What happened to my baby?

I'm not sure what happened, but I must have blinked because my little newborn baby is growing up toooooo fast! I know he's not a newborn anymore, but I feel like he was born just yesterday (actually some days it seems like I should still be pregnant with him!) I realized that last week he turned 7 months old and that before I know it we'll be planning his first birthday! I wanted to cry! I just want him to stay little longer and it's not happening!

I grabbed the camera a few days ago and just snapped a few photos of him during the day. Here is a little bit of "a day in the life of Jack!"

Waking up from nap time and playing with my fingers! (notice the trusty nuk!)

 We woke up super happy and was grunting at me in his crib while I took a few more photos!

 Playing contently while his sister's nap. He loves to flirt with Mama!

 Lunch time that day was YoBaby Yogurt... vanilla flavored, yum yum! This was a challenge because I am right handed, but to take a picture I had to feed him with my left. Usually we're not that messy! :0)

He loves sippy cups now, not because he drinks from them, but because he chews on them. This particular cup had a large hole in the mouth piece after he got done with it!!! His teeth are soooo sharp!

Playing with Nanny that afternoon. He looks so grown up to me in this picture!

 Nanny was kind and gave Jack his first taste of a candy cane. It was cherry flavored and he LOVED it! It definitely tasted better than his usual baby food peas or carrots! :0)

Here is a fun one I took of his beautiful blue eyes! His eyes melt my heart... love that little munchkin! Now, stop growing up please!

Haircuts!

Taking toddlers to have their cut sounds like a nightmare! That's why I am so thankful that my Mom is a beautician. I asked her if she would be willing to come to our house and give the girl's their first haircuts. She agreed! I was so relieved because I didn't want to go through the drama of having a stranger approach my kid's head with scissors and have them freak out! (She has always cut my hair too and I am so grateful that we can save a little money that way!)

If you have ever seen my girls, then you know that they don't have much hair at all!!! (Especially Bailee! She's 3 years old and never had her haircut because it's not growing!) I didn't want their hair cut because it was getting too long, I just thought the dead baby hairs needed to be trimmed and cleaned up a little bit!

Bailee was pretty nervous at first and wasn't sure that she wanted to cooperate, but she did. Luckily by the end of it she was smiling and happy about having her "hair cuts!" Mia was so excited to sit in the chair and wear the silly cape. She wasn't hesitant at all and jumped right up there. It was to watch her excitement as my Mom trimmed her up!

This was Bailee's hair before... never been cut, baby fine and split ends...

 She was pretty scared, so Nanny was showing her the comb and scissors...

Here we go...

 After a few minutes she realized it was kind of fun and enjoyed herself!

 Here is her hair after! Isn't she cute!

 Mia's turn! She was so excited!!!

 Just a little trim was all she needed!

 And here they are together after their first haircuts! Just as cute as ever!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble, gobble, gobble until you wobble, wobble, wobble! :0) Happy Turkey Day!

Thankful in 2010

I have been so blessed in 2010. That is an understatement because the Lord has been so good to me and my family! I have so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season and I thought I would just share a few with you!

1. My husband. Tom has been such a faithful, loving, hard working husband and has never failed to give 100% for our family. I could write 100 blog posts just on his love, patience, and kind heart. I just love that man!

2. My children. I am thankful that they cry, that means they have the ability to feel emotions. I am thankful that they fight with each other, that means they have spunk. I am thankful that they always need a snack, it means they are growing. I am thankful they have tons of energy, that means they are healthy. I am thankful that they make messes, it reminds me that they are home for me to enjoy. I am thankful that they get dirty, it means I get to watch them play in the tub. I am thankful they get tired, that means they go to bed! :0)

3. Our health. Even though we are currently all sick with colds, I am grateful that we are generally healthy and don't have any major health problems to deal with. My kids don't have allergies that we have to worry about on a daily basis. They aren't hospitalized regularly. We only visit the doctor's for regular routine check ups and minor issues. Praise the Lord!

4. Our home. If I am honest with you, then I can say that I am often envious of others who have large houses with lots of land. We have a small little ranch on a quarter of an acre, but it's perfect for us! Yes, I would love to have a bigger house and more land some day, but for now I am so grateful for the roof over our heads! Plus, having a small house means less space to clean! 

5. Laundry. I am grateful for tons of laundry to do every day. Piles and piles of clean laundry means we have plenty of clothes to keep us warm and protected. 

