Fourth Festivities

We started our 4th of July the way we always do, at the neighborhood parade. It turned into quite the parade this year! LOTS of people showed up. But it is kind of funny because everyone is IN the parade so there isn't really any one left to watch it. :)

Despite the look on Sadie's face, the girls were very excited to be in the parade! It is so funny because every year, no matter how close we are to the front when the parade starts, we always end up in the back! :) Usually it is Sadie being dramatic about something not going absolutely perfectly! This year, and I should have thought about this, it was the fact that she had to go so slow at the beginning with everyone so close and no training wheels...it was difficult. But we waited it out and there was more room in the back. But then there was some crazy lady that was trying to drive her car through the parade which was freaking Lucy out. Seriously!?! You are SO important that you have to get to your house and freak little kids out? You cannot wait 10 minutes? I was annoyed! Here they are all ready to go. They are so funny, I got them both the little head band things and the sunglasses. Sadie wanted the head band and Lucy the sunglasses. So Mommy got to be decked out in both!!

Since we finished last that meant we were at the END of the snow cone line! We waited SO long in the heat but boy did it make the prize so much more rewarding! :) This is the long line wrapping around and finally ending under the green canopy.
Cute little Daphne got all tuckered out from the heat. But was done with it about half way through the snow cone line.

After the parade we went over to a friends house and a bunch of us had yummy pancakes and crepes with festive fruit in them (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and bananas). They were so cute and SO delicious! After breakfast the kids played and then decorated cookies! They were all so cute together. We had such a fun time hanging out with friends and enjoying their company!After mowing the lawn, Chris took the older girls swimming while I stayed home with a sleeping Daphne. Then once Daphne woke up I went and got some Firehouse Subs and met everyone at the pool for a little picnic. Then we went over to the park for some 4th of July fun! We have never been to it, it's been rained out twice and last year we thought we weren't going to make it in time (blah blah blah - it was me stressing but we would have been fine) so we didn't know what a to-do it was. LOTS of fun vendors and a live band. Lots of fun. Since we didn't know what this was all about we weren't prepared and didn't have much cash. So we let the girls pick one treat and of course they both pick cotton candy!

Here are the girls waiting for the fireworks to start. They had fun dancing around in the mean time. Lucy, Sadie, Janae and cute little Daphne.
Poor Chris got SO much sun that day! And it was SO hot outside! He was pooped by the end of the day! Here we are watching the fireworks! Daphne looks horrified! :)So cute! Just enjoying it all! I was nervous it would be too loud for her and the booms would scare her. But she did fine. I think being right by the stage and the speakers it was already a constant loud noise going on.
Their expressions were so cute! They loved it!

By the time we got home we were ALL too hot and pooped!!! It was such a fun day!

The Best 2 months!

Can you believe this little monkey is already 2 and a half months old! I can't even believe it. It has gone by so fast, yet I was thinking the other day that I can hardly even remember being pregnant. Weird! I think your mind has to shut itself off to the pain or else you wouldn't do it again. :) We are just having the best time with our little Daphne. She is so much fun. She is sleeping pretty good. Probably the best out of our girls at this age. I feed her at around 7:30 for the last time at night and she doesn't get up until around 3:00 and goes right back to sleep. Then she'll get up around 7:00, eat again and go back to sleep...depending on our schedule and on how quiet the girls are being! :) So I am pretty proud of her! She has been doing this schedule for a while now too! Yippeee! (But I won't talk about the last two nights! Ughhh so tired!) But with this little face...I am so willing!

