The Humor

Its hard for me to admit, just because of the title (and language) but I am currently reading the following book:

 ... and you know what?  I am really enjoying this book.

I don't think I would have liked this book when Tracey was a toddler, not that she didn't have her hard moments... but I just didn't need this kind of humor.  Now, with two two-year-olds, one of whom is a little man, I am really enjoying the humor of this book.

If you're the mother of a toddler and wanting to laugh at the situations you find yourself in... but you can't because then your child will do it all the time, then I'd recommend this book... I think.  I've only read about twenty pages, but I've really liked the ten pages.

Here's an excerpt from page 15:

"How Do I Become a Better Parent?
Who cares? Right now your job as a parent is to survive.  You are in the trenches with a psychopath.  Remember that.  This isn't the time to play Holier Than Thou Parent.  it's time to make it to the next day." 

Oh, the humor.  I appreciate the humor.

 

Measure Me!

"Measure me," they say in unison as they come down the stairs.

The thing is... Howard is standing at Tracey's growth chart... and Caroline is standing at no growth chart.

At least they're cute... and Caroline is perfecting her "Cheese!" smile.

Real Life

The other day, the kids and I were outside playing in the snow.  I took two selfies because I was wearing Addallee in a new sweatshirt that has a little head hole for her while I'm wearing her.

I got one normal selfie in...

then I went to take another, and I saw one of my children doing something they weren't supposed to, and I accidentally caught my expression in the next selfie.

This is real life around here.

 

Addallee Marigold

I have not yet posted how we came to choose Addallee's name.  With our other three children, we did not know if we were having a boy or a girl, so the naming process was a little different in that we really could not choose a name before the baby arrived.  This time, we knew we were having a baby girl, so we really could have chosen a name before she arrived... but we didn't.  We always have some ideas for names... a short list of names, but we have to meet our baby before we decide, for sure, what his or her name will be.

In the case of Addallee, it took us the longest to agree for sure on her name.  She was born at 11:26am, and we probably agreed on her name about 1:00pm.

We named her Addallee because we liked the significance that every letter occurs twice.  We like that through the double letters of her name, she is an extra blessing and given another chance.  We had some medical situations arise during my pregnancy with her, and so we  were really drawn to the extra blessing and second chance idea of the letters of her name.  We also liked that a nickname would be Lee Lee -- which also holds up to the same double symbolism.

All of our children are named after someone we know, and Addallee is no exception... although the person she is named after, we do not know personally.  She is named after someone we know of.  Her namesake also had a medical scare early in life and was named Addallee (double of each letter) because God gave her a second chance at life.

Her middle name is Marigold based on a story that Hubby read while I was pregnant about the marigold flower.  Here is a portion of the passage:

"Many experienced gardeners follow a concept called companion planting: placing certain vegetables and plants near each other to improve growth for one or both plants. For example, rose growers plant garlic near their roses because it repels bugs and prevents fungal diseases. Among companion plants, the marigold is one of the best: It protects a wide variety of plants from pests and harmful weeds. If you plant a marigold beside most any garden vegetable, that vegetable will grow big and strong and healthy, protected and encouraged by its marigold."

By naming our daughter Addallee Marigold, we were celebrating the double blessing and second chance of our sweet baby girl, and believing and claiming the great joy she will bring not only to our family, and to her siblings but to the entire world around her, and everyone with whom she has contact.

Discovering we were expecting Addallee Marigold was a big surprise to us, and then the journey of her pregnancy was more trying than our other pregnancies have been.  That being said, we know she was such a gift from God, because we did not plan on another baby in the timing of her arrival -- but God perfectly planned our fourth baby, and the timing of her arrival.  Just as He perfectly planned her arrival, He has perfectly planned every day she will walk the Earth, and we are believing she will be a beautiful, encouraging, and joyful influence on everyone around her.

 

Addallee Marigold -- Four Months

Our little lady is now four months old!

Here she is at four months...

and three months...

and two months...

 

and one month...
 

and as a sweet newborn.

Weight: 

According to our bathroom scale, I estimate she's about 15 pounds.  She has the cutest little leg rolls now, and she's getting nice chubby cheeks.  :-D

Length:  

Her length is harder to estimate... she wears three and six month clothing and we've had to move the straps on her carseat to the next highest opening... so she's growing.

Clothing size: 

She wears 3 and 6 month clothing.  All the newborn clothes and the 0-3 onesies have been put away.

Eating:  

Addallee nurses well and when she needs to.  She nurses on demand, so I really don't know how often.  When I have to leave bottles for her, she will polish off over 5 ounces in a feeding, so she is getting plenty of good mama milk.

Sleeping:  

Addallee sleeps in our room in a bassinet laying flat on her back (we're out of the dock-a-tot now) and she wears a sleep sack vest with her arms out.  This seems to be a great way for her to sleep at the moment, and she usually nurses once or twice a night, and just a quick snack and back to bed.  The only nights she really struggles is if she has a stuffy nose.  She has napped once in a crib in the nursery, but that seemed to be a one-time occurrence.

