Merry Christmas

It has been a crazy 24 hours, but I've come to expect that with our little family!  Yesterday we headed over to Uncle Mike's to visit his and Auntie Ashton's church for Christmas Eve.  It was a great service with amazing music and a wonderful message.  They even gave away a puppy at the end.  Luckily we did NOT "win" (yes, Jay put our name in the drawing because he is insane!)  We then headed back to Nana's to eat dinner and exchange gifts.  While Nana put the finishing touches on dinner, Uncle Mike and Daddy headed out to Toys R Us to make a last minute purchase.  Baboo had sent each of the kids a gift card for Christmas.  Jay and I decided to put the money towards a large gift that all 3 kids could share.  A Christmas miracle occured, and Jay and Uncle Mike were able to walk out of Toys R Us on Christmas Eve with a brand new Power Wheel.  We know that Hannah and Ben will love this gift, and as Hannah grows too big for it, Ben can take over the driving and Ellie can enjoy riding along.

We had a fantastic dinner with Nana, Pops, Auntie Ashton, and Uncle Mike.  The kids loved opening presents from everyone.  They got lots of goodies including 2 remote control cars that they have been racing today. 

It was a late night and, by the time we got home, both kids were exhausted.  We had told them that they could exhange gifts with each other on Christmas Eve, but Ben was so tired he told us that he would "open pwesents later!".  Hannah was disappointed because she wanted to give him the gift she bought him at the Winter Wonderland shop at school, but he loved it just as much this morning when he wasn't a grump.

The kids all slept really late this morning which was great because Jay and I were up until 2am putting together Baboo's surprise gift!  The kids did an awesome job of each taking a turn opening a gift so we could all see what Santa brought each person.

We have had a wonderful first Christmas in our new home.  We feel so blessed to have a beautiful house with 3 amazing children to fill it up.  Merry Christmas!

 

6 Months and Stitches

Ellie turned 6 months old last week!  Oh my goodness....I want to freeze time and keep her this size forever.  She has started sitting up on her own in the past 2 weeks.  She loves to be on the floor playing with toys.  She has even started getting into big brother and big sister's things.  Ben was very upset the other day when Ellie drooled on his puzzle piece.  We had Ellie's 6 month check up this afternoon.  She is back on the growth chart!  20 pounds 4 ounces puts her at 98th percentile for her weight.  27 1/2 inches puts her at 96th percentile for height.  She had to get 4 shots and a toe prick.  She was so good!

Hannah was my little helper at the doctor.  She was very nervous about hearing Ellie cry when she got her shots.  Luckily it lasted less than 10 seconds. 

Jay is not hurting Ben in the above picture.  Ben is just being super dramatic!  Yesterday our little man slipped while trying to climb into his chair.  He hit the edge of the table with his chin before falling on the floor hitting his head on the tile.  He cried so hard his lips turned purple and I was afraid he was going to pass out.  I held him until he calmed down, and then put him in his chair to finish his juice.  I went to grab Ellie to change her, and my mom commented that I had something on my sweater.  I looked down and dismissed it as snot from Ben crying on my.  I wiped it with my finger and realized it was blood.  I thought Ben might have bit his lip when he fell, so I went back to look at him.  I then saw a small but deep cut under his chin.  I called down to Jay and told him I thought Ben might need stitches.  He came up and his assessment was that Ben was fine and he just needed a band-aid.  Mom and I decided to try to butterfly the cut.  After 30 minutes it was still bleeding.  I called our doctor and they said we should give it 30 more minutes, and if it didn't stop we would need to go to urgent care to be evaluated for stitches.  We went and grabbed lunch, and we decided to change the band-aid in the car and no surprise it was still bleeding.  I called Jay to let him know we were heading over to Children's Urgent Care.