6. Dirty dishes. When the sink is piled high with dirty pots and pans I have to remember that it means we ate a huge yummy meal and probably had plenty of left overs for the next day. I hate doing the dishes, but if I didn't have those messes to clean up then we would be hungry. (I'm also soooo thankful for my dishwasher!)

7. Good friends and my sister. As a stay-at-home mom I don't think I could survive my day without good friends to chat with, get together with and have play dates with. Not only do my children love getting together with other kids, it keeps me sane. My sister is also one of those people that I can kill an hour on the phone with and not think anything of it. We get together all the time and spend time in our jammies just chatting and playing referee with our kiddos. It's chaotic but still fun. (Both my sister and my sister-in-law are going to be giving me a new niece and nephew soon too!!! I'm extremely grateful to them for that!) :0)

8. Long hot showers. At the end of my crazy, chaotic and stressful day taking care of 3 kids under the age of 3 I REALLY look forward to my long hot shower before bed time! I'm grateful that we have a shower, plenty of soap and clean water. We take these things for granted and in other countries they are a luxury. Long hot showers also save us tons of money in therapy and trips to the spa! ;-)

9. Chocolate, fresh fruit, warm apple cider, pizza, peanut butter cups, ice cream, home made bread, squash, chinese food, cold milk and cookies. Okay, just a few of my favorites! :0)

10. My new business. I have started a very small and simple photography business that has taken off! I started just taking a few friends photos for fun and they told a few more friends and it has just continued to blossom. I am now getting phone calls from strangers to have their pictures taken and it's very exciting. My hobby has turned into a little business and it has been so much fun for me. It gets me out of the house for a little while, it brings in a little bit more money, and I thoroughly enjoy it! Thank you to everyone that has supported me and has spread the word! 

I hope you take time this Thanksgiving to reflect on all of the blessings you've been given and how they have impacted your life. It's the simple every day things we take for granted! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Confessions of a clock freak!

Okay, I have a confession to make. I LOVE clocks. Not because they might be pretty or neat looking (I really don't care what they look like), but because I HAVE to know what time it is at all times! I'm kind of obsessed with it and some might call me obsessive compulsive about knowing the time.

I wear a watch and if I leave the house without it on, then I have a little mini panic attack.

Usually the first thing I do when I arrive at a new place is look for the clock. If there is none, then I use my trusty watch often.

I love buildings that have digital clocks on them! Whoever thought of that is a genius!

When camping or spending nights at other's houses, I have a light-up battery operated clock that I leave RIGHT next to me the whole time.

I have two digital light up clocks in our bedroom. Most people would assume it was because we need two alarm clocks, but I wake up with the kids, not an alarm. My reasoning for two clocks is so that it is easier for me to see them at night. If I'm facing my clock then I can easily see the time, but if I'm rolled over I just have to glance over Tom instead of turning around. Lazy? Maybe, but I like to know the time at ALL times!

If you've ever been to my house, you will notice that there is a clock in just about every room of the house. (Currently Jack's room is the only room in the house that doesn't have a clock.) Even the bathroom has a clock in it!

I may have passed along this obsession to my daughter. There has been lots of evidence of that lately and I'm not surprised. From the time she was a little baby I've had a clock in her room. It was easier to know what time it was if we were in her room playing if there was a clock there already. It definitely beat running to the living room every time I need to see a clock. Therefore, she's always seen clocks in our house and probably watched me look at them every couple of minutes of her life.

A few weeks ago, I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she replied, "A princess clock for my new princess room." "You want a clock?" I asked. She said, "Oh yes, that would be great!" And she was serious. She really wanted a new clock!!!

She has also been obsessed with knowing the time lately too! (Remember that she's only 3!) Her new question (that she asks about 4 times a day) is "What time is it on the clock?" She used to ask "what time is it?" and I would answer with something like, supper time, bed time, quiet time, etc... She got smart and then added "on the clock" because she wanted to know the numbers.

Tom and I have been slowly teaching her what the short hand and long hands mean and she is catching on really fast! The other day I told her it was 9:55 and she said, "But Mama, the little hand is on the 11, not the 5." I was shocked! She was actually getting it!

Her other favorite thing is to "count the clock." Because we have a clock in the bathroom, she sits on the potty and asks to "count the clock." This just simply means that she counts from 1 to 12 around the clock. She loves doing it and does it over and over again.

