Okay, quick update:

Sophie is almost 3 months old! Can you believe it? She's such a blessing. I can't even remember life before her (that's a lie, I can remember it and there was A LOT more sleep involved...I just like to sound poetic). At her 2 month check-up (which occurred when she was 2 months and 3 weeks old, whoops!) she was 12 lbs. 14 oz. and 23 1/4 inches long, so she's a big girl! She's starting to outgrow most of her 0-3 month clothes which is great for me because that means new clothes to put her in!

She is starting to sleep a little better. She goes to sleep earlier and sleeps for at least 5 or 6 hours straight (sometimes longer) before she gets hungry; she goes right back to sleep. Of course this is a major improvement and has done a lot to make me feel more like a regular human being!

Miles is getting crazier by the second. I know you probably think I'm exaggerating every time you read my blog, but it's the gospel truth. That kid is going to put me in an early grave. He basically spends everyday thinking up various ways to break bones (his or Cameron's), spread dirt, eat non-food items and/or create enormous messes. In the above pictures you can see that he found a 5 pound bag of rice that absolutely HAD to be dumped...I just don't get that kid. He doesn't even PLAY in his messes! HE just dumps and walks away, satisfied with a job well done.

His latest trick is that he can climb out of his crib. That was my LAST bastion of safety!!!! But no longer. Last night I had to stand outside of his room and put him back in bed every time he came out. I think it was close to 15 times (and 10 pm) before he finally gave up. He's a persistent fellow. Sigh. I guess it's time to move him to a big boy bed. At least it will be easier on my back when I have to put him back in it 20 times a night.

The other thing about Miles is that he is IN LOVE with Sophia! This means her life is in jeopardy whenever he is conscious. It goes without saying that she spends most of her life in my arms or strapped to my body.

Cameron is finishing up preschool. He's been really enjoying it. Miss Jill is a great teacher! I don't know how much he learned, since he was already quite proficient with numbers, letters, colors, etc. but it has been a great way for him to have more social time with kids he doesn't know! I think we're going to sign him up for gymnastics soon, too! Just one more way to be like Gaby...

As for Chase, well, it's busy season. Last week was a BAD one. I went to bed one night at 11 pm and he wasn't home yet - this is not entirely unusual so I didn't think about it. Well, when I woke up at 2:30 am and he still wasn't home I had to call him and force him to come home. He was originally planning on just staying until dawn, running home for a shower and then running back. He ended up just coming home for three hours. YUCK.

In the midst of this Chase still has one section of the CPA to pass before April (then his other tests will start to expire and he'll have to retake them even though he has passed them). So for the month of March Chase will have a Becker course every Saturday all day to study for the REG section. We're really looking forward to the middle of April (or end of April?) when we'll have daddy back. He is SORELY missed.

Me? My days are a blur. From 7am to 9pm I run, run, run! I've learned it takes a lot to make a family of five run smoothly. I just make sure to take time for scripture study, an occasional Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich (seriously, people, if you haven't tried these you need to - they've changed my life), and American Idol. As long as I have those things my life is complete.

At this point I know you're all just checking back to find out what our newest illness is. So I'll tell you; mastitis. No, not joking. I have it. Again. Sophie finished her thrush medication on Saturday and I developed mastitis on Sunday. The two are not connected in anyway, it's just our luck. I'm pretty sure that the bubonic plague is next but you'll have to check back in ten days to find out.

On to the positives: We had Sophia's baby blessing on Sunday and she was a perfect little angel! We had family and friends with us which made the event even more lovely. We have been SO blessed to be in a ward full of people we love! We have so many friends there. I'm glad we decided to go ahead and bless her at church (with the RSV we had briefly considered blessing her at home)! And I'm especially glad my parents were able to make it back for a second trip.

Anyway, the blessing day was gorgeous, Sophie was gorgeous (of course) and we had a great party afterward with our family! Pictures will be forthcoming on that because (gasp) I forgot to take a picture of her on that actual day so I need to put her back in her dress (yay!) and have a little photo shoot.

