Picture of the Day: "He was trying to be helpful"

I was doing the multi-tasking bit last last Wednesday night. I was (unsuccessfully) trying to cook dinner, feed Bella, clean the kitchen (I clean the kitchen as I cook so after dinner there's less work to do), do laundry, and help Zach with his homework. Well, I had to stop feeding Bella for a moment because the phone rang and the timer on the oven went off. Now I'm hearing all of this at once:

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" (Ryan)

(water running in sink)

(washer and dryer running)

Bella screaming

"Its ok sweetie." (Zach to Bella)

and my mom rambling about something in my ear.

I step out of the room so I can try to hear her, get off the phone, turn off the water, shut the laundry room door, and give Ryan a starburst to shut him up, and I notice Bella's not screaming anymore. I look around the doorway into the living room and Zach is feeding Bella her dinner. Only, he's putting so much on the spoon not all of it fits in her mouth and she spits out 1/2 of it that does! I sigh, and think oh well to myself and go back to cleaning and cooking. John comes home a few minutes later and offers to take over dinner and the kitchen, and I take over the feeding of Bella. (But not before I could get some pictures of the mess her and Zach made of her face!)

Picture of the Day: "Reasons Why I Love You"

(Picture is from our wedding on March 28, 2006)
Here are 10 reasons why I love my husband (no particular order):
1. You always manage to make me feel special, even when I know I'm being exceedingly ordinary.
2. I've gotten to spend the past 6 years growing up with you, and even though as we've grown we've changed so much you're still you, I'm still me, and we're still us.
3. You are an amazing father, much more than my own was, and a million times more than your's was.
4. You still kiss me and tell me you love me every morning, and then kiss me and tell me you love me when you get home every night.
5. You know how to make me laugh, and how to push my "smile button" better than anyone else.
6. Even though you get up early every morning for work in the morning and to take Zach to school, you let me sleep in as late as I want on Saturdays while you care for the kids.
7. You hardly ever say "I told you so," even though I tend to have this annoying habit of being wrong often.
8. You put my happiness first, even while I'm trying to put your's first.
9. Though I've got some flabby skin in my middle, my tummy is covered in stretch marks, my boobs are down 3 sizes and not perky, you still look at me as if I'm the most beautiful person you've ever seen.
10. You complete me in places that I never knew were incomplete before you came along.

Picture of the Day: "July 21, 2009"

the boys, July 21, 2009

Picture of the Day: "This is my yucky face"

I've been adding rice cereal to Bella's bottle for about a week now and she loves it. So I decided I would slowly start to see how she does eating solids. I figured she loves her cereal bottles so much, what better to start her with than a small amount of rice cereal.
Well... she hated it. The first two bites were kinda like, hmm, what is this? Then it was, well, I don't think I like this much. It was all down hill from there. She would push the spoon out with her tongue, and the cereal too. She screamed at me each time I got the spoon into her mouth. She just flat out hated it with a vengeance. It was not a fun experiment at all.
But we tried baby applesauce today and she ate almost the whole jar and seemed to think it was the next best thing to the boob.

Picture of the Day: "Co-Sleeping"

When I got pregnant with Zach my mom first brought up the topic of co-sleeping. She explained to me what it was, told me of the pros and cons of it, and suggested that it was something I might want to do. My response was an emphatic NO. For starters I was a heavy sleeper and I move around a lot. Plus I liked having my bed to myself. She said she was just suggesting it since I was in school it might help me get more sleep once he comes.
Well, to make a long story short I did end up co-sleeping with Zach, and I loved it. It gave us time to be together, just the two of us. It gave us cuddling time, and made night time and early morning feedings so much easier. I loved it so much I did co-sleeping with him until Ryan was born and then I did it with Ryan too. Ryan was ok with it, but he preferred sleeping in his crib. Plus John and I got married when he was 3 months old and John didn't want him in our bed with us.
Now we have Bella and I didn't give John the option on if he wanted to co-sleep or not. And guess what he loves it too. True, Bella now lays down in her crib at bedtime and sleeps there until she wakes for her first feeding at 5:30-6ish which is when John wakes up for work. But he can't help himself, he always lays back down with us for a little while. And on the weekends its John who goes back to sleep and cuddles her in the morning after feedings.

Picture of the Day: "Awesome-freaking-ly Amazing!"

Since Bella was born people have been comparing her looks to the boys trying to figure which one she looks more like, Zach or Ryan. And honestly half the time people say Zach, and the other half people say Ryan. Then I was stressing a couple of posts ago over if her eyes would be blue or not.
Well, I've decided something...
I don't care which of my boys she looks like.
I don't care what color her eyes turn out to be.
Why?
Because Bella looks more like me than either of the boys! My mom and aunts and dad all kept telling me Bella looked just like me as a baby, well, we don't have any little baby picture of good enough quality to tell, so I just dismissed them. I got this picture of Bella and I today and I'll be darned if she doesn't look a whole heck of a lot like me! She's got my nose, my mouth, my eyes, and my face shape! So I don't care if her eyes turn as brown as chocolate or as green as grass, my little girl looks like me and I couldn't be happier if I tried!

