About ME (Erin)

I have a couple of friends that did questionnaire posts so I thought I would carry on the "tag":

10 years ago I was...
Living in New York and we just found out we were moving to Texas!

5 years ago I was...
Engaged, going to college, really skinny and living at Roman Gardens

1 year ago I was...
Enjoying 2 kids, loving living in a house instead of a 3rd floor apartment, and nursing.

1 day ago I was...
Watching the kiddos play at the mall play place, swimming with their grandma, smiling at my cutie pie nephew and nursing (yes I have been pregnant or nursing for like 4 years now).

5 favorite snacks:
rice crispy treats
chocolate-- YUM
ice cream
cookies
anything with chocolate and caramel
(only the healthiest stuff :))

5 favorite books:
Mr. Brown Can Moo
Goodnight Moon
8 Little Monkeys
Big World of Trucks
10 Little Ladybugs
(I have 3 children 3 and under, I didn't read much before and I certainly don't have the time to read books of my own now-- maybe I will read one this year :))

5 Favorite Movies:
Dirty Dancing
Narnia (Just saw this)
Wimbledon
The Illusionist
Pride and Prejudice

5 favorite places to run off to:
The bedroom (I hide in there sometimes:))
On a vacation
the car for a drive
to get an ice cream
my parents' house

5 bad habits:
watching too much tv
not being patient
complaining
getting annoyed with people
doing everything on the internet

5 things I would never wear:
a bikini- especially now
jewelry anywhere besides my ears, wrists, fingers or neck
leather pants
glitter
hot red lipstick

5 pet peeves:
people treating me like I am stupid or less than them
uneducated opinions
my children getting into things they know they aren't supposed to
potty training
unsafe, inconsiderate drivers who don't think about the other people or children who are on the same roads that they are on.

5 things I enjoy:
date nights
one on one time with each of my kids
the kids' bedtime
being lazy around the house
going on vacation

5 favorite tv shows:
The Office
Survivor
Amazing Race
Big Brother
Grey's Anatomy

5 people I would like to meet:
God
Brad Ausmus
Matt Lauer
a millionnaire who wants to be my best friend
relatives that have passed on



All answers had to be one word only.
1. Where is your cell phone? car
2. Your significant other? Dan
3. Your hair? annoying
4. Your mother? me
5. Your father? fixer
6. Your favorite thing? sleep
7. Your dream last night? Ausmus
8. Your favorite drink? chocolatemilk
9. Your dream/goal? vacation
10. The room you're in? Living room
11. Your ex?
12. Your fear? pregnancy
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? house
14. Where were you last night? inlaws
15. What you're not? patient
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. Where you grew up? everywhere
18. The last thing you did? kiss
19. What are you wearing? red
20. Your TV? HD
21. Your pets? Toby
22. Your computer? laptop
23. Your life? good
24. Your mood? tired
25. Missing someone? mom
26. Your car? van
27. Something you're NOT wearing? mascara
28. Favorite store? online
29. Your summer? chaotic
30. Like someone? Mags
31. Your favorite color? blue
32. When was the last time you laughed? today
33. Last time you cried? Sunday

There you go, a filler blog post. I will get pictures of the kiddos up soon.

our HUGE kids

Friday we went up to Austin to take the kiddos to doctors appointments. Here were the results:

Magdalyn (3 1/2 weeks old)- weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs 12 oz. Two weeks prior she only weighed 6 lbs 2 oz.. so this child has been chowing down!

Owen was in the 80th percentile for weight and height which surprises me because everyone always says he is so tall and big... I agree! But, that was what they said.

Elise was in the 75th percentile for weight and off the charts (higher than 97th percentile) for her height! I knew she had just had a growth spurt as the new 3T shirts I'd bought her were right at her hips, but this was a surprise as she has always been right at the 50th percentile on just about everything since birth.

Guess I just have big ol' kids!!

Go Astros!!!

Magdalyn's First Astros Game:

Thursday, Maggie went to her first Astros game. It was a lot of fun especially since we were joined by my aunt, uncle and cousin (or Maggie's great aunt, great uncle and 2nd cousin). We went to an afternoon game so Daniel wasn't able to come and the Elise and Owen were being taken care of by Daniel's mom. The Astros lost, but we still had lots of fun. We have a little Astros outfit that Ellie wore for her first game but it was just floating on Mags, so she just wore some PJs- preemie size. She has gotten larger though (as of this past Friday- 7 lbs 12 oz) and is now wearing onesies until she can fit into the newborn clothes.

