always bad" and "Nobody loves me" I can show him the chart and say look how good you were this morning!  This really helped him make a turn for the better.  He realized when he did one thing wrong, 99% of the time he was a good boy!!  Then we made a star chart.  For every time he went to school without crying he gets a star.  After 10 stars he gets a prize.  He loves this too!

Now we only have meltdowns rarely.  He still wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, but at least he's learning how to become a well behaved and happy little boy.

Aaron's First Day of School

Yesterday was Aaron's first day of school.  It was FINALLY a day that was all about Aaron...or so I had wanted it to be.  We started the day in a rush trying to figure out breakfast in bed (Dad made Cinnamon toast) and then we tried to cram in opening presents to avoid later in the day meltdowns.

Minutes before we had to leave Connor had a complete meltdown saying his tummy hurt and he laid on the ground crying.  This was really not like him, but I had to continue my day since it was my day to carpool.  I figured we could see if this would blow over by the time we got to the school to drop him off.  By the time we picked up his friend and got to school Connor had broken out in a cold sweat.  He was not doing well.

 I dropped his friend off and there was no way I was going to make Connor go.  So we came home and it ruined all hope for bringing Aaron to school.  Brian ended up coming and picking him up to bring him.  Luckily I snapped a few pictures before he was off:

He was so excited that I was taking pictures of him for a change.  No problems with drop-off.  Dad took the camera and go this picture in front of his class:

After being home for about an hour Connor's stomach pains subsided and he was ready to play with Aaron's toys.  I decided that since he was feeling better I would drop him off to at least get his homework so he wouldn't get too far behind.

First we would pick up Aaron, and the first thing Aaron said when we picked him up was, "Everyone was so nice to me in school Mom!"

That felt great.  They had cupcakes, gave him a special birthday pin, and even let him pick a toy out of a treasure chest.  What a way to start off school!!

Luckily I made his cake (batman requested) the day before.  It isn't perfect, but it was made by Mom.  Aaron's 4th birthday was a success.  Whew... he did have a special day!

Summer is coming to a close...

So it was quite a summer.  Full of fun times and some sleepless nights.  We have been trying to end it on getting Connor to learn to ride a bike with no training wheels with not much luck.  We are going to meet his friend Anthony tomorrow down the street who does know how to ride without them to see if that helps give him the motivation to try.  He really just doesn't think he needs to even try to do it.

I can't believe Maya has grown from this:

To this:

In one short summer!  Time flies when you have children.  There have been plenty of fun memorable moments, that I have to share...so I will be adding those stories in the next few days to come!

A well deserved break...

This past year has been a little stressful mainly due to the fact that I've been pregnant most of the year.  Taking a vacation was pretty hard so we went to Arizona, and the cabin.  Brian especially needed to take a break.  

I had taken the boys to Legoland with my friend and Brian wanted to bring the boys back so he could go with them.  I booked a condo in Carlsbad VERY close to Legoland with a full size kitchen and an ocean view.  I couldn't wait to get there.

Finally the morning arrived to head to California.  We packed the car and headed out around 7:30am.  Unfortunately, as things often do - a snag in our plans quickly arose.  As we arrived in Primm...state line...traffic almost became standstill.  I quickly called my Mom who told me a tanker truck with chemicals had been in an accident spilling the chemicals all over the freeway.  This caused the freeway to completely shut down.

Thankfully we had gotten off the freeway, and we ended up walking through the mall trying to figure out our next move.  After a little more research we realized this could be an all day closure.  My mom had seen some side streets that we could take.  Otherwise, the only other option was to go through Searchlight.  

All the while I had been talking to Maria, Connor's friend's Mom.  We were supposed to meet her at 3 to go to the beach and have some dinner.  Those plans seemed like they would be ruined.

We decided that we would most likely go through searchlight, but first we checked to see if the road would be passable to get by the tanker truck without backtracking through Vegas.  As we approached the road I quickly saw that it looked like nothing more than a dirt trail.  On top of that there were some really irritated cops telling people to go through Searchlight.

So we turned around, and we almost decided to cancel the trip all together.  But we pressed on and after 10 hours in the car we finally made it to our destination at 6pm.  Thankfully I had brought some frozen pizza and we had dinner in the hotel room, which the boys called our "new home".  The condo was right on the beach so after dinner we took a walk down to the beach.  

From this picture you would never know that they were in the car for 10 hours:

The next day we made it to LEGOLAND!!

