5 months

She looks innocent doesn't she. Well she's not. She's a little stinker. This is the face she makes before she takes a big bite out of my nipple. Yes, Addie now has teeth. Mya and Winter both got their first tooth at 8 months and never bit me. I know it's surprising, but Winter never bit me. Addie has two and oh she bites. She bites hard. I don't know what to do. Usually I just jump and curse a little. Dan thinks it's hilarious. I've been waiting a little longer between feedings, understandably, but I don't want to starve the poor girl. I can't put her on a time-out. She's too young for a spanking. It used to be such a calming experience, breastfeeding. Now it's a little scary. 

weekend getaway

Saturday we took the baby with us up to Pismo Beach to see one of my friends get married. We stayed at the good ol' Best Western Saturday night and on Sunday we visited some family in Santa Barbara. This is our second mini vacay with the baby this year. I have to say she is a great little traveler. 

I posted these pics on FB but they're cute so here they are again. 

Addie was flirting with our friend Rob the whole night. He couldn't resist a dance with her.

This picture is like an ad for getting married and having kids. 

I've known this lovely lady for... close to 20 years? No way, wow I really feel oldish...

Here are a few from back in the day:

It always makes me emotional watching long time friends get married. It's such a big end and beginning. I'm so happy for her.

Addie did not enjoy the photo booth. She looked at me and did this:

Date night... kind of.

The most adorable children in Santa Barbara :)  

Dan's cousin Wendy's kids and Addie relaxing under a shady tree.

Where are the other two you ask? Having the time of their lives going to Build A Bear, hangin' in the jacuzzi, watching Frozen and eating ice cream two hours past their bedtime! Thanks Auntie Wendy and Uncle Mark. Mya used to call my sister Auntie Money before she could say Wendy. Very fitting. My mom watched them Sunday afternoon. She said they were cranky. Haha yeah.

It was really a win win win. We didn't have to drag them to a wedding 3 hours away, they got to get spoiled and Wendy was reminded that not having kids was a great idea! ;) They were the most dead I've ever seen them when we picked them up. We literally had to drag Winter out of the backseat of the minivan because we could not wake her up. For a second there, I thought she may be unconscious. 

That's a big smile :)

poor witto addie

So, recently I wrote a post entitled mommy's stand-in where I talked about the many ways in which my children have faced danger. I mentioned that the baby had not yet experienced anything crazy. Well if I believed in jinxes I would totally think I jinxed poor Addie because she's had a rough week. Mya too. But I don't. It's all just coincidental. But I'll fill you in anyway. 

Friday, we visited my sister as we often do on Fridays. On our way, we picked up my mom. I took the baby out of the car and set her down on a brick wall about 2 feet off the ground so I could open the garage. Someone (Mya) bumped the car seat and it fell off the wall onto it's side with the baby buckled in of course. She cried for about 2 seconds and was fine. In hindsight, I could have just set the car seat on the ground while I opened the garage... Next time. 

While at my sister's house, the girls wanted to go swimming but we were not prepared. It's April. I grabbed some water wings from my mom's house but only two of them didn't have holes in them so Winter was the obvious choice. There were some other kids over so they all played in the jacuzzi. It's a pretty big jacuzzi. Mya and Winter can't touch the bottom but they can walk around the side where the step is. So that's where Mya played mostly. I stayed about 5 feet away pretty much expecting to pull someone out. I assumed it would be Winter even though she had floaties on. I thought she may take them off quickly and jump in the middle just because. They actually played a long time, probably about an hour. Winter wanted to take the floaties off and Mya wanted to wear them but I explained to Mya that Winter would definitely make mommy go in the jacuzzi in her clothes and I just didn't feel like it. A few minutes before we were ready to go inside, Winter bumped Mya and sent her into the middle of the jacuzzi. She was just far enough in that I had to lay down on my belly and reach in and grab her. Her giant Bambi eyes were looking at me, freaking out. Even though I was watching her, it shook us both up quite a bit. 

