Catching Up and Life with 3!!

*In the true spirit of the title of this post- I have been catching up on my blog and there are 7 new posts below this one.*

The past 6 1/2 weeks of my life have been chaotic! Good but chaotic! I feel like I can't keep on top of anything. I heard two different things about having 3 kids. First- some people said that 3 was the one that about put them under because you only have 2 hands. Second- that 3 isn't that big of a deal really not harder than 2. So far in our home the adjustment to having 3 has been easier for me than it was going from 1 to 2. I think it was harder when we had Gracie because it was hard to see how the whole thing was affecting Brooklyn. With Ella, Brooklyn and Gracie have each other. There have for sure been some behavior problems and issues but not too bad. I am tired. I don't remember being this tired with Brooklyn and Gracie- I guess I was able to rest a little more. Plus Sean did remind me that I am older too. :) It is also hard for me feeling like I am constantly putting Brooklyn and Gracie off. Somedays I feel like all I say to them is "just a minute" "in a minute- I need to feed Ella" "not right now" you get the point. But with the hard things there are the precious things- like seeing the way Brooklyn and Gracie love Ella, seeing the joy that a new baby brings to anyone around, the night feedings when it is just her and I, the smell of a new baby, the spirit that surrounds Ella, the way when I am burping her she will lift her head off my shoulder and look right into my eyes, Sean and Ella cuddling on the couch, seeing the first smile, and the way that you don't think your heart has anymore room to love and it grows and you love this new little person with your whole being. So so sum it up, life with 3 is chaotic but GREAT and I feel so blessed to be the mother of these 3 beautiful girls!!!

I love that Ella is flipping the bird in this picture! (haha)

This picture was to show how her hair sticks straight up on that side. It is so funny!

Grandma Maynard

A couple weeks ago, we got a call from Sean's mom telling us that his grandma had had a stroke. She passed away a few days later. Yesterday was her funeral. It was a really nice day and a funeral. Sean talked and did a fabulous job- she would have been very proud of him. Grandma Maynard was living at Legacy House (assisted living) when I had Ella- Sean's mom wheeled grandma over to come and see her. She loved Ella and anyone else in the room had a hard time holding her because grandma wanted to the whole time. :) As she was holding her she would give the cutest giggle and say, "she is just so cute!" I hope that I never forget that cute little giggle and how taken she was with Ella. She also loved Brooklyn and Gracie and loved them to sing to her when we would visit. She is will deeply missed and is loved a lot!

I love these 2 pictures- the last 2 that I took of her with my girls

This picture was taken on her birthday this year at Legacy House



Maggie, Emma, Celina, Brooklyn, Grandma, Gracie, Ali, Jonah



I also love this picture of Sean and the gals with grandma last Halloween



Aaron, Audrey, Ali, Gracie, Maggie, Celina, Emma, Lexi, Ryan, Jonah, Lauren, Brooklyn, Ella, and Becca

Sean's sister Evelyn moved to North Carolina 2 years ago and hasn't been home since. We have had so much fun spending time with her and her kids. They are missed a lot!! After the funeral we attempted to get a picture with all of them. Good luck to us trying to get 14 kids holding still and looking at a camera- smiling!

This picture is classic- not one of them is looking at the camera

Books N Buddies

My sister-in-law Shawna told us about a fun activity at the USU Firestation called Books N Buddies. The firemen are there and teach about bike safety, fire safety, and water safety. Each kid got a book, got to see inside a firetruck, and had some different activities to do as well. It was a lot of fun and the gals enjoyed it and playing with their cousins.

Gracie on the left and her cousin Aaron on the right. The kids loved this activity- they had to wear a life jacket and get pulled on tubes behind a 4-wheeler. As they were going they got sprayed with water from a firefighter.



Brooklyn insisted on taking Abby- Abby not so much a fan. Cousin Audrey on the right. The guy pulling them took them a little too far and they went off the curb and almost went face first onto the blacktop- luckily Brooklyn held on tight to Abby so no injuries occurred.



Gracie, Brooklyn, and Garrett being taught some fire safety information- I love how serious they are all taking it.

Ali and Gracie enjoyed playing inside the firestation.

The girls were sitting up there when the alarm went off and the firemen were being called out. They got in their gear fast and I quickly grabbed the girls.





Sean's sister Evelyn is visiting from North Carolina and they joined us there. Audrey holding Emma, Ali, Brooklyn, Ryan, Gracie, Aaron, and Lauren

Cooling off with a frosty at Wendy's

Fishing

Brooklyn got a fishing pole last year for her birthday and never used it. So we decided this year she would be using it and Gracie used some of her own money and bought her a pole too. We have already been 2 times and it is a BLAST!! There is a dam here in Wellsville that the city has made really nice so we have gone there with Ric and Paula and their family. Good thing we have had Ric with us- he spends the majority of his time there untangling, putting hooks and bait on, and anything else the gals need him to do. Thanks Anderson's for helping the gals- we have decided this is going to be a weekly outing. The first time we went, Gracie caught 2 fish and got them to the bank and the line broke. It was so fun seeing how excited she was reeling them in. The second time we went, my aunt Paula caught one and got it on shore and as we were getting ready to leave Ric caught one and let Brooklyn reel it in. She was so excited! YAY for summer finally arriving! :)

Kami was a good sport to help Gracie the first time we went so I could take pictures!

Her first fish- Ric is ready to grab it and the line broke

Marlee, Marijka, and Gracie

Ric and Paula

Ella chillin in her carseat

Brooklyn's Dance Revue

Brooklyn has taken dance for the past 3 years and had her 3rd dance revue. The past 2 years she was in the Preschool/Kindergarten group and it was a night revue. This year was 2 nights plus 2 days of rehearsals. It was a proud parent moment for Sean and I (he deserves a medal sitting through both nights) Brooklyn danced her little heart out and did such a great job. We were so proud of her. Sean and I had perma-smiles every time she was out. Thanks for those that came and sat through it and supported her it really meant a lot to her!

After it was over- we were waiting for Brooklyn to come out. We waited and waited and no Brooklyn. When there were just a few people left we went looking for her. We finally found her and she informed us that she was changing back into her favorite costume for pictures. She was also so excited for the flowers she got.

Ella's First Outing and Visitor's

We kept Ella in for a couple of weeks- you would've thought she was our first baby and not our third. Our motto is we would rather be safe and there are just so many nasty germs. Anyway- Ella had her first outing to Nat and Greg's house. (Minus the couple times that I took her to lunch and she stayed covered in her carseat.) I only took a few pictures.

Garrett was so excited to finally be able to hold, love, and pet Baby Ellala as he calls her. He is a wild little guy, but was very gentle with her.

Sher finally got to hold Ella- the first time she came up she was worried she had a cold so she didn't hold Ella.

VISITOR'S

Sean's grandparents came by one day and met Ella for the first time

Aunt Shawna



Grandma and Grandpa Maynard- Sean's dad works in Florida and was home and this is the first time meeting Ella