Re-Adjust

Life is starting to re-adjust.

For about 6 days now, little Miss has been sleeping from 11:00pm - 7:00am with no feeding/waking in the middle of the night. This might have something to do with my sanity slowly returning. :)
Some of you have asked for some tips in this area and I'll do another post on that some time this week.
She has also gotten into a routine of taking little catnaps in the morning and a long, 3-hour(ish) nap in the afternoon when the boys go down. Again, bliss.

Adding to the re-adjusting, the darling little gal has starting smiling and coo-ing tons when she is awake and we can't get enough. I have tried to capture a smile on camera, but when she sees the light from the camera, she fixates on it with a super serious face. Oh well. I'm sure I'll get my share soon.

This past weekend we took a mini vacation to jason's parents house. The boys were SO excited to go there and told us multiple times the whole 6 hour drive south. When we got back to Bentonville, they asked when we were going again. I'm so thankful they love going down there and always have such a blast!

So as we continue to re-adjust, one thing that's been out of whack is my body. Not sure if it's age or multiple pregnancies close together, but I have had a hard time feeling normal again. It's mainly been issues related to my stomach (one of which the doc thinks was a burst cyst), and now I seem to have all the signs of either gallstones or ulcers. Hmm...headed to find some answers next week so we'll see.

Through it all though, I have been able to get back full swing into running like I was pre-pregnancy so that has been exciting!! I wondered if continuing to work out through the entire pregnancy would help me lose the weight faster...I don't think it did (seems to be coming off at the same pace), but I have been able to run my regular 3 miles again and resume good solid workouts 5 days/wk. way faster than i did after I had Noah. So, success in that area. I'm still about 8 pounds away from pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm not too worried about that.

The Clock

When Lincoln wakes up, he doesn't linger in bed. He immediately jumps up and burst through his door...I'm not even sure he opens his eyes until he reaches the living room.
Thus, if he wakes up early...say 5ish, he doesn't take the time to stop and consider "it's early and I'm still tired" before he's burst through his door, totally discombobulated.

He doesn't always get up early like that, but it is random and those days stink (even though he can be pretty self sufficient while we sleep...he's just exhausted come noon).

So I stole an idea and bought him a digital clock, and ducktaped over the minutes (so all he sees is the hour number).

We told him he was not allowed to come out until he say a "7".

We practiced. He was pumped. Let's do this.

How did it go?
In the morning, he rushed in our room holding his little clock and told us "It's broken!!! It's only showing 5's and 6's!! It won't show a 7!!!"

We assured him the "7" would come and sent him back to bed.

Yall, he ran in our room, giddy excited, STRAIGHT UP 7:00 yelling, "I see the 7! I see the 7!!!"

He sat there in his room staring at the darn thing until it changed to 7. Hilarious.

Then at naptime, he slept SUPER long. He was going on 4 hours and it hit us that he might be in there waiting for the darn "7"!
So we went in and mind you, he was out, but when we woke him up, the first thing he said was "I was waiting on the "7" to come.". Ha.
So next step is remembering naptimes are different and telling him so.

As soon as we get this down, we're moving Noah back into his room and Miss Adelynn into her own room since she is pretty much sleeping through the night now! :)

2 Months

Sweet Adelynn was 2 months yesterday - crazy! Everyone keeps asking how it is going (since previous posts have deemed me frazzled and part-insane) and I'm elated to report the little Miss is finally adjusting!

This past month, she has been way more content between feedings and got herself into a nice little night schedule. She also began stretching her feedings to every 3 hours instead of 2 which was nice.

SLEEPING: She was going to bed around 10:00, getting a dream feed around midnight, waking at 4:30 to eat, then up for the morning around 6:30 (which is a little early).
However, yesterday we upped her bottles by an ounce to 4oz., and last night she got fed at 10:00, went to bed, woke at 3:00 to eat, and then slept soundly all the way to 8:00am!!! We swaddled her and fed her 4oz. (the 2 changes), and I think we might stick with these. ;)

NAPS: She usually takes a long morning nap (can be up to 3 hours even), and then shorter 30-45 minute naps throughout the day. She still follows the eat/wake/sleep schedule, so she gets lots of little catnaps in the day. It's about 50/50 if she needs to be rocked to sleep. Sometimes she does and other times - for instance right now - you will look over and she'll be conked out on her blanket all on her own.

She sleeps in the swing in our room still at night, but I have been putting her in the pack and play for naps to get used to a "Crib-like" setting. Transition out of our room is soon to come!

EATING: 4oz. every 3 hours in the day - 7am/10/1/4/7pm/9/11/4ish ( 8 bottles total). We feed her every 2 right before bed to get her tummy nice and full.

This past month she has gone to church past few weeks, and I have been taking her to the gym while the boys swim with daddy. The ladies at the gym got upset because they haven't gotten to hold her yet - she has slept in her carrier through every workout so far. Ha.

She LOVES baths. Absolutely loves them. She also like riding in the car now which is a blessing. She started cracking grins and some full on smiles, mainly at me (warms my heart). The best shot of getting one of these is after she eats.

She is still incredible aware of everything going on. If someone new holds her, she studies every single aspect of that person. She twists and turns her head in every direction when in a room to check it all out. She is like Lincoln in this sense - just soaks it all in. Maybe she will be a fast learner like him???

I have absolutely LOVED having a baby girl. I knew I would, but this has been far more than I expected. Everyone keeps saying "Jason must be smitten!" - which he is - but I have just been captivated by this little thing!!!!!

Joy

Sometimes the boys get a little crazy at night. Like they pretend they're pirates, superheroes, fighting Bible characters (sometimes, all 3 simultaneous which really gets interesting).

Every now and then, those pirate fighting, Bible character Superheroes get the sudden urge to dance in the middle of a sword fight...and we break into dance and song.

And then, sometimes, mommy gets the urge to turn the madness into a photoshoot. :

Love these boys. After 3 kids, they still make me feel like I'm in college. :)



Deal of the Month

Black forest gummy-anything are by the best out there. I have thought this since I discovered them in college. I think I've even blogged about them a few times (nerdy me). And when I moved from California, I scoured the great state of Arkansas looking for the brand to be disappointed in finding them NOWHERE.
This desperate addiction was similar to what I experienced when I discovered "JohanessBerren" gummies in Germany, and spent about a year looking for them in the states before realizing they were a straight German novelty. In the future, I would "stock up" on them every time I had a lay-over in Germany while traveling to other countries...once I was almost late for my connecting flight home from Ukraine because I left the airport to raid a nearby grocery store of them. When I returned to my plane, however, all of my friends agreed they were worth the risk.
Anyway...Black Forest Gummies...
They are now sold almost everywhere in Arkansas which delights my soul. (Everywhere except Walmart - get with it wally world).

But the great franchise just redeemed itself when I noticed for their big 50 years anniversary, they sell a huge box of Black Forest fruit snacks.
50 count for only 5 bucks.
Those that have kids know this is cheap.
And they taste like the gummy worms!

So, no joke...since my husband and I my kids go through these like no other and they make great bribes rewards, I have bought a box everytime I am there in attempts to stock up. We have 4 boxes (that's 200 fruit snacks).

So go to walmart and stock up on these gems, because I just googled a 50count box online, and only found one on Ebay..for $12.00.

So in summary, the great deal:

50 count (not 42 like pic)

$5.00

Walmart

(And yes, I've googled "JohanessBerren" to see what it would cost me to have them shipped from Germany).

**Now off to get ready for church! I start a leadership/mentorship training class today that I'm super pumped about!

Something Happened This Week...

My boys...both of them (the 2 & 3 year old) can basically SWIM underwater now. To me, this a massive milestone when your kids learn how to swim!!

Neither of them have ever had swimming lessons, but last weekend, they didn't have their life jackets on, and they both started doing these tricks underwater, opening their eyes and making faces, and then started swimming from about 3 feet of water up to the zero entry part. Noah still uses his hands to touch the floor and guide his way up, but both are completely submerged in water the entire.

Noah can now even be thrown like a big kid into deep water, and paddle his way back up to the top of the water...he's two! It looks wrong watching Jason throw him, but he loves it. You have to get him quick though once he surfaces cause he doesn't have the stamina to dog paddle that long. But if you throw him in water that doesn't go above his head, he can completely get himself upright under water and come up all by himself. Crazy.
They can both hold their breath under water for at least 10 seconds now which is also crazy. And today Lincoln swam the entire width of the pool underwater (it's not super graceful yet, but he made it). It all just clicked this week!

We still don't allow them to go in water that goes above their heads without life jackets, but they are fully functional in water up to their chin even. It's been nuts just watching them progress throughout this week once they started holding their breath under water.
Now, when Noah first started experimenting with this on his own, I about had 30 heart attacks (cause Lincoln was never like that last year), but he hasn't been in distress one time yet and is more comfortable in the water than Lincoln ever was at that age.

I'm guessing it's because we go to the pool twice a day most days, and they have just gotten really comfortable, but I wanted to record this milestone because it has really blown my mind watching them this week...especially little Noah!

I wonder what these mischievous little water bugs will come up with next.

When We Don't Have Words

She says she is terrified of speaking in front of people...of being in the public eye.
She tells a story of how being a Freshman in her very first intimidating Bible class of her college career, how her professor called on her - the girl shyly sitting in the back row - to lead the class in prayer, and how she thought she might pass out.
Once when she was visiting me in California, I convinced her to sing karaoke with me in front a massive crowd (a place where Whitney Houston had once sang karaoke); I'm still not sure how I succeeded in getting her on that stage with me, but when her nerves took over, it probably would have been better for her to just have not given in to me on that one (let's just say it was no Whitney that night - but that's another story).
Then when her sweet baby Tucker died a few months back at only 15 months of age, she so desperately wanted to speak at his funeral, but just talking about the thought with me one night made her heart rate accelerate and waves of terror wash over her as she imagined herself in front of people...in the spotlight.

But you know what is so amazing? The Holy Spirit.

How when Jesus ascended into Heaven, He left the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us...to empower us in Jesus Christ...so that even when we're frightful of speaking about the things of Christ, we have this promise from Jesus in Matt. 10:20 -

"For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

And clinging to this verse and the faith that Jesus would sustain her, my sister walked to the podium and allowed the Holy Spirit to powerfully speak through her at her own child's funeral.

I know many of you have been touched by what she writes on her blog. She has repeatedly expressed bewilderment as to why people find it so powerful, stating she's never thought of herself as the eloquent writer. Again...what power when one opens themselves as a vessel o be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The journey my sister is on is beautiful and mysterious...spurned by tragedy and anchored in her unwavering faith. God is working in her life in a way that I don't even understand sometimes, but the same message is consistently conveyed...how deep the Father's love for us.

You can follow her journey and how God is shaping her in the midst of such unthinkable tragedy on her blog. I encourage you to do so!

Before/After Zoo Style

Since a "cool front" came through today (91 degrees...ha), Jason and I took the boys to our little gem of a zoo here in Gentry. There were no Ligers or baby lion cubs to hold today, but still tons of fun.

We usually go a couple of times a year, and I thought it would be fun to post pictures from the past three times we have gone..all about a year apart. Man the boys are growing! Noah isn't even in the pictures from 2 years ago b/c he was little and in a stroller. :)

Riding the lion last year (noah wanted no part then):

And then riding the lion today - yeah Noah got braver!

2 years ago, Lincoln with the goats:

Lincoln today:

Last year, Noah with the goats:

Noah today with the goats: