47/52 + 24 weeks

1 - LM's newest thing is to practice longboarding on the driveway (which she can still do because this winter weather is crazy mild. Where is all the snow?!). It's fun to watch her grow in her abilities and confidence the older she gets. It seems just like yesterday she was a toddler and I would sit her on this board and push her back and forth across our old driveway. 

2 - I wish I could bottle Lark up right at this moment. She is my independent, hilarious child who can do so many things for herself and makes me laugh all day long, but she is also still my baby girl who will wrap up in her "purple blankie," ask me to sing her a song and fall asleep in my arms. The best of both worlds.

3 - Tommy has entered the next stage of baby hood and now sits up and eats solid foods. He is the happiest little dude. I am enjoying this active, but non-mobile stage while it lasts because I know the next stage is going to be busy!

45/52 + 21 weeks

1 , 2, 3 - These mild Fall days have been golden.

43/52 + 21 weeks

1 - I set up a homework station for LM at a table downstairs so that is where you will find us every week day afternoon. I am really proud of how well she is doing and the work ethic she is building - most of the time. ;) Of course she is a six year-old who likes to play and doesn't always stay on task, so some days are more challenging than others to get everything done. She is really improving in her Spanish reading and writing though, which makes me happy if only because it means her homework doesn't take as long, ha!

2 - Every day the weather allows us Lark, Tommy, and I walk to get LM from school then we head over to the neighborhood park. We sit on our favorite bench and the girls finish off any leftover lunch items in the bento box while relating any important tidbits of their day to each other before running off to play. Tommy usually falls asleep at some point and I get to sit and think with the breeze on my face in between sessions of pushing Lark on the swings. When we decide it's time to go home the girls collect their inevitably tossed shoes and glide ahead of me on their scooters, always stopping to get a drink from the water fountain. Tommy might wake up and start blowing raspberries at me from his seat. We count down the number of blocks left to go, and if the crossing guard is still on duty at the crosswalk we feel lucky to be paraded across the street without having to wait for an opening in the traffic. It's a simple routine that I have come to cherish, and one I know I will look back on with fondness.

3 - Tommy is officially a full blown thumb sucker. I waved the white flag of pacifier defeat, took a deep breath, and accepted it. It is most definitely not the end of the world. You win some, you lose some. 

42/52 + 20 weeks

1 - We spent Halloween trick-or-treating with cousins. The girls wanted to be Anna and Elsa and since we already had the dress-ups the only effort I had to exert was braiding their hair. This was the first Halloween I didn't make any part of their costumes and I did miss the creative process. I hope next year they want to be something we don't already have so I can make at least part of their costume. But, really, what else could they have been this year?! I mean, there were about a million cute little Annas and Elsas running around town, but they were the only ones with the correct hair color AND familial relationship. Boom.

2 - We made it to a pumpkin patch just a couple of days before Halloween. The girls ran out in front of everyone getting off of the hay ride and claimed their pumpkins by sitting on them. I promise we don't practice that type of behavior at home, ha.

3 - Tommy's first time at a pumpkin patch = my first time nursing on a pokey hay bale bench. Also, #menwearingbabies.

41/52 + 19 weeks

1 -  LM got in a cat fight last week. Okay, maybe not. But a cat was thrown at her face and she got a gnarly looking scratch that barely missed her eye and goes all the way down her cheek on one side. Luckily it wasn't too deep so she won't have a lasting scar. I was not very happy when it happened and the mama bear in me came out since it was not an accident, but sometimes crazy things happen when a bunch of kids are playing together and I had to dig down in my heart for some forgiveness. It helped that she forgave the child soon after and was a good example to me. I am constantly learning to be a better person from my children.

2 - This is the week we will start working on saying goodbye to Lark's thumb sucking. We have a plan all worked out with daily incentives that I am crossing my fingers will work since it is a lot cheaper than my plan B. I was just going to splurge on the thumb guard, but I decided I may as well see if I can go a less expensive route first. I have been talking to her about stopping for a while now to get her used to the idea. I can tell she is starting to come around so she won't feel like we are forcing her to quit against her will, but I'm sure it is not going to be all sunshine and roses. I have no wish to make this a bad experience for her though. My hope is that I can help her feel empowered and ready to make the choice to stop herself as the days go on. I'm sure it is going to take a lot of patience and love. Wish us luck!  

3 - And as I try to wean one child off of the thumb, another has started finding and sucking on his, haaaaa. Funny joke, life. I know it is not the end of the world, but I had really hoped he would take a paci. He sort of does both at this point so I haven't completely given up. I know everyone has differing opinions on this, but I've experienced a child who took a paci (LM) and a thumb sucker (Lark) and I would just rather play out the paci scenario again with Tommy. I shouldn't complain though because at this point he mostly just does it at night which is helping him sleep from 7 pm-7 am which is actually pretty great.


p.s. The winners of the Luvsome giveaway have been notified by email. Thanks to all of those who entered!

38/52 + 16 weeks

(I meant to post this last week)

Sometimes the only pictures I take all week are snapped within five minutes of each other like these. There is less variety but I am still capturing a moment that is worth remembering to me. Honestly, I am quite proud of how I am doing with this challenge, even though I've missed some weeks along the way, and I am so glad it has motivated me to get my camera out (and not just my phone) even if it was only for a few minutes one day. Life with three young kids is busy!

1- The girls like to let Tommy pull their hair since he has recently discovered his hands and is starting to grab at things. It is cute and funny to them now, but I'm sure as the months go on when he gets a fistful of hair it will become less so, ha.

2 - I read somewhere that redheads have a higher pain tolerance and it seems to be true when it comes to Larkie. While the rest of us have a point where we yell out and stop Tommy from pulling our hair out, she just sits there and giggles the whole time no matter how hard he pulls.

3 - Tommy started rolling all the way over the day he turned 4 months old. As you can see he is quite happy about this new trick. Or, maybe he just finds it amusing that we are all willingly letting him yank on our hair for kicks. :)

37/52 + 15 weeks

1 - LM has done a stand up job of switching back into school mode. We both have mornings where we would rather sleep in and afternoons where neither one of us is thrilled to sit down and do homework, but I can feel the lazy days of summer starting to shake off and structure beginning to take form. She is in a school where she is taught in Spanish half of the day and English the other half and I kid you not the very first day of school she came home rolling her r's like a buttery purring lion. Sometimes I ask her to say words just so I can hearrrrr it. Honorable mention: she got 100% on her first spelling test today!

2 - Lark is seriously a hoot, unlike this picture where she looks rather serious (but cute) as she searches for ripe tomatoes in the garden (which she does everyday). This week we were driving in the car and she asked me, "Mom, why do we call it bear feet when it's not covered?" I was confused for a second until I realized she meant why do we call it bare feet when we don't wear shoes, so we talked about the difference between the two and then she was quiet for a moment.

"Hey, mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Why doesn't a bear where shoes?"
"I don't know, why?"
"Because it has bare feet!"

Dead.

3 - Tommy is allllmost rolling over to his right side.

36/52 + 14 weeks

So, I am pretty consistent at not being consistent when it comes to blogging, especially during summertime when it is certainly better for my soul to be outside rather than in front of a computer screen. We have been going on lots of walks, LM started school, I started exercising every morning once more, and Tommy started sleeping through the night. I am harvesting what little survived in my poor neglected garden this year (tomatoes, green beans, chard, kale, and basil), and will be canning the pears and apples from our trees later this week. We are getting back into a routine with a rhythm that feels good.

I haven't been very good at taking pictures the last month, so I am not going to worry about playing catch up for this weekly series and just start off again fresh this week.

1 - LM shucking corn on the front porch in this perfect September weather. We've been enjoying a lot of fresh local produce and cool breezes lately. No complaints here.

2 - Lark has started to become more affectionate lately and I am soaking it all up like a sponge. I love our mornings together while sister is in school.

3 - Tommy is three months old! He sleeps like a champ, laughs when we nibble on his cheeks, and 'talks' to us with the sweetest voice. He kick, kick, kicks those little legs as fast as he can and prefers his fist to a pacifier. He is just the best, I tell ya.

29/52 + 7 weeks

1 - LM has been proclaiming her independence lately. According to her, she is old enough to start doing certain things on her own now, some more risky than others. I've been letting her stretch her wings and try doing a few jobs all by herself with supervision and rules set in place, like painting her nails or using the sharp knives to help cut vegetables for dinner. She also wants to make her own lunch often. This means she eats an egg salad sandwich almost daily because using an egg slicer is the jam when you're five.

I'll be honest, its a little hard for me to watch her make a big mess in the kitchen or be patient as she takes waaaaay longer to paint her nails than if I just did it for her. But seeing her so proud of her handiwork and watching her gain confidence, that is 100% worth it.

2 - Lark has a new way of reading (read: looking at the pictures and making up stories) books. She never ceases to put a smile on my face with her shenanigans.

3 & 4 - Sweet Tommy's smile very well could bring about world peace. Today LM was upset over something I can't even remember and she started to yell in frustration when Tommy looked directly at her and got the biggest grin on his face. It immediately cut her tirade short. She started laughing instead and basically melted into a gushy puddle at his feet and forgot all about her supposed injustice. His little squishy face is irresistible. Thanks again for that one, Tommy.

 

28/52 + 6 weeks

1 - Both LM and I cut our hair shorter this week.

2 - Lark can often be found singing in the living room. She makes up songs and right now her favorite lyrics on repeat are, "I like to play all day, today. Is it alright, is it okay? I like to play all day, tonight. Is it okay, is it alright?" It has a cute little tune that is actually quite catchy. 

3 - Tommy is 6 weeks old already, wha? He is smiling more and more every day, and growing way too fast. He wakes me up to eat twice during the night and takes a few nice long naps for me during the day.  

52 week project catch up pt 2.

23/52 + 1 Week:

24/52 + 2 Weeks:

And now you know I wasn't kidding when I said there would be a lot of pictures of us holding Tommy. :) The first two weeks of his life I don't think I left the house. We just laid low as I figured out how to split my attention between three children and give them all what they needed to feel loved. I did have some help from my mom and sister Amy so I could get some rest too, and lucky for me the girls adjusted well and were as helpful to me as I had hoped they would be.

At the end of the second week they went to stay with my oldest sister Jayne for three days and had a blast playing with her six kids whom they absolutely adore. It was so quiet and peaceful with just a baby in the house and I loved getting to focus my attention solely on Tommy. We also had a lot of meals brought over by family, neighbors, and church friends. We are surrounded by some really wonderful and loving people who are quick to serve and good examples to me that I am grateful for - we were well taken care of, thank you!! To top it all off Tommy never had his days and nights mixed up so he would go straight back to sleep after every single one of his nighttime feedings (he still does, don't jinx me internet!), so instead of being completely exhausted I was only very tired. ;)

25/52 + 3 Weeks:

At three weeks I felt like we were getting into the swing of things. I put on make up and got dressed in something that didn't come from the pajama drawer! We actually left the house a few times! I finally thought to pull out my big camera and take some pictures of the kids all together. Tommy was not very happy about it at the time so it was short lived, but I am really happy with the handful of pictures I was able to capture regardless. I want to remember this special time. These girls are constantly by his side, asking if they can hold him and giving him kisses. I jokingly say that he is either going to grow up feeling extra loved or extra smothered, ha. I imagine all of the enthusiastic attention from the girls will die down a bit the longer he is around, but I hope they will always be kind and show him a little bit of extra love.    

26/52 + 4 Weeks:

At four weeks Tommy started giving us those very first rare smiles that make rational human beings speak in ridiculously high voices and pull the cheesiest of faces all for the glory of saying, "He smiled at me!" For the record, I hold the bragging rights that he smiled at me first.

We also spent Fourth of July weekend with family. The girls swam and played with cousins while the adults played volleyball and took turns holding Tommy while he snoozed. 

27/52 + 5 Weeks:

 

We have started taking a family walk in the evenings when it cools down after dinner. The girls scoot or bike off the last of their energy for the day while we push (or race) Tommy in his stroller and it just feels really good. To be at this place in our lives, happy and together. Life is feeling normal again, but an even better normal than it was before.

And now we are officially caught up.