Crazy Picture Mom

Look, I know this post going to scream crazy mom. I'm comfortable with that. I think my baby is the cutest thing that has ever graced this Earth. I'm talking cuter than my other two kids cute. He is so darn adorable, I'm surprised no one has stolen him from me. I imagine he is worth A LOT on the baby black market. Just sayin'.

Felix is just so photogenic that I had a hard time picking just one in this series. I mean, c'mon, if it were you, could you pick just one?

 Yeah, didn't think so!  :)

All Three in a Tub

Yay! I'm excited that we're getting closer to all three taking a bath at the same time in the same tub. I'm not gonna lie, I am not a fan of baby tubs. My babies always slide around all over the place and their little booties don't stay in place and they end up sitting on the raised part that probably hurts their butt/back...

Anyway, going on another tangent.

Felix wasn't too happy about it...but he was really sturdy. The kids loved having him in there!

Oliver

I love catching my beautiful boy in a natural state of happiness. He is so much fun even for as anal retentive and organized he is.

Attempting Nice Photos

I'm no professional photographer. Actually, after owning my DSLR for 3.5 years, I'm just NOW teaching myself how to use it properly!! My cousin is a pro photographer and her pictures inspire me to AT LEAST learn white balance and utilize natural light.

It makes me sad how many of my pictures could look A LOT better if I had known what I was doing, but oh well. Living in a tiny, dark apartment for 2.5 years was a huge downer as we had very little light....

Anyway, I'm about to begin a rant so I'll stop. I just wanted to post a few pictures I took (but not the one on our Xmas card so people could be somewhat surprised!). I had to tell more white lies than I've ever told in one sitting...I also promised tons of ice cream sundaes and staying up way past their bedtime. But it was worth it. They sat together. They could have given me nicer facial expressions but for a mom of 3 kids three and under, taking these pictures with NO help...I'll take it!!!!

I measure success by the fact that Scarlett is looking up.

Scarlett HATES having her picture taken. This is the moment I started begging...

We're working on the cheese face...Trying for something more natural.

Scarlett was not having Felix touch her, ha.

Walking back to our house. They were over any kind of pictures!!

Felix Is So Photogenic

I love my little ham. I enjoy this 6 month age. All of my kids were so willing to be in pictures, and smile in them, and pose with me. I have two older poopers that drive me nuts. I have to practically promise them the world to get them to sit and look for half a second! I'm going to be bummed when Felix grows out of this age.

Felix Hating Baby Food

I think I had mentioned in another post how much my baby absolutely hates baby food. Well, in case you needed it, here is picture proof!

You just get him close to his high chair and he gets very upset!

However, I must report that he has begun to accept bananas. I've only given them to him twice, and the last time was a week ago. I must admit that I'm really enjoying nursing and am just not ready for him to grow up and start eating 'real' food. After 3 kids this is my first successful bout with breastfeeding. I'm enjoying every second of it!

My 3 Babies

These were taken as a hail Mary. Not perfect, but I will cherish these photos for the rest of my life. All three kids, together!

I love these 3 tiny humans.

Oliver is Amazing!

I just could rave about this boy forever. I also have my share of rants, but he's a three year old. Seems appropriate.


He had a balloon animal and told me it was a boat.
Me: "Is it a speed boat?"
Oliver: "No, its a slow boat!"

Love it.



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We also have a Thankful Tree in our house in time for Thanksgiving. I'm teaching the kids to think about what makes them happy. Of course my goal is to make Oliver realize what things he has in his life that other kids may not. (Scarlett's still to little to 'get it').

These last few days he's been thankful for his Hot Wheels and Ghostbusters, trucks and trains. Of course that's fine but I was hoping as we progressed we'd focus the scope to people and the 'bigger picture'.

Today, with absolutely no prompting, Oliver told me he was thankful for 'our big house we live in'. I asked him why, and he told me that some people don't live in houses and they have to live outside.

*BAM* He got it.

We had a talk about how some kids have parents that don't have money and they have to live out in the cold. He was very inquisitive and compassionate. He said he wanted to help these kids. As a future social worker, that pulled on my heart strings. I think this will be a great a prelude to some Xmas charity.  My dream is to have the kids pick out a present each for a child in need.

Photo Card

I'm embedding my Xmas card order into my blog, bc A. I LOVE Shutterfly and have used them for years for all sorts of projects and B. I get $10 off my next order.

:)

Christmas On String Christmas

Make unique Christmas cards this year at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Oliver's Quips

Can I please preface this by saying I CANNOT wait for my youngest two to start fully talking?! Scarlett's starting to make silly phrases but Oliver says full blown tidbits that I find it really hard not to bust out laughing.



At Scarlett's 2 year check up, Oliver decided to come instead of staying at daycare to 'protect' (his word) his sister.
The doctor comes in and says hi to everyone...Oliver's response:

"Hi looo-sah (loser)."

Yup, that's my kid.... Talk about one of the most embarrassing experiences as a mother. Luckily for me the doctor didn't say anything but it taught me just how much Oliver is like sponge. I remember some character saying that on an episode of Phineas and Ferb....months ago. He had never said it at home, he had just chosen the "perfect" time to unearth it.

