10 on Tuesday

1. So last week was a big week for Holly Moon. She started daycare. She spends her day under the watchful eye with the same 3 ladies that took care of Johnnie, Joey & Jimmy. She was happy watching all the other babies & smiled most of the day as long as there was not a bottle in sight. The sight of those caused many a tear. But by the 2nd day I think she realized that she had to drink the bottles to get food so she happily drank all of them. She is adjusting well & although I miss spending my entire day with her I'm happy that I trust & care deeply for her caregivers.

2. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots of yummy food, football, family & friends. No pictures of us from that day because we take the opportunity to take our Christmas card photos each year on Thanksgiving since we are dressed somewhat nice & have lots of family around to motivate the kids to look at the camera.

3. My sisters were here of course. 4. Us girls made sure to pull our dad away from the football game to get a photo with him.5. Kayci's boyfriend Christian spent part of his day here. Eating the 1st of 3 Thanksgiving dinners. 6. Kim & Joe ate the 1st of 2 dinners with us. 7. And Jen spends every year with us.8. The boys weren't interested in turkey dinner so they feasted on cereal in the evening & paused for a few seconds to smile at my camera. 9. And Holly Moon is now 15 weeks old. Such a happy baby with dark big eyes with long lashes, chubby cheeks & pouty pink lips. 10. After taking pictures of each of the kids for the Christmas card I decided to try to get some more photos of Joey . I don't like to use bribery but I'm not above offering candy to get a good photo. As soon as Jimmy heard the word candy he came running outside yelling I'll smile. I already a great photo of him for the card but I absolutely adore this picture of him. He looks so happy but he also looks like such a big boy.

13 Weeks & Counting

Holly Moon is 3 months old now. Still in the 50% (23") for height & 40% (12 lbs) for weight. She has changed so much this month. She stays awake a lot more during the day. She is sleeping 10 hours at night with one feeding. She still can't stand tummy time so we are trying other ways to build up her neck & tummy muscles like sitting in her high chair during dinner & watching us from her bumbo. She still has weekly playdates with her 6 week older bestie, Whitney. She loves napping with the sunlight on her on the living room floor. She absolutely adores sitting in her carseat as long as it's not in the car. And she loves me. Her mama. Probably because I'm her only food source & I'm constantly doing funny dances for her. She is such a doll & her brothers are finally starting to entertain & be entertained by their baby sister. Her life will drastically change in a few weeks when she starts spending her days at daycare. I will miss her dearly but I know she will be okay with the same caregivers that took care of her brothers. We love you baby girl. Happy 3 Months!

My love.

I write this blog mostly to keep a record of what our lives are like with all of our children as they grow up. I look forward to being able to read about memories of our day to days along with photos to remind myself of the little things that will probably fade with time. But tonight I want to remember who makes my happiness so possible. My best friend. My husband. My love. We spend our days waking, feeding, bathing, disciplining, laughing, reading, doing homework & playing with children. We also manage to fit in full time jobs, the occasional work out & the rare date night. A night to spend completely alone (well Holly tags along right now). Trying to catch up on how our lives are going. We talk about where we want to live, what things we want in our future & quite honestly we just enjoy talking uninterrupted. There is something so nice about being able to have an ENTIRE meal including dessert & coffee without once having to take care of anyone else. We look at it as our time to just be us. Our conversations always make their way back to the children but during these dinners we only remember the best moments. The ones that make us smile & laugh. I love my life. I love my kids. But most of all I love my Rick & our moments together.