4 Months

This morning I took Pierson to the pediatrician for her 4-month check up. She is doing just dandy! She weighs 13 pounds, is 24 1/2 inches in length and her head is 16 1/8 inches in diameter. Broken down she is in the 25th percentile for weight, 50th for height (She's 2 feet tall now!) and the 75th percentile for head. Looks like she's inherited Spencer's big potato head, his words, not mine! Her eczema is still bad but we are doing what we can to keep it under control and she has a flat head on the right side. I was told to put all of her toys on the left side of the crib to make her look the other way and in my head I am asking, What toys? What crib? Poor baby girl, doesn't even have any toys because she doesn't play with toys yet so I threw some in Rane's crib this afternoon, where she was sleeping for a nap, and when I went to get her she was still looking the wrong way! We busted out the exersaucer today too to get her off her back but we were unable to put her in it because she screamed bloody murder all afternoon because the shots in her leg she received were hurting her so badly. It was absolutely awful. I have never, ever heard her scream so loudly. I had to stay outside with her during Rane's nap because she was screaming so loudly and I called Spencer to have him come home to help me. She finally calmed down after a couple of hours and some Tylenol. The pediatrician also told me that I needed to stop swaddling her, which I knew because she is 4 months old but she will not sleep without being tightly bound. I have tried a few times for naps and she just screamed forever until I caved and wrapped her back up! So tonight I am not swaddling and I know she will take forever to fall asleep and be up in the middle of the night but I know it needs to be done, especially since she hasn't even attempted to start rolling over yet and the flat head problem! Sweet baby girl was so worn out from the day she fell asleep in the Bumbo seat while I was making dinner......

Bless her heart! That would be Rane's arm in the picture. He pushed a chair over to the counter and climbed up on it because he was so concerned for her. He would pat the Bumbo seat and ask me, "Mommy, what's da matter with Peeson?"

On a side note, we are experimenting with Rane sleeping in Ella-Ann's room the past two nights. Ella-Ann has become deathly afraid of everything, even Peter Rabbit, which she watched at school last week while the older classes tested! Peter Rabbit? Really? She is also afraid of earthquakes and tornadoes. Looks like the TV will be OFF when the news is on in the mornings from now on! It doesn't help that they talk about it all at school too! So Rane being with her has helped some, but he wakes up early some mornings, of course being the last two mornings, so we have heard them before 6 a.m. each time. However, I was up at 4 a.m. the past two mornings anyway because with the bad storms we had the night before last I reset our clock in our bedroom incorrectly when the power went off and got up at 4 a.m. to work out instead of 6 a.m.! I also got up at 4 this morning to watch the royal wedding, of course, even though I recorded it! I just couldn't wait! So we shall see a couple of more nights how it goes with the two of them together but I am not going to like being woken up before dawn if it continues so they may be separated again!

Easter Festivities

This weekend was absolutely fantastic. We had our annual Easter egg hunt at a family's house from church that we go to every year on Saturday afternoon. It is something I look forward to every year because it is so much fun...plus all of my friends are there, not that I ever get a chance to talk to them because it is mad chaos but, you know, at least we are there together! Ella-Ann was so excited about the day that she decided to start it at 5:30 a.m.! The kids had a blast and got lots of eggs. Rane had to donate some to Ella-Ann, a.k.a., I took handfuls out of his basket and threw them into Ella-Ann's basket while he wasn't looking, since she was majorly beat out of the eggs by her peers! Girlfriend needs to practice! There was great food, as usual, and once we ate and hunted the eggs we headed home.

Spencer had to work Saturday afternoon, which was the not fun part, but the kids and I had a good time sitting outside. My parents gave Rane a pirate water table for his birthday so Friday Spencer put it together and the kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with it all afternoon. I put them outside at 2 p.m. and I, literally, removed Rane from the table to come inside at 4:30! He loved it!

Today the kids received their Easter baskets full of trinkets and candy. The Easter bunny gave Rane a big dump truck since he loves playing with his little ones outside. He pushed the big Tonka truck back and fourth across the yard for over an hour this afternoon! We went to church and celebrated Easter Sunday with our church family. It was a wonderful celebration with lots of great music and a good message. The kids sat with us and enjoyed it as well.

This afternoon we again played outside. I cooked an Easter dinner, in case you are dying to know, of mashed potatoes and gravy, fish, creamed corn, roasted vegetable medley, rolls and a key lime pound cake for dessert. Yum!

Happy Easter!

Ella-Ann and Anna-Kate eating their lunch together at the egg hunt.

