little things

Now that Jillian has been with us for over a month, I'm feeling like my "just had a baby" excuses aren't holding their weight with me any more.  I have got to get back on track, not just for me, but for the 2 older kids as well.  I'm not saying I'm going to attempt to be super mom but at home, I have got to refocus my attention.  I've read a few parenting articles/books/blog posts and I am determined to step it up a notch.  Our kids are the most important things to us and we have been blessed with the responsibility to rear them in the Gospel and in life.  I feel that responsibility even more these days.  The last few months have been rough and I cringe at the thought of how much tv we have watched and how lazy I have been.  There were definitely days that we crafted or went on outings as a family or with friends but I wasted a lot of valuable time with them during those months as well.  In an effort to be a better me and be the kind of mother our babies deserve, I have to refocus.

We've been outside a lot more lately.  It is warming up around here.  And by warming up, I mean it is practically in the mid-80s every day now.  While this is great, it does mean that in a few weeks, we'll be in the 90s-100s until about early October.  I bought a gallon of bubbles to refill all of our little bubble containers so who cares if Susanna dumps hers in the grass 18 times a day?  We planted sunflowers that the Easter bunny brought us, we've gone to the park more, and we have had picnics in the yard.  

Yesterday and today we have had so much fun.  My kids are pretty hilarious, let me just say.  Susanna has been cracking me up with the things she says.  I swear, that child is so much like me, sometimes it isn't funny!  So obviously they have both noticed things since I've had Jillian, especially the fact that I'm nursing.  Today Susanna saw the laundry I had folded last night that was still in the corner of the living room and she noticed my reusable nursing pads.  Drew instantly decided they were "pancakes".  He went to the kitchen for spatulas and Susanna announced that they were cooking breakfast and that she was the mama!  They toted those "pancakes" around for the rest of the afternoon.

 The Easter bunny brought them garden gloves and shovels so today they insisted I help them put them on so they could go dig.  We stay in our jammies when we have nowhere to go, by the way.  While they played in the grass, I read my book, and then went inside to check on Jilly.  I decided to surprise them with a piece of their chocolate bunny.  My mom used to do the same thing and she'd say "open your mouth and close your eyes and I will give you a big surprise!"  I used to LOVE this because most of the times it was something sweet.  So I did the same to them today.  Later, Susanna came in and said "I want some chocolate bunny, mama!" in her sweet little precious voice and so I obliged.  As I handed it to her, she said "Gimme a supise!" and she closed her eyes and opened her mouth super wide!  It was the cutest thing EVER!

After her nap, she came to me in the chair where I was reading this book (with a witch on the cover) an she said, "I wanna weed" (r's and l's sound like w's) and so she opened it up and said "uhhh da witch said heheheheh" (turned the page) "the PINK witch came through...right there!...the fwont door!" (as she pointed to the front door).  "uhhh the end!"

And Jilly just hung out and watched the craziness all around her!  Sometimes I wonder what she's thinking with that serious face.  I can definitely tell she is getting bigger.  She is eating pretty well but I think suffers from colic these days.  She perks up around 9:00 pm which makes going to bed early difficult.  She is not a difficult baby though.  She is so sweet and those cheeks!  The most kissable cheeks EVER!  

Motherhood is my favorite thing and I am so lucky