12th Anniversary

Funny how your anniversaries change over the years. We used to celebrate our anniversary by a weekend trip to the Smokies or to a nice quiet restaurant or the like. This year, we spent our anniversary taking our munchkins sledding with family and then we wrapped up the day at Pizza Hut! It was a fun day...

We have a limited number of anniversaries to celebrate with our kids being small. We have the rest of our lives to celebrate just the two of us!

Lil Makes me laugh

Lilly is a constant source or entertainment... seriously she makes me laugh out loud all the time.

For example, we put her to bed last night and I'm working in the office (which adjoins her bedroom) I can hear her singing to herself her rendition of Rudolph the Red nosed reindeer. It goes like this, "You know Dasher and Comet and Colin and George..." then she stops and "scolds" herself, "No, George not a weindeer" ...I laughed forever...

Then today I'm folding laundry and she saunters in and says, "Mommy you know dose noonles I had lesterday?" (referring to homemade mac and cheese I made her) "I wan summa dose and then I take my nap...fanks..."

saunters back out and waits for said macaroni to be cooked

she's just funny...you have to know her...she also compliments total strangers on their jewelry and purses. And she doesn't "like" anything, it's I LOVE that...

Black Friday?

This year black friday was kind of a white friday! We awoke to a little dusting of snow, but of course the kiddos acted like it had snowed a foot. They were dying to go play in the snow at 6 am that morning. I did manage to hold them off until about 9 but then they were ready to bundle up and go play a little in the first snow of the season.

On a note about Black Friday, I did NOT brave the traffic or the early morning rush to score some deals. That used to be right up my alley but anymore, I must say I enjoyed getting some black friday deals online while sitting in my sweats and sipping my hot coffee!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

The "kid" table!

Noah and Lil "helping" Nana get the turkey ready to go in the oven

Aunt Beth and Colin

Thanksgiving this year was great. Busy as usual, but fun. The last several years our tradition has been to cook dinner here at our house with Mom and Dad and then several other family attends as well. We spent the day eating, laughing, cooking, and enjoying being together with family.

Scarecrows Galore!

Last week the first grade classes performed a little "scarecrow" skit and song and dance at the November PTO meeting. The kids got to dress up as scarecrows and perform for the audience. I must say it was very very cute. Noah loved it!

Veteran's Day

Thankful today for all of the veterans past and present. Both my grandfathers served in the military as did one of Travis' grandparents. Can't imagine the sacrifice all of our military has made to stand for our freedom. Here is some artwork Noah drew to celebrate the day

Happy Halloween!!

Well we have had a full but fun-filled Halloween weekend. The festivities started on Thursday when I spent the day making and decorating cupcakes for Noah's class party. On Friday, he got to wear his "Annakin Skywalker" costume to school and I left the girls with Pappaw Randy so I could go to his class party. We went to a bonfire with some church friends that night. Then Saturday morning after I got back from BG we took the kids to Creekside Nursery to get some pumpkins to carve. Travis and Noah spent the rest of the afternoon carving pumpkins and then we loaded up our little spooks to do some Trick or Treating! It was a long evening by the time we went to all of our stops but it was fun! OK it was fun until the baby decided she had had ENOUGH and got a little cranky...

We ended up the night with great family and friends at a bonfire at Daniel and Allie's house. We've spent today recuperating from all of the excitement! Enjoy the pics of our Anakin, Princess Belle, and Supergirl!!!

Oh and just a note about the first photo, most the time when we go to get pumpkins I like to dress the kiddos in coordinating fall clothes and take pictures. This year Daddy got them ready to go since I was at a meeting that morning, hence the blue jeans, boots, and hoodies! He also didn't bring my camera so I had to use the old iPhone...but it's still a sweet picture!

Ann Elizabeth 3 months

Miss Annie turned three months old on October 24th! Here is what she is up to these days...

