Surprise Breakfasts, Parks, and Kate's TWO month stats

Over the past few weeks, Lincoln has often come into our room in the morning and asked to make a surprise breakfast. This particular day we came downstairs to toast (no butter) and some fruit drink he mixed. He couldn't find the pitcher so he used a left over container and said he couldn't fit all the water in their so he just used less. So we had concentrated fruit drink and dry toast for breakfast that day. 

A few days earlier he was so excited for the breakfast he made us. Our plates each had a piece of bread soaked in maple syrup. I tried to be so kind and took a bite and but then unfortunately wasn't very hungry for the rest:) 

Lauren has had some long sleeved dresses that are so cute! But with the warmer weather, I wanted short sleeves for them so they could be enjoyed this spring and summer. I haven't used my sewing machine in probably 2-3 years. After Lauren was born, I think when I had spare time, I just stopped sewing. Brought it up from the basement, dusted the box off. Apparently, I've still got it!  I was so proud of my accomplishment I had to take a picture of one of Lauren's dresses. Now it's all ready for summer! Seems a bit silly to take a picture, but it sure boosted my confidence in my sewing skills that I had thought I had lost! More sewing projects are in the near future!  

Vance and I went on a date this week. I wrote our phone numbers down for Liz, our neighbor and babysitter. When I came home, I had found that Lincoln wrote "P.S. 911". Just in case she forgot... 

Checking out the new park in town. The bridge that crosses the lake should be finished soon.

He told me this is his "scared, about to fall" face.

Lauren's silly face for the camera. She chose a super happy smile.

Meanwhile, Kate enjoyed the day snoozing in the sun.

A lovely bouquet of flowers. It is fun to have things like this in my day. It gives purpose to the never ending laundry, crumbs all over the kitchen floor, the whining, tantrums, sleep deprivation, and more recently all the messes from toilet training Lauren. It is going so-so. Sometimes the amount of messes and bodily fluids I have to deal with, between all three kids, drives me crazy!

Kate is continuing to thrive. Here are her two month stats.  She is now 4 pounds heavier than at birth. She seems SO big to us! We love her new squishy cheeks, creases on her ankles and wrists, and dimples on her knuckles.  We are still adding calories to breast milk throughout the day, and it is obviously working to help her grow. She received 5 vaccinations today, and a finger poke to check her iron levels. She has been more fussy than ever this afternoon. This calls for lots of cuddle time and maybe a little Tylenol.

She still seems to be an easy going little girl. If I hold her on my shoulder, she always turns her head toward my face. She tolerates tummy time well for a few minutes, and has been a quite the snorter. If she's alert, well fed, etc, she loves to play on the floor and look around.  Still hoping she can sleep for longer than  2 1/2 or 3 hours at night, but it seems still a little early to expect it:) We'll have to be patient. We are so blessed to have her as a part of our family. 

Easter 2016

My dad with Kate. Dad is truly my hero. He has been my cheerleader and greatest example, along with my mom!! 

Vance and Lincoln built a new dresser for Lincoln's room. 

After church Easter egg and basket hunt. Now on to enjoying the fruits of their labors!!!

Lately

For some reason, with each of our kids, we have a picture of helping our newborns do sit ups. We think they love it (not sure what they think!) 

Lauren moved into a queen sized bed a few months ago. Lincoln always has begged to sleep with his sister, because it is such a cool bed. So... we let them share every Saturday night. When I checked on them, they were so warm. Too many blankets and winter pajamas. It was sweet how they were turned towards each other. The best part was the PEZ dispenser in the middle! Lauren has been carrying around this dispenser for days and carefully deciding when she would eat one of her candies. I love her so much. I love all my kids so much. I really think I'd do anything for my children. 

Lincoln has been very interested in baking the past year. He asks to make all sorts of goodies. He loves to follow recipes, and be the one to read off all the ingredients. This past week he decided to make his own recipe. Without any help, this was what he came up with. My favorite parts of his recipe were the words he used such as "smidgeon" and "dash". 

This was how his creation turned out! He wanted to put them in muffin tins and add sprinkles on top. We were brave and even tried them:)

My friend Deanna offered to watch Kate one morning. I took her up on her offer and while Lincoln was at preschool, Lauren and I went on a date to Perkins. She chose the Rainbow Pancakes. Lauren has been my quieter child, so I love my one on one time with her. In fact, here are some things to remember about her at this age.

All about Lauren:

Her favorite show is My Little Pony

She loves to kick soccer balls around in the yard

Her favorite color is purple

The purple pom poms in her room look like teeth to her

Loves to pretend she is the mom

Has always been a fantastic sleeper

She is independent and pretty tough!

Her middle name is after my mother, Kristen

She loves to show me something she does and ask, "Is that amazing, Mom?"

Once a week, she asks me to make sure I don't drive into the river (she fell in a lake last summer and I still wonder if she's afraid of water)

Lauren loves to sing songs

She loves to dress up in princess clothes

She has always been a good listener

When we have Family Home Evening each Monday, and it is her turn to conduct the nigh, she always says we are having our treat first (It's always last)

We are so proud of this little girl's cheeks! You can really squish them now. She's got visible creases in her ankles and wrists. 

Lauren asked me the other day to dress up with her. She handed me a couple necklaces, a scarf and a hat. Prior to dressing up, she often says to Lincoln, "Let's get married!" Maybe with the fancy dress and veil, she feels like a bride.

After church today, I asked Lincoln what he learned. He asked for a piece of paper. On this sticky note, he drew two paths. One was for the harder way, which made us happier, and the other was easier but he said bad guys go that way and you wouldn't be happy. Later he drew another path "C" that was a hill but had flowers on top. He told me how you had to work hard to get to the top, but something beautiful was there. Anyway, I was impressed how well he was listening! He was so enthusiastic in his 15 minute explanation. It was neat to see his understanding that some choices in life aren't always the easiest, but bring us the greatest joy. 

