Let Me Sum Up: What We've Been Up To

January and February seem to have been very busy. Yet I don't remember much of what happened. Here's what happened in picture:

Sister bonding (I don't take pictures of the non-sister bonding...like what is going on as I type)

 

Avery insisted on wearing this little infant beanie for a few days. I think she looked like a very strange looking gnome. But she loved it.

It's basketball season!  Braden is playing on a local Baptist league.  Do you think we should tell them he's a Mormon?  We get to watch his games on Saturdays.  This past weekend, we got to see my nephew's games as his team participated in a tournament in our city.  It was so fun!  And his team ended up winning the championship of their division!  Way to go!

More sisterly bonding.  I love that Keara and Taryn are old enough to play games together and that they can instigate it.

My oldest nephew, Joseph, is leaving on a mission tomorrow for our church.  He's going to Long Beach, CA speaking Cambodian.  Cool!  We got to have one last hoorah at their home before he left (and before my brother's family moved out of their beautiful home).  It was great!

And there's just something about jumping pictures that makes taking pictures so much more fun.

The girls couldn't get enough of it!

For Valentine's day, we had a little party with some kids and their moms.  We played Pin the Heart on Cupid, sang a Valentine's song, made a little craft, and decorated cookies.  Had I been able to have dairy and chocolate, we would have done a lot more in the way of food.  But this is the best we got this year.

 

I wanted to take V-Day pictures of the girls, but both they and the camera weren't cooperating.

 At least Avery looks cute and the pink hue is sort of fitting...

Let Me Sum Up: Mazie

Mazie is 15 weeks, almost 4 months old already!  Can you believe that?!  Me neither.  She's still growing like a weed and comes in at a little more than 13 lbs.  She reminds us a lot of Taryn in her body/head shape, but definitely has her own look about her.

She is smiley and happy, and has recently picked up giggling, though it hasn't "ripped" out of her body yet.  It's like its a little stuck.  I'm sure one of these days she'll give us a big laugh, which we're all looking forward to. 

She's very patient with her sisters' tough love.  Keara, of course, is the most experienced so she doesn't usually inflict harm on Mazie, though she has certainly lost some of her desire to be a caregiver to her baby sister.  Still, I've been able to "hire" her to babysit twice so I could take a nap, which was SO nice!  Taryn really, really, REALLY wants to be able to stand up and walk while holding Mazie, like Keara.  But Taryn's a bit more physical with Mazie so for now, we try (emphasis on try) to get her to just be still with her.  Not working.  Oh well, she loves her sister and Mazie loves her back.  Avery loves to kiss Mazie and give her hugs, but she also sits, stands, hits, smothers, and in all other dangerous ways shows her love for her baby sister. 
 
I'm still, of course, dairy free and chocolate free to help Mazie's fussiness, which is non-existent nowadays.  I long for the day when I can drink a glass of milk again, but until then, I'm just grateful for a happy baby!!  I also don't feed her anymore in the nighttime, which I haven't done since she was about 9 weeks old.  It's so nice to get a full night's sleep.

We still find blood in Mazie's diapers, which I can't explain.  She also wakes up completely congested and sometimes with a bloody nose, which I attribute to the dry air in the basement. 

She also has eczema on her legs and back, but we're battling that with none other than your good ol' fashioned olive oil.  It seems to help both her and Taryn a lot.  And finally, she also gets really nasty sores on her bottom whenever I put her in disposible diapers.  I guess that might be the reason I felt such a strong impression to cloth diaper her. 

We're going to Hawaii in a couple months and I will go a full 8 days without my baby.  I'm nervous!  So between now and then, I somehow have to pump enough to feed her while I'm gone PLUS teach her how to eat solids so she won't starve.  Wish me luck.

My sister challenged me to figure out a way to make a swimsuit for a newborn that would allow for growth so it would also fit a 12 month old.  After a lot of thought, I figured if I made an adjustable tankini, it would work.  I developed two designs and they both fit great on Mazie and also on Avery!  Success!

