your perfect family.

so we found out yesterday that baby 4 is a GIRL!!! :)

pics posted: http://www.thisyearslovewilllast.com/2011/08/its.html

since then, the comments on wanting a girl have been super interesting. its fascinating to see how people's own views of a "perfect" family are projected on others.

the minute i found out i was pregnant, i wanted another girl. i told my mom a couple of weeks ago that if they said boy, id have that few mins of "oh. hmm." and would need a pick me up. that boys are loud and rough. and that when i go to the chickfila play area, i pray that i'd have a boy different than all other boys. she reminded me about babygap boys clothes and i felt a bit better lol but not totally convinced.

i looked at aidan and sawyer and saw how they are together. remembering that aidan goes to kindy in 2012 and sawyer the year after, how i would love a sister still at the house for reese. swoon. and aidan, ohhhh aidan. yesterday on the way to the u/s we said "well it could be a brother!!!!" all excited that the option was there for her!! and she actually cried ::dies:: "but i want another sister...." well good. God knew :)

i smiled when moms of boys said "you neeeeeed a boy. nothing is like a momma's boy!!" but inside, i knew our house. i know are dynamics. i know we love putting on princess dresses and painting nails (which, of course, a boy could do if he wanted, but from what friends say -- most arent in the mood for that lol) i have 2 friends who are pregnant with their 4th girl and people have actually said *condolences* to them. like "oh man im sorry....". wtf. its insane what comes out of people's mouths sometimes.

when we heard girl yesterday, EJ had that minute of "oh. hmm." by the time we got in the car, we were making jokes and chatting about it and by yesterday afternoon, he was just as excited as me. its okay to be slightly disappointed. i know he thought just maybe, itd be a boy :) but God knows what our family is supposed to be.

ive always said, if i had 3 boys, i would craaaave a girl for the 4th. hell - if i had ONE boy only, id think id want a girl. but now i wonder if thats true. i have friends with boys and they have no interest for a girl, really. i think thats insane - how could you not want a GIRL!? but thats how they look at us and boys :) that reminds me how different everyone is.

we have 4 kids bc we want them. if we were TRYING for a gender, i would have done things to actually try for one or the other lol - like chart, or temp, and have sex on O day only instead of all of the days leading up. there are "methods" for boy and girl making and you'd think if a boy was on our mind we would have, oh, thought about trying those things for fun? lol

4 kids isnt the measure of how many it took to try to get a certain gender. a perfect family is not always a mix. a complete family is different for everyone. this is my family - what i had prayed for. what i had hoped for. there's no reason to believe otherwise. i said up above that EJ had that pang of disappointment ::shrug:: why wouldnt i say the same thing about myself if it were true? haha

so get ready, my friends, for this girl house. ive been reminded that ill need a few more closets and bathrooms, and a lot more patience as they get older ;) we'll see. either way. im excited for whats to come.

sisters.

i am truly blessed to have 3 girls. i, myself, only have 2 brothers. i never had that "sister relationship" that some girls talk about.

i know that it consists, later, of fighting over clothes, slamming doors, possible hair pulling, etc but for now....

the girls were taking a nap. sawyer starts crying so I grab some diapers to go grab them all and play in the gameroom. a few seconds after sawyer wakes up in tears, aidan yells from her room "its okay sawyer!!"

by then im up the stairs and grab aidan and head to sawyer's room. sawyer gets out of bed and tells aidan: "i need you. i need my sister"

swoon.

i about melt. aidan gives her a hug and sawyer continues: "i missed you aidan. i need a kiss." aidan kisses her and we grab reese and run off to the gameroom.

they may make each other nuts sometimes, but man.... hearing them talk to each other that way makes my heart pitter patter every time.

sawyer's hair.

a year ago, this was sawyer.




sweet, sweet baby. but... not a lot of hair. in august when we found out about her allergies/sensitivities to the MAIN liquid we were giving her (soy) and other things (you can read about it HERE), she started to get those vitamins in her system and grow those curly locks!!

this was the day we let her eat cheese without worrying that she'd smell like a barnyard


but now?! holy hair ::swoon::

a little bedhead :)


brushing it out (cell pic)


sweaty and wet.


windblown.


perfectly curly with a clip.


and today.... drumroll.....

