sad......and then happy

Flora and I were cuddling and giggling on the couch today when she spontaneously said, "I want to stay with you forever, Mommy!" Oddly, such a sweet statement made me really sad. I know she won't stay with me forever. I may have said the same thing to my Mommy once but now I live four hours away from her. I don't want Flora to live four hours away from me someday. It's really a sad thing to think about -- I'm tearing up right now just writing about it!! I suppose that's why children grow up so slowly. If we were cows or horses our babies would begin walking almost immediately . . . if we were dogs our babies would be taken from us after only six weeks. I'm glad that I have about 18 years to get used to the idea of Flora NOT being with me forever because right now it's almost impossible to imagine life without her.

On a happier note, tonight she asked me if her Daddy was home. I told her he was at the church for a little while. She said, "Aw, man! Daddy is my best friend."

Also, I LOVE it when Scout puts his little face right in my face and asks, "How you doin', Mommy?"

And tonight, when Chris asked Flora what she was going to dream about, she replied, "I'm going to dream about YOU, Daddy.....and cupcakes!"

Timber doesn't say anything cute yet, but a couple nights ago I caught him laughing in his sleep. I think he'll fit right in.

clean clothes are overrated

I'd really like to write tonight but I have a mountain of laundry waiting for me. I guess the blogging will have to wait. Or the laundry could wait.....no, NO, no! The blogging must wait.....

flora's secret

Flora drew this picture this morning. The black stick figure is her and the blue things are hearts. I asked her, "What is inside your hearts, Flora?" She smiled and said, "It is a very special dream....a secret." Well, that was not what I expected at all, but so cute!

brotherly love

Scout is such a loving, giving boy. He is so sweet that he freely gave his pinkeye to both Flora and Timber. What a doll.

My State of the Union Address

Chris

Chris has another busy summer planned including a return trip to Nicaragua. He does a lot of reading and plays a lot of four-square (quad-square if you're cool) these days. When he's at home, he stays busy wrestling and reading much simpler books. He tried reading a chapter book to Flora and Scout, but they just weren't into it yet.

Stefanie

Stefanie is not pregnant! I smile every time I think about the fact that I'm not pregnant. I am working on my 30x30 list and keeping things under control here at the house. My summer plans include a couple trips to Arkansas while Chris is traveling across the world/country/state.

Flora

Flora doesn't know it yet, but there are some exciting changes in her future! Chris and I have decided that she would benefit from a once-a-week preschool or PDO (parents day out) program. I think she will love going to her own "school" and it will be good for her to have something exciting that she gets to do and Scout doesn't. There should be SOME advantages to being the oldest, after all! We are also in the process of joining a playgroup so hopefully she will have some new little friends to play with once we get officially involved.

In the next week or two, Flora is going to get her first real haircut! We've decided to make it a special Mommy-Daughter date and take her to Shear Madness. I think she'll love it. Afterward, we may walk around Zona Rosa for a bit. I still have a Gap Kids gift card that I need to use.....

And finally, I have started planning Flora's new super-girly princess pink room! I think it will be her birthday present in October so I've got plenty of time to figure out what I want to do. I'm excited. I hope she gets excited about it too!

Scout

Scout says his planets now, as you've seen. I didn't intentionally teach him the planets (although it DOES make a good party trick) but he asked me to repeat them often enough that I guess I'm not surprised he ended up memorizing them. He is also amazing at puzzles. I hate bragging on my kids (unless I'm talking to Mother or Sara!) but I decided that if I'm going to archive this blog to look back on then I will want to know all the amazing things the kids are doing. So.....I guess this may become a braggier blog than it has been. You've been warned! Scout can also recite his multiplication tables, run a four minute mile, and is quickly becoming fluent in German. Maybe.

Potty training seems to be on Scout's horizon. I finally bought him some Pull-Ups a few days ago so we could make a serious effort. He prefers his real underwear to the diaper pull-ups but I am SO not ready to deal with accidents right now. I don't know if he's really ready or if he's just excited that he can do what Flora does but he always goes when I put him on the potty. He's only asked to go on the potty a few times so right now it's more like I am being trained to take him to the potty at regular intervals than him actually being potty trained. But whatever. He's had a dry pull-up since this morning so I am cautiously optimistic that he may be a quick learner. We'll see.