She has been a good baby. Once we finally got the Acid Reflux medicine she has been pretty chill. She'll hang out on a blanket and play. She loves her little play mat with toys above her. She'll lay under it and kick her arms and legs around making the toys shake and rattle. She is starting to have lots of fun with it.
She likes to tilt her head to her right side. The Doctor says we need to encourage her to put it to the other side as well so her muscles don't get too tight and lock up. So I try...
She had her 2 month check up and weighed in at 13 lbs. 6 oz. And 24 and a half inches long. Her little shots were so sad, but she did good.
She loves to cuddle with her blankies. She holds them so tightly right by her chest. She loves to have the blanket up by her face and snuggles into it. Obviously on when I have her in her carrier or something where I can keep an eye on her. She loves taking baths! She cuddles down into the warm water and could lay there for hours! So cozy!
She is really starting to interact with us. We ALL adore it! Whenever I am talking to her, the girls come running, "Is she smiling!?!" And they get right up in her face. If she WAS smiling, she usually isn't anymore. I keep telling them to just stay back a little because they are so close that she can't figure out what is right there in her face. Once they step back a bit, she will smile at her sisters! And they LOVE it!
She is my little cuddle bug and I just love her! Sadie and Lucy are usually to busy and crazy to cuddle. So I love that I can cuddle with her whenever I want! I just wish I could more often! :) She is having more awake times and it's fun to interact with her. She is very easy going and just goes with the flow. I think being the 3rd she kind of has to. I feel bad because I feel like she never gets a good nap because I am usually waking her up to put her in her car seat to go somewhere. Whether it be swim lessons, the store, summer camps, dance, whatever! But she is good about it! I just love her!
One night as we were getting the girls ready for bed, I had Daphne all ready and was helping the girls so I laid Daphne on Sadie's bed. After Sadie was ready, she went to go cuddle with Daphne. Of course Daphne was ready to nurse so the second she feels skin she tries to latch on. The girls LOVED it because Daphne was "giving them bedtime kisses!" They thought it was so funny and kept wanting her to give them kisses. After enough teasing, I finally took Daphne to go nurse! Now at night the girls love to have Daphne give them kisses. But I think she is starting to wise up to what is going on. :) (Lucy didn't want her picture taken)
I didn't even get a picture of Daphne with Daddy on Father's Day. These are the only pictures I got! Besides some presents, we made Daddy a special dessert! We had a yummy BBQ and then had these!

I got the idea here: Bakerella

They are just slices of sugar cookies with sugar sprinkled on them for the fries; and a cupcake with frosting and a brownie for the burger and sesame seeds sprinkled on top. They turned out really cute and were not difficult! Obviously since I made them! :) The girls thought they were so cool and tricky! They wouldn't take their picture together...so you get two pictures. Lucy also made this tie for Daddy at church.

Lucy was telling everyone in nursery that it was Mother's Day for her Daddy! Then after church she was telling Chris "Happy Mother's Day!" It was so funny! She is too cute!

Texas Summer

Besides taking and editing pictures, we have mostly been at the pool. It has already been such a H.O.T. summer! My girls seriously live in their swimsuits. If we are not at the neighborhood or YMCA pool, they are in the sprinklers, in our blow-up pool in the back yard or at the neighbors on their big blow up water slide. It is hot and you can only consume so many Popsicles, right?

So while the girls are doing a LOT of this:
I am doing a lot of this: Mostly I have to stay in the shade. 1) to keep Daphne out of the sun, 2) it is too stinkin' H.O.T. to be in the direct sun! But this occurrence was from 3:00 to 5:30 and it was actually a nice day...before it got too hot.

And while we are doing that, Daphne has been doing a LOT of this! Poor girl. Don't worry, I am now dressing her in less and of course she has her little fan! She is such a trooper and is already sacrificing for the happiness of her family. She "gladly" gives up her comfy bed and trades it in for a sweaty carrier; just so her sisters can have a little fun!

Usually we try not to cause a scene, but Lucy was turning lots of heads this trip! :) She didn't understand what was so funny as she waddled all the way across the pool, from the bathroom to me, to get help pulling up her wet swim suit! I love that she just doesn't care.
Sadie and Lucy started swim lessons this week, so I am afraid we will be spending even MORE time at the pool now. Sadie has really become a great swimmer. She seems to pick up really quickly on active things like swimming, riding bikes, etc. We are so proud of her!
Lucy has been a little timid with the pool. If she can't touch, she gets scared. But if she can touch, she is a little fish! The first day of lessons, she wouldn't even get in the pool and had to come sit on a towel by Mommy. This is partly my fault, as I have not been able to get in the pool with them. But yesterday I made sure that I did and she has warmed up a lot. She did GREAT with her kicks as I held her hands and she "swam" around the pool. We were so proud and she was so excited to show her swim teacher today.I know the heat won't last forever, thank goodness. But while it is here, we will definitely enjoy ourselves!

Busy Week

All this week I have been doing the dance photo shoot again. It is always a busy crazy week. I was really anxious about it before the week started. I think the pressure of it all on top of having a newborn, was the culprit. But it is going pretty well. The biggest issue we have faced is Daphne not taking a bottle. She will hold out sometimes until I get home! Chris will usually eventually be able to get some food in her. My friend Lyndsee told us a trick of feeding her while she is in her carrier or something and we tried it yesterday with success! (maybe she is relating being held with nursing) But, on the bright side, her stubbornness has pushed her to do longer stretches at night. :) Tuesday night I got home at around 9 and fed her and then laid her down around 9:30. She didn't get up until 6:30!! That was after I had woken up around 6:15, got nervous and went to check on her. Felt her tummy to feel if she was breathing and went back to bed. So I could have been the one that woke her up!

So yesterday there is one morning dance class and instead of having the sitter come, I just brought the girls with me. So while we were waiting for everyone to get there and get ready I figured I would snap a couple pictures of the girls and especially Daphne - since I haven't gotten many pictures of her. Come on, I am a third child...you think I would be better but I haven't!

I didn't want to adjust the lighting and stuff so it isn't the best because they were right on the floor rather than up a bit. But it works. None of them were even ready for the day - for picture standards; but once again, it is a crazy week. I am in my pajamas as I am typing this and same with the girls. Well, besides Sadie since she has to get herself dressed the second she gets out of bed. But she is wearing a skirt that was already worn and left on her floor and a shirt that doesn't match.

Today is our last day! Then I will be planted in front of my computer for weeks editing and ordering pictures. And once they come...packaging! It's a lot of work but I am really enjoying the escape from constant Motherhood. A different form of challenge.

I also have Sadie's birthday coming up that I need to get on top of. Ahhh! Sorry Sadie, but I don't think this years party will be up to par!

Anyway, here is sweet little Daphne!She is getting so big. The past few days she has REALLY started to smile. I am - WE are ALL loving it! The girls are constant trying to get her to smile! But as of now it is hit or miss. After a nap and food she is usually good to go and ready for social hour! A couple weeks ago she started giving us an occasional half smile, still figuring it out. But now she really understands the interaction more. It was so cute. On Tuesday, I got Lucy dressed and Lucy was really excited about her dress. So she stood up on her bed to show Daphne, as I was holding Daphne. Lucy did a little twirl and asked Daphne if she liked her dress and Daphne gave her a huge smile and held it for a long time! It was so cute! And then she was trying to coo a lot! She was "talking" up a storm. We were loving it!

Pearly Whites

We went to the dentist a few weeks ago. It was Lucy's first time getting her teeth cleaned so I had to document the experience. It was quite fun! She has always loved that they have a Thomas the Train table to play with...it is hard to get her to leave it! Lucy and I had to get our x-rays done since I was pregnant last time I went, and the time before they were in a new office and it wasn't working regularly. Sadie was sad that she didn't get to do it. But she got over it after a moment of grouchiness! (The joys of adjusting to a new baby! Everything is blown out of proportion!)I usually keep my little camera in my purse for moments like this. Lucy LOVES to play with it! She loves taking pictures of everyone and everything. She took a TON of pictures of the environment at the Dentist. She took pictures of pictures, the TV, the girl giving them stickers EVERYTHING! Here is one that the sticker girl took of Lucy. I think it is such a funny little half smile. She is always so cheesy that I like how sweet and soft this smile is. Lucy took one of Mommy during my turn. Sadie went first to show Lucy how it was done. She was such a good example and is so patient and obedient.All CLEAN! Look at those "glowing" teeth! :)Now it's Lucy's turn and boy is she silly!

