Pumpkin Pickin'

Today we took our little pumpkins to pick their very own pumpkins. They loved walking around and looking at all of the different pumpkins and trying to pick them up. We did our very best to get a family picture, but with two very curious and active almost-two year olds that can be a challenge! Thank you Mom for the adorable matching shirts...they were perfect for today's outing.

I can't believe Halloween is almost here! The babies' costumes have arrived and are ready to go - we will be taking Handy Manny, a ballerina (Kathryn) and a butterfly (Sullivan) trick-or-treating this year. This week I worked with Owen and Kathryn on saying "trick or treat," but right now it's coming out "treat,treat!" I guess that's what it's all about though right? Enjoy the pics!

I think they were all thinking the same thing. "These might be too big for us."

Choices, choices

One of our happy little pumpkins

It didn't take Owen long to get into "pumpkin picking mode"

The best family photo of the day

Daddy and his babies

This little girl didn't mind posing at all today!

Mommy and Sullivan

Mommy and her girls

Two Really Good Weeks

We have had two really good weeks around here. Owen seems to have gotten over the teething hump and I think it's all down hill for him now. Kathryn is so helpful these days and wants to be just like Mommy in every way possible. Sullivan started crawling yesterday and the video camera was charged and ready for the big event. I have some how managed to get all three crawling for the first time on tape! (Do we still say tape? It sounds funny to say "I got it on the memory card." Oh well, you know what I mean.) She is now working on tooth #2.

Last week we dropped the big kids off at the toddler nursery at church and took Sullivan to service with us. Success! They made it through the whole service without us or any major meltdowns. We then went out to eat lunch as a family. It was quick, but Owen and Kathryn sat in big people chairs and shared a grilled cheese. The weather has been PERFECT here lately, so two weeks ago I took all three kids to the park by myself for the first time. It was wonderful to only have to push the single stroller for Sullivan and watch O and K walk hand in hand to the slides. It's finally cool enough that we can enjoy the backyard too, so we're out there most mornings and evenings before dinner. This week we've gone shopping three times; once to get Owen's hair cut and to exchange a few things (I only took K and O and they walked with me the whole time - no stroller needed!), once for the kiddos' winter coats and the other for odds and ins at Target. Each outing gets a little easier and I'm doing more with them on my own. I'm absolutely exhausted once we're home, but it's worth it and it's great practice for them. I can't expect them to act properly when we're out if I never take them out.

I am LOVING this stage. It's the best of both worlds; everyone is a little older and a little more independent, but still technically babies. I know it won't be this way for much longer so I am holding on as tight as I can and making the most of every day. Since the last few posts have been all about Sullivan, I thought I'd post some new pictures of our "big kids," Owen and Kathryn.

Owen looks like a little boy now instead of a baby; that makes me happy and sad.

Notice that Monkey made it into the pictures this time instead of Panther.

Kathryn loved this rocking chair and kept pulling it out to sit in it, so we just went with it.

These pictures came from Portrait Innovations and while I'm not big on these kinds of backgrounds, it was a sweet picture the photographer took while Kathryn was just playing around so I had to get it. When the subjects are this cute, I don't think the background really matters! (Sorry, Mommy had to brag.)

Looking fabulous in her new BIG bow and necklace. Did you see that it matches her outfit? She picked the necklace out herself.

Play time in our pj's in the backyard. I had just asked Owen "Where's Daddy's plane?" and this was his response.

Looking for Dada. Any time a plane flies over they get so excited and start saying "Dada, Dada!" They LOVE planes.

Taking a little break to give a hug.

Splish-Splash

Sullivan was having such a good time in the bath last night that I had to take a few pictures. I think she was about six weeks old the last time I took any bath pictures, so it was definitely time to take some new ones. She is the sweetest little thing and I cherish our nightly routine of bath, nursing and prayer. If you look closely in the first picture, you can see her first little tooth that's almost through. But as you might notice, she doesn't seem to bothered by it! Sweet girl.

They Feel Good!

As of today, I'm back in my pre-pre-preggers jeans! (In other words, the jeans I was wearing before I got pregnant with Owen and Kathryn.) They feel good! I had two pair I just loved wearing before I got pregnant with the twins and after cleaning out our closet recently I decided to hang them up as inspiration. I'd been trying them on every couple of weeks and silently celebrated as it got easier and easier to button them. Imagine my surprise this morning when I put them on and they fit. I'm one happy mama! I'm pretty tired of fighting the post-baby weight battle, but I guess today proves that I'm on my way to winning this battle.

Sorry I haven't gotten O and K's pictures up, I left them in Huntsville and Mom's going to send them to me this week. They turned out so cute!