Picture of the Day: "Okay... He's a Momma's Boy!"

Yes, yes, my youngest son is one great big momma's boy. And do I care? No! I love it. He's a giant boob, but he is my boob. (lol) He's whiny and only mommy can fix the problems in his world. He does not like to be away from me. When he does sleep overs we have to make him go, and he won't stay away from me for more than two nights in a row. Who does he come to at 5:30 am when he wakes up? Me. Who has to say his prayers, read his bedtime story, and tuck him in? Me. When we're at home he stays in the room I'm in. He checks to see if something is my favorite before he proclaim it as also his favorite. I try to make him more independent, but he wants nothing to do with independence. So I figure what the heck? He won't want to be around me all the time forever, I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

Picture of the Day: "You're My Best Friend..."

I can say something not many people can say. I have had the same best friend for seventeen years.
On my first day of kindergarten, 1992, this tall blond girl in big glasses walked up to me and said "Hi, my name is Emily, and if you're not my friend I'll beat you up." (How do I know this? Its not something I've let her live down once in the past 17 years.) Me, being a small child my whole life readily agreed to be her friend, and we have been best friends ever since. We went to school together through the 7th grade and then I moved about an hour away, but we still talked all the time and got together whenever we could. We've always been complete opposites in many ways except a few. She was the tall, athletic, never in trouble, goal driven girl. I was the short, sports hating, always in trouble, no goals at all girl. We dressed in completely different styles, hung out with completely different groups of people, we even went to different colleges in different states. But nothing has ever broken or gotten in the way of our friendship. I've always figured we've stayed so close through the years because we balance each other out so well. She's my best friend in the whole wide world, and I'm closer to her and love her more than my sisters.
I watched her get married today to a man she loves and whom I like. I stood up beside her as her matron of honor and watched the happiness and love on her face as they said their vows and were pronounced husband and wife. I was so completely and utterly grateful to be a part of her special day. She leaves to go on her week long honeymoon tonight, and then, the part that makes me cry, she is going straight to Texas where she will now live with her husband. I'm going to miss her so much and it makes me so sad, but I didn't let her see it. Today was her day, she was beautiful and so in love. I hope that it all works out for her and her husband, but I'm going to miss her so much.

Picture of the Day: "A Young Family"

I could see, from an outsider's perspective, how someone could see the boys, Bella, and I as siblings instead of as a parent and her three children. And yeah, I guess I can understand how it might upset someone when they first hear that yes, I am the mother of all of them, including Zach. I know I look younger than I am, this is a fact I've been made very aware of over the years. I also know that even if I am twenty-two, that's still kind of young to be the mom of a five year old. But that doesn't give people the right to be rude. Being (or looking) young does not make someone a bad parent, nor does it mean that the young mom was loose or that her parents were failures as parents. From a first glance you know nothing about this person other than that she appears young and has a child or is pregnant. What basis is that to judge someone on? Better yet, what about you makes you so special that you can even judge that person to begin with?
Yes, I am a young parent, and yes I started at a young age. Does that make me a bad parent by default? No. Does that mean my parents didn't instill in me a proper set of values and sense of right and wrong? No. Does that make my children mistakes? Never. My children never have been, nor will they ever be, mistakes in my eyes. Unplanned, yes, but a mistake, no. They are the most precious gifts I've ever been given. No, I wouldn't do it over, or waited until I was older. If I did my children would not be the children I have today.

Picture of the Day: "Blue vs. Brown"

I'm the odd person out on all sides of my family. All of my dad's family has brown eyes, My mom's parents have brown eyes, my mom, aunt, and all my siblings have green eyes. John has brown eyes, and the boys have brown eyes. (Though Zach's are the brown of my dad's not John's...) Me, I have blue eyes, and I'm feeling a little lonely.
I was so sure when Zach came out with a head full of red hair that he would have my blue eyes, but nope brown. Ryan's eyes stayed that newborn dark blue-ish gray for so long I thought they might at least stay that color, but nope, by 18 months they were brown.
Now, Bella's eyes are doing something neither of the boys' eyes did, they're getting lighter. I am crossing all my crossables that this means one of my children will finally get my blue eyes. But knowing my luck even if they don't turn brown, they'll probably end up green.

Picture of the Day: "Finding Her Voice"

Bella's a pretty even-tempered baby, and up until very recently if she cried over something it wasn't very loud and more like whimpering. Well, middle of last week she discovered she can scream while crying, and let me tell you what, that girl has a set of pipes on her. I no longer have to leave doors open when I lay her down so I can hear when she wakes, even with my bedroom door shut and the hallway door shut and the tv on in the living room I can hear her scream all the way in the kitchen. Its driving Ryan crazy, especially since he spends most of the day playing in Zach's room which is across from mine. If I don't get her the minute she starts he'll come to me and say "Mommy go get that baby now! I can't hear my shows!"