Annie still naps alot during the day but is sleeping during the night from about 9 pm to around 3 am. She gets up at either 3 or 4 to eat and then normally goes back to sleep until around 6:30 and then she's up for an hour or so and ready to take another long morning nap! She's still exclusively breastfed but she also does pretty well with a bottle (she prefers Playtex drop-ins) She truly loves her paci's (Nuk or Mams) but she does have a little trouble keeping them in and when she loses then it makes her very angry!

She is still having some stomach issues (spitting up, fussiness, etc...) but she is taking Zantac twice a day and it seems to help some. She still eats about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day. She still prefers to be wrapped in a blankie or swaddled to sleep. She is not a big fan of riding in the car seat!

She is wearing size 0/3 month clothes and a few things that are 3 to 6 months are starting to fit. She's wearing a size 1 or 2 diaper as well. She hasn't lost any hair yet but she is filling out alot! The baby acne and cradle cap seem to have gone away, and aside from having very sensitive skin and a few dry patches she is doing well.

She likes her bath time and she LOVES to look at her mobile. She will lay and kick and goo at her mobile and sometimes if she has her blankie and paci she will doze off to sleep. She still prefers to sleep wrapped up in her yellow rocker/glider chair or with Mommy, but we're working on transitioning to the crib in our bedroom!

She has really turned on her personality this month. She loves to be talked to and she is very smily and will goo and squeal alot as well as laugh a little out loud. She can now roll from front to back and she tries her very best to sit up and does really well with head and neck control. Her favorite thing right now is probably for someone to walk around the house with her and let her sit straight up and look at stuff!

She thinks her Daddy and her brother and sister are the funniest people on the Earth! She is still a Mommy's girl though especially if she's tired...with is just fine with me. She does very well going out places and she has done very well at church so far! Yay Annie! She's growing so fast and I can't wait to post pics of her in her little halloween costume.

Long Overdue...

Lilly Grace is 3!!!

Our little "Lil" as we often refer to her turned 3 on September 26th. She celebrated by having attending church that morning and later having lunch at home with the grandparents. We had chili and cupcakes (which she wore alot of...) and then she got her gift from Mommy and Daddy. (A pink Polaris Outlaw...which truthfully suits her to a tee!)

Later that day we celebrated with a few friends at Chuck E. Cheese. We had attended Maggie's birthday there earlier in the Spring and ever since Lilly had declared she wanted her birthday there. Also, she has never been scared of a character...not there not at Disney, nowhere. However, the excitement of the party must have gotten to her because when it got to her big moment for Chuck E to come out...she got panic-stricken and ran away to the jungle gym where me and Travis had to coax her out. A great memory to retell when she is about 16 or so!

Anyway, since this blog is kind of my digital scrapbook (since heaven knows I don't have time to keep a real scrapbook) Here are a few facts about sis as a three year old.

Lilly is in the 75 percent for height and 99th percentile for weight. She is apparently going to be a tall/big girl. She wears a 4t in clothes and a size 10 shoe. She loves Belle, Max and Ruby, Little Bear, the color yellow and all things girly. She also can make a mean mud pie and can keep up with big brother no problem. Her favorite things to do right now are to work puzzles, play play-doh, color, play outside, watch cartoons, play baby dolls, hold her baby sister and eat. She loves ravioli, chicken, gravy and biscuits, etc etc. (the girl likes to eat....)

She could care less what she wears and will wear anything I put on her without a word (unlike her big brother!) But when she is all dressed up she has to check herself out in the full length mirror and then go find her Daddy and wait until he tells her how pretty she is. She has very curly hair, very long eyelashes, and right now her eyes are dark blue. To me she looks alot like her Daddy but most people think she looks like me.

She is a CHARACTER for sure. She can go from being the sweetest girl in the world one second to being a rascal the next. She is busy busy busy...waking at around 6 am and taking a two hour afternoon nap, then going strong until around 8:30pm. She has a quick temper to say the least.

