An Actual Busy Week

They are few and far between but this week was actually fairly busy. On Tuesday the Mitzel's visited with us. The girls seemed to enjoy each other's company and had minimal arguments. Having some three-legged races kept them busy for awhile and encouraged team work and coordination for them. Karen and I enjoyed chatting with each other, both of us looking forward to the warmer weather when we can send the monsters outside to play while we sip margaritas on the porch. Well, that's my little wish for the summer!

On Thursday, Violette turned one month old! She is holding on to her blue eyes and seems to be getting bigger. Her personality is still somewhat hidden, but I can tell she is going to be a child that demands attention just like the other two. Vi is my poop shooter. I have been pooped on more by her, during diaper changes, than by Noelle and Max combined. We view her as kind of a little Noelle clone. They are very much alike in features, although she has blue eyes and a little bit bigger lips. She has not yet started to socially smile, I have come across a few that may have been directed at me, but I'm not positive. When she is crying Max enjoys jumping up next to her and attempts to pick her up to comfort her. The ending result is not a good one, but thankfully I never leave the two alone in a room so he hasn't actually caused any harm. Violette has started to sleep for, on average, a five to five and a half hour stretch at night. This seems semi consistent and I'm not complaining!
Beautiful, warm, sunny weather descended upon on Friday. We headed over to the Mitzel's house to enjoy some good company and food. The children played outside the entire time, running and delighting in the warm weather. It was a lovely time that thoroughly tired out the children, always a big plus!

Saturday Tom was heading to the Red Wings game. He invited Andy, a good friend, to come along with him to the game. Not wanting to be left alone I made sure Andy's wife, Amanda, came along. She brought her little girl, Mia, who is exactly two weeks younger than Violette. Olivia, their little one that is Noelle's age, was unable to come. It was wonderful having another Mom to help me out, chat with, and make the time sans our husbands go by quicker. Meaning to get a picture of Vi and Mia together, we failed to remember until late Saturday night. We gave it one attempt and only Mia was truly awake. Mia has a gorgeous head of hair and Violette is seriously lacking, as seen in the picture! Sadly, Violette has the most hair out of the three of ours!

They left early Sunday morning, needing to get back to their much missed Olivia. It was really nice having company and we all look forward to our next visit with them. It will be great to see Mia and Violette grow up together. Hopefully they will be best buds!

The rest of Sunday this is what we did:

Relax. I'm pretty sure there is some room left for another little one in Tom's arms!

Now, two kid stories:

Standing directly behind Zeus, staring at his backside, Max crinkles his face and exclaims, "Ewwww!".

Trying to discipline Noelle she says to me, "That's child abuse. Don't child abuse me." Hopefully, that doesn't come out while out in public.

Easter Bliss

Another week has gone by. Tomorrow Violette will be four weeks old! She is awake a lot more during the day. Newborn clothes are now fitting her and she is not drowning in them. Her little baby blue eyes seem to be staying blue. Noelle refers to her as "creepy face" because, well, she tends to have very creepy newborn faces! Hopefully this nickname does not continue as she becomes less alien like and more human like over the next few months! Man, I am so kind to my babies.

Someday this past week (I can't remember which day exactly) Noelle and I dyed some eggs. Thanks to a good friend of mine who provided us with a silk dying kit, the eggs turned out fabulous and they were so easy! Max was very interested in smashing them, note the little hand sneaking in the picture below!
Saturday evening, with the children fast asleep, Easter Bunny Daddy began to put together Noelle's present of a bike. Well, the bike did not exactly have parts that fit together properly. So, at 10:30pm I made a run to the store to exchange the broken bike. Needless to say it was a late night! In the morning Noelle was very excited about the massive amounts of candy and her new bike. Max loved the candy and his gifts as well. The real meaning of Easter was not lost on Noelle as we had discussed it for weeks in advance.

Here is a picture of Noelle preforming surgery on Daddy with Max's new saw. Obviously, stories of my c-section were not lost on her!

Kickin' Week One's Butt

I am very proud of myself during this past week home alone with the children. I prepared myself for the worst (no sleep, tantrums, cranky newborn, run ragged mom...) and the reality was pretty darn good. I keep thinking we can handle a few more children with no problem (don't worry Mom, we'll take a bit of a break for my body to recover). We had a few tantrums and I was tired and sore, but nothing compared to what I had prepared for. Noelle and Max have adjusted wonderfully and continue to help me out. Of course Noelle helps more than Max, but he tries and melts my heart with his caring ways.

On Thursday, Violette had a weight check appointment and Max his 15 month well baby visit. Tom came to help me out, thankfully. Violette is gaining weight well and looks great. Max's weight fell in the 25th percentile and his height in the 97th percentile! I was surprised by that, but then again Tom isn't too short. Max had to get two shots. Noelle was very excited about this and actually woke up Thursday morning and exclaimed, "Max gets shots today!" with an evil grin planted on her face! On the ride home she kept asking him, "Are you okay Little Man?" and I think there was genuine concern in her voice.

