This Week's New Stuff

Little Miss is a busy, busy girl!  It seems like every day she is learning something new.  A couple of days ago she figured out how to stand up on her own, and today she stood up and walked about 6 or 7 steps to me!  Yesterday she took 12 (steady) steps to Daddy.  She'll be walking all over in no time!  She is also starting to pick up words - today's new word was, "Baby".  I love seeing all the new things she's learning.  It makes every day even more fun :)

 

In Which I Just Write Some Words

So I have some homemade, dairy-free, Sunbutter (instead of peanut butter) cups in the freezer thanks to this new recipe I found at a great blog, "My Whole Food Life", that I just discovered.  I've been wondering about how to make this little treat safe for Matthew for a while now and of course I have to taste test them before I make them for him...

Hannah's sleep seems to cycle through a few days of really good sleep in her crib followed by several days (or weeks) of disrupted, awful sleep with crying/screaming every few hours.  Sadly we seem to be coming to the end of the few days of really good sleep as last night there was over two solid hours of hysterical screaming :(  It is so hard to not know the cause and to not be able to fix it.  She is just ticked off at the world and we don't know what is wrong.  We think she is teething, so that could be it.  She could still be grieving - nights have always been the hardest for all our kiddos in this regard.  It is hard but I must admit that last night I was thrilled to pieces that she wanted ME!  I finally walked and walked and walked in the living room and she deep sighed and fell asleep on me.  When I got up this morning and came out to the living room where she was playing with Brad, she squealed with joy and bum-scooted over to me as fast as she could with a huge smile on her face.  These are hard days, but these are really, really good days too!

I'm so thankful it's a holiday weekend.  Brad has Monday off and I am giddy at the thought of three days with him home.  We don't have any big plans and mostly we are so tired right now that we're back in survival mode...but surviving together is much more fun than surviving on my own :)

My Mom and youngest sister came on Thursday and Friday and it was the most wonderful thing.  Having company and help with the kids was exactly what I needed.  Hannah had a fever all day Thursday and just wanted to be held.  Of course Nathan decided that was the day he was going to oppose pretty much everything I said.  It's been a week of asking for grace and forgiveness (on my part) and learning to offer grace to little ones who are just starting to learn those hard lessons like being kind and sharing and controlling their tempers.

When Hannah came home from China she was "potty trained" in that she would hold it and if we took her often enough she would go in the potty.  Problem was, she couldn't walk, or tell me when she had to go...and with two other kiddos it was just too hard for me to remember to take her all the time.  We put her back in diapers and I decided to just let it go.  I figured we all had enough to deal with at the time!  Well over the last few weeks, Hannah has started to tell me almost every time she's gone in her diaper (she signs "potty").  In the last few days she started telling me before she had to go and if I took her she went!  She's been staying dry a lot so I picked up some teeny tiny underwear (it is stinking adorable!) and yesterday she spent a good part of the day in them and was dry!  I'm not really worrying about it too much but we're heading in the right direction, which is good.  Although between her and helping the boys I feel like I spend most of my time in the bathroom (or putting children to bed!).

Nathan seems to be at the end of needing naps.  This is sad (for me) but to be expected.  I've been trying too hard to keep it going and it has resulted in a lot of frustration for all of us.  We are moving to a "rest time" or "quiet time" in their beds while Hannah naps...I think we could also call it, "Keep Mommy Sane" time :)  So far so good!

I am back to running and loving it so much!  It is amazing how freeing it is to have just a half an hour without anyone needing me.  I am getting stronger and working back to being able to run a 5k.  I'm hoping to run a 5k on July 4th and then don't tell anyone but I have my sights set on a 1/2 marathon in September.  We'll see how it goes...it's a pretty big time commitment but I'm hoping we can make it work.

I'm out of words!  And I think my Sunbutter Cups are ready!

Bus Ride

We are blessed to be able to attend a great playgroup each week as part of Hannah's speech and physical therapy.  We've been going to the playgroup since Nathan first came home so we know the teachers well and the kids are very comfortable.  This week was a fun trip - it was BUS WEEK!  Yes, the boys were super excited about this.

Before we left we got to play for a while.  Matthew enjoyed dressing up like a fireman :)

Then it was time to hop on the bus!  Everyone was buckled and we were off on our trip...down the road to a nearby park.  

I wasn't sure how Hannah would do but she loved it!  She sat staring out the window, then would turn and smile at me.  When I asked if she was having fun she smiled and nodded emphatically.  Who doesn't love a good bus ride?

The park we went to has an added bonus...an old steam engine!  This is pretty much the best thing ever to my boys.

It was beautiful weather and I'm so glad we could go on this fun little trip!

This Week's Big (and little) Happenings

The big

and the little

this week

have been wonderful!

