To: Grandma Molly and Grandpa Bob

Since you couldn't be here to watch her open the gift you gave her, here is the next best thing!

Happy 4th Birthday Calli Rose!

Dear Calli,

I don't even know where to start. How is it possible that you are four years old already? I feel like I blinked and you grew up. You have just one year left before you will go off to kindergarten and I can't decide if that thought thrills me or makes me extremely sad.

You were due on June 27th, but decided to come two days late. You were my first baby and I was anxious, even more so because I didn't know if you were a boy or a girl. Finally though on the morning of the 29th, not long after I got out of bed, my water broke. I was happy that it happened that way because I was nervous that I wouldn't recognize the signs of labor but there was no mistaking that! Richard and I got to the hospital quickly and I spent most of the day in labor with you. You were born at 4:46PM GUAM TIME. You weighed just six pounds, eight ounces and were a short 17.5 inches long, but you were perfect. When the doctor put you on my chest I remember thinking how cute you were, how much I loved you already.

It was a long few weeks at first, especially since you cried a lot! And when you weren't crying you were eating like crazy. Being so small you had a lot of catching up to do. But it wasn't long before I got a glimpse of your smiles and happy personality to come. As a baby and toddler you were always so full of giggles and sweetness. I was so in love you and you made me smile all the time. I found the terrible twos to be nonexistent and was just in awe of how smart and funny you were. Finally the threes hit and you started to give us some attitude, but we still loved you all the same.

Now you are officially four years old. You are still that smart, sweet, smiling girl, full of personality and promise. You have been through a lot this past year, from breaking your arm, to your first soccer game, to getting a new baby brother. There is no telling what our lives would be like without you in it, but the word "empty" comes to mind. As much as you drive me crazy and make me want to pull my hair out sometimes you turn around and say the sweetest things and give the sweetest hugs and all is right with the world. You are a great big sister to your little siblings (most of the time!) and a great helper to me.

You are starting preschool in the fall, two days a week and this will be the first time you're really away from me for extended periods of time. I am nervous and excited for you to start this journey. I know you can't wait to go to school and I can't wait to see all that you learn. As your mother, I strive my hardest to be your best teacher, but you are so outgoing and I know you will love being around other kids and interacting.

Thank you for making me a mother four years ago. Thank you for being my wonderful daughter and bringing me so much joy. Thank you for teaching me so many lessons. Thank you for allowing me to make mistakes and learn from them. Thank you for your quick forgiveness. Thank you for your bright spirit and neverending conversation. Thank you for being you.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl!

Love, Mommy

Here you are on your birthday last year, turning three. As you can see, you have grown quite a bit!

You LOVE LOVE LOVE to swim and be in the water. You took your first swimming lessons this year
I didn't want to cut your hair because it was so beautiful and curly, but I knew it was time. So you received your first haircut in August and you are just as cute as ever!

You broke your arm at the end of last summer. While it was a terrible experience, we got through it and you were such a trooper!

My cool woman

You played your first soccer game after you finally got the cast off your arm. You have played two season so far and are on your third. You love to play and are really good. I love watching you!

You insisted on being a ladybug for Halloween last year after having had a ladybug birthday party in June. You and Serena were cute as could be!

Last Christmas was especially fun because as you get older you understand more and more. You couldn't wait to meet Santa, get presents, etc.

We went up to Lake Tahoe and you saw the snow for the first time. You took a skiing lesson and loved it and also went sledding.

You love to dress up; in your princess clothes, in Mommy's shoes, whatever is available!

You took your second year of dance and loved every minute, especially wearing tutus.

You love Sea World!

We took our first real family vacation this past year and it was a blast!

Mommy was getting ready to have another baby and you had to get ready as well!

And finally here you are today, officially a four year old! Where does the time go?? There will be more pictures of your birthday to follow tomorrow.

