Rolley Polley

It was absolutely crazy today with all we had planned.  At one point in time I laid Charlotte down on her blanket and went in my bedroom to get dressed. {Is this sounding familiar?} I was finishing up getting ready when I heard Charlotte freaking out.  I figured that she had lost her pacifier so I told Lily to go check on her and see if Charlotte needed it.  Lily came back and reported "Charlotte is on her tummy"  

Immediately I assumed Lily had rolled her over and I started chastizing her for it.  Lily looked at me with big eyes and said, "But mom I didn't do it, Charlotte did"  

Huh?!  So I went and checked on Charlotte and sure enough she had flipped herself over in efforts to get her pacifier which she was busily still looking for.  So why can she roll over, but she can't even hold her head up while lying on her tummy?!

Still Working at It...

This is as far as we get with lifting up our head these days.  *Sigh*  I can't decide if she is lazy or just plain stubborn!

A "grate" achievement!

Lily loves to help me cook but she really hasn't been able to do much besides stir.  Developmentally she hasn't been ready.  Today she reached a new level of being able to help.  She can official grate things!  We were making zucchini bread and she asked if she could grate it.  Letting go of my instincts to immediately say no, I let her.   She did a "great" job with only needed help when it got down to the little stubs.  I know who is getting dubbed as the official family grater from now on!

Food for thought...

 I read this quote on my sister in laws blog tonight and knew I needed to shard this.  Tomorrow I hope to start working towards being more content with who I am.

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are."

--Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Sweet, sweet Charlotte

Snapped these two lovelies while watering the garden tonight.  The first shows how Charlotte loves to lick our shirts.  Too bad you can't see her little tongue at work.  The second one is her smiling at me knowing she had been caught. LOL!

Out of control!

 Our garden is officially out of control!  The tomatoes are almost as tall as me!  Everything is growing beautifully but we cannot believe how big everything is.  Russell has banned me from the Miracle Grow for fear that the tomatoes will start making a canopy a top the shed. ;)

Lily and Allie have loved checking on the garden each night.  There is always something new to point out to them.  Our most recent discovery is that our 2 inch long beans appeared over night!  Can you tell how proud of the garden Lily is in the picture?!

Essentially this is the same shot minus the girls, but it shows a better shot of our peppers growing in pots alongside our raised beds.

So far our squash haven't outgrown their box, but we are just bidding our time I'm sure.

But look at this!  Our first harvest!  It is going to make some yummy zucchini bread!

A Night Out

Our anniversary was very low key but fun all the same.  The day started with Russ surprising me with two large canisters and some cash to buy clothes with.  He always gets me thoughtful gifts.  He took notice that I've been trying to find some canisters with rubber gaskets in them for my sugar and flour.  That way bugs will stop getting in them and we'll stop having "protein" added to everything we eat.  He of course managed to find the perfect size and color that I've always been wanting {clear in case you were wondering}.  I laughed when he handed me the cash since that is what he gave me last year.  All my clothes were threadbare and wholly last year at this time so Russ thought I should finally spend some money on replacing them.  I held off for about a month because I kept feeling like I should wait for something.  Well that something was me being pregnant with Charlotte.  I had to spend the cash vamping up my threadbare and ill fitting maternity clothes, instead!  Apparently my clothes are pretty bad so he repeated his gift.

Russ mowed the lawn and while he was out I layed out some nice clothes for him and set his brand new watch on top.  Russ tends to need a new watch every other year or so.  They keep breaking on him!  He came in and saw the watch and clothes.  He was so excited about it he got dressed in different clothes, after I took all that time picking ones out for him, lol!

We went grocery shopping together with the girls and made home just in time to put them away and get ready for our night out.  We left and headed to the mall where we found Charlotte's Easter dress and I spent some of my new cash on a pair of heels for church.  Can you believe I haven't worn heels to church in about four years?  My last pair broke right before I had Allie and I just never replaced them.

We then headed over to Red Lobster for some dinner per my choice.  BAD MISTAKE on my part!!!  How was I to know the Red Lobster in our area wasn't a very good restaurant.  Russ also reaffirmed that he doesn't like sea food.  

At the end of our meal Charlotte was starving and I tried to give her a bottle which she wouldn't take.  Somewhere in the past month she has gotten the idea in her head that she doesn't like a bottle.  Shame on us for not giving her one more often to keep her adjusted to it!  So I sat in the backseat of our van for 45 mins or so nursing Charlotte.  Russ and I were able to talk without interruptions which was nice even thought the situation wasn't ideal.

We did a bit more shopping for clothes for me, which Russ was a good sport about, and then we came home.  Nothing grand but a nice night away for Russ and I.

Seven Years and counting

{A bit sad that this is the only recent photo we have of us together!}

Where we've been in seven years!

2004

Young newlyweds living in Rexburg while Russ goes to school.  Jewelle commutes to Idaho Falls to teach.  Money is tight but our love is growing each day.

