First Kiss.

It happened already.

Oh my!

I suppose I am excited because it's with Daniel, our godson. So I'm all about signing Annalee up for that marriage! 

Cuteness for sure!

-Heather

In One Week.

One week from today...

• I'll be in my new office learning to have a job job again. Last week I was trying on various work pants not in storage and I found a faded receipt in a pocket from May 12, 2009. That's the last month I worked a "real job". Almost five years. It was a bit scary, wondering if my brain can handle thinking about work after this long, wondering how I will handle the work/life balance with two kiddos. It was also good because I found $12 cash with those pants and they still fit after three babies (props to that nice stretchy material). Holla!
• Our daughter will have been in daycare for the second day of her little life. Greg's sister sends her daughter (sweet Alexia) to a lady that is going to take Annalee as well. She's going to watch her full time for the first two weeks then willing to do part-time after we get back from SC. I love that Alexia and Annalee will be together for a bit! 
• Eli will be in his first day of "daycare" and really it's not daycare! Grandma is watching him Monday then Tuesday, Thursday and Friday a new friend from church is going to be taking Eli. She's got two boys so I think it'll be good for him. We are still working on figuring out other temporary care for him as we have a nice Grandma-like lady that is going to watch both kids starting in the fall. There are lots of good things about her/the situation and we are grateful! We just need to make sure we are set until she's ready for them in the fall. We are trying to find someone to watch them both for the summer. This all has been much stress for me! Lots of transition for our kiddos and definitely some mama guilt for me.
• I'll probably be scaling back pumping or stopping entirely. I badly want to stop and I badly want to keep going. It's bizarre. I am dreading it and anticipating it both! I'm so hesitate to have Annalee try formula but I know we must. I'm not making enough plus I need to not explode while at work. I tried unsuccessfully to get her to latch again today in hopes she could nurse every morning and night still. #wishfulthinking 
• And lastly, our little house down in South Carolina will hopefully have a new owner. We are still slated to close on the 31st and crossing our fingers that is so! We are so ready to find a home here and make it ours! 
• Oh and it'll be April! The sweetest month!

-Heather

Not Quite Crack.

I remember standing in the diaper aisle at the store judging the size six diapers. Thinking they were so awfully large that no kid should really ever make it to that size. They should just be potty trained by the time they  would need that size. I mean really. And now, well now I'm certain that my kid could probably wear a size six. Of course I'm not going to buy them if I can help it. There are less diapers in a package for the same money. My wallet will fight that size six!

I was thinking on this lately because size five sure doesn't have much wiggle room anymore. In fact, we are stretching to cover that cute little tush. Often a quick change results in quite the diaper weggie. And somehow or another, Eli started calling that a "butt crap." I think he overheard me say "it's in his butt crack" after Greg had caused a diaper weggie. Combined with the fact I know he has heard us use the word "crap" before and I guess he just put those together. So the last few weeks we've all heard Eli, with a serious please-fix-it-face saying "I got butt crap."

Try not laugh.

To add to this amusement is the fact Eli has been pretending to be Cousin Cousin Ben lately. "Cousin Cousin Ben dunked the blankie" or "This is Cousin Cousin Ben's snack." Well last night it was "Cousin Cousin Ben's got butt crap in his diaper."

Hilarious. I am assuming Ben wouldn't appreciate that one quite as much.

Eli is a hoot and makes us laugh every single day. Love that boy!

-Heather

Why Not Minot.

We had another whirlwind weekend. This time in Minot. Greg's cousin played in the state basketball tournament so we wanted to be there for that plus our good friends from back in our just-married-living-in-Grand Forks days live there so we crashed with them.

Greg enjoyed watching cousin cousin Ben (one of ten Mr. Basketball nominees in the state) and Eli and I enjoyed watching him on TV. Eli now thinks Ben is playing anytime he sees basketball on TV. And if you ask him who he is when he's shooting hoops, he says "cousin cousin Ben." He also says when watching bball "those guys are saying "pass me the ball please"". Which makes our kid the most polite basketball player ever.We were bummed Ben's team lost the championship game but proud of the Saints for a stellar season and making it to the very end.

Thanks to our friends for the hospitality! It was so fun to see their kids and their little personalities!

Cousin Lilli joined us for an evening of fun

Oh fun, hilarious Ruby (four months older than Eli)

Eli, oh Eli. Perhaps we should be worried?

-Heather

My Three.

Last week or so Annalee was awake happy in the crib. Her affectionate older brother grabbed the stool and put it next to the crib so he could get a better view of her. He was playing so nicely and I was enjoying it so I thought I'd take it a step further and put him in the crib with her. She loved it. He loved it. And one of the first things he did was ask for Maelee's bear that sits on the corner of the crib. 

