She's 3!!!!!!!!!!!

To prepare for the big day, the Wednesday before, I took Emery for her first hair cut and pedicure. She had such a great girly day w/ mom (And Cruz and London) and felt like a such a big girl!



Thursday, February 9th, 2012 was so much fun. Poor Christopher worked from 6pm the night before, until 10:30 that morning. He was exhausted.. but as great daddy's do, he "napped" for 2 hours and we left for Great Wolf with Grandma and Grandpa Deccio. The drive was very quick luckily, and Emery was ecstatic when we walked in to kid heaven.

Before the Lodge, Emery had school, where she took Chocolate Chip cookies in to her friends, to celebrate turning 3 years old. She was given a crown and a sweet birthday card from her teachers, and after school we waited at home for daddy.. talking about the surprise we had for her and how excited she was to eat her flower cake.



We got there, threw on our suits and into the water we went. She had so much!!! WE had so much fun. Grandma and Grandpa came with, so that the whole weekend could be all about Emery, and we would have help w/ Cruz and London. (Who had fun in the water too!) We wanted to make sure that she knew how wonderful it was that this was the day she was born, and changed our lives forever. (Yes, I know she's only 3.. but we tell her this all the time.) After swimming, eating and putting jammies on, Emery finally got to have her flower cake.. and open presents. Lots of clothes, roller blades, a book, zuzu pet, a walking/barking dog, slippers and a new swim suit. She practiced her roller blades before going to bed. :)







The whole weekend was in the water.. other than to find fun treasures w/ her magic wand. She was sung to and got lots of treats from the lodge. Overall, definitely a wonderful family mini-vacation spot.





Its so hard to believe that she's already 3 years old. She's still cracking us up every day... well almost every day. ;) She's says, "Woah woah woah... this is the deal..." When she wants something.. Always wants to mother the babies.. She's awesome.

She's almost 3!!!

I was thinking today, about how three years ago I was laying on my couch on 130th ave, watching Sex and the City re-runs, praying to go into labor so I could get off bed rest and meet the baby girl I'd been dreaming about and wishing for, for so many years. (I'd only been on bed rest a week. My fluid was low and my doctor was out of town.) I can't believe how fast 3 years goes. I can remember staring at my belly, watching her move around in her very limited space, picturing her face and dreaming of holding her in my arms. Begging for the days to pass so I could just see her. So many people have told me that they knew they loved their babies while carrying them, but they didn't feel attached until a few weeks after their birth. I felt like I'd loved Emery from the second I knew she was growing inside of me. I was instantly so protective and I couldn't imagine loving her more... oh but I did!

In a short number of days, my beautiful baby girl will turn 3 years old. I've heard about and witnessed "3" being tougher than "2" and I think I'm prepared, but if the last few weeks are a prelude to this next year, I welcome it warmly. Emery has her moments, but she is a wonderful child. I am so incredibly proud to be her mom. She's gorgeous, but aside from that, her inquisitions amaze me, and her drive amazes me. Watching her grow from a baby to a little girl has been wonderful. I look forward to this year, as I honestly feel that I missed the last one. I won't get her 3rd year back, but I can make sure that this next one, and the ones after are as great as I can make them for her.

Great Wolf Lodge in 3 days! I can't wait to watch she and daddy flying down those slides. Christopher is the most amazing daddy and she has him wrapped around her little finger... just as she should. <3

Love my family so much.

Oh to be 3 again...

Today was so much fun! We took Emery to JJ Jump in Hazel Dell, where we go often, but usually I just have to watch her bounce and play alone... today, Chris came w/ and I got to be 3 years old again for a good 15 minutes. :) We jumped, and slid down slides and pushed each other down. It was a blast. There are so many days that I watch my baby girl adopt other moms to play w/ her at these play places because I have London and Cruz w/ me and I'm not able to leave the table. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a tear or two from time to time, wishing it was me playing with her.. but today it was. I loved every second I had climbing up slides and bouncing around w/ her. She is so much fun and has the very best personality of any kid I've ever met. When she's in her element, there is nothing better than her.

