April

Charles and I finally got smart phones (him end of March, me beginning of April). Blessing and a curse I think. Like all technology. I'm now an instagramer and hope to blog more by uploading pics from there to here. Now, that I've finally figured that out!

Zekiel Baby was 15 lbs 12 oz at his appt on May 17 (8 days shy of 5 mos)! Porker. He has been trying to sit up all on his own before even turning 5 months. What the heck?! I was just rereading the blog from when Vince was this age and he was a little more developmentally behind. I think it may be b/c I had double swaddled him for so long- he didn't sleep very well if I didn't. He always had plenty of floor time when he was awake though, so I don't know. I never thought about it until just rereading now.

Here's some picture catch up from April.

Pie Plate Eyes x3 :)

Azure taking notes during General Conference. Makes my heart oh, so happy :)

She made her own superhero costume.

Charlie bought tulip bulbs for me for Christmas. I wasn't supposed to see them, but found them in his trunk. The week after Zeke was born he was out in the back and front yard digging and planting away. On Easter they started blooming. It was beautiful! Tulips are one of my favorite flowers. They don't last long here in the life-sucking heat but, here they are in all their beauty. That Charlie is sure charming :)

 10 days shy of 4 mos. He started rolling like crazy that week from front to back and back to front every time I put him on the floor!

Vince crawled into bed with Azure, so sweet!

 

 Zeke's first and only "couch nap".

 

This girl has been a reading machine lately! It makes me so happy that she enjoys reading so much. We skipped a few months homeschooling before and after Zeke was born, so we'll be working through the summer. I hope to do a post on all the things we've done for homeschool this past year before she starts public sch at the end of Aug.

 

Our monthly temple trip. It is difficult making the 5 hr round trip with these 3, but we have been able to feel the powers of Heaven blessing us as we make the monthly sacrifice to go. This time especially, Charles and I felt the blessing immediately in our marriage. A very memorable trip :)

My babes

My babes are growing. I've been busy and they are growing before my eyes. Zeke is 25.5 inches long! His head is at the top of the bassinet and his feet are almost touching the bottom! He's not even 3 months yet and his 3 month clothes are getting too tight! I've never had a baby wear clothes bigger than their age yet.

I was looking at this picture today and remembered a vision I had when Charles and I were dating or engaged. Charles made this pouty face and said, "No,no,no,no." In my mind flashed an image of a blonde haired boy making the same face Charles was and saying the same thing. That was a powerful image to me. We knew before we were married that there were spirits eagerly awaiting. I haven't thought about that experience for a long time. It made me feel more tender tonight thinking about Vince. He is that boy I saw 4 years before we created his body.

Today Emily V. came over and as we were talking on the couch Azure joined in our conversation just like she was our age. It was clear she felt comfortable relating her experiences with us, just like she was an adult. I remember doing that at her age, too. She is becoming a young woman. She is growing tall.

Even though sometimes I rush about like a mad woman and shout orders when we're running late, I do take the time to squat down to their level at least once a day and look into their eyes and kiss their faces. I act silly and chase them around and tickle them.

Vince has been saying, "Mommy, you're the best Mommy I wanted." It's like he knows he made a choice to have me as his mother. Maybe he could have picked another woman. But, he picked me. And I feel that. I say to him, "And you're the best son I wanted. I told Heavenly Father, that's the baby I want. I want that one right there."

Having a newborn, or not-so-new born plus 2 other children at home is demanding. And again this baby won't take a bottle or pacifiers. I am 3 for 3. Truth is, in a way, I love being the only one that can give them what they need. Do I complain about that fact at times? Yes. But, I know this time won't last forever. And there is something so very sacred about clutching a baby to my breast and rocking back and forth in that glider that I nursed Azure and Vince in. I thank God for these 3 babes who drive me to insanity and who fill my heart with meaning and joy. Pure joy.

Vince's golden birthday party

I'm not an over-achiever. I knew Vince's party was going to be simple since I have a newborn. I didn't want to have it here b/c I didn't want the stress of cleaning my house for guests so we had it at Daffin park the day before his birthday (Sat. Feb. 2). It was pretty easy.

We played at the playground for about an hour. Then we moved onto the grassy area to play duck, duck, goose, London bridge is falling down, and other great games led by Emily V. The kids loved it! We blew bubbles and Charles flew Vince's new kite.

