August Highlights!

Yes, we've now resorted to monthly "highlights."  I'm so lame!  I can't even find the energy to review previous posts to see if I am repeating myself, so here is what I have to share... even if I've shared it before!

Jakob:

Jakob reminds me of a little puppy these days: drools, gnaws on everything, poops everywhere... melt-your-heart looks from this little guy have me whipped.  He is precious.  He's messy, but I'm loving life with him!  Let's see... He is cutting his first bottom tooth, and he seems to be handling it quite well!  He is still drooling buckets, but now I understand why :)  Jake started grabbing his feet the other day (one of my favorite baby antics!) and he is often seen rolling around the room, feet in hand.  His new trick this month was rolling back to tummy, and he gets such a kick out of himself when he does it.  He loves to sleep on his side, index finger in his mouth.  He's waking up so happy from his naps, and I love to hear him crowing first thing in the morning!  He still has one feeding between 7pm and 7am, and I'm feeling like he will drop it anytime.  I will probably be saying that every month...  :)  TO THIS DAY, Jakob falls asleep during most of his feedings.  Seriously.  Yes, he's almost 5 months old!

At his four month check up, he weighed 15lbs 9oz (42%) and was about 26" long.  He's quite an average guy!  His favorite babysitter is Elyse these days.  He follows her around with his eyes whenever she is close, just waiting to giggle with her.  I know I'm biased, but she is very good with him.  She's always gentle and seems content to just sit and talk to him.  I'm very thankful for such a big helper!  Emily on the other hand...

Emily:

What can I say about Emily?  She's definitely Miss Feisty these days.  I am vexed by her ability to tune out EVERYTHING AROUND HER when she wants to.  Seriously, I'm vexed.  I'm also entertained, as I almost always wish I could do the same thing :)  Potty training is going "fairly" well.  She is proficient at #1 when the conditions are right (no distractions, toys, distractions, or toys).  SO, she's got a ways to go.  She does very well at home, but has a hard time out of the house (distractions and toys).  #2... well, I guess it will happen eventually.  I am learning to love her just the way God made her, even if it means she will take a bit longer to do this on her own :)  I do love hearing her say, "I did big peeps!!!"  I assume she's talking about pee since she won't do the other...

(she was quite proud of her recent fall down the outside steps...)

As for her humor these days, well, she's got lots of it.  Her new response when we question her is, "me me thinks so!"  I assume that means, "I think so..."  She also uses "me me say."  She will pretend to talk on the phone and loves to throw that phrase out!  My second favorite phrase of hers is "I GOT IT!!!  I GOT IT!!!  --- I CAN'T!!!"  Seriously, at the top of her lungs and very desperate with each phrase.  I can still laugh at her most times :)  When she finds something funny, she says the word "laughing" as she laughs (you know, so we can put two and two together...).  She still calls her feet "feeties" thankfully (I hope she never outgrows that one...).  She has officially learned the "WHY?" question, and now she catches herself with the response "Yes, Mommy..."  She knows that's how I want her to respond, and she always has a little twinkle in her eye while saying it.  She calls all shorts, skirts, etc... "panties" and loves to yell it.

Emily loves to sing, and she can be heard singing to anything or anyone quite often.  Her favorite song is still "Holy God" (or "The Gospel Song"), and she loves to yell the title like she's cussing.  *sigh*  Another favorite is "Twinkle Twinkle" but I won't even attempt to break down her version...  Her other favorite pastime is destroying her crayons, drawing with pens (when I'm not looking) and placing stickers on her tummy.  She responds "Yes Sir!" to everyone and consistently amazes me with her humor and her funny little voice. Jordan and I both say we are going to miss her little chatter so much someday!