Calli's 4th Birthday Party

Calli had her birthday party yesterday and it was a great success. By the end of the day we were all so exhausted but she had a fun time so it was all worth it. I went to the Party Store and Michael's around noon to get the balloon and other last minute things for cake decorating and party favors. When I returned we realized it was getting late and we should be getting everything ready! My mom was a huge help and I don't know how we could have pulled this off without her. I came home to a clean living room and her setting up the Hannah Montana decorations. She had baked the cake and cupcakes earlier that morning and decorated the cupcakes when I returned with the right tip for icing them. They came out so cute and of course I forgot to take a picture. Luckily we have quite a few left and are going to use them tonight to sing happy birthday to Calli again. I finished decorating everything and putting the party favors together and then around 2pm we started decorating the cake. It was harder than I thought it would be and I realized why I do practice cakes a few nights before! I have made three character cakes now and it was probably my worst one. When we were decorating I kept thinking it was going to turn out horrible, but actually once it was done it didn't look as terrible as I had envisioned.

I really had finished up just in time, got everything cleaned up from the cake decorating mess and the first guest was at the door! We had a few families over and a lot of kids, but I think everyone had fun. We set up a slip-n-slide and inflatable pool in the backyard for the kids to run around in the water. We also have a sandbox, slide and other little toys. Luckily our backyard shades over as the day goes on so the kids were mostly not in the sun. It was HOT to say the least! Richard went to Little Caesar's to get a few pizzas because you can't beat a large pizza for $5 (and you don't even have to order, they are just waiting for you!). After dinner we did the pinata, cake and ice cream and then presents. By the time all was said and done it was nearly 7:30pm! Calli was asking to go to bed, but the girls were sandy, grassy messes so I had to throw them in the bath.

Thanks to everyone who came to Calli's party, she had such a great time and it was really special!

Calli posing with her decorations and cake before the party started

The cake
If you know our little Serena you know how much she absolutely HATES the water. So imagine my surprise when I walked to the end of the slip-n-slide and saw her sitting in the water playing happily!! We hadn't even put her bathing suit on her because we figured she wouldn't go anywhere near the water, but we were so wrong!

Tanner, Calli, Izzy and Natalie playing the pool

Grandma Keri and Jameson beating the heat inside

Serena again playing the water, so happy!

Pinata time!!

Time for cake!!

Happy Birthday to You!

Blowing out her candles

Calli getting ready to open her presents

Our friend make this adorable sweater for Calli. The back says "Princess in Training"

Calli's Dance Recital and Soccer Game

We have been crazy busy these last few days to say the least! We are right in the middle of a whirlwind of activities we have been looking forward to for some time. Calli had her dress rehearsal for her dance recital on Friday night. It was just the two of us that went and luckily their performance was #12 and we got to leave after that so we weren't there for too long. The rehearsal was really cute and I got to take photos and video that night.

The next afternoon was her soccer game at noon. It was her first one of this season and the first time she has played in the U-6 age group. She is the smallest one out there, but I think the challenge is good for her. In the U-4 league she was dominant, but here it is more competitive. This is the last season she will play for the YMCA league because in the fall we will sign her up for the city soccer league. She had fun at her game but it was HOTTER than anything and I think that took a bit out of her. It has been miserable the last month and the temperatures and heat indices have been in the mid 100s. With the high humidity it's hard to be outside because I feel like I can't breathe! But my mom and I braved the heat to watch Calli play soccer. And she was the one actually running around out there so I am sure she was even hotter than us.

After her game it was back home for bath time and getting ready for her recital that night! I curled her hair and got it to stay in with a LOT of hairspray. The whole family went out to dinner at Wendy's and then went to the recital hall to get seats for the show. I took Calli back stage to get her dressed and find the rest of her classmates she would be hanging out with back there before her number. They had a huge room with a big TV where the girls hung out the whole time so I know Calli enjoyed that. She danced so well in her performance and we are all so proud of her! Afterward we gave her some flowers, which she loved. Then we headed to Coldstone to get some ice cream to celebrate. By the time we got home it was 9pm and the girls were past ready for bed!

