Number Three

I always knew I'd have at least three kids.  Clif and I are both the oldest of three, so it always seemed to be a given.

I'm sure there are those out there who think we're crazy.  I can't even tell you how many times someone would comment on how perfect we were with one boy and one girl.  That started when I found out Freddie was a boy.

"Oh perfect, one of each."

"You're so lucky to have on of each."

"Well now you can be done."

I would always nod and be polite but what I was thinking was "Who cares if I have one of each?  And I plan on having more."

Until you've felt it, it's hard to explain the need to have another child.  You just know there's another little soul out there that you're meant to be with.  It's not really a decision or a conscious thought...at least it wasn't for me.  It just was.

I have to say, that if you're having that feeling, go for it.  Three is awesome.  Everything is just so natural and easy at this point.

Now, let me be clear.  Life is not always easy.  Life is hectic and chaotic and crazy most days.  But that is not because of the third child, it is just part of having three kids.

Cohen is pure joy.  He is everything good about having a baby with none of the bad.  I'm no longer a nervous, worried, always questioning mom.  I feel like I can just enjoy every moment.  I'm completely confident in my abilities and decisions. 

I still worry about Ainsley.  I worry that she's not reading at the right level.  That she's not making enough friends.  That she's not involved in enough, or involved in too much.  When she was a baby I worried if she was eating enough, or too much.  Was I producing enough milk?  Why was she spitting up?  Did we do tummy time long enough?  Is she rolling over on time?  Would she be able to wear this outfit long enough?  Is she smiling, laughing, responding...blah, blah, blah. 

Freddie was so different from Ainsley, that he humbled me.  I thought I knew what I was doing, but he just never responded the same.  So I worried that I wasn't bonding with him enough.  That I wasn't meeting his needs.

Not with Cohen.  He's 5 months old.  He barely rolls over because I never put him on the floor.  He smiles and laughs more than he cries.  He eats when he wants and stops when he's done.  And I know that he's just fine.
 

It's not that I didn't enjoy my other kids as infants.  I did.  But now, I feel like that's all I do is enjoy him.  I don't let any worry or questions cloud that enjoyment.  I've managed to keep two other kids thriving past 5 months, so how could I go wrong here?

Your first baby rocks your world.
Your second baby builds your character.
And your third baby solidifies your confidence that you are totally cut out for this whole motherhood thing.

If only we could have that third baby, first - imagine how awesome we'd be.

Nag, Nag, Nag

So I have this little voice in my head nagging me...

"Write a blog post.  Write a blog post.  Write a blog post."

It won't shut up!!!

The problem is that all the other noise - good noise, but lots of it - that fills my life is totally drowning out that little voice.  I hate not writing.  I love writing and I feel so complete when I'm doing it regularly.  It's been way too long since I did it regularly.  But so often it happens that you do what you have to and what you love has to take a backseat for awhile.

So enough people have nagged me that I'm just doing it.  Yes, Tara Pratt, you are the straw that broke the camel's back.  And having people "like" the post helped push me over as well.

It's not a burden.  I love this blog.  The problem is time.  So here we go.  Let me give you some updates and then I'm really going to try to put up a post once a week...at least.

Let's start with me, because that's who you care about right?  Riiiiiight.  I'm just the most boring.  The reason I'm so busy?  Other than the 3 little people clamoring at my feet every waking moment?  Well, I got a promotion at work.  A whole new and different job.  Same department, same coworkers, but more responsibility and learning a whole new job.  Good right?  Right.  Bad part...they have not filled my old position.  So guess who's pulling double duty at work?  This girl!

So I get in at 7.  I bury myself in budgets and spreadsheets and schedules and marketing strategies and conference calls and PUMPING and then BAM, it's 3 o'clock, or sometimes 3:15, and it's time to run out the door and pick up Ainsley.

And then it's 66 and traffic and bus stops and daycare pick ups and dinner and laundry and baths and bedtime and then I'm DONE.  Even if our computer at home was worth the table it sits on, I don't think I'd have the energy to carry myself down the steps and pound out a post.  I know it wouldn't be my best.  So I save it for another day.

As for Clif, he's equally boring as me.  His job is going pretty well.  He gets the kids off in the morning so I can go in early.  Then once he's home we eat dinner and get the kids ready for bed.  We do sneak in "The Walking Dead" every week.

So that's us.  Now on to the good stuff.

Let's start with Ainsley.  Notice anything different about our buggy? 

Yeppo, she got a hair cut.  She's been begging me to cut it off for months and months.  I finally caved.  It's shorter than I wanted, but she gets lots of compliments on it.  It's growing on me and I know before I know it she'll need it cut again.

