Sadie's recipe

I found a little note I had left for myself (on a paper plate of all things)...a monologue by Sadie about how to make "cheesy eggs", her favorite food. I believe she was 4 when she told me this.

"You keep on stirrng it and then Mommy keeps on stirring it and when it's not ORANGE JUICE (lol) anymore you put the cheese in. Stir in more srambled eggs. Put cheese on the top, cool it down, then eat it."

She told me it was right when "it looks like mountains - not big mountains, little mountains."

And now I can preserve the memory and pitch the paper plate lol!

Summer time!

Dear Riley, Sadie, and Carter,

It is, officially, the first day of Summer vacation!

We decided to do a collective half birthday gift of a trampoline this year, and the three of you couldn't be any more excited!!!!! We put it up the night before last and it has already gotten tons of use!

Riley, you finished an awesome 2nd grade year! You have so many friends, and your teacher Mrs. Stawinoga adores you! You told me you were so excited for summer break but also not quite ready for 2nd grade to end. I told your teacher that and she almost cried! You just finished reading Robinson Caruso. Daddy gave it to you and you kept your nose in that book (even while you walked) until you finished it! You still love Playmobil and making the most elaborate set ups!

Sadie, you finished preschool this year! After graduation, Riley told you that you were a Kindergartener now. You loved that idea! And then you asked if you had to go to Kindergarten the next day lol! You still love playing Princess and Super Girls. Super Girls has some very elaborate rules that I don't quite understand, even though I have been made a member of the group :-). You just started discovering Fairies, thanks to the Pixie Hollow game on the computer!

Carter, you are finally beginning to wean though you aren't very happy about it! You are still hooked on cars (especially from the movie Cars) and insist on sleeping each night with the Cars blanket and pillow that Kim made for you! I love listening to you talk; you narrate EVERYTHING! And whenever you do something you're proud of, you exclaim, "Carter did it!!!"...so cute! You adore Riley and "Adie" and they love you right back!

And now, we have a fourth on the way!!!! (YIKES!) It's so exciting (and unbelievable) to imagine the FOUR of you together!

I love you guys....like crazy! XOXOXOO Love, Mommy

Soccer days!

My sweet Riley, Sadie, and Carter...

You have been SO BUSY TODAY!!! I am exhausted lol, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Riley, you are doing AWESOME in soccer! You scored again today, keeping your streak alive! You have scored in every game this season, and you are having so much fun! 2nd grade is going well. Mrs. Stawinoga is awesome!

Sadie, we are so enjoying your soccer season too! You're tiny...but very very mighty...out there on that field. You're right in the action trying to get your feet on that ball. I always joke that you'll take ANYBODY out lol. And then you go home and play princess!

Carter, you have redefined BUSY and MISCHIEVIOUS!!!! You are into absolutely everything! But then you give those hugs and mooches and all is well. (You have the cutest little boo boo face when you're told no.) You're trying to say more, and you have to imitate EVERYTHING that Riley and Sadie do! The other day Sadie was put in timeout while we were at the apple orchard, so you put yourself in timeout too! LOL Finally, you are calling me Mommy...It took you until 19 months to call me ANYTHING!!! You're so funny - all creatures are "dawdy" (doggy). I think you said "Dawdy un" the other day as you pointed to a running squirrel lol.

I love you guys....like crazy! Love, Mommy

Camping!

We just got back from camping with the three of you! So much fun! (apart from the bugs and heat anyway lol) We've been having a great summer and it is DEFINATELY time for some updates on here...good grief!

Riley, you finished first grade with a bang! Lots of five star weeks and good citizenship awards. We are SO PROUD OF YOU! I was going through all of your school papers (it's amazing how much paper comes home!!!) and organizing them. What a difference from September to May! Your reading is amazing, and I love to see the things you write! Your first grade folder is full of things related to Lord of the Rings and other medieval era fascination! You had a blast trying your hand at archery today at Walcamp. You did pretty darn good too! Vacation was awesome...You had a blast at Disney and NASA, and you learned to Boogie Board at the beach in Florida! You are still my best snuggler, and I love you like crazy!

Sadie, you are still all pink, all princess, all the time...and very likely to be sliding down the staircase (or leaping tall buildings in a single bound for that matter lol) in your pink plastic high heels! Your half birthday gift was a makeup table...oh how you LOVE IT!!!! You are still enthralled with Sleeping Beauty, and meeting her at Disney was definately the highlight for you! You also loved breakfast with Mommy and the princesses at Cinderella's Castle! It was adorable to watch your face as Sleeping Beauty came near you! You did make Daddy a little nutty, though, when he wanted you to put your arms up in front of the NASA sign and you insisted on striking a princess pose instead...LOL LOL LOL!!! You are my sweetheart girl, and I love you like crazy!