Evan and our cousin Eric. They are the same age and seem to be a lot alike so they are good friends.
As you can see from these pictures, Maggie has started to be much more alert and is spending longer periods of time awake.

But, she is always ready for a good snooze.

Uncle Rob and Mags.

Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rob.
Mom and Evan.
Maggie- out for the count while laying on her great aunt Nancy.
Dad.

Mom and Dad.

Rally! Rally!-- Didn't work, but RALLY!

Mostly Mags

The bulk of pictures I have these days are of Mags. She is a newborn so she is getting to be the most photographed. I always like to have the same number of pictures of each child, but this post (and perhaps several others previously) have been a little more of Maggie than Ellie and Owen. Note: If you are feeling sad about this, feel free to look back at the HUNDREDS of posts that we have previously done with their pictures.

Magdalyn has been much more alert lately and seems to be even more beautiful now than the day she was born. She has big blue eyes and gives sweet little smiles but usually just in her sleep. Maggie is also growing like crazy. Probably due to the schedule she has been keeping... sleeping for long spans of time and then wanting to eat almost every minute she is awake (and basically doing so).
I know they always tell you to wake your baby in the middle of the night every 3 hours for feedings, but there is no way I am doing that! She is only waking up once a night and once in awhile twice. It is awesome! She is sleeping better than my other two right now!
We wrap Mags up at night, which we did with Ellie and regretted, but I think we will only do it for a couple months until her schedule is solid. You would think by the third we would have more of it figured out.

A shot of Mags crying. She really only fusses for food and when she has the hiccups.

Her cord fell off last week and here she is after her first submersed bath. She actually really likes it when she is IN the water.

The kids and I have gone out and done some fun things a well.

Owen at the mall play place a week or two ago.

Elise modeling off another fake smile.

Here are some pictures from the inflatable place we went to. It was wonderful that Owen is old enough to pretty much do everything on his own.

Owen after one of his playful adventures.

Warning: Below is some serious sibling cuteness. Prepare yourselves.

Graduation & Catching Up

Sorry it has been awhile since I have last blogged. I have been really sick this past week and it has been all I have been able to do just to survive it... plus I have 3 kids now, so perhaps blogging will slow a bit, but I will try and catch up.

Like I mentioned before, my parents went to California last week after my grandmother's passing. Below is a picture of my dad (left) and his brothers.It wasn't great timing as far as my needing a little extra help, but we all survived and are fine. As soon as they got back, it was kind of crazy because my sister and her family were coming into town for my brother's graduation. We hired a couple sitters for Ellie, Owen, Kyra and Addy and took Maggie along with us to dinner and the graduation. We ate at a yummy steak place and then went to the graduation. Here is Daniel and at the Saltgrass restaurant. Yes, I know... I need a hair cut.We are really proud of Evan, graduating is a big deal and we are excited for him to discover what life holds for him in the future.-- He doesn't always have this look, but it is a favorite of mine! :)

Mags came to the graduation with us. She even dressed up in this dress. She was in the ergo pack most of the time but she came out for a little bit to show off her cute self.

Here are some of the other things that are happening:

Maggie has decided that being awake for a few minutes at a time is ok! It's good because she is really cute when she is looking around and we think she is pretty sweet. Magdalyn is starting to chunk up a bit... Last Friday I took her to the doctor and she weighed 6 lbs 2 oz, but as of a week later, I would guess she has gained quite a bit as she doesn't ever really stop eating. I think she might be quite a chunky little girl... we will see!

Poor Owen has been sick along with mom. This has been hard because he just wants his mom most of the time and has been having a hard time sleeping and has been pretty whiny (not normal for Owen). He has also started to look like he got beat up at the end of each day. He usually has a couple new bruises on his face... the boy just plays so hard.

Here is Grammy (my mom) with Maggie. Mags is named after my mom (Magdalyn Beth/Maureen Beth). Rightfully so as she has done more to prepare for this child coming into the world besides myself. I think they will have a special bond for that. Plus, my mom holds Maggie quite a bit for me since I am usually chasing after Ellie and Owen. It's a good thing because it alleviates some guilt I feel for not giving her the attention that I wish I could give to her more.

As you can see, my mom isn't the only one who doesn't mind holding this little sweetheart.

My mom has made a quilt for each of my children and this is the one she made for Maggie... and of course, that is Maggie laying on it. It's so pretty that I hardly want to use it! However, I am sure we will have to bring it out for photo ops and when we start doing more tummy time.

