Hot Day!

For what I believe was the hottest day of the summer, we decided to enjoy outdoor activities for the day (what were we thinking). We kicked off our afternoon by meeting up with some friends at Ellis Park to see the Camel and Ostrich races, a first for our family. It was a hot afternoon...the kids were trying hard to enjoy themselves since they wanted to see the races. Ice cream and pretzels helped a little and the boys did enjoy the hilarity of the races. After the races, we took a LONG car ride to allow for a good nap from the kids before heading to our next activity. We dropped Claire off at Mimi and Papa's and took the boys to their first demolition derby. Even though it continued to be hot and sweltering, even after the sunset, the boys really enjoyed the loud, smashing cars. We stayed out late to see the majority of the races and Brady even took a departure to the rides during a few of the races. They had a fun day...but let's hope for cooler temperatures next year.

Claire was unimpressed...

Bath time!

Bath time is a family event! For now, Claire is still able to take her bath in the baby bath in the kitchen sink. As soon as we start getting her all set up, here come the boys pulling the stools up so they can talk to her while we give her the bath. She loves the attention and seems to really enjoy the bath! She also has had her fair share of showers, but baths are so much more fun!

Day with Daddy

In mid-July, we had to cover three days of care for Claire since her daycare provider was on vacation. Daddy decided to take 2 of the days to spend with his little girl. The first day, they went for a visit with Papa Terry where Claire was very alert and talkative. The next day, they hung out together at home and ran a few errands. Daddy really enjoyed his time with Claire, but did make the comment that she was a full-time commitment (hopefully now he knows why I didn't get much done during maternity leave).

The pictures below were sent to me with a note "Claire says hi". I loved it so much...made my day!! I wish I could get updates from Claire sent to me daily...

Look who's already 3 months old!

Hard to believe, but Claire is now 3 months old! She is such joy to have around! Some things she is doing at 3 months old...

• Loves to smile, coo, and gurgle especially when watching her brothers play.
• Discovered her hands and always has them in her mouth, along with lots of drool. We keep waiting for the 1st tooth to pop through.
• She has fallen into a pretty consistent routine at daycare and at home, which includes a decent sleep schedule. She advanced to her crib in early July and seems to enjoy it (except naps seem to be preferred in our room).
• She continues to work on her strength and is a good supported sitter. She prefers to be sitting up whether it is on your lap or in her bouncy seat or exersaucer.
• She is a great eater with about 36 ounces a day and has advanced to Size 2 diapers already. She was in the 99th percentile last time she was weighed and shows no sign of slowing down.

We are enjoying each day with her and are just amazed at how happy of a baby she is! She doesn't even really cry - just grunts as a signal. We love her so much!!!

Burdette Park Fun

The weekend after the 4th, Mimi and Papa invited all the grandkids (and parents) to join them at Burdette Park for the Carpenter's Picnic. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then headed to the pool for an afternoon of swimming. Connor was old enough to go down the waterslides this year. He said it was fun, but not worth the wait so we only went that once (insert sad face). After swimming, we went back to the lodge for dinner and the kids played in the bounce inflatables. It was an enjoyable day for the whole family!

Lovin' the Exersaucer

This weekend, we decided it was time for Claire to try out her exersaucer so that she could join us in the kitchen for meals in her preferred sitting up position (bouncy seat wasn't making her happy anymore). While the boys are eating their breakfast in the morning, she is right there visiting with them. She loves it and has even figured out how to hit some of the music-making toys on her own.

Today at daycare, they were happy to report that they tried out the exersaucer and were impressed at how well she did. Ha - we beat you to it!

Swimming Fun on the 4th

Disclaimer: Little delinquent on my updates from this summer.

For July 4th, we went to the Gottman's for a day of swimming and visiting. It was a great day for it! The boys were all "geared up" with their swim vests, rings, and goggles. They spent over 5 hours sliding down the water slide, practicing their swimming, racing on mommy and daddy's backs, and blasting the water guns. They had a blast! Claire visited with Mimi the majority of the time and had a peaceful nap during the fun also!

Thank you to the Gottman's for always inviting us out for a fun day of swimming and burgers!

Date Night with Mommy

After much debate and discussion with the boys on whether they actually would watch a movie all the way through at the movie theater, we finally decided to take them to see the heavily-talked-about Toy Story 3. The last movie they had seen was Ice Age 3 with the grandparents and they left half way through.

We decided to make it a special night...early pick up from school and date night with mommy. Daddy would be spending one-on-one time with Claire at home. I picked them up early from school on Friday, which they were ecstatic about, and we headed straight to the movies. Forget dinner...we picked up some pizza, nachos, and snacks at the concession. We then proceeded to our theatre for the movie. We were the first ones there, so the boys sat back enjoying their snacks and getting super excited about the movie. They knew, or so they thought, everything about the movie based on their friends.

