My life with 4 under 5.......soon to be 5 under 5

I have been on a little blog vacay the past couple of weeks. This was not by choice but basically because of life.  As I mentioned in my previous post I have taken on nannying a sweet 10 week old baby girl.  In a few weeks I will have her 4 1/2 year old sister as well, which means I will be caring for 5 kids ages 5 and under!! Geez....I mean once you have done 2 under 2 you can do anything right?

I am determined to keep up with our normal life and activities, but I am expecting people every where we go to ask "are these all yours?" haha. I already get that when I take the three out now.  Life has been a little hectic this past week to say the least, and this is the first nap time I have had to myself to actually sit down and blog.  I am still trying to work the baby's schedule to coincide with the older kids.  We will get there soon..I have faith.....fingers crossed.

Anyways, we have stayed trapped in the house and have spent a lot of time playing outside in water.  Water is the answer to everything!! I swear by it.  The baby has been sleeping in my master bedroom in the mornings, I crack the window which opens into the backyard so I can hear her, I put Mckinlee in the swing, and the boys play with the water hose.  That is how we survive around here.  Of course a few melt downs ensue over whose turn it is to hold the water hose, the fact that we have to go up to the balcony to eat etc etc.....but we survive. 

I have to admit it is interesting adjusting back to the feed every 3 hour schedule, and pulling out the old baby toys again, and doing the 2 under 2 thing again. However, my kids have been great with the baby.  Caleb always lays down beside her, and talks to her. He tells her "don't cry, it's ok, your mom mom will be back".  He kisses her head, and rubs her belly.  Mckinlee loves to come beside her and say "hiiii".  She likes to try to feed her a bottle, and play with her toys.  It is sweet to see them with a little one. 

My life is definitely a little crazy....but We Will Survive!!

Watching Airplanes

We had a fun filled weekend this past weekend.  It was so great to finally have a non rainy, family weekend.  I started nannying a new baby last week, and stayed trapped in the house during the transition, so once the weekend came I was ready to go go go! That is exactly what we did.  Saturday we hit up the local zoo (post to come), and it was a lot of fun.  Sunday we headed to church and then we took the kids to the airport lookout.

Nick and I had been wanting to take Caleb to the lookout for a while, but had never gotten around to it.  We decided that after church on Sunday was the perfect time, and my grandmother was in town so she joined in on the fun as well.  We hit up a local Wendy's for a picnic lunch, and then headed to watch the plane.  The lookout is located close to the runway of the airport so you can watch the planes take off and land.  It has picnic tables, a parking lot, and a grassy area.  The kids both enjoyed sitting outside, eating, and watching the planes.  It is definitely an activity that will become a norm in our family. 

That night we took the kids to my sisters apartment complex to swim.  They both loved it!! Caleb was an absolute fish.  That was so unexpected because he is generally timid, but he took right to it.  Nick and I took turns holding his belly up while he swam up and down the pool.  He was great at holding on to the edge with both hands and moving himself around the pool as well.  I definitely think this is the year to invest in some swim lessons!!

Mckinlee 15 Months

My sweet tinker turned 15 months on the 6th, and of course I am just now getting around to posting about it.  This week has been crazy, but I finally had time to sit and type it up.  I however, never had the time to get her dressed in nice clothing and take pictures, so the pictures you will get are real life Mckinlee.  Dirty clothes, messy hair, and cluttered back grounds. 

Mckinlee at 15 Months:

Sleeping:  You have dropped your morning nap completely.  You have also pushed back your bed time from 7:30/8 to 8:40/9.  You sleep until any where from 7:30 am-9:30am.  You take a nap from at least 1-3 every day but sometimes it is a little longer.  You have also started sleeping with a blanket instead of in a sleep sack.

Eating: You still eat anything and everything!!

Size:  You are still my little peanut. At your 15 month appointment you weighed 18.2 lbs (below the charts), and you were 29 3/4 inches 30 %.  The doctor estimated that you will end up being around 5'2"/523", just like mama.  You can still wear anywhere from 0-3 months-12 months.  Your coming home shirt actually still fits you really good :).  You are so little.  A lady at the library thought you were 9 months old the other day :).  Still in a size 2 diaper, and between a size 2 and 3 shoe.  We are still having a hard time finding shoes that will stay on your itty bitty foot.  Right now the only pair of shoes that you have that will fit is a pair of aqua water shoes. So stylish.....

Teeth: No new teeth this month

Speech:  You have added the words eat, cheese, teeth, juice and boob to your vocabulary haha.  You say a lot of words, but only a few to actually communicate. You will point to the fridge and ask for cheese, you call your cu juice (because brother does), and the other day you pulled up my shirt and clear as day said "eat boob".  I should probably explain that one. We always called my nipple shield my boob, and I would always say "can you hand me my boob so I can nurse her".  Anyways, you knew that it was always beside my bed so you leaned over me looking for it when you said "eat boob". (this was after we stopped nursing).  You also say bye bye, hi, Bella, Mama and Dada in context. 

