Oh, Max…

Max’s crazy curls match his wild & crazy personality. Turns out cutting off the curls doesn’t cut off his mischief! ;)

First Camping Trip of the Year

Well, we did it.  We successfully camped with three kids 3 and under!  I have to admit, neither Keith nor I looked forward to this trip.  I think we almost changed our minds about ten times in the days leading up to this trip.  We’re both SO glad that we decided to give it a try!

The prep work at home wasn’t fun with two little boys underfoot and a baby who wanted to be held while we packed.  The setup at the campground wasn’t exactly easy, either.  Once we were set up, though, it was SO MUCH FUN!

See?  The boys enjoyed every minute!

The baby was content to nap in the camper, and she slept through the night both nights!  She had her fussy moments during the day, but she was a good little camper!

The boys shared a bunk this year, and Max had a hard time with that on the first night.  He kept waking up whimpering, not knowing where he was.  He also kept rolling onto Alex’s sleeping bag, and then he’d cry when Alex tried to push him away.  Keith got wise for night #2, and we put the bench cushions between the boys to separate them.  It worked, and EVERYONE slept great!

Morning comes a little early when you’re camping with littles, but we tried to keep our kiddos quiet until 7 AM. 

Alex is turning into a water-lover this year.  He had no fear of the lake, and he loved the freedom to swim somewhat independently.  (Daddy is VERY close, don’t worry!)

Max enjoyed splashing near the shore (…and falling flat on his face repeatedly as he ran through the shallow water – his life jacket kept throwing off his balance!)

He very hesitantly went into the deeper water with Daddy, but wasn’t thrilled about it.  Daddy did a great job of helping Max feel comfortable, though.

Max was very brave (TOO brave, really) on the playset.  This is a pretty high tower for a toddler, and he made me very nervous running around up there! Both boys enjoyed watching the peacocks, even though the birds never spread their feathers for us.  Max even threw his shoe to the birdies when Mommy wasn’t looking.  (I had to squeeze my arm through the fencing to retrieve it.)

Last year, Keith told Alex that he would take him fishing when he turned three.  Well, that was in December.  Where do you fish in Indiana in December?! ;) 

So, finally, with his Cars fishing pole in hand, he and Daddy had their first fishing experience together. 

Daddy taught Alex about lures…

They walked to the bridge and got settled……and Daddy and Alex caught a small fish!

Honestly, Keith said Alex is a typical three year old with no attention span.  He’d cast his line, reel it back in right away, and get the line tangled.  Finally, Alex started entertaining himself by “fishing” with a big stick when Daddy stopped fixing his tangled line.  Daddy caught the fish for Alex! ;)  

More pics…    playing under the trees on our sitezooming down the hill on the four-wheeler
both boys LOVED having a hill on our site!

Daddy & Alex had a mud fight!
Note to self: Keep Max FAR AWAY from such events!

 

Daddy taught Alex how to roast marshmallows.
(It was more like how to start marshmallows on fire…)

Max decided Hershey bars are better than making s’mores.  I opened a chocolate bar for myself, and he ate it while I roasted my marshmallow.  Then he proceeded to check all the empty wrappers on the table to see if any chocolate was hiding in there…

We learned a little something from our friend Angie.  There’s NO NEED for any sort of fancy cooking when camping with small children.  Keep it VERY simple – cold cereal in disposable bowls is a fine breakfast.  Hot dogs cooked over the fire, grapes, and potato chips is an easy dinner that leaves no dishes to wash.  Someday we’ll make those yummy camping meals, but for now…SIMPLE is good!

 

I figured that Keith & I would spend most of our time busy with the kids, but I was amazed that we were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy.  The boys played freely, the baby relaxed in our arms, and we had some nice quiet time to just sit.

    

This trip was SO worthwhile!  The forecasted rain never came (thanks, God!), the kids were SO cooperative, and we had a great time!  I don’t know that it will always go so smoothly with three little ones, but we’re so thankful that this first trip convinced us that it’s worth the effort!

Daddy’s iPod

We tend not to spoil ourselves around here.  Our cell phones are very basic.  Until recently, we didn’t even have texting plans!  We don’t have any electronic gadgets, even though we would both really enjoy them.  We have our desktop computer, and that’s it. 

Finally, FINALLY, Keith decided go ahead and get something fun for his birthday this year.  He really debated, but he bought an iPod Touch.

Alex is our gadget kid, and he was anxiously waiting for Daddy to let him check out this new toy.  Daddy downloaded a few kids apps for Alex, and they sat down at the table to try it out.  I think it’s safe to say that Alex was having fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keith downloaded a bunch of new stuff while he had nothing to do at the hotel in Pittsburgh.  We’ve all been enjoying Daddy’s new toy since he came home!  Oh, and I know what I want for Christmas this year ;) 

What are your favorite apps (especially ones for your kiddos) on your iPod?  We’re mainly looking for the free ones…and that probably doesn’t surprise you! ;)

While Daddy was gone

Daddy was on a business trip in Pittsburgh last week, and my sister suggested that Emma (her 12 year daughter) come and keep us company for a few days.

We had lots of fun!  We picked up Emma on Tuesday, spent the day at Grandma & Grandpa’s house, and then headed back home.  We enjoyed dinner and ice cream at Dairy Queen.  (I  love that place –with coupons, our total was $13 for dinner & ice cream!)

Alex didn’t get too messy, but Max was coated in chocolate by the time he finished his dilly bar!  Emma was a big help – taking Alex to the restroom, refilling drink cups, etc.

