the botbyl girls

Our summer (so far) in pictures.

2011-08-08T14:40:00.001-04:00

June:

Cambelle's school birthday party at Build-a-Bear

July:

Our trip to OC and boat ride.

4th of July

Cambelle turned 5...

and Kenna turned ONE!

We are enjoying delicious tomatoes...

and Phillies games.

And we wrapped up July in the OBX!

end of the year excitements.

2011-06-30T14:17:00.000-04:00

(I have tried to write this post 4,000 times and now I'm sitting down to finish it... so sorry if it's choppy and disorganized - I tend to write blog posts when I'm doing many other things...)

Last Saturday was by far the worst day Jeff and I have ever had since becoming parents. I never want to relive it but I sure did learn from our awful experience.

I was playing with Kenna in the playroom, and I turned for a second to pick something up, and as I turned back around to her, I noticed she was choking... and that she was having a hard to getting it up. I had no idea what it was but I knew immediately that I needed to take quick action. So, I picked her up brought her into the family room, threw her upside down but at an angle and started pounding on her back. Now, while this was all happening I was freaking out, Jeff was upstairs just getting out of the shower and the girls were really upset. While I was pounding on her back I was screaming for Jeff to come downstairs... Kenna was still not getting up whatever it was, but she never turned blue and she was crying a little bit. Now, about only 2 minutes have passed and Jeff literally flew down the stairs. When I picked her back up to see what her face looked like, Jeff noticed a small purple piece of plastic in her mouth, so he scooped it out with her finger. But, Kenna still wasn't breathing right. I don't know if it was from me pounding on her back, or if she was freaking out too, or if there was another small piece of toy still caught in her throat.

I then, called 911! It took about 5-7 minutes for the paramedic to get to our house and while we were ~~waiting~~ freaking out, Jeff was still pounding on her back and I was a wreck - pacing up and down and looking for the paramedics. The girls ended up running upstairs because I think it was too much for them. Now, when I think about it, I feel so bad that I couldn't comfort them and that they were really upset too.

Once the paramedic came and 2 policemen, then immediately checked her oxygen levels and looked down her throat. (Kenna was till crying at this time, which was reassuring... but she still wasn't right. She wasn't gasping for air, or making that much noise). They didn't like the look of her levels so we rushed around getting her car seat, my stuff and went right to the hospital.

At this point, once I got Kenna in her car seat, she started to calm down a bit. Our drive to the hospital was QUICK! The policemen stopped every intersection and we sailed right to the hospital within minutes. I started freaking out again at this point, thinking the EMT didn't want to tell me anything, but I think they were just being very cautious and wanted Kenna to get to the hospital ASAP!

There were about 10 doctors looking over Kenna, giving her medicine for inflammation, comforting her, and just trying to make her relax. About an hour passed, and the doctors told us that it would be best for Kenna if she got looked at the ENT specialist over at CHOP.

(This is what Kenna choked on - I have no idea what it is)

(Being transported to CHOP)

(Playing at CHOP)

It was a very long day, and Kenna was not sleeping well. She just couldn't get comfy because of how many things she was hooked up to. We got seen at CHOP right away. We were rolled right into a room and ENT specialist came in, talked to us a bit and decided we needed to stay the night for many reason:

1. to make sure she was breathing OK

2. no one knows if there are other toy pieces in her belly

3. if there are, they could get stuck to her lungs and she could develop a fever

4. they needed to go in and see if she damaged any vocal cords - which they did by going in through her nose. They didn't want to go down her throat unless they really had to, because they didn't want to irritate her anymore.

Side notes:

* Even though they took a lot of xrays of Kenna's belly, plastic does not show up on xrays.

*Thankfully, we have wonderful family and friends who took the girls for us while Jeff and I stayed with Kenna.

But Kenna was out of the hospital and well enough to watch Cambelle's last soccer game and a couple of days later Cambelle's Preschool Graduation!!

8 YEARS!

2011-06-01T16:01:00.000-04:00

Jeff and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary on May 31st. We went to dinner at one of our favorite places - Kunkel's! It was so yummy and I dream about their food before I get there and then when I leave. After dinner we ran over to the mall to find Cambelle a "fancy" dress for graduation. We Jeff found a dress at Macy's and it's adorable. Then, we went to Victoria's Secret for a mini-shopping spree... don't think I'm scandalous... but Jeff got me a gift card there because I've been wearing nursing bras and I'm no longer nursing Kenna... sad? Isn't it? I needed help BAD. So, thank you to the lady at VS who was very patient with me while I tried on some new bras... and who ignored my "Ohhhs and Ahh's" in the dressing room... I forgot how nice it was to wear a bra that fit.

Happy Anniversary to the most wonderful husband and father I know. Thank you for loving me and for making me a better person. And thank you most of all for showing our girls what a Godly man looks like and I pray they find a man just like you one day.

Memorial Day Weekend.

2011-06-01T15:44:00.000-04:00

Our Memorial Day weekend was spent relaxing and swimming in Grams' and Poppy's pool.

Kenna even got into the action... first time in a pool.

She enjoyed it... more than Cambelle and Chloe ever did at her age.

(The kids reaction to Uncle Derek jumping into the pool)

(The girls and I on the boardwalk about to eat some yummy pizza)

Catching up...

2011-05-31T14:54:00.001-04:00

I have some major catching up to do!

Our days have been really low key but at the same time I feel like we've been non-stop running around doing things. I'm really enjoying having three little girls in the house - all at different stages of childhood. Cambelle is growing up too fast... she understands how to negotiate, she understands that there will always be a consequence for making bad decisions, and she rationalizes - she's definitely a mini-me and has major OCD issues and has all the attributes of a first born (like me). She's becoming a people pleaser and she makes sure J and I are happy at all times. When she does something wrong she apologizes 1,000 times over... She's turning 5 on June 20th and even though my heart is full of love for her, it breaks knowing I will never get that time back. I'm always wishing time would move faster but I'm realizing that it moves fast even without my wishing, so I need to stop - enjoy - and take in the moments I have been given.

Chloe is all about Cambelle. She says and does everything Cambelle does. She yearns for attention and I give it to her every time I can, but for her, it's never enough. It's sad but true... she NEEDS to KNOW she's loved every minute of the day... So, when ever I can, I give her hugs and kisses and tell her I love her with every ounce of my body. It's a struggle to remind myself to do that for her, since she's still in the "trouble" stage... but I try my best and I do the best I can... I'm finding out as a mother of three I can't do enough. I never will.... I guess I just need to accept it... But, Chloe is a love-bug and will drop whatever she is doing and give me a good squeeze and tell me she loves me and I'll give it right back to her. She's starting Pre School in September with the same teacher Cambelle had and she's beyond excited. I think she's been ready since last year. My life would have a deep hole in it if Chloe wasn't in our lives... I'm blessed to have a unique-creative-live-by-the-seat-of-your-pants child.

Kenna is growing immensely and so is her hair ;) It's the best shade of strawberry blonde which make her eyes seem bluer than they really are. She makes my mornings happy (she's usually the first one to wake up, if not it's Chloe and she gives the best Good Morning hugs). Kenna is a happy baby, but hates it when I'm out of her sight. She's too cool for jarred food and prefers to eat whatever I'm eating... her favorite food right now are eggs (white part only) and will inhale 3 in one sitting. She won't say Mama but she's all about saying Dada which is fine, because he does ROCK! Kenna is a screamer - she will scream really loud when she is being picked up by Chloe or when she wants something (either food or attention). We are ecstatic about celebrating her 1st birthday on July 2nd.

Here are a couple of things we've been doing.

My dad and the girls planted a garden - cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes and sunflowers. And as of today we are starting to see some green tomatoes and red strawberries. The girls are very excited.

I ran my first 5K with my cousin, Tina. I was more than pleased with my time and I'm itching to run more 5K's in the summer.

All three girls can now bathe together... YAY!

Cambelle is done school next Tuesday, June 9th. She graduates at 7pm and now we are on the look out for a "fancy" dress.

Kenna is standing all by herself... she'll stand for a couple of a seconds and then fall...

We are looking forward to many more bon fires with friends and family.

We are all ready for SUMMER!

This is what...

2011-05-02T22:34:00.000-04:00

you do when...

you turn 10 months old...

You get very excited over a left over ice cream cone...

and inhale the entire thing...

Happy 10 months, Kenna!

(month post coming soon)

Easter.

2011-04-28T15:03:00.001-04:00

outside fun!

