Tessa @ 5 Months

....(I waited and waited to post this because I couldn't upload pics for some reason.  I still can't, but want to post it.  So maybe next post I will have some pics...)

Miss Tessa is 5 whole months old now.  She's had a few new developments this month too!  Her little personality is so sweet.  She laughs and tries her best to get the attention of everyone in the room by jabbering and growling (ha!).  She loves her brothers and lights up when they come near her.  She reaches for their little faces and she especially loves Will's glasses.  I can tell that she's going to be a little spit fire though - when the boys get rowdy and rambunctious, she laughes and gets loud with them!

We introduced solids this month.  She is so NOT a fan.  We started with rice cereal and got lots of gagging so after a few nights, we moved on to oatmeal.  She tolerated that better.  After oatmeal, we moved to peas.  More gagging.  After peas she had carrots.  She refused to open her mouth after 2 bites.  After a few battles over carrots, I offered pears.  She gagged AND shivered.  After pears I tried sweet potatoes.  She also tolerated sweet potatoes okay.  So she will eat oatmeal and sweet potatoes without gagging.  She still makes lots of funny faces though :)

Her sleep schedule is the same and she now has a pretty standard 7:30 to 8:00 bedtime.  With Will, we were so regimented with his bedtime routine that he would NOT go to sleep unless the routine happened just so - bath, lotion, pjs, book, bottle, bed.  With the 3rd child, we do good to get 2 of those steps accomplished each night.  She sometimes gets a bath at grandma's - sometimes at 6, sometimes just before bed.  Sometimes she gets lotion.  She never gets a book (bless her).  But she always get pjs!  And a bottle!  So I'm not so terrible I guess :)  She sleeps soundly until 6am and then rustles around for her paci.  She will sleep until 7:30/8:00 if she's able to, but most mornings she's out the door by 7. 

She rolls from belly to back as soon as you put her on her belly.  She is bringing everything to her mouth - including her paci when she can find it!  She also has two little teeth!  I noticed the first one on her exact 5 month birthday.  The second one wasn't far behind.  Sooo cute.  She has done pretty well with the teething - a tiny bit fussy some nights and lots of drooling and keeping one little finger in her mouth, like so:

One of the most noticable changes this month has been her discovering her little voice more and more.  She is hilarious and often growls and almost hums (I don't know how to really describe it) to get attention.  For example, if I put her in her swing to do something else for a while (laundry, deal with other kids, etc...) she will start by crying and if I just can't get to her fast enough, she starts the growling.  So funny!

She still enjoys her playmat (I often lay her there to get a few things accomplished and she stays so quiet that I almost forget she's there!), her exersaucer and being held (of course).  She's starting to really get tired of her bouncy chair and swing, BUT she's still getting plopped down in them of course.  She spits up less in them than lying flat on her back or sitting straight up (in the exersaucer or bumbo).  She still spits up quite a bit, but no worries - all of our babies have done that.  Still nowhere near as bad as Will did.  He holds the record for sure.

Goals for 2013

To be honest, I've never made a New Year's resolution.  In my whole life.  Ever.  I don't know why.  It's not that I don't believe in them - I'm always supportive of people setting goals and trying to better themselves and their lives.  In truth, I've never been one to set a resolution because I just don't like the idea of putting the extra pressure on myself.  But I do like the idea of setting goals and really striving to meet those goals.  That doesn't seem so daunting.  So I've decided to put pen and paper (or in this case - fingers to keys) to my goals and get them out of my head.  That way at the end of the year, I can take a look back and see how well (or not so well) I did.  So let's discuss:

Get Organized!!
This is something that I generally struggle with.  Not because I don't start out organized, but because I have a hard time maintaining that organization.  When I'm short on time, patience or sleep I tend to let the details slip little by little and then next thing I know, I'm an unorganized mess again.  I plan to maintain better organization this year by:

• Implementing a family organization "bible" if you will.  This will actually be my 2nd year to own one of these awesome little planners.  I LOVE it.  In 2012, this was my only source of organization and I'm building on it this year.  I can't say enough great things about the "life planner".  It's especially well suited for our large family.  I carry it in my purse and take it to work, as well as all of our appointments. 
• Set a weekly meal plan.  Hopefully, these will be written in said planner.  I usually only buy our main supply of groceries every two weeks, so this may end up being a two-week meal plan thing so that I can have all groceries on hand.  At the rate I'm at now, I feel like I am in the grocery store 3-4 times a week buying one or two items that I have forgotten or that we've ran out of and that is the LAST place I want to be after working all day.
• Get the house organized in a more functional way.  Sighhhh - I'm not sure how I'm going to do this one.  I'm not even really sure how to describe what I mean.  We completed the playroom last year in hopes that the Toys R Us showroom would move out of our living room and down to one organized spot.  But we still have things in our living room and kitchen areas that I would like to see in other places - legos, playdough, board games, craft supplies - all things that I don't necessarily trust them with alone in the playroom.  Also up for organization - magazines, kitchen areas (mail/paper dump baskets, pantry, cabinets and drawers), living room bookshelves, etc. 
• I also want to implement some sort of chore/responsibility system for the boys.  Not so much to pay them for (cause hey jack! I don't get paid to do those things either!) but mainly to teach them to be good boys who help around the house.  I also want to start teaching them about saving money too -  I just haven't figured out how to separate the two yet.  If you guys have any suggestions, let me know. 

Update The Kitchen!
Not a full "dream" update (cabinets, countertops and appliances) but most definitely paint, possibly a backsplash, and few other minor updates.  This is the only room in our house we haven't updated in the last couple of years and I HATE seeing the little finger prints on the dirty paint.  The magic eraser thing has gone as far as it can go.  I just have to decide on a color.  I want simple, clean and light, but I have medium cabinets and black appliances.  Who has suggestions - anyone???

Cook More!
We always eat at home (we may eat out 2xs a month) plus we eat at my in-law's once a week, but I feel like we're always eating the same things or taking the easy way out.  I'm hoping my meal planning will help.

Have More Fun As A Family!!
Here's the deal - both parents work Mon-Fri and at least 2 Saturdays a month.  This leaves 6-7 whole days a month for us to NOT work.  2-4 of those off days are spent cleaning the house, working in the yard, or other obligations (birthday parties, family gatherings, etc.)  Soooo when we get a day off, we tend to spend it lounging at home with the babies.  That's awesome and we really cherish those days, but Will's impending Kindergarten entrance has helped me realize that our babies are growing up and I want to spend our days making lasting memories with them.  I want to make more of an effort to take them out for fun.  Could be the park, could be weekly family nights, could be the zoo, could be Alaska... who knows?!  Let's just do it!

Be A Better Wife!
Let's face it - I'm a pretty amazing wife, but I want to be better.  I kid I kid ;)  With three little people climbing over each other to get to me and talking over each other to talk to me, it exhausts me.  I really don't see those things changing, but I do hope to carve out more time for one-on-one with Brandon.  I'm hoping we squeeze in a few "couple" trips this year, as well as make it a point to have more meaningful conversations and time together, rather than just using our time together to discuss the kids and clean the house.  I won't be slaving to pack his lunches or have his playstation controller all ready for play, but I do love him and want him to feel just as important to me as our 3 munckins because he IS.  One day these crazy kids precious babies will move out and it will just be the old man and me.  What happens if we don't nurture and keep that relationship current?  Why do you think so many people get divorced at 50 years old after 25 years of marriage?  They just spent 25 years raising kids and NOT maintaining the one relationship that brought those kids into the world.  It happens people.  I won't let us be one of them.  I love me some Brandon - and I want us to have those same feelings when we're 50.

So there it is... the things I would like to see happen this year.  No definite timelines, but definitely things to implement this year to make me a better person, mommy and wife.  I think I can I think I can I think I can....

Santa Came!!

When I was a child, Christmas was the like the grand finale of the Disney World firework show.  We ended each year with SANTA and what could be better than that!?  I actually remember feeling sorry for my parents as I got older because Santa didn't bring the adults as much and I remember thinking how terrible that must be.  But now that I'm an adult, I must say - Christmas is even better than it was as a child.  Will is finally understanding Christmas and his excitement was worth every single second of searching, buying, wrapping, decorating, and planning.  Brooks of course was excited on Christmas morning too - but Will was through the roof!

