New beginnings

Next Tuesday, Josh starts preschool and next Wednesday, Emma starts Kindergarten.  I'm am so excited for them to start school and at the same time sad.  Where has the time gone?  When did they get old enough to both be in school?  I remember my mom always saying that when you get older, times goes so quickly.  I didn't understand that statement when I was a teenager but I get it now.  Part of me would REALLY like time to slow down but I am also ready (and the kids are too) for this new journey we are about to begin.  I've been chanting to myself all week, "I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry" hoping that it gets me ready to not be a mess next week as I drop them off.  Seeing as I'm already crying while typing this, I don't think it's going to work. :o) Oh well, here's to next week and our new beginnings!  

9 months

Elizabeth is 9 months!  She is still a doll of a baby and surely God's way of suckering us into a fourth (I'm sure He works that way, right?).  At this age Lizzie Bits....

*army crawls all over the place (she's decently fast)
*is getting on all fours as rocking back and fourth
*loves her daddy and gets very upset when he leaves a room without taking her along
*babbles to any item she loves chewing on
*has switched her sibling preference from Josh to Emma
*love, love, loves the pool
*pretty much hates any form of nutrition that isn't regular table food
*weighs 18lbs, putting her in the 50%
*is 29.25 inches, putting her in the 95%
*is surprising light when you pick her up. Her height gives a false sense of size
*has been sleeping like a pill since she starting teething and had her last ear infection
*has her bottom 2 teeth
*sits up independently for about 3 minutes before toppling over
*is such a cuddler
*loves being sung to, especially Itsy Bitsy Bizzie
*still has a clogged tear duct in her left eye
*screeches SO loudly when she's tired
*is a true testament to God's goodness

California 12

The kids and I had a great time in California! It was the first vacation I've taken since having children when I felt like I didn't need a vacation from my vacation. We left early on a Wednesday morning and I was a little nervous to be flying with both kiddos. Emma is a pro on a plane but Josh (who is a bit whinny and temper tantrumish lately) had never been. Thankfully both did a great job flying and since the flight to Orange County is so quick, we were descending right after we ate our snack and drank our soda. Both kids were very excited to see my grandparents and I absolutely love that they are both so fond of them. We spent the rest of that day catching up and helping Grandpa with the garden. The next day we went to Disneyland along with my mom. The morning was extremely rough and Josh had two MAJOR tantrums at the park. I was so caught off guard by the first because he'd never had one in public and never one of that magnitude. I ended up facing him in toward a trash can and walked a good 10 feet away from him while he got it out of his system, I knew if I got anywhere within reach of him, I might be escorted out of the park childless. :o) After his second tantrum we had a nice trip to the bathroom for discipline (I was very calm this time) and a long talk, we decided it was time to head back to my grandparents for naps. So thankful the park is about 10-15 minutes from their house! Josh and Emma both slept almost 4 hours, no wonder he was in such a mood! We headed back and the evening was wonderful, both kids plus me, loved our time there together. I had originally planned on taking Josh back to my grandparents for bed at 7:30 but, he was so good the rest of the day, that he ended up staying the entire night with us. We were all exhausted when we got home and the kids even slept until 8:30 the next morning, unheard of for the Hildwine children!

On Friday, more of my family came over and Emma and Josh had a great time playing with their cousins. Saturday and Sunday were spent at two different beaches. On Saturday we visited my Uncle Don and Aunt Karen at Seal Beach. The water was a little cold and the kids didn't get in but played in the sand and had fun running away from the waves as they broke on the shore.

 

Sunday we went to Doheny Beach with more family and thanks to my cousins Katie and Ryan, got an awesome picnic spot to hang out in. Doheny has a little beach called Baby Beach that was perfect for the kids. Giant rocks out in the ocean keep the beach from getting waves so the water was nice and still. Both jumped right in the water to play and were sad when they finally had to get out to eat. After dinner, the weather turned awfully cold so we headed to my Aunt Cindy's house who lives not more than 5 minutes from the beach. The kids played with the cousins on the golf course behind my aunt house (once it was closed) and we roasted marshmallows and made smores (yum!) before leaving.

Monday and Tuesday we didn't have much going on so we spent time at the park and playing outside. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I was really sad to come back to the heat of AZ.

Our trip was perfect!  The kids were SO good (other than Josh's morning at Disney, which I'll take most of the blame for, he was obviously tired).  They went to bed late every night, slept in every morning, took 3+ hours naps each day, played without fighting, and were genuine sweethearts.  I know they missed Eric and Elizabeth and I did too, but,  I am really glad that we took this trip together.  I'm already looking forward to next summer's trip, I even told Grandma that the kids and I are coming for the whole month of June!  Well, in my head, that's the plan!