Max has discovered a new talent for holding Violette. After doing it once on his own he signs more and please and begs to hold her again. It is precious!
I'm off to get lunch ready and feed Miss Violette. Have a great weekend!

A quick story:

"This is ridiculous" shouts Noelle. I give her a look because of the attitude in her voice, she interrupts this to mean I did not approve of her word use. She looks at me with her hands on her hips and says, "Mom, ridiculous is NOT a bad word. Stupid, Shit, and Damn it are bad words!".

Because I Took Pictures...

Noelle and Baby Jaguar:Max being Max:
Max just had to kiss Violette:
It is impossible to get cute faces, but I tried:
Baby Violette awake:

They crack each other up, when they are not fighting:

More Visitors!!!

Things continue to go well around here. I am optimistic about tomorrow. It will be day one for me with all three children. Violette continues to sleep for pretty good stretches of 4 to 4 1/2 hours during the night. This keeps me from being dog tired during the day and should help me to be somewhat patient as tomorrow comes. Max and Noelle surprise us every day with their continued sweetness towards Little Miss V. Sometimes Max's kisses are a little too sweet, but he means well.
Aunt Ceecee left Friday, much to my disappointment. Noelle had been a little troublesome, and down right rude at times during her visit, but was also sad to see her go. Her help is greatly appreciated and we look forward to her next visit, soon rather than later. Saturday, Grandpa Roehrig and Aunt Liz came to visit and meet Violette. We all had an enjoyable time. Aunt Liz gave the children a few gifts, one being a sticker book for Noelle. We continue to find stickers planted throughout the house and frequently on our socks! Stickers and a three year old are the perfect match when the child is not yours! Thanks Liz. :)When they left, Saturday evening, Noelle was pretty upset and had a hard time saying goodbye. On the bright side Max learned to say "bye" and was proudly showing off his new word as Grandpa and Aunt Liz left.

Tom and I are amazed at the amount of words Max has added to his vocabulary these past couple of weeks. He isn't speaking full sentences, but each day more words are added. He seems very proud of himself when he does learn a new word. Violette is clearly referred to as "Vi", but his favorite word is "Dada", he is without a doubt a Daddy's Boy. Tom loves it and can't wait to teach him how to pitch over 90 mph! I'm sure Noelle and Violette will be right there along with Max learning as well!

I have not had a successful attempt (well to be honest, I have not attempted at all) of capturing all three children together. Actually, I haven't been taking many pictures, but here are a few. After more than two years with our camera I have figured out how to do black and white and sepia pictures.

Hair cuts

Tom is back at work. Today was his first day. Charlotte is here helping me out and then on Monday I will be on my own with all three. I am feeling very well, although I can tell when I push myself I get very sore. Noelle has a bit of a cold that has made her a little grizzly bear, having two adults around to deal with her is very helpful. Charlotte being around just prevents me from doing too much with the kids. Plus, it's nice having another adult to talk to around!
Violette lost her umbilical cord last night. I really dislike that black gross thing hanging off her belly button. It really distorts the image of a precious newborn! This evening she had her first full submersion bath. Noelle was right there helping me out and Violette seemed to like it.

Noelle received a very big haircut yesterday. We let her look at a bunch of pictures and she picked out the cut she wanted. I was surprised she wanted bangs, but she did. It looks adorable and she can't stop staring in the mirror! I also got my hair chopped! After coming home from the hospital I had this sudden urge to just chop my hair and start with a fresh new style. Charlotte cut the back of my hair to my neckline and did a diagonal forward so that the front is a bit longer than the back. I love it! It forces me to actually do my hair and not throw it up in a ponytail every day.

That's all for now. My goal over the next few days is to capture a picture of all three children. That seems to be the impossible task. We'll see how it goes.

Because We Can't Do Anything Without Some Drama...

Saturday morning we packed up all three children and went to get some blood work for Violette done. It took forever, but Tom and the children did a lot of walking around to pass the time.

The pediatrician called us around 3pm with the results and said that we needed to take Violette to the ER to be admitted as soon as possible. Her jaundice levels were way too high. She said that I could stay with Violette so I should pack a bag as well. We packed quickly and loaded everyone up again. A great friend (who was there for us during our last drama with Max) without hesitation said she would take Noelle and Max for us while we went to the ER.

Poor Little Violette was given an IV and it broke our hearts! I know jaundice is very common and very treatable, but it didn't stop us from being very worried.


After many hours of waiting and not knowing, Violette's blood work came back. Her jaundice levels were way down from the previous blood work and we could go home. Relief swept over us and we hauled butt out of that place as fast as we could!

Today we spent the day at home not doing much at all. Noelle is utterly in love with her little sister. She assists with diaper changes, burping, changing clothes, holding and comforting Violette...basically every newborn need is something that Noelle has to be involved in. Max has also shown a lot of loveliness towards Violette. His means of conveying his love is not exactly the most gentle, but we know he means well.

Tom is off of work for a few more days and then my sister will be here to help me out the rest of the week. It will be great to have some help for a few more days. I am recovering well, but left on my own I would surly over due it.