 

New things/discoveries: 

• She now has begun to play in the exersaucer and bouncy swing
• She has rolled over from her tummy to her back a few times
• She had her first Valentine's Day
• She was sick for the first time with congestion, cough, and probably an ear infection (but it was healing by the time we went to the doctor)
• She had her first times playing in the snow with her siblings -- okay... her first times being worn in the carrier while her siblings play in the snow

 

  
New Accomplishments: 

• She has just started to try to giggle, which is so sweet
• She loves smiling at her siblings
• She chatters and coos a lot when Hubby, her siblings or I are making eye contact and engaging with her.
• She has started trying to grab whatever is in my hands while I'm holding her
• She's sleeping longer stretches at night, napping with a little more predictability and is awake for longer stretches during the day.
• She has gone down the slide of the bouncehouse with her siblings
• Tracey has been allowed to hold her standing up once or twice (with very close supervision)

Likes: 

• Attention
• Exersaucer
• Pacifiers
• Nursing
• Her siblings
• Warm baths
• Being worn in a Moby wrap
• Sitting up in the panda chair or bumpo chair 
• This is actually a hard category because she likes so many things.  She is such a happy girl and loves to be included with everything going on.

Dislikes:

• Being hungry
• Being cold

 
 Places She's Gone:

•  I don't think I mentioned that last month, she was the demonstration baby for a baby bath lesson in Tracey's class -- she literally got a bath at school
• First trip to the grocery store and other errands by myself with all four children for the first time.
• Valentine's Family Dinner at Qdoba
• Fun night with Howard and friends at Chuck-E-Cheese

Special Memories:

•  The time at Chuck-E-Cheese's
• The Valentine's Dinner
• Tracey's fourth birthday, which means we officially no longer have four children under four... we now have four children under five 
• Not really good memories... but I guess its special when all children get sick at once -- that happened this past month, which led to some quiet days of cuddles
• Also, not good but Howard had stitches for the first time, so we had several unexpected trips to the doctor

Nicknames:

• Addallee Marigold (Tracey calls her this, which is adorable)
• Lee Lee
• Caroline calls her "Yaya"

Says It All

Her shirt says it all...

 

The Magic Sentence

Yesterday afternoon, I experienced a new "first" of motherhood... the first time I could not find one of my children for ten minutes -- which is way too long.

Howard had been playing with a ball on our stairs -- standing on the landing of our stairs (four stairs up from the main floor), putting the ball on our banister and watching it roll down to the ground, and then picking up the ball and doing it again.  Usually we have baby gates closed blocking off the different floors, but yesterday afternoon both Howard and Tracey were enjoying this game involving the banister, so I let the gate state open and the game continue.

Howard had his turn with the ball and let the ball go down the banister, and I was busy with Caroline and Addallee at the kitchen table, staring to prepare an afternoon snack.  Then, I realized Howard wasn't playing with the ball anymore.  After a minute of realizing he wasn't playing on the stairs, I realized I couldn't hear him at all -- he must have gone upstairs.  I couldn't hear any noise coming from upstairs so I knew I needed to see what he was up to.  I quickly headed upstairs to find Howard.  Howard was nowhere to be found.

At first I quickly checked the rooms hoping I wouldn't find him getting into trouble.  When I couldn't find him, then I thought he might be hiding in a room, so I looked in every room upstairs again, a little more thoroughly.  Then I looked again and turned on all the lights in every room upstairs, and started looking in closets and under beds.  Then I frantically checked the main floor and the basement, and I did not find him anywhere.  By then, both Tracey and Caroline knew Howard was missing and started helping me look.

They would both call his name, and Tracey would say, "Howard!  I miss you.  Oh, Howard, Oh, Howard, I miss you." 

Caroline would say, "Howa?  Are you?"

After multiple searches of the upstairs, main floor, and downstairs, I knew he had to be in the house because all the doors were locked from the inside.  I knew he might be hiding somewhere, but he also might be stuck somewhere and hurt or in trouble.  When he was still unaccounted for after many searches of the house, I started calling Hubby on the phone.  I knew he was still at work, but I sent him a text that said, "Call me immediately.  This is an emergency.  If you don't call me I am calling the police."  I also texted a few of his colleagues to have him call me.

I had no idea what else to do except continuing to look all over the house again, and again, and again. 

Finally, after the longest ten minute of my life, instead of just calling his name, I spoke the magic words, "Howard, I have a cookie!"

With that magic sentence, I suddenly heard a rustle from my closet, and my son's small voice say, "Cookie?!" 

In a closet, I had checked at least five times, Howard was hiding behind Hubby's sweatshirts playing with my makeup.  Luckily, the suggestion of a cookie was enough to encourage him to emerge.

The fact he was literally in the closet putting on makeup is something I'll think about another day... for now, I'm just happy he's found, and I will have to remember offering a cookie much sooner the next time a child is unaccounted for.