Some of the things I never want to forget about her at this age is that when she is sleepy she holds her cheeks, and loves to feel my arms or neck when she is being rocked to sleep. She still loves her paci and she is about 90% potty trained. She still loves to have her milk in a sippy cup heated up. She is very much still our baby and we let her be...she'll grow up soon enough!

FEAST Halloween Party

On Tuesday we attended FEAST's annual "food-free" Halloween party. FEAST is the support group for food allergies that we have been involved with since Noah was diagnosed. Every year they plan a small Halloween party for the kids with lots of fun activities but there is no snacks or food so the kids don't have to worry about not being able to eat what everyone else can eat.

They had lots of fun making crafts, playing games, and gathering up goodies for their treat bags. They also had a blast dressing up, even though Noah's real halloween costume hadn't arrived yet, he made do with his soldier costume.

Fifteen years ago...

Fifteen Years ago on October 21st I started dating an older boy....

I was fourteen years old and not allowed to officially "date" and he was seventeen. I got so tired of everyone telling me how young we were...

Today I am a few months from thirty and wonder how I got here so fast

Fifteen years ago I wore his class room with a huge amount of yarn wrapped around the back and today I've replaced that class ring with a wedding band.

Fifteen years ago I moved all my stuff from the freshman hall to the senior hall and we shared a locker. Today we share a house that he built with his own hands exactly the way I wanted it.

Fifteen years ago I used to daydream about what our children would look like and what we would name them...today I wake up everyday to their three precious faces

Fifteen years ago I thought I had never seen brown eyes as sweet as his were...

Today I look in the same eyes in the face of my son and know I was wrong.

Fifteen years ago I thought that older boy would never love another girl as much as he loved me... Today I am amazed at how much he loves his two baby girls

Fifteen years ago I thought time crept so slowly until we got to see each other again

Today when I tuck our children into bed I silently wish with all my heart that time would slow down.

Fall Consignment Sale

Annie 2m

Sweet Annie turned two months old on September 24th. Just a few little notes so I don't forget these precious memories!!!

Annie weighed 11 pounds and 4 ounces at her two month check up, where she got her first vaccines which made her HORRIBLY fussy for two or three days...

She was put on a very low dose of Zantac to see if it helped her mild case of reflux ( I couldn't really tell a difference!)

At two months Annie could still wear a few newborn outfits but was mostly transitioning to 0-3 month clothing and size one diapers. Nursing every 3 hours and only waking up once or twice a night to eat. She generally wakes up at around 6 and then goes back for a long morning nap around 8 or so...

She grins alot too!

At seven weeks she got a SEVERE case of baby acne that lasted about 2 weeks or so and finally subsided! It was followed by a case of cradle cap (which both her brother and sister had at this age as well!) Her skin is very sensitive to soaps, detergents, etc so we only use fragrance free and dye free to wash her as well as all of our laundry too!

She is such a sweet baby, and we are so blessed to have her be a part of our lives!

Yard Sale

Hey everyone..me and Stephanie Cassady are having a yard sale here at the house on Saturday starting at 7 am if it doesn't rain. We are having lots of "stuff". However, this is not the fall children's consignment sale. It is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of Oct 16th. Thanks!

Words Can't Express

What I feel when I look at this photo...

Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer...

So last year sis gave Baby Ballet a whirl and it was what one would call ummm... interesting...

She was barely two years old and she was bound and determined to do the opposite of what the rest of the class was doing. It resulted in me chasing her alot around the dance studio and pulling her off of Ms. Martha's furniture. So last year we became Baby Ballet dropouts.

However, we decided to give dance another shot this year so that Lilly would have an activity to get out and socialize with some other girls once a week (not to mention that her buddy Maggie is in class). So far so good....Lilly really likes getting dressed up in her tutu and ballet slippers (her dancing cwothes and she says) and she asks me every day if it's the day to go dance with Miss Martha. I really hope she continues to like it. I am enjoying watching her!

