Just a Brief Word...

Smile Time!!!

In his Cute Hat

Matt and Andy

Wrestle Time

Hi!

Hi, just wanted to put up some pictures of Andy. I always write about how he is smiles so much, but I can never get any pictures. I finally took some, so here they are. He began to smile at three weeks old! Now he has started laughing. It's really cute. Things are about the same 'round here still. Anahlie will be coming mon-thurs. now. With all the kids, it's like a regular day care here now, ha! On a sad note, I recently found out that my Grandma Arnold passed away. She was half a year away from 101 yrs. old. She was a wonderful person and grandma. She always had so much love and so many stories to share. Her kind nature and personality really helped to shape the goodness in me. I learned a lot from her and always loved spending time at her house, especially for long stretches in the summer when I was young. I get sad thinking I'll never see her again, and my biggest regret is that I was neglectful with communications these past few years. Well, that is all for now, please enjoy these pictures of smiling Andy! love ade

Hamster Wheel

Strike A Pose!

Hi Mom

Sharing Time. ha ha!

HUH?

Max and his little pink stroller.

Caleb doing what he loves best.

Snuggly

Gettin' along with new friends

sweet baby girl Anahlie

Lately I've been feeling like a hamster on my wheel. I go go go, but nothing ever gets done. just when the dishes are finally clean , there is a whole pile again, the same thing with the laundry, or any other cleaning that needs to be done. so when clutter piles up and all the those little things that need to get done, just don't, I get a little frazzled. I always tell Matt that I really don't know how women did all the raisin' of six kids, washing clothes by hand, big dinners, making clothes, etc. back in the day. Once the kids get a little bigger I will definitley have more time to get things done and I'll be glad. Right now so much time is invested in the babies needs. This work on this blog entry for example has been interrupted several times. Just when I get started someone cries or wakes up. at the end of the day I don't feel like doing much except for vegging out in front of the t.v and the fire, so my pile of things to do gets bigger. Recently we have had a daytime visitor, we are babysitting a sweet little girl named Anahlie. She is the daughter of our friends Joy and Aaron. She comes twice a week from 9-4:30. She may be coming four times a week at a later point in time. It is a little extra work, of course, but she is so sweet and easy going and no trouble at all. At first Max and Anahlie had to get used to each other, but now things are going much better. He is not always trying to swat her, now he tries to give kisses. I am really glad he is learning appropriate social skills. I think they both really enjoy the company. Because of all the kids we now have a big schedule we follow. We have all snack, nap times, bath times, bed times,etc. down on a big piece of paper on the wall. Let's see what else is going on?.... We are still sleep deprived, big time!!! Andy is still sweet and growing, we are still in love, and we are still truckin'. Matt recently had a conference with Caleb's teacher, and Caleb is doing great in school! You should hear him read, he is really advanced. He is still coming over for half of the week and settling into his big brother role. Max is absolutely in love with him, and he and Caleb play a lot when he is here. Sometimes though, I know he longs to be at his mom's where he doesn't have to share affection or space with two babies. Especially when times are tough and both babies are really needy or screamy. Well, Andy just woke up, so I better wrap it up. Please accept my apologies for not still not sending out thank you cards and pictures, I am still working on them. Right now Andy is just cooing and smiling away at me, I really have never seen a more smiley baby, it's so cute! O.k I'm done bragging. love you all!!!! love, Ade

Can't Get Enough of Andy!

Here he is!!!






Curious looks









Max mad at daddy when told no

The sweet side.













'Round these parts we say that Andy is as sweet as Max is wild, and boy ain't that the truth. Well folks, we're living the vida loca here on 11th street with these kids! Trying to stay sane and be good parents, while staying true to ourselves and our love. Right now I'm feeling dazed from the constant lack of sleep. Andy wakes every one and a half to two hours for feeding, I've gotten used to this routine and don't dread the night time like I used to - only because I can sleep in the morning with him. Sometimes, however, he doesn't sleep very well in the mornings and I become a grouchy zombie.
We have big news! Max is now sleeping in Caleb's room, in his CRIB! yea! This is a good step towards his sleep independence. it was a perfect time to try this because Max is getting older and more aware and really seems to understand that this is his bed. Before this, we had to lay down with him in the bed, holding him until he fell asleep. This was fine when he was younger, but I felt it was time that he start to learn that he can put himself to sleep. We stand over the crib and say ' Maxwell go night-night' then we stay with him until he's out. Some nights go smoother than others. Matt is sleeping in the room with the boys, because Max still needs a little comforting in the early hours. Our next step is to eliminate the night time bottle altogther. Max has been cranky and clingy more so than usual, probably because of the new arrangement. It's been hard with Max lately, everything seems soo difficult. He only likes to eat 4 or 5 things (bagels, bananas, yogurt, avocado, and peanut butter) everything else he utterly refuses to try even buttery mashed potatoes. When you give him something new he makes gagging noises and gives you the stink eye. He screams a lot - we're hoping this moves into him talking. He loves to throw tantrums when you tell him NO. Don't even get me started on diaper changes! I'm ready for him to be a little older, i.e talking & potty trained and less interested in eating things off the floor or pulling things off the shelves. This in-between stage is very hard! He is also still having a hard time with his aggressive behavior (hitting, anger). We are doing a total overhaul of our parenting. What could we do better, how we can positively correct this. Any advice? On the flipside though, Max is still the precious, cute, wonderful being he has always been. Everyone think good thoughts for him!!! Now, let's talk about Andy. He is just so mellow and sweet, I just want to eat him up. He smiles and coos all the time. He loves to just look at you and talk to you. When I sing to him, he sings along(in a baby sort of way). He spends all day nursing, hanging out in mommy's arms, chatting and smiling. This saturday he will be two months old! It's gone by fast. When Andy was in my tum tum I always told him that he better be good when he comes out and not give me any trouble because I would be too busy, well he must have heard me because he's no trouble at all!