Still here!

Just wanted to say that we are alive and well...just slow on the blog posts these days. I missed Charlie's 4 month update, and he turned 5 months on Sunday. Updates (and lots of photos!) will come soon!

If you haven't heard (though I think most of you have), we are in the midst of transition as Eric is on the job hunt. We'd appreciate prayers that the right job would come along soon!

I'll be back soon with what you really want...pictures of my kids : )

I did not realize the last day of Molly's pre-K class would be so emotional for me! You have to understand that she had one of the greatest teachers ever this year. Really, this is probably one of the best teachers she will ever have. That may sound silly to you (after all, this is just pre-K!), but you just haven't met Mrs. H. I knew Mrs. H would be a great match for Molly when I was checking out preschools last year and had a chance to chat with her. I knew that she would love my Molly, get her excited about school, and help her learn to be a little silly too (our Molly girl can be quite serious at times!). Not only were my expectations met, she went way beyond all I had hoped! I have seen Molly build confidence in so many areas this year. She has learned so much, made some wonderful friendships, and has become pretty silly : ) Mrs. H taught these kids academically, socially, and emotionally...and most of the time I don't think they even realized they were learning. They thought they were just having fun! Some of the things they learned...ordinal numbers, counting by 5's and 10's, venn diagrams, graphing, sight words, writing letters and then words, manners, listening skills and so much more! I hope every child has a chance to have a "Mrs. H". Kindergarten has a tough act to follow, and we are praying for just the right teacher for Molly. I'm also hoping that Mrs. H sticks around so Ellie will have her in a couple of years.

Today also marks the end of Molly's preschool days...which means the beginning of her elementary days are just a few months away. Yikes! I cried all the way home from preschool today (didn't really expect that!), so it makes me wonder just how hard the first day of kindergarten will be. I'm hoping it won't be as bad...after all, endings are harder for me than beginnings.

I feel like Molly and I both went through pre-K this year. Mrs. H prepared both of us for kindergarten. I know that Molly is beyond ready, and I am getting there. Change is hard. Transitions are hard. But, I see that after I get past those first couple of weeks, we will be excited about all the new opportunities. Oh how I've been blessed to raise this beautiful, smart girl! And blessed some more to raise her wonderful little sister and brother too!! (More on them in another post...)

Here are a few pictures to see how Molly has grown and changed this year...

September--Molly's 1st day of Pre-K!

Molly and Mrs. H

Molly and friends at the pumpkin patch field trip

Molly's preschool Christmas program

Molly and Mrs. H on the "100th day of school"

Tooth #3 is missing! She lost this one about a week ago and looks so much older. She told us that she looks like a teenager although we are thinking it is more like 1st grade : )

Molly loves to read! The other day she didn't even make it up the stairs and read here for almost an hour. : )

Mother's Day Tea

Molly with the girls in her class at the Mother's Day Tea. (I do have pictures of Molly and I at the Mother's Day Tea...those will come soon.)

Molly today, on her last day of pre-K. It was beach day, hence the swimming suit. Since we don't actually have a beach here in the midwest, we do a lot of pretending : )

Another month flies by...

I guess it is time (or past time) for my monthly update. The blog has taken a lower priority these days. I will continue to update at least monthly (hopefully more often) so those that are far away can keep up with our growing boy and busy girls.

March and April have been busy months with many milestones...

First, we woke to this at the end of March...

We had waited for a decent snow all winter and it decided to arrive once we were more than ready for spring weather. Thankfully, we were able to enjoy the beauty of the snow and then it melted quickly! We have finally (the last week of April!) been enjoying some beautiful spring weather.

I think all the kids have a picture with Buster that looks something like this...
As always, Buster has been very gentle and patient with Charlie. It is interesting as Buster seems to have an "age of accountability". He lets them get away with anything (pulling ears, tail, etc.) until he thinks they know better. Then, he may offer a little protest growl...but only when they reach a certain age. Very interesting.

Charlie isn't sure what to think of Buster's "kisses"!


Charlie has been laughing and smiling so much! We love to get him going as his little giggles are so cute. The girls adore him and can easily get him to smile. I'm thinking that he may end up just a little bit spoiled : )

Molly celebrated her "100th day of school" this month. All the kids were encouraged to dress up like 100-year-old people. This is Molly in her outfit. You can't really tell in this picture, but we also used colored hair spray to make her hair grey. Pretty fun!

