SUNDAY PROJECT

OK, so we have a little girl who is not exactly the best at picking up after herself and thinks everything little is a treasure. I have been keeping her bedroom door shut when people come over and telling them that they aren't allowed upstairs because Aleigh's room will give them nightmares! You really could not see her floor. When Joe and I would have to carry her to bed we would almost kill ourselves trying to clear a path to her bed!

Well, today we didn't have any plans so while Joe was outside working in the yard I told Aleigh we were going upstairs to clean her room. I grabbed 2 garbage bags, even though I thought I would only fill half of one! It was so hard standing in the middle of her room trying to figure out where I was going to start. I decided I would start w/ the obvious garbage. Within 30 minutes I had one garbage bag full and was almost half way full w/ the other! If you are looking for any kids meal toys or smooth shiny rocks, let me know and I will dig them out of the garbage for you! It was CRAZY! After 4 1/2 hours Aleigh had her bedroom back!

Needless to say, Aleigh got a good lecture from Joe and I. She was told that if her room EVER looks like that again she will loose all of her toys because she isn't taking care of them.

Aleigh wanted me to share a pictures of her room clean. It's hard to believe how bad it looked w/ all the clutter you still see after it's clean, especially over in her little art section!

A BUSY WEEK

I can't believe it has been since Monday that I last posted! Where did this week go?! We have stayed very busy this week. Yesterday was a fun day with Chelsea. We started our morning off w/ picking up my friend Malin and her son, Will. From there we went to the salon to get Chelsea's hair done and then later in the day we went shopping for some new clothes, then wrapped up the day w/ a photo shoot of Chelsea w/ her new hairstyle and clothes! She felt pretty special and I am very greatful to Malin for scheduling some time to photograph some great shots of Chelsea! I will post a picture from the shoot when they are ready.

Me and some of my girlfriends celebrated Lindsay's 30th Birthday tonight w/out the men! We had a great time. Joe and the kids came home and AJ had a blast dancing to Robin's ringtones on her cell phone! The kids were able to jump in for a photo op.

The rest of the week has just been a matter of getting errands done, cleaning house at every window of opportunity, and keeping the kids entertained! The kids received their next belt ranking today, and I feel terrible because I didn't get any pictures. AJ recieved his purple belt and Aleigh recieved her gold belt! We are very proud of both of them and are thrilled that they both still continue to enjoy karate!

I captured this shot of Joe and the kids tonight! They all crashed in AJ's room while watching a movie. They crack me up!

4 month check up

Today was our regular summer day of work for me and Karate camp for Joe and the kids. After work I ran some errands for my job as Malins assistant for Heart Is Found Photography, then it was off to the dreaded 4 month checkup where poor little Ansley recieved 5 shots in her cute little chubby legs! It was so sad when it came time for her shots because she was so tired and had been fighting sleep all afternoon, as soon as she fell asleep they had to give her shots! My poor baby. I wanted to cry with her! It's so so sad after she cried and screamed as loud as she could w/ her eyes shut tight, she opened them and looked at me w/ this pitiful look as if to say "How could you let them do that to me mommy!" She took a good long nap after her shots, but didn't sleep as much as I thought she would.

Ansley is 4 months 1.5 weeks and weighs 13 lbs. 10 oz. and is 24 inches long. She is in the 50th percentile for both her height and weight. She is growing very similar to the way AJ and Aleigh did, but just a little smaller. AJ and Aleigh fell into the 20th percentile once they became toddlers. We shall see, they all seem to take after their daddy and are much smaller than I ever was!

Ansley's first time in a pool!

Today was Alden's 5th Birthday party (Aleigh's friend from preschool). They had the party at the coolest pool house! Apparently they are pretty good friends w/ a family who have their second home here in Sharpsburg (their primary residents is in England) and live a pretty cushy lifestyle! This pool was attached to a little guest house and the entire pool was screened in. It was really nice! The whole time we were there Joe kept talking about building one for us...in the future obviously! If we ever sell our house it is definitely our goal to build a house w/ a pool and never move again...unless we are moving to another state. We want to have a home where there is lots to do and where our kids will be happy staying home and having their friends over at our place, rather than being who knows where! I guess what I am trying to say is that we want to stay fully aware w/ what they are doing and who they are hanging out with!