We're working on it...

 _________

Oliver is learning about relationships. We keep telling him he's our son. Yesterday we were playing and he told me:

"Momma, you're my son."

_________

He also learned what a man is. From time to time he'll tell me he is a man. I have to correct him and tell him he'll grow up to me a man. However this last week I heard him saying:

"I'm a man, I do whatever I want!"

Yeah, okay buddy. Ha!



And here are some pictures. I couldn't help but post a bunch since Oliver never willingly poses for a camera. I think he's such a beautifully handsome boy (I know, total mom) and I love that he displayed it. Of course we were right in the window so some of these are a bit overly exposed but I don't care. He was looking AND smiling NORMALLY, no silly faces!! I'll take it.

Scarlett's Birthday Party!

Little Miss Scar turned two. I was super depressed as her mother. I feel like I missed her entire life. She was born, then she turned two. Boooo.

We decided to throw a Halloween costume party. What more could a parent love then getting use out of that costume that A. cost you a ton, B. you spent hours making? I'm all for doing as many costume related activities around Halloween just to get use of them!

Scarlett was Wonder Woman and ONLY cared about lollipops. Presents? Who cares?...the other kids did, haha. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked so someone else picked up my Cannon and started shooting. Then when things calmed down and a lot of people left, we got a lot of pictures with the Pirottes and Peakes. Some of my absolutely favorite people. :)

With Babcia and Dzia Dzia.

Some of the food.

There's that lollipop and the best pic of Scarlett from the whole night.

Vampire mouth, thanks Pinterest.

Yeah, all the other kids loved the gifts.

Scarlett cared for a second.

Felix's Godmother!

My kids like to get naked...Ugh.

5 Months!

Mr. Feefs is 5 months old! And yes, he has the most ridiculous nicknames...


Felix loves the below pictured spinning toy. Super annoying, but he is mesmerized. He's getting accustomed to the high chair, although rice cereal is not going well. He's only tried it a handful of times but I don't think he's even swallowed a bite. My other two kids started eating solids at 4 months and loved them (especially my hefer, Scarlett) however they were formula fed babies. Felix is exclusively breastfed and going strong so I'm not pushing it but am wondering if there is a correlation. There is no nutritional value at this age anyway, I was just thinking he may want the supplementation since he's such a big boy! Felix seems to be just fine with the amount he's getting from my breast. I do have plans to make some of my own baby food (a first for me!) and see if he just needs to taste something less bland than rice cereal.

I must say I am enjoying nursing more than I thought I would. I think this is due in large part to Felix since he has been so good at what he does. I never have been sore or had issues with my supply. When the weather was in the high 80s and 90s I did notice that Felix wanted to nurse more often as he was thirsty from the heat so felt like I had a baby attached to me boob nonstop...Even then I felt good about it. He is going through a biting and pulling stage along with pinching my boob. OUCH. All and all I love it but do miss my sleep...

That's a whole 'nuther story. My first two slept through the night every night at 1 month of age. Perfect for a working mom who needs her sleep. They were also formula fed (and formula is digested slower and is thicker)... Felix wakes up at least twice a night to nurse so we mostly co sleep. He gets placed in his crib at the beginning of the night but once he wakes up the first time, I place him in bed and nurse laying down. I usually fall asleep during that and prefer not to get up to put him back knowing I'll need to get up again! I was never a fan of cosleeping without a cosleeper but its worked out for us thus far and I like that Felix has always been a sturdy baby. Scarlett was such a tiny little thing, I would have felt terrified that I'd roll over on top of her. Anything can happen to any child, of course, but Felix has always been giant which puts my mind at ease personally.

Felix loves his siblings. He is so fascinated by both of them running around and playing. I am very diligent in making sure all the kids are always involved with each other so when Scarlett or Ollie want to show me something cool, I make sure they also show Squishy. Now I don't even have to remind them. They usually run to him first THEN show me. Recently Scarlett was showing off her big, two footed jumps to her baby brother, and Oliver was showing off his monster sounds for Halloween. I like that they see Felix as more of an equal.

Side note: YES, we still call Felix Squishy. It fits. :)

I also do the opposite. For example if one of the kids hands Felix something I make sure I say, "Felix, tell Oliver/Scarlett thank you for getting your binky." The kids are very aware that Felix is a baby and can't do a lot of things but I don't want that to become an excuse. I don't want him to be the baby that gets away with everything. If he pulls on someones hair he says sorry (via me!) or if he sneezes he says excuse me (via me as well!). I know it sounds silly but it works for our family. The kids know he is a baby but its under the premise that they need to help teach him how to do things correctly. He gets a bit of leeway but ultimately the expectation is that Felix will be equally responsible for manners and good behavior. The kids have A LOT less resentment for Felix this way and enjoy being A PART of his development.

And here is a comparison between one month old and five months old.

Look how chunky he is. I get to kiss this EVERY  day!