Camping

We snuck in one last camping trip before school started. I even caught a fish!! I tried to be brave and help clean them... but Tyler ended up doing the dirty work! I did fillet and cook them though!) Here are some pictures from our trip.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Some of you may know about my breastfeeding frustrations. Maybe it's TMI, so I guess if it is, you don't have to read this.

BUT, last night, something clicked for Sara, and she has been nursing!!!!! I never thought this day would come. Every doctor and lactation nurse even gave up on her nursing successfully. BUT I DIDN'T! Neither did Tyler. It was his idea to try last night.

For the past 9 weeks, I pump every 3-5 hours and then bottle feed her. Sometimes she'd latch on with a nipple shield, but they don't get very much milk that way, so I would still have to pump afterwards. The nights were hard, I would be so tired, she was so hungry, and would lay next to me as I pumped, sucking on her binkie in rhythm with my pump. Then one of us would have to stay awake long enough to feed and burp her.

I have had to plan my outings around pumping, since it's ok to breastfeed in public, but have you ever seen someone pump in public?

Certain things have been nice, of course. First of all, the girls and Tyler love to feed her. The other two girls didn't take a bottle or a binkie, and both are so nice! But, this bond that I feel when I nurse my babies is the most amazing thing ever, and quite simply, it's easy. (Not easy to teach them, but easy to feed them wherever/whenever)

Maybe I should call the lactation nurse and I could be her poster child. And to the mean doctor who told me in the hospital "if babies don't learn to nurse within a week, they never will." Well, Shanna took a few weeks to learn, Kaci took a month, and Sara took 9 weeks. Take that, Mr. High-And-Mighty!

So, it's progressively getting better and easier. Last night, I was able to nurse her on one side, starting with the shield and then taking it away. Then, I fed her a bottle after. She also had a bottle during the night. Today, she has had ONE BOTTLE! I haven't had to use the shield at all for the last 2 feedings!

I am so happy! Thank you, Sara!

Pictures

I haven't been very good about posting pictures lately... here are some random ones from the past week

First, we have Miss Kaci and her Wendy's date. We don't do fast food very often, so it is a HUGE deal when they get a Happy Meal. (Do they even call it that anymore?) What better way to eat it than with sunglasses and no pants on?

On the same day, Kaci and Sara were having a conversation. It was so cute. Kaci would talk, and Sara would move her lips and tongue like she was trying to do what Kaci was doing. She was smiling and cooing... so sweet!

Rock Band has been a huge hit... here's me and my girl, Rockin it!

Bad Bad Parents

We are bad parents.

We were playing Rock Band in the spare room at 11pm. When the song ended, we heard a lot of crying.

3 girls to be exact.

No one knew where we were.

Everyone wanted us.

Could they not hear us rocking out?

Herb Garden

Here's the little herb garden that I started in our kitchen. It was an Amish washing stand, which was a light oak color. 2 cans of black spray paint and a little dirt... and presto chango!

I couldn't find herb plants at the nursery, so I dug up the parsley from my garden in the backyard. I planted some more parsley and basil seeds, and once the parsley in the middle is done, I'll do something else, maybe chives or oregano.

Tuesday checklist

Today:

~We rode bikes to the school this morning. Shanna is getting really strong at riding! I pulled the other 2 girls in the bike trailer

~They posted the class lists at the school. Shanna got the teacher she wanted and her good friend is in her class!

~I played taxi driver for swimming lessons. I had to pick between Kaci's new fall dance class and swimming lessons for today. Swimming lessons won

~Sara ate probably half of her body weight of milk this morning. (not really, but she has sure been hungry!)

~I finally got a shower at 2pm (better late than never!)

~Shanna and Kaci are playing with Shanna's friend. They insisted on playing outside even though it is over 110* (I think they just wanted an excuse for the new soda flavored popsicles we bought!) Did I mention that Kaci thinks she needs to wear deodorant? You can always tell when she has been putting it on!

~Shanna starts her new dance classes tonight. She has 2 hours of ballet, tap and jazz. She'll sleep well tonight! It's also her turn to cook. Hmmm. I think we're going to have to switch nights.

~I got my flowers and herb garden planted late last night. I'll post pictures later!

~I have been doing the dreaded laundry. That is probably why I am sitting here writing on my blog instead of folding the two baskets in the kitchen!

What A Weekend!

Our goal lately is to have fun and get the most out of every day. This weekend, we did just that!

I'll start with our anniversary. We found the BEST new babysitter (Once again, thanks to Robyn) We had a great time, Tyler bought me my first fishing license, (just a coincidence that it was our anniversary) and bike shoes and clips. I have been having a blast riding with my feet clipped in. He is so awesome! I am ready for some real mountain biking now! My favorite date that we went on (besides the drive in movie when he proposed) was mountain biking at Hewlett's Gulch in Colorado. We are both mountain people by nature and feel so peaceful there.

Saturday, Tyler went and rode a trail with a friend early in the morning. Shanna went to a play (High School Musical) and then dinner with one of her friends and had her first sleepover ever. That was a big "letting go" moment for me. But, it was a positive experience for everyone.

We took Kaci to an indoor play place with the inflatable jumping houses. She and Tyler played like crazy people. I laughed harder that I have laughed in a long time. Tyler is the best daddy! He was like a little boy running and jumping and throwing himself down the slides. Kaci just soaked up the attention and had such a fun time! We ran a few more errands and then ended the day fishing at a pond. The personalized attention was so good for Kaci, and letting Shanna have more privileges was good for her. It is hard to differentiate between an 8 year old and a 3 year old sometimes, but this weekend I think we did pretty good.

Sara is a happy sunshine in my life. She has been sleeping through the night and smiling at me during the day. She is so sweet, and I look at her and just soak up her sweetness. It is hard to imagine her someday being a pre-teen with an attitude. It feels like yesterday that Shanna was a sweet little baby who could do no wrong. Parenthood is a crazy journey that comes with no instruction manual. You think you have things figured out, but then in an instant, things change and you have new challenges to overcome.

We got Rockband for our Wii, and it is crazy fun. I still like the Wii Fit better, but I have to admit, my arms are sore from drumming!

Our garden is going pretty good with the heat, but I really have been wanting to grow herbs inside. So today we painted an old fashioned water pitcher stand black to match our kitchen table and I'm going to plant an herb garden for the kitchen. I am so jazzed that it is just the right size and that it turned out so nice!

And (drum roll please....) It's Football time!! Colts on TV tonight... Let the fun begin!