Funny Kid

Paxten snuck next door to my parents the other day. They had just cooked some chicken on the grill and asked Paxten if he wanted some. He said no. While he was there he ate some tootsie rolls that were on the kitchen table. He then went outside for a little while. He went back inside a while later while my mom was doing the dishes and cleaning up from dinner. Paxten grabbed the rest of the tootsie rolls that were on the table (5 or 6) and my mom said to him, "What will grandma eat if you eat those all gone." He replied, "Chicken." He didn't miss a beat. It was pretty funny! He would rather eat candy than anything healthy. My kids is a sugar monster!

Pretty Please

Paxten in quite the character in our house. He is very energetic and an all around BOY! He loves to run, jump, climb, and get into mischief like any other typical little boy. He tries to do things his older brother does, and sometimes his older brother tries to get him to do things that even he wouldn't do. He makes me laugh and smile every single day. Right now he knows exactly what to do to get what he wants. He puts his little fists up to his mouth and scrunches up his little face while he says, "Pretty please" but is sounds like, "pitty peez" it is just so darn cute and it gets me every time. "Pitty peez can I stay," "mommy choc milk pitty peez."  Whatever he wants, all he has to do is look at me with those blue eyes while holding up his little fists and say pitty peez and I pretty much give in. How can I not, look at this cute little face. I doesn't just affect me, Matt and my mom succumb to the asking as well. He has us wrapped around his little finger, and he knows it and uses it to his advantage. He is one smart 2 year old!

1 Month Old

Pieper was one month old on October 1st. ONE MONTH!! Where has the time gone??!! I can't believe that my baby...my LAST baby...is already one month old. I am seriously not liking how fast this is happening. She is going to be one year old before I know it. I am loving having a little newborn in the house again. It is SERIOUSLY a lot of work and it is hard, definitely hard, but I look at that sweet face and it melts my heart. Pieper is such a sweet baby and loves to be the center of attention. She loves to be held (surprise, surprise!) and loves to be talked to. She loves her sister Paige and often gets "kidnapped" by her to be taken to their bedroom to be sung songs to or played with. She is going to have the best time when she is older with her big sister. She is sleeping pretty good throughout the night, usually waking only twice. I can live with that! Matt has been a super good helper at night, taking turns with the feedings during the night. It is so much harder with #4 because the three other kids have so much going on, I can't just sleep in or take napes when she is sleeping. Parker has school, Paige has school, Paige has to catch the bus, Parker has homework, Paige has homework, dinner needs made, laundry washed, grocery shopping.....the list goes on and on. So in that aspect it is so much harder. But Matt and I both knew that she was meant to be part of our family and now we feel like we are complete! Here she is 1 month old and counting!

Newborn Pictures

I love the trend of getting newborn pictures. Babies just don't stay so tiny and precuiously (Did I just make up a new word?!)
 small for very long and I feel like these images at least capture it a little bit. Pieper was an absolute angel for pictures, she slept almost the entire time. Although we found out that she did not want her head to be placed on her hands, she kept turning it to one side or the other. I think she is absolutely beautiful..I know I have a biased opinion, I can, I am the mom!

Great Grandparents

We had my Grandparents in to dinner one Sunday evening shortly after Pieper was born so that they could meet her and have a chance to hold her and visit with us and my parents. Matt cooked a beef tenderloin in the Traeger and we had salad and baked potato. It was delicious. Grandpa and Grandma Williams were thrilled to meet their newest great-granddaughter. 9/8/13

CheckUp

We took Pieper in for her 2 week checkup, well she was 3 weeks old when we actually got her in to the Dr. She weighed 8lbs 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. and her head was 35.8 cm. So she had gained an entire pound plus an ounce and is in the 30% for weight. She grew 1 inch and is in the 24% for height and the 33% for head circumference. I can't believe she has gained that much in just a few short weeks. She is a great eater and maybe that has something to do with it. The doctor said she looked perfect and I couldn't agree with him more!

Pieper's First Bath

As I am about to post about this, Matt reminded me that this isn't her "first" bath, she had her first bath in the hospital right after she was born. He is right technically, but this is her first bath at home after her umbilical cord had healed. She loved it at first, then she wasn't too crazy about being taken out of the warm water and then being exposed to the cook air while I put lotion on her and dressed her. I LOVE LOVE LOVE a fresh baby just out of the tub, they smell HEAVENLY!! Septmber 14, 2013. 14 days old.

