Friday, August 30, 2013

She is FIVE!

We were blessed with a sweet, spunky, fun loving little girl 5 years ago today. I still don't feel that it is possible to have a five year old in our house!

There have been some rough patches in the past year as you start to navigate independence. While we don't want to squelch that independent streak, we have to find the fine line between following the rules and finding your own way. We are also working on learning to express emotions verbally instead of physically which is proving to be a challenge...
She is going to be mad at me someday for this :)

You are a pretty good eater overall. Sometimes it takes a bit of cajoling to try new foods, but I can usually get you to try something at least once. Meal times can be pretty drawn out if you get distracted or you don't want to eat what's been served. You love most fruit and veggies along with any dairy product- especially ice cream :)
Or any sweet for that matter!

Sleep can be a challenge for you. Mommy tries hard to get you in bed by 8:30 and you are typically up right after daddy around 7:00. You are still required to take a rest which usually means you have quiet time in your room with books while your brother naps. Some days you fall asleep, but it's not often anymore. You've also become worried about things (snakes, thieves, lions, and Satan are just a few you mention during bedtime prayers) at night and have taken to sleeping underneath your pillow.

Currently you spend most of your time playing with your dolls and tend to mimic many things you see mommy do with Elissa. You love your brother and sister to pieces, as long as it doesn't mean you're lacking for attention. Most of the time you play well with Easton and are super gentle with Elissa. Some times you make an exception and race a truck or tractor around the house with your brother. You have an awesome imagination! You love to be outside, especially if you can follow daddy around. A daddy's girl for sure!
 
Purple is your favorite color with pink coming in at a close second. You love to watch tv- we don't have it on much so you love to watch anything that's on. 'Tinkerbell' and 'Tangled' are probably your favs and you can't wait to go to Disney some day to meet them.

This spring you completed your first year of preschool at Lakeshore Little People. You have learned so much this past year! You now recognize all of your numbers and letters, you know your address and phone number and are able to recite many Bible verses. It was a great year of learning as well as getting in some play time with your buddy Weston.
Emma and her teacher Miss Cassie on the last day of school

Mommy and daddy decided to have you complete one more year of preschool before heading off to kindergarten. All day every day seems like a lot for a little person, plus mommy would rather you be 18 when you graduate as apposed to 17... We're super excited about the program you'll be starting in a few weeks- more on that later.

We are so proud of the young lady you are becoming. You are so generous and caring- most days you love to lend mommy a helping hand around the house and play with your little brother. Hours are spent in the office also, making cards and pictures for others. You love to strike up a conversation- you start off shy sometimes, but once you start talking there's no stopping you!

We know God has an awesome plan for your life and mommy and daddy hope we continue to help you foster your love for Jesus. May His light shine through you!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

One Month, Where Have You Gone?!?

Our sweet pea is one month old today! So hard to believe, yet she fits so well into our family it's hard to remember our lives without her.

This last week hasn't been quite chaotic, but not very exciting so I don't have too many pictures to share. We are celebrating your big sister's fifth birthday this weekend so that has kept mommy busy cleaning and prepping for the big party. Last Sunday we did get a chance to hang at the pool by Sandy Pines, but you slept through the whole thing.

We also still have no schedule- some days you are very laid back and then other days you are very high strung. The reflux is definitely kicking it into high gear so I think some days you are just down right uncomfortable :( We currently average 12-14 nursing sessions in a day.
Your headbands finally fit your little noggin'!

You are much more alert when you are awake and like to just sit back and take in your surroundings. No smiles from you quite yet, but you will imitate and stick out your tongue :) Tummy time is tolerated in spurts and you are a champ at holding your head up.

Also, thanks to our good friend DeAnna we are now using cloth! I couldn't justify spending the money on newborn size diapers for our last kiddo and you are still too tiny for our adjustable ones. I planned on using sposies until you were out of newborn diapers. When DeAnna offered to let me borrow hers I was thrilled. So thankful!