The boys had a blast!  Connor even rode some roller coasters!!

The next day we made it back to the beach:

We caught some sand crabs:

Connor didn't want to let them go!  After that first adventure, we ended up having a great time!  It was well worth the trip.

It all pays off...

Connor and Aaron have been going to Vacation Bible School this week, which they have thoroughly enjoyed.  I'm so happy that they have since they were originally not really wanting to go.  I get three hours with Maya in the morning, and she has been taking her morning nap during that time.  Needless to say, I've gotten a lot of junk drawers cleaned out!!

Yesterday I got a call from Aaron's teacher, and I was afraid of what she was going to say.  Aaron is not even 4 yet and I wasn't sure he was ready for 3 hours with someone else.

When I picked up the phone I asked, "Is something wrong with Aaron?"

She said, "No, quite the opposite!  I just wanted to call you and tell you what a wonderful little boy you have raised!  He is a delight in my class and he participates in all of the activities.  He really has a lot going on between the ears.  He is a special little boy and you should feel very good about how you've raised him."

I was in shock.  Not because I was surprised, but because as a Mom I wasn't sure if anyone would ever recognize how gifted and special my children were except for myself.  Tears filled my eyes, and for once my Mommy guilt lifted and I let myself enjoy this moment of being a parent.

Someone was telling me that I was doing something right, and all the sacrifices I've made really have paid off.  Now that's a good feeling.

Kindergarten Promotion

If anyone has spent any time with me this year I'm sure I've talked about how worried I was about all the things that Connor needed to accomplish this year to pass Kindergarten.  Well, Connor not only met all the standards but exceeded several.  He also got the most improved award this year!  I was so proud of him.  It was so much work, but it has all paid off and he will be going to 1st grade next year.  He is so excited.  Next year will be even more pressure with all the grades!  But for now we will enjoy the summer...and we will keep reading!!!!

Pushed to the Limit

Yesterday was a day let me tell you.  When moving to this house I was really excited about having a pool.  We didn't just get a pool, but a fenced pool!  So I was really happy about that.  Once those 100 degree days come it's great for all of us to get some outside time and exercise by going swimming.  The boys have been anticipating the day where we said, "YES!  You can SWIM!"  

I decided to try and put the pool cover on to see if we could swim a bit earlier this year.  We also have a lot of shade on our pool, so it really never got too comfortable for me (I know I'm a wimp).  That was the key. As soon as we had a week in the high 80's the pool was ready, and my kids have been swimming every day since.

Thankfully we haven't had any close calls in the pool.  Connor learned to swim last year, and he still can!  So happy about that!!  Aaron is getting close, and loves to swim without his floaties with us.

Yesterday I took off the pool cover, and it was as warm as ever!  The only problem was there was a HUGE BUG floating on the top of the water.  Both boys let out a high pitch SHRIEK.  I told them the bug wasn't going to get them and I got the net.  After scooping up the bug, Connor jumped in.  Aaron asked me to clean an area for him, so I came over to him and cleaned it up.  He then jumped in.  

I continued to clean the area, and then I quickly realized after hearing some splashing and yelping that with the commotion of the bug we forgot to put Aaron's floaties on!!  I jumped into the pool and grabbed him up.  Thankfully he learned a little treading, and it was only seconds that he was in the pool he didn't even cough.  He was pretty shaken up though.

Maya had been sleeping, and she woke up from her nap.  So the boys got out of the pool and I went up and got her.  When I got down I let the boys go back in the pool.  Aaron decided to cocoon his legs inside his shirt stretching it to the limit.  He had done this yesterday which caused him to float on his back which he thoroughly enjoyed.  Next thing I knew I heard him yelping again!  The feet inside his shirt trapped him and he flipped to where he was stuck under the water.  

His face had turned red, and luckily he was within arms distance.  I had to put Maya halfway on the ground to grab him out of the water.

At this point I was sobbing in dis-belief.

How could I let Aaron have not just one but TWO near death experiences in one day?!?  Especially since we had never even had a close call up until this point.  Needless to say I was pushed to the limit, and it was time for the boys to get out.

We took a break from swimming today, and I have to get the courage to try swimming again.  You realize when things like this happen how precious life is, and to never take any moment for granted.  

The (almost) Perfect Mother's Day

Mother's Day started off GREAT!  My mom was actually visiting, so I got to be with her for a little bit in the morning before they had to head off back to Arizona.  We baptized Maya on Saturday, so it worked out great!