I've already filled you in on the attitude that is required of first graders, so we'll skip that.  Ainsley is great.  She's tall, with loooooong legs.  Reminds me of my sister.

Ohhh, speaking of my sister....look what she got...

This is Brooks Patrick.  He is a precious doll.  Mommy, Daddy, and little Brooks are all adjusting well and doing great.

Okay, back to Ainsley.  It's amazing how quickly a child can change and grow.  Just about every week she's reading more, writing more clearly.  Crazy stuff watching that transformation.  She's also taking Spanish at school and she's doing awesome.  Last night we got her report card and her best scores were in Spanish.  So I asked her if she could speak it at all and she rattled off a bunch of words and songs.  I couldn't believe it.  I guess I'm so focused on her homework and reading that I don't even ask her about Spanish...which she LOVES.  So I need to be better about that.

She's riding her bike like a pro.  I have a whole post planned about her finally learning to ride it this past summer, but it has not come out of my fingers yet.  I still want to write about our summer, so I will, eventually.

She has also learned to tie her shoes and blow bubbles.  Not at the same time.

She's dancing again this year...ballet, tap, and jazz.  But, I will say, she's not as into it as she once was.  She's asking to do other things, like play soccer and take ice skating lessons.  So we may take a break from dance soon.  Let her try some other things.

She's still doing cheerleading at school and loving that.

Also, Girl Scouts.  Yes, I know!  I had this totally bad view of girl scouts.  No chance, I thought.  But here I am, learning the Girl Scout law and all.  Like so many things, I had it judged all wrong.  It's all about bringing up women and treating everyone like a sister and friendship and giving back to your world.  All right up my alley.  I'm glad we're doing it.  So now you all know where you can get your thin mint fix come Spring!

Alright, who's next?  We'll go with Freddie.  

This kid "Cracks me out" as Ainsley would say.  He is so funny and so sweet and just incredible.  Rotten...rotten to the core, but a good rotten.  He's loving preschool.  Loves his friends, loves his teachers, loves the school, and gives me the biggest hug every night when I pick him up.

He is obsessed with the Power Rangers.  Oh yeah, they're still on.  Jason and Kimberly (a big thank you to Chris and Eddie for making sure I know those names) are long gone, but they have been on for the last 100 years or something ridiculous like that.  Ainsley and Freddie were both Power Rangers for Halloween.

Freddie just finished his first season of soccer.  It was just a developmental league, no games, but he seemed to like it.

He's at that age where his vocabulary is expanding rapidly but he hasn't mastered all of our grammar quirks.  So instead of saying "I hate the couch" he'll say "The couch hates me."

He loves potty talk.  Oh and he's potty trained...finally.  I worked on it all summer with little success, he went back to preschool and was potty trained within 2 weeks.  Sure does make you feel like a big success as a parent!

Anyway, we are trying to curb him of his potty talk, but he's a boy.  It's like what they live for.

My favorite thing he says is "Dat's weally cule!" (That's really cool).  Can't get enough of it.  Then of course at dinner, after he has fought tooth and nail not to eat a thing on his plate, he finally takes a bite and says "Mmmmm, yummo!"  I swear, I could make him the exact same thing every night and he'd cry when he got to the table every night and eventually try it and say "MMMMMM, YUMMO!" every night!

So that leaves us with this guy.

Cohen.  He's the reason I feel the worst about not blogging.  My blog is my baby book and I'm missing all these milestones because I can't get it done.

He's rolling over now.  Barely.  Apparently he does it at daycare, but not much at home.  He also started baby food last month.  We're just about through all the fruits and veggies.  Sometimes he eats it up, other times he wants nothing to do with it.

He is grabby grabby these days.  He loves our water bottles.  And wooden spoons.

He thinks Freddie and Ainsley are hysterical.

He's huge.  Last time I checked, over 17 pounds.  He just turned 5 months on Saturday.

He has no hair, so he's very jealous of cousin Brooks.  We try not to bring it up.

My favorite thing about Cohen right now is when he's excited to see me he tries to kiss me.  Like when I pick him up from daycare or when he's been fussing and I've been busy and he's been waiting for me to hold him, he flashes a huge grin, grabs my face and pulls it towards his mouth like he's going to kiss me.  Really, he probably just thinks my nose or chin are nice chew toys, but it reminds me of someone grabbing you and kissing you excitedly.

So there you have it.  Life is good, it's really good.  It's busy and hectic and sometimes I want to jump on a plane to a deserted island for a few days, but it's really awesome.  I am often reminded how lucky I am.  I have bad days, but I wouldn't trade my life for anything.  Clif and I are truly blessed and we know it.