We got a little bit of snow today.. nothing to "blog" about, but Emery woke up from her nap to huge snow flakes. "MOM!!! MOM!!! It's a surprise! Its snowing! We can go out in it, and we can make a snow man, and we need to give him a nose yike me and eyes and a bottom!" LOL ooookay honey! Chris, Emery, London and I went out in the snow while Cruz was sleeping and she and daddy made a mini snowman, and she threw snowballs at mommy. It was adorable and so worth the cold. I absolutely adore that kid. She's amazing. Absolutely Amazing.

Blessed

It's way too late.. I should definitely be sleeping, but my mind is going. A friend from high school lives in Las Vegas w/ her fiancé and 4 daughters. The youngest was diagnosed w/ a heart abnormality very early in pregnancy and it was known that she would have surgeries immediately. I want to say that around 4-6 days after birth she had her first open heart surgery and just had her second yesterday. 2 open heart surgeries in less that 9 months. I don't remember her birthday exactly. She's been posting updates and photos on Facebook and I can't help but feel sick to my stomach. How blessed am I? How incredibly blessed are Chris and I to not only have the three children that we do, but they are all perfectly healthy? How did we get so lucky? I can not begin to imagine what it must feel like to hand your precious baby over to a team of doctors, to be sedated and sawed into. The thought literally makes me sick. I feel for Rachelle and her fiancé more than I can express. As sorry and I am for them though, I wish and pray to never ever know what they are going through. My only ask in this life is for my children to remain as healthy as they are today.

It makes me think about how often I get frustrated w/ my kids. How easily it is for me to sit down and shake my head or raise my voice to Emery... and not that this will change it, because tomorrow morning when I'm exhausted and she's whining for something, I will probably do the same, but I am the luckiest girl I know. My kids are wonderful, amazing, HEALTHY and stole my heart the second I knew I was carrying them. There is nothing like this. Motherhood. Nothing.

Thoughts, hopes and prayers for Rachelle and her family tonight and everything forward. God Bless you Baby Cora.

Poop and stuff...

So the night before last, I have all 3 in the bath, pulling one out to dry & dress at a time. London is done, I have Cruz on the floor, (who is like trying to dress a rabid animal) and emery starts jumping up & down that she has to poop. I ask her to hold on just a sec til I have his jammies on. She says she can't wait so I let him free and take her to the potty. Explosion. She says shes done so I proceed to "clean up" except she's not done.... My hand (covered w/ a wipe but still) is full. Two babies are trying everything they can to get into the toilet and I'm at a loss. Set the wipe down, move children... Repeat. I had to close them into the master closet (it's in the bathroom) to get the job done due to their determination. Not only did I earn AND treat myself to a handful of oreos, but also a giant coffee in the morning.

Today, Cruz and London had their 9 month well check. Though it was a "well" check, they both have pink eye and London has a bit of a cold. (Emery also has pink eye!) Everything else looked good physically. They are way ahead in mobility than even "to date" 9 month old babies. I wasn't surprised... they keep me running all day long. She was surprised by how many words London has. (Mama, Dada, Dog, Hi and Hot) and how well Cruz can stand. (Only about 5 seconds at a time, but he's very steady.)

London is 14lbs. 15oz and 26 inches tall. 3rd percentile in weight, 5th for height and 5th for head circumference.
Cruz is 15lbs. 13oz. and 26 1/4 inches tall. Under the 3rd percentile for weight, 5th for height and 5th for head. She was a little concerned about his growth. He IS growing, so he's okay, but she really wants him to put on a little more. Eat fattier foods, and more of them. Suggested I add more calories to my diet and drink more water. I was afraid she was going to suggest supplementing w/ a fatty formula, but she didn't. That made me happy. Avocado and butter it is! :)

Christmas 2011

Holy cow this year's Christmas was fun. We'd been talking about Santa and Jesus' birthday for months and Emery was stoked. Someone's going to bring me presents... just because? It was a great tool for keeping her on the "good list" because she didn't want to disappoint Santa! :) She had her first school program, where she was a singing sheep. Most adorable thing we'd ever seen!!!

