Strawberry Picking

We also went strawberry picking with the grandmas, which resulted in messy clothes for weeks to come. Oh, and tons of delicious berries found their way into our home. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. Sorry, gotta run; there are still a few left in the freezer.

My Kids, the Carnies

The fair came to town while Grandma and Granny were here, so of course we had to go. We weren't sure how Rachelle would do, but we shouldn't have worried. After a few apprehensive moments, she realized that she loves going on rides. LOVES IT. Stellan burned out way before Rachelle did. Uncle Dave, you've met your amusement park match. Just wait until she's 48 inches tall!

The Grandmas Are Coming! The Grandmas Are Coming!

Grandma Karen and Granny came from California for a visit. This is the first time they have been able to come visit us together since we moved away in 2008. Words can't describe how awesome it was to have them here and to watch my kids having so much fun with them. Also, they were tons of help around the house with the kids, and the cleaning, and the baby, and the napping, and everything else. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are 11,000 words about their time here. But before I post those, let me add that a pair of grandmas is worth, well, a lot. Let's go with priceless.

Prepare for Disappointment

We had the best of intentions to get a really great shot of all three kids in their adorable Easter outfits, especially the girls in their matching dresses. (Ever since I found out we would have another girl, it has been my greatest joy to imagine them in matching outfits. I plan on getting away with that as long as they can stand it.)
Tragically, the kids never really caught our vision for what "perfect" portraits might mean. They did, however, manage to look happy for the Easter egg hunt the next day. If only there were a way to combine Easter candy, Easter dresses and perfect portraits...

Another First

Annie got her first cold. And she's not happy about it. (I didn't want to rub it in, so I didn't tell her, but frankly I'm surprised it took her this long.)

On Our Own

Now that Grandma and Grandpa are gone, how are we faring? Here's a brief synopsis:

Day 1:
Yep. That's crayon. Everywhere. The floor, the fridge, the little table, the big table, the chairs, the cabinets, and so on. Oops. Guess I should be careful to not accidentally doze off while nursing, because Rachelle and Stellan have joined forces. And not always for good.

Day 2:

Kevin arrived home from work at about 8:45 AM. Because he threw out his back. Awesome. Now neither of us can lift the 2 older kids and Kev can't even hold Annie. We spend the rest of the day "convalescing" (laying like lumps on various couches while the kids watch way too much TV). Don't ask what we've been feeding the kids or what our house looks like.

Day 3:
Annie is not the best night sleeper yet, but last night has surely been one for the books. I am so tired I cry myself to sleep. For about 3 seconds. And then Stellan is up and in our bed. The mold in his room has returned with a vengeance and he now has a runny nose, a cough and a headache. I coax him back to sleep (on the couch in another room), stumble back to bed, and wake up about 7 seconds later when Annie wakes up again, starving and screaming. Once daylight is upon us, Rachelle has figured out that she can do whatever she wants because both her parents are physically incapable of stopping her. All I can say it, enjoy it while it lasts, little girl. I'll be back to normal very soon, and your little anarchy vacation will be over.

In case you're keeping score, that's Kids 3, Parents 0.

On the bright side, the kids still love Annie. Rachelle has been tailing her all day since she came home from the hospital, chanting "Baby, baby, baby!" That has recently been replaced with just calling her "Baby Mwah!" That's because she calls to baby, then kisses her - mwah! It's hard to stay mad at kids so cute.

Grandma and Grandpa Come To Town

We had this great plan for when Annie was born. (I know, fatal flaw #1.) Kevin's parents booked their tickets for my due date, because both of my other two kids had to be induced. I was scheduled to be induced at midnight, giving us an 8 hour buffer between arrival of grandparents and hospital admit.

Ha ha. Annie came early.

So Grandma and Grandpa got here when Annie was 5 days old. Trust me, we were glad to see them! All of us. It was so fantastic to have them around to help with kids, laundry, cleaning, shopping, everything. They stayed with us for 8 glorious days. We played, we slept (some of us more than others, and me more than usual thanks to Grandma and Grandpa), we laughed, we cried (some of us more than others). We spent a lot of time in the back yard because the weather was perfect, we went on limited excursions, we got our kids addicted to grandparents.

Now they are gone, and we miss them. The kids are in withdrawal. Rachelle came inside from the trampoline this afternoon, crying for Grandma to come jump with her. Luckily, they left us with some photos, which I will gladly share with you now.

Beach Baby

Annie, Week 1

As your reward for putting up with the previous wordy post, here's one with photos from Annie's first week with us.

Just so you know, she was in perfect health at her check-up yesterday. In fact, the doctor made a point of telling me what a beautiful baby she was - not too skinny and not really chubby; clear and even skin; good color; just the right amount of hair; strong and responsive. What choice did I have except to agree?

March Madness

No, I'm not going to blog about how my bracket is leading the pool right now (though it is, truth be told).

Annie came on March 15th, the first day of the men's NCAA basketball tournament and the Ides of March. They are not kidding when they tell you to beware.

I was counting on a laid back day because Rachelle was under the weather and only wanted to snuggle. Me and her and a few good movies were going to hunker down for the day. Then my water broke. Well, I thought my water broke. Since I wasn't sure, I dropped Stellan of at school anyway. By the time I had walked from the car to the classroom and back to the car, I was very sure my water had broken.