Elyse:

Elyse is just a string bean... so tall and skinny!  She is looking four years old to me :)  She is already talking about her birthday and all of the pink things she wants to partake of... Oh, yes, we are totally in a pink obsession!!! AGH!  I tried and tried and tried and tried to avoid this, but I'm doomed.  My daughter is in. love. with. pink.  I'm trying to be a good sport, can you tell?  Her imaginary friends are Percy, Van, and Twinkle Star.  Yep :)  She calls her comforter her "sweaty blanket" because we always warn her that sleeping with ALL HER BLANKETS on will make her sweat :)   I just have to share some of her other funnies:

* "Mommy, I just knew my shorts were on backwards because I was really sweaty."
* Upon spotting Jakob's eyes: "Mom, those blue things are moving all around!"
* I made a comment about being old, and she said, "You're not old!  You're new!"  (I love you, Elyse!)
* I told her she could stay up during naptime if she could behave.  She responded cheerfully, "Yes, I can be a cave!"
* One morning over breakfast, I explained to Elyse how Daddy and I fell in love, and later on she said, "When I was little, I used to fall down in love."
* "Maybe when Jakob gets bigger, he can have dollies!"  (Hmm...)

AND, my all time favorite: she thought Jakob's ear lobes were called "Egg nogs" - seriously.  SO CUTE!  When we corrected her, she just laughed her head off...  She is enjoying challenges these days- puzzles, paints, and learning legos :)  She is keeping me on my toes, but it's so fun.

 (a fun day trip to the Children's Museum... Jake obviously enjoyed it)

Life with these three is quite busy.  Jordan and I are always amazed by how much energy this stage of life requires, and it's constantly reminding me of my inadequacy.  I'm so thankful God makes this possible.  I am definitely not able to do it on my own!  Most days, we crash with that "good tired" feeling, but there are days when we literally feel like we did about 10% of what we wanted.  Perspective, right?  I love watching these three grow and change.  It's a beautiful thing...

Happy birthday

My love is my age as of today. Welcome to 31. He is more to me than words can express, and every day we have together is priceless. I love his smile, his patience, his free spirit, his eyes, his perseverance, his love for Christ, and so much more. I love celebrating the day God gave him to me, and I love celebrating his life. Happy birthday, J!

(Jakob is posing with daddy's gift :)

Four Months

Jakob, I can't believe you are four months old.  I have loved these four months with you!  I am amazed at how this little guy has grown over the last month, and it's fun for me to recall what three months looked like versus four.  I think the biggest change has been his attention span.  He LOVES tummy-time now and especially enjoys when I put toys down in front of him.  He smiles, puts on a concentrated look, and even tries to start scootching.  It's so fun and sobering at the same time!  I love his interaction at this age, too. He loves to use his expressive eyes to tell me stories in his crowing voice.  I know he just loves to hear himself talk!  The girls especially love it, as I think they thought he would be a bump on a log forever.  I have a feeling this is just the beginning of some serious sibling fun.

I am desperately sad that he seems to be losing a lot of hair.  I think the worst is over, but I dreaded those weeks of finding a slew of hair all over his sheet EVERY DAY! :(  He's back to "growing" hair again, which is nice :)  Poor little guy.  Elyse still insists when his hair gets longer, he can wear bows, too.  Hmm...
 

I am in love with his sweet personality.  At this stage of the game (and I know it can change at any moment?), he is extraordinarily content.  He loves to watch, chill, play, and pretty much do whatever we like during his playtime.  He doesn't seem to mind his sisters, but I do still love the wide-eyed look of terror when they get too close :)  I know, it's still evil...  His sleeping habits have improved drastically since we went on vacation at the beginning of the month.  He thought he was a newborn.  Mommy didn't find it funny.  SO, he is currently sleeping from about 6:30pm or 7pm to 6:30 or 7am with one feeding (usually around 3am).  As much as I dislike being awake at that hour, I have enjoyed the longer stretch before he wakes!  I dropped the 10pm feeding a few weeks ago, as it didn't seem to make a difference in his long stretch at night anymore.  I LOVE my mornings with him.  He usually wakes up a little bit before the girls, and I get to enjoy that 30 - 60 minutes with my little guy in peace and quiet (no offense, little ladies).