2011-04-15T14:47:00.000-04:00

Cambelle started spring Soccer - her team is called the Yellow Jackets!

Do you see it? Her first tooth!!!

9 months.

2011-04-15T14:42:00.000-04:00

Kenna turned nine months on the 2nd, which was years ago... I'm slacking on blogging, but oh well, my blogging time is now filled playing with three little girls!

She is always on the go... she's a pro crawler now and loves to pull herself up on things. She's still not that steady and she will fall after a minute or two, but she's still learning and getting the hang of it. Within one day she was kneeling playing with her toys, and now she can stand, which is so fun. She gets a smile on her face and you can tell she's so proud of herself.

She loves hanging out in her new ride... as long as I strap her really good in it, she'll sit in there for hours.

I always find her standing in her crib after nap/bedtime. When she wakes up she's usually ready to get out but I can tell as the month is going on she's waking up, playing and entertaining herself for a while before she starts crying to get out.

She has another tooth on the way (total of only two) and it's making nighttime rough... but nothing a little Motrin can't help.

She has her 9 month appointment the other day and she is 15.5 pounds (2nd percentile) and she grew 2 more inches (14th percentile). She's a tiny baby and people are always amazed that she's nine months old. The doctor isn't concerned about her weight since she's following Cambelle's pattern... so I'm glad we've chalked it up as "that's just the way Kenna will be" and not have to go through all the testing we did with Cambelle.

Kenna has intense separation anxiety. I can leave the house fine, but once I get back and she sees me, it's all over from there. She starts to lean for me and I'll need to pick her up or she'll get upset. Same thing with church or even if I'm in the house and she's playing nicely but then spots me, she'll need me to come in and play with her or she'll scream at me.

She takes great naps and sleeps well at night (only waking up once) but if she's teething she could be up many times throughout the night.

I think her favorite part of the day is bath time and playing with Cambelle and Chloe. She follows them around everywhere...

We're still dealing with the issue of Chloe picking her up. It's ALL THE TIME and it's becoming very stressful for me leaving Kenna alone for two minutes. Chloe will immediately pick her up and take her around the house... we're working on it but it's a slow process.

I'm already planning Kenna's birthday party and I'm having fun picking things up and organizing everything. We can't wait.

Happy NINE months Kenna! We love you!

Never leave your child alone with Chloe...

2011-03-25T16:07:00.000-04:00

I love Chloe dearly, but she is STILL rough with Kenna. I let it happen this time while I was taping her but this happens when I turn my back for a second... Kenna doesn't have a chance :)

My two monkeys.

2011-03-23T14:37:00.000-04:00

Since Mother Nature is punishing us all with very cold weather I took the girls to Monkey Business this morning. I love it because on Wednesday's they have open play for $5. You have to get there between 10-11am, but you can play as long as you want... the girls run around and act crazy while Kenna sleeps in her stroller... it turns a gloomy day into a bright one.

First tooth.

2011-03-23T14:32:00.000-04:00

Trust me... it's there... it really is... it's been waking her up at night for the last month.. it's hard to see it but it's been causing big problems. But, now that it has made its big arrival we have a happier baby on our hands. There are no signs of a new tooth coming in and that's fine with me... I prefer a toothless grin anyways ;)

Typical...

2011-03-23T13:53:00.000-04:00

I was feeding Kenna crackers for the first time, because I was eating them with cream cheese and she was actually crying for a taste... so, I let her have one and then she grabbed two. I wanted to take a video of her trying them out for the first time (which from the video you can tell she liked them) and then Cambelle came in to tell me that Chloe drew on her (new) shirt... You can hear that she called for me at least three times, and I KNEW she was going to tell on Chloe that's why I ignored her at first... I had to stop the video because she said she was going to go and color on Chloe's shirt... and we can't have everyone coloring on each other so I had to go and take care of that...

This is how we roll...

2011-03-23T07:42:00.000-04:00

So, this is how I get ready in the morning! Since the time change, Kenna has been sleeping in longer but on most days she wakes me up before my 6:30am alarm goes off. Which makes it for a longer-than-it-should-be-getting-ready-process. It depends on the day... some days she'll sit in her seat and watch me and other days she needs to be on top of me. This morning was one of those days...

As you can see:

She isn't fully wearing her PJ's - I had to changer her immediately because she had a bad stinker. And, I was too lazy to zipper that darn thing back up - plus, I had to change her into her normal clothes. So, wearing half her PJ's was the way to go.

And, I had NO idea she was sucking on Jeff's toothbrush till I posted the picture above... I threw up in my mouth a little and then I realized we're family and he's not sick, and there's nothing to worry about... right?

So, there you have it... this is how I get ready in the morning... and right after this I haul hiney and get the other two up (if it's a school day) and then it's mayhem till we leave.

What nap?

2011-03-16T22:25:00.000-04:00

This little girl is one big bugger lately. Her nap schedule has been all off and she's been sleeping only 40 minutes A DAY, people. It's been rough around here... but nothing that a drive to DD and some shopping can't fix. I have to say though that she's happy when she's up and she's a stubborn little thing.. but I love her and I love that when she gets out of bed she gets all excited to see me again, like I never get old ;)

Crafting.

2011-03-16T22:21:00.001-04:00

On Monday, we were still recuperating from our crazy weekend and we all were a little sluggish but when the girls got their second wind in the afternoon - I think I was still feeling really tired, and since I don't drink caffeine and it was too early for wine, I had to come up with something that would entertain them till I felt I could function...

So, I pulled out some construction paper, tissue paper, scissors and glue and they worked over an hour on their "butterfly pictures" for Daddy!

(Does drinking wine make me a bad mom? Don't answer that!)

My Birthday Weekend.

2011-03-14T21:00:00.001-04:00

I turned 32 yesterday and I have to tell ya, I actually feel older. It's weird, going from 30 to 31 wasn't painful and very easy, but for some reason I feel like 32 is a lot older than 31. I feel great though... I'm in the best shape of my life and looking forward to what "32" has to offer.

I've never had a birthday weekend, I usually just celebrate on my birthday but this year it ended up being a couple days long...

It started out Friday night going down to Nicole's parents house for the night. Teresa, Nicole and I went out to eat the Crab Trap first, then back to the house to relax and chat. It was so relaxing and I had the best night of sleep I've had in a long time - actually since I've had Cambelle.

Nicole baked me a cake and Teresa brought the wine. That's all we needed!

Then, Saturday morning we went out for breakfast and some shopping on Asbury Ave.

Then, we ventured out and got stuck on the bridge and sat forever.

After some more shopping, we went home and my family and I went out to eat at the Lakehouse. It was so yummy and the bartender made us white sangrias and they were the perfect drink for the night.

(Can you sense a theme?) I even got another wine glass from my cousin... You can never have enough ;)

I love that she's blowing out my candles... I wonder what she wished for.

I had the best birthday ever. It was very hard to leave the girls and spending the night away from them for the first time was very really weird, but I came back feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Jeff and the girls made it very special and I feel so loved...

8 months.

2011-03-14T10:08:00.000-04:00

I'm more then way behind on posting about Miss Kenna turning 8 months old (March 2nd).

You can tell in the picture above that she was crying and that she has another cold. Luckily, this one isn't intense as all the other ones she has had. She still has boogs but she's able to breath and sleep fine.

She LOVES to "crawl." She gets up on all fours, rocks and then goes forward a little but then moves backwards. Sometimes, I find her under things, like the couch (not completely under, but half ;) Her new crawling technique has gotten in the way of her sleeping, she's harder to get done since she knows she can look over her bumper and she'll wait for me to come in.

While I was taking pictures of her she was just learning to go from a crawling position to sitting up. She hasn't mastered this before so it was fun to take pictures of her doing it for the first time.

YAY! I did it.

"See Mom, now I'm going to come get you!"

Then, Cambelle joined in on the picture taking...

Then, Chloe!

The, Cambelle wanted to take pictures of us...

And, I can never be serious is any picture when Cambelle is taking them... she thinks it's funny! (I think Chloe and I are making the same face.)

Kenna loves:

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Music Class

Elmo

When Cambelle tickles her

Bananas

Puffs

Veggie Sticks

Carrots

Sweet Potatoes

Splashing in the water at bath time

The vacuum

Car rides (she doesn't make a peep)

Walks in her stroller

Hates:

When I lotion her up

Peas

Getting dressed

(It's hard finding something she doesn't like - she's a very easy, happy baby!)

HAPPY 8 MONTHS MISS KENNA!

recap.

