memorial day/bonnet

Here is the obligatory picture that proves that I am an awesome mom who dresses up her kids in appropriate holiday outfits and gets a picture of them:

And here are some pictures of Elias wearing a bonnet, because really, how cute is that??? Also probably against some parenting "rules", but whatevs.

He thought it was funny too for about 2 seconds.

Then not so much. Probably to his credit.

Not a good idea

Having your 3 year old 

 feed your almost 7 month old

Blueberries and oatmeal for breakfast 

While you clean the kitchen 

Might seem like a good idea

 But it's not. 

It's really really not.

Blessed

So this past weekend at my cousin's wedding I was describing my life in 3 words... words like "hectic", "chaotic", "stressful", "busy", "crazy" were all coming to mind, but the one adjective I kept coming back to was "blessed".

Now lets be honest, "I'm so blessed" is a total Christian cliche, and I  don't like to use Christian cliches. But I really can't describe my life without using that word. Because I am blessed. Blessed beyond belief.

I have a savior who loves me more than I dare imagine.

I have a husband who loves me and shows me grace every day. He is a great father, and his patience with my craziness astounds me.

I have three beautiful children who never cease to amaze me. They make me laugh, cry, and cause me to seek Jesus daily in ways that I never have before.

I never imagined that this stage of my life would be this hard. Or that I would love it so much. It's a weird dichotomy.

So here I am, embracing the camera with my little princesses.

And now with my little man:

Elias kept on smiling and saying: "CHEESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" so I kept taking pictures of him. It was cute.

blog world/real world

So this is my blog world post: 

We went to the park today after nap time, and we all had a wonderful time.

My sweet eldest daughter helped push her sister on the swing with such a great attitude.

Elias was in a great mood and loved walking around and playing on the slide.

Elana got her first taste of the swing, and enjoyed every second of it.

What a wonderful day at the park!!!!!!!!!


Here is the real world (or at least my world): 

We got to the park, and the first 5 minutes went as described above.... Then:
I put Elias and Elana in the swing together, and that worked well for about 5 seconds until Leah started freaking out because "WHO AM I GOING TO SWING WITH!!!!!!!!!!"

I left the poor babies hanging in the swing for about 10 minutes while Leah screamed her head off

Then we spent 5 minutes swinging, Leah literally crying the whole time.

After that she went and pouted on the bench, and Elias played on the slide.

That is, he would climb half way up, then start crying, refusing to go up or down.

I had Elana in the baby carrier, which was killing my shoulders and back, so I had to repeatedly go up and get him.

I finally called it quits and guided (dragged) the kids back in the car after only 20 minutes....

What a wonderful day at the park!!!!!

Embrace the camera

So it's pretty sad, but I can tell what kind of day it will be based on what show we watch in the morning. That's because I have the GPB kids schedule memorized, and because I'm such a dedicated awesome mom I let them watch 30 minutes (sometimes more, never less) right when they wake up in the morning. A Super Why (8:00 am) day is a great day. A Dinosaur Train (8:30) is even better, but it hardly ever happens, and a Seasame Street day (9:00 am ) is something I can only dream of. Usually, we have a curious George (7:00) or a Cat in the Hat (7:30) kind of day.

Not this morning, though. This morning was a wild Krats day (6:30), and I was not very happy about that. I am not an early bird. I hate getting up in the morning, and 6:30 is just not fair. Usually I just ignore Leah when she gets up this early, but today she was being unusually persistent, so I caved.

Anywho, here's to embracing the camera with my early bird:

Okay seriously, if she is tired why didn't she just stay in bed!!!!!!!!!!!

Ode to Mom

So, I was talking with my sis Katie, and she mentioned that she was working on a mother's day post, so I was like "great idea, I'll write one too!" So yeah, I totes took this idea from her...

My mom is awesome. No seriously, like really really awesome. I've always loved and admired my mom. I feel like we had a good relationship when I was growing up, and our relationship has just continued growing and blossoming as I have become a mother myself. However, as a child/teen/young adult, I really had no idea how amazing she really was. Mainly because I was super selfish, and I didn't really think of her as a person, per se.... I mean, she was my mom. Of course she would play with me, feed me, clothe me, sacrifice everything for me day in day out... that's what they do, right?? I remember that as we got older, my mom would say "Do yall realize that I'm a person too???" We were like "blah blah blah".... but now, I get it.

My three year old says things like: "mommy's don't get privacy", and "you're not a woman, you're a mommy!".... And I get it...

One of the things that strikes me most, now that I have three little children of my own, is how many things  we used to do growing up that I remember as being super fun.... but they probably were not super fun for my mom. Like traveling on an airplane with 6 kids.... I thought it was awesome, but I'll bet she was a little bit stressed. Like going to six flags, and dad would take Zach, Katie, and me (myself, me??? how does one say that correctly?) and mom would do who knows what with the three younger ones all day in the glaring heat.... Seriously mom, what did yall do all day? Going on super long bike rides with all six of us, dragging us around Paris, Versailes, hiking up mountains, camping setting up and taking down massive tents in the pouring rain.