From here on out I'll be posting monthly updates- babies change so much in the first month I felt the need to document each week in the beginning.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Three Weeks

You're three weeks old Elissa Joy! We have had another busy, busy week, but mommy wasn't as good at documenting it in pictures this time around.

Most days you go with the flow. We have had a few rough patches lately. It seems as though you may have reflux just like your siblings. Some days are great, but then other days you seem so uncomfortable it breaks your mommy's heart! The doctor did prescribe you some meds that we may try in the future if we continue to have issues. You are content to be held and the Moby and Maya wrap have gotten a lot of use already!

We had our family photos this past weekend. You did great for the first half, but by time we moved outdoors you were pretty sick of it. I think we got some keepers though! Mommy even painted your piggy toes pink for the special occasion.


This week we also made it to several outdoor play dates. It's awesome to have so many mommy friends who have little ones your age. I look forward to watching the friendships grow between the kiddos over the years. We also found out today that mommy's cousin Lindsey is having a girl in January. Mommy and Linds were very close growing up and I pray you can have that kind of relationship with her little one some day.




Sunday, August 18, 2013

Beach Trip

We finally made it to the beach this weekend for the first time all summer- how depressing is that? When you only live 20 minutes from an amazing body of water you try to go as much as possible. However, with two little people and an enormous belly combined with either sweltering temps or below average temps made it less than appealing this year.

This evening it was a little too cool to dip our toes in the water, but it was fabulous for walking the pier, boat-watch along the channel and take a turn on the swings. I think the kiddos will sleep good tonight :) Elissa managed to snooze through her first beach experience. I'm sure she'll appreciate the sun and sand more next year.


It was an amazing night for family time and to appreciate the beauty God has graced us with. Not only the scenery around us, but those closest to us was well.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

1.5 Years

My sweet little guy is 18 months today. Amazing how fast time flies when you get past the mundane day-to-day and look at the bigger picture! Up until recently, he was my baby. He seemed little still.
You look like a giant next to your sister
 
You are a very active little man, who loves to run around following in his sister's footsteps. I can always distract you by mentioning that there may be a truck or tractor coming down the road. You will run at top speeds to the nearest window crying out for papa. You love animals, along with anything that has wheels. I fear what the teenage years may bring! There's no doubt your mommy's little man, but you love to spend time with your daddy and imitate whatever he's doing too.

Exploring daddy's tools

On the lookout for tractors and trucks
 
We're starting to see a little bit of that two year old 'tude shining through now. If you really aren't happy about something you're sure to let us know. Typically by sticking your tongue out and blowing raspberries as you turn and high tail it in the other direction. That's your usual response to the words 'nap' and 'no'. Right before Elissa was born I pushed you towards just taking one nap a day instead of two. You currently sleep from 8/8:30 to 7/7:30 and then take a 2.5-3 hour nap in the afternoon. Most days you don't put up too much of a fuss to go down unless you are overtired... then it gets a little tricky.

Food for you is a hit or miss most days. Some times you'll gobble something down and two days later you won't touch the exact same thing. Life of a toddler I guess! We can always count on you eating your condiments though :) If there is ranch in sight you want it. Which doesn't mean you'll eat what you're dipping necessarily. The food is simply used as a means to get the ranch in your mouth. Unless you have a spoon, then you'll forgo the food altogether.
 Who needs a hot dog when you can just have carbs?!?

We took a mini-vacay from cloth once your baby sister joined the family. This made life easier for grandma and eventually mommy, but also gave you time to heal from all the darn diaper rashes we've been battling. You wear a 4 in sposies and your cloth are now all on the largest setting. We've moved to 18 month clothing for the most part, but there are still some 12 month shorts in your drawer as well.
I feel like your vocabulary is taking off. Not everyone can understand you, but your family can most of the time. Some of the words you know- please, night-night, bye-bye, hello, thank you, more, snack, rock, sissy, Emma, mommy, daddy, papa, grandma, baby, truck, tractor, and flashcards. You're daddy and sister are silly and yell 'flashcards' at each other all the time. Mommy doesn't get their joke (and I'm not sure they do either!) but you have quickly joined in on their fun. You've also picked up sign language for 'more', 'please', 'milk' and 'eat'.
Easton, you bring so much sunshine to our days! You are such a silly, spunky boy who loves to laugh. I was very worried about how you would adjust to having to share mommy with another sister, but you are the sweetest big brother around. If Elissa could live off kisses she would have no trouble surviving around here. We love you more than words can say sweet boy!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Two Weeks

