August 10

Saturday.

Ah, Saturday.

In my world, Saturdays are like little vacations. I love them.

And today will be my last vacation for a while, so I savored it. (Can one savor each moment while being productive? I vote yes, because that's what we did today.) I let Chris do as much with the kids as possible, because I know he is going to miss them like crazy while he's gone, and they will miss him.

So he made breakfast with the older two.

We all went grocery shopping as a family.

He made lunch for the big kids.

He played with them before dinner, while I nursed the hungry, hungry, HUNGRY!!! baby Lily.

Sweet, right?

He's a great Daddy, which is what makes his upcoming trip so scary for me. He may be gone all day, but when he's home, he is HOME. I honestly don't know how to parent without him, but with God's grace I'm sure I'll figure it out. Hopefully the kids won't suffer too much along the way.

At bathtime tonight, we tried adding Lily to the bathtub mix.

It wasn't a perfect solution; Lily's not quite ready to be in the big tub yet. But boy did Caleb and Daisy love sharing the tub with their baby sister!

August 9

So, I pretty much failed at picture-taking today. 

But it's not entirely my fault!

We started the day with a visit to Caleb's new preschool. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was my first outing with all three kids, by myself! Caleb starts school next week, so today was Open House - a chance to see the classroom, meet some classmates, get acclimated... all the fun stuff.

Caleb had a blast, and Daisy totally wants to go to preschool now. In fact, as we got in the car to head home, Caleb called from the back seat, "Preschool is way funner than home!"

He's absolutely right, and I am so thrilled that he's excited about going to school.

So that took up our whole morning, and I didn't take any pictures. On our way home from that, I discovered that my shiny new phone (you know, the one I got two days ago?) didn't work. Specifically, if I went to make or receive a phone call, I could only hear the person on the other end of the line if I turned on the speakerphone. Otherwise, it just didn't work. Strange right? 

Apparently it's a known flaw of my phone. 

So during naptime, I took some darling photos of my sweetly sleeping Lily on said new phone, then made some calls to see about getting the issue resolved. When all three children woke up from their naps at the same time (3 hours. Boo-yah.), I loaded them into the car and we hit Best Buy, Lowe's, and Target.

That's right. My first shopping trip with the kiddos - by myself - involved not one, but three stores. I am Super Mom. It would have been four stores, but the phone people at Best Buy couldn't help me (long story. You don't want to hear it.), so we didn't have time for store #4.

After dinner, I took Lily and went to a different Best Buy to resolve my phone problem while Chris played with the big kids and put them to bed. The Best Buy people gave me the new phone I needed, but their data-transfer machine was down, so they couldn't transfer all the information from Phone #1 to Phone #2. Which meant that I lost those pictures of sweetly sleeping Lily. Man.

And then Lily and I went to Kohl's. That's right. Five stores in one day. We rock.

But the only photo I have to show for it is this:

Yep.

New phone = I have entered the world of selfies. Be prepared, Internets. There may be a lot more of these.

But what you really need to notice is sweet Lily, snuggled up in the Moby-type wrap my friend Jessica lent us. Shopping with a three-week-old (Happy three-week birthday, Lily!) is a piece of cake with one of these.

(Did I mention that neither Lowe's nor Target had the double kid-carts when we visited? The kids and I rocked our shopping excursion with the children on foot. Why? Because Lily was wrapped up on my chest and I had both hands free. Moby Wrap for the win!)

I promise to do better about taking pictures tomorrow.

August 8

I'm not going to lie; today was a crummy day.

Mostly, I was a crummy mommy today. I've had a headache for five days, and I just can't shake it; Lily kept me awake from 2am until nearly 4 am last night; this morning, all Lily wanted to do was fuss and nurse and be held, while her siblings competed for my attention; and to top things off, it was a gray, gloomy day. 

All of that combined to make me crabby, grouchy, and short-tempered. It was not my finest day, and I have a feeling that there will be some more days like this in the next few weeks while Chris is gone.

But there were some bright spots in the day.

We found some time to play outside, and discovered that my Sun Sweet cherry tomatoes are finally ripening! I mean, it's only mid-August, but whatever. Caleb will not eat cherry tomatoes indoors, but if he can pluck them off a plant? He'll gobble them up.

