A good day

A couple of weeks ago, we had a really good day at home.  One of those days when I felt like a good mom.  I wasn't distracted by exhaustion, or my email, or my to do list.  I felt like I was able to be really present with the kids.  I hope we can have more days like this as Poppy gets more predictable and gives me hope that homeschooling will work out!

 We kicked the day off with making Jonas's choice for Treat Tuesday: these baked jelly-filled donut holes.  We watched a little TV (I'm not perfect) and, after lunch, headed outside for a swim in the green pool.  They had a blast and napped well that day!

Cow Appreciation Day 2011

July 8 marked Chick Fil A's annual Cow Appreciation Day.  Erin and I took the boys last year for the "dress like a cow, get a free sandwich deal", and Troy's office has gone the last 3 years.  Chick Fil A made the deal even better this year, offering free kids meals to kids and full value meal to anyone dressed up head to toe. 

Being the expert cow costume maker that he is, Troy whipped up trash bag costumes for our whole fam.  He tested his out at lunch too! Reef was really excited about the costume and Jonas said he wasn't wearing his at all.  Strangely, they switched roles when dinnertime came and Jonas loved his costume, especially the hat.

Here's Troy in his full outfit (there's a tail on the back too) and Chris in his costume.  Can't wait till this deal comes around again next year!

John Paul

For the 4th of July weekend, we had the privilege of having Troy's cousin John Paul visit us from Australia.  He stopped over for a few days before visiting a friend in New York. The boys were beyond excited to have this visitor and really believed he was here just for them. 

Troy took him to the river, Sam's Club, HEB, Sonic for a Route 44 and he also joined us for church, but mostly we enjoyed hanging out at home and in the pool.

This is the only picture I took the whole weekend.  You know you are loved when you are chosen to do the bedtime reading!

Come back soon, JP!

June Zoo Trip

Erin and I decided to tackle a zoo trip last Tuesday.  How hard could it be if there were 2 of us, right?  It was hot and humid, but the boys had a great time.  Poppy didn't love it; I think she was just really hot.  Note to self, though: next time we can definitely get by with just the double stroller or maybe even one single.  Lachlan and Liam did not do much riding since they wanted to keep up with Reef and Jonas.

Our goal was to leave at 7:30 and be there by 8.  This was the first time I have attempted to get out that early.  I made lunches and breakfast the night before and packed all the bags.  I was only 15 minutes late..  I love that the zoo opens so early for members during the summer and wish it was a year round thing!

First we did our traditional lion statue photo and sunscreened everyone.  These 2 just love each other!

Then we wandered around by the bears.  Later that weak Jonas put legos on his fingers so he could have big claws like this bear.

This monkey came down to say Hi to Jonas, who thought it was great.  They even played peek-a-boo!

At the lions or tigers...

The beloved hippos.  Reef always likes to be here at 10am since that's when the keepers finish cleaning the pool and the hippos come out.  We waited for them for a long time, enjoying the AC.

Poppy finally crashed in the stroller.  She was a trooper.

The big boys enjoyed some time at the beach area but L&L were not fans of the water or the sand.  Unfortunately the inside play area was closed, so we had to cut the swimming short.  After a quick lunch, we left the zoo about 11:45 and headed home for some cartoons and much needed naps!

Poppy's 1st month

I can't believe it's already been a whole month!  It has been harder than I thought it would be, but we are finally adjusting to our new normal as a family of 6.  Last week, my "old ladies" as Theresa referred to them all went out of town together, so I was on my own for the week.  Luckily the boys like staying home since it takes a lot of effort to get out of the house these days.  We did conquer the zoo and grocery store on our own though.

Poppy is a good baby and hardly ever cries.  She is eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night.  Her "schedule" is still totally undpredictable though, so I never know when she'll be awake or asleep.  Some nights she goes to bed at 6, others it's midnight.  We need to work on this.  She seems to be unaware that she is baby #4 and does not get to set the schedule!

She has been struggling with reflux and is on prevacid right now.  That seems to be helping, but she still does a lot of gagging/choking at night when I lay her down right after feeding.  She also seems to have some lower GI pain going on and doesn't poop very often.  I am considering trying a dairy free diet to see if that helps at all, but I am dreading that.

Troy is anxiously awaiting the first social smile and thinks it's coming soon.  She rolled from her tummy to her back all by herself on Friday but hasn't done it again since then.  The boys, especially Reef, are still really enjoying their little sister.  He loves to pick out her clothes and bows and always wants to talk to her when she's awake.  Jonas is always very concerned if someone else is holding Poppy.  He makes sure to inform them that she is our baby and is NOT going home with them.  He was also the most excited when she came home from the hospital.  Lachlan gets concerned when she cries and likes to bring her toys that he thinks she will like.  He also has strong opinions about who should hold her at what times.

We've really enjoyed this first month as a family of 6 (!) but hope this next month brings more sleep and a more predictable schedule!

Here are the few pictures I snapped in the last month.  I know I'm a bad mom...

My friend Courtney took some newborn pics for us and they're all so cute.  Although Troy doesn't love those flowers...

An attempt at a group shot...

Jonas wasn't really in the mood for photos...

Her first ride in the stroller.  She loved it, I promise.

Hanging out with Reef while I tucked the others in.  He's such a good big brother!

Kisses from Lachlan.

Sleeping beauty.

My absolute favorite!

Big Lou's

Father's Day this was tough since my grandfather died the week before and the funeral was 2 days before.  Poor Troy didn't even get a card from us.  I had great intentions of buying a card and doing a craft with the boys, but it just never happened.  When I asked Troy what he wanted, he said he wanted to go to Big Lou's for the 42 inch pizza.  Well, the wait for that monster pizza could be as long as 2 hours, so we knew that wouldn't work with our clan.  But they do a carryout 37 inch pizza, so we invited some friends and moved the celebration to our house.

The boys (and Troy) were so excited!  Look at the size of that box!

 We let them each have a whole slice, way more pizza than I'd normally allow.  Obviously they loved it.

Jonas, who usually wants his pizza cut up, used this method to tackle his slice.

Even Lachlan ate almost a whole piece!

The pizza was actually really good too, not just a size gimmick.  I think we'll definitely try it again.  Happy father's day, Troy!