Molly Moo

Last month, my baby girl turned four.  Proof that they really do grow up.  Somehow Isabelle getting older is different than Molly getting older.  I am more sad and reflective about Molly.  I will never have a baby girl again.  Girls just have a sweetness about them that boys do not.  And I will miss Molly's sweetness as she gets older and realizes it isn't super cool to give your mom a million hugs and kisses a day.

I am continuing my tradition of interviewing the girls on their birthdays.  Here are Molly's answers.

Favorite color?  Pink

Favorite TV show?  Care Bears

Favorite movie?  Toy Story 3

Favorite food?  Stroganoff

Least favorite food?  Hamburgers

Best friend?  Hannah

Favorite toy?  Buzz Lightyear and Woody

Favorite snack?  Goldfish and candy

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A big kid with a dog

Favorite song?  Let it Go

Favorite book?  Toy Story

If you could change your name what would you change it to?  Melanie

Coolest person you know?  Grandma Deborah Jill

What does mom do all day?  Fold laundry

What does dad do all day?  Work

From my perspective......

Molly loves playing with her sister no matter what they are playing.  She gets bossed around quite a bit and doesn't usually mind.  She is an outdoors girl and loves playing in the sandbox, riding her bike and playing with chalk.  Her favorite food is stroganoff, but she also likes spaghetti, crunchy chicken, bean burritos and pizza.  She also loves salad which is pretty weird to me!  Molly has just started to show real interest in school work and is getting very good at writing her letters and numbers!

Molly is the funniest kid ever!  Almost daily I text Jason something funny she has just said.  She tells us daily that we are "hilar," even though she is the one who is hilarious.  She is super affectionate and I'm pretty sure her love language is touch.  She is the generous one also.  If Molly has something super delicious to eat, she will give you her last bite.  If she gets an awesome toy for her birthday she wants to give it away.  I struggle with encouraging her to be generous and trying to get her to keep her brand new birthday/Christmas presents!

Molly's dislikes.....her brother chasing her around and pulling her hair, going to bed, being ignored, washing her hands, and doing chores.

Molly is such a fun, sweet, funny, generous and crazy child.  She doesn't really have a middle or an medium to anything.  She goes from running around like a crazy person to instantly asleep, never just sleepy.  She is either super happy or super unhappy.  Crying or laughing.  You get the point.  Always one extreme or the other.  She makes me laugh and then tear my hair out every day.  I love her so much.  Molly is a wild one and I see lots of adventure in her future.  I am so incredibly lucky to be her mom.  She brings such joy to our family.  Happy birthday, Molly.  Now stop growing up.

Pete the Cat and other favorite books

I attempt to make reading a priority in our house.  I love reading and grew up loving reading and I hope my kids have the same passion for it that I do.  Because I love reading it should come as no surprise that I love buying good books for my kiddos.  One thing that drives me crazy is bad children's books.  And there seem to be a ton of them.  So, I thought I would share some of our favorites in case you are looking for some good books for your little ones.  And, I would love any suggestions you have for me!

First, Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck!

We checked this one out from the library and it became an instant hit with the girls.  Now, we own it and we can read it as much as we want!  It is a very cute tale of a boy trying to escape hugs and kisses from his Auntie Elsie.

Next, Pete the Cat's I Love My White Shoes.

The girls love, love, love this book.  It is one of the books we have read so many times that they can "read" it with me.  I really like this book also!  And, it was another book we found by checking it out at the library and then buying it.

We also love the Jesus Storybook Bible.  Like a lot.  This is a must have for every family in my opinion.  We try to read to the girls from this every night.  We don't always get to it, but we have been through the whole book more than once and they don't seem to be tired of it yet!

A couple of books that we love, but have yet to purchase are Duck Tents and Can I Just Take a Nap??

These have been checked out multiple times from the library and when we have them we read them over and over again.  The first is about a group of five ducks going camping and the second is about Aiden McDoodle trying to find a quiet place to take a nap!  Great books!

Molly's favorite book, Everyone Poops.

Isabelle's favorite, Cat in the Hat.

And Lawson's favorite, the only book he sits still for, Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.  (thanks, Rochelle!)

So there you go, just a sampling of the books we love and that we read on a regular basis at our house.  What are your favorite children's books?

Molly's Noodles

Last Thursday, Molly and I had the fun experience of going to urgent care for her to get stitches.  In my experience with kid traumas, here is the where stitches stack up against the others (number one being the worst).

1.  Concussion for Lawson

2.  Stitches for Molly

3.  Molly biting through her tongue

I am not counting the two surgeries (Lawson's and Isabelle's) in this list because they weren't really "traumas."