Daisy was not this happy about tomatoes. She did not like them at all. She was just happy to have her picture taken, for some odd reason. Funny girl. She is totally two.

Just like yesterday, this girl fussed and squawked and needed me all morning, then slept all afternoon. As in, I was able to make dinner without interruption, and she'd been sleeping since 1:00. Crazy. But she woke up right as dinner was ready, so of course she was starving, so I got to eat a cold dinner. The curse of mommyhood, right? But this vibrating rocker kept her really happy while I gobbled up that cold dinner!

And when I came out from putting Daisy to bed (lately, we've been dividing and conquering bedtime: Chris takes Lily with him while he puts Caleb down, and I put Daisy down), I found Chris reading, "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?" to Lily. Can you tell how engrossed she was?

She's clearly a prodigy.

And my husband is clearly a keeper.

August 7

Two exciting things happened today:

 - a repairman came to fix our dryer, which is less than two years old, but randomly stopped drying things.  

- we got new cell phones. 

Double hooray? 

Somehow our baby-birthing schedule and cell phone upgrading schedule have ended up on the same track, and we're always due for upgrades right around the time a baby is born. Hopefully we'll be happy with these until #4 comes along!

Lily fussed and  nursed all morning, then slept all afternoon, so all I have for you today is one picture of a sweet, sleeping baby.

If I had known she was going to sleep all afternoon, I would have tried harder to get a good shot! Instead, I was afraid of waking her and I stopped after one picture. 

Now I'm going to exercise all the restraint I have and go straight to bed instead of playing with my new phone.

August 6

Day 2 of Operation: Three Children went really well. 

Of course, I got to leave for part of it. But still.

This is what our family looks like when Lily is awake:

It's a good thing that Lily is usually only awake for no more than twenty minutes at a time - I don't think I could stand all of the excitement!

(Side note: because Daisy is so all up in Lily's business affectionate with Lily, I found myself telling her several times this morning, "Give her some space! Give Lily some space!" And then Caleb and Daisy both wanted to snuggle Lily at the same time and Daisy scolded Caleb with a scowl, "Give her some space! Lily need some space!" Meanwhile, she was smooshed right up next to her sister...)

I got Caleb and Daisy down for naps, and my mom came over to sit with them while Lily and I went to visit our midwife for our two-week checkups. Miss Lily tipped the scales at nearly 9 pounds - 8 pounds, 15 ounces to be precise! After Daisy's slow weight gain (She was even slow to gain very early on; at her two-week checkup she was an ounce shy of re-gaining her birth weight, and the pediatrician immediately insisted that I supplement with formula, instead of offering breastfeeding support. Needless to say, we dumped that doctor!), I have a bit of a complex about Lily's weight. But happily, I've been able to suppress my obsession. I'm trusting that Lily will be a healthy and happy girl!

Also, she's clearly a prodigy. Yes, this is a somewhat-creepy sleep smile, but my mom insists that Lily smiled at her twice today and even laughed once. Two and a half weeks is a bit early for a real smile, but Mom is adamant that Lily looked her in the eye, chuckled, and smiled at her.

Who am I to question the woman who birthed me?

Sweet girl. Don't mind the peeling skin, please. 

(Amber, I finally found a patch of good light in my house! It only occurs in the afternoon, though, and I might have to move a couch to use it effectively...)

Don't be fooled. She looks peaceful here, but she was pretty high-maintenance tonight. Does that mean she'll make up for it by sleeping really well tonight? It works that way with babies, right? Maybe not. But at least she's cute!

August 5

Today was Chris' first official day back at work. We have just under a week until he heads off to Wisconsin for two weeks, leaving me alone with three children. I can totally do this, right?

Actually, our first day went remarkably well. Daisy was down for her nap before noon, Caleb just after, and Lily right after that, leaving me time to shower (! I know! Amazing!) and still take a two-hour nap. Plus, a friend from my MOPS group brought dinner tonight, so I didn't even have to cook. Really, I'm not sure how things could have been better.

Oh, wait. I could have taken some decent pictures. 

Well, we'll work on that. Instead, I give you this one, poorly exposed picture.

It was a cute moment, even if the picture isn't so cute.

Before Lily was born, I worried about how Daisy would handle things. She can be a bit... *ahem*... unpredictable, so I was afraid that she might not react well to the baby.

