3 Months!

At church yesterday we talked about our little ones, and more specifically what we can do to teach them, and learn from them as well. I was really touched by this lesson. I love my children so much, but I still have a LOT to learn! They teach me everyday about kindness, patience, generosity, and love. My ability to learn and see myself in someone else's eyes has increased a thousand times over since having children. And one thing that I have realized I really need to work on is selflessness. I feel that I can sacrifice a lot for my children. Sleep (hard one for me), time to myself and with my husband, possibly having a career outside the home, a clean and organized house (smily face), travelling, and much more. But there are definitely times when I feel like, "Can't I just have a minute to do what I want to do??". And those are the moments when I have to check myself and remember how blessed my life truly is. And believe me, it truly is.

I think I have been thinking a lot about this lately because of what has been going on with Skittles and her health. Thankfully overall she is a very healthy girl. Growing well, and no huge issues. She has had some reflux which I have mentioned in the past, and because of this, her sleep has truly suffered. Which means that my sanity has suffered as well. :)

My own reminder: Be thankful Erin!

Please don't mind my interjections....anyway, sanity. She was in pain for a while because of the reflux, and wasn't able to sleep laying on her back. So....she slept on me, pretty much for every single nap of the day, which coorilated to being almost all day long. I would be completely fine with this except for the fact that I have two other little boys to take care of! And a house to clean and organize. And emails to return. And a million other things to do! I also felt so terrible for her because she was in pain. And now even though she is getting better, she is now so used to sleeping on me that she won't have it any other way. It has been a little draining on me to say the least. But I need to remember that I have wonderful help, my family (both core and extended) is amazing, and things are getting better slowly but surely.

AND.....she is smiling and laughing all the time. When she does sleep she is such a happy baby and we all adore her! She loves to see what is going on and doesn't want to miss out on the action. She is so curious. And so far she is a complete Mommy's girl.

I love this little one and everything that comes with her! Happy 3 months little Miss E, we love you!

Preschool!

Last year we did do preschool with my mom, "Tutu preschool", which was a lot of fun. They loved being at Tutu's house all on their own, and learning something new every time. My mom did a fabulous job with them, and they felt so special!

Last week though, they started at Miss Libby's house for preschool with other children who are not their brother. :) I think they felt like such big boys. They were SO incredibally excited, it was adorable to watch them. The morning they started they came in early while I was still sleeping, climbed up on my bed, and asked me "is it ok to wear shorts at preschool"? They were already getting dressed 3 hours before we even had to leave! The boys have their own little Mariner backpacks and even get to bring something for show and tell every week. Miss Libby only had one opening this year however, so Dylan is going one day and Lucas another. At first I thought that they would be upset about the fact that they weren't going together, but it actually has worked out wonderfully. They are so excited to have their very own day, and I get some one on one time with the other. I absolutely love it. I love to have that time, I love to hear their stories, and I love that they are so thrilled about school.
I love these little buddies. They are growing up so fast and I am so proud to be their mom!

The boys all ready for their very first day!!!!

Me and E

I NEVER thought that I would have a little one that looks like me! Teage's genes are very strong after all....that Polynesian blood! :) BUT, then all of a sudden, Miss Emery was born! And she looks just like me! Woohoo! :) I was actually very surprised! It is a little eerie actually....we look so much alike as babies, I just had a little more frizzy hair and she is a tiny bit darker. What do you think??

Me as a baby (above)....

Miss Emery as a baby....

Ichiro is Retired

Well....not the REAL Ichiro of course. But, the boys #51 Ichiro t-shirt. The boys have faught over this shirt since we first purchased it at Goodwill about 6 months ago. Each wanted to wear it just about everyday, and when they couldn't find it they would pester me incessantly about when it was going to come out of the wash. :) They wore the shirt so much that it was developing holes. It was also getting way too small for them, but they insisted on wearing it anyway. So, a few weeks ago, I decided that it was time for Ichiro to retire. I told them what I was doing and put it away. They were a little crushed, but fortunately Daddy saved the day. That week he found yet another Ichiro shirt at Goodwill, and the world makes sense again. :)

2 months old

Miss Emery turned two months old a few weeks ago. And unforunately things have been so busy that I haven't even been able to blog about it! She is adorable as ever, smiling and "talking" a ton for the favoriate people in her life.

At her 2 month appointment (which was actually at 7 weeks) she was 10 pounds and 11oz and 21" tall. She looked like the perfect little baby, a picture of health. Then she got three shots....ouch! The poor thing screamed harder then I have ever heard her and finally just fell asleep while I was holding her because she was so exhausted. It was also really difficult because the boys got 4 shots as well, so EVERYONE, including me and Tutu were crying! :)
Little Miss Emery was a fantastic and relatively "easy" baby for the first 7 and a half weeks of life. She slept really well, even giving us 5 hour stretches at night, she only cried when she was hungry, etc. Then all of a sudden at 8 weeks, the tides turned. :) Poor little girl was never happy. She was crying from about noon until 10pm, and I couldn't consol her. She wouldn't eat well, had a hard time sleeping unless she was laying on my chest, and just wasn't happy. I was devestated. I didn't know what was going on with my sweet little girl and I felt so helpless that I could hardly help her.
Then I talked to a few friends and did some research and the conclusion that I came to was that she had some acid reflux issues. She wasn't spitting up all the time, but that doesn't always indicate reflux. She was not eating well, like it hurt to eat. She would scream every time she was layed on her back...I even had trouble changing her diaper at times. She wouldn't sleep bc she was hungry, but wouldn't eat bc it hurt, so by the end of the day she was screaming like none other because she was completely overtired. I finally made an appointment with the doctor, and after two appointments, finally convinced someone to let me try the reflux medication. And after only a day I noticed an improvement. She was still having a hard time and not back to her normal self, but she was eating better and seemed happier. She is still having a difficult time sleeping, but we are trying to deal with that aspect and just make sure that she is as comfortable as possible.
We love this little girl so much and are so thankful for her in our lives! The boys just adore her, give her kisses constantly and talk baby talk to her as well. It is pretty darn cute. Dylan loves to call her "Little Missy" and Lucas says "Missypoo"....hilarious! I am completely exhausted, but I love my little family so much!

