Typical Texas Bluebonnet Pictures

Wordless Wednesday

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the kids together:

 



Naptime = Playtime 4

Recently, Brayden and I have just been playing a lot while Paisley is sleeping.  He needs way more of my attention while she is sleeping, since he is getting less while she is awake.

Yesterday, we pulled out his hot wheels and just played with his cars.  We played, laughed, and had a great time. 

Remember, the time you spend with your children is really for them, so make sure what you are doing is fun for them as well.

 

Naptime=Playtime 4 Cloud Dough

Brayden and I are having so much fun with our naptime=playtime activities. 

As I was searching pinterest for new ideas for my Indoor Fun and Games board, I came across one of my new favorite blogs for fun ideas, Kara's Classroom.  I first found her post on cloud dough and then searched through her blog and I cannot wait to try more of her ideas.

Cloud dough was easy to make, and Brayden had lots of fun playing with it. 

To make cloud dough all you need is 7 cups of flour, 1 cup of vegetable oil and a big container to put it in.  *I wish we would have had a bigger container, but our little one worked just fine.

To start, we gathered our flour, oil, container, and a towel to sit on.  Brayden helped me count and measure out the cups of flour and then mix in the oil. 

He played for awhile with just the dough till we were interrupted by Paisley who wanted to join in the fun.  She started off in her bouncer, but she did not want to stay there.  I put her in the bumbo and gave her a cookie cutter to play with.  Brayden loved trying to make the cookie cutter shapes in the dough.  Next time, I want to come up with more things for him to play with in the dough, even though his hands and the cookie cutters worked just fine. 

After the big girls got home from school, Brayden told them what he had played with and they wanted to play too.  Even my girls liked it, and this is why I want a bigger container.

Overall, the cloud dough was a HUGE success and I cannot wait to get it out again!

Any suggestions on what else to play with in the cloud dough?

Naptime = Playtime 1 Painting and Letter Recognition

Since most of my day is spent catering to baby Paisley, I am trying to make an effort to do things with just Brayden.  This time comes in the morning when Pais takes her nap.  I have been working with him on his letter recognition and writing and also fun things like painting, coloring, foam, and anything else fun we come up with.  I think he has really enjoyed the time that is spent just me and him.  I am going to do a series where I show you fun things Brayden and I are doing, how he likes it, where I found the idea, and how he is progressing.

The first thing Brayden wanted to do was paint a Christmas picture.  I used green washable paint and painted his hand 6 times and we made his handprints into a Christmas tree.  I put lines on the bottom of the tree and let him use brown paint to paint in the trunk of the tree.  Then I asked him if he wanted to add ornaments to the tree and of course he said yes, but he painted them around the tree.  Silly boy!  I let him paint how he wanted with out correcting him since it was his picture.

 

 

With Brayden being 3 1/2, I also want to work on his writing skills.  I wrote his name on a piece of paper with yellow marker, and had him trace over it.  The yellow is easy for him to see and easier to follow than hash marks.  After we tried his name, we worked on the letter A. 

 

 

I don't want to push Brayden to do more than he wants, so this was all we did on this day.  His attention span isn't very long, so we moved onto something more playful.  I do think he enjoyed his time with me.  I know I enjoyed being able to focus on just him.

 

I can't wait to show you more of what we do! 

 

Any suggestions are welcome!!



 

Baby Blues

Sorry I have been MIA from the blog the past few weeks, I haven't been in much of a writing mood.  I have been dealing with some personal things. 

I have been very down, blah, and just not feeling like myself since Paisley was born.  I have been constantly overwhelmed with all the kids by myself.  I yell way to much at the big girls and strain our relationship greatly most days, and I let Brayden wither away in front of the tv for hours a day, all while feeling stuck on the couch with no energy or enthusiasm to get up and live life.  A lot of days I feel lonely, I overeat, and I sleep horrible, I am just not myself.  I feel trapped in some one else's body.  My mood swings are out of control.  I can go from happy and content to crazy angry and yelling to feeling like crying my eyes out all within a matter of minutes.

