Work Week success!

It's been an awesome, insane, busy week! Everyone has adjusted so well, and for that I am SO COMPLETELY THANKFUL!!!


Back to school flowers from Chris :)

On Monday I found Abigail all cuddled up on the couch (at 5:30 am!) She was super excited about school!



She was very calm and cool during drop off. Not clingy, but not super enthusiastic, either. Very "go with the flow" :) Chris and I both called to check on her during the day. She had a small accident, but she told the teacher right away and it didn't seem to phase her. When I picked her up and she was SO happy to see me. We back-tracked a bit to get Audrey from Grandma's so that they could see her on her first day :) It was hard to get her to talk about school. She was more interested in everything else going on! Much later I was able to find out that she didn't make any friends, a kid knocked down her magnets, and she didn't fall asleep during quiet time. Also, her and some other kids had to be reminded to not throw mulch and walk up the slide on the playground ;) Despite all that, she said she liked school (okaaaay?!)




On Wednesday at pick up she said she had made friends that day (two girls came up and hugged on both of us, lol!) She didn't have any accidents. She fell asleep during quiet time. A much better day I'd say! On Thursday she went to Grandma's house, so of course on Friday morning she said she didn't want to go to school...then literally 5 minutes later she was running around with her backpack on and singing about how wonderful her school was :) Chris dropped her off and Grandpa picked her up, which she was THRILLED about! Overall I'm pleased with how she's adjusting. She only goes 3 days a week, but they are long days. I'm so happy she's taking naps, especially since she's waking up so early. I love our morning time. We take our time getting ready and it's just a wonderfully nice way to start the day. I'm dreading the days we have to fight to get her out of bed on time!

Annie had a great week as well. She went to Steph's on Monday and we all went out for dinner that night to celebrate Abby's first day of school. She stayed home with Dad and Abby on Tuesday. Steph watched her for a few hours on Wednesday while Chris got things done and ran errands. On Thursday and Friday she got to stay home with Steph (she also got to go to Grandma's on Thursday evening!) I missed her like crazy, but I was so insanely busy that time just flew by each day. Thursday night was Open House, so I didn't see her ALL DAY. When I got home I rocked her for a bit (she stayed asleep the whole time.) I love my sweet baby cuddles!

Audrey got to go to Grandma's all day, every day. She loved all the playtime with Bella. On Thursday Chris brought her to Open House. The staff was so happy to see her back :) We sat through a brief orientation, then we got to see her classroom. Her teacher gathered all the kids on the floor and talked to them for a bit. Then the paras took the kids on a tour throughout the building while the teacher spoke with us and answered questions. I did get teary a few times, it just kind of sneaks up on me!! When I got home much later, she was till awake. We had snuggle time and fell asleep together. I definitely needed that!





Up nice and early on Friday morning :)

My week was jam packed. Between meetings and getting my room ready, the hours seemed like minutes! I was up super early each morning which gave me plenty of time to get everything and everyONE ready for our busy days. I didn't feel rushed and I felt like things ran smoothly in the mornings. The evenings were great as well. We have dinner around 6:00, baths and bedtime routine start around 7:00 (gotta fit in reading time!) and by 8:00 at the latest they're all asleep.

On Thursday I got to meet my new class. Some of them are familiar face, yay! I got a lot of visitors (aka Alumni), which is always wonderful. I can already tell it's going to be a fantastic year. My kids are adorable and SO sweet. I'm excited to get to know them and their families. I love this time of year!!

On Friday, once all the girls were in their places, Chris and I met for breakfast. Date morning!! It was so nice to hang out and eat (uninterrupted!) We are excited for the new year!

Farewell, Summer!

All registered for preschool!

My goodness. My endless Summer is over! I have loved staying home with my girls. It was like being gifted with time. Of course there were times I WANTED to be back at work, lol. But for the most part, being a SAHM was a wonderful experience and I feel very lucky I was able to do it.

I'm SUPER lucky to be going back to my school, and I'm even back at my GRADE level! I was so excited that I went to school and started moving furniture as soon as we were allowed, lol. I love this time of year so much...the unpacking and decorating, the excitement of getting to know a new bunch of new kiddos and their families.

As much as I love it, I'm stressed! I'm waking up at 2, 3, 4 am and not going back to sleep. I'm on Pinterest and school supply sites constantly. I'm simultaneously working on several documents and making a ton of lists. I jump from one task to another and I just feel frazzled. I'm worried I'm going to burn out before the first day!

