2 months old!

Ambria is two months old! She had her check up this week and first set of shots. She weighed in at 12 pounds and was 23+ inches long. The dr. asked if all my kids had been this big...she is 89th percentile. (And the answer is yes, they have all been good size babies.) Bria is getting heavy to heft around throughout the day; especially the day she got her shots. She was so mad but was calmed down quickly to her big sisters' relief. They had all been very concerned about her shots and has asked the nurse to reassure them that she would be okay. Bria did really well until afternoon and then she screamed for about three hours! I had a headache and a really tired arm that night. I am grateful that my fourth baby is not colicky like the first two were. I don't think I could survive that. Ambria has been a very content baby. She loves to be held, as most babies do, and is a great sleeper. She is smiling a lot now and starting to giggle and "coo." Her sisters smother her with love. Allie is constantly burying her with blankets and stuffed animals and Aubrey still can't get enough time holding her. They even took a little snooze together the other day...and I was happy to sneek one in with them.

a whole lot of "girl"

Our house is really full of "girl!" What do expect with four of them bouncing off the walls! There is pink everywhere, and frilly things strewn about, and squealing and giggling and tutus and cat fights and sweetness...and I love it! I smiled as I picked up the ballet slippers, tiaras, and princess wands off the floor tonight. Adam is doing his best to counter balance all the femininity but I'm sure he feels like he is treading water in a sinking ship. He is constantly chastized for saying "bad" words like "crap" or "stupid" and told he is "eating like a beast." He wrestles with the girls and makes loud noises and I recently found out he has been telling them some pretty exciting bedtime stories, including "Karate Kid," and "Superman," anything "boy-ish" and superhero related...and nothing to do with princesses! Recently my girls and I got in a battle over why they couldn't watch the movie "Spiderman." They said they knew all the stories...all about the "green goblin" and "Octavius," etc. so I didn't need to worry about them being scared. Hard to explain that I didn't mind them hearing the stories but didn't want them to actually "watch" them. I did allow them to watch "Karate Kid" (parts 1 and 2) and they have since been telling me all about Daniel-son and Mr. Miagi. Don't love the karate match imitations and much as the pretend dance recitals, but we've got to let the dad in somewhere.

settling in

Today I had to remove the California license plates from our cars. It was a bit of a sad moment to me as I still have a soft spot for our life there. I suppose I always will. We made a lot of happy memories there; visited many fun places and met a lot of wonderful people. I miss the palm trees and warmer weather. I had the thought the other day that if we were still in Fresno, we would be seeing blossoms on the trees in about a month from now...instead we are still playing in the snow, and will be for a couple more months. The snow actually hasn't been as intense as I thought it would be but I am really tired of the cold! The girls don't seem to mind. They go out and play and warm up with a cup of hot cocoa.

We are really happy here and I LOVE being near our families. It's hard to imagine ever being away from them now. They are a great source of help and are fun to be around. The mountains here are beautiful and I love being so close to them. Adam loves his job and Alexis is doing very well with her French in school; so things are working out and coming together. Another very exciting update is that we have found a home! We are scheduled to close in a couple months so we are back on a countdown. We are really looking forward to setting up our own place and really settling in; rooting ourselves more firmly than ever before. Up until now, we've always been on the move and every place we've come to, we've known has been only temoporary. But this time (barring anything unforseen), we are in for the long haul. We will likely stay in this home until our kids have gotten through school. It's an unusual sense of permanance that we've never felt, but it's a comfortable one. I can't wait to get in and start putting our ideas in place.

Always something to smile about

In spite of the wide variety of little trials we go through each day, there is, thankfully, always something to smile about. When I look up to see these sweet little girls in their dress-ups and fancy things (which there is a plethera of around here), I just can't help but grin a little and feel like it's all worth it in the end.

Insomniacs

Being the mother of four is certainly keeping me on my toes. Whether it's the tantrums of my two year old, the hormones and attitude of my six year old, the stubborness of my four year old, or the dependancy of my infant, there is never a day without something to challenge me (and that's saying nothing of the attention I should somehow be giving my husband! Good thing he has his new job to keep him busy and his mom to keep him company -for now). Every day brings something new. One challenge in particular we've been facing this past week is sleep. I personally have been struggling for a while but adding more sleep interuptions isn't helping. I used to take great pride in what great sleepers my kids were. They would retire early and all take naps, at the same time even, allowing me a "sanity break" in the day. Those days are gone and I miss them desparately. My two year old won't even nap anymore!
The baby is doing well to get back to sleep after her middle of the night feedings; I, however can't seem to "shut off" my mind once I put her back to bed. I lay awake dreaming up ideas for how to set up our new house when that day comes, or thinking of the tasks for the day ahead, or thinking of nothing at all, just not sleeping. Then, if I am so lucky as to begin to fall back to sleep, either it's time for the baby to eat again, or I get a visit from Allie. She has always been a good sleeper but this past week refues to sleep without all the lights on and doors open. Even then, she wanders to my room multiple times every night and tries to get in my bed; which I am adamantly against, so I take her back up stairs over and over and over. The other night, as I carried her back to her room, I saw that my father-in-law was also awake, reading in his study. On my third trip up to Allie's room, I found my mother-in-law awake folding laundry (mine), and after my fourth trip up, she stopped me at the top of the stairs and took Allie to her bed so I could try and sleep. No sooner did I get cozy in my covers than I got another visitor. Aubrey came down to our room having been awakened by a nightmare. I took her back upstairs and getting her back to bed, woke Alexis up. When I got back to my room, Adam was awake wondering what was going on. I laughed to myself at the irony that at 4:30am, my mother and father-in-law, my three oldest children, my husband and I, lay wide awake...while the baby slept! Perhaps I need to fill a family sized perscription for Ambien.