Baby Alana- 1 month

Whew, that went fast. In fact, I think time passes even faster with each child we have. Can someone please explain this?!!? I'm posting a couple days late, mostly because I wanted the measurements from Alana's check-up but also because I didn't get her shirt done in time. I did take pictures of her on Sunday, just not in the little shirt I made. :)
I have an update to the question I addressed during her two week post: how is it with 4? The most difficult issue I've faced so far is the school schedules. I got up in the morning and helped Daniel get the kids ready a few days after I came home, but he had to take them to school. Now that I'm taking them again, we've hit a few hiccups where I needed to feed Allie at an "inopportune" time so to say. When Jake was born nobody was in school and Maggie's therapists came to the house. We're getting it worked out, but it was easier with the other kids, I didn't Have to get somewhere at a certain time. This just adds another layer. :)

What we've learned about little Alana this past month:

• You are such a wiggle worm and think you may be any early roller! You roll side to side on your back and are really trying to go places when on your belly, so we'll see. 
• Doing pretty good sleep-wise. Still eating about every 3 hours during the day and 3-5 at night. The 5 hours only happened once or twice but I'll take it!
• You have started smiling and cooing some when I talk to you! I love that dimple :)
• We get lots of compliments on how beautiful and tiny you are
• After battling to keep that Soothie in your mouth, you finally seem to prefer the Nuk and have an easier time holding on to it
• You still don't care for diaper changes- just like Jake- though you can stand them a little longer now so I try to be quick. Same with the bath, you do well if it doesn't take too long
• Your newborn diapers and clothes are fitting pretty good now. You still swim in a few outfits (girth wise, not length) but they're mostly a good fit

1 month old

 Two days late with the shirt pics:

Maggie is 4!

My sweetheart, Maggie Moo, Moosie, beautiful girl, I cannot believe you're already 4 years old!! And you are so proud of it-- you have been very excited about your birthday, in part because of the gifts but also being 4-- I guess that's big girl territory for you. :) I'm a day late posting, but you very much enjoyed celebrating your big day yesterday, details below.

Maggie, I cannot express in words how blessed I am to be your mommy. In some ways, these past four years have been difficult, but in so many others it has been wonderful. You're a joy to be around with your sweet disposition and your smile is contagious! You have made such a big and positive impact on my life as a mom and a person. You inspire me to work harder and to "never, ever give up!" I couldn't love you more my sweetheart girl. My Maggie. Happy 4th Birthday!!

Your third year was pretty big for you. Going to Canada and learning transitions,proper crawling and sitting has increased your trunk control considerably and you're making good strides in the walker. This summer you potty trained and learned to crawl up the steps so now you can go up and down by yourself, though we still stay behind you going up just to be safe. These are all big steps toward independence. So yeah, 3 was a big year and I have a really good feeling about 4 as well. :)

last night as a 3 year old

 Our big 4 year old girl!!

Maggie's Birthday

First thing yesterday morning-- after breakfast anyway-- Maggie opened some presents from Papa & Omi-- lots of girly outfits and two Pinkie Pie Ponies from My Little Pony. She very much enjoyed waking up to presents and had to play with her ponies right away. She picked a pretty dress to wear too (pictured above with the cupcake)

Before her big day she already asked for two things: to go to the mall and Grandma's. I wouldn't normally let the kids pick out a birthday gift from us- I prefer buying, wrapping and surprising them- but when we last went to Opry Mills we passed a candy store that apparently had some dolls and Maggie was so upset we didn't go back and get them. I explained we just couldn't buy anything that day but maybe we could go back for her birthday that was coming up soon. And she did not forget! So we fulfilled the promise and I didn't have much time to shop anyway.  She picked a few goodies at the candy store then off to Disney where she selected several Rapunzel items. And I have taken pictures of none. Then we went to Grandma & Paga's for an afternoon and fun. Maggie had a great birthday!!

Thankful Thursday: Baby Alana

Well, it's been two weeks since our littlest girl has entered this world. I've received several questions from good intending friends and acquaintances-- mostly along the lines of how is it with/how are you handling four? My answer: so far, so good. Though I've never been one to measure the ease or difficulty of parenting/child rearing on the first few months of life, regardless of the number of children. Does it bring an extra layer of difficulty to take care of three other children on a small amount of sleep from taking care of one tiny newborn? Of course it is! But nothing beats the sweetness of a newborn and sleep deprivation aside, they eat, sleep, poop. Much easier on the parenting scale than the terrible twos or dealing with my 6 year old who's often allergic to listening.

