Pre-Halloween Activities

We have had so much fun celebrating Halloween this year, and the main event isn't even here yet. It all started with a couples party that John and I attended. My younger brother had a gorilla suit that I borrowed, and we went as King Kong, and 'Ann Darrow' (the girl he kidnaps in the movies). Since the gorilla suit was too small for John, I wore it, and John got to be the girl!! HAHA! We had a fun time getting John ready!

Our next Halloween activity was Thursday when Makenna got to dress up for her dance class. Makenna has been planning on being Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz since last Halloween. She even asked for all Wizard of Oz stuff for Christmas last year. My mom and I made her a Dorothy dress, so that it would be just like the real movie version. I literally finished sewing the buttons on an hour before her dance class! I am so happy with how it turned out, and most importantly, Makenna LOVES it!!

Makenna with one of her friends

The next day, my mom had all of the grandkids over to decorate Halloween cookies. First we made roll out cookies, and then while they were baking in the oven the kids got to frost and decorate 3 dozen more cookies that my mom had ordered. They made a huge mess, and had so much fun doing it! We also had a little craft for them to do, and then all stayed to enjoy lunch. I am so grateful that we are able to live near family, and that we can get together on a more regular basis. The kids love hanging out with their cousins.

Testing out the frosting...

Great-Grandma Gloria holding Clara (And no, she doesn't have orange hair...just being festive!)

After the kids decorated all their cookies, and were hyped up on sugar, my mom played a couple of very rambunctious games of ring around the rosie with them. The kids get wild when they are together, and have a blast!!

The Zoo

I have been neglecting my blog lately. September was a crazy month for us, but things have slowed down, so the time has come to catch up on a few posts.

We love the zoo in Omaha, and a yearly membership is a must-have for our family. I remember going to the zoo growing up, and it is so fun to take my kids there now. We made several trips to the zoo this summer, often with cousins or friends. ConAgra also sponsors a day at the zoo every year, where they provide lunch for all of their employees. Here are a few pictures from some of our visits.

 Climbing on the lion.

All of the Omaha cousins (minus the 2 new babies)

On the train



Clara 3 months

Clara is now 3 months and 1 week old.

Here are just a few of my favorite things about her right now (not in any particular order).

1) The little curl she has on the top of her head, that always sticks up.

2) Her SMILE! She will smile at me pretty much anytime I talk or smile at her. She also loves Makenna and Hudson, and smiles at them a ton.

3) She is starting to really enjoy her bouncy chair and play mat. I love watching her kick her legs and move her arms with excitement while looking at the toys and lights.

4) She doesn't spit up! So far I am 3 for 3 on babies who don't spit up very often at all. I think Clara has spit up maybe 4 or 5 times total. I'm not sure why my babies don't spit up much, but I am very grateful! (Maybe that is why they always get so chunky too! None of their food gets spit up, and can therefore go straight to their thighs! Which brings me to my next favorite...)

5) Her chunky baby thighs! I can't help but squeeze her little chunky baby legs!

6) She sleeps like a CHAMP!! She is by far my best sleeper, and usually sleeps from about 9pm - 4 or 5am straight!! She wakes up to eat, and then goes right back to sleep till 7 or 8am. It also isn't unusual for her to go even longer, and sleep 9 or 10 hours straight.

7) She "TALKS" to me!! If I had to pick just one favorite thing about Clara at this 3 months, it might be the "conversations" we have. I love talking to her and having her respond with all of her baby coos, sighs, hums, etc. I love it when she communicates with me in this way!

8) She is such a good, happy baby, and to sum it up, we pretty much just adore her!

Playtime!

Makenna and Hudson have been such great playmates this summer, which has helped tremendously during my transition to having 3 kids. They have a lot of fun together, and although big messes are usually part of the equation, they are happy and entertained so it is worth it!! Here are a few pictures from some of their more memorable playtime moments.

They often find ways to play with typical boy toys in a more girly way, or vice versa. For example, one day Makenna was trying to get Hudson to put on some lip gloss. When he refused, she tried to convince him by telling him that it was 'bad guy' lip gloss, and would make him have super hero powers.

On another day they were playing with cars, and Makenna was orchestrating a wedding between two of the cars. She even designated other cars to be flower girls, the audience, the person marrying them, and a wedding clothes buyer.