PIGTAILS!!!




she has also gained at LEAST 5-6lbs since last late summer :) YAY!!



eta: i should probably note that 1. that stripey hoodie is her fave shirt. and 2. that tan/greenish dress is her fave dress. so dont fear if you seem them often LOL

(dont forget to vote for us with the top pink button on the right hand side!!)

a little mom.

tonight aidan wanted to help me do the dishes. after i filled up the dishwasher, i still had a few things leftover so she said she'd do them (giggle. its like her favorite thing to do).

but the funny part is the things she says from that chair.

"you guys doing alright in there?" or "everybody okay?" to us in the living room

"daddy! did you hear sawyer peed on the potty at school today?!"

etc.



its her sweet nature.

she's the first one to day "are you alright? are you hurt?" or to ask if you need a bandaid.

she's the sister who, if sawyer is crying, will say "do you want me to make you cozy?" and then hold her in a blanket and sing our "i love you" song.

she puts her baby dolls down for naps. she hears when they cry (lol).

she'll just come over and kiss you for no reason and say that she loves you.

today in the car, sawyer spilled something all over her and so i took the cup away until we could get to "non-movement" again. sawyer cried.

aidan: be nice to my sister, mom.
me: i know - sorry aidan, but she cant have the cup back until we arent moving. that way she wont spill.
aidan: be nice to my sister.
me: haha okay. thanks for being so sweet. i love you.
aidan: well. i love my sister. say sorry to sawyer.
***aidan proceeds to sing i love you song to sawyer***

::sigh::

it wasnt even in a bossy tone lol she just wanted to show me what it will be like if someone messes with the skelte sisters. it won't be pretty.

day 9.

Day 9-A picture of your friends

or rather, picturessssss.

we'll just do those who we see most often. ;) and who my kids are besties with as well.

first, we have david. or, "day-did" :) ive known him since, oh, 2004. and we are 2 peas in a pod. he loves my girls, and they adore him back. now in dallas (after spending a few wretched years after waco in the sink-hole known as houston) life is inevitably better. lol





we also have ashley. or, "lashley" :) who ive known since.. wow, 1998? is that right? a long time LOL either way, she's been around for all my kids. and they know her so well that im pretty sure they think she's their bestie.







then there's nathan. or "nason". which is ashley boyfriend turned our friend then kid friend as well :) he's full of fun all the time ;) ive "known" him since HS, but not really until last spring.



we have other friends, obviously LOL i am still searching for that wine pic of amanda w. and sawyer. it'll show up soon haha then that'll be on here too.

we're so lucky, though. i cant imagine not having these people in my life. they get us. they understand that we cant go out all the time, but hey - just come over. they help with the kids if we need them too, they come over a bit early just to make sure they see ASR before bedtime.

we are are blessed.

day 6.

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy



ok. so its multiple pictures. but let me explain. nothing makes me swoon more than how my children are with each other. simply best friends. playing in the rain, making reese laugh, sitting on the couch cuddling in a blanket. i could not imagine life any other way. its the best.

day 4.

Day 4-Your parents

this one is so easy.

my parents are the best. end of story.

my dad - calm, quiet, funny, the sensitive one of the pair. haha owns his own graphic design advertising company and has had an office in our home for as long as i can remember. loves fishing, building things, watching boring tv that no one else would like except for EJ, and red wine.



my mom - funny, outgoing, sassy, and my best friend. hobbies consist of trying new recipes, going with me to target, and hanging out at the cabin with my dad. sharing a bottle of wine with me might also be on the list.



they love LOVE my children. will watch them when we need/want them to and they have a hundred stories about what fun things they did after the night is over. they got A and S all ready to come see reese -- and the look on their faces in this pic when they came in for the first time just exudes the love they have.



its hard bc i could go on and on. but i will simply say that my 2 biggest supporters/helpers/friends will always be my parents. so here, i'll write a little note to them.

dear mom and dad,
i just wanted to say thank you for everything you do.

thanks for being there when we need you, helping out when we need a boost, and being there just to listen to me (or EJ - you know how he is) vent.

thanks for loving ASR the way you do. they love their nonny and papa so much and constantly want to go over and stay the night, meet for lunch, or just have an hr of playtime. cmon - you love playing tea party, right? :)

thanks for adoring EJ. for treating him like a son. for chatting with him about stuff i dont want to talk about anymore ;) and listening to him vent about work things that i dont understand as a stay at home mom. and for letting him know that he is a part of this family too.

thanks for paying for college. and the dropped classes... and parking tickets... and bear bucks. one day when i win the lottery, i will pay you back.

because of you, i live knowing that things will be okay no matter what. i love you :)

day 3.