Okay, I am starting so see some boy-like behavior (no offense, little buddy.. it just took a few months).  I can totally see him light up when I pull him to his feet, or "play" with him more.  I don't remember the girls really caring if I tried to get them to stand.  I just know I should enjoy his lack of mobility, right, moms with boys?  Jakob just loves to roll around from tummy to back these days, so we did hit quite a hurdle with him not being able to fall back asleep on his back.  I believe we have passed that stage (thankfully!), and I now find him sleeping on his back and on his side quite often.  Nothing cuter than sleeping babies... Here are some of my current "observations":

fun's:

* I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing him wake up happy!  He loves to crow and coo if he's had a good nap.
* I am enjoying that he's awake a little bit longer (about an hour) in between feedings.  SO NICE!
* Along with that longer wake-time comes longer between feedings.
* I love to see his crooked little grin..
* I love the way he loves his daddy!
* Seeing him interact with the girls is pretty nifty, too.
* He still has that baby stretch that he does (you know: the legs curled up, arms in the air stretch?).
* I adore his eyes.  They're so big.
* He's packing on a little weight, and I love seeing some chubby legs!
* I get to enjoy looking at his chubby legs when I let him stand up.. so fun!
* Giggles, giggles, giggles.  LOVE every one.

not-so-fun's:

* He's still not a super predictable baby.  My fault, I'm sure, but he still loves to keep me guessing about what he needs at least 2 days a week.
* He makes me appreciate naps.   :)
* I am NOT looking forward to starting solids in a few months.  Not cool.
* If he's not quite ready to go down for a nap, he will LET ME KNOW.  Sometimes I'll go pick him up to calm him down, and five minutes later, he'll go down without a peep.  Is that the first sign of a third-born spoiled child? :)   I think both of us need to stop doing that :)
* He seems to be sensitive to my spicy food intake, and I really despise spit up.
* Watching him achieve milestones reminds me of how fast this is going.

(we blamed Jake for our bad snacks the other night... so mean!)

I am determining all the time to enjoy this little guy.  It's not hard, but I still need the reminders that other things just aren't as important.  You might not want to verify this with my husband, but some cobwebs can wait :)

 (I love his expression... and Em's!)

Jakob, happy four months, buddy!  You are so loved :)

Training

Well, they don't call it "training" for nothing, right? Emily is SURELY going to do better tomorrow than she did today at this potty thing. Right? Right. A good night's sleep will do the trick. Right? Right. We've had one success so far, and it was enough to make my heart happy after a day of failures. I can't wait for some more successes. There will be more successes. Right? Right. Here we go! See you on the other side! Right? :)

Precious things

I'm overwhelmed today with the beauty of life. That's all.

Three Months

Little man is three months old today.  I'm so happy that this age is here, yet so sad the newborn is gone.  I can't even believe how sweet this guy is, though I could be a bit biased.  Having a boy is so fun!  I'll be honest, it's not all that different (minus the obvious :) BUT I definitely notice the difference when I go to pick out an outfit and care so much less about how I dress him.  Don't get me wrong.. I do care some, just exponentially less than I did when the girls were this age :)  AND, I don't take a photo of him in every.single.outfit.  Jakob, please forgive me.  

I love this stage, mainly because they're so cute.  Really, the smiles and the little sausage arms just melt my heart!  I love tiny feet, but I also love a little more sleep at night, and three months is the best of both.  So, as much as I miss newborn Jake, I welcome baby Jake with open arms!  Jakob has settled into a good routine.  I have a feeling since he is the third, his routine will never be clockwork, but I'm just fine with that.  Poor little guy just has to be dragged out and about during certain days, and he would be a much better sport if he actually liked sleeping in his car seat.  Alas, he doesn't.  At all.  But, we just keep trying and hope he will get the hang of it.  Jakob at this point is still sleeping his 6-8 hour stretch at night (sometimes 9 if I'm super duper lucky), and I'm about to experiment in dropping the 10pm feeding just to see what happens.  Maybe tonight?  He's starting to sleep through most of it, so why bother :)  I think a small part of me will miss that time with him, but I can truly say I enjoyed it while it lasted.