Happy Baby

Here are a few new pictures of our happy baby. I can't believe Sullivan is seven and a half months old! She did really well today while having her pictures made and was her usual sweet and easy-going self. Our big girl is SO close to crawling, can now pull/stand herself up and is about to cut her first tooth. We're taking Owen and Kathryn tomorrow for their pictures, so I'll post those tomorrow night. Here you go...

Oh how I love those juicy little arms!

This picture pretty much sums up her whole personality

My little baby doll

For a few weeks now she's been sticking her tongue out like this when she's really happy

My favorite picture from today - I love you Sullivan!

The Big 3-0

Happy 30th Birthday Bruce! We love you so much! In honor of Bruce's 30th birthday, the kiddos and I made a list of 30 things we love about him (we could make a much longer list though no doubt!). So here we go.

Bruce/Daddy:
1. Always puts his family first
2. Is a hard worker
3. Refuses to live outside our means and accumulate debt. This is a practical one, but one that I admire most about him.
4. Makes us laugh every day
5. Is patient and sweet with the kids, even when he is tired or has had a long day at work
6. Believes in me and cheers me on - I know he'll do the same for the kids as they get older
7. Takes an "everything in moderation" approach to life
8. Makes a mean cheese and bean quesadilla, a great pot of coffee and delicious etouffee
9. Reads book after book to Kathryn, rough-houses with Owen and plays with Sullivan every evening when he gets home from work
10. Can fix just about anything
11. Is always willing to try something new - especially sandwiches!
12. Can pick out cute shoes for the girls...and he knows their sizes
13. Is my favorite person to watch an Alabama game with
14. Always brings me a magnet from the different cities/states/countries he visits
15. Looks super cute in his flight suit!
16. Wants church and Sunday school to be a regular part of the children's lives
17. Has fully embraced fatherhood and can fill my shoes any day of the week with the babies
18. Has a great sense of direction
19. Saves for our retirement and for the day when we have three children in college
20. Values my opinion and always involves me in major decisions
21. Loves his children equally, but treats them as individuals and relates to them accordingly
22. Knows what he believes and believes in and takes a stand when necessary
23. Can find great deals on anything and everything - he saves us soooo much money
24. Is who he is - what you see is what you get
25. Talks about father/son outings, trips, etc. he wants to take with Owen when he's older
26. Knows all the songs from the Yo Gabba Gabba and Wiggles dvd's
27. Accepts people for who they are
28. Gets along great with his in-laws
29. Talks and dreams with me about the "forever house" we'll buy or build one day when his time in the Air Force is up
30. Does or says something every day that reminds me why I want to grow old with him and that he is the best Daddy Owen, Kathryn and Sullivan could ever ask for

Happy Birthday Brucie! 30 looks good on you!

I'll try to get pictures up tonight of Bruce's birthday outing. My Mom and I went in together and surprised Bruce with Saints tickets. He and I drove to New Orleans last night and watched the Saints beat the Vikings. I think he was surprised and I was surprised I kept that a secret for eight long days. (Sometimes when I get excited about gifts, I accidentally spill the beans) We couldn't have taken that little trip though without the help of my sweet mother-in-law who kept all three babies last night and got up with them this morning. They love their Grandmama and are really enjoying having her here this week. Thank you Cathy!

As promised...pictures.

Yummy cookie cake - Bruce's favorite. The writing this year looks a little better. Last year's cake looked like a drunk person had broken into American Cookie Company and decorated the cakes. Oh well, delicious icing is delicious icing.

Sullivan thought it was funny to watch her Daddy try to blow out ALL those candles. Just kidding honey!


Tailgating outside of the Superdome.

That's Harry Connick, Jr. on the front of the float.

The NFL's most talented Grandpa QB for sure! While we were pulling for the Saints, we were both glad to see Brett Favre play in person.


Go Saints! I am definitely a Saints fan now. The game and the fans are so much fun.

All Dressed Up

Since we were all dressed up this morning for church, we took a few more pictures. I wish I could say our trip to church turned out as well as the pictures, but I can't. Owen is terrified of the toddler nursery now and Kathryn is okay with it, but didn't want to be left in there without "Owie-o." So Mom, Bruce and I each took a baby and headed into service with them. I took Sullivan out after about 10 minutes because she couldn't fall asleep with the singing and music, Bruce followed me out with Owen about 15 minutes later and Kathryn was happy, but very loud and talking to her Bebe towards the end of service and Mom came out with her. We left early. I can't even imagine how it would have gone without Mom's help. Actually I can, it just makes me tired to do so. I know we have to keep trying so that's what we plan to do. That and making sure we go to bed really early on Saturday nights.