Genius I Tell You...

So....remember the post about Annie being a little "sensitive" to things? Being unwrapped, having her diaper changed, generally anything that messes up her routine she rewards with a large fuss fest...

Fast forward to Saturday...she had fussed all day and all night and all day again. I didn't set the child down for at least 36 hours seriously. I went to the bathroom with my infant daughter perched crying on my lap (wait is that too much information?) She was so unhappy and very little I did soothed her. We took a trip to Kroger to restock the Mylicon drops, etc and I spied the book The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. I recalled somewhere in my sleep deprived mind that a couple of people had recommended the book to me at one time so I picked it up thinking I'd read it while I rocked the unhappy Ann Elizabeth.

SERIOUSLY... why didn't I have this book 7 years ago?!? He basically gives you the formula for calming your unhappy newborn and it has yet to fail me in the past 3 days.

There is specific instructions for swaddling, motion, etc and some really down to Earth advice of feeding schedules, etc. It is great.

This is not exaggerated....Annie was in mid fit the first time I tried Dr. Karp's swaddle method. Before I could even get her picked up her eye lids were nearly closed and she was GRINNING at me and had happily spit out the paci. She then proceeded to take a three hour nap in her crib while I made supper. What???

So please if you learn nothing from the blog...if you are expecting a baby, have a baby younger than 4 months old or know someone who fits this description GO BUY THIS BOOK AND READ IT IMMEDIATELY. You can thank me later...I like chocolate and purses and cash....

Noah Thomas

Since I did my little Annie update for the last post I realized that I hadn't posted anything about my eldest offspring in a while...

Anyone who knows Noah knows that he is a one of a kind kid....

Noah....

-Loves frogs, bugs, creepy crawlies of all varieties

-loves to dig in the dirt or build stuff outside

-Loves iCarly, Big Time Rush, and Spongebob

-Loves his Nana more than life itself (has asked to live with her and me and Daddy just come visit on occasion...)

-has very severe peanut/tree nut allergies

-has a severe egg allergy that has IMPROVED over the past year (YEAH!!!)

-likes UK...shares his Daddy's disdain for UofL

-has a quick temper but is a sweet heart too

-is so smart he is going to pass me up at around 2nd grade

-has the sweetest brown eyes and freckles

-has never lost a tooth but has recently sprouted two permanent teeth BEHIND his baby teeth

-loves FAKE TATTOOS with a passion

-thinks that the Dollar Store and Walmart are awesome

-loves spaghetti

-collects random things (watches, etc and stows them in his desk just like his Papa Tommy...)

-stole my heart six years ago when he made me his Mommy!

-has a great group of buddies that I hope he loves as much 20 years from now than he does now!

One Month

My Sweet Annie is one month old today. It has truly flown by. What is our little angel up to?

At one month Annie....

-nurses very well every 3 to 4 hours

-is difficult to burp (we are using some mylicon occasionally)

-wears a size newborn swaddler diaper

-wears newborn sized clothing

-still can't wear socks on her long skinny feet without losing them

-likes her paci

-likes to suck her thumb when she finds it

-loves to be swaddled but is starting to tolerate being unwrapped

-is starting to smile at people

-loves to look at light fixtures/ceiling fans

-is a really big fan of her mommy and daddy

-likes big brother and sister most of the time

-likes baths until you wash her hair

-despises to be wet or dirty

-loves to be cuddled

-sleeps for 3 to 4 hour stretches at night

-has awake alert periods at around 6 am and 3 pm

-has stolen the hearts of her mom and dad completely

-did well with her first photo session

-has had a couple of trips to Nana and Papa's

-is gearing up to hopefully go to church for the first time in a couple weeks

Just Me

What I Am NOT...

patient

organized

athletic

quiet

laid back

skinny

blond

tall

tan

a college graduate

perfect

a sister

What I AM...

loud

messy

brunette

funny

impatient

wife

mother of 3

daughter

friend

only child

spoiled

thankful


Most of you know me well...feel free to add to the list

Battle Scars

Isn't there a saying about the experience of a good soldier doesn't come in training but "in the trenches"? I really think this is the case with a good mother too.

