Week 15: Fairies, dragons, and a monkey

(Tuesday) We had a wonderful weekend with friends (and a couple hiccups), and I'm trying to get back on track this week...hope to post some photos soon!

(Saturday) Okay, so when I wrote 'get back on track' I just meant unpacking etc, not getting sidelined by a huge cold. Charlotte, Frank and I got it the worst and are just now starting to feel better. But here are some pictures from last weekend when we attended Maggie and Ben's birthday party. The unfortunate part of the trip was that Zach got a couple of deep splinters in his foot from running on the deck, and it was an ordeal to get them removed at urgent care. Luckily he made it back at the start of the party, and his foot is healing nicely (and Frank now knows where the nearest urgent care is for when we need it again!). The boys got to wear viking armor and the girls got fairy wings, though Gabe remained very unimpressed while all the other kids were there. He perked up later when the clown made him an adorable one-of-a-kind monkey balloon, while all the others got dragons or swords. Charlotte had fun hanging out with girls. I felt like it was a good short trip that didn't take me too long to plan/pack for, like we are starting to get comfortable with traveling with three kids...we'll see how our next trip goes. But we could do without another trip to urgent care, definitely (*going to look up where the closest one is to our next travel destination)!

Week 14: The big and little stuff

Charlotte wears a sleep sack...she still likes to be sort of swaddled.

Zach tied his shoe really well by himself for the first time :)

Waiting for the bus. Zach is proud of the fact that he can open and close the door to get out by himself.

Crammed in and being goofy. We are getting ready to switch out the infant seat for a convertible seat.

The pile of works by Gabe is growing and growing...

She's seeing even more of the world from her stroller now.

Brown Monkey + circular baby blocks = Princess Monkey.

The (first) Great Toy Reorganization of 2014 is complete. More toys for Charlotte in the living room, less toys for the boys to make a mess with in their room, and some stored away. Emily, would Nathan like a collection of Chuck the Dump Truck and friends?

Growing up too fast. Next thing you know she'll want chips and salsa.

Week 13: More zzzzz's please

The month of March has been rough for us in the sleep department.

The infant who drifted peacefully off to sleep is no more. Not at naptime, bedtime, OR in the middle of the night. She is not going down without a fight. Cue the crying and head shaking and rolling to kick the sides of the crib. Frank and I are obviously more tired nowadays compared to when we went through this stage with the boys, but it seems like it is taking forever.

Oh, and the boys... Since Daylight Saving started they have never been awake more than at bedtime. We moved their bedtime from 8 to 7 at the beginning of the school year because they seemed tired, but I think we're going to have to change it back for the summer. I don't mind that they are awake in their room (even if they get out of bed), but they have a tendency to wake Charlotte up just when she is finally conking out.

So we are hanging in there. We are planning for, and looking forward to, traveling to see friends and family, so that's been an area of focus. And just this morning I told Gabe "You know, you get to go to school in less than 5 months!" :)

Zach went to another birthday party for a classmate, at an indoor amusement park type place. The highlights seemed to be laser tag, air hockey and the roller coaster, which he got to ride with the birthday boy.

Gabe is very proud of his new accomplishment:

Making the baby food is going really well, eating it is going so-so. She seems to like pears, but sometimes it is hard to tell if she dislikes something, isn't hungry, or is just having a picky day.

Is anyone else watching Cosmos? Zach is in love with this show, which I knew he would be. I have really enjoyed the snippets I've seen so far...I'm looking forward to watching all the episodes at some point when I can actually hear the TV and not just the boys asking me questions.

Charlotte is seven months old now, only slightly bigger but a whole lot louder.

Week 12: Another week down

Again, it feels like just keeping everyone clean and fed is taking all our time and energy. Oh, and keeping the kids entertained...how could I forget that? Zach is into scrabble games with me and going to movies with Frank, Gabe likes his Kirby game on the Wii, drawing (especially with sidewalk chalk), and taking care of his monkeys, and Charlotte is content to sit and play and watch everything the boys do. She also loves avocado, is not a fan of carrots yet, and kicks non-stop in the bath like she is training for the Olympics. The photo of me and Frank was taken by Zach.

Week 11: Hot and cold

It was one of those weeks where Tuesday suddenly turns into Saturday and I don't remember how we got there. All I know is that it was beautiful and warm at the beginning and we walked up to the bus stop a couple days in a row. And today we have enough snow to cancel school again. In other news, Charlotte can sit up now. It's all kinds of exciting around here, huh? 

 

He's learning...we just keep forgetting to practice.

A lot more dark hair is coming in.

I just think the look on her face is too funny :)