Exciting New Things:

• You love to go to the pantry and bring me a pack of fruit snacks to feed you.  Every time I turn around you have a new pack in your hand.
• You are WALKING full time now.  You started last week, and you are getting so good at it. 
• If you fall down you immediately stand back up without having to pull up on something. Caleb had to pull up on  stuff for about the first month after he started walking. 
• You always grab random items and look at me shaking your head yes, as if you were asking "can i touch this"?.  If you know you are not suppose to touch something you will grab it anyway and then look at me smiling and shaking your head no.
• Your hair has grown a lot more.  Still really curly, and getting lighter and lighter.
• You are so stubborn when it comes to doing something you do not want to do.  Right now you are in your bed fighting your nap, and you have been for the past 15 minutes.  If I go in you start the process all over......some days you are a little rough to handle baby girl.
• You are still a mamas girl, but have really taken to daddy this month.  You always cry if you see him leave in the morning now.
• You love to swing!
• You love to play in Caleb's riding toys, and you are actually good at moving them around.
• You still have no fear!!
• You love to give kisses
• You generally always have a snack in your hand.
• You still sit in the W sit all the time.
• You are so funny, and feisty.  Last night you were trying to push a button with your finger but it wouldn't push because your finger is so little.  You grabbed your finger with your other hand, held it tight, and growled at it.  You then kept pointing to your finger and yelling for me and daddy! hahaha
• You love to play in play places now.  Crawling through the tunnels is your favorite!

You are so perfect my sweet baby.  I love seeing your little wide legged walk, having you come wallow all over me, and receive all of your sweet baby kisses. I love you so much!!

First Pool Day

The weather the last couple days has been nothing short of AAAAAmazing!! We have spent basically every waking minute outdoors, and it has been great for all of us.  Today I decided that since it was going to be so hot we would have a complete water day.  We started the morning playing in the water table, which is always a hit.  The boys literally dumped water on each other for over an hour.  Little miss decided that it would be fun to play in the water and then go roll in the mulch, so she was a pretty dirty little lady by the end of it.

After the water table we went out back and played in the pool for the remainder of the afternoon.  Presley and Isabel came over to join, and all the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves.  The water in the pool by the end of the day was a disaster. It was filled with grass, and dirt, but the kids loved it all the same.

 Mckinlee was not a huge fan of actually playing in the pool.  She did however, enjoy the sprinkler. 

It was a great first pool day of the year. 

The Adventure is Over

Today I am officially posting that we are now finished with our adventure of breastfeeding.  It pains me to type that sentence, but at the same time I am so proud of both Mckinlee and myself for the adventure we had.  Nursing her this past 14 1/2 months was such an amazing experience.  There is really no way to explain the bond that a mother gains from nursing her child.  I am so so so upset, and I kick myself daily for not making it work with Caleb.  I know that breastfeeding is not for all, but it was definitely for me, and I wish I could have fed Caleb longer.  However, I am proud of making it work with Mckinlee.  I am proud of sticking it out the first few months, fighting off the urges to quit, and making it through the hard times. 

Nursing is not easy.  I honestly thought with Caleb that breastfeeding would be a natural experience for both he and I. I truly thought he would make his way up to my boob on his own and just know how to feed. When he did not latch on the first try I became so frustrated. Sure I had just birthed him, I was tired, and I had been pushing for 2 1/2 hours, but I made the immediate decision right then and there to exclusively pump.  Pumping unfortunately did not work for my body, and my milk dried up a month later.  I still kick myself over and over again for not trying harder to get him to latch.

I knew with Mckinlee that I would make it work.  I was determined.  She was a great latcher from the start, and I worked with her constantly in the hospital.  The lactation consultants would come in, and I would ask them to teach me everything I needed to know. I would cry tears of joy and pain when she would nurse and I was so happy.

The first week was rough, she literally drew blood multiple times.  I almost stopped.  I couldn't take the pain. I visited the lactation consultants and they gave me a little piece of heaven known as a nipple shield, and I never turned back.  The first three months continued to be very unpredictable which was hard with a 18 year old son, but we made it work.  We even lasted through the annoyance of acid reflux. 

Mckinlee has always had trouble gaining weight and so at 10 months the doctor suggested I try 3 bottles of formula a day to see if that would help pack on some pounds.  I hated this idea, but I tried, and she went on a small nursing strike due to it.  She literally would only nurse one time a day from 10-11 months, and was taking bottles of formula or breast milk the remainder of the day.  She gained zero extra pounds, which proved what I knew "mamas milk is always best!"  I knew I was providing what my baby needed all along (whole other topic).  I almost hung up nursing at that time.  It did not seem as though she was interested anymore.  However at around 11 months, she threw down the bottle, came back to me and never looked back.

I always said I would stop nursing her at 12 months, but she was allergic to whole milk, so I wanted to wait until we found a milk that would work for her.  Once she was on soy, I decided I wanted to continue nursing her through flu season, and then I decided that I would nurse until she was done because I was doing nothing but good for her. 

So, here we are. 14 1/2 months and we are done.  She had been down to only a morning nursing session for over a month now, and she really is just uninterested now.  It is more of a game for her now than actually nursing.  The other night I took her in my room, snuggled her up before bed, and nursed her one last time.  I cried over her as I watched he little mouth move, and I couldn't help but smile with all that we have been through.  Nursing was hard to give up because that meant that my baby was gone, but I am so proud of our accomplishment over this past 14 1/2 months, and the bond it has formed between us.