I called the doctor's office, who told me to go straight to the hospital. Well, that didn't exactly happen. You see, neither Rachelle nor Stellan came on time, so I was counting on being induced with v 3.0 on the night of my due date. We didn't have the cradle assembled, the bags packed or a childcare plan in place. Oops. Further complicating that was sick RaRa.

I put in a call to a friend to see if she would be willing to watch Rachelle just until school got out at noon, at which point I was hoping a better plan would be in place. Nikki literally turned her car around and raced over. She was good enough to not only keep Rachelle all day and into the evening, but even took her to the doctor's office when her breathing became labored, did a tutorial on Rachelle's shiny new nebulizer, picked up Rachelle's meds from the pharmacy and then passed this all on to Kevin that night. All on Nikki's own birthday, and the day before her family of 7 was going to leave on a roadtrip to Ohio.

Other awesome people like Emily, Tracy and Heather juggled each other's kids while they ran to the hospital to get our signature allowing Nikki to seek treatment for RaRa and watched Stellan for us. I do not know what we would have done without our super amazing friends.

Oh, and did I forget to mention I was in labor during the whole thing? Well, I was. Everything went very smoothly and Annie was here by 5:01 PM. Kevin spent the next couple of days singlehandedly taking care of older two (his parents were coming to help out, but they were counting on our original plan of inducing on my due date and wouldn't arrive until then), getting the house ready and popping in to keep me and the baby company. It's tough to say who is more tired by now, me or him.

The moral of the story is, beware the Ides of March. Seriously. You might end up with a baby you weren't expecting (yet). Or at the least, someone else's super sick toddler.

Welcome, Baby Annie

She's here! Sweet baby Anne Elizabeth arrived on March 15th, earlier than her due date and smaller than either her brother or sister. At only 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 22 inches, she is absolutely perfect. We all love our Annie so much already.

T-Ball

Stellan is officially a t-baller. He loves it. He joined the Shalimar Little League and plays for the Gold Buyers team, which also goes by the common name "Pirates". Perfect for him, considering his pirate heritage.

He is pretty good at hitting and fielding, but not so great at paying attention. Which is par for the course. If you've ever watched 4-year-old t-ball, you know how hilarious it is; someone hits the ball and then may or may not realize he is supposed to run to a base (specifically 1st base, but let's not get to picky, right?), then about 7 players will rush from all corners of the field to catch the ball, the ball will be thrown to 1st base and the first baseman may or may not realize this has happened until the coach tell him. Watching Stellan's games has been very entertaining for us all. And he's just so darn cute in the uniform!

Catching Up

In an effort to pretend I haven't totally slacked on the blog for the last 3 months, I've just added some posts from Christmas time and will attempt to catch you all up to now in this post. In a nutshell, we're doing great.

• Stellan loves school and has lots of fun there. I got to help out there on Space Day for all the classes, and now enjoy semi-celebrity status when I roam the halls. The kids call me the Space Lady and tell their parents lots of fun facts they learned. I wish it were Space Day every day. Stellan is also getting to be quite the helper around the house and takes pride in that. And finally, I must confess that he is getting really good at playing video games, which he would play all day if I let him. I don't. But he's gotten some extra game time in as I get closer to the end of this pregnancy.
• Rachelle is talking up a storm and is hilarious as always. She does her level best to keep up with Stellan and has formed a strong attachment to friends, in the general sense as well as specific people. If I need her to stop squirming in her carseat, I just tell her we're on our way to see friends. Oh, and she loves to dance. She dances just about every time she hears music.
• Kevin is also doing well. His intramural volleyball team just made the playoffs and is currently ranked second. (Not for long, though.) He loves that he gets off work by 4 every day and can spend time playing with the kids. He has also been doing some work on (and in) his Man Cave, the back section of our garage which has been retrofitted to embrace all things Kevin. Oh, and he's been busy sprucing up our patio, which now houses a fire pit, a table and 4 chairs, in addition to the kids' chairs, the garden plot, the bubble blowing station, and the dirt pit. (The hammock stand is still there, empty, because I'm too much of a chicken to risk getting a new hammock after the broken butt incident.)
• And I'm still here. Pushing 39 weeks pregnant as I type this. This baby girl of ours will not be coming any time soon, at least not on her own, so don't get all excited yet. She is very big and very healthy, and I am assured that she will leave my body eventually.

Please enjoy these slideshows featuring some of our recent activities and, of course, plenty of cuteness on the part of my children.

Florida Caverns State Park

Kevin took about a week off work during the holidays and we spent one of those days at the Florida Caverns State Park, a couple of hours from here. We brought one of Stellan's friends, Brooke, along with us. She and Stellan had a great time exploring together, and cuddling in the darkened caverns. Did you know that the caverns (a series of interconnected caves) extend more than half a mile? I recommend trying it. Especially if it means you have to visit us to do so.

Holiday Happenings

We had a great Christmas here in our own home; this was the first year we didn't travel to spend the holidays with extended family. It was a very Florida Christmas, with a backyard cookout and lots of time to play outside. We did Skype lots of people and enjoy some family Christmas cheer thanks to the intertubes, and the kids have been having lots of fun with all their new toys. Stellan finally "got" the whole Santa thing this year, and knew exactly what he wanted - a set of dominoes so that he could stack them and knock them over. Santa got the job done; word on the street is that he was very happy that Stellan was so easy to please. Would that every Christmas wish were so easy to fulfill!