Dear Summer, please last forever!

We are trying to hang on to the last warm days of summer. It's fun to look at pictures from last summer because you can see how much the kids have grown in one year.  This year Milo has made huge advances in the pool.  He has always been our little fish, but this year he took it to the next level.   

Let's remember that he is 3. . . He can jump off the side into deep water, surface, and swim to the stairs. 

And yes my 3 year old can do a front flip into the pool.  He taught himself.  One day I was at the pool with my mom and she said, "I didn't know he can do a flip?"  I looked over confused.  And sure enough, scared me to death, full on front flip.

This kid is absolutely fearless in the water!  Chris loves it.  Milo makes him so proud every time that we go swimming.  We really get our moneys worth out of the pool.  We usually wait for dad to come home from work, head over, swim, snack, and then it's bed time.  .  .  It's awesome.

Then there is little miss Taya.  She can also jump off the side of the pool. . . and we learned the hard way (when she fell in) that she can also surface.  She loves to go under over and over again. 

This is her being "Ariel".  She'll go ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah in the Little Mermaid way.  She loves to play princesses in the pool.  My favorite is when she learned to call Chris, "You mean witch".  We are also very proud of Tay when she swims, but she's a lot more casual with her swimming.  She and I love to watch the people at the pool, and she is pretty low maintenance-true to character, she just does her thing.  I have to say, Taya's biggest accomplishment is that she learned that it is not okay to poop at the pool.  Kind of a funny thing-several horror stories, but she's figured it out:)

And this is what Crew has accomplished this year at the pool:) 

On his 2 month birthday, we dipped his toes in the pool.  He is kind of a fussy baby, so I expected him to dislike it, but he actually seemed very content. It will be so fun next year to watch him experience swimming for the first time.

I just love summer an unreal amount.  There are so many fun things to do outside when it's not miserably cold!

 

We are going to soak up every ray we can until winter, and then start the countdown to spring again:)

 

Crew's Blessing

Well it's official, our baby has been blessed, held up in front of everybody--and now we'll be expected at church again:)  

Bye Bye Blanket

Blanket has been through a lot with us.

Holidays

Even the one's he had to miss out on because he was sick.

And the ones he was scared to death of.

Helped us through moving into a new house.

Blanket was even there for the transition to big brother.

Of course to the circus,

And along to pick pumpkins

Blanket has been there through it all.

The funny thing is, I started this blog thinking, "Oh how sad, Milo is done with his blanket now, and I don't even have a single picture." . . This isn't even half of what I found.  Blanket is always lurking somewhere in the background.   That kid really did LOVE his blanket.  I still remember when he was little and called it kiki.  I always knew that it was kind of a gross attachment.  Lets face it, blanket got drug through the dirt, thrown up on, spilled on, sat on, dipped in the bathtub, and rarely washed.  He started loving this thing around 6 months.  And it seriously went EVERYWHERE.   When he started to play and make-believe, he would talk and talk to blanket.  It really was his very best friend.  He would squeeze it and say, "I love you so much blanket."  There were countless nights that Milo would throw up, and we would stay up and watch "Toy Story", while waiting for the "fast" cycle on the washing machine to beep.  I learned the hard way that skipping the last two minutes on this cycle only results in the door locking and having to start the machine over. 
When Milo was about 2 1/2,  the inevitable happened.  Blanket got left at the mall.  By this time I had patched, sewed, and glued this little rag a million times.  I was barely bigger than a hanker chief, but Milo loved it all the same.  Milo begged and begged to go back to the mall and get it, but I figured that anyone that picked it up would have immediately thrown it away. . . it seriously looked like a dirty dish rag, besides I thought it was time for him to give it up anyway.  That was until missing nap time and crying into the night because he couldn't fall asleep without it.  He always sucks his thumb and snuggles it while falling asleep.  So I layed down by him and told him to just suck his thumb.  He looked at me, then looked at his thumb and said, "why would I do that?"  So the invention of "blankets buddy" came around.  This was a dark brown piece of material that was similar to his original blanket.  I cut up 16 squares of it, so we would never lose it again.  Every time we go to the mall he still asks if we can get his old blanket, but blankets buddy has lasted us a whole year. Then this last weekend we went camping.  I packed like seven bags for the three kids.  I packed toys, food, snow clothes, swim suits, you name it-but I somehow forgot blanket.  When I realized my mistake, I honestly thought that one of us would have to drive home.  But I told Milo what had happened, and he said, "It's okay I'm almost four, I don't need it."  And he didn't, from that moment on he hasn't asked for it. It's weird that my heart kind of broke.  He is almost four, and he's not a baby anymore.  He's my big man.  I look at all of the places that we took blanket, and how Milo has changed over four years.  At the park he used to be terrified of the sand, so he would lay blanket down and sit on it, so that he could at least be closer to the kids.  Now he's a maniac and runs and slides and plays cave monsters like no ones business.  At the Dr's office he used to cling to that baby, and twist it, and cover his eyes with it, but now he just politely tells Jetta that if he is good, that she owes him a sucker.   I'm sad as I sit here writing this.  Blanket helped us grow up, and now I just have a cute, big, almost four year old.  I guess he wasn't the only one with an attachment.