Christmas Eve was here in our new home, w/ Mom and Dad Deccio, my Brother Sean, his wife Lesa, son Devin and his wife, Jennifer. We watched the Seahawks game and had a big crab and ham dinner. It was a blast! London is having some major "mommy don't go!" issues, so cooking, hosting or cleaning up was hard. Devin picked her up once and she fell in love w/ him... it was the only time, but I loved that. After dinner we had a white elephant gift exchange, where everyone brought Starbucks gift cards, :) and then the little kids opened gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. Emery got a new police car like daddy's (from both sets of grandparents) and hasn't stopped talking about it or wanting to drive it since.

Christmas morning, 7am on the dot, E came into our room so excited to look under the tree. We walked her down the stairs, turned on the tree lights & Santa had come! She was in heaven!!! She tore through gifts like she was digging for gold. From one gift to the next. Barbies and cars, rain boots and jewelry box... Admiring each gift and tearing into the next. Watching her was too much fun to even remember that Chris and I had gifts too! Christopher opened his new games, iPhone4 & Wayne Gretsky ornament. I opened up complete new skin care, beautiful boots and the amazing new MacBook Air that I'm typing this on. My Scentsy and photo businesses are growing so fast that he wanted me to have a mobile business computer to store all of my data onto... and to hopefully use for school soon. Dreaming of going back for nursing, once the babies are older and more self sufficient.

Cruz and London opened up new clothes and toys, loving the bows and paper most of all. Their new train was a hit for all. Emery steals it most of the time.

As we get older, we are realizing that these holidays and specials times are so much more fun w/ them. They make everything that we already loved about this life, a trillion times better.

Just before Christmas, Chris and I woke up w/ a sweet case of pinkeye! We went straight to the dr. for drops and were totally impressed that the kids hadn't gotten it! Well Chris got it a second time, and Emery woke up w/ it yesterday. New Years Eve was pretty quiet around here... not many people wanted to hang out w/ us. ;)

Its New Years day, the babies are 9 months old and Emery is almost 3. Cruz is biting everything and chasing the girls. London is trying so hard to mimic my words and get into everything. She tells Cruz "no no" for just about everything... I must say that a lot. THey both say Dada and London's working on Mama. Sounds a little more like NaNa though. They both give kisses on command and STILL DONT SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Happy New Year!!!

So the last 9 months!

So I caught up enough last time, that we're out of the NICU... but here are some photos from that time period anyway. Our beautiful "miniest," her feeding tube and what looked like an enormous bottle, feeding her mommy's milk w/ a 24 cal fortifier to help her gain weight.












Its amazing to look back and see just how teeny he really was, in his swing. One of his earliest favorites.





It didn't take much for Emery to love them. Understanding boundaries was hard for her at first... who am I kidding, its still hard, but its out of love. She always wants to be hugging or kissing or holding them. She has a very kind heart, who doesn't always know her own strength.






I'm having a hard time remembering... but I feel like Emery and I colored eggs while London was in the NICU. Maybe not. She may have been home already, but either way it was a gorgeous day and I LOVED the mommy/E time. I had been missing her so much. We colored a dozen eggs, writing our names on them and putting stickers on. They were perfect for our Easter egg hunt.
One of my favorite photos. She really is the best big sister.



Just before Easter 2011 we decided that it was time for Emery to have a big girl bed. No more crib rail. We converted her crib to a toddler bed to get her ready for the real thing, and took her to the store to pick out new bedding. This is what she came home w/.


Our beautiful, silly and perfect 2 year old. (playing her horrific water recorders that Uncle Rowie got her for Christmas. I'll get him back one day.)