So, here's how it happened.........

pre-stitches at the urgent care

Molly and I were playing in the living room.  I needed to go make lunch so I told her we were done playing for a minute.  She decides to start running/spinning around the living room.  I had not got up off the floor before I heard a loud CRACK and see Molly's head colliding with the corner of our stone coffee table.  Honestly, I was not the least bit concerned that her head was going to split open.  I thought, based on the sound her head made hitting the table, that she was going to have a concussion.  As soon as it happened, I scooped her up and looked at her head.  Within a second, her and I were both covered in blood.  I started yelling at Isabelle to find my phone and call Jason while frantically getting something to cover the gash in Moll's head.  After yelling repeatedly at Isabelle, I realized the phone was plugged in on the counter.  I grabbed the phone, called Jason and yelled at him to come home, then proceeded to call the Dr. who said I needed to take her to the ER for stitches as their office was too busy.  At some point I thought, "hey, maybe I am overreacting," so I took off the washcloth and looked at the cut.  I was NOT overreacting.

Fast forward to Jason coming home and confirming I was not overreacting and Molly and I leaving for the urgent care.  Once we were there, we got in fairly quickly (praise God that her cut stopped bleeding pretty quickly at home).  The doctor and nurse were very sweet, but Molly did NOT enjoy her time there.  For starters they wrapped her up in a thick fleece blanket to prevent her from moving around.  Molly h.a.t.e.s. being confined or restricted in any way so this made her VERY mad.  It also made her extremely hot.  Then they put a paper with a hole cut-out over her face which only served to infuriate her more.  She was scream-crying for me to make them stop before they even started with the lidocaine shots.  Those apparently hurt like the dickens because just when I thought Molly couldn't scream any louder, she was.  She kept asking me to make them stop the poking and telling me she was ready to be done and go home.  When they started the stitches, Molly must have heard the word needle, because she then started calling her stitches, noodles.  If she hadn't been so upset, I would have thought it was much funnier.

right after they were done she asked to see her "noodles"

After we were all done, and Molly was mostly calmed down, I took her to get lunch at her favorite place, Chick fil A, and all was right with the world.  By the time we got home she was back to her old self.

We have to go back to the doctor on Tuesday to get her four stitches out, and until then we have to keep it nice and clean.  She is doing great and it looks like it is healing very well.  I am praying for no scar or one that is barely visible.  I would hate for my beautiful daughter to have a scar right in the middle of her face.

she has done great leaving a band-aid on and keeping it clean

I am not at all surprised that Molly was my first kid to need stitches, but I am hoping this is a one time deal. I don't think I can deal with any more noodles for awhile!

Toy Story Cake

This past weekend we celebrated Molly's birthday.  Her official birthday isn't until this weekend, but with Easter on Sunday, we decided to celebrate early.  Three year old post to follow!

Recently, Molly has become obsessed with Toy Story.  Her most favorite is Toy Story 3, but she loves, loves, loves all of them.   Her favorite character is Jessie.  So, when she started asking for a Jessie cake I was not surprised.

What did surprise me was the cakes that turned up when I looked on pinterest or the internet for Toy Story cakes.  Every last one of them was fondant.  I hate fondant.  I have never had any that tasted good, it is expensive to buy, and frankly, I don't know how to use it.  So, to say I was frustrated that I couldn't find any Toy Story cakes online to get inspiration is an understatement.

Luckily, I have a really creative husband.  Jason and I started talking about the cake, deciding it should for sure be a round, layered cake, and that our best bet for Jessie was a plastic Jessie from Target.  We talked about putting the Toy Story 3 logo on the cake, but decided against it.  I knew I wanted a 3 on the cake somewhere, but wasn't sure what I wanted it to look like.  Jason suggested the cow print and from there we pretty much knew exactly what we were going to do.

Here is a pic of the cake.  We put cupcakes around the cake that said Rootin'est Tootin'est.  This is the frosting I made.

I am not a super decorator, nor am I a super party planner.  What I can do is make a cake.  So, while you will never see pics of the worlds most fancy party, I do try to make the cakes special for each birthday.  I am pretty sure Moll loved her cake and I know she loved all the Toy Story plates/napkins/toys.

And for the record, while I do sometimes make the cakes from scratch, this year the cakes were just box mixes and they were delicious!

Ordinary Days

Recently I watched a video on facebook of an author reading part of her book, The Gift of an Ordinary Day.