Can you tell how excited he is about this game?

Then, we ate his Winnie the Pooh cake that he picked out from Publix. (Again- there was no way I was making a homemade cake). I think we may be doing more park birthday parties in the future. Easy, peasy.

On his actual birthday I made mini cupcakes so he could take them to his friends in nursery. Then we sang to him again after dinner and gave him another piece of cake and we opened presents.

I had to do a mini-photo shoot of him in his shirt and tie. On Sundays when I get him dressed for church he says, "I wanna wear a tie like Daddy." So cute! I love my boys. I have 3!

And yes, he has a bit of a mullet. So hard to cut off his curls in the back.

Vince is 3!

3 years ago I gave birth vaginally to our first born son. That was such a miracle for us. I felt so empowered by his birth. It boosted my confidence. I fell in love instantly with Vince. He was such an easy baby. Then he turned 1 and became much more difficult. It was like a switch had been flipped. 2 has also been a hard age. It's hard not to compare him to Azure. Azure at this age was so independent. Vince is not. We all have baby-ed him because he acted so much like a baby. Now, we are trying harder to help him learn how to do things on his own. I lose my patience with him often b/c I expect too much of him, esp now having a "real" baby, I want him to grow up and be independent. I don't want to take care of 2 babies, just 1. (Twins would kill me! Bless those of you with twins!)

But, he is the sweetest boy. He has a heart of gold and he is very forgiving. He likes to make us laugh. He tells all of us (including Zeke) that he loves us sooo much. For the whole month of December he would respond to everything I said with, "Okay, snappy crab Mommy!" And then laugh and growl which turned into a somewhat sinister laugh reminiscent of some cartoon.

When my mom was here she called Azure, Azure Marie quite a few times and Vince caught on to this but, added an extra "a". Now, he responds with, "Okay, Mommy Maria," to almost everything I say. When looking for Azure he says, "Where are you Azure Maria?" And even Charlie is "Daddy Maria." I wonder what catchphrase he'll use this month.

He still needs to nap about every other day just an hour to an hour and a half. He knows all his letters and colors and I'm not sure about numbers :) I don't think I've heard him count past 15. We'll be working on that and see how he feels about writing his name soon.

Postpartum

Zeke will be 2 wks tomorrow. It has gone by in a blur. I found out why I was in so much pain. One of my stitches (or maybe more) tore. Too bad I called about it on a Saturday. I've never had any success with an on-call Dr. over the wkend.

I am feeling much better. Tired, but no real pain. Except an occasional ache in my tail bone. I think Zeke bruised it quite badly when he was trying to turn right before I started pushing.

The last of my live in help (Mom and then in-laws) left today. Which means I have to do my own dishes again. I hate dishes. I have some wonderful friends who have offered to take Azure and Vince this wk and next for a few hrs and bring me some more meals. That will be helpful.

I'm feeling some baby blues but, not PPD which is a relief. I do cry a lot. I have a lot of anxiety. Esp when I have to wait for something and it's taking longer than expected- like our bill at a restaurant or meeting someone who shows up late. I have a fair amount of anxiety anyway but, postpartum exacerbates it. Luckily the oxytocin I get while nursing calms me down and helps me to feel peaceful and relish the quiet moments of snuggling with Zekiel even at 3am.

Vince seems HUGE now. I think he's gained 5 lbs and grown a couple inches since Zeke was born. He's also talking a lot more. One of the funniest things he's said as of late was the other day when we were driving. He asked where we were going, "WalMart," I replied. "I hate WalMart." "Me too." Also, today as I was putting him down for a nap, placing him in his crib (so he wouldn't escape) he said, "This is the worst." He makes me laugh!

He is very interested in Zeke. He wants to kiss him every 2 mins. The problem is he doesn't know how to be gentle. So, his affection for his little brother is a cause of my anxiety. I am worried he's going to hurt him. But, it is darling to see how much he loves him. Recently Vince has liked to make up songs. One of them was to the tune of "Once there was a snowman" instead he sang, "Once there was a Zekiel". He also made up a new one today about Zeke being his best friend. Melts my heart. I hope they will be best friends.

Azure has been extremely helpful and has brought me cups of water while I nurse w/o me even asking. I am so glad we're homeschooling. I couldn't imagine her being in school right now. She is my main source of help during the day. I would also hate driving her to sch in the morning being sleep deprived and having to wake up Zeke. I think I'll homeschool all the children again when we have baby #4 or at least try to have her at the end of the school year.

