Isaac's 2 month & Mason 4 year checkups

Isaac was 14 lbs 10 ounces and 25-1/2 inches at his checkup today. That puts him off the charts for both height and weight...and almost too long for his infant car seat already! He didn't like his shots and has been fussy this afternoon since. I hope he's able to sleep well tonight!

Mason had his 4 year check today too, and he was 42 pounds (90%) and 44-1/2 inches tall (100%+). He was VERY adamant that "Only Isaac will get shots today." He remembered well the immunization he received back in May at Charlotte's 2 year checkup so I promised him before we went that he would get no shots :)

My boys are doing great, and the doctor says they both look healthy. That's all a mother could ask for :)

Happy Birthday, Mason!

My dear, sweet Mason turned FOUR today! Time has gone by so fast! I'm so proud of the boy he is. He is sweet, caring, loving, smart...I could go on and on. He is so special to me, my baby that FIRST made me a mother.

> He makes me laugh with his independent thought and imagination.
> He makes me smile with his compassion.
> He amazes me with how much he can remember and learn.
> He fills my eyes with tears of joy with his hugs and 'I love you'-s

I have so many wonderful memories of his first four years. I'm so thankful for our wonderful boy who fills our home, hearts, and our lives with love. I love you, Mason!

Happy 4th Birthday!

Here's a few pictures from the party we had today for him...complete with Spiderman cake (per his request, of course!).

How well do you know your 80's music??

I scored a 68 (that's with no cheating!) It's hard when you only see the words and can't hear the music! Let me know how you do :)

Why didn't I think of that?!?!

Isaac barely slept all morning (in fact, he cried for most of it!), and this afternoon I put him in his swing and he was fine for a little while, then he started crying - again! Charlotte needed help in the bathroom, so I left a screaming Isaac and Mason in the living room while I went to help her. I noticed Isaac had completely quieted down while I was out of the room!

I came out of the bathroom and found this...Isaac's blanket WAS on the floor next to the swing when I left him.

I asked Mason "Did you put Isaac's blanket on him?"

Mason responded: "Yeah, he wanted his blanket."

Apparently, my almost 4 year old figured out in 30 seconds what I didn't all morning...Isaac wanted his blanket! Isaac fell asleep in the swing about two minutes later!

Thank you, Mason!!!

Don't watch the news with a 4 year old

I was watching the news on TV before the kids woke up. Eventually, the kids got up and Mason went upstairs. I went to get Charlotte up and go upstairs with her. Charlotte and I got upstairs and Mason was sitting in front of the TV. I barely sat down in my chair and Mason turns to me and says:

"Mommy, what are sex offenders?"

YIKES!!! I couldn't find the remote fast enough! As I was changing the channel I answered him: "They are bad people." I think that's all he needs to know for now!

Isaac's baptism

It was a very special day shared with good friends. Mass was beautiful, although the three kids were a handful :) We are so blessed!

Two small stories

It's the little things that make parenting so rewarding! I have two small stories this morning:

Potty competition
Charlotte has now found she can go potty without a stepstool or a potty seat! She can get up on the toilet all by herself, and she is very proud! The more interesting part of the story, Mason decides he is not going to be outdone - after Charlotte went potty this morning, Mason says "I'm going to go potty standing up!" - something he's never done before! He sprayed all over and I had a bit of clean up to do, but he did it! Charlotte watched in amazement while he did this, and then said "My turn!" I had to break it to her that she cannot pee standing up :)

Curious George crossed with Sunday morning mass
There's part of a Curious George episode where the man in the yellow hat loses George in the airport and they have to announce over the intercom for the owner of the lost monkey to report to the information desk. Cross this with the fact that we had just gotten back from Sunday morning mass and this is what I heard Mason say as he was playing with his toys: "Holy Spirit of God, please report to the information desk!"

Potty Training - DONE!

Charlotte Rose is DONE with diapers! It didn't take long, and she's totally got the hang of it. We've been diaperless for about a week now, pull-ups for nap and bedtime only (and sometimes even her pull-up is dry!). She's so proud of herself, and she was definitely ready.

What a big milestone for our baby girl!

Nothin' but love

I'm amazed and impressed at how well Mason and Charlotte have adjusted to having a new brother! They love to hold and kiss him (as seen below) and they are never anything but loving and sweet with Isaac. It's so amazing to see our children loving each other :)

Isaac @ 7 weeks

Here's the latest picture of our handsome little man :)

Thesis defended and approved :)

Matt defended his thesis yesterday and it was approved!!! It's officially over! Matt had lots of positive feedback and his advisors appreciated all of his hard work. There's a little paperwork that is just a formality to take care of, but graduation is a sure thing at this point! I think we'll definitely get that diploma framed and put it on the wall :)

Relaxing...at HOME?

