Anne Elizabeth is 2 months old!

I read something on Pinterest a few weeks ago that really touched me. It's kind of corny, but I love it..."Babies smile in their sleep because they're listening to the whispers of angels." LOVE!! She has the most beautiful smile. In the past week she has started smiling more often when she sees us. I live for those! Also, she grins when you put her in front of a mirror. Talk about cuteness overload!



Her sweet face...it's almost TOO MUCH!!! I kiss and squeeze those soft cheeks 100x a day. Yum.

Abigail at 2 months:


Audrey at 2 months:


Month 2 was rough. Inconsistent sleep and growth spurts made for a very tired momma.

At around 6 weeks she had pretty bad acne (red bumps AND yellow flakes on her eyebrows and ears.) She also had redness in both eyes. The pediatrician gave us cortisone and eye ointment..she was cleared up within 2 days. At that appointment she weighed 10 lbs 1 ounce. At her 2 month wellness check she weighed 11 lbs 2 ounces and was 22 inches tall. She's wearing size 0-3 clothes and size 1 diapers.

She's sleeping in her crib at night. Chris does her late feeding (10-11 pm) and she sleeps until 1-2 am. I put her back in bed when she falls asleep. She wakes again around 4-5 to eat and I just sleep with her on the couch until she's ready to eat again between 7-8. I really wish she'd drop a feeding soon!!

She's found her fist and I always find her sucking on it when she wakes from her naps (slurp, slurp!) She still spits up a lot and so the pedi prescribed Zantac which she takes 3x a day. She's so alert and will turn to follow people/objects as they go by. She has great head control and I just love watching her as she looks around :)




I hang out on my Boppy lounger a lot!


I really love being in Mom's arms :)


Abigail is an awesome sister! When I cry she is the first to give me a paci, bounce me in the bouncer, or get a toy. She loves me so much!


Mom gets jealous that I get to catch up on my sleep during the day! But she loves to cuddle with me anyways!



Both of my sisters think I'm sooo funny and interesting!

They like to get all up in my business!


2 month check up


Annie is getting so big, so quickly. She's reminded me of why having a newborn is so hard, yet so amazing at the same time. I am so thankful that she is a thriving, beautiful little lady!

Things I Don't Want to Forget

Yesterday I was especially grateful to be a SAHM:

On a whim, around 10:00, I finished feeding Annie. Abigail said she was hungry so I decided to make pancakes (even though they'd already had breakfast a couple hours earlier.)

I put Annie in her bouncer so I could keep an eye on her in the kitchen. The older girls followed us and wanted to help. So Audrey poured the water and oil, Abigail poured the egg.

My favorite part of the morning? I blasted Christmas music and as I flipped pancakes, Audrey and Abigail sang and danced circles around Annie. She just sat and watched them until she dozed off. We ate pancakes in our PJs, sang and danced. It was fun to watch Audrey as she recognized songs from last year and to watch Abigail enjoy songs that she was too young to remember.

I'll never take things moments this for granted.

Abigail Mae is 2 1/2!

Abigail continues to be a typical 2 year old! Testing the waters and asserting her independence. Chris and I often find ourselves reprimanding her while trying hard not to laugh, lol. She's so sassy and full of personality that she seems so much older than two!

She speaks very well and we're able to avoid a lot of meltdowns by just talking things out. She loves to learn and is so smart! She knows a lot of her letters already, says her ABCs, and counts past 10. She knows her shapes and colors.

She really loves to do everything herself, from emptying her froggy potty to putting on her own socks. She wants to do everything Audrey does....for example, she still uses toddler toothpaste (no water) but because Audrey rinses and spits when she brushes her teeth, Abigail has to "spit" too. So I give her a bit of water (which she actually swallows) then she spits into the sink. It makes her so happy :)

I am still amazed at how she's adjusted to having baby Annie here. She tries to cuddle with her and will say things like, "Awww, don't you cry, baby Annie!" She loves her so much and I tell her often that she's a terrific big sister!

