Gearing up for spring

I think I may have been a little too excited about spring. At our first hint of a warm day, I took all the kid's winter clothing out and put all the spring/summer stuff in. What will they wear when that late cold snap that the south always gets arrives? Anyways...some pictures of us playing outside when it was 80 degrees a few days ago.

and lastly, this smile makes it all worth it! (and it doesn't hurt that he's now sleeping 8+ hours a night!!!)

Snow in Columbus!

We had snow here today! This is quite a rare sight....in the 6+ years Matt and I have lived here we've only seen flurries a few times. So, to get 4 inches today was so exciting...especially for the kids! They had fun building a snowman, throwing snowballs, sledding, and we even had hot chocolate. We took lots of pictures as we probably won't see this again for a long time.

One Month

Without going into too much personal detail, this has quite possibly been the longest month of my life. The combination of having three kids under four, the stages of life they are in, and my own personal struggles have all joined force to keep me barely hanging on. But, I am slowly emerging and starting to breathe again, and enjoy this crazy life we're living as it will pass too quickly and I will find myself with nice furniture and a clean house that is a little too quiet one day. I remind myself and Matt of this frequently. That one day we will look around and miss the milk stains from dropped sippy cups, and the million puzzle pieces scattered on the floor, and the quiet of 3 am when the world is asleep except for you and a warm little baby, and the crying and crying and crying.

So, enough of that! Pictures.....


Bath time....

sweet little baby Henry- in his bouncy seat that gets hours of use each day :) quite a view from this little throne of his.

the little diva who is aware that she is turning two sometime soon.....

and, my big four year old. who gives me hope that these crying babies will one day grow up and ask me funny questions, and buckle themselves in their own car-seats, and (sometimes) go in the potty on their own. oh, what a day!

Finally....some pictures!

My camera is back! I won't post all the pictures I've taken to make up for not having any for two weeks...but I will post a few to show you what we've been up to lately. Will turned 4 last week and we celebrated over the weekend! Henry will be 4 weeks on Friday (hard to believe), and things have been CRAZY around here. I thought going from 1 to 2 kids was hard but this is unbelievable! I can't wait for some warmer weather so I can throw the older two outside :)


Baby Henry....2 weeks old

Will's cowboy hat birthday cake (sorry so small)- lovingly made by miss Bridget!
Will at his party

His cowboy outfit he got from my parents...every waking moment is spent dressed up in this

Can't leave out the cowgirl!

and because he's changing every day....another picture of baby Henry taken last night

To Will-

Happy 4th Birthday! It's hard to believe we became parents four years ago today! You have grown into such a big boy. You love cars, trucks, guns, blocks, puzzles, sharks, cranes, books, running outside, and being a great big brother. We love you!!! Here are some pictures through the years.....my how you have grown!

February 11, 2005.....5:38pm. 6lb, 12oz, 20inches... Will turns one! (and had croup that day too...)

Will at two...and almost a big brother for the first time!

Will at three....

and today! The big 4 year old...still has those same blue eyes and dark curly lashes. :)

Yes, we are still here

We are not drowning under the weight of three kids....my camera has malfunctioned and is being fixed by Cannon. I haven't updated, thinking that people would much prefer pictures of the kids vs me just "talking." We are adjusting well and are still enjoying the added help of family here. Matt's parents arrived Monday and are leaving Friday. We will then officially be on our own to manage our 3. Henry is doing great, and I take everything back I said about him being fussy. He is most definitely NOT fussy. In fact, sometimes I forget he's even around. Most of his awake time is spent in the bouncy seat on the floor watching quietly the chaos that's ensuing around him. He usually doesn't make a peep, unless he's hungry, in which case he wails very loudly. He is by far my most alert baby, (and the loudest), which may be why I jumped the gun calling him fussy. He is still spitting up a TON, but I am watching him closely and it doesn't seem to be bothering him. Will and Annely Blake are both adjusting in their own ways. Will for the most part has ignored Henry and has been very helpful in fetching things for me when I need them. Annely Blake is a different story. She spends most of the day following me around the house crying, which after a morning listening to it makes me want to join her. I'm getting decent sleep....Henry gets up 2-3 times a night, which is do-able for now. We celebrate Matt's 30th birthday last night and will celebrate Will's 4th next week. Hopefully my camera will be back by then! Just wanted to let you all know we are still alive and give a little update.

More Henry

Henry is home!! I am soooo glad to be out of the hospital and back with my family! Henry is doing well, and we are adjusting to having 3 kids now. Below are some pictures of the first days of Henry's life. So far, in addition to looking different than his siblings did at birth, his personality seems to be not quite so laid back as the other two either. :) He is a fussier, more temperamental baby and we're also dealing with what we think is a possible reflux issue. Pray for us as we get to know our son and seek to meet his needs along with our other two. Enjoy the pics, I'm sure there will be more in the days to come!

Henry Arrives...!!

Well, Katherine gave me instructions to place some pictures of our new little guy on the blog, so here goes. Henry Middleton was born today, January 23rd, @ 4:08 p.m., weighing in at 8 lbs. 12.7 oz, and 21 inches long. Katherine and Henry both did fantastic, and the birth could not have gone more smoothly. We are not sure who he looks like, but Katherine is elated that at least one out of our three children has brown hair like her! I think he looks a little like his mommy too!

Enjoy the pics. More to come in the next few days.

Matt

The countdown begins

Hello all-

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to post. I have been using the last few weeks to clean my house, prepare food for the freezer, run last minute errands, visit the doctor, etc... all in preparation for a new baby who's arriving soon. For those of you who don't know, we are heading to the hospital this Friday (1/23) to induce labor if he's not here by then. My due date is Sunday, and since my doctor is on call all w/e it just makes sense to go ahead and do it Friday so he can be there all w/e to check on me. We were both hoping for a natural start to labor but it looks as if that is not the plan :) Either way we're ready and looking forward to meeting our son. I have a feeling this will be the last post before he arrives. I (or Matt) promise to update as soon as he gets here, be that tomorrow or Friday. Until then,...happy MLK day!

Waiting..

Yes, I'm still here, still very pregnant, and playing the waiting game. (A game I'm not very good at I might add.) Other than the count down to becoming a family of five, we're all just trying to stay well around here. Last week it was fever and pink eye for Annely Blake, this week I've been fighting some terrible infection that seems to have settled in my throat. Matt made the comment today, "wouldn't it be nice to have one week where all four (soon to be five) members of our family are well?" I said, "yeah, we can dream, right? :)) Anyways, I'll leave you with a few pictures of the past week or two....gotta keep the grandparents happy, right? Until next time, we'll be here just waiting.....


the house Matt and Will constructed with Will's lincoln log set from Christmas Will and AB watching out the window at the yard crew across the street....how cute?!

Annely Blake with a bow in her hair (finally!) I thought she looked particularly grown up here- sniff, sniff.