Whenever it is some one's first time at the Dentist, they show them all the different tools and explain what they do. It is so cute and the girls really enjoy it. They think it is so fun to go to the Dentist. Lucy thought it was so funny that this one blows air out. The hygienist was blowing it on them and it was so fun!Woa! What came out of this one!?! WATER! So shocked!This one is a favorite! The one that sucks the water out of your mouth!Lucy thought that was absolutely crazy and hilarious! She LOVED it!She loved it so much that she was putting the Hygienist to the test! While she was squirting Lucy's teeth clean and had the sucking one in her mouth, Lucy would randomly and quickly close her mouth! It was so funny! Lucy thought she was so tricky and so silly. I have to say, the Hygienist was on the ball and had skills because Lucy never got a squirt in the face! It came close a couple of times but she was good. They were having fun! :)Not enjoying it too much here.And of course, we had to talk to the Dentist about this:It was SO cute when she was a baby; and I must admit I still love it. Because that means it is cuddle time! When she did it as a baby I felt like I had to hurry and take pictures of it like I would never see it again. But of course we have seen it many times since then. She used to just suck on her fingers when she was laying down in her bed and twisting the ties on the bumper pad with her other hand. Now that she does not take naps anymore, we see the finger sucking more often. When she gets a little tired, she finds comfort in sucking those cute little fingers. I always loved when babies would suck their middle two fingers because then it looked like the "I Love You" sign in sign language!

But, now that she is getting bigger, we need to start thinking about stopping this habit so that it doesn't mess up her teeth. So, the Dentist said that it is a good time to stop. :( I just feel bad because she doesn't have her bumper pad ties to twist anymore since she is in a big girl bed and now we need to take away this! Poor Lucy. I need to make some kind of a blanket that has different tassel things on it for her to twist and play with to soothe herself. I did notice the other night that she has started playing with the fabric of the pillow case on the open end. Too cute.

We all got a clean bill of health and enjoyed our visit to the Dentist. Lucy did a GREAT job with her first visit. They were so excited to get something from the treasure box AND get a new toothbrush and toothpaste! Our Dentist has the BEST treasures! Lucy got a toy car and Sadie got a bracelet since she LOVES jewelry!

Side note: I think it is so funny because Lucy is kind of a little tom boy sometimes. Although she loves dresses! She loves animals figures, she picks a car as her toy from the dentist. Whenever we get pull ups she always chooses Cars over princesses, and she picked a Mater toothbrush over princesses too! She is so funny and I just love her spunky little personality! She always makes me laugh!

One Month

This sweet little monkey is already one month old! (Well, technically now she is 5 weeks since I am doing this post a little late). We have had so much fun this first month with Daphne! It seems like it has flown by, yet it seems like she's been with us forever! It seems like so long ago that we had Grandmas here visiting, boy do we miss them.
She has already grown so much! She was not back up to her birth weight at her 2 week check up (which they like them to be...not too much of a concern since she was so big), she was 9 lbs. 9 oz at the check up and 9 lbs 12 oz at birth. So we had to go back the next week just to weigh her. A little annoying since she probably would have been up to birth weight if I had fed her because she was due to eat at the time of her appointment but she had fallen asleep in the car. So the next week, I fed her in the car in the parking lot of the Doctor's office. She weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 10 oz! Over a pound in one week -minus the milk :o)!
We got her on meds for acid reflux. I wish we could have a baby that didn't have this. It isn't fun and so sad to see them squirm around not being comfy. It is finally seeming to help.
Also, at that weigh-in, the Doctor was a little concerned about her skin, how it is marbled even though she is not cold to the touch. She checked her circulation and it was fine. She does want her to go see a pedi-dermatoligist just to be safe. She had one of the other Doctors come in as well and they were both a little puzzled by it. I think I remember Lucy's skin being that way too. Chris remembers my Mom asking if she was cold and us just saying her skin was that way. Then I noticed Lucy's skin can still look that way. She is pale, so maybe that has to do with it. Anyway, just interesting.
Daphne is starting to have some 4 to 5 hour stretches of sleep at night which is nice! Usually, it is that first stretch of the night so I have to go to bed early if I want to take advantage of it! :)
She has had multiple real baths now since her umbilical chord fell off just before 3 weeks.
Sadie fed her a bottle for the first time and was thrilled! But she said that Daphne stinks - I don't think it was her...it was the formula! Both Sadie and Lucy would NOT take a bottle at all! So I am trying to get Daphne used to them because I would like the opportunity of a little bit of freedom occasionally. I will give her a bottle once a day, for the most part, and she has done pretty well with them.
Dapne has more awake times throughout the day and we love it! It is fun to interact with her a little as she just stares at you! So cute!

