Why I am behind on blogging...

Photo by the lovely Michelle Boyd :)  More pics from this Christmas session to come! 

I want to document a typical day in our house.  I LOVE this season of life, even though the days are always busy.  Looking at today in detail really takes away some guilt about not getting "everything" done.  I've figured out how to take care of three kids (minus the 9 hours a week that Elise is at pre-k), get food shopped for, prepared, and on the table, clean dishes and laundry and keep things relatively clean, but that's about it.  In addition to those things, my goal for the day is to spend some quality time with Mike, with each child, with myself (usually in the form of a workout DVD), and with God (sometimes just happens while feeding Claire).  I'm so thankful for a husband who works hard all day and helps at home as soon as he walks in the door.

So, since September, our schedule of activities has been about the same (aside from spending a lot more time outside in the fall!).  Mondays we are free (did swim lessons for a while but not currently) and we sometimes get together with a friend.  Elise is in school on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9-12.  We go to bible study from 9:15 - 11:15 on Wednesdays, small group on Wednesday evenings, and church at 9:30 on Sundays.  I prefer to stay home in the afternoons, but usually at least once a week we invite a friend to come to our house.  On Saturdays we like to do a family outing, or at least a "divide and conquer" outing.  For the last two months it's been near or below freezing almost all the time, so we can't always take the whole family.  Maybe next year Claire will be up for some snow plow pile climbing.

Without further ado, I present a typical day in the Powell house...  

Thursday, February 27, 2014
7:15 am - Wake up, shower, and talk to Mike since all kids are still asleep (normally Claire and Jack are up around this time).
7:40 - 8:00 am - Feed Claire and put her on activity mat for play time.
8:00 am - Get Jack out of bed (dry pull up!), to potty, and get him dressed while Elise (always last to wake up) wakes up and dresses herself.
8:10 am - Get breakfast on table (cereal and pumpkin bread).  Say bye to Daddy.
8:20 am - Claire poops.  Change diaper.
8:35 am - Brush everyone's teeth and get shoes, coats, hats, and gloves on.
8:45 am - Load everyone in the car to take Elise to preschool.  Claire falls asleep for nap #1 in car seat.
9:00 am - Drop Elise off at school.  Head to Barnes and Noble.
9:10 am - 9:30 am - Play with trains/read books.
9:35 am - 10:05 am - Get groceries at Trader Joe's (next door to Barnes and Noble).
10:10 - Get home and unload groceries.
10:20 - Claire wakes up.
10:30 - 10:50 - Feed Claire while Jack plays fire trucks in play room.
10:50 - 11:20 - Play jigsaw puzzles with Jack, help him with potty, change Claire's diaper and do tummy time.
11:25 - Bundle up again and load car.
11:30 - Go to Staples and drop off workbooks to be spiral bound.  Walk around the store so that Jack can find all the red things.
11:50 - Drive to preschool.
12:00 - Pick up Elise.  Claire falls asleep for nap #2 in car seat.
12:15 - Arrive home.  Kids play while Mommy makes lunch (PB&J, strawberries, and cucumbers).
12:45 - Claire wakes up (early!).  Feed her while kids eat lunch and play.
1:00 - Elise hits Jack while Mommy is feeding Claire.  Jack cries.  Elise to time out and chore in her room (sorting laundry).  Jack needs help wiping and washing hands.  Claire is taking too long to eat.
1:25 - Read books to Jack, go potty again, and put in bed.
1:40 - Jack asleep.  Elise plays with Claire while Mommy eats a quick lunch.  Elise wants more food (pecans and cheese).
1:50 - Workbook time with Elise while Claire gets to sit or stand and watch.
2:10 - Put Claire down in crib for nap #3.  Elise still doing workbook.  Mommy typing this blog post.
2:45 - Read to Elise.
3:00 - Elise down for 45 minutes of rest time in her room.  Mommy starts a quick workout.
3:10 - Claire up and sucking thumb in her crib (2nd short nap?!).
3:20 - It becomes apparent that Claire is not interested in going back to sleep.
3:20 - 3:40 - Feed Claire and put her in Elise's room to play.
3:40 - Wake up Jack.
3:45 - Snack (applesauce and pretzels).
4:15 - Assist Jack with potty.
4:15 - 4:45 - Everyone in playroom.  Elise asks 1000 questions about volcanoes.  Resort to google and YouTube.  Play trucks with Jack and play with Claire on the floor.
4:45 - Put Claire in crib for short nap.
4:45 - 5:15 - Make dinner.  E & J play puzzles while Mommy goes back and forth from kitchen to playroom.
5:25 - Daddy home!  Everyone plays hide and seek.
5:30 - 6:00 - Daddy plays with big kids in the basement.
5:40 - 6:00 - Claire wakes up and eats again.  Read Mark 11 on iPhone for bible study.
6:05 - Eat dinner (spaghetti, asparagus, sweet potatoes).
6:30 - Mommy gives Claire a bath.
6:45 - Daddy gives Elise a bath while Jack, Mommy, and Claire clean the playroom.
7:00 - Daddy gives Jack a bath while Mommy feeds Claire and Elise cleans her room.
7:15 - Daddy reads the new kid encyclopedia (no joke, it's their favorite book right now) to E & J while Mommy is still feeding Claire.
7:30 - All kids in bed.  Daddy does dishes while Mommy cleans.
8:00 - Claire awake and in need of new diaper and pajamas.
8:10 - 8:30 - Feed Claire again (tail end of growth spurt) and put her in bed.
8:30 - 9:00 - Clean/sort through a few more things.  Consider starting a load of laundry but decide to wait until tomorrow.
9:00 - 10:00 - Reply to a few emails, eat a scoop of mint chocolate chip, and finish typing this so I can go to bed.  I'm hoping to be awake enough to join Mike for a P90X date at 6 am.  We'll see :)

It's almost the weekend!  Maybe I'll make some time to get the seven draft posts finished... or just have fun with the family :)

Claire - 3 months!

Well, again this post is late (3 kiddos = busy mama), but this is about Claire's third month of life, which ended on January 30.  You never know, the next one may be on time!

Stats:  Claire weighed 11 lbs 5 oz at the doctor at 12 weeks old.  She is wearing all 3-6 month clothes and still size 1 diapers.  She's about 25 inches long.

Sleeping:  As soon as we returned from Texas, we transitioned her to the crib and she wasn't fazed at all.  She is still swaddled and if she's fussy, it immediately calms her down.  She's now consistently sleeping 10.5-11 hours at night.  Bedtime still varies and is usually between 8 and 9 pm.  If she wakes up before 7 am, I feed her and put her back to sleep.  If she wakes up after 7, she eats and stays awake for about an hour or until we get in the car for preschool drop off, church, bible study, etc.  We had a week or two where the 45 minute intruder visited our home regularly during crib naps but she seems to have grown out of it and normally takes the full nap without an intervention in the middle.  Bedtime is a little tricky around here because we are outnumbered but we're figuring it out.  Right now it works out pretty well for Claire to take a short 4th nap from about 5:45-6:30 while we are eating dinner and then she can play while we get Elise and Jack in bed.  So, even though the wake up time varies a little, she has a pretty predictable schedule which makes it easy to plan her "meals" along with the rest of the crew.

Wake/Eat: Between 7 and 8 (woken by 8 if still sleeping)
Nap #1:  9-10:30 (this is currently in the car seat on preschool days)
Wake/Eat: 10:30
Nap #2:  12-1:30 (this is currently in the car seat on preschool days, though if she has just fallen asleep I sometimes transfer her to the crib)
Wake/Eat:  1:30
Nap #3:  2:30-4:30 (always in crib and in conjunction with Jack's nap/Elise's rest time)
Wake/Eat:  4:30
Nap #4:  5:45ish-6:30ish (always in crib during dinner)
Wake/Eat: 6:30
Play time until big kids are in bed, then play with Mommy and Daddy, then eat again and go to sleep sometime between 8 and 9.

Eating:  Claire is still nursing well.  She is not a huge fan of the bottle but she'll take a few ounces from it whenever she gets the chance to practice (which is not too often because it is more work for me to do that than to just feed her myself).  She takes anywhere from 10-30 minutes to eat depending on her level of drowsiness (whether I woke her or she woke herself up).

Playing:  Claire started rolling from tummy to back around 11 weeks old and ended almost every tummy time by rolling for about a week and a half.  Then, she apparently decided that she's not interested in rolling after all and only does it occasionally.  She is much stronger now and likes tummy time a whole lot more this month.  She also started laughing around 11 weeks.  Elise and Jack love to try to make her giggle.  She "talks" a lot more to us and to the toys on her activity mat, and we think she tries to mimic certain noises that we make.  She also loves to spin the bears on the bouncer and reach for the toys on the mat.  Diaper change time is also a big hit because she can admire her mobile.  She doesn't like the pacifier as much as she used to, though she will sometimes take it in the car seat.  She enjoys "standing" and "sitting", especially when it means she can watch Elise and Jack provide free entertainment.

Events:  About halfway through her third month, I noticed that she tends to tilt her head to her left if she is holding her head up.  After confirming with the doctor, we started physical therapy for mild torticollis.  It has improved in the last few weeks.

Claire has been such a joy to our family.  Here's to surviving (and enjoying!) the first 3 months of 3 kiddos!

 First time to sleep in the crib

She loves it!

Babysitter Elise

There is a picture of Elise in a similar pose with the same outfit here.... and a 

Holding her toys

Chewing hands

Cuddling with Daddy

Smiling at Elise

Napping with Elise

3 month birthday picture (you can see the head tilt)

3 month picture helpers

Tummy time... about to roll over

And finally, here are a few pictures of Elise and Jack at 3 months old.  I think Claire resembles Jack a little more than Elise at this age, but that's probably because Elise was a lot bigger.  It'll be interesting to see who she looks like as she grows up.  I love my babies!