torture

How do you torture a two year old sports fanatic? Take him to a t-ball game where he can't play. Saturday was Bailey' first t-ball game of the season. I didn't get any pictures of her, because I was too busy wrestling two crying babies in the hot, humid, muddy, fire-ant infested swamp of a t-ball field. You can tell from this picture that Benson was not happy (nor was I!). He kept trying to run out on the field with "Bubba" and "Dadda." Then when Bay's team was up at bat, Benson would get her batting helmet on and try and run to the backstop, crying, "Mamma, I meed to go. I meed to pay beeseball." Meanwhile, Bryn was crying because she wanted to be snuggled and rocked, and the sun was shining in her face.

I only got to see Bailey bat once. It was a great game.

Looks SO much like "Dadda" in this picture.

in the dog house

Wednesday night, I was doing my nightly head count before I turned in for bed, and this is what I found in Bailey's room. It took me a minute to figure it out. She had made a dog house out of her pillows for her dog to sleep in. Actually, I found out in the morning that she had made two dog houses, one for the dog, and one for her, too. Bailey's must have fallen over when she fell asleep. She was very disappointed Thursday morning to not wake up in her dog house.

She is such a character!

a week of milestones!

Milestone #1 of the week: Outgrew the baby bathtub and graduated to the real tub! Brynley used the baby bathtub so much longer than my other two!

She LOVES taking a bath like a big girl! Benson and Bailey were pretty impressed by it too!

#2: Prehensiled at ball

(grabbed it with both feet and hands, and mouth too!)! Again, Bailey was VERY impressed by this.

#3: Just about outgrown the swing

(which has been SO wonderful to have, THANKS, BRI!). This, I'm pretty sad about. Bryn loves this swing and I have it in my kitchen so she can hangout while I cook and while we eat. But this week Bryn has become so strong that she does "baby pilates"/"baby crunches" and tries to sit up in it, making her head and upper body almost flop out of the seat! YIKES! This picture of her really reminded me of Bailey, for so many reasons. First, she's wearing one of Bay's old dresses and shoes. Second, she is about to flop out of the swing like Bay used to do. Third, she's holding a dog (which Bailey was SO excited about!). Guh L., do you remember how tiny she was in the swing when we brought her home? We joked about how she was too little to even strap in it, we just kind of set her on top. Sniff!

#4: Tried out her new Exersaucer. Brynley got this cute, pink exersaucer for Christmas from Guh and Papa W. We had an old one that was a hand-me-down, and now about 12 years old and missing many parts. This one is AWESOME and cute. It has so many cool and fun things on it. Best of all, she LOVES it. (although, she is still so tiny that her feet dangle about 2 inches from the base!) Notice her hair, or lack of??? It's so sad, it's all falling out. Where she lies in her crib/carseat/bouncyseat looks like a cat has been lying there, with all the hair she rubs out and leaves behind. :(

Oh, and Bryn is not the only one who LOVES the new Exersaucer. Again, Bailey and Benson were very interested/impressed/excited about this new milestone. Bailey was just too big to fit in it though. Benson thought it was a blast and didn't want to get out of it.

End of year performance

Bailey had her 'end of year' choir performance about a week and half ago. She sings with a homeschool choir (no, I'm not going to homeschool her; my neighbor runs the choir and invited Bailey to be in it until she starts school). So what is it?.... (hope you enjoy this, Guh and Papa! It took me about 5 hours to upload all of these videos onto blogger!)

They sing lots of different things, like:

a little bit of Disney...

a little bit of Gospel...

A little bit of Elvis... (most hysterical of all the songs)

...some showtunes (Cindy picked this song just for Bailey!)

...and farewell...

easter

The magic is still alive and well with Bailey. She drew this picture for The Easter Bunny and then...

...left this for him.

A wrapped (in Christmas paper!) dyed egg for him to eat. I had to write a note for her and put it on the fridge so the EB would know where to find it. hahaha!

Thanks, Guh L. for the FABULOUS Easter outfits!! The kids were little rays of sunshine in their coordinating yellows. Bailey was so excited to get "Bolt" (movie) from the EB.

She also scored a whole bag full of eggs at Guh W.'s house on Easter.

...And a bucket full two days before at our Cypress Chicks (church playgroup) Egg Hunt that I coordinated (a moment of insanity, but worth it).

...the ever so pleasant picture taker.

(notice all the bruises on his noggin? Having one arm pinned to him throws Benz a little off balance!)

Benson had a very cute yellow polo shirt to match his sisters, but he still can't raise his arm up yet. But he looked very fetching in this springy sport shirt! He LOVED the dump truck the EB brought him and all the candy from Guh W.'s. Mostly he liked the football/basketball/soccer ball/baseball shaped eggs.

He didn't even want to put this one in his bag at Guh W.'s. Why pick it, if you can KICK it?

The ONE HANDED HUNTER at the Cypress Chicks Egg Hunt.

Mom on the assist...can't carry a bucket and hunt for eggs with one hand!

Pretty as ever in her Easter dress (another handmade, Guh L. creation!) I forgot to get a picture of her in her "Keester Bunny" pants...she has a cute little easter outfit with a fuzzy bunny on the bum! will post later!)

See, I CAN hold this head up!

Sweet Sisters!

4 months

Poor Bryn. She's definitely a third child, seeing as it has been nearly three weeks since she turned 4 months, and I'm just now getting to post it. And I forgot to take a picture of her on her 4 month birthday. (That was a really bad week...Benson broke his collar bone, I had a bad cold, and Bryn got pink eye.)

So here it is...

SHE is absolutely adorable and TINY! She weighed 11lbs 11oz at her check-up (10%) and 24.5 inches long (50%). For comparison...Bailey was 16.5lbs and Benson was 14 lbs at their 4 month check-ups! (Bailey weighed more than 11lbs at 6weeks!)

The doctor was a little concerned about her 'immature muscle tone' (aka: still a floppy headed ninny muggins that wouldn't roll over). He referred me to Neurology and Physical Therapy. After crying, and feeling like the worst mom ever for neglecting my child, I threw the phone numbers away and gave Bryn some tummy time, and then some more tummy time, and then put her in the Bumbo seat, followed by more tummy time. The next day she rolled over. I guess I've been 'spoiling' her too much and I just carry her around on my shoulder all day long. She now holds her head up like a champ (by the way, her head measured in the 75%, which is a lot of head to hold up for a 10% body size!) and supports a little more of her body when I try to stand/sit her up.
I think that she is the most PERFECT baby ever and I couldn't have asked for a better one. She's so pleasant and charming, laid back and easy going, and a great sleeper! She's pretty content with whatever comes her way or whatever the day may bring. She's an absolute blessing and joy in our home and hearts and I couldn't imagine our lives without her. She is the best thing I never knew I needed.

Sunday best. (I have to take her pictures on the changing table unless I want other little monkeys jumping in the picture!)

The secret and magic combination for Bryn's great sleep...

1. Head pushed up in the corner to feel secure.

+2. Blanket swaddled tighter than a straight jacket.

+3. Binky plugged in and tucked under the straight jacket to keep from falling out.

=GREAT SLEEP!

broken

Notice anything?

When at 5 am both the girls were awake, I should have taken it as an omen and gone back to bed.

This morning, while I was nursing Bryn, Benson was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs having a snack. It was one of those slow motion falls that you can see happening, but just can't move quick enough. Benson fell off the chair onto his head and then rolled onto his shoulder. I was really worried because he fell directly on his head on the tile. I ran over to pick him up, and that's when I knew something was really wrong. He SCREAMED in pain when I lifted him up. Immediately he and I both knew that there was something wrong with his shoulder or collar bone. I hurried and gathered him and Bryn up and rushed him over the the ER (Bay was at preschool, and I called Guh to meet me at the ER. I couldn't get a hold of Brandon because last night Benson hid his phone somewhere...I had to have Jamie track him down at work, and then he met us there too). Benson screamed for a solid hour. When the drugs had set in and Benson was asleep (for a moment) they took and x-ray, and sure enough, he broke his clavicle. Poor little guy!

He's pretty thrashed in this picture. They had to cut his shirt off of him. He'll be wearing button-ups for the next few weeks. Unfortunately, the only thing that can be done for a broken collar bone is to immobilize it in a sling. That's not going so well for us.

Notice how red his eyes are? He's pretty much cried all day long. I can only imagine how painful and confusing it is for him. Worst of all...it's his right hand that has to be in a sling. He can't hardly play or eat or do anything. I had to pin the sling closed and then pin it to his body so he can't use it. He keeps forgetting about it and will try and move his arm, and then just SCREAM in agony. I feel so bad for him. It's going to be a long month.

little man of mischief

Last Wednesday, Benson was my little man of mischief. When we got home from dropping Bailey off at preschool, Benson headed straight to the kitchen and said "I wan foooot nitnax" (I want fruit snacks). I said no (as it was only 9am) and went and changed Bryn's diaper. When I came back, Benson was siting at the table eating fruit snacks. I was pretty astounded, but figured it must have been a fluke, I left the pantry door open and there was a package of fruitsnacks that were really easy to open. Not so much. After he finished the fruit snacks he started asking for more. I said no, and then watched him go to work. He reached up high to the door knob and twisted and twisted until it came open. Then he moved the stool and reached the fruit snacks. Next, he reached in a picked some out. Then he sat there and pulled and pulled until he got them open! I couldn't believe it. Of course I had to let him eat them then and document it.

About an hour later I was nursing the baby when I heard a commotion coming from Bryn's room. When I went to inspect, I found Benson had pulled out the Bumbo chair from it's box, moved it into the hall and was sitting in it, LAUGHING! (the best part was later in the day when he sat in it again and it stuck to his bum, even as he tried to crawl away from it!)

Since it was out, I had Bryn try it out. She loves it, and I think that the BumboSeat is the best invention ever. I only wish I would have had one for the other two!

'nuff said.

(thrown from across the room)

what are brothers good for...

...Giving you books to 'read'...

...and running away before anyone can notice.

Little brothers are good for...

...playing house with, and even letting you dress him up...

...but watch out for him with a stroller...

...Big brothers are also good for...

...wanting to "hoed ur" (hold her)...

...and when "ur" gets to heavy to hold, sitting next to 'ur' and sharing toys...

...keeping 'ur' company during tummy time.

Although at times Benson may be more of a bother, than a brother...he's a very sweet bother and loves his sisters so much. And they love him too.