All in all it's been wonderful. With every child I have I feel more complete as a person and as a woman. I love my children and I love being a mother. Not because it's easy, but because it's hard. It's true, the more you sacrifice for someone, the more you love them. Blood, sweat, tears, sleep, and breastmilk to name a few.

Jingle Bells

Vince for some reason thinks that the last words in Jingle Bells is:

"Oh, what fun it has to ride. A little bit ride!"

I'll never sing it the same now.

Vincey growing up

Today Vince all on his own pointed to my belly and said, "Mommy, that's your baby in dair?"

"Yes! It's the baby. Do you know his name? What's the baby's name?"

"Baby Zete."

It was so cute! And yes, we're 99.9% decided that the baby is Zeke (Ezekiel). Still not sure about a middle name.

They always ask me to take a picture of them sitting on the couch

Reading "Winnie the Pooh"

He has finally taken a liking to Letter Factory! Azure started watching it around 14 months so she could recite the whole alphabet right after turning 2. We tried getting Vince excited about watching it but, he's resisted until about 6 wks ago. He can now sing the whole alphabet- though there is an occasional mix up. He can also say what sound each letter makes with about 95% accuracy.

For those of you who know me intimately well, you might have noticed that I do a strange thing with my hands when I talk to myself and/or get excited. I have done it since childhood and still do it today. Vince has picked this up from me and I LOVE it! You can see him kind of doing it as I pour honey on his pancake in the above pic- sweet treats always excite him.

And he can count to 11 now too! Sometimes he remembers that 12 comes next and sometimes not. He also knows most of his colors. That was slow going for awhile but, it's all suddenly clicked for him. It is so fun to see his neurons connecting. I love this stage of rapid mental growth!

During Conference weekend he fell out of his crib for the first time trying to climb out so we took his mattress out and he's now sleeping on it on the floor. It works for now until we decide how we're going to situate sleeping arrangements once Zeke needs the crib.

As you can see, he doesn't always stay on his bed

He calls cereal "sirs". I bought some different flavors of Chex "sirs" when they were on sale. After waking up one morning, he told me he wanted "the pie one sirs". Of course, I didn't know what he was referring to, so I had to pull them all out and ask which one he wanted. It happened to be the apple cinnamon Chex. "Pie one sirs" is now a common phrase in our household spoken by me and Charles because it is just too funny to not say.

We start swimming lessons next week! It's his first lesson/class of any kind. He's well overdue for one. Azure is upset that she has to sit and watch me and Vince swim in the pool. I think it'll be good for her. I've explained that Vince has had to just sit and watch her play soccer for 2 yrs now along with art lessons, and theater camp, gymnastics, etc.

My sweet boy brushing my hair :) He has a fetish with hair. He always asks to touch mine ("Mommy, you have some brown hairs") and twirls his own to fall asleep at night.

Dress up! I think she looks like her Gma here.

Other life updates

We decided not to buy a house after all. We had 2 different realtors and looked for about 2 months with no success. We weren't excited about any of the houses we saw (in our price range). Of course, we saw some outside of our price range we were excited about. Those dang Pharmacy school loans!

We both feel good about renting and staying here in our current house. We do like it here. Our house is only about 4 yrs old and it is nice and new (except the carpet.) We plan on having Azure and Vince share a room with bunk beds once this little one gets out of our room (probably around April or May). Hopefully that works out well. And hopefully, we will move by the time we have baby #4 because 4 kids in this house will be too tight of a fit.

On July 31st, we bought a new vehicle! A family sized vehicle! A 2013 Kia Sorento. We've never bought a new car before- only used. It's kinda fun to have a car from the future :) The first couple of days that I drove it around with the kids I felt that I had arrived in a new stage of life driving around in a family sized vehicle with my kids in the back. Kinda fun.

It is so nice not having to drop Charles off at work if we want the car for the day. It has been such a blessing. And, we can give people rides now since it fits 7. Azure now says that we need to have 5 babies to fill up our car! I'm only hoping for 4 ;)

Oh, and we bought a bread maker! We've been wanting one for awhile now. It's nice to have homemade bread made by a machine and not me since I can't bake anything that calls for yeast.