E's Blessing Day

We decided to bless little Emery at home instead of at church this time around. We invited just the grandparents over and had a small dinner to celebrate Emery. And I am thankful for the intimate experience we were able to have with this sweet little girl. It was great just to dote on her and relax at home for a while not having to think about anything else. Miss E got to wear a beautiful blessing dress that both of her cousins Kiana and Maiya wore on their blessing days. It was really special. Her blessing was beautiful as well. It had a lot of wonderful and beautiful promises regarding the life ahead of her. I was overwhelmed honestly. It was emotional and lovely. I am so thankful for this little girl in my life, what a wonderful blessing she is.

One Month Old

Little Miss E turned one month old on July 8th. I can't believe that that much time has gone by already. I feel like Emery has always been in our family. She is so special and sweet. I love this girl so much. She is so alert and attentive, so mellow. I feel like she is kind of an older soul....she is so calm and chill all the time. She is adored by our whole family.....the boys are just in love with her. Thankfully they are mad at me for the lack of attention instead of her. :) They keep giving her a ton of kisses, sing to her, and get in her face with silly voices all the time. Emery is also doing a great job with her eating and sleeping, giving Teage and I about a 5 hour stretch at night. Amazing! I am not the greatest at sleep deprivation, so this is good news for me.

I am so thankful for this little pink bundle! We love you Skittles!!!!

The Boys Turn 4!!

The boys have been very excited about their birthday for quite a while now. We didn't even have anything monumental planned, they just wanted to finally be 4 years old! :) This year was really low key since they had a 2 week old baby sister, but they seemed to have a lot of fun anyway. The day before their birthday we spent the day as a family and went mini golfing and out to dinner at their favorite restaurant, Red Robin. We met my great friend Kim (or Kimmypoo as they call her) at the restaurant, and the boys were completely embarrassed by the servers all singing Happy Birthday to them. They turned their backs and wouldn't even look at them until the ice cream came out. :)

Their actual birthday was on a Sunday, so at church all of the primary kids sang to them as well. They played it cool at the time, but came home just beaming from all of the attention. :) The rest of the day was made up of family members dropping by and celebrating at different times. I think the boys loved it actually. Grammy, Papa, Uncle David, and Papa Christensen came over for lunch and opened presents with the boys. And then Tutu and Poppi came over for dinner and cake later. It really was a fun day for everyone, and I think the boys felt so special that all of these people were there for them on their special day.

I asked the boys what their favorite part of their birthday was and Dylan said going to Red Robin, and Lucas said that eating his Ichiro cake was the best part. :) I am not the most creative person in the world when it comes to cake making, so I just made two round cakes and decorated them to look like baseballs with a #51 on each for Ichiro. :) They loved them though, so I guess that is all that matters.

Some things that these big 4 year olds love right now:

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Flash Cards- they can do all of the single digit addition ones, and some of the double digit. It is cute to watch them quizzing each other on what the answers are. :)

Baseball of course, and they are getting really good.

Mariners- they know all of the players, their numbers and positions, and can even read some of their names.

Playing at the park

"Flash Mob"- You know, the guy who dances on the commercial?! They love him and take turns dancing with them every time it comes on.

Board Games- Tic, Tac, Toe and Connect 4 are their current favorites. They love strategic games that take a little more thought.

4 years ago I gave birth to these two beautiful boys. They have been such lights in my life since then and every day I am thankful for them in my life. Raising twins has definitely been a unique challenge, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Happy Birthday Dylan and Lucas! We love you so much.....your sweet spirits, the examples you are to your little sister and others, and how unique and special you each are. Always remember that we are extremely lucky to have you in our family, and that you are very loved.

Emery's professional pics :)

I have a good friend named Rebecca who is an amazing photographer and was nice enough to come over and take some newborn shots of Miss E when she was only 13 days old. She was so patient and kind, and stayed for almost 3 hours just making sure that she got the right shot. I am so thankful, and really excited about how some of these turned out. Emery looks adorable!

Mini Photo Shoot

We decided to try a mini photo shoot with Emery while she was still a newborn so we could get some good shots with her big brothers. I was a little worried about how she would do, but this girl was amazing! She was calm the entire time, even when we were shifting her around all over the place. And some of the pictures turned out great! I am so excited about them!! And these boys are so good with her....I feel so blessed!