Snow Baby

Emma Grace: "Is that Owen?"

To be fair, there was another very bundled up baby with us all day today, but still, I thought that was a hilarious question!

Stay tuned for more pictures.

And PS - yes, that is Owen.

What the ????

EDIT: Congratulations Grandma! Clearly they are pretending to sled in the snow.
(Better luck next time Aunt Sarah Ellen. Yours was also a great guess.)


Sometimes on the more well-read blogs, there are contests and opportunities for readers to win prizes and such. Now I would definitely not say my blog is popular, but I would like to offer up my first contest, you know, to my 4 or 5 faithful followers.

Now, for the prize......what should it be? Well, seeing as I have no money, I was thinking of giving mad props to the winner. In other words, you will win nothing except the satisfaction of knowing you guessed correctly.

How's my first contest so far?

And, since I would venture to say my little blog probably doesn't even get checked every day by the few people who do read it, I would also venture to say that I may not have received any guesses by this time tomorrow, when I close the contest and reveal the potential winner of my mad props. If that is the case, I guess I will give mad props to myself since I know the answer. But only after asking the participants in question.

So here it is. Please enjoy your first ever, Fabulous Fischer Five Contest.

Mad Props given to the person who can correctly guess what the ???? these two kids are doing?

A birthday celebration

We had a wee bit of celebration going on Saturday afternoon. The birthday boy did delightfully well, though he seemed a bit overwhelmed at times. Since blogger only lets me post four pictures at a time, it was an overwhelming task to pick which four. It's like Sophie's Choice. There are so many good ones, but here are the few I decided to share...right now.

If these two grandparents were done having grandbabies, this would be a great Christmas card picture, but they're not done. That's right - I'm going to be an aunt again in July and I can't wait.

Here's the birthday boy in his new overalls. Yes, I purchased Owen some overalls that haven't been handed down. Yes, I'm pretty sure he noticed and was most excited. Yes, I have a weakness for overalls. Yes, he does have two other perfectly decent pairs, but come on - blue, striped overalls. Yes, he does look like the cutest railroad worker ever! (and yes, of course they were on sale...)

Here's my niece being her usual, fun and crazy self. I know I may be a bit biased, but seriously, aren't those the biggest, prettiest blue eyes you've ever seen? (This statement in no way negates my love for Owen's blue eyes, but Kenlee's go above and beyond.)

Here's Nana and Lauren Kate, one of my other nieces. She's the same age as Isaac and loves all things dress-up.

So that's it - a small glimpse at Owen's first birthday party. A day full of family, a frog cake he wasn't particularly fond of, a bounce house out front that some friends graciously let us borrow, some crazy cute gifts and toys, and one very tired 5 year old, three year old, and one year old at the end of the day. My baby is one. I still can't believe it.

Birthday Boy

One year ago today, I had the pleasure of meeting our youngest son for the first time. After a day of waiting, it was finally our turn in the OR and he made his grand entrance at 4:55 pm. He had a little blonde peach fuzz, beautiful blue eyes, and some scratches on his face from the longest fingernails I've ever seen. He was a very laid back baby...for the first two weeks. :)

After a rough start, he is now a healthy, happy, very curious little toddler.

Here's Todd waiting to come into surgery for the birth of #3.

A family of five for the first time.

Is there anything cuter than baby feet?

Sweet Owen Zachary

Happy Birthday, Owen.

Winter swim, anyone?

What do you do when it's cold outside and you wish it was summertime and you were spending the day at the pool?

Evidently, you cram into your baby brother's baby pool, fully clothed, and pretend away.

Didn't look like much fun to me, but they were in there for about 20 minutes giggling and having a blast, so who was I to argue?

Whatever floats your boat, kids. Whatever floats your boat.

Bye Bye Baby

We're purging.
Cleaning.
Gutting.
Selling LOTS of baby stuff.

Todd has no issues with it.
He's not sad or upset
or...I don't know the word to describe how I feel.

Three is a good number.
Three keeps us busy.

But, the purging is still hard.
Saying goodbye to this stage of parenting is hard.
Not needing the bouncy seats, play mats, and high chairs is hard.

Getting ready for kindergarten is hard!
Giving up bottles is hard.
I didn't think purging would be hard, but it is.

This baby girl is gone. She's morphed into a fun, spirited, sweet diva who loves all things princess, but sometimes I miss this smiley little baby that never wanted to eat solids or take a nap.

This sweet baby boy is gone too. He's morphed into one of the most tender-hearted, kind, funny people I know, but I still miss this baby who LOVED being held and sucking on his left pointer finger.

This cute baby boy is still here, but just barely. Right before my eyes, he's changing into a curious little toddler who gets into everything, only wants to eat cheerios, and tries his hardest to keep up with "EmmaG" and "Igee".

Yup, purging is hard.
No matter how much you look forward to the years ahead and watching these small people continue to grow, a part of me is very sad to see this stage end.

Does that make me weird?

Rub a dub - dub

Three kids in a tub.

For the record, I pretty much detest bath time. It is one of my least favorite tasks of parenting because it always precedes the following: towel drying of all 3, hair combing and drying of the oldest, hair picking and gelling of the middle, applying gobs of lotion to the middle, diapering the youngest, cutting 30 finger and toenails, brushing many teeth, and getting 3 people, besides myself, dressed. In other words, giving three small children a bath and getting them ready to go to bed or anywhere else takes about a year, give or take a few days...

However, though I hate all the MANY tasks that go along with bath time and try to push it off on my husband as much as humanly possible, I do love 3 clean kids playing in a tub.

The "B" word

I heard it for the first time yesterday.
Yesterday was the first time he has, on his own accord, asked about her. Wondered about her. Expressed missing her. Expressed loving her. Grieved for her. His birth mom. His first mom.

Before adopting, I always thought to hear my child say they love and miss another mom would break my heart. And it did, but not for the reasons I assumed it would. There was no jealousy, only sadness that he can't know her. Sadness that she can't show him how much she loved him.

There are so many deep-rooted insecurities in him. They are rightfully his, but I want to make them disappear. How do you prove to your 3 year old that they are worth so much? In an attempt to answer and console his fears, I kept repeating how special he is because he has had the love of two mom's.

I think it made him feel a little bit better.

Emma Grace was crushed.
Now she wants two moms.
I can't win.

An apple a day

helps take the pain of teething away.

Go PACK!

Thank you Awesome Auntie Allisen for the adorable, handmade, NCSU dress!
The girls look adorable and sweet as pie in them.

They also look like they will know exactly how to fit in on campus in 13 years...

PS - I will post more pictures from all of our Christmas adventures, but first I have to find the charger for my camera battery that is now dead. Anyone seen it?