All that while trying to get the house in order. We got a nice big dumpster delivered and we're trying to purge and organize. That in itself is a never ending task! Having 3 little girls underfoot makes it difficult to get things done, but I'm also trying to soak up every moment with them.


Hanging in our PJs (or just a diaper, in Anne's case!)


Princess of the Pool!


Helping Mom at school!

Speaking of the girls...they are incredible. Over the past few weeks I have loved watching them play together. Audrey and Abigail are best friends and worst enemies, lol. They dress each other up, build hide outs, have tea parties, play with their dolls, etc...and of course there's the occasional scream fest, name calling, and physical fighting. I honestly try to stay out of it until someone comes to me. I have to see their arguing as a good thing- maybe it will help them be good problem solvers? I'm sure to treat them equally and we always end up talking things out. It's the craziest thing...one minute they'll be crying and complaining about each other and TWO MINUTES LATER they are laughing and holding hands. I think they are going to miss each other a lot when school starts :(


Spa Day!



Sweet Anne just watches all the action and every once in awhile she'll crawl over and try to interact with the girls. They just eat her up! They LOVE their baby sister. It's going to be hard on all of us girls, being in different places!

Never have I wanted to freeze time as much as I do now, on my last day of summer. I watched Audrey sleeping the other night. When I was staring at her face, I could remember exactly what she looked like as a newborn, and how I felt watching her sleep back then. I just wanted to cry. It happened so fast. I remember walking her around this house when she was days old, bouncing her in my arms to calm her down. And Abby is going to preschool...how did that happen? It seems like just yesterday I was snuggling with her in the living room (exhausted!) while I watched Audrey play. Sweet Anne- this has been the best year of my life, largely due to her! When I got her from her crib this morning I smothered her in kisses and hugs, feeling so terribly sad that I will probably be gone before she wakes most mornings.

Luckily, when I'm at school, the girls are not constantly on my mind. I get so wrapped up in the million things I'm doing and the time flies by. But as soon as I walk out the door, I cannot get to the girls fast enough. I have more patience with them and I make the most of our time together. The evenings go by so quickly, and while I'm super grateful that they have an awesome bedtime routine...I immediately start missing them again :(

Here's to this being another fantastic year for our family, full of great change and exciting adventures!

Big sisters at 10 months

Whooops! I forgot to add pictures of Audrey and Abigail to Anne's 10 month post :)

Audrey:










Abby:











I can't get over how much Annie looks like Audrey, or how chubby Abigail was :)

Anne Elizabeth is 10 months old!

Damn! She's at that perfect baby stage- the one where I'm like, "Oh, we should totally have more babies!!" LOL, no!


She sleeps all night, though there have been some night wakes & feeds due to teething/having a cold. Her bottom two teeth are completely in and now her top two front teeth are breaking though (they look so painfu1.)

She waves, which of course is the cutest thing :) She very clearly says, "Momma" and "Dada." She gives kisses by smacking her lips together, and she does it when she sees other people giving kisses or if you walk into the room.

She pulls up on everything and has let go a couple of times. We bought her a push-walker but I'm not encouraging her to walk just yet!! Not ready!!!

She has a solid routine. She fills her diaper in the mornings (like clockwork!) She's a great napper, even at Grandma's house. She does very well in the car. At bedtime (between 7-8) we lay her down and she goes right to sleep.







She eats pretty much anything we give her (she did not like turkey, though.) She has mastered the sippy cup of water. I cannot wait until we are done with bottles.

She has found her voice, and that's NOT good thing, lol. She will SCREECH when she's frustrated or wants me. It's sounds like a drunk dinosaur and she likes to do it at restaurants which means eating in shifts! I will be so happy when this phase passes...









She's drinking between 6-8 ounce bottles and wearing size 4 diapers. She tries lots of different food. Her clothes are mostly 9-12 months. The little bit of hair that she has gets super curly in the humidity.


In less than one month I will be back at work. While I am very excited to go back to school, my heart is heavy. I will miss seeing her sweet face all the time. BUT, we have been blessed! Our cousin (a new mom herself!) will be caring for her. Sometimes Anne will go to their house, sometimes she'll get to stay home. I am so happy to know that she'll be cared for by someone who loves her, someone she recognizes and is comfortable with. I think the transition directly to daycare would be super hard (on us both!) In January a spot opens up at Abby's school, and then she'll be able to join her big sister (even though she'll be in a different room.) For now this arrangement helps out both families and gives me great peace of mind :)



Annie is a joyous addition to our family. She's starting to "play" with her big sisters and seeing them all together makes me feel like a very lucky momma :)