Other than that we haven't been up to much. Mom and Dad arrived last Friday and we've kept busy with projects around the house and visiting. Mom and Dad love to come and observe how insane the kids are and then they breathe a big sigh of relief when they get to leave the insanity behind. Though now they're headed to Oklahoma City where Zach and Ty will continue where Cameron and Miles left off! Have fun you guys
So I hope you all enjoy the pics. A lot are ones Pittsburgh Sara took while she was visiting. She always laughed because Miles is a blur in all of so many of the pics she tried to take. It's a true representation of how life with him really is...

Long time, no blog! Sorry people. Apparently life with three children is busy.

So here's a quick update:

After Sophie got out of the hospital my dad was admitted the next day. He and my mom were here visiting at the time so it was quite unexpected. Turns out he had a bleeding ulcer and had to spend Tuesday - Thursday in the ICU. They got the problem solved, gave him a transfusion and sent him on his way. He really didn't seem that sick before or after. I think the only reason he was in ICU is because of the transfusion issue...

After my dad got out of the hospital he continued with his normal routine here at the house. He did projects! My dad is a pretty handy guy and I had a million of those little things that you never seem to get around to. New wiper blades for my van, a lock for our garage door and sliding door, creaky hinges, etc. And mom made me more bread and cinammon rolls. It took THREE ATTEMPTS to get them done, though! The first time she was making me bread my dad came home and announced he had to go to the hospital, so we had to scrap the dough she started (I didn't have time to finish it because my hands were full with a sick Sophie). The second time she got the dough completed and the sweet rolls were sitting on the stove rising. Well my mom decided she would turn on one of the burners NEXT to the pan just to keep the air warm while the dough was rising. Unfortunately she turned on the burner that the glass pan was sitting on. She didn't realize it until the pan literally exploded. My glass 9X13 dish was shattered into a zillion pieces. Seriously, there wasn't a piece of glass bigger than a marble! SO, that batch was slightly inedible. Finally on Friday she came through. It was worth the wait, though. Her bread is so YUM!

My parents finally hit the road on Saturday and "Pittsburgh Sara" (to avoid confusing her with "Iowa Sara") came to visit for the weekend. It was a fab weekend complete with pedicures to celebrate my b-day! Thanks again, Sara, they were heavenly and my toes still look great! I love when Sara comes to visit because we just sit around and talk the entire time. It's so relaxing! The boys always have a good time, too. They got official Air Force One t-shirts (Sara's cousin works security for AFO!) and had fun watching videos on Sara's laptop, too. It was a sad day when she had to leave on Monday...

Last week was just busy getting back to life as usual! Cameron was back to school - I kept him home the week before just in case he also had RSV. Miles just continued to be the craziest person I've ever met.

We were sad to learn that President Hinckley had died, but happy too because we know what an amazing life he lived and we know how glad he is to be with his beloved Marjorie again! This past weekend we watched the funeral at the Rawlins' homestead and ate lunch together.

ANyway, life is good. Sophie and I are getting over our second bout of Thrush. Hopefully this is the LAST go round. Sophie is also starting to sleep through the night much better! She's been averaging at least a five hour stretch but often it's more! Last night she slept from 10PM to 5:35AM. Of course she's sleeping in the swing which I normally don't like to encourage. But at 8 weeks old I'm not going to complain! Wherever she has to be to get some sleep is fine with me!

Enjoy the pics! We got family pics done a couple weeks ago. It certainly was not my choice to get pics done at 5 weeks post-partum but I think they turned out well. Whitni does a fabulous job!

Just an update for those of you who knew that Sophie was in the hospital, she came home this morning. It was a LONG weekend there, but she's a tough little kid! For those of you who didn't know, Sophie was admitted to the hospital on Saturday afternoon after a rather scary incident of apnea. Long story short, we called 911 and took her to the ER and found out she has RSV. She's feeling much better now and we're glad to be home.