London came home just before Easter 2011, w/ a mild cold that she'd brought home from the NICU. We were worried about people holding, touching or even breathing near her, in fear that she'd get really sick and have to go back. Because of that, we had Easter at our house in Washougal, as to not take her out in the cold to travel.

Mom and Dad Deccio, my brother Sean and his family, brother Ryan and his family and some work and family friends gathered for Easter brunch. Chris and I were so paranoid, we had hand sanitizer at every corner, and if someone was a smoker, they weren't allowed to touch her. We were SO afraid that she'd get sick and we'd lose her to the NICU once again. We were finally a family unit and the thought of breaking that was awful. Thankfully, everyone understood and kept their distance. Emery and Ali had a blast finding eggs and candy. Their friend Jack helped and ate his fair share. I can't wait for next year, when I'll put a few dollars in a special egg for her to find. She knows all about money and how special it is to save. :)

After brunch and hunt and Mimosa's, our friends went home and family started filtering out. We were alone and back to figuring out this life as 5. It was and is, very different and much harder than 3.

Just a few more photos from Easter until the 4th:

We'd decided that the house in Washougal was on a beautiful piece of property, and we LOVED our neighbors, but we were not in love w/ the house and hated being so far from everything. We thought that since we were there, we might as well take advantage and have a great 4th of July party on the property while we were still there. (That house was a lease option that we opted out of in the end, due to distance.) We invited our good friends and our families, and had a blast! We had slip and slides for the little kids... and HUGE ones for the BIG kids. :) Trampoline, bounce house, water guns, balloons... it was so much fun. For everyone. Emery had a ton of her friends to play w/, and the babes were so much bigger and stronger. One of the best 4th of July's that I can remember. Kids make every holiday so much more fun.

We also celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary, July 9th. :) Such a fun night.


August was SOOOO busy. I was lucky enough to be asked to share in the day of two brides. My friend and our old roommate, Kara, got married August 20th, 2011. I was a bridesmaid and Emery was a flower girl. Word to the wise, if you'd like to have a serious wedding.. don't ask a 2 year old to be your flower girl. It didn't go well.. :) In her defense, it was the hottest day of the year.. we were outside all day w/o much water or food. She didn't have a nap and was being primped or having her picture taken for almost 9 hours. When it was finally time for the ceremony she was done. Not only did she sit down and throw rocks, but she was the first one in the wedding cake. :) Oh the memories. HAHA.

One week later, I was a bridesmaid again, but this time to my oldest and one of my best friends, Julie Gilley (Nishida.) The wedding was in Selah, Wa. on her parents farm, and it was gorgeous. One of the best days and nights of our summer. So happy for them.

Once August came, we were for sure leaving our Washougal house, and started looking for our "home." We were looking mostly in Brush Prairie/Hockinson area because of the school district and closeness to town. I found a house I loved on 2.5 acres but Chris wasn't sold. He thought it was too small for the 5 of us and that we would outgrow it. He found a house he loved in Battle Ground, but I thought it was too far. We were trying to avoid the commute. Finding a house w/ the land or yard we wanted, in the area we wanted, w/ the square footage we wanted was really tough. We were looking and shopping and touring like crazy. Everything we thought was a sure thing, wasn't. Some time in September, Chris got a test message from another SWAT guy w/ a listing attached. That guy lived in a County neighborhood that Chris had always wanted to live in. When we got the text, he laughed because there'd been a house he had passed indefinite times, dreaming to live in... he said "Wouldn't it be funny if it was that house?" He opened it... and it was. We scheduled a tour, and made an offer. Our first offer was SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the asking price so we thought for sure they would shoot it down. They didn't... we got an email from our agent and we were in... JUST KIDDING. They read our offer wrong. They literally misread a 0 for a 1. I wish I were kidding. So, back to the beginning we were. Do we offer 10K more? How much do we want this house? We were going to have to tear out all of the carpet, flooring, change the kitchen and bathroom... was it worth it? It was. 10K more it was. Offer accepted and here we are. October 26th 2011, we moved all of our things by ourselves and my amazing cousin, Chad. Without him, we would have been screwed. The three of us, moved everything we owned, from the boonies, to our new and wonderful home in Battle Ground.