Rane cracked me up. They had the 2-3-year-olds corralled on the steps holding them until it was time for them to be let loose. Once they announced they could head into the yard Rane started climbing over the kids in front of him and once he realized they were too slow.......

he took matters into his own hands and went through the landscaping around them all and was the first one out!

Man he was good. His little basket was overflowing! Next year we will have to give him the big Halloween pumpkin!

Ella-Ann's disappointment in the lack of eggs is evident in this picture.

Eatin' some goodies!

The awesome pirate water table!

Easter fun this morning!

Pierson was up as well, dressed in her bunny pajamas!

Peeps after breakfast! Rane's first!

Yeah, that's as good as it gets folks.

We arrived early for church to get a seat. Rane was beyond thrilled to not be in the nursery!

You cannot see it very well, but Pierson is wearing Ella-Ann's Easter dress...size 6 months, and it fits!

A Tradition Continued

Each year growing up my parents and I would dye eggs at Easter at my grandmother's house. We always had so much fun and those are very, very special memories to me and my parents, especially since my amazing grandmother, Honey, passed away when I was a sophomore in high school. She was one fantastic grandmother and I spent most of my years at her house since both my parents worked full-time. She did everything, and I mean everything, for me. So, when I decided to dye Easter eggs with my family I wanted to make sure I recreated it all and made it special for Ella-Ann and Rane. As soon as I stirred the vinegar into the cups of dye the smell immediately brought me back to Honey's house. I can see the old coffee mugs lined up on her kitchen table that was lined with newspaper. The only difference this time around was that my Mom put me in very nice clothing, monogrammed and all, for the occasion and I knew my two kids couldn't stay clean so they wore old t-shirts! Dad, Honey and I would always eat the hard-boiled eggs afterwards but my Mom has always stuck her nose up at them! I couldn't believe Ella-Ann was so willing to try an egg after dying it! I figured Rane would love eating one, surprisingly he did not, but it was Ella-Ann who loved them! She even ate one for breakfast the next day!

Writing with the magic crayon. That was a hit with Ella-Ann! I orginially had the dye in coffee mugs too but quickly switched to plastic cups since Rane nearly turned over 3 mugs before we had even started! Maybe next year!

Pierson joined in on the fun but quickly got too tired!

With all the pretty eggs! Next year we will do 24! Note the wardrobe change. This is what she was wearing to play outside (a dress, of course) and we made her change into a t-shirt and shorts to do the eggs. As soon as we were done she had changed back into her dress, with her hair down, immediately!

Oh and before the dying of the Easter eggs the kids and I planted wildflowers while Spencer mowed the yard.

Say What?

Rane is the funniest kid I know and the cutest little boy! He is always making us laugh, whether he means to or not! He is also full of mischief, curiosity and testing! He keeps me on my toes all day long, always has! Even as an infant before he could even move you could see it in his eyes...he was ready to explore before his body would allow. Yesterday while I was putting on my makeup Rane decided to give his car a dip in the toilet! That is just one of the many things he does every single day that warrant me disciplining him. Poor kid! Now that he is almost 28 months old (really????) he has lots and lots to say. I think he talks really well, as I have mentioned before, and most people can understand exactly what he is saying. I love my little Southern boy....everything, I mean every single word, always has at least 2 syllables. For example the word "air" sounds like "aY-er." It's so cute! Before I forget, I wanted to post a record of some of the things he says for my future 2011 blog book. So, here are some Rane-isms.....

"What's dat noise?" (I think he just likes to say this because he says it at least 50 times a day.)
"Whatcha' doin?"
"It's daW-rk!!" (He refuses to go into any dark or dimly-lit room because he's afraid of the dark.)
"Tiptoe, tiptoe....it's a bear!!!!" (He says this when walking into the dimly-lit or dark room. It comes from the book "We're Going On A Bear Hunt," which is his favorite read.)
"Where's El-la AY-an?"
"Wait! I doin' sompin'!!" (This is what he says to me when I tell him to stop doing whatever he is doing, like getting into the pantry or trash because he's disobeying.) I always respond, "I know you're doin' sompin', you're disobeying!
"I go outside!"
"No dunder!" (No thunder.)
"I don like it!"
"Ohhh I like it!"
"Mommy, I hungry."
"I want a muuvie." (I want a smoothie.)
He calls his blanket a blanklet.
"I not tired!"
"Muuuve!!!" (Move)
"Come on dude!" (This one is thanks to Spencer and I driving!)
"Gooooo lady!" (Also another driving thing!)
"I want somma dat!" (It doesn't matter what we are eating, he always wants a bite!)
"Make me handsome!" (He wants styling gel in his hair.)
"I go school day, Mommy?" (Am I going to school today, Mommy?)
"I see friends! I see Miss Samanta!" (Talking about going to school and his teacher, Mrs. Samantha.)
"Don't touch my milk."
Me: "Rane, are you a Daddy's boy or a Mama's boy?" R: "I uh Daddy's boy!!!"
R: "I wan go home, Mommy." Me: "Rane, we ARE home."
"I do it! I do it!" (For everything.)
"Why?" (Oh yes, it has started.)
"Read books peese!"
Today I was impressed with his vocabulary when he said, as we were at a red light, "Look over there at dat big wheel movin' on dat truck!" (He loves big trucks and cars!)
And the grand finale which I am sure my mother-in-law will not be too happy about, neither am I, is...."Dad blame it!" Spencer says this all the time in front of him when he is frustrated so, of course, Rane has picked it up and started saying it this week. I have to turn around and laugh when he does say it because it really is funny. He gets frustrated doing something, like trying to get a truck out of his toy bin, and will say, "Dad blame it!!!" I have started ignoring it hoping that if I do not give it any attention he will stop. I just turn around and yell at Spencer and tell him to stop saying it instead!
He can also say his ABCs and count to 10!

The Girls

Apples to apples? Apples to oranges? I say they look exactly alike!

Ella-Ann, April 26, 2006

Pierson, April 18, 2011

I have several of Ella-Ann's outfits that Pierson can now wear and when I put the above outfit on Pierson this morning I swear I was looking at a blue-eyed Ella-Ann! I tried to get P to smile since I remembered Ella-Ann's picture above was of her majorly smiling but it was a no-go. Pierson looks a lot more like Ella-Ann when she smiles. Well, I guess you can take a look at my previous post to compare smiling faces!

How weird is it that they were both taken in April!?!?! Please note that Ella-Ann was 5 months old and Pierson is 3.5 months. Pierson is now in size 3-6 month clothing...she is soooooo long! Length wise the outfit she is wearing is almost too small! Crazy! She is going to be super tall, like her Daddy!

Side blogger note...I have no clue why my pictures are uploading as fuzzy. They are not fuzzy on our computer, just on the blog. Ugghhh!

Sunday

Today was a great day. I wish Spencer could've gone to church with us to see Ella-Ann sing with the choir for Palm Sunday but he had to work. That was the not fun part, but he was home by the time we got home so all was well after my exhausting church excursion. I don't know why I even bothered going to church since I didn't get to pay attention to one single sentence of the sermon because I was up and down with the kids the entire time...bottle, poops, crying, bathroom, etc.

It wasn't an exciting day or anything, just an enjoyable one with each other. The girls and I clipped coupons during Rane's nap. Ella-Ann loves to clip coupons with me and I am loving teaching her to be frugal! Every Saturday she asks me if today is the day the newspaper comes because she wants to help me cut coupons! Today when I answered "yes" to that question her response was, "Yessssss!" I borrowed a Bumbo seat from a friend at church for Pierson to sit in since Jana has mine and I haven't seen her yet to get it back so while EA and I clipped, Pierson sat on the table and watched me intently!

After Rane's nap we headed over to a really neat park that is very close to our home. Unfortunately Spencer noticed it yesterday while driving by (he takes this route to work every day) and once he saw it he regretted us having never been to it since it is SO close to our house and awesome! There isn't a playground or anything, just beautiful walking trails in the woods right along a creek. It is gorgeous! We walked several trails and the kids, Spencer and I were in heaven! It was the perfect day and the kids were so upset to leave. I put Pierson in the sling and she slept the entire time. Rane and Ella-Ann picked up sticks, ran around, played in the creek and picked up caterpillars and carried them around. It was such a serene and peaceful place. Spencer and I are kicking ourselves for living near it for nearly 1.5 years and never noticing it! Ahhhh well, better late than never! We will go back, probably this week again, so I will be sure and pack the camera.

Walking into the service waving her palm branch.

We were given the CD of songs for Ella-Ann to practice and both Ella-Ann and Rane want to listen to it every single time we are in the car. Here Rane is singing "Hosanna! Hosanna!" with the choir.

Ready to clip coupons! Well, I take that back, Ella-Ann had to first browse the Toys R Us ad!

Sweet baby girl is getting so big! I had to prop her up even more with a blanket because she still has serious head control issues!

See, she's learning...she already pulled the Red Plum insert for me! Or maybe she just wanted a ham for Easter!

Wait! A smile is coming.....

There it is!