Day 3-Your first love


i had to think about this one. thats why i didnt post yesterday.

OBVIOUSLY E.J. is my main squeeze. my one true love. the only person that ive been able to say "wow. i want to go to bed next to you every night. and see your mug in the morning as well". the guy who i wanted to have 3 (or more? lol) kids with. the one who makes me heart pitter patter (is that corny enough for you?).

but thats not a first love. a first love means mistakes. it means grand illusions of something that you *think* you know, but, well, you don't.

so that takes us to 2001. end of my senior year. we dated until fall 2003. he didnt even live in the same town as me. for 2 years, i traveled down to austin texas to hang out with him, meet his friends, live the life as a frat guy's girlfriend, and be... well, young. we had corny nicknames, we said that we loved each other, we learned a lot. well. i did. i cheated on him with the guy i'd consider my 2nd "love". and that was that. i hurt him. but in the end, it needed to happen. we needed to break up.

we didnt talk about the future. we didnt talk about anything really except the *now*. but thats how you know its not true love, right? when nothing is more important except whats going on in that very moment.

2+ years of fun and laughs. its true.
2+ years with someone who i could talk to for hours and considered my best friend.
2+ years of learning how to be in a relationship of some sort.
2+ years of thinking about someone else when they aren't around.

those are the type of relationships that teach you how to treat other people and how to express emotions. how to try not to hurt someone else (i failed) and how to, eventually, know what real love is and whats not.

i think everyone has someone like this. you dont regret anything that happened. you dont wish anything went differently.

because you are who you are. and with who youre with now. bc of first... second... third... however many, "loves". until finally - FINALLY - you say "oh pffftttt now THIS. *this* is love."

then you make babies and stuff.

ahhh... the great outdoors.

right?

ok. so sometimes the outdoors are not so GREAT.

picture this: 4 days, 3 nights of alone time with your hubby. you decide to go camping bc you knwo your husband would love the idea. he does. win! then you research. oooh arkansas! that sounds fun! you can go the the diamond mines, make a million off some diamond you find and come home totally relaxed. SWEET.

sounds glorious, right?

oh. well. maybe you forgot about THE SPIDERS. and THE HEAT. and THE HUMIDITY. and THE SUNBURN you might get after being outside for so long.

sigh.

so we drop off aidan and sawyer for their First Day of School this year. then we drop reese off at my parents, go home and pack the car up, and hit the road. EJ and i are good road trippers. we have fun together so car rides are a breeze. except for the fact that i have to pee about every 45 mins. but EJ already knows. i say "hey.. so.." and he says "i'll pull over at the next gas station". good hubby.



we get to the campsite and start setting up. we see a few weird spiders. red body, legs that are about 3" EACH, but just kinda hope they leave us alone.



we decide to stay in for the night, everything is cool until - um, it gets dark. OMG THE BUGS. EJ is a manly man, but he effin hates spiders. we had a fire, but even around the fire, they all came out. i had to hide in the tent, but the tent was so hot that i wanted to die - the VERY breezy day turned stale and no wind by night.

we dealt with it. we slept like crap, but waking up right next to the lake was worth it.



we went into the town of the http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/ and then ate some and then had a BLAST mining. we didnt come back with anything but some quartz, tiny diamonds, and crystals, but it was so much fun. minus the wretched sunburn i got.



we ate some mexican in town and then headed back. we tried to rest, but the spiders would not do the same. they just kept annoying us. we got into the tent to hang out, but it was so hot. neither of us could sleep. it sucked. we wanted to stay out there so bad, head in to hot springs the next day.

but we couldnt.

we packed up at 1130pm or so and headed home. sigh. we are going to re-try a camping trip in november or so. somewhere new.

i did, however, have so much fun with EJ. <3 i just love him to bits. we have fun wherever we go.

happy anniversary.

to EJ. :)


so. three years later. phew. its been a busy 3 years i suppose. but every min has been fabulous.

sometimes i think we have a "leg up" on people who have been married a long time and then have kids - all we've ever known (besides the first 8 months or so of dating/drunken/college/craziness times) is kids. maybe thats why 3 doesn't seem so "OMG YOU HAVE THREE KIDS UNDER 4!!" like some people make it out to be - yeah, we do. and its just fabulous.

