Don't you just want to gobble her up?!

Our little turkey!

Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise.

Mayo.

Everyone is familiar with this delicious condiment.

It's great on sandwich.

Or mixed in with tuna fish.

Or chicken salad.

Some even like it on a cheeseburger.

But....do you know what else it's good for?

I do.

Getting chewing gum out of your 4 month old baby's hair.

Yes.

You heard me right.

GUM out of your baby's hair.

I know, because I just used it on Charlotte.

She had gum in her hair.

Compliments of her big brother.

Immediately after I just finished giving her a bath.

He was chewing gum and somehow managed to get it ALL over his mouth.

And then he decided to kiss his baby sister's head.

And then rub her head with his hands.

And then I walked in the room.

And now Charlotte has had her very first "conditioning treatment" and scalp massage.

Her hair is very shiny now.

Her brother is in bed.

Chewing gum is officially banned from our house.

Flower Power

Just another reason why I LOVE having a baby girl!!

Wordless Wednesday

Parenting 101: What Not To Do To Your 10 Year Old

I've always been terrified of the term step-mother. I guess because step-mothers always get a bad rap. You know, all the fairytale stories always have an "evil step-mother." Ever since my relationship with Emma, Abby and Nate began I have been worried that they would think I am "evil" just because I am their step-mom. Well, to my delight, they have proved me wrong. So far they seem to be good with me. I mean I'm pretty sure they love me and all. I do, of course, have my "evil step-mother" moments. Like when I feed them store brand mac & cheese and not Kraft. Can you even believe the cruelty?! But for the most part, we are good. Well, as it turns out, I should have spent less time being concerned about not being the evil parent and more time being concerned about not being the over-protective, completely uptight parent...that apparently I am.

I always joke with the kids that if I could wrap them in bubble wrap I would. It's true...I totally would. To this they say they are grateful that they have Daddy around who is leveled headed enough to know that this is completely out of line to do. In fact, they have their Daddy to thank for not being the three biggest nerds in school. Last year I took the kids to their school roller skating party and told Jake that I brought their helmets to wear. He informed me that there was NO WAY his children would be wearing HELMETS at an indoor skating rink. I argued this because our rule at home is "if there are wheels on your feet, there is a helmet on your head." He reminded me that they were not going to be at home, but with all their friends from school and assured me that they would be the ONLY ones wearing helmets and that it would be so NOT COOL. Jake won. And he was right. Nobody else was wearing helmets. Emma was relieved that Dad was there to keep her from being mortified. Tonight, unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky.

Emma had youth group tonight. This is a new thing for her. She has been a few other times and Amy or Jake usually take her. Well, I took her tonight and I have a feeling I will never be allowed to take her again! Tonight they were having a bonfire and she was instructed to bring a stick to roast marshmallows. We arrived a little early and there were only a couple kids there. She walked across the parking lot calling, "See ya later!" over her shoulder. What?! Where are the adults?! She informed me that there were a couple of teenagers there who help out. Ok. But where are the adults? We had a stare-down in the parking lot. Her look kept saying, "But, they are TEENAGERS." And my look kept saying, "But I DON'T CARE." (BTW, this is all taking place right in front of the very cool teenagers.) I insisted she find an adult before I left her. She gave me a sigh. If only this was the worst part. She found her adult and I was satisfied. As I proceeded to walk across the parking lot and she made her way to the playground, I shouted, "Be careful, Emma! Don't run with a stick in your hand!" OMG!!!! If looks could kill I would be a dead woman!! She gave me the eye-roll. She informed me after youth group that I was lucky there weren't any boys there or she would have "flipped!" Oh dear. And then when I tucked her in bed at 8:00pm (yes, I put her to bed at 8:00pm because I am paranoid she doesn't get enough sleep) she said to me, "You're lucky I love you."

Yes, Emma. I am lucky. I am the luckiest woman in the whole world. I am blessed with the three most precious step-kids who love me despite my short comings. Who love me despite the fact that I am completely over-bearing, way too protective, and continue to find ways (not on purpose) to embarrass them. And I only hope someday they realize just how much I love them too.

Wordless Wednesday

Birthday Boy

You should all know by now that one celebration for any birthday or holiday is never sufficient for this family! Nathan had a joint birthday party a couple weeks ago with our families in MA, a party on his birthday with the Wise/Marshall family and ANOTHER party the day after his birthday at our house!!! That's what happens when you have lots of family spread out over the East Coast and when weekday schedules are chaotic (such as coordinating the work schedules of 4 parents and throwing in Abby's soccer schedule to make things even more interesting)...you end up with several parties. I don't think Nathan is complaining though!

