My Little Cheerleaders!

After wearing at least 3 different outfits from her own closet, and her new Easter dress for most of the day, we headed across the street to Clara and Nora's house this afternoon. Addison persuaded Clara to let her borrow her cheerleader outfit and we came home with something fun and exciting to wear. I was teaching Addison some classic cheerleader moves, when Reagan wanted to join the fun. Thankfully I remembered we had gotten her a Broncos cheerleader outfit during football season. They quickly got tired of my picture taking session, but had fun cheering together. Don't you just love Addison's black boots and pink headband she accessorised with?

I am not even exaggerating when I tell you that picking out her Easter dress today was the highlight of her week! She has been begging me to take her and waiting patiently for Reagan to be out of quarantine. She knew we planned to go today and she woke up this morning ready to hit the mall. I warned her Daddy tonight.....all of this for an Easter dress at 3, he better start saving now for her wedding and the prom!

Sweet Stuff for Gracyn

Look at this fun stuff for Gracyn! I am so excited. I LOVE the hat with the pink bow on it. It will probably be cold here, and she will need a hat, so I am happy not to have to give up the bow. I also couldn't resist the pink hat with the daisy on it. The last headband with the huge daisy was an extra gift thrown in from the designer. Addison loved it and wore it around the rest of the night (incidentally with her new Easter dress, which she can't be persuaded to take off).

I ordered these goodies from www.caryhairbows.com. Shannon was so sweet and nice to work with. She emailed me right away to clarify that she had my order just right. She kept in touch with me throughout the order process, and everything arrived today! You don't find big, frilly hairbows at too many places in Colorado, so I am sure we will be placing future orders with her. Check her website out....she has cute, cute things! I am off to hide the hats....if not, my girls will have them on thier baby-dolls tomorrow!

Looking Up!!!

My sweet Reagan seems to be feeling much better today. Thank you so much for all your prayers! Today is looking up. My baby is happy, my hair is washed (not fixed, but I will take just clean!), 2 beds are made, laundry is in the process and dinner is in the crock-pot! On another happy note, she is taking her medicine. She doesn't like it, but she isn't spitting it out all over the place, like she used to.

We have been fever free for over 24 hours and her breathing is improving each day. Today, she actually crawled out of my lap and played with me. It was so nice to enjoy playtime with both girls this morning and have everyone happy.

I will leave you with a few pictures. A current favorite thing to do around here is practice Easter Egg hunting. We bought plastic eggs and baskets early last week and Addison can do one hunt after another all day long. Reagan likes it too, when she feels up to it. So this morning, Addison went hunting for an Easter dress and came out of her room in the dress she wore for Reagan's baby dedication 2 years ago. It actually still fit, but was a good 4 inches short! She found some shoes and fixed her hair. She then coaxed Reagan out of her jammies, and into the ever-practical zebra-stripe dress. Reagan wasn't much up for getting dressed up at first, but the ever fashion-conscious Big Sister told her that hunting for eggs in your jammies was simply unacceptable.

We had a beautiful day here, almost 70 degrees and tons of sunshine. Between that, all this Easter talk and the spring clothes popping up in stores, we are getting spring-fever! I am trying to reign it in. It is way to early to start feeling that way in Denver! We still have our snowiest months ahead!

PS....Addison most certainly would have worn that dress to school today if I would have let her!

Reagan Update!

I took Reagan back to the doctor this morning, as they wanted to re-check her breathing. Thankfully, after 3 doses of steroids in the last 20 hours, her breathing had improved. What I didn't expect to hear, was that she had developed an ear-infection in the 24 hours since we were last in the dr's office! Poor girl, she just can't get a break.