Almost here

Summer break is almost here, my last day of work is on Thursday! I'm so ready to have a long break with the kids and the calendar for June is already filling up. The summer movie program starts on Monday and I'm excited to hit the theater every week with Emma and Josh. It was fun last year but having a 4 and 2 year old at the movies while being 5-6 months pregnant in the AZ heat, wasn't always fun. We leave for California on 6/6 and the kids are super excited to spend a week with my grandparents. My mom and I are taking them to Disney one day and the kids and I have already mapped out our whole day at the park (never step foot in that park without a game plan). We have parties to attend when we get back, a wedding, and Emma is all set up for Vacation Bible School. I think swim lessons will need to wait until July, which I'm absolutely fine with because I HATE cold pool water. Unfortunately, the kids keep begging to hit their favorite public pool so I know it's only a matter of time before the cold water and I meet. Hopefully, my time off during the summer will give me a chance to keep up on the blog, but, no promises. :o)

Camera

For our anniversary, Eric got me a really nice camera. So nice, I'm still figuring out how to use it properly. I have no desire to be a photographer but feel confident in some of my skills after watching Eric for a number of years. Here are my Elizabeth 6 month pictures I took in our backyard, I'm a little bias but I think they are adorable. I also got some really nice shots of Emma and Josh.

Rice Cereal

Elizabeth is by far the happiest baby we've had. Josh was always a content but Elizabeth is always smiling and happy as a clam. I've been excited to get her started on rice cereal for a while now and on her 5 month birthday, we gave it a go. You see, Elizabeth is also the pickiest eater we've ever had. Emma and Josh would both gulp down bottles whenever you gave them one. Emma would even go so far as to drink way more than her little belly needed (as a new mommy, I had no idea how much to give) and then puke it up 2 minutes later. Elizabeth is quite the opposite, she has no attachment to the bottle whatsoever. If she's not hungry, she doesn't eat. If there is too much noise, she doesn't eat. If Emma and Josh are any where around, she doesn't eat. If Eric tries to feed her, she doesn't eat. You get the picture. Well, rice cereal came and rice cereal went. Elizabeth had the same reaction as Emma and Josh did the first time eating it but a few weeks later, she was a terror when it was time to eat. As soon as I offered her the cereal, she'd arch her self backward in the Bumbo and scream. Elizabeth never screams. Then, as I'd put the spoon to her mouth, she'd lock her lips so tight that I couldn't even get the spoon in. After fighting for almost 3 weeks, I decided it was time to move on to bigger and better things. For the first time, I gave one of my children veggies before 6 months. I started her off with sweet potatoes and she did great with them, thank God. She has continued eating her veggies well and definitley has favorites and dislikes. I can't wait to start fruits and yogurt.

Where to begin....

Another month has by! Seriously, how do they keep getting away from me? Life with 3 kids is a little more hectic then I thought it would be. It's funny though, Elizabeth is by far the happiest, easiest baby but just having another little one makes everything just a little bit harder. Thank God she is so super sweet because I truly think I would have been committed by now if she'd been the kind of baby her big sis was. Here is what we've been up to over the past month,

Eric and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. He bought me a great camera (much nicer than I am capable of) and I've taken tons of pictures but still haven't learned how to upload them.

Josh got a bike for his birthday and has been a maniac on 2 wheels (well, 4 wheels if you count the training wheels). He wants to ride nonstop and loves going on long bike rides with Eric around our neighborhood.

Emma has officially been registered for Kindergarten! I am still struggling with my desire to send her to St. Tim's Academy but for now, it just doesn't seem to be in the cards.

Spring Break has come and gone. The kids and I had a nice week together and did lots of outdoor activities. The weather in AZ was absolutely gorgeous and I don't regret canceling our to CA. Eric was able to take 2 days off midweek and we split the kids up both days and spent some one on one time with both Emma and Josh.

Elizabeth is five months old now and had her first taste of rice cereal last Wednesday.

We switched the kids rooms again. Josh and Emma are roomies now and Elizabeth is on her own. The first night Emma and Josh went to bed at 7:30 and whispered and laughed until 9:15. It was very cute listening to them outside the door. They were both up before 6 am the next morning and were so exhausted that both took close to 3 hour naps that afternoon. Elizabeth seems to be doing better at night now that she is by herself. She still only wakes once at night after a solid 8-9 hours for a quick bottle and then sleeps for a few hours more. The reason for the big move was she kept fussing out through the night needing me to give her binky. I came to realize that Emma is a loud sleeper and was disrupting Elizabeth. So, until Elizabeth becomes a really great sleeper like Josh and Emma are, she gets to be by herself.

Eric has been able to go out shooting a few times over the last month which always makes him happy and I've been able to see a few movies and have a couple of evenings to myself which makes me happy.

The next few months are going to be busy at home and work. I'm ready for summer to come so I have more time to be home with the kids. Hopefully I'll figure out my camera soon so I can post pictures. No promises though. :)