Happy Half Birthday Paisley! :)

This is how I looked 6ish months ago!  Time has flown by since Paisley has arrived.

Paisley joined us August 22nd at 4:11am.  We arrived at the hospital around 3am and it went so fast.  This time, the doctor arrived to deliver her (unlike my quick delivery with Tynnley, who the nurse delivered).  Paisley weighed 8lbs 11oz. and was 20 in long.  

When I had Warrick, I read many articles about natural labor and was excited that he came quickly without the use of any pain medicine.  When I had Tynnley, I remember thinking, "I did it naturally before, surely I can do it again."  and I did.  The 3rd time around, I thought, "maybe I should try the drugs".  But she came very quickly, just like the others... and if I can have 3 kids without drugs, you can too!  Trust me, I can barely get through a dental visit without sedatives!

Our first picture as a family of 5 the day Paisley was born.  We only stayed 24 hours... I was so glad they let us leave a day early.  I hate hospitals and was eager to be home.

I couldn't have made it those first 2 weeks without Matt's help.  There were so many nights that I would feed Paisley, he would take her into the living room and hold her until she needed to eat again.  There were several nights that he would do this all night long.  I can't tell you how much this helped me.  I felt more rested and was able to make it through the day without being irritable.  I'm a mean person when I'm sleep deprived.    

Paisley at 1 week old:

Halloween picture:  Paisley (2 months) loves her big bother and sister

 Paisley almost always has 2 of her fingers in her mouth like this, it's really cute.  

Neither Warrick or Tynnley did this and I think it's adorable.

 At 5 months, Paisley tried sweet potatoes for the first time and LOVED them.  Here she is upset that I'm taking a picture instead of feeding her quicker.  I started making her baby food and freezing it since she was 3 months old, so I couldn't wait for her to try it!  

My doctor recommends that babies don't have food til 6 months, but she's been trying some early.  She's had sweet potatoes, avocados, and pears.  She eats an equivalent of 1 two-ounce jar every few days.  And she's still nursing like a champ and has only taken 3 bottles since she was born.  

   Here are pictures of Warrick and Tynnley, both around 4 months of age.  I think that Paisley looks a lot more like Warrick.  What do you think?

At 6 months Paisley:

rolls over 

smiles

laughs

is beginning to sit on her own

drools constantly (there must be teeth coming soon)

enjoys listening to books

takes 2 naps per day

wears 9-12 month clothes (but this is mostly due to the big cloth diaper butt!)

sucks on her middle and index fingers

dislikes cereal, but loves food  

Paisley is such a happy and sweet baby.  We are blessed to have her in our lives.  

New Years Resolutions!

For the past several years, I've made new years resolutions.  I love making new years resolutions and setting goals.

Here are my resolutions for 2014:

1) Read 20 books... last year my goal was 24 books and I only read 18, so I'm bumping it down a little.  If my kids would let me, I would just sit around reading all day everyday.  But they want food and interaction, so here we are.  :)   I'm open to good book recommendations.

2) Lose 10-15 lbs.  My backside is starting to  make Kim Kardashian jealous.  Since we recently got a membership to the YMCA, I plan to attend 2-3 classes per week.  And now that I know that "zumba gold" means "zumba for retirees" I won't be making the mistake of entering the wrong class again.  :)

3)  Read a chapter in The Bible everyday and have a short family-friendly devotional with the kids each night before bed.  

4)  Homeschool preschool with Tynnley.  I'm kind of excited about this one :)

5)  Be more crunchy.  We plan to eat more organically and locally as a family and be intentional about recycling more, not just when it's convenient for us.

6) Plan a fun 4-day get-away for our 10 year wedding anniversary.  We were thinking somewhere fun, inexpensive, and not too far away.  I think we've settled on Put-In-Bay in October.

7) Have monthly calendar and budget meetings with Matt.  We are really good about sitting down and writing the budget every month, but we really have been lacking on the calendar aspect of it.

Here's to a great 2014!!!  What are your resolutions?

Fall, Kids, and Anger.

I'm in love... with fall!  It's my favorite season by far and I love every day of it.  So I'm in my happy place right now.  I love 60 degree weather, cute boots and hoodies; I love not having the heat or air on, I love pumpkins, hay rides, colorful leaves, apple cider...  I could go on and on.

