My parents were in Disney last week and while they were there they picked up a pirate costume for Rane. He enjoys wearing some of Ella-Ann's dress up stuff now so we thought it would be better for him to have some boy costumes instead of high heels and necklaces! The costume is large on him so he will have it for several years. It comes with boots that are shoe covers, pants and a headband and hat with dreadlocks like Jack Sparrow's but he is afraid of all of that and refuses to even go near them! The box arrived from Disney this weekend so it was on our porch when we got home. It was a great homecoming present! Rane loves the shirt and vest and wore it all waking hours today!

Pierson's Meet & Greet

On Friday early afternoon we hit the road and headed to Tennessee to visit the Jensens. We hadn't seen them since Pierson was born and Miss P hadn't been properly shown off to the rest of the family so off we went for the weekend! Ella-Ann and Rane were beyond excited to see their cousins. In fact, this was the very first time Rane had not taken a nap on a trip! Such fun for Spencer and I! Actually, he is great in the car now and no trouble at all, even with a missed nap! It's just loud the entire 4 hours! We put Pierson in the third row of the van so that I could feed her a bottle and we wouldn't have to stop.

We arrived at Gary and Gayla's house, who now live near Zach and Mandy (yeay!!!), around 4 that afternoon and the kids just took off to play. They all play so well together and now that Ethan and Rane are a little older they enjoy playing together too. Spencer, Rane, Pierson and I spent the night there while Ella-Ann spent the night with Carter and Seth in their bunk beds. It was a quiet night without all the kids around!

On Saturday Spencer's Uncle Wayne, Aunt Connie, Uncle Mike and his Nanny drove up from Central Kentucky to see everyone and meet Pierson. It was great to have everyone there because we really do not see them as much as we would like. Pierson did great with all the passing around and was a sweet little thing for everyone. She even broke out some smiles to show off!

Seth turned 4 this month and Carter turned 6 today (Happy Birthday Carter!!!!!) so Mandy brought over their Wii since they received 2 new games this weekend. The kids enjoyed playing them, well mainly Seth and Carter did and Ella-Ann would play for a minute and find something else to do! Even though she is a girl she really has a good time playing with all the boys, but we are starting to see the dividing line at times, mainly with the games and playing ball outside. She is really not into sports whatsoever, but then again she is my child! I mean her arms don't even move away from her side when a ball is thrown directly at her! Rane, on the other hand, is right in the middle of it all! He and Ethan got into all kinds of mischief at their house!

The weekend past by so fast and Ella-Ann did not want to go home. She wanted to stay for Carter's party, play with the boys, stay with Nana and Papa forever, etc. It will be SO wonderful when we move this year and we just hop in the car and head to our house down the road and not 4 hours down I24 and I75! There will be no more goodbye tears!

While the big kids were jumping on Gary and Gayla's brand new king size bed in the other room, Rane and Ethan took all the bath toys and threw them in the tub!

Uncle Craig and Kasey bought a sword for Rane this weekend and he carried it around everywhere. I think Papa was a little afraid!

Such a funny picture!

Rane loved playing with Craig and Spencer's old Matchbox car play set.

Nanny holding Pierson for the first time. I dressed her for the occasion...in her little tutu, of course!

All of them with their glazed-over game face on!

Saturday was a beautiful day so we spent the afternoon outside. I know Spencer enjoyed playing ball with the boys!

Carter got a new bike for his birthday but Craig decided to test it out and Ella-Ann was right behind him on the Spiderman scooter!

Rane just wanted to be pushed around on the scooter because he couldn't figure out how to push himself!

Super (FREE) Fun

I discovered the best playground EVER! I feel like I have let the cat out of the bag because it is a secret place! ha! I was at our library (which has floor to ceiling windows in the back that face a forest) a month or so ago when I noticed, since there are no leaves on the trees, a huge, HUGE brand new playground on the other side of the trees. I immediately asked the woman behind the desk about it and she said the county had torn down the old playground that used to be there and were in the middle of building the new one that I had spied. She said it would be open this spring. I couldn't wait to take the kids! I was actually excited about it...if I were I kid I would have died and gone to heaven! Since the weather was unbelievably fabulous this weekend I took the kids on Friday afternoon and this afternoon. Side note, Spencer was in New Orleans Thursday morning through late Saturday night so I was ALL ALONE with all three kids for the first time 3 days in a row....no fun but at least it passed super fast. Anyway, I crossed my fingers that the playground would be open because I had already pumped it up to Ella-Ann so any disappointment would not have gone over well. I know, my fault. Well it was open and there was hardly anyone there! I laughed so hard at Ella-Ann because as soon as I hit the button to open the doors on the side of the van (Ella-Ann sits in the 3rd row now) Ella-Ann shot out of the car like a cannon and was down the steps in no time! It was hilarious! Had anyone been watching they probably would have thought the car was on fire! Rane was kicking and yelling for me to get him out of his car seat. It was nice because there was a massive, three story playground for Ella-Ann's age group and older and a smaller, more manageable playground for ages 2-5 next to it. Ella-Ann asked me if there were going to be swings there because swinging is one of her absolute favorite activities and she never gets to swing since we don't own a swing set, there aren't any on her school's playground and we never, ever go to playgrounds anymore (thanks to multiple children) so I was relieved to see a ton of swings. That is mainly what she did the entire time we were there on Friday and she made a little friend, Lucas, while there so they had a good time while I watched Rane and sat with Pierson. It is so nice to just let Rane go on a playground now. He doesn't need any assistance and is fearless so I don't have to help him do a thing! I do, though, have to keep a hawk eye on him because he has a major tendency to wander! I watched him "help" younger children on the playground who's parents were right there with them standing by. I know he was right in there way but he was trying SO hard to help little ones stand up after climbing, go down slides (with a big shove!) and walk. Bless his heart....he tries.

