Ashlee's Transition to BIG SISTER

Ashlee has been the baby of the family for THREE long years.  She has enjoyed having cuddle time with mom and dad, being the youngest and getting some things because of that.  When Brynlee was born Ashlee was beyond excited to become a big sister.  It's all she could talk about for a while, that she was a BIG sister, not the little sister any more.  Her transition was pretty smooth, although we did have a week where she had three accidents, but once we caught on to that we gave her a little more special time and she hasn't had one since.  Here are just a few pictures from the first week of Ashlee being a big sister:

 

We had a few errands to run one day while the kids were in school.  We took Ashlee along with us.  She was a good girl, but towards the end of the trip she was very tired and bored.  I looked back at one point and Ashlee was playing with her fingers like they were people in the sun.  It was the cutest thing ever!

 

One day for nap time I was able to go up to put her down.  I told her to get a book to read and she insisted that she would read it to me.  She did a good job and didn't take too long, which really surprised me!

 



 

Ashlee was so cute when she would hold Brynlee.  She would beg to hold her and then after like 10 seconds she was done.  And you better be there to get Brynlee because she would practically throw her at you so she didn't have to hold her any more.  As I looked through my pictures the next day and saw this one it struck me as so sad.  My "baby" was holding our new baby, her life was changed forever and this picture was proof of it.  It also made me smile because that smile on Ashlee's face shows how excited she is to be in her new role and have Brynlee in our family.

 

 

And this picture is just a silly picture of Ashlee one night as she slept. She sleeps like this quite often when she finally falls asleep at night.  It takes her forever, For....Ever! 

 

 

Ashlee has adjusted quite well to her Big Sister role.  She loves her little sister dearly and loves being in her face and touching her all the time.  

Brynlee's First Bath

Around two weeks of age Brynlee's cord finally fell off so we were able to give her a real bath.  All of the kids wanted to "help" so that made for a real fun time for Mom and Dad.  I could hardly reach Brynlee because I had to reach around the girls that were standing on the stool, but we got it done.  Brynlee didn't completely hate it, but she wasn't the biggest fan either.

 

 

After she got out the kids continued on their mission to help and surrounded Brynlee while she got dried and dressed by daddy.  It was so cute how much the kids wanted to help. 

 

Daddy put lotion in Brynlee's hair and it was so adorable.  It just kind of stuck up a bit, but you could see that she actually had some hair. 

 

 

She was nice and calm after her bath and ready to sleep again....

 

Brynlee's First Days Home

Brynlee was quite a popular baby when she got home, of course.  Her big sister Katelee was enamored with her from before she was born. 

 

 

Maddy and Uncle Matt came over one day to meet her and Brynlee stayed awake for a while to meet them...

 

Ethan had baseball practice that day so when he got home and wanted to hold the baby I made him wear a cover because of his dirty shirt.  Don't blame him, he was just doing what his mother asked him to do.

 

We were so lucky to have GG down right after Brynlee was born.

 

Don't want to forget Ashlee and Aunt Anna!!!

Spring Break 2014

So last year for Spring Break we took the kids to the LVH for two nights.  We all had a blast and the kids kept talking about it this year.  I was very pregnant and there was a little concern that I might have our Brynlee before or during spring break.  We talked about it and decided that we should still take the kids and if we had a baby she and I could stay inside the room or Chris could take the kids and have fun.  Brynlee did not come early and so we were all able to go and enjoy ourselves...  Well for the most part.

 

We got there early afternoon, checked in and went to our room.  I had gone online and reserved just a basic room and then asked my dad if he could just get us into a larger regular room. Well he worked his magic and got us into a very nice suite, the one he got us for Chris's graduation.  The kids were beyond excited and ran straight to the Jacuzzi tub.  My parents were going to come over so we let them get in while we waited for them to join us.  

 

 

 

Every year my parents stay in a nice suite at the hotel for their anniversary and invite us over for night for dinner and playing, so invited everyone over as well.  Since it was a week night only Mom and Dad were able to come over.  We went to go to the café at the hotel, however it closed at like 3pm, so we went looking for somewhere else to eat.  We ended up by Benihans and decided that we might as well really enjoy ourselves.  Plus the week before I was notified that I was getting a raise, so we decided we would splurge.  The kids LOVED it and with my dad we were able to get a good employee discount....

 

 

The next day Chris went to the library to study for his upcoming exam.  We didn't want Chris to take any study time off, so the kids and I hung out for a while.  We decided to go down to the pool and swim, then we had lunch and relaxed in the hotel some more.  When Chris got back from studying we went back down to the pool again.  The kids were loving the pool and us parents weren't minding it too much either!

 

The water was heated a bit, but it was still pretty cold.  When we got out the kids were pretty cold because they were all wet, but this big mother was quite hot and just enjoying the weather.  It was quite relaxing and very much enjoyable!  (Looking at this picture it reminds me how big I was...)

 

 

 

Brynlee played nice and let us all enjoy our time.  We got to cuddle at night, stay up late and eat junk all day long.  The kids got to have some fun on their spring break and so did the parents.  We all knew that the next week our lives were going to change with the addition of Brynlee. 

 

 

The kids were loving the cuddle time and I was loving the comfy bed and sleeping in late.  I always love hanging out with my little family.  They are so much fun and times like this remind me how grateful I am to have them with me forever!!!