Our Artist

So Katelin is really into drawing and comes home everyday with new pictures she created at school. Lately I have noticed that the drawings of girls have a new feature! Let's just say they look like they have gone to a plastic surgeon for a little chest work :) I had to find out if these were indeed what I thought they were so the other day I asked her what the two big circles were on her picture. Kate's reply, "Armpits, of course!" Of course! I should have known! It just reminds me of how sweet and innocent kids can be. Gotta love it!

What a relief!

I can't tell you what a relief I am feeling writing this post. As most of you know, we have been struggling with getting James to drink a bottle at daycare. We couldn't understand why he was refusing to drink (kicking and crying!) when he used to drink bottles. I did a lot of research on the topic, talked to a specialist and James' pediatrician and was thinking we were just going to have to come to terms with the fact that he might never take a bottle which meant he was going 10 hours at daycare without drinking :( Luckily the other night I was reading more on the topic and came across a blog about women who have an excess of a particular enzyme in their breast milk that causes it to spoil sooner than it should. They advised that if the baby is refusing the bottle you should taste the milk. So I did just that and about vomited!!! The 5-day old milk (which should last 8 days) was so rancid I could not get the taste out of my mouth all night. This obviously brought me to tears thinking about trying to force James to drink this spoiled milk. I felt so terrible for him. I currently don't know how quickly mine spoils but James was still not wanting to drink even the 24 hour milk (which seemed to taste/smell fine to me). But...he is accepting formula now at school! Yesterday and today he drank two 4 bottles! While I am very sad that he will not be having breast milk at school, I am relieved he is drinking. And the good news is I can still nurse him at home. This is a huge stress relief for me and I am hoping he continues to drink!!!

Today was also a big day for James as he hit a milestone...his first rollover!!! How exciting! Of course daycare was the one to get to experience this first and I am sure it won't be the last thing they experience first. He did roll over for us though at home so we got to see him in action. We will try and get a video to post for you all to see. Great job big boy!

A Growing Boy!

It is hard to believe that James is already three months old. It seems like just a week ago I was nervous to go into labor but at the same time I feel like he has been a part of our family for years! Yesterday I was doing laundry and putting clothes away and realized that instead of putting his clothes back in the closet, I had to put much of his 0-3 month clothes into a bag for storage. I don't think James wants to wear capri pants ;) It is so fun to watch him grow both physically and in his personality. He is truly a blessing to our family and brings so much joy to all of us. Watching the girls interact with him brings a smile to our faces daily. Below are a few pics of his unofficial 3 month old photos (with monkey of course!). We love you James!

Sunday Funday

In the middle of trying to finally take down Christmas decorations today and to somewhat organize the house, the girls got Brian to put together their scooters they got from Grandpa David and Grandma Nancy for Christmas so they could have a little fun in the basement. They had a great time riding around in circles. They also played some musical chairs, or as Annie called it, magical chairs :) James even joined in the fun and decided to take a spin on the motorcycle. Having the basement open without furniture does have some perks!

"Ready for Some Fun!"

So this week has been a big week for me and James! Maternity leave is over and back to work I go after a nice 3-month break. Not only am I trying to adjust to working full-time again but I also have a new title and new job responsibilities...exciting and challenging at the same time. I am giving myself a week or two to get back into the swing of things before I start to panic ;) One of my New Year's resolutions is to stress less and go with the flow more. Most of you know this will be nearly impossible for me but probably quite important as a mother of three little kids now! So far it has been nice to be back at work to interact with adults again however I do really miss my snug time with James. Dropping him off on Monday was heart breaking. The good news is that while he has refused to take a bottle for Brian, he is a trooper and realizing he must drink from a bottle at school. He is still making it known that it isn't his preferred method of milk intake but at least he is drinking and that in itself makes it much easier for me and Brian. I also know that in the long run daycare is great for kids and he will make friends and have fun so I try to remember that when I feel sad and miss him. He hasn't been sleeping much at school though and still prefers his little cat naps. I told them that if he is held he will sleep like an angel for hours but you try and put him down and you may get 20 minutes if you are lucky. So overall, the first three days of James' in daycare and me back at work is going well (minus the part about how tired I am)!

Spending time together as a family at night seems so important now so we are trying to do fun things with the kids and focus less on the house being tidy or those pesty chores that always seem to nag at us. Monday night we decided to have a dance party! So for almost an hour we turned up the tunes and all had a great time singing and dancing. Kate prefers "fast music" to dance too so Lady Gaga "Poker Face" was one of her favs. Both girls got a kick out of me and Brian singing "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and we too had a great time. James even joined in the fun and stayed awake to dance with us too and observe this crazy family he was born into :) (I think we pooped him out as he slept the whole night through!) On Tuesday Kate wanted to have another dance party so when she got home she said in a super cute voice "Are you ready to have some fun?!" and proceeded to wiggle her little hinder. So, once again we got out our dance shoes and boogied down. Here's to more fun in 2o11!

New Buddies In the Making

On Sunday Brian and I hosted the annual high school friend's holiday gathering. While we still get together on a regular occasion with just the girls, it is nice to get the kids and hubbies together once in a while too. Unfortunately we were missing a few important people this year. Tony stayed home with Gianna so Jen could enjoy the day without having to put her little lady in timeout for hitting all the kids :) And Hondo stayed home with Xavier because it was his nap time. Shari called in sick - boo, Megan moved to Switzerland - her excuse is very valid!, and Sarah was back in Philly so she gets a pass too. Maybe one of these years we will be able to truly get the whole gang together.

We still had a great time though (both kids and adults) with a very yummy brunch. My Ebelskivers were a hit too, even though as Liz put it "they don't look like the picture"! Leave it to Liz :) And, one of the best parts of the day is that we were able to get a photo of the three newest additions to the gang. Anna and Soph welcomed Andreas in early August, we welcomed James in early October and Jen and Tony welcomed Sam in early December! What a great way to end 2010. We were missing Xavier from the photo. He just turned 1 and will be in the same grade as the new little guys I think too! How exciting that we will be able to watch our little men grow up together.