I forgot to mention in mommy's stand-in that Winter almost drowned in the very same jacuzzi last summer. She removed her floatie, sunk immediately and her 4-year-old cousin informed us that she was under water. Both Dan and I were in the pool a few feet away. That still gives me goose bumps. 

Monday was probably the most I've ever freaked out. The morning did not start well. I was feeding the baby when Mya informed us that the toilet water was rising higher and higher in the downstairs bathroom. Dan was upstairs in the bathroom yelling down to find out what was going on. I surveyed the area and told him it was fine. Then I noticed the water slowly leaking onto the ground. I yelled up at Dan that the toilet was overflowing, put the baby in her bouncy chair, grabbed some towels and ran back to the bathroom to start cleaning up. 

I heard a noise then the baby started screaming. I'm not sure how it happened but the chair fell off of the corner glass table. The baby was hanging upside down against the wall buckled in the chair a few inches off the ground. Either the chair came apart or the baby moved it and it was close enough to the edge to fall off. 

I grabbed her quickly and she continued to scream loudly. Dan checked her out to make sure she was okay. I was a mess. I'm filled with guilt and anxiety as I write this. We have put that chair on that table with all three girls and not once has anything ever happened like that. Nevertheless, the baby is now always on the ground in whatever chair she is in. 

(imagine a baby in the chair)

not cool...

she survived

We discovered that the overflowing was caused by someone (Winter) trying to flush a "diaper" (kotex) down the toilet. Those have been removed from the downstairs bathroom along with anything else that poses any threat. 

When I get to heaven, I'm going to ask God how many times He intervened where my children's safety was concerned and I know I'm going to be amazed.

I used to hear stories like this and think, "What negligent parents!" Now I know that stuff happens. I just have to pray for God's protection over my precious little ladies and try my best not to do anything too stupid. 

easter

Easter is always nice. We go to church and head to my Uncle and Aunt's house in Simi Valley. What a beautiful day it was this year! The girls agreed to wear matching dresses! That NEVER happens. It made me so happy...

But then Winter, true to form, fell in the pond at my Aunt's house and had to wear the change of clothes I had in the car.

Mya looked cute all day of course.

and so did this little girl :)

dog

This is Twitch. He will be 10 in June. He's a snuggler.

He's all about comfort.

He will find the most comfortable thing on the floor and lay on it, 100% of the time. 

He sleeps a lot. 

Even when he's outside, his rule applies. The screen is more comfortable than the ground, hence the awkward neck position. 

The other dog is Twitch's daughter, Otter. She'll be 6 in July. She sleeps wherever; usually close to Twitch.

kid quotes for april

Mya:  My feelings are feeling so sad because I wanted to see the roly poly but Winter smushed him.

Me:  Mya, why is Winter crying?
Mya:  Ummm I can't remember what I did.

Mya: I don't like this. Do you don't? (Still working on our grammar) 

Mya: I love you Mommy. You know why?
Me: Why sweetie? (expecting something sweet)
Mya: Because Jesus tells us to love everybody.

Thanks a lot Mya :)

Winter: It's so windy outside I need my sunglasses!

Winter: You need to cut my nail because it's really shark.
Me: It's what?
Winter: It's shark Mama!

Winter: (to Mya) Don't see me! 

Me: Throw that in the trash right now please! (3rd time saying this)
Winter: Okaaaaay! Stop talkin' ta me!

Winter: Mama look I can do the woollypoop! (hula hoop) 

Winter: (to the pizza man) You look like my daddy!
Pizza man: Oh, umm, that's good... I guess.