I went on a shopping trip by myself yesterday. No kids, no diaper bag, no infant carrier to lug around...I was so excited to have some alone time! However, it quickly turned south after three trips to the dressing rooms, no price tags on a dress that I assumed would be on sale (of course it wasn't), and total frustration over not finding anything that I liked!

So I came home empty handed. I ended up having a super relaxing afternoon at HOME...out on the deck, with a beer, and my book that I'm reading. The kids occasionally stopped up on the deck to say 'hi', then off they went again to play with Daddy. Who would've thought that my alone time would be totally frustrating, and my time at home with three small children would be so relaxing?? Go figure...

Thank goodness for two bathrooms

Why do the kids always decide to go to the bathroom at the same time?? Seriously, it's usually just as we sit down to eat, they both decide they need to go to the bathroom. Mason always goes upstairs, Charlotte downstairs.

Hmmm...whatever will we do when Isaac joins in??

A new kind of busy

I haven't posted in a while...the word 'busy' has new meaning with three children! I'm realizing that I'm no longer busy with household chores, doula business, and the kids. Now my time is spent solely taking care of three small children! Keeping up with the household chores (dishes, laundry, etc.) is definitely difficult. Not to mention sneaking a few minutes to myself or to post on the blog just doesn't happen as much as it used to. I'm also realizing that I'm not taking as many pictures as I thought I would since my hands/eyes are so busy just keeping tabs on the kids! It's busy, but it's a wonderful busy :)

Here's what's new with us and the kids:

• Isaac is doing well, sleeping consistently 7+ hours at night.
• Mason is doing great, he loves to 'parent' Charlotte - what are big brothers for? :)
• Charlotte and Mason are excited they get to start school together soon.
• Mason is getting SO excited to turn FOUR and that we're having a Spiderman party for him.
• I'm busy with the Childbirth Network that myself and a few other doulas in town have started. It's exciting that I've found other people as passionate as I am about creating awareness in our community about childbirth options for women.
• Isaac is growing so fast...he seems so big! He's smiling a lot more and starting to 'coo' - it's so adorable!
• Mason and Charlotte both are constantly asking "why?" - to the point where I have trouble answering sometimes! And we use the standard "Because I said so" regularly :)
• Charlotte is starting to make progress with potty training again! We haven't officially tried to potty train her, but she does tell us much of the time when she has to go potty or poopy and she does go on the toilet. I just need to make the effort to go the next step with her and be diaper free! (Well, at least our house could be size 5 diaper free!)
• The sandbox has been a HUGE hit around here this summer! The kids spend 90% of their outside time in the sand.

That's about it for now...I'm hoping to have some pictures to post soon!

Check it out...

HE SMILED! For the first time, tonight, while we were sitting outside...he smiled at me :) My heart just melted. He was almost squealing he was so happy!

Bonfire fun

We went to a bonfire over at Brian and Cristin's house last night. The kids had a blast playing. Here's what they did...you'll see at the end of the pictures in the post below (I had to use two posts to put them all up) why they desperately needed a bath when we got home!!


We had food and drinks























Played with Tess the doggie
























Mason raked while Charlotte pushed the stroller around (note the gloves Charlotte HAD to wear!)
Mason grilled some grass

Yummy s'mores!

Isaac pretty much hung out in his seat the whole time.
Here's Mason's "What do you mean I need a bath?" look.

Isaac @ 1 month

Here is my big boy at one month. He is 12 pounds (95%) and 24 inches (100+%) long! It's amazing how much BIGGER he feels in my arms already. He's in size 2 diapers, size 3-6 month clothes, and he stays awake and looks around for longer periods of time too. He's only up once in the night now (usually around 3 or 4am) so I'm beginning to catch up on sleep. He loves to go for walks in the sling with me, and loves to snuggle with me or sleep in his swing instead of napping in his crib - and I really don't mind so much...can you tell it's my third? :)

I'm enjoying every minute and am so in love with my little man!

Learning to count

Mason was counting the 'yarnies' (a.k.a. the tied pieces of yarn) on his blanket to see how many there were. He did great, got all the way up to twenty-seven, then this is what I heard:

Mason counting: "Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, twenty-ten, twenty-eleven! Mom, there's twenty-eleven yarnies on my blanket!"

It was so cute!

Mommy & Isaac

Here is a rare picture of me with Isaac (I'm usually behind the camera!). Not a whole lot new around here. Isaac is still sleeping pretty good at night (usually 5-6 hours) so it's much easier since I'm only up once in the night to feed him.

I'm feeling really good, I've been able to actually get things done around the house (cooking/cleaning/laundry, etc) which feels great. It's such a good feeling to be able to be up and around again! I actually took the kids to the park this morning too.

Another awesome feeling is being able to spend weekends with my husband again! His thesis is done and it feels SO nice to have him around on the weekends!

All in all...life is good :)