6 weeks

Here she is at 6 weeks old (that was a week ago but we've been having computer issues so just pretend...) When I first tried to take pictures, she fell asleep!But later in the day I got her to wake up...

What they know...

Kids always surprise us with what they know, what they've learned, and how much they remember (yes, they can also amaze with how little they remember but that's for another discussion). I wanted to share a little of the surprises I've heard around here lately. Jason and Beth helped Andrew paint the upstairs bathroom last week. But before painting, Andrew washed down the walls with vinegar. Did you know that smell is the strongest memory sense we have? It's true, and Beth exhibited this strength as she commented, "the bathroom smells like Easter egg coloring!" I thought that kind of memory was pretty impressive for four years old! She's only colored eggs, what, three times before?


And then today, Adam had me saying wow, you're amazing. We have been doing some preschool work with him as I homeschool the older two. I've given him pictures of letters to color and tried somewhat to emphasize a "letter of the week," knowing that he doesn't need to know his abc's anytime soon.
As I present each letter, I've added that letter to the refrigerator magnets (it's easier than having all 26 letters there for kids to toss around the kitchen floor:) Today Adam told me he was going to spell mommy on the fridge. It's so fun to see him learning by copying Jason and Beth (who are spelling all the time). Now, this is the most unique way to spell mommy but here's what he said, "popcorn, hat, this one, elephant, another one, and fish." Let me interpret - he put the letter P (popcorn) H (hat) L (he didn't remember L) E (elephant) I (another one he forgot) and F (fish). He looked at me with a huge grin and declared, "Mommy!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that not one of those letters is in the word mommy. I was too busy being proud that he actually knows some letters and wants to do something with them! And his unique style has me laughing that someday he'll spell his name, "alligator, dog, alligator, mommy."

Trunk or Treat

I realized as we just got some photos of cousins at Halloween that I never posted pics of our crew all dressed up. So here they are...I'll start with the repeat offender. Yes, Adam wanted to be Nemo again this year. Although his favorite fish is now Deepo from the Georgia Aquarium, he still loves Nemo. Really, he loves all fish. He'll even point out the letter "F" in words on signs and say, "fff, fff, fish!" Staying with the aquatic theme, we have Beth dressed as her new favorite princess. She was Cinderella last year, loved Sleeping Beauty all summer, and has now switched her allegiance to Ariel (or Oriole as Beth pronounces is). I was a little concerned about her maneuvering in that getup but she managed beautifully, even on the bounce house! Just don't ask her to climb stairs :)With a nod to his cousin Caleb, Jason is dressed as the Green Power Ranger. He has no idea who or what the Power Rangers are but his cousin Caleb was dressed as one last year, and from what he can tell, it's a green super hero - perfect!And finally, three week old Jillian was a butterfly. She was adorable but only wore the costume for these pictures because how do you get her into a car seat in this? And then she slept through the activities and/or hid in the warmth at home. We had a great Halloween night, which is saying a lot considering we had no plans only days before, we had a 3 week old baby, and it was super cold but Grandma was here, the kids had high hopes, and we were determined to have a great night! We found out from locals about a nearby church hosting a "trunk or treat." Basically, a bunch of cars park in a circle in a big lot and open their trunks and you go car to car and get candy. Many of the cars where very festive and decorated their trunks haunted or hawaiian or patriotic, very creative! We ended up with tons of candy and even got to enjoy some bounce houses. Then on the way home I noticed a child on our block so I stopped and let everyone out and they trick or treated all the way home (we live at the end of a long cul-de-sac.) This was the first time our kids had ever gone trick or treating. We've always gone to a local Church Harvest Festival back in California where they played games and bounced in bounce houses. We always got some candy but NOTHING like this year. Check out our stash! Even though we threw some out and mommy and daddy have eaten more than their fair share, we're still working through it. Maybe our cousins will help us over Thanksgiving :)

More Sister Pics...

I just can't resist posting more pics of Beth and Jillian. Beth is just so sweet with her. She's always asking to "see Jill's face." She just can't go too long without at least seeing Jill and preferably holding her. The reality is Beth really does hold her ALL the time. As soon as I finish nursing she's there waiting. She's been known to pull Jillian out of people's arms! It does come in handy when I need to make dinner and Jillian's hitting that time of day where she needs to be held so Beth holds her, I turn the TV on, Beth relaxes with Jillian on the couch, and I'm able to make dinner.

