Breakfast cups

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I made it yesterday morning for breakfast.

Source: littlebirdiebaby.blogspot.com via Courtney on Pinterest

They are called Bird's Nests and they are super simple to make and delicious! They are easy to customize to your liking, replacing the bacon with ham or sausage, etc. I even left the egg off of a couple because Peytonn isn't a huge fan of eggs and requested no egg on his. They are easy for little hands to pick up and enjoy themselves.

I made 24 "nests" and froze individually what we did not eat. These are easy to grab and go! Give them a try!!

5 months old

Avonlea turned 5 months on Christmas Day. We have gotten into a good nap routine during the past month. I figured out that she likes to be swaddled when she firsts goes to sleep. It also makes it a lot easier to transfer her from my arms to the crib without her waking up.

Here is Avonlea on Christmas Eve before we went to my grandma's house.

Here is what Avonlea is up to at 5 months:
--weighing in at 15lbs 14 oz
--wearing size 3 disposable diapers and medium cloth diapers
--wearing 6-9 and 12 month clothes
--almost rolling from back to front. She gets 3/4 of the way over and then says "forget this!" and flips back over.
--still waking frequently throughout the night, but she mostly sleeps with me so it doesn't bother me too much
--naps mostly in her crib and sleeps the first 3 hours at night in her crib
--cooing and talking up a storm! She loves to hear herself!
--hasn't had very much solid food this month. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times she has had solids this month. But so far she has tried squash, carrots, applesauce, rice and oatmeal cereal, and we just tried peas last night.
--loves to jump in the Jumperoo or play on her playmat.
--moved her out of the bucket seat and into a convertible rearfacing carseat. She is much happier now in the car.

Avonlea also got to hang out with her Uncle Ryan during Christmas. My brother lives out in California and only flies home a couple of times per year. This is only the second time he has gotten to see Avonlea. It's always nice to get to see my brother and hang out with him. I wish he would move home!!

We had a wonderful Christmas and got to spend it with family, far and near! I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday!

Our Anniversary

Last Friday we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. We have been through so much in the 8 year we have been together.

From our wedding day in Vegas where I was 14 weeks pregnant with our first:

To the birth of our first preemie baby, Peytonn:

To the birth of our second preemie baby, Bennett:

Then 5 months later, Hubby being deployed for a year overseas:

A year later and his return home:

And then the birth of our third preemie baby, Avonlea:

Who knew life could have so much up's and down's, twists and turns, and such amazing joys! I know this is just the beginning of our journey together and I can't see what life has in store for us!



Four Months

Miss Avonlea is four months old already! Little miss is chubbier and sassier than ever! I just adore her, and so do her brothers!

Here are her stats for 4 months:
Weight: 13 lbs 4.5 oz (50th %)
Height: 24 1/2 inches (50th %)

Our doc gave us the go ahead to start solids. With the boys, I waited until 5-6 months, but she seemed ready, so I tried some rice cereal with her. She wasn't a huge fan at the first bite, but by the end she was sucking it off the spoon. I don't think it will be something that we do every night/day, but its good practice and she is a champ and moving it to the back of her mouth. She hasn't choked or gagged at all.

Here is what Avonlea is up to at four months:
--can roll from front to back
--grabbing and holding on to toys
--cooing and interacting with people
--wearing some 3-6 month, but mostly 6-9 or even 12 month clothes
--Moved up to medium rise snap on cloth diapers
--enjoys playing in jumperoo, sitting up, and playing with the plastic rings
--tried solid food (rice cereal) for the first time
--still nursing and taking 3-4 ounces from a bottle
--mostly lost interest in the pacifier
--sleeps decent, definitely not through the night yet though
--loves to be held, carried around, and played with (likes to be the center of attention!)
--very interested in her brothers and she loves when they sing songs to her or play with her
--pulls herself into sitting position when sitting between your legs on the floor

She is also losing a lot of her hair. (as you can tell from this picture!) But she has little hairs growing in. It's hard to tell if she will be a blondie like Bennett or darker like Peytonn.  I can't wait for her to hair enough hair for me to put bows in and such. :)

She is still such a joy to have around. She is mostly a very happy baby and loves to smile at just about anyone!

