Thanksgiving Week and Beyond.

Our baby girl turned 8 weeks old last Thursday!

Such a dream baby.

Around dinnertime, she gets tired but does not like to be laid down. I love her little pinky around my favorite necklace.

I finally let my big helper carry her. Oh, he loved it.

2 days before Thanksgiving, Brycen had an eye appointment (as per request from his school). Brycen loves all doctor and dentist visits (he's a bit crazy), so he was pretty excited and we found out that he needed glasses for being farsighted in one eye--there is potential to not need them in a few years if his eye gets stronger. The eye doctor could not believe that Brycen was only 5. He sat perfectly still and did just as she requested. If I hadn't seen it myself, I'm not sure I would've believed it. He is a great kid but he has his fair share of choosing to not listen at home.

The Portland Zoo is pretty sweet. We became members in October because one visit would cost $30 or we could get a year pass for just over $100, including the zoo lights.

The day before Thanksgiving was member only night. And it was 55 degrees out, a pretty gorgeous night. We almost didn't remember in time (see reason below) so we were only there the last hour. The train was pulled by an actually steam engine and had an equally impressive long line to ride it. *side note: Brycen weaseled Cian out of his stroller seat by telling him that he could sit on his lap. It lasted about 30 seconds, but was super cute.*

A wall of lights...

And tunnel. So fun.

We have plans to go again! And make it in time to take the train. Cian can not wait!

Also the day before Thanksgiving, we met with our realtor to put an offer in on a house. After the 2 hour meeting during so, we celebrated with melt-in-your-mouth, super delicious "Hot Now" donuts from Krispy Kreme.

The boys loved watching the process.

Don't get too excited though, by the time we were on our way home, we found out that the house we had put an offer in, had accepted an offer just two hours prior. All the house chaos and bummerness made me forget all about the zoo lights that I had planned on that night. But I remembered after driving all the way home. Our realtor's and Krispy Kreme are 5 minutes away from the zoo. Our home is 25....

Bryce and the boys' Thanksgiving masterpiece. We enjoyed the wonderful holiday with Bryce's family.

The week wore me out so I literally slept Black Friday away with Caraline. Which was kinda sad because we normally set up our tree on Black Friday. However, Saturday morning came and everyone was feeling better so we set out to find our first real tree. On the way to the tree farm, it poured but in the location where we were shopping, the rain had passed and the sun came out--pretty perfect.

Ever since we found our rental house (back in June) and Bryce saw the tall ceilings, he dreamed of a big Christmas Tree. Caraline nicely slept through the tree hunt but since she was in her carseat and Cian wanted to be carried through the muddy areas, I told Bryce that he could have any tree that he could carry (all trees were the same price of $15). Technically, the tree farm had helpers to help carry and cut but we all have our stubborn and independent moments. Some more than others :)

We settled on a 9 ft beauty with a relativity small trunk (thus, a lighter load). Our wonderful decision skills seriously shined as when we arrived, we were the only ones and about 15 families came and went before we found ours. And then Brycen had to go potty. At a place that had no public bathrooms. It was awesome.

Brycen was the instigator of the weekend. Ever since a boy in a class said that they cut down their own tree, Brycen begged to do the same.

Our tree was about as far away from the van as you can get. Bryce may rethink his independence next year.

I sure love sleeping kids. After our $15 tree purchase, the kids crashed on the way home and then we stopped at Home Depot for a tree stand and extra lights. $100 later....

We decorated. Cian assigned himself as the ornament hooker put-er on-er. The perfect job for him except that he made us say, "Trick or Treat" in order to get one.

I always find putting up Christmas decorations to be a ton of work but I also always enjoy the outcome. And the real tree was really a neat experience that we will for sure do again.

Merry Christmas!!

The day she woke up...

Two Thursdays ago, our day went like this:

Midnight: Mommy goes to bed.
4:30am: Caraline wakes up. Gets a diaper change and is fed by Mommy. ....Caraline does not go back to sleep.Mommy bounces and rocks her to keep from crying and waking up the boys.
6:30am: Caraline still up. Brycen comes out of his room crying.
6:32am: Cian wakes up (undoubtedly because of Brycen's crying).
6:33am: Daddy leaves bed to help put Brycen, who woke up because of a nightmare, back to bed. Cian wants Mommy.
6:34am: Caraline still up. Cian climbs into bed with Mommy and Caraline.
6:45am: Mommy is SO so so tired. Her eyes hurt.
6:50am: Daddy returns from being with Brycen. Daddy says, "I have ten minutes (before his alarm to get up and get ready for work goes of), let me take Caraline" while grabbing Caraline from Mommy's very willing-to-give-her-over arms. 10 whole minutes? Yes. Please.
6:50 1/2am: Mommy crashes, curled up with Cian.Her pillow feeling like the most perfect, white cloud imaginable.
8:00am: Daddy kisses Mommy goodbye. Caraline IS asleep.
8:30am: Brycen joins the still awake Cian in Mommy's bed, chiming in that they want to watch a show.
8:30 1/2am: Mommy can't hand over her phone fast enough, to let them watch a show on it. Something she allows more often than she cares to admit. Must.... sleep.....
9:30am: Cian needs to go potty, the very for sure way to get Mommy out of bed, as he needs her assistance to do the whole routine. Mommy gets up still so tired, but feeling much better then she did at 4:30 or 6:50 or 8:30, for that matter.

