Denver Zoo

Last weekend we headed up to the Denver Zoo for the day. The boys were very excited as the remembered the polar bears and the sea lions from the last time we were there. We saw almost pretty much everything, and the boys loved guiding us around with their maps. The decided to ride the carousal instead of the train, because this carousel as all different kinds of animals they could ride on, not just horses like at our zoo - very exciting! We had lunch there, let the boys splash in the water area, stopped and fed Livi a couple of times and then the kids and I headed home while Justin went over to a friends to watch football (the first day of the NFL season). We had a great morning and all the kids took great naps on the way home - a rarity around these parts.

Six Weeks

When I was pregnant with Olivia, my mom sent me some of the dresses I wore when I was little. One of the dresses I had pictures taken in at both 6 weeks and 4 months. Yesterday I put Olivia in the dress, as she is now 6 weeks. Here are the pictures. The first one is of me in the dress, the other two are of Olivia.

Pictures from Family Weekend

 

Here are some pictures from Labor weekend - enjoy!

Family Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend we had a great family weekend! We started the weekend off with a trip to Focus on the Family so the boys could play. Nolan loved the play area and climbed everything in the room all by himself - he is a little monkey when it comes to climbing! Tyler was excited to go down the big slide, and Carter was once again sad that he couldn't go. He has been feeling left out a lot lately I think (not getting to go to Kindergarten, etc) so we told him he would get to pick out something for Sunday. When we got back from Focus, the big boys and I went to a pottery store where they each got to pick out a piece and paint it. Tyler picked a plane and Carter picked a robot. They both had a great time with it and did great jobs painting.
On Sunday  morning we went to the balloon festival. We had never gone in the morning and the boys seemed to enjoy watching them lift off. After that we had a nice breakfast put. That afternoon, we took a family hike. We told Carter he could pick where we would hike. He wanted to go to Yellowstone, so we compromised on a park closer to Yellowstone - Fox Run. The boys all had a great job on the hike and then walking around the lake. They were tired on the way back but they both finished strong, running to the car at the end, Nolan seemed to enjoy riding in the backpack with Justin and Olivia slept in the front pack on me the entire walk.  We mostly spent the day at home on Monday, enjoying the extra day together. It was a great weekend!

First Day of Pre-K

Finally the day came - Carter started Pre-K!!! He was so excited and we were counting down the days. So far he loves his teacher and is having a blast. On the first day however, even though he was so excited the night before and didn't want to leave his open house the day before, he woke up saying he didn't want to go. Once we got over some tears and got to church however he was fine. He went right into his classroom with no problems and was all smiles when I picked him up.  He says he already knows a couple kids from the year before and is making friends no problem. His teacher is very into science so Carter comes home telling me all kinds of facts - like did you know your hearts never stops beating?!? I think he is going to have a great year!!

One Month Check-up

Last week Olivia had her one month check up. She sure has grown! She now weighs in at 9 lbs 5 oz, which is the 60th percentile, measures 21.5 inches, which is the 60th percentile and her head circumference is 36.1 centimeters, which is the 55th percentile. She had to get one shot, which she cried for a couple seconds but then was fine. The doctor thinks she is doing great and doesn't have any issues at all. While she still spits up a lot, for now since it doesn't bother her and he is gaining weight we aren't going to put her on prevacid. She is still very easy, sleeps great, and is starting to bat at toys and play some during the day. She usually falls asleep during her tummy time. So glad that she is a healthy little girl!

Favorite Things

I haven't done this in forever, but its time to start it up again I think. Nolan does one of my new favorite things. When he crawls now, he does it with a strut, shaking his head and hips as he is crawling all over. As much as I want him to walk (and he is taking more and more steps everyday) I will will his little strut.

Pictures of Olivia

Let's just say I take a lot of pictures of Olivia - here are some recently....

One Month!!!

Olivia is one month! I can't believe how fast this month has gone. She has stolen all are hearts. I was telling Justin that so far it doesn't seem that different, her being a girl, compared to the boys. He disagreed with me, saying its already very different for him, knowing that she was his baby girl. Tyler and Carter still love giving her hugs and kisses and always wanting to know what she is doing. Nolan is getting a little better, with less tantrums when I am holding her. He also really likes to go and see her when she is in her swing or laying on the couch. One time I saw him put a Kix in her mouth - at least he was trying to share!

She drinks anywhere from 2.5 to 4 oz every 3 hours. She only gets up once at night, which is great! We usually feed her around 11, she wakes up sometime between 3 and 4 and then goes back to sleep til around 7.  Very nice! The past couple of days she is awake a lot. I think she is getting overstimulated so I need to work on her getting to nap in her bed so she can get decent naps in. Her hair is getting lighter and lighter everyday. I think there is some red in it, but Justin doesn't see it. So far she only cries when she is hungry, but I know that will change soon.  She has her 1 month appointment this week and I am very excited to see how much she has grown. She seems a lot longer to both of us. She is still spitting up after every feeding so I am hoping that she is gaining weight just fine as well. We are very excited to see her grow and her first smile will probably come any day. However we are just fine if time slowed down some, as we want to treasure this time with her, its going by too fast already!

MOPs

One of the main reason I have been so behind on the blog (besides the obvious of adjusting to 4 kids, and Kindergarten pick-up and drop-off, along with trying to keep the house somewhat clean and keep my family fed) is that I am on the ministry team for MOPs this year. I joined MOPs last year and absolutely love it. It encourages me so much and teaches me so much on how to be the best mom I can be for my kids. It also remind me that I AM the best mom their is for my kids. So far I am enjoying being on ministry team as well. Growing a lot, getting to know a lot of great moms, and having a lot of fun. We start next week, so the past few weeks have been getting ready for the year. I will be a small group facilitator and am so excited to meet all the moms that will be coming. I also love that I get some time away knowing my kiddos are in great care (for now, Olivia stays with me), our church nursery!

Avery's Party

So we also went to Avery's 2nd birthday party in the last few weeks. On our way up there we stopped by the park in Larkspur that Tyler and Carter just love playing at. It was great timing too as Nolan was napping and Olivia needed to eat and then the boys got to play for about 30 minutes or so and right when it was time to leave, it started raining, like I said great timing. Once we got up to the party the boys loved running around all the grass and playing in the water. It was so much fun to see everyone and some new babies that we hadn't gotten to meet yet as well. We then had some yummy food and yummy cupcakes, which Nolan really dug into.  The boys also got lollipops, their favorite part. Another great family day!

Zoo Time

We headed off for Olivia's first zoo trip when she was a little over two weeks old. Of course we had a great time like always. Nolan got his first trips on the train and on the carousel. The bog boy fed the giraffes and the chickens. We also got to see the hippos being fed and pet a lizard. Enjoy the pictures!

Carter's Day

Once again way behind on the blog...this four kids thing takes a lot of time. So about 3 weeks ago at this point, Justin was still off of work, Tyler was in Kindergarten for the day, and Carter was feeling a little left out. So we let him decide what he wanted to do. He asked to go to the fountains to play in.  Uncle Wilber wasn't open, but America the Beautiful was, so he said it was ok to go to that one. We played at the park some first and then headed over to the fountain. Nolan loved swinging and Carter loved climbing and they both loved splashing around in the water. Olivia loved sleeping through the whole thing. After some time there we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch where the boys got to play some more. Carter even helped Nolan up the steps to go down the slide. After Carter did it once, Nolan was able to get up them himself - he is quite the climber!  I think Carter enjoyed the day and all the attention on him, Justin and I sure did.