(Super) Ballerinas

In an effort to make sure we get out of the house at least once a week this summer for something fun, I enrolled the girls in an 8-week dance class. Avery has been asking for an entire year to do ballet again, and I figured Eleanor would want to as well if big sis was.

There is just one other girl in Eleanor's class, and there are about 8 little girls in Avery's.

Avery took right to it, doing all the dance moves and she raves about it all week between classes. Eleanor, on the other hand, tentatively walked into the room and just stood there, arms crossed, for almost the entire class. She eventually followed the teacher around, and she held the props when given to her, but that girl did not wiggle or spin or even smile. Her teacher kindly suggested that we give it another week, and then maybe consider removing her from the class.

Week two - same thing. Arms crossed, no smiling. Until halfway through, when she decided to try a couple of the steps, and then, boom! She loved it! Every week brings more excitement and more action from Eleanor, so that now she gives me an unsure look at first before hopping right in and dancing. Maybe it's the confidence that comes from wearing her superman shirt and her superman cape to class? ADORABLE.

Eleanor - don't tell Avery, but I think you have more natural talent at this. You always have been my motor one.

 

See the cutie with the short red hair? She was in Avery's preschool class this past year. 

Lately

I haven't simply rambled on here in a long time, but I wanted to document our daily life now that we have Jack. People often ask me how the transition to three kids has gone, if we're getting sleep, do I love it, etc. The answer to those, in order: well enough, no, yes.

The transition was hard, mind-boggling hard, the first 4-6 weeks. This was due in part to recovering physically, partly to lack of sleep, and partly due to Jack's tummy issues. He needed to be held more than my other babies because he hurt. We had a lot of help from the grandmas which was a huge blessing, but I was missing out on time with my girls because he was so needy. Honestly, I was glad to pass the girls off to Luke or the grandmas and just focus on feeling better and taking care of Jack. Mentally, that was all I could handle. I'm thankful that I was able to do that.

We turned a corner around 6 weeks, and I felt like a real person again instead of a zombie. We have hard days for sure, but the girls are getting along better, Jack is sleeping well (or was, til this past week), we make it to dance class and Bible study and church every week. We even all get to the grocery store together most weeks, though sometimes I go in the evening by myself - I swear, that's like a vacation. We've spent just about every Friday at the library picking out new books because Avery is reading now.

I love how Jack has rounded out our family and how he fits in so well. I'm thankful that he's an easy-going baby. It's great to sit back and watch the bond that the three kids are forming, even now when he's still so little.

Am I thankful that we had a boy this time? Yes, but not because he's the prized prince, the long-awaited son. I would have been just as tickled to have another girl. It's just been fun to see the differences (already) in what a boy brings to our family dynamics. Plus, he's just about the happiest baby ever, so of course I'm delighted.

What do we struggle with now? Keeping up with laundry. Oh goodness, despite my highly organized laundry sorting system installed before he was born, we simply cannot keep up with it. Clothes EVERYWHERE. The girls change outfits multiple times a day and then end it by running around in just underwear. I can't keep track of what's still clean and what's dirty, and it all usually ends up wadded up on the laundry room floor.

Potty-training. Oh the super-glamorous messy side of parenting. I was going to do a separate post on this, but there isn't much to say. She decided to start all on her own, she rarely has a pee accident and every day has a poop accident. Poop presents are starting to give her the incentive needed to put it in the potty, but it's not a sure thing yet. Glad we have a diaper sprayer - comes in handy for more than just diapers now. I don't even stress when we run errands or are in the car for awhile because she's doing so well with it.

We went out of town two weekends ago, and I'm STILL trying to recover from that trip. But look at these sweet sisters, camping out on the air mattress together instead of on the actual bed.

There is always a balance to strike in being honest and not complaining. The days are long and I dream of being alone and having no one touch me or need me, but I love all of this.

3 Months

Jack turned three months old on the 4th of July, which means this post is more than a week late and we were out of town. We don't return to the pediatrician until August, but we did go for just a shot this month and they did a quick weight check: 14 lbs 1 oz. Big guy! He's going to need a bigger carseat loooong before the girls did.

At 3 months old, Jack:

• smiles and talks to us all day long
• is still eating every 2-3 hours during the day
• can sleep 9-10 hours straight at night, but not consistently yet
• takes roughly 3 naps a day, if our schedule allows it since we are often running to Bible study or the grocery store or dance class; sometimes he has a short snooze in the evening too as he waits for me to get organized for his bedtime routine
• aims for bedtime around 7 pm, but some nights it takes 45 minutes for him to drift off; he wants to nurse to sleep and I don't want him to be dependent on that, but he usually wins at night. It's easier to lay him down awake for naps.
• tried a bottle again one night when I went out with a friend. This is only the second time I've left for at most two hours, and he HATES the bottle. He looks at you like you've betrayed him. 
• met his new friend Virginia in Waco! She's a sweetie, and we all fell in love with her. Virginia is 2 months younger than Jack, and her older sisters are very close in age to both Avery and Eleanor. We drove in for the day, played at the children's museum, had lunch and then enjoyed the sunshine in their yard. 
• enjoys the swing and very occasionally falls asleep in it
• is still in our room at night, mostly because we don't have a baby monitor (update: purchased one and moved him two nights ago)
• adores his big sisters and loves when they dote on him
• spits up MUCH less than he did a month ago, for which we are very thankful. It appears that all of the issues we had in his first month with breathing, spitting up, projectile vomiting, etc have fully resolved themselves.
• went to Dallas for a wedding and was the most perfect baby the entire weekend - this was probably because he was the only child for three days and loved all of the attention we could give him
• met his Pappaw for the first time, who had been working in Nigeria and just returned home!
• is in a size one diaper, though it's a bit snug (when we use disposables). We try and keep up with the cloth but some weeks we're just too tired or too far behind on regular laundry. 
• still stares at me all day long, which makes me feel like the most adored mommy ever.

We love you to pieces little man!

And, some photos from my phone, because I left my camera at my mom's house....

Avery read him a story.

Miss Virginia!

instead of falling asleep, he wanted to talk. I think he frequently tells me I'm pretty.

twinsies

Dressing him like an old man is the best thing ever. 

first face-time experience with Avery and Nana

my glo-worm