This morning is just filled with making the cake and cupcakes, getting the decorations set up and everything ready! We are expecting five families I believe and possibly a few kids in the cult-de-sac so it will be a full house! We'll be setting up our little blow up pool and slip-n-slide in the backyard so the kids can play. It is supposed to be mid 100s again today so that should provide some relief from the heat for the little ones. The nice thing about our backyard is that it shades over as the day goes on, so by 4pm when the party starts the whole thing will be shaded.

Well here are a few photos from the last two days; enjoy!

Calli at her dance recital rehearsal

Practicing their finale
Some kind of weird structure outside the auditorium

Calli playing in her soccer game

Calli and Mommy after her recital

Grandma Keri and all her grandkids

Our first family photo, taken after the recital

Our beautiful dancing princess!

Here is Calli's dance. I took this video on her rehearsal night.

Three Reasons...

why I am incredibly happy this morning.

1) I woke up and my Momma is here! Calli and I picked her up from the airport yesterday afternoon. It is so great to have her here visiting us. I am already sad at the thought of her leaving.

2) Jameson decided to sleep an eight hour stretch last night. We put him down around 8:45pm and he didn't wake up until 5am! It was crazy! Even crazier, I actually slept most of that time. I remember when my others slept their first long stretches I was never sleeping. I was bouncing up and down every half hour or so to check on them and thinking that they would be waking any minute so what was the point of going back to sleep? But this time I heard Jameson stir around 1am (he normally wakes around this time for a feeding). However, he didn't wake up and I was really half awake myself and dozed back off. Finally at 5am he was ready to be awake and Richard was also just waking up for work and asked "did he sleep the whole time??!" Yes, yes he did! He ate and then wanted to go back to sleep but was having a little trouble. Every time his paci fell out of his mouth he would wake up and I got tired of getting up and down to retrieve it. Since Richard had left, I just brought Jameson to sleep on the bed too. We both dozed off for another hour before waking for the day.

3) I won my crib bedding set on ebay for 1/3 the retail cost! I have had my eye on this adorable bedding since I was seven months pregnant. It is only sold online and costs nearly $200 for nine pieces. We found it on ebay, but kept forgetting about the bidding end times so we'd always lose out. Two sets ended yesterday, the first going for $75 and the second for $110. This morning I noticed one ending and placed my bid in the last minute and WON it for $61. I am still over the moon about this. We are going to be buying a crib ASAP and will probably be trying to put Jameson in his own room when Grandma leaves. So it is nice to know that we will have everything ready.

So that is why I am having a great day! Oh yeah and I also have three adorable kids. That always makes my day :)

Cute Kids!

Here are some recent pics of the kiddos

I loved this one of Calli because her eyes look so blue

Jameson in the swing
Sleepy baby!

We got a new sandbox for the backyard. I really like this one because it is like a sand table and up off the ground so they are not sitting in the sand while they play. Plus it has a cover, which our other one didn't

Jameson just hanging out!

Calli is such a goofball...someday I will get a good photo of all three of them!

14 Days in the Life...

Well of course as I sat down to type this blog my baby, who was sleeping contentedly in his swing mere seconds ago, has started to fuss! I think babies have some kind of intuition where they know when you are getting ready to get something done and that is the moment they choose to act up!

Needless to say, I haven't had much chance to blog lately. We are adjusting to have three kids and to having a newborn in the house again. Our break from babyhood was extremely brief and my sink is again filled with bottles, the diaper holder stocked with newborn diapers and strewn about the house are various infant items. We are up to our ears in burp clothes, tiny pjs, onsies, formula, and baby poop (times two since Serena is still in diapers!!). It is taking time to adapt and I am wondering how I will ever manage to leave the house with three kids on my own, but I suppose someday it will happen.

Jameson sleeps a lot! It's too bad he wasn't our first baby because I could be getting a lot of quality naps. Instead I had Calli first and she literally NEVER slept! Serena was a great sleeper and he seems to be too. He sleeps a five hour stretch at night, eats and then goes back down for 2-3 more hours. Mornings are hard because it is just hard to get myself awake enough to function at first. I know if I can just make it through the first few hours in the morning the rest of the day will be fine.