Connor was so excited to show me what he made me at school.  It was a beautiful handprint with his fingers as the flowers.  I loved it.  Brian helped the boys make me bracelets which I wore proudly.  The boys made me feel very special.

After Church we had a BBQ at Brian's Mom's house, and it was delish let me tell you!  Brian made Crab & Shrimp salad, and chocolate covered strawberries.

After a great day of playing nicely - which is the only thing I really wanted on Mother's day of course - the boys were literally a different color.  They were playing cars in the cul-de-sac and had a layer of black grime all over their legs.

So Dad gave them a bath.  EVEN MAYA!  Thanks Dad!  Next thing I heard from downstairs was a scream!  Then I heard a loud SLAP!!  I booked it upstairs and see Connor bauling, blood trickling out of his mouth.  I turn to Aaron and see a red hand print on his back.  Aaron had thrown a toy at Connor which made him slap Aaron with all his might. 

Connor was so shaken up, he cried for so long.  He said he wished he could have good dreams again like when he was a little kid.  He said all he has is bad dreams about being eaten, and Broady (our dog) getting cracked because Baily (our other dog) pushed him through a window!

Luckily Dad was there and he calmly said, "Connor dreams aren't real, you wake up and it's over.  It's just a dream"

He always knows what to say.  Thanks Dad.  That really seemed to calm Connor down  and I layed with him until he fell asleep. 

As a Mom I wish I could protect my kids from everything, even bad dreams.  Even though it was an abrupt ending to the day, both boys apologized and they went to bed easily.

I love my kids more than I ever could have possibly imagined...even when we have a "hiccup" in the day.

Attempting the Impossible

So maybe I am sometimes a little more ambitious than I ought to be.  Like when I decided it was a good idea to bring our 2 week old hiking.  After the 10th person asked how old she was, I started to get a little embarrassed that we brought her out so early.  Some don't even take their child outside the house until they're over a month and here I am hiking a child up a mountain!

Anyway, if you've ever visited or lived in the desert you know that the Fall and Spring time are the most beautiful seasons you could imagine here.  You have to savor them - especially in the Spring - because you know the heat will be here and that's it.  You're not outside unless you're in the water.

One thing I really loved about this house was how close it was to Connor's elementary school.  I imagined walking him to school, and that has only happened a handful of times.  I've had a pretty good excuse of being pregnant up until this point.

I decided that this morning was a good time to try and get the kids to walk to school.  The weather has been beautiful and it's such a shame to drive when we have such little time before this weather is over.

To achieve my goal, I dug out the double stroller.  Even though Maya is only 2 months old, she can hold her head up really well and I knew she was ready for the 5 point harness.  So I strapped her in, and Aaron excitedly climbed into the other seat.  Connor just couldn't stop giggling at the view we had of their heads bobbing back and forth as we walked.  His smile was glued on his face almost the entire walk to school.

Everything was going smoothly, and it seemed like everyone was happy!  I started to really enjoy my morning and was happy that this could work out to be a pretty normal routine.

About halfway to school Connor decided that he was getting the short end of the stick though.  He started to complain about walking and how his feet were really tired.  He wanted a turn in the stroller.  I thought it was a fair request, so I asked Aaron to hoof it for a while.  Aaron reluctantly got out of the stroller and decided that if he had to get out of the stroller he would rocket his way to school.

He looked back for a second and said, "I'm so much faster than you!!!"  and he jetted off down the sidewalk.

Just because it's a jogging stroller doesn't mean you can run as fast as a 3 year old.  I quickly realized that Connor was more interested in touching Maya then taking a break and relaxing.  He began to do his normal touching of her head and getting his finger dangerously close to her eyes.  Eventually she couldn't take it anymore and she began to scream.  I noticed we were coming up to a road, and besides being embarrassed about me not being able to control my kids I was worried that my quick 3 year old was going to bolt into the street before I could stop him.

I started to run.

As I was running I was telling Connor to stop touching his sister (I hate doing that because I know he's doing it out of love, but come on!  I can't handle this on top of what's going on).  As I'm running I'm screaming Aaron's name to stop.  Finally he hears me and turns to acknowledge that I exist.  Thank goodness.  I wasn't so lucky a couple of months ago with my Dad and the Power Wheels.  He kept driving with no regard for anyone - even when Connor used his body as a traffic cone he ran right over him.

