Brie 8 weeks

My baby is 8 weeks and is 14 lbs!!! so adorable with squishy cute thighs that a mother loves. She has slept through the night the last 2 nights, another thing mommas love! Here is evidence of her first day of Easter Egg hunts! She was not amused but put up with it to make her mother happy.

We started our day with mass at 815 with Makayla, she had a part and we wanted to be there for her. That is pretty darn early to get this crew to the church on time but we did it! Makayla was very proud to have us there.

More posts again soon! Stay tuned.

Thumbs? Sand & Smiles

I believe she is still searching for that thumb she used to suck on in her momma's belly!~ maybe someday she will find it!!!

Sunshine and a sandbox, this little boy is in heaven. A fenced in backyard means one happy mama too. PJ was not even crawling last summer, this year he is all out running in the backyard. He has found the mud to be the best part, and eating sand to be the worst part!

I have tried countless times in the last week to catch big open mouth smiles and this is the best I have. Still pretty sweet!

Have a good one!

Brie 7 weeks

PJ really is trying to be helpful these days.

This weekly Brie update is going to be harder to write as she gets older. I am really enjoying this baby and do not want the time to go so quickly. She is a charmer this last week, taking to cooing, lots of BIG open mouth smiles and I got one giggle. I know it was pure luck and I can not get her to do it again but I heard it and it was very sweet. She is also lighting up for her siblings and trying to tell them stories if they stick around long enough to listen. She is getting stronger and holding her head up for extended periods and pushes up well. She enjoys her tummy time!!!

I went out to a couple stores this morning with the 3 little ones and it went ok. Brie is finally able to go longer than an hour by day without eating which gives us a couple minutes to run around and do a bit of shopping. That bunny is struggling this year but it will come together; we have ideas, it is just finding the time to go & looking at the right store!

PJ is growing molars this week and has been a bit more demanding. Being sweet is not on the top of his list! The threat of the Easter bunny does not seem to phase his disposition either!

I am trying to make an extra effort to give Maggie attention this week as she is taking the biggest hit of this 2 baby household. Let me tell you she is loving the individual time. Makayla is looking forward to being out of school Friday, another teacher work day.

I do not think we have any visitors planned for this weekend. Pete has to work Saturday morning and then I think we are haning out as a family, watch out Childrens Musuem here we come!

Smoke alarms

Funny story, I am sure each of you has set off your smoke detector at some point and you grabbed the nearest towel, paper or magazine to fan the detector to make the loud beeping stop. We often make pizza on a stone in a 500 degree oven, thus alittle smoke from the oils on the stone occassionally sets ours off. Apparently PJ has been watching alittle too closely and does not care for the beeping. The other evening the alarm was not sounding but he thought it necessary to fan the alarm with a paper plate as a preventive measure. We certainly got a good chuckle out of it and thought you might too.

Open House

Open House

Karla and Pete's
Sunday, March 21
1:30 - 3:30
Come and go as you like.

St. Patricks Day

St. Patty's Day feast at the house for the kiddos! Green beans and green lemonade is as creative as I could be this year.

Brie is 6 weeks today. Weighing in at 13 pounds with clothes and measuring roughly 23 inches. Growing has been on her agenda as well as sleeping a bit more at night, thank you baby!

Makayla had a great time at her school party with her friends.



Maggie truly is entertaining!

PJ was not amused by the little hat. He enjoyed having his mommy and daddy home together all day!

Anniversary

9 years ago today we were married! Hard to believe all the moves, changes and children! Love you honey!

Cupcakes

So for you creative people here is a project my neice and I did this weekend. Simple white cake mix and food coloring! I have some tips if you try this. Messy, but easy and very pretty! We thought we would have the six kiddos help but then opted to do it ourselves and let them enjoy eating them only. Yes I said 6 kids with Brie we had 7 kids. Jill and her 3 boys arrived Thursday night and left for home Monday after lunch. The group of kids did great and played until the point of exhaustion. As a group we did not leave the house as our weather was cloudy and rainy(yuck!) Next time we have to plan for a sunny weekend to hang out so we can go out. Never the less I had a great time hanging out with Jill and letting the kiddos play. Thanks Kristine I know it is a lot of work to travel and for several days.