She helped Alex and Max build a whole new (very cool) track for their Thomas trains. 

She sat at the counter with them and played PlayDoh for over an hour!

Check out Emma’s adorable Curious George:

She came with us to Uncle Jim’s house to go swimming on Wednesday night…

We sure enjoyed having Emma at our house!  I think the boys would like her to move in permanently!

Aunt Donna came on Thursday to pick up Emma.  She got lots of snuggle time with Jensyn, and even got to give her a bottle. 

Poor Aunt Donna – it should have taken an hour to get here, and it took over TWO hours.  She got caught in a long line of traffic, sat there forever, and then I had to navigate her down random, rain-flooded, country roads to get her to our house.  What an adventure!

We ended up going to a favorite pizza place for a late lunch, and the boys got to skip their nap in order to spend a little more time with Emma & Aunt Donna before they headed for home.

Now it’s back to the same old, boring days with Mommy!  Thanks, Emma, for making the boys days a whole lot more exciting last week!

Sweet Smiles

Jensyn is smiling more and more every day, and we’re loving it.  This was in the garage one day while the boys were playing in the driveway.  She was so happy!

Later on, we found a SNAKE in the garage.  It was just a small, harmless garter snake.  It’s still GROSS, however, to think that my baby girl was sitting inches from the ground in the same spot we later found the snake.  I hope Mr. Snake showed up later, and wasn’t lurking under her bouncy seat. *shudder* 

(For the record, Keith was out of town.  My terrific idea for getting rid of the snake was to leave the garage door open for several hours and hope he slithered out.  With my luck, he’s all curled up inside a case of Coke in the garage, and I’ll find him in my refrigerator when I bring the case inside…)

Jensyn – 2 Months

Little Miss turned 2 months old on Saturday.  Time is FLYING!

She had her 2 month well-baby visit on Monday with Dr. Brewer.  Pretty standard – nothing special.  Dr. Brewer did say that Jensyn has really good head/neck control for a baby her age.

Jensyn’s stats:

10 lbs, 14 oz
22.5 inches long
15” head circumference

For comparison:

Alex, at two months, weighed 11 lbs, 7 oz and measured 23.5 inches long.

Max weighs 11 lbs, 8 oz and measures 23.75 inches

It’s interesting that our biggest baby at birth (that’d be Jensyn) is the smallest of the babies at 2 months.  Perhaps she knows that her mama wants her to stay little! ;)

Jensyn is a pretty easy baby, but when she wants to be held…HOLD HER or she’ll scream!  She’ll often sit contentedly in her bouncy seat in the morning.  In the afternoon and evening, though, be prepared to hold, cuddle, and bounce her when she’s awake.  Sometimes the swing will buy me 15 minutes to put away laundry or give the boys a bath if Keith’s not home to help.

This little lady continues to be a really good night-time sleeper.  I usually nurse her (or she sucks her pacifier if she’s nursed after 10) at about 10:45, holding her until she’s lightly asleep. She’ll often open her eyes and stir as I’m laying her in the crib. I really should start putting her down drowsy, but awake…but it’s so cuddly holding her until she’s sleeping!

She’s asleep by 11 PM and ,for the past few nights, wakes around 6 AM.  She nurses at 6, then goes back to sleep until I wake her around 8:30 or 9 AM.

She’s outgrowing her swaddle wrap, and I’m thinking that we’re going to need a new summer-weight one.  I’m not about to attempt putting her to bed without a swaddle since she sleeps so well at night!  We’ve got plenty of fleece ones, but they’re really too heavy for June!

She naps during the day, usually on her tummy in her crib, but sometimes in her bouncy seat.  She’s not on a set schedule yet, but she seems to take a couple of shorter naps in the morning, a longer (2+ hour) nap in the afternoon, and a couple of catnaps in our arms in the evening.

She’s the first of our babies to LOVE the pacifier.  That little girl just loves to suck on her Nuk!

We gave Jensyn her first bottle on Friday night.  We weren’t going to do it, but a few things made us decide it could come in handy.  I had an ER visit during the night, and we had to bring her along so she could nurse if needed.  It’s a little crazy toting your baby to the ER at 2 AM!  Also, we’ll be taking a vacation – which we hadn’t planned to do – this summer, and we’re hoping to leave her with family while we see a show in Branson.Anyway, she did a great job with her first bottle and sucked it dry in a hurry!  Even though we have a bunch of Playtex bottles, we gave her a Gerber Nuk bottle since she’s used to those pacifiers.  We only have one Nuk bottle, so it’s a good thing she’s only going to take the occasional bottle!  (Besides, I’m *really* glad to get our big tote full of bottles out of the baby’s closet!)

She’s an excellent nurser, almost as quick about it as Max.  She nurses every 3 hours or so during the day, more often in the evening, and then has that nice long night-time stretch of 6 – 7 hours.  I love her for that! :)

She’s smiling more often, but Jensyn still isn’t making many baby coos.  She’ll squeal on occasion, but isn’t a real “talker” just yet.  Dr. Brewer was saying today that 3 months is when most babies are getting pretty good at the coo-ing thing.

Our old play gym had no more dangling toys – Alex & Max wore it out!  My parents bought this one for Jensyn.   Isn’t it cute?  Anyway, she’ll lay under here, and she enjoys watching the toys if you wiggle them.  She’s not batting at them yet, but she’ll watch the toys for 10 – 15 minutes.  

That’s about all…a sweet, precious little one who’s growing well and is pretty content.  We’re in love with this little one, and I think we’ll keep her for a while! ;)