 

One Month

How did this happen?!  My baby is already a month old.  I feel like it was just yesterday that we came home.  People are expecting us to do things, and function, no more slack for having a new baby.  .  . People don't stop me and say how tiny he is anymore.  He's getting big! 
Chris was cute and took us out to celebrate Crew's 1 month marker.  We made the transition to three! It really has been pretty easy (except for the car situation).  The kids have done amazing, and it just seems like Crew has always been here-always been a part of our family.  

 We splurged and went to Baskin and Robins.  Milo kept saying this is so much better than Arctic Circle.  Yes, my three year old has a refined pallet! 

 Tay will eat anything with sugar.

 Crew was obviously thrilled about his birthday party too:)

 It looks like she is killing him. . . but that is actually a hug.

Due Date

This kind of makes me sound crazy, but today was almost one of the best days of my life. 
I have to say, that up to this point in my life, September 14th 2010, May 31st 2012, and July 18th 2014 have been the three best days of my life.  Our wedding day was wonderful too, but the gravity of being an eternal family really hits when you have a baby-whether it's your first, second, or third. 
I am so happy that Crew came early.  I can't imagine these last four weeks without him.  And yet today on his due date, I can't help but feel sad.   It is the most magical experience when you and your husband get to meet your baby for the first time.  I once heard about this lady who is addicted to being pregnant. . . That is not me at all-but that feeling when you know your heart just changed. That your world just got a little bigger. That a piece of heaven is now your responsibility.  It's the most indescribable experience.  The nurse hands him to you, and suddenly you have no clue what to do, but it doesn't matter, because you start to get lost in the details of this new miracle.  The sweet furry hair that still clings to his shoulders.  The crease between his eyebrows that makes your heart drop because it looks just like his dad's.  The way his lip quivers and your arms instinctively pull him tighter to your chest.
Crew is a whopping 9 lbs 3 oz today.  Thank you for coming early!  I am learning something new about him every day.  He hates to be burped, loves when I sing "Abide With Me", searches for the sounds of his brother and sister,  grunts like a maniac, has the sweetest yawn you've ever seen. He is absolutely perfect, even if he is rapidly balding and usually has a milk goatee.  Even when it's 3 a.m. and I'm literally pinching myself to stay awake, he's worth it.  He's worth that terrible pregnancy.  Having heartburn when all you've eaten is bread.  Being so tired that you kick a pile of toys together on the floor and wait for your husband to come home to pick them up.  Getting so fat that even your maternity pants are tight. The end of pregnancy gets so rough.  I think that it's because somewhere in those nine months, you feel like you've lost yourself.  You don't recognize your chubby face in pictures, food you used to scarf down make you nauseous.  Exercise and your favorite activities make you tired and sweaty just thinking about them.  You get so antsy to have your baby so that you can get back to being you.  The problem is, that you does not exist, and you will never be that person again.  Instead you have this new version of yourself.  The mother of three version of yourself.  The lady who turns heads as she gets out of her car. . . but the heads are turning because it's like the circus-how many people can really fit in that thing? Crew you are worth it.  I may not be who I was before, but now I am your mother, and that is the greatest blessing.  And even though today isn't, "the best day of my life".  It is a great day.  Great because you are here in my arms and we get to have you in our family forever. 

