Milk Drunk

We've noticed something consistent with each of our children and their eating habits ... Ember is no exception. It seems, that when a young child nurses, they eat and eat until they are full, or cannot ingest any more milk into their tiny bellies. This often results in a stage we like to call "milk drunk". Symptoms of "milk drunk" can be:
* milk dribbling out of the child's mouth upon finishing eating
* lethargic state
* passed out/sleeping baby
* red cheeks that are very soft and squishy, making them extremely kissable
* long, sweet sighs followed by soft baby gurgles
* and last, but not least, the "top off spit up", which entails a burp accompanied by varying amounts of white, chunky nastiness, sometimes loudly projectile, other times sneaky oozing (all of it: stinky!)

Below are some photos of various stages of "milk drunk" exhibited by Ember. Fun times.

lethargic state


red cheeks


"top off spit up"

"Ewww!"

Some new pics

Here's a little glimpse into our life over the past month ...


Erin turned 6! We had a Saturday Sundae party, with a chocolate cake that looked like an ice cream cone (thanks Grandma G!), freeze tag, balloon sundae relay races, and of course, ice cream sundaes built by the kiddos. What fun!


Ember went through a growth spurt (putting her at 10lb 10oz at her appointment on Monday!) where she didn't like to sleep much, but eat frequently, so I snapped some pics of her on my bed to remind myself that she did do some sleeping, not just eat!


Family bonding - Avery loves snuggling her baby sister.


She also loves snuggling her daddy (who merely "endures" her snuggles, as you can tell!)!


Some candid pics of Ember ... she is starting to smile, but I haven't caught any good pics of it yet! She's also starting to coo and "talk" to us, which we love! Dr. Kelly says she is great, and "very alert for her age". She's in the 78th percentile for weight and 79th for height, which is just opposite from her two big sisters! You'll notice the round cheeks and double chin emerging :) The cheeks just beg to be kissed! Enjoy and have a great day!






(my favorite of this set ... "Ooo, was that me?!?!")

The Third Arm

I have discovered that I think life would be easier if I had more arms. Two would be good, three would be fantastic, but one would suffice ... as a mom of three kids, wouldn't it make sense that a new one would sprout and grow through the pregnancy along with the baby? This is something that I would like to explore with Father more at a later time, probably never, because I know He promised me that He would never throw anything my way that I couldn't handle with His help, but still, it's a nice thought.
On a related note, there are several things I have discovered that I can do with only one hand that have been surprising to me ...
* Typing ... emails, Mary Kay orders, facebook comments, and even chatting
* Folding laundry ... this one is tricky, and perhaps should be categorized as two hands, one arm (I can sit on the couch with my clean laundry and fold it, with the full use of one arm, while nursing Ember, and using the hand of the occupied arm)
* Cooking (many, not all things)
* Change Avery's diaper - this was impressive to me!
* Washing my Face
* Reading Bedtime Stories
* Eating - this sometimes is not the tidiest type of eating, but it gets food in my belly while Ember is putting food in hers!
* Loading the Washing Machine/Dryer

Along this same journey, came the discovery of activities that perhaps should not be performed one-handed ...
* Buckling carseat seat belts
* Brushing Erin's hair
* Grocery Shopping (children under age 4 and babies need to be contained and locked down during any shopping excursion, preventing losing them and pushing a full shopping cart while holding a screaming baby)
* Taking garlic bread out of the oven (especially not when holding a screaming baby whose blanket is flopping around and falls into the oven - thankfully the broiler, not the bottom element was on, making the experience very hot, but not flaming!)

I am sure I will add to this list as this adventure continues. I know that God did provide all necessary equipment needed to pursue this endeavor, it would just help to have some extra hands to pat backs, hold school papers, cut out paper dolls, and administer love to three kiddos at once! Have a great day!

Sweet Sibling Moments

At our house we are learning how to love each other in new ways, as an addition to our family changes the dynamics. There have been many tense moments and many tender moments. I like to forget about the tense ones, but wanted ti share some of the sweet ones ...

Ember gave her first (real, not gas-related) smile to Erin yesterday morning as Erin crooned words of love to her, telling her that she was her biggest sister and that she was so cute and that she loved her. It was truly precious.

Avery has trouble remembering Ember's full name, so she made up her own name, and she daintily squeals, "Hi Ember Donald! Did you wake up? Did you have a good nap? Good!" frequently throughout the day, usually when Ember is asleep or eating, but, we're working on that!

This morning, the big girls were coloring (I left them in perfect condition to splash through the shower and returned to find Avery with half of her face colored purple, her legs sporting a fantastic pattern in magenta and the floor boasting a new design in both of the aforementioned colors). They had a little spat after Avery jammed two markers into the middle of CDs, but I knew they were "fine" when I heard Avery say, "Hey Erin, want to be best friends?!" and Erin reply, "Sure, Avery, of course you are one of my best friends!". Life feels good on days like today!