After watching the video, I checked out her book from the library and read it.  And while it wasn't exactly my type of book, it did force me to think about my children growing up and how fast it all really will go by.  When you think about it, taking care of small children is such a very tiny part of our lives.  Yet, when you are taking care of three toddlers under the age of four, it seems like the runny noses, dirty diapers, night time interruptions and constant corrections will last forever.

In an effort to try and keep perspective, and to make sure I can record as much as possible about this time in our lives, I thought I would make a list of some of the ordinary things that make up my days with my wonderful kiddos.

Cuddles on the chair holding at least two sometimes three kids while watching Gabba, Curious George or some other children's program that drives me bonkers (Barney, Dora, Pinky Dinky Do).

Preparing, and cleaning up three meals a day for three kids that often just want to eat grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly or mac n cheese, not the well thought out, well planned, balanced meals I have fixed that day.

Playing games like Memory or Splish Splash or better yet, the games out of the back of the Highlights magazines.

Hearing a million times a day, "I'm done," being hollered from the bathroom.

Bath time with three babes who all love to see how much water they can get out of the bathtub and onto the floor.

Doing "school" which basically amounts to us singing songs, talking about the calendar and weather, coloring pictures and doing some phonics/reading lessons with Isabelle.

Breaking up arguments between Isabelle and Molly one moment and then seeing them play together wonderfully the next.

Kisses, hugs and snuggles all day long.

Cookie parties and dance parties.

Hearing made up stories from the girls.  Molly just told us that her grandpa had a polar bear that hurt his eye and that her grandpa told the polar bear, "don't eat my chips."

Molly calling Jason, Grandpa and me, Grandma.  Molly calling herself Kenna or Lauren or Will, calling Lawson, Seeda, and calling Isabelle, Hannah.

Taking walks to the neighborhood park or just playing in the backyard.

Reading books like, Can I Just take a Nap, Pete the Cat, Kiss Kiss Yuck Yuck, Madeline, Hurricane Henrietta, The Thingamajigs, Cat in the Hat, and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas over and over and
over again.

Saturday morning breakfast with donuts or pancakes or cinnamon rolls but always together as a family.

Telling my girls repeatedly that they are beautiful and look so pretty despite the crazy outfits they choose to wear.

Tucking in and singing songs and saying prayers and giving "one last hug and kiss" every night at bedtime.

So there you have it, some (but not all) of the ordinary things that take place during our days.  I am in a phase right now where I really, really, really don't want my kids to get any older (especially Isabelle).  I can't imagine a time where she won't want to give me kisses on the lips or hold my hand or sit on my lap or tell me how much she loves me or even that she is so glad I am her mom.  And frankly, I know that time is coming and will be here before I know it.  I don't want to see the end of her asking if I'd like some loving or crawling into bed with us in the mornings to snuggle.  And since I know that I don't have control over time, I am trying to soak in every kiss, every hug and every moment of her being four instead of being sad at how fast it is all going by.  I encourage you, no matter what phase of mothering you are in, to capture some of the ordinary moments in your day.  Write them down so that you can remember the perfectly ordinary days that I am sure will be what you will treasure most after the kids are gone and living lives of their own.

Molly

I don't even know where to begin in my description of Molly.  The amount of things I hope to remember about Molly at this particular stage in life seem endless.

Probably the best way to describe Molly would be to tell you that she is always one extreme or the other, literally, in all circumstances.  She goes from wide awake to dead asleep without ever being "sleepy."  She can be the most loving child or the most angry and loudest screaming child.  The most happy or the most sad....well you get the point.  Molly is a child of extremes.  And as a result, I can go from being totally frustrated with her to cracking up laughing at her in a matter of seconds.

Random facts about Molly:  She prefers to be naked or just in undies but rarely wants to get dressed.  Her favorite foods are stroganoff and spaghetti and she can usually eat more than Jason when we have either of those for dinner.  She also loves salad.  (Which is totally weird to me.)  She has great taste in music, preferring Mumford and Sons or Florence and the Machine.  She has most of the Mumford album memorized.  Out of all the family, Molly's eyes are the bluest (er...most blue?).  She is also the most hugging and kissing kid of all three.

After her first real haircut where she got bangs.

Molly loves her siblings.  Most days her and Isabelle will play together very well without any fighting.  She is also a great big sister to Lawson and constantly asks to hold him.  She loves playing outside and if we aren't outside her toy of choice is usually her blocks.  She loves to be read to and her favorite books are Pete the Cat and Everyone Poops.  She is also a lover of movies and has been watching Toy Story 1,2 and 3 over and over again. (and over and over and over)  Sometimes it is hard for me to pinpoint what Molly loves and not what Isabelle or Lawson love because really, Molly just loves to do anything her sister or brother is doing.

