Alone Time

So, I'm finally getting it.  Luke is 4 months old.  This is by far the longest it's taken me to feel "in the groove" after a baby.  It seemed like just as I was starting to get it, something happened.  Finally we are THERE!  There is only a few loads of laundry waiting to be done. I'm back to my usual gym routine.  Dinner is on the table mostly on time with almost all of the food groups.  There is nothing growing in two of my three bathrooms.  I'm reading children's books and spending time of the floor playing with my kids.  It's all "good enough."  I've noticed with each kid, I just have to get a little less OCD and a little faster at household chores.  Two things that are difficult for me to do.  One of the things I kept noticing was feeling stretched thin.  I felt like as a whole I spent time with my kids, but not the way I used to.  Everything was a group effort. I missed snuggling just one at a time.  As I looked at our daily schedule, I found time. Difficult to find, but I found some.  Michael wakes up earlier than everyone.  Isabelle is awake while both boys nap.  Luke goes to bed slightly later than the other two.  SO, I'm making the most of these times.  Sometimes it's literally 5 minutes.  One short story, one puzzle, just a chit chat, whatever.  But I'm working on giving each kid undivided time.  Michael gets jipped the most.  I love my morning sleep.  Like I said a work in progress and great in theory.  Now just to execute.

We played in the dark in Michael's room this morning. When I took a picture, Michael said, "Owwww!  Too bright!"

Isabelle doing "art."


Tummy time together with Luke.


Who wants to do housework when you can play with these cute kiddos?  Honestly...Why can't dishes just do themselves?

King and Queen

Apparently if you wear beads on your ears it automatically makes you a king or queen. Here is my king and "little queen."  I was "big queen,"  "not fat, just old" as Isabelle explained. Gee thanks!

Another Comparison

I know. I know.  I shouldn't compare my children.  They are each individuals, blah, blah, blah.  I just couldn't help it again.  I could sit and look at old picture of my kids for hours.  Oh wait, I do sometimes when I'm procrastinating.  I came across this picture of Isabelle at 4 months. Luke's pregnancy, temperament, size and even a little looks have been very similar Isabelle.  Other than about 1 1/2 months, Luke has been a very good, sweet, easy baby.  It's my reward for that month and a half! :)

Camera Antics

Kids got out of the bath tub and we were jumping into bed for stories and I got this super cute picture (even though slightly blurry)


So then I had a vision of all three of my clean kiddos and tried to make it happen.  Luke looks basically the same, Isabelle's faces make me laugh, and then there's Michael...in a different spot in every picture.


By time I finally got Michael to sit down, Luke's neck workout had hit fatigue. Haha!  Oh well.

The First of Many

Scrolling through pictures, I came across these.  I just can't get over the size, looks, and personality differences in my boys so far.

Michael 7 months, outfit still big, moves a mile a minute, doesn't care if anyone is around.


Luke 3 months, outfit fits, happy to sit and lounge all day as long as someone is close enough to smile and talk to occasionally.


I just love these boys!

Ahh...2

Michael is a complete crack up right now. I really love two!  It's a time of never ending laughs and irritations as they explore their world and see just how much they can get away with. They do just enough cute things to keep themselves alive. Never a dull moment with Michael around.  Also, never a quiet moment with Michael around. Volume wise, he has to compete with "di-der" (He always calls Isabelle "Sister") which is a feat in and of itself to be as loud as Isabelle. His vocabulary has also really gone crazy the last couple of months.  He talks in long complete sentences which I can mostly understand, Isabelle can completely understand, and a stranger thinks he's speaking another language.  Some of his funnies lately...

Pepperoni is "pee pee."  So is pizza.  We're working on full enunciation, but until then he will randomly start yelling pee pee and it has nothing to do with potty training. He loves pepperoni. Often for lunch he eats pepperoni, cheese, a tortilla and some fruit.  Clementines are called little oranges around here. He calls them "er-er."


Michael's solution to getting rid of the gingerbread house.  I find him, chair pulled to the counter, a gazillion times a day, not just for this, although this is the most often reason.  He's always looking for something.


He makes the FUNNIEST faces!  I couldn't get him to do any of the good ones for the camera.  Hopefully soon, I can get some.  He makes a pirate face and squints half of his face and says, "Argg"


"Dink of wa-er with i-yice!!!!!"  He HAS to have ice in his water.   He will be absolutely hysterical if you don't put ice in it.  He would rather not drink it.  In fact he will throw it. hard. and scream and cry and flail in all two year old showmanship.  The kid has a temper. Also he can't drink an old (as in from earlier in the day) sippy cup of water.  He wants new water with ice.  It pretty much drives me crazy. And of course, he is the thirstiest kid on the planet.  He is constantly asking for a drink WITH ICE, which surprisingly sounds like cheese and Steve (the next door neighbor).


He's in the "Look at me mommy!"  "Did you see that? Did you see that?" phase.  He gets all ready for some stunt, yells and yells until I'm looking and then he does some dare-devily jump off of something and then asks me if I saw it.  What a nut.  Also every sentence has "ma-ye" in it.  That's how he says mommy.  When asking or telling me anything he uses mommy over and over again.  I never tire of his cute little voice.

We just cut his hair again.  I haven't cut it since the day before Luke was born.  I love it long, but don't want to cut it again for another 4 months, so it's short now and he looks so old!

He is cuddly when he's tired and asks to go night night, and still moves a mile a minute the rest of the time.

Lukester

I LOVE this face!!!!



Luke loves watching the trains too.  He's also really liking the exersaucer.

Ice

A couple of days ago we headed outside for some play time.  Our summer puddle is now a sheet of ice.  The kids and Jake were hilarious to watch!

LOVE

Long story short, we had our old fridge/freezer from our Utah house at Mike's sisters. When we were in Utah over Thanksgiving, I realized I have an extra freezer, we just needed to get it to Washington.  I've needed one for a while.  Mike quit even opening our freezer because something would ALWAYS fall out and smash toes. So at Christmas we took the truck to bring home my fridge.  One of the young women in our ward used me as a good works value project.  She came over to help me for 10 hours.  Part of the time, we cleaned out my garage and made room for the fridge.  Not only is my garage perfectly organize FINALLY, but nothing frozen has fallen on my toes in a week!

Last of Christmas

Isabelle loved Michael's toys.  I swear kids want what everyone else got.  Mike's Dad wore a Santa hat lots.  He looked really good.  He also wore a mask when the kids were really close.  So far he didn't get sick from all the people!!!!!

This post is a mess.  I have no idea what Blogger is doing, so here goes anyway.  

Christmas with Mike's family is quite the week of parties.  His mom's family does a big thing Christmas Eve, again Christmas day, and then something almost every day the week after christmas (bowling, ice skating, sledding, etc).  Christmas Eve and Day are always at Mike's parents, but this year we had to change.  We did Christmas Eve at a church and didn't have the extended family party on Christmas day.

We do a little cousin gift trade thing.  Michael was hysterical with this little pass the present thing.

Isabelle got new sparkle shoes and a scooter.  She couldn't see her shoes with her new pj pants on so of course....she took them off.  

It was so great to visit with cousins we haven't gotten to see much of.  Ryan kept my kids occupied most of the night.

Michael got his first set of Geo Trax.  Thanks to a steal on Craigslist, he will be getting them for birthdays and Christmases to come.  It's a good thing he LOVED it!

David got this awesome car ramp.  Michael LOVED it!  

Sharon's boys got this fighting tops thing.  It was a big hit and my kids were mesmerized.



A new hat from Grandma and plain exhausted.