The Fabulous Five

I just got these fabulous pictures from my dad and I am so jealous! Why does everyone else get great pics with my kiddos and I get "drama queen" fits!! hee hee




Oh boy Avery was lovin on her grandpa, she is totally into giving hugs and blowing kisses now. I try to have Avery and Pete hug after they have a "spat", Avery loves it, but Pete . . .ever the boy . . .usually he just swats her away. Hmm . . .guess we've got to teach him a few things yet. . . at least he'll give his momma a hug!

Last weekend Pete's family came over and we got to have a playdate with their cousins, Avalynn and Kylynn. They had the best time running and playing in the backyard. Baby Hailey got in on the action too! Avalynn just wanted to hold and touch her! She is such a good big cousin!




Grandpa and 1/2 the girls!

Does anyone else have this problem when they are trying to take pics with their kids?

I may survive after all . . . Hailey is sleeping through the night! She wakes every once and awhile but I just rock her a bit and give her back the paci and she seems to go back to sleep. Yippee! She also started doing the "little" beginning smiles. Now they are still fairly infrequent but I'll take it. I think they start to smile when you need it the most.

Aren't bean bag chairs the greatest? Avery and Pete seem to like them at MDO, too. Making it to 2 every afternoon has been tough, so by the time I go pick them up they are sacked out! Today I peeked in on them and saw they were resting in the bean bag chairs. You can't see Pete but he is the lump in front of Avery. Avery started crying as soon as she saw me. I think she was telling me to drop the camera and pick her up!

Oh,she's going to love that someday. Miss Hailey just went to her one month check up and she is 11 pounds 4 ounces and 22 inches long. She really is a sweetie, we are just having such issues with feeding, eating, and gas. We're trying everything to see if we can make it better, because our crying sessions are starting to wear this momma out.

With apprehension and trepedation, we made out second attempt at going to school this morning. Pete was a bear all morning and I almost decided not to take them but we loaded up and moved 'em out. When we got there, Pete just started wailing, but the teacher took him from me and told me it was probably better if I just went ahead and left.

I hadn't made it into the house for 10 minutes when the phone rang and I saw the church's number on the caller ID . . .oh no. It was the director calling to tell me that they were doing GREAT!! Yippee!! She just wanted to let me know because she knew I was worried.

When I went to pick them up, Pete was fussing with the teacher a little bit and Avery was just in the mix of things with the other teacher. They both commented on how well they did for their second day, especially after how it went on Tuesday. Avery it seems made friends on the playground with all the "big" girls (the 4 year olds!) They supposedly were just talking to each other and playing and having fun. Pete played his little heart out too, even though he did fall down and get a booboo . . .but I guess no one's day can be perfect!

It worked out perfectly because Miss Hailey and I are a little sick. Everytime she sneezes she is blowing snot balls (TMI, I know) and I feel like someone is banging against my head. So, she really needed full attention today and I was fortunately able to give it her. She is going to the pedi for her 1 month tomorrow, so we'll see what we can do for a newborn snotty nose.

I signed the kids up for Mother's Day Out even though there is only a little over a month left. I really am worried that they are just spending too much time cooped up with me and that they need to get out with other kiddos their age. So I found this really sweet, small program that had two spaces available and they could start this past Tuesday.

When I took them, I had to herd them into the church because I was carrying Hailey and that was the first time I had ever let them walk alone (by myself!) It's not the easiest thing to do with small toddlers! Get out their stuff and signing them in was easy enough, and their teacher took them into the room to get them settled. I felt myself getting upset because I was so concerned about them, but I decided to let them go on into their classroom by themselves so they wouldn't see me leave. They are so independent and they had already started playing.

Hailey and I went running errands (boy, 1 kid is easy!!) and came back home. I had just gotten her fed and me fed when the phone rang. I saw the church on the caller id and my heart just dropped. The director was calling to say that Avery and Pete had been crying all morning and I needed to come pick them up! I'm not sure I've ever driven so fast in my life because I could just picture my babies sitting there bawling!

When I got there, they were in their classroom, both sitting in the directors lap just sniffling. It was so sad, they looked just dazed. Avery had her back to me and when I bent down to say hi to them, she turned around, reached for me and just started bawling. It broke my heart. Then Pete came to me crying. So there were the 3 of us hugging in the middle of the classroom crying!

The school was sweet, they said it happens all the time. On Thursday I'm going to try to stay for a little bit until they get settled. I think maybe it was overwhelming for them and then they turned around and I wasn't there.

So today we did a dry run, I put them down for a nap right after breakfast and then when it would be time to go to school I loaded everyone in the car and we went to see the bluebonnets. Hopefully on Thursday it will go just as smoothly!

Easter was a little different this year! Last year, Avery and Pete were not mobile and this year we hunted some Easter eggs!! Unfortunately it rained like cats and dogs, so we did an inside hunt. I put Nilla Wafers inside the eggs (thier favorite) and Daddy hid them around the living room. Avery caught on right away and had so many Nilla Wafers in her mouth she couldn't even chew! Pete was just enjoying playing with his toys and didn't really care too much about those eggs! My parents cooked us a scrumptious dinner and we had a great time! They got LOTS of presents and new clothes!

We have one month of a newborn and two 15 month olds under my belt! Whew! What a whirlwind it has been. I went to a dinner club in my neighborhood last night which was my first night out in I don't even know how long! So life is moving on and I'm getting out a little bit more. I have even walked all three kiddos to our mailbox (which sounds weird but it is like 2 streets away!)
(Daddy trying unsuccessfully to read a story to our two rugrats!)

Avery and Pete seem so much older now since Hailey has been around . . . they are such wonderful, sweet babies! We're trying to segway into 1 nap a day because (drum roll, please) . . .they are going to Mother's Day Out starting on Tuesday. The program I was going to take them to in August had a couple of openings in their toddler room, so we went and checked it out. I'm a little nervous nellie mother about them going, but I know that they need it. They need a lot more stimulation than I can give them right now, so I was thankful that we found a good church centered program for them to go to. So, now they get 2 days a week of fun . . .and mommy will just have 1 baby to take care of!
(Hailey fell asleep in her little "papoose" thing after our long walk to the mailbox!)

Hailey is such a sweet thing and such a typical newborn! I think that you forget what having a newborn is like. I forgot what that high pitched screaming sound is like when they are hungry!! We have been dealing with a lot of "gas" issues, but I'm trying a few new things so hopefully that will help. She is still eating about every two hours (Sheesh!) and still wants to be cuddled to sleep for her naps. She is doing much better about being in her bouncy chair and letting me tend to her brother and sister. And the biggest news is, last night, she slept through the night! So, I'm hoping its not a fluke . . . because what a blessing for me that would be! I might be able to start to function again!

This month I totatlly did NOT:

- put a size 3 diaper on my newborn because I was out of her size, nope didn't do that!
- watch my older daughter look at me, laugh, and squat on the floor to go to the bathroom, nope didn't see that!
- sign my older kids up for mother's day out even though there is only a month left so I could save my sanity, nope sure didn't do that!
- throw the ball so my son could play fetch, like a dog, while I fed his little sister on the couch, no way I would do that!
- I totally didn't try to go to bed every night at 8:00 so that I could at least get a little shut eye each night, didn't do that ever!

and the best . . .I totally didn't take pictures of my daughter as she was screaming and throwing a fit, who would do something like that!!! Not me, that is for sure!

I would never venture out on my own yet, but Pete gets every other Friday off so . . . we made our way down to the boardwalk. We had lunch at Landry's and sat outside. I had a few drinks for the first time (yippee!)and our lunch was ALMOST free because Pete had helped sell a house right next to us!(long story short - my husband is such a salesman ... he actually helped sell the lot right next door, the sales lady was so appreciative that she brought us Landry's gift certificates!)



Avery and Pete were mesmerized by the "birds", which they have only see by afar - until today. Those suckers get up close and personal down on the pier. The waiters have to carry the bottoms of their trays on top of their heads so that the birds won't dive bomb them! Needless to say, the twins were thrilled for the whole time we were there. Hailey slept the entire time (which I'm ashamed to say . . .was really nice!)


I was very proud of us. We took the big stroller and one little stroller. Lil Pete actually walked in with us, which was definitely new!

We no longer have any fever in our house . . . yippe!! I started feeling much better as soon as I started taking some medicine, too!!

My days are so jam filled with kids right now it is a bit overwhelming. Changing diapers is something that takes TIME, as I am trying to change 1, then change them all. Otherwise, I'm having a hard time keeping up with it.



Little Pete seems to be going through the terrible 2's at 15 months. He is super fussy all the time. I think it partly his teeth, but I also think the new baby is affecting him more than I thought. He definitely is a momma's little man, so I'm not sure he likes have to split his momma time AGAIN with someone new. He could handle sharing with Avery, but this new baby . . .no way!



I'm on the road to weaning Hailey and giving her formula. I have given it my best shot, but I can not keep up with her and two little ones that are demanding my attention. They just don't understand and basically it is taking too much time on my part. I feel that guilt for the twins about not being able to do as much with them, and I feel that guilt for Hailey about her not getting the best I can give her. But . . .I've come to terms with it and I'm moving on!



Finally today I'm starting to feel a little more settled. I'm not going to lie - it has been really rough for the past week. I'm starting to relax a bit more and feeling a bit more like myself again. I haven't called Pete yet crying today - so I feel that is a small victory! (hee hee) I'm trying to give everyone as much "mom" time as I can and I'm starting to realize that is the best that I can do! Now, my dirty house, stack of bills, and piles of laundry are another story . . .