Sweet sisters on Easter. The girls have continued to be best of friends. They play constantly and get along most of the time. It is so helpful for them to be such good playmates...makes it easier to take care of the baby!

I love this picture of my three babies...

All three in their Easter outfits...

My sweet sister and I decided to be cute this year for Easter dinner. I made bunny bread and she made an Easter egg cake. I have to admit that her's does look a little prettier : )

I found the girls watching a tv like this after a bath the other day. Just made me laugh...

Just a cute picture of my buddy. I feel like he is really making the transition from newborn to infant. He suddenly doesn't seem so tiny anymore. And everyone's comment is always, "He just looks like a boy!" or "He already looks like a little man." I guess this isn't normal? It is just funny because we get the comment all the time.

Molly was able to help feed Charlie one day (and I was able to be out by myself!). You can see how much Charlie has grown by comparing this picture to the one following it which was taken in February.

Charlie is now able to sit in his bumbo chair. We borrowed this from a friend, and it is nice to let him have some time in a different position every so often. He enjoys the seat and looks like such a big boy!

At 3 months...

• We are estimating that Charlie is around 15 pounds (according to the bathroom scale).
• He is sleeping better...especially during the day. He has a regular morning nap that lasts anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. He is also just starting to get into a regular afternoon nap.
• Nighttime sleep could still be better. We thought we had reached a major milestone as he had a few nights of sleeping 7 hours! But, in the last week he's gone back to getting up 2 times at night...maybe a growth spurt?
• Like most babies, morning is his favorite time. He will lay in his cradle and kick, smile, talk and stretch while I get ready in the morning. I look forward to this happy time.
• Overall, he is a happy baby and I've come to find (again, like most babies) that if he is well rested, then he is happy and easy. So, regular naps are becoming a must. Sleeping on the go is not working anymore.
• He still doesn't like the car much...would still like that to improve!

Well, this was a long update. Hopefully I'll be back in less than a month!

Life at 2 months

Stats at 2 months:

Weight: 12 pounds, 8 ounces (75th percentile)

Height: 23 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

I can't remember the circumference of his head but I know it was the 20th percentile...all my kids have little peanut heads : )

The doctor was a little concerned that Charlie still had jaundice at 2 months. We spent last weekend undergoing blood tests, feeding with formula (while I had to pump), and waiting to hear that all is fine. Thankfully that is exactly what we heard when we received the test results. His jaundice is caused by "breast milk jaundice". There is something in my milk that does not allow the bilirubin to break down. This is not a serious condition, but we had to undergo a weekend of no nursing to be sure that the jaundice was not being caused by something more serious. We have been able to resume nursing, and his bilirubin levels will continue to drop on their own (although they were almost back to normal after a weekend of no nursing). While it was a somewhat stressful weekend, we were thankful to hear that we have a healthy little man!!

We've had a lot going on over the last month...

hanging out with mommy...

...and daddy

smiling lots and lots!

cheering for the jayhawks

Photo opportunity with my parents...in my cute baby dedication outfit

A family pic

Baby Dedication with Pastor Patti

A visit from Aunt Meagan, Uncle Ben, Grandpa Larry and Grandma Becky!

We all had so much fun!!

Molly and Ellie miss them so much.

Grandpa Larry and I hanging out.

Watching basketball with Uncle Ben

Relaxing with my Grandma Becky

The Whole Moore Clan

I'm loved by so many!

At 2 months I...

• Love hanging out on my changing table. If I'm unhappy, Mom and Dad can lay me there and I smile and talk so much!
• Have found my hands and enjoy sucking on them.
• Have learned to tolerate rides in the car most of the time. I cry a lot less than I did a month ago. Mommy is so happy about that!
• Am sleeping a little better at night. I give Mom a 4-5 hour stretch at first and then go every 3 hours or so. I am also starting to take some longer naps in my crib.
• Smile at my sisters, but I have noticed that my "newness" has worn off a bit. They aren't touching, poking, hugging me quite as much now. But they still think I'm pretty cute : )
• Am wearing 3-6 month clothes already!
• Have had 3 shots (vaccines) and 3 blood draws (to check bilirubin levels). I'm glad to be done with that for a while!
  