Brie 5 weeks

Miss Brie is still recovering from her big weekend. She has taken to the binky and loves it. She is also yaking as Pete calls it a lot! Still have not isolated the trigger yet. It does not seem to bother her and she appears to still be gaining weight so for now we will just do a lot of laundry. I am very curious as to how big she is but it is too much work to take everyone in to the clinic so I remain curious. PJ is definately more comfortable with the baby, thus needs closer supervision when he is around her. Of note Maggie is more comfortable than I thought, today I came down from upstairs and she told me she only had to pick Brie up 2 times, thats all. oh my goodness, I think Brie definately has more than one gaurdian angel!

Zach

Pete and I are godparents of this little fabulous babe who flew in with his momma! We had a great time playing with Zach and visiting with both of them! Such a difference from my very blond, blue-eyed little people!

Godparents

Godmother is Leigh Ann, Pete's sister.

Godfather is Brad, Karla's nephew.

We were fortunate that both godparents were able to make the trip here for the baptism. Thank you to both of you, it really does mean a lot to Pete and I.

I told you all that she can smile!! Unfortunately when I went to the side to catch a better shot of the smile she was done!

Baptism gown was made by my mom out of my wedding dress and the blanket was crotched by my sister in law Carol. The whole ensemble is just beautiful. The blanket is Makayla's but I plan to preserve the baptism gown, in case any of the kiddos want to use it in the future.

Baptism

Brie was baptized this weekend by Archbishop Lucas. We were blessed to have several family and friends with us. It was a beautiful private service and everything went very well. We did a meal at the house after and people seemed to enjoy themselves.

Such a privilege to have the Archbishop be a part of something so personal. We really appreciate the fact he took time out of his busy schedule.

Beautiful baptized Gabriella Marie. (talk about a Maggie look alike)

Pete's parents

So it was equally trying to achieve this photo of Pete's parents with our children as it was with my parents. Again you will have to pardon the closed eyes and pajamas of a couple, PJ's love of toes and Maggie's well its her that is all. We tried several times but folks I have to tell you that this many eyes is very hard to get a good photo! It certainly says personality and I actually enjoy the photo.

Haircuts

My baby boy turned big boy today! This is a shot of the first hair cut results. I have not figured out how to move my photos yet so they are on the blog backwards but you get the idea.

He did very well with sitting still thanks to an Elmo movie playing, a very fun racecar and of course Smarties candy.

This is the only sad moment he had during the whole ordeal, super trooper. Had to take a before the haircut photo.

Big sister could not be left out of the photo opportunities. Cut a good 3 inches off her hair too.

Watch out baptism pictures here we come with our styling new dues!

4 kids!

Another shot at a group photo. What effort this takes. Eight open eyes, looking at the camera is more challenging than one thinks. Poor Brie looks terrified in all the pictures, I put her on PJ's lap and her eyes appeared even more scared. I wonder why?? They all just love her to death though.

Gabriella Marie is 4 weeks old today. Hard to believe a month is under our belt all ready. She really is a easy baby who only recently has taken to having a couple crying fits in the evening. Nothing terrible just enough to stress her daddy alittle. I swear I had the first smile last night, not gas related. However, I do realize this would be very early. I have to sing her praises about last night too, as she went to bed at 1010, up at 110 for only 15 minutes and then up at 530 for 15 minutes and not up till 830! Talk about a happy mama! Unfortunately Maggie was in at 7 and PJ was up at 720! Maybe next time everyone will sleep alittle longer.

We had company today, a couple of my dear friends from work brought lunch and visited for the afternoon. It was nice to have people in and change up the day a bit. Thanks ladies, it was nice time.

Blue eyes

Big beautiful blue eyed Brie is up to ......wait for it......... 11 lbs. 6 oz., keep in mind that is with clothes but regardless she is growing!!

I think I forgot to mention last time but we have the most fabulous baby doctor! He always goes over the top for our family and is always eager to see our kiddos. He really is a great person who has a special gift for caring for children. He is sweet, kind, ect... you get the idea! We feel very lucky to have such a special doctor for our family. Just needed to pass some kudos his way. Thanks Dr. Shawn for always putting the mommy of the bunch at ease. You're the best!!!!

Brie's room

Brie is offically into her room/crib. She seems to like the mobile and crib toy. Sleep is changing once again, to bed about 10ish, up around 2 ish and up again between 5 and 6. I can't complain however more than a 3 hour stretch of sleep would be nice. I need to just let the hubby take a night but I just can't do it yet. So for now I will continue with slightly red eyes, alittle lack of sleep, and know that this to will pass very quickly. Headed to the doctor today for Girl Scout cookie deliveries and of course a weight check. I will let you know!