What to do?

Ok...I'm at a stand still.  My "free" blog is trying to make me pay a monthly fee to upload anymore pictures.  Anyone else come across this issue?  It's not a big fee it's just annoying...I'm thinking about making a new blog and starting fresh.  Any objections out there?  Speak now or forever hold your peace because that's likely what I may do unless you, my blog friends, won't be able to find me?!?!

Until I decide here's a brief update...

Halloween has come and gone along with Thanksgiving.  We had 3 cute babies dressed up for Halloween this year, Mickey and Minnie Mouse and their pumpkin.  Pictures to follow!

Underwear and panties have been purchased and we are toying with the idea of potty training...we'll get serious after the holidays...kinda like we are going to get serious about giving up those paci's!

Violet turned 4 months on the 18th and we have her 4 month check up and vaccines on Monday.  I'll post and let you know her stats then but I'm thinking she's a good 15+ pounds!  I've been giving her some spoon feedings here and there the past week and today for the first time she tried pears.  She enjoys it...but I almost think more is coming out then going in?!  Her bottom middle left tooth has officially broken through the gum!    Doesn't this seem a little early?!  Vivian had her 2 bottom teeth right before she was 6 months and I thought that was early!  Violet drools a lot and gnaws on anything she can get in her mouth.  She's still in size 2 diapers in the day but size 3 at night.  She just can't seem to give up that middle of the night feed but in all honesty I've yet to push it.  I hope once she starts with a little solid food it will magically disappear.  A mama can hope, right?!  She puts herself to sleep easily and takes 3 naps per day and goes to bed around 7:30 and gets up around 7:00ish.  She is still a very good baby.

Oliver, Matt and Violet each had a touch of the stomach bug recently.  Oliver was down for about a day with about a 3 hour episode of lots of puking...let's just say we hope next time he gets the stomach bug he will learn to hit a buck, toilet, bowel or towel.  Violet had a handful of days where she wasn't really interested in eating and had some issues in the diaper area.

We hosted Thanksgiving here again and my wonderful husband deep fried a turkey for the first time and it was a success!  We have more blessings then we can count but at the top of our list of thanks is most definitely our 3 babies.

Fall fun!

3rd child syndrome...I am trying to not let it happen but it's inevitable.  Less pictures, less blogging, less note taking of milestones that are being made.  So let's get started.  

We've been busy having a fun fall.  We've made it to the zoo twice in the past few weeks....once a solo mission with just me and 3 kids.  We met my girlfriend, Jamie at the zoo with her 2 boys who are both close in age to my kids. Matt and I also took the kids to zooboo but we didn't actually get any picture proof of that visit.  I officially went back to work last week and have one night of work under my belt.  Matt has been out of town on 2 separate week long trips and we've been coping just fine.  

Vivian and Oliver are growing nicely and communicating well.  Vivian had her last day in the first steps program, which she has been apart of since she was about 4 months old...quite a milestone.  They are both so funny.  Oliver likes to introduce himself to things (grasshoppers, pumpkins, etc.) stating "me, Vava"  Vivian calls him Vava so that's what he calls himself even though he can say "Olvava", it's pretty cute.  Vivian still loves her babies and her baby sister and is constantly concerned with her whereabouts, milk needs and diaper changes.  Vivian will get close to her face with my phone and shout her name while blowing raspberries like I do in an effort to get her to smile for a picture.  It's pretty funny.  We are excited for Halloween and Oliver requested both he and Vivian's costume idea....but we'll save that for the next post.  We've been practicing saying "trick or treat" and rehearsing what to do to obtain lots of candy when it comes time.  Oliver's new favorite show is "Special Agent Oso" and "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" which has given me a much needed break from "Micky Mouse Clubhouse".  Vivian still does not have too much interest in tv and is happy to let Oliver pick the shows we watch.  Both big kids have an ever growing interest in sitting on the potty several times throughout the day.  Usually when one mentions the need to potty the other is not far behind.  I spend a fair amount of time in the the bathroom these days...I'm not really ready for this! 