I know this is a weird post but I think it's so cool. I know I've talked about my budgeting/couponing in the past, but it's gotten to be a real obsession. Anyway, I've gotten pretty good at getting free stuff. Seriously - totally free. Lately I've gotten baby wipes, hand sanitizer, toothbrushes, toothpaste, chex mix, cookie mixes, peanut butter, 10 12-packs of soda, crackers and other snack foods; all free! And when I'm not getting it free I'm getting a really good deal on it. I can't believe I ever used to pay full price for anything! Here's an example from last night. I got $48 worth of food for $9. What's great is that I've been able to get lots of food for my food storage without having to spend extra money or budget extra money for it! Anyway, I'm a dork, I know. But I love a good deal.

And here's another pic of my darling princess. She's really been struggling with her reflux so we've had a lot of LONG, SLEEPLESS nights, but we love her and couldn't imagine life without her. She's a fabulous addition to our family.

It's been almost FIVE WEEKS since little Sophia joined our lives. On one hand it feels like it's been less than that. At the same time it feels like she's been ours forever. We love her so much and are continually grateful to the Lord for allowing us to have her. BUT this month hasn't been without it's trials - trivial as they are. Around week 3 we noticed that Sophie wasn't sleeping well anymore. She was getting fussier each day, too. Cameron was a colicky kid, so at first I thought that was it. But I started to notice a pattern to her fussiness, and before long we realized this was very different from colic. So we took her to the doc and he confirmed our suspicions that she has reflux. The problem isn't just the mass amounts of spit-up, but the acid that is burning her litle throat. That was what was making her so fussy! So the doc prescribed Prevacid and over the last week she has been getting much better! We still have to keep her upright for a full 20-30 minutes after each feeding (this is a huge pain at night), but overall she's getting much better.

The best thing is that she's starting to get smiley. I LOVE when babies start smiling because it just melts your heart! I'll keep my camera handy and try to capture this new phenomenon, but I'm sure you'll see it soon.

Aside from Sophie news, life is pretty normal. Cameron started pre-school on Monday and he's going two mornings a week. He loves it, though he was a little hesitant at first. Cam's such a laid-back kid and his teacher is REALLY gregarious! It was a little much for him at first. But he made friends quickly and he's excited to go now.

Miles continues to be a whirling dirvish. He has SO much energy and uses it to get into trouble. I am constantly on my toes with that kid! He just spends all day wandering the house and backyard looking for something to get into or break. We've learned that the discipline techniques that worked with Cam have very little (or no) effect on the force of nature that is Miles. I'm learning very quickly that some battles are worth fighting and others I need to just let go of and have a sense of humor about. Like two days ago when Miles discovered the water dispenser in our fridge door. Everytime I stopped looking at him for more than 10 seconds he would book it into the kitchen and stand there with his hand on the lever letting water pour down over his head, clothes and all over the kitchen floor. By the fifth time I had lost it and yelled, "NO WATER!" He just looked at me and smiled. Classic Miles.

Chase got the bad news that he did not pass his last section of the CPA so he has to take it again before April. That's great, because he has TONS of free time between now and April...right. Luckily the guy is some kind of genius and he'll get it done.

For my part I'm finally starting to feel somewhat normal again. I'm not LOOKING normal yet - the jogging stroller is calling my name. But I think I'm going to wait until I'm at least getting a decent night's sleep before I even bother to care about those nasty 20 pounds I have to lose. For now Sophie is helping me lose the weight by the sheer fact that she eats 12 times a day. That's gotta be helping me, right? And she is also helping me by LIVING in the baby carrier. Having her strapped to my chest all day long while I clean and take care of the kids can really take it out of me, so I hope it's burning some good calories, too.

Anyway, enough rambling. Here are some fun pictures. We went to the Ft. Worth Stockyards yesterday with the kids and got to see some longhorns up close. The boys loved every minute of it. On the way home Miles and Sophie fell asleep and Cam had to pretend to fall asleep, too.

One more submission...

Sorry this is such a belated post, but it's time to unveil the winner of the 1st Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest. And the winner is (drumroll, please).......................The Iowa Kilgores! Kudos to them for actually getting their pictures done on time, in public and having sweaters for 6 people! Partly due to the size of their brood, they also get points for variety. Each sweater is beautiful and unique in it's ugly-ness. So congrats, Kilgores, you're a cut above the rest.