And last night, Scout was twirling around the room saying, "I'm a ballerina, Mommy!"

Timber

Timber just had his 4-month check-up so I have some real data to report on him! He is 16lbs 8oz and 26 1/2 inches long, which puts him somewhere between the 75th and 90th percentiles for both height and weight. That's a bit easier to stomach than hearing that he is in the 97th percentile! His head had the doctors baffled however. He has what is either a persistent case of cradle cap or eczema on his head so his doc loaded me up with prescriptions to try. I am hoping that it is cradle cap because I don't want him to have to deal with eczema for the rest of his life. The poor little guy is always scratching his head, so, regardless of what it is, I hope that one of the treatments starts to work soon! In the meantime, I am gooping up his head with Aquaphor (like Vaseline) and gooping up his eyes with an antibiotic ointment to treat an eye infection. Chris came home from work and bent to kiss Timber but had to stop short. "There's not a dry place to kiss him!" he said. Hopefully, Goopy Timber will be a short phase.

Timber is more than goop though! He has rolled over twice now and he was so mad after getting his shots that he said, "Mamamama!" He also looooooooves his daddy. He gets so excited when he hears Chris come home. He will crane his neck around looking for the Daddy to go with the Daddy voice and give Chris the biggest smiles when he finds him. I'm sure Flora and Scout got excited to see Chris too, but I don't remember them being SO excited like Timber is. And, obviously, Timber loves watching Flora and Scout too. He watches them so intently and flails his arms and legs like he's trying so hard to run around with them. He'll be on the move soon -- he's got motivation!

pity party

I try so hard not to wish away the years/days/hours of my kids' lives. I know that they will be grown and gone before I know it and that knowledge usually keeps my frustrations in perspective.

However....

When the kids get sick I immediately start longing for those future days when they will be able to tell me what's wrong and what will make them feel better. Trying to figure out who is hurting and where and why is exhausting! Flora is finally getting old enough to help me out a little bit, but she's only 3-years-old so her diagnostic skills are still rudimentary. Tonight she told me that her neck hurt. After some investigative questions, I decided that she meant her throat was hurting.....and I think she was only saying that because Scout got medicine and she wanted some.

So, I figure that we'll have another week before everyone is feeling completely better again. But don't worry -- I'll try very hard to keep my pity party thoughts to myself and out of the blog this week.

But I'm pretty sure that we would never get sick if we lived in Arkansas. Just sayin'.....

solar system scout

He's eating dinner . . . that explains the messy face. I can't explain the messy hair though.

never ever

If you want to completely freak me out all you have to do is take my kids swimming. Or throw me into the deep end. But don't. Really. Don't EVER. I promise to come out fighting mad and sobbing hysterically. You will simultaneously feel extreme guilt for what you've done and sheer terror at the sight of my unchecked rage coming towards you.

I can't help it -- I am afraid of water. Not all water.....just the water that goes over my head. Basically all large bodies of water kinda freak me out. Let's just say that I will never EVER go on a cruise!

It's too late for me, but I am hoping to spare my kids from having such a debilitating fear. I actually wouldn't call it "debilitating," but Chris does and has and will. He says, "What if one of the kids fell into the deep end? You wouldn't be able to save him/her." But I totally WOULD! There are some things that override fear. Love conquers fear, right? Regardless, I would like for my kids to be comfortable around water however much it might freak me out for them to get to that point.

Flora and Scout went swimming in a real pool for only the second time ever today. It was a heated indoor pool at our hotel, although it must have been fairly chilly since Scout shivered the entire time. As expected, they were excited to go swimming, hesitant and unsure once they got into the water, and giggling with glee by the end. Scout's favorite thing was jumping off the side into Chris' arms and Flora really enjoyed being carried into the deep water where her friends were swimming. I think they both had a good time despite constantly hearing "Wait!" "Don't go in there!" "Watch out!" "Use the steps!" "Walk!" and "Are you done yet?" from me.