Here's what The Robinson's have been up to this month:

I've been reading a lot lately, which I'm happy to be doing again.  I don't think I read anything my entire pregnancy... what's up with that?  So I'm making up for it now.  Just this month, I've read the Amanda Knox memoir: Waiting To Be Heard, Somewhere Inside by Laura and Lisa Ling, and I am Malala.  All excellent books!  I'm planning to read Elizabeth Smart's book next.  

Sidenote: I know a lot of people are disgruntled with our government right now, and they have the right to be.  But after reading some of these books, I am 100% convinced that I am so blessed to live in the USA.  I have been making a point to thank God every.single.day that I live here.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of crazy politics, entitled people, and the media in general, but we have so much that others around the world are dying for every day.  And I'm vowing not to complain about first world problems anymore.

But I digress...

Here's what we've been doing this fall:

We've been to Spencer's farm to get some pumpkins.  Warrick had just finished preschool for the day and Tynnley needed a nap.  It went a lot differently in my head, but all in all we had a good time.  

A week later, Warrick had a field trip to another pumpkin patch.  This was slightly disastrous as well.  I got super lost so we missed half of the trip, but once we got there it went really well and I'm glad that we made it!  :)  Here we are on the hayride:    

  

Tynnley has been having a hard time letting go of being the youngest child, one day I caught her sucking on a pacifier and chillin in the baby bouncer.  

We've been working on halloween costumes!  Tynnley is going to be minnie mouse, it's her favorite thing right now and the whole thing cost me $5... yay!  

I read that according to the National Retail Federation, the average citizen will spend $80 on costumes, candy, and decorations for halloween this year.  Yikes!  Not me :)  Warrick is going to be spiderman and Paisley is going to be a pea in a pod.  They are going to be really cute.  

We went to Lego League at the library... Warrick loved it.  Once a month, kids meet at the library, bring their legos and build something.  This month it was supposed to be a spooky scene.  Sidenote:  I love the way Warrick writes his name. 

                               

These kids are great, although sometimes most of the time they drive me crazy!!!!  Most days, I have to repeat 1 Cor 13:4 and 5 over and over again.  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
And this morning when Tynnley threw a baseball at Paisley's face and made Paisley cry that really hurt cry, Tynnley was in time-out and I had to repeat this verse like 1000 times.  It's hard to not be easily angered.    
I am thankful that I serve a God who is patient, kind, and is not easily angered with me.  I hope to be more like Him every day.  

Thanks for reading :) 

A Day in the Life: Picture Edition

A Day in the Life:  Picture Edition :) 

*breakfast

*packed Warrick's lunch

 *preschool drop-off

*Target... spending some birthday money :)  

(picture #2, feeding Paisley in the fitting room which means Tynnley knows she can 

pretty much get away with anything.  Like, standing up 

in the cart singing to herself in the mirror)

*library... Paisley wasn't a fan

 *picked up Warrick from preschool, Warrick and Tynnley took naps.  Paisley and I read Amanda Knox's memoir, did devotions, and took 

a short nap.   

*Warrick and Tynnley woke up from naps and we read library books

 *Matt came home from work and hung out with the kids while I made dinner     

 *I gave Warrick and Tynnley a bath while Matt cleaned up from dinner
then Matt put them to bed.  

*And we were pretty tired after all of that....

Life with 3 kids

Dare I say... life (so far) has been a pretty easy transition with 3 kids.  Well, easier than the first or second.

Warrick:

Warrick has been such a huge help!  He dresses himself on most days... he usually doesn't match, and once he had socks on with sandals, but I don't care.  Warrick has also taken a bath on his own a few times, which has also made my life 10xs easier.   

A while ago, I made a snack box for Warrick and put it in the pantry on a low shelf so he could reach it.  So on the days where I haven't gotten much sleep and Warrick wants a snack, I can say "You can pick something out of your snack box."  And he loves it... it has cheese crackers, granola bars, raisins, whatever I can find at the store to load it up with.  :)  

Tynnley:

Tynnley has been a big help as well.  She loves throwing diapers away... I know, it sounds weird, but this actually is a big help.  :)  

Tynnley naps every day at 1pm.  During Tynnley's nap time, Warrick has quiet time.  This let's me nap if I need to and/or start dinner prep.  

