Baby Smiles

Well, Chloe went to her one-month check-up yesterday. When she went two weeks ago for a weight check, she was 8 lbs., 11 oz. Yesterday she was a whopping 10 pounds! (That's 21 ounces gained in just 15 days!) And to think the doctors were concerned about her slow weight gain! As you can see, she is the most healthy, beautiful girl. Here she is today, showing off her newest skill:





In other kid news, we pulled out the puppet theater the other day and the kids have had lots of opportunity to work on their storytelling/puppeteering skills. Here's a picture of happy Camille putting on a puppet show:



And Caleb put together his first set of Legos - a fire truck. I wish I had snapped a picture before he took them apart. But here he is from the other day sporting Duke blue.


Here is a picture of all three kids.

Fluttering Butterflies

Chloe has hit a major milestone. Today she figured out if she kicked her legs while sitting in her bouncy seat she can make the butterflies fly.

In other crazy kid news, Camille has entered the world of pure imagination. Lately she has been pretending to be other people. Today on the way home from church she informed me that she is Penny, Chloe is Miss Bianca, Daddy is Bernard and Mommy is the mean, mean lady (all characters from the Rescuers). Another time she told us that she was the princess, Daddy was the handsome princess and Mommy gets to be the wicked witch (she even ran to get me the witch hat). What does that tell me about how Camille thinks of her mother??

Three crazy kids

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids from today:

I went to the back of the house to get something and came back to find this:


And here's all three kids together:


Nice crazy smiles, huh?

We've had a good weekend. Caleb and Camille have played well together much of the time. Today they found his old dragon costume from two Halloweens ago and he was able to cram his body into it. Barely. They played a round of "Princess and Dragon" before changing to "Jane and the Dragon" which is a Saturday morning cartoon we watch sometimes. They played under the sprinkler for a while and we had a fun walk at the walking trail early this morning.

Chloe is the most darling little baby. Today she ate and slept, but mostly she slept. She couldn't be any sweeter if she tried.

A little batch of sweetness

Could a baby get any sweeter than this?

That's all right Mama...

So lest anyone think today was all bad, let me list some high points...

Caleb cleaned his room...twice (with some significant help from Mom and the fear of her bag that takes toys left on the floor).

The kids played nicely with their friend McKenna so I could visit with her mom (there's nothing like a conversation with a real adult!)

Camille took a nap!

We got a package in the mail from my old friend Kate with some fun chalk toys so we spent some time outdoors playing despite the heat.

The kids ate dinner without complaining.

I ate the first harvest from our garden (summer squash and zucchini, sauteed in olive oil with onion, fresh dill from the garden and feta cheese) - Yum!

The kids went to bed pretty nicely - Caleb came out once to give Chloe and I extra hugs and kisses (one way he can fool without getting into trouble...how can you discipline a kid for fooling when he wants to love on you?). Camille came out twenty minutes later and proclaimed, "I've had a good night's sleep!" Yeah, okay. Back to bed.

And once the big kids were asleep, I was able to cuddle and love on little Chloe. I love having a snuggly newborn! Chloe is one month old today and while I meant to take pictures of all the critters today, I just didn't get there. I did manage to snap a couple of Chloe after she fell asleep, but since she likes to be held when she sleeps (I've ruined another baby!) it's hard to get a good one. Perhaps tomorrow will be the day I can get a good photo. Maybe then I can get those baby announcements ordered!

Sweet sleeper


Stop the paparazzi!

The Big Sneaky

So this morning I woke up wondering why it was so quiet in my house. Were the kids sleeping? (Was I dreaming?) As I walked down the hallway noticing that Caleb and Camille's beds were empty, I realized that I had left a bag of cupcakes on the top shelf of the refrigerator. Surely my children weren't hiding somewhere eating them...

Then I saw it: The refrigerator door was wide open and the bathroom step stool was right in the way. And, you guessed it, the cupcakes were gone.

I called for the kids and traced their munching and giggles to Caleb's room. There they were, the two sneaks. Not only had they taken the cupcakes (did I mention they were chocolate?), but they had taken the container of frosting (of course) and three containers of yogurt (chocolate...bought for mom to be eaten by mom). They were hiding between the bed and the wall munching - and making a pretty sizable mess (did I mention the cupcakes were chocolate?).

When the kids heard me coming, they promptly hid the goods (of course) under the bed so they wouldn't get in trouble. Sadly for them, their mom is slightly wiser than they thought. She just happened to be the #1 food sneaker in the Stern household growing up, only she was smart enough not to eat it in the bedroom.

So that was their breakfast - a cupcake (did I mention it was chocolate?) and a yogurt apiece. They had to help clean up the mess (I sure hope we got all the crumbs because the last thing we need is a batch of ants coming to clean up the rest) and then clean Caleb's room top to bottom since their friend McKenna was coming over to play this morning.