Hudson getting a 'check-up'

Another favorite new 'game' is gathering up all of the soft things they can find around the house (i.e. pillows, stuffed animals, blankets, etc) and making big piles of them to play on.

I love that Makenna and Hudson have so much fun playing together, and hope that they will continue to be good friends as they get older!

4th of July

My parents hosted their annual 4th of July party again this year, and we had a great time seeing many of our extended family members, eating lots of yummy food, playing in the lake, and setting off fireworks.

It was a hot day, so after grabbing a few pictures, we all quickly changed into our swimsuits, and spent most of the evening in the water. The kids love playing in the lake.

After grabbing some dinner, we swam some more, and then ended the night by watching the firework show put on by the various daddys, uncles, cousins, etc!

Wisconsin Dells

John's cousin Beth got married on June 30th, and although we had originally planned on John just going to the wedding by himself and me staying home with the kids, we decided last minute to make it a family trip instead. Initially I wasn't sure that I would want to travel with Clara since she was only 6 1/2 weeks old, but I also really wanted to be able to go to the wedding and I didn't want to be left home again. (I say again, because this would have been John's 5th trip out of town since Clara was born! He had already been gone on 4 different trips for work, which is a lot when you have a new baby!!)

So on Wednesday June 27th, we loaded the 3 kids in the car and headed for Wisconsin. We decided to spend two nights in Wisconsin Dells, which is known as the waterpark capitol of the world, before going to the wedding. Neither of us had been to Wisconsin Dells before, but we had heard it was a really fun place. We stayed at the Wilderness Waterpark Resort, which I had actually seen featured on Travel Channel's Extreme Resorts show! It is America's largest waterpark resort, and features 4 indoor and 4 outdoor waterparks!! This place was seriously amazing! We only paid $150 a night, and that included access to all 8 waterparks. We also picked this resort over some of the others that I researched because the Wilderness Waterparks are exclusive for guests staying at the resort, so they are less crowded than some of the public waterparks.

On Wednesday night, we arrived in time to have dinner (and dessert as you can see by Hudson's chocolate-covered mouth), and then head to one of the indoor waterparks for about an hour before bedtime.

On Thursday, we spent all day visiting the different waterparks. First we spent a few hours at one of the outdoor waterparks, and then we headed for the indoor park with the wave pool before going back to our room for lunch.

After lunch John and Makenna headed to a different outdoor park while Hudson, Clara and I took naps in the room. After we woke up we headed to yet another different outdoor and indoor waterpark. It was so fun visiting all of the different areas, and letting the kids just play and play.

One of the indoor water play structures

The kids both loved the waterparks. Makenna surprised us with how adventurous she was. I think her favorite slides were the big tube slides that she could go on with either John or I. Hudson loved playing in all the kiddie areas, but also really enjoyed some of the slides too!

Clara was an angel baby, and took great naps in her stroller while John and I took turns watching over her and playing in the water with the kids. We really loved visiting Wisconsin Dells, and definitely plan on going again!

Clara at Home

I can't believe that Clara is already 7 weeks old. Time is flying by! I have LOVED having a newborn again, and have really been trying to enjoy every aspect of Clara's 'newness'... the faces, the noises, the snuggles, the 'milk coma', and even the 'sweet' smelling diapers...all of it. Clara has been such a good baby so far too, which makes it even easier to enjoy this stage. She eats and sleeps well, and is a generally happy, content baby.

Overall, the transition to having 3 kids hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. I was so blessed to receive help from so many different friends and family members, who brought meals, helped me get naps, and helped entertain the older 2 kids. I have also really tried to make sleep a priority, and that has made the biggest difference for me. Of course there was (and still is) a period of adjustment. I am still learning how to juggle the needs of 3 kids, but overall things are going really well.

Makenna and Hudson have also enjoyed having Clara in our family. Makenna especially has just fallen in love with Clara! She wants to hold her all the time, and has even mastered her own ways of making Clara happy again if she starts to get fussy. I have been quite impressed with how helpful a 4 1/2 year old can be! Hudson isn't quite as helpful, but he is cute with Clara in his own ways; I especially love hearing him talk 'baby talk' to her.

Usually the very first thing Makenna says to me in the morning is 'Can I hold Clara?'

Of course I also spend a lot of time holding Clara at home, but only have 2 photos to prove it, and they were both taken by Makenna!

Making bubbles during an especially good nap.

Tummy time!