Titus-2 Months

Yesterday Titus was two months old. He is growing SO fast. Much like his older sisters he has gotten chubby cheeks and is gaining weight quickly. I weighed him on our scale and I think he weighs about 14 pounds. I don't think it will be long before I switch out his 0-3 month clothes for 3-6 month ones. So far he has yet to sleep through the night. This past week I have been able to encourage him to drop his 5 a.m. feeding but he is still eating between 2:30 & 3. He loves to be held!! He is napping in his bed now, but if he is awake he definitely wants to be held. Which is okay with me because I still love to snuggle with him. Between running Grace to school and other family activities it has been harder to figure out a routine. He is such a joy. We are getting really big smiles now. But he isn't laughing or cooing too much yet. He really hated having these pictures taken because he wasn't swaddled, so I did the best I could.

Sadly Titus outgrew his "peanut shell" but he continued to want to be swaddled almost all the time. So, he has three 48" blankets Grandpa Rick & Grandma Leeanne gave him that are perfect for swaddling. I am getting to be a pro at it. While I think he looks adorable in his "big boy" clothes above, most of the time this is what he looks like.

Confessions of a Public LIbrary Drop-Out

Well, I have a confession to make. I just took my kids to the public library for the first time. As frugal as I am I have not made use of the library since Grace was little. Let me explain. When we first moved here I was all about having a library membership. I love to read. When I found out it cost $70 a year because we didn't live inside city limits it slowed me down, but I still cashed out the money. You see we didn't have cable tv and reading was something I did to relax. We were also on a tight budget and it was before the days of moneysavingmom.com so I read books like "The Tightwad Gazette." (Anybody remember me reading those? While helpful, we got a lot of free laughs from them. Remember the idea to make puzzles for your kids out of recycled meat trays??) I digress. Well, I definitely didn't get my $70 worth that year. As Grace got older she became mobile at a very young age and I just couldn't figure out how to take her to the library and actually pick out a book. The library had stairs so I couldn't stick her in a stroller. And she was very independent from the beginning. (in reality I was mortified I would have to drag her kicking and screaming from the library while i fainted in embarrassment)

But, when we went to visit the Gorsch's last week Grace said, "Mom, do we have a library we can go to?" I had to confess that we do indeed have a library in Hannibal. The funny thing is since we moved to our new house the library has been free. And ironically even though I now have 3 kids I didn't think it would be that big of a deal to tackle this outing. (Have I relaxed a little?)

So with Grace and Faith hand in hand and Titus in the sling we went to the library. I was surprised to see that the library had a ramp & an elevator so I'm not really sure what I was so afraid of. And with some chatting in the car beforehand about having to wait while I renewed our library card and how they should act they even waited nicely! The girls loved choosing their own books to check out. Here were some of their selections: Clifford, Berenstein Bears, Dora, Arthur, Handy Manny, Thomas the Train & Fancy Nancy. (Hopefully you didn't notice that my kids chose all books that have a TV show associated with them.) Oh, except for Fancy Nancy. Which by the way I think would be a hit kids show if they turned it into one. So, Jane O'Connor if you are interested give me a call- we could totally use the royalty check.

So, I have renewed my interest in the public library and I think (gasp) we might even try the summer reading program. Sounds like fun! And maybe at some point I will even attempt to check out a book for me. Maybe...

3 Moms+7 Kids+2 Full Days=FUN

Last week the kids and I took a road trip to visit Kristina, Sadie, Kinnick, & Macey. Stephanie and Hannah also came to visit. So total we had 7 kids under the age of 4! We started our fun at the Children's Museum in Bloomington. The kids really enjoyed it. It was a little hectic with two nursing moms, but overall we were able to work together to keep all the kids busy. (a.k.a. Stephanie was a great help) I think the favorite activities were driving the tractor & painting. My girls especially enjoyed the painting wall. We packed a lunch and took in as much fun as possible before the kids needed a break.

The Paiting "Wall"

Hannah & Stephanie play while the other kids paint.

Checking out the baby chicks.

We then headed up to the Gorsch's house. After resting in the car the kids played and then we made a trip to the park. We were quite a train with Kristina pushing the babies in the double stroller, me pulling Faith & Kinnick in the wagon, Grace & Sadie on riding toys, and Stephanie pushing Hannah in her stroller. That night we let the big girls have a "sleep over" in Sadie's room. They all had on monkey pj's (unplanned) and it was a very traditional sleep over in that it took them forever to go to bed.

The next morning Kristina and I did three sets of baths & then we headed to a play group at the local library. The kids got a free book, storytime, lunch, and time to do activities. It was fun. After napping we went to let the kids play on the playground at Kristina's school. It was two full days and my kids went right to sleep when we headed home around bed time. I don't know who had more fun the kids or us girls getting a chance to visit. (Hopefully I can add more pictures once Kristina posts hers as she took a majority of the pics)

Titus & Macey waiting for bath time.

At play group Grace made this picture. It is the first time when she has wrote her name I could actually make out the letters. If you look closely you can see what looks like Gggce H. (not too bad)