5 Year Plan

When Derek and I first got married we had a plan when it came to having children. We wanted to wait at least a year before trying to have any kids. Check. I was good with two or three children but Derek comes from a big family so he wanted six to eight. So, we agreed on five. My only thing was I wanted to be done having kids by the time I hit 30..........so we would only have enough time to have 5 kids in 5 years. After the complications with our first pregnancy we knew our dreams were no longer a reality. We are perfectly content with the 3 AMAZING children we have. I don't know that I would have been able to handle 5 kids so close in age. I got a taste of that earlier this week.

Ages: 5, 4, 3, 18 months, and 8 months

It wasn't too bad. I think the main thing was that I wasn't prepared for having the extra kids this day. I saw on FB that my friend was having a rough day and she's 27 weeks pregnant and has been having contractions already (her kids have all been 6 weeks early!) Being the good friend I am, I went to her house and picked them up. It was so incredibly hot that day (somewhere in the 90's). I had to get all four to the bus stop to pick up Allie. Then as soon as we got back I had to start dinner. I was making it for 3 families (us, my friend's family, and another lady that has chemo on Wednesdays). I wish it was a crockpot meal......unfortunately I was doing a meal that was a lot of work. It was a relief to get the meals delivered and the kids dropped off. They were really good though, I was just ready for a break. Avery and Blake had been extra whiny that day. Obviously the house was a mess. I had to get things somewhat cleaned up because I had to teach preschool the next day! I also had to make cupcakes for Allie's teachers birthday the next day! I was exhausted and looking forward to a good night's sleep after that day! Unfortunately, shortly after I went to bed, Avery woke me up saying she puked all over. Sure enough there was a trail from her bed to the bathroom. After cleaning that up, then her bed up, i get her back in bed. Poor girl got up several times during the night. The next morning we slept in a little.......a little too long. We were rushed to get ready and had a huge load of cupcakes and flowers to get delivered to Allie's teacher. Blake was still sleeping so I waited until the last minute to grab him. I opened the door to his room and was blasted with an awful smell. I grab him, change his nasty diaper and we head out. On the way to school I hear Allie go, "ewwwww, what's that on Blake's head." When we get to the school I check and it looked like matted puke in his hair! Sure enough when we get home I find the pile in his crib. I give him a bath, get things changed and scrubbed, cuddle him etc. Put him back down for a nap only for him to do the same thing again. Hopefully everyone is feeling better today and we can just take it easy.
And, I've gone off subject of my original post. Shows how exhausted I am. I'm just so thankful there was another plan in store for me because I really don't think I would have been able to have handled 5 children so close in age.

A Saturday at Home

We actually spent an entire  almost an entire Saturday at home. Avery did have a birthday party to go to and Derek and Allie ran a few errands before it was time to pick Avery back up.But, for the most part, we spent the entire day outside. Derek stained the fence and I hosed down the deck, washed the windows, etc. The girls had a blast riding around in their Jeep, playing on the swing set, and playing in the water. Blake must be going through a growth spurt because he slept for FOUR hours! I was constantly coming in and checking on him because I couldn't believe he was still sleeping.

View from kitchen window

Best Friends

They caught me!

Growing Boy

I love these swings! They are so close to the ground and there is a little bench right in front of them for the parents to sit. Perfect!!!

Our Rose Bushes

Our rose bushes are in full bloom.......have been for a good month and a half or so. It was finally time for some pruning.

Blake's Neurology News

Smile! It looks as if our worries were over a possible reaction to a little bit of reflux. He hasn't been doing it as often which is a good indicator that this is what it was because it is something that babies will grow out of.

Avery's Haircut

BEFORE

AFTER

Happy Easter

Allie's Easter Sunday Dress

visit to see the Easter bunny

Bunny cake

Blake's Easter basket

Avery's Easter basket

happy boy on his first Easter morning

lining up for the Easter egg hunt

sorting through their goodies

We dyed some eggs earlier in the week.....it's obvious girls dominate in this house

dressed up for church

 

 

Dare to Dream

There was no school on Friday so we decided to take the kids to see Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream!!! The girls were so excited. Miss Dottie (from Derek's office) gave the girls some money for a souvenir. So sweet of her and that was the first thing the girls wanted to do.......get their princess treat.

I've never seen anything keep Avery's attention so long. Her eyes were glued to the show the entire time. She even sang along to several songs, especially "Mother Knows Best." At the end of the show she was a dancing machine! Allie was right there in all the action too.

Allie picked out a Rapunzel figurine

Avery and her sweet tooth picked out cotton candy.......at least it came with a crown

Blake surprising slept through most of the show

The girls picked out their own outfits before we went. Avery was going for the "Disney Princess" look. Tutu style skirt, princess shirt, princess shoes, princess watch

Allie was going for the grown up look

First time on Daddy's shoulders and he was all smiles

I've never seen anything keep Avery's attention so long. Her eyes were glued to the show the entire time. She even sang along to several songs, especially "Mother Knows Best." At the end of the show she was a dancing machine! Allie was right there in all the action too. 

VIDEO -- DANCING

Field Day & Bowling

Today we went to a field day at church. We basically just stayed for the Easter egg hunt. Then later we went bowling.

Blake ~ 7 months

Blake is still the most chill and happy baby I've ever seen! He can have his moments when he's tired or hungry, but don't we all! When we're out shopping or walking he is either giving everyone his big gummy grin (well there's two little teeth poking through now) or he falls asleep. I love that he gets so excited when he sees me. Melts my heart! He also loves to get attention from his big sisters.....and I don't think they mind giving him the attention. ;)
As far as milestones, he's sitting up really well on his own now. He's even started this little dance when he hears music or gets excited. He doesn't roll over too much but will if he sees something he really wants. No crawling yet but he is strong enough to hold himself in that position now. I just have to put him on all fours. He scoots or slithers around.....slowly but he does it. His babbling is still  limited. I think he's just taking it all in and one of these days he'll start talking up a storm. He's said little things that sound like words (hi, da, ma, ba) but I know he doesn't know what they mean. He sleeps pretty much through the night. He usually goes to bed right after the girls....around 8pm and will wake up anywhere between 5-6am. Sometimes I'll have to wake him to go to the bus stop at 10 til 7. He's been taking 2 naps during the day which has been great! That's when I can get the most done around the house and give Avery some one on one time. He hasn't had all that many shudders since going to the doctor last month. A few but nothing like before. He finally has an appointment with a neurologist on the 12th.

Blake loves tags. Any toy that has one that's what he goes for. He's also enjoying his exersaucer more and more.......and his bouncy seat less and less. He also loves his little basketball hoop. We call him our little Robbie whenever he plays with it. He likes any toy that plays music and lights up. One of his favorites is his race car track. His sisters really like it too. It's so cute when they are all three sitting around playing with it.

As far as food goes, we haven't ventured out all that far with new things. He prefers his vegetables over anything else. Can't complain about that! His favorite seems to be carrots. He also likes his fruits but seems to prefer them if they aren't really cold. He'll eat cereal but doesn't seem to care for it too much. He still loves his milk!

We just love our little Blakey!

Story behind this: Derek and I were setting up for a garage sale. We put him on the floor with just a few toys around him (he was on his back). He was positioned so that we could see him as we came in and out. He never cried once! Whenever I came in he was always playing. Then he had rolled over....next thing I knew he was all the way on the other side of the room passed out!

Big sisters always want to feed him after dinner.