Know a Man? I've Got the Perfect Gift

Okay, this gift isn't just for men.  It's for anyone who either loves a team or organization, went to college, owns a business, or in anyway has a favorite anything that can be captured in a logo. 

Check this out--handmade, hand carved clocks made custom with your favorite logo.  The wood is stained, the logo is painted, and the quality is out of this world.  Braden received this one for his birthday and he loves it!

You can order one by emailing (engrainedart@gmail.com) or calling (952.237.9978) or visit the etsy store Engrained Art (though the clocks are not currently listed there, I know listings can be put up and you can then pay with credit card or PayPal).  Engrained Art can ship anywhere in the county, or the world for that matter.

I know Father's Day is a few months away, but get a jump start!  Start thinking of all the possibilities...

Let Me Sum Up: This Winter

Like most people, this winter has been mild and very pleasant. Though we are anticipating 6-14 inches of snow today, we've sure enjoyed the nice days to play outside.

We've had fun riding bikes...

Splashing in puddles...

 Climbing trees...

and making really small snowmen with broken pieces of snow that were shoveled off the driveway because there isn't enough snow to make a real one...

and when I say "we", I guess I mostly mean Taryn who can find joy in any and very situation!

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations Carla on the winning name!  We love it!  Spread the word...SqueeZurts are the bomb!

Updated Poll

Hey, I just changed the poll after receiving some feedback and new ideas.  What do you think of these options?  (See sidebar)

I am in a state of complete shock!

Name the movie?!

Anyway, I truly am.  I never thought, never imagined, never dreamed that Avery would potty train literally overnight.  Thursday night I gave her the ultimatum that we would have no more diapers.  Friday, she had 2 accidents at friends houses because, silly me, we actually left the house on Day 1 of potty training.  But then, that was it.  She wet the bed that night, too, but other than that, she has been dry day and night since Saturday, has used public potties as well as the church's potty, and goes #1 and #2 like its nothing!  I can't believe it! 

WAY TO GO AVERY!!!

(I would put a picture of Avery in this post...but our computer died this morning.  So I don't have access to pics.  Still, wanted to spread the news!!)

New Poll

Thanks for your input!  It's interesting to me how many people had the same ideas.  I have added a poll on the side bar where you can vote for your favorite brand name for the yogurt tubes.  I hate calling them yogurt tubes since they can be used for WAY more than yogurt, but that's what I've been calling them, so that's what they're known as for now. 

Next step, vote for your favorite!  If you don't like any of them, don't vote or tell me so in a comment.  Or if a new name comes to mind, please let me know and I'll add it!  I'm not completely in love with any of the names on the list, so I'm still up for more suggestions.

Think Tank

As part of Braden's ice breaker activities in Accounting Club each week, he wants to start things off (before the movie quote) with a joke.  No one laughs at jokes anymore.  Do you have a really good joke, not just ah.  Ha, ha, ha joke, but a HAHAHAHAHA!! joke?

Peanut Gallery

Braden is the President of the Accounting Club.  Each week, the members of the club meet and hear a presentation by an accounting firm, company, CPA, etc.  Being that accountants by nature are a bit dry, you can imagine how exciting these meetings can be.  He wants to start opening the meeting with a movie quote challenge.  Whoever can correctly identify the source of the weekly movie quote wins a candy bar.  Fun.  But we need good movie quotes.  Not the obscure ones that no one would really know.  Like "If we need anything, we'll call" from Pride and Prejudice.  Seriously, no one knows that quote because it is not quoteable.  We're looking for the winners, like "Now that's a real shame when folks'll be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that."  But we doubt the "kids" in his college have seen "Better Off Dead".  We have to keep remembering that they are between 18-22 years old and saw different movies than we grew up with.  So, we're stumped. 

Any favorite, timeless, quality, funny, memorable (not necessarily all of the above) movie quotes he could use?

If you have one, please leave it in the comments with the source. 

Thanks!

Consumer Panel

Hello everyone!  I am in need of some brainstorming.  Or suggestions.  Or submissions.  On a few topics.  So, over the next couple days, I'm going to post about what I need help with and if you have something to contribute, please do!

To start things off, as many of you know, I make and sell these fantastic refillable yogut tubes.  I've revamped the design and how I make them, which now makes them great for not only yogurt, but also juice, smoothies, pudding, and applesauce.  I love that! 

But when I list them, they are called Reusable, Refillable Yogurt Squeeze Tubes.  Seriously?  Lame name.  I need a brand name.  Something these can be marketed as, known by, called.  You know. 

Any ideas?

Mazie...Weeks 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8...the joys of being the fourth

Remember the days when I took pictures of my babies, shared them with friends and family, and wrote down all the wonderful things that were happening in our lives? Me neither. It seems so long ago.

With Mazie, I'm lucky to actually take pictures, let alone post them. But I'm determined to make sure none of my children end up with no baby pictures of themselves, like I did. Maybe by the time I have my 7th, I'll give up on the picture taking like my mom did, but I'll do my darndest to avoid it!

It's been 6 weeks since I gave up dairy and Mazie started doing SO well. But then I bought the wrong butter and we started seeing the "old" Mazie returning. Then Braden accidentally put the wrong milk in our breakfast one morning and we've been battling getting Mazie feeling good for the past 10 days. She's doing much better.

The comfortable Mazie is happy, content, peaceful, and SMILEY!  She started smiling mid December, right before our trip to Arizona. She only cries when she's hungry, dirty, tired, or gassy...or is being sat on, cuddled too much, or has a binkie being shoved in her mouth. Her sisters adore her!

She is growing SO fast! Remember how she gained a pound in a week? Well, now she weighs in at over 11 lbs and actually has rolls. Our first baby with rolls!

I'm exhausted. The holidays sure took their toll and we suddenly went from 8 hours of sleep (interrupted, of course), to 6 1/2 because Keara went back to school. I was so tired the other day driving her to school that on the way back, I pulled into the rest stop and took a 20 minute nap! Man, I was out cold.

Other than that, things are beautiful.  Braden and I decided to start sleep training the other night so we could start moving toward full nights of sleep again.  Two nights before we started, Mazie went 7 1/2 hours between feedings!  Unfortunately, that was from 7 pm  to 2:30 am, so it still interrupted my sleep, but I was proud of her!  The next night, though, she was up every 3 hours.  The night we started sleep training, she went eight hours all by herself between feedings, waking up at 4:45.  It was SO nice to get 5 straight hours of sleep!  Thank you Mazie!  Hopefully she'll go longer and longer between eating so I can move to getting a full 8 hours of sleep (as long as I go to bed by 10:30). 

We're getting back into the groove of school and routines, we started a membership at the YMCA so Taryn and Avery are in classes, Taryn will be starting karate soon, story time at the library starts next week, and I'm determined to get back into shape. If only I had some semblance of an abdominal core to start with...

Now onto the pictures! 

4 weeks

6 weeks

6 1/2 weeks

Christmas Morning

8 1/2 weeks

The Big 3-0

Braden's birthday is next week.  And he's turning thirty.  Really?  Man, I'm glad I'm still so young :)  At least I have a whole year before I have to face that scary reality.  Until then, we're going to celebrate Braden's birthday.  Unfortunately, we moved to a new city and don't really have any kindred spirit friends here (yet).  So his birthday celebrations will only include his biggest fans...all 5 of the women in his life. 

So I thought that maybe we could shower him with love and happiness from all the dear friends he's had over the past 30 years, from Molly all the way up to his newest friends. 

If you have something to share, could you send me a letter, note, memory, story, funny experience, etc. for Braden?  Since I want it to be a surprise, sending it to my email would kind of ruin the whole thing.  So if you could send it to bloggingwithkerri@gmail.com (my sister's email), she can forward them to me in a format that Braden will not read.  Probably an email entitled "That time of the month" or something like that that he will NOT want to read. 