During the movie, Connor asked to go home a few times but Brady was enjoying the movie so I convinced him to stay. At one point, Brady got very upset and asked to go home. I could tell it was getting close to the end, so I convinced them to stay and see the happy ending. I am glad I did and they were thankful also. All they talk about now is how it ended and the middle part, the scarier part, is funny to them now (since they know it ends well). Brady enjoyed the movie so much that he finally finished watching Toy Story 2 at home and has been toting around Buzz Lightyear non-stop and repeating "Infinity and Beyond".

While we were at the movies, Claire decided to stay awake and visit with daddy. She was "talking" non-stop telling him all about her day without the constant interruptions from her brothers. It was a good evening and one we hope to repeat.

Why would we work for free? Show me the money!

Apparently, my boys don't work for free...what's up with that?

A conversation on the way to school:

Connor: "We haven't collected any money for doing our jobs"

Me: "Because you haven't done any jobs lately" (I don't count laundry as a job as that is their assigned household chore)

Connor: "Because you have to pay us and tell us what the job is"

Connor and Brady went on to throw out ideas for jobs, including the request for a BIG job that they can share the money on. They also said they wanted to save their money for a toy and hopefully the toy doesn't cost everything they have in their bank, so that they can still have some savings.

I guess it is time for Chris and I to come up with some jobs...and start handing over the quarters or dollars. I wonder what the going rate for child labor is these days?

Our big girl...10 weeks old!

We knew Claire was getting to be a big girl based on her new appetite and the noticeable change in how she fills out her bouncy and bassinet now....we received confirmation of just how big at her 2 month doctor appt. Claire weighs 14 lb, 11 ozs. and is in the 99th percentile. She is 24 inches long which was 93%. She is still my sweet little girl but apparently wants to play catch up with her big brothers.

Some things she is doing at 10 weeks old...

• Enjoys her days at daycare which consist of 3 naps of about 4 hours and then 6 hours of music time, swinging, and watching all the activity of the other kids. Right now, she is surrounded by kids ages 8 months to 7 years old, so lots of stimulation.
• Sleeps very good! Wakes up once in the night for a bottle and sometimes with a long time period of time from the last bottle.
• Perks up at the sound of Connor's voice...I think it is because he talks to her in that soothing baby talk voice and likes to tell her all sorts of things.
• Smiles at Brady and then shoots Brady looks when he starts getting too annoying.
• Has very strong head strength and loves to sit up and see the world. Has even started bouncing into a sitting position from a leaning position.
• Loves being held by mommy...yes, she looks to be a hip baby!
• Loves to coo, gurgle, and smile on a regular basis. She is a very happy baby!
• Enjoys watching cartoons with Connor and has chosen a favorite...Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She smiles and gets very excited while watching that show, which may be due to the primary colors.

We are enjoying each day with her and are just amazed at how happy of a baby she is! We love the completeness of our family - I can't imagine our life without our two boys and our baby Claire in it!

Weekend fun...a lot of swimming!

I went into the weekend stressed about balancing the need to get things done around the house, catch-up on work, and spend time with the kids. After having a quiet afternoon where the boys were at a birthday party and Claire was napping, I was able to get past that feeling after catching up on a few items. The boys had a blast at the birthday party where there was a bounce house and lots of trains (a bigger collection of Geotrax than what they have if you can believe that). Saturday evening, we decided to head to my mom's house where she was filling up her pool (finally) and the cousins were already splashing it up. The boys happily joined in and played for hours with their cousins. Papa joined in and the kids had a blast playing with Papa into the evening. Claire also had her first dip into a pool...she seemed to enjoy it!

On Sunday, the boys had already made plans to head back over there. I left with the three kids around lunch time, we had an outdoor lunch at mom's house, and then me and the kids swam. Claire was loving it for the time she was in! After a couple hours by ourselves, daddy, gma, and cousins all showed up and joined in. It ended up being a very nice afternoon for a swim...the pool was full, sun was shining, the wind was giving a nice breeze, and everyone was in good moods. I have a feeling this will become a recurring weekend event. I just wish it was at our house so we could skip the loading up the car part...

Consequences and Negotations

The boys know that certain behaviors will result in consequences. Those consequences are usually the loss of an activity that is important to them. This is not always the same because of interest changes and the key is to motivate a behavior change and "hit them where it hurts". This is easier to do with Connor than with Brady as Connor is very passionate about his interests. This is not as easy to do with Brady since he is so laid back that he will move on to a different interest.

Tonight, Connor lost his TV show as punishment for his lack of listening and then his lack of respect. After a meltdown about losing his TV, he then proceeded to make the following arguments (and a few more): "Mom, you should have taken my Shrek watch away because I wouldn't care about that. I can wait until tomorrow to get that back, but I can't wait until tomorrow to get my tv back. By taking my TV away, you have made me upset. I'm not going to be able to get up early enough to watch my show."

I had to point out to him that we apparently hit the "punishment" on the nail since that was the POINT! Why yes Connor, the behavior consequence should be the one that you least care about and doesn't upset you! Really...he was negotiating with me on why we chose the punishment we did! Keep trying buddy...your negotiation skills will come in handy one day when you need to influence others!