I know "baby blues" are always possible after you give birth, but I never thought I would have it.  I am not sure if what I am experiencing is "baby blues" or just really bad hormonal changes due to getting my tubes tied.  I did not feel like this with my other babies, at least not to the extent that I do now.  Doctors are quick to tell you that there is no relation with getting your tubes tied and hormonal changes, but based on my mood, I feel otherwise.  This past week, I finally talked to my doctor about how I have been feeling, and hopefully will be feeling better in a few weeks (praying for sooner).  We agreed the best course of action, in my case, was to go on Lexapro.  I hope it starts to kick in over the next few weeks.  I never thought I would need to be put on something, however, if the medication helps me turn this all around, then so be it.
It has been very hard with 4, much harder than I ever thought it would be.  I never wanted to have 4 kids and I stressed and worried my entire pregnancy, but it was obviously in God's plan for our family and he is never wrong.  I love Paisley and wouldn't change having her for anything in the world.  She makes me smile and I know she will bring so much love and joy to our world that we would be greatly lacking with out her here. 

I was worried about how Brayden would be with her, but he has been amazing with her.  He always wants to hold her and give her kisses; I think he is very proud to be her big brother.  However, he has become increasingly insistent on getting my attention any way necessary, whether that is being overly sweet or throwing mega fits.  Maddi and Ella also love and adore her and constantly want to hold her, and they also try to keep her from crying as much as they can, they are awesome big sisters.

I hope that the medicine kicks in soon so I can get back to feeling like myself with my amazing family.  They deserve so much more than I give to them.

I am sure postpartum isn't overly talked about or that if what I am feeling could be from my tubal, but I wanted to put it out there.  If you are down, I don't think medication should be your first choice, but sometimes it may end up being the best choice.  The main thing is that you keep yourself healthy for your family and talk to your doctor about your feelings sooner rather than later.

Terrific Tuesday #3

• This past Saturday was our last soccer game of the season!  Maddi's team played very hard and the game was a hard played one that ended in a tie.  It was definitely the most exciting game of the season.

• After soccer, we went to Tech's last home game to tailgate.  I am still amazed at how much fun can be had standing in a parking lot!
• Saturday night, we had family movie night and watched Monsters University.  I don't think Brayden moved the whole time it was on.
• We watched Monsters U twice on Sunday!  Brayden is now convinced he is Sully :)
• I found a super cute jacket for a steal from an online garage sale site!  $1 for this baby, hells ya!

 

• Paisley has been sleeping in her crib at night :)  She shares a room with Brayden and he uses a sound machine at night, and I think the noise helps her sleep.  With the heart beat sound playing, she sleeps great!  After I go to bed, she will sleep in the pack and play or with me after her late night feeding, but I am glad that she is sleeping in there some (it's a start).

 

• Brayden is an awesome big brother!  He amazes me everyday with how much he loves her!  Today he watched her like a hawk while the doctor checked her out at her two month checkup.  It was so cute!

I really need to start writing things down during the week, when I sit in front of the computer my mind goes blank to the terrific things that happened early in the week.  This weekly post has made me look at my week different and to find joy in the small things.  I hope you are enjoying them as well.

What are some terrific things that happened to you this past week? 

Halloween PJ Link Up

 

 

Maddison

 

Gabriella

 

My big girls!

Not sure what is going on with Ella's smile.

 

 Paisley is so not happy with out her paci.

 



Brayden being silly with his overly forced smile.

 

Brayden wanted a picture with his big sisters.

Seriously, what is going on with Ella's smile???

How did I get so lucky?

I am linking up with Darci from The Good Life and Meredith from The Tichenor Family!  Please join us in sharing your kiddos in their Halloween PJ's!  

Paisley's Birthday 9-12-13

With Paisley being 4 weeks old yesterday, and turning 1 month officially tomorrow, I thought I would finally upload photos from her birthday!

 

Paisley's due date wasn't till the 24th, but a sonogram on Sept 3rd showed that I had double the amniotic fluid that I was supposed to have.  Normal levels are up to 12 and I was at 24.5!  She was also measuring close to 9 pounds, so my dr. wanted to get her out as soon as we could.  We had the induction scheduled for Sept 12th.

 

My very last pregnant photo!!  I was huge since I had so much extra fluid.

I went in at 7 am to get my induction started.  We got back to my room around 8, and I had my water broken around 9:30. 

  

Waiting to get things going.

Paisley was so ready to meet us, because she was born 4 hours later at 1:36 pm.

 



8 lbs 14 oz and 22 in long



 

 

Chubby Cheeks

 

Proud Papa!

 



Big Bro!

 

 

Grani with the big sisters and brother!

*I will add photos of the girls holding Paisley, but first I need to get them from my hubby!

 

Paisley's Newborn Photos

 

This month has flown by and brought on lots of changes, but they have been worth it!

Happy 1 month sweet girl!