American Girl's

Makenna wasn't supposed to get her American Girl Doll until she turned five, but when her cousin Mae turned six, my sister Brook from Peoria decided to plan a day trip to go downtown and do the whole American Girl experience. So of course Makenna and I could not miss out on this. So actually it didn't take much convincing Brett to let us get Makenna her doll 4 months before her 5th birthday. So my sister and I planned the trip. Made reservations at the cafe for lunch and just made it a special day with our girl's. Makenna already knew before we got to the store which doll she wanted. She wanted the doll that looked like her. It had brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles. Cruz of course came along for the ride. Good thing he was too young to realize where he was at. It's definitely not a store for boy's. :o)

Summertime

So as you can imagine after having a newborn, we didn't do much this summer. The kids and I were pretty much stuck at home. And I was stuck indoors a lot! But this was our first official summer in our new house, so the girl's did enjoy their backyard and new play set. We probably got to an actual swimming pool twice. The rest of the summer they swam in our little plastic pool in the backyard. We also bought a slip 'n' slide and the girl's really enjoyed that. I made my mom's family reunion. We took a week vacation to Iowa to spend with Brett's family(blog and pics to come). Brett and I celebrated our 8th wedding Anniversary. We pretty much spent this summer adjusting to a family of five. I had to really learn to adjust to having three kids. And the girl's had to learn to adjust to a new baby brother. A LOT of changes! But good changes! I can't say I am excited about being trapped indoors this winter with three young kids, but we'll make it work. I have a lot of homeschooling planned for Makenna. And I really look forward to next summer with Cruz being older and having a little more freedom to do fun things as a family.

Makenna likes to think she is Cruz's second mommy.

Four Generations

Rewind

REWIND FOUR MONTHS!!!!

Pictures from the Hospital

BIG MAMA!! Can't wait to get my BIG BOY out!

Cruz at 4 months

SO let's rewind time for a little bit. How about 4 months!! June 6th is when are son Cruz came into this world. His delivery was planned. My first induction. People were warning about how scary and painful induction could be, but nevertheless, I was so READY to get him out of me. For the last 9-10 weeks of my pregnancy I couldn't figure out why I felt like I was carrying a 50 pound weight on my front end that sat low on bladder, uterus, pelivic bone that made it difficult for me to even stand or walk. So when I could plan my induction, I was ALL FOR IT!! I kept telling the nurses and doctors on my visits about how I just thought he was going to be a BIG baby, but they didn't care. Well I actually had a very pleasant experience with being induced. My labor took a total of 4 hours from beginning to end. LOVELY!! Then came the pushing which seemed a lot longer than it did with Alexa who came out after 2 pushes. I became physically worn out from having to push with Cruz for a while. But.....he finally came and weighted 10 lbs. 7 oz. 21 1/2 inches long. He also came out with a broken collar bone which happened during the delivery process. But the healing has been wonderful and hasn't seemed to slow Cruz down in anyway. He came out BIG and continues to get BIGGER. We just had his 4 month check-up today. Weight: 17 lbs. 13 oz (94%), Height: 27 1/4 inches (99%). He started rolling over at 3 1/2 months, and got his first tooth already. I have a feeling once this kid starts crawling, he is going to take off and never stop.

Busy Mom= Blog Slacker

So I know, it's been FOREVER since I blogged!! Excuse #1: I had a really rough pregnancy, and it was just really hard to be motivated to do anything at all. Excuse #2 Then...I gave birth to a
10 1/2 pound baby and realized why I was so miserable while pregnant. I was carrying around all this pressure that made it so hard for me to even stand or walk. Excuse #3: AND THEN...life with three kids became a reality to me, and it was CRAZY!! The first month was HARD!!! It still is hard but getting easier as Cruz is getting older. My girl's both adjusted to having a baby brother in different ways. Makenna (4) required more attention, and Alexa (2) acted out and became what some would call a "terrible two year old." I am more convinced today that being a parent is THE HARDEST JOB ever. As much as I complain and endure the tough days with 3 young children, I know God has given me the GIFT of being a mom for a reason and I can't take that forgranted. I LOVE MY CHILDREN! They are all unique and special in their own way. And I'm praying that God gives them unique gifts to use for His good. My days are crazy right now. The NEEDS of three kids is overwhelming, but I just keep praying that God helps me get through the days with joy and peace somehow. I also have decided to homeschool Makenna, and have started Pre-K school with her. That is also challenging with a two year old and 3 month old to care for. So although life is very busy for me right now, I just have to stop and think about how one day I am going to look back on these days and miss my little babies. Cruz is such a GOOD baby. VERY, VERY thankful for my sweet boy. And he sleeps a lot which I am not used to. Makenna never slept, Alexa was better, but Cruz is by far my best sleeper.

So needless to say blogging has been put very FAR down on my list of things to do lately. A midst all the chaos, I know I can't do any of this without God. And know that I need Him daily. So returning to the blogging world is going to be a slow gradual process. Stay tuned!

TODAY

This is what happens when I try updating my blog during the day and not paying attention to my two year old Alexa.
#1 She took Makenna's smoothie and smeared it all over the computer. #2 She destroyed the TOY ROOM!

#3 She took out ALL the BOOKS!!!

#4 I have also used the magic eraser 3 times today to get crayon off the table and window. And pencil off the wall.

I LEARNED MY LESSON!!! No wonder it takes me forever to update my blog. Who knows if I will get anymore blogs posted before the baby comes. Alexa keeps me on my toes, but wears me out at the same time. Three kids is definitely going to be a CHALLENGE!! Lord, help me!!

April Recap 1

We finally made it to April. Makenna has been asking since Christmas when Grant and Caitlyn's wedding was going to be here. She was the flower girl and SO EXCITED!! Before the wedding, we headed to Brett's parents house a few days to spend some time there. We only get there 2-3 times a year so it is always a special treat when we can go relax in the country and get away from the busy city life. The family had a little b-day party for Alexa. Aunt B made the wonderful cake. We had decent spring weather which made it nice that we could spend a lot of time outdoors.

Brett trying to work on the basketball skills early with Alexa. :o) She does love playing with balls, and isn't as "girly" as Makenna so we will see if she ends up playing any sports.

Aunt B blowing bubbles with Alexa.

The Lilly Brothers!

Alexa loves the Kitty. It's so cute because Makenna was obsessed with this same cat at Alexa's age.

Here I am at 30 weeks.

Alexa spent a lot of the wedding week taking cat naps because we were so busy. She made it through all the craziness though. I was impressed!