Get with it already!

Rachel here.  We're still alive and kicking. :)  We're morphing into a family of 5 nicely... 5... HA!  SO CRAZY!  I'll give you a quick run down of what each of us has been up to... I know you're dieing to know. ;)

We'll start with our littlest family member.  Berkley.  Oh Berkley.  You sure are cute and extremely predictable.  Here is what a typical day looks like with little miss binge eater.  I call it a night around 10pm each night when I take Baby B upstairs to nurse her and tuck her in.  30-45 minutes later, we're both tucked into bed nicely until about 2 am.  Bryan changes her diaper, (she's the queen of blowouts these days, so we change her pretty much twice with each feeding.) then I nurse her until "half time", Bryan changes her again, she gets swaddled, I nurse her until she falls asleep... usually about 45 minutes for the process.  She's back in bed until anywhere from 445-6.  If it's on the earlier end of that spectrum, I go back to bed... if it's later... I'm up for the day.  So she's waking up about once a night... CAN'T BEAT IT WITH A STICK!

Because she's such a super sleeper at night, mornings tend to be a little more of an issue.  Berkley will nurse sometimes for HOURS upon waking up in the morning.  She's slowly getting better, but it makes it VERY difficult to get anything done.  I'll nurse her, she'll stay awake for about 30 or so minutes, and then only go back to sleep if I nurse her.  It can be a lengthy process, but I'll take it... getting to sleep at night and all.  

Bryan accidentally ripped her stump off while changing her diaper about a week and a half into life.  Apparently it wasn't quite ready to be off yet because it began bleeding.  I let it go for about a day thinking it was just kind of a fluke, but ended up calling the pediatrician.  I ended up having to take her in to get her belly button cauterized.  It seems to be healing nicely now, but we can't get it wet... so I'm anxious to get her a proper bath.  We also haven't begun tummy time due to the healing process.

 

On to our middle child.  Sweet little Emma Grace.  She's a super stinker, but luckily no more of a stinker than she usually is, so we figure that's a good sign for the whole "middle child syndrome." :)  She's all registered for preschool in the fall... OMG.  She's beyond excited, and I'm super excited for her... she's going to love it.  Reese was scheduled to go for her 6 month check up to the dentist on April 30th, but seeing as how I was in the hospital having Berkley, we had to reschedule.  It worked out nicely because we were able to schedule Emma Grace right after Reese.  It was her VERY FIRST time, and from what I hear... she was awesome.  I was there, but B had a MASSIVE blow out, and I forgot to pack clothes in the diaper bag.  We had to venture home to get changed, and by the time I got back, it was all said and done.  Bryan was awesome with taking pictures though. :)  Next up for Sassy Pants... her 3rd birthday!  My Mom will be in town this weekend, so hopefully I can get some free hands time from Berkley to get her invitations made. :)

 Our sweet Reese.  She seems to have gotten through her major meltdown phase with the move.  As we've been getting things into the rental, we've been unpacking her things... I think she's relieved to know she gets to keep them. :)  She was under the impression we were leaving her things behind.  We've been sharing some pictures and things dealing with the new house with her, and she seems excited.  She's very anxious to get preschool and art time going at home again, but we're definitely not ready for that yet.  We hope to be out of here this coming weekend, so hopefully we can get our preschool routine started again in June for her and Emma Grace. 

Reese also has her first dance recital coming up next weekend.  SO EXCITING!  Her little outfit is to die for.  We can't wait.  I've pre-registered both girls for dance in the fall.  Emma Grace will be taking ballet/tap/gym (which is what Reese is in now), and Reese has decided to take ballet/jazz.  She'll also be playing soccer in the fall.  Once kindergarten starts though, we're making her choose between dance and soccer.  Dance is EXTREMELY expensive the older she gets, so one activity is going to have to be her limit... not to mention... she'll be in kindergarten for pete's sake. :)

 Bryan and I have been going through the motions.  He's been working from home during the day (occasionally he has to venture out to a meeting and whatnot) while I play mediocre supermom, in the evenings we're moving our lives into the rental until the girls get cranky, at night we're both victims to our infant.  We're both definitely looking forward to things slowing down a bit, which we sat down and discovered won't be until NEXT May... awesome. :) 

I'm just now starting to feel like myself again.  My tummy is THISCLOSE to being back to normal... I'm thinking a couple more days, and we should be back in business.  Of course I still have 15ish lbs to bid farewell to until I'm back down to pre-baby weight.  I'm in no hurry though.  Honestly, I'm so excited to be eating again.  I know I can eat all that food that was causing me heartburn again.  Then there is the ability to eat after 5 pm knowing I won't be sick the next morning.  Needless to say, I've been enjoying my food intake. :)  I've also graduated to being able to button two pairs of my jeans.  Hoorraaaaaaaaaaay!  I'm attempting to take back some of my old life.  You know getting dressed for instance.  When I was teaching, I got to wear real life clothes... not yoga pants and tank tops.  I've successfully gotten dressed everyday for the last week... sometimes that even included a shower!  I've also made a deal with Bryan on updating my wardrobe.  I'll be treating myself to a new outfit every month (not to exceed $50... hehe)!  When I do go shopping, I'm infamous for buying the girls WAY TOO MUCH stuff... just stuff... and nothing for myself.  No more... I'm forcing myself to shop for me... even if it's just a new shirt. :)  I should also learn to put makeup (other than mascara) on.  I'm a mascara and lip gloss kind of girl... and now I'm getting older, and my skin is too... and don't get me started on my hair... I need a makeover.  STAT.

Ahhhh... life. :)