My youngest sister graduating from university!

So proud of her!

My little girl taking her very first steps!

Totally without help!

Amazing!

So proud of her!

Sunshine, sunshine, and more sunshine!

At long last...we thought maybe the snow

was here to stay.

So glad that Spring has finally arrived!

Lots of sun means lots of time outside!

We are blessed to have this park 

within walking distance of our house.

The kids love it!

My little guys are turning into

climbing machines!

They are fearless

and this Mommy has to keep

from yelling, "Be careful!"

every two seconds :)

Another little climber!

This little one

is not really little at all anymore.

Crazy.

I love him so much it hurts.

It's almost impossible to get

a picture of Nathan

standing still!

Love him so much!

It's been a good week, in the big things and the little.

Time for Random

Today's thoughts:

It's been a hard week.  Sometimes being at home all day with three little ones is just plain hard.  Sometimes I have a terrible attitude and I get frustrated with every little thing and it is miserable.  Sometimes I'm no fun to be around.  That was this week.

But now the sun is out.  Bread is baking in the bread maker.  I was reminded this morning that the mistakes of this week are gone and forgiven.  So today I start new.

My little ones are growing up so fast!  I know they're still little, but the boys especially just seem enormous these days.  

They are all loving this weather - spring is finally here!  

Talking with Matthew is one of my favorite things ever.  He is just hilarious and turning into a real person with thoughts and opinions right before my eyes.  It is so fun to see who he is becoming.  

And this one...well, he keeps me on my toes!  He is such a bundle of energy, he has me laughing so much and pulling my hair out, all at the same time!  He is such a joy and I can't imagine our house without him running around and screaming all the time.  How boring would that be?!

Oh Hannah...this little one has my heart completely.  She is such a darling.  She is walking with a walker now (kind of like a little old lady - it's favorite!), pulling up everywhere, doing squats...just so many big changes for this little one.

More random...

I started running this week again.  I went 3 times and am enjoying the alone time (well, I pushed Hannah once).  I am really out of shape.

We've decided to give homeschooling a try next year (Matthew will be doing a pre-kindergarten level so it's nothing too in depth at this point!).  We've been cleaning out our basement in order to create a playroom/school room and I am so excited about it!

Hannah is shouting "Mama!" from the bedroom so that's all for today...I love hearing her little voice calling me!

This Thing Called Bonding

With this being our third time around, my expectations about bonding and how things would go with Hannah were settled in this one thought: wait and see.

I feel like we have experienced a little of both sides of bonding - the easy peasy side, and also the slower, work-at-it side.  I think that because things between Nathan and I were more challenging and slow going at the beginning, I wasn't as afraid this time around.  I knew that even if it wasn't instant, our bond would grow and love would develop and deepen as time went on.  

My connection with Hannah was pretty strong right from the beginning.  Having two weeks to get to know her and care for her in China without the distractions of real life was very, very helpful.  I loved that I could just give her all of my attention and not worry about things like laundry, cooking, dishes, and caring for other children.  That was such a gift!

Once we got home, real life hit.  Our bond still continued to grow, but it was a bit of a struggle to find the right balance between giving her all my attention and yet having to do other things as well.  The boys are still little and still need me a lot, too.  I found myself walking past Hannah as she cried and reached for me and saying, "I know...just a minute...hold on...".  I couldn't find my new groove for quite a few weeks!

I started noticing that Hannah was reacting to this and pulling away from me a bit.  She was okay with me during the day, but once Brad got home she only wanted him.  In the night she would scream if I tried to hold her and she would only calm down with Brad.  I wasn't overly worried about it, though of course it was not what I wanted.  Rejection is always hard.  But I understood that she was still processing, dealing with the changes in her life, and this was all a part of that.  

I decided to make more of an effort during the day to meet her needs as soon as I could.  If I was in the middle of something, I put it down and sat on the floor with her when she wanted me.  I picked her up every time she reached for me, right away.  I tried to be more intentional about sitting and playing rather than wanting her to play alone.  I took her with me when I went in the bedroom to put laundry away.  I started singing to her a lot when I held her - she loves this!  

As the weeks went on I noticed she was starting to like me again :)  It was so encouraging to see progress and for her to reach for me even when she was in Brad's arms.  In the night I was able to get her calmed down.  She is settling more and more and has seemed much happier in the last couple of weeks.  I love hearing her little giggle (something we didn't get much of once we got home from China) and seeing her become more at ease here.  It is an awesome thing for sure!

She has been ours for three months now, and we could not be happier to have her in our family!  She is such a good fit for us and getting to know her has just been a joy.  I must admit that some days I really struggle with how to adequately care for three when they are so little and need so much of me.  It's pretty exhausting sometimes, but so worth it!