When we went this afternoon there were more families there since it was a Saturday afternoon but I was expecting a huge crowd. The kids had a blast, once again, and I had fun watching them enjoy themselves so much. There are two huge tunnel slides that start at the top of the 3rd story on the bigger playground that I thought for sure Ella-Ann would nix immediately off her to-do list but I couldn't believe my ears when she came running over to me to tell me she had gone down one of the big ones twice with her little friend Friday afternoon! I really was shocked! This is coming from a child who didn't swing until she was 2 1/2 and never, ever went down slide that wasn't for a toddler until she was 4! I watched her do it today and I was so excited! I'm sure if I allowed Rane to climb to the top he'd slide down it in a heartbeat!

So I think I fared pretty well without Spencer's help these past three days, although it has made me appreciate even more all the help he does provide every day and night! The kids and I have had a nice time but we sure missed Spencer. When we were on the way home from the playground yesterday Ella-Ann, in her sweet little voice with a sigh, said, "I miss Daddy, Mommy." Me too!

The first pictures below are from Valentine's Day. We gave the kids little goodie bags full of junk, which they loved, of course!

Well the Tag Reader "Beauty and the Beast" book isn't junk!

Rane is saying, "Thomas! Thomas!!!!" I have no clue as to how he knows who Thomas is since he has never watched the show! He loves him, though, and has carried that train around all week! Those things aren't cheep either!

Ella-Ann is still a huge Dora fan. She loves Dora more than any Disney princess, which is fine by me! Dora is pretty cool, even if her voice and show are annoying!

The smaller playground....swings are to the right and another set is behind me.

The bigger one. I couldn't even get it all in the picture. It looked like so much fun!

Rane loves slides! It was all he would do!

Ella-Ann found her a swing asap and was giddy with happiness! If you squint you can see little Pierson in the black car seat on the bench in the background!

Rane has never enjoyed a swing so I was happy he loved swinging (for like 2 minutes and then he started to freak) this weekend. He doesn't look happy in the picture but that has started happening anytime I bust out the camera! He was laughing and smiling like crazy before I tried to take his picture!

Pictures

My friend, Bobbi Jo Brooks, took amazing pictures of the kids a couple of weeks ago. The weather was in the high 60s that Saturday so we were able to get outside and take pictures. She did a great job and we are thrilled with them! Here is the link to view them:

http://bobbijobrooksphotography.smugmug.com/event/Jensen-Family/nEXwwKUPLAJzU

The website will ask you to register and all you have to do is enter your name and email to view them. After doing so, you will receive (immediately) a confirmation email. Click on the link in the email to view the slide show.

Super Saturday

My Mom and Dad came down for a quick grandchild fix this weekend since I won't be traveling to Kentucky to their house until Ella-Ann's spring break in April and my Dad hasn't seen Pierson since she was born. We had a full day of fun ahead so it's a good thing we started off our morning on the right foot and all.....
with nothing else but cookies, chocolates and iced donuts! At least the extra large coffee was calorie-free! Spencer takes the kids every once in a while on a Saturday morning to Dunkin' Donuts and when he opened the door yesterday morning to leave a package was sitting on the steps. My Mom always sends us an amazing assortment of cookies and chocolates for nearly every holiday and we love it! Yesterday we received the Valentine's Day box so of course I had to immediately open it and eat a cookie! Ella-Ann wasn't feeling too well yesterday and was up often throughout the night because of a bad headache. She wasn't in the mood for her normal (very healthy) breakfast so instead I allowed her to chow down on a chocolate-covered rice krispie treat while Spencer and Rane were at the donut shop! I figured a little bit a chocolate would cure any headache! See, I can be a fun mom sometimes! Her and I get the most excited about the yummy treats...she is a girl after my own heart, after all!

