Cooper the photographer

Usually when the kids take pictures on my phone, its of toys or random objects.  This time Cooper took some sweet pictures of Piper and I even if they are blurry.

 She clearly had something very important to tell me.

 Nestled in her favorite spot, my bosom :).

Love this sweet 3rd baby of mine!

Laney Faith - Lord Help Me

The title says it all.  I used to worry about how I would survive my kids' teenage years, now I wonder if I am going to survive Laney's toddler years!  To know her is to love her and laugh and laugh some more.  And if you know her well, you understand the title to this post.  She has been a bit of a spitfire from early on.  Just a few nights ago I was going thru old blog posts and Adam and I were just laughing because her wild side was so apparent from early on!

Lately though she has turned it up a notch.  She makes us laugh all.day.long.  And sometimes I laugh because otherwise I might cry :).  Seriously, she is freakin' hilarious - her mannerisms, what she says, the looks she gives, how she plays, what she wears…you name it, the girl cracks us up!  And she is as ornery as she is funny.  That little body of hers can test your limits like no other.

 Laney has had lots of this lately.  When something doesn't go her way, she points her finger at me and says, "you mean mommy."   Man, I need to get that on video - it really is pretty funny.  However, when something bad comes out of her mouth then something bad goes in.  She gets vinegar and she HATES it.  Knock on wood, she hasn't had any for a few days now.  Early last week it was several times a day - I could barely keep up!

 Dad taught the kids this trick and they think it's hilarious.

 Don't let that innocent look fool you.  Girlfriend is rarely taking a nap these days.  She gets out of bed a million times (moving her to a big girl bed was a huge mistake, should have left her in that crib until she was crawling out daily!) to tell me 'night mommy', go pee/poop, you name it.  I redirect her a few times but if she is still getting out, I tell her she is going to bed early.  I waste so much of nap time trying to keep her in her room that it isn't worth it!  Naptime is precious time people!!!

 This was 5:30 on a no nap day.  She fell asleep sitting up watching me make cookies.  I cleaned her up from dinner and told her to go play.  5 minutes later I found her on the couch sound asleep again.  I took her to bed thinking I was probably going to regret this when she was up and ready to rock at 2 am.  Nope, she slept until 7:45!!!!!  Think she was tired??

 She now wants to pump bottles for her babies all the time.  In fact, just tonight she was throwing a fit at bedtime because she needed to pump her baby a bottle ;).

 She fights Piper for time in the exersaucer.

 Princess heels, Sofia the First dress, a saw and some Star Wars mask…seems about right.  Oh yeah and still in her (mismatched) pjs - who knows what time of day it was!

Oh, Laney Faith - I love you so and you keep me on my toes.

So long swing

Seriously, Piper is growing up too fast!  I swear she is changing so much everyday, I can't keep up!  The latest is she has outgrown the beloved swing :(.  This is hands down our favorite baby accessory.  All of the kids spent countless hours sleeping in that swing - I swear it's magical.

 A tad big for the swing, don't you think?  Also a tad too big for those 3 month pants I squeezed her into that day.

 She loved that swing!  

At 6 weeks old

This picture is 3 months later!

Date Night with my Boy

Chick-Fil-A was hosting a Date Knight for mothers and sons last weekend, so special that you had to make reservations :).  

When we were leaving, Laney was so upset that she was not going.  Cooper told me, "it's fine Mom, she can go with us."  He can be so, so sweet to that little sister!  

I was so happy to have some one on one time with this boy of mine!  Those sisters of his are pretty needy right now, so it was nice to talk without being interrupted.

 We walked in and they had name cards at our table.

 They had roses for the boys to give their moms. :)

 For a few days he always had that rock with him…not sure where it is now ;).

They came to our table to take our order and served us, it was so nice!  

They had a cute photo op!  And no, Chick-Fil-A was not serving margaritas, although my eyes say otherwise.

 After dinner, playing and ice cream we were going to head home.  However, Dad was headed out the door out to dinner with the girls so we went shopping instead!  

 This boy has always been the best shopping buddy!  He helped me find a dress for Pippi's baptism, then we headed to Barnes and Noble to use a Christmas gift card (thanks Lori!!!).  He was over the moon excited to pick out a few books (all SuperHero).  Again, he was thinking of his sister and thought she would be sad without any books.  So he picked out a Frozen book for her!

We had lots of fun together and it was a good reminder to take these kids out one-on-one more often!

A bride and her groom

This was also from the last weekend in April but I thought it deserved its own post :).  My cousin Ava celebrated her first communion and during her celebration, my sister and I asked my mom where our communion dress was.  She didn't disappoint when we were back at her house, she drug that baby up from the basement in mint condition!  Laney was all over it!

 I included this and the next pic because apparently they both can't smile at the same time!

She wanted to marry her Dad but since he is taken she accepted her brother's proposal :).  

Last weekend in April!

How is it the middle of May already?!  Seriously people!
The last weekend of April Adam was out of town for work but that didn't slow us down!

 We started our Friday with sweet Henley!  She spent the morning with us while her mom and dad worked.  It was too beautiful to not get outside - this is us on a walk.

 When Adam is out of town, I try to remember to send him lots of pics of the kids.  I loved her smile here, so I sent it to him.  He texted me back, "I hope you are kidding."  He was in a meeting with surgeons, glanced down at his phone and thought it said 'Big Sister.'  Ha.Ha.Ha.  I am surprised he didn't pass out.

 Always happy!

 Friday afternoon we headed to the park - I love how little he looks on that court.

 Determined to make a basket in the 30 mph winds and 8 foot goal.

 Doing what she does best…eating.

 Friday night Quincy came to stay with us for the weekend.  Her family was headed off to a cruise - lucky her to stay with us instead ;).

Sweet girls!  Quincy was so intrigued by the big kids and all of our toys :).

The hair!  It just keeps growing!  Sometimes I don't know what to do with it.  This night it seemed to just be in her face so I pulled it up in one of my ponytail holders.  Yes, one of mine - not a baby/toddler hair tie!

She's in her crib!

Pippi has been in the pack'n'play in our room to sleep since we moved in.  A few weeks back Adam got her crib completely put together and she was loving it!

 At 4 1/2 months!  Told you she was happy about her crib!

 Skipping a theme on the nursery this time around.  Not using the owl stuff from Laney's nursery because the crib sheet doesn't fit on the mattress anymore.  Instead I bought these 2 crib sheets from Pottery Barn and plan to decorate in fun, bright colors.

No other pictures from her nursery because it's a disaster zone.  Seriously, you can barely see the floor due to the extra pack'n'play, bins of hand me down clothes I need to go thru and toys.  

Most days she naps here and when Adam is in town she sleeps in her crib.  When he is out of town, she  sleeps with me :).