Likes: doing everything by herself, dancing, cuddling with dad, gushing over "cuuuute" baby Annie, taking baths, the playground at Chic-fil-a, talking in a "monster" voice, running and playing tag with Audrey, playing pretend, going to Grandma's house

Dislikes: naps

Funny things she says: "That's impossible!" "Oh my GOODNESS!" "Pretty, pretty please??" "This is ridiculous!" "That's disgusting!"

Abigail is incredible in every way. She challenges us and makes us SO proud. We adore that darling girl!

Best of Times, Worst of Times

That is how I refer to this point and time in our lives.

Worst: No schedule! I'm definitely having to prioritize all.the.time. The girls obviously come first- once they're happy and settled I can focus on myself and the house. But there's such a small window of time it seems! So, do I eat first or shower? Fold a load of laundry or get started on dinner? Pick up the toys or clean the kitchen? I miss having a more structured routine sometimes.

Best: No schedule, haha! I don't have to rush to be out the door by 6:30 am or worry about scheduling things around work.

Worst: Pumping, storage containers, freezing milk, and endless bottles. I will be so happy when I can pack away my pump. I don't *hate* pumping, but it is time consuming. I definitely hate the discomfort...the fullness and engorgement that goes along with breastfeeding and/or exclusively pumping...ugh! I am looking forward to the day I'm done with all that.

Best: I've lost almost all of the 40 pounds I packed on! 20 of it was gone after the first week!

Worst: I hear "MOM!" about 50,000 times a day. I can't decide if it's better, worse, or equally annoying as hearing "MRS. BURNS!" 50,000 times a day :)

Best: I'm the one who gets to be there for everything...the good and the bad.

Worst: Annie is adorable, but kind of boring :) She's on the verge of smiling (I can tell!!) But she mostly just stares and yawns and looks around taking everything in.

Best: I am so excited that I'll get to be home for so many of her firsts...smiling, sitting up, crawling, eating real food.

I think that once Miss Anne is on a schedule, I will feel more at peace, less anxious. And then I'll LOVE staying at home and won't want to go back to school...go figure!

Anne Elizabeth is 1 month old!

Stats: 9 lbs 5 oz...21 inches long...cute as all get out!!

Annie's first month of life has been a whirlwind. 4 weeks of not being on a schedule makes me a little crazy. I am torn between enjoying these sweet, cuddly newborn days and longing for a schedule where I know exactly when she's going to nap, eat, etc. Knowing that this is our last baby has really put me in the mindset of just enjoying her as she is now.

She has great head control and turns from side to side. She focuses on on my face and I love talking to her and looking at her sweet face! Poor lovey has a bad case of baby acne :( It looks very dry and I'm hoping it clears up soon.

She is taking 3 ounces every 2-3 hours. At night she's going a bit longer. She sleeps in her little bassinet/rocker next to our bed and I'm kind of anxious to get her into her own room. During the day she can be found in her swing, bouncer, or in my arms. We started tummy time earlier this week and the kid is already rolling over! WHAT WHAT!?!?

My body thinks it's feeding multiples! I've started spacing out my pumping sessions 4-6 hours but I still get crazy amounts of milk. I started skipping my 11:30 pm session so I get a better stretch of sleep from about 8:30 until about 1:00 am or later. I plan to wean in the summer so that when I go back to school I don't have to pump and she'll have freezer milk to get her through 1+ year. I hope I can stick it out that long! I'd love to get down to just 3-4 pumping sessions eventually!

She loves to be held. Lately it feels like I can only put her down if she's ready to fall asleep. That can be frustrating, especially if we're trying to get ready to go somewhere. Sometimes she just has to cry for a couple minutes here and there while I dress the older girls, brush their hair, etc. I really hope this passes soon!

She is a lovely little baby and we're all so in love with her!

Bath Time, Tummy Time, Potty Training

Sweet Annie had her first bath last week. She hated AND loved it :)



These are Audrey's bath pics...they look so similar!!



We tried Tummy Time for the first time yesterday. Not for very long. The older girls were pretty excited about "playing" with Annie so it was a bit chaotic, lol...



On Friday she'll be one month old! She has a doctor appointment tomorrow and I'm excited to see how much weight she's gained. She still fits into her NB clothes and diapers, but before we know it we'll be packing those away!

The lovely Abigail has totally rocked potty training. I think it definitely helped that we waited so long...she'll be 2 1/2 next week. A couple days ago after her nap I stripped her naked, put the froggy potty in the living room and she just started using it! There have only been a few accidents. We are very proud of her!

Busy, busy!

Our sweet little Annie is nearly one month old! She is the sweetest thing.

Life around here is busy. In the past few weeks we've visited with lots of friends and family. Abigail and I went with Audrey on her field trip to the pumpkin patch. I took all the girls to see Rapunzel. We've had successful doctor visits, dance classes, and trips to the grocery store. Chris and I got to have a fabulous date night for our 9 year anniversary. We had a great newborn photo shoot. Even the days we spend at home feel super busy, lol.

All About Annie

What can I say? She's a great baby. More wakeful, but still sleeps a lot! She clearly knows night from day. During the day it's crazy loud and bright. Sometimes I have to get onto the girls about being too loud, but for the most part I let them be. At night we dim the lights and keep the tv quiet. She goes back to sleep after her feedings. She has a pretty clear cut night schedule. I feed her around midnight, she sleeps til 2:30-3:00. She feeds and we sleep together until 6-7 am. During the day it's just a cycle of feeding, a bit of wake time, and sleeping.

She eats about 3 ounces every 2-3 hours. I'm producing milk like crazy. I'm pumping over 50 ounces a day and I've frozen over 300! I freeze every other day because I run out of storage containers, lol. I'm going to start spacing my sessions further apart. Pumping every 2-3 hours in the beginning helped a lot, but I think I can afford to scale back a bit now :)

She's surpassed her birth weight and weighed 8 lbs 10 oz at her 2 week wellness check. She does seem to spit up a lot, but she's gaining weight and generally very happy. Sometimes she just wants to be held and will cry if you put her down. I haven't really tried the sling or carrier yet...I love just having her in my arms (it's amazing what I've been able to do one-handed!!) I love cuddling with her. She is a precious little angel and when I look at her I am just in awe of what we've created.

All About Big Sisters

Adorable. That's how they are with Annie! They just want to love on her and "play" with her. Abigail just swoons over her! She loves it when Annie is awake- "Her awake again! Her awake now!" And she continues to say over and over again, "Her so CUTE! So, so CUTE!!" Heart melted :) Audrey will come out of her room just to peek at her and kiss her. She definitely enjoys having Annie around. There is absolutely no jealousy from either one of them. They are even super patient when I'm pumping or feeding Annie. I'd say our only issue is when they fight with each other. It ends up with Abigail running out and crying about something. Luckily she gets over it quickly, especially if Annie is awake and I'm holding her. It's like a switch gets flipped and all of a sudden she just wants to dote on her little sister. I have low tolerance for their drama, and I will say that's probably the most frustrating part of my day.

Audrey still loves school and I always get the sweetest reports from her teachers. After spending time with her and her classmates at the pumpkin patch, it's very clear to me that she's the enthusiastic, outgoing class clown. Luckily she's not obnoxious- just very sweet and in awe of things that are going on. In other words, if she were one of my students, she'd be a favorite :)

Abigail still likes to push limits and is very direct, lol. We're working on listening and following directions (I've started the 1-2-3 count!) She's starting to realize that after 3 comes the fury, lol. She's also getting better with her manners...I love how direct she is, but we're always reminding her to say "please." And she can't tell us "no" it has to be "no, thank you." She's a smart girl and she's catching on quickly! I've learned to pick and choose my battles with her, which has helped a lot! I really wish she had more chances of socialization because it seems like she likes to keep to herself, play by herself. I'm not sure what the arrangement will be for her next year (preschool, daycare, both?) But I have to be honest and say I'm a little nervous that she'll be the exact opposite of Audrey...less social and withdrawn. She sticks to me like glue (at first) when we go somewhere new. I'm going to give her as many chances as possible to get out and socialize and see what I can do to foster her little personality.



We're taking it day by day and I feel great. Having 3 girls has been a dream come true. We love our sweet little Annie so much!