A Boy After All of These Girls...

Eric and I are thrilled to be adding to our family again!  No, really...we are... no matter how many people give us their two cents by saying, "wow!  you've got your hands full" or "do you guys know what causes this?" or "good grief!  how many kids do you want?"  We feel TREMENDOUSLY blessed.

ESPECIALLY this go-around.  Eric is absolutely beside himself excited to be having a baby boy!  To be honest, it makes ME a bit nervous, but I know he will fit so great into our fun little life :)

Here are a few pictures of our precious Coleman Jude Lairsey (at least that's where we stand right now... but we're only 18 weeks pregnant... so the name is subject to change!)  The sonographer had to prove to me three times that it actually was a boy.  I really didn't believe her :)  This pregnancy has gone very smoothly.  Thank you, Jesus.
Eve can hardly wait to meet him.  She told me just a few nights ago that she was ready for him to come out.  I told her that God has to be ready for him to come out first.  She seemed to accept that.  I've also told her it was going to be after Christmas...at least that way, she has her mind set on a few things that will happen before he comes.
Coleman--we love you so much, and are so eager to meet you!  i cant wait to get to know your personality and your abilities.  we are going to love watching you grow up with your sisters.  keep growing strong and healthy!!

Ol' Eve-aroo

She is simply hilarious.  I laugh at her all day.  The way she'll remember phrases or words, the connections she'll make about things FAR OVER HER HEAD, and just her sense of making people laugh... it gets me EVERYTIME.

 

Conversations with Eve:  

At a restaurant one night, I pulled Ellie out of her carseat to burp her after her bottle.  Eve was in her own little world (where she frequently is).  She was talking to herself, coloring, laughing, etc.  It actually let Eric and I have a conversation or two.  :)  Ellie was watching Eve play and all of the sudden, Eve leans over to Ellie and in a quiet, but firm voice she says, "Ellie!  Don't go with the HUMANS!  I'll NEVER see you again!"  Ellie giggled and Eve went back to playing with her crayons.  Eric and I looked at each other, dumbfounded, and I said, "Eve, what are you talking about?  Where are the humans?"  She looked up at me like I was so silly and said, "You and daddy are the humans!"  To which I replied, "Well then, what are you?"  She proudly said, "I'm an Eve!"

Last night, she told Eric that she was going to grow up and marry him when God told her it was time.  

In the car, she will giggle and smile to get Clara and Ellie (whoever is sitting on the opposite side) to laugh.  Everytime she does it, she wants me to watch.  Typically, I just say, "I see, baby, you're so silly."  This afternoon, she called me out.  "Look with YOUR TWO EYES mommy!"  

Today, she looks at me and says, "Mommy, now that I've found you, can you make my one wish come true?"  I say, "What is your wish?"  She replies, "I want my own magic carpet."  

Unfortunately, her mouth is also what gets her into trouble the most!  SASSY.  Eve LOVES Mother's Day Out.  Her new teachers are Mrs. Hope and Mrs. Ann.  She is having a blast.  It is the third week of school, and she has been on the YELLOW FACE three times already!  When Eric asked the teacher what it was about, she recalled the three instances:

1-Eve was building with blocks during free-play time.  When the teachers called for the end of free-play time, Eve announced "No, I'm not ready to stop building yet."

2-Eve likes to sit in the middle of the circle during "circle time" and tell everyone what they are supposed to do.  After a few requests to return to her seat, Eve let them know that she didn't want to.

3-Eve likes to sit in a certain spot on the rug, and if someone takes that spot, she shoves them out of the way, telling them that is where SHE sits.

Last week, when Eve got in the van after going through car-line, I asked her how her day at school was.  With a grumpy face, and her arms crossed across her chest, she said "I'm not gonna tell you."  I was confused and said "what do you mean?  did you have a bad day?"  She replied, "I'm not gonna tell you that I got on yellow!"  Me: "Eve, why did you get on yellow?" Eve: "Because my teacher told me I couldn't stay on green.  I just wasn't sweet.  Mrs. Hope got mad at me."    

My Eve-aroo.  Strong, determined, and unafraid.  Jesus, temper her heart for you.