So little Allie bug, or Allie Kat as Maggie likes to call her, is doing quite well as our newest and final addition to our family. All the kids love her. Will and Maggie want to hold her and kiss her any chance they get. And I was worried about Jake because he can be a little mommy's boy, but he's doing great with her as well. He'll call her baby,  has wanted to hold her and kiss her several times and always wants to make sure she has a binky readily available. :) I'm quite happy and grateful for the transition we've had so far. Some things we've learned about Allie at two weeks:

• You are a good little eater-- you usually go 3 hours between meals, sometimes 2 1/2 and every once in awhile you go 4...it's great when this happens at night. :)
• You are showing interest in rolling over. You roll side to side and were trying to roll from your belly when I took pictures of you.  I am not ready for you to roll over yet!
• You really like having a binky/pacifier and right now still prefer the soothie over the Nuk brand your siblings use/used. You kick it out of your mouth all the time, though, so we need to work on that
• You love being held, of course and like to sleep on your side
• You're starting to focus on people/things and are very alert when you're awake. You have such pretty deep blue, almost purple eyes
• You've smiled once or twice and have a little dimple on your right side, just like daddy
• You are quite the mover, just like in my tummy. In fact, when the doctor did your first check up she asked if you were this active in the womb! 
• I love those little newborn faces and how tiny and so sweet you are
• You're starting to grow into your newborn diapers and outfits a little bit; I think you'll be in them awhile :)
• Overall you're such a sweet little addition to our family and everyone loves you!

Bringing Baby Home

Sunday, August 17 was Alana's first day home! Discharge took some time, so we didn't leave until 2 I think, but I was ready to be home! Many thanks to my mom and dad for staying with the kids that last night so Daniel could stay at the hospital with me and bring me home without lugging all the kids up to the hospital to pick me up. Everyone was happy to have us home- Will and Maggie were ready to hold Alana for sure, they just love babies. :) We're settling in and adjusting to our newest little addition.

Welcome baby Alana!

Alana Kathryn arrived safely on Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 12:47 pm weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 21 inches long. Shortly after her arrival she was able to nurse and be snuggled and meet her siblings before heading to the nursery for her bath. By the time she was rolling back from her bath, grandparents started rolling in, so the timing worked out nicely.

Will and Maggie just adore her! They both wanted to hold her almost non stop and Maggie just kept giving her kisses and kisses. Jake wasn't as interested the first day, I think at least in part because both grandpas were here to give him attention. :) Friday morning when just he and Daniel came, he was looking in her little crib and saying baby. He's even given her a few pats-- hopefully he'll like her when we get home too. :) We had visitors Friday morning and evening as well. The kids have been able to come everyday to visit but Daniel hasn't been able to spend time with me here like he did with all the others. I've tried to use the extra alone time to rest, but that's not very easy to do in a hospital.So far Alana and I are getting along well, though her second night was rougher than the first- she didn't sleep as well and was fussier. Overall she's a sweet little addition to our family and we're praying our transition home goes smoothly.

Waistline Wednesday

Well, this is it. My first and last Waistline Wednesday post! I haven't taken any belly pictures this pregnancy, mostly out of being busy with the other kids, my mind was simply on other things. There are inevitably pictures of me out there where I'm pregnant, just not the posed belly photos I've done in the past. I used to give my parents a hard time about my sister having an album full of photos and me having like one page for the first several years of my life. It really is just harder to set aside time to do those things when so much else is going on.

We have finished as much of the nursery as possible, but I'd like to add some homemade elements after she arrives. Some things just can't be done ahead of time. So stay tuned for her birth announcement and nursery post. Hopefully I'll get to it quicker than I did Jake's. :)

Back to school!

Boy does summer go fast!! I hate to go all typical parent with "when I was a kid..." but when I was a kid we never went back to school before Labor Day and I like that better. We usually went to school into June but not by much. September in the south is still plenty hot, but August is just too much. We didn't have fall breaks when I was a kid, so I'm sure that's part of it, but even without that, I think they're in school longer now. Maybe they'll graduate smarter than me? We'll see.

I cannot believe my Will is in the first grade!! Oh my goodnes, Kindergarten was tough but now he's moving full steam ahead, school is just going to fly by. Maggie is still in the blended Pre-K class, but I'm letting her stay the full day this year. So a small change. Anyway, here are my cuties:

 I decided to use a "1" this year and Will thought it was very clever, ha!

 sweetheart had to pose with her princess backpack and new Pinkie Pie

Off to school we go! We only need about 5 minutes to drive to school but I left about 20 minutes early to account for traffic and having to walk in. Well, that was not enough, apparently. I had to park so far away that by the time we got into the school I had 4-5 minutes to drop off both kids and their supplies. So I only got a couple pictures of Moosie before rushing down to Will's class.

 Okay, mom, we've done this before, do you have to take so many pictures? 

And yes, I did want to get his hair cut before school because his bangs were getting in his eyes. BUT I did not want that much cut off. Lady butchered his hair. I was terribly upset about it, still am a little. She promised the curls would grow back and fortunately it'll curl a little when I get it wet, but it's not the same. I just hope it grows back as nice as it was before...