Our Life Now with 3 Children

It’s hard to believe how quickly the past weeks have gone! It some ways, it seems like our sweet Lily Grace was just born, but yet it seems like Lily has always been part of our family. It’s been a busy couple weeks but we are settling into our new life as a family of five so it’s time for another family update!

Lily is 7 weeks old today! You can read more about her birth story and first week at home here. Lily is a sweet baby who is growing up so quickly! She’s more awake and alert every day. We’ve reached the stage of full smiles which we love to coax out of her.

Lily loves to lay and kick on her blanket after she eats. She coos and looks at the lights and loves it when her siblings come and lay by her, too. Lily nurses well and loves to eat, much like her siblings, as evidenced by all her rolls. Unlike her siblings, she doesn’t want to eat too often. She actually gets mad and screams if I try to nurse her before she is ready. Lily hasn’t woken up for the 1am feeding in several weeks and often, she skips the 3:30 feeding too. It’s been amazing to sleep from 11 to 5 some nights! I’m sure we will hit a sleep regression soon but I am very thankful for the sleep we are getting right now. Of course, Lily does still like to be held for her naps during the day and I often do hold her, knowing how quickly these early days pass.

Emma loves having a sister and tells everyone about her baby, Lily Grace. I love how she uses both names! Of course, as much as she loves her little sister, she also loves when she gets to be cuddled alone. Andy was holding Lily this past weekend, and as soon as I took her to go eat, Emma scrambled in his lap and asked to cuddle with him. I had to snap a picture to remember these sweet Daddy-daughter moments.

Emma continues to talk (and sing) up a storm and her imaginative play is getting more elaborate by the day. She asked for a Daniel Tiger cake for her birthday which I was happy to do (since Nathan had requested that cake last year for his birthday). March is always going to be a busy month for us with Lily’s birthday on the 12th, Emma’s on the 16th, and Nathan’s on the 31st!

Nathan continues to be a big helper and takes his job as big brother quite seriously – even when sharing with his sister. See the picture below? I had to laugh when I came back into his room where all 3 of the kids were and found Lily contentedly kicking away and her face covered with stickers.

We’ve just started official chores and allowance with Nathan, and he loves putting the pennies he earns into his Dave Ramsey bank every night. I have read him several chapter books over the past couple months and we just started a new one – The Boxcar Children. We will see if he likes it as much as I did as a child!

We loved having Andy home for Spring Break at the beginning of April so we could spend time together as a family. It was nice to be able to tag-team parent as we both adjusted to having a newborn again. We managed a cold family trip to the Toledo Zoo and took all the kids out to eat after. Other than that, most of Spring Break was spent playing (and sleeping) around the house.

When Andy headed back to school, my Mom flew up for Texas to visit for a week. It was wonderful to have her around! We ran the kids to doctor’s appointments, went on walks in the neighborhood, did some baking and just enjoyed our time together. My Mom even helped me take the kids to JC Penney to get pictures taken of all the kids – separate and together. I was very pleased with the pictures we had taken. This one was my favorite! Like always, our time together went much too quickly and we were sad to see her go.

Now, Andy is busy preparing to take his 8th graders on their annual Washington DC trip in May. Not only does he plan the whole trip and make all the reservations but he serves as their tour guide during their week away. This is exactly the thing my history loving husband loves but it has meant a lot of late nights at school.

I am in the midst of graduation season preparations so have learned how to write Bible verses in many “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” books while holding a sleeping Lily. I have been very busy filling lots of book orders already, but I do love creating this special gift for so many graduates! Other than that, I am trying to figure out my new mom routine. I write books early in the morning and late at night, and choose what else to tackle during the middle of the day. This is how you find me several hours of the day!

The kids and I are VERY ready for nice, warm weather to arrive and to stay put! We’ve had so many up and down days, we don’t really know what to expect yet. We are ready to be outside playing in the backyard again and going on family walks in the evening.

I haven’t been grocery shopping as much as I would like but it is a bit trickier with 3 kids. Thankfully, we did get our new upright freezer in the house before Lily was born and I am thankful for the food I have stocked there. That is actually one of the best parts of sharing a house (yes, still) with my in-laws. My mother-in-law and I try to take turns cooking the evening meals.

Even in the busy-ness that is now our life, I have missed blogging and am glad to be back writing here again. I already have some post ideas and new recipes that I am eager to share. As I look ahead to the next weeks and months, any blogging requests about what you would like to see? If you have any questions or blog post ideas, leave a comment below because I always love to hear them!

That’s all from our house for now. I have to say that I enjoy sharing these glimpses into our life, much like I used to in days of “old” blogging. Would you be interested in occasional updates like these, every other month or so, or do you like them in the newsletter more? Let me know your thoughts on that in the comments below, too!

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7 Comments

  1. Thanks for updates, thanks for mentioning nursing and I luv your pics . It’s nice to hear your stories and struggles, helps me as I have one little one and can relate. God bless y’all in Jesus name.

  2. Love the updates on the blog (not much of a newsletter person). Your kids are adorable and love the stickers on Lily siblings trying to share and include her. Looking forward to what you have coming in the future on the blog!

    1. Thanks, Rebecca! They are keeping me busy but I’m excited to be back here writing. I’ll be sure to keep sharing these occasional updates!

  3. Oh, I love that red hair! I always love the family updates in the blog. Or newsletter….whatever works best. I would be interested in hearing more about sharing your house with your in-laws. How has that worked moving into their house with them still there…..is all your stuff in storage? Do they live in one section (such as basement or upstairs? Just wondering how all that works out…..how do you keep separate lives, or do you? I think if you could talk about that a little, it could be an encouragement to those who find themselves in a similar house-sharing situation.

    1. That’s a good idea, Addy! I will have to summarize our experiences…once they move out! 🙂 And thanks for noticing her hair. I really think she has some red tints too…but we’ll see if that lasts!

  4. After you finish the book, the Boxcar Children movie released a couple of years ago is pretty good and stays pretty close to the book.
    For blog ideas, I love it when you recommend books. I have an elementary ed., not an early childhood degree, and once and awhile you recommend a book that I’ve never heard of. My kids are too old for those books, but we babysit during piano lessons etc. and I do still have children to share wonderful books with.

    1. I had just seen that movie pop up somewhere. I will have to look for it, since we just finished the book today. And I do actually have a music book post in the works. I’m sure Nicole’s boys would love them! 🙂

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