I begged for an injection of antibiotics, but the dr. didn't want to give her anything that strong. So, we will be spending the next 10 days trying to persuade her to take an oral antibiotic twice a day. She is HORRIBLE about this, and I am not sure I have ever had success getting a full dose down her. She even knows when we crush antibiotic tablets and put them in ice-cream. She fell for that a few times, but she is a smart, smart girl and she was on to us pretty quick! It has been quite a while since she has needed medication, so I am hoping she will be a little more willing now that we can talk about it. She had a very serious face in the office this morning, when the dr. showed her the dropper and told her she had to take all the medicine Mommy put in there! She told him, "Okay", so we shall see!

Reagan also spent the full 15 minutes the dr. was in the room telling him, "I want my sticker and sucker now!". She is speaking in full sentences almost all the time. He seemed a little surprised at her first sentence. Then, when he went to check her ears and she said, "Hippos are in there!" He said, "My goodness, she is really verbal isn't she?".

Here are some "Sick-Week-Sentences" I have heard from her...

1. Mommy, sleep with me.
2. Mommy, hold me.
3. Motrins, I don't want it. Diaper-change, I don't want it. Dinner I don't want it. etc.....
4. Mommy get in bath-tub with Reagan.
5. My head hurts. Tummy hurts. Ear hurts. etc.....
6. I want to watch a Dora movie!
7. Mommy watch movie with me.
8. Mommy sit right there (every time I try to leave her sight).
9. I no like anymore dreamers. (she calls her breathing machine dreamers, I have no idea why!)
10. Mommy snuggle me and mine blankie.

Here are some "Sick-Week-Numbers"....

4 - Number of days since Mommy washed her hair. At least I am clean, since Reagan drags me into the bath with her every night.

5 - Number of dr's appointments....between my prenatal checks, Reagan's sickness, and Addison's sliced open thumb in 2 weeks. The number is 9 if you count the girl's dentist appointments and Tommy's chiropractor.

8 - The number of hours a dr. has to stitch a sliced thumb. Oops who knew that there was a window of opportunity for this? I was trying to avoid the ER and waited until the next day to take her to the pedi, only to find out it was too late! Thankfully it is healing okay on its own.

0 - The number of household chores or loads of laundry I have gotten done in the last several days.

0 - The number of beds in my house that have been made this week.

6 - The number of nights in-a-row that Reagan has ended up in my bed during the night.

4 - The number of prescriptions picked up at Walgreens.

4 - The number of times we have picked up Rubios to Go for dinner. Cooking is pretty much impossible and apparently Gracyn likes their bean burritos!

36 - The approximate number of breathing treatments given in a week.

All of these numbers add up to countless hours rocking my sweet little baby. She is such a snuggler (even when she isn't sick). I hate to see her feeling bad, but I can't say that I don't like all the hours she has spent wrapped up in her blankie, lying on my chest. I am soaking it up, as I know within days, she will be running laps around the house again!

Falling Apart!

Addison is about to have to take over all of the household duties, because the rest of us are falling apart around here! Truthfully, I am actually fine. Just in the tired, achey and grouchy final stages of pregnancy. But Tommy and Reagan aren't doing so great.

Poor Tommy went Saturday to have a massage that I had gotten him for Valentine's Day. He came home saying it wasn't that great, and by the end of the night, he couldn't move his neck. We aren't sure what she did to him, but his relaxing massage has turned into 3 days of extreme pain. Finally today, I booked him an appointment with a chiropracter and he will be spending a few days this week, getting adjustments to try to undo whatever the massage therapist did! Meanwhile, I have adjusted quite nicely to the smell of TigerBalm....it is such a strong smell, I feel like it is with me wherever I go!

My poor Reagan is also really sick! Today was our 6th day of high fever, respiratory problems and breathing treatments. Her fever broke a few days over the weekend and I thought she was on the mend, and then last night, she had her worst night yet. I spent the night listening to her heavy breathing and wondering if I should take her to the ER. I called the dr first thing this morning, and went right to the office. They then sent me across town to get her chest x-rayed. My poor baby felt horrible, she cried and cried in the back of the car and just wanted to snuggle with me and her blankie. Imagine my frustration after I lug my sick, unhappy little one into the x-ray lab and they tell me they can't do it, because they need me to hold her and I can't do that while pregnant. I had to call my pedi back and then drive 30 minutes to the other side of town to a new office. The x-ray came back clear of pneumonia, so they started her on an additional steroid breathing treatment. I have held her, snuggled her and administered breathing treatments all day. Poor baby just feels really yucky!