Honestly, I couldn't wait for them to be done. A friend of mine has an expression for the way I felt -- I felt "all squiggly inside." Or squibbly? I think it's squiggly. I was excited for them to go swimming, but it was not a fun experience for me.

In the end, Flora was more than ready to be done after she slipped on a step and went under water. Well, I guess I should say that her face went under water since she was only in about 6 inches of water at the time. I panicked, of course, although I think I panicked very calmly. (BTW, I think it's VERY weird that panic has a k when it is past tense.....why not paniced? Oh, I guess I see why now -- it looks like pan-iss-ed.) Anyway, there was about half a second where Flora was under water and Chris didn't see her and I was embarking on my rescue mission (while holding Timber) ..... and in that half a second I vowed that they would never swim again. NEVER. EVER.

But then Chris picked up Flora who was shaken but not stirred--ha!--no, she was shaken but not even crying, and I took back my vow because it was a pretty silly vow anyway. Who vows that their kids will never swim again? Me, I guess.

So, this summer I may look into swimming lessons for the kids. Not for me though. I'll conquer my fear some other day. I've got other things to conquer right now.....like potty training.....and eye shadow.

dear Jesus....

Scout said his bedtime prayer all by himself tonight. I couldn't understand most of it -- he was talking SO fast -- but I heard "Jesus" a few times so I think he's on the right track. He shut his eyes so seriously and clasped his hands together so tightly to say his little prayer. It made me smile. I think it probably made Jesus smile too.

resolutions revisited

Now that Timber is almost 4-months-old, I thought I should revisit my New Baby Resolutions to see how I've been doing. Here is my report:


1. I will take pictures of B3 when he is crying.

2. I will adopt a more middle-of-the-road approach to feedings.
I've done well in this department. Timber's doctor suggested letting him fuss for a few minutes at night to "test" how hungry he was. If he fusses for a few minutes and then falls back asleep, he's obviously not starving. I wish someone would have told me that when Flora was a baby! He has slept better than the other two and I think it's because I don't pick him up and feed him during the night every time he makes a noise.

3. I will not worry about his belly button.
Wow, it's a good thing I made this resolution because he had some nasty belly button issues! It smelled B.A.D.!! I started to worry but remembered my resolution and just resolved to not think about it. I did some research online and determined it was a common thing and at his 2-week checkup the doctor confirmed that sometimes belly button stumps can smell really nasty before they fall off. It IS rotting flesh, after all. So, I guess I give myself a B- on this one. I DID worry just a tad but I tried not to be consumed with worry. "This too shall pass" ....and it did.

4. If B3 needs phototherapy to clear up his jaundice, then I WILL take pictures of him wearing his little sunglasses.

I even took this resolution a step further when Timber was hospitalized in October. I took pictures of him getting out of the ambulance

and pictures of the IV in his head that made him look like a unicorn.

The hospital staff didn't seem to think it was weird for me to be taking pics of Timber. I'm sure they're used to moms trying to document every moment....although I'm sure I would not have been concerned with pictures if I actually felt that his life was in danger. Or maybe I would have.....it's hard to say. These are the times that you never think to take pictures (unless you have previously resolved to do so) but you always wish you had pictures after it is all over.

5. I will let Flora and Scout touch, poke, kiss, and practically smother their new baby brother.

touch

poke

kiss

practically smother

6. I will shower at LEAST every other day.
Um.....haha! Well, I have showered every other day MOST of the time. I think there have been one or two occasions where I actually didn't shower until the 3rd day....but you really didn't need to know that, did you? If it makes any difference, my showers usually last so long that they could probably count as two showers......

7. I will still do fun things with Flora and Scout after B3 is born, although it will require considerably more effort.
We've done some fun things....although not tons. Here's a few of the fun things we've done:

zoo

Mr. Stinky Feet concert at the library

playing in the leaves

visiting santa

playing in the snow

8. I will TRY to remember to feed myself and Flora and Scout at regular intervals in the first few weeks after B3 is born . . . no promises on this one!
A few weeks ago, I sent Flora and Scout to church without feeding them breakfast. I also dropped them off at the church childcare while Chris and I went to small group for two hours and didn't realize until we got back home that night that I hadn't fed them dinner. So.....I think I get a D on this one. I am not giving myself an F since it's only happened twice in almost 4 months.....I haven't completely failed. :-)

9. I will not rush B3 into bigger clothing just because it it cute and I can't wait for him to wear it.
Fail. F. I have no defense....the clothes are just so cute and I want him to wear them. He IS a big baby so he's wearing bigger sizes anyway.....but I can't deny that I have rushed him into a few of my favorite outfits.

