Flip Side

 

Everything has a flip side, oppostion, a push-pull, positive/negative aspect, right?  Sometimes, those things are equal, sometimes the good outweighs the bad and occasionlly the opposite can be true.  Harrison is 3 months old today.  We tried to have a little photo shoot, smiles were hard to capture, but we got some fun shots, none the less.  It's bitter sweet for me to have him racing through infancy. 

The negative is, I already miss the snuggly newborn.  The positive side is that each day he grows means I am one step closer to getting sleep again.  He is, hands down, the worst sleeper of our babes...which is saying a lot.  It is saying he is an absolute nightmare!!!  This also means that I am a complete basket case. 

 

He is actually, pretty well tempered in the day.  The nights are abysmal.  He thinks 4am is time to wake-up, for the day.  Or sometimes 3am is even better, or maybe 3 am is a good time to go down for the first snooze of the evening.  That is what happened the other night when Dave awoke to my fatigue induced hysteric sobs.  I am tired, I mean dead tired. 

 

Grant was a terrible sleeper too.  I have a few theories...reflux, tummy sleeping preference, low milk supply, its probably all of the above.  So, as he gets bigger, I know those problems will work out, but it is a big of a tug on my heart to see him get big and me not embrace every moment of this tiny baby stage. 

 

We all sure love him lots.  We have all been sick for the past few weeks-tummy bug, croup, even the baby got it.  Mostly having a baby with croup is nothing but sad, but on the flip side, I got a good night sleep the night he lost his voice!  I guess looking back, pregnancy even had a good side- I got to feel a baby inside me and my hair became thick and voluminous.  Right now, I am in the shedding stage.  I am fairly certain I will have 10 hairs left by Christmas.  I think that often about Brenna...she has been referred to by her teachers and nursery leaders as a 'spitfire', 'spunky', 'can hold her own' etc.  I hope this plays out on the positive side as making her adventurous and strong willed.

 

Rarely do I find the positive side of the constant fighting of the older kids.  However, recently, we have made a rule that if they are arguing, I make them 'hug it out.'  Grant and Katelee do not love it, to say the least, but they typically end up giggling and then they have to spend 20 min playing together.  So, perhaps their arguing will help them bond, right?! 

 

 Here is Grant with his best buddy Matthew.  They had a pinewood derby for scouts.  Neither boy won, but when Grant noticed someone having a hard time with their races, he encouraged them by saying "hard works means great fun, right?"  I loved hearing him try to build up a friend.  Grant is a constant teaser, but he is so so sweet and helpful with his baby brother. 

Also, who knew he was a star?!  He was a lead in his 3rd grade play.  Dave and I had no clue what a big deal it was til we showed up for the performance and the entire gym was full.  He said some lines, grabbed the mic and sang a bit of a solo and I was like, what is up!?!  Loved seeing him do that!  Of course every situation in life has a flip side...I'm struggling to see the positive of the no sleep issue.  Maybe I will have some good stories to laugh out later...many, many, many, many years down the road!

 

Halloween Happenings

Halloween day always seems to be hectic...getting the kids up and ready, fully costumed for school.  Then there is the school parade, the preschool program, the class parties, neighborhood dinner and off to trick-or-treating.  Phew!  But, it's always a fun time! 

 

Earlier that week, we had our annual Halloween dinner.  This year, we dined on mummies, a veggie skeleton, clementine pumpkins, with the witches hats and Spiderweb cake for dessert.  The cake was gluten free, but like all gluten free things I slave over, Katelee maybe takes one bite.  At least she knows she is worth the work!!

 

Brenna chose to be Cinderella this year.  Her demure princess choice is ever so deceiving, but adorable.  Yesterday while changing Harrison's diaper, I was on the phone.  I believe that little Brenna thought I couldn't hear what she was saying as I talked to her dad through the receiver, but I clearly heard her say (cue demonic voice, for real) "I am going to hurt you!"  This expression was directed at the baby and said while she squeezed his little fist as tightly as she could.  I stopped her and told her I heard what she said.  At that moment, the princess voice came on and said, "I just said I was going to hurt him!"  Princess sound sweet, but they don't lie apparently. 

 

Princess Cinderella was delightful in her preschool program. 

 

 

Costumes were super-low maintenance this year.  Katelee has been under the impression that she just goes through the dress-ups and picks something.  This notion has been passed to Brenna, as well.  I wasn't going to correct that, so she opted for her little mouse costume she was when she was in Theatre School over the summer.  Love it!  She was an adorable squeaker!  Yes, Brenna is showing off her chest here, at least she is wearing a shirt underneath, I suppose!

 

 

Grant wanted to pick something scary, of course.  I sent Dave and Grant to the store to pick something out and he came back with this terrifying outfit/staff and mask.  I made him throw the mask away because I almost starting crying it was so disturbing to me.  It even had blood to smear all over.  Dave claims innocence, I ask, where was your common sense?!  Grant, however, was happy with the spooky make-up I painted on him.  He did find time to frighten me, though.  Early one morning before school, I was sitting in my bed nursing the baby.  No lights were on, and I wasn't wearing my glasses, so everything is foggy or blurry.  I kept thinking the door was slightly moving, but sometimes I freak myself out like that when I can't see.  After deciding, yes in fact, the door was moving, I notice a black shadow slinking along my floor.  I kept calling Grant's name, but he didn't answer.  He abruptly stood up, costume on, with his hands raised high and fearsome and started laughing.  He is SO lucky I was already awake because if I woke up to that, I would have attacked him ninja-style.

 

Baby Harrison's costume was the hit of the night.  Shannon whipped up a Gryffindor scarf and let us borrow a black cardigan, a little face paint, and VOILA!

 Our Harry was the most adorable Harry Potter that ever graced the earth.  Doesn't get better than that!  I had tried to talk Grant into being Ron Weasley, but he obviously wasn't on board.  My friend pointed out that Ron Weasley doesn't even want to be Ron Weasley, so it was a long shot.  We dubbed Grant's character to be a Death Eater, so we still had a bit of a Harry Potter theme.  Costume discussions for next year have already began, but I doubt we can ever find one like I more than the boy who lived right there!