Meeting the stars of the day!

Telling them all about the party (their handler helped out)

He got close enough to high five!

High five!

Laughing with his new friends

It was so much fun!  Like I said we didn't think it would be as big as it was.  It was really geared to kids a little older than Ben, but he did so well with it.  He is learning all about waiting in lines and waiting his turn to do things.  Plus he got to practice sitting still for the story when he wanted to go straight to the activities.  These sound like little things, but they are important skills Ben needs chances to practice.  He is learning about being patient with the girls.  Having to wait while other kids do something fun you want to do as well is hard!  I was so proud of how well Ben handled it all.  Overall it was a great day and a great party.  I'll have to keep an out on our library postings to see if any more celebrities are coming around this summer. ;)

-Kim

I adore reading.  I always have at least one book going, usually more than one.  Seriously, the library is one of my favorite places, and I honestly can't think of a single day in which I don't read at least a few pages of something.  I love to discuss books with people, so I thought I would post about some that I have read lately.  (This post contains affiliate links.  All opinions are my own.)

The girls are five months old now.  We are past a lot of the four month old areas I struggle with, which makes me so happy!  I think the hardest part about that stage is that a lot of things just take time to work out.  I like to be able to fix things!  Time works best though, and as predicted things have settled a bit.  The girls are back to sleeping all night.  The early wakings are getting so much better.  Naps are great more often than not.  Eating continues to go well.  I am blessed that these girls seem to be pretty flexible with their morning nap.  This is wonderful because it means we can get out to activities sometimes!  I try to not miss that nap more than one day in a row, and I hope the girls can keep doing so well this way.

Yay! This is about us!

Ali and Sam are doing everything they 'should be' for their age.  They have great head control, do well on tummy time, and smile constantly.  They grab toys and roll over.  They are working on rolling from back to front, which as a second time mom I am not overly enthused about.  They already manage to move enough just by wiggling.  I want all the time I can get before they are mobile! ;)  They for sure squeal and coo.  Man, are they some loud babies sometimes!  They love to grab their toys and play.  They do express displeasure when their sister grabs the same toy they have.  It seems that sibling problem of wanting what the other sibling has starts at birth.  They are always grabbing for the same things!  They can't yet sit without support, but they do very well in their special chairs.  They are no where near pulling themselves up to standing on their own, thank goodness.  Too soon!  Overall they are doing so well!

I remember five months being a wonderful time with Ben.  We had gotten past the four month challenges.  He was on a solid four hour schedule.  He napped well and slept well at night.  He was still just nursing, so there was no need to worry about solids yet.  Overall, it was a fun month for me.  I am hoping the same is true with the girls.  It looks like it will be so far. :)

Here is a quick version of the girls current schedule.  I would like to note they probably could go longer between feedings in the afternoon.  However, I am prioritizing having them nap at the same time as Ben.  This means I need to feed them before they go down for their afternoon nap.  I feed them again after to try to keep the eat, play, sleep cycle.  It also gives a little more time before bed.  I for sure want them to eat right before bedtime still.  I think five feedings will be the lowest we go for now until solids take up more of their meals.

7:30am: Wake up! Nurse
9-11am: Nap
11am: Nurse
2pm: Nurse
2-4:30pm: Nap after done nursing
4:30pm: Nurse
6:45pm: Bedtime routine, nurse, and then straight to bed.

There is a large gap of time between the 11am nursing and the 2pm nursing.  This is a long time to go without a nap.  We often go out during this time of day, giving the girls a chance to grab a catnap in the car.  If we are home I let them get a short nap during this time as well.  Like I said I want all three kids napping in the afternoon at the same time, so this allows for that.  I know this doesn't exactly follow the Babywise plan, but hey, it works for us.  It isn't ideal to have the girls napping in the car, but Ben needs to get out and have fun too.  The girls adjust to work into the family just like we adjust to fill their needs.



I love these little girls so much.  I am so blessed to have my sweet Ali, Sammy, and Ben.

-Kim

I have a hygiene issue to work on.  Okay, that sounds a bit strong.  I'm not the smelly kid or anything (usually), but there is something I want to work on this summer to get Ben ready for preschool.  Hand washing.  Before the girls were born I was trying to be better about bringing Ben to the sink to have him wash his hands.  Once the girls were here I reverted back to just using wipes to clean him up myself.  It is so much faster and easier to just grab a wipe and take care of business.  As an added bonus Ben will even bring the wipes to me, so really I have to put forth very little effort to get him clean.  As far as time saving (and my sanity sometimes) that is awesome.  However, I think the kid needs to know how to wash his hands by himself.  Here is how I plan to tackle this issue this summer.

Scrub, scrub, scrub!

1) Teach Ben how to wash his hands.  I think he has a general idea of how to do this.  I mean, we wash his hands.  To Ben 'washing your hands' really means put your hands under the faucet and play for a few minutes, then run around waving them because they are wet.  Yeah... not really effective.  I know this is my fault, I let him play knowing that I will follow up with wipes or step in and scrub his hands for him.  Long term these are not effective solutions.  I plan to break it down for him- soap, rub, rinse, dry.  Four basic steps.  I am hoping this is fairly easy to teach him.  He already loves to play in the sink.  Drying his hands can be an issue, but he is getting better at that.

2) Have him wash his hands at all the important times of day.  Before and after meals, and after potty/diaper changes are the big ones that come to mind.  That is at least 6 times a day for meals, and at least 5 more for diapers/potty time.  I think I can hit 12 times a day of hand washing.  Wow, just typing it out makes me think "Too hard!"  That is a lot of times a day!  But I do hope that he can handle this skill on his own some day.  I am choosing to instead think "Yay!  So many chances to practice!"

3) Set myself up for success.  I plan to keep the step stool nearby for easy access.  I plan to keep a supply of hand towels in the kitchen to make it easier for Ben to wash his hands.  I have hand soap with fun designs on it to entice Ben to want to use it.  I am letting people know our plan to have accountability.  And I have stocked up on paper towels to clean up what is sure to be damp sink area.

There we go.  Three steps to take to force myself to teach Ben to wash his hands.  I know this is one area where I need to stop taking the lazy way out, as in the long run it isn't helping anyone for me to not teach this skill now.  Ooo, maybe I can reward myself like I do Ben- one M&M every time I get Ben to wash his hands?  That has potential. ;)

Anyone have any tips or hints to teach your kids this basic skill?

Today is a Babywise Friendly Blog Network Pinterest day!  Be sure to check out the BFBN pinterest page to see what the other ladies have to say about hygiene.


-Kim

Samantha and Alison are five months old today!

My happy girls!

Ali!

Sammy!

They just love to have fun!

We love these girls so very much.  They are so happy, smiling all the time.  They are just the sweetest and we are so lucky to have them in our lives!  I love you so much, ladies!

-Kim

Touch a Truck!!

We had an amazing time at Prairie Fest again this year!  It is so fun to see Ben enjoy more and more activities as he gets bigger.  Plus, this year was Ali and Sammy's first time!  Okay, they didn't get to really participate per se, but they were there and seemed to have a good time.

The kids and I headed over to the fest on Friday.  Meo and Omi came along with us, which was awesome.  I know I can and I actually do a lot with the kids by myself.  It is just so nice to have extra adults along to help out.  Someone can stay with the girls while someone goes with Ben to do the fun stuff.  Ben really liked this too.  As soon as we got to the fest he grabbed Omi's hands and led him off.  He left us girls to get our stuff together and meet up with them.  :)

The first thing we did was the Touch a Truck!  They only have that on Friday morning, which is why we went without Pat.  (He was at work.)  Last year Ben looked at the trucks, but didn't want to really touch any of them.  This year he liked getting on a couple!  The first ones we saw were the tow trucks.  It took a little bit of encouragement, but Omi got Ben to climb up inside the cab.  Ben liked sitting in the big seat and pretending to steer.  He tried to beep the horn, but wasn't overly thrilled when it actually made the loud sound.  He enjoyed looking at the ice cream tuck with a giant sundae on top.  They had a spoon bigger than Ben for the the kids to play with!  As more kids starting coming to see the trucks and it got louder and busier, Ben got a little overwhelmed.  He didn't want to climb on any more trucks, so we looked at the others and moved on.

Looking at trucks with Meo and Omi!

Beep beep!

Giant spoon!

After the trucks we hit up the petting zoo.  Again Ben grabbed Omi and went right for the gate, leaving us girls in the dust.  And again Ben wasn't super into actually touching the animals, but did enjoy looking at them all.  He seemed to enjoy looking at the piglets and the bunnies the best.  No surprises there, he has always been a fan of bunnies.  Piglets are just adorable as well.  After the petting zoo we wandered around a bit.  I tried to get him interested in the magic show in the children's tent, but no dice.

Sticking close to Omi at the petting zoo

He did show interest in the ponies they had for pony rides.  He ran right up to look at them.  He wanted to go right in and touch them.  I took him to the line to start to wait to get to ride them.  I wasn't sure he actually wanted to ride the ponies, but figured we could use our wait in line to talk it out.  Ben wasn't too keen on the whole 'wait' thing.  He hasn't had to wait in too many lines, so it was good practice for him.  Honestly I thought we would get in to see the ponies and he wouldn't want to actually ride them.  But as I said, waiting in line was good practice for him.  Meo and Omi didn't seem to mind, and the girls had fallen asleep at that point.  Ben did really well with the wait!  We had some water and talked about how waiting was hard, but he had to do it sometimes.  He was super excited when we finally got in to see the ponies.

Ben willingly let us put him up on a pony named Nugget.  It was a sweet little guy who gave me a nice nuzzle.  Ben was so cute, and called out Yee-haw!  (We've seen a lot of cowboy episodes of his favorite shows lately.  A nice little coincidence for pony rides.)  Once the ponies actually started walking he was not as into it.  I kind of had to hold him on the saddle.  But he didn't cry, and I think over all he did enjoy it.  He was a little nervous, but did really well.  I was so proud of him that he actually rode!  I love watching him try new things, even if they are a little scary for him.

Riding a pony!!

He did try to hop off once...

Yee Haw!

After the pony ride we wandered around looking at the expo booths.  We ran into a bunch of people that we knew and said hi to friends.  By that point we were pretty ready for lunch, so we headed back to Meo and Omi's house.

He liked the inflatable horses too.

Checking out the Dory poster

With his friends Nemo and Dory! (And no, I couldn't get him to put the cup down for the picture, silly kid)

Saturday we headed back to the fest, this time with Pat!  Ben was super excited to be back!  We walked through the midway area a little bit.  Ben is still way too young to go on most of the rides, and we are avoiding the games until he actually asks to play them.  (Even then we probably won't play too many.  I agree they can be fun, but they can be expensive!)  Ben happily took Pat in to the petting zoo.  He actually pet a couple of goats!  Ben takes a little time to warm up to stuff sometimes, and it was great to see him enjoying the animals.

Petting zoo with Daddy!

We were able to catch the Lumberjack demonstration.  I know it sounds funny, but it was pretty cool to see!  They explained the rules of the different competitions and why they worked the way they did.  Ben didn't like the loudness of the chainsaws, but I enjoyed learning more about it.  We didn't stay for the whole thing, as Ben was getting antsy.

Ben rode his first real ride at the fest this year!!  He was very interested in the little train ride.  We weren't sure he would be tall enough to ride, but he just barely was.  We have a little kid carnival rider on our hands!!  He was so excited, which was adorable to see.  I was lucky enough to go on the train with him.  Wow, I barely fit.  Those things really are for little kids.  At first Ben was pumped, then he seemed surprised the ride would move with us on it.  He was nervous for a few seconds, but came to really like it.  We got to sit up front and he loved looking at everything the train had.  He liked waving to Daddy and the girls too.

A little unsure when we started moving...

Starting to have fun!

He had to check everything out

Successful ride!

After the ride we wandered around the expo a bit more.  We ran into a couple of friends who hadn't met the girls yet, which was fun.  I think the ladies enjoyed themselves.  It was very sunny and warm, so we had to work to keep them in the shade.  We didn't spend as much time at the fest on Saturday for this reason.  I'm sure I was overly worried, but they are still so young.  Add to that they don't drink water yet and can't really tell us that they are too hot and I prefer to err on the side of caution.  Ben was getting hot at this point too so we headed home.  We managed to do everything we wanted to though, and had a ton of fun while doing it!

Another great fest is in the books!  You can see last year's prairie fest here.  In 2014 we did the Diaper Derby, which you can see here.

