Let the Dieting Begin!

Sorry again for the long break between posts, but I have three good excuses :) Life has been going well these past few weeks, are are starting to settle in to a little rhythm.
The girls are adjusting better, although they have been taking turns who's week it is to misbehave. We have started our "Responsibility" Chart with Makayla, telling her that things like getting dressed and not whining are her "Jobs" for the day. The second week we saw marked improvement in her behavior. Caroline... well, she doesn't quite understand that the chart isn't for her too, so she still gets a little motivation from it. What she doesn't know won't hurt her :) Aside from some potty accidents and some bossy attitudes, she's doing pretty good. Both of them LOVE their sister and love to help take care of her.
We also started a little bit of "school" with Makayla. We aren't sending her to preschool for many reasons, so we are just working on numbers and letters from home. Target has some great stuff in the $1 spot!
I have gone back to work. It was sooner than originally planned, but it going well so far. Josh is helping make the transition smooth and we are working well at co-parenting. It's nice to feel comfortable leaving for work knowing your kids are in good hands! It has been good to get back in the swing of things.
And today marks the big day when I start getting in gear and start working out! My 6 week check-up went well this past Friday, the Dr. finally explained where all these babies are coming from! Hopefully we got that taken care of for the time being! So now it's time to get serious! Although the nurse applauded me for having lost my baby weight, it was only Sydney's. I still have 30 pounds to go to get back to my original starting weight before Makayla. I'm hoping to be able to work it off in such a way to create a new life style, but it's hard cause I want it off now! It will come, just with a lot of work and patience!
Josh has been doing well going back to work. His fellow nurses threw us a baby shower this weekend. It was so nice! It was good to meet the rest of his co-workers. They put on such a nice shower; the girls had a blast because there were so many other kids there and Josh and I were very blessed by everyone's generosity! Sydney will be well provided for!
Well, due to technical difficulties there will be no pictures tonite. I hope to post some soon!

Welcome Baby Sydney!

So I figured it was probably time to update the blog and introduce baby Sydney! She was born July 2, 2010 at 3:28pm weighing in at 7lbs 5ozs and 20.5 inches long. Labor and delivery went well, although she did have to be prompted to come and meet us :) Makayla and Caroline, 3 weeks later, still love their little sister and are in awe of how small she is. Josh has been wonderful, he just returned to work last night, but he has been a champ taking care of Mak and Carbear while I've been nursing and holding Sydney. The only big snag we've hit so far is that I can't produce enough milk to satisfy and grow Sydney. So, today we made the decision to go to formula. After almost three weeks of very little weight gain, it took only 48 hours for her to gain 4.5 ounces with the addition of formula, almost double what she had gained so far. She is so precious and already very different than her sisters in personality, although in looks she does favor Makayla.

Caroline continues to grow and become more of a "big girl" everyday. She has greatly improved her conversation and independence lately. She is completely out of diapers (woohoo!) and loves to dress herself (although she picks out some pretty interesting outfits.)

Makayla is getting way too smart! She has learned how to write her name by herself (which I need to post a picture of) and is starting to identify more and more letters everday. She is doing great with her numbers as well, meal time is usually math time with how many bites she needs to eat. She sure can be stubborn too! (not like either of her parents :) With both older kids we have had some obedience issues since Sydney has been home, but a lot of it just comes with their age.

Josh and I are hanging in their pretty well. Josh didn't quite know what to do with all his paternity leave and has decided to start a hobby. He is collecting Lord of the Rings characters to use for a strategy game. I'm glad for a hobby, he sure can be tough to buy for! As for me, I'm doing the best I have after a delivery. It's nice to have two other kids as a distration, then I can't stress over a newborn, there is just too much else to think about! I am still in awe of the fact that I have three children! It's such a wonderful feeling; I am so blessed to have such a sweet family!

Well, maybe I'll get some pictures of Makayla's birthday up soon.....in all my spare time :)

Caroline's 3rd Birthday

OK, here are the pictures of Caroline's 3rd birthday in backwards order. Hope you enjoy!

Good News

I found out on Friday that my blood test came back completely normal, so I do NOT have gestational diabetes!! Woohoo! Although, I have decided to be a little more healthy in my eating and exercise choices. I even walked the dog today. We couldn't go too fast or too far because I have some pretty obnoxious ligaments, but it was nice to get out and get moving.
The whole family went to the Farmer's Market this afternoon and we got some nice fresh produce and yummy's to munch on. It will be nice to move closer and shop there more often. Makayla enjoyed looking at all the flowers and produce and learning all the names of the plants. I think the fresh strawberries were the biggest hit for the girls. I packed the camera with me and completely forgot to take pictures, so I will just have to go back!
The house closing will be here before we know it! Monday is the big day! Our apartment is getting smaller and smaller by the day. I am super excited that Josh's step-mom is coming next week to help pack and take care of the girls! That is going to be such a big help! I'm looking forward to this next stage in our lives and getting a step closer to being ready for Sydney's arrival.
Oh, I will close out with a funny Makayla story since it's too much to put on the Family Quotes section. The girls have picked up a few phrases from our blessed Disney movies that we don't allow in our house. One of them being "Oh my Gosh!" Hey, if we can stop the habit now, GREAT! Well, Makayla is very serious about this change and calls out our friends and myself regularly. A couple days ago we were at McDonald's, just getting out of the van as a group of elderly people exit the building. Apparently someone said the forbidden stage and Makayla, from across the parking lot, yells at them, "We don't say, 'Oh my Gosh!'" Needless to say, I was mortified. One of the gentlemen stopped, I think just out of surprise, but we made it into McDonald's without a verbal lashing from any of the elderly people. Oh the joys of parenthood!

EASTER!!

Here are our Easter pictures. I hope you enjoy!