Ells with Maggie on her quilt. Sometimes Ellie likes to be a little mom. She would like to do more like carry her around the house so I have to watch her... it is a fear that I am sure will eventually happen that she will pick Maggie up and bring her somewhere. Scary.

Here is Owen on another one of my mom's quilts. My mom was taking pictures of a few of the quilts she hadn't pictured before so the kids were eager to climb on.

Ellie sporting a sweet smile... don't let this smile fool you. She has become quite the sassy little thing and has meltdowns several times a day... I am telling you, I wish we could go back to being 2... 3 is turning out to be a real downer.

Owen saying, "cheese"! Thankfully he has started to smile for the camera again. We went through a six month period or so where I could not get him to smile for the camera. I am glad that is over!

This week should be a good week since we will be preparing for more family to come into town. Daniel's mom is back from Nigeria now and has already been a lot of help for me since I have been sick by watching Ellie and Owen.

el burrito

Maggie's First Sponge Bath

Last night Maggie got her first at-home sponge bath. She didn't really appreciate being wet and cold but she managed alright; mom was quick.
Here's Mags in her birthday suit (thanks to Mags for strategically placing her foot so we don't see too much). Once her umbilical cord falls off she can have a submerged bath... pics of that to come.
Wet and unhappy.
This time around I had a couple of helpers.
My helpers admiring their little sister. Cuties.
The finished product, chubby cheeks and all!

I love being NOT pregnant!

It has been a week since I gave birth to my latest beautiful child. It is just amazing how great I feel! I finally feel like a mom again. Frankly, I am not the greatest pregnant person. I hate being pregnant in fact. I really envy those moms that look and feel great during their pregnancies and just love to be pregnant, but I do not. First off, let me say that I am so grateful that I am able to have children and am able to have them with such ease (perhaps too much ease).

Let me just say that it is great to be able to hunch over again and bend at my mid-section. I really hate the morning sickness, the feeling of being absolutely huge, the pre-eclampsia that it looks like I will always be at risk of having, not being able to fit into anything (though this feeling is continuing after pregnancy as well). Not to mention taking care of kids while feeling sick and tired constantly. I hate the sleepless nights because I just can't get comfortable, my back hurting, my feet swelling which has caused me to have to buy myself 'pregnant shoes'.

I just had this motherhood-epiphany yesterday as I was all alone with my three children for the first time. I was taking Ellie to preschool and we were singing songs and laughing and trying to keep Owen awake. After I dropped Ellie off, I handed out a snack to Owen so he could munch on something yummy and continue staying awake. It was those little things, though seemingly insignificant, that made me feel like a mom again. I have been "checked out" for the past two months because of being on bed rest and feeling so miserable and I just thought to myself, "I can still do this!". It was a small thing, but it made me feel good.

I realize that my little newborn sleeps 95% of the time, so not much has changed and I am sure I have many, many triple meltdowns in my future, but I am really loving being a mom-- at least today. :)

Let me end by saying that even though I hate being pregnant, I really love the end product! I have three wonderful, beautiful and healthy children, who could ask for more in life than that?

The N@ked Golfer

Well, I am not going to put a n*ked picture of my child on the internet, but I was able to do a little crop work to give you an idea of how funny Owen was today. The kids were restless so I took them in the backyard for some pool time. Owen has had a really bad diaper rash and often times the best remedy is to just give it air and sun, so Owen went in the pool n*ked today.

Ellie got some golf clubs for her birthday and Owen really had a field day playing with them in the backyard today... n*ked.
Ellie enjoying the pool.... looks cold.
WEE!!!!
Owen is ready to slide.
More Ellie smiles.

Ellie likes to push Owen down the slide... Lucky for her, Owen puts up with it.

A few other pictures of the day (sorry for the excess of blogs as of lately, but we have lots of family in other places and this is how we keep them in the loop, plus this is our family journal).

Elise holding Magdalyn... aren't they cute sisters?

Owen spending a little quality time with Uncle Evan.

And we can't have a post without some of the most recent pictures of our little Mags.

Yes, this is what she does about 95% of the time... she sleeps. So far, Maggie is a really great baby. She sleeps a lot and really only cries when she wants to eat, which consequently is what she always thinks she should be doing when she is awake. The one thing that we are going to continue to work on is nursing a little better. She has always been ok, but since I have been taking care of sick kids a lot the last couple of days, she has been receiving about half of her feedings through a bottle. Not that a bottle is bad, either way she gets mom's milk, but I just don't want her to get to the point where she decides she likes the bottle more and won't nurse. So, we are working on that.