The Coolest People To Hang Out With...

Is my family. I love being at home and being surrounded by my kids and Spencer. When I see my kids interact with each other, that is, in a NICE way, it makes my heart smile and makes me incredibly happy. I am blessed with 3 healthy, happy, funny, crazy, amazing, wonderful and joyful children! Oh and my super fabulous husband as well! The kids are growing so quickly and I was reminded of that several times today when I first put on Rane's jeans, that he has been wearing all winter, and I noticed they weren't as long today. Then 3 different people commented to me today about how tall Rane is getting. He is full of all kinds of funny things and I love hearing him talk! He seems to be very good at speaking, probably because he picks up so much from Ella-Ann, both good and bad! He loves his two sisters tremendously and loves being the center of attention.

Ella-Ann is growing into her own little being. Not that she wasn't before, but she is such a helpful, compassionate, loving, funny, hard-working little girl and she is my little mommy through and through. She takes care of Rane, not kidding at all, and dotes on Pierson every time she sees her. Her and Rane have really started playing well together and having that happen before we are all together in our tiny house this summer is a relief to me! She is learning to read well and I have so enjoyed teaching her. I am so thankful I get to watch her grow and learn, all because I get to stay at home with my kids.

Pierson is full of coos and smiles! She talks all the time now, even in the car and in bed by herself! She is such a happy, easy baby...whew! I was questioning her easiness a while back when I thought I would never get a good night's sleep! However, she has turned a corner and now is a breeze, just like the other two were! She is trying to get over a nasty cough that I took her to the pediatrician about on Monday because it has been ongoing for 2 1/2 weeks now. She seems to just have back-to-back colds and will be fine. Her eczema is out of control as well so we are being very diligent about medicating her skin so it is improving. Bless her heart! What is it with the girls and their skin issues? It's always a big ordeal/process to care for their skin and allergy problems! While at the doctor's office I put P on the scale and she weighs 12 pounds, 5 ounces! She will be 3 1/2 months tomorrow. Wow!

I don't really have much of an update for this week, just getting back to our normal days after being gone for a week. Pictures are always a must, though.....

Spencer finally found a willing participant to watch soccer with! Poor Pierson, she looks so enthused...

If she is awake, usually Pierson has her hand in her mouth! I think she's trying to figure out how to get her entire fist in there!

Tonight Rane held Pierson for the very first time, nope, not joking. He has never once held the baby. He has never shown any interest and as crazy as he is we didn't attempt it! He was great with her and wanted to read a book to Pierson so.....

Ella-Ann took over the holding and Rane read the book! They are just so sweet together!

EB Is Having A Baby!

One of my best friends/sorority sister, Emily (EB as the 5 of us girls affectionately call her), is due with her first baby in June so Andrea, Katie, Laura and I decided to get together at her place this past weekend before the baby so we can shower her with gifts! A family friend that lives near her also wanted to do something special so she had an amazing brunch in her honor on Saturday morning.

I drove down on Friday with the kids to Gary and Gayla's house, where Spencer was, and stayed with them all weekend since they live so close to Emily. The kids were thrilled to see their Daddy, as was I, and spend some time with their Nana, Papa and cousins! I couldn't wait to see the girls, who I haven't seen in many, many months, so I went over to Emily's house Friday night to visit with them. Andrea had a little girl, Emma, last August and I still hadn't even met her so I was anxious to get my hands on that baby too! It was soooooooo good to see them and, as usual, we picked up where we left off and carry on as if we haven't been a day apart! Unfortunately, Laura couldn't come because she is due with her second little boy any day now so traveling wasn't an option for her.

On Saturday I got up bright and early (4 a.m. to be exact) because I was beyond excited to spend the day with my friends! I took Pierson over to Emily's and the two big kids stayed behind to play. The brunch was so beautiful and the food was fantastic! Emily got some great gifts and I enjoyed meeting a few of her other friends from work and her neighborhood.

The girls and I had so much fun together and the time passed by too quickly. Spencer and I left with the kids and headed home Sunday morning. It is good to be home but we sure miss our family and friends now that we are by ourselves! Congratulations again, Emily, we are so happy for you!!!!!!!

Pierson had to keep one eye open around sweet Emma who was all too curious to figure out exactly what Pierson was! ha!

Emma was a doll and was quite a trooper all day Saturday and never made a single peep, except to babble and laugh!

Emily opening one of her gifts.

The theme for Emily's nursery is Peter Rabbit so the shower was decorated to the nines with all Peter Rabbit stuff, including a goodie bucket with little spring goodies. So nice!