Six months

Mimi recently turned six months so I wanted to share with you what is going on in her life.  She is the cutest, sweetest baby.  I believe I have said this before; I've never had a bad baby but Mimi is taking the prize on the easiest.  She loves to watch the other kids and as long as there is something to watch she doesn't care about getting individual attention.  She is sitting up now.  I'm not really sure when it happened... I just sat her up one day and she didn't fall down.  She has been sitting ever since. 

Her favorite "toy" is mama's cell phone, but if she had to pick one that was actually purchased in the toy aisle it would be her cowgirl or butterfly.  She absolutely love to chew on cups.  It makes it challenging for whoever is holding her to keep their drink away from her but she loves to chew on the edge of the cup.  I think it might be the coldness on her gums... not really sure. 

She just recently began actually liking food.  I've been trying to give her food for about a month now but she finally figured out how to get her tongue out of the way.  For the past three nights she has devoured applesauce and pears.  I'm going to have to retry the sweetpeas and bananas as she didn't eat those last time I tried. 

She is getting booted from our room for the first time tonight.  The other two girls were already in their own rooms but since we didn't have another bedroom she has been staying with us.  Then when we moved to the new house I just figured it was working so why not keep her.  Wrong!  She has been waking up in the middle of the night wanting to cuddle.  I don't think she is really hungry.... she just knows mama is there and not holding her.  She loves to be wrapped up and cuddled.  So tonight marks the first night of being in her own room. 

She has developed a deep interest in Loki.  She stares at him every time he walks in the room and will start laughing if he gets close enough to her.  She doesn't reach for him much; she is just content with seeing him.  She also loves looking at other babies.  She has met a couple now and thinks they are great.  She has even discovered herself in the mirror.  She thinks it is a different baby but loves laughing and reaching for herself. 

She has moved to the "big girl" carseat.  That happened just today.  I'm not sure who liked that more; her or her sisters.  They are able to see her better now and talk to her while we are driving. 

I can't believe how much my baby is growing but I am so glad I get to enjoy every minute of it.  Daddy says she is more spoiled than the other girls were but I am loving the opportunity to "spoil" her with my attention. 

First Acting Gig

During the summer of 2011 Bumpkin took an acting class with the cities parks and rec department.  She absolutely loved it!  It was two weeks long and she was so sad when it was all over.  If I remember correctly she actually cried about it being over.... but hey I was 8 1/2 months pregnant so I was crying over everything; maybe it was just me crying.  : )  At the end of the class they did a play.  Bumpkin had three lines and three songs to memorize.  I was so impressed with her because she had them memorized before the first week was even over.  In the play the kids were all zoo animals and it was about a new polar bear coming to the zoo.  Bumpkin was a giraffe. 

She had such a fantastic time I know there will be many more plays to follow.  I'm still proud of  you Bumpkin Pie! 

Goodbye A & L

Alright, so I haven't blogged in awhile but I blame that on the fact that we moved... again.  But I am here to proudly say that it will be the last move of ours.  We bought a house!  And I am never packing again.... or atleast for a very long time!  haha  I think living in seven houses in two years is plenty.  We moved out of the house we own in IA in Feb 2010.  Since then we have lived in 2 houses in NC, one temporary house (at nana's), an apartment in KS, a townhouse in KS, and now in Feb 2012 we finally bought our forever home! 

Our "forever home", as we have nicknamed it, is on the other side of town though; so it means losing A & L, the two little ones I have been watching for a year now.  They didn't have nicknames while they were here but for the purpose of the post I will call them Bouncy and Grunty; very fitting names I promise.  Once we found out they were leaving for sure I tried to get in a lot of playdates with the friends they have made and take them to all our favorite places.  We went to the library, the children's museum, the park, and GB a couple times.  Of course, I forgot to take my camera to these places so I have some pictures of us playing outside both the old house and the new house. 

Here are a couple pics of Troublemaking pulling Grunty around in the wagon.  They all were doing it but he liked Troublemaker the best.... I think because she didn't go wild and crazy. 

Eventually they stole the wagon from him and turned it into a cat bed.  I'm not sure what it is with them and cats (maybe it is because they will never be allowed to have one) but they love playing cats. 

So since they stole him mode of transportation I tried to get Grunty to smile for the camera.  He smiled like this ten times......

I finally had to tickle him to get him to actually smile. 

And finally a couple really cute pictures of Bouncy and Mimi. 

Our last day with Bouncy and Grunty was spent having one giant playdate.  We have moved across the street from some good friends who have three daughters.  Then Bumpkin had the day off of school so she was home.  Plus one of Bumpkin's classmates is going to be a big sister any day now but her mama thought she would have the baby already and didn't have a babysitter lined up.... so she came to our house as well.  Having a million kids running around the house is actually easier than it sounds.  They all take care of each other..... I'm not sure I heard a tattle or whine the whole day.  They just kept running back and forth between houses and outside.  It was a great day for them and the mama's. 