2011-03-02T20:58:00.001-05:00

So, let's recap, shall we? We just got our bedroom painted and we made one of our sitting rooms an office so I moved my computer from the kitchen to our bedroom... so, now I'm NEVER on my computer, unless I'm printing out church stuff or coupons. I think I may need to bring it downstairs so I can blog more...

***

Kenna is finally boogie free... Hallelujah... It only took 2 months and two different antibiotics which resulted in a rash and many sleepless nights. But, I haven't had to pick her nose with my picky finger is a couple of days. So, we're making progress...

She's now back to her young-self and breathing clearly...

We've been getting random warm days so we've been hitting the parks or our backyard to get some energy out... Overall, I think we've done a good job keeping ourselves busy this winter.

Like Kenna, who is loving her new walker (thanks, Tina). This walker is a big blessing to me, because Kenna usually gets cranky around dinner time and I just put some toys or Puffs on the tray and she's good to go...

We've been shopping at Target a lot (maybe a little too much) but the girls love to get a pretzel and an Icee and Kenna loves to look around. Oh, and I get a Starbucks which makes any winter day a sunny one.

We also went to Picture People and surprisingly I liked the pictures... I love our group picture... I'll have to post them soon. The girls were so excited that someone other then their Mommy were going to take their picture and tell them to smile. The were excellent.

And, Miss Kenna turned 8 months old today...

who LOVES bananas!!!

talking.

2011-02-21T20:53:00.000-05:00

Kenna "talks" a lot! She does it when she's trying to get my attention or just to chat away with me...

Sorry for my ANNOYING voice.. I forget that I hold my phone right up to my face.

Kenna blowing raspberries (again).

2011-02-21T20:43:00.000-05:00

I find Kenna doing this ALL.THE.TIME and I finally got it on video. She was looking at herself in her play mirror and even though I interrupted her she just kept going... ENJOY!

7 months.

2011-02-09T14:36:00.000-05:00

Kenna turned 7 months last week. Not much has changed in a month - she's still the happiest baby I know! She loves to sit and play and is happy with any toy you give her. She loves to put things in her mouth and loves to bounce. Her favorite toy is her teether - Ms. Giraffe. She also loves the ball popper and loves to feel the air on her face. I've noticed that she loves to rub her blankie and when I'm holding her she'll rub my hair... it's the best feeling ever.

Kenna takes two really good naps (whenever we are home) usually she'll sleep on the go.. with two older sisters, I can't be too strict with nap schedules.

She loves to eat:

Bananas

Applesauce

sweet potatoes

carrots

She's not really fond of:

Peas

Green beans

pears (I think they are too sweet)

She loves to be tickled on her legs and loves kisses on her belly. She's starting to "talk" more and when she wants your attention she will make noises till you look at her or talk back to her.

She goes to bed every night at exactly 7:30pm and wakes up pretty early around 6am. And, she still wakes up at night... the last couple of nights it been at 12:30am and 4am. But, as long as she naps during the day, then I'm a happy Momma.

just a little update...

2011-01-31T15:04:00.001-05:00

Cambelle and Chloe have been playing so nicely with Kenna it's really fun to watch. They love to play duck-duck-goose and pretend that Kenna is chasing them. They will include her in anything - even soccer.

There's never a day that goes by that the girls aren't playing music, dressing up, or singing to each other. This "Belle" dress has seen it's days... I've already washed it because some little lady didn't want to get out of the dress to go potty.

This morning I took the girls to Target and put Kenna in the cart (her first time) and I totally forgot to take a picture because I was distracted by the smell of Starbucks, the girls screaming at me to get them an Icee and I was in deep thought about using my coupons and trying to remember what I forgot to write on my list, which now I remember I forgot deodorant for Jeff. Awesome. But, at least I picked up some Valentine's gifts.. because that's more important then having a smelly hubby ;)

Speaking of awesome... Cambelle and Chloe thought it was a great idea to write all over their body with a Sharpie. Good times...

And, have I mentioned that this is the new "afternoon" look? Yes, I've never seen Chloe dressed after 12:30PM...

And, this is what I looked like today at Target... I was sweating so much that I took my sweater off and showed everyone this beautiful display of grossness on my shoulder... didn't know till I got home, took my sweater off and glanced at myself in the mirror... I have no idea what it is, but it wasn't there earlier and then reappeared somehow. I mean it's so noticeable, I'm appalled at myself... But, even though I'm grossed out I'm still wearing the shirt, and I'll wear it till I change for the gym...hey, maybe I'll sport this beauty at the gym too... what not?

While at target, I bought Kenna some new snacks... she just loves the banana ones and I like the Sweet Potato ones so I'll share with her once in a while ;)

Oh, there's Belle... lovin' on her Leapster...

and, with Sharpie on her face...

Gotta love how Monday's start out!

being quiet doesn't always mean a bad thing...

2011-01-26T14:35:00.001-05:00

Yes, Chloe was that child... when she was quiet you'd know she was doing something bad... and, even though she's 3 years old, I sometimes find her doing bad things, but those times are far and few between.

Today, I found her tracing numbers/letters and having a little party all by herself in the play room. She did the same thing yesterday and was so proud of herself. And, I try not to freak out when I find marker all over herself/clothes and the floor... it does wash out but I don't know how one little girl can get marker everywhere while writing.

I'm glad she's showing interest is writing because I signed her up for pre-school (well, actually Nicole handed my registration paper in at 7:45am Monday morning b/c I wasn't able to get out of the house that early with Jeff leaving for work too - so thank you Nicole) So now she is all ready to go once September comes. Now, I'm just stalking the Monroe Township Board of Education website to find out when Kindergarten registration is....

Kenna's new bling bling

2011-01-24T22:01:00.000-05:00

Jeff and I took Kenna to get her ears pierced this weekend but I did the dirty work and held on to her while she screamed bloody murder....

But, she looks cute though, doesn't she?

She likes her new look too...

And, as you can tell she still has boogers... her medicine really isn't working. So, I'll be making another phone call to her doctor to see if there's something else we could do... this cold is just lovin' on her.

6 months stats.

2011-01-19T22:05:00.000-05:00

Little Miss Kenna had her 6 month check up today (I was slacking on making her an appointment with the holidays and stuff... I kept forgetting).

Weight: 13 pounds 7 ounces

Height: 23 3/4 inches

HC: 41 cm

Kenna is "tiny," she's only in the 5th percentile but her doctor isn't concerned since Cambelle is/was tiny too. I think Kenna has a love/hate relationship with eating. Sometimes she'll inhale an entire jar of food and then the next meal spit it all out and turn her head... She really likes dinner (it's her big meal). She eats just like Cambelle did, so I'm not worried... I just make little girls who eat like girls - well, except Chloe, she LOVES food ;) She's my wonderful exception.

Her doctor also put her on amoxicillin because she's had a bad cold for 3 1/2 weeks. I'm glad we are finally getting that taken care of. She's had green boogers for far too long...

Kenna also has eczema. She has rough red patches on her legs and in the cracks of her arms. I'll be treating it the same way I treat Cambelle's skin, medicine, Aveeno and Aquaphor. Fun times with all this cold weather we are having. Bring on summer!!

bouncing Kenna.

2011-01-12T21:20:00.000-05:00

Let me explain my rudeness to Miss Belle (aka Cambelle)... this was my seventh attempt at getting a video of Kenna bouncing away in her jumper. The girls automatically jump in the front of my phone or camera when it's pointed because they know I'm taking a picture/video. So, enjoy... don't mind Belle and my rude voice ;)

My type of snow day.

2011-01-12T21:14:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be honest, a snow day doesn't really mean the same to me like it does to all those who work. Don't get me wrong, I get excited for everyone I know that doesn't have to trek into work and I even still look at the bottom of the TV news to see if the school I used to teach at has off. But, being a SAH mom a snow day mean crazy kids who want to go outside and lots and lots of fighting. Since Cambelle doesn't have school on Wednesdays we usually are just out running errands or catching up on house hold duties... so today was really no different. Except that my awesome cousin, Tina, had off which then allowed her to go to Ikea for our items that were out of stock last week... and she even dropped them off and Jeff is finishing up the dress-up wardrobe as we speak. Thanks, T. And, Jeff did work from home and then take the girls out to play in the snow for an hour. Holla to getting off work early!

I did wake up knowing I wasn't going to go anywhere so I did a couple of things around the house while the girls played and while Kenna took her morning nap (10-12:30) longest nap EVER!

First, I called up my mom to see if she was bored watching my dad install hardwood flooring in their family room... lucky me - she was. So, I asked her to come over and help me reupholstering our four bar stools.

It was a pretty easy job but it took both of us and some muscles with the nail gun.

Then, I made a new sitting area in a corner in our family room. My mom found this "new" lamp in the trash at work... one of the other offices were throwing away their lamps for new lamps. I don't even think it was ever used... it looks brand spankin' new. Since my mom couldn't find a place in her house for it she gave it to me and now it has a new home.

She went to Pottery Barn for the lamp shade and I'm in love with it.

Then, I added a new picture, because why not? Can't have enough....

And, lastly I picked out paint for our bedroom that's getting painted next weekend and some new Uppercase Living... which is having a sale right now. Buy 2 get one free. Hop over to my SIL's website and order some...

So, I guess I really do like snow days because I get some random stuff done ;)

changes.

2011-01-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

I feel like there are a lot of changes going on in our house:

Kenna feels old to me... yes, I know she's still a baby, but one minute she laying on her activity mat happily playing with her swinging toys and the next she's too cool for it and like to sit and play duck, duck, goose with her sisters. (Today, Cambelle and Chloe sat Kenna in their circle and played with her, it was hilarious... they even pretended Kenna chasing them around the house).

I pulled out our high chair so Kenna can sit in there during meal time... and tonight, at dinner was the first time she "sat" with us and it was an awesome feeling. I felt more like a family... with all five of us eating together.

Kenna is inhaling her jarred food. Cambelle hated everything about and Chloe kinda went right to table food... everything smashed up. So, I'm surprised that Kenna loves it so much.

I went to BRU yesterday and bought all new spoons, bowls, ya know, meal time things and I couldn't believe that now we are in the really fun stage.. I'm excited to start feeding her Puffs and Cherrios, even though I tried a puff and she immediately spit it out and gaged a little... so we'll wait a couple more weeks to introduce them again.

Cambelle's language is definitely expanding, which she was always a great talker, but now it's fun to have a conversation with her. She says words like, actually, and understanding... tonight, she asked me if it was OK if she made me a cup of decaf coffee.... it's just a fun time around here.

Chloe picks up everything Cambelle does and mimics every move she makes. I definitely feel like I have twins now so when people ask if they are, I say yes ;) It's just easier that way anyway.

I'm excited about all the fun stages the girls are in now, it makes all this snow and dark days worth staying in and soaking up their little personalities.

6 months old.

2011-01-09T21:22:00.001-05:00

Kenna turned six months old on the 2nd! And, she's doing a lot of new things:

*She sits up all by herself - with the occasional fall on her face. But, mostly sits there watching her crazy sisters run circles around her.

*She loves bananas mixed with rice cereal... her second favorite is sweet potatoes. She's still getting used to the green veggies.

* She'd rather be awake playing then take naps. I sometimes fight with her on this, but I usually win. Her longest nap is in the afternoon.

*She grabs at everything and puts everything and anything in her mouth.

*She likes to be on her belly and will scoot around to get what she wants if something is in her reach.

*The only thing she dislikes is getting her nose cleaned/wiped.

(Right now she has a bad cold - you can even see boogies in the pics above. Her nose is so crusty that it will bleed. She fights hard when I try to clean them out so sometimes I don't think it's worth it unless she can't breathe).

*We just started Music class again and she loves it. She loves to play with the musical instruments. I think going to music class while I was pregnant with her has helped, because I can already tell she's going to love music just like Chloe.

week in pictures.

2011-01-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from our week.

I now have three princesses that live in our house and I'm not complaining.. doesn't that make me the queen? ;)

We took a trip to Ikea for playroom storage (we actually took two trips) but this trip Chloe was scaring me a little telling me her belly hurt so I thought we were going to be hit the stomach virus - that's why she has her pacifier and blanket... only thing that calmed her down.

Then, we went to the aquarium with my cousin and her family.

All the kids.

Kenna - 6 months

Chloe - 3

Cambelle - 4

Connor - 7

Emily - 3

Camryn - 2

Photo courtesy of Cambelle

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Bed head at its finest... within hours we went and got her hair cut.

And, this is what the girls do while I de-Christmas the house.

Christmas.

2010-12-30T16:02:00.000-05:00

Phew! I don't even know how Christmas came and went so quickly... and now we are enjoying Jeff's company all week and doing some great family bonding and fun trips.

Christmas Eve was wonderful. I made dinner for our families but not without the help of my SIL's and my mother (who basically helped me with everything). Thanks Mom!

Chloe is sporting her new Minnie Mouse hat that my Brother and SIL got her while they were in Disney a few weeks ago.

And, now she's sporting a tutu and her signature face.

Dawson entertaining Kenna.

After the girls opened up all their gifts they were pooped and ready for Santa to come.

I'm hoping I can stick to one of my New Years Resolutions by taking more pictures because I'm sucking at it lately... Jeff even got me a new lens to try out. I'm hoping that will put my butt in gear.

So here is a weak selection of pictures from Christmas.

Kenna woke up at 7:15, then shortly Cambelle woke up at 7:30 and then we had to wake Chloe up at 8... Cambelle was too excited to wait any longer. My parents, brother and grandmother were over at 7:30 so they got to see the girls open up their gifts. After about an hour, we took a break and ate breakfast that my dad prepared. It was delicious. Every breakfast item, you can think of was on our table. Thanks Dad for your help. Then, we dove right back into opening gifts. The girls were really into it this year and loved every gift Santa got them. It was fun!

We did nothing the rest of the day till it was time to go to my uncle's. We had a great dinner and played Kinect (for XBox) and Wii. FYI - I stink at soccer, but I can still rock Mario Kart. Kinect was fun... but I accidently kicked my cousin in the foot while playing soccer so now I have this awful green bruise. It wouldn't have been so bad but she was wearing a boot because she broke her foot... awesome times.

And, now that Christmas is over, I'm ready to tear down all the decorations and put the tree outside...

Merry Christmas Eve.

2010-12-24T08:24:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Eve and we are all excited around here... so much still left to do... but looking forward to family coming over for dinner and late night wrapping - since I fell asleep in bed with Cambelle last night. I got nothing done ;(

Merry Christmas!

First snow fall.

2010-12-19T21:40:00.000-05:00

First snow - December 16th.

2010-12-19T21:38:00.000-05:00

Cambelle had her Christmas play at school last week and it was awesome. She was practicing her songs since before Thanksgiving and I was so surprised to see that she knew every song and every word. Compared to last year, she just sat there and didn't sing at all... so I was very proud to see in action this year.

Cambelle is sitting right under the donkey... last little girl on the right.

The best part was the look on her face when she was done... she was very proud of herself and so were we.

Our Christmas Tree.

2010-12-19T21:22:00.000-05:00

I love going Christmas tree hunting and we look forward to it every year... It's weird to think that this time last year I was only like 8 weeks pregnant and now Kenna is 5 1/2 months old. I was a little disappointed Kenna slept through the whole thing, I think going out for breakfast really wore her out. But, I'm sure she enjoyed her little snooze rather than being bored by our tree adventure.

We found a tree (an 8 footer) pretty quickly and then we let the girls just roam the farm.

The girls found a lot of pine cones that are now in our house in a basket...

Chloe's typical "smiling" face! I can ask 1,000 times to smile and she'll give me this face...

But, then I bribe her and get one good one.

Kenna was still asleep and stayed asleep all the way home.

Thank you!

2010-12-08T21:13:00.000-05:00

I forgot to give a shout out to Nicole for watching my girls on Friday night while Jeff and I were at a wedding. She watched all five girls for about 3 hours till Bill got home from work. I know it must have been hard but my girls had a blast with Aunt Nicole and really enjoyed backing cookies...

chillin...

and coloring - especially Cambelle who loves to color in the nude.

I hate leaving my girls and I get very anxious about it. Especially lately... I'm OK leaving them for an hour or two if I have to get shopping done but to leave them for many hours really had my mind going... I had bad thoughts in my head like what would happen if Jeff and I were in a car accident and they were left without parents. So, to ease me a little Nicole would keep me updated on everything even sending me pictures. So, thank you Nicole for watching my girls even though you had a cold and probably wanted to go to bed at 7PM. You rock!

NEVER

2010-12-08T20:55:00.000-05:00

This is why I would NEVER go on a cruise!!!!

Watch this video!

5 months old.

2010-12-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

Kenna turned 5 months old on Friday and (I know I say this every month) but that was the quickest month of my life. Seriously, how does 30 days go by so fast? I try really hard to slow down the days... I have to say, that I'm a little excited about the next stage of baby-hood. I love the feeding stage, the sitting up stage, crawling stage, more babbling stage and becoming more like a little child then a baby... but I'll be missing the baby stage.

Kenna wasn't feeling so hot when I took these pictures but I was already a few days behind so I had to sit her down and snap away.... she was fine with it but didn't show any love by smiling.

Almost there... she sits up but then falls right over...

Like this picture...

We introduced rice cereal and, like Cambelle and Chloe, she didn't like it very much... even when I give it to her now, she still acts like I'm feeding her poo or something.

Kenna is sick right now with a bad cold and a fungus in her eye but she is still a happy baby.

She loves her exersaucer and swing.

She's the easiest baby to put to sleep - (I feed her and put her right down and she'll fall asleep on her own listening to her music attached to her crib).

I'm still nursing her but not as much anymore.. I don't know what really happened. We started with a bottle at night and then one during the day, and my milk production when drastically down. I still have enough for one feeding during the day and one at night.

She hates when I put a hat on her and very much dislikes her boogies to be sucked out of her nose, but I guess I would to...

Even though these last five months have flown by and I feel like it was just yesterday I gave birth to her... my love for her has grown immensely. And, to be a mom of three little girls is the best gift God has given me!!

Kenna blowing raspberries

2010-12-08T07:25:00.000-05:00

I keep forgetting to turn my IPhone so that the video is clearer and bigger... so sorry for the bad quality.

PS. I stink at blowing raspberries!

another little recap.

2010-12-07T16:38:00.000-05:00

I am just stinkin' it up on the blog world and I keep forgetting to update. So, here we go...

Last weekend we took the girls to the Pitman Christmas Parade and we froze our butts off. But, we saw Santa and that's all that matters... Cambelle almost missed him due to a potty run but we ended up- seeing the back of him...

Friday night, we had Jeff's step-sisters wedding in Bethlehem, PA. It was gorgeous and everything was decorated for Christmas... I forgot my camera in the car which was parked far, so I had to take pics with my camera...

Then, Saturday morning Jeff flew out to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game... I was pretty busy with the girls all weekend - Shopping with my mom Saturday morning then a little surprise party for my aunt Saturday night, church on Sunday and then my godson's birthday party on Sunday afternoon. The girls and I were on the go a lot and this is how I decided to warm up Kenna's bottle before entering the bowling alley... it works!

And, now I'm dealing with a very sick baby. Kenna has pink eye in her right eye and a nasty cold that's making her cough and produce lots and lots of boogies!

Fun times!

Kenna playing in her exersaucer

2010-12-06T14:52:00.000-05:00

all in one...

2010-11-30T15:24:00.000-05:00

We've been pretty busy here and I haven't had the time to blog due to:

*Lack of sleep

*Cambelle and Chloe no longer take naps and hardly ever rest or have quiet time.. they are on the go ALL.DAY.LONG

*Kenna's naps a lot but not that long... so the minute I sit down at the computer, she's up. She usually takes 3-4 45 minute naps.

And, when I am on the computer I'm online shopping...

I didn't go out early on Black Friday because of three things:

1. I HAVE A NEWBORN who sleeps well at night but I need to be functioning the next day for three little girls and I couldn't imagine getting up with Kenna in the middle of the night and then getting up at 6am with her and Cambelle and Chloe shortly to follow... yes, I have a husband but a Mommy's job is never done and well, I don't have time to sleep the day away anyway.

2. The girls aren't really into the "hot toys" this year so I couldn't see why I would go out with no plan or hot toy to fight off other mommy's for.

3. I did it all online..I found everything plus more online with many, many coupons and I was happy with the bargains I found... Also, I went out two times before BF to Toys R Us and the things I had in mind for the girls were already marked down so I felt like I got the best deal.

(Can you tell that my OCD is in over drive and I need to list everything?)

So going back to why I haven't blogged lately...

(Just this post alone - I have stopped 7 times to do something else and I started it 1 hour and 32 minutes ago... )

Let's just move on to what's been going on with us...

Cambelle ended her soccer season two Sundays ago and she received a trophy with her name on. She was ecstatic about it and brings it everywhere she goes. Jeff and I also ended our soccer season that same weekend. We were in the Championship but lost in PK's to Joy Church... it was a great season but I'm still in pain from, I think, a cracked rib... this guy and I went up for the ball and we hit pretty hard... I still can't laugh hard, cough, sneeze, lift weights or move quickly or the pain starts all over again.. I know I should go to the doctors but I'd have to find time for that and then an xray....

Chloe had her last music class a couple of weeks ago but we'll be starting up again in January... here's a clip from her last class... I had her hair in a clip that got lost somewhere between banging on drums to twirling ribbon.... which then leads me to....

Cutting her hair off.... so now it will look decent without a clip... because Chloe is known for throwing them across the room and then they disappear to nowhere land.

We are fully decorated for Christmas! Even my cards are ready to be stamped and sent out!

Thanksgiving was quiet and relaxing. We just went to my parents house for dinner and ate a yummy meal... I totally forgot to bring out my camera till we were about to sing Happy Birthday to Chloe and then I snapped this horrific pic of Jeff, Kenna and I... Jeff looks sleepy... I think he ate too much turkey.

Kenna's new favorite thing... she loves to grab our faces! I remember Cambelle and Chloe doing the same thing and I loved it. Kenna's growing like a weed... but I won't go into detail till December 2nd, when she's 5 MONTHS OLD!!!

more pictures from our mini-photo-shoot

2010-11-24T20:29:00.000-05:00

Gotta love Chloe's face!

I have to say I was sweating after taking 50+ pics of the girls... it was hard trying to get them to even look at me, let alone smile and look happy.

Christmas Pictures.

2010-11-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

Here is my attmept(s) at getting a good picture of the girls for a Christmas Card... I took over 50 pics and got a couple good ones but the rest are just hilarious... I tried to upload the rest, but blogger is telling me I'm out of space, so I'll have to ask Jeff to help me with that.. but, for now, enjoy these out takes.

Chloe's Birthday Party

2010-11-18T21:55:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Chloe's Birthday last Saturday and as you can tell by the pictures below it was all about Minnie Mouse... but who would Minnie be without her lover Mickey? Right?

My friend, Nicole, did an awesome job making this cute couple. The Minnie Mouse cake pan is discontinued and was selling on ebay for $40... um, no thank you. So, she was creative and we used the same cake pan but made Minnie have eyelashes, a pink tongue and rosy cheeks and BAM...

there ya have it and female Mickey Mouse.

OH, I did contribute a little... I made the bow

AND kept her company (the night before) while she slaved over Mr. and Mrs. Mouse. I enjoyed some wine and I talked her ear off for 2 hours about the latest news in People and what kind of skin care Audrina is using, which by the way we are heading out to Ulta ASAP to purchase this incredible age defying serum.

Miss Minne Mouse, herself.

(I made the shirt - which took stinkin' too long...) but totally worth it. Chloe LOVED it!!!

Miss Kenna hanging out with Aunt Jenn

What's a party without games?

We pinned a flower on Minnie Mouse

And the good ole' pinata.

CAKE time.

Chloe was sooo happy about her birthday party, she was grinning from ear to ear.

Thank you to everyone who came out to her party... we really do appreciate all the love you give her. It makes Jeff and I very happy to see such great friends and family who love her just as much as we do.

4 month stats.

2010-11-17T09:54:00.000-05:00

Kenna has her 4 month check up last Wednesday (I know, I'm slacking) and she has grown more then I thought she did!

Weight - 11 pounds 8 ounces - 20th percentile
Height - I forget her exact height but she grew two more inches - 10th percentile

So she's still little but no worries... it's how I make em'!

She's mastering her grabbing skills and loves to grab my hair, coffee, food, anything in reach. Oh, and I've been finding her in her crib on her belly and it's been freaking me out... I guess this is the age where she'll start moving and shaking all over her crib... it's freaking me out!

Tea Party

2010-11-06T21:25:00.001-04:00

I'm so happy that my mom signed up Cambelle and Chloe to attend Pottery Barn's tea party because we had a blast. My mom and I took the girls to PB this afternoon from 3-4 pm for a fun little tea party where they met some other little girls. They gave the girls apple juice, a huge pink cookie and a tiara. After, they all drank their tea and talked with the other little girls they went over to the craft table to make calla lilies out of paper. But, first Ms. Joann read them a story... I think at this point I was shopping and I forgot to take a picture of story time ;)

The craft was cute... I was surprised by the creativity because they made flowers out of their hand print.

