More on Bailey

Bailey is growing like a weed. She is up to 8 lbs. and grown a 1/2 in. She still wears the same 4 or 5 outfits because she doesn't fit into any of her clothes. The pj's above fit her best. She is great at night, she still eats every 3 hours, but goes right back to sleep. So I am tired, but not completely sleep deprived.

For those who were wondering what Baileys middle name is- it's Lynn. We didn't have her name picked until an hour before she was born, and her middle name just popped out of my mouth when the nurses asked after she was born. We had discussed 3 possible middle names the whole time we were in labor (Lynn was one of them), but not knowing if it was a boy or a girl made it hard to be serious on picking a name let alone a middle name. 

 She doesn't have a lot of hair, but what hair she does have has a reddish tint to it. Westons hair was the same way when he was an infant, and around 4 months old it became very blonde, so we are curious what color her hair will be. It would be fun to have a brunnette, a blonde, and a red head.

That looks like a bald spot above her ear, it's actually a blonde patch, so we won't be surprised if her hair ends up coming in blonde.

She spends more time awake now, she is still the sleepiest thing, but her awake stretches are in the morning when all the kids wake up and evenings when the kids go to bed. All the time in between that she is asleep as soon as she finishes eating. So while I feel busier than ever, she still sleeps enough that it allows me to get stuff done.

We still adore her to pieces!

Meet Bailey

 Our sweet baby girl joined our family Dec. 17th, at 8:21 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz, and was 20 inches long. Making her my shortest baby, and 2nd heaviest. She has been such a pleasant and welcomed addition! I really worried about Autumn and Weston and how they would transition with a new little one, but they have adjusted well and it's been smoother than I anticipated. Weston just loves Bailey and wants to hold and kiss her all the time and is very concerned when she cries, saying over and over again, "Bailey sad, Bailey sad." Autumn is always quick to offer a blanket, hat, or pacifier even when it's not needed. Her motherly instincts have really started to show and she is going to be a great big sister. Here are a couple of pictures, she is already 2 weeks old- and these are from the first few days. We love her so much and can't believe we now have 3 kids (in such a short amount of time), and can't imagine it any other way. :) More pics to come later.

We're Transitioning

Weston to a "big boy bed" that is. The road was rough when we transitioned Autumn to her twin bed, and she still has rough patches where almost every night for a week she makes her way into our room several times a night and has to be walked back to her bed. But we have had Weston napping and sleeping at night in his twin bed for a week now, and it's been smooth sailing (knock on wood).

We knew that with Westons soft, sweet, sensitive nature he might have had a harder time transitioning from the crib to a bed after the baby came, than before. We worried he would feel like everything was changing, or that he was being "put out" of his crib because of the baby. So we took the crib out of his room, and we excitedly tell him all the time about how he is a "big boy" in a "big boy bed." For not being 2 years old yet, he has done fantastic!

The only time he gets out of his bed is when I lay him down for his nap (and even then it hasn't been everyday). But I figure, it's brighter in his room during the day than at night, so he can see everything and get out, but I have never had to put him back in bed more than twice, and then he stays put until he wakes up. But evenings are blissful, we close the door and don't see or hear a peep from him till morning. It still cracks me up every morning when he walks in our room and says, "Hi dad." He just seems so grown up, to see him walk in and out of his room and get in and out of his bed. We are so proud of him, and grateful we made the move when we did. It's one less thing to worry about when this baby comes. Now we just need new bedding for it, it was just an extra bed we had in his room for the last 6 months, so the bedding isn't what I would like. Also- you notice the sippy cup he has craddled in 2 of the pics, those are days I don't pay attention well enough and his cup was already in his room when I layed him down. It cracks me up when I check on him, to make sure he is asleep in his bed, and his cup is mysteriously with him.

Terrible Two's

Weston has hit the "terrible two's" and it couldn't have come at a better time (said in the most sarcastic way possible). I am 9 months pregnant, only have 3 weeks left and my son decides now he wants to be grumpy and say no to everything. He definitely has a mind of his own, but I was usually able to pursuade him another way when he wasn't happy before, but now its turned into he wants what he wants and he isn't happy unless he gets his way (or forgets what he was upset about) and he pesters his sister like crazy. I don't remember this stage with Autumn, which may be because Weston was a newborn and I was preoccupied or maybe just that she has always been on the more difficult end of the spectrum it was nothing new when the 2's hit. While Weston is still happy, funny, and easy going it has become very clear that there are more fits being thrown and more attention being demanded. I guess it could be related to the fact that a baby is coming and he is more sensitive to the situation than I realized.

He has become increasingly close to Drew, so much so that when I get him out of bed in the morning, or after his naps he cries and whines on the floor for dad for a good 1/2 hour to an hour. He has never shown a preference before, but when Drew had 5 days off the week of Thanksgiving and he took Weston where ever he went (and got him out of bed in the mornings and after naps) I guess that's all it took. The boy just wants his dad, especially after sleeping. I just sit near him and watch him throw his fit, hoping he will realize that crying and acting like that won't make his dad appear while he is at work and that it really doesn't do any good. But it is exhausting! Especially for me- I am ready for him to get over his issues- and be my sweet happy loving boy ALL the time.

