Carissa Jayne

Remember this post from when Avery was a baby. Go re-read it, make it about 3 times worse, and then you'll know about the kind of sleep-deprivation I'm experiencing with sweet Carissa. I have had three babies. I have also had three TERRIBLE sleepers. Seriously, what are the odds?! Avery was the best sleeper of the three, and she still didn't sleep through the night regularly until she was a year old, ha!

Look at her--you wouldn't think that sweet face could cause a mama so much frustration, would you?

We have tried EVERYTHING to get her to sleep longer stretches at night. Swaddled, unswaddled, on her back, on her tummy, paci, no paci, white noise, complete silence, the swing, the bouncy seat....you get the idea.  Three times, she's slept for 6 hours straight, but that was from 5:30-11:30, so that didn't really help me too much. I went to bed at 11, and then she was up every 2 hours after that. I guess she just needs to see her mama at night, and I'm trying really hard to be okay with that. "This too shall pass" is my mantra these days. It helps that I went through this same thing with Kate (who is now a fabulous sleeper), so I know that there is sleep in my (distant) future! 

Aside from our nighttime issues, Carissa Jayne is a fabulous baby. She's SO happy--she seriously never cries unless she's tired. She always has a smile for anyone who talks to her. She adores her big sisters (and they adore her). She's sitting up on her own now, rolls from tummy to back, and just started solid food (she's still trying to decide if she likes it). Oh, and she just got her first tooth yesterday! She has won all of us over completely and I honestly can't imagine life without her.

Kate and Avery deserve a post all about them too, so that will come next!

Family of Five

After what seemed like an eternity, our sweet Carissa Jayne finally made her appearance on September 27th at 4:43 in the afternoon. After having contractions for 2 solid months, we were sure our sweet girl would come on her own BEFORE her due date, but, proving herself a true Logan, she scoffed at our plans! Since I was so uncomfortable, Dr. Gardner scheduled me for an induction on September 22. So I called mom, she packed her bags and her dogs and headed up here to meet her newest granddaughter. Well, at 2:30 in the morning, I got a call from the hospital telling me that they were full, so I would have to reschedule. Ugh. The earliest they could get me in was Wednesday, the 28th. That was unacceptable to me, so I decided to do everything in my power to get the baby out myself. I tried every natural induction method out there. Went to the doctor on Monday the 26th, and all my efforts had resulted in exactly ZERO change. Baby was still high, and nothin' was happening down below. So discouraging. But, they WERE able to move my induction date up to Tuesday, and this time they couldn't cancel it since I was officially overdue. YAY, we were having a baby!!

Bright and early Tuesday morning, Josh and I kissed our girls good bye and headed to the hospital.

We got there around 7, waited for a room for about 15 minutes, and then got the party started. I'd never been induced before, so I was a bit nervous, but honestly, it was my best delivery of all three. Once the contractions got a little uncomfortable, I got my epidural and life was good. About 4:00, I was complaining about how hungry I was (if you know me well, you know that I get VERY grumpy if I'm not well-fed!), so my fabulous doctor volunteered to bring me a Fuzzy's taco on her way back to the hospital. Then, about 30 minutes later, I told the nurse that my epidural had stopped working, so she decided to check me and see how I was progressing. She had checked me about 30 minutes earlier, and I was 5 cm dilated, so we assumed I'd be maybe 6 cm this time. WRONG--I was 10 cm, and the baby was crowning. The nurse called Dr. G, who had just gotten back from getting my taco...she ran until the room, set the taco down, and 5 minutes later, Carissa was born.

Love at first sight

After the baby got cleaned up, we let the girls and our parents come in and meet her. Kate and Avery were SO excited to finally see their new sister...9 months is a LONG time for a 5 and 3 year old to wait!

We hadn't decided on a name yet, but had narrowed it down to either Charlotte or Callie. After looking at her, we agreed that she didn't look like either of those, so we needed to think of something else. Carissa had been on our original list of girl's names, and we both thought it fit her perfectly!

We're all so in love with her, and I just can't wait to watch her grow and see who she becomes!

Kindergarten!

*I started writing this post last week, but kept crying and gave up. Now I'm sitting here in my blissfully quiet house with my steaming cup of coffee, and I'm gonna give it one more go :)

My first baby girl started kindergarten on Monday. That was a hard sentence to write. Kindergarten? Really? Wasn't she this little just last week?

That sweet little baby has now turned into this amazing little girl:

Look at her, all grown up. Kinda breaks my heart a little bit. But I'm so, so proud of the sweet girl she is. 

So the first day of kindergarten started out with a bit of drama when Josh mistakenly took my only set of car keys to work with him. I didn't realize the keys were missing until we were on our way out the door. Uh..can you say PANIC? (note to self: locate keys at least 30 minutes prior to departure!) SO....I call Josh, freaking out, he races back home (thank goodness we live close to his office), and we make it to school about 10 minutes late. 

When we walked into the classroom, do you know what my daughter did? She put her backpack in her cubby, turned around, gave me a hug, and said "bye mom". That's it. No crying, no "mommy will you stay" nada. Who is this child, and what has she done with my clingy mama's girl? I made it out of the class without falling apart, but lost it the second my tush hit the car seat. Poor Avery didn't know what to make of any of it! 

I found this poem that pretty much sums up everything I was/am feeling about my baby leaving me for kindergarten. Warning: if you have one that just started, this WILL make you cry (unless I'm just a pregnant, hormonal mess--and if that's the case, don't tell me.)

First Day of School poem

She started school this morning,
And she seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside her
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as she took her place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw her as
She first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When she began to talk.

This little girl so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though she must have grown
To girlhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar her first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with her
And keep her by the hand
To lead her through the places
That she couldn’t understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew she would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But she must have her chance to live,
To work her problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little girl
With friends and work and play;
She’s not a baby anymore –
She’s in Kindergarten today.

9 Years!

How is it possible that Josh and I have been married for 9 years already?! Wasn't it just last week that we were making the drive from San Antonio to Lubbock to start our college adventure? Surely we aren't old enough to have been married this long and to have 2 (almost 3) kids together! I guess it's true what they say--time flies when you're having fun! Let's see if I can find some old pics of us crazy kids--

Ah, young love! This was taken at Josh's house when we were freshmen in college.

This is probably one of the first pictures we took together. We were probably 17. I still remember this day vividly, so surely it hasn't been 15 years since we took this picture, right?

What high school romance wouldn't be complete without a prom picture? Check out the awesome backdrop!

All that brings us to this day--the happiest day of my life.

We've come a long way from that fabulous day...and I wouldn't change a thing.

The little years

The Little Years are tough. You know, the years when your kids need you CONSTANTLY? Yeah, it's tough. "Mommy, I'm hungry." , "I need to go potty, mommy.", "Mommy, will you play with me?" "PLEEEEAAAASSSEE, Mommy?"

Some days, it's all I can do to keep from turning on the Disney Channel for them, locking myself in my room, and hiding until Josh gets home from work. But why? They aren't doing anything wrong. They're just being kids. Who God intended them to be. I CHOSE to stay home with them so I could be a part of their every day and not miss a thing, not so I could spend my days counting the hours until bed time. (Come on, you know we've all done that!)

Here's my confession of the day. Sometimes I totally lose it with my kids when they haven't even really done anything terribly bad. It's just the culmination of two kids whining or fighting, + the kitchen timer screaming at me, + that darn dust ball on the living room floor that's been staring at me all day....you get the picture. So I lose it. And then I feel terrible. It's not the kids' fault that it hasn't rained in months, so there's dust everywhere. Or that I waited until the last minute to cook dinner, so I'm scrambling to get it done before everyone has a complete hunger meltdown, or that I'm 8 months pregnant. So they feel terrible about being yelled at by "mean mom", and I feel terrible for yelling at them. No one wins. This had been on my mind a lot, when lo and behold, I stumbled across this book a couple of weeks ago:

Let me tell you, this is a fantastic book for anyone who has little kids at home. It's written by a lady who has 5 kids 5 and under at home (yep, you read that right). And if she can love the little years, then surely I can too! I really think it has changed the way a respond to my kids on a daily basis. I'm trying harder to see things from THEIR point of view. Little girls who just want to be with me and help me--not be in my way and annoy me. Do I still get frustrated on a daily basis? Absolutely. But has this book helped me in the way I handle that frustration? Without a doubt.

God gave me these precious children to raise and teach. It's a HARD job, but one that I wouldn't give up in a million years. The Little Years are tough....together, God and I are tougher!

Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Vacation!

We just got back from a much-needed vacation. 5 days at the beach in an amazing condo owned by Josh's family (which means it was also an almost-free vacation!) We didn't do anything the whole time we were there except go to the pool, go to the beach, and sit on the balcony and watch dolphins. Man, did we ever need that. The girls got some much-needed daddy time, I got a few naps in, and Josh got a break from work. It was good.

Ready to find some sea shells!

My sweet girls

On the way back to Ft. Worth, we stopped in San Antonio for a day and the girls got some grandparent time while Josh and I got a date day. We shopped for baby stuff, saw a movie, and actually had a peaceful mean. Nice. Even though all of that was wonderful, I was SO happy when we finally pulled into our driveway on Saturday night. My bed had been calling my name the whole week long. Now it's back to the real world. Cleaning, cooking, getting ready for KINDERGARTEN!! Where in the world has this summer gone?

Trying again

Okay, so I haven't blogged in almost a year. Life got busy. But, I was looking back through my posts, and realized that I really need to start this up again. I love being able to have a place to write down the things the kids are doing, or what's going on in our lives and look back on it later. SO...that being said, I'm gonna fire this blog up again and see what happens. No promises, no pressure!