They love their Mimi.

This sweet little girl will smile as soon as you point the camera in her direction.

We tried to get them to stand right in front of me, but no luck. I really wanted a picture with all three of my babies all dressed up. This was as close as we got. How cute is it that Owen and Kathryn are holding hands?

Sharing a pre-church snack. They LOVE cheese!

It's Time...

For Alabama football! Roll Tide! The weather (here at least) is sunny, clear and about 85 degrees. You can feel it in the air, football season is here and we have been waiting anxiously. Alabama kicks off tonight at 6:00 and we're ready to cheer the Tide on. Isn't this a cute little Alabama fan?

We are also excited this weekend because my Mom is in town. She brought Kathryn and Owen their first tricycles! They are adorable...thank you Mimi. Yesterday morning after breakfast we took the babies outside (hence the pj's) and they wanted to ride immediately. It was funny because they were so focused on trying to pedal that they forgot to steer and almost pedaled into the cars a couple of times. Guess it's going to take a little practice, but they'll get it soon I'm sure. They seem to really enjoy their new bikes.



Earlier today we all went down to the art walk in Ocean Springs. We walked for about an hour and while we didn't buy any art, we did enjoy the gorgeous weather. Mom and I found some super cute shoes for $10 and we couldn't resist. The big babies were itching to get out of the stroller and walk so we thought why not? With an extra adult around we can be a little more "adventurous." Owen and Kathryn held our hands the whole way and when we made it to the restaurant, they sat in "big people" chairs and fed themselves. They are getting so big so fast! Outings are definitely getting easier all the time and that's something Bruce and I have been looking forward to for a while. We found a shady spot and took a few pictures. I thought they turned out pretty good...everyone was happy. Woo-hoo!


That's it for now, just a few new pictures for everyone. Bruce will turn 30 on Thursday and his parents are coming down to celebrate with us. I have a fun evening planned for him, but I can't give away the details just yet. So I'll post pictures next weekend. Hope everyone has a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.

Sullivan's Six Month Check-Up

Our little lady is napping right now, so I thought I'd take this time to post about her six month check-up. Sullivan is doing awesome and growing so fast! She was 28 1/2 inches long (98th percentile roughly), weighed 19.2 pounds (between the 90th and 97th percentiles) and her head circumference was 17 1/4 inches (80th percentile). Sullivan can roll over both ways now, sit up all by herself, pass an object from one hand to another, is babbling and can work to get toys that are out of reach.

She's doing fantastic without her paci and a few nights ago we tried cry-it-out for the first time. She was a "trained night feeder," waking between 1:30 and 3:30am every morning to nurse. So last Thursday night I stayed in bed when she woke up and 15 minutes later she was asleep again. I knew she could do it! It's going very well and each night, if she wakes up at all, she only cries for 15 or 20 minutes. I think by the end of the week she'll be sleeping through consistently. The doctor was pleased with this progress and said we were doing the right thing. He confirmed what we thought, after six months, night feedings are a habit and not a necessity. Sullivan's naps are (thankfully and finally) pretty predictable: a one hour nap two hours after she wakes up, a 1 1/2 - 2 hour nap around 12:30 or 1:00 and most days, a 30-45 minute cat nap around 4:00. I've been trying hard to get her on a strict napping schedule so that she's not overly tired at night and sleeps better. I think that work is starting to pay off! She's in bed by 6:30 and has started waking up around 6:30 each morning. We love a good schedule around our house and so do our babies. Having a set schedule for all three babies has made a huge difference in the daily flow of things and we like it.

Sullivan is still nursing and the doctor gave me the okay to add another solid meal to her diet for a total of three solid meals daily. She loves yobaby whole milk yogurt and last night enjoyed a few bites of my baked potato for the first time. No teeth yet, but if she follows in the footsteps of Owen and Kathryn, she may start teething in another month or so. Sullivan got two shots today and was not happy about that, but she only yelled at me for a few minutes. So to sum it up, our sweet baby is a healthy, happy, growing, giggly little girl. We are thankful and blessed.

It's unbelievably hot here so the kids have been spending a lot of time playing in the sprinkler in the back yard. I'll try to get some pictures of that up today or tomorrow. Hope everyone has a happy Monday!