As she was eating her rice krispie treat she was eyeballing the heart-shaped, pink-iced-with- sprinkles donut Spencer brought back for her!

My parents came over shortly after our sugar fest and we took the kids over to their hotel so they could swim in the pool. They were so excited! I gave Ella-Ann some Tylenol so she was feeling much better. She would have moments of lathargy throughout the day but was pretty much okay all day and was able to enjoy her time with her grandparents.

Ella-Ann was pumped to be able to put on her new swimsuit in February!

After they went for a swim we headed to lunch at Phipps Tavern, one of my favorite places to eat. I snapped the below picture walking back to our car after we ate. They both reeeeeally love their Grandpa!

Once we got back to the house Spencer had to head to work for the rest of the day and into the night so Dad stayed with Ella-Ann and Rane while Mom, Pierson and I shopped for a couple of hours at Kudzu, a 25,000-square foot warehouse of wall-to-wall vintage antiques. I am incredibly sad that I just discovered this amazing place after living here nearly 6 years and passing it practically everyday! It is unbelievable and is now my all-time favorite shopping spot! I have to say it even tops Nordstrom in my book! Mom loved it as much as me and I look forward to packing up a U-Haul with lots of goodies from the store when we move at the end of the year!

Anyway, while we were gone Dad took the kids to Bruster's for an obscene amount of chocolate ice cream. It was so nice here this weekend so they enjoyed sitting outside eating and playing in the backyard. I swear the only non-sugary item Ella-Ann ate all day was buttered noodles from Phipps Tavern! To make sure we got enough chocolate squeezed into our Saturday, once mom, baby and I returned from shopping we went to Whole Foods for their (free) chocolate and champage fest. It was so much fun and Mom, Dad and I had some really good drinks and treats! I banned the kids from anymore chocolate so I packed them a snack if they so desired to eat anything! When we got back to the house we ordered some pizza and enjoyed that after we put the kids to bed. Whew, what a jam-packed day!

My parents came over this morning to visit and say goodbye. We will surely miss them since we won't see them for a while, but we certainly made the most of our time with them this weekend!

A Whole Lot of Nothing

I really don't have much to blog about lately. I don't really go anywhere with all three kids in tow so our days are spent, for the most part, at home. I am certainly not bored and I don't think the kids are either because they always seem to find something to do or some way to aggravate each other! Since Pierson eats every 3 hours any time I do leave the house we have to move very quickly and I can usually only go to one or two places. I took all three to Target with me on Friday and I seriously took 3 circus monkeys! I had a huge bus, I mean cart, that held all 3 of them and even though I buckled Rane in he managed to escape so both him and Ella-Ann were on and off the cart the entire time, kicking each other while sitting in the cart because they faced each other so I just had a ticker tape going of the following commands: "Rane stop kicking Ella-Ann, you two get back on the cart, get out of the freezer Rane, no we are not buying that please put it down, Rane stop kicking Ella-Ann, sit DOWN, leave Pierson alone, Ella-Ann sit up you are going to fall out, Rane stop kicking Ella-Ann, we are almost done I promise, you can have a snack when we get home, etc." I always have put Rane in the front of carts and Ella-Ann has always walked so now that Pierson is in her car seat at the front it's a whole new game to go to stores! It's not bad at all, it just takes me a little longer and since I know my children's personalities I know exactly what to expect when we are out, which is usually good behavior with sprinklings of craziness! I went to church today without Spencer (he was working) for the first time since Pierson was born and it all went very well. I guess it helped that I had been up since
4 a.m. with Pierson being fussy/unsettled because she is so congested from a cold she got from Rane, so I was able to drink lots of coffee and get ready before anyone else was awake!

Everything is still going well. Pierson is a sweet little baby but has her moments, usually after a bottle in the middle of the night, of fussiness. Thanks to heavy doses of caffeine each day I am really not tired. What keeps me going is that this stage only lasts for a short while and this, most likely, is the last time I ever have to do this! That really helps! The newness of Pierson has pretty much worn off for Ella-Ann and Rane but they still want to love all over her when they see her.

Since I don't have anything new to report I will leave you with a few pictures.....

Rane slammed his nose into the bathroom door this afternoon (he wanted in since I was in there giving P a bath) and after he was picked up by Spencer Ella-Ann was running circles around him and tripped over Spencer's leg and hit her mouth on the floor. They love getting ice for boo-boos and any time Rane gets so much as a tiny bump on his body he starts saying, "Ban-A! Ban-A!!" (Band-Aid)

Pierson has started taking naps this past week that are fairly predictable. She is awake for about 45 minutes after eating and then is down for the count (in her bed) until it's time for her to eat again.

This was after a bath this afternoon. It is such a funny picture! No she doesn't have red hair either!