It's kind of scary because I remember doing things like this as a kid, but I never taught her that. How is it that our kids pick up on these things? We might be a little crazy, but at least we're usually on time! :0)

By the way... this clock annoys me... 

A few tidbits about my day...

Today was full of surprises from my little ones!

*****

It all started when I went into the girl's bedroom to get them out of bed. I went in after listening to them for a few minutes playing happily and I found Mia standing in front of me completely butt naked! Yup, she decided to strip down this morning... diaper and all! I laughed at first and then scolded her for taking her clothes off. "But Mama, I wanted to be maked," was her reply!  :0)

*****

This afternoon the girls were playing with their little people nativity set at the kitchen table (yes, I've taken out all of our Christmas decorations and my house is decked out!) and they were reenacting the whole manger scene. They were doing a great job when I over heard Bailee say to Mia, "No, lets not call him Joseph, lets call him Joe. I like that better!" Again I giggled to myself and then a few minutes I heard Mia singing "Mary had a little lamb" to the Mary figurine. I think I have a little teaching to do!!! :0)

*****

Bailee had a ton of gas today and at one point she had the longest "toot" that I had ever heard! She then giggled and said, "Mama, my toot just sounded like an airplane!" (Too much information perhaps, but still it was funny!)

*****

Jack bit Bailee's nose! (You had to be there, but it was hilarious!)

*****

On a more serious note, my husband and I have sponsored a child from the Philippines through Food for the Hungry. Bailee say her picture hanging on our refrigerator and was asking questions about her. I told her, "Her name is Trixie and she lives far away where they don't have much food to eat. So, Mama and Papa are going to send her some money to buy more food." She smiled and said, "Oh!" She ran off to play, but later when I gave Tom some money she saw the exchange and said, "Mama is that for Trixie? Can we give it to her?" I thought it was so sweet that she had been paying attention and that she showed genuine concern for Trixie!! We made sure to pray for her at supper time and Bailee did also. The sweet prayers of a child bless my heart!

*****

*****

Have any fun stories from your day you want to share? :0)

Wordless Wednesday

Meet my sweet son... It was a day for playing outside, eating leaves, and his first wagon ride!

Look at those eyelashes!

He's absolutely edible!

 Big eyes!

 His first wagon ride!

 Watching mommy (me) and his sisters riding bikes!

 Yummy, a leaf for lunch!

I just love that little guy!

(For more of my photography visit nicoleleephotographymaine.blogspot.com)

It has been one of THOSE day!

My day started out great! I woke up to my husband making our family chocolate chip pancakes (he really is wonderful!) I just wish the rest of my day had had the same feeling of peace and happiness!!!

As soon as my husband left for work, everything started to go downhill... FAST! It was one of those days where I had a million and one things on my to-do list and got none of them done. I was so busy trying to run around and do some cleaning and other random projects that have been neglected and the kids caught on. You know what I mean? They realized that mom is going to be busy and productive today so they said, "we're going to sit quietly and play together to give her a break.  She has so much to do and since she works so hard to keep our house in order and cleaned up we'll behave." HA! Wouldn't that be nice!


Instead, I had my hands full today. Any house with toddlers in it, is a busy one, but today seemed extremely busy and full of conflict. I think both of the girls woke up on the wrong side of the bed and Jack was in so much pain (from teething- 4 teeth are coming in at once) that he was in tears most of the day. I felt bad because he wasn't feeling very good, so he was on my hip about 90% of the day and the girls didn't get as much attention because of it.

This was one of those days when having "3 under 3" is really hard! One of your kids is sick so your time and attention is devoted to that one baby, while the other two "babies" are left out. I just didn't have enough hands to do it all!

When Jack was finally napping (it didn't last very long) I decided to do a fun craft project with the girls. It started out so nicely and then turned ugly. They weren't even allowed to finish because they were just being plain old naughty!

Nap time was almost non-existent today. Mia slept a total of 40 minutes (usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours) and Bailee didn't sleep at all. Jack's naps were no more than 20 minutes a piece and he woke up crying HARD every time. I think he was just in so much pain!

It was also one of those days where I never got dressed. That never makes me feel very alert. I'm much more awake and I have more energy when I am actually dressed. Wearing pj's all day just says to me, "be lazy and relax," but I never had the chance to put myself together! I didn't cook either, at all! We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and cereal for supper. Yup, cereal. Tom isn't home yet, he won't be home until later from work, so there was no way I was cooking today!