This was before heading to church. How do you like Beth's "Pippi Longstocking tights" as Andrew calls them. The girl has style :)

Doctor's Visit

We went to the doctor for all 4 kids. They had well check visits with their new doctor. All went well, everyone's healthy, and I like our new doctor, yea!

What I found the most interesting is Jillian's weight. She weighs 9 pounds, 14 ounces. That was MY birth weight! She's almost 5 weeks old and is just now my birth weight, sorry mom! I know people have even bigger babies and I just look at her and think, how? She's growing so fast and already seems so different than her newborn self, yet, she's the size of some newborns. I just stared at her today and wondered how I would get her inside my body. It's a major miracle that our bodies can do that, God is creative! And because he's been somewhat absent from recent girly posts...here's a picture of Jason being creative with his snack...

More Jill Photos

Capturing this "laugh" makes me so excited for the day she actually does laugh (she really was just squirming around when I took this shot).

I guess she's not ready to hold her head up. Actually, she does hold it up but not for the camera!

And this is her, a picture that really looks like the true Jillian we've all grown to love.

One Month Old!

Wow, time flies by when you're having fun (or when you're nursing a new baby 24/7!) Jillian is one month old today. She's been such a great baby! She sleeps really well so although she's not the easiest nurser, the good sleeping makes up for it all!
She's becoming more and more animated. This doesn't say much considering she didn't even open her eyes the first month. Now whenever she does open her eyes Adam squeals, "her eyes are open, she's looking at me!" So that's her big accomplishment this month - she opens her eyes (they're still pretty small :)
Here's a look at how she's grown:

2 Days Old

One Week (yes, she does cry on occasion:) 2 Weeks Old:3 Weeks: And One Month Old Today:What a blessing she's been! We can't wait for many, many more months of joy with our Jillian!

Our lil' pumpkin

Couldn't you just eat me up?

Ok, I've had enough! Let me sleep (but check out my super long skinny fingers!)

Pumpkin Patch

We went to not one, but two pumpkin patches this year! Both had something to offer but neither had it all so we spent two days enjoying fall activities. It was even more extra special cuz Grandma was here visiting and got to share the day(s) with us (although she somehow managed to avoid getting caught in any pictures so you'll just have to take my word that she was there).

Beth has a new love - horses! She's always loved all animals but her passions are leaning toward horses these days. She was very happy to have a pony ride and then the pony was so friendly, she got to pet and pet her for as long as she wanted!Adam had his heart set on the bounce house and he was given his desires, as well...Jill slept through most of the activities like a good little girl (she was only 2 weeks old :)

Jason and Andrew went through the corn maze and got to shoot a "corn cannon." We also picked cotton and pumpkins to take home. Ok, so we only bought some mini pumpkins because there were no good looking big pumpkins and they're cheaper at the grocery store but in the end, it was a very successful weekend celebrating fall.PS How do you fix a pumpkin? With a pumpkin patch! Happy fall :)

Stone Mountain

A week before Jillian was born, our friends the Harris' came to visit. We hung out and played, went to the Aquarium, and enjoyed a day at Stone Mountain. What is Stone Mountain, you ask...I don't really know and I've been there! It's the largest stone in the country, or is it the world, I forget. And they've (I don't know who they are) carved confederate generals into the face of the stone. There's a train ride, a colonial village with forging and glass blowing demonstrations, a sky ride up the mountain and much, much more (but that's all we had time for that day :) Here's some pics of our adventures and our friends (we miss you, Matthew & Ellie!)

This is the kids in front of the carved mountain.Riding the skyride up the face of the mountain. This was a lot of fun as long as you like heights and don't mind being crammed into a little box with 40 people (it was a bit stuffy). It was worth it though to be on top of the mountain.The view down the face of the stone from the skyride. It's pretty high up there!Can you see the kids running across the stone? Andrew was shocked I let them run so freely until I showed him the picture of the big, strong fence just beyond those people. The view was pretty amazing. You can see downtown Atlanta.

And here I am with Krista one week before baby came, and may I recommend to all pregnant woman out there, don't go to Stone Mountain. There were many hills and it was hot and I just did not have the energy required to fully enjoy the experience. A woman asked me to have the baby on the skyride because that would be fun. I responded that that would be a great story but not at all fun! Luckily Jillian waited a week before making her big debut.