Me: Who left the play dough out?
Winter: Winter!...I mean Mya! (Freudian slip)

poor witto winter

Sunday was off to a rough start. Dan worked so I got the 3 girls ready for church on time shockingly enough and we arrived and parked at 9:00, got out of the car and Winter immediately fell and tripped on the curb and split her lip open. I heard the splat sound, then the cry and went around to the front of the car hoping there wouldn't be any blood but her face and hands were covered in it. We litterally hadn't been out of the car for more than a minute. The baby was still inside. So I got out the wipes and cleaned her up, lip still a little oozy. She got back on the edge of the curb and started walking, assuring me she wouldn't fall again.

Then about 2 minutes later as we were walking up to the nursery, Mya ran her over with the stroller and she fell to the ground in tears. I yelled at Mya out of frustration. She apologized and Winter headed to her class. I sent them all to their designated areas and headed to church by myself. Whew. Not even 9:15AM and exhausted.

lemons into lemonade

Lately, I have been in a bit of a zombie state. I don't know if I'm tired or my brain is wearing out. I'm relatively young for the latter but I get a good amount of sleep each night. Either way, I know that I am better than this cloud of mommy I've become. It's still early on so I will just blame it on having a newish-born.

Today I started emptying the dishwasher by stacking the plates on the counter to put them away. I went to wipe some one's butt, washed my hands then started putting the plates back in the dishwasher. Ugh. No wonder it takes me so long to get anything done.

Last week, I was fixing Mya and Winter their favorite breakfast, waffles and eggs. I put the waffle and eggs on the plate, added a few berries, cut everything into manageable pieces and began putting a generous amount of 100% maple syrup on the eggs. It didn't occur to me that something was off until I set the plate in front of Mya. 

I didn't have the energy to pretend I meant to put syrup on the eggs instead of the waffles and get her all excited about it like I sometimes do when I mess up. I just let out a sigh and said, "Oh Mya, I'm so sorry, I put syrup on your eggs." I waited for some fussing and prepared to make another egg when she surprised me by saying, "Ooooh I love syrup. This is gonna be so yummy!" She proceeded to eat everything with a smile. 

What a great attitude she has! I could definitely take a cue from my 4 year old. I wish I could say that it was the other way around but Mya is constantly reminding me how to be a better person. 

She often reminds me to be thankful. It's amazing what one prayer of thanksgiving will do to a crappy mood. Even saying the blessing at dinner time changes my attitude from tired, worked up and irritated to calm, peaceful and appreciative.

baby addie

This baby brings me so much happiness. She's stinkin' ADORABLE. I just want to eat her up. I find myself chewing on her ears. I have to stop myself. And sometimes I squeeze her so hard that she burps or farts. Wups. But seriously. Can you even stand it? 

Okay anyway, I thought I would talk about some of the things that she does at 4 months old because I know I'll forget in two months. 

I don't know if these are normal baby things or just Addie things. It's been a while. 

She's teething now. The teeth are almost poking out. I can feel them right underneath the surface. So a lot of what she does is a result of that. Sometimes she opens her mouth really big, looks around for something, anything to bite and finds her fist. She grabs it fast like it's going somewhere and shakes her head. It's pretty funny. I laugh every time. 

She also likes to eat my face, especially when I'm trying to burp her. That doesn't work out well because she ends up burping on my cheek or something. This is a lot of information and I apologize if it bores you. It's more for me than you.

She likes to accidentally grab things then look at the object in amazement because she didn't expect it to be in her hand.

She is the gassiest baby ever. She farts all the time. All the time. It's pretty much a guarantee while I'm feeding her. Dan always asks, "Whoa was that you?" And I'm like, "Um noooo, that was the baby." After she's done eating, she always burps 3 times. Every time. 

She is by far the easiest baby I've ever come in contact with. I try not to brag but this is my blog so I get to, right? She is so good. She sleeps great, eats great, rarely fusses, takes a bottle, takes a pacifier, goes to sleep with minimal effort and smiles a lot. What more is there? She doesn't like the car much but she's getting better. That would be the only area that could use improvement but I'll take it. Her cry is not a bad one. It's very tolerable.

She's my tiniest baby so far. Mya and Winter were always above average in height and weight. Addie has yet to break 50%. She's almost there though.

She rocks a mohawk like the other girls did at her age. They were all born with a full head of hair but slowly lost it from sleeping on it. All but the middle top. Someone asked me if I cut it that way... yeah.

joy

product review

I love it when I find a new product I like. Today, I went to Trader Joe's for produce while the girls were at preschool. I needed some face moisturizer too but I usually get mine at Target. It's Neutrogena oil free something or other. So I noticed they have a similar product at Trader Joe's. I tried it this morning and I have to say I'm impressed. My face is pretty high maintenance. I've tried probably 20 different moisturizers but did not like them for whatever reason. This one is good because it is fragrance-free and spf free which makes me break out. Anyway, just thought I would share. Good stuff. I give it 4 out of 5 stars; only because the smell is slightly weird.

protein smoothie

This is my new favorite smoothie. It contains oats (old fashioned), peanut butter, bananas, milk & ice. (I use almond milk and almond butter)

I put a handful of ice, one banana, a spoonful of almond butter or peanut butter, 1/2 C oats and about 1 1/2 C vanilla almond milk or rice milk. Blend and drink! So good. 

It's a good quick breakfast to drink on the way to preschool. 

black and white

Today, I ventured out with my three little ladies into the wild world of bulk shopping. I actually enjoy going to Costco, especially on a Monday morning before the coupons are valid. It's pretty empty. It was a pretty successful trip. Not too many fights or messes. Mya dropped her hot dog but it went into the cart so that was good. Winter had to go potty of course but no biggie. 

So as we were in line to get our hot dogs, I noticed that there was a lady with two little toddlers in front of us. One was white, one was black. She was white. I knew there would be questions.  And that's fine. These things need to be explained sometimes. As I've said before, Winter loves black people, especially babies. She will spot them wherever we go. 

As we were in line talking about why we were eating hot dogs for lunch instead of ice cream, Winter said, "Is that your baby?" to the lady behind me. She was asking if the baby in front of us belonged to her since she obviously did not belong to the white lady. The lady behind us had darker skin so it made sense. I turned around and nervously laughed and smiled. The lady behind me did not. 

"No sweetie that's not her baby." I said to Winter quietly. She ignored me and asked louder, "Is that your baby over there?" This time with pointing. She still got no response from the grump behind us. "Winter, those two girls are her babies. She's the mommy." I said. "Sometimes babies don't look like their mommies." It was the best explanation I could give a 3 year old without going into the whole adoption process. Then I offered her a snack and she took it and dropped the subject. 

winter made me do it

Today, two of the tripplets (Cameron and Morgan) from down the street were over at our house playing with the girls. Dan left and took Winter to the store with him. I went upstairs to do some laundry when I heard excessive giggling. I went over to the stairs to see what was going on. I looked down to see Mya with the baby powder dumping it onto Cameron's hiney. Morgan was rubbing it in. There was baby powder everywhere.

"What are you doing?!" I said loudly. Mya jumped and said quickly, "Winter wanted to..." Then she looked around and noticed Winter wasn't there. I laughed and told them to clean it up with baby wipes. Poor Winter was blamed and she wasn't even there. In Mya's defense, it usually is Winter's idea to do something naughty. 

skillz

Well if I need to get a job I can definitely add "great at multi-tasking, especially with a baby in my arms" to my resume. Dan took this. He was so proud of me :) I had all four burners going. This is not something I do all the time. In fact, I rarely cook.

love letter

I posted about Hume Lake a few days ago. While at Hume, I went to the annual tea for firefigher wives. While the guys go pray together and share their struggles, the ladies get together and do the same, over tea! The speaker, Jane White, the wife of the president of Firefighters for Christ International, gave us this hand out that I absolutely love and had to share. She talked about Christ's love for us so it tied in so nicely. 

It's a letter from God to us, His children. Check it out:

Father's Love Letter