timeline for those wondering:

met july 05
dating sept 05
living together sept 05
pregnant march 06
found out may 06
had aidan dec 06
engaged feb 07
married aug 07
pregnant with sawyer nov 07
had sawyer july 08
pregnant with m/c baby may 09
m/c july 09
pregnant with reese aug 09
had reese may 10

:)

everything has worked out so beautifully that i thank my lucky stars every day. granted, we have some amazing family members that help us out - and let us keep a semblance of "normal" as best as possible for a 27 and 28 year old couple. we have date nights, vacations sans kids, i can run errands alone if i need to, etc.

but let me say - EJ is my soulmate. yeah, how effin corny, right? but truly - he is my perfect counterpart. if you are a FB friend, you know how well he treats me - i should belong on lamebook.com sometimes for all the nerdy "omg guess what EJ did" statuses i have. but i just adore him. he is handy. he is thoughtful. he is a dork. he is funny. he is just da bomb.

and i mean, lets be honest, he has been 1/2 of the most gorgeous children ever ;) thank heavens he gave them all the hair that he did lol

so i guess i just want to say "thanks, babe". thanks for being the best hubby i could imagine. i love you and i love our family and i couldnt ask for anything more.


p.s. thank you for my Bamboo: FUN for our anniversary. ::drool:: editing pictures is just the bee's knees now!

missing daddy.

(when i went up to get aidan after nap)

me: guess what we're doing this evening?

aidan: (excited) gonna go pick up daddy at the airport?!

me: yep! are you gonna hug him?

aidan: yes. i loves him.

me: me too. he is my best friend.

aidan: you want to kissss him?

me: mmhmmm.

aidan: you want to hug him?

me: oh yes.

aidan: me too. we all want to kiss him.

being a mom aka acting like a fool.

sing out loud in the car even, or especially, if it embarrasses your children. ~marilyn penland

to bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while. ~josh billings

i dont know where this post is going, but i just really like these quotes. maybe i just want to giggle at the comments i (hopefully) get, telling me how silly you are with your kids and also swoon when you tell me what you think makes a good mom :)

i have a pretty stellar mom. we are best friends :) we laugh, we argue, we think we are the funniest people on earth, and im sure, at times, we think we are the opposite. lol

i'm lucky. i strive to have the same relationship with my girls as we get older.

besides the main things like, oh, love, security, and the rest of the obviously important things moms give their kids - i also give a few things that they don't necessarily wish for:

1. my glorious singing voice. oh yes. from day one, i have sang to my kids. actually, in utero, poor aidan had to endure me shaking my ass to "sexy back" while 9 months pregnant. and singing at the top of my lungs in the car.
2. my dance moves. mmhmmm i am certain if you saw me you'd say something along the lines of "wow! you should be on SYTYCD!!" or, maybe not. you might ask me if i was having a seizure. but either way - my kids laugh out loud. we turn on music all the time at home and just dance. its fun, a good workout (lol), and wears them out for bedtime as well. WIN!
3. my choice in clothes all day. lol this one is actually okay by all of us since, if we're not going out, then PJs it is. and plus, as we all know, aidan sometimes dresses like this after nap (so who is she to judge):


4. tickles. oh man. why is it that when you were a kid, you HATED being tickled, but still, as an adult - you do it to your own kids. they laugh so dang hard and its so funny to watch them. im sure they'll hate it as they get older - and im sure i wont care. :)
5. watching EJ and i hug and kiss. its so funny. they love if we hug each other or give each other a kiss. they want to join in on the group hug and kisses/germs get passed around. lol but im glad that they see this. i think its important for kids to *see* love :) they may think its gross in a few years for EJ to even kiss me on the cheek. but too bad!

anyway, i may add to this post later when i think of more things, but i think its those silly moments that make a mom.

simply having children does not make mothers. ~john a. shedd

having children hardly makes a mom a mom :) im lucky to have such a great example and hopefully my kids say the same things about me.

father's day comparison.

in one year we have gone from this:




to this:




dear EJ,

thank you. thank you for being the best dad to these girls that i could possibly imagine. thank you for helping me every day when i need it. for coming home as soon as you possibly can from work to see them. for doing bath time every night so i can take a breather and you can spend some fun time with the girls and then sharing all the bedtime routine duties. thank you for cleaning up puke and poop when i start to gag. and for having no qualms with stepping up when im just in an "over it" mood. thank you for providing for our family so i can be a stay at home mom every day. my dream job for as long as i can remember. thank you for loving all of us girls the way that you do. you are the best.