A little over a month

We see this wide-eyed look often and it cracks me up.

I love how they are looking at each other!

I really wanted to get a picture of the three of them (yet to get a really good one), and of course I thought it would be nice if everyone was dressed nicely, had their hair combed, etc. Instead this is what I can get these days. I thought I'd post it because this is our reality : ) And really, could it get much better? I'm so thankful that these three kiddos are my reality!

Working with Daddy


Life at one month...

• Sleep is getting better all the time (3-4 hour stretches at night)
• Napping during the day is a little harder, but usually get one good one
• At 3 weeks, 9 pounds 5 ounces (50%) and 21 3/4 inches (70%)
• Stayed home with dad and sisters a couple of times so Mom could go out!
• Loves to be held (baby bjorn is our friend!!)
• FIRST SMILES : ) : ) Daddy got the first one, but Mom enjoyed several later that day
• Regular outings include church, Bible study, and getting the girls to and from gymnastics and preschool...napping in the car happens frequently
• Not a fan of riding in the car when it is not moving (stoplights take SO long these days!), but fine when the car is in motion
• The girls are still helpful but much less "in the face" all the time
• I'm coming to enjoy having Molly's help in holding him while I prepare lunch, dinner, etc.

I feel like we are starting to settle into a routine. Things don't seem quite as difficult now as they did even a couple of weeks ago. I still haven't attempted a trip to the store with all three (by myself), and I think I'll wait on that until the weather is warmer. I'm convinced that everything is easier when you aren't freezing in the process : )

I've been asked several times about the transition to three kids. People often want to know if it is harder than the transition to two kids. Here are my thoughts...the transition to three is easier than the transition to two. I am already used to being focused on more than one child. Also, the girls are at ages where they are somewhat independent. They can go to the bathroom on their own, can get themselves dressed (with some guidance!), and play together nicely (most of the time). It is very nice that they have each other to play with, so while I'm feeding and taking care of the baby they aren't feeling neglected or lonely. Really though, for me, the transition to one child was the hardest. It was just such a lifestyle change to suddenly have to plan everything in my life around my baby versus just doing what I wanted, when I wanted.

I can't believe how quickly the time is going. Just as my pregnancy seemed to go faster this time around, I think Charlie's growing up will also seem to go faster. I'm trying to enjoy each of his little stages as they change so quickly during this first year!

One of those rare and magical moments...

This is Eric posting what I believe is my 2nd blog post ever, but I just had to capture this moment before it gets lost in the bustle of everyday life.  It was a little after 10 pm and Kylene had fed Charlie, but he wouldn't go to sleep.  So she handed him off to me for a little father/son time and she headed off to bed.  I've got him in my arms and he's fighting with all he's worth to keep his eyes open, but they're....just....too.....heavy.  Even after they are closed, he would try to open them every few seconds but could only muster raised eyebrows and the tiniest slit of an opening before giving up and letting them close altogether again.  It was really pretty funny to watch as we walked back and forth across the living room.  

And then it happened.  Charlie was in that strange and wonderful place that is halfway between wakefulness and sleep.  I was looking down at his little face and he smiled, really big, showing off the dimples that we desperately hope will stay with him.  It was brief and then it was gone.  Those smiles are rare, so I considered myself lucky.  But then it came back - even bigger!  His little mouth opened a little, curled up at the corners...and he started laughing!  How can I describe the sound of pure, innocent joy?  It was several little squeaks, little "ee" sounds on the intake of his breath, all right in a row, all with the huge open-mouthed smile on his face, his eyes scrunched up in his mirth. 

Wow.

I could endure a thousand sleepless nights for the immeasurable wonder of that moment.  This...this is what it is to be a father, to look gaze upon this little, dependent being that is a part of me, and to know total, complete, overflowing love. 

May this be the first of many, many laughs that we share, Charlie my boy.

Charlie's Nursery...finally!

Before...

After...

I have to say a HUGE thank you to my wonderful hubby and my mom. I had the design inspiration, but they did all of the implementation! My mom made the crib skirt, the pillows, and recovered my rocking chair. Eric made the window valance and recovered the lamp shade. (Oh, and he and the girls worked hard painting too!) It was so fun to decorate a nursery for the first time. Though we didn't know if Charlie would be a boy or a girl, I have to say that this room works perfectly for a little boy! I love how it turned out!!