Farewell

Happy (belated) First Day of Spring. Oh, the weather finally appears to be changing. We couldn't be more relieved this year to see signs of spring appearing. Thus, we must give our farewell to winter. 

Winter, you were good to us. But you were also hard on us at times. Sick season, when it hit our household, it really hit. And when it rained, it poured.

Our house had been circulating a cold around and by the grace of God missed Jayden. Or so we thought. He caught it at the very tail end just as I was thinking we were all over it and our baby had been skipped. 

A few days into being sick, my husband's grandmother passed away. A beautiful soul. My husband and the 2 big kids went to stay with family and lay her to rest. Payton and Riley had a good time seeing family and playing with their cousins.

I stayed home with Jayden, took him to the dr, and gave breathing treatments every 4 hours around the clock. It made for a quiet home but I was as busy as ever, which is how it goes with a sick little one.

After a few days we were reunited as a family and Jayden was feeling much better.

We continue to marvel at how quickly he is growing and how much he reflects each of his siblings.

The last few days the sun has come out and the big kids have taken to outside activities they once loved like being superheroes and walking the dogs (despite being in the country and not needing a leash).

I started spring cleaning and decided to donate my excess oversupply of breast milk. This was a huge deal for me (and the person receiving) as I promised myself to commit to this after Jayden received donor's milk at the hospital before my milk came in.

It was a little over 300 ounces and I am so proud. One of the many lessons my children have taught me, giving back feels so good.

Farewell to winter, welcome spring! We look so forward to what lies ahead for us.

Baby J is 3 months

Well, we made it to month 3. Time goes by so fast. Jayden has been such a joy to our household and it feels like he has always been a part of our family.

Jayden, you continue to sleep A LOT. We aren't complaining but we just aren't used to this given our other 2 babies had much more waking time. When you are awake though, you are such a happy baby. You love to tell us stories. Our other talker in the family, Payton, loves to tell you, "Oh, Jo Jo, you have a lot to tell me today." Riley is convinced you are always smiling at him.

In the last few days, Jayden got sick for the first time and that has been really hard on us. We hope your cold remains mild and goes quickly.

Just for fun I thought I would find all three babies from their 3 month photos. Payton's is a little blurry as I couldn't find the original but you can definitely tell my babes are siblings.

As a mom of 3, I am learning to savor every moment. Every. Moment. They go too quickly.

Jayden, keep on smiling for us. We love you so much!

A Day in Our Life

I have said this before but day in the life posts are by far my favorite posts to read. They are not so easy to write. I wanted to get a day in our life put together because I love looking back at how much my life has changed from 1 to 2 to now 3 kids. Their stages of life have also changed as I now have a preschooler, toddler, and an infant. Here is a bit of my past:

Day in the life with 1 infant

Day in the life with 1 toddler

Day in the life with 1 toddler and 1 preschooler

Holy cow, how do I have 3 kids? Seriously, I feel like I just brought my daughter home a few days ago. Yet, here I am with 1 girl and 2 boys and a whole lotta craziness and love.

Before I start with the day in the life post, I wanted to clarify a few things. We are homeschooling for preschool and that has changed continuously to what best fits our family's needs. I currently incorporate school into our entire day with some days having a heavy course load and other days having less. I am fairly certain my daughter learns more through playing than any other way so that is still my primary goal. She has a lot of structured and unstructured play times in her schedule. Also, Jayden sleeps more than my other babies have. I'm really not used to that but am loving having such an easy baby. He is seriously so easy to put to sleep and wakes up the happiest.

This post is so hard to write as our schedule is so not routine from day to day. When we brought our 3rd child home (after a NICU stay) we didn't leave the house for anything. There has been so much sickness going around this year that we were advised to avoid exposing our baby to as much as possible.

Now, we are starting to venture out but are very particular about what we do. We are still hearing of friends and family with influenza. We have had more friends and family visit us and that has helped us to feel a bit more socially connected to everyone. Bring on Spring and better health!

Here is a day in my life with a 4 year old (Payton), 2 year old (Riley), and 2 month old (Jayden):

5:30-6AM: Wake-up for me. Riley used to wake at this time but has been pushing that time out a bit. Jayden now picked up this time and this is typically his last feeding for the night. I get him back to bed and try to lay down for a few more minutes before I hit the ground running.

6:15AM: Riley is up and requesting to do a quiet time box and reading in his bed. The quiet time boxes are full of activities that the kids can do (quietly) on their bed. It comes in handy in the mornings and during afternoon for Payton, who doesn't nap. I hang out with him while he does this as this has become a good time for me to spend 1:1 time with him.

At around 6:30 am, I will hear my husband get up and get ready for work. We say goodbye to him and he leaves for the day.

 7AM: The rest of the house is up. Jayden sleeps A LOT still and we aren't complaining but when he's awake he takes center stage.

7:30-8AM: I make and serve breakfast. This meal is as easy as it gets and I choose quick to make dishes like eggs, oatmeal, toast, freezer pancakes or waffles. Add in fresh fruit and/or veggies and we are good to go.

I typically eat much faster than the kids and will start reading to them while they finish eating. We have a daily bible book we read and the rest of what we read is based on library books and books around the house.

The kids will then work on counting and coloring while I clean up the dishes.

9AM-11AM: Jayden goes down for a nap and the kids play as they choose. Today, they are having a pretend birthday party for Riley. Payton takes pictures of the event and I am constantly amazed at how good her pictures can turn out:

For the dance part of the party, all guests had to wear hats. Thus, why Poppy has a hat on while she watches the dance.

11AM: lunch. We still eat fairly early and i'm thinking this time could bump out a bit soon. Although, I have thought that for a long time and yet it still stays the same.

Our lunches are always easy as well with leftovers, quesadilla, soup, salad, and/or sandwich typically being my choices for the family. We eat fruit and veggies well so I feel you can pile those on heavy in a pinch.

12PM: Nap time/quiet time. Riley lays down for a nap and Payton spends time in her room doing quiet time with a prepacked quiet time box and books. Before I leave Payton's room, I read one chapter to her from her chapter books. We are currently working on the Little House on the Prairie series and have quite enjoyed that.

Jayden wakes within minutes of me laying the kids down. He is a smart one and knows this is his chance to get mommy alone, even if he sleeps through most of it.

1PM: Riley continues to nap and Payton gets up from quiet time. We work on her school workbook. This is my time to spend 1:1 time with her.

2PM: Riley and Jayden are up again (although this time greatly varies). We head outside to play a good chunk of the day away.

3PM: My husband gets off work but isn't quite home yet. We make a special treat and Riley helped me make it while Payton continued playing on her own.

Fruit Pizza! It's a popular treat but rarely made here. When my husband gets home, we have a snack and spend time together as a family. If I am going to meet a friend on my own or workout, this is normally when that happens. A little before 5PM, one of us starts supper.

5:30PM: Eat supper. Meals are still simple here and take typically less than 30 minutes to make or we are having leftovers from meals we made during the weekend that require more preparation time.

6:30PM: We typically start moving towards our bedtime routine. The kids like to take long baths and this happens to be a night all three kids need bathed.

After pajamas, we brush teeth and read books (if time) before tucking the kids into their beds. Each parent takes a turn with each child and so this routine can take a bit of time.

7:30-8PM: Kids are in their beds and typically asleep by this time.

I spend some time with my husband before I head to bed. Jayden is still getting up every 3-4 hours so my nights still feel really short and very interrupted. It's just a season though and it passes too quickly.

So there you have it, how our days are spent. Nothing glamorous but I totally love my little life and family.

Happy Friday!