In case you didn't see it, this was Pierson's birth announcement picture....

front of card...

back of card.

Growing Like Weeds

I took Rane and Pierson to the pediatrician this morning for their well baby visits, Pierson's 1-month and Rane's 2-year. I didn't realize it was a big deal to take two kids at the same time for a check-up until I received several, "Good luck with that," and "I did that once and will never do it again," comments but my theory was a one-stop-shop! I am happy to report that both kids did just fine and it was easy. When I took Pierson in for a weight check a week after she was born she weighed 5 lbs 12 oz, which was a little over 3 weeks ago. I was thrilled to see 8 lb 4 oz on the scale this morning! She also grew 3 inches since birth! That's my girl! Spencer and I can both be patted on the back for making it our mission to fatten this baby up before this visit today! She is in the 25th percentile for weight and 50th for height and head. All three of our kids seem to follow this pattern thanks to a tall, thin father! Rane is such a big boy weighing in at 26 pounds! He's in the 30th percentile, which I believe is the highest percentile he's ever been in for weight! ha! He's also 35 inches tall. Ella-Ann is, I believe, around 43 inches so he's gaining on her quickly. Both kids received shots as well but it wasn't a big deal, especially with a promise of a sucker afterward for Rane.

We are very blessed to have healthy, growing children and I am reminded of that even more so now that Pierson is here and is the picture of good health for a newborn!

I took these pictures yesterday before church because I coordinated their outfits and they looked so cute! Of course the pictures aren't great but I don't expect much with 3 now!

She Finally Made It

When my parents came down the night that Pierson was born the plan was for them to leave when I got home from the hospital, Spencer would stay home for a week and then my Mom would come down to help me for a few days. Well with sickness and bad weather both here and in Kentucky my Mom wasn't able to come down until this week. It was the first time she actually got to cuddle with Pierson because when I was in the hospital my Mom had caught my horrible illness while they were down for Christmas so when she did hold her she had on a mask.

We were thrilled to finally have her down for a visit this week! She arrived Monday afternoon and the kids were so excited to see her. They played and played together, read a ton of books, cuddled and played outside. While Ella-Ann was at school we hit the mall, Whole Foods for the early bird special (as usual) and Trader Joe's. Last night we all went to our favorite Thai restaurant for some really, really good sushi, sashimi and seafood (cooked for Mom!). It was great having her here and we were sad to see her go this morning.

I love Rane in his Chicago Bears shirt! I normally dislike the kids wearing any sports attire but do make an exception for this adorable vintage shirt (Spencer has a similar one and I gave them to the boys for Christmas because it's Spencer's favorite team) and a few St. Louis Cardinals t-shirts! I am learning to give in...give me more time, I know I have a little boy!

Sweet little girl is growing! She looks huge in this picture and the one below but she's not that large!

See....she does smile! Not a great picture because I was on the floor looking up at her when she just randomly smiled and I had the camera in hand but at least you get the idea!

I hate that there are very few pictures of me with the kids, especially when they are so small so I told Spencer to take one the other day. Such is the life of the behind-the-scenes blogger!

A Family Outing

A Christmas present that my parents always give us each year is either annual passes to the aquarium or the zoo. We have been at the zoo for two years now so we thought this year we'd make the switch back to the aquarium since they have some new exhibits and it's our last year in Atlanta. We finally made it downtown to go to the aquarium yesterday afternoon. Ella-Ann came bursting through the doors of the school at 2:15 when we picked her up! She was so excited! This was the first time Rane had been so Spencer and I were looking forward to his constant "Wook Mommy! Wook Daddy!!!!" He is easily excited so we knew it would be a treat to take him! Spencer mentioned to me while we were there that the last time we were at the aquarium we just had one kid...now we are a family of five!

We had a blast while there and both kids enjoyed all the amazing sights. Rane walked the entire time and did a great job keeping up with us and not throwing a tantrum (except when leaving). He loved the person dressed up as a penguin the most and did his little happy dance when he was up close and personal with him! Too funny! They have added quite a few things since we were there 2 years ago and we had such a good time. Although I will not attempt to make such an outing all by myself with all three kids!

I put Rane in his shark shirt for the occasion! You cannot tell, but the letters are neon orange and every time he looks down at his shirt he tries to pick them off!

In awe!

Ella-Ann was afraid of the huge fish!

Lets not forget Sweet P!

We were the only people watching the otters when the trainers brought out new toys for them so we got to watch them play really close to the glass. The kids went crazy!

Yes a random picture that I had to include! My sweet friend, Emily, sent us blue chocolate covered strawberries when Rane was born and kindly sent beautiful pink ones for Pierson's birth! They were so so so good! Spencer and I made sure Ella-Ann never saw them...I know, we are selfish parents and kept them all to ourselves! Who wouldn't???