I'll save you the details but lets just say I had some in the trenches training this morning that involved an almost potty trained two year old, a leaky pull up, explosive diarrhea, two legs, back, feet, a couch, rug, and some sponge bob pajamas...need I say more?

However, I'm chalking this up to a good morning...why you ask? When I was a first time mommy I would have totally come unhinged with the task at hand...this morning as a mommy of three? I just sighed ran a bubble bath for the offender and got out the Lysol....

Have a great morning friends!

Busy Days

I had forgotten how busy you stay with a newborn and seemingly accomplish very little. I think it has been a successful day when all three of us girls at home are changed out of our pajamas, have gotten baths or showers and have our bellies full....

I do try to do a couple of loads of laundry a day, and I make it to the phone when it rings at least 60% of the time (that's good right?) My sweet husband puts laundry away when he gets home and getting supper on the table right now is a tag team effort which consists of a lot of convenience foods (hello tater tots which Lilly lovingly refers to as polka dots...)

Dishes get done at least by 10 pm.

So that's good enough for me, the rest of my time my hands, and lap (and heart) is full of my three precious kids and that's plenty to say that it's been a good day!

What's Your Opinion?

I know that both girls looks alike (or they did when Lil was a newborn). But even I am amazed at the similarities in their newborn photos. Lilly's eyes are a little different but their hair, noses, and lips look identical to me. Compare the photos above (the top is Lilly Grace the bottom is Ann Elizabeth). I have had a few people say that Annie looks just like Noah but to me the similarities are more towards Lilly.

On a funny note, Noah keeps saying he hopes Annie's hair is straight. When I ask him why he says, "You know not crazy like Lilly's" and does his hands in a crazy all around gesture, which I must say, sums up his sisters hair in a nutshell.

Lil was very sweet this week towards her big brother. While we were eating lunch the other day out of the blue she said, "I miss bubby, bubby is my best fwiend." And then when Nana got home with him today she told her, "Thank you for bringing my bubby back!" It was too sweet. Or course they were fighting like cats and dogs about five seconds flat after that, but I take the sweet moments while they last!

Swaddling

Swaddling...hmm an age old idea I suppose (considering the reference to Jesus being wrapped in swaddling clothes and being laid in a manger). The swaddling I'm referring to, however, is the way that the hospitals and pediatricians recommend that a newborn be wrapped snugly and securely in a blanket so that they feel safe and comforted.

I listened somewhat to the swaddling argument when Noah was an infant. However, I never could successfully recreate the "swaddle" tight enough to suffice. Noah was always able to kick and squirm out of his blanket and I being a first time Mom refused to even put him in the crib with a light receiving blanket for fear of him suffocating from it. So I gave up the swaddling (and the putting him in his crib for that matter). The child never slept through the night until he hit 18 months old. He awoke several times a night and slept in the recliner with me or Travis, in our bed, in his bouncy, carseat, etc. We were just desperate for sleep, we slept anywhere we could!

Then Miss Lil came along and being the calm baby that she was, she never needed swaddling. She was content to be fed and would sleep anywhere and everywhere for long stretched at a time, with a blanket, or without, she really didn't care. She started sleeping through the night very early on and did very well transitioning to her crib, except for short bouts of wakefulness during teething or ear infections.

Now Miss Annie has made her arrival and we are becoming swaddling experts. Annie seems a little more sensitive to her surroundings than her siblings. She definitely loves to be swaddled (and after watching several times in the hospital I think we've mastered the wrap). She loves it so much that she totally rebels to anyone who holds her and has the audacity to unwrap her to look at her. She will reward you with a fuss rather quickly! Yep, she loves to be swaddled tightly, with her tiny little pacifier, and if she gets her way she would prefer to be held on Mommy's shoulder (but she is becoming accustomed to Daddy too)

There has been quite a few times that she has been very fussy and crying, and we have made sure her diaper is dry and then we take our trusty receiving blanket and swaddle her tightly and get her paci, and she quiets down and is out like a light in just a few minutes.