3 kids. 3.5 years.

i decided im starting an actual blahg, blog. like, one with words instead of pictures. part of the reason is bc when im on mom message boards, i get sick and tired of typing out the same thing over and over again. so, its like a quick reference guide for that.

the other reason is because now, starting with the birth of #3, i sort of want to chronicle the differences in how i parented all 3. lol i mean, what i didnt do, what i did/didnt need, as well as the funny things that happen along the way.

this blog may end up a huge fail. i may stop in a few days, but i doubt it - or rather, i hope not. i feel like im missing a huge part by not writing down the funny things they say, the every day banter, and i'd also like to remember "what did i do in that situation?". so here's where i'll put it.

i should start off by introducing myself and my family. most people reading this will know me as amanda or, possibly, punkfiction. lol i'm a (just turned) 27 year old mom of 3.


my husband, EJ, and i have been married for 3 years this coming august - so yes, life has been busy. and i have loved [almost] every min of it ;)

(excuse his horrible "didnt do it bc we were up at 5am to go to the hospital" hair)


he is my best friend and we complement each other in the most amazing ways. i am more than just lucky to have such an amazing husband and fabulous relationship.

our oldest daughter, aidan, is 3.5.



she is my heart. she wears her emotions on her sleeve and is sensitive and caring. she holds your hand when you look sad. she rubs your head if youre sick. i remember she happened to be at the u/s that confirmed our m/c last summer - not even knowing what was going on, she came up to the table i was laying on, held my hand, and said "its okay momma". love.

she is obstinate and vocal. she remembers EVERYTHING. she says the funniest things in the world. she plays on her laptop and tells me "i checking my facebook momma" and asks me every morning "what we doing today?" (if i cant think of anything, like a girl after my own heart, she recommends starbucks and target). she is my oldest. she will always have that special "buddy" place in my heart - to be shared by others, but never replaced.

our middle daughter, sawyer, is almost 23 months old.



she is my soul. she is our comedian and i never would have thought it. starting off as the baby who would look at you like "wtf" when you waved at her, her nickname of "the judger" is still intact as well. she has no problem letting you know with her many disapproving faces that she is unimpressed with something. but not food, she, at 25% weight or so (but tall) has a never-ending black hole for a stomach. its actually fascinating to see. she has a word for everything and is the biggest copy-cat of all time. and with most toddlers, you say it once, she remembers and has found a new word/phrase.

she is my toughie. never needing a bandaid (unlike aidan who wears them bc she feeeeels hurt lol) and rarely needing a comforting hug after a nasty fall. she will jump/fall from anything. no fear. just like her daddy. but, sawyer does not lack emotion or heart. instead of "up" she says "hug you..." when she wants you to pick her up. she will sit in your lap with her "bankie! and paci!!" for a long time. she will holler after everyone else goes to bed just to come down and spend 15-20 mins with EJ and i alone - and we are more than happy to oblige. she's a cuddler who will take a break to get up and steal aidan's toy. she purposely does things to annoy her older sister and you cant do anything but giggle at her genius schemes. middle child syndrome she lacks. personality she does not.

our youngest daughter, reese, is 1 month old tomorrow.



soon i will write a longer entry about her - as we get to know her better, but i'll tell you want i *do* know. i know she is gorgeous and perfect in every way. i know she loves to cuddle. and i know she thinks our bed is the bee's knees. lol :) i know she likes to sleep (haha for now?) and i know she'd rather be left alone to do so as she eyes you and gets slightly annoyed to be held while the other 2 want to point out her nose or give her sweet, sweet kisses. i also know that i love her. your heart grows with the more children you have - thats for sure.

a parent's love is whole no matter how many times divided. ~robert brault

as i get to know her more, i have a few educated guess about what i may see: that she will have quite a personality, that she and her sisters will be friends and enemies all in the same breath, but that they will love each other beyond what i can even comprehend. i dont know if reese will be like the other 2 or exactly opposite, but i cannot wait to find out.



so there you go. we have all been introduced. now im off to figure out what topics i will write about first. all while i make sure i use this blog for a diary (of words, not pics. i already have that HERE.) for things my children do - the good, the bad, and how i handle it all as a stay at home mom of 3 under 4.

let me know if there's anything specific you think would be good to add.