We have had a few outings so far with Jameson. His first was to the bank, the party store and the pharmacy and he slept through the whole thing. He has also now been to Chuck E. Cheese! His first doctor's appointment was today and after an hour wait in the office we learned that he is a healthy 9 pound, 9.5 ounce little guy. He is just 21.5 inches long (although I'd swear he was longer!!) and the doctor thinks he looks great. He goes back in two weeks for his one month check up.

Richard has been home all this week and helping out tremendously, mostly with the girls. He takes them out to do fun things or plays with them. They love having Daddy home and will be sad when he returns to work next week, especially Serena. She is quite the Daddy's girl and will miss having him around.

So life is good! Everyone is healthy and happy. Calli is just in love with her baby brother. The first night we brought him home from the hospital she wouldn't leave him alone. She didn't even pay attention to her bedtime story because she was too busy loving on him. The next morning she was so anxious to hold and feed him finally. Now she loves to feed him and always asks if she can give him a bottle. She'll get mad sometimes when we tell her that I'm going to nurse him. Serena has reacted better than I expected her to! I thought there would be a lot of jealousy, but over the last month she has really become more independent. She didn't know what to make of this new baby at first, but she warmed up to him. She'll go up to him now and wave or pat him like she does the kitty. She has even given him a kiss once or twice!

Jameson turned two weeks old yesterday and this Friday will mark one week since he has been home. I keep thinking how strange it is to have only had him home for a few days but he is already two weeks old! Next week Grandma Keri is coming to visit (tomorrow is her birthday by the way, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!) and we can't wait. Calli will be having her 4th birthday on the 29th and her Hannah Montana (yes I finally gave in on that one!) party the evening before. That reminds me that I need to send out the invitations; I feel so behind on everything, but I suppose that is to be expected with all that is going on in our lives right now!

I'll leave you with photos from the last week. I am still trying to capture that perfect photo of Jameson to send out on the birth announcements, but so far haven't had too much luck.

We had dinner at Red Robin before going to pick up Jameson from the hospital last Friday evening (Serena had mac n cheese if you couldn't tell!)

Jameson in his carseat ready to get the heck out of the NICU! This took awhile. We got to the hospital about 7:30pm and didn't leave until after 10pm! There is a lot to do when you have a baby being discharged from NICU instead of the regular baby nursery.
The first morning we had baby Jameson home. Calli was so excited.

Calli had to give him his first feeding of the morning

Richard, the kids and the CAT

Our THREE kids!

I have been having a hard time getting the three of them together for a good picture. Calli is in her posing phase, where any time the camera comes out she makes a goofy face or tilts her head to the side. And Serena of course won't sit still long enough to have her photo taken.

Our sweet boy!

Calli and her baby brother

Serena absolutely loves Lizzie. She is in love with all cats really. If you show her a book with a cat in it she will scream excitedly and point to it. She just adores Lizzie and the feeling seems to be mutual. Lizzie will go up to Serena for attention is such a tolerant cat. I am just amazed at how she sits there and lets Serena pet her and hug her.

Serena thought all the baby stuff we brought out was for her. This chair actually is a baby chair and a toddler chair so I suppose they'll be sharing it!

Our little ones

Serena could eat all day every day if we let her. She had brought a small stool in the pantry and used it to stand on and reach some food. You would think we don't feed her or something!

And here she is after breakfast with cheerios stuck to her leg

Isn't Calli's 'do the best!

Serena was pushing Calli because she loves her so much!! Ahhh, sibling rivalry already!

Serena the cowgirl

My friend made these burp cloths for Jameson and they are so adorable!!

The girls on a ride at Chuck E. Cheese

Jameson and I met the rest of the family there after our appointment with the lactation consultant. He was all tuckered out!

Calli and Chuck

These are the kids cups they have now, too funny!