Last Month...

Well, alot of you have been curious about our life with three girls. And, I have had every intention of blogging about that before now. So, you can probably tell by my lack of entries since February, what life as a family of five is like! The truth is---life with three girls is busy, busy, busy! But, more than anything, it's so much fun. So full. And, blogging is way down there with cleaning the house. I would much rather sit and stare at my little Abby Kate. Or, spend time with my bigger girls who look older by the day, now that there's a baby around! And, of course, anytime I can, I love to sleep these days too!

So, I'm way behind. And, this is the beginning of catching up.....with last month. In one blog. There was alot going on, so here is a top ten list of events since the last entry:

1) GRANDMA had a birthday! We had such a fun time celebrating with her at Babe's Chicken. She had everyone in town for the first time in many years. Uncle Chris was here from Boston, and Pops was here from Hawaii! Kendyll made Cheri a fleece blanket, and picked out the fabric especially for her. (This is becoming her trademark b-day gift, since she can make it herself...so, be prepared family members. You're all gettin' one!) Grandma was a great sport and even did the chicken dance while they sang to her at dinner.

2) Sophie had a birthday too! Our sweet niece turned one and had a fabulous party in celebration. The girls had a blast opening all of her presents, messing up the playroom, and eating way too much cake and ice cream. :) What else would you do at a one-year old shin-dig!

3) The girls had their first bath as a threesome. Wow...that's quite crazy, if none of you have ever experienced it before. Trying to make sure Abby Kate wasn't hit with a toy, or washed too hard on her softspot, or traumatized by the level of noise. Needless to say, her part of the bath was short and sweet. And, then I rescued her from the madness. (Can't you see the craziness in her sisters' eyes?)

4) We had check-ups! Kendyll had her 5-year visit and Abby Kate had her two week. Kendyll did awesome with those yucky shots she had to have and got to raid the candy aisle at Walgreen's as soon as we were done. And, raiding she did! Abby Kate amazed us with her stats. She was 10 pounds, 8 ounces at two and a half weeks! The other two girls weighed 11 pounds at THREE MONTHS!! She is off the charts----my good little eater is gonna be a chunky monkey soon! She also did well with her shots and didn't cry long at all. (Kendyll takes all the credit for that.)

One quick story from the doctor: I didn't tell Kendyll before we were there that she was getting shots. I knew that would just cause anxiety all day long, and there was no need for extra drama from that girl. So, when we got there, the nurse did all of her weight,height, vision, hearing, etc. and then we had to go get her urine sample done. So, in we went to the little bathroom. Mommy was in charge of "catching it", and Kendyll was in charge of peeing. Well, she did her job great, but I managed to miss most of what I was supposed to collect. So, I said "Oh no, Kendyll! I didn't do very good at filling up the cup! Do you have any more tee-tee?" Well, of course, she said no. Why would she have more when she just finished? When we got back to the patient room, the nurse kindly said that there was plenty there, and they didn't need much anyway. Whew! Now...fast-forward to Kendyll receiving the news about her two shots. She immediately started crying---alot. And, she was saying all kinds of things about these shots. But, then she looked up at me and said through tears, "Mommy, is this what happens when you can't go to the potty more?" I said "What are you talking about, Kendyll?" Then she said "Is that why I have to get shots now? Because I didn't do very good at having enough tee-tee?" Doesn't that just break your heart!! It shows her little heart and how much children immediately assume they did something wrong or it was their fault. I wanted to scoop her up right there and cover her with kisses. I tried to explain as best I could how far that was from the truth. But, it still makes me sad when I recall the story to picture her little face when she asked the question....

5) Mark was out of town for his first trip since last October, so I made plans to visit my mom at "The Ranch" for a few days, to pass the time while he was gone, and to have some extra helping hands for the girls. We also got to see my grandparents who live there, who hadn't been able to come in town when AK was born. It was a wonderful trip, full of fun for my two little "rancher girls". Carlie did NOT want to come home, and would gladly live there if given the chance. :) The favorite activities during the visit were: riding the gator, picking flowers (also known as field weeds), seeing the new baby calves, feeding Otis (the donkey), collecting eggs from the chickens, swinging outside, playing Playdough, eating way too many popsicles, playing Mommy in soccer, and watching movies (the rain threatened our outdoor playing a little bit).

Two of the highlights for me were 1) Watching my girls pretend to be Maria from Sound of Music and run down the hills and lay in the flowers. The second part of that highlight was watching my mom sing "The Hills are Alive" as we all cackled at her. 2) Watching Kendyll and my mom gather eggs from UNDER the chickens' rear-ends. Yes, that's right. They reached their hands UNDER the chickens and pulled out eggs. YUCK! Mom called me a city-girl for freaking out about that. And, I proudly said "Yes, I am!!"

Here's a Maria moment (singing while picking more flowers):

And, here's the prized chicken eggs, still warm from the chicken's bo-hiney:
6) We got our daddy back! Really, that was the highlight of my entire month, I think. Since having the baby, we had become very used to him being home or at least near home every day. Something about having your hubby close to you for that long makes you miss him that much more when he is gone. It was a week-long trip and it felt like a month. Mark cried when he left home and cried when he returned home...and I cried a few times in between! So, we made him brownies and some welcome home signs. And, a telescope. Yes, that part was random. But, Kendyll was very proud of it. :)

7)We had our first photo session with all three sisters, which was actually somewhat successful! Here's a sneak peek of Easter dresses, and an eventual birth announcement that many of you will receive...as soon as I feel like getting it done. As you can see, "Crazy Carlie" has not lost her personality about picture-taking. This one sums her up so well:

8) An unexpected family day at Disney on Ice, "Princess Wishes". This was Grandma's birthday present. But, she was sick at home. So, Mark got to go instead. It was such a great show, and the girls were in princess heaven. EVERY Disney princess they love were there, along with great snacks, and an opportunity to wear dress-up clothes in public. We had a great time.

9) Our Abby Kate turned one month old! I know everyone says it, but it's true---Time passes so quickly. I found myself a little sad about this on her birthday. Before I know it, she'll be two and won't have time for all the snuggling she does with me now. And, boy is she cute!! She's such a good baby, and already seems to be laid-back, for the most part. She's our sweet little snuggle bug. (The picture with the lamb is a tradition we started of taking a picture of the girls with a stuffed animal each month as they grow. So, Kendyll has a picture like this for the first two months of life, and Carlie only has one picture from the first month. Maybe I'll be better with this tradition with the third child???)

10) We made plans for an Easter Eggstravaganza at our house next weekend! All of our family who live close enough will be joining us for potluck lunch and an easter egg hunt at our house. We're very excited about the house-full we will have (21 people, counting kiddos!!) and Kendyll is already making plans for the Easter table. Should be fun! Now, let's just hope there is some good weather, so half of those 21 can eat outside. :) Kendyll and Mark are thinking positively and are already preparing the back yard for the hunt.Happy Easter week, everyone!