Picture of the Day: "Baby So Tiny"

First off... no Ryan is not slapping Bella.
Okay, now that that's cleared, up, this picture is from Sunday. Ryan was fascinated by the size difference between him and Bella. He was just dumbfounded by the fact that his hand is almost as big as Bella's entire face. I tried saying its not such an amazing thing since he's three years older than her and she is, well, a newborn. But he's just stuck on this "Baby so tiny..." kick. I have to hear about all of her is so tiny all the time. It's sweet, but getting a wee old.

Picture of the Day: "Cheese"

This picture is actually from last month and I have no story or anything funny to go with it. I just need a happy picture today...

Picture of the Day: "So this is love"

My favorite part of a baby is nursing. It broke my heart when I was unable to nurse Ryan, because my experience of nursing Zach was great. I had no problem morally or even emotionally of feeding him formula from a bottle especially since it was what was best for him, no matter what people may say, and he has turned out wonderfully thank you very much. But I am very glad that Miss Bella has taken so well to nursing. There's just something about looking down and seeing those big newborn eyes looking up at you as if you are their world. I love nursing my girl, especially since I know she's the last baby I will nurse. And I don't care if its just "gas" as everyone says, when she looks up at me half asleep while nursing and gives one of those unexpected newborn "smiles" it melts my heart like chocolate.

Picture of the Day: "My New Obsession?"

Now this is probably about 1/3 of Miss Bella's clothes in her's and Zach's closet. And as her side fills more and more up, and her drawers get more and more clothes I'm noticing this trend in color. My little girl has a lot of pink clothes. Like a ton. The funny thing is, I'm not too sure how. I don't buy them. John doesn't buy them. When we let Zach pick out clothes when we go shopping for her we don't let him buy more than 1 pink thing. (Its bad enough he'll only get her dresses.) I don't think we got a lot of pink in the hand-me-downs we got, my friend isn't big on pink either. So the question is where is all this God awful pink coming from?!

Picture of the Day: "Who are you?"

So I keep going back and looking at the profile of the last ultrasound picture I have. I look at it and wonder "Who is this little person? What will she be like? What will she look like?" I stare at it and try to think of if she looks more like the ultrasounds I got of Ryan or Zach so I can guess how she will look. Unfortunately, the only ultrasound pictures I have of them is Zach at 15 weeks and Ryan at 35 weeks. This one was done around 24-25 weeks. I know I shouldn't try to get my hopes up about her looks, and I'm sure I'll find her beautiful no matter what, but its like I just need to know.

Picture of the Day: "Dropping Right Out"

So, I'm convinced if Miss Bella drops anymore she's going to drop right out of me. Here is a picture of my stomach just two weeks before. (35ish weeks) Its like whoosh. I feel like she's just going to plop right out of me when I walk. Sort of like "Waddle, walk, plop." And the knowledge that a little bit of mucus is holding her in is so not as comforting as people keep making it out to be. Add to that that the mucus plug has been slowly coming out over the past month isn't helping my feelings of having her drop out.

Picture of the Day: "My Family"

Our family as my 4 almost 5 year old sees us. The top one (with the big head) is John, the next biggest is me, and then the smaller ones from top to bottom are Miss Bella, Zach, and then Ryan. I guess one day I'll have to get us a "real" family picture, because the last time we had one taken was, um, 2ish years ago, but I kinda like the one Zach created.

Picture of the Day: "Go Gators!"

I was raised by staunch University of Memphis Tiger fans, and seeing as how I do also attend the Univ. of Memphis, I tend to cheer them on also. Now, I married a huge University of Florida Gators fan who has managed to corrupt my two young boys. True, I will cheer them on during football since their team is so much better than our's but still. Ryan is an even bigger Gators fan than his daddy, and a huge Tigers hater. His favorite animal at the zoo are the tigers, but he refuses to own anything related to tigers. He'll go so far as to tell you "Boo Tigers." Now, Ryan's best friend happens to be raised by big Tiger fans and wears Tigers stuff all the time and they get into these huge screaming fights with his friend saying "Go Tigers!" and Ryan responding with a "No! Boo Tigers! Go Gators!" I mean these little skirmishes can get violent in their insistency that no their team is better. Gotta love young college sports fans. lol
(Oh and if you're wondering how all that ties in with today's picture, Ryan is standing in front of a giant cement gator.)

Picture of the Day: "Circa 1991"

Ever wonder what a 4 year old prima donna looks like? Well there you go. There's 4 year old me. I was by no stretch of the imagination a girly girl. That dress was the only one I owned and wore. My mom says its because I thought the orange color (can't tell in that picture but it was a bright neon orange) made my hair look better. No clue why, maybe thats why I hate the color orange now... Anywho, but I was so stuck on myself I used to tell people all the little boys chased me around because I was so pretty. (Something my grandmother loves to tell people regularly.) And you know what, I'm still pretty stuck on myself. (lol) Guess I should make a 22 year old prima donna post? Neh, I just call it have a good self-image and a good dose of self-confidence.