Thursday, July 26, 2012

Can't Believe I almost forgot to post about this!!!!

My last post about vacation, I cannot believe that I forgot to mention that L got FOUR yes FOUR teeth in while we were on vacation! All four of her top front teeth decided to come in all at once. She was a real trooper about it, aside from a few bites that I got on my shoulder- OUCH those little teeth hurt! So now that L is getting more teeth in we are giving her different types of foods and she is great about trying stuff and she will definitely let you know if she doesn't like something- LOL!
Not only is L getting more teeth but she is more mobile!!!! She is ALL over the place. L had a blast at the beach house because it was so open. Now that we are back at home we have to keep all the bedroom and bathroom doors closed at all times because she LOVES to get into stuff she is not suppose to- she LOVES to climb up on her brother's bed (his bed is lower to the ground thus easier for her to climb into); she loves to empty drawers out, she just flings stuff over her shoulders having a great time, no matter what it is clothes, socks, ziplock bags etc...; and she enjoys emptying the kids book shelves as fast as she can. YES she is VERY mischievous. L's newest "stunt" started this past week with climbing on anything and everything she can and she just smiles or laughs at you like she knows she is just the cutest thing ever! I had to put the straps back on her highchair because she was squeezing herself out and standing up giving a great big TA-DA and smile. We had to rearrange L's play area because she was climbing up and standing on her little table and cube as well as climbing up on those items and attempting to climb over the baby gate. H and L are partners in crime too! I thought H was a handful, I have a feeling he was just the warm up to L! LOL!!! LOVE them all- they keep me on my toes:)
On another note summer is slipping away:( We are gearing up for the start of school around here. M goes back Aug. 15th and H starts back the end of Aug. It has been a great summer but way way too fast. I cannot believe that M and H will both be going to school 5 days a week. It sure will be an adjustment for L and myself. I have started the back to school shopping, thankfully I already have M's school supply list so I was able to get a jump start on that. My mom bought the kiddos new shoes at the outlet mall on vacation however M will not be able to wear her new ones because they are against the dress code:(  I don't have clothes to buy for the kiddos for school because M wears uniforms and their birthdays are at the end of summer so they get fall clothes:) Anyhoo we are gearing up and I am trying to be smart about back to school buys/ finances.
Hope you all are having a great week!

Monday, July 16, 2012

I'm Back!!!!