So Aaron stopped and waited for us to catch up, but Maya didn't stop.  Her scream became unbearable.  I started trying to force the pacifier in her mouth as I'm pushing them down the street.  Finally I couldn't take the humiliation.  I picked her up and took her in my arms.

She was silent instantly.

Aaron saw his opportunity and he took the vacant seat.  This jogging stroller that I have is not easy to control with two hands, but when I have a 6 and 3 year old in it while holding a 2 month old....now that's really impossible.  I literally had crossing guards helping me push my stroller across the street.  I jokingly was saying maybe I shouldn't have attempted this when she was so young, and the crossing guard quickly agreed that she was too young.  He said, "She misses the warmth of your arms". OK...

Then I got smart...I told Connor to get out and walk.  That helped a lot.  When we finally arrived at his playground I stuck it out and watched him play.  We were 20 minutes later than normal and he only had 5 minutes of recess left anyway.

Maya had tired herself out so I put her back into the stroller.  I put the blanket under her head which helped her to fall asleep quickly.

As we were walking back home things were a little less crazy.  Things were actually quiet & calm.

Aaron said, "Mom, I can hear birds in the trees!"

Yes, that is what I was hoping for on this simple walk to school.

4 pancakes and a funeral

My birthday started out as any other Tuesday would have. We all woke up, Daddy hopped into the shower, and I got the kids dressed and Connor ready for school. When Brian came out of the shower, I took my turn getting clean. I got dressed and started to head down the stairs. Like a troll guarding the bridge my son, Connor, popped out telling me to stop!!! He said we're making you breakfast in bed for your birthday. This was a tradition brought in by my husband's family. Decorating the house is something mine would do.

 I explained to Connor, "This is not how breakfast in bed works honey. Usually you surprise the person with breakfast before they wake up. I'm already dressed and ready to go!"

 Tears began to fill in his eyes and that old familiar lip twitch started to emerge.

 I quickly took back everything I said and told him, "But it's ok, I'll go back to bed and wait. It's a very thoughtful special thing you are doing for Mommy, so it doesn't matter when you bring breakfast!"

 To my relief this was a satisfactory answer and the tears never fell from his eyes. Crisis averted. Daddy decided to make pancakes with a new raspberry syrup that he had just bought.

 The next question Connor asked me was, "Do you want 1 breakfast in bed or all of us breakfast in bed?"

 I guess I didn't really think that through...I said I wanted all of them with me, but the next thing I knew I was begging to feed my 6 and 3 year old sticky red pancakes fearing that the sticky syrup would drop on our bedspread. The thing I kept reminding myself was that the boys were happy, and memories were being made.

 After the successful breakfast in bed, Daddy had left for work. We had a fish that the boys won from a carnival a few days before.

 Connor yelled to me, "Mommy! Come here! The fish is not moving!!!" 

The fish had died during the night. Again - the lip twitch emerged. I quickly asked him if he would rather let him go down the toilet to go back to the ocean, or bury him the backyard. That was a no-brainer for him. He wanted a funeral.

 He didn't really understand this concept at all, but it was a good learning opportunity for them both. We dug a hole, put the fish in and covered him up. We found a nice rock for the headstone and put it on top. Connor didn't know what to say, so I said a few words and I explained to them that God made the fish from the earth and now he would change back into dirt.  We would always have the memories and those would never go away, so he would always be with us somehow.

 As I drove Connor to school he was deep in thought. When I opened the door to let him go to school he smiled at me and said, "I'm glad we put the fish in the hole in our backyard Mom."

 Somehow that was comforting for him, and I'm glad.

Reyburn Family Schedule

So here's the schedule that we followed during spring break:

Reyburn Family Schedule

7:00am Make your bed
7:30am Eat Breakfast
8:00am Brush your teeth
8:15am Dance Time!
8:45am Circle Time - What day is it. What are we going to do today?
9:00am Theme Game
9:30am Art Activity
10:00am Educational Video (on You Tube or Netflix)
10:30am Play with Toys
11:30am Lunchtime
12:00am Play Outside
12:30am Music Time!
1:00pm Reading time
1:30pm Nap Time/Rest Time
2:30pm Theme Game
3:00pm Play with Toys
4:00pm Watch a Show
5:00pm Dinner Time
5:30pm Daddy Time
6:30pm Bath/Shower
7:00pm Brush your teeth & get Ready for bed
7:15pm Read a book & Say our Prayers
7:45pm Go to Bed

It wasn't always exactly followed, but at least it was something that kept us going especially when we were at home all day. Connor got excited about the "Theme" for that day and couldn't wait to learn about the next thing. I'd just take about 30 minutes the night before to print out and research some craft ideas. It was nice to actually have some structured time with the kids.