Santa left each boy a letter explaining how good they had been this year and what things he would like to see improvement on next year.  Will exclaimed "Mom!  Santa said I had been a good boy!  I was worried that I wasn't!  AND" he said "TODAY IS JESUS' BIRTHDAY!!!"  It was so cute!  Santa also said in his letter that Brooks' gifts were in green paper and Will's were in red.  I know lots of Santas do not wrap.  But ours does for 2 reasons - first - this is the only way that I have figured out how to keep one child from claiming another child's gifts.  If they are concentrating on unwrapping their own gifts, they don't pay too much attention to what their brother is getting.  Secondly, this method of unwrapping slows them down long enough for me to almost see their reaction to each toy.  Eventually - when the children are a good bit older - I would like for them to take turns opening gifts just like I grew up doing, but I realize we have a while before I can expect that to happen.

Onto the gifts - boy did Santa deliver this year!

For Will, Santa brought a new 16" Schwinn bike, an Imaginext castle & dragon, Lego City legos + additional legos, a new Nerf gun, a new toy truck & horse trailer, a case for his Mobigo & a Jake & the Neverland Pirates game, a new board game, hexagon blocks, Madagascar 3 Blu Ray, Under Armour, a new playdoh crane, a matchbox sized helicopter (he loves helicopters), 2 new books, a Lego man flashlight key chain, and lots of other little items to fill his stocking.

For Brooks, Santa brought a red Plasmacar, a huge new Schleich wooden barn set, a mircrophone on a stand (the only thing he asked for), Lego Duplo Farm set + additional legos, a new Nerf gun, a new truck and horse trailer, a new board game, new Automoblox, a take apart crane, Mickey Mouse on the Farm DVD, Under Armour, a new playdoh crane, a matchbox sized space shuttle, 2 new books, a Lego man flashlight key chain, new toy animals for his farm, and plenty of other things to fill his stocking.

And Santa certainly did not forget Miss Tessa!  He brought her a huge new picture frame from this Etsy store that she's been dying for (ha!), a Fisher Price play table, a Cabbage Patch doll, a Jelly Cat stuffed bunny, 4 new books, lots of new frocks from Matilda Jane, a sippy cup with her name on it, and tons of teethers and clutching toys.

We had such a great morning.  The kids were so very happy with everything that they received.  Around 10:30, we packed up and headed to my mom's for our annual Christmas morning brunch.  My brother grilled steak & eggs, my dad made fried pork tenderloin, and my mom made french toast, biscuits and bacon.  And of course, our Christmas morning mimosas!  We ate and then enjoyed watching the kids tear through more gifts.  My boys love my niece and nephew and are "best fwends" so they had a big morning there too. 

After a few hours at my parent's house, we made the trip to Brandon's family farm for more gift exchanging and Christmas dinner with his family.  The kids had more fun and Nonna & Papa gifted them with iPod touches, toy trumpets, and a new ball pit (both of which we "accidentally" left at their house).  My mother-in-law made turkey & dressing, ham, and all the other traditional holiday favorites.  By this time, Will was completely beside himself to get back home and play with his toys.  If he asked once, he asked 1,000 times when we were going home.  Once we finally got home, I let them stay way up past their bedtime playing with all of their new toys and gadgets.

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year, but I definitely see a few changes in store for next year.  No more leaving the house on Christmas day.  Our kids have finally reached the age where they want to stay home and play with their new things and that is exactly what I plan on letting them do next year.  The rest can be rearranged.

Three days later, Will's favorite gifts have proven to be the Imaginext batcave (a gift from my mom), the Imaginext dragon castle, Brooks' barn, legos, the tiny toy helicopter and playdough.  It's really been too cold/windy/rainy to go out and ride his new bike but we're hoping to get to do that this weekend.  Brooks' favorites are Will's batcave, the barn, playdough and his microphone.  He has also enjoyed scooting around the house on his plasmacar, but we'll get it outside (or at least in the garage) this weekend.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I gathered from Facebook that many of you were under the weather this Christmas, but I hope that the Christmas spirit found you anyway.  In light of the tragedies that have happened in the last few weeks, I know I was very grateful to have my little family of 5 together this holiday.  Now onto the next holiday - Happy New Year friends!