This basically sums it up...

I'm exhausted and looking forward to a good night's sleep, but who knows if that will happen... I'm at the mercy of all 3 kiddos. If they sleep good, then so will I! :0)

Delayed Disobedience

I'm sure all of us moms try so hard to be consistent on a day-to-day basis. I try so hard with my 3 little ones (ages 3, 2, and 7 months) to be "on top of things" and stay "one step ahead" of them! This is especially important when it comes to negative behavior. Every time well, most times they disobey me I try to follow through and apply the appropriate punishment for the behavior.

One of those things that I have seen A LOT lately is delayed disobedience. If they don't listen to me immediately, then I consider it disobedience. Yes, they might eventually listen, but I am really try to work on an instant response.

If I say, "come here," I want them to come here now.

If I say, "look at me," I want them to look at me now.

If I say, "eat your lunch," I want them to take a bite now.

If I say, "sit down," I want them to sit down now.

Get the picture? I don't want to say it twice and and I don't want to say "now," it should be implied.

It's a slow process, but we're getting there. They are toddlers after all, so I have to remember that when I expect immediate results. :0)

Is anyone else in this stage of parenthood, or does it last forever? I'm sure teenagers could still be guilty of "delayed disobedience," but I'm hoping to drill it into their little heads now. It's much easier to make a toddler sit than a 6 foot teenager that could sit on you! And I'm sure I would have a hard time making a 100 pound child come to me instead of picking up my 20 pound 2 year old to make my point!

Any thoughts on delayed disobedience? Any tricks you could share?

Feeding Pumpkins

A few days before Halloween we let the girls carve their pumpkins. Well, I should clarify. Daddy carved the pumpkins and the girls helped. Well, I should clarify again. We asked them if they wanted to help, but at first they were reluctant to touch the "guts." All they kept saying was, "No thank you. That's yucky!" It was quite fun to watch them explore the "guts" and overall it was just a fun family activity!

Mia was not too excited to touch the inside of the pumpkin! 

 "No thank you Papa!" She did NOT want to put her hand inside!

 Bailee kept using her nervous giggle!

 She didn't know what to expect but then tried touching a few seeds.

 Papa was having a good time! (I think the glow from the light behind his head makes him look angelic!) Hahaha! :0)

 Bailee was having fun watching Papa cut up her pumpkin!

 Mia decided to sort out some seeds.

 She was so happy when her pumpkin was finished. She was actually hugging it!

 She was so pleased!

 Here I am making the face in one of the Jack-O-Lanterns.

 She was so proud of it!

 The girls favorite part of the night was feeding their pumpkins. Carving them was ok, but they had the most fun putting the seeds BACK IN! They kept insisting that they were hungry and needed to feed them some more. I wish I had taken some more pictures of them doing that because that was their favorite part! It was so cute to watch!

 Here is my little Jack-O-Lantern watching all the action! :0) Love him!

 And here they are finished. They were so excited to put them outside and watch them be "on fire!" :0)

Not much happening...

Hey there blogger friends. I feel like I've been missing in action lately! I've been so busy with things at home and with family that I've neglected to sit and write something down on here! I've also been laking for inspiration and I can't seem to think of something to write that's of any importance... hence I sit here babbling on...

Any who... I am sitting here with my laptop in my lap typing while my 3 year old styles my hair. It's her new fascination. I think it's her attempt to make me look pretty! ;-) The girls also recently saw me get a hair cut so anything to do with hair styling has been a huge hit!

After I typed that, I decided to snap some photos of the girls and I with the webcam...

Bailee has her princess blow dryer and Mia has the curling iron. They're attempting the impossible... make Mama's hair look nice with toys!

(I told you I don't have anything of importance to say.)

Jack is at a new stage of frustration... he wants so badly to get from point A to point B but is stuck at point A! AKA... crawling! He has that look in his eyes like he wants to go so badly, but when he tries he just ends up frustrated and crying. I know it won't be long now and I'm in NO hurry!

Well, that's it for today. Not much, but thought I would say hi! :0)

Life is always entertaining with little ones around!

The next couple of days are going to be busy for me, so I'll just leave you with a few funny things my kids have amused me with lately! :0)

*****

I was cleaning the toilets the other day when the girls came wandering into the bathroom. Bailee exclaimed with much excitement, "Mama, you're just like a princess! I have a wand too!!!" I didn't know what she was talking about until I looked in my hand. I was holding a Clorox toilet bowl cleaning wand. I laughed and explained that mine wasn't magic. It only helped mommy clean the toilet. She still thought it was neat!

