September--golden showers, school struggles, and Mason's Birthday

The other day we were in the car and I heard Valerie laughing. I looked back and saw Lily playing with her. When I asked Lily what she was doing, she informed me that she was giving Valerie a "golden shower". I laughed so hard at that and decided NOT to tell her that a golden shower is actually a thing, but not what she thinks.

 

Just some random pictures from September:

We were at the gym one day and Lily took some pictures of me. Call me vain, but I like the way my shoulders look, so I'm keeping them. 

I've really struggled with my weightlifting lately. I reached several PR's while pregnant and the fact that all of my lifts are significantly lower than what they were in April is pretty discouraging, so pictures like this give me hope that maybe all the effort and time I've put into being healthy is working. 

Poor Lexi is still struggling so hard with sleep and being her happy self. She used to be pretty easy-going and happy, but now she's cranky, sad, and unhappy a lot of the time. She isn't sleeping well, either. She's hard to put to bed and cries for 30 minutes, even if I'm laying next to her, and then wakes up most nights and cries and screams, sometimes multiple times. We are all exhausted by this. I'm hoping this stage is short-lived. It's a darn good thing she's so cute.

Lexi IS warming up to Valerie, though, and instead of trying to hurt her usually tries to be nice. She decided Valerie needed pretty toes the other day and painted them.

So pretty. Ha!

Valerie continues to be the easiest baby in the world. Super happy, easy to feed, easy to sleep, easy to snuggle. She's starting to sit up in high chairs now, but definitely still needs support.

She's pretty proud of herself.

Spending some time with Grandmom and Pop Pop.

Poor Cole. First grade has been super rough for him so far and he's spent a lot of time in the office in Mr. Allen's room. Mr. Allen is the Vice Principle and AMAZING with Cole. Here is one of many instances he's had so far:

I'm so grateful to this school who is working so hard to help Cole find a rhythm and a place in the classroom setting. His teacher is wonderful as well--sweet Grandma type, but still strict enough to expect children to do their best. We are going to meet with the Pediatrician soon and see if we can figure out what his struggles are and get some help. He's such a sweet boy and wants so badly to be good, but for some reason his ability to deal with stressful situations is almost non-existent.

We got to celebrate Mason's 8th Birthday up in Northern VA! He invited us to a trampoline park and the kids had a blast!

The kids had to get to the top of the slide by climbing up these elastic nets. Most of the kids struggled, but Lily scampered up like a monkey. We need to get that girl into gymnastics!

Cole finally made it!

And Jude did as well.

Look at these cute cousins!

Laura put some slime in the goodie bags, much to my kids' delight and my despair. Slime is the WORST. It usually "disappears" or "gets lost" pretty quick...

Lily has been really into wanting to make slime (I blame YouTube), and added some elmers glue to hers to experiment. 

Happy Birthday, Lance!

Lance turned 13 this year! Too old for a big Birthday party, we celebrated with family.

Scott and I took him out to dinner to his current favorite restaurant in town, Sushi King. It's an all you can eat sushi restaurant that our whole family loves.

They even dressed up to come out and sing to him!

I can't believe how big he is getting! 

Later that weekend we drove up to Northern VA to visit my Mom who is in town. Mason introduced Jude to the art of stair-sliding.

Happy Birthday, Lance! 

  

  

Love love love that we live close enough to family that we can visit together!

Lance, you are growing into a handsome, strong, opinionated young man. Middle School hasn't been very kind to you, but I'm hopeful you will grow from the trial by fire and learn to be kind, compassionate, and to stand up for what you know is right. You have so much potential, but I know it's hard to see past the immediate and made decisions that are best for tomorrow, instead of what feels best for today. Your family is here for you and loves you and will do everything we can to support you as you travel this hard, winding road that life has given you. Thank you for being ours and for being part of our family. Happy Birthday!

Fat babies and naked bums

Valerie is getting so cubby lately! I absolutely love it!

This poor girl is still feeling a bit neglected now that Valerie is getting all the attention. She's trying to find new ways to get our attention, usually involving throwing fits, not sleeping, or smothering the baby. Lately her sleep has been awful and not only does she not fall asleep easily, she wakes up at all hours of the night and screams and cries. We are at a loss as to how to help her.

Nighttime snuggles are the best! (although I'll be the first to admit I absolutely HATE bedtime... it has become such a long, hard struggle especially with Lexi's difficulties that I dread it every day)

I found this little walnut on the ground one day and it reminded me of crafts I did with Grandma Brewer when I was little.

Getting so big!

Nothing like a couple sisters to keep you entertained!

It's how we roll around here:

Lexi's version of loving on Valerie:

I don't think Valerie appreciates it as much as Lexi thinks. 

I love this picture of the girls, but looking at the room behind them stresses me out. I see the laundry in the middle of being done, a dirty diaper on the floor, boxes strewn about, stuff piled high, and is that a flashlight left on by the bed? A true picture of the stage of life we're in, where it seems just getting from the morning to the evening with everyone alive is a success deserving a pat on the back and everything else falls through the cracks. The laundry is always piled and never finished, the house is a disaster, and our lives seem to be utter chaos 75% of the time. I know I will miss this stage of life when the kids were little, but as I trek through it day in and day out I all too often get bogged down in the manual labor and intense fatigue of it all.

First Day of School!

August 23rd was the first day of school for Jude, Cole, and Lance. 

They were excited for the most part. Jude was more nervous than he had been in years past, but Cole was excited to see his new classroom and hang out with his teacher's rabbit Oliver.

Lance, in typical teenage style, was pretty apathetic about it all. "It's just school, Mom."

We have a great group of kids that catch the bus in the mornings. Inevitably, after the first couple weeks I usually end up driving the boys so we can sleep in a few extra minutes, but in the mean time, it's fun to see everyone.

Getting off the bus at school!

Ready to start his day! I hope and pray this is a good year for him.

He already knows some of the kids in his class since about half his class moved up together.

My veteran 3rd grader. Too cool to act excited.

After what seemed like a long day, the boys made it home. They both said it was a great first day!

Lily started Preschool on September 4th! She was super nervous about it, but excited. I know she will thrive.

Lexi insisted on getting her picture, too.

Miss Cindy is the sweetest and all the kids in her class seem like wonderful little people. I know she'll have a good year!