Lifesong

3:17 pm

{Christian's first guitar lesson.}

Instagram Friday

A fun way to get all the photos off my phone and onto my blog. These are all taken with my iPhone.

The weather has been SO beautiful here in the Southland that the kids have been playing outside in shorts. And Christian can't play outside without getting muddy feet. It's all part of being a boy right?

I was up early this morning, showered and ready before the kids woke up. It was nice, and doesn't happen often. Not because I'm (necessarily) lazy, but because The Baby wakes up so early. I liked the way the sunlight was coming in across the bed. I also like making the bed every morning. It makes the room look so much neater!

Avery got to enjoy her swing for the first time that she can remember. She was a teeny tiny thing last summer when we first got it for her. Crazy!

Avery really likes the trampoline. Not for jumping, just for crawling around and giggling. And it's sort of like a playpen so it keeps her contained. It's a rather nice place for her to play!

So sad. She's crawling after the kids, but she can't quite make it. It won't be long!

Avery loves eggs and has to have them EVERY morning. I offer her pancakes, waffles, muffins.....she wants EGGS. It's a little glimpse into her personality, I'm sure. Someone else waiting below her high chair really loves eggs, too.

Oh the lengths I will go to (quite literally) to get lunch here! It's a sickness, really.

I'm going to challenge myself to take more pictures of my other two kiddos this week. I see I'm a little heavy on the Avery pictures with my phone!

This post is linked here for some more Instagram fun!

10:47 am

{RARE}

{That The Baby is happy in her carseat.}

Insta-Friday

Friday again! Hooray!

Time to share my iPhone photos that I use with Instagram (which I love). It was a busy week, so I didn't take as many, but I'll share what I have.

Ansley holding Avery while waiting at the doctor's for her six month well visit check up. This time there is a reason she's naked, because that's what they always do at the check ups. She is in the 75 percentile for height and weight. Our chunky monkey! We love her! And we love that mini-Mama too.

Sweet baby. She's beginning to really get into toys, and really seems to like stuffed animals. Well, chewing on them, but still, stuffed animal love.

 
Less than a month til our oldest turns eight. Ansley and I worked on these invites this week. And, yes, just like she's been requesting for several years now, she is finally having a slumber party.

Did some running around towards the end of this week, and this is feeding the baby on the go. Ansley is so helpful. Poor baby, has to eat in her car seat. There was one day this week that I forgot to feed Avery lunch. Who does that?? Bad Mama. (So I wanted to make sure that didn't happen again.

This blog is linked here so you can check it out for more Instagram fun!

 

Insta-Friday

It's Insta-Friday time again! This post is linked here so feel free to head over for some more Instagram fun. Here are the quick photos I have taken this week, when my camera isn't handy.

Ansley and Avery taking a rest at Cracker Barrel. I love the Crack, did you know? I could eat there for every meal. The rest of my family, however, grows weary of it. How can you grow weary of good ol Southern food? It's a mystery.

I snapped this picture to send to John, as incentive to hurry home for dinner. (It was pork and avocado enchiladas, and it was yummy.)

We took school outside yesterday morning, which increased the fun factor exponentially. And when Ansley discovered this caterpillar? OFF THE CHARTS. A crazy fun morning was had by all.

The morning routine: Get The Baby from the bed, where she is ALL smiles. Get her dressed. Hold her in front of a mirror where she will go CRAZY with the smiles. However, that's rather difficult to capture on an iPhone, in a mirror.

Yay for school outside!

Almost six months old. SO happy!

Last night John and Christian had a father/son date night, so me, Ansley and Avery headed to a new ice cream place, Scoop'd. It was fun hearing her thoughts on school, co-op, and her upcoming birthday.

I know that Christian is sadly left out of these photos this week. It wasn't intentional at all, but I'll try to remember to make it fair from now on, just so there can be no claimed favorites.

Insta-Friday

Oooh, it's July 29. That means it's exactly one month to my birthday. I can't help but think that when I see "29." And I do love birthdays, ya know?

Anyway, this post isn't about birthdays. Insta-Friday is a fun way to share pictures taken using the Instagram App, because sometimes I don't wanna lug my big ol' camera around to random places. This post is linked here so you can check it out for more Instagram fun!

But here are my pictures for the week:

Avery in a restaurant, with Sophie the giraffe. She loves Sophie. This is how I feed her when I go out, because it works for now. I'm sure she will graduate to a high chair soon (that's been Buggy Bagg-ed and Cloroxed) but for now, this is how we roll. Is that an outdated saying? I read a saying the other day that I had never heard of, and I do mean EVER in my whole entire life, like I didn't even know what it meant, and it made me feel old. Usually I can be all oh yeah I've heard so and so say that but this one? NEVER. So I've gotta keep up with the times, yo? Oh, no is that another outdated one?!

Christian on the way home from the pool. That's one tired boy.