So I am now a firm believer in this swaddling method. I suppose the theory that it mimics the comfort they felt in the womb, is correct because it sure seems to do the trick for Annie. That along with her bear that has a heartbeat sound and we have a good 3 or 4 hour stretch of sound sleep at a time, that is until it's time to eat again!

Ann Elizabeth

Takes our breath away...

Back to Reality?

In case my last two posts have you thinking my life is all peaches and cream, I forgot to tell you about some of our luck...as in you know the Saturday that tiny Miss Priss was born (yep the same day that her Daddy had the stomach virus and had to miss out on her first day of life...yep that same day) that very day the hot water heater at the salon decided to malfunction and flood the back room. Awesome, that only set us back $350... It was fun...

Today has brought some more fun...while I was feeding the baby in the living room, Lilly (in five seconds flat) uses her frog potty to climb up to the kitchen counter and get the pitcher of tea, the coffee pot (it wasn't hot) and a mug and proceeds to spill sweet tea all over the floor...on the bright side, I did find out I was ambidextrous enough to hold a newborn baby in one arm and mop the kitchen floor with the other arm, all while keeping a two year old in time out!

In the midst of the chaos my beloved washing machine (really I mean beloved I really do like my washing machine) started making a noise that sounded like rapid machine gun fire. I investigated and decided something had come loose in it or my son had stuffed some random trinket so far in his blue jeans pocket that it had come loose during the spin cycle and lodged itself in the innards of my washer. (Did I just use the word innards on my blog?)

So in case any of you were getting tired of my blissful state of falling in love with my newborn daughter, I just thought I'd record for history some of the not so pleasant moments of my week, which in the grand scheme of things are really not that bad at all...

Our New Normal

Wow the past week has brought lots of changes to the Parsley house. A week ago today we brought sweet Annie home from the hospital. We've all been getting adjusted to having a newborn in the house again. Thankfully, Travis was able to take off all last week so I could get some rest and recuperate and we could all try to get in a routine of sorts.

I am so happy to report that the big kids are doing great in their new roles. They have been better than I expected and the biggest problem is they want to love on Annie so much I have to remind them that we can't hold her and kiss her all the time...although I have to admit Travis and I kind of do the same thing! It's funny that you forget how in love you fall with this tiny thing. And that's what we've spent the last week doing. Holding our tiniest baby and loving on her and wondering why they can't stay this size just a little while longer.

I have also had a welcome break from cooking this week. My dear friends and family have brought us over dinner every night last week and it has been wonderful! They were all so thoughtful and brought things the kids could eat (which is sometimes no small feat due to their multiple allergies!) I can't even begin to express how much we appreciated all the meals. They were delicious!!!!

Last Thursday I had to take Miss Annie back to the pediatrician for a quick weight recheck. She had lost some weight in the hospital and got down to 6 lbs 11 Oz's (normal for a breastfed baby) but by Thursday she had gained 4 ounces in 3 days (which we were happy with). She has taken to nursing very well and her sleeping routine is getting better every night. Last night she slept for two long 4 hour stretches and woke once in between to eat.

Last but not least, today was Noah's first day of first grade! He came home and informed me that he liked it alot and liked his new teacher, Miss Monica. He looked like such a big boy heading out this morning!

I realize that's a whole lot of details you all may not be interested in but I mainly do this blog to scrapbook my family stuff and I print it out so I hate to not record the details I know I'll forget!

I do have one funny Lilly story... Yesterday she had a poopy diaper and Noah informed her that she smelled awful, to which she replied, "I not smell awful...I smell like a cookie..." the girl has her pride you know...