The next day, one of my best friends drove over w/ her daughter, so hang w/ us for the weekend. We had only been in the house a number of hours, so boxes were everywhere, but it was so nice to have them. Emery'd been going through a bit of a rough stage, so Ruby had to toughen up quickly. The girls painted pumpkins and made cupcakes and the weekend was over. I hated watching them drive away. Halloween came next, and celebrating it in our new home, made it even more special.

As we unpacked, Emery grew to love the new place. So excited about decorating her new room and how big her play room was. She had room to play and run for hours on end. A few weeks passed and we tore all of the flooring out and replaced all of the blue carpet w/ new neutral carpet and pergo w/ new dark laminate. It's like a new house!!!

Today, Cruz and London are crawling around like crazy. They are hilarious. Cruz is always laughing. I joke that he's my little stoner. He is seriously always laughing! He's extremely dramatic as well. If he's upset, you will know it, and the neighbors might too. He doesn't sleep very well at night, still... but is the most amazing snuggler. When he smiles, the world smiles, and when you hold him, you never want to let go.

London is a spitfire. She's quick and feisty like her sister. She's very curious and doesn't let anything stop her. She started crawling at 6 months (which would have been 5 months, had she been born on time.) Standing at 7 months, and cruising the furniture at 7.5 months. I thought for sure I was going to have an 8 month walker... she hasn't started walking yet, but she's pushing things around and stands for a few seconds at a time w/o holding on. She's climbed the stairs after her sister, like it was nothing. I can't take my eyes off of her.

They are amazing together. They play together. Laugh at each other. Cry together.. its crazy. They love each other.

Emery is creeping on her 3rd birthday. So incredibly bitter/sweet. I feel a little bit like I've missed her 3rd year. Its been so busy and I'm pulled in so many directions, that she often gets much less of me than I want to give her, and what she does get is a bit frazzled. She is a very bright little girl, who needs constant challenge. She's going to preschool at Firm Foundation Christian School, right across from our neighborhood in Battle Ground. She loves it! She started the school year at a preschool in Washougal and when we moved, we really wanted her at FFCS. They gave her a 2 week trial, being that they'd never accepted a child under 3 before, and decided to keep her at the end of her 2 weeks. Her teacher tells me that she's adapting well and keeps up wonderfully w/ the older kids. She runs out every tuesday and thursday from her class, into our arms and tells us about her day. She can't wait to show us what she's got in her back pack. It's hard for me to throw any of her things away because she's so proud of them, and I'm so proud of her.

The past year has been tough on her. She got two new siblings that won't leave. She's had to learn to share me, when she was used to my life revolving around her. She's moved twice, started school, moved schools, changed teachers and friends. She's growing and learning and fighting. We're working on her frustrations, pushing other kids, sharing... all the normal 2-3 year old things, but all in all, she's the light of our life. If we've had a rough day and I'm excited for her bed time... a little bit of time passes and I usually want to wake her up because I miss her. Parenthood is funny. Its hard. Its trying. Its frustrating. It's exhausting. But it's amazing, and nothing in this world could ever be as rewarding. Having three kids under 3 has been quite the ride... but God knew how much we wanted these babies. They're here, all at once, and we're so grateful!

We just booked a surprise 3rd birthday trip to Great Wolf Lodge for Emery on Feb 9th. We are sooo excited! I can't wait to see the look on her face when we walk in and she sees all the things she gets to spend the weekend doing. Not very many things are all about her these days, and I can't wait for a whole weekend to be. She deserves that and so much more!

Until next time to write about Christmas! It was sooo much fun! :)

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