Molly is the only one of my kiddos to really struggle with eczema.  Hate that her little cheeks are always so dry.

She is a daredevil, fearless, and a persuader.  She will jump off of anything, climb anything and try to convince Isabelle to do the same.  We have a video of her at a very young age jumping from the coffee table to the chair without any hesitation.  Often times I look out in the backyard and see her jumping off some part of the swing set or sitting on top of her cozy coupe or doing something else equally as dangerous.  She also likes to spin around in circles in the living room until she gets dizzy and falls over.  I don't have to worry about Molly ever being the "follower" in the group, but I do have to worry about her convincing other kids to do things that might not be exactly safe.

Clearly a little grumpy when being woke up.

When it comes to me trying to be a better parent, Molly is the driving force.  Isabelle was such an easy child and continues to be easy.  Molly is not easy.  And surprisingly, I am glad she isn't.  She is strong willed and independent and likes to figure out what will happen when she crosses the line.  Finding a discipline method that works for Molly has been somewhat challenging.  I find myself praying a lot about being a good mom for Molly.  I know the Lord has big plans for her and I am comforted to know he doesn't really need my help to carry them out!  Since the day Molly was born and had to go to the NICU, I have been learning how totally dependent I am on Jesus (especially in parenting...lol).  

Molly is hysterically funny.  Here is a recent convo she had with her dad.  "Dad, what are these called?"  (pointing to her nipples)  Jason says, "those are nipples."  Molly replies, "No.  I am going to call them bobs." She says things like this all the time.  She has also started calling herself by other names, most recently, Kenna.  Each morning when she wakes up she asks, "Mom, can I be Kenna?"

To try and sum up Molly in just a few words is near impossible.  She is so incredibly sweet and loving with a very sensitive spirit, but she is also wild and challenging and totally frustrating at times.  I love her so much and am so blessed by her every day.  Yesterday on Valentine's Day, she was sick and running a high fever and yet, she crawled on my lap and said, "Happy Valentine's Day, Mom.  I love you."  She then gave me a huge hug and kiss and I was pretty much in awe of her sweetness.  She is remarkable.

Side note:  I wrote an entire Molly blog a few days ago and blogger did not save it.  I was crushed and am sure there are things I am leaving out, but for now, this will have to do.

Update on Sleep

Awhile back I posted about what I consider to be a myth, children sleeping through the night.  Many of you commented, and some suggested ways I might experience the magical joy of a full night's sleep.  After a few months of experimenting, I thought I would update you on our sleeping lives.  As if you care!

So, as I mentioned in my first post, I believe (and still do) that first time parents fall into the trap of thinking there is some wonderful age, usually around three or four months, where their child will start sleeping through the night and life will go back to normal and they will forever more be sleeping without any interruptions.  The problem is, in my opinion, that idea is crap.  A crap idea that I bought hook, line and sinker. 

See, there are these things called growth spurts, and sicknesses, or ear infections (ugh!), and nightmares, and loud thunderstorms, and so on.  The list of possible night interruptions is endless.  Most of the time, once kids start sleeping through the night, they keep it up.  But, it does not mean that you will never again be up in the middle of the night.  (I think even as they are teenagers, I may be awake some in the middle of the night......maybe not because they are in bed with us, but I think parents still have restless nights even with grown children)

With that being said, many commented that perhaps if I stopped the afternoon napping habit that bedtime would be much easier and my kids would, in fact, sleep through the night without waking up.  So, we gave up naps. 

Gave. Up. Naps.

Except for Lawson.

No naps. 

Did you catch that?  No naps.  For anyone.  Including me.  UGH.

The results?  No naps is much, much, much more work than naps.  Because, you see, Molly is still tired.  And it is serious work to keep her awake throughout the day.  If we go somewhere in the afternoon, forget it, she is out in seconds once the car starts moving.  And forget putting on a show while I cook dinner.  She will be out in a matter of minutes then also.  She has been known to fall asleep during dinner!  My kids have never been the type to fall asleep anywhere other than their beds.  Until now.

BUT, if we manage to keep Molly awake during the day, bedtime is a breeze.  And she stays in her bed at night.  Mostly.  Isabelle has also improved in going to bed.  She was never really difficult, but it is easier now.  And like Molly, she has improved at staying in her bed throughout the night.

I can't say whether or not I think no naps was a good idea or bad idea.  I am so tired from being up with Lawson that a nap really sounds great about 2pm.  And, it is serious work to keep Molly awake sometimes.  And, the days where I fail, and she falls asleep....bedtime is right back to being a chore.  So who knows.  I am sure Jason appreciates the decline in the number of nights a little child is crawling into bed with him, but again, they aren't gone altogether.