Sorry I am sorry I've been a bad blogger but we've been on vacation. The week of before vacation was hectic- the kids had swim lessons every morning, then their was 4th of July, and packing, packing and more packing to get everyone ready for vacation.
We had a good time, on vacation. It was an interesting vacation for several reasons- it was our first vacation with three kiddos and it was a vacation with my parents and brother and his family. It is tough vacationing with others even if they are family because we are so different in our parenting styles and attitudes etc... My brother and his family do NO planning, basically fly by the seat of their pants kind of attitude and my parents as they have gotten older have developed this attitude as well. So you can only imagine how that went over with us when we run by schedule etc.. We tried to make the best of it and help the kids as best as we could. The only nights that we ate dinner at a decent/ normal dinner time was when I was in control/ cooking. The other meals were 9:00/ 10:00 pm!!!! I fed the kiddos earlier because they wouldn't eat what we were having anyhoo. Speaking of cooking I made a dessert called Sand Pudding- it was a HUGE hit and it was YUMMY!!! I tricked the kiddos and they really thought it was sand because it looked like sand and  I served it in a sand bucket with a shovel.
The beach house was gorgeous and the perfect set up for us. The kiddos had their own bedroom with two bunk beds- one for the girls and one for the boys; each couple had their own bedroom with a king size bed and a bathroom. The kitchen with big and open to the dinning room and living room. The front porch was FABULOUS!- it had a swing, chairs, picnic table and a hammock. I loved giving L her bedtime bottle out on the front porch watching the ocean and swinging in the swing- beautiful and quiet:)  The backyard had a playground with sand, picnic tables and a private pool.
The kiddos had a BLAST spending the whole week with their cousins, swimming in the pool, playing on the playground and at the beach. We also did a couple fun side trips that included a visit to an alligator farm where ALL the kiddos held a baby alligator:) we also went to an amusement park. H and hubby did go carts on a very cool track; H and I did bumper boats and got SOAKED but he loved it (somehow we got singled out and picked on by some of the others on the boats and they kept spraying us over and over!). M preferred the more "tame" rides like the carousel, train etc... L even rode on the carousel and had a good time.
L did great on the trip! She traveled well and adjusted to her new surroundings quite well- she became a little explorer- loved walking around!!! L wasn't a fan of the pool for any length of time- I think because she couldn't be independent. The beach however was another story- she was my beach baby, LOVING the beach! She loved playing in the sand, finding shells, walking on the beach and chasing the sea gulls- LOL! L did not like the actual ocean, I think she was scared however their was a big pool of water on the beach when tide was out and L loved playing in it and it helped to keep her cool too.
Our last night at the beach we went out to dinner and had to wait almost 2 hours for our table; thankfully the restaurant was on a boardwalk with shops. The girls and I walked around the shops, found a balloon guy and the girls got all kinds of balloon decorations- hats, bracelets etc... The girls got hair wraps and glitter tattoos as well (now when I say girls I am talking about M and my niece G, L was with me and got a balloon animal but that was it)- they had a fabulous time. H hung out with the guys and my nephew D playing on the playground, feeding the fish etc... It was a fun evening. I even tried something new to eat- alligator! I've been wanting to try it so we ordered it as an appetizer- it was YUMMO!!!! H couldn't eat it because it was cooked with seafood and he is allergic:( however I got my niece and nephew to try it by telling them it was chicken and they loved it! You should have seen the look on their faces when we told them it was alligator- LOL! it was priceless!
All in all it was a good vacation with lots of memories.
Now it is back to reality. The kiddos started VBS this morning and seemed to have a good time:) I am going to try and catch up on my blog reading and plan on blogging at least once a week. Cannot believe summer is flying by:( M starts back to school exactly one month from today- YIKES! I am so not ready for school to be back in session! Although I have started school supply shopping.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Need some help with food?!

Okay I could really really use some ideas, suggestions etc.. on what to feed our little lady! L is picky just like her big sister. She won't eat any meat, she doesn't like cheese, too young for peanut butter. What am I too feed her, I am at a loss!?! Breakfast isn't really an issue, she eats fruit, waffles, yogurt, cereal bars etc... My main concerns are lunch and dinner. She likes fruit and veggies- well most veggies she is a little picky. She isn't a fan of pasta, I tried mac and cheese and even did mac and cheese with some ham and peas- not a fan. She loves crackers, breads you carbs- LOL! I've tried some beans with her and she isn't a fan of those either. So you see why I am at a loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
She is still on some formula, she doesn't like milk. I have mixed whole milk with her formula and she will take it like that- we are up to 5oz whole milk with 3 oz of formula.
Thanks for any advice:)

On the move!!!

Yes she is officially on the move! L is walking more and more everyday. Just in the last week L has taken off and walking everywhere. Last week she was taking maybe 3 steps at a time and this week she is walking across the room; down the hall; into other rooms it's crazy how fast my baby is growing up! She is "exploring" everything. I even caught her in L and H's room on H's bed, he sleeps on a toddler bed still and she managed to pull herself up there all by herself!
I have a feeling L is going to be a girly girl just like her big sister (even though everyone seems to think she is going to be a tomboy!). She loves jewlery, phones- by the way anything and everything is a phone including her sister's hairbrush- LOL! and she LOVES purses. M gave L one of her small purses to carry and around and she loves it- walks around the house with her purse on her arm and her arm raised in the air to keep it on her arm. Back to the phone, she has a couple play phones and the other day she was "talking" on her phone while eating lunch- I said it must have been a working lunch, already multi-tasking. L is a hoot and I am loving every second with her. I have a feeling vacation is going to be a BLAST with my three kiddos and I cannot wait!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend and staying cool:)