I am praying tomorrow is a better day for both of them. And, I am saying big prayers that Addison doesn't catch whatever Reagan has. I have sure been anxious for March 30th to get here, and for Gracyn to arrive, but I must say today I was thankful she is still safely inside! I don't know where I would have gotten the extra hands to juggle a 3rd little one today.

"The Kid Show"

Is anyone still watching "Jon and Kate Plus 8"? I have watched it from the start. But beginning about a year ago, it became one of my favorite things to do with Addison. We would curl up on the couch on Monday nights and watch the house full of crazy toddlers and the parents trying to keep up. It was a sweet show, and although one older twin was a little sassy and the parents bickered, it was still a relatively wholesome show. We would just talk together about those instances and keep watching.

Fast forward a year, and I have decided that we can't watch it anymore. It has gotten increasingly uncomfortable to watch as the toddlers become old enough to communicate, the twins seem angry and the parents treat each other (and often the kids) horribly. In recent episodes, they are all screaming at each other. They speak to the children and each other with such disrespect and even dislike. Once we watched an older sibling repeatedly kick her younger sibling while the parents ignored it, finally they did address it, only to say to the smaller child, "You shouldn't have been in her room." The final straw for me came a few weeks ago, when a good 10 minutes of the show was dedicated to Kate YELLING at Jon because he had purchased something without a coupon. She shouted at him, degraded him and treated him like a child....reminding him of "the rules" while several of their kids, and the whole world for that matter, looked on.

It makes me sad to see what is becoming of a family Addison and I once found so endearing. We will have to find a new Monday night activity, because I certainly don't want her learning those behaviors, and thinking it is okay to treat family members that way. We haven't watched in a few weeks now, but I guess at least it has made me think about my words, tone of voice, and actions with my family. Are you still watching? What do you think?

Happy Valentine's Day

2 dozen pink roses for Mommy and a single red rose for each girl. Don't we have a sweet Daddy? He made the heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast too!

Valentine's Party

The big girls.
The girls are dancing their hearts out....the boys are quietly watching.

Reagan helping Charlie decorate his Valentine's Bag.

My girls.

Brenna and Ava got here early, they were all waiting for the party to start.

Thursday we had a small Valentine's Party at our house for a few kids in the neighborhood. Addison was so excited about it. She woke up at 6:45 that morning and immediately asked if I was ready to do her hair.

When it was finally time for the party to start, they had a great time. They decorated bags and exchanged Valentine's cards, played a dancing game and bowling, had heart-shaped sandwiches for lunch, and decorated cookies.

They boys were definitely outnumbered that day. There were 6 girls (and 2 Mommy's pregnant with girls) and 2 boys. We just had a new baby girl born on the block last week and there are currently 4 more babies on the way....all girls!

Here's What My Summer Looks Like.

First matching outfits for all 3 girls. They got lots of cute little matching clothes at Gymboree today. I can't wait to see them all in it!

My Little Fashion Diva

Sometimes lately I find myself wondering if Addison is 3 or 13. She loves clothes, hair, jewelry and all thing related to. I love that she is so girly and I have fun dressing her up and playing along with her. Here are some things she has said recently.

~She has been begging for weeks to wear a sundress she found hanging in her closet, that I bought big for next summer. Today I finally gave in and told her she could wear it at home, and change when we were going somewhere. She came out a few minutes later in the dress, tights and a sun hat. She found me in my room and told me that she needed some "spring shoes".

~We were at a neighbors house this afternoon, when some other neighbors came in. She heard them come in the door, but couldn't see them around the corner. She called out to her friend, "Clara, Clara, What are you wearing today?" They later headed upstairs....to play dress up, of course.