*****

We were reading together one afternoon and Mia picked the Elmo Goes Potty Book. I read it with much enthusiasm and encouragement saying things like, "Wow! Elmo's such a big boy to go potty." And then I said, "Elmo gets to wear big boy panties too!" Bailee quickly responded by saying, "Mama! Boys don't wear panties!!!" I calmly said, "Bailee yes they do. Even big boys go pee on the potty." 

"NO Mama! Boys wear underwear!" Again, I laughed because she was right! Boys don't wear panties!!! Every man out there would agree!

*****

The theme of the 3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf have been frequent in the girl's imaginary play lately. Bailee usually runs around the house yelling, "Little Pig, Little Pig, let me in!" But the funny thing is that she calls herself the pig, NOT the wolf. Mia is always the wolf and just tags along behind Bailee copying her play. 

Well, a few days ago, Bailee was pushing Mia away and saying, "Go away big bad wolf. I don't want you to eat me." She kept insisting that Mia (aka the big bad wolf) leave her alone. Mia immediately broke down in tears! She was heartbroken. She started to whimper and say, "I not want to be big bad wolf. I no more big bad wolf. PLEASE I not be bad wolf no more!" Bailee said, "Ok" and sighed. Mia then gave her a big hug and all was well in the world of imagination! 

*****

It snowed here on Halloween and the girls couldn't have been more excited! They were so cute with their noses pressed up against the window watching it fall! When we left to go to church it was still snowing and the flakes were as big as quarters. I put Jack in his infant carrier and out we went. I forgot to cover him with a blanket or the seat canopy, so flakes were falling all over his face. I didn't even realize until I heard him say, "Ppphhhvvttt, ppphhvvtttt." I looked down and there was snow all over his face, his eyes were closed and he was trying so hard to sit up. I giggled because it was his first snow experience and he didn't like it. He kept shaking his head and saying his pppphhvvtt sound over and over. It was obviously freaking him out, but he didn't cry! He better get used to it, we live in Maine! :0)

*****

Here is a recent photo taken during bath time. It is a little peak into the craziness when you have 3 babies in the tub! We tried Jack in his Bumbo chair for the first time in the tub and he loved splashing around with the girls. That just meant that I got even more wet! :0)

*****

I hope you enjoyed our little crazy family stories!

 ~Have a great few days!~

"Treasure Tree!" (Trick or Treat!)

Yesterday was the first Halloween that we allowed the girls to partake in, and they had a blast! Before this year they were too young to understand and I thought it would just scare them to see other kids dressed up in creepy costumes and masks. This year they couldn't wait to get dressed up and parade around town in their costumes. They didn't have special costumes that I made or bought, they just chose what they wanted to wear from their dress up clothes. (I was actually shocked when Bailee didn't choose to be a princess!!!) 

Their costumes were perfect for the weather here in Maine. It was spitting snow on us and was freezing cold, so their big thick costumes kept them pretty warm. 

We walked around to about a dozen houses that we knew in the neighborhood and they got a small handful of candy which was more than enough to make them happy!!!

Here is Mia as a chicken and Bailee as a Care Bear...

I got these Elmo Halloween buckets last year on clearance for $.25 and they've played with them all year, so they were excited to take them along!

The whole gang... Jack was a pirate and he liked seeing the girls dressed up!

When we got home I let them choose one treat and they both picked a lollipop, but here was Mia checking out her goodies!

"Look Mama! So many treats for me!"

It was so cute to watch them run up to the door of someone's house and yell "treasure tree" (trick or treat) and happily take one candy. I thought they would be more shy, but they were so excited!!!

When we got home we passed out candy to the other trick or treaters. My girls were happy to get candy, but they were even more excited when the kids knocked on our door. They ran happily to the door and put treats in the other kid's bags. The only problem was that they kept crying and asking why their friends weren't staying to play. It was sweet that they thought everyone was coming over to play! :0)

It was a great night and the girls had fun! I just wish the teenagers in the neighborhood would stop stealing the stuff from our front porch and stop doing things like smashing our pumpkins in the road. Bailee and Mia were almost in tears when they saw their pumpkins crushed in front of our house! :-(