Words, Words and More Words

And the latest vocabulary additions are:

Milk
More
Ba (for Spongebob)
Moo (for cow)
"Help please," (which comes out "hep pee")
Hi
Mow (like cow with an m, for Mickey Mouse)
Mee (Manny as in Handy Manny)
"I too" (Kathryn's way of saying "me too!")
Out, Out
Nack (snack)
Wiggles (The Wiggles - they love them!)
Mote-Mote (remote)
Tree
Hot
Cold
Wa-wa (water)
Go
Off (when they point to a light switch)
Block
Choo-choo
Kick
Back (as in "Charlie get back!")
Oh-no
Bugga-Bugga (what Owen now calls Kathryn)
Cheep-cheep (bird)
Re-read (I don't know why read is re-read, but it's sweet)
Whoa!
Rug
Box
Seat
Wipes
Boo-boo
Shoe
Boom-boom (thunder)
Mark (marker - Owen said this for the first time today!)
Nite (good night - another first today)

If I had to guess (or had time to write every new word down), I'd say each baby can say 55 or 60 words. Owen and Kathryn can also say a few two-word phrases. At 15 months they could say 27 words each and one or two two-word phrases. O and K are definitely talkative little beings these days! It seems like every time I turn around they have learned a new word. Babies really do take it all in all along.

Bye-Bye Paci

Sullivan has been paci-free for 24 hours now. I took Kathryn's paci away on her six month birthday and, because it worked so well and was relatively painless for all involved, I did the same for Sullivan. It took me three months to get Sullivan to take a paci. Once she did, I was able to get her on a fairly predictable schedule within three days. She was never in love with it the way Kathryn was, but she did really enjoy it. I loved watching her learn to put her paci in her mouth, play with it in the car and how it instantly soothed her in the middle of the night. But she's plenty old enough now to entertain and soothe herself without it. I must admit, she looked so darn cute sucking her pink paci and a little part of me will miss seeing that. It's such a baby kind of thing and I'm really glad I took a few last pictures of her with it the other day.

I was worried last night would be rough, but to my surprise, she slept from 6:40p until 3:00a. I tried to let her settle herself until 3:20 and then I decided it may not be a good idea to let her fuss it out for the first time on the first night I took away her paci. (Bad sleepy mommy!) So I changed her, nursed her (Sullivan and I decided not to wean after all...we're going to keep going. Yay!) and had her back in bed in about 30 minutes; she slept until 7:15 this morning. I know a lot of people think taking a paci away at six months is crazy, but I promise you, it's easier to do it when they're young enough that they don't realize it's missing. It works for us anyway. Sullivan just put herself down for the first nap of the day without her sip-sip in a significantly shorter amount of time compared to yesterday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the transition continues to be smooth.

Here are a few more pictures from this week that I just had to share with everyone.

Happy Half Birthday Sullivan

Happy half birthday Sullivan! I can't believe our baby girl is six months old! Here's what our little lady is up to these days. At six months, Sullivan...

*Can sit up on her own
*Rolls from tummy-to-back and back-to-tummy
*Can pick up her paci and put it in her mouth
*Will laugh when you smell her feet and pretend they're stinky
*Thinks it's hilarious when you shake your head and make your hair fly around
*Starts smiling and wiggling like crazy when she hears you enter her room
*Must have a bath every night; not because she's dirty, but because she sleeps better
*Loves to watch her big brother and sister play and makes the funniest face when they pitch a fit
*Has learned that a high pitch scream (even if nothing's wrong) will make Mommy and Daddy reappear
*Has tried whole milk yogurt, oatmeal, rice cereal, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, bananas, peaches, pears, applesauce, crackers and mum-mums
*Will sometimes squeeze my finger after I put her in her crib like she doesn't want me to go
*Rarely cries
*Loves her "Gigi" (her pink and white giraffe), her paci and nursing
*Is very good at sucking on her toes
*Seems to enjoy Handy Manny as much as Owen and Kathryn do
*Is still nicknamed "new baby" even though she's six months old (We called her "new baby" when I was pregnant with her and it just stuck!)
*Has a blast banging her toys against her car seat, high chair, mattress, etc.
*Charms everyone with her bright smile and loving disposition

To our sweet Sullivan,
You are a joy and, like your brother and sister, you make our days brighter. You fill our home with laughter and your sweet spirit makes me want to be a better person. We are proud to call you our daughter! We love you baby girl and we're so thankful for the last six months. You are on your way to becoming a big girl and we look forward to everything life with you brings.

Sullivan's six month well-baby visit is scheduled for the 23rd so I'll post her weight/length stats, etc. after that. Until then...

Roll Baby Roll!

Today Sullivan rolled from her back to tummy! She mastered the tummy-to-back roll a couple of weeks ago and had been hard at work on the back-to-tummy roll. Well today all of that hard work paid off. I was so proud of her and I think she was proud of herself as well. Way to roll baby!