We've got two weeks in already and I feel like everyone is adjusting quite well- phew! It helps that we had Grandma here for most of it.

There is currently no schedule for our little 'sweetie petey' as Emma calls miss Elissa and I don't really expect to have one for a while. Many hours are simply spent sleeping or eating at this point, but the last week did consists of lots of 'firsts' for our little lady. You also made it back to birth weight at your two week check up, hooray!

-We went to a kid's concert in Kollens Park and enjoyed some time outdoors.
 Enjoying some fresh air
Grandma and the kiddos rolling down the hill

-Elissa's umbilical cord fell off so she had her first bath. Verdict is still out on whether she really enjoyed it or not!

-After Grandma headed home I ventured outdoors with all 3 kiddos by myself. It may not sound like much, but this was a huge feat for us!
 It was abnormally cool for August so we had to bundle up a bit!
Emma and Easton played so well together, they made their mommy proud
-She had a snooze on the couch with daddy, a ritual all 3 kiddos have now participated in at a very young age.

-Elissa met her great grandparents along with my aunt and cousin. It was wonderful to see all of them!


Wow, what a busy week it's been! With 3 little ones, it looks like we may continue this pace for a while :)

Monday, August 12, 2013

No Itches Here!

2,555 days, 3 amazing kiddos, 2 homes, the start and end of a business, many bouts of laughter and tears, hours of labour and love have brought us here today. They say 7 years is when spouses tend to get 'the itch', but I can't imagine a life without you babe!
Here's to many more wonderful years!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Kid's Bathroom is Finally Done!

Remember that caulking and painting project I was working on? I have still be torn over what to do with the decorating aspect of it. I still don't have towels or rugs because I couldn't decide what direction to go in. Hours were spent scouring the Internet for just the right thing. I wanted something that was geared towards the kiddos, but not too childish. Nothing too masculine or feminine. And I knew I didn't want to spend a ton of money because I figured the decor would change as the little people grow.

I finally found something that I figured would be perfect. Plus it isn't permanent so it can easily be altered down the road. The best part? It cost me a whopping $25 and I was able to complete it in about 30 minutes. I bought the wall quote from Amazon and the removable wall decals from Target. Here's the finished product:
The quote says, "You're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way!" - Dr. Seuss

I love how it turned out! Now to just find towels...

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Whew, What a Week!



Miss Elissa has been on the outside for a whole week now and we are all making adjustments at our house. Less attention, less sleep, less of a schedule, but a lot more love! She has fit right into the family like a missing puzzle piece and we can hardly remember life without her. At this point she is very mild mannered and is able to ignore all the chaos in our house.
Emma and Easton have acclimated to their new sister surprisingly well. Emma can hardly get enough of her. She loves to hold the baby and help mommy with anything that might involve our sweet bundle. Easton is enthralled with Elissa and loves to shower her with kisses as well. I wish I could be faster with the camera to capture these sweet moments!
We are all smitten with you little lady and can't wait to watch you grow and develop into your own little person. Mommy just prays it goes slowly- I'm not ready for this baby phase to fly by!


First night I her bassinet, already telling mommy, "Enough with that camera lady!" Yep, I think she's going to fit in just fine around here :)

Thursday, August 1, 2013

She's Here!




Introducing Miss Elissa Joy Klein! A perfect 6 lbs 14 oz and 19.5 inches long. We are all doing well, enjoying our time getting to know each other. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!