Emma and Abby decorated Nathan's birthday cake for him all on their own! Isn't it great?! All I did was bake the cake...they did the rest by themselves, unsupervised. They worked together and didn't even argue! And the best part was the kitchen was clean when I returned!

His sisters sure do love him!!!
Dig in!

He's the BEST!

A bow & arrow just like he asked for...

...and there is another present too..but I'll save that for later ;)

Happy Birthday Nate....again!

Everybody's Girl

Charlotte Jean is short and sweet and everybody's girl!

All of her Grandma's love her and she loves them...
Her Aunties love her too...

She is the cutest little sister...

And Mommy's little shopper!

And, of course, she is Daddy's littlest princess :)

Side Note: Yes, we did in fact play dress-up just for this blog post.

It was so much fun! I LOVE having a baby girl!!!

Something To Say

Someone's Six Today...

Happy Birthday Nathan Alexander!!!!!!

We love you soooooo much Nate! We know this is going to be a GREAT year for you! You are growing up to be such a wonderful young man (and handsome too, of course!). We hope you have a spectacular day and enjoy being 6!!!!!!

Love you, buddy!

Wordless Wednesday

Tummy Time Success or Failure?

No sure if this technically qualifies as quality tummy time?

I had her all set up with her boppy and plenty of toys to entertain her.

That didn't last very long. She's not a fan of tummy time.

She fussed. A lot.

I gave her the binky.

She totally fell asleep. It wasn't even nap time.

The girl will not nap for more than 20 minutes at a time in her crib, swaddled up tight, with a wave machine playing when she's exhausted, BUT she'll fall asleep in the middle of the living room floor during playtime for an hour while Daddy is in the same room banging on the walls hanging pictures.

I don't get it.

But one thing I do know is that she's pretty darn cute :)

Super Students

We live in a house with a bunch of smarty pants...and couldn't be more proud!

Nathan LOVES school...both of them. He loves both of his teachers and his classmates. And something else he is beginning to love (or, at least not despise) is homework! Nate has improved so much with doing his homework just since the beginning of the year. He loves when he can impress me and do his homework without any help. Sometimes he has me sit next to him and close my eyes while he writes his letters and then I open my eyes to see what a fabulous job he did all on his own! Today he almost finished his homework before I had even known he started! Turns out the letter "J" is very fun to write!

He's very intense. I love the tongue :)
And Miss Abby came home from school today and impressed me for the fourth week in a row!

With another PERFECT spelling test!!!! This is her fourth one! She even got all the challenge words! Way to go Abby! We are working extra hard this week to go for #5!

And anyone who knows Emma already knows what a super student she is...and has always been. But did you know....

...that she is also part of the Student Leadership team at school?! Yup, she is! She is a great student and a great role model. Emma was one of the two kids chosen by her peers out of her class to be part of the Student Council team. Yay Emma!

Okay, I'm finished bragging about the 3 most wonderful kiddos I know....well, at least for today ;)

The way weekends are supposed to be

I love this picture. It's a scene I wish I could see much more frequently.

Helping Nana...
Sweet giggles...

Playing with Toby...

Sleepovers with cousins...

Sunday football games with Grampa...

That's the way it's supposed to be all the time. Not just one weekend every other month. It's the best we can do for now. Don't get me wrong, we have a very happy family of six here in PA...it's just a little lonelier than being in MA. I am grateful that all the kids still have close relationships with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents despite the distance. I am grateful that we are able to travel as often as we do. I just wish that events like the ones above weren't "special occasions" but rather common events. Once again...thank you to all our family for all the wonderful memories made last weekend! We will cherish them forever!

October Celebrations

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I'm a day late, but look who's eight!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was Miss Abigail Rose's 8th Birthday!

Abby celebrated her birthday this past weekend with fun family party at her Mom's house. She is very pleased with her birthday present this year from Mom & Dad....a DS!! Now, I think it's some kind of fancy 3D DS or something, but I really have no clue about these things! All I know is it is super cool and that she has been wanting a DS ever since Emma got one and she is a very happy young lady right now! And we have more celebrating on the way this weekend with another family party in Massachusetts!

Happy Birthday Abby! We love you so much!

Charlotte at Ten Weeks

Charlotte Jean stats: Age: 10 weeks young

Weight: 11lbs 4oz

Height: 23 inches

Health: Perfect

Eyes: Blue (!)

Eating 4 ounces of formula every 2 hours during the day.

Not a very good napper, but...

SLEEPS ALL NIGHT (10-12 hours...woohoo!!!).

