Join the Mureens

Caroline gave her very first "real" smiles to her Daddy today when he got home from work :)

Trey wanted to hold Caroline and loved getting to hold her...SOOOOOOOOOOO sweet.

She peels hard-boiled eggs perfectly!! Who would have thought a 3-yr old could do such a thing??

I tell her to think "MARKETING" when she sees it.

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah". The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?" The little girl replied, "Then you ask him."

Sisters sleeping together...Anna Kate has "dropped" her much-needed afternoon nap (unless Caroline and I go to sleep w/ her)...

Caroline went with me to a neighborhood home tour and got to wear this sweet dress that I picked up at a garage sale for a $1 after Anna Kate was a year old in hopes that I'd have another daughter someday who could wear it...

She's so sweet...

Just a yawn...she never cries...

But her brother and sister do :) I've learned that tears are ALWAYS related not getting a good nap...

Ok, so pregnant my estrogen hormones are through the roof, then I deliver the baby and they drop to nothing and pretty much stay that way while nursing, which makes me shaky emotionally (not to mention in addition to the sleep-deprivation) but I have been drinking this stuff (I love it...but only in the chocolate flavor) and soy naturally contains estrogen and I think it's helped me feel much better than after I had my first 2 kids...

Maybe it's b/c Anna Kate cried unless she was being held the first year of her life or maybe it's because J.R. did huge spit-ups every time after he ate b/c of acid reflux and would NEVER take a bottle (= no babysitters, just me), but Caroline just seems like such an easy baby.

Today we went to Anna Kate's ballet class then to the grocery store with all 3 kids successfully...if I had a dollar for every time people commented, "You've got your hands full," or "You're busy," I'd be a rich woman. Every once in a while someone will say, "Oh children are a precious blessing" but usually people are more of the "Birth control is a blessing-take advantage of it" variety. I have always wanted a big family for some reason, but even so, being comfortable around children (especially the idea of being around them 24/7 when I had my own someday) didn't come naturally for me, but with each child I have, I just appreciate children more and more and all the joy they bring into my life...and each day I feel like I love each of my children even more than I did yesterday...

But I am really busy actually...I go from...

• changing Caroline's diaper






• to changing J.R.'s diaper






• to nursing Caroline






• to feeding Anna Kate and J.R. who are always hungry






• to getting every one down for naps and keeping them down for naps and praying they all sleep at the same time for as long as possible so I can sleep too






• to the usual messes and misshaps (see previous post...there are many more where this came from)






• to it taking *FOREVER* to get every one out of the house with the things every one needs and every one clothed and bathed (baths are a step we might have skipped actually...except for J.R. who gets bathed or showered at least once daily because he gets SOOOO DIRTY)






• ...not to mention everything it takes to run our household like bills, laundry, pets, errands, laundry, meals etc...there's really no time to do anything else...
  
  
  

All this on very little sporatic sleep...The hardest thing is coping with night-time chirping/grunting from Caroline (newborns are pretty noisy sleepers). Jon and I are pretty tired...but it's only for.....zzzzzzzzzz