Miss Independent...

Since Ellie became a big two year old, her desire to do some things independently has greatly increased--especially when it comes to dressing herself.  And while this is a common display of behavior that comes with the territory of being two, it can be...well let's just say exciting times...when we're in a hurry to get out the door with a newborn also in tow.  Here she is trying to put on her shirt by herself.  Of course, I can't help her at all because she will quickly let me know that my help is not welcome.  So clearly, my only other option is to sit back and take pictures of her while she fusses and struggles.  :)

Something tells me this is not supposed to be a tube top! 

 She thought she was onto something at this point, but as you can see, it turned out to be a dead end.

...And finally after 10 minutes,

 "Yay Ellie!!!", is what she exclaims:

And now that her shirt is completely stretched out in multiple places...we're off for the day, and everyone is happy!!

Brotherly Love...

Kinder Feast...

The day that school let out for Thanksgiving, Mason's school held their annual Turkey Trot, followed by the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast.  The event started with them walking or jogging around the school, and then the kindergarteners gathered in the cafeteria to sing some Thanksgiving songs for the parents attending, and then enjoy their feast while dressing up like pilgrims and indians.  Here is Mason participating in the Turkey Trot and then singing before the feast:  

   

Mason is enjoying the Thanksgiving feast (although I'm pretty sure the pilgrims and indians didn't feast on Chick-Fil-A nuggets, fruit, kettle corn and cookies).  But the kids loved it nonetheless!

Three Weeks Old...

Mollie is 3 weeks old now.  I intended to post pictures of her last week (and the week before), but it has been very busy around here--making  the transition to three children has been a lot more demanding than I thought it would be.  But the kids are all doing great!  Even Ellie, who I worried might have jealousy issues, really loves her sister.  While she has been more clingy to me, she also likes to hug, kiss, and lay down beside Mollie any chance she can get.  On several occasions, I've even caught her sitting on top of Mollie in the baby swing, and playing peek-a-boo with her (a.k.a. putting a wadded up blanket over Mollie's face, leaving it there for a few moments, and then yanking it off and yelling "Peek A Boo!")  Yikes--we've had to have the 'Don't-put-anything-over-the-baby's-face' conversation a few times.  :)  Here is Mollie at three weeks old:

Getting tired of this photo shoot:

Ellie is practicing her big sister skills:

Mason loves holding Mollie, and is very protective of her:

And Then There Were Three...

Meeting Mollie...

We finally got to meet our precious Mollie on Tuesday, October 26th, at 12:09 p.m.  She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20 inches long.  Welcome to our family, sweet girl!

 

  
A feeble attempt at a new family picture:  Matthew and Mason are not even looking, yet somehow Mason has his hand wrapped around Ellie's face.  Ellie is trying to choke me, and Mollie sleeps through the whole thing. 

Nine Months...

It's hard to believe that our nine months of waiting to meet our new daughter are coming to an end.  For months I have felt her moving, her presence is always with me, I have known her in a way, but yet she still seems like such a stranger to me.  But in just a few days, we will finally get to meet Mollie.  Since this will be our last, I've been feeling many mixed emotions.  I have loved every pregnancy, and as tiring as it can sometimes be, all three have been the most exciting times of my life.  It is a very bittersweet feeling to know that in a few days, that stage of my life will be over.  So I am enjoying every last moment of this!  Even though I've taken those infamous belly shots every month of all 3 pregnancies, I've tried to refrain from posting them on the blog, to spare others from having to view any visible stretch marks beauty marks.  :)  But as I've been preparing to meet my daughter, I've been doing a lot of reflecting back on the days Mason and Ellie were born, and I just couldn't help myself.  How amazing that God so graciously allows us to be a part of bringing new life into the world!

Nine months pregnant with Mason:

Nine months pregnant with Ellie:

Nine months pregnant with Mollie:

Two...

Today my baby girl turned two.  She walked around all day talking about her "happy to you" cupcakes and her "happy to you" presents.  It's so much fun to see her beginning to understand that this special day is about her.  I spent the day thinking back on the wonderful day she was born, and it's so hard to believe that two years have so quickly passed.   My 'baby' is looking less like a baby and more like a little girl every day. 

The day of Ellie's birth:

Ellie's first birthday:

So much fun to be two!!



Bedtime Buddies...

Mason and Ellie have been sharing a room for 5 days now, and I have to admit that it has gone much better than I anticipated.  Every morning, whoever wakes up first will wake the other, and then they will come get into bed with me.  They even sit on the floor and play in their new room together (lately with puzzles) before Mason heads off to school--a sweet sight for Momma to see!  But tonight was the cutest of all.  As we were tucking the kids in, Ellie decided to climb into bed with Mason.  But before sending her back to bed, I managed to get a few pictures of these sweet siblings: 

Painting Pumpkins...

