Cake and Cousins

Grandma makes the best angel food cake!

Yummy cake! Let's eat!

Grandpa in charge of the baby.

It's wonderful to be two!!!

Two weeks in Milwaukee

 Hannah loves to give her sister kisses and needs lots of reminders about how to safely love her sister. We had a very relaxing, quiet visit with my parents in Wisconsin. Most of the days we spent at home. We went for walks, enjoying the outdoors. The girls enjoyed coloring, play dough and entertaining Camus.

...and Mimi enjoyed her grand daughters. I'm hoping she got her baby fix, though I'm fairly certain my mom would be happy holding a baby (even a fussy one) all day.

How could anyone resist that sweet face. I did not, however, get any pictures of our evenings, which were spent walking, rocking, and bouncing a very fussy little girl:)

Abigail loves holding her sister, most of the time and usually for a short duration.

 

Ironically, Papa had work responsibilities in Peoria the first week we were in Wisconsin but we got to spend many happy evenings with him the second week. 

 I am so thankful for my parents! They are wonderful, supporting, and loving. The Lord surely provided for us while Rodney was away with work.

Pretty baby and her daddy

Tabitha, you are a very blessed little girl. You are blessed to have such a wonderful daddy, who treasures you and will lead our family to love and serve Jesus.

Here you are ready for your first worship service on Sunday.  You are two weeks old.

Miscellaneous - Tabitha's second week home

My grandparents sent balloons the day after my mom went back to Wisconsin. The older girls were entertained for many hours that day, which was a particular blessing since Rodney was already back to work! And since there were three balloons, my role as "mommy the referee" was minimal. 

Bedtime devotions with daddy.

"I'm still not sure what I think about this little person!"

 Angie and Morry returned the following weekend for Memorial Day. I had a particularly difficult several days, so it was good to have them here. Between lack of sleep, hormonal changes, breastfeeding drama, and an unexpected trip to the ER with Hannah, the Lord was gracious to provide such good helpers when I needed them most!!

First Weekend Home

Tabitha had quite the reception when she came home from the hospital. She was greeted by both sets of her grandparents, Uncle Dan, and the very friendly Camus (who likes to sneak in a lick on her little head). Dan just happened to be back in the United States before traveling to Europe for his wedding, which was fun!

Since my first two were born in Texas, the grandparents weren't able to visit in the hospital or welcome us home. It's a blessing to be back in the Midwest. The older two particularly enjoyed having five extra adults and a dog in the house!

The other perk to having five extra adults in the house is SLEEP! Sleep also means that I didn't take very many pictures the first weekend home:) But I did take a couple of my  brother holding his youngest niece and the girls enjoying their sister, with Mimi's assistance of course!

Hannah likes kissing her little sister:)

Almost Seven Weeks

Tabitha is now smiling! I am trying to truly stop to treasure and enjoy her milestones.

This week I'm trying to put her on a better routine. I think she was getting too tired in the evenings and consequently being really fussy. Being a proactive rather that a reactive mom is hard when there are three!

No one is getting much sleep around here, especially since I can't seem to get Hannah to nap. Big sigh. I'm hoping the routine helps a little.

But as you can see from the pictures, the girls are lots of fun too.

This morning we all had pedicures (except for Tabitha). Hannah was delighted that i painted her toes too. their favorite part Is holding the blow dryer and deciding my dry hair needs fluffing!! my hair is extra flufffy today :)

Then we met friends at Chick Fil A for lunch. We left at the beginning of a toddler meltdown do avoided the worst!!

Blogging Catch-Up

Tabitha is almost 7 weeks old and doing really well - growing and sleeping "some" :) She weighed 11 lb15 oz the Tuesday before she turned 6 weeks old! The girls are adjusting, though Hannah recently decided that she no longer needs an afternoon nap. I think she does, so she gets to do a quiet time in her room every afternoon. I keep praying that something will change in her little brain and she'll start napping again. We shall see. Some afternoons are more quiet than others.

It was a huge blessing to spend two weeks with my parents in Wisconsin while Rodney was traveling, and we got to see Evalina and my niece and nephew the following weekend at my inlaw's home. Hannah was able to celebrate her birthday again with her cousins and second set of grandparents. We celebrated for a third time on Sunday. She got to blow out candles three times!

So in the next week or so, I'm going to attempt to get caught up on photo blogging. It's hard to find time to actually sit down and do anything other than nurse a baby, fold laundry, and pick up my cluttered home (let alone sleep).

A good friend blessed me with dinner tonight and another meal for the freezer, which is probably why I actually have a spare moment to sit down this afternoon:) Praise God for friends and freezer meals!