Lucy is 6 months old!!  Oh my!  Crazy how fast is goes, especially  with the 3rd!   Lucy is the sweetest, most easy-going baby ever.  Seriously, piece of cake kid.  She is always so  bright-eyed and always has a smile for anyone around! What Lucy is up to: -Weight: 11.6 at 5 months, 12.2 at her 6 month appointment.  She has moved from the 13th to the zero percentile.  While are kids are generally small and Addison wasn't even on the growth chart - Addison at least trended upward on her own curve.  Lucy's downward trend is not ideal, but I am confident she is totally fine.  The doctor just wants to keep an eye on her weight.   -I started solids with her this week.  I debated about even giving her cereal given our diet, but I decided to go with organic baby oatmeal for a little while.  I am not going to give her rice cereal at all. I am going to move to table food faster than I did with Addison and My...

Crazy - Lucy is 4 months old!  The saying  is so true: the days are long, but the years fly by. What Lucy is up to: -Not sure what she is up to - I can't make her 4 month well baby check due to the govt shutdown.  Thanks Congress!  - smiling and cooing a lot!  Jabbering too! -eyes are still blue! -still likes to be swaddled, but occasionally gets her arms out -no rolling around just yet, but she can get on her side -has the dreaded cradle cap.  If you have given us a suggestion - we have tried it.  Still no magic cure! -Eating schedule: 8:00 or 8:30 (I normally wake her up at 8:30) 11:30 3:00 6:00 8:30 or 9:00 I have to wake her up pretty much every feeding.  RARELY ever does she wake up crying because she is hungry. - Still going to bed around 9 or 9:30  -Sleep at least 1 1/2 between feedings.  I'm sure she would love to sleep 12 hours at night - just need to get her down earlier! ...

Bear with grammatically incorrect title.  I wish I had time to write every blog post that came to my mind.  It happens almost everyday.  So for the next few minutes I will ignore the to do list and share a simple thought. I had lunch with a cadet last week.  Talking to people younger than me always provides prospective.  I smile when they stress about their grades.  I ALWAYS stressed about my grades and yet no one has ever asked what my GPA was in college.  When they stress about boys  I am reminded that I have been married for 8 1/2 years, and I am thankful that I do not have to revisit that area of life again!  I am thankful for the wisdom that has come through age and experience.   However, some of my favorite moments in those conversations are not when they learn from my experience, but when I learn from their perspective.  When the daily grind hasn't clouded their vision quite like it has mine.  Their eyes are a...

Poor 3rd kid...I missed her 2 month post.  Oh well.  Lucy you are loved, but you are the third child, so you there are many things in life you will have to learn to roll with.   The day we brought Lucy home from the NICU I remember telling Chad - 3 months.  We just need to make it to 3 months.  When you are getting very little sleep, just went through a long NICU ordeal, recovering from surgery and in the middle of a move you need a light at the end of the tunnel.  I knew at the 3 month mark, the move would be over, I would be healed and Lucy would be sleeping through the night.  Thankfully all those things have come true!!  I am not ready for her to grow up, but I am very thankful we are through the sleepless nights and c-section recovery.  What Lucy is up to: -weighed 9lbs 9oz at her 2 month appt.  - smiling and cooing -eyes are still blue!  Her hair is getting lighter too. -still likes to be swaddle...

I am anxious for the school year to start.  While I love a lazy day probably more than I should, I am ready for routine and structure in our day.  Every season of life brings new starts and new beginnings.  It is always refreshing.  I think military families have these more often than most.  The start of a deployment, the joyous end.  A move.  A new job.  Change of Command.  Babies.  They all reshape and redefine what is "normal." This year one of my goals is to blog during seat work time.  This will serve a few purposes - to blog regularly and to keep me engaged in the school day so that I am not distracted by housework and other tasks when Addison needs me.  Our homeschool days get long when Addison finishes an assignment and I am on the phone or doing laundry. As we journey further down this homeschooling road, I pray that I can be an encouragement to other moms, as wiser women have been to me.  If you are a homesch...

Mya was excited to start gymnastics this spring.  I put her in an 8 week class to see how she would like it.  Like her big sister, she loved it!  We seem to be a gymnastics household!  Mya and Addison share a love for gymnastics...but also share a habit of socializing a little too much during class sometimes. :) Mya was very excited that our neighbor Dani was in her class.   Addison was the photographer during Mya's class, so excuse the quality of the photos! Our neighbor Dani Last class before summer! Unfortunately I rarely ever remember to take pictures of Addison during gymnastics.  The last class before summer, I managed to remember my camera! While the girls were gone, we went to the Melting Pot for our anniversary.  We just love the Melting Pot!! Over the July 4th week, I wanted to make a little bit healthier dessert, so I tried frozen yogurt.  This was SOOO Yummy!!  Not perfectly he...

Its 10:40 - the time of night I KNOW I should be in the bed, but I will have to get up in about half an hour to feed Lucy.  I either need to get in the bed at nine or its just not worth it. This week with VBS, its is 9 before we even get home!  My girls are sleeping in in the mornings though, so at least that is nice.   Moving on - Lucy is 5 weeks old!  Crazy!  How true are the words: "The days are long, but the years fly by!"  I really enjoy the newborn stage - I love the snuggling and helplessness of little ones.  I do not however, enjoy the lack of sleep.  At all.  Especially on top of recovering from surgery. Addison dropped her middle of the night feeding at 7 weeks and I am hoping Lucy follows her big sister!  I love looking at those sweet blue eyes, but not at 3 AM anymore. Here is what Lucy is up to... - I have no idea how much she weighs.  People ALWAYS ask me how much she weighs.  I am just curious ...

A few more pictures from the past few weeks... Headed to the airport to pick up Nana and Papa T. Opening their "Big Sister" bags My parents came a few days before Lucy was born and they helped us unpack!  They stayed a week after she was born then took Addison and Mya back to Georgia.  I was sad to see the girls go, knowing they would be gone for three weeks, but I knew that the quiet and rest would be good for Chad, Lucy and me.   Hanging out! The girls having fun in Georgia with their cousins.  I can sleep anywhere! First time at church

When I last left you on the blog, it was the night before going to the hospital to meet Lucy.  Well, so much has happened since then!!  Thanks to everyone for the kind words and prayers for us that morning!  The Lord calmed my nerves and we were feeling good as we prepared to go in very early that Monday morning.  Last moments being pregnant! Checked in and ready to go! My anxiety did increase a little the closer we got to the surgery...the nurse who couldn't get my IV started wasn't helping either.  I still have bruises 3 weeks later!  I had my iPod loaded with encouraging songs and listened as we waited to go back to the OR. When the anesthesiologist came in to check on me, he said I could take my iPod to the OR with me!  Probably not a big deal, but in that moment, it was a comfort for me.  Looking back now, it seems silly that I was more concerned about the c-section than about Lucy considering she was going to be 3 weeks ea...