I thought it was over. I thought my lecture about why we don't sneak food and why we don't eat in our rooms got through to Caleb. After all, he's almost five, right?

Wrong!

After lunch I put Camille down for her rest time and then went to go put Caleb down. He called out to me, "You don't need to put me to bed." I should have questioned it. Instead I counted myself fortunate to start my rest time so early (like I really get a rest time, ha!)...then Caleb's door opened and out he stepped. "Mom, can I have a napkin?" Why did he need a napkin?

To clean up the remainder of his ice pop, of course. Thanks to Nana and Papa, we have a freezer full of those cheap ice pops in the plastic tubes. Caleb had helped himself to one and proceeded to eat it in his bed. Now his sheets are covered with red juice and I've already washed them once this week. Is it too early to teach Caleb to do his own laundry?

I should go check and make sure Camille doesn't have anything hidden in her room!

A Sweet Baby, a Kid and a Dog

Here are some pictures of Chloe from today:

In the corner of Daddy's chair:


Swinging:


And here is what I caught Caleb and Camille playing on Saturday - doggie. I replaced the ribbon he had looped around her neck as a leash with one of those kid harness/leash things I just happened to have. I was surprised she was willing to play this, but I guess if I was willing to play Toto for my sister so she could be Dorothy, I shouldn't be too surprised at this!



(Yes, Caleb is wearing a skirt. It's the Cinderella skirt from Camille's dress up set. I sent the kids in to pick up dress up clothes and this is how he looked when they came out. I shouldn't complain - he spent the rest of the day in his pajama shirt and underpants (I suppose he thought real pants were optional that day and I just didn't have the energy to argue!). Camille was in her nightgown all day too. Good thing we didn't have unexpected company!

Caleb and Camille love to hold Baby Chloe.



Chloe enjoyed some more tummy time today. She's so strong - look how well she can lift her head!


Chloe had a doctor appointment yesterday. She has finally gained her birth weight back (8 lbs, 11 oz) and is healthy and beautiful. Her cord has finally fallen off and she now has a cute little belly button!

The adventures of Super Dad

So we went for a family walk today and Rob decided to carry Chloe in the wrap. Here is is looking very excited about it. Chloe loves to be carried - she slept the whole time we were out and about and continued to sleep even after we got home!

The thinker

Here's Chloe looking pensive...


All that thinking must have made her head hurt - have you ever seen a cross-eyed baby look so cute??

Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap

Okay, so it's not the Night Before Christmas and there is no Mama, but here is what I found when I checked on Caleb tonight...



(It's an old Christmas hat that came with a baby outfit when he was little. For some reason it keeps appearing, even when I keep trying to make it disappear!)

The big cool down

What do you do to cool off when it's hot outside? Pull out the slip and slide of course! Here are some action shots of yesterday's fun.

Kids in suits ready to play:


Caleb slam dunks (almost):


Camille's turn:


A good way to quench your thirst:


Washing hair???


Here's Chloe enjoying some time outside in the stroller:

Surviving (but sometimes just barely!)

Monday was my first day alone with all three kids. I made it through. Barely. It all started well (although much earlier than I would have liked). We ate breakfast, got everyone dressed, made two of three beds and I even got a shower - all before 9:00. We were doing great. I let Caleb and Camille get out some art supplies and draw pictures and write letters for a while and I think we even read some stories. By then it was 9:30. We went outside for a while (although that was interrupted by four trips to the potty for Camille - mostly false alarms). We had lunch and rest time. I fed the baby about a half dozen times, but fortunately she took some sizable naps in between.

After lunch is when things got a little hairy. We watched a movie and by then the kids were ready for someone to play with them. Fortunately we had one of the young women from church come over after school and play with the kids. What a HUGE help that was! I was able to rest for a little while, snatch a few minutes of peace of quiet, and even make a trip to the bathroom by myself (a huge achievement!).

Rob has been home the last three days, but is back to work tomorrow. Amanda and all three kids - take two!

Here's what we've been up to this week:

Playing in the rain:


Playing dress up:


Having tummy time:


Sleeping:


Chloe is getting bigger! We don't take her back to the doctor until Monday, but I can tell she's chunking up. The other day I put her in her coming home outfit from the hospital and it just about fit her. It was huge just a few weeks ago! And she's finally outgrowing newborn size diapers. I never thought I'd have a kid that had to be in them for nearly three weeks! She is still a delightful baby and Caleb and Camille just adore her. They are remarkably good with her, although they sometimes need to be reminded to be gentle (and to get out of the baby swing and leave the baby toys alone...)

Baby Love

Here we are, all getting love from Baby Chloe...





Chloe likes to be held and cuddled, and who can blame her? With Nana here for two weeks, it seemed like someone was always holding her!

Here you can see she's not happy to be on her own!