~We are having some neighbors over tomorrow for a small Valentine party, and she has been thinking all week about what she should wear. This morning, she finally picked a dress and then tonight, she told me (twice) exactly how she wanted her hair fixed and asked if she could have her nails painted red. Her toes are currently pink on one foot and red on the other....for Valentine's Day.

~She was invited to a friends Princess Tea Party Birthday a few weeks ago. The invitation said to come in dress up clothes. Never has the child been more happy/in her element, than when I told her to go pick out her clothes and get dressed. She came out in a Sleeping Beauty dress, necklace, crown and light-up high-heels.

Fun Stuff!!! Reagan likes to dress up too. Her outfit of choice is Addison's "Jingle Bell Rock" dance recital costume. She pairs it with Hello Kitty glitter sandals and multiple headbands.

Playhouse Disney

The kids leading the way.
Reagan loving the popcorn and the show.

Addison loved it!

Mommy went to the bathroom and left Reagan behind....she was not too happy!

The family with Tigger and Pooh

Reagan is ready for the show to begin.

Sunday we took the girls to see Playhouse Disney Live! Tommy's friend from work got tickets in the suite and a special meet and greet session beforehand. The girls were so excited see Austin, watch the show and meet their favorite characters. It ended up being only Tigger and Pooh, but they were thrilled with that. There weren't very many people at the meet and greet, so the girls got lots of pictures and hugs and Addison asked them lots of questions.

After the meet and greet we headed up to watch the show. I have to say, it was not that great. I have high expectations for Disney, which are usually met, but this show was a little boring. However, my kids loved it and that is all that matters. The suite was great, because they had room to move around. Reagan climbed all over me and squirmed in my lap the entire time. Between her using me for a jungle-gym and some bad Sonic before the show, I was pretty sure I might be in labor before it was all over.

Thankfully Super-Dad came to the rescue and took over when we got home. I rested in bed the remainder of the night and felt much better the next day.

Addison's Valentine Date

Today, Tommy took Addison to the Father/Daughter Valentine Ball at the Highlands Ranch Mansion. She has been looking forward to their date for several weeks...she picked out her dress forever ago and has been saving it for the occasion. They got their pictures taken, had dancing and snacks, got a necklace for Addison and went on a horse-drawn carriage ride (definitely her highlight). She loved every second of it, and he did to.

My little girls are so blessed to have a Daddy that loves doing these things with them. Our prayer for our girls is that they will grow up knowing just how much their Daddy loves them, and that they will remain close to him always. Even more, we pray that they know how much their Heavenly Father loves them, and that they will be filled up and satisfied with that love. May they accept his love and grace at a young age and stay devoted to it always.

Reagan's Valentine Date

Since Daddy and Addison had a special date planned, I decided to take Reagan to Build-A- Bear. She has never been there, and it is very rare for her to get to do something special by herself. She loved it and we had a great time. She picked out the little puppy we later named Flower. She wasn't too sure about the noise that the stuffing machine made, but she still did it. The bath-tub was definitely her favorite part!

She is so easy when she is by herself, and I love watching her take everything in at her own pace and do things her own way. As our house grows by another girl next month, we will have to be diligent in providing these special one-on-one times for each of the girls with each of us. They are fun for everyone!!!

Playtime, The Aftermath

The Basement Closet

The Basement Playroom

The Big Girl's Room



The Baby Room

The Upstairs Hallway

Look Mom, we picked our own clothes.

My sweet girls are getting better and better about playing together. They enjoy each other's company and have the best time. I am learning to take advantage of it and get a few things done while they are happy and content together. This morning, they played for a few hours while Tommy and I did some work around the house.

What you see is the result. They had the best time playing Barbies, Babies, and pretending to go to the spa and shopping (aren't I teaching them well!). We listened from other rooms, checked in every so often and helped them when they came to us needing something.

