First day of School and some BIG, BIG News

Ok, so I'll start with the REALLY big news...Jackson lost his first tooth!!! He is so excited, he can't even go to sleep! Our little boy is growing up so much this week, he started Kindergarten yesterday and now lost his tooth today! I guess at the rate he's going he'll be shaving by Thursday :(

On Sunday we decided to just have a fun day for the kids since it was their last day of summer before starting school. We filled up their pool and daddy got in and played and Lainey and I laid on a blanket to watch them swim. It was so beautiful outside, it was only 86 degrees as a high and there was a nice breeze. Oh how I long for fall.... For dinner I made one of their favorite meals Fettucini Alfredo and they devoured it! It was yummy!

Scott can't get away from piggy back rides even in their minature pool :)

Baby Lainey relaxing on the floor

The kids started school on Monday. Jackson is in Kindergarten and could not be any more happy. Leah is in Pre-K three days a week for half days and she seems to be pretty excited too. In fact today was her first day home with me without Jackson, and by 900 she was already telling me she missed him.

Proud Kindergartner

Jackson and Mrs. Geyer, his teacher. Jackson ADORES her. He knew her last year when he was in Pre-K and he has been so excited to be in her class. At Open House last week he asked her if he could start school early with her. Anytime he sees her, he gives her the biggest hug! She seems pretty fond of him, too :) he was so cute when he walked into his class on Monday, he took one look at all the kids and yelled, "Look, it's all my friends!!" (Most of the kids are from his Pre-K class)

Today Leah, Lainey and I decided to have a Girls Day Picnic with Leah's new "Tangled" Lunchbox. It was nice to spend some quality time with her, she's so sweet. We played on the playground after lunch until it was time to go get jackson. I had Lainey in a little Baby Bjorn type carrier and she just slept on me the whole time.

Leah hiding behind her lunchbox :)

Ok, I hope now my kids slow down with growing up! I can't handle anymore big milestones this week! Lainey rolled over in our bed this morning too! It wasn't for real though, because Scott was laying beside her so his weight was putting a slant on the bed, otherwise she wouldn't have done it...but STILL, even my newborn is growing by leaps and bounds this week!!! By heart can't take anymore :) But seriously, we couldn't be anymore proud of our kids, especially for our little man. This is such an important time for him and he is so excited about it. We just love him to pieces!

Infant+Passport Picture= IMPOSSIBLE

This week was my first week with all the family gone and it proved to be more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I'll be the first to admit that I thought the transition from 2 kids to 3 kids was going to be no big deal. The 2 older kids were, just that, older now, so I thought having a newborn would be no big deal. Well, I was right about the older 2 being a big help and entertaining themselves, but I wasn't prepared for the overwhelming guilt I feel for having to tend to Lainey's needs all the time and feeling like I neglect them. They never complain, but I feel like I am nursing Lainey or calming her down all the time and they don't get the attention they deserve. That is one reason why i am looking forward to them starting school tomorrow so they will be able to get out of the house and play with their friends. I am also sad about them going to school tomorrow, dumb hormones have me all over the place!! I am sad because I have been with them almost every minute of everyday this summer and they have been my little buddies and now they will be gone most of the day. I have so enjoyed being off of work and just taking care of them. They have been so good and helpful all summer!!

Lainey has been a little trying this week. She went from eating every 3 hours to wanting to eat every 1-1 1/2 hours and all she would do was scream in between feedings as I was trying to make her wait longer in between feedings. On Thursday, I broke down and cried from exhaustion and frustration. I didn't know if her tummy was hurting or if I wasn't making enough milk for her. I finally called my sister-in-law Lisa, she has a one year old at home and nursed him, I couldn't remember if my other kids did this or not. Luckily she went through the same thing with Luke and made me feel alot better. She said when he was around 3 weeks she took him to the pediatrician for the same thing and the dr said it is normal for babies to do this around 3 weeks due to them having a large growing spurt, he told her to just feed him when he was hungry and he should space back out after a week or so. This made me relax alot and Thursday night she slept much better. During the day she still has times where she only makes it 1 1/2hours but most the time it's 2-3hours. Just knowing I am not starving her made me feel alot better, and we can definitely tell she is alot bigger this week, her little thighs are filling out and her cheeks are getting squishier, so I'm glad there is a reason for the madness. I can't thank you enough for some peace of mind Lisa :)

We have been doing alot of preparing to get ready for the kids to start school on Monday, we had Jackson's Open House last week and Leah's this week. They are so excited to get back to school!! I love that they love school so much. We had to go get Jackson's school uniform since he is starting Kindergarten. I am actually pretty happy he has to wear a uniform, it will make the mornings much easier. I can't believe he is starting Elementary School!!! We went to Target to get Leah some new school clothes. Haircuts today and the grocery store to get lunch making supplies and I think we will be ready.

Lainey and I right after she ate...when she is MOST happy :)

You can tell it was a good meal when she has milk running fown her chin :)

She was so awake I had to the post this one

Loving her time with Daddy when he gets home from work!

OK, so on the passport. Lainey's Birth Certificate came in the mail on Friday so we have an appointment on Monday to get her passport. They recommended we take her passport photo ahead of time since it can take awhile to get the picture right to meet all the guidelines.

1. She has to facing forward

2. Eyes open

3. A neutral expression on her face (Yeah right!)

4. A white background

5. Nothing in babies hair

Seems easy enough, right? Except if you are attempting this on a 3 week old!! Here are some of the pics we took an attempt to get an adequate passport photo...ENJOY!!

Things didn't start out too well, since she pooped during the very first photo!! Can you tell by that face?? HAHAHA

Then the eyes diverted to the side....