Today, Mrs. Hope brought her to the van and told me about her third yellow face.  I thanked her and we drove away.  Eve looked at me from the backseat and said, "are you sad about me, mommy?"  I told her I didn't like it when she didn't have a green face.  Then she said, "I'm sad too, mommy.  I dont like it when I can't stay on green either.  Clara's sad.  Ellie's sad.  We're all sad... Can I wear my Belle dress when I get home?"  She gets over things quickly :)

Here are a few pics from her first day of school this year.  

 going straight for the pink dress!

Thank you, Jesus, for my precious girl.  Help her, like me, to be more like you every day!  

8 Month Milestones

This has been a month of milestones for Clara and Ellie!  They are simply ADORABLE... and i grow more and more in love with them each day (as does Eve and Eric)!!
Both girls are successfully sitting up... unsupported!  This is really ahead of what I was planning for them :)  Who said they'd be developmentally delayed???  Taking pictures of them is so much fun now because they will laugh and giggle and coo at the camera.  Ellie tends to squish up her button nose and squint her eyes when smiling, while Clara stays wide-eyed with her big, slobbery grin!  They are looking more and more different to me these days.

My Three Princesses :)

In other news, the girls just started their first Mother's Day Out experience at First Baptist of Augusta.  They are doing great!  Eric gets them dressed and fed and to school every Tuesday and Thursday morning by 9am.  He does a great job.  He told me that the first day, the entire classroom full of babies was screaming for their moms.  Ours were perfectly content with their teachers.  Not sure what that means... either they haven't reached the separation anxiety phase yet, OR they are held by people other than Eric and me ALOT, so they're just used to it :)  We'll see as the year progresses.  This is a pic of the girls in the back of Eric's truck headed to school on the first day.

Clara has now sprouted two teeth.  Right on the bottom.  She is one big slobberer!  She absolutely LOVES to chew and bite on the foam letters/numbers we have around the house.  Her chin is always soaking wet and dripping...as is the collar around her shirt, if she isn't wearing a bib.  Ellie is a drooler too, but not near as bad.  Nothing has come through her gums yet, although I'm sure they will be popping out soon!  

Ellie was re-admitted to MCG three weeks ago with a partial bowel obstruction.  We weren't sure she was going to avoid surgery, but miraculously, she was!  Na-Ma came up to help me with everything that comes along with having of one of three children ages 3 and under in the hospital for 5 days.  It was a HUGE help!  While Ellie was in the hospital, she started saying "mamamama"!!!  It is usually in a moment of being pitiful and sad... but I'll take it!  She has been known to lay in the bed, mumbling, moaning, and whimpering...then all of the sudden, you'll hear it!  The best words on the planet :)  Ellie has also stumbled upon waving "bye-bye".  She will never do it on command, but occasionally, we'll see that hand tilt towards her face and she'll raise and lower her fingers.  It is precious.  The first time I noticed it was after her nurse had shoved that NG tube down her nose into her belly.  Ellie began waving "bye-bye" to her.. as if to say, "I'm done!  That's enough!  Go away!"  :)   

  

Clara isn't interested in saying "mamama", but has been caught saying "dadada" a few times.  She is definitely a daddy's girl.  Both girls light up when Daddy, Mommy, or Eve walk in the room.  I love our family!

Not only do both girls sit up un-supported...they will both scoot ALL AROUND THE ROOM.  I spread out a blanket in the middle of the floor with some toys, and when I walk away for a few minutes, they have both managed to get themselves to the corners of the room :)  We are definitely discussing ways to "barricade"  the living room when they actually start crawling!!  Our house is about to start jumping (as if it wasn't already :)).  

Adalyn came over for a playdate yesterday, and the girls had fun rolling around for a few minutes together.  Kristen took a few pics of the girls all together... it makes me glad that I dont have triplets!  How in the WORLD can ONE person get THREE babies to look, let alone smile, in the same direction??  

And I leave you with the 8 month pictures we had taken of the girls this past weekend.  They did FANTASTIC and I'm so glad we did it!  Clara and Ellie are growing up so fast :)  I'm so glad they're mine!