Do you know what happens every time I leave Lily unattended for a moment or two? I inevitably return to the room to find Daisy snuggled up next to her, kissing her, stroking her hair, singing her a little song, or reading her a book. My expectation is always that my children will love each other and get along, but I was not prepared for this level of affection from Daisy. It's pretty special.

Today, I left the room to take care of Daisy's poopy diaper (that's right - she's not wearing pants). When I returned 30 seconds later, I found that Daisy had chosen a book off her shelf and was "reading" it to her sister.

*sigh*

Let's hope it lasts!

August 4

Today we had my family over to celebrate my sister Jenny's 31st birthday. I always love August through December, because then my sisters and I are all a year apart in age; for the next five months, we will be 31, 32, and 33 years old. I'm really not sure how my poor mother survived our toddler years, but it is a novel thing to be so close in age.

I love this picture of Jenny because it's so typically her.

Ryan entertained the little ones, as he often does.

(I didn't notice until just now, as I was reviewing these photos, that someone allowed Caleb to play out in the yard wearing only his brand-new Awesome Socks. Hmm...

I told Jenny that I wanted a picture of her with Lily, and Jenny asked Daisy to join the shot, too. She said she wanted a photo with her "flower girls". I like it!

Lily wore her tie-dye in honor of her hippie auntie. I love how colorful these two are!

I'm pretty sure Lily either already loves her aunt, or she is totally confused by her.

Daisy, mid-sentence, at the top of her slide. This girl was chatty, chatty, chatty today!

For someone with no babies of her own yet, Jenny is a natural with itty-bitty ones!

Our first family photo featuring Lily and Jace! I can't believe my parents are now grandparents of six children!

This shot is much more reflective of our family.

Billy and Emily with sweet little Jace. He turns two weeks old tomorrow!

Emily and her family. Aren't they cute?

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

(I totally gave Caleb and Daisy bean cupcakes with a little bit of icing on top, instead of this cake. Caleb was a bit upset at first, but when I promised him two cupcakes, he was quickly appeased.)

And sometime after dinner and birthday cake, while Emily and I were on the couch together, nursing our babies, this happened. All I know is that it involved Grandpa wearing a child-sized Spider Man mask, Max in a padded Superman suit, giant tree branches, and lots of yelling and fun. Who knows.

And now it is way too late, so I should go to bed. Chris returns to work full time tomorrow morning!

August 3

I am typing this with one hand while Lily sleeps on my chest. Please forgive any typos.

We attempted our first full grocery shopping excursion with three children this afternoon, and it went remarkably well. I know that it's really hard for a newborn to be a "bad" baby - they're all pretty good at this age - but Lily is definitely a good baby. She's just easy. I hope she stays that way!

I snapped this one last night, after I had put up yesterday's post. This was how Chris kept Lily happy while I typed. She's always happiest when she's snuggled up with someone. So is he, apparently.

Sweet Lily, after our shopping excursion. Shopping wasn't today's only excitement, though. Two other awesome things happened:

1. Lily had her second bath today! She didn't like it any better than the first time.

2. Lily's umbilical cord stump fell off today!

 (At this point, we're still celebrating the small milestones. Although her new belly button is pretty disgusting looking, so I'm not sure it should be celebrated... I don't remember the other children having disgusting-looking belly buttons... Chris thinks it looks like a direct portal to her intestines. I assured him that is not possible, but now I realize that I have nothing to support my claim. Are we really looking at her organs? It doesn't seem like our bodies would do something so ridiculous...)

Poor Lily. Something tells me that she will spend the rest of her life being embarrassed by her parents.

Oh - and there's Chris, with Daisy! Daisy's clumsy spell continues: today she was walking on the sidewalk with Chris and she randomly tripped and fell, scraping her chin. I'm assuming there's some sort of developmental thing going on that's causing her to be so clumsy all of a sudden; maybe she's growing? Who knows. I just can't wait until this phase is over!

August 2

Today Chris and I celebrated 11 years of marriage! He took the day off work, and we headed out to the park where we were married for our now-traditional family photo.

Want to reminisce with me?

2012

2011

2010

Before 2010, we still visited the park - we just hadn't thought to make family photos part of the tradition. It's so much fun to watch our family grow. Even more fun? Watching a place that means so much to us become a meaningful place for our children, too.

