February catch-up: Settlers, tacos, superheros, baths and snakes

There is something about having a new baby that makes everything else outside the family seem less important. Maybe it's the constant snuggles, the smiles, the sweet moments when you're nursing, the quiet times spent with George and Lily just talking to her and wondering what she'll be like when she's older. Or it could be the 2-3 "midnight" feedings, the dirty diaper blow-outs, the juggling of kids/school/dinner/fun while trying to keep a newborn happy, or the guilt of pushing off spending time with the other kids to satisfy the demands of a crying baby.

Whatever the reasons, I'm very behind in just about everything, from the dishes, floors, and laundry to house-hunting since our lease will be up in a few short months. It's getting better, though, and life is starting to be more "normal".

Even with the chaos that a new baby is, we did manage to have a good time last month.

George was working nights the entire week leading up to Valentine's Day, so we pushed of officially celebrating and instead had a game night with some of our favorite people on the 15th. Settlers, anyone?

I love Kaycie and Merril Taylor and Sarah and Calvin Simmons! They are a huge reason why Copeley is a great place to live. Love it! Sarah is also my work-out buddy and we swap kiddos most days so we can each go to the gym while our husbands are at work/school. It is wonderful.

Feb 16th--Cole has recently discovered the show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and is obsessed with it and their swords. He "stole" Jude's Ninja Turtle sword he got for Christmas and will not let it out of his sight--he actually sleeps with it in his crib. Lucky for him, his big brother is sweet and relinquished his ownership so Cole could have it.

One day he wanted to play swords and insisted we wear helmets. So he and I, helmets and super hero capes in place, jumped on the bed playing swords. It was so fun!

He loves this blue cape and wears it around most days. I don't have the heart to tell him it's "Wonder Woman", but part of me feels like even if he knew, he wouldn't care. This kid loves baby dolls, strollers, and princess crowns, so I think a girl superhero wouldn't phase him.

Feb 17th--This is why I love my friends so much.  We had a huge snow storm mid-February and school was still out. I had promised Lance we would get Taco Bell, so when Sarah came over to play we decided we would walk there instead of drive. We got Kaycie (at 39 weeks pregnant!) to come as well and had a ball!

It did take a while getting there, even though it's just down the hill from us. These boys had to play in the snow the whole way there.

(See the sword?)

Our group:

It really was a great way to spend the early afternoon.

Sarah was awesome and threw snowballs with the boys the whole way there and back again. They thought it was fantastic.

Cute pregnant Kaycie pushing a sleeping Ellie.

I love my friends!

Feb 19th--Another Cole update. This boy LOVES to dance! I'll be washing dishes in the kitchen with my iPod playing songs and he'll come in and just start dancing. It's the cutest. One day we had our AppleTV playing some music with our pictures going and he came in like this:

He had Lily's pink fox hat and some Mardi Gras beads on and just danced his heart out.

Cole, what are you doing? "I dancin'!"

Love it!

We were watching Ellie that night for our friends. She happily gave King Cole a ride around the house in the toy stroller:

These two are like siblings: they love each other and are happy to see one another but they pick on each other constantly. It's pretty funny to watch.

Feb 21st--Ellie comes to visit and play almost every day and every time she's here, she insists on holding Lily.

She's going to make a great big sister one day!


With so many kids, bathtime can get interesting, so I usually just throw Lily in with Jude and Cole now. Jude is my big helper and while he'd rather be playing with toys and splashing around instead, he's a good sport about holding little Lily while I wash her.

(Feb 21st, Lily is about 6 weeks old)

Love my babies!

Feb 26th--Feeding Lance's snake can be kind of tricky because we have to do it when he's out of his hiding place and that can be anywhere from 5 in the afternoon to 3 in the morning. We managed to catch him out in the morning before school one day and Lance insisted we feed him at the table. Okay. Nothing like eating your biscuit while watching your snake swallow a mouse.

Yum!

Feb 27th-- Lily at 6.5 weeks old! 

She has pretty good head-control and is starting to smile a lot! It's so fun to see her grow!

She loves her tummy time!