No longer uses her binky to fall asleep but likes to be swaddled up tight. Favorite toy is her pink elephant hanging from her play gym pictured above. She has loved this toy since the first time she saw it :) She loves her play gym, bouncy seat and her swing. She also loves to look at the towels hanging from the door in the bathroom. I have no idea why, but she thinks it's the best thing ever!

Loves the sound of running water and the hair dryer.

LOVES bathtime.

She is NOT a fan of tummy time, however, she can do this... She is very strong and not just physically!! She has quiet the strong personality! She will certainly let you know if she is not content. She definetly has some diva in her :)

She loves to smile and gives us plenty of them until I pull out our big black camera and then I usually get this look...

She has lots of nicknames. Her official nickname is Charli. However, she usually hears us call her any of the following: Little Miss Miss, Muffin, Muffin Pie, Love Bug, Bugaboo, Princess & Beautiful. Lucas (who is 18 months old) calls her "Char Char." Grampa Daly calls her "Putt Putt". Not sure where that came from but I have to admit that I have called her that a few times myself :) Poor girl is never going to learn her real name!

She has her very own song:

Charlotte Jean, Charlotte Jean

You're the cutest little bean

You're cheeks are round, your eyes are blue

We are so in love with you! That's our girl!

Just because I can

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS LOTS OF BRAGGING

No, it's not his birthday. And no, it's nowhere close to Father's Day. But today, I want to give a shout out to the best daddy and husband in the world.

This may not seem like much to you, but to me it is HUGE. Two Fridays ago, several little things happened throughout the day that caught my attention and reminded me of all the little reasons why I love my husband.

The day started off with me opening my eyes to see numbers on the alarm clock that I had not seen from my bed in several months...8:07am. Holy cow! What was I still doing in bed after 8am?!? Why was I still sleeping? And then panic struck me. I was supposed to do Abby's hair for school. We had picked out a cute shirt and a perfectly matching hair clip the night before. I quickly jumped out of bed and ran downstairs thinking maybe I could catch her before the bus came to at least apologize for oversleeping and not doing her hair. When I got to the bottom of the stairs and looked out the front door, I was shocked when I saw this...

Her hair had been neatly brushed into a ponytail and the perfectly matching hairclip was in! I said, "Oh, thank goodness! Emma did Abby's hair for her." And Jake says, "No. I did it."

Jaw dropping moment #1 of the day.

Later that day when the kids got home from school, Emma had homework. Math. Instead of setting up at the dining room table as usual, she pulled up a chair next to her Daddy at the kitchen table where he was sitting because she needed help. She did that on her own. She needed help and she knows she can go to him. She needed help and he helpled her.

Jaw dropping moment #2 of the day.

And later that night, Nathan had a Kindergarten Karnival at school. After dinner, Jake got himself and Nate ready and met Amy at the school for a night of games and activities.

Jaw dropping moment #3 of the day.
We have moments like this all the time. Jake is a great Daddy. He is very involved. Why did these things stand out to me? Probably because growing up my Dad would have NEVER done any of these things. I don't think my dad even knew what a hairbrush was never mind attempt to use one to do my hair. And doing homework with my dad....well, let's just say it's not something I looked forward to. I would avoid asking him for help at all cost. It was not a fun experience. And my dad attending school events never happened. I'm lucky he knew where the school was! I didn't have a terrible father...I know he probably did the best he could. But I didn't have an involved father. All the negative experiences and all the things I missed out doing with my dad just make me appreciate my husband and the wonderful job he is doing at being a good daddy even more. I don't ever want to take the little things for granted. Because it's the little things that sometimes make the biggest impact.
Jake, thanks for being such a great Daddy to all your children. I love you so much!

A pretty close to perfect Saturday

Today was a GREAT day!

We started the day off by bundling up to spend the morning outside for Abby's soccer game.

Charlotte is ready for the game!
This was my first time watching Abby play this season. She did AWESOME!

Her team won 2-1! Way to go Purple!

After soccer, I surprised the kids and took them apple picking.

This was Charlotte's first trip to the apple orchard.

Beautiful sisters...

Love him!

After apple picking we went to the library to get LOTS of books! The kids all love to read and have been re-reading all the books they have here over and over. It was an almost perfect day. The only thing missing was Daddy. Too bad he had to work and miss all the fun :(

Today was a great day.

It was one of those days that just goes the way it's supposed to.

One of those days that makes you feel like you might actually be doing something right.

One of those days that gives you a boost of confidence.

No gliches.

No drama.

No chaos.

Just good.

Almost easy.

Which, naturally, makes me terrified for what tomorrow will be like...ha!

Hope you enjoyed your Saturday as much as we did and hope you (and I!) have a GREAT rest of the weekend!