Today, all of our potential photographers were busy, so it was up to me, my tripod, and my handy-dandy camera remote to take our family picture.

While I was testing things out, I got this shot, which I love. I'm not sure why I love it, but I do. Something about my sweet children waiting patiently, when all they really wanted to do was run and explore and feed the fish. And maybe also the fact that my handsome husbando is so lovingly tending to his 2-week-old daughter. 11 years ago, I could never have imagined that the man I was marrying would be so confident and competent with a baby that small. Chris and I were married so young, and since then we've grown up together in so many ways. Learning how to be parents has probably been the most surprising, challenging, fun, and exhausting part of the journey so far. 

There. That's our official family portrait for our 11th anniversary.

I can't believe it's been 11 years.

I can't believe we have three children.

It's a little bit crazy.

After I took that photo, we decided not to press our luck any more with the pictures, and we turned the children loose to play. I settled Lily down on our quilt (made for us by Chris' grandma, who is now gone, as a wedding gift) and waited for Chris to get fish food for the kiddos.

While she waited, sweet Daisy watched over her sister.

This picture melts my heart. I know you can barely see Lily sleeping on the blanket, but I love that Daisy is just quietly sitting with her sister. I love even more that I can imagine this same picture next year, when Lily will have just turned one. Will they be sitting together on the quilt? Will they be lying on their backs together, staring up at the sky? Will Daisy be showing Lily how to feed the fish? Or bossing her sister around?

This picture makes me so excited that Daisy has a baby sister. I pray for a deep and lasting friendship between those two, my sweet flowers.

Lily was trying so hard to sleep in the shade, but Daisy kept trying to hug and snuggle her sister.

(Also, this is Lily's first time wearing a dress. It's a little first, but it still matters.) 

Finally, the kids got to feed the fish.

We didn't have quite as much luck with the fish as we did last time, but the children were undeterred.

How cute are they?

*sigh*

I loved him 11 years ago, but now that he's a father, I love him even more.

Remember earlier, how I said I didn't want to press my luck by taking any more pictures? 

Well, then I remembered that we needed to take a picture of the kids with "our" tree. (You know, the one I had planted last year, in honor of our tenth anniversary?)

Bad idea. 

This was the only shot I got.

Daisy screaming.

Caleb scowling.

Lily like a limp rag, about to fall out of Caleb's lap.

*sigh*

But it's really funny to look at, and it definitely captures what life is often like at this stage of our lives. 

So we gave Daisy back her fish food, and let her return to doing what she wanted. 

I settled Lily back down on the quilt in the shade, and we were all happy, happy, happy.

August 1

What? It's August? That's just plain crazy!

Also crazy is that today, on August first, we were finally able to eat something from our garden. That's right - my poor vegetable garden has been hanging out all summer, the plants growing bigger and blossoming like crazy, but yielding nothing. Until now, that is.

It's pretty sad when one lone cucumber is so exciting, but here we are.

Everyone got a turn to hold the cucumber, inspect the cucumber, pose with the cucumber...

Everyone except Lily, that is, because she was napping inside.

Daisy was appropriately thrilled. After all the picture-taking, we sliced that bad boy up and ate him for lunch.

(Side note: did you notice Daisy's busted lip? Yesterday she was walking - WALKING - down the hall carrying a book, when she randomly tripped, fell, and busted her lip open. Today, she bonked her head into stationary objects like the table, a desk, a chair, at least five times. The girl is in the midst of a serious clumsy spell!)

Chris was at work all day today, and the kids and I did really great. I even got all three of them down for naps at the same time, which would have been perfect if Caleb had chosen to actually nap. But at least he was in his room, in his bed, even if he didn't sleep.

Lily helped me put Caleb down for his nap. She looks much more tired in this picture than he does, and their naps proved that to be true. But crummy 4-year-old naps aside, look at how much Caleb adores his sister! He doesn't even want to snuggle with me anymore; he just wants to snuggle with his Rainbow. Before nap time today, Caleb, Lily and I were all snuggling in his little twin bed when I asked him why he loved Lily so much.

He thought for a moment, then replied, "I love her because she gives me big, slobbery baby kisses, and she snuggles me."

I asked if he would still love her so much if she didn't do anything at all, and he immediately replied, "Yes, I would still love her because she is so beautiful."

He really is a devoted big brother!