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.

One Month

Lily is just 4 weeks old today but I feel like I have had this sweet litle girl in my arms (and heart) forever.  

Besties

Yesterday these two sisters really got into it.  There was hitting, kicking and even some naughty words yelled.  Elle's line was, "you're the stupidest, Gwen" and Gwen yelled her signature angry line, "you're wude, Elle".  It was all over a silly wind-up toy fish.  We only have one and they both wanted it.  To them, their worlds were ending.  I pried them apart (literally) and put them both in time-out.  After they mellowed out a bit we had "the talk".  You know, the follow-up talk after you get in trouble.  I remember this dreaded talk growing up.  I knew it well.  I talked to them about how lucky they were to have eachother.  That they were being mean to their best friend...the friend they would have forever. We talked about taking turns and then it happened, I pulled the most dreaded mom-maneuver EVER.  Their eyes were wandering while I was giving my speech and I said, "look at me".  Oh, how I hated that when I was getting in trouble!  Wow. Who am I? I may have given birth 3 times but when that line came out of my mouth, I officially became a mom.  I am still laughing about it.  I must admit however, it did seem to work.  They hugged and l even got them laughing. As I was getting the girls to bed later last night I heard Elle say to Gwen, "I love being your sister" and Gwen repeated that back to her in her mumbled 2 year old speech.  I melted.  

(another) Daddy's Girl

Lily doesn't know it yet but she won the daddy lottery.  It's true...just ask her sisters.

Lily Love

We love our Lily.  I think we all agree that she is a 'keeper', for sure.  And even though I have a headache from lack of sleep lately, I still just adore her.  She is awake a lot more and I love to look at her pretty blue eyes.  All 3 of my girls have their dad's eyes.  I love that.  I am still figuring out the ins-and-outs of being a mom of 3.  Jon and I started laughing last night as we FINALLY got everyone tucked into their beds.  It was craziness.   We made the rounds turning off the hall lights and closing their doors once they were asleep and the house was just so peaceful.  The only sounds were from Lily...she still sleeps in our room.  She makes what sounds like to me, puppy dog noises while she sleeps.  It really is cute.  This is a lot of work, this whole 'mom business' but boy is it worth it.  

Elle

Elle.  I sure love this girl.  She is so sweet and so sensitive.  A true 'mama's girl'.  She begged and begged to be at Lily's birth.  I thought long and hard about it and talked with her about exactly what was going to happen.  I decided to let her join us.  After I had my epidural and was not in anymore pain I had a friend bring her to the hospital.  She was sooo excited.  She came just in time and stayed through the entire birth.  She told me that since she was the first person Lily saw (true) that Lily thinks she is her mom.  She was standing on a chair next to the doctor holding Jon's hand during the delivery.  I remember her with a big smile on her face saying, "mama, I see Lily"!  The nurse was also very sweet with Elle and let her help give Lily her first bath.  Needless to say, Elle is in LOVE with Lily.  I mean, true love.  I think it will be a day she will never forget and one that will bond her to Lily forever.  

Gwen

Gwen.  This little girl makes me happy every single day.  I have been feeling bad the last few days because I feel like every other sentence out of my mouth is, "no, gwen!  be soft"!  She loves her new little sister and wants to carry her and feed her and make sure her binky is firmly in her mouth.  Needless to say she is (innocently) a little rough.  This morning I heard, "catch, lily" and saw a ball going straight for Lily's face in her basinette.  Wow.  Gwen has also aged a few  years to me in the last week.  I used to think of her as my baby and now I realize just how big she is getting.  I love these pictures of her.  I came downstairs and found her just like this...standing on a chair washing her apple in the sink.  I keep apples in the bottom drawer of our fridge and Gwen loves to help herself multiple times a day.  Each night as I rock her before I put her down to bed she says, "apple tree" which means she wants me to sing her that song. She sings along with me and we have hand motions and I just melt over how cute she is.  I love you Gwen and I love that I get to be your mama.    

Beautiful

This morning I was still in my pajamas and had baby Lily in the baby bjorn on my chest.  Elle was wanting me to watch her amazing ballet moves and Gwen was insistant on trying to fashion my hair in a ponytail without any help (ouch).  As I sat on the couch with all of this going on around me, I thought back to an article I had read the night before, 'What Makes Me Feel Beautiful' by Kathryn Harrison.  It resonated so much with me. If I took even a quick glance in the mirror, I would have realized that I was not looking my most glamorous but I did think, "yes, I do feel beautiful".

 Click here to read.  

Love

I love this little girl.  But even as I type that, the word 'love' just does not do justice to how I feel inside.  My heart feels like it has doubled in size.  Life already is unimaginable without her. She is calm and sweet.  I have had it both ways with babies which makes me even more grateful now to have a mellow one. As a newborn, Elle cried (and I did too) 21 hours a day for 4 months straight...for real.  I did survive (and I loved her just as much) but this is much more enjoyable.  

Last night Gwen was at Grandma's house and Jon took Elle to the Angels game.  The house was quiet and I just held my Lily.  I know 'real life' is going to have to start here soon with school and laundry and 3 little ones that need me constantly.  I will have to get out of my sweatsuits and think about how my jeans still don't fit.  But not yet.  Not today.  I am basking in the love I have for this new little one straight from heaven...nothing sweeter.  

Good Morning

This morning was a good morning.  Jon took most of the feedings last night.  He is so sweet with Lily and I am so grateful for his help.  After he headed out for work, I had all three girls in bed with me. The fog is starting to lift and I am feeling more and more like, "I can do this".  Elle and Gwen love Lily more than anything. She is a sweet, sweet baby.  Happy.  I love watching the love that Elle and Gwen already have for her.  It is tangible.  The last photo is of Elle singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to Lily.  She is doing the part, "out came the sun".  Oh, so cute.  

Meet Miss Lily

Is there anything cuter than a newborn in a white onesie? Not in my book. Lily and I snuggled together all day today on my bed. Dreamy.

Yesterday was a long day. I had Lily and Elle and Gwen all home together. I was tired and Elle and Gwen naturally wanted to play. We did waterballoons and played in the hose in the backyard. Jon watched Lily upstairs while he worked. It was a fun day but by the end of the night I just was overwhelmed and tired. Post-pregnancy hormones had gotten the best of me. My friend Stacey called and found me in tears on the phone. This morning she showed up at my house and took both of my girls with her and her kids to the beach. All Day. I was able to rest today and spend some seriously needed quality time with miss Lily. Today I feel not only blessed to have a sweet new baby in my home but to have such amazing friends.

Baby Lily and Baby Will

While arriving to the hospital I found out that one of my best friends, Christy, was in room 190 delivering her baby. Where did they put me...in room 189. Too fun! Christy went into labor about 8 days early so this was a big surprise. Having the same doctor made it even funnier because she was going back and forth between each of our rooms while we were in labor. Our daughters are the same ages and are best friends so when they all showed up to see their newest siblings, they were playing in the halls together. After having our babies, Christy and I went back and forth from eachothers' rooms for visits. It really was so fun. Baby Will and Baby Lily will not only share a birthday but will always have a fun story to share as well.

Lily Grace McGee

Baby Lily
July 31, 2009
12:25 pm
9 pounds 2 ounces

20.5 inches

It happened again. I have fallen in love with another little girl. A little girl that I already feel like I have known and loved forever.

One More Sleep...

These two sisters will be adding another member to their very private 'sister club' tomorrow. I am getting induced at 7am with baby girl mcgee #3. How incredible it is that another sweet little baby is going to join our family. Last night the girls had their showers and were lying in our bed watching The Wizard of Oz (our nightly routine lately) all snuggled in their pajamas. We usually only watch 5 or 6 minutes of it but they love it. I turned the show off and the lights off and Jon and I made an 'elle and gwen sandwich'. They were in the middle and the two of us on either side. It was dark and quiet and all I could hear was the sound of their breathing and I could feel this little baby inside of me wiggling around. It really was a little slice of heaven. As Elle and Gwen fell asleep, I just kept thinking how everything was going to change for our family in such a short time. A sweet baby straight from heaven is coming to us in just a few hours. I feel nervous and excited and humbled all at the same time. In Elle's prayer last night before bed she asked if Heavenly Father would give our baby a kiss before He sent her to us. A simple and sweet request. So here she comes...my sweet baby with a little kiss from heaven.

Swim, Swim

Do they get any cuter than this little one? Ever the optimist, Gwen puts on a bathingsuit each morning in hopes that I will take her to the pool or as she refers to it as, "swim, swim". We headed to our neighborhood pool this afternoon with smoothies in hand and stayed most of the day. Elle was too busy doing cannon balls (seriously) to be bothered with me taking her photo while Gwen was happy to oblige. I adore this little girl. Every little thing about her. I love that whenever you give her something she says, "oh, tank you". And for most other things you ask her she says, "yaaaaaa". And if she does something she knows is naughty she always says, "sorry mom" and then comes and gives me a kiss. She is our wild child and I love that about her. I feel that this last picture of her captures the "real gwen". Silly, loud and HAPPY. I love, love, love YOU, Gwenners.

Elle's (Surprise) 5th Birthday!

The Kidnap:

Surfin' Donuts:

To Build-A-Bear and Ruby's with mom:

Birthday Dinner prepared by her Dad:

Our Elle is now 5 years old! I can't believe it. For her birthday we did a surprise kidnap breakfast to the donut shop. 7 of her little friends showed up at our house at 7:45am in their pajamas. We then snuck into Elle's room and they tickled her to wake her up. I think I was more excited than she was. It was too cute. Then off we all went in our pajamas to Surfin' Donuts for donuts (mostly sprinkled), orange juice, chocolate milk, and opening gifts. Such a cute group of girls.

Elle and I then headed off to the mall to build-a-bear where she chose a Hannah Montana Bear (of course) that she dressed and named "Sparkles" and then to lunch at Ruby's. And the main excitement of the afternoon was her request (which I granted) of riding the glass elevator up and down 5 times. So simple but made her soooo happy! It was so fun just having the 2 of us together. Loved it.

She was able to choose anything she wanted for dinner. Spaghetti and homemade sauce and meatballs were her choice. This is where Jon comes in. HE DID THE WHOLE THING. The shopping, the cooking, the setting up. He even made her a two tiered cake with a heart on top and decorated it with pink frosting and a crown. I did not even pop my head into that kitchen once. True love, I tell you! Elle then got to eat it all up on our VERY SPECIAL and VERY FANCY 'Happy Birthday' plate. Aunt Shea and Uncle Syd even stopped by for cake and to drop off a gift to her.

And to top the night off, Elle received her main gift...something she has been asking for, for a very long time. Her only gift request has been to get a book about what is inside of our bodies. She LOVES that stuff. And let me say, Jon did not disappoint on this one. He found the perfect book and spent an hour going through it with her after dinner.

At the end of the night I snuggled in bed with her and asked her what her favorite part of the day was...the party, the sparkly bear, the new shiny book...

and this is what she said (for real) as she snuggled up to me sucking her thumb, "the best part mama, was spending time with you".

Oh, how I love my Ellers. Happy 5th Birthday, sweet girl.