His birthday is on Wednesday the 11th, so if you could get it to me sooner rather than later, that would be great.  If you miss it completely, I'm sure he'd still love to hear from you even if your contribution comes in June.

Thanks!

Taryn's Birthday--A Little Late

It seems I never blog about Taryn's birthday near her birthday...probably because Christmas and all that comes with that happens right after.  Better late than never, right?

Can you believe Taryn turned 4 last month!?  Wow!  She had been SO excited about turning four for months and was SO excited that her birthday finally came!  We started the day with Number Four pancakes...a little tradition we have of making the pancakes in the shape of the age they are turning.  Braden had fun this year using a bottle with a spout to pour the pancakes which made for prettier fours and cool shapes. 

Because we were going to have her "party" when Grandma and Grandpa came, she chose to have push pops for dessert on her actual birthday, which she and her sisters loved.  We gave her a few presents...Tangled DVD, Disney Princess fruit snacks, and a Tangled nightgown I made.  This girl LOVES Tangled and was SO excited with her presents!

The S-Word

A few weeks ago, Keara was rhyming with "duck", going thru every letter of the alphabet: puck, muck, tuck, wuck.  Knowing what was coming, I calmly said, "Let's rhyme with a different sound."  When she asked why, I answered that there is an inappropriate word that rhymes with duck that doesn't bring the Spirit.  From the other room I hear Taryn pipe up with "Yeah, like the time I said the S-word in class!"

WHAT?!!  Excuse me?!  Since I had never heard this story, I asked for more information.  What class?  Class at church.  Hmm...I can just imagine how that scene must have played out. 

However, when I talked to her teacher at church the next Sunday, I discovered that, thankfully, Taryn's version of the S-word is "stupid."  Phew. 

Then, a week later or so, Keara came home from school telling me that Alexa had said the S-word at school.  It bothered Keara so much that she told the principal who told her to make sure she told her teacher on Monday.  I didn't want to draw too much attention to it, but it was so impactful to Keara that she brought it up several times throughout the day.  That night, as I laid down with her to talk about the day, she brought it up again.  So I thought we would work thru it and get over it together.  I asked, "What did the S-word rhyme with?" 

Pause...think...pause..."Fupid!"

I tried very hard to not laugh, but it was hard not to!  Anyone seen "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie's friend gets wallopped because Ralphie tells his mom that he heard that naughty word from his friend, Schwartz?  Yeah, I sure hope Alexa didn't get her hookie whipped for saying the "S-word"!

I'm grateful for the innocence of these girls.  I don't look forward to the day when the real s-word enters their tender ears...

Our Girls Actually Took Pictures with Santa!

We have tried for 6 years to get our girls to take pictures with Santa.  Every year, we stand in line because they are SO excited.  And every year, when it is our turn to sit on his knee, they chicken out and refuse to go near him.  We've tried and tried, and never gotten a good picture. 

Last night, I took Avery to Sam's Club to pick up a couple things and they were doing free pictures with Santa.  She said she wanted to do it, so we went over and, though she was a little hesitant, she did it!  And she LOVED seeing her picture at the end!

When we got home and showed her big sisters her picture, they just about did back flips about the opportunity to have THEIR picture taken with Santa.  All morning, Keara kept asking when we would be going.  Finally, it was time.

We went, we stood in line, they talked to him, they took pictures with him, they smiled, they were happy, and they LOVED their pictures.  He was by far the BEST Santa I have ever seen.  Not only was his beard gorgeous, he also took at least 5 minutes with our family (I felt bad for everyone else in line) and talked to each of the girls like he knew them well.  He talked about the baby shoes Keara used to wear when she was Mazie's age, told them about things their Grandma used to do as a girl when she sat on his lap (apparently she pinched him and thought it was SO funny!) and answered their questions, like where he parked his sleigh (by the river so the reindeer could get a drink when they wanted).  He was fantastic!

And I love the pictures.  The deal was your first 4x6 was free, but I guess they loved the picture of Mazie looking at Santa too much to pass up.  Me too. 