This Weeks Big News

-Crew has a belly button-and it's cute!!!  I seriously HATE the umbilical cord.  That thing freaks me out, it's like a dangling fingernail or something. I feel like now that he lost it, he's a real baby.

-I fit into some real pants:)  I may not have looked my best in them, but they buttoned! Big news.

-I have felt a little trapped in because I hate to go out right now for several reasons, 1- it's nearly impossible to buckle three children in the back of a Camry.  and 2- everyone loves to maul your new baby as they tell you about the terrible cold that they have. So. . . I've been doing a little online shopping.  I ordered this beauty today.  Pretty excited about it. 

Ya, it's a magnetic screen door, as seen on TV.  Taya is CONSTANTLY saying, no crying, "Mom shut me in" when I close the back door.  Problem is, we get flies like crazy. . .  But she thinks I'm abandoning her forever when the door closes, even though she knows how to open it and come in.  So problem solved.  Thank you clever infomercial.
Also ordered this gem that is hopefully going to help our 3 car seat problem.

A mini van would also fix this problem, but I think we'll try this first- it's a lot less humiliating.
-Conned Chris into helping me with sibling photos.  Poor guy gets so sick of me saying, "let's do just a couple pictures".

Anxiety

After we had Milo, we thought that maybe we were done having babies.  It just seemed like such a big risk to have another baby.  I clung to Milo thinking that he might be my first, last, and only.  I tried to savor every toothless baby smile, every new trick, even every miserable feeding.  Milo was my complete obsession.  And then when I found out I was pregnant with Tay, my obsession grew.   When her pregnancy and delivery went so well, our statistics for a third improved 1000%.  Death rate for mother and baby went from 9% to .09%.  I always say she was my gateway baby.  When she was 1 day old, Chris told me that he wanted to have another.  With Taya I was so relaxed, she was such an easy baby, and I finally felt that "natural motherly feeling".  I wasn't constantly over thinking every little thing.  I became obsessed with Milo and Tay as a package deal-but obsessed in a good way. 
Now with Crew, I think he'll be our last, and suddenly my freaky overprotectiveness is kicking back in.  I'm just dying today because he's double digits--10 days old!  I love having a newborn.  Yes. I am tired. But I love the way Crew tucks his legs in and cuddles up on my chest. I love the wrinkles on the bottom of his feet.   It's like he was swimming for nine months:) And oh how crazy I am about his brown furry head.  And when he's awake and just checking out the world, I feel like his eyes say a million things. 
I know that a lot of mom's enjoy working. . . and sometimes I think something part time might be nice outlet. . . and then I go out for an evening, and I don't know how I could ever be away for more than a couple of hours.   Yes it's hard to leave my kids because I worry that it will be overwhelming for Chris after a long day of work, or that one of the kids will have a hard time while I'm away, but more than that it's hard for me to leave them because I just miss them when we're not together.   I went to the grocery store and when I went to smell a pineapple, I got a giant whiff of Crew's sweet shampoo that must have been left on my hands.  I wanted to throw my list away and go and hold my baby.   Or I'll call to check on things and I can hear Taya singing like Ariel in the background, and all I want to do is pinch her cute fat cheeks and give her a big hug.  My life is my family.  I feel so blessed to have them, and wish that I could freeze time so that it could be like this forever.  I am constantly saying to Chris, "This is my favorite stage".  It just keeps getting better and better.  I really am trying to cling to every moment.  To remember all of the little things, because I know that it's all of those little things that I'll look back and miss so much when my children are grown.