Chloe was hilarious and would not take her eyes off of the tea pot and brought it with her everywhere... (hello, Christmas gift)

Since we had about an hour till we met my dad, my brother, Jeff and Kenna for dinner, we went shopping at Home Goods and Carters. I just love Home Goods but I have to say it was overwhelming with all the Christmas decor... my mind can't go there yet, I still have to plan Chloe's birthday party...

After a little shopping we all met up at PF Changs. I was so impressed with how well the girls used their chopsticks... they were going to town on their rice.

The last time we ate at PF Changs was when Cambelle was about a year and they had no juice and kids menu and I remember telling Jeff that we will not go back with kids... so 3 years later, we gave it another try and thank goodness they had juice and plenty of stuff on the menu that Cambelle and Chloe would eat. It was a great time.

Cambelle is showing me how she's eating her chicken with her chopsticks.

The best part of the day was spending it with my girls (can't wait till Kenna is a little older so I can take all three) BUT nothing can beat a good deal.

I was going through some of their sale items and I found this witch costume (12-24 months) and I couldn't believe the price. It was originally $69 that I got on sale for $16!!!! So, I had to buy it, and since Kenna will be 15 months (scary) next Halloween she won't care what she is... as long as she gets some candy... I just wish they had other costumes for the Cambelle and Chloe.

4 months.

2010-11-03T15:49:00.000-04:00

Kenna was four months old yesterday!!! Time is flying by too fast and I don't like it.

Kenna loves her sisters... she lights up when they give her attention.

She smiles at anything... look her way and she'll start cooing.

I've introduced her to formula and she takes it great. I give her one bottle during the day and one right before bedtime.

She sleeps from 7:30/8PM to 3 am and then goes back to bed till 7 am.

She loves when I sing to her and her favorite song is Moon, Moon, Moon just like her big sisters.

It's been interesting changing her diaper... she likes to grab her feet and try to roll over at the same time so I have to hold her down a lot.

She's starting to "plump" up - her legs are getting chunkier and her cheeks are filling out.

She still has blue eyes and blonde hair.

She loves to sit in her Bumbo chair.

I still think she's teething.. her hands are always in her mouth and drool is everywhere. A tooth better show up soon.

And we are all in love with her. Deeply in love. I can't get enough!

Yogurt vs. candy

2010-11-03T14:39:00.000-04:00

So here's my new favorite yogurt... it's delicious.... It's Black Forest Cake and I can't get enough of it... I lick the cup clean! It makes me happy...

Because you want to know what makes me not happy? Opening up the fridge and seeing this...

Can you see them? A bag of Reese PB cups WIDE open asking me to eat them...

Can you see them now?

Thanks to my husband who placed them at my eye level - I now see them every time I open the fridge... but thanks to Yoplait I don't eat them. So go ahead hunny, place candy all over the house... I'll just resort to yogurt because it tastes ten times better then those PB cups ;)

Kenna has moved to her crib.

2010-11-03T14:23:00.000-04:00

That's right... we've made a lot of changes around here lately... Kenna moving into her room was by accident ... totally not planned. I was going to wait till this week or next to move her but I think she was ready before I was.

About two weeks ago, I was trying to get her to sleep but she was so fussy nothing was making her happy so I took her up to her room, turned off the lights, put her sound machine on and started to rock her... she was out within minutes and stayed out till 3:45am. And, it's been like that since that night. She had a really bad night two nights ago where she was up from 1-3:30am, I don't know what the problem was but I think she likes laying on her back rather then being in her seat. The rest is history...

I'm really not consistent with her napping in her crib... If we are home then I'll put her up but her dinner time nap is usually in her seat. It's a been a great transition for all of us...

Chloe's Big Girl Bed.

2010-11-01T21:47:00.000-04:00

About 2 weeks ago we moved Chloe into a big girl bed... I thought it would be a great time since she's almost three and I felt like she was out growing her crib. I was going with the motto - if it ain't broken don't fix it... so that's why it took me so long to move her. Plus, she never tried to climb out and seemed content sleeping in her crib. Also, she has never been the best sleeper so I was nervous changing her over when I have a newborn to deal with.

But, she surprised us all. She has only gotten out once at night and will call for us is she needs anything. In the morning she'll come into our room and climb into our bed, but it's usually late in the morning like 7am.

My mom shops A LOT at Pottery Barn Kids so she had a special sale coupon that took 20% off my total purchases so we went over there 2 weekends ago and bought Chloe a quilt, fitted sheet, and sham. ( I didn't buy a sheet set, because I really didn't think she'd use it, since Cambelle doesn't use hers - she sleeps on top of it... it's weird, but I'm finding out my girls are not the only ones who do it).

Then this past week I bought the house art which I was eyeing up till it went on sale and boy, did it... all four pieces of art work marked down almost 1/2 off... I love a good bargain.

The day bed used to be mine when I was younger, and we just stored in in the basement till we could use it... and I'm glad we did... it's perfect for Chloe. My dad spray painted the whole thing white. The poles used to be light wood and the rod iron vine part used to be black... I think it turned out great.

So, now Chloe is officially a big girl... no diapers and no crib. Holla to that!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T22:07:00.001-04:00

We had a great Halloween.... Kitty Cat, Tinkerbell and Minnie Mouse cooperated and everyone got plenty of candy. Thanks to my mom and dad who cooked us all dinner... it was yummy! Kenna stayed inside with my parents while Jeff and I took out Cambelle and Chloe. I've never seen two little girls so excited for candy. Cambelle would jump out of the wagon, run up to the house, ring the doorbell and say trick or treat while Chloe stood far behind her until she thought it was safe to approach the door. I think we hit every house in our neighborhood and we were all ready for bed by 7:30. Even Kenna who is now sleeping in her crib (more on that later).

Kenna aka Kitty Cat

Minnie Mouse, Kitty Cat, and Tinkerbell.

Out trick-or-treating

Grams and Poppy with the girls

Cutest Kitty Cat in town!

And, here's the best part of our night that Jeff and I are still laughing about it... Cambelle received Valentine's Day candy from one of the houses we visited... yep, that's right... OLD. VALENTINE'S DAY CANDY.FROM.FEBRUARY! Can you believe it? I was STUNNED! I have no idea why someone would give that out to a child... I mean come on... it's OLD! Nuff said!

Oh and well, we can't forget about the part that Chloe PEED on someone's doorstep while getting candy... she left a big wet puddle... I was mortified... I was so embarrassed. I just wish it was on the doorstep of the lady who gave us old V-Day candy!

And, can I share my Halloween opinion? I'm not really into it... I find it scary... I don't like masks AT ALL... and it's about 95% of the reason why I don't want to go to Disney. I don't know who's under the masks and I find it all creepy. I don't like the teenagers "dressed up as pedestrians." And, I don't like witches... And, I definitely don't like it when my children are scared.. it's breaks my heart seeing Chloe petrified and honestly, it's a dark Holiday! And, now I'm stuck with tons and tons of candy that I WILL not eat, because I didn't lose 10 pounds for nothing... So, there... Halloween stinks, but I do think my girls looked cute :)

Fall pictures.

2010-10-31T21:36:00.000-04:00

We were having great weather on Thursday, so after Jeff went back to work and after Kenna's nap I took the girls to a bike trail that runs through our neighborhood for some fall pictures. I, honestly, didn't care what they had on, I just wanted some pics of all three girls... it was hard to get Kenna is the right spot and Cambelle kept screaming at me that Kenna was slipping out of her arms.. but I think some came out OK. I threw a couple of pumpkins in the stroller and we were off... it's just a block away. The best part was seeing deer right when we approached the trail... they were so close and the girls had a kick out of seeing them that close.

The trail

It was 4 o'clock so the lighting was getting dark.... but I like them anyways.

Kenna HATED this... I felt bad, but I was trying to get one good picture of her.

Then, Cambelle wanted to take some pics.

School trip!

2010-10-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

Thursday was Cambelle's school trip to Duffields Farm. We did the same trip last year and it feels like we just did it... it's amazing how fast a yearn flies by. The girls and I were lucky enough to have Jeff along for the ride, so it worked out great. Since we've had many busy weekends it's been hard for us to get the girls out and go pumpkin picking so I was happy Jeff was able to take off for the morning and join us.

