I can't forget about Braden!

I'm posting this from my phone. That's a first. I rarely get on a computer anymore since I'm always attached to a baby.

Braden turned 4 on March 2nd. He really wanted some Sonic the Hedgehog action figures and to go to Pump It Up. We got the action figures. Unfortunately we waited until Friday to call Pump It Up to see if we could come in for free play on Saturday. That's when we found out that they are closed for free play on Saturday and Sunday so that they can have birthday parties on those days.

We ended up taking all the kids to McDonald's with a Playplace on Braden's birthday instead. With that and Disneyland (or more importantly Cars Land), he hasn't even mentioned Pump It Up.

At McDonald's with ice cream on his face.

Here he is with William and his new cousin Jaxon.

Happy birthday, Braden!

One More Comparison

My mother-in-law posted this picture of Lia on Facebook with my sister-in-law Laura.

Lia

Rebecca

Rebecca has dark eyebrows and Lia has light eyebrows, but other than that, they look so similar to me!

3 Months Old

Lia turned 3 months old on the 10th.  And she has two new cousins who arrived in February and the beginning of March.

Avery Rose Black was born to Shane and Emily on February 20th.  She weighed 8 pounds and 1 ounce.  She has a ton of pretty blonde hair.

Jaxon Phillip Pollock was born to Kody and Melissa on March 5th.  He weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces!!  And he has a ton of dark hair.

You can see in this picture that four-day-old Jaxon is not much smaller than three-month-old Lia.  He is a big boy.  And two-week-old Avery is about the same size as Jaxon.

And here are the three tired mamas with their babies.  Emily the blonde does everyone's hair, and we've all been missing her since she's been on maternity leave.  

Other than two new cousins, Lia has some other new things going on at three months.  She coos at anyone who is paying attention to her, and she'll also give you a big smile.  She's awake for most of the day now, and for daytime naps, she takes one long nap (like 4 or 5 hours long).  At night she'll usually sleep at least one 6+ hour stretch, which has been so nice.  Hopefully she'll keep doing that.  She still looks just like Rebecca as a baby.

This is Rebecca at about 4 months.  Is it possible for twins to be born 8 years apart?

We love having this little lady around.  She does something almost every day to make all three kids laugh at her.  She's so much fun.  

Disneyland 2013

Disneyland was offering a discount on their three day hopper passes this year through March 11, so we decided to take advantage and go from March 4 to March 6.

This little Minnie Mouse slept most of the time and ate when she wasn't sleeping.  

We caught this Minnie Mouse in Tomorrow Land after I took these three on Space Mountain.  Her line was super short, so we got a quick picture with her.  Kevin must have been on another ride with the baby.

William and Braden rode Aeriel's Carousel while I took Rebecca on California Screamin'.  We spent most of this trip split up since the baby couldn't go on most of the rides, and Braden still wasn't tall enough for a few.  The only ride William was too short for was California Screamin'.

We all loved Cars Land, but Braden especially loved it.  We went to Disneyland Monday and Wednesday and California Adventure on Tuesday, and all Braden could talk about on Wednesday was going back to Cars Land.  It's set up just like Radiator Springs, and the Racers ride in there is awesome.  

We took full advantage of the Stroller Pass policy this trip.  Kevin would go on a big ride with the older kids, and he'd show the attendant in front of the ride that I had to stay behind with a stroller.  They gave him a stroller pass that he gave me when he got off the ride.  I got to use it as a Fast Pass, and I got to take one other kid with me.  So our kids got to ride their favorite rides twice.  I love that they do that at the two parks.  Even though Kevin and I had to split up, we each got to ride the fun rides without waiting in line two times.  

It was so nice to finally be back at Disneyland.  We hadn't been since Braden was a baby.  We were told by a friend that California Adventure was torn up for a good two years for Cars Land and other renovations.  I guess it's nice that we missed all of the construction.  I love that place, and I hope we get to go back again soon.

Happenings

This little chubba gained 2 1/2 pounds in a month.  She weighed 10 pounds 6 ounces at her appointment on Friday.  I kept thinking her size 1 diapers were already looking snug.  Hopefully she'll still be able to wear all of her cute 0-3 months outfits for a little longer.

We got rid of our torn leather rocker/recliner after Braden outgrew being rocked.  I had been missing it with Lia, so we were on the hunt for a cheap rocker to put in our bedroom.  My mom had this sitting unused at her house, so she let us have it.  The baby loves it.  And so do the other kids, as you can see. I usually have to kick one or more of them out of it when I need it.

And finally, Kevin got me a new treadmill for Valentine's Day.  Actually, my other one was starting to bust, and Sears was having a sale, so my new treadmill was ready to pick up on Valentine's Day.  Kevin didn't plan for it to be my Valentine's Day present.  I love it.  The controls broke on my other one, so I basically just ran for a specific amount of time.  With this new one I know how far I'm running, how many calories I'm burning, and how fast (slow) I'm going.  I knew I was not fast, but I was definitely surprised by my slow speed when I tried this thing out.  Now that I know, I can improve that, right?

And that's what's going on at our house lately.

2 Months

My baby girl is two months old today. The only recent pictures I have of her are a couple I took on Friday.

  My sweet friend Elizabeth bought Lia a cute pink sweat suit.  I have a similar outfit, so Rebecca put on my coat to match the baby. 

With Lia's coat

The day Lia turned a month old, we got a few smiles from her.  After that...no more smiles.  This past week she's been smiling at us again.  She especially loves to smile for Kevin.

When we first brought her home, she would only sleep in her bed if she was dead asleep.  Otherwise she wanted to sleep with me and Kevin.  Now she only sleeps in her bed, and I think she likes it that way.  

She's still a good baby.  She rarely cries.  It might be because I hold her ALL THE TIME.  I know how fast these babies grow up, so I'm trying to enjoy her as much as I can.  

Lia's Blessing

We blessed Lia last Sunday on February 3rd.  Since it was Super Bowl Sunday and we go to church at 2 pm, there weren't very many people there.

But most of my family and Kevin's were able to come.