Carter Jack, you are walking and running and CLIMBING (everything!!!) and getting a few words out (finally! lol). You finally said "Da-y" (Daddy) and last week started saying "Mommy" clear as day. The only thing is you do not mean ME!!! Little turkey! I think it's your babble word for you want something...I can't quite figure it out. "Ri-y" (Riley) is still a favorite word, and you use it for anything that reminds you of your brother whether it be him, his stuff, or his friends! You still love the water, but you were not the least bit impressed with the sand at the beach. It really kind of ticked you off lol! You enjoyed any part of vacation where you were allowed to RUN! Your favorite toys right now are trucks and cars...anything with wheels! It's adorable to watch you push them around on the floor! You really make us laugh, Carter, and you know it! You will do something that you know is funny and then just look at us with a mischievious grin, waiting for us to crack up! It's so funny! You are my sweet mischievious baby boy, and I love you like crazy!

Reading, Playing Princess, and Into EVERYTHING!

That title...pretty much my life right now lol!

Riley's reading has just exploded. He is reading words that amaze me, and he seems awfully pleased with himself! Perhaps the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life happened the other night. Riley needed to read for 15 minutes for homework. He is annoyed by the whole concept of homework lol so I needed to get creative. I told him that Carter would love to be read to for awhile. So Riley and Carter sat together on the couch. Riley read his little sight word books to his baby brother... Carter sat next to him chewing on his little foam book. They were both as happy as they could be...just being together. Carter and Riley are soulmates. They love to be together. Riley cuddles and plays with Carter, and Carter crawls all over Riley. They share a wonderful bond. In fact, all three of these little guys are such good friends...I pray it stays that way!

Sadie insists that she is a Princess lol and plays dress up ALL day EVERY day! We already bought her Halloween costume...a Sleeping Beauty dress that has fiber optic lights in the skirt :-). She may wear it out before the big night! Preschool is going great! Miss G is just smitten with Sadie. She says she loves to watch her and reports about her antics to her husband. There certainly are plenty of antics to report. And her language is such fun...."basenip = basement" "mcpooter = computer" She can, however, say "sacrifice" clear as day which is a bit disturbing lol....ah the joys of an older brother.

Carter is into EVERYTHING...EV-ER-Y-THING!!!! He has MASTERED crawling and is pulling up on things too. And he's fast! He is becoming quite vocal and LOUD but hasn't done much beyond "d-d-d" and something like "yi-yi-yi". He's into everything, and we are all forever taking things away from the poor kid! His new favorite, though, is his thumb. I'm not sure if he's turning into a thumb sucker or if it's just his new favorite thing, but it sure is cute! He's just busy. Inevitably, he will end up on his hands and knees somehow while nursing lol. He will be 9 months tomorrow. It's so bittersweet. I miss each stage as it passes and enjoy each new one as it comes. I just LOVE to hold him and snuggle him...to feel his little baby breath and touch his soft skin. His eyes are beautiful...blue with long eyelashes. And that hair! LIGHT blonde and so long it hangs in his eyes. I know I need to trim it soon, but I can't quite bring myself to do it. That's the hair he was born with! I'm such a sentimental sap sometimes!

Good times. Good times.

LOL Remembering something...

I was just going back reading about Sadie getting into the Halloween face paint to turn herself into a Baby Kitty. Ahhhhh...I had forgotten about the Baby Kitty. Or maybe I blocked it out for a bit! LOL

You see, that Baby Kitty was the source of LOTS of mischief. Any time Sadie was being a Baby Kitty there was trouble! Like that kind of trouble where spackle gets smeared all over the bedroom walls, the head and foot board, and the comforter. THAT kind of trouble. I used to cringe when she said the Baby Kitty did anything! LOL

Update time...

A moment ago, I was sitting here listening to Shrek in the background along with the most beautiful sound on earth. Sadie was singing to Carter. He was fussing, and she loves him, so she sang. In her little heart, she knew to give what she could to help him feel better. In those moments I realize we're doing something right. We're modeling love and giving of ourselves...even if it's in a simple song. Pretty cool if you ask me.

So, update time...

Riley, you started first grade last week! I truly can hardly believe it. You have made the transition easily (thank God!), though the first week was weird to say the least. You had a half day on Wednesday and came home all smiles. Thursday afternoon (your first full day of school EVER) we had record flooding accompanied by thunder and lightening. Because of a tornade warning, the sirens went off outside while all of the students and faculty went to the basement of the school. You told me that lots of kids were crying but not you. Actually I think you told me that every kid in school cried except your class, but I'm thinking that's not entirely true lol. You told me how Mr. Palmer, the principal, read stories to all of you to help you to feel better. As a mother, that meant the world to me. Due to the flooding, school was canceled on Friday, what would have been the third day of school! You went back today and had a great time. I think the highlight for you was ordering your first hot lunch. You thought that was very cool!

