Sitting

I managed to capture the first sitting!  We were all ready for bed and I sat Chloe up to see if she could do it...and she did.  She doesn't spend much time practicing.  She just does things.  I even had time to run and grab the camera before she tipped.  My sweet baby is growing up too fast.  

Yummm

Our little Chloe is becoming such a good little eater.  I just had to show one of my favorite baby feeding inventions.  I'm not sure what it is called but it has a little mesh bag that you can fill with anything and they can go to town on it.  She loves it!  Love the messy baby eating face.

Mexico

We finally took a family vacation that wasn't just a weekend up north.  We headed down to Rocky Point for some awesome weather and beautiful beach time.  We went with Laura, Glen, and Lauren and stayed in a beautiful 3 bedroom house right on the beach.  We could just walk right out the back door to the water.  All the kids were amazing little travelers and got along so well (but who wouldn't on the beach).  We hunted the tide pools in the morning and evening and swam in the water during the day. 

The kids were in sand heaven. 

Chloe lounging in her little beach tent, watching everyone play.

These are the great times, creating memories with our families.  We have officially decided to make it an annual vacation with our family. 

Spice It Up

Another fun Pinterest project.  Our little tiny thermostat hangs sadly all by itself, right smack dab in the middle of a perfect decorating wall.  For this reason I haven't been able to find anything to put here.  I always sit and ponder what might be perfect here with the little thermostat (I really don't have a ton of extra pondering time right now, but it is in such a noticeable area I can't help but to see it or walk by it about 20,000 times a day).  So I found this little idea, spice up this sad little baby with an awesome frame.  It actually started out bright fuchsia pink with sparkles (yes, it did hang there like that for about a week until I had time to paint it).  It looks really cute, and I'm considering putting a small gallery of white frames around it.  I think it might work...

Crayon Melt

So I'm totally into this Pinterest thing.  Really I'm obsessed and can't get enough.  There are so many cute and fun ideas to do with the boys (and for our house etc.).  So here is one of our first projects together.
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I picked up a huge box of crayons and dug this fabric covered canvas out from under our stairs.  It was the perfect size for where I wanted to hang this master piece.  I cut part of the fabric off so when we were sorting the crayons and gluing them on, the canvas didn't accidentally get tagged by a 2 year old. 

We sorted all the different colors and decided what order to put them in.

I hot glued the crayons on then pulled off the rest of the fabric and headed outside to heat it up.  It was really hot outside I probably could have just let it sit for the day.  But we busted out the blow dryer and whipped this baby out in no time.

How awesome did this turn out?  I love it!  We hung it in the play room and it fits perfect in the octagon shaped room above Big Mouth Billy Bass.

5 Months

What 5 months?  This is going so fast.  It really makes me sad, yet I love how everyday she is doing something new and I love how every stage just gets better.  I can't even explain how wonderful this little lady is.  She really is an angel baby.  She just goes with the flow, and I tell you what, she gets carted around all day, woken up from naps, fed in longer intervals than she probably needs, and she is still this happy.  I really count my blessings for such wonderful little babies.  I am so lucky!

Weight: not sure but she is heavy and wearing 9 month clothes already.  Time to go buy lots of new clothes upgrade the super cute wardrobe.  She is rolling both ways, however she is sneaky and only will roll over from front to back in her crib.  I have not actually witnessed it but I see her change positions multiple times during a nap (more on that later).  She loves skydiving, this is her favorite position while watching the boys play.  When she gets tired she starts sucking her lower lip and her eyes get red (we call this tired eyes, Zackary gets the same look).  She usually goes to bed between 6 and 7, but there have been several nights that I try to keep her awake past 5:30.  She wakes up anywhere between 7 and 8.  Yes, she sleeps 12-14 hours a night with out a feeding.  We started feeding her solids, which she loves and is a champ at.  She has had rice cereal, bananas, and pears, and loves it all.  It hasn't been long but already she eats so different than the boys, she is pretty dang clean about it.  She has the best little giggle and is compeletly in love with her daddy and brothers.  She gives Aaron a huge smile every time she sees him.

We love her so much and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful precious little baby girl in our family.

First Feeding

Today was Chloe's first feeding.  She has been eyeballing everything we eat lately, so I figured she must be ready to try some food.  And boy was I right, this little lady tore it up.  She figured it out so fast.  A few days ago I gave her a little several tastes of whip cream and she would lick her lips then give me a huge smile.  And now she pretty much does it every time she eats.  We started with bananas and rice cereal (I know, bananas... she is the 3rd baby, so much for the eating rules!)  She is just so dang happy!

Emergency

What would you have thought when Zackary came running in and said hurry mom there is an emergency and this is what you run in and find.  I just slightly panicked.  I was nursing Chloe and realized Lane had been quiet for a little longer than normal and I knew he was headed into get a piece of paper.  I asked my little helper Zackary to go see what he was doing...and yes Lane thought it was a good idea to paint the floor.

Thank goodness for washable paint.  Really, the floor?  Here he is, GUILTY!  Red paint all over his hands and everything he touched.  He did a good job cleaning up to mess.  Man, 2 years olds...

Mommy lesson: don't leave paint where kids can reach.

Real LIfe

I'm going to add this entry that I never posted to my "letting go" series.  This was something that was going on back in July, we have figured out most of these little issues already.  I have heard this phrase so many times recently "this too shall pass"  and by golly it has and so quickly.  So here it goes...