10am: Caraline wakes up.


--Caraline is fed, changed, bounced, walked around, smiled at, etc.-- 
12-12:30pm: Caraline naps. Lunch is made for the boys.
12:30pm: Caraline awake?!
--Caraline is fed, changed, bounced, walked around, smiled at, etc.--
2:00-2:30: Caraline naps. Mommy eats a small lunch and tries to get into shower.
2:30: Caraline awake!!! No shower.
--Caraline is fed,bounced, walked around, smiled at, etc.--
4pm: Caraline is placed in her carseat since she is STILL awake so Mommy can start making dinner for a neighbor, while rocking her.

She is happy BUT ...awake. Odd. 

4:30pm: --Caraline is fed, changed, bounced, walked around, smiled at, etc.--
5pm: Dinner is cooking, Caraline is awake and crying. Smoothie for Mommy and the hungry boys in process.
5:03pm: Mommy forgets to put the lid on the smoothie.The delicious smoothie coats all surrounding ceiling, counters, walls, and floor.
5:30pm: Smoothie mess is finally cleaned up, new smoothie is made and given to boys all while Mommy is holding Caraline. Caraline is placed on blanket while Mommy runs next door to deliver dinner, in her pajamas.
5:45pm: Daddy texts that he is on his way. Hallelujah!....and Caraline falls asleep.
6pm: Daddy arrives home and Caraline sleeps until 8:30pm!!

 -end of Thursday's record.
_______________________________________________________________________
So, I had a good month. Caraline slept all the time. When she woke up at night, she ate or got changed and went right back to sleep.She napped all day, always 2-3 hours at a time. Thus, I showered, got dinner ready, did laundry, read books, played games, blogged, prepared food for the boys, and sometimes remembered to eat and even had time to nap while she slept. I waited to do things until she was sleeping.

Well, over the last almost two weeks since, there were days that showers didn't happen until Bryce came home or not at all. The blogged did not get written.  I was so famished by dinner that Daddy had to pick up McDs or a pizza on his way home.

 Things like this happened:

Boots and a Cian monster on the counter (with some chocolate substance around his mouth)...

 The house was and still is, a mess. Laundry was forgotten....

And 3 kids and a Mommy could be found in the same bed.

BUT....also during that time, the boys still adored their little sister to pieces.

Brycen is a big advocate of the binky invention. Whenever he is holding her and she starts to cry he says, "Mom, you must... find ...the binky!!". After she falls asleep, he then says, "See! The binky is amazing!"

Brycen put Caraline to sleep while I got Cian and myself breakfast one morning.

Books were still read, just with three kids on Mommy's lap. Memories were still created. Lots of tickles and laughter were involved. Cupcakes were attempted while Mommy wore Caraline in her Ergo, Brycen spilt the cupcake mix on the floor, and Cian tried to juggle the eggs.  And Caraline was put down more often so dinner could be cooked and Mommy's potty breaks could take place.

Now:
I'm finally embracing the fact that I can't wait until naps happen, for life to move forward.So I'm writing this blog while holding Caraline and I showered yesterday while Caraline sat in her bouncy chair on the bathroom floor.

Isn't she just precious?

I'm also trying to remember to create an "eat, play/awake time, sleep" schedule with Caraline so she doesn't need to eat to fall asleep like my other two babies did. All in hopes that she will  become a better sleeper in the end.  Towards the end of my shower yesterday, Caraline started to get fussy so after I got out, I swaddled her, and placed her in crib; totally expecting her to cry while I dried off and got dressed. Instead, after I turned out the light and closed the door, I never heard anything. She fell asleep! The whole "put them to sleep awake but sleepy"...exists...maybe?? Well, it did once (update: twice now!) and probably won't again but I did enjoy it fully when it did. I started dinner and she woke up right when I put dinner in the oven. After I fed her, I placed her on a blanket on the ground so I could set the table. Brycen and Cian kept her company, giving her lots of kisses, snuggles, and smiles. She loves being able to use her neck to move her head from side to side to find the sources of all noises and to look around.

Showing Caraline his drawings one morning.

But ultimately, being held and walked around are Caraline's favorite. So as long as everyone is fed, Caraline is held and she makes the messy house every bit worth it. Since realizing that she likes to be swaddled (I am a fan!!), it has helped create at least one good, 2-3 hour nap and 5-6 hour stretch at night every other day. It also helps that a day Caraline is awake (and the house gets super messy) is followed by a day that she is mostly asleep so we can recover. I can shower kid free, and then find hundreds of pictures just like these...

My favorite!!

that make me smile and together, we slowly clean pieces of our messy home to help reset it for the next crazy day. Some days are definitely better than others, and... that's just how it goes.

We sure love her..... and the swaddling blankets. They are good.

Daddy melts a bit more each day.

Goodness, her smiles. They come freely and often these days and never cease to make our hearts skip a beat.

5.5 weeks old with the wonderful doctor that delivered her.

Cianisms and Brycen.

The current Cian phrases (that I love at times):

Engineer in Training.

 "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"This is so exciting!"

"Mommy, watch this. It's amazing!"

"Mommy, where are you?" He asks every 2 minutes while Brycen is at school. The fear of being alone still haunts the poor kid (and can drive me crazy). At our ward trunk-or-treat night last month, Cian and Daddy spent most of the night eating their dinner in the empty Relief Society Room because of the purple scary minion that was in attendance with everyone else, eating in the gym. That minion made Cian hysterical. Cian also vetoed Daddy wearing the skeleton costume we own because it was too scary. 

"Sometimes me do, sometimes me don't. That me said". This basally explains why we have never been able to figure this kid out. Cian uses this response as an excuse to not go to nursery, not eat the cereal he liked yesterday, not go potty by himself, etc.



As he was watching "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" one day: "Mommy, see that ship? That's Bucky! Caraline is not Bucky!" (In response to Daddy asking if Caraline was Bucky a few days ago).Cian says Caraline in the cutest way, by the way.

"Haha...Daddy said bonkers! Haha!" (It came completely out of the blue while he was playing with cars. We didn't even know he was listening). Love his sense of humor. And his kisses. He kisses both Caraline and I on the cheek often. Especially when laying down with him at bedtime.

At our local library.

While we can't figure out any way to motivate Cian to do anything (that he doesn't want to do)
....Brycen, on the other hand: I offered him a penny for every article of clean laundry that he folded nicely. Seriously, the best $.69 I have spent lately.

My favorite response of Brycen's lately: after eating a dinner that he hated, Daddy asked, "Was it yummy?" Brycen's response: "Pretty not, actually". We have been working on trying to be polite even if we don't like something (to help us when we are eating at other people's houses).  P.S. you have to throw in a meal that is truly different or disliked every once in awhile, it makes them appreciate the good stuff :)

The Kindergarten Thanksgiving Performance was super cute.

Brycen can be such a good brother.

At a parent/teacher conference with his teacher, the first thing she said was, "Brycen is so awesome!". He loves Kindergarten and works so hard. He spends his time at home, working on all sorts of projects. His coloring and reading have come so far. It is truly amazing to watch.

Package, Horses, Fall, and Baby

We received an awesome box in the mail from Chicago! It was perfect in every way. The day that it arrived, I had put it on my shopping list to find Caraline a hat. Fall is for sure here, and it is a bit chilly. She outgrew all her newborn hats pretty much before she was born. And swaddler blankets have been on my list since Cian was born. But I could only find pink ones back then and blue ones since I found out that we were having a girl. Thank you Tracy!! The clothes, hat, blankets, books, treats and...

cereal are a hit!! Who remembers my post devoted to Fruit Loops with Marshmellows? This Aldi produced cereal is even better (and already gone). Oh, how I miss Aldi.

We just can't get enough of this little one.

And her smiles.

No school this past Monday and Tuesday meant that we could attend a very special Grandma Day.

The 4 adults were definitely outnumbered. By alot.

Brycen (Spiderman, more specifically) was chosen to be the first to ride.

He loved every minute.

His second go-around.

Cian absolutely refused to go until I said that I was going...then he had no choice. He kinda won't let me out of his sight arm's reach. Ever since Halloween, he has been scared of being on the first floor of our home alone (no idea why). I have come out of the shower twice to him going absolutely bolistic that he is calling for me and I wasn't answering. Poor kid is terrified of being alone.

It was my first time since I went with my Aunt Emmy when I was 3 years old. I don't remember when I was 3, but I do have a picture to prove it. I have always wanted to do it again. Alone. Maybe after another 24 years, the alone part will come true :) Either way, I'm so glad I got to do it. And Cian loved it. Of course.

Playing in the horse...yard. What is it called?

Pretty crappy place to play ball (in my opinion) but the boys didn't seem to care!

My big helper and Fall. Great combination.

Cian LOVES to swing. All the time. And nothing else. It's great but so different from Brycen. In other news, the day light savings thing. SO not a fan. The sun sets at 4:45pm!!

Also, he loves Peanut Butter and the fact that "Frosty the Snowman" is now on Netflix.

Miss Caraline turned 1 month old on Sunday (Brycen's half birthday!) and....her hair color is keeping us on our toes. It seems to be getting lighter, maybe red??

She loves holding up her head and turning towards noises. Just over the past day or so, she has started cooing when not sleeping, eating, or screaming and smiling whenever she is being talked to.Oh, I love it! So so much. Brycen and Cian keep asking when she will start talking and... get teeth, they find it SO weird that she doesn't have any. Haha. Gotta love my boys.

LOVE.

 

My sweet, sweet baby.