This definitely started the magic of Christmas for our girls!

Time Passes Too Quickly: Mazie at Two AND Three Weeks Old

Avery loves Mazie!

Mazie in her blessing dress.  I need to get some better pics taken because my camera is lousy.

In a pot.  She was supposed to be 9 days old, but I didn't get around to taking the picture until she was 21 days old.  Oops.  Still, it's supposed to show perspective.  I think my angle was off...

The transition to 4 has been the easiest so far...and also the hardest.  Because of my easy delivery, recovery was almost nonexistent.  I had some pains (symphysis pubis dysplasia, a pinched nerve, and a hemorrhoid) but they resolved within a week and a half of her birth.  Because of my tremendous milk supply and an electric pump, I was able to store almost 200 oz of milk in the first 2 weeks ON TOP of feeding Mazie.  I felt like "that ol' heifer out there" (quoting my grandfather).  Anyway, besides all that, it didn't feel like I actually had a baby.

But Mazie has shown some of the classic dairy sensitivity symptoms, leading me to go to a dairy free diet...again.  And it has helped SO much.  (For those of you who are about to ask "What symptoms?", she was very fussy most of the time, struggled to get burps out, had explosive poops, some green stool, full body contortions as she tried to get the bubbles out, high pitched squeal-like screams after eating, stopping in the middle of nursing crying, discomfort lying down, and the tell-tale sign--a rash that appeared all over her body at 11 days old.) 

After going off dairy, it takes about 1-3 weeks before the dairy has cleared both our systems.  We're at 13 days and things are so much better.  We've had 3 evenings where she hasn't screamed for 2 hours, fighting against the bubbles, 3 days of a very pleasant, very calm baby.  It has been SO nice!  However, it does make all 200 oz. of that milk in my freezer unusable for this baby.  I'm looking into donation.

Despite her struggles with dairy, she has gained weight like no other!  Leaving the hospital, she was 6 lbs 13 oz.  At her 2 week appointment, she was 7 lbs. 12 oz.  Amazing for our kids!  Today, she was weighed at another appointment and was 8 lbs. 12 oz.  Really?!  A pound in just 9 days?  I honestly think the scale must have been broken...

She is beautiful, delightful, and continues to be a source of entertainment for all the girls.  Keara is a lifesaver most of the time when I need to make dinner, help another little girl, or do anything else I may need to do.  She can watch Mazie and I don't have to worry.  Or, like the other day when I was exhausted beyond comprehension, I laid down with Mazie and Keara babysat her sisters.  I got a full hour of sleep without an interruption from any of the three older girls.  Wonderful!

The reason the transition to 4 has been hardest is because I feel like I don't have time to get anything done.  Either I don't have time or I'm too tired.  I'm getting about 6 1/2 opportunity hours of sleep, with a half hour interruption in the middle to feed Mazie.  But I'm needing about 10 hours of straight sleep, not chunks of 3 and 4 here and there.  I find myself almost falling asleep going to and from Keara's school.  But I can't "sleep when the baby sleeps" because I'm either in the car, making dinner, or taking care of Taryn and Avery.

So I'm redefining my expectations.  Whereas normally I wouldn't turn on the TV during the week at all for the girls, they have watched two movies this week so I could lay down.  And I'm convincing myself that that is okay.  I would rather let them watch movies than me be so worn out that I can't be patient, kind, and respectful of my girls.  I've lost my patience more in the last week than in the last 6 months...so I guess movies are a better alternative.  If in a day I feed my kids, do the laundry, cooking, and cleaning, and maybe spent a little time with the girls, it's a good day, right?  I have to put everything else aside for now.  But that's hard with Christmas coming up and feeling like I have to finish the last details.

Oh well.  I'm doing my best.  If I weren't so tired, I think my best would be better.  But then I just keep reminding myself that I had a baby just 3 weeks ago and being tired is part of the territory.  And this little girl is so worth the exhaustion! 

Merry Christmas!  This display we created on our entertainment center makes me very happy!!