10. And finally, I resolve to continue to blog after B3 is born even though my free time will be significantly decreased.
This post makes 37 blog entries since Timber was born! I think that is a respectable amount of blogging for a mommy of three!

don't look ahead

I've noticed that when people meet my kids for the first time they always have the same reaction:

to Flora: "Look at those big brown eyes!"

to Scout: "Look at that RED hair!"

to Timber: "My, he's a big boy, isn't he?"

*******************

And totally unrelated.....
I don't know why I still feel a sense of accomplishment every time I finish the laundry. I'm starting to realize that laundry is NEVER finished, the kitchen is NEVER clean, and the kids are NEVER done eating. And yet . . . after I put away the last stack of clean clothes, wipe down the kitchen counters, and pick up the dinner dishes, I still feel a sense of accomplishment . . . even knowing that there will be more laundry, dirty counters, and hungry kids tomorrow.

I think moms really need to live in the moment. I get overwhelmed when I think about the long-term. Yesterday I received the startling news that kids don't usually wipe themselves after going #2 in the potty until they are 5-years-old!! The thought of playing Bathroom Assistant for 5 more years isn't a nice thought at all.

So it's the little achievements that I have to relish, especially in the potty department. Flora does a lot of her bathroom duties (hehe) without my help and Scout is even showing interest in the potty. He loves wearing his Toy Story underwear and he looks SO adorable in them. It means that I've had to clean up a few messes this week, but it's been worth it to be able to pinch his cute little bum in those underwear!
And Timber is nowhere near being potty trained.....but we did receive enough diapers for Christmas to last us a few months! And he's finally getting to the point where he only has 2 or 3 poopy diapers per day instead of 8-10.

So, there are a lot of small victories in the potty department to celebrate....but, gosh, I just keep thinking about wiping butts for another 5 years.....

bedtime stories

Sometimes Scout likes to be ornery when I'm trying to put a diaper on him. Last night he was being difficult so I started saying the names of the planets for him to repeat. New things like that always distract him enough to allow me to quickly diaper him while he is absorbing the new information. So we went through the planets, Mercury to Pluto (because Pluto will always be a planet to me -- I'll let him learn differently in school and "surprise" me with the news someday), a few times before he was finally diapered and dressed for bed. Once in bed, Scout repeated his bedtime prayer after me and then decided that he would pray on his own. He said, "Thank you Jesus for Mommy Daddy. Thank you Jesus for Flora. Thank you Jesus for Mercury Jupiter. Amen."

Flora decided she needed to use the potty before bed but apparently she didn't really need to go. After sitting on the edge of the bathtub for five minutes I told her that it was time for her to be done because I was tired of sitting on the bathtub. She responded, "But Mommy, I could rub your bum for you to make it feel better." I laughed and then she got a worried look on her face and asked, "But, Mommy, can you keep your pants on while I rub your bum?"

my favorite things

To the tune of My Favorite Things:

Timber is smiling and Scout wants to hug me
Flora is telling a story to Barbie
No noses running and smiles that sing
These are a few of my favorite things

Kisses at bedtime and laughter that bubbles
Flora and Scout giving Timber sweet cuddles
Puzzles and toy cars and pink fairy wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Shocking red hair and big bright brown eyes
Soft newborn skin and sweet baby sighs
All of the giggles that bathtub time brings
These are a few of my favorite things

When the heads bang
When the diapers leak
When I'm up all night
I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feeeeel sooooo baaaaad!

Flora's run-on sentence

"Mommy, I am getting bigger and you will be in my belly just like baby Timber was in your belly and I was in Germany and I made all these toys in Germany because I want to go to Halloween and get some treats!"

I don't even know how to respond to some of the things she says to me!