His day schedule is still kind of a 2.5 hour schedule, so it gets moved around a lot depending on what we're doing, but it works for us at this point.  His wake time between naps is only about 45 minutes long still, and I'm glad he likes to sleep.  It sure makes him happier when he is awake!  *ahem* I remember a certain grouchy patch a couple of months ago...

Jake isn't quite as tubby as I thought he would be by now, but he is long.  He weighs only a little more than Elyse did at this age.  He's starting to coo and crow a lot, and we love to hear his noises.  His smiles are so flirty and cute, I could just take pictures of every one!  He chews on his hands all the time and wrings them together like a little old person.  He has officially become a finger-sucker.. ironically, the exact same finger as Emily sucks.  I guess that's what happens when you have a tummy-sleeper!  No rolling over yet, but he's giving it some effort.

Daddy loves having a little guy around to talk to.  We often beg Jakob to be drama-free, and I truly hope he's listening!  The girls love to play with him even more now that he's more alert and responsive.  They often leave evidence of their snacks on his cheeks because of all the kissing.  Elyse likes to report his every move to me with an, "Aww, he's so cute!!"  And Emily, ... well, she just jabbers on about something Jakob-related.

fun's:

* I love seeing him stop in the middle of eating just to give me a smile.
* Seeing his face light up when I catch his eye... I hope he always does that!
* He loves to fall asleep on my shoulder, whenever I let him.  MELTS MY HEART!
* His bicycle kicks :)
* The arch-y-back-stretch that makes his bum stick out...
* I love the way he snorts.
* He is napping like a champ- and sleeping well.  Leaves me in a better mood to enjoy him!

not-so-fun's:

* He still loves to space out his messy diapers... a week or so apart.  A nursery worker told me yesterday that he pooped out pee-poop :)  haha...  yes, I am sort of glad I didn't have to change it!
* Knock on wood, I've only been peed on twice by him, but that is never really fun.
* I strongly dislike the smell of spit up.  Unfortunately, he's a spitter sometimes...
* Yes, you guessed it- watching him grow so fast.  It's crazy to think that he's only been out of me for three months, yet he's so much bigger!

Jakob, we love you so much.  I can't wait to see how your little personality will grow and develop.  I can only imagine you will have to learn lots of patience and long-suffering in this house.  Your daddy will give you lots of tips, I'm sure :)  Happy Three Months!

oh, the fun!

I've been keeping track of some of Elyse's funnies, because I just can't forget about these. Here they are:

* I was singing to the girls before bed last night, and Elyse interrupted me and asked me first of all for a "silent song." Hmm. I was a little stumped, and when she saw my hesitation, she said, "Well, how about you sing me a classical song?"


* At breakfast the other morning, Elyse said, "I think we need to wear sweaters, Mommy, because this juice is COLD!" 


* I asked Elyse what we should get Jordan for father's day. Her short list is: a sweater, some pink flowers, brown shoes, or a tablecloth. It was a bit ironic that she remembered the tablecloth and the pink flowers that were my mother's day gifts in 2011 :) 


* She was sitting close to me as I was feeding Jakob, and she was gushing a little about how cute his feet were. She seemed to be squeezing them a little bit too hard, so I reminded her to be gentle. She responded with, "are they going to snap off?" :) Well, dear, when you put it like that, why don't you just go right on ahead... 


* Elyse LOVES to eat dry cereal. Yes, DRY. She begs me not to put milk in her cereal, and I can somehow convince her to eat the first bowl with milk. Don't ask me how. 


* She calls cantaloupe "oaf-a-loupe" and still calls burgers "burnagers." :) LOVE IT! 


* We taught the girls how to dip their cookies in milk. Elyse figured it out quite quickly... "Can I have more cookies? There's more milk in here..." 


* Elyse got a few mosquito bites the other week. She didn't like her "bite bugs" very much. 


* She loves to give reasons for why Jakob might be crying... "he needs a bandaid" or "he needs to go potty" are common. Her favorite, however, is that he just needs to eat. She loves to help out :) 


* A month or so ago, she had a friend over to play.  I found Elyse sitting at the picnic table out back with a small pile of rocks. She looked up at me dramatically and said, "Oh, I wish I could play with my friend!" I reminded her (a bit sarcastically) that her friend was right.behind.her. She dramatically responded, "But I just have to play with my rocks..." 


* Elyse has heard the story of Christ dying on the cross often enough that it's definitely sparked some curiosity. She asked if the "cow" (beef) she was eating died on a cross. Hmm... On a serious note, it's been difficult to explain the concepts of life and death to a three year old.  I'm realizing how much I don't comprehend just as I explain things to her!


* Elyse has her first imaginary friend! Percy. Yes, Percy from Thomas the Train. Percy is a girl, however, and she's pink. She is still a train. She is never actually with us, per se, but she is always going to join us or meet us somewhere. Elyse and Em will look forward to Percy's visit all day, which is adorable. It was funny, though, when I reassured Em one night that Daddy would be home soon... Em responded, "Percy's coming! Oh boy!" Forget Daddy, right? :) Oh, the power of a big sister!!!


* Overall, she is developing quite a sense of humor.  She loves to use her imagination and just get us to laugh.  She'll tell us we're going to ride on a banana up to Minnesota for vacation next month, tell us that Emily Mae is a goofy oompa-loompa, etc... it's pretty funny to watch her laugh at her own jokes!  Her new favorite is to make a "rhyme" (or so she thinks...) and watch her follow it up with "DOWN BY THE BAY!" and crack up.  Love this crazy girl!  

2 months

No, Jakob, I did not post a one month update.  I promise it's because I was busy loving you!  I am amazed that we have had this little guy with us for two whole months.  The weeks have been precious, and I have loved every second.  YES, even the screaming-his-head-off seconds.  And they they have been numerous :)  I am so in love with this little guy.  He is getting sweeter by the day.  As with my girls, the first six weeks were a whirlwind.  You know, that inexplicable fussiness that usually rears its head when I want to eat, sleep, or shower... and if you DON'T know what I'm talking about because your sweet child was never fussy, please don't comment on that in the comment section.  Heehee... just kidding.  At about 6.5 weeks, this little guy started chillin' in every way.  He started staying happy for a while after eating, stopped fighting sleep as much, started giving me lots of smiles.. the smiles that come after eye contact and cute little "come on, little guy!" comments.. smiles that melt my heart.  He is grinning like crazy these days, and I'm loving every grin.  Just this week, we have fallen into a nice routine.  It's not exactly clockwork, but he is napping much more peacefully, and we've been working on an established bedtime (finally!).  It's not seamless, but it's progress, and for that I'm thankful.  Our household runs much smoother when we're rested :)

He is giving me a nice stretch at night- about 5-6 hours at this point, and I'm thankful.  I always hope for more, but I know that will come soon enough!  I need to take advantage of these midnight cuddles with this sweet boy.  Okay, I'll be honest- I'm hoping I'll get a nice 8-10 hour stretch soon :)

His wake time between naps is still only about 45 minutes, but when he's awake, he loves to look at toys.  I even catch him flirting with those toys :)  Since naps are going better, I'm back to life in general.  I'm cooking lots, trying to clean and keep up on laundry, and I'm realizing that this mommy gig is WAY more full-time than it was a few months ago!  I really think that the transition to three kids has been much easier than the transition to two, but it still is triple the work.. Oh, I mean triple the fun!!!

Daddy is still enjoying paternity leave.  Yes, I know- it's crazy.  He'll go back to work in two weeks, and I'm going to miss him terribly around here!  I am excited to get into a better routine, but I know that these three have really enjoyed the extra daddy time.  I know I have.

Jakob is all boy.  Though I can see so much of Em and Elyse in him, he definitely has his own look, and it's SO BOY :)  He seems to be growing like a weed, but I won't know until next week when I can see the proof on that scale.  He is taking a bottle well, so I'm hoping that will come in handy for our ninth anniversary date soon... Jake moved into his bed at night time when he turned six weeks, and he seems to like it.  You know, he doesn't complain too much?  I sort of miss looking over the side of our bed and seeing him snuggled in his basket, but I know we're both sleeping better in separate rooms :)

Jakob has quite a few nicknames: Jake, Jakey-Jake, little bud, dude, "Jabok" (courtesy of Em), ... and some others that just don't stick :)  He seems to like all of his nicknames at this point.  Here are some of my fun's and not-so-fun's for this age:

fun's:

* LOVE seeing those goofy grins when his belly is full!
* This is pretty sick of me to say, but it is kind of funny to watch him wince as soon as his sisters get close :) Heehee... He's such a good sport!  They are so gentle, but they just love to get UP CLOSE and TALK LOUDLY!
* I love picking him up when he's asleep- he is the best snuggler!
* He still sleeps on me.  When I let him :)  Which is often enough...
* He's starting to turn his head just to make eye contact.
* I LOVE the smell of babies.
* He's getting chubby!!!
* I love how he puts his thumb between his index and second finger (see above picture :)
* I just love seeing him grow and change.  I love to imagine what he'll look like as a toddler.

not-so-fun's:

* Though he's a pretty "regular" guy, he still finds away to BLOW OUT his diapers.  His car seat his is favorite pick for decoration. *sigh* BOYS.
* I go through about 15 wipes.  Seriously.
* I wish he still fit in his cute little moses basket...
* Though I'm thankful his naps are better, I really miss really miss really miss holding him all the time!  I still take advantage of that when I can.  I have realized why third children are typically easier... they have to be!
* Sweet boy, I'm trying to make time slow down, but it's not working.  Be my little guy forever :)

I love him.  What was life like again without him?  Can't remember.  Don't want to.  He's sweet and he's going to be a joy to raise.  Seriously.  Happy two months, Jakob!  We love you.  To pieces.

2 years OLD!!!

Two years with our sweet Emily.  Wow.  You probably were thinking I'd FORGET about her two year post, weren't you?  Well, I did remember, but it has taken me a while to post.  Obviously.  Em turned two on May 19, and we had to celebrate in the style of a two year old: cake, balloons, bubbles, presents, ... you get the idea.  Emily is changing by the day, it seems.  A few weeks ago, I was getting somewhat worried about her lack of "clarity" as far as vocabulary goes.  Even in a few weeks, she has developed so much.  I am encouraged, but I already miss the unintelligible jibber jabber. Seriously, she has the cutest little voice, and I hope I always remember how she sounds RIGHT NOW.

How can I sum up Emily?  Well, she is seriously just delightful.  Don't get me wrong, she is far from perfect (aren't we all?).  But, God has gifted her with a bubbly presence that brings so much joy.  She genuinely enjoys life.  I see her smile and hear her giggle when no one is around... playing with toys and clapping her hands over small victories.  She loves to laugh and make others laugh.  She smiles the most winning smile - just because.  She can just about get us to totally lose any train of thought when she interrupts with the most excited commentary on who knows what.  I love this girl.  We are constantly amazed at the level of her humor, as I feel like she could compete with the best of my funny friends :)

Emily loves her big sister to pieces, but every once in a while, she just likes to play alone (much to Elyse's chagrin).  Em loves animals and babies, and Jakob is just a big doll to her!  We have to supervise quite often, as she will kiss and hug him to pieces if she's allowed.  Some of her new favorite phrases are:

"Yes SIR!" - when told to do something :)
"I DID IT!" - when doing anything right
"What dat noise?" - upon hearing anything unusual
"Where Daddy go?"
"I'm huggy" - for "I'm hungry"
"Hey, BUDDDDDYYYY..." - when talking to Jake

Emily is cutting her last eye tooth, and then we look forward to two year molars.  Anytime now!  As of now, potty-training is "penciled" in for this summer at some point, but honestly, I just don't like to think about it. Yet.  Is she ready?  Does it really matter? :)

Em loves to eat, but these days, she's become a bit choosy.  She will snub her nose at some favorites, which makes me wonder if she just wants to be difficult at times... hmm...  This girl has some vices, a few of which are: climbing the ladder into Elyse's top bunk, pouring out her cup of milk, blowing bubbles in her cup of milk, playing in her cup of milk (do you get my drift?), and general disobedience.  This girl is hard to keep up with!  She's even harder to scold with a straight face.