Honorable mentions go out to Christy and Scott and the other couple who shall remain nameless (at their request) but who did submit a picture. As for Brian and Jeni...what can I say except WOW!!!! Talk about commiting to a cause. Not only did they find some super ugly sweaters but they put together a whole '80's photo-shoot. I love the shoulder pads in Jeni's sweater and that sweet uni-brow that Brian is sporting.

Now, you'll notice that in my family picture we are seated in-doors instead of in public. It's all my fault that our picture was not taken in public. We had the chance to stop at the convenience store and have the clerk there take our picture but I said no as all three children were screaming at the time. Not a good excuse, I know. Next year, though, I'll be more on top of this contest!

As for the other picture of Sophie, well, it's been an interesting week. 1718 Elizabeth Drive has had a lot going on! Sophie has already had her first cold - given to her by her loving brothers, and now she (and I) has thrush! ICK! It's actually making mommy far more uncomfortable than her, but our first course of treatments didn't do much so we had to move on to something called Gentian Violet. It's this fabulous purple medicine that we have to "paint" in Sophie's mouth every night for 3 or 4 days. And it STAINS anything it touches. So Sophie is going to have a purple mouth and face until sometime next week. Welcome to mortality, Sophie.

Yesterday we attempted to take some cute family pics in front of the Christmas tree at my in-law's house. We got a couple of good ones but MAN is it hard to keep three little ones all happy and looking at the camera!!!

Anyway, here are a couple of fun ones that won't be ending up on the baby announcement/holiday card.

Don't forget the deadline for sweater pictures is tonight!!!!!

Time is running out! Don't forget to send your ugly sweater pictures to me at annarawlins@yahoo.com

Sophia is now 9 days old. I'm almost past the first 10 days. That's important because, as I was counseled by my sister, Chrysta, the first 10 days after a c-section are the days you feel "like you've been hit by a Mac truck." And it's true. But one more day and we'll be through it. Yay. Actually, I've been feeling pretty great for the past two days and I've been using less and less narcotics. Always a good sign. Of course, I'd probably feel better if I could sleep...but that's another post.
So I just thought I'd show the highlights of our week. Monday we checked out of the hospital. Chase's mom was working that day and had the privilege of removing my staples - all 18 of them. And then she discharged us. It was kinda funny.
Since then we've been just hanging out. I've tried to arrange some playdates for the boys because the weather was bad last week (as in rainy, not blizzardy or icy as some of you are experiencing...sorry). That helped alleviate some of their rowdiness.
Sophie also had her 1 week appointment and she's already about 9 pounds. She had already gained 7 ounces by day 6! She does love to eat.
Chase has been my knight in shining armor, as usual. He's gotten up in the middle of the night with me plenty of times, and he is always campaigning for more sleep for me. So nice. He's been doing laundry and dishes and keeping the kids happy. What a great dad and husband. Yesterday, after a particularly draining night for me, he sent me back to bed and kept the boys happy listening to music on the headphones. Miles wouldn't keep his on so Chase found some old fleece (does that fleece look familiar, Sara? It's from the big bird costume...) and fashioned a headband to keep it in place. Then he made a teenage mutant ninja turtle mask for Cam.
In terrible, horrific, awful, no-good, tragic news....my mom is leaving tomorrow. I'm so sad. She's been SUCH a huge help. She has kept my house clean and the boys fed. If it wasn't for her I'm sure I'd be an under-slept, under-fed emotional and physical mess. She has cooked all of my favorites; home-made bread and sweet rolls, pot roast, fudge. She's spent hours walking the floor with Sophie when her tummy doesn't feel good. She has stocked my fridge, freezer and pantry so that I don't have to venture into the grocery store for awhile. And she's always good for a ridiculous joke. There's just nothing better than having your mommy around when you need her. We will miss her so much. Ugh. Pennsylvania is SO far away!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics. There will be many more to come!

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