-Kim

Omi and Ben!

Grampa and Baby Ben!

Uncle Jared with all three loves

The men of the Cartwright side (Note- Uncle Chris, I don't have any pics of you with the kids!  Be ready to fix that when we visit again!)

Besties!

Ali and Sammy, just met Daddy that day. ;)

Ben just adores his Daddy.

-Kim

source

As the weather gets warmer we start seeing those sad stories of children inadvertently left in cars for too long.  These are terrible stories.  I can't even bring myself to write about what these poor children go through.  I can't imagine what pain the parents have to live with for the rest of their lives.  But I do feel compelled to write something about it.

This sort of thing scares me so much.  You know why?  Because it can happen to anyone.  Oh, I know.  There are tons of people out there who read these stories and think, 'Nope, not me. I could never forget my kid.'  I don't think I could forget my child.  But then I think about times that I have driven home and can't quite remember the drive exactly.  You know what I mean.  You are so deep in thought that you kind of go on auto pilot.  I know I have set out to go somewhere and ended up steering to the office out of habit.  Say you have something major on your mind.  A big presentation, an illness in the family, or just the chronic tiredness that can come with having small children.  It makes sense that someone could go about their routine and miss the step of dropping off their child.  Our brains can fail us, and it can lead to tragedy.

I have my children with me every day, I am used to loading them in and out of the car.  Okay, so maybe I am less likely to forget them.  What about if someone else has them?  If you aren't accustomed to getting a child in and out of the car it could be easy to forget they are even there.  You aren't used to getting a baby out of the car, and that baby is sound asleep.  It can be easy to forget.  Why would you look in your backseat if you don't on a regular basis?  In this case habit works against us.  I am happy that Ben is now old and big enough to stay awake through most car rides.  He likes to talk to me and I know he is back there.  The girls are still rear facing and often doze off during car rides, which could make it easy to forget they are back there.  I've forgotten my phone, my purse, books, etc in the car.  I am not infallible.  I make an effort to not forget my children are in the car with me.  Honestly with three to load in and out it is a bit harder.  And as I said, the kids are always with me.  In fact in the rare instances I am out without them I find myself climbing in the back to unload anyway.  But that isn't to say I couldn't make a tragic mistake.  I always try to put something in the back I will need at my destination, just to be safe.

There are so many ways to help prevent this.  Leave your phone in the backseat.  You shouldn't be on it while driving anyway.  Put a shoe in the back.  You will notice walking around with one shoe.  Make a plan to have your childcare provider call you if your child doesn't show up on time.  Call the person who has your child to make sure they got the child out of the car.  Do whatever it takes to keep your family safe.

An acronym to help is ACT.
A: Avoid- never intentionally leave your child unattended in a car.  Don't leave cars unlocked for kids to get into. Don't leave keys out where children can play with them.
C: Create reminders- leave something in the back you need.
T: Take action- if you see a child alone in a hot car do something!  Call 911 for help.
(source)

I hope whoever takes care of Ben, Ali, and Sammy understands if I call to make sure they are all safe.  As I said, this could happen to anyone.  And I hope anyone who worries (like Pat) calls me to check on the safety of our children.  It isn't worth the risk to put my pride first and assume take offense to someone checking in.

Here are some links for additional information.

http://www.today.com/parents/7-tips-preventing-hot-car-related-deaths-children-t31551
http://www.kars4kids.org/safety-app/
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/hot-cars-and-child-death-prevention
http://www.safercar.gov/parents/inandaroundthecar/heatstroke.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-gage/how-can-we-stop-babies-fr_b_9993322.html

I also want to mention that if you accidentally lock your child in the car and can't get them out, call 911!  Accidents happen.  Kids grab keys and push lock buttons.  You will not get in trouble for saving your child.  Emergency personnel are trained to know what to do in this sort of situation.  They just want your child to be safe too.

I know there are many dangers that face our children in the world today.  This is one that everyone can take steps to prevent though.  I hope we all take that extra caution to try to make it so no family has to suffer through this sort of tragedy.

-Kim

Of course just playing with the toys wasn't enough, he had to climb in himself.  He just barely fits, but he liked it!  The water was so cold, I was surprised he wanted to get in it!