I love that they have such a great time together. My house, on the other hand, needs some serious help recovering from the fun! They drug stuff out on all three levels of the house. There are toys and messes in every room! Mommy has a lot of work to do!

They finished off their playtime by digging through a bucket of clothes I had out. They chose their old 4th of July dresses and flip-flops and dressed themselves for the day. We are having beautiful warm days, but not that warm. The sundresses and sandals are going to be a stretch for a February day in Denver.

I leave you with another funny house-keeping story. I am beginning to slack a little around here, since my 3rd trimester....pregnancy makes me slow! We have a sliding glass door off of our dining room/kitchen, to the back patio. Between the girls always looking out and the dog sliming the door from the outside and inside it gets really yucky!!! When I am not tired and pregnant, I usually wipe it down every evening when I clean up the dinner dishes. But, recently I have let it go for a few weeks. I finally cleaned it a few days ago. A little while later, Maggie came running in from outside, didn't realize the door was closed, and slammed right into the shiny, clean glass. I guess I really had let it go! She is approaching the door with caution these days.

Maggie

Reagan loves this dog! Perahaps, more than anyone else in the house. Maggie is so good with her. She never moves as Reagan climbs all over her and loves on her. I need these sweet pictures, to remind myself what a good dog she is despite all the HAIR!!! I will have to look at them as I vaccum day after day and the HAIR is never gone!

Big Girl Bed: Part 3

Thanks for all your prayers...I think we have success! Last night we were down to very minimal crying, and they only chatted for about 45 minutes before they fell asleep. Reagan didn't get out of bed a single time and they didn't get up until 7:30am. Praise the Lord for good sleep....though I know it doesn't make near as funny stories! I will put some pictures up soon!

Diary of a night in the Big Girl Bed: Part 2

Praise God!!! Night #2 went much better. They still didn't go to sleep until 10:00, but there was very little crying and they were hilarious!!! We had shamelessly promised them candy with breakfast if they (Reagan) would sleep all night in their big girl beds. That seemed to keep her tears down to a minimal few, right when Mommy left.

After that, they chatted it up for a good hour. We listened to them and laughed at them for awhile and then headed down to continue with "The Unit". Around 9:00 they got quiet and we thought they had gone to sleep. At 9:45 we heard a loud crashing sound from upstairs and ran up to see what was going on. Addison had closed the door at some point, which is why we weren't hearing them anymore.

We listened outside for a long time while they sang, "No more Monkey's Jumping on the Bed" together. When they got to the "All fall off and bump their heads part", Addison would bang on the wall with her arm and Reagan would crack up laughing. Reagan would then tell her, "sing louder" and the whole thing would start over again.

When we finally opened the door we saw the sweetest thing. Addison had gotten all of Reagan's sleeping stuff....three blankets, pillow, multiple stuffed animals, and carried it all to her bed. They were snuggled under the covers, side by side, in Addison's bed, singing away. We went in to talk to them and tell them that it was time to get in our own beds and sleep. They were so, so tired, it was too funny! They were delirious!

So, they are still short a few hours of sleep, but night two was huge progress. They stayed in their beds until 7:00! I will take it!

Diary of a night in a Big Girl Bed: Part 1

Well, I knew she wouldn't move easily and my suspicions were right. Reagan's bed came yesterday and she LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it until it was time to sleep. We plan to keep trying the next few nights, but if it doesn't get better quick, we will re-visit the whole idea in a few months. Here is a little recap....

7:00-7:45 Daddy and the girls build the bed, play in the bed, read in the bed and have a great time!!!!

7:45-8:00 Pajamas on, teeth brushed, time for bedtime stories and prayers. All was still well at this point.

8:15 Mommy says good-night and exits the room. Cue LOUD crying and hysterical calling for Mommy. I listen outside the door for awhile as Addison gives her the sweetest pep-talk ever. She really did try to cheer her on.

8:30 Addison calls for me and tells me she is done with all this crying.

8:45 I take Reagan to rock in the rocking chair in her old room to calm her down. All is well until I put her back in the bed. Cue LOUD crying and screaming.

