Family Update

Kenny's kidney stone is gone- yeay! It stuck around for 2 painful nights, and we are both glad that it is gone. I was trying to be sympathetic, but was finding it hard having just given birth for the 3rd time...Trying to juggle the 3 kids and an ill husband, I kinda felt like Super Mom for a little bit there.

We survived our first excursion with all the kids (Target & Dairy Queen), Bristol has taken her first trip to CVS for couponing with Mom, and everyone is adjusting well. I'm glad to have my mom here for a week to help us get settled and organized!

Bristol is doing the usual baby stuff- sleeping a lot, needing lots of diaper changes, and loving to be snuggled up next to anyone. She is sleeping well at night and is pretty mellow until she gets mad and then she shows us what a great set of lungs she has. I have managed to write in her baby book, so she won't be that 3rd child with a totally neglected baby book.

With three kids it sometimes I feel like I'm running triage- you're crying but not bleeding? Eh, you're okay. You're throwing up? You get first priority.
You're only a week old and need to be held? Okay, now you get first priority.

Overall, it's been a fairly smooth transition. We have been enjoying delicious food from some great friends. Everyone is healthy. The weather was beautiful today and we spent lots of time outside (after the snow melted).

"My cup overflows with blessings!" Psalm 23:5

Bristol Meets Mimi & Pop

The Big Kids

Mimi and Pop arrived this weekend and the big kids have been having a lot of fun playing with them and doing special things. They took Brayden to see Gnomeo & Juliet and they took Brinley for breakfast at Hardee's. Lots of book reading, snuggling, dress up and other fun activities, too! 

Brayden saw a photo in a Thomas magazine of a boy who had built a "Cranky the Crane" out of cardboard and really wanted to replicate it. He and Brinley decorated it with stickers and it is really cute.

 

Super Mario

 

Policeman

 

Astronaut. "Do you like my hat like this, Pop? Is it cool dude?!"

 

The finished product, with extra stickers hanging on the front for good measure.

 

The kids got adorable MSU jerseys! Brayden's says #1, Brinley's says #2 and Bristol's says #3. 

Can't wait to wear them to a game this fall!

 

Now everyone had their own cowbell, autographed by MSU President Mark Keenum.

Photos

 Some of the delicious goodies that our friends have brought us!

Awana Grand Prix

Brayden & Brinley were both so excited about decorating their cars for the Awana Grand Prix at our church. For some reason I decided that glitter would be less messy than paint this year...wrong! And, half of the glitter fell off before we got to church. Oh well. They didn't notice that or the fact that neither of their cars won any heats. They were so thrilled with their participation trophies!

Fun at Home

The weather was beautiful the weekend before Bristol was born and we had some fun in our new neighborhood. We can finally park the car in the garage- yeay! There is still work to be done, but this is a big accomplishment.

Kenny rigged up a trailer hitch so that Brinley can pull the little wagon with her bike, which the kids both think is so fun!

 Our cul-de-sac, which gives us plenty of room to ride our bikes and is virtually traffic-free.

 Snuggling while watching a movie.

We got this too cute violin at Cracker Barrel. It plays the song as you draw the bow back and forth across it. The kids think it is so fun and I think it's adorable.

 My wild-haired child who prefers not to wear a bow/headband/ponytail or even let me comb her hair!

Life with 3 kids...

...has been interesting so far. The older 2 are adjusting pretty well and enjoy helping me get diapers, holding Bristol, etc. When we picked Brayden up at daycare today he had to "help" carry her carseat and kept saying "I love you Bristol! I want to kiss you all week!" and was telling all of his friends about her. Brinley has been acting out a bit more, which I was expecting.

Last night Bristol was screaming and Kenny came down with sudden, severe abdominal pain. He didn't sleep well last night, but didn't think it was bad enough to go to the ER. This morning we saw his doctor who said it was probably nothing, but ordered a CT scan to check for kidney stones. He was feeling good most of the day, thankfully. So, we ended up back at the hospital for his scan and he does have a 2 mm kidney stone. We weren't glad about that, but were happy to know that there was some cause for his pain and that it wasn't appendicitis or something worse. The doctor gave him pain meds and the only treatment is to drink lots of water and wait for it to pass. Bristol happily slept most of the day away in my arms, and I had plenty of time to just cuddle her and look at her cute little face.

My "one word" for the year, CALM, was my mantra tonight at bedtime. Kenny was on the couch in pain and I was upstairs trying to get the older 2 kids in pajamas with teeth brushed and books read. Bristol was screaming, Brayden was being fairly well-behaved and Brinley was having a tantrum about getting dressed. "Keep calm and carry on!" I kept telling myself. Eventually everyone made it to bed and Kenny is feeling a bit better. I'm going to bed early tonight!!