Em loves to sing the birthday song, and it usually goes somewhat like this (sometimes sung in a growl): "Happy dir-day to to..."  She also has most of our bedtime songs memorized, but refuses to perform.  We just have to catch her in the act :)  She LOVES puzzles, and she can do most of her board puzzles in her sleep, but they still manage to entertain her.  Books and babies are favorites, but nothing tops playing with Daddy!  These days, both girls are into stickers, and Emily always has to put a token sticker on her tummy before sticking them on anything else.  Elyse and Em already have an inside joke - "bubble game."  They reenact a video of Emily falling down while chasing bubbles, and the girls remind each other at random times and burst into laughter.  Sisters!!!

Yes, Emily is the child who will seemingly give us a run for our money, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Her spunk makes me want to enjoy life to the fullest, just as she seems to do.  No, I can't even remember what a meal is like without a child covered from head to toe in cottage cheese or some other messy food, but it's worth every second.  My messy little monkey makes me laugh, and I hope I always remember that the mess is never more important than loving my little girl.  Have I mentioned she likes to eat dog food?  Yep.

Happy birthday, Emily Mae.  We love you more than words can say!  We pray you learn at a young age that only God can give you true happiness.  You mean so much to our family!

What's new?

Well, what's new?  ... let's see ... our baby boy ... Elyse's baby (Star, a stuffed giraffe that's all the rage) ... Emily's eye teeth ... this crazy 6 week paternity leave that is spoiling me! ... Where to start.  My three children are changing faster than the speed of light, it seems, and I could probably attribute it to the fact that I am still somewhat in a fog.  I have asked my husband if we will ever feel rested again.  Is it really possible?  Then, deep in the recesses of my mind, I dig out the memory of what it is like when that sweet child sleeps through the night for the first time ... when my baby's naps became seamless and predictable.  I have to cling to the promise of that day, or I think I might just commit coffee abuse for the duration of my life.

Here's the scoop on us:

Jakob

He weighed in at 9lbs, 11oz at his two week appointment, and I always feel a bit of relief to know that my babies are gaining weight.  I'm sad that he only got to wear certain newborn clothes once, but I love his chub more!  He is eating great, and his night sleep is going VERY well.  He hasn't made it longer than 4.5 hours between feedings yet, but he is good at going right back to sleep.  He still has a patch or two a day of just plain old fussiness, but the patches seem to be diminishing a little.  Perhaps it's normal for the "third" baby, but he is pretty consistently taking naps on his own already.  Could be attributed to the fact that Mommy and Daddy are busy tending to toddlers, but I still take advantage of cuddling him for a nap or two here and there when I can.  I know he's going to grow up all too fast, and I want to keep him little forever... in a way :)  Right now, Jake is only able to take 30-40 minutes of being awake at a time.  Crazy, huh?  He sure loves his sleep and his food, and that's okay if it makes him happy!  He is more alert and active when he is awake, which is fun.  The girls adore being around him, and Emily is usually close by saying, "Hey, buddy! Happy dirday, buddy! (for happy birthday) Hey, baby broder!"  Each phrase is said in her best mommy voice, too.  MELTS. MY. HEART.  Elyse loves being around him as well, kissing, hugging, patting, ... whatever.  Both girls just adore him, and it does this mama's heart good to see that!

Sweet sweet sleep!

Just had to capture the saggy cheeks!!!  SO KISSABLE!

Doesn't his expression seem a bit devious?  He did have a blowout on the way to church, so perhaps he was plotting...

I love the squishy face.

