Playdate

Gwen had her little friend Malia over to play.  They are so cute together.  All they wanted to do was play dress-up and dance.  The costume changes were endless but the song remained the same.  Miley Cyrus', "Party in the USA" was on repeat...and very loud.  Here they are putting on a show for me on our "stage".  How funny is Gwen's microphone...I love this age.  

Heaven

Lily fell asleep in my arms early this morning. Before Jon left for work I asked him to grab the camera. I have so few pictures of me with my girls. Lily was so peaceful and I loved it so much I didn't put her back in her basinette. I held her like this until Elle and Gwen woke up. I heard them tip-toeing down the stairs trying not to wake me. They were so quiet I knew they were up to something. I found them in the garage with popsicles. Before I know it Lily will be joining them in their escapades. But for now, I am enjoying her just like this.

Lily

My Lily.  I have had this sweet little girl for 7 weeks now.  I still look at her and can't believe she really is mine.  Having Lily here makes things feel more complete.  That may sound funny but it is very true.  Even right after I had Gwen I always knew there was one more little person missing from our family.  I had that feeling often.  Jon and I both knew we wanted another child.  It wasn't a matter of  "if" it was just "when".  It is so nice to have our 3rd little girl here with us.  I look at our 3 girls and I can't believe we did it!  All of those sick pregnant days were more than worth it.  Such a small, small price to pay.  Lily is a sweet little girl.  She is as easy as a baby can be.  She loves to be swaddled tightly and she LOVES that huge hospital pacifier.  No matter how upset she may get, if I swaddle her and hold her in my arms she calms right down.  She is my little sidekick.  I keep her close to me all day and all night.  She smiled at me the other night and it was a little glimpse into her personality.  I loved it.  Lily is a pretty good sleeper too.  We have her in a basinette in our room.  She loves it. She is waking up just once or twice a night for a feeding.  I don't mind it because it is so nice to hold her without anyone else around.  I took these photos of her this morning after Jon gave her a bath. I wish you could package 'clean baby smell'.  There is nothing sweeter.    

Musical Rooms

It happened.  Gwen finally learned how to jump out of her crib.  I know we are lucky that we have made it this long but I was still so sad!  Trying to contain this busy body is not an easy task.  And I think I need her nap time more than she does.  The look on her face when she ran into our bedroom was priceless.  A look of, "FREEDOM"!  There was no way she was going to sleep in that crib again.  We tried letting her sleep with Elle and that just was not working. Until we could order her a bed we had to think of a way to get her to sleep.  We told Elle that just for a few nights she could do something really fun.  She could sleep in Gwen's crib!!  Elle went for it.  She thinks it is hilarious.  We put Gwen into Elle's bed and I am thankful to report that she has slept there 3 nights and 3 naps (yeah!) without getting out.  Yesterday we all went out and bought two twin beds.  Elle and Gwen will share a room and Lily will take over Gwen's crib.  I knew that we would eventually do this but I just kept putting it off.  Tomorrow the twin beds will arrive and I can't wait to set up their room.  

Bzzz

Gwen is like a little cartoon character to me.  She is so expressive with her face and her voice is just to die for.  I love it.  This girl loves to dress up and is in numerous outfits/costumes a day. Today she was a bumble bee and was flying around the house.  I went out to get the mail and she followed me while flapping her arms and making buzzing sounds.  She is a lot of work and into absolutely everything but with her cuteness level off the charts it somehow makes it so enjoyable at the same time.  It's not forever that I will be accompanied to the mailbox and around our house by bumble bees and fairies.  I need to soak it all up now.  

Princess Gwendolyn

Here's my Gwenners, straight out of the tubbies this morning.  Gwen loves anything and everything related to princesses.  As you can imagine, this is her very favorite bath towel.  Elle has sadly moved on from this phase and has passed the torch to Gwen.  I am sure as soon as Gwen is on to something new, Lily will be full swing into it.  It is so fun having little girls.   

First Day, Hooray!

Elle had her first day of Kindergarten today.  I can not believe it!  We have been preparing for this day for weeks.  The backpack and lunch box were crucial.  She looked online with me for the perfect one and finally settled on this cute pink and white polk-a-dot one with a matching lunch box.  I think the tipping point was when she found out we could have her name embroidered on it in green.  Sold!  I walked her to the door this morning with Lily and Gwen in tow.  We all stood at her door as the kids lined up.  Her teacher, Miss B., came out and said, "O.K. kindergartners, blow your moms a big kiss".  It was so cute to see.  Gwen couldn't stop waving to her and kept yelling, "bye, Elle" and in they went.  I picked her up today and asked how her first day went and how she liked her teacher.  She said, "16 thumbs up, mama".  So I guess today was a success.   

Gwen also had a first day.  She goes to a one day a week preschool.  She feels very grown-up and just like Elle, her lunch box is a big deal.  Hello Kitty is all the rage with this one.  They also get little red buckets to use instead of backpacks.  Gwen's teacher is Miss Carla and she loves her.  I dropped her off and she found that 3 of her favorite little friends are in her class.  Off to the craft table she went and yelled a big, "bye mom"!!  

I am so happy that they are happy.  That's all you really want as a mom.  Such a simple thing but it's amazing how great it is to see your kids with smiles.  So, here's to a great school year! 

Saturday Morning

Our last Saturday before school starts. The girls woke up early and went out to jump on our trampoline in their jammies.  I love Elle's wrist full of bracelets.  She has even been including rubber bands as part of "the look".  I asked her why and she said, "mom, that is what the big girls do".  Not sure who she saw doing that but it is pretty cute.  Gwen asked if she could take Lily on the trampoline with them.  Um...that's not such a good idea, Gwen. 

Our Time

Can you tell...I can't get enough of this one.  Looks like Lily got her mama's long legs.  They remind me of frog legs.  Love it.  I really could just stare at her all day long and be perfectly content.  Sadly, with two other little ones that need me the only time I really get to do that is in the middle of the night when I am feeding her.  Last night she was a little fussy.  When I first hear the cry that she is hungry in the middle of the night it is a little bit of a dread.  All I think about is how tired I am and just wish (beg, pray) that she will go back to sleep.  Once I am up however, and get her into my arms, all of that dread just melts away.  There we are, just the two of us and no one else is needing me.  I can play with her fingers and toes and kiss her little cheeks.  I feed her, change her and snuggle her back to sleep.  Morning comes pretty quickly but I just have to remember how short this time is.  Before I blink, she will be out of this stage and on to a new one.  I am trying to cherish every minute with her now.