Life with 3

Well we are adjusting to having a new baby in the house. I don't know what we would do if my mom wasn't here and if Jeff was planning on going back to work next week. I have been more tired in the night than I anticipate and Jeff was so good to help with all the kids. Lily remembered that Jeff was going to sleep in Ryan's room the first night so went looking for him (he slept in our bedroom) and woke Ryan up. So Jeff was up for a few hours keeping Max asleep and getting Lily and Ryan back to sleep.

Lily and Ryan love seeing the baby and touching his toes or Ryan likes to point out his body parts. Lily said, "he is so cute." She likes to hold him and had to get her baby out and feed her and put her to bed in the Moses basket. It's very sweet.

The day after Max was born I went home and the Baer's brought our kids back and spent time with the baby.

 Ryan wanted to play outside with his ball and with his makeshift cape when he came home. 

 And both kids love this! They like to look in the little mirror on top and drink their milk while lounging. 

 Ryan can never get enough story time.

 I'm sure Ron is telling Max to live up to his middle name (which is Ronald).

We spent several days indoors due to high wind and cold temperatures, so the kids were itching to get out of the house. My mom spent a lot of time playing with them downstairs, building block towers, making a town in the middle of the train tracks, and whatever else they came up with. Jeff and my mom took the kids to Jumpin,' which has inflatable jumping areas and to gymnastics. Jeff is the best dad and gets right in there with them and plays hard with them. He's so wonerful because he's such an involved parent. Ryan loved the bars at the gym and has a steel grip. He could hang all day long. Lily insisted on wearing dresses and zebra tights all week, which weren't the best choice of clothes for jumpin' or gymnastics, but she made it through, and we managed to wash her tights finally.

Indoor beach day! The kids had a great time and were entertained for at least an hour.

 But it was cold outside so snow hats were a must on this beach day.

 Lily built this all by herself! My mom said it toppled down at least 10 times and while she'd get upset each time it fell (sometimes due to Ryan and sometimes due to her), she re-built each time. 

 Ryan sure loves his daddy.

Saturday my mom got the kids an outdoor play set (since their activity of choice in the back was to throw rocks) and some little pools for them to wade in. Lisa came to visit Sunday morning and after church Ron, Sandy, and Diana came for dinner and to take the kids back home for the week. My mom spent the week doing loads and loads of laundry, going shopping on multiple trips, cleaning up, keeping us sane, and playing with kids. When I told Jeff that she even swept our garage he said, "your mom is the best house guest ever." He loved having her here too and it just made the week seem so much less stressful. We even left a screaming Lily to go have dinner Saturday night and my mom just calmly told us to still go out and she'd take care of it. And Lily did stop crying and was pleasant and happy when we got home. Jeff and I learned the value of having a date night and stepping away for a little break.

My mom went home yesterday and I'm so glad we got to spend time with her. Such a fun visit and it's always great having one on one time with my mom. We stayed up late talking most nights (which probably wasn't the best idea, but it was still fun) and enjoying one another's company. And we even got a visit from Darin driving from Iowa to Utah so that was a pleasant surprise too!