I have been enjoying this first week off, it has been easy to only care for three kids instead of five but I think I am going to get bored of it.  On one hand there is way less stress and noise in the house.  On the other hand poor Troublemaker is bored out of her mind without her playmates and Mimi enjoys watching all the kids play.  So right now it feels like a vacation but I know when it really hits me that they aren't coming back I will be sad. 



Cheerleading

Cheerleading

Bumpkin is doing Cheerleading this year.  She choose to do it with a friend and even though I am not super impressed with the coaching skills she is having a good time.  I think most of it is contributed to just loving the cheerleading part of life but since she is only five I guess I won’t worry too much about the quality of the coaching.  I love the idea behind the program though.  It is a church league and they cheer for the basketball teams that play.  There is only one squad that cheers for the two teams so it is really just about developing skills and encouraging sportsmanship.  They also have a devotion during practices and a message during halftime. 

I love the sign that hangs in the gym to remind the kids (and adults) what sportmanship is really about. 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  Psalms 100.4 

 

Bushel and a Peck

Grandma sang this song to me so it is natural that I sing it to you girls as well.  It doesn’t matter that I *might not* know all the words… I have long ago made up the parts that I am unsure about and they are "right" now.  Bumpkin, when you were a baby you made me sing this song to you every night before bed.  I didn’t mind at first, but I quickly learned the “mommy law” of not putting too much into bedtime.   It got to the point where you refused to go to bed without me sitting in your room singing “Bushel and a Peck” over and over again.  It tooks months to break that nasty habit I started myself. 

Man, did I learn with Troublemaker.  But it turned out not to matter.  In typical Troublemaker fashion (the little girl who wipes off my kisses) you didn’t care for me spending that extra special time of rocking and singing to you.  You would squirm off my lap as fast as you could and if my memory served me right you even told me you didn’t like that song.  And you wonder how you got the name Troublemaker.  : )  

I noticed myself singing this song to Mimi yesterday.  Every time I sing it I go back to the days when Bumpkin used to make me sit on the floor with my hand over her crib (falling asleep) and sing the song over and over until she fell asleep.  I’m smart enough not to do that anymore but excited to know what Mimi is going to think of the song and to continue the tradition with her. 

Baby Pig

Baby Pig is our Baby Sister.  She came sometime between Troublemaker and Mimi.  Her name is “Stella” but we really just call her Baby Pig.  We first got Baby Pig when daddy was overseas.  She came from one of my “online friends” (thanks Elise).  Even though we have had Baby Pig since Feb 2009 she didn’t become a true member of our family until last year when Troublemaker started loving pigs.  Pig are pink; therefore, pigs are her favorite.  Somehow we transformed into a family of pigs.  Then once mommy told Bumpkin and Troublemaker they were going to be big sisters Baby Pig became the baby.  She was  carted around at the grocery store, strapped into the car seat, and put in their bikes.  But she officially became a member of our family when she was given a birthday. 

Baby Pigs birthday is April 23^rd.  The day doesn’t have any specific meaning, it was just the day Bumpkin and Troublemaker begged me to make cupcakes and take them to daddy’s work.  Somehow in the midst of making the cupcakes it became Baby Pigs birthday.  We even took Baby Pig to celebrate with us. 

Now it is nearing April again and the girls still remember that Baby Pigs birthday is coming.  I’m excited for her birthday this year.  It will be more organized and maybe we can have a piggy cake.  : )  I think though, that we might not celebrate on April 23^rd, unless daddy is on shift that day.  The girls really like taking the treat to daddy at work.  So we will celebrate whatever day he is working.  Maybe we can keep celebrating each year.  I can just see the girls in ten years taking a birthday cake to daddy's work for a stuffed animals birthday.  Can't you? 

Touchdown!

Here are my cakes from this weekend.  The first was for daddy's coworkers son, he was turning two.  I worked on it during rest time.  So after rest time Bumpkin and Troublemaker wanted to see the cake.  I opened the box and got a gasp from both of them and a "ohh, so cool".  Thanks for boosting mama's confidence you two!  (Although I do still need to work on my writing....)

The other cake I made is pretty awesome if I do say so myself.  Only way it could be better would be if it had some black and gold on one of the endzones.  Obviously, it is for the Super Bowl party we are going to tomorrow. 