As for Lawson, I am just hoping and praying that once we have the ear tubes put in, sleeping will go back to normal for him.  Only two more weeks until surgery.  To the mommas who have been through the ear tube madness, I am so impressed by you.  This not sleeping thing is no joke!

I am going to continue the no nap routine.  It gives us an earlier bedtime, and usually more sleep at night from the girls, which I like.  However, I would hate to give the impression that taking away naps was easy or is easier than what we were doing before.  Kids are work.  Plain and simple.  I only traded one kind of work for another.  Lawson will continue to nap for at least another year.  And I am counting on the tubes to do the trick at night. 

Do your kids take naps?  What has been your experience with your kiddos sleeping through the night?  I would love to hear your opinion!

Friday Five: Updates

Time for a few updates on the fam!  There have been lots of new developments going on and I don't think I have documented any of them!

First, one of the greatest things ever in all of time......MOLLY IS POTTY TRAINED.  Of course, now that I put it on the blog I am basically asking for an accident, but oh well.  We have been working for what seems like an eternity with Molly to get her out of diapers.  I hate having two in diapers.  It makes it seem like all I do all day long is change diapers.  So, we have been working overtime with Moll to get her out of the stupid diapers.  We tried candy and sticker charts and new princess undies and peer pressure and nothing was working.  And then we went out of town.  I just knew that throwing a wrench into our schedule and sticking her in the car for hours on end was going to erase any progress we had made, however, it had the opposite effect.  Cuh-razy.  I don't know why or how it happened, but while we were at the lake Molly stopped having accidents and started going in the toilet all. the. time.  And we are still accident free since being home.  We do still have to use diapers at nap and bedtime, but hopefully that will be over with soon also.  I used to hate it when people said their kids were potty trained when they were still in diapers at night, but I get it now.  She is potty trained.  She knows to go in the bathroom when she has to go and that is a MAJOR success.

photo from our recent playdate at chick-fil-a

Second, Lawson has done a few major things lately.  He is sitting up now, though he won't do it unless it's his idea, he is almost crawling (just needs to get one more arm in the mix) and he has been saying dada for like a month.  But the biggest Lawson news of all is his sleeping all the way through the night without waking up at all even for a paci replacement!!!!  Yes, yes, I know.  Kids much younger than Lawson sleep through the night, but well, I just couldn't find it inside myself to sleep train my little guy.  I have been tired, yes, but I have really enjoyed my middle of the night, quiet, nursing time with him.  And once again, by putting it on the blog I am practically ensuring that tonight he will be up a dozen times! 

Lawson being his regular smiley self.

Next up, Isabelle.  That girl is a hoot.  She is getting so big and so smart.  I have learned that for her when she says she wants to do school what she really means is that she wants to color pictures, read books and sing songs.  She does NOT want to practice writing, practice cutting or work on patterns.  Since she is already so far ahead in those areas I am going to give her a rest and try to get a little more creative in my schooling approach. 

Isabelle at CFA.

As for me, things are going well.  I joined a local MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group and l.o.v.e.d. it.  I don't want to sound to nerdy or cheesy or anything, but for a long time I have been trying all kinds of different things to meet people and get connected with other moms and each time have come up short.  While I have gotten something out of everything I have tried I always come away with the feeling that I haven't quite found a place to fit in or to belong. Because of that, I almost didn't go to MOPS.  I was apprehensive to say the least.  I was worried that I would be odd man out or that people wouldn't like me, or that I wouldn't like any of them, and I was worried my kids wouldn't like going.  Thankfully I went ahead and went and it was so great.  Like so great.  The girls had a great time, Lawson did great, I was not odd man out, in fact everyone almost everyone I met was new to the group this year, and they were all so incredibly nice.  Not fake nice, but like actually nice.  In case any of them are reading this I will stop now so I don't seem weird, but just between you and me, it was such an answer to prayer!

Lastly, J man.  Well, I bet you can guess what kind of updates I have on Jason.  He is busy.  Betcha didn't see that one coming!!!  That man stays busy.  I laugh when he says something about how he is "super busy this week" as if he wasn't "super busy" last week.  I am grateful that his company has work and that he is staying busy but there are times when I wish he wasn't so busy all the time. 

So there you go, some updates on our little fam.  I am almost done with all the laundry that we dirtied up while on our lake adventure.  This weekend is a busy one so I need to get it all finished today!  Hooray for laundry!