Ansley and Christian had the great idea of going to Dunkin' Donuts one morning this week. And I thought, well, why not? We're all up and we're all hungry (well Avery had already eaten) so we headed out. They loved it! It will be so fun when Avery can join us for unhealthy breakfasts!

We went to McAlister's yesterday because it was free tea day. How could I resist?

I know this isn't an Instagram photo, but I had to throw it in for fun. In case you're unsure whether or not Ansley likes having a baby sister.

These are Ellie's crutches, and she thought it was hilarious. Babies are just so sweet!

Side story: I started calling Avery precious, as in "good morning, precious!" Then, somewhere along the way I decided that was too much to say so I shortened it to "presh". As in "Aren't you PRESH?" I make up words a lot, and make up nicknames even more, so it flows. Then, somehow presh wasn't cutesy enough, so I started calling her "preshie".

Allllll that to say the other day in a restaurant Christian walks up to Avery and says "HEY PISSY! HEY PISSY! YOU ARE SO CUTE PISSY!" And amidst some stares, I smile and ask Christian ummm, what did you say? And he says I said pissy, just like what you always call her. See, he meant PRESHIE, but no one else knew that.

Oh, my. I'm pretty sure people were judging me. What kind of a Mama nicknames their baby pissy, of all things??

But that's one nickname that won't be sticking!

 

Insta-Friday

I'm practically giddy with the thought that I've been able to keep up with something (read: be consistent) for four weeks now. Maybe that means at five months we're turning a corner? Or maybe it means I've had exorbitantly large amounts of tea in the past few weeks. Which seems to be causing a kidney stone flare up, so you'd think that would make me stop with the tea, wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong.

But that really has nothing to do with me staying consistent for so long. Although it could prevent me from being consistent next week, if it gets really bad.

(In case you are new here, I get kidney stones probably once every few years. And then I get all no more tea for me, and start shoveling in blueberries and all the things that are good and prevent kidney stones. But then the pain passes and I'm all BRING ME SOME TEA. I take my tea seriously. And my health, as you can see.)

Before this becomes Insta-Random, I'll get on with the pictures.

This is the tie to my shirt, and Avery's hand while she is nursing. I love this picture.

Ansley REALLY REALLY wanted this tankini. (I was looking for an inexpensive bathing suit for the kids, because our neighbors said we could use their pool but we can only use bathing suits that hadn't been in lake or beach water. I know, kinda strange, but we are abiding by their rules. Hence, the bathing suit search.) She has always been a one piece girl, and I'm not pro-bikini for a 7 year old. But I thought this tankini was very cute and she just loves it, so we got it.

She is just adorable. I put this dress on her, the one she's worn since she was an itty baby, and it's more like a shirt now. It made me a little sad. It was one of my favorites!

You remember how Ansley and I had to do the foot comparison game? Well Ansley thought it would be funny for me and Avery to play that game, too.

I got my hair highlighted this week, and went straight again. And, again, I'm the only one who likes it. As soon as I got out of the car, Christian said "Mom, when will it be curly again?" and Ansley said "Oh, no! It's straight again." But I get a large amount of joy in being the straight haired girl, if only for a few days. (Look, there's the shirt with the tie that Avery was holding on to. What a coincidence. Or, not really, since I only have like two shirts that I can wear these days.)

Look at that baby, craning her neck to see.....what? Her big sister, of course. She follows Ansley everywhere she goes (with her eyes, of course) and cracks up at her all the time. She is a funny girl!

This post is linked here, so check it out for more Instagram fun. Thanks for stopping by!

5:22 pm

12:34 pm

 

Well, sure, maybe not TODAY. But I'm pretty sure it was taken at 12:34 back in June.

I think I just wanted to see some green grass. I still can't even see grass at our house. And don't get me wrong, I'm not a complainer (ok, don't laugh. I TRY not to be, how's that?), and I really do love snow. But there's something about the combination of the holidays, sickness, and not wanting to go anywhere because it's cold and snowy and my water could break at any moment that starts to get to a person.

I kid. My water has never actually broken on its own, so it's not really a fear I have. And I also have a feeling that this baby girl is gonna take me right up to my due date, and not a moment sooner. But that's just a Mama feeling. And the doctor telling me there's no progression. But I still have five weeks, MANY centimeters could be achieved in five weeks.

I feel like I haven't had contact with other humans in months. And that may sound like an exaggeration, but I honestly do think it has been at least several weeks, if not a month. Well, I mean besides little humans. And husband human.

I do love being at home, and being with my kids. We have enjoyed spending time together and hanging out. It's not really that different than most weeks, with the exception of a little interaction.

So today, looking at a picture of bathing suits and water that's not frozen and green grass makes me happy. And really, if that's all it takes, what's the harm?

I could've purchased a new Coach purse to shake my winter doldrums. Or maybe some cute new boots. Like the one here I particularly love....I mean, not that I've been looking. Or anything.

11:17 am: A Rough Morning