Then we were getting a little too relaxed after filling the diaper

Then we got mad about the diaper and to take a timeout to clean the princess

Then her attention got diverted again and our white background got messed up, but we were getting closer

Now she had a "Girls Gone Wild" moment...she decided to pull her top down...

And now we are rooting....of course

JACKPOT, we got one that we think will work. Wish us luck!! She will probably hate us one day for this pic :)

I realize I have been dominating the blog with Lainey pics since she has been born and I am going to change that starting tomorrow when the kids have their first day of school!!

Just a Little Update

Welp, life is DEFINITELY busier with three kids!!! Today my sister Stephanie left and that is an end to our visits. We loved having our family here to welcome Lainey into our lives, but it has been almost a month straight with people in our house and we are ready to get our family of five into a routine. We cannot thank everyone enough for their help with everything! After Steph left, I braved the grocery store with all 3 kids. I had a talk with Jackson and Leah before we left and other than Leah biting Jackson shortly after we got to the store, I'd say we had a successful trip. I have no idea why she bit him! She has not had a biting problem since before she was 2, but I guess they say kids can regress when they have a new baby in the home. She knew right away what she did, hopefully it doesn't happen again.

Lainey, I hope, is starting to get into a little bit of a routine. She did really well when we first got home from the hospital, but then she went to where she was waking up every 1 1/2-2hours in the middle of the night. I'm not going to lie, Mommy was exhausted. Luckily, the last few nights she has gone 3hours and even had a 4 hour stretch. She is definitely awake more during the day and is more animated every day. The kids still adore her and haven't gotten over the excitement of having a new baby in the house. I love just sitting back and watching them interact with her, it's definitely one of my favorite parts of having her in our lives. My parents arrived on Wednesday to help out and meet their new little granddaughter. I know I have mentioned in other posts how my friend Amanda made some wall art for Lainey to decorate her room. Well, my parents brought them to Memphis and I absolutely LOVE them!! The pictures don't do them justice, they add so much to the room!! My mom hasn't quite finished the bumper pads yet, so I don't have all the nursery pics yet, when we go back in 3 weeks my mom says she will have everything done, so I'll have more pics then. I have called Amanda like 3 different times thanking her for the pictures, but I cannot say thank you enough. Such a sweet baby gift, I don't know how I'm going to repay you when little Eli gets here in Sept!!!

Scott's Mom got here on the Tues after Lainey was born and his Dad flew on Friday to drive home with Janene on Sunday. She helped so much around the house with the kids and cooking meals and cleaning. Scott is on a diet to get a beach-ready bod for Megan's wedding on Sept 1st, which I think is absolutely cruel since I'm breastfeeding and can't really diet if I want to keep my milk supply adequate for our little angel. But it has helped me make sensible choices since she was born. When Scott's parents were here his Mom really helped him with this by making the most delicious veggie and asian salads for us to munch on throughout the week. Of course, while they were here the kids had to go to Chuck e Cheese, and Scott got some cute pic of the kids. I stayed home with Lainey and took a much needed nap, I didn't think going would be a good idea with all the other kids and Lainey only being a week old.

Look at this crazy kid, he is the Ticket King!!

I guess leah spotted the Chucky that walks around and greets the kids and for some reason she has a SERIOUS phobia of any mascots that walk around. We have seen this several times at Baseball games here in Memphis, at the Children's museum....she does not like them, period!! This made her a little scared and I guess she couldn't leave daddy's side for the first part of the trip, but then she got over it and played.

Grandma and Lainey

Lainey and Grandma and Grandpa Ludlow

Leah FINALLY holding Lainey in bed! Such sweet sisters!

Lainey, throwing up a gang sign in her swing

Sweet baby, i cannot get enough of her cuddles

Lainey had her first Dr's visit on Friday at 2 weeks old. She looked so pretty for Dr. Siegel. She was still 20inches like at birth- which was 45th percentile and she weighed 7lbs 4oz which was 23rd percentile. She has gained a little over 4oz since birth which he said was very good. The other 2 gained faster, but she is very active when she is awake, she goes crazy with kicking when she is doing her tummy time, it almost looks like she could crawl, I need to get it on video. Janene and I would get such a kick out of watching her!

My parents took the kids on Friday to the Fire Museum here in Memphis. The kids had a blast spending the day with my parents and I enjoyed, again, a much needed nap. My parents were here right in the middle of Lainey only sleeping 1 1/2-2 hours. It was so nice to have the help of the grandparents, I have only had 3 naps since lainey was born! I'm hoping to catch up on rest when the kids go back to school next Monday, it's starting to really effect my thinking :) The other day at the store, I was putting mushrooms that were already packaged in a plastic bag and tying it up, Scott caught me and made fun of me. I still remember when I had Jackson and I was in nursing school, making coffee one morning and putting a scoop of formula in the machine...I haven't gotten to that point...yet.

Lainey going out to dinner with all of us. She was so content in the car, here she is looking out the window...so cute!

Lainey and Mamaw the morning they left. I was really bad about taking pics when they were here and i really regret it.

Lainey during her bath last night. She loved it! She was doing her "O" face just like Jackson used to do when he was a baby.

Our good friends Chris and Abby had a little boy Mason about 2 1/2 weeks before Lainey was born and we already have arranged their marriage. They skyped for the first time last night :) Lainey was awake and very interested in the lights of the computer, mason on the other hand was OUT!! He woke up at the very end to check out his future wife :) It was fun to catch up with them and compare the calmness of having one child to the chaos of having our 3!! They said our family seemed huge when you saw all 5 of us on Skype. The kids were very interested in seeing Mason and showing off for Chris and Abby. It's fun that alot of our friends our having babies right now at the same time, unlike when we had Jackson and Leah.

Ok that was a long enough post to bore everyone, but we had alot going on in the last week and a half with all of our company. Hopefully I can update this more often now that things should calm down. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!