So Aaron and I were out to dinner with some great friends of ours and of course children came up in several conversations.  All the funny things they do and all the naughty things.  How parenting is so hard and how they continually keep you on your toes.  How you just have one of them figured out or figure out their "currency" then they completely throw you for a loop.  I was told I always blog about roses, candy, and cupcakes.  Well to be honest I do this because the blog is meant to be for our family and all the great times we have.  I use a program to put the blog into books to create 'our family scrapbook'.  This is were I post super cute pictures of my children and all the fun things we do.  This is why there really isn't anything 'negative'.  There are hard times and some of them make for great conversation or great funny stories to share with friends, family, and coworkers.  I really should post about them more often.   So here are a few of our "stories" or hard times right now.

Spiderman

He is Lanes nemesis right now.  He recently figured out that he resides in our small garage and he truly is afraid of him.  He has lived in our garage since Aaron and I moved in together.  And to be honest, he has frightened me many times.  Actually, in our old house where he lived in the garage where we parked our cars, every time I opened the garage I was a little scared, thinking some random man was standing there waiting for me.  Not good right?  So once we figured this out we had a little fun with it.  Well, here you have a little low parenting.  Spiderman has become a threat for not cleaning or staying in bed.  I know, this is horrible but in desperation it WORKS.  We have discussed this parenting with each other and decided it is not good, but sometimes in desperation the words Spiderman come out.

The Lion

This dang lion towel causes a meltdown every single time he decides to come out.  Seriously, I don't know what it is about the lion towel but the boys fight over it every time.  We try to take turns or use him as a lour to get out of the bathtub.  But it back fires every time.  The last time he came out he got thrown up into the top of the closet where no one could reach him.  They didn't believe me that the lion didn't like them fighting over him so he went into hiding.  Next time I make it to Kohl's I will get another lion.  But until then, he is in hibernation.  Oh and I won't ever buy them different things, everything will be the same.

Bedtime
Bedtime around here lately is crazy and frustrating.  I seem to be trying to push through the day with out naps just to make bedtime go a little smoother and earlier.  If my boys nap they think they need to say awake until 10pm.  And really a 2 and 4 year old don't need to be awake that late and we need some down time together.  With cleaning up, baths, teeth brushing, hair combing, getting jammies on, reading books, and laying with them in bed it seems to be a 2 hour process. This seems to get drug out with horse man, wrestling, fighting, wining, and avoiding getting ready for bed.  Which I think is a bit ridiculous.  This is where I seem to loose my cool.

I don't know why I fuss over things sometimes.  Like a messy playroom, or unorganized toy bins, getting them to bed, or taking naps.  Why are some of those moments so frustrating?  Because after about 10 minutes I feel bad about being frustrated or getting mad.  It really doesn't matter.  They don't care, why should I?  I do love and cherish every moment, even the hard times.  And sometimes they make for really good conversation and stories.  Looking back already, in the 4 quick years I have been a mom, those little frustrating moments make for lots of great memories.  So really I'm ending with roses, candy, and cupcakes.  But here at the Allan house we do have low parenting moments, frustrating times, chaotic bedtimes, crazy days, but I wouldn't change it for the world.  Because really what else would Aaron and I be doing?

Update:

• Lane and Spiderman are on speaking terms now.  He still tells me every time he sees Spiderman in the garage that he doesn't like him.  Lane- Me don't like Spiderman.  
• Zackary usually is the great big brother and gives up the lion towel for his little brother.
• We started preschool for both boys MWF afternoons so naptime is no longer a daily battle and bedtime is easy because they are usually so tired.  And on days they don't go to school we are out doing things or we stay at home because they are in need of a nap.  It is amazing to not fight that battle daily.  We also stopped laying with Lane at night until he falls asleep.  We read a couple of books, sing a couple songs, and say a prayer.  For the  most part he is staying in his bed.  I am so proud of him.
• Letting go: I am learning how to let go of the little things that I can't fight and that don't really matter.  I can't believe how many comments I have gotten about letting go and showing pictures of my chaotic house.  It feels good to let go!  

Soccer

Zackary started on his first soccer team this week. I have been going back and forth on what to get him involved in that is active enough.  For all of you that know Zackary, he needs something REALLY active.  We have talked about Karate, gymnastics, and soccer.  I don't think that Karate is strenuous enough for him.  This kid has so much energy it is insane (more on that later).   Some great friends of ours mentioned they signed up for soccer and needed 1 more player, so I figured Perfect!  And we signed him up.  Hopefully all the running will wear him out.  Can't wait to see these cute little 4 year olds play games!

I love all this gear.  He is so proud and excited to play.

Letting Go

So here it is.  Our house on any given day.  Yes, it is a disaster!  And it makes me crazy.  But I am letting go.  Letting go of all the nonsense.  This stuff doesn't matter.  The mess can wait.  It will all still be there to clean up later.  Now don't get me wrong, I like things tidy, but I guess with 3, I have to give up.  Otherwise I can spend my entire day chasing after them cleaning, standing at the sink doing dishes, putzing around trying to keep up with the house.  But at the end of the day, it all really doesn't matter.  I don't want my kids to remember me as crazy cleaning mom.  I want to spend that time with them.  But man, this drives me crazy.  Like the counters full of random things.

A dining room table full...(and not of food and guests)

And a dishwasher full of large items...I typically 'do' all the large items and load the little ones.  But, this is one thing I have to let go of.  And here you have it.  Pots and pans, platters, racks etc in the dishwasher.  I now am running it once a day, sometimes twice.  But it prevents me from standing at the sink half the day.  I know this is all a bit ridiculous, but they are things I have always done and now with all the directions I'm being pulled I have to let go.  So here I am confessing that my house is a disaster when we are home for the day!

Disclaimer:  This is not intended to scare anyone that is pregnant or working on the second or third precious little baby.  Because every second of the chaos is worth it.