Done

I just finished making my blog into books, one for each year. Obviously I'm going to continue, since it's my way of documenting our family. I'm so excited to be done! So far we have 2 1/2 volumes. I've been working on this for 6 months now. If you're interested, use the program called "BookSmart" on Blurb.com. It's easy to use. Whew!

Smiles

2 months. 11 lbs 4.5 oz. 23 and 1/4 inches long. Super duper cute.

Wheels

Emily had been begging for a bike and really needed one, but the bikes at the store were $70!! I told her we'd look around at the garage sales this summer. One Saturday morning I got up with a desire to walk around my neighborhood's garage sales. We found a bike! It was $5 and had training wheels and everything.

It was the best present ever for her. She adores it and is much faster than me now. She's always asking to ride her bike and is a pro!

Life with three

Charlotte turns 2 months on Saturday. It's been a fast two months.

Charlotte is sometimes a needy baby. She doesn't like to be put down, she has a hard time going to and staying asleep and she won't take a pacifier, so I have to nurse her to calm her down. While I think she's adorable and I'm glad she's in our family, I admit that today I'm feeling pretty tired. I also sometimes feel frustrated that I don't get a chance to color with Emily or play tea party with Nathalie because I'm constanly holding Charlotte.

The girls are adjusting well. Emily has had the rougher adjustment, but this last week I've been seeing a big improvement in her mood and behavior. She loves Charlotte and, with supervision, is a big help. Today I was washing dishes as fast as I could and Charlotte was crying because of a wet diaper. Emily went to Charlotte and actually changed her diaper!! The only thing she couldn't do was snap her onesie back into place. I was pretty amazed.

Emily also "put" Nathalie to bed the other night. It had been a hard day and Charlotte had been really fussy, so I was pretty frazzled. I got Nathalie in her crib, kissed her and walked out to tend to Charlotte. Nathalie was sad so Emily went in with some books and read them to her! Then she kissed Nathalie and shut the door!! I was so amazed, because it shows a big deal of maturity on Emily's part and she'd been having a rough adjustment to Charlotte. I did feel guilty though-- about Emily having to do that, Nathalie having to cry...etc. If you're a mother of more than one, you know the guilt I'm talking about.

Nathalie is great. She's been clingy, getting her bottom eyeteeth in and had a really hard time with Matt's trip. But she loves Charlotte too and wants to love and kiss her all the time. It's been a good time for Matt to really jump in there with the older girls. They don't always love that Daddy is doing what Mommy usually does, but that's just too bad. It's good for them.

As far as motherhood goes, I'm okay. I really miss being able to have free time after the girls go to bed. I need to get more sleep (who doesn't with a little baby?!). But I'm glad it's my 3rd baby, because I've been able to handle situations better. I was able to determine Charlotte's personality and start her on a routine only a few weeks after she was born. I'm able to work very quickly. I know her needs almost immediately. It's like all the experiences from the last 4 years of motherhood suddenly clicked into place and my mother's intuition is fully functional! I finally feel like I know what I'm doing (at least with a baby....).

So we're hanging in there some days and actually thriving other days, but the thriving days are slowly gaining frequency. I try to enjoy this phase as much as I can because before I know it, my house will be empty and my children will be grown.

The Washer Saga

A few months ago I started noticing spots on my clothing. It looked like oil and I couldn't figure out how oil spot were getting on our clothes. I thought it might be chapstick in the wash. However, with increased vigilance about pocket items, the spots kept coming. Then darker spots. Finally about 6 weeks ago I noticed a grease stain on my wonderful nursing cover. (This is the best nursing cover EVER. Check it out.)

So over Easter I asked some family members about these spots and my brother-in-law said that it was probably my washer leaking oil. Great! Wonderful! The wednesday after Easter I called in the repairman. That same morning, the girls woke up with the stomach flu. We had LAUNDRY. Lots of laundry. And laundry that needed to be washed ASAP.

The repairman said that my washer transmission was leaking oil and quoted a whoppin $550 to fix it (the parts alone were $450). Matt and I looked at different options and realized that the best one for us was to buy a new set from a local furniture store. Since our first set was one unit, we would have to buy a washer AND a dryer. But the store was having 1/2 off a dryer if you buy a washer, so we bought the set.

Thanks to good friends I was able to do my laundry until the new set was delivered, about a week after the bad news on our first one. When the delivery guys installed it, they didn't transfer the cord from the first dryer to the second, but left me to do that. Of course, it was the week that Matt was gone. Of course, it needed a special screw I didn't have. And of course, it was nearly 100 degrees. (That's not related to the washer story, but I threw it in there). Thanks to some more good friends my old washer/dryer set got moved to the garage. Later that night they came and figured out my dryer cord. Finally! I had a new set!

Four days after I got the new one a loud clicking noise started during the final spin and it turned into a jumble of noises. I stopped the washer but there was nothing in the drum. So I called the washer repairman again but it would take 5 days for them to get to me. So I went to the laundromat and did a kajillion loads at once in the middle of those 5 days and that got me through.

When the second washer repairman came, he found that the underwire to one of my bras had somehow been worked out of my bra then worked its way behind the drum where it almost went into the pump. However, no premanent damage was done and I got my wire back.

Now I have a new front-loading washer. It's pretty spiffy. It cleans a lot better than my other one, is AMAZINGLY quiet and we love it. The kids have begged me to wash their stuffed animals because they like watching them go 'round and 'round.

Whew. I've never been so grateful for a washing machine before!

While Matt was gone

I sent Matt on a backpacking trip through a slot canyon in the Grand Canyon with my dad, brother and brother's church class. He was gone for 10 whole days, not including the two days before the trip where he was gone at school or working! It was a bit hairy for us sometimes. However, I did plan some fun activities and we made it through. Here are some pictures of the last 12 days and more on the craziness later!
Emily almost doesn't need anything in the pool and Nathalie did GREAT with just a little tube at our friend's pool! I guess those winter swimming lessons paid off. I'm too nervous to go the public pool with t he 3 girls without Matt still.

We went to the duck pond but it was HOT. 95 degrees that day and this whole week too. We're roasting over here.

This is how the girls slept on the days they had the stomach flu. Wild!

That's one way to keep cool.

Family Portraits, Emily Style

This is Emily (on the left) and me (on the right).

This is baby Charlotte. Got to love the hair. She's sitting down.

This is Charlotte, Daddy and Nathalie. Emily was mad at Nathalie which is why she is so small. And I never did understand why Emily gave Matt long hair.

She'll definitely be doing our family portraits from now on!