There are many classes that go and it was a little chaotic but we just went along with Nicole, Maddie, and Emma... in the past, we usually just stay with Cambelle's teacher and class but I think this time it was a free for all.

I'm trying not to show my double chin that's why I look funny :)

Miss Kenna slept through her first hay ride.

Aunt Bonnie and Maddie

Cambelle's searching for the best pumpkin.

Finally, thanks to Nicole, we got a family picture.

The girls and their boyfriend, Brandon!

some pics.

2010-10-21T17:01:00.000-04:00

Here are some pics from our weekend/week... I know, I'm slacking a bit

Cambelle's soccer game.

Then, (I think it was) Monday I took the girls to the park for hours... it was a gorgeous day. It was a tad chilly but felt good... I think Kenna liked the cooler air too... she fell asleep in her stroller right away. I think I fell asleep standing up too... it was just that nice out.

The girls were fascinated by the stick bug and loved watching him move around. I think they are just odd creatures... very interesting.

Giggle.

2010-10-18T19:26:00.000-04:00

Here's a video clip of Kenna giggling... she was very happy when I was about to take her out of her car seat. She napped for about an hour at the park and she woke up right when we got into the house... I think she was happy that I was finally taking her out of her car seat and she could finally stretch.

mini photo shoot.

2010-10-14T16:03:00.000-04:00

Chloe's birthday is coming up (November 25th - Thanksgiving Day) so I wanted to take her outside to get some decent photos of her. I had all intentions of taking her outside yesterday morning but we were gone all day till about 1:30. Then, when we got home all three girls were ready for either a nap or to rest a bit. Then, after their rest time they played a little and then it was dinner time and I totally forgot to take Chloe outside. I wanted to get it done ASAP b/c it supposed to rain the next two days and well, by the time I make them, order them and then send them out it'll be November. I couldn't get her outside till the sun was just about going down and this is all I got. I think some came out cute... she was all about posing but didn't want anything to do with the mums.

Cambelle wanted me to take a few of her but by then the sun was gone and then I was paying attention to the pics I was taking and I had the wrong setting on my camera.

And here are two pics I took with my phone... she seriously can't make one serious smile ever... it kills me ;)

chattin' with Kenna.

2010-10-12T13:57:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite parts of the day is at night when Jeff and I are alone with Kenna. It's so fun to talk and play with her. Here's a video of her "talking" to Jeff. On this particular night Cambelle couldn't sleep so she joined in on our fun with Kenna. Sorry for how weird the girls look. I was videoing with my IPhone and I had to use the light to see them b/c the lights were off.

And you'll also see how much Kenna puts her hands in her mouth.. it's an.all.the.time.thing!

Hoarder aka Collector.

2010-10-11T20:31:00.000-04:00

The girls LOVE their strollers, babies, and purses and what they love even more is putting lots and lots of little things in them. Every purse the girls own, which has to be over 15, is stuffed with "collectables." I'm started to think the girls have a hoarding problem and soon I'll be calling TLC's buried alive.

I have no idea how all the stuff can stay in the stroller... it really is a talent. ;)

This is what I see all day long... the girls pushing their strollers (Cambelle has one too) and collecting things throughout the house.

Friday Night.

2010-10-11T20:21:00.000-04:00

Friday night we had about 5 couples over to watch the Phillies game. It was so much fun and the game was great! It was an awesome night to start the weekend.

Cambelle is really into dresses these days and she screams bloody murder if I even say the words pants/jeans. So this is the best I could do... a blue and white dress.

Kenna is ready for the game!

Chloe, Cambelle, Kenna, Emma and Maddie

The girls and then Ryan and Dylan

Chloe and her boyfriend.

2010-10-05T16:33:00.001-04:00

Chloe and Brandon hung out the whole time at the party on Sunday... it was hilarious.

You can here at the end of the video Cambelle running up to me crying b/c she hurt her knee! She's OK now after a few tears.

Busy weekend.

2010-10-05T16:29:00.000-04:00

We had one busy weekend - BUT - first, let me just tell ya that Miss Kenna decided to roll over for the first time on her three month birthday. Can I get a whoop-whoop for Kenna?

She rolls from her back to her right side and it's all she does now... it's challenging to change her diaper and the girls are getting a kick out of it... almost like, "she's human, she can do baby things!" Earlier today, Kenna was having trouble rolling onto her other side so Cambelle gave her a little push and Kenna gave out a little chuckle, it was cute.

So, after the excitement of Kenna rolling over, Jeff and I along with our friends Bill, Nicole, Chris and Teresa drove our motorcycles (really the husbands bikes) to Smithville. We planned this trip about a month ago and really decided on the location a week ago but we had no idea till Friday night that it was Oktoberfest at Smithville. It was a lot of fun... with a dash of nervousness/anxiety. See, the bike is Jeff's "toy"that I like to look at and watch him ride it, but I had no desire to "take a ride with him." Because, well, bikes are dangerous, let's just face it... they are and they don't have doors, or a windshield, or cushion to protect you if you fall. So, I was a little anxious about the whole thing, but I cracked under pressure and gave in, since we had friends who were going too.

And, I had a great time.. it was a blast and some what of a rush. We took all back roads so we didn't go too fast but it was fun to be holding onto Jeff, riding around S. Jersey on an incredible Saturday. The weather couldn't have been better. We saw some really cool places, lakes, houses, tiny shops, cute little bars that I never knew existed.

I have amazing in-laws who watched the girls all day long. They took them to Duffield's Farm to pick out a pumpkin and then brought them home to decorate it.

On Sunday I took the girls to the Blackwood Pumpkin Festival and even though I've lived in Blackwood, and my parents still live there, I've never been to the festival. It was bigger then I thought and the girls loved it. I was surprised that they had a roller coaster, slides, trains, many other rides, Mister Softee and pony rides... the list could go on. It was a big hit with the girls and thankfully my mom came along to help me since Jeff was the good one and went to church ;)

After the festival Cambelle had a birthday party for a girl who is in her class and then she had a soccer game. Chloe and Kenna fell asleep in the car on the way to the field so I had to stay put till they woke up. It was awful weather out so I was kinda happy that Kenna wasn't out in it too long.

Cambelle did an awesome job and she's getting more comfortable at each game.

Your Three Words

2010-10-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

Kenna is three months old (tomorrow actually)! And I celebrated with packing up all the newborn clothes and some onesies that are 0-3 months. It doesn't look like that much, but I counted 62 onesies... I think I went a little overboard when Kenna was still cooking and bought every item of clothing that said newborn.

Kenna smiles all the time... if you just glance her way she will start to smile. She's also giggling a lot more too. Loves to be tickled and loves music. She loves when Cambelle and Chloe give her hugs and kisses and she tries to suck on everyones cheek. She loves to sit up and look around. She's still not into tummy time, but we are working on that.

She's a great sleeper.... not so much during the day but the night sleeping is where it matters. She's definitely a morning baby and wakes up happy and full of smiles. Kenna's eyes are still blue, her hair is still blonde and her complexion is fair with rosy cheeks.

I'm loving this life and the last three months have been a blur, but I'm trying to savor every minute of it.

Click over to Jenni From the Blog to check out more Y3W.

What's going on?

2010-09-29T12:04:00.000-04:00

Do you see this little baby? The one smiling at you?

Yeah, this one...

The one with her crazy sista?

She's been "teething!!!" Well, I think that's what it is... or she either really hates me lately, or just loves to saturate my left shoulder with saliva... She's such a good baby but the last two days, something's been bothering her. I'm lost for what to do. I've never had a 3 month old baby who teethed before. Cambelle and Chloe were at least 9 months before the process started... so, I'm baffled that this is what it could be. But, she's been chewing on her hand since Sunday afternoon and HATES the car - which maybe that has nothing to do with teething but she's aggravated by the motion.

If I don't see or feel a tooth soon then I'm I don't know what to do...but Tylenol (not the ones that have been recalled) has saved her from being in too much pain. Nursing her has been helping too and rubbing her gums. But, she's still too little to hold a teether... she'll grasp it and then hit herself in the face with it, and then she's a hot mess.

Or I could be totally wrong and she's just not feeling well... whatever it is I hope it goes away soon. I hate seeing Kenna is pain :(

follow me, would ya?

2010-09-27T22:01:00.000-04:00

So, I added the "followers" link to the right, and by no means do I even expect to see more then my family who follows my blog, but I thought it would be fun to see who reads my blog, so even if you just pop in one or twice or if you are a close friend, could you follow me please? Thanks a bunch.

our weekend...