Sadie, tomorrow night we go for your Preschool Orientation. I'm not so sure I'm ready for this, but I know you are! I've told you how we'll go and meet your new friends and your teacher and how you'll get to have cookies and play in your new classroom. I just know you're going to love it. I'm sure I'll be choking back tears. Heck, I already am as I write this lol. You are such fun right now. You live in a complex fantasy world where you are the Princess, Daddy is the Knight (he is your absolute hero right now anyway), and I am, depending on the day, the Fairy Godmother or the Dragon lol. Riley and Carter fill in roles as needed lol. It is all just so sweet. I also love to hear how you pronounce things...."black lish lish" for black licorice, "Merri-O-Ground" for Merry-Go-Round, and all those l's that replace r's and w's. It was so funny today...You told me I needed to go check on Carter. Knowing you just wanted me to get out of the way so you could snuggle Daddy, I joked with you that YOU should check on the baby. We went back and forth for awhile until you finally said, "You have to check on Carter because YOU have BOOBS!" LOL LOL

And Carter, you are such fun right now! You have just mastered some version of a crawl that lets you get where you want to go. It's not fast (thank GOD) but it sure does allow you to get into mischief! You get up on your hands with your little knees under you and then fall into the floor. Then you pull forward with your arms before starting all over again. You are just beginning to learn to push with your feet while pulling with your arms rather than getting up on your knees. It has been such fun to watch you try and figure it all out. Gommy and Papa certainly encouraged you at Aunt Kim's house last week! They weren't too fond of my plan which involved picking you up everytime you acted like you were going to figure it out LOL. It's a whole new world once your mobile! You have also discovered the da da da da sound along with some others that I can't quite decipher. I think there are some y's in there somewhere! You have also learned to make a sound by opening and closing your little lips...kind of a soft smacking sound...like a fish noise I guess LOL. It's so hard to describe! There is definately a whole of vocalizing going on! You have plenty to "say" that's for sure, and you're not quiet about it either! And you are such a wiggle worm...so curious. You are always looking around and reaching, even while nursing which makes things interesting lol! In fact we have taken to calling you "Grabby" and "Grabasaurus Rex...G-Rex". Your other "trademark" right now is sticking out your tongue. I'm sure you're feeling your two little teeth. The first you cut at the Y a few weeks ago. I discovered it while talking to Daddy. You just cut the second one a few days ago. I discovered it at church one evening while talking to Ms. Jen. It's so exciting to feel those sharp little things. While you're growing teeth, your big brother is losing them :-). Such fun!

Well, it's late and each of you has finally fallen asleep. Sometimes I just sit and watch you. There are no words to tell you how much I love you or to describe how I feel when I look into your eyes, run my fingers through your hair, hear your voices, or watch your sweet slumber time breathing. You are my starlight, and I love each of you to the moon and back again! God bless you - Love, Mommy XOXOXOXO

Hanging out with the "Bay"

Riley and Sadie are with Grandma and Grandpa for the day, so I am sitting here with Carter. For awhile, he gets ALL the attention. He's LOVING it!

I just love this little guy so much! He has the flirtiest little smile I've ever seen. He makes eye contact with you, then drops his face a little (while still looking at you) and smiles a smile that just melts your heart!

At five months, he's starting to hold toys if you put them in his hands and loves to play in the exersaucer. Standing (while we hold him up) is an absolute FAVORITE activity. He's still pretty wobbly, but that doesn't stop him lol! He's starting to coo a bit more...the sweetest sound on earth!

His Reflux is awful so he has an appointment with a Pediatric GI specialist in Rockford. I've tried all the tricks and nothing seems to work. The only time he doesn't Reflux after eating is if he's asleep. I even tried cereal to see if we could "weight down" his medicine. HUGE MISTAKE...it was like something out of the Exorcist lol! So for now, he's still a breastmilk only baby. That's okay. He still hasn't reached the milestones for cereal anyway (steady, sitting, etc.).

Speaking of milestones, it's so cool to watch him accomplish things. As long as we adjust his age for his prematurity, he's doing well. It seems we need to take a good 5-6 weeks off his age. He's been chewing on his hands like crazy the last couple of weeks, and a few days ago he found his feet. That has to be the cutest thing on the planet! And he's so pleased with himself lol.

Well, the "baby bay" seems to think more of my attention should be directed his way. He's been on my lap the whole time I've been writing this, but I think he's getting tired. I'm off to snuggle him...MY favorite activity for sure!