Something's Been On My Mind

It's nothing serious. It's actually quite comical. Drew and I watched the Mark Twain Award be presented to Tina Fey on Sunday night. It was really really funny to watch. If you're a fan of 30 Rock, Mean Girls, or SNL you would've loved it, all the presenters who praised and mocked Tina were great. It was basically an hour of nonstop chuckles and smiles. But for me, one part really stood out. I didn't know Tina took such an active role in writing on SNL- and one of my all time favorite "commercials" from SNL was shown on the award show- to remind people how clever she was- they showed clips of her first improve work in a small place in NY, clips from Mean Girls, loads of clips from SNL, and some from 30 Rock truely displaying her talent.

But one clip had me laughing so hard I could barely contain myself, and I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. I have seen this one a dozen times, and yet I still find it hysterical. Sun. night we went to bed quoting the commercial and last night Drew said a few lines which got me giggling again. Hope you enjoy!
*My sister posted this on her blog forever ago as well. And sorry for the ad before the parody actually begins.*


If you want to watch any clips from the show Sun. night you can go HERE.

A renewed faith...

In couponing. All because of a friends blog post. Check out her post HERE (seriously- you'll be shocked). I saw what she does and thought, look what I miss out on. She gets 3 papers w/coupon inserts and I only get one...so when I start getting 3 I can have savings like hers!

I have totally slacked in couponing over the last 9 months, I still do it, but more when it's convenient than for the rush or excitement of how much I have saved. I am not one to run to the store first thing Wed. morning when the sales start to make sure I score the free stuff (usually toothpaste and toothbrushes are the first to go), but going late on a Tues. night- I assumed I would have fair luck because they'd be restocking shelves for the new weeks promotions starting in the morning, but as I walked through the store I found myself scratching item after item off my list. Apparently I didn't go late enough (they were restocking stuff on every aisle it seemed, except the ones I really wanted) and I will just try to be back on my game, so I don't have to wait till the last day when they are out of a lot of sale items. 

So here's what I got:

I spent $2.90 and saved $70.10. I made a total rookie error and could've spent less and saved way more, but live & learn and I was already dealing with what seemed like a bajillion coupons so I let something simple slip. No big deal, a jar of mayo will run you $3, and I got 2 of them and a ton of other stuff for that price.

Our Halloween 2010

Halloween was by far the funnest this year. In the 4 1/2 years we've been married we really slacked on Halloween, just doing the church's Trunk or Treat, or when my parents lived here we would go to their house and pass out candy. With our kids getting older it really has become more fun, it's not about us anymore- it's all for them.

It started with the Thurs. before Halloween Autumns preschool had "Character Day" which she wouldn't let me take any pictures of her, she really wanted to dress up as a princess, but I had my heart set on her being a butterfly. So she wasn't thrilled that day, but on Sat. when we went to our church's Trunk or Treat she was all for it and loved it. I think it's because once she got to school on Thurs. she noticed her BFF was also a butterfly and so then it was fun.

Weston was a Dr. We inherited these toddler scrubs back when we first had Autumn and I have just held on to them. Luckily they fit Weston and worked perfect!

 He wasn't in the best mood before we went Trunk or Treating, but once we were there and people were giving him tons of candy he was as happy as can be.

 Autumn was a butterfly this night too...

 These are the only 2 pictures I took at the Trunk or Treat. Drew sat at the car and passed out candy while I took the kids around. So I didn't have an extra hand. It was an awesome turn out. We hit probably 8 cars and then passed our car and Weston was completely content with the loot he had and sat with Drew in the car and indulged in his goodness. Autumn and I continued around the parking lot until we hit every car and saw just about everyone. 

 Then on Sun, Halloween Day, I had to dress my kids in festive attire. Autumn had a orange and white dress and all I did was add a thick black ribbon to it and tada! Festive!! Westons shirt is orange and green plaid, but the orange is very very subtle. People kept complimenting our family on dressing festive (I also wore a black shirt with an orange cardigan) and I was surprised more people didn't think to. :)  

 That night we set everything up for potential Trick or Treaters. This is my adorable candy bowl. I bought it last year after Thanksgiving when fall decor everywhere was really cheap. I was so happy to be able to use him! We had pencils, bubbles, smarties, and gum. Plus a few pixie sticks (from the trunk or treat that I picked out of the kids buckets....my kids don't need straight sugar.) 

 Autumn got dressed up again, and waited for the trick or treaters.

 We haven't done a pumpkin since Drew and I's first Halloween together, it went bad so quick we have forgone doing one every year since then. So I moved my halloween jars to the window by the door to let people know we were celebrating and passing out candy. Yep, that's Autumn trying to blow them out.

 The trick or treaters sure were in short supply this year. I think with it being on a Sun. people weren't sure about going out. But we had fun with the few we had. Autumn insisted she pass out the candy, and it was adorable, she would grab handfuls and put the candy into their bags/buckets. It was fun getting her involved. 

 Once the trick or treaters had basically stopped coming by I sat down with the kids and read It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. 

 Which then had to be followed by watching the movie.

 Autumn and Weston love the Great Pumpkin movie. They dance with Snoopy, and imitate him when he is pretending to be the WW1 Flying Ace- the Red Baron.

We had a lot of fun. It'll be interesting next year with 3 kids! If you know me, my real favorite day is the day after Halloween. I went to Wal-Mart, Target, and CVS snatching up clearanced Halloween stuff.