Addy @ Three Months

Addy Kay, you are three months old!

You are wearing green edge infant prefolds. Small covers, sometimes mediums if I have not washed! Mainly 3-6 month clothes. You were a size 2 shoe. You are rolling from belly to back and back to belly with no problem, you can also get up on your knees for a short time. I believe you weigh about 14 pounds, that's an estimate from our bathroom scales. Your legs have definitely filled out!

Your hair is beginning to thin and so is Momma's! You are sleeping in YOUR own crib...ALL NIGHT LONG! Wow, didn't even know that was possible! I have a lot of theories on why you can do this but none of your other siblings did. 1)Maybe you are bigger and can go longer without eating. 2)You weren't held 24-7 (it breaks my heart thinking about it) because of your NICU stay so you learned to self-soothe. 3) I didn't stress about you sleeping through the night and didn't try to put you in your own crib. No matter what the reason, it has been such a blessing. Even when you slept in our bed, I slept pretty well, or so I thought. The first night you slept in the crib, I woke up at 5:30 and felt WONDERFUL, after only 4 hours of sleep. So obviously I wasn't sleeping as sound as I thought. Your sister is sleeping in her toddler bed, and after 5 years of always having a baby in our bed, we realized we really don't NEED a king size bed!

I think you look like Austen's baby pictures, although I see a lot of Aiden and Ava in certain expressions.

You have made your first trip to the zoo. You celebrated your first Easter. You have attended three birthday parties, your sister's, Madisyn's and Bailee's. You helped me celebrate my first Mother's Day as a mommy to four. You attended Emily's high school graduation, which was an experience in itself (tornado and all)! You continue to be a blessing to our family, we cannot imagine our lives without you! We love you!

Emily's Graduation

Ms. Emily is very special to us. She is the granddaughter of some dear friends of ours. We have known her for a while, but for almost a year now she has been an important part of our lives. She is very sweet, kind and wonderful with our kids. She babysits for us occasionally, and without her help we would never have been able to attend our Bradley classes. The kids are in love with her and I consider her to be a dear friend. Here are some pics from her graduation and party.

Class of 2011
Addy was really fussy and I was not able to get many pics at the ceremony. Addy was wanting to fall asleep and every time she would close her eyes, they would announce another name and she would startle and wake up. I felt so sorry for her, but it was actually pretty comical because it happened 70+ times and she never got used to it!

 The kids helping Ms. Emily open her gifts.
(Aiden did attend the party, he was just too busy playing ping pong to have his picture made.)

Her graduation was definitely an experience we will never forget! Jake had to work, so I took the kiddos by myself. It had been a stressful day, but we were not going to miss it. We arrived early  because I was unsure of where we were going. It had been raining off and on, and we had to park a pretty good distance away. Thankfully, Gary and Ann pulled in the parking lot not too long before us and helped us make the  long walk.

 Ava and Ms. Emily

We walked up tons of stairs, into the fieldhouse and found a good seat! We are never early so this was a plus for us! Right before the ceremony started, they announced a tornado was headed for us. We had to evacuate to their storm shelter, which was back down the stairs and a little way from the fieldhouse.

 I'm pretty sure Austen was asking for more fruit salad!

Once we finally made it in the storm shelter, it was extremely hot. Too many people + too little space = lots of heat! The storm actually died out before it reached us, and we were all herded back up the stairs to the fieldhouse. However, our good seat was gone! I told Gary and Ann that is exactly why I don't kill myself trying to be somewhere on time! Just kidding, I really do kill myself trying to get there, it just never happens! 

Ann and Addy, so thankful she was able to carry Ava that night with all of the walking, otherwise we would have gave up and went home.

Anyway, the ceremony turned out fine and we got to relax at her party. The kids had a really good time and we all ate way too much. The only thing missing was Daddy. We love you and our proud of you Ms. Emily!

One Year Ago...

I was holding this sweet baby girl in my arms as she feel asleep.

A few minutes later, I was holding her hand in the emergency room, praying for her life. We weren't sure what was happening or why. She was seizing, they couldn't get it stopped and we didn't know if she would be the same again. An hour later, she wasn't actively seizing but she was unresponsive and on a breathing machine from all the medications. We were transported to Children's Hospital and we continued to pray for her recovery.

God answered our prayers and she is very happy and healthy today. It took a week to get back to normal, but we have not had any problems since that awful day.

It is amazing how your perspective changes when you go through difficult trials. Just the day before this incident, I was complaining about how hard it was to be a Mom of three small kiddos. The next day, I was shown the alternative and I was praying that God would allow me to continue to be her mother and not take her to be with Him. I have always been thankful, but this incident completely changed my life. I now realize what is most important. The house can be dirty and laundry can pile up, because it will all still be there in 20 years. My kids are just temporary, just on loan to me and in 20 years, this season of life will be gone. This trial taught me that tomorrow is uncertain, there are no guarantees and I want to show my children everyday how thankful I am to have them. I am not sure why God has blessed me with a wonderful family, and I definitely do not feel worthy, but I am so thankful to have this opportunity. I pray that I can continue to be their Mom for as long as He allows, and that I can do this in a way that is pleasing to Him.  I am no longer a nurse, just a Mommy and wife. It is the most important and humbling job out there. The benefits are overwhelming and the rewards are out of this world. When I have a hard day, I just remember how fragile life is, and look at all the blessings in my life.

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Psalm 127:3

Bed Time Routine

One day I will forget these precious every day moments. These are some random pics from our night time routine.

These sisters love each other so much! Ava is wearing her "piggies" which are at least two sizes too small, but she continues to wear them.

What a sweet face!

We eat, then the girls get their baths, the boys get a shower (sometimes a bath with a toy). We brush our teeth and after everyone is clean, we read books or snuggle up in momma and daddy's bed for a special movie night. If anyone is still awake, everyone uses the potty again, gets at least 5 more drinks of water and asks 562 questions before I can say a prayer with them. After we say a prayer, they always want to know the plans for the next day. After I answer another 10 questions, I kiss the oldest three goodnight and take Addy to our room. She will eat and then I lay her down in her crib. I am so thankful to God for all the blessings in our life. I feel so undeserving and humbled by His mercy and grace.

Roll Over!

I was actually able to catch Addy in action as she was rolling over! She was still kinda slow at this point. I love the expressions on her face!

Wow! How did that happen?!? So sweet! I am in love with my precious children, I just wish they would stop growing up so fast!

Sitting Pretty

Addy loves her bumbo seat! She was so proud of herself to be sitting up! I wish I would have had one of these with the other kids, it has been such a lifesaver.

Baby Chicks

On Mother's Day we came home from church and checked on our Momma silkie. She had two baby chicks!

We had to take them out to get a quick peek, and mother hen was not happy.

We enjoyed watching them with their Momma, and when we thought they were big enough we moved them back to the barn. Apparently they weren't as big as we thought and they both came up missing. But a few weeks later one of the chicks returned. We don't see much of it because it comes and goes whenever he/she wants. But it was a neat experience watching how fast they grew.