Holiday Dress

I have been searching for a holiday outfit for Avonlea. I thought I would go the smocked route or a sweater dress, but I found something else that I love! Its a Pinnafore and I adore them. I originally bought one for my niece a year or two ago and I love this shop at Etsy. They are reversable and you can wear them alone, with jeans, leggings, short/long sleeved shirt. So versatile! This is the one I bought for Avonlea:

I just love the print and it reverses to a dot print. I thought the red/cream would be perfect for the holidays but she can also wear it throughout the year too.

Please visit this Etsy shop, she is amazing!

ThreeYellowStarfish

Birthdays

Bennett turned 3 this past week! I can't believe he is 3 years old already. He is getting so big and talking so much now. We had his party this past Sunday and Bennett received so many great things. He is loving the fire truck, bull dozers, and new shoes that he received. Everyone was so generous and Bennett really appreciated it all.

Here is what Bennett is up to these days:
--wearing 3T (some 4T) clothing and size 8 or 8.5 shoe
--fully potty trained
--attends preschool twice per week
--talks in sentences and can express needs or wants (or tantrums!)
--is still super ornery but is learning more self control and consequences every day
--enjoys running and playing outside, playing with trucks, wrestling with his brother, and playing with his sissy

Bennett seems to have grown up so much just in the past 2 weeks. I remember three to be the pivitol age for Peytonn. I am excited to see what the next year holds for Bennett!

In other news, Avonlea turned 3 months old. Well, she's more like 3 1/2 months now. :) But here is what she is up to:
--wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes, some 6-9
--measuring 23 inches and ~13-14lbs when I weigh her on our scale (fully clothed)
--can roll from front to back but has yet to even attempt back to front
--loves to smile and coo
--engaging more with her toys. I noticed this weekend she really loves the plastic rings
--still nursing but takes 3-4 oz from a bottle at the babysitter or with daddy
--sleeping anywhere from 3-6 hour stretches at night
--outgrowing most of her small diapers and is moving into mediums or the medium rise setting on her onesize diaper, size 2 disposables
--loves to stand or sit with you and check out what is going on. She especially loves when her brothers play with her. Bennett loves to sing to her.

Here is a little video of Bennett singing to Avonlea:
http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f157/clemce/?action=view&current=photobucket-4892-1321373442750.mp4

Its been a while!

I know its been ages since my last post. There's a million reasons why, but mostly because we have just been so busy.

We are in the midst of making a lot of bigger decisions regarding our family. Some of those decisions include jobs, schools, and religion.

We have decided to withdraw Peytonn from the Montessori school that he was attending. We absolutely love the school and I think it was a great opportunity to introduce Peytonn into the learning world. However, after our parent/teacher conferences this Fall, its evident that Peytonn needs more structure. He is lacking in his letters and upper numbers. We excels in areas of Art, practical life, puzzles, and colors/shapes.

This then leads into the religion part of things. I knew from the get-go that I would never enroll my kids in the public school in our area. Given what I do for a living, I was not having my kid attend the same school as my clients kids. Its just something I am not willing to compromise! I am very adament about keeping my work and family life separate.

We have decided to send the kids to private Catholic school. Now, neither of us are Catholic. However, I am baptized Catholic and my father's side of the family is all Catholic. After much research and discussions, we have decided to convert (Hubby and I) to Catholic. None of the kids are baptized, however, we will have them baptized in the Spring, after we have been completely accepted into the church.  This is something that I feel is right for our family.

Peytonn will start Preschool at the Catholic school on Monday. We are excited for him and he will continue with the kids in his class through to Kindergarten. We made a visit to the school last Sunday after Mass. I really like it and the teachers, I think Peytonn will succeed.

Bennett will remain at the Montessori school for the rest of the year. He will start preschool at the Catholic school next Fall.

I am excited about the new changes we are making for our family.