2005

Lillian has joined the family and now the two lovebirds have become inexperienced but very eager parents.  Russ plugs away at his Bachelors while Jewelle stays home with their new bundle of joy.

2006

Russ has graduated and now is working towards his Masters in Nuclear Engineering.  We have moved to Idaho Falls to a duplex with a backyard!

2007

Enjoying our little family in Idaho Falls.

2008

Three becomes four as we welcome Allie into our lives.  The newness of parenting has worn off and we are working our way to becoming "seasoned" parents.

2009

Changes, changes, changes!  Russ finishes is Masters in Nuclear Engineering and is offered a job in Texas.  After many prayers our family leaves all we have known behind and head south.

2010

We purchase our very first home!  We enjoy our first family vacation to Disneyland.

2011

We now are outnumbered as we add Charlotte to our growing family.  Still in Texas with Russ having a slightly different job description.

These seven years have been a wonderful ride with many highs and a few lows.  I'm forever grateful that I was able to marry Russell. Being with him makes life bearable.  Whether it is his quick whit making me laugh after a long day or his willingness to help out with the dishes, everything he does shows me just how much he loves me and I acknowledge how lucky I am to have him.  Here is to seven wonderful years and counting!

Park Days

The weather has been so beautiful here lately!  It has been nice and warm with only a slight breeze.  Oh and to make it even more sublime it hasn't rained in awhile so there are no mosquito's.....yet.  We've been hitting as many parks for playgroup as possible.  You've got enjoy it while it last right?!  I was babysitting a friends son today while at the park and thought it would be a perfect time to get some photos of the two together.  See Allie and N became great friends when Carolyn and I would go walking together and they really enjoy playing together.  In fact here they are cruising around town together!

But wouldn't you know it, that was the only shot I got of them!  Something about me holding a fussy baby.  But I did get a few more pics that I enjoyed of Allie.

And before the day was over I couldn't resist having these two go for a cruise around town as well!

The world around us

 Growing up with a mother who was an avid I grew to know quite a bit about the different kind of flowers and trees that surrounded me.  Upon moving to Texas I felt like I stepped into a whole new world.  The plants and trees here are totally differently.  I'm constantly asking people what things are so I can determine whether I can try them out in my yard or not.  When out on my walk with the girls today I decided to take my camera along with me.  I'm glad I did.  I found the most beautiful purple flower growing in someone's yard. It was the loveliest shade of lavender.

The next street over I saw this bush and for some reason it made me feel like I was somewhere exotic instead of good ol' Texas.

Taking in these beautiful surroundings with my girls really boosted my sagging spirits.  I 'm grateful our Heavenly Father loves enough us to have given all us such a beautiful earth to live on.

3 Months and growing fast!

I looked at Charlotte today and wondered where on earth my little newborn has gone.  I mentioned this to Russell and his reply was "You can't get baby hungry yet.  It is too soon!" LOL!  Charlotte is loved so much in our family.  The girls are always taking care of Baby Charlotte.  For some reason they can't say here name without adding "baby" to it.  Maybe it is because baby was her name for so long.  Here is a just a bit about Charlotte right now!

Likes:
Playing peek a boo.  She doesn't really get the concept of it, but she gets SUPER smiley when someone says Peek a Boo!

Dislikes:

Tummy time.  This girl gets very little tummy time because of it.  We are working on that though.

Quirks:

Loves, loves, loves to lick shirts.  I guess she enjoys feeling textures with her tongue because as soon as you hold her up to your shoulder that LONG tongue of her sneaks out and starts licking.  It provides mommy and daddy with my wet spots on their clothes.

The past month's milestones:

Sleeps through the night.  She has actually been doing this for two months now.  However she has lengthened her "night time".  She goes to bed between 7 and 8 will wake up around 2 or 3 for a quick "snack"  Then will go back to sleep until I wake her up at 7:30 to take Lily to school. 

A favorite memory:
As stated by Russ:

When I was holding her to put her to sleep I had her pacifier in her mouth.  Apparently Charlotte did not want the pacifier so she stuck her tongue out underneath the pacifier and through Russ's fingers{he was holding the pacifier} and started licking it.  It tickled him and made him laugh, but he also couldn't believe how long her little tongue is!

Clothes size:
3-6 mo and some 6 mo

Diaper Size:
2

 

I was lucky enough to have my friend ask if she could take pictures of Charlotte for me.  Sh asked back when Charlotte was newborn and things never worked out until today.  I was excited that it fell exactly on the day that Charlotte turned three months since we always get a professional portrait done when our kids turn three months!  We headed to a local park where she first took some pictures of Charlotte in her blessing dress.  We never were able to get a very good picture of her on the day she was blessed so this was something I really wanted done.  We then changed her and did some "fun" pictures.  Charlotte had a rough morning with her sisters waking her up early so we didn't get a ton of smiles from her in the pictures but I'm still in LOVE with they way they turned out.

Charlotte's blessing shoes given to her by her Aunt Becky.

Beautiful baby girl in her blessing dress.

Told you that her fingers are always in her mouth!

Her look on her face is just adorable to me in this photo.

She was worn out from all the fun!

I was surprised when Carolyn gave me this one.  I didn't know she had taken it since I was taking a bunch of stuff back to the car.  The only thing I would change about this picture is to have Lily in it too.  

 

Holding it in

 Slurp, slurp, slurp.  That sound is pretty consistent in our house now a days.  Charlotte found her hands about three weeks ago and ever since she has had them in her mouth slurping away.  I totally blame the finger sucking on her daddy since he was a big finger sucker as a child.  I try and curb this habit as much as possible by giving her a pacifier.  I figure{and this may be foolish thinking} that if it develops into a problem later on it will be easier to throw away a pacifier than to cut off and throw away her fingers.  Most times Charlotte accepts the pacifier with now problem and her hands relax to her sides or she holds them together in front of her.  However, sometimes {and this is becoming more frequent} Charlotte's hands try and get into her mouth.  She ends up holding her pacifier because of this.  It really is a cute sight.  See for yourself...

Hmmm....

Something interesting may have occurred today.  I was rushing around getting ready to go somewhere when I laid Charlotte down on her blanket.  I am 98% that I put her on her back since I was leaving the room and wouldn't be able to watch her if I laid her on her tummy.  I finish getting dressed in my bedroom when I hear Charlotte complaining a little bit in the living room.  How odd, so I went and checked on her and she was on her tummy.  What?!  Didn't I put her on her back...I just couldn't remember for sure.  Logic tells me yes...but I just can't be sure.  With that we may have a little one who can roll over!  Eeks!

Strawberries

When planning our garden I asked Lily what she would like to plant in it.  Her only request was strawberries.  Not to dissapoint her I had Russ pick up some strawberry plants when he went to the citrus sale this year.  We planted three of the plants in a Strawberry Topsy Turvy and reserved the fourth and healthiest plant for the actual garden.  Our plant in the garden has flourished and grown but has yet to produce even a single flower.  But the Topsy Turvy plants have grown a bit but immediately flowered.  Lily has enjoyed watching her strawberries grow bigger and bigger and finally turn red.  She was jumping up and down tonight as Russ picked the first strawberry.  We all shared it and it was very sour but that didn't squash Lily's enthusiasm for the fact that she had grown it.

Need a good laugh today?

 My in laws sent this to us a couple of weeks ago.  I kept it in my e-mail and looked at it every time I needed a good laugh.  I thought maybe I should share it so everyone else can have a good laugh too!

It all began with an iPhone...
March was when my son celebrated his 15th birthday and I got him an iPhone.
He just loved it. Who wouldn't?

I celebrated my birthday in July and my wife made me very happy when she bought me an iPad.

My daughter's birthday was in August so I got her an iPod Touch.

September came by, so for my wife's birthday I bought her an iRon.

It was around then that the fight started...
What my wife failed to recognize is that the iRon can be integrated into the home network with the iWash, iCook and iClean. This unfortunately activated the iNag app.

Which led me to the iHospital and iGet out Thursday.

Attached

Someone is working very hard on the grasping reflex.  Charlotte has gotten really excited about toys.  She even has gotten attached to a few of them.

So attached that she even has to hold onto them in her sleep! {I think she is just trying to keep her sisters from taking them away from her}

Tummy Time for Charlotte

 Charlotte is pretty lazy when it comes to holding up her head.  She likes to snuggle and bury her head into your shoulder and chest.  The doctor wasn't concerned about her when I mentioned it to him at her last docotr's appointment, so I try not to worry either.  I partially blame myself for her not being very strong because I have such a difficult time finding an appropriate time for her to have tummy time.  Most the time she is only awake when she is eating or has just ate.  Neither time is very good  for her to practice.  Today I found some time for her to practice, but my perfectly complacent baby girl refused to practice.  She laid on her tummy for about 10 mins without any complaining.  We'll have to keep trying, but at least I got a few cute pictures from it!

All is quiet

It was super quiet during the last session of conference.  Russ decided to go check on the girls.  He found Lily reading to Allie.  Lily is so proud that she can really read books to Allie now.  Sitting together and reading is one of their favorite things to do together.  I'm so glad Russ was able to capture this moment of them.

Listening to conference....

Russ and Charlotte got a little too comfortable listening to conference today.

When Lily and Allie saw how comfortable they were they wanted to join in on the fun.

Bye bye diapers!

Were not trying to "fool" anyone by saying today is the day that Allie gives up diapers.  I've been scared out of my mind to try and potty train her because of the awful experience I had with Lily.  But since Russ will be home all weekend with me and we won't be leaving the house for church, we are going to attempt this.   We are prepared with the little potty, some thick undies, and a WHOLE lot of gummy bears.  Wish us luck!