Emily

Em is on the verge of cutting her fourth eye tooth, and she is usually seen walking around sucking on her index finger.  I feel badly for her, as we've been through this with the other big teeth.  No fun!  She is still my early bird, and I usually wake up these days to her singing in her bed or saying, "Lee!  LEE!" (for Elyse).  It is quite funny, though, when Elyse is still asleep or just refuses to answer.  Em just keeps getting louder!  Emily is really into singing happy birthday to everything - even bites of her food.  Her version: "happy dirday to to, happy dirday to to..."  It's pretty fun.  Honestly, her vocab isn't awesome, but she seems to be getting more words down, and it's a good thing Jordan and I have gotten "decent" at interpretation, because to the average joe most of what she says is pretty hard to understand.  She is uncannily good at puzzles and dealing with small objects, but she still can't seem to drink out of a cup without spilling it.  Food for thought :)  She has the sense of humor of a MUCH older child, and we are in constant amazement at how fun she is.  She loves to laugh and smile (when she's not in the throw of a tantrum, which happens a bit more often these days), and nothing suits her better than an audience.  I often find her spinning circles in the living around a certain toy that she has set on the floor.. dancing to random music.. cuddling her dolls.. reading.  She is the girl of many hobbies!  My new favorite is her "yes" which is an enthusiastic "YEP - E - DOE!"  Whenever she gets something special, she yells/laughs "Oh BOY!"

Poor Jakob :) 

I've never used the word "gentle" so often.  So thankful that they love him so much.

Elyse

This child is 3 going on 10 it seems.  Her imagination is crazy, and she loves to ask about whether or not monsters are real, etc..  it's pretty fun.  I love hearing her converse.  She loves to talk with Em and explain things to her.  You know, the deep questions in life, like why Emily isn't allowed to sit on the big potty yet, or why she has to wear certain shoes.  She is my little mother hen, and I do love what a helpful spirit she has.  She loves to look in on Em if she's crying or needs help, and she is really sad when Jakob's crying for some reason.  She loves to set the table (we find stuff all over!) and help with cleaning around the house.  She pretends to go to the hospital (hostable) several times a day to have her baby (Star), and she loves when we "go" with her :)  Some of her recent funnies: Elyse said when she gets older, she wants to shave her head and her armpits.  Hmm!  I heard Elyse talking about poo at the table (not our first choice for dinner conversation), so I told her talk about something else.  She responded with, "Well, we always have to do things we don't like, Mommy."  Smarty pants :)  It is so hard not to laugh.  Getting straight answers out of this girl is nearly impossible.  She uses lots of these types of phrases: "Well, maybe, . . . " and finds a great way to either embellish the information or avoid the question all together.  AND, she has awesome facial expressions to go along with her fascinating stories.  She calls us "sweetie" or "honey" all the time, and once in a while I will remind her I'm MOMMY, but most times, it's just plain funny.  I love this stage SO MUCH!!!!

Elyse got to give Jake part of his first bottle the other day!  She loved it :)

US

Well, I am just loving having my husband home right now!  I especially needed him this weekend when I started fighting some bug... fever and sniffles, but he took care of us all like a champ.  He is genuinely enjoying the household pace we keep these days, and I am thankful for the change of pace he can have.  Seriously, this guy is never NOT doing something, so it is nice to see him nap every once in a while, and we've enjoyed watching movies when we can, or just enjoying time together outside of "date night."  Times like this make me appreciate so much how hard he works for us.  Staying at home is such a privilege I have because it's important to him, too.  Though it's not easy by any stretch of the imagination, he works so hard to make it possible.  I'm glad he can have a break from his 8-4:30 job and just focus on serving in our church and enjoying his family for three more weeks.

I do believe that even this busy stage of life has drawn us closer together.  I can see how it could potentially drive a couple apart, but we have both realized how much we need God's grace to get through this intact.  That, in turn, drives us together.  I'm so thankful for a husband that loves being a daddy, and I'm thankful that he loves being a husband, too :)  I laugh when I am reminded of the conversation we had 10 months ago in Minnesota when that silly little PLUS SIGN showed up on my pregnancy test.  Jordan's just as supportive now as he was then.  Yes, I admit, if I had my choice at the time, we'd be welcoming a baby into our family a bit farther down the road, but this was God's path for us, and I am seeing that it's seriously PERFECT.  We are tasting firsthand the goodness of God and the love of his children... Our church family has showered us with meals and gifts when we've needed them the most.  Jakob, I can't wait to tell you someday how we have seen God's grace in your little life already!  We love you, little man!

Nothing like bath time!