Easter

Last Friday the kids spent dying eggs... it went pretty smoothly I should say. No permanent dying of their hands or my kitchen table. Nothing spilt on the floor. Cute aprons to wear and about 2 dozen eggs to dye:

The Easter Bunny stopped too and made sure to stuff Reese's peanut butter eggs in their baskets...and then Riley said she doesn't like them! (GASP!) What kid (or adult) doesn't like Reese's? I'm sure not everyone does, but that just seems so sinister to me. So I quickly grabbed them and yes, I will eat them. All of them. Ha ha.

(And no, the Easter Bunny didn't forget about Ryann...she got some clothes and a bathing suit for summer. )

They hunted for eggs and more candy at my grandparents house...and had a great time searching all over to fill their baskets.

 My mom helped them count their eggs and candy...some eggs filled with more candy, some filled with "piggy food" (money for their piggy banks)! Cole was helping count too, but missing a few numbers in between when counting. So cute.

 And while the kids were searching outside, this sweet little girl just did this:

Don't you just love the ruffle butt? Ha.

Next year she just might be out there running around with them too...esp. if she walks as early as her big sis and brother did. (tear).

a sneak peek

When Ryann was a week old, we had our favorite new photographer come and take her newborn pics. She did not disappoint, again! You can click here for the link to her blog to see them! Thank you Chelsea for another AMAZING job!!

Galveston

Last Thursday the kids and I packed our bags and headed to the beach with Brian's parents. Thankfully the weather was pretty good- it was overcast and a bit on the windy side, but it still made for a great trip and the kids had a blast!

They played in the water and ran around for a few hours- collected seashells, built sandcastles, and had a picnic lunch. We packed it up early afternoon and thought we'd see if we could take them by to see Jarod, Brian's cousin, who is a firefighter for Galveston.

We were in luck! He happened to be working that day and he gave the kids an awesome experience! They got the VIP tour of Jarod's fire station and they LOVED every minute of it. I'm not sure if they liked the beach or the fire station better!

You should've seen their faces when Jarod came around the corner driving the fire truck! He backed it in and then let them climb inside...

 He let them sit in his seat, right behind the wheel-and push ALL the buttons. (thank you Jarod for temporarily making us me deaf) Good grief, they had a blast...and that siren is LOUD when you're standing right next to it. ( Ryann slept right through all the noise).

 so next they climbed back and sat in the cab

 where he let them try and his gas mask and helmet- they thought this was super fun! It cracks me up how huge his hat was on them but I love that it was his and he let them play with it...

 I can just see the smiles behind the mask!

 and then he showed them how the ladder raises and they pretended to ride on the back of the truck!

He gave us an inside tour of their "bunk quarters" where he explained what happens when the sirens go off and showed the kids the fire pole...and he got his hands on Ryann too! ( sorry for the "surprised" expression, I think I caught him mid sentence. Ha ha.)

Thank you Jarod for making their day- I think we ALL thought it was very cool to get "VIP access"!

our life lately....

I decided this may just need to be considered more of a random post because I've tried a few times in the last week and a half to get this done and well, obviously, haven't. I told myself today was THE day. It is getting checked off my mental to do list so I can move on. So here I sit...all 3 kids are asleep (amen!), drinking a Diet Coke, in my pj's with yesterday's hair and makeup still on...and yes, it is 2:18. P.M. Ha ha.

My house has looked like a bomb has gone off the last few days with laundry everywhere, fur balls blowing across my floor, and dishes piled in the sink. And let's not go into detail about the toy room. Normally this would not fly. I am way too OCD to let it get so bad, or well in my opinion it was bad. I say "was" because I've spent the morning and the early part of this afternoon cleaning up and putting things away. Let's not forget in the midst of all this I've had to stop a million times to settle sibling rivalries (still something I don't get as an only child. Why on Earth would you intentionally want to pester someone!? To me it is just annoying and frustrating. To all others, it is apparently utter bliss. This is something I will just have to accept. apparently), change diapers, and feed the baby. Ha ha. The house is by no means up to the standards I'd like it to be, but it is way better and I'm not that OCD to spend my whole day cleaning. So, the blog was next on my list so I just may get to the shower by the time Brian gets home. Maybe.

