Practice makes…perfect?

Our girls have been asked to be in three weddings between next weekend and October – all on the east coast and we will be flying to all of them!!  We are thrilled because we know those will be times that we will see friends and family…YAHOO…. and we know that they are the prettiest girls around!  BUT, one thing that makes me a little nervous is Hannah’s inability to look at the camera during pictures.  I know that there will be “formal” pictures with the whole bridal party and I want Hannah to look at the camera and not draw attention to herself with her eyes focused on the clouds! 

So… this week we had a little photo session outside with the three big kids to practice looking at the camera.  I didn’t want Hannah to feel singled out so I took pictures of all of them.  She did great.. I hope that this practice makes for PERFECT shots come wedding day! 

Four weeks old

Our little man is now four weeks old... wow!  What an incredible four weeks... I have learned so much about him, myself, my other kids and my hubby!  It has been quite an adjustment, but we love him... he is a great addition to this family! 

Here he is in action.. ok, he doesn't DO a whole lot, but he is REALLY cute!

Keeping them busy

As a mommy, I know that part of my job is to keep the kiddos busy so they don’t kill themselves or each other.  I always have a few tricks up my sleeve or activities that I can whip out in a pinch that will satisfy them for 30 minutes or more.  Last week when my mom was here, we were having one of those times that just needed a mommy intervention.  They needed an activity and they needed it NOW!

So, what is this mommy going to do?  I whipped out a large shallow plastic tub, squirted a few drops of dish soap, filled it with water, added some cups, and carried it to the deck.  INSTANT FUN!  The kids all loved it… they splashed, they poured, they dumped, they threw bubbles, they “painted” each other, etc.  They had a blast!  It was a great diversion and kept them occupied for a LONG TIME and they got clean at the same time...SCORE!  Yes, they did get soaked, but that was much easier to handle then the whining, fighting, and chaos. 

“Should I dump this water on mommy?”

Hannah’s currency

Hannah has adored the computer ever since we started letting her use it to play learning games shortly after she turned three.  She has really developed her skills in using the mouse and thinking about the games while playing.  She can even get on the computer and go to the website that we have in our favorites for her all by herself – with being shown only once.  She is REALLY getting good at the games for reading and counting.  I am really impressed at her progress.  She LOVES computer time and it makes her feel so big!

So… when I started getting frustrated this week with her needless thumb-sucking, I decided to use computer time as currency.  She KNOWS the rule about “thumbs” but lately she has been hiding under pillows or books so I will not see her disobeying.  Boy, that is willful and premeditated disobedience by definition!!!  I KNOW how much she values that time of the day so I needed to use that as a tool to get her to obey. 

This morning I printed off a page with a large “thumbs up” on it.  Then I wrote NO THUMBS.  At the bottom of the page I cut five tabs with the numbers 1-5 on them.  I told her that the numbers represented time on computer.  Each time I saw her sucking her thumb, I would take away one of the numbers and she would get less time on the computer.  If I took away all of them, then she would get NO time on computer.  Her eyes bugged out of her head at the thought of NO COMPUTER.  But she liked the idea of a long computer time if she did no thumbs. 

Throughout the day, I kept my eye on her… and I didn’t even catch her with her thumb ONE TIME!  She was perfect!  She kept saying, “Mommy, I can’t wait for my long, LONG computer time tonight!”  It worked really well.  She kept all of her numbers and I can use that same sheet for the next day!  YAHOO! One successful day… how will tomorrow go?

PS… Grace (Hannah’s second mommy) let me know that she didn’t see Hannah sucking her thumb either!  Quite impressive!  :)

Favorites–part three (the finale)

Each one of his siblings, loves Caleb in their own special way. Grace loves to hold him and is very helpful to get him what he needs or to put his paci in his mouth.  Hannah loves to cuddle with him on the couch while getting her face right in his to say his name and tell him that she loves him.  Josiah calls out to him, “Balub…Balub!” and asks to “hode him” by putting out his arms. Josiah even likes to get my Boppy for me when I need to nurse Caleb.  They are all loving to him in their own ways….even though they can be rough and loud at times.  It is great seeing them all together and loving on each other.  They all are excited for the day when they can REALLY play with Caleb…that will be GREAT! 

Favorites – Part Two

When we went home from the hospital on Sunday, May 20, Caleb weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces. That wasn’t bad at all considering he was 8 pounds and 2 ounces at birth.  We went for his check up with our pediatrician on Tuesday and he was UP TO HIS BIRTH WEIGHT!!  The nurse even double-checked to make sure it was accurate.  Sure enough… 8 pounds and 2 ounces.  The doctor was thrilled!  When we went to his 2 week appointment last Friday, he was up to 9 pounds and 2 ounces… he gained a pound in 10 days!  Way to go, Buddy!

I like to think that he is forming the letter C with his hand…

C for Caleb Andrew, of course! 

Favorites… part one

I think the easiest way to get everyone caught up on the happenings of our little new addition is to make these “favorites” pages.  Here are the favorite pictures that we have taken of Caleb Andrew over the last two and a half weeks.  I wish I was a professional photographer like my SILs or better yet, that they lived closer to do LOTS of photo shoots for me.  BUT.. they can’t so I have tried to study their work and recreate some poses for our little man.  He is such a joy and a great addition to this already crazy family! 

First trip to the Zoo

It is no secret that our family loves to go to the Zoo.  We love to go any chance we get, especially on a nice day.  It is great to be out in the warm air and the kids love exploring.  There are always new things to see and the animals keep us very entertained.  We love looking at the giraffes this time… they were running and eating and one was even stretching to get some really high leaves.  It was fascinating.

Last Friday we took Nanna there to see the new entrance to the Zoo, the new monkey cage, and the new seal tank. Here are the family pictures that we took:

We wore him out!  :)