We did all of this, and so much more. As a child all I remember is how much fun it was. As a mom, I think of all these things, and I realize how incredibly exhausting and tiring it must have been for my parents (especially my mom, because it's mothers day. Your post will come later, dad.) But I don't remember her ever complaining... In fact, it was usually her spurring us on.

For reals, mom, you made having 6 kids look easy!

Anyways, I could go and on, but I'm super tired. The point is, my mom's amazing, and I'm realizing this more and more every day. I lOVE YOU MOM!!!!!!!

Happy Mother's day!

Embrace the camera

Today was an absolutely beautiful day, so after dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood. I took this opportunity to Embrace the camera.

life-altering moment

I was a senior in high school, and I had not yet developed the calm, cool, and controlled exterior that I possess today. The insecure middle school girl that lurks inside every female was right there at the surface, constantly threatening to rear her insecure crazy head. We were about half-way through our basketball season. I loved basketball, but unfortunately my desire and my heart far outweighed my actual talent. This was pretty much the constant of my high school sports career: always the winner of the “best hustle” award, never the winner of the “MVP” award.

 Anyways, there we were, playing one of our toughest competitors, Deerfield from Albany (I say toughest competitors as if we ever actually had a chance to beat them. We didn’t. They were far more talented than we were.) The starting 5 from our team were about to be announced and we would run into the center of the court to the rousing cheers and acclamation of our peers (ok fine, spattering applause of our parents and cheerleaders, but still). I’m not gonna lie, I loved loved loved having my name called over the loud speaker. I loved being a starter, I loved casually running out there with my head held high, knowing I was one of the best on my team. I was super vain back then. Thank goodness I outgrew that. I digress.

 Three of my teammates names and numbers were called, and were waiting at the middle of the court, looking calm, cool, and collected. We were so awesome. Then the announcer bellowed: “AND NUMBER 5, THE CENTER AT 5’11, KKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE MMMMMMAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

 The crowd goes wild! Yay Katie, you’re so awesome and amazing Katie!!!!!!!! You’re the best!!!!!! The absolute best in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!! (they might not have been saying it, but they were sure thinking it)

 And I was like, “allright Katie!” Cool… I’m glad everyone thinks she is so awesome”

 But then the death blow came…. One of the most memorable and humiliating moments of my high school life (just goes to show you how easy my high school experience was). The announcer, in a moment of pure evilness, followed up that glowing presentation with: “and finally number 10, her sister, Jessica.” Woomp, woomp, woomp…..

 Talk about taking the wind outa my sails. I ran to the middle of the court with my head about to explode. The stupid announcer zeroed in on one of my biggest insecurites at that time and broadcasted it to the world (okay fine, to the gymnasium full of most of the people I hung out with on a day to day basis). I was the older sister! I was supposed to be better! SHE WAS MY SISTER DANG IT!!!!!!!! 

Well, needless to say I did not have a good game. From that second on my mind was elsewhere… That guy totally psyched me out, and I played horribly. My coach should have realized that the game had ended for me before it even started. But he didn’t. Oh well, I digress and this is getting really long and a little boring. …

 I can finally admit it. Katie was a way better basketball player than me. She was taller, yes, but she also just had better skills. (Wow…. It was actually difficult to type that. Maybe I’m not over this yet….) Anywho, at the time the mere suggestion that Katie was better than me was enough to completely throw me off and reduce me to a pile of angry insecure mush. I mean, everyone knew it…. I knew it, she knew, anyone who watched us play knew it. And I HATED that. HATED IT!!!!!!!!!!!

 So now, Katie, I challenge you to a one on one match. The only catch: we both have to wear our babies…. That could be really fun! I bet you thought there was a point to this post, and that I would end with a moving lesson and tie it all up nicely, but I’m not going to. I mean, the gospel implications are clear, and my kids are waking up from there naps….

Embrace the camera

Summer is here! Well, it's here in middle Georgia, anywho. So that means lots of running around in bathing suits,

playing in the sprinkler,

Looking super cute,

And embracing the camera

6 Months

Elana is 6 months old today!

This is a very hard concept for me to wrap my mind around.... My baby, my tiny little peanut baby is already half a year old!

Although I am generally busier and more overwhelmed than I ever have been, I think I have been able to savor and enjoy this baby stage. Mainly because she is such an incredible baby.

I have been so blessed. Elana is sweet, happy, content, and easy going. She is a great napper and a great nurser. But most of all, she is not the 20 ish pound chunk that her brother and sister were at her age, and I'm not gonna lie, that makes it easier on my back and arms :) - She is around 16 ish pounds (I think.... our check-up is in a couple of weeks) - she just started eating some carrots, squash, and other delicious baby foods, and has finally taken a bottle. - She still nurses about 7-8 times a day - She usually takes two 2 hour naps a day, and goes to bed around 8. - She still wakes up 2-3 times a night.... Yay!!!!!!! - She can sit up supported by her boppy pillow. - She loves watching her brother and sister act the fool. - She is very snuggly - She only sleeps on her tummy. - She does not take a pacy at all. Most of all:

We love you Elana! You are such an amazing blessing