Oliver's loves... the color orange, playing ABC's on the iPad, coloring with markers, playing outside, drawing letters and numbers, watching his "shows"

 Vivian's loves.... anything pink or purple, having her fingernails or toenails painted, playing with her babies, playing outside, Bella the dog, helping me with laundry or dishes

Violet is now 3 months old.  I did make it to Target today to get her 3 month pictures taken...she will have printed photo evidence that she was a happy, beautiful, photogenic baby. Violet is a good baby.  Goes to bed around 8 pm, up once in the night to eat just a 2 ounce snack, right back to sleep, up maybe a couple of times needing "pacifer fix", then up around 7ish.  I can't seem to talk her out of her 2 ounce snack yet but she is only 3 months old! :) She eats five 4-6 ounces bottles per day.  She's wearing size 2 diapers and wearing 3-6 month clothes.  She usually has 1-2 long naps and 2-3 cat naps.  We haven't quite figured out a good napping schedule yet but it doesn't seem to be affecting our night time sleep so we'll just ride it out until she figures it out herself.  Violet likes the MAM pacifier like her big brother.  She's very interested in her big sister and brother and watches them intently at all times!  She smiles, coos and chats a lot.  She can roll from her tummy to her back and started doing so right around 12 weeks old. 

Like I say every time I blog...time flies when you're having fun and we are having fun!

Photo proof of my first solo trip to the zoo with all 3 kids. 

Our first bath, triple deep.  

 Pretty painted finger nails.

Enjoying apple cider at the orchard

 Yummy!

This is the best picture I could get with them and their pumpkins...Vivian taking a load off and Oliver trying to lift his pumpkin and telling me how "heaby" (heavy) it was.  

Post zooboo picture...we looked cute!

Playing on the iPad...with Geegee's glasses on!

 Mommy's iPhone is much easier to see with Geegee's glasses on! (pay no attention to last year's Christmas jammies that we are wearing in October)

Sister chats!

3 month photo preview!

Violet is 2 months old!

Violet is officially 2 months old!  Before I know it I'll be back to work (3 weeks away...yikes), Thanksgiving and Christmas will come and go and she'll be one!  Time is flying!  

Violet went for her 2 month appointment today and got her first round of vaccines.  She weighed in at 12 pounds and 15 ounces, up just 4 pounds from her birth weight.  She is the 78th percentile for weight.  She was 23 inches long and in the 63rd percentile for height.  She's still wearing size 0-3 month clothes but will soon be stepping up to 3-6 month clothing.  Last week she started wearing size 2 diapers.  Violet sleeps in her crib and has done so consistently since the second week of August.  She was just too noisy to sleep in our bedroom.  She naps in her crib or her car seat becuase as you can imagine with 2 older siblings we are on the go a lot!  Her naps are still kind of random and unscheduled.  I don't want to jinx anything but for the past week she's been going to bed around 8pm and getting up to eat once in her 12 hour night of sleep around 3 or 4ish and goes right back to sleep until about 8am.  Momma could get used to this!  She's still eating Alimentum formula (can't remember if I mentioned this in my prior blog update?  She had a number of bloody stools and we changed her formula and they quickly resolved) due to her milk protein allergy and takes about 4 ounces every 3 hours in the day.  Like I said before, Violet fits right into our crazy, fun filled family.  Her big brother and sister really do love her just about as much as her mommy and daddy.  We are all blessed to have each other.  

We made it to an IU tailgate.  We had absolutely no intentions in taking 3 small children into the game, we're crazy but not stupid! The big kids had fun running around and Violet slept the majority of the 3 hours we were there.  A good family picture is hard to come by these days...we take what we can get!

I snuck up on Vivian feeding her baby, just like I feed Violet.  She is such a good little mommy.  

Violet in her snake skin pants on her 2 month birthday.  

Me at 3 months...I think Violet and I share similar features.  

Vivian asked to hold Violet...Violet obliged.  

Oliver eating a cupcake at his cousin JoJo's 3rd birthday party!

Vivian indulging on a cupcake too!

The birthday girl!

I'm 2 months old!