Spring is coming!

We've been spending more and more time outdoors these past few weeks. Exploring parks, readying the garden, and playing ball. (H) is SO into tball this year and it's so fun to watch! It's amazing the difference between 4 and 5 year old players! I've been waiting for him to find an extracurricular activity that he enjoys, something he is good at and looks forward to, and I think we may have found it! Games start in a few weeks and I look forward to cheering and watching the silly often comical fun that is tball. *A* looks forward to getting goodies at the concession stand. ;)
Also, we're getting ready for a little Spring family vacay, and are so looking forward to it!

A quick catch up

A very toothless girl right now. Love it!

This girl loves her loveys! And is sleeping 8 hours most nights.

Growing too fast! Loves being on her tummy and is starting to roll over already. Where does the time go?!

Spring is coming and we've been playing at a new favorite park, sadly all 5 of us weren't in the picture as M was asleep in the stroller. Makes me realize I don't think we have a picture of all 5 of us yet...

H finished up swimming lessons with flying colors and is in the next level, won't it be wonderful to have 2 independent swimmers this summer?!

Lots of bubbles and drooling teeth are coming soon I bet and she's been eyeing me as I eat and drink. 

This Crazy Life

Life has sped up big time around here. I'm still not sure why this has happened but it's just a constant race through the day lately. Having only one car seems to be part of the issue. It didn't seem to be a big deal before M's arrival but now I just feel we are constantly on the go and she's constantly in her car seat. I've heard 3rd babies live in their car seats; they just have to be on the go all the time with the older kids' activities, etc. Luckily she's such a calm, easy baby that she doesn't seem to mind much and she just goes with the flow (she doesn't really have a choice!). Having 2 school schedules to juggle, J's ever-changing schedule of hospital visits, meetings with parishioners, etc., and new after-school activities (swim lessons for H and Hip-hop for A), we are always in and out of the car and have only a hour or so between places to be during the week.

Today she and I have a rare morning at home. J took H to school and is bringing him home, and A is going to a playdate after school, so we're home with no one to pick up for the rest of the day. I'm hoping to get the house clean and catch up on things I've been wanting to do for a while but haven't had a few hours of uninterrupted time. M's nap schedule isn't regular yet (maybe because she gets interrupted being put in and out of her car seat!), but I can count on her to sleep for a hour or so in the mornings, sometimes more. At night she's been sleeping between 5-7 hours on average which is wonderful and it makes me able to function during the day.

I've missed blogging and taking pictures so I'm trying to be back here more. I don't want this time to pass without documenting some of it. M is already so big and pretty much out of that newborn phase which is sad but she's starting to develop her personality and be more fun. At 10.5 weeks she's "talking" a lot and learning to express herself in ways other than crying. She smiles all the time but hasn't laughed more than a deep "he, he". I'm working on it though and she's so close to laughing! She's pushing 11 lbs and has more rolls on her legs than her brother or sister ever had (which was basically none). She's learning to grasp and play with toys too which makes her awake times longer because she's entertaining herself more.
But, she's asleep now so I think I'll try and get somethings done. I don't have many pictures to share right now but I found all my old photos of the older kids so let's see if they look alike at 2 months....

AJB...

  HWB...

 MPB...

Wow. She's definitely her own person but also such a perfect blend of the other 2.

Random

Here are some random pics from the last few weeks. Miss M is such a good baby and is growing too fast. She's interacting with us so much now, cooing and smiling, and she's
Sleeping about 6 hours at night! She's already 8 weeks today. These early months of babyhood are my favorite, they're more settled and sweet and cuddly and not mobile yet!

Christmastide

We spent the Christmas season at home, at grandparents, visiting with friends, and now home again to welcome the new year and get back into the routine. Traveling was great and the newest member of our family took it so well, but now she's got her first sniffles so we're resting and taking it as slow as we can. I'm grateful everyone's back to school and work this week. It was SO wonderful having everyone home, but it's time for the new routine of 5. I've already been so productive this morning and have high hopes for organizing things, calendars, and meals. I've joined a website called Cozi which helps you keep a family calendar, plan meals, and organizes to-do lists and shopping lists. Both ^J^ and I can add to it and update it, so far we're loving it. I've got this week's meals planned, we've gotten groceries for 2 weeks, and we're adding everyone's scheduled events to the calendar. Oh and it's free! Free is good.
Here are a few photos from our Christmas celebrations:
At Home:

Taking it all in

Sleepy but excited!

Opening goes so fast these days!

The aftermath

With Family:

Preparing

We're trying to enjoy the quiet calm of having a newborn as much as possible and being able to do it during the Advent season is just perfect. Last week we ended up being a little too busy and it took a toll on us so we're reminded to slow down again this week, although we have quite a few Christmas parties and pagents to attend.
We're slowly preparing the house for Christmas. We got our tree from a fundraiser by the Youth at church, its from a NC farm and smells just amazing! We decorated the tree last Sunday. The kids were a huge help this year and even though the decorations may not be spaced perfectly, it's done, and no ornaments were broken this year! Yay!
Yesterday while A and J had a date at the Nutcracker, H and I made Snowflakes to decorate the front door and then we made our first batch of Christmas cookies. They are now mostly gone though so we'll be baking more goodies this week. A picked a coconut macaroon recipe from our Christmas cookie book and I'm wanting to do peppermint bark again this year. Little M is best at hanging out in the sling and taking it all in or napping. And she has a whole lot of helpers to keep her entertained!

She is here

Little Miss /M/ is here. We're soaking her in.