One cold, snowy/rainy day we needed to get out! So we went to the Mall Play Area. Lincoln asked me to take this picture of him. Looks like some gang sign, had to laugh. It has been a difficult balance between trying to get out and do fun things with my two older kids, but also keep Kate home and away from too many people for a little bit longer. I think we all are getting a little stir crazy. But with the weather finally warming and her being 6 weeks old, I think we can be a little more daring:)

My birthday card from two months ago.

Some notes just need to be documented forever. This one is from Lincoln.

The transition to three children has been pretty good. It might be easier because Kate sleeps so much of the time. Because she was early, the sleepy newborn stage has lasted much longer. She still gets up 3-4 times each night, but we are getting used to it. I have been able to exercise and it has felt soooo good. I started running this week. It requires alternating running and walking, but it really has been something I have wanted to do for so long. Exercise really does something wonderful for my mental health!

Catch Up

I feel as if I've missed most of February on this blog with all the happenings of my kids and husband. Anyway, here are some events from earlier this month of March.

I don't know why, but I love this picture of Kate so much. It isn't even the best photograph. This is from a day or two before she left the hospital. 

I found this photo of a receipt for hospital services when giving birth in 1943.  Look at those prices! I sure wish that was our cost this year!  Never before have we utilized our health insurance like we have this year! We are so grateful for it! Of course, we are spending a lot more than we expected this year, and as all the bills have started to roll in,  can not believe the cost of medical care! I mean, hundreds of thousands. Again, thank heavens for health insurance that puts a cap on these costs. Whew.

In December, Vance and I bought tickets to go to a Piano Guys concert. We don't go to concerts much, and we've been excited for this one for a long time.  We loved the talent of the pianist and cellist. The cellist said he has 32 cellos. He played the cello in many ways I didn't know were possible. Vance and I hadn't gone on a date in quite some time (besides watching movies together in my hospital room). It was great to spend this time with him. Side note... I was reminded how out of shape I am. We walked two blocks from the parking garage, in the theatre and up to the nosebleed section, and I was breaking a sweat! It will feel really good to get some muscle back and into shape again. I can't wait to go on long runs on warm summer nights soon. Not to mention fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes:)

These boards were so important to me as a patient. They marked the progress of my baby and I looked at them so many times. When I was on bed rest for so long, one of the first things I would do each morning, would be to mark how far along I was (ex: 34 1/7 weeks). 

Kate's room. I think it is a room I want to remember because it was from such an important time in Kate's life.

Jana and Holli. Holli was the nurse that first helped Kate in the OR and the hours after. She helped her breathe and stay healthy. As a mother, I feel so much love and appreciation for any nurse who cares for my child. How do you thank someone who literally helps your child breathe, eat, etc. They are lifesavers! I didn't get a picture of all my favorite nurses (you know who you are because you are reading this).

March 10th--heading out!

At first Lincoln was devastated that Kate was a girl. I mean, sobbing.  But now he is absolutely in love with her. Most of the time he is so gentle. I love how he speaks with her. He'll call her sweetheart, darling.....

Last weekend Lincoln got to take home "Ginger" the giraffe class mascot. He had been waiting for his turn all school year long. We were supposed to document some of the fun things we did with "Ginger" and report back this week.  I wasn't super thrilled about the homework assignment (oh, and I know this is not even the beginning) but he loved it!

Dying Easter eggs last Sunday. My kids always love this. 

Our neighbor Kristin came to visit. She has been such a sweet neighbor since we've lived here. Lauren was unhappy about something in this photo, which makes me laugh. 

Kristin was so kind and gave Kate this pink hat. It is so fun to dress this little lady up.  We are really enjoying this newborn stage. She already seems so much bigger, though. Vance and I joked the other day, "Where has our baby gone?" Ha ha ha. Vance and I are so tired, but I think as I've healed, it has been getting easier physically. We feel so blessed to have this girl join our family. It is a reminder of the great responsibility we've been given to teach our children well and be good parents. 

Home

On Thursday afternoon Kate was discharged and we headed home. It was so exciting. I really thought it would be a couple more days there.  It felt as if a chapter of our lives was ending (the hospital stay) and we were starting something brand new. The bedrest and NICU stay was a crazy two months. It was actually a good experience. However, honestly I have had so many mixed emotions. I almost didn't want that chapter to end. I met so many wonderful people there who blessed my life. But it was really hard to feel so disconnected for so long from Lincoln, Lauren and my husband.

Anyway, going home brought all the feelings of a first time parent back.  Is she still breathing? I checked so many times the first couple of days she was home! Thursday afternoon was my first day home and it was just Kate and I.  I couldn't believe how quiet it was in our home...this was rare. But I had the freedom to do anything--so I made some cookies, (by myself which is much less stressful), got the mail from the mailbox, and cleaned the house for my parents and kids returning the next day.

Having another child in our home has truly multiplied our joy. Watching the interaction and growing relationships between each of my children is one of my favorite things. Both kids love to talk with Kate and "help" in any way possible. It makes us laugh. The changing dynamics is great to see. It has been a little bit of an adjustment being all together again, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Yesterday being daylight savings time change, two preschoolers just coming back from a 2 week grandparent stay, and both parents sleep deprived made for a rough day. But we made it and the sun still came up this morning (well sort of...it's cloudy)

Not sure there will be pictures this post. I'm really tired...my head definitely hurts. But making this post is an accomplishment today...along with keeping my kids alive:) It has been so nice to put my own kids to bed each night and cuddle with them for a while. They have changed in the last few weeks and have become more independent. I love them so much!