Ansley really liked the pool, the noise of all the kids, and seemed to really like the cool water. AJ and Aleigh got so comfortable w/ the water that they were out in the middle of the deep end w/ their floaties. AJ has started pushing away from the edge and kicking his way back in the deep end! He was very proud of his confidence today! So, it looks like I need to suck it up and go purchase my first bathing suit in over 4 years! My kids really enjoy swimming and I want to enjoy it with them. So I need to put my bad body image aside and get myself a full coverage bathing suit so that I can enjoy the water w/ my kids this summer. We have several friends who have access to a pool and have invited us to join them.

After Alden's Birthday party we went to my mom and dads for a cookout. My dad had to try out his new grill! The burgers were very tasty! Tomorrow we is a dreaded doctor's appointment. Ansley has her 4 month visit and will be getting 4 shots. It never gets any easier, even with the 3rd baby!

BEST FRIENDS!

Today Aleigh got to see her best friend Abby for Abby's 5th Birthday Party! The party was at Abby's house and they rented one of those HUGE waterslides. Aleigh had a great time and tomorrow she will get to see Abby again at Alden's Birthday party. Alden is Abby and Aleigh's little friend that's a boy. They were all in the 3 yr old class at Cornerstone Preschool and have remained friends. I think Aleigh was able to bond w/ Alden so well because he is so much like AJ. He's a cute kid! His party is a swimming party tomorrow and AJ was invited as well, so it will be a lot of fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Tia Zulma!!! Today is Joe's little sister's birthday too! Since it's a Saturday night, I am sure she is out partying w/ her friends and having a great time! We wish we could celebrate w/ her, but hopefully she will be coming out to visit and we can have a late birthday celebration!

"NO" is not funny!

Ansley was in the BEST mood today and I think she is starting to find her voice. She has been so content, no matter what she is doing, and babbling all day long! She will get louder and louder! Well, the whole time I was giving her a bath tonight she was babbling, sucking her fingers, grabbing her toes, just full of energy! Even when I took her out of her bath and wrapped her up in her towel she was still sucking her fingers and babbling...with her fingers in her mouth! She continued to babble as I put her lotion on and got her dressed. The minute I picked her back up, she got MAD! She got red faced and stiff and acted like she was yelling at me! I looked at her and said "no ma'am! You're fine, don't you start getting fussy with me." She stopped, gave me a look of complete shock and busted out laughing!!! She is 4 months old and already laughing at me when I tell her no! That's exactly what she was laughing at too. After she started laughing, I once again, told her "No." and she laughed again!
Ya know, you work so hard to get those adorable belly laughs out, and when you discover something that makes them laugh you try and do it over and over again but it eventually stops making them laugh so you have to find something else to get them to laugh. Well, I can't keep trying to get her to laugh by telling her NO or I will really be regretting that all too soon! I can tell I already have my work cut out for me! She is so much fun though!

Summer Days are changin!

So, I recently posted about how nice it was that the kids enjoyed Karate Camp because it allowed me some time to get some things done w/out the kids complaining about having to go to another store or wanting to go home! It's also nice that they get to have that time w/ Joe, I know he enjoys being with the kids more! Well, today I realized that those Summer days have taken a turn, and not necessarily in my favor! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spending time w/ the kids, but I was really enjoying grocery shopping w/ just the baby and not having to listen to the kids argue or throw random things in the cart! I even had the opportunity to get some work done from home while Ansley napped w/out any interruptions. Well, Chelsea is here for the summer and she made it very clear to me today that she didn't appreciate being at camp for longer than an hour! If Chelsea doesn't want to stay, my kids won't want to either! Chelsea prefers to spend all day at our house. That's all great and well and I'm glad she enjoys our home, but it's good for her and the kids to get out and be active! I guess I just need to be more creative and find things to do w/ them to keep them active and Ansley happy...and still not have to spend a fortune on gas! Any suggestions?

Here is a photo of Chelsea holding Ansley for the first time! She loves babies and is actually a natural when it come to holding them and making them smile!