Mom stayed in the car with the girls, so they wouldn't catch the plague while waiting in the waiting room.  Lucky for us, Ben was the only one in the waiting room.  The triage nurse took a look and said we definitely needed stitches.  She put on some "magic" medicine to numb the area.  We waited for that to kick in and then it was go time.  The nurse called him back and she let him explore the room for a few minutes before we started which helped him get comfortable.  She explained to me that most kids his age needed to be sedated in order to do the procedure.  I was very nervous about that.  She said we would try it without sedation first, but they would have to do it if he freaked out.  They wrapped him up in a sheet and velcroed it shut to restrain him.  He started yelling, "Get me out of here!  I stuck!  I just want to play in my playroom!"  I pulled up Mickey Mouse on YouTube (thank the Lord for YouTube!) and we watched Mickey and Donald while the doctor sewed my baby's chin back together.  He was SO brave.  He got 2 stitches and a Popsicle and, once the restraint was off, he was a happy boy!  They told me to make sure that he doesn't do anything that could re-injure the area....HAHAHAHA!!!  They obviously don't know my 2 year old boy!  I type this as he runs around the house yelling "FIRE!" at the top of his lungs.  I LOVE my kiddos!!



SO thankful....

Throughout last week I could not stop thinking about how thankful I am for my family.  Last year during Thanksgiving I was very sick with morning sickness and couldn't wrap my mind around the idea of having 3 kids and working full time.  This year I feel so thankful for all the wonderful blessings God has given our family this year.  We have 3 beautiful healthy children that make our family whole.  I can't imagine what our life would be like without Ellie in it, and I truly feel like she has made our family complete.  I know I say it all the time, but she is the happiest baby in the whole world and her adorable smile just lights up a room.  I'm so thankful for Ben who keeps us on our toes and gets us laughing every single day.  Before bed each night, he thanks God for everyone in his life.  His list is seriously 30 people long.  Lately before bed, he tells me, "I have so much fun today Mommy!"

We are so thankful for our sweet Hannah.  I don't think I could make it through a lot of days without her.  She is always helping us by getting bibs, burp cloths, wipes, etc...  She has such a kind heart and goes out of her way to make her brother and sister feel loved.  I'm thankful for the sweet notes she leaves on my night stand reminding me that she loves me. 

I can't be thankful for my family without being thankful for the glue that holds us together and that is my amazing husband.  He is not only my best friend, but a true partner in this parenting adventure.  He spends countless hours with the kids and would do just about anything for each of them.  They adore their daddy and love the special time that he gives each of them individually. 

Jay and I are both so thankful for our families in town and out of town that continue to support us.  We are so lucky to have so many people in our life that love and adore our children. 

Although our life is beyond busy and at times chaotic, we wouldn't trade it for anything.  I cannot put into words how thankful I am for everything I have.   

Ellie at 5 Months

I keep thinking that my math is off because there is no way it has been 5 months with this sweet girl!  Ellie is such an amazing baby.  Jay and I are often overwhelmed by how much we love this little girl.  She hardly ever cries.  Gloria told me last week that is was the first time she ever heard her cry.  She is so easy going.  She is starting to attempt sitting up by herself.  She has been spending more time in the playroom with the big kids.  She likes to grab their toys and explore.

She rolled over for the first time on Friday night.  She went from front to back.  She's a little late with the rolling, but, let's face it, she has a lot to roll over!  It won't be long until she is chasing after her brother and sister.

Only 3 more days until she meets her Nanny that shares her name!  We are SO excited!

House Picture Part 2 and other tidbits...

I have finally taken some pictures of the kids rooms.  I had Tuesday off so we spent the entire day organizing and cleaning bedrooms.

This is the landing at the top of our stairs.  We have two built in bookcases and a great window bench.  Hannah can often be found reading or playing video games on the bench seat.  Ben usually pulls out lots of books and reads them on the floor.

We finally hung up the shelves in Ellie's room.  Jay and I are pretty certain that her room is the biggest of the 3 rooms.

Ben's room is decorated with cars, trucks, and trains.  He LOVES the cars driving on his wall.  We have found him several times in his room with the door closed just looking at his cars.  We plan on buying him a dresser this weekend, so his room will be complete!

Hannah's room is the star room.  She loves to hang her art work on her wall and play in her dollhouse.  Ben is not allowed in her bedroom, so she can keep her dollhouse safe.

Our baby girl is SO happy.  She has really started "talking" to us lately! 

I remember another older sibling that used to love to crawl in the crib with her baby brother...

Here is a nice example of Ben in the "library"...

And finally....what could be more fun than making Ellie play baby doll?

Halloween

Finally getting around to my Halloween post.  Hannah had pink eye earlier this week followed by me getting strep throat.  We've been trying to take it easy the past few days!

Nana came over Halloween night in her vampire costume to sit with Ellie and hand out candy while Jay and I took the big kids trick or treating.