Our friends in Sunday school have been extra gracious to us by bringing meals and LOTS of really good food. That is such a blessing because even if you're feeling ok and getting around, you just don't want to cook.  So much for trying to tame my sweet tooth post pregnancy, but I'm afraid that will never completely happen. I do try, but I fail. Almost always.

Life with 3 kiddos has kept us busy, hence why it has probably taken me so long to get back to the blog.  Ryann seems to be settling into a good routine and just might be finally getting her days and nights figured out. By no means is she sleeping through the night but eating only every 3-3.5 hours is awesome (for our kids). Seems like I remember I was up every 1-2 with Riley and Cole. Yikes. That was brutal. (Maybe I should also confess that with Riley I set an alarm clock during the night and woke her up to feed. Gasp!) I quickly learned never to wake a sleeping baby. When they are hungry, they will wake you. That is how we operate.We had one rough night last week and I was like the walking dead the next day but most days are pretty normal.

That's not to say I'm not tired some days or trying to peel my eyes open when Riley and Cole wake up and come downstairs, but maybe your body adjusts more quickly to the newborn thing on the 3rd time? It's probably a culmination of a few things but it doesn't seem that bad this time around. However, there is one thing that remains constant: life with two other active children doesn't slow down just because there's a newbie in the house. Sleep or no sleep for you, they keep moving.

So this momma has tried to keep them busy and tire them out. Last week we made a few trips to the park.

Riley and Cole played and played...

                                       they climbed and went down the slide a 1000+ times....

 We fed the ducks- complete and total entertainment for them.

This momma duck had 13 babies!! The whole time I was thinking, " Oh man, you poor thing. I've got 1 newbie to take care of....definitely can't imagine having to watch out for and take care of a baker's dozen. That is when I thank God that He knows best and hence the reason why human mommies don't have this many. Good grief.

in the middle of all the running and playing, they took a breather and had snacks...on the bench where I sat most of the time ( next to Ryann of course who was sound asleep in her stroller). Ha.

and then they did more of this...

we came home, ate lunch, and then they ate popsicles...outside.

but a lot of our time is spent doing this:

We just love on her

 and kiss her...

 and love on her even more...

 and when we're not doing that, she's normally always being held.

because the one thing I've learned is you have to hold them while you can...

and then Daddy comes home from work and steals her from us

I can't get over how much she has already changed. She is still wearing newborn diapers and some of her newborn clothes, but I see that coming to an end real soon. ( insert sad face here) and her umbilical cord finally fell off after two weeks.

She is filling out and plumping up rather quickly- this girl likes to eat!  She's still got a head full of hair, dark blue eyes, and the rolls on her legs and arms are starting! I can't wait to pinch them. Ha.

One week

Today Ryann is one week old and how fast it has come and gone! Seems like just yesterday we were waiting on  her to be here and now that it's been a week time needs to slow down!

We've had a very low key week other than a couple trips to the dr early on. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 8 oz on Monday.  The rest of the week we relaxed, took naps, watched movies, and just enjoyed our time at home. We did venture out and pay a visit to Daddy at work for a while.

I can't get over how much she has already changed in just 7 days. Her color is so much better than a week ago when she was so brusied and blue. She had a bit of yellow too due to her high bilirubin. Her face was swollen and her eyes were puffy. But this week her head has rounded out more and her color has evened out. I think some days she is somewhat of a "mini me" and other times I look at her I see some resemblances of when Riley and Cole were this small.

To me, she is just the cutest thing. Yes, I am biased so my opinion doesn't truly count. (What momma doesn't think their own kid(s) is the cutest!?) I could sit and hold her all day and not feel like moving. You quickly forget the grunts, snorts, and squirms of newborns. Riley and Cole have really been very sweet with her too. They always want to hug her or hold her, but we've had some lessons on how to not constantly stay in her face.

Most of the day she sleeps- she tries to stay awake for a couple hours but her eyes quickly roll back in her head and she falls asleep again. She is eating very well - Brian and I have been trading off at night so that helps. I usually take the early feeding around 1 AM and he takes her around 4 AM and then feeds her again before he leaves for work.

Today we had her newborn pictures taken and I can.not.wait. to see them!