Days like these....

I am loving this time of year....it's not too hot yet, and we can spend all day outside if we want.  We've been grilling and eating outside some nights, and it has been so nice!  The mosquitos are there (reminder to self: purchase bug zapper) but they aren't that bad yet.  We just pull the tiny one's chair outside and she sits right with us.  The older two are a little harder to feed outside....they just can't keep their mind on their food.   On these nights outside, they "graze" more than anything...they are too busy playing on their playground, hitting the baseball off the tee, picking "flowers" (weeds, but we won't tell them that!)  I am loving this time outside before it gets too unbearable to be out there!

Pool day....

Last week (before I got sick) we took the babies to the pool for the first swim of the year.  They both LOVE the baby pool, and the husband was a good sport and got in with them even though it was COLD.  I thought they would be happy splashing around in 18 inches of water for our first time....but Sis asked to get in the big pool.  On went our new lifejacket things, and in the water they went.  She is SO brave....jumping in off the side, and swimming out on her own.  Bub is a little more cautious.  He spent the whole time in the big pool guarding the steps.  I am sure he will venture out into the pool later in the season....he just needs to get used to the idea first!

She sits in a chair! She stands!

Baby has been busy this month!!  All of a sudden, she has learned a bunch of new tricks!  One day, I walked in to find her standing in her crib, and from that day on she pulled up on everything.  A few days ago, she started cruising....trying SO hard to move her little self along the couch.  This morning, she let go of the couch and actually stood by herself for a minute before she realized she wasn't holding on.  As soon as she figured that out, she plopped down and cried her eyes out.  Apparently, learning new tricks is very stressful.  What's stressful for her mommy is making sure there aren't any tiny items laying around waiting to get stuffed into a baby mouth.  Sometimes I let her roam around (while I follow) but for the most part we are keeping the baby cage up.  It's just easier on everyone (twins included) if she is in a contained area.  This month marked another first: sitting in the high chair to eat!  I was putting her in the bumbo on the floor to feed her, but she is WAY too strong for that now!  As soon as you get her situated in that thing, she twists and turns to the side and pops herself right out of it.  The twins NEVER could do this, so I am thinking I have an acrobat or contortionist on my hands.  Now, it's safer (and cleaner) for her to eat in the high chair.  She's loving her baby food.....one box in the morning, one box in the afternoon, and two boxes at night.  She is sort of trying to pick up little pieces of food we give her, but for the most part, she just wants to be fed with a spoon.  Last week I gave her a cracker for the first time, which scared the life out of me....I kept thinking she was going to get a huge piece broken off and I would have to Heimlich my baby in EZ's....but no such drama ensued.  She just gummed all over it happily...getting it all over herself and the floor.
She seems SO big this month....her two little tiny bottom teeth have come in.  She says "Mama" and "Dada' and actually looks at us when she says it.  She fake coughs every time she hears one of us cough.  She dances and dances when you sing to her.   The doctor said she was in the 50%th percentile in weight at her last visit, but her chunky little legs make her look bigger than that!  She can still wear all her 9 month clothes, but I am buying 12 month stuff (and even some 18) from now on.  I remember this age with the twins.....how I felt like they weren't really doing anything for a long time, and then all of a sudden (around ten months) they became totally different people!  Livi is the same way.....up until this month, she was pretty happy sitting in one spot for awhile, but those days are GONE.  I have a feeling this gate is going to be up in our house for a long time!

Things I love....

I am inspired to write this because of a post I just read on a friend's blog.  Before babies, I used to keep a journal of things I was grateful for, and I wrote in it a lot.  Let's be honest, writing in journals is a lot easier when you have no kiddos to take care of....now I'm too busy trying to BE grateful....I don't have time to write about it!  Making this list isn't that easy....I made one a few years ago and it wasn't all that easy then....for some reason it's even harder now.  At this point in my life, I guess I am more concerned with my babies....I could write you a list in half a second about what my KIDS love.  I guess I spend so much time on them that I don't think much about what I love.  (Besides them!)  Of course, my love for them goes without saying, so I won't put it on the list.....Here are some other things I love:

-Being the only person in the house awake.
-Cleaning products
-anything that smells like lemons (see above)
-early evening (when Shawn gets home) when we are outside with our kids....it smells like grass, and it isn't too hot, and they are dirty and happy.
-reading
-taking a bath
-taking a bath alone.  (Although it IS fun to have all the kids in the bath, too sometimes!)
-milk
-having friends over
-getting something done at the spa....pedicure, massage, facial- anything...I'll take it!
-clean sheets
-sonic drinks
-Whataburger ketchup
-documentaries
-candles
-redecorating/buying stuff for my house
-taking pictures (especially of my kids....I love thinking of how important those pictures will be to me later)
-mindless television (The Hills, American Idol, Grey's Anatomy)  I could feel bad for watching these shows but I don't.  I spend all day taking care of three people; I deserve to shut my brain off sometimes.  Plus, I figure that I counteract the stupidity of the shows I watch by being well read.
-babies
-Laughing hard
-eating out (no cooking/cleaning for me)
-sleeping
-hearing my kids laugh, especially when they think something is really, really funny.
-good, uninterrupted conversations with close friends (these are few and far between these days!)
-crafting/creating something
-traveling
-organization
-the beach (Okay, more the "idea" of the beach....I'm not really in love with getting in the water!)
-bath products
-office supplies
-being married to someone funny

How often do YOU (my readers) think about what you love or makes you grateful?  Do any of us (moms especially) spend enough time remembering these things?  If you're anything like me, I'm guessing the answer is no.....
With little bitty kids, I think we spend half our time wanting things to hurry along.  Get shoes on, get in the car, get out of the car, get in the bath, etc, etc.  The other half of the time, we spend looking at their chubby little selves and willing time to stop entirely so that they will always be this tiny.  Thinking about things I love is just one way to slow down and remember to enjoy these days...that no matter how hectic things get, how much time I spend on needs other than my own, I am still somebody too.  I am their mommy, yes (my favorite job) but there's another person in there.....I need to remember to pay attention to her sometimes, too!!

Playdate!

We have been lucky enough to have two fun playdates this week.....yesterday Livi was the center of attention!  Leni and Allison's little boys LOVE babies, and they were all over her.  She wasn't sure if she loved or hated all the attention.  They were SO sweet to her.....holding her, giving her her bottle, burping her, picking her up.  I think she was just glad someone was paying attention to her.

Bathtime for the Niblet

While Shawn bathes the twins in the hall bath, Livi gets her bath in the kitchen sink.  The days we can enjoy this are numbered....she's already growing so much!  For now, she loves the sink....especially when you run the faucet on her....she just splashes and splashes like it is the best thing ever!

We tried bathing her with the twins, but they are not exactly careful.  There is too much wiggling and moving going on in that tub for this one.  She was in danger of slipping the whole time, but you wouldn't have known it by looking at her...she thought she was the same size as them!  As long as I can, I think this is how we'll do it.....especially since bathing her in the sink makes me feel like she is still tiny.

Playtime with Daddy

Everyone loves when Daddy comes home.  He loves that everyone runs to the door hollering for him.  Even the little one gets in on the action.  She bops up and down and smiles when she sees him....it is so fun watching them figure out who their "people" are.  He always makes time for them when he comes home...

We laugh because Livi is a daredevil...the wilder you play with her, the more she loves it!