Paisley:

Paisley sleeps most of the day when she's not eating, so right now it's still pretty doable.  I'm sure it will be different when she's awake more.  She's still not on any type of a schedule and I'm feeding on demand, so we just go with the flow most of the time.  She is doing pretty well at night, and has recently been doing better sleeping in her bassinet.  She likes being swaddled at night, so as long as she doesn't break out of the swaddle, she sleeps well.  

Matt:

Matt has been a superstar as well.  There have been so many nights where he will take Paisley from 2am-5am for me even though he has to be at work all day.  I know he's probably so exhausted and I really appreciate all that he has done.  He's an awesome dad and husband.  Matt has Monday's off most weeks, and so recently on Monday's, we all drop Warrick off at preschool, go get groceries, and then Matt will pick Warrick up and have "dude's day" as they call it.  They go get ice cream, or see a movie, go to the park, etc.  Warrick loves these times!!!     

Things I've learned:

Preschool and church mornings can be stressful if I don't plan.  

So it's important for me to pick out clothes for everyone and pack a bag the night before.  This makes all the difference.

My house can't stay clean.  And I have to be ok with that... for now.  I know it will get better :)  

I call my kids the wrong names... sorry to my parents for all the times I was angry to them for all the times I was called the wrong name.  

It's important to get out of the house.  

On Wednesdays, I go to bunnyhop storytime at the library.  It's awesome because it's geared for Tynnley's age and she really enjoys it.  Warrick is in school on Wednesdays, so it's a special time just for her.  The first time I took her, I was a little bummed because I had to sit in the back and nurse Paisley.  But the next time, Paisley slept the whole time and I was able to have Tynnley sit on my lap and sing songs and do the motions together.  

This morning, I took the kids to the Noblesville fairgrounds because Minnie and Mickey were there and Tynnley loves Minnie Mouse.  So I got everyone ready and out the door by 10am (this is pretty impressive for me!) and we get there and Tynnley was scared to death and wouldn't get near them.  Oh well, we tried :)  And even though it's tough to get out and about with a baby who wants to eat ALL.THE.TIME, I know that each time I take all 3 of them out, it will be easier and easier.   

It's worth it... even though we're all sleep deprived and our house looks like it was recently ransacked, we feel very blessed and thank God daily
:)  Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement.

The first day of preschool... a fun lunch idea!

Warrick started 3-day-a-week preschool today!

He's so stinking cute!!

I had a blast packing his lunch.  Last year, he was in preschool 2 days a week and towards the end of the year I found myself packing a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  After much pinteresting, I found so many healthy real food school lunches.  So I'm going to be much more creative this year.

Here is Warrick's first day of preschool lunch!  Colorful lunches are more appealing to kids... so I broke out as many colors as I could find.  :)  

Included is a slice of nana's zucchini bread, annie's organic crackers and pretzels, apple slices, green pepper and rainbow carrot slices, hummus, and a juice box.

For more information on getting your kids to eat healthy, check out Easy Eater 2 on facebook.  I have found some great ways to get my kids to eat better there.  

What did you pack today?  

Funny Friday post (AKA: pinterest fail)

A friend came over today to take some newborn pictures of Paisley.  She told me that days 6-10 are the best time to take newborn pictures because they sleep constantly, which allows you to put them into some crazy positions.  Before she came over, I fed Paisley to ensure that she would be sleeping during the photo shoot.  But instead, she was awake the whole entire time!  

I'm sure the pictures will turn out great, but I was so bummed that Paisley wasn't sleeping... she constantly sleeps.  So it was hard to position her and she kept moving and trying to escape the cute positions we put her in. 

Anyways, after all the pictures were taken, Paisley decided to take a nap (of course!)  So, I turned to pinterest and found some cute newborn picture positions and got my camera ready.  I mean, how hard could it be, right?  ha!  This was no easy task... as you will soon see.  

I had 3 inspiration pictures that I wanted to mimic.  Here they are:  

Pinterest inspiration:

My picture:

Pinterest inspiration:

My picture:

Pinterest inspiration:

My picture:

Oh... and just in case you ever wandered, If you feed your baby and then lay her on Psalms 139, 

they will spit up in the crease of your Bible :(  

This was my best pinterest effort... do you have any funny pinterest fails?