And then all this sweetness happened. She's not here, our four-year old, to lead these two in sibling love. But her memory, her place in our lives is still very present. Especially to this mama's heart. 

Missing her yet still as we enter into spring,  "her season" and approach another birthday without her here to celebrate. 

-Heather

Our Neck...

We found out last week our SC house is now not closing until the 31st. Another few weeks of wondering and waiting. As long as it actually does sell, it's not a huge hiccup. Fingers crossed.

We have looked at a few homes here but so far nothing is "it". There isn't much out there but our realtor assures us once we have a week of warm weather, the houses will come! We are greatly anticipating this - I'm ready to have all our stuff in some order and feel settled here in B-town. Plus I know my dear MIL is ready to spring clean her house and have their space back!

But even more anxiety-causing for me today: the childcare option for the kiddos fell through this morning. So we are back to square one. I know it's going to be hard to leave our kiddos wherever we find, but finding good daycare will make that so much less stressful.  We haven't lived here long enough to be connected. I just know if we were in SC, looking for someone to watch them 2-3 days a week would not be a problem!  I'm thinking we may end up splitting them up because Eli is more ready for a preschool type format. But we shall see. I've made loads of inquiries so I'll keep trudging through.

Gratefully, on Sunday when we got home it was 62 degrees. Praise the Lord for the break from bitter cold. I'm sure it'll be back for a bit before spring actually comes... but I won't think about that just now.

That's a little update... from our neck of the woods.

-Heather

Highs and Hugs.

A few highlights from our time with the Lipperts (my nice camera was forgotten sadly so iPhone pics are it):

And these two cousins are a hoot together. Opposite in many ways (Ava has no fear, Eli plenty) but still so cute. Here's some cousin hug love:

Glad for a short but fun weekend with them!

-Heather

Demanding Sister.

We are spending today with my sister, her hubby and her two kids. Eli is estatic about being with his cousins. He is totally sleep-deprived (as our we) and is sure touchy. Oi. My sister just got upset because I hadn't posted on the blog. We are WITH them this weekend and she's checking the blog for updates? Just look at us in person, goober.

Miss you Mom and Dad!

And now I'm being tickled by three red heads...

-Heather

5 Month Cutie.

Annalee Linn is five months old and still alive and healthy. Thank you Lord! Details for you to enjoy and for me to record:

We went into the well baby clinic yesterday to talk about transitioning to formula (part of me groan, part of me "yay!") so we also got her measurements. They were much more accurate in measuring her length which was 24 1/4 inches... at her four month the nurse had her at 25 inches. Pretty sure she hasn't shrunk! They just didn't measure that well. Bummer, I was so excited she wasn't short! She did only gain a little over an ounce this month; she was 14lbs 14ozs yesterday. I think that's okay as she started to move much more this month. Overall the latest means our little girl is just that: little!

She doesn't fit the three month clothes very well but six month are mostly too big still. I feel like she's got a decent size torso but short limbs (sorry sweetie!).

She has been rolling over the last weeks. Sometimes she gets stuck on her belly. But she's doing great with tummy time and her development (said the physical therapy lady at the clinic yesterday).

She prefers her left side and now when she's tired, her tell is her turning on her left. The last few days we have also seen her go most of the way so we find her sleeping mostly on her tummy. Definitely not the "lay Eli on his back and he'll stay there 'til morning" kind of kid!

She responds so well to us now - she lights up with delight when she sees someone she loves. She seems so personable. Plus she can talk and talk and talk. Oh my!

She loves squeakiness. Sophie the giraffe or anyone being squeaky.

She can grab for toys sort of... still not a master of her hand functions but definitely working on it. She loves the play mat or the toys on her car seat for the purpose of something to grab at.

She has been going down around 7pm, waking up around 10pm to eat, then again around 1 or 2am, then again at 4 or 5am. Uffda. The last few nights she dropped that 4/5am feeding so let's hope she's going to get the whole "keep sleeping through hunger" thing down.

She still goes from 0-60. It makes you laugh at her, really, it is just so insane! She can be so sweet, then can  work herself up to crazy, then once you give her what she wants, she'll give you the eagle eye for awhile until she calms down and is happy again. Oi. I'm sure this is a normal baby thing but it seems like she's got an extra bit of attitude wrapped up in it!

Wish you all could give her a snuggle! This next month will be a biggie, gearing up for the big six-months. She'll be trying food, starting formula, and seeing her mommy go to work two to three days a week and hanging out with "strangers". Gulp!

-Heather

Sibling Pic.

Hello from E and A (who looks especially squishy here)

Check out a video on Instagram of Annalee giggling at her Daddy that I took about fifteen minutes ago. She's rolling over now and growing bigger and more alert every day. And this week it's already time for her five month photos! And Eli, well Eli just keeps making us laugh with the things he says. They really are the darndest.

-Heather