2010-09-27T21:47:00.000-04:00

The picture below basically sums up our weekend, and the weekends in the past and even our future weekends. It's the third week in a row that Jeff and I have had soccer games on Saturday and Cambelle has had a soccer game on a Sunday.

This particular weekend we had breakfast with my in-laws on Saturday morning, came home, ran to our soccer game at 12PM, then came home for 2 hours and then Jeff and I went to the Phillies game. Thank goodness it was our last game to go to (we got a 6 game package) because our record is not too good. We've only seen one win... and obviously the Phils are in first place and are doing fantastic but when we go to the game they just can't pull out a win.

Then, on Sunday we went to church, had lunch with friends, came home for 20 minutes, ran to Cambelle's soccer game and then to my parents for dinner/Eagles game.

SO, this past weekend was a whirlwind, and it made my head spin a couple of times, but it was a great overall. I'm loving watch Cambelle play soccer and it's a great family outing. The best thing happened while Cambelle was playing... Chloe was shouting, "GO, Cambelle, GO!" And, it made me melt and I was happy for Cambelle who had a whole cheering section.

Chloe.

2010-09-22T21:48:00.000-04:00

Seriously, this girl kills me... she just makes my heart fill up with joy. All my girls do, but you know, as a mother, each child's love is different. You love them just the same and just as much, but they make you happy in their own little ways. Well, Chloe... she makes me a happy in her own little way. It's the way she looks at me with her little brown eyes that get me every time. I can't put my finger on it, but Chloe's love is amazing and her big personality is the best.

Happy Fall

2010-09-22T13:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Fall, everyone (I think tomorrow is the official day)! It doesn't feel like fall out at all and I'm so over this 90 degree weather... I'd really like it to be 65 degrees so I can really feel the cool in the air. Last week was nice but it the afternoon it got hot again... I know I shouldn't be complaining but I don't think my body ever went back to "normal" after having Kenna and I'm sweating like a pig in this heat.

So, I just thought I'd share a couple of pictures of the outside of our home all decorated for fall. Nothing special, but I love it. I don't think these pics do it's justice... it's much more colorful from the street, I think it's the shadow in the porch that's making it so blah.

Cambelle's 2nd soccer game

2010-09-20T15:26:00.000-04:00

Cambelle had her second soccer game yesterday and she did a lot better then last week. She was really into it and participated in every drill. She even scored a goal - by taking the game ball from her field to another field to score in another net... but hey, it was a goal and she was very proud of herself. Even the parents cheered her on. It was so funny. We can't wait till next Sunday to see what she does.

our first apple picking of the season

2010-09-18T22:59:00.000-04:00

Thursday morning we had our first school trip of the season to Mood's Farm for some apple picking, apple cider and cider donuts.

Emma, Cambelle, Maddie and Chloe (Miss Kenna was at home with Grams)

Nicole and I dressed our children appropriately to what the weather said it was at 9am - 64 degrees. But, once we hit that farm, we were all sweating... I love this weather but I hate how quickly the weather changes.... one minute it's chilly and the next it's steamy.

On our way to pick apples.

Chloe LOVED picking apples... she thought it was fun. At first, she was picking up the ones on the ground but then she got the hang of it and started picking apples from the tree.

Cambelle picked every baby apple in the farm... she told me she likes babies and that the baby apples are the best.

So, then I had to do a little picking myself so I would have enough apples to make apple pie.

Cambelle and some of her friends. Brandon is Cambelle's "boyfriend" and all the girls love him. Can't you tell?

And then at the end, Chloe thought it would be awesome to drop some on the ground because her bag was too heavy... she cracks me up.

Next field trip - pumpkin picking. But, I'm sure this won't be our only trip to pick apples. Cambelle told me she wants to go again with Jeff :)

Your Three Words

2010-09-17T14:04:00.000-04:00

This morning Kenna had her 6-8 week check-up... even though today she is 10 weeks old... Oops. I should have taken Kenna to the docs weeks ago, but with Cambelle starting school and with me feeling depressed about summer ending, I had no time to get my newborn her shots or to make sure everything looks good ;)

So the nurse rambled off all her stats but all I digested was:

Weight - 9 lbs. 6oz. 25th percentile

Height - 25th percentile

Head circumference - grew 3 inches - 25th percentile.

Kenna got five shots and Chloe got her flu shot - total surprise to me and her. Since we were already there the doc suggested to get Chloe out of the way now and we'll get Cambelle's flu shot in a couple of weeks.

Kenna's cold is just a cold, nothing more. So, I was happy to hear that... So, now that we've all experienced a cold, I am now the kissing nazi and will no longer allow open mouth kisses to Kenna. ;)

Three little sick girls.

2010-09-15T23:00:00.000-04:00

You read that right... Cambelle, Chloe and Kenna are all sick with a bad cold. Green boogies, coughing, chapped lips, sneezing, and watery eyes are taking over my life. At first, I thought it was allergies (started with Chloe) but then when it jumped to Cambelle and Kenna within 24 hours, I knew it was a cold. Jeff is sick too, and I'm the only one who's feeling good... I'd rather be sick then the girls :(

Kenna was feeling really warm this morning so I gave her a very small dose of Tylenol and she seemed to feel better... but even though she can't breath and her nose is constantly running she's still a happy baby.

Chloe's cold is getting better but she's cranky and Cambelle's nose is so red I've been putting medicine on it so it doesn't get chapped.

I'm hoping this cold goes away as quick as it came. Luckily, we are going apple picking with Cambelle's school tomorrow and Cambelle won't be at school and sit and try to concentrate on school work.

The worst is Kenna being sick... it totally stinks having a 2 month old who can't breathe and her little red watery eyes looking up at you. This is the first sickness I've had to deal with having a two month old. C & C were never sick as newborns... so I'm praying this isn't a trend and that Kenna won't be a sick baby.

It's soccer season.

2010-09-13T21:54:00.000-04:00

Cambelle had her first day of soccer on Sunday and we were all just a little too excited about his new adventure. Well, I guess you can't get too excited about your own daughter playing the sport you love. She was hilarious about it all day... giddy when we'd say something about her game and seemed nervous about it. I didn't know what to expect but I was very pleased that they had practice for 30 minutes then played a game for 30 minutes. It was just enough time before the kids started to lose interest.

We didn't get her jersey yet, so I just put on a white long sleeved T for her.

And, then Chloe wanted to pose by the tree too.

Cambelle's first game was at 3:30 and we had great weather considering it rained all day. The rain stopped earlier and there was a slight chill in the air... perfect soccer weather.

This picture sums up what she did for 30 minutes. I was surprised that she just stood there while everyone else ran after the ball. She was hesitant and the coach tried to get her involved. I think she was just taking it all in. But, she had fun and that's all that matters.

Preschool!

2010-09-11T23:32:00.000-04:00

The 2010-2011 school year is under way. Cambelle started preschool on Thursday. She had a Meet and Greet with her teacher and other classmates on Tuesday. She seemed a little hesitant and wanted me to be near her at all times. It was only 20 minutes long but her teacher read them a book and she got to meet all her new friends. We had circle time and then her teacher gave her a special present (a little book bag with crackers in it). Cambelle was happy to see five familiar faces from last year and was happy to be in the "big girl" class.

I took her to school on Thursday and Friday and she's been doing great. There's no crying or not wanting to go - yet! So far so good.

She was very happy to pick out a new dress - it's all she's been wearing lately... it'll be interesting when it's cold out and she can no longer wear dresses.

Next week is our first full week and I know she's going to have fun... it's been an adjustment for me to get all three girls ready and out the door by 8:45am... but we are having fun doing it and hoping the rest of the school year goes just as smooth.

Ice cream with friends.

2010-09-11T23:22:00.000-04:00

Chloe, Maddie and Emma are wearing their skinny jeans and Cambelle opted not to... She seriously, loves to be unique - and no, we didn't plan it. Our girls are always wearing the same things. I have to say, they are my favorite pair of jeans for the girls... I have a pair too, and even though I thought I would NEVER wear them, I adore them and find myself in them a lot. I love that I can roll them or wear them straight... Thanks Gap for making me love the Skinny Jean.

Mohawk.

2010-09-11T23:17:00.000-04:00

Kenna's hair is so funny. She has a far back mohawk that I love to make stick up. All of her hair up front fell out except for the back part which sticks up so far... The hair that is coming in is still blonde, but some of it looks white. She's my fair lady ;)