I love how wobbly she is, and the speratic kicking and arm movements!
I love how you can tell that she is wanting to communicate but just doesn't know how.
I love to stare at her as she sleeps! The little squirming and squeeking noises she makes when she sleeps are adorable.
A weird thing, I know, but I love to pick the fuzz that gets stuck in the cracks of her hands, in between her fingers and toes. Love it!
I LOVE to smell her! Man, newborns smell SO good!
I LOVE to "steal" kisses. Little baby pouty lips that don't know how to pucker up for a kiss yet but I get to still give them kisses...I LOVE it!
I love holding her hand, and when she holds onto my shirt as she falls asleep!
I love how she will turn her feet inward and hold onto my arm with her feet while I am feeding her!
I love her little fuzzy shoulders and ears! I remember with Sadie I was nervous about that, thinking she was a hairy person, not knowing that's how newborns are. :)
I LOVE her little burping face! How her head bobbles a little as I am patting her back and her eyes are either wide open looking around with her pouty lips a little chapped from all the sucking that she hasn't had to do before. Or she is completely out from having a full tummy and then has the cutest sleeping face while being held up to burp! So sweet!
I love how she is so little in her crib! Such a tiny crib, yet she is even smaller! She is just this little bundle of beauty!
I love her all swaddled in her blankies. Chris calls her his little football whenever she is swaddled.
I love holding her in the sling and patting her cute little bottom.

We have had SO much fun and have REALLY enjoyed Daphne. People have said that number 3 was so difficult, but we haven't felt that way yet. I just really feel relaxed with her. Sadie was the first and so we didn't know what we were doing so that was difficult. Lucy was so close behind Sadie, that they just blur together. With Daphne we were really ready for her and we just get to enjoy her and appreciate her so much. Sadie and Lucy are such big helpers too, so that makes it easier. They like to play together and entertain eachother as well. It has been a really nice time together as a family of 5! Crazy, FIVE!!

Mothers

This Mother's Day I am so thankful for the Mom's in my life. We have been so lucky to have both of our Mom's come visit us recently for the birth of our sweet little Daphne. So this Mother's day we are extra thankful for the wonderful Mother's in our life. Not only for the people they have believed we would/could become and for teaching how to do so, but for continuing to love and support us. We love you and are forever in your debt!

Grandma "Stewie"

Grandma Christy

And here are the sweet blessings that I am proud to call MY family! They are the reason I get to be called Mommy! They are what I am most proud of! The reasons why I get up in the morning. They make my days happy and full of life and love! Without them, I don't know who I would be! I am glad, because of them, I am known as Mommy! I am so lucky!

When Sadie learned that Daphne likes to suck on fingers, she was thrilled! She thought it was so adorable and so funny! She is such a SWEET big sister! She adores Daphne as I am sure Daphne adores her! Sadie loves to make up sweet little songs and sing them to Daphne. It is so cute and she loves it!
Cuddle time!Our sweet little family. This was taken last week, Daphne's first time at church. She loves it and sleeps the entire time! She was mad in this picture though, because she needed to eat! Today at church, she didn't eat the entire time we were there! She went a good 5 hour stretch without eating; that was her personal best! :)