I can't attach the spreadsheet, but just email me (jamiereyburn@hotmail.com) if you want it so you can edit it and I had check boxes for each day. The boys loved to check off what we did. I am addicted to spreadsheets...maybe it's the business college degree lingering in me!

I also started a spreadsheet for behaviors. Each day they would get a smiley face : ) straight face : | or sad face : (. I said if they got a certain amount of smileys they could have a treat at the end of the week. Here's those behaviors:

Make your bed
Eat Breakfast
Brush your teeth
Clean up
Eat Lunch
Take a Rest
No Whining
Be nice to your Brother
Be nice to the Dogs
Please and Thank you
Listen to Mom
Listen to Dad
Eat Dinner
Play nicely
Share your toys
Brush your teeth
Read a book
Say your prayers
Go to bed

I looked at a friend of mine's list and it was much shorter, so maybe a few of those things can be taken off. She also has a chore list. So she separates the behaviors if they get paid for them.

Anyway, I hope this was useful for whomever! It was a good trial, and I think we are going to survive this summer. Of course, we have swimming lessons and other activities to fill up our day too!!!!

Spring Break...for the stay at home Mom!

Being a stay at home Mom is a very rewarding job, but sometimes is pretty tough. Especially when you have a newborn to take care of. She does tend to sleep a lot, which is a bonus to have time to play with the boys. A lot of times though she demands my attention. I'm just glad that there's enough of a gap where the boys can somewhat entertain and take care of themselves if forced to.

When Spring Break came up though I knew it would be a challenge to keep the boys busy. Connor is the king of asking what is going to happen next. So I started a schedule for the week and Connor loved it. Instead of asking now what should I do, he would go to the schedule and look. He even said I was like his teacher that week.

We learned about Butterflies, Easter, Caterpillars, and Eggs!

2 Months old?!?!

I can't believe my baby girl is growing so quickly! She is so much fun I can't believe it! I never remember it being so easy. Maybe because none of my boys slept through the night at 2 months old! She is sleeping from about 10 or 11pm to 4 or 5am!!! Sometimes I'm lucky and she sleeps until the alarm goes off! How can I complain?!? By this point I'm usually going insane due to insomnia! Now I'm am actually more well rested than I have been in the past year! I am really loving this round of being a Mom.

The hardest part is taking the time to do the diaper change when I'm half asleep. I remember that was Brian's job with Connor...but that quickly faded with the next child. Brian said he can't even remember the last time he changed a poopie diaper! I've gotta change that - LOL!

He's been a great help with her though - and since she is so good I've already gone out to the Cheesecake factory with my sister and he watched her. I also am starting to run again! Yay! I also went to my first bookclub meeting with her, and it was easy! I'm glad to have everything falling into place so easily this time around!

She now weighs 12 lbs and is 22.5 inches!

Visitors Make Life Exciting!

Something the boys truly love is to have people over. For the past few months there hasn't been a shortage of visitors! One of their favorites was when their Cousin Thomas - or as they call him Baby Thomas (can you see a theme in our house?). Three boys are defiantly a handful! Our week was filled with hugging - or tackling - contests and go go going!!! For some reason Thomas became obsessed with hugging Aaron which quickly turned into tackling Aaron. No one ever got hurt, so it was actually quite funny, and Aaron really loved the attention.

Thomas also adored baby Maya. Every time she made a peep he had to find her to help her with her pacifier. He would always get confused when she wasn't in her car seat, but usually found her in her swing. It was so cute because he would always let out a cry of concern every time she made a peep.

The boys love their cousin and Aunt, so it was a real treat. Soon my sister will be having another one and we can't wait! The family is growing, and the more people gives us more love!

We are a very blessed family and the boys know it.

1 Month Old!

The month has flown by and now that Maya has fallen into a routine things are starting to settle down here. Not to mention that I'm feeling better too!

The boys love their sister and she's already getting more and more alert each day. She smiles and loves to be talked to. She ALWAYS seems to have good dreams. She gets the widest, cutest smile in her sleep. I can't eat dairy, but that's ok. Maybe it will help with losing the baby weight!

At her 1 month appointment she weighed 10 pounds and is now 21 and a half inches! She's a growing girl!!




Gotta take the good with the bad!!!