Mama Says

Sharing ice cream...I love how grace is dipping her spoon into brother's bowl and he's letting her...=)

Since Grace and Josiah share their June 4th birthday, we are planning on making it a giant fun celebration ONCE a year.  This year the party was fun and exhausting for us all, as we set the stage in our own backyard. Thankfully the day was perfect;  sunny and warm, and the kids had a ball...smiling, fighting, playing, eating and all.

- enjoying the first fresh local strawberries of the year...can't wait to go picking!
- happy to have our friend Ryan living with us for a while...
- getting ready for our double birthday party this Sunday...
- having fun with the new bunk beds that Brent built!
- looking forward to the picnic table that he's going to make next =)
- loving playing with our smiley baby and trying to make him giggle!
- thankful for the freezer full of homemade burritos for lunches....Thanks for the fun cooking day, Amy!
- annoyed at the slugs eating our marigolds...
- still glowing red from the sunburns we got from our camping/fishing trip last weekend in Eastern Washington...
- struggling with parenting/disciplining the kids...these are tough ages for our older two!! It's constant...trying to get to the heart of the matter and not just manage behavior...so exhausting at times (most of the time!).
- needing  to water and fertilize my indoor plants...
- relieved that the pregnancy test I took this morning was negative...not quite mentally ready for number 4
- tickled at all the breast milk that we've been given from generous friends (THANK YOU!!!!!...a whole cooler full!)
- ready for our family vacation to Netarts Bay in July
- feeling so full...hearts overflowing at this special phase of life with young kids...it will be gone before we know it.

Well, I am discovering that right now is not a productive blogging phase of life. I am trying to be purposeful to not even turn on the computer till Brent gets home, so that I don't get sucked in and end up wasting time. Unfortunately, as a result, I've felt bad about not keeping y'all posted on our life around here. So to make up for it, here's a bunch of photos. =)

Hope this makes you smile like it did me!

I'm getting better at it now...typing, that is...women were made to multi-task!

Let's see..life with three...

-busy!
-someone always wants your attention
-the work never gets done...which I'm learning to let go of right now...
-Daddy's are AMAZING!
-singing is a good distraction technique for my son
-I have to remember to change the way I read books to Grace...less word by word, more identifying items in pictures and concise story
-I'm using my free time more efficiently than I ever have before
-trying to be purposeful about one on one time with each kid every day...I never anticipated that with just three!
-I need to remind myself to take pictures
-the bed doesn't get made because I feel like I'm always in it!...nursing, reading stories, trying to find "Jonah" who's in the belly of the whale...=)
-days are going by so fast!!!
-looking forward to sunshine to get us all some exercise...I'm such a wimp in the rain!
-I actually had this thought for the first time ever..."I need a mental break...I'm going to (gulp) put on a movie". My husband has no qualms about it, but I'm so reluctant to use that form of distraction.
-Brent told me he was proud of me...after he spent some time with all three kids...that made me melt!....I love that I do it every day...but sure am thankful for a break.
All right...break's over...thanks for being patient with my sporadic blogs!

This is Brent as a four year old...

That would be my toes...I realized in the shower the other day that I can now see them again...

While I was at Costco this Tuesday night, Daddy reported upon my return that Josiah attempted to breastfeed Gracie's bear...and insisted that he did indeed have breasts..."they're right here!"...he was rather disappointed to find out that those were merely "nipples"..."Nipples?"...that's a new word for the vocabulary. Oh dear...

Nursing is quite the favorite pastime around here...the kids could be in the room farthest away from me, but when I sit down to nurse, it seems like they can sense it. They like to lean in, "help me", and sit on every other part of my body...my midwife says that the sounds of the other kids will "soothe" the baby...right now I think that's stretching it just a bit.

This was my first week alone with all three wee ones. The first week I had my mom and Brent, and last week Josiah and Grace were with the in-laws.
Last week seemed like a dream...I was oblivious to a clock, and got to stare at my baby's face for hours...I am so smitten...and since this is #3, I feel so much more relaxed and natural in caring for him...it seems so easy. (quite unlike when Josiah was born) I am so thankful for that precious time to bond with Elijah.
This week hasn't been too bad...perhaps because baby sleeps so much? I was anticipating a much harder road. Elijah has been sleeping for a good five hour stretch and another 3 hour stretch, so that's kind of like getting 8 hours, right?

Right now if you were to ask me if I want to have any more more children, my answer would be "yes, yes, yes!"...(please do not necessarily interpret that as "three" more children)...perhaps we should wait a bit to see if that sticks once #3 starts to disobey.

Right now I think I'm floating on new mommy cloud 9...  "Sigh"...=)

Here he is...Elijah Daniel Townsend Rollins...born 3:13am on February 8th...7 lbs, 5 oz, 21 in. long.
I started having some consistent contractions (finally!!) around 11:30pm on Saturday night, went to the Birth Center around 12:30am, and was 4 cm upon arrival. Active labor kicked in pretty soon, and the next time the midwife went to check me (shortly after 3am), I said "I feel like I have to push, I feel like I have to push!"...I got in the tub and after about 5 min of pushing and screaming (I'm still hoarse), little Elijah popped out and was placed on my tummy. I was so relieved that the intensity was over...I always forget that THIS was what I was working towards...I just got to stare and stare still the cord stopped pulsing, then we got out of the tub....3 hours later we came home to some mystified and very excited  children (thanks to our friend Amy who slept over!!) and the rest is....
Well, I'm exhausted, my heart is overflowing, and I'm still apprehensive as I wait to see how much milk I'm going to produce. Last night we both got some sleep, which at this point, "some" feels like a whole lot...
The kids are wanting to touch, poke, hold, see, grab, and practically sit on Elijah...which is taking patience on my part, to let them discover him as a real person and not just a doll or the anonymous "Baby Roll" in my tummy...while I try to protect this new little one from being accosted (and injured) by his "loving" siblings. I am so glad that I have help...my mom is still a trooper, dealing with crazy, excited, and "pushing the boundaries" children, helping with the cooking and cleaning, making me Korean Seaweed Soup, and spoiling me rotten...while my dear husband is rubbing my feet, changing tar poopy diapers, dishes and cooking, and protecting me from the middle of the night interruptions from the other kids.
So...thanks for all your prayers, and messages of love and support...we are soaking up these days....so special!!!