After some experiences carving pumpkins with Mason when he was younger, I finally wised up and realized that painting pumpkins is so much better!  For one thing, with paint, the kids get to decorate their pumpkins completely independently.  (When carving, there's not as much they can do, since obviously there's a sharp knife involved.)  This was Ellie's first experience decorating a pumpkin.  She has recently discovered painting, and will gladly paint anything that is placed before her:

The finished products: 

Moving Day...

Today was moving day in our house...well, at least for the kids it was.  With the anticipation of Mollie's arrival in just over 2 weeks, Matthew and I have had to figure out how to arrange the kids' bedrooms, now that we'll have more kids than we have extra bedrooms.  Inevitably, two of the three have to share now.  But figuring out which ones has been a little difficult.  The obvious thing to do would be to put the girls together, but since Ellie and Mason were not good sleepers as babies (neither slept through the night until a year or more) we are not expecting that Mollie will be either.  Ellie is still a very light sleeper and wakes at the slightest noise.  It can also take awhile to get her back to sleep, so we are hesitant to put her in a room with a new baby who wakes multiple times a night.  Mason is the easy one--he could put himself to sleep, and sleep like a rock until the sun comes up.  So by default, we've decided to let Ellie and Mason become temporary roommates...starting tonight.  At first, Mason was really excited about sharing a room with his little sis.  But recently she's been having some rough nights, and naturally, this has caused Mason to feel a little concerned about his sleep being disrupted.  But he has been a real trooper through this transition.  He even helped me haul books, toys, and clothes from one room to the other all morning without one single complaint.  And by this evening when it was bedtime, he was actually excited again to be in the room with her. 

It has also been a very daunting task to try and figure out how to make a shared bedroom for a nearly 6-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl look even remotely cute, let alone match, without spending tons of money.  This is only a temporary arrangement, so I didn't want to invest a lot of money on things that would not even be used a year or so from now.  But thanks to Target, I was able to find some inexpensive bedding for Ellie that blended with Mason's things.  So even though it is definitely a 'boy' room, I was able to make a little feminine space for her too.  Besides, Ellie has never been much of a girly girl, and she's so accustomed to being around her brother's things, I don't think it will faze her one bit.  Here is the finished product.  It's nothing fancy, but I feel like I accomplished my goal of making it economical...and match!

Los Viejitos...

Today was Hispanic Heritage day at Mason's school, and since he is in the dual language class, he got to participate in the celebration assembly that was held.  The dual language class of each grade performed a Spanish dance or routine for the entire school, and the kindergarten class performed "Los Viejitos", or the little old people.  They each walked hunched over with little walking sticks, stomping all over the stage to a Spanish folk song--Mason's teacher even participated with them!  They were all so cute, and I had a great time watching him perform.  Here is my little Viejito right before he went on stage:

Mason is the one coming down off the stage, right in front of the American flag:

Mason's teacher also performs in a Mariachi band, aside from teaching.  They performed in the program today as well.  He is the lead singer, and I believe that the other band members are his nephews and other relatives.  They were very good!

Mason is really enjoying his class, and I am so excited about how much Spanish he has already learned in only one month!  He has a great teacher who really challenges and encourages them.  I was afraid that he might feel a little overwhelmed in a class that is taught primarily in Spanish, but that has not been the case at all.  In addition to learning another language, I can tell that he has also developed an appreciation for another culture, that only one month ago was completely foreign to him.  I cannot say enough good things about this program as well as his school! 

Why I Love Having A 5 Year Old...

Reason #357:  Because at 5 years old, a little boy tells his Momma that she is his "best girl" as she tucks him in at night.  :)

Music Time...

Since Mason has been busy with kindergarten, Ellie and I have started attending a mommy and me music class for toddlers and preschoolers, which is held weekly at our church.  I really look forward to doing this activity with Ellie each week, and she has really enjoyed going.  We start out every class pretending to be asleep, then waking up to dance to music.  Here is Ellie "waking up":

Ready to dance:

Silly face:

...And each class finishes with a snack time for everyone:



Why I Love Having A 5 Year Old...

Reason #213: Because at 5 years old, a little boy is not embarrassed to give his momma 3 kisses and 3 hugs in front of his entire kindergarten class when she drops him off at school.   :)

My Girl...

Ellie's idea of playing dress-up: