Kaitlyn's new accomplishments

Kaitlyn is 8 months old now and has mastered many new skills that allow her to play and try to keep up with Elise and Joseph. She has been crawling for the past month and is very fast now as she goes room to room looking for fun. Her newest skill is pulling herself into a standing position. She still needs some practice, she fell and got a fat lip today, but she is getting better at it all the time.

Outings, Easter, and Kaitlyn's 4 month checkup

We've had a busy couple of months, and I thought I'd share some pictures we've taken.  Elise got a bicycle for her birthday and loves when we spend time riding it up and down the street.  Joseph gets bored of the tricycle quickly and trots along beside Elise instead.  We made it to the zoo for a fun day before I went back to work in March.  Everyone is adjusting well, but having both of us work full-time with three kids does keep us busy!

Kaitlyn is now 4 months old and is growing so quickly!  She is now 24 inches long and 12 lbs. 10 oz.  She finally got the hang of taking the bottle and has become a thumb sucker.  She seems to be happiest with her thumb in her mouth.  She learned to roll over from her back to her belly, but can't quite seem to figure out how to roll back over from her belly.  She is sleeping through the night now as well.  

Elise riding her bike while Joseph runs along beside her.

We went to the zoo on a warm day in March.  Elise loved the animals, Joseph was enthralled with any exhibit with water in it, and Kaitlyn slept during the visit.

Joseph is more intrigued with the real mower than his small version.

But Elise loves to help James mow, even if all she can use is the toy.

We had a good Easter and were happy to spend the day together as James didn't have to work like we thought he might.  I decided this year to make Easter dresses for the girls and a tie for Joseph, but I didn't finish them before I went back to work and was afraid I might run out of time.  But I finished in time and they looked adorable.  Elise and Joseph loved all the chocolate they got and ate it all day long. 

Easter morning--I made the coordinating dresses and tie for the children

And here they are trying to pose in their Easter clothes.

Kaitlyn chewing on her dress.  I have a picture of Joseph from this age and they look so much alike!

Kaitlyn looking pretty in her new rainbow dress.

 

Video of Kaitlyn playing on the floor.

Trouble is named Joseph in my house...

Joseph is so active he often gets into trouble.  Last weekend he was too quiet in the bathroom and I found he had soaked the entire bathroom--the walls and floors were wet, the ceiling was wet, the toilet paper roll was entirely soaked, the rug weighed about 5 lbs with all the water it had soaked up, and I mopped about 1/2 inch of water off the floor! But, as if that wasn't enough, he'd gotten into my mascara, painted it all over his face, the sink, and the tile shower walls, and was filling it up with water and dumping the water out when I found him.

Joseph soaked the entire bathroom in water and then painted himself and the room with my mascara

Later while running errands we stopped at Wendy's for nuggets and fries and frosties for dinner.   When we got back home and I went to get Joseph out, what do you think I see? A boy covered ENTIRELY from HEAD to TOE in chocolate frosty! It's in his hair, his eyebrows, his shirt is now brown (it was light blue) his hands are sticky, and it's coating his pants. So, I tell him to walk to the house as we have to take a bath, and instead he waits till I have my arms full of Kaitlyn and the diaper bag and starts running down the street to hide in a neighbors yard. So, after I caught Joseph I herded him into the bathroom for shower number two for the day. I caught Elise and put her in as well. Then after I got them all cleaned up and in pajamas and let them play quietly in the living room while I did things in the other room. That was my mistake. Joseph came and found me saying "orange".   I was quite impressed that he learned another new word, until I figured out what he actually meant.  He meant that he found orange yogurt (the bunny Trix yogurt that comes in random shades) that someone hadn't finished and that he'd made a mess with it. His arms and face were coated in orange yogurt and there was a trail of orange yogurt on the wood floor from the living room down the hallway, plus his blankie was covered in the stuff as well. I probably could have given him another shower, but didn't have the energy for it at that point. So, I wiped him down with many, many wipies and then cleaned up the floor as best as I could. He kept looking at all of it pointing and saying, "orange gurgurt" [yogurt] over and over and pointing at it all so proud of his new word. Then, I went and put them both to bed.

The next day went much smoother until just before bedtime when Elise came to tell me Joseph was being a naughty and moved the thinking chair in the living room.  When I finally went to check on it all, he had moved the chair, but he had also coated himself in Boudreaux's Butt Paste as well as the chair, wall, and floor.  At least he's cute when he makes big messes.

Joseph coated himself, the floor, the wall, and the chair with diaper cream

Joseph and his mischievous look when he knows he is doing something naughty

Pictures from the last 7 weeks

The weeks since Kaitlyn was born have gone by so fast!  She is 7 weeks old now and has given us her first smile and is well loved by all of us.  We've had fun with all of our visitors (Elise and Joseph still ask when everyone is coming back) and are beginning to get the hang of having three children in our family.  We've had a few exciting things happen in the past month:  we blessed Kaitlyn on New Years Day at church when she was three weeks old; Elise started primary at church; one of our cars was totaled and we bought James a motorcycle to replace it (which he loves!); and James graduated the police academy.  Here are some pictures:

Kaitlyn in her blessing dress.  (picture is sideways, couldn't figure out how to turn it!)

Family photo after Kaitlyn was blessed.

Elise holding Kaitlyn.

Elise clapping for her friends who are graduating from nursery with her.

Elise is done with nursery and moving into Primary!

Elise's nursery class.

Joseph dressing up just like Daddy.

Daddy holding Kaitlyn at 4 weeks old.

Joseph trying to wear Kaitlyn's onesie...his head is too big to fit!

Kaitlyn stretched out on the floor at 4 weeks old.

Kaitlyn at 5 weeks old.

Joseph playing chef and helping make a birthday cake.

Julie's birthday

Kaitlyn at 6 weeks old all ready for church

Joseph mischievously emptied the fridge of all the milk while telling me how strong he is!

Joseph enjoying his cake at James' police graduation in January.

James and the kids on his motorcycle after his police graduation in January.

Announcing the arrival of Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn was born Monday, December 12 at 8:18 pm. She was 6 lbs. 10 ozs. and 20.5 inches long. She is adorable and we are glad she has finally joined us. Elise and Joseph love having their new baby sister around, at least, most of the time!

Family photo the day we brought Kaitlyn home from the hospital







Kaitlyn right after she was born

Kaitlyn found her thumb right after birth

Joseph giving Kaitlyn a big hug!

Elise holding baby Kaitlyn

Joseph's 1 year old photos

Joseph turned 1 in May and soon after started walking.  Now he runs everywhere, climbs everything, and loves to take things apart.  He keeps us busy!  His first word was "Boom!" as in "ka-boom!" and he says it as he throws things, launches himself off of furniture, or when he gets excited about things.  We love our little guy.

Family Photos

We finally got our family photos taken--first time since Joseph was born that we've had more than a snapshot taken.  Elise wasn't very cooperative, but I think we still got some good shots anyway.