Paige's First Day of Kindergarten

Paige had her first official day of Kindergarten on the 11th of September. That day she got to ride the bus to and from school. She was so excited to go and see her friends and to get "homework." When it came time to get on the bus she pretty much ran and jumped on the bus as she casually waved goodbye to me. She didn't even hesitate or even look back. I felt a little emotion as my little girl is now old enough to go to school, but no tears were shed by either of us. I for sure thought that little Paxten would start crying when he realized that Paige was leaving and he couldn't go with her, but he did amazingly well too. He waved goodbye and then followed me home. Know he has freedom when is comes to the TV station, and all the toys in the house, he couldn't be happier!

At the bus stop....waiting

As the bus pulled up, Paige threw her arm out as a wave as she was running to get on.

After school, she had a great first day!

Paige Meets Her Teacher

Paige got to go to her new school on September 10th to take in her school supplies and meet her teacher. She will be in Mrs. Green's class and she is super excited about it. I have been talking to her all summer long about going to kindergarten to prepare her for it and she has seemed a bit nervous about leaving home for a few hours every day and about leaving me. After Pieper was born, I was talking to her about it one night and she started crying. I felt so bad that she was having a hard time with the fact that she will be leaving me. Then I found out a few days after this incident that she really is excited about kindergarten, she just was making me think she was sad and nervous, because she didn't wan ME to feel bad. Silly girl! I am glad she is so excited, I know she will have a great year in Kindergarten. She is so smart and so much fun, she will be a rockstar in her class

Parker 2nd Grade

Our oldest started 2nd grade this year!! What??!! I can't believe he is that big, having a little newborn in the home again brings back all the memories of each other child and when they were that age. It doesn't seem like that long ago we were bringing Parker home from the hospital, so excited and clueless as to what was in store for us. And here we are almost 8 years later!! Parker was very excited to be starting 2nd grade. He has Mrs. Taylor this year, and we are thrilled about that. She has been quite a while and I know she is a wonderful teacher, so Parker is in good hands this year. We are hoping that he really excels this year and that he grasps some of the concepts that were hard for him last year. He has come a long way and it almost to the point that he enjoys some of the parts of school. He was really excited when he learned that a bunch of kids from his 1st grade class have Mrs. Taylor as well so he had friends in the class with him. When we woke him up in the morning for his first day, he just got right back into the routine we had last year and was ready to go in record time. I think he was pretty excited. When he came home from school he was so excited that there would be no homework for the first week because it was also fair week. This kids hates homework, and so does this mother, so I was a little excited as well that there wouldn't be homework to worry about. I am still adjusting to life as a mom of 4!

Home

There is something wonderful about walking into your own home after being gone for a period of time, whether long or short. I was definitely excited to finally be in my own home after being in the hospital for 3 days. The kids made a cute sign and hung it up in the kitchen welcoming Pieper into the family and welcoming Matt and I back home. When we walked in the door the kids all jumped out from their hiding places and yelled, "welcome home!" It was cute! They were all excited to have their turn holding the baby, she is going to be one extremely loved little girl! We got all settled in, Matt ran to the store to get a few things, including my prescription for pain pills, and my wonderful mom took the kids with her back to her house to get dinner ready and I was able to rest with Pieper. We had to stop on the way home from the hospital and rent a Bili light for her to use and when we got home we got that all set up so that she glowing. I can tell that her level is dropping, but we want to make sure she is on the light as much as possible. She is a great little eater and loves to be cuddled. After a great dinner, of Spaghetti pie, we got the kids ready for bed and tried to prepare for our first night home from the hospital. Parker started 2nd grade the next day and I was grateful that we were able to be home for that special day for him. We survived the first night, by taking shifts and allowing the other person to sleep while the other of us was holding/feeding the baby. It is amazing how you forget how hard it is to be woken up so many times during the night. A good 6-8 hours of sleep seems like a distant memory anymore and I don't know how I nursed 3 other kids during the night by myself, getting up to feed them 4-5 times a night. I am glad that this time, Matt is able to help and that he is willing to do so. Either way, we are so in love with Pieper that we wouldn't trade this time for anything!