Vince said the other day that his tummy hurt. "Do you have a baby in your tummy?" I asked jokingly.

"No."

"Boys don't have babies in their tummies. But, your wife will when you get married."

"No, I go temple."

I was so impressed he recognized the word "married" and knew that "temple" went with it! What a lucky girl his wife will be!

His mind is really going through a growth spurt right now even in the last week.

Vincey at almost 2 yrs 7 months

So many posts to post...

Vince needs some time in the lime-light. Classic 2nd child syndrome.

He is one handsome little dude with his beach blonde curls and bright blue eyes! I confess that at times it is hard for me to discipline him because he gives me this flirtatious smile that melts my heart and almost makes me forget what wrong he had just done. I've gotta find a way to remedy this or he's gonna get away with murder. I don't want to be one of those naive moms who thinks that their "momma's boy" can do no wrong. And he most definitely is a momma's boy.

can't help but post this pic again

He is talking like crazy these days! His sentence structure is fantastic. Though, he is mostly reserved around others so when he starts talking so well most people are surprised b/c he is usually a quiet observer- like his Daddy. Though the both of them are rarely quiet around us :)

A couple weeks ago as I was getting him dressed on the changing table so that he was a little taller than me (he was standing) he stroked my hair and said, "Mommy?" I, anticipating a tender moment, looked into his eyes and answered, "Yes?" "I love yours hair." Then he stroked his hair and said, "I love my hair." What a silly boy!

He can't say words that end with a K. He says "duht" for "duck" and "dootee" for "cookie."

My favorite things he says right now:

"Mommy, where's Azure? (I don't know) Uh, mayme she's gone forever."

"Wow, Mommy. That's amazing!"

"No wanna go sleepy. Never!"

"So...Mommy...." (when he's bored and doesn't know what he wants or even what to say) 

Unfavorites:

"I can't!" (learned from Azure)

"Oh, crap." (I have no idea where he learned this one ;)

"I hate that song." (or anything we're doing or saying that he doesn't like)

He only naps now about once or twice a week for about 2 hrs. I am surprised that it's lasted this long. Azure stopped right after turning 2. I'm grateful to have had these last 6 months of continued napping. He still sleeps about 12 hrs every night. 13 if he didn't nap the day before.

running around in the Washington DC temple visitor's center

Still kind of a picky eater. Won't eat the crust. I have to cut it off of sandwiches. He recently started throwing up randomly without having a fever so I don't know if it's a food allergy or a sudden weak stomach or he is just eating something bad every once in awhile.

He finally went pee in the potty last Saturday! I bought him underwear last month but, haven't put them on him because he had yet to go. It was Charles that prompted him to do it, so he is now in charge of potty training :) I'll do the girls, he'll do the boys. After the victory pee, we busted out the undies. But, he hasn't worn them since. I still don't feel he's quite ready to hit it hard.

We unplugged and hid our TV last week due to an outburst from Azure and since then Vince has learned how to play much more independently. While Azure and I have been working on school stuff downstairs, Vince has been upstairs alone playing with his cars or balls. That is a big deal for him as he usually follows Azure around and lets her direct their play. 

He really isn't a baby anymore and that will be even more apparent once Zeke is born (that's the name we're considering so I use it to get used to it :) and takes his place as "the baby". I imagine it's going to be hard for him to see me carrying around someone else all the time. I guess in some ways he'll always be my baby.

Wilmington River- 1 mile from our house. We can hear the ship's horns :)

Tybee Beach Run

The day after Vince's birthday (and the day of his party which was a factor in my stress) I ran a race on the beach. It was just short of a 5K- 2.8 miles. For awhile now I've wanted to run a race on the beach (on the actual sand) so I was pretty excited about this opportunity. Last year I ran the 5K with the kids in the jogging stroller and Charles ran the half.

I ran it barefoot on hard packed sand- it was cool. My time was 24:03! My goal was 27 mins so I was pleasantly surprised. I think it helped that I was running on flat ground as opposed to up a bridge.

I asked Charlie to run the last little bit with me instead of taking pics. So, we didn't get any of me finishing, but here are the ones they took. I'm tempted to buy some of these since they got all 4 of us together.

at the starting line

where's mommy?

there she is!

Daddy's girls

They had so much fun chasing the birds on the pier. Especially Vince.

And this is the best picture of the day!