The Poop

When a women first finds out she is pregnant there are certain things she looks forward to.  Certain things she can't wait to happen.  Cuddling, the first smile, or the first laugh come to mind.  Of course, along with those things are the "other things" that she knows come with a baby but doesn't really think is that big of a deal.  Lugging a diaper bag everywhere and poopy diapers come to mind.  But this story isn't about a poopy diaper.... it is about THEE POOPY DIAPER.  That one explosive, what-did-the-diaper-actually-do, diaper that every mom remembers.  It also happens to be one of Troublemaker's favorite stories about when she was a baby.  So this trip down memory lane is for you Troublemaker.... although I have this sneaking suspicion that you won't appreciate the story nearly as much when you are able to read it as you do right now. 

Like most classic poopy stories, this story took place, not at our house, but somewhere else; grandma's house.  She was watching you and Bumpkin while daddy, grandpa, and I worked on some type of home improvement project at our house.  I got a phone call from grandma telling me that I had to come over to her house quick (we only lived a block away) because she needed help with you.  She didn't tell me why but she said she couldn't do it by herself.  So I rushed over to her house thinking something was wrong but when I walked into the house you were happily bouncing in the exercauser without a care in the world.  I started walking over to you wondering what grandma thought was so important when I heard it.  It was the sound of feet squishing in the mud.  Only, it wasn't mud.  It was your feet, and it wasn't mud.....

Troublemaker you had the poop everywhere.  I think you actually liked it.  You were just happily bouncing up and down and kicking your legs as wild as ever.  But you were also slipping and slidding like it really was mud.  And man was it everywhere.  You were kicking it all around and it was starting to splatter up the side of the exercauser.  After gaining control of our laughter, Grandma and I determined the best course of action was to drag you and the exercauser directly into the bathroom.  So we were able to pull you out directly into the bathtub and then grandma drug the exercauser outside and hosed it down.  Now every time I see Mimi jumping in the exercauser I think of you happily bouncing in your poop and it brings a smile to my face.  It brings a smile to your face as well.  You tell everyone who comes into the house about the time you pooped in the exercauser.  It is so cute to see you animated and having a blast with the story when most people would be embarrassed about it. 

I wish I would have had the presence of mind to take a picture of that day but unfortunately I did not think about it at the time.  So I found a picture of you around the correct age in that ill-fated exercauser.

I hope you find as much joy in this story ten years from now as you do today when you retell it for every visitor we have at the house.  I love you lady!  

Fractured leg

Here is another trip down memory lane.  I figure a good place to start on memory lane is the stories my girls love to hear so this one is about you, Bumpkin, and the day you fractured your leg. 

Yourself, Troublemaker, and I went to a park next to our house on Mother's Day.  Daddy was overseas and instead of dealing with two small children by myself at church on Mother's Day I decided to do a low-key fun day.  We were having a great time at the park and had gone down the slides multiple times.  The last time I put you on my lap and then Troublemaker on top of you.  We started down the slide like we had a million times beforewhen your leg fell off my lap and bent back between my leg and the slide.  After a couple minutes of cuddling I told you to "walk it off" and continued to play with Troublemaker.  After attempted to limp it off you made it about two steps before collapsing and crying again.  I honestly thought you were just being your normal drama queen self and put you in the stroller to "get over yourself" and continued to play with Troublemaker for a couple more minutes. 

Eventually, I got the message and took you home.  When you continued to whimper the whole way home and after I put you in front of the TV with Dora, I knew something was wrong.  However, I looked and looked at your ankle and couldn't find anything wrong.  So we called grandma and grandpa at church (continuously until they answered) and they came to our house to check you over as well.  They couldn't find anything wrong either but you had been crying for approximately two hours by that time so we decided it was time to take you to the E.R.  After 20 nurses and doctors interrogating questioning me on how you got hurt they finally found a small fracture between your ankle and knee. 

My favoriate part of the story is while we were waiting for the doctor to put something on your leg.  Nobody had mentioned that it was Mother's Day, in fact that piece of information had completely slip my mind at this point.  But you didn't forgot.  You were sitting on my lap and you turned to me, put you hands on my checks, and said "Happy Mother's Day Mama".  I instantly teared up.  It certainly made for a wonderful Mother's Day.... if you block out the hours before.  Finally, the doctor put you in a removable cast and we were able to go home (without a visit from child services). 

Bumpkin, you wouldn't even move in your cast at first but after a few days you learned how to do a modified army crawl and became pretty mobile.  The first week after the accident you hung out with Nana because your daycare wasn't sure how to care for you.  Once they they learned how well you were doing and that you were not in a full cast, they decided they would be able to care for you.  On the first day you want back I was picking you up and they told me you had figured out a way to climb the slide steps with your cast and had actually gone down the slide again already.  Of course, you never let me know that.  For the next year or so you were scared and unsure around a slide when I was watching, but you were fine when you didn't know it could get back to me. 

A few weeks later Daddy came back from overseas and was the first one to sign your leg. 

And since I was able to find the pictures and I am afraid I will never find them again, here is a comparison picture of the day Daddy left and the day he got home.