Happy Birthday...to me!

On August 16th I celebrated my 30th birthday. Since Bryan had to work, Sara and I got babysitters and she entertained me for the day. We had the greatest time! We enjoyed a morning at the spa and a yummy lunch with gossip and baby talk. It was so great to spend time with her (uninterrupted, of course, by our children)! Bryan bought me a new camera and I LOVE it! I know that all of my friends are so happy to not have to hear about my crappy old Kodak anymore. Turning 30 was much easier than I thought it would be. I'm exactly where I want to be in life and I have so much to be thankful for.

Happy Birthday Margaret and Madeline!!

We can't believe that our little pumpkins are now 4!! Where did the time go? It's so sad how fast our babies have grown. I do have to admit how great it is to have two 4 years old helping me out with Evelyn Grace. They are so mature and we have actual conversations. Margaret has a dynamic imagination and she is so creative. Madeline is athletic and is fantastic at sign language. We had their 4th birthday party at Mayo Lake park with all of their friends. They had the best time! We decorated princess sugar cookies with colored icings and sprinkles. They loved playing with their friends and opening gifts. They are both blossoming into sweet, smart little girls.

Beach Girls

Back in July, I decided to take a trip to N. Myrtle Beach with the girls. My mom had already planned on taking Margaret and Madeline that weekend to watch the Jr. shaggers dance. I decided to follow them down with Evelyn so I could visit with Jessica and Dale. Jessica was celebrating her 30th birthday that weekend and I really wanted to meet her precious little boy Dale. Evelyn was a super traveler and we only had to stop once going down and twice coming home - fantastic for a three week old! I only took Evelyn to the beach for a quick picture. It was so hot and humid that weekend. M & M played on the beach with Mammy and Pop and had a great time. That Sunday I drove down to Mt. Pleasant to visit with Jessica and Dale for a few hours. It was SO great to see them both! Jessica looks amazing and Dale is the sweetest baby. He is gorgeous! Big blue eyes and lots of dark hair like his mommy. It was a great getaway but an exhausting trip! Evelyn was still nursing every hour or two at that point so I was pretty tired. At least we got a change of scenery for the weekend!

Update and photos

OK, I'm WAY behind on posting! There just aren't enough hours in the day. Our summer has flown by and I can't believe Margaret and Madeline are starting their 4 year old preschool class at Long Memorial next week. It is their 3rd year there and they are so excited about seeing their friends. Evelyn Grace has grown so much! She has the sweetest smile and we all spoil her rotten. I LOVE to watch her sleep - I'm totally addicted to taking naps with her. She loves our bed. She does sleep in her crib at night but I sneak her in bed with us in the early morning. What can I say, I'm lazy - I love to sleep while I nurse at 6am! Evelyn's weight as of last week was 11 lbs. 2 oz. Her colic and acid reflux is diminishing and she is finally settling into a nightly routine. The last couple of weeks have been so great since she hasn't been fussy in the evening. I started working this past week getting my classroom ready for my two year olds. It was SO hard leaving Evelyn but I have to remind myself that I'll only be leaving her two mornings a week. At least she is with Bryan and I know she is being spoiled the entire time I'm gone. I'm really excited about teaching preschool and so far I love the students. I will have 6 boys and 4 girls - not sure how that's going to work out! Margaret and Madeline have grown so much over the summer. Their hair is so long and they will not let me trim it. They are writing their names and are starting to add numbers and recognize words. They will start dance again this year in two weeks. We had a great summer and stayed really busy going to playdates and meeting friends at the movies and McDondalds for a special treat. Margaret and Madeline both love Evelyn and are very sweet and gentle with her. We are all looking forward to Fall and starting a new routine with preschool. We have settled into life with three kids and love every minute of it.

Life with three daughters

Wow - I never realized how much free time I had with twins! Life with our little Evelyn Grace has been wonderful. I just can't believe how busy and hectic our lives are these days. I have friends that have three children and they all seem to constantly run in circles. We are finally beginning to settle into a routine. We try to keep Margaret and Madeline's routine as normal as possible. Both of my big girls are handling having a new baby sister beautifully. We have had difficult moments adjusting, however things seem to improve daily. Evelyn is the sweetest baby and we hold her constantly. None of us can get enough of her sweet baby scent! She eats frequently throughout the day but only wakes twice a night to feed. When the twins were infants I had to feed them on average 10 - 15 times each night until they were 10 weeks old. So far, one baby is a breeze! However, it has been challenging trying to keep my big girls entertained while I attend to baby duties. I'm very proud of Margaret and Madeline and love to see them kiss their baby sister. We love to listen to her grunts - she is a very vocal baby! We can't imagine life without all three of our girls. I've included pics of Evelyn with her buddies Baby Liam and Baby Nate!

She's here!!!

Our sweet little Evelyn Grace was born on her due date, June 23rd (also our 7th wedding anniversary!) She is just beautiful and we can't get enough of her. Margaret and Madeline are super big sisters and help me out alot. They have had a few difficult moments adjusting to a new baby in the house, but all in all, they are doing just great. So far Evelyn has been an excellent baby. We are so delighted to have her here with us! My labor was FAST, especially considering this was my first labor since I had a c-section with Margaret and Madeline. After my water broke Evelyn was born within about five hours. She is healthy and gorgeous. I will post more pictures soon - life has been pretty busy the last week!

Just too cute

Here are some too cute pictures of the girls. Margaret and Madeline love playing "baby" and climbing into the baby's crib for "night-night". Bryan and I have been telling them for months that the baby will be here in June. Madeline says everyday "Mom, it's already June - Where's the baby?". Thank goodness there have been no inquiries from them about the actual birth. They did however get an up close and personal view of my friend Sara's baby today during a diaper change. They have been inquiring about baby Nate's "stuff" all day. The more mature and sophisticated they become, the more complex their questions are. Sometimes I have appropriate answers on the tip of my tongue, and occasionally I resort to saying "go ask your Daddy". I have tried to prepare Margaret and Madeline for the baby in regards to such things as the belly button, poopy diapers and spit up. Margaret is my squeamish child and literally lost all color in her face when I explained to them about the cord stump and belly button. Maybe I'm giving them too much information? It will be interesting to see how they react to their baby sister. We are all anxious for her arrival and can't wait to meet her!