Hannah was a pirate, Ben was Scooby, and Ellie was the little pumpkin.  The kids loved trick or treating and Ben held hands with one of the older girls in the neighborhood and went house to house with her.  He told me when we got home that he "loves Makayla"!  The weather was perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better Halloween night!

The rest of October...

It feels like I have been back to work for 3 months instead of 3 weeks!  Things have become even more busy at the Mayfield house since my return to work, but overall it has been a pretty smooth transition.  Needless to say, working and being a mom to 3 kids, 5 and under, leaves me limited time for blogging!

Hannah participated in a "fun run" at school to help raise money for projects around the school.  She called some friends and family members to get pledges per lap.  She had a blast the day of the fun run, and Mommy, Daddy, Ben, and Ellie all came out to cheer her on.

We had Ellie baptized at our church this month.  She was perfect throughout the entire service.  We have actually been able to bring her to church multiple times and keep her with us.  She usually stays awake for the beginning of the service to enjoy the music.  She usually falls asleep during the sermon and wakes up during the closing hymn.  We had both of our families in town to celebrate this special day with us, and our new pastor came to the house earlier that week to get to know our family.

Uncle Mike has to keep watch on his nephew because they both love the same girl!  Ben adores his Auntie Ashton and always talks about giving her a kiss.  He gets so silly whenever she is around.  We feel SO lucky to have her join our family!

Hannah decided to be a pirate for Halloween this year.  This meant several days of her and Ben dressing up in her costume and fighting as pirates.  I thought Ben was going to change his mind about his costume, but luckily he was okay with staying Scooby Doo.

This was the first year that Ben was old enough to have his face painted at the pumpkin patch.  I've never seen him sit so still.  He picked out a ghost for his face.

We have been going to the pumpkin patch every year since Hannah was born with the Young family.  We always have so much fun with kids running through the pumpkins. 

The day after we went to the pumpkin patch last year, was the day I found out we would be having another little pumpkin.  It was special to get a picture of Ellie with the pumpkins to see what a difference a year makes!

It's close to impossible to get all 5 kids looking at the same camera and smiling at the same time!  They had such a blast picking out their own little pumpkins and a big family pumpkin to bring home.

Our family of 5 with the pumpkins!  Maybe one day Ben will smile for the camera!

Our neighborhood had a Halloween party in our cul-de-sac for all the kids.  They had pumpkin painting and lots of goodies.  Hannah, Ben, and I baked cupcakes to share with their friends.  Both kids had a blast playing with kids.  We LOVE our new neighborhood!  With the exception of Halloween, that has been our month of October.  I've got a crying baby that needs some love, so the Halloween post will have to wait until tomorrow!

Ellie at 4 months...

Ellie is now 4 months old!  We went for her check up this morning and she is weighing in at 19 pounds and 11 ounces.  She is VERY far off the growth chart.  Well above the 99th percentile.  She was 26 inches long which is right at the 95th percentile.  Her head size was at 64th percentile.  She is a BIG girl!  She is bigger than Ben was at the same age. 

Now that she is 4 months old, we let her try some cereal.  She loved it!  Of course it seems that most of it is on her face and shirt and not in her mouth, but she is getting better and better with the spoon everyday.  She really likes playing in the excer-saucer.  It's even more fun when big sis entertains her!

Ellie is such a wonderful baby.  She is so happy all the time and just lights up when people talk with her.  She loves to sleep and has turned into a Mama's girl.  She won't let Daddy feed her a bottle.  She only wants Mommy to do it.  I'm going to miss her SO much tomorrow when I return to work, but I'm looking forward to seeing Hannah in the halls.

Happy Birthday Kenz!

This weekend we celebrated McKenzie's 1st birthday.  Ben was REALLY excited to go to her party and practiced singing "Happy Birthday" multiple times throughout the weekend to prepare.

Auntie Teri had a photo booth set up and a frame decorating craft.  Hannah was all about decorating her frame and continued to work on it after we got home.

This was also Ellie's first party that she has attended.  She was happy to sit back and watch all the action.  She was giving big smiles and stayed awake the entire time.

I was excited that all 3 of my babies took a picture in the photo booth.  They looked so cute in their silly glasses.

Ellie got a picture with the birthday girl and future BFF.

Yay Auntie Teri for throwing such a fun party!