9:15 I take Addison to my bed so she can try to get some sleep. Reagan screams for Mommy and Sissy

9:30 Bring Sissy back in and lay half-in/half-out of toddler bed to snuggle Reagan and keep her calm. Fairly certain that at 8 months pregnant I am well over the weight limit for her tiny little toddler bed, so snuggling is interesting. Big sister falls right to sleep as soon as Reagan stops all the NOISE!

10:00 She finally falls asleep. Mommy sneaks downstairs so she and Daddy can watch "The Unit" from Netflix....we are hooked!

10:45 Mommy and Daddy head upstairs. We quietly install a gate at the top of the stairs, so Reagan doesn't wander off in the night (She would totally do this!!!). Install gate and turn towards bedroom, see Reagan staggering sleepily in the hall. She is the world's lightest sleeper and we woke her up!

10:45-11:15 Try to put Reagan back in bed. Cue LOUD crying and screaming. Sister wakes up, but is in pretty good spirits about it all. She tries giving Reagan another pep-talk and then tells me, "This is going to be harder than I thought!". I don't want Addison's entire night of sleep to be disturbed, so for the next 30 minutes I sit in the floor, by the toddler bed, rocking Reagan. Addison falls back asleep.

11:15-12:15 Try to put Reagan back in bed. Cue LOUD crying and screaming. Addison gets woken up again, and is starting to get frustrated. Trying to avoid going into Reagan's old room, we all 3 get in Addison's twin bed. I think at least we will be lying down and I can mover her when she falls asleep.

12:15 Reagan is sound asleep. I move her to her own bed. Cue immediate LOUD screaming and crying. Addison gets woken up again and tells me, "Get her out of here!". I give in and put Reagan in her crib. She cries for a few minutes and then sleeps the rest of the night.

7:00am Reagan wakes up horse from all the crying.

8:15am Reagan goes in Addison's room to wake her up. She never sleeps this late, but obviously had some catching up to do. Addison sits up briefly and tells me, "Everyone get out of here and quit talking, I didn't get any sleep last night."

Needless to say, the three of us girls are not exactly well rested today. Tonight we may try letting Addison stay in our bed until we go to sleep. Reagan is going to have to cry it out a few times. I hate that for her, but it is just her personality. If I go in there even once, I might as well plan on spending the night!!! This morning, she pointed to the new bed and said, "No like it, this one!" Hopefully she will change her mind soon.

Big Girl Bed...

Reagan's new bed is ordered and on the way. It is due in next week, but I am not sure we are going to make it. We were playing in her room today and I watched, over and over again, as she climbed in and out of her bed. I knew she could climb in, and had no doubt she could probably climb out as well, but until today she hadn't tried it (minus the one time at 11 months old). Big thanks to gymnastics class for making her stronger, more confident and even less fearful!

So far, she seems to be reserving the climbing only for playtime. She hasn't come out on her own at nap or bedtime. Hopefully this will last another week.

Now, here is my question. Do any of you have siblings sharing a room. I am all ears on tips for making this work. I would feel pretty confident if we were just moving her to a big girl bed. But, she is moving rooms, moving to a big girl bed and sharing for the first time all at once! Obviously since she will be sharing with Addison, I can't just gate the door and leave her in there to eventually stay in bed and fall asleep.

If all else fails, we can move Addison into the 4th bedroom, but it is the only one downstairs and I really don't want her that far away. It is also our guest room and home office, which Tommy works out of at least once a week. I am desperate for tips....somebody tell me how to make this work. The girls are excited about it, but I am worried about my sleep!

Gracyn Update

Okay, by popular demand, here is a belly picture!!! I am 30 weeks, yesterday, and all is well. My doctor scheduled my c-section for March 30th at 1:30 in the afternoon. Perfect timing.....we can take the girls to gymnastics, get Addison to school, put Reagan down for a nap and then leave them with my mom....busy day!!!!