The Birthday Party

To celebrate Natalie's birthday she invite 10 friends and we went to Safari Sams. Usually I am an at home kind of party person, but with a three month old that need to be held all. the. time. I made the executive decision to have it somewhere else. I know the birthday girl had a blast and I think her friends did too.

They played in the HUGE indoor jungle gym

Played black light mini golf

Played arcade games

Ate cake and ice cream

And of course the presents!

Some Funny Things Said

The kids are always saying funny things and I need to get them down before I forget them.

-All of the second grade classes in Natalie's school made signs for Earth day and came up with a class slogan. The signs were attached to rulers and had some Earthy drawing and slogan on them. They made cute little shirts that they all wore on Earth day as they paraded around the school with signs in hand chanting the class slogan. They looked like they were protesting something they way they raised their signs up and down as they walked. Natalie was explaining to us the whole concept before the parade. She told us that her class slogan was "Go green. Plant a tree." Without a moment hesitation Ella adds "Or a bush or a seed." I think I shed a few tears laughing at that one.

-I FINALLY found a white dress for Natalie's baptism. It took way too long. I seriously didn't have that much trouble finding my wedding dress. Everything I liked was either WAY to spendy or not appropriate. Anyways. I finally found one that would work that didn't cost something ridiculous. When it arrived Natalie was so excited to try it on. When she walked into the family room Cameron jumped off the couch, ran to her, grabbed her hand and asked, "Can I marry you? You are the queen and I am then king!"

-Eva is an amazing woman I work with in YW. She is so fun, spunky and caring. She also drives a fun, bright yellow convertible. When Cameron saw it with the top down he asked in a very excited, but concerned voice, "What happened to your car? Its broken!".

-Eric came downstairs one night before we took the kids swimming. He had on his swim shorts and a t-shirt. Cameron: "Dad you can't swim in your shirt!" Eric: "Don't worry, I'll take it off before I get in the pool." Cameron: "Where is your swim shirt?" Eric: I don't really like to wear a swim shirt buddy." Cameron: "Why not Dad, they're fashionable?"

One Month

I can't believe it has been a month. I know that this baby's infancy will fly by. I still can't believe that Cameron is three! Funny how with Natalie it seemed to drag. I was always waiting for her to get to the next stage. I just want Avery to stay little because I know it will go so fast.

She is a great addition to our family.
She is well loved by everyone.
She is rather sleepy and is not the best eater but I think we are making some strides. The one thing this girl does demand is to be held. She can be completely out and then I set her down. Within 30 seconds she is crying like she has been left for days. This can make it a bit challenging to get things done. Natalie does a great job holding her so usually I am able to get some sort of dinner together.

Four is busy but I am in love with her and so happy she is ours.

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To celebrate the one month mark I decided to go for a run. It has been unseasonably cool and wet here which has been annoying because the kids are getting bored, but it made for lovely running conditions.
Well, for the most part.

It was the perfect temp for a long sleeve t-shirt, and the right amount of rain so it felt like you were holding one of those fans that spritzes water. The one hazard was the millions of slugs all over the sidewalk.

Gross.

It wasn't a long run or a fast run, but it felt good. Mentally and physically. Every once in a while I would have a guilty thought about how this is Avery's fussy time and I left Eric to deal with it.

He didn't complain and I appreciated the break.

Cameron Turns 3!

My little guy is getting so big and I will admit I am a bit sad. The past three years have gone so fast and before I know it he is going to be a teenager. This year Cam's b-day was very low key since Avery was born just three days before. Nana was super nice and bought us an extremly delish cake. We had a small celebration dinner, he blew out candles and then opened his meticulously decorated presents.

Cameron is such and fun guy. He is always making us laugh with his witty comments and funny faces. He is outgoing and friendly to everyone we meet. Being the only boy in the family, he is well aquainted with Hannah Montana, Barbies and Taylor Swift. He loves to dance to music with the girls and thinks it is fun to dress up. Partly because it is fun and partly because his Dad reacts so funny to it. I am happy to say our neighbor gave us some play power tools and tool belt and he now loves those for dress up.

Cameron pulling the tarp off his new Cars bike. He was really excited and is already a great little rider.

What would you do without sisters to help you open and inspect your presents.

Avery

A friend of mine took some incredible pics of little Avery last week. She was amazing to watch in action! Head over to her blog to check them out. jennipricephotography.blogspot.com
Thanks again Jenni!

Flying Solo

Eric went back to work on Monday so my sister came down to help me. It was great. She met Natalie at the bus, got the kids a snack and then took them outside to jump on the tramp. Tuesday both my sisters offered to come and help with the kids, but Monday was pretty smooth so I told them not to worry. Famous last words.

Cameron has learned that when I am feeding Avery he can get away with more. During lunch he squeezed his juice box all over the kitchen floor. Outside he pulled the just about to bloom peonies off. On the tramp he would lean against the net like a WWF wrestler and the fling himself at the girls. When he was supposed to be having a nap I discovered he had gone to the bathroom in his pants, and not just potty. So I put him in the tub, started laundry, cleaned his floor and then picked up the mess in the bathroom. That was not fun and I didn't even attempt to salvage the underpants. Nope they went strait out to the garbage.

Ella fell down on the patio and cut her knee up pretty well. About 5:30 I am feeding Avery and every 30 seconds or so one of the three declares in a desperate voice, "I'm hungry!" Which is understandable because it has been maybe 2 hours since they had a snack. I assure them that Dad will be home soon or that I am almost done feeding Avery. Ella asks me when my stomach is going to be flat again because it has been along time since Avery was born. There is a boost to the old self-esteem right there.

Yes it was an adventurous day. Lets hope today is a little less eventful.

Avery May

I know it has taken me way too long to get this up. Here are a few quick shots of Avery. She was born Monday, May 3rd at 3:30pm. She was 9lbs 1oz (a big thanks to my doctor for inducing me!) and 21 1/2 inches long. She has some dark hair and seems to have a little of all of her siblings mixed in. We chose Avery because we like it and May was my Grandma's middle name.

Look at that cute double chin!

Her first bath. The nurse went a little crazy with the bubbles.

The kids all LOVE Avery and always want to hold her. Natalie is sure it isn't fair that she has to go to school for 7 hours and Cameron and Ella get to stay home and hold Avery all day!