Easter Recap

I thought about sharing a bunch of photos from easter, but then realized this one sums things up rather nicely. It was a day of family, fun, food and a spunky child.

It was a beautiful day that we got to enjoy mostly outside. We got to spend time with both sets of grandparents. The kids got to do an easter egg hunt. And they even got to sneak in some play time with their cousin, who they hadn't seen since christmas. And, best of all, Ian and I got to sneak in a date…we didn't even take Callum! It was the cherry on top of a really good day.

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March 28

 

 

I've always wanted a big family. I've always envisioned a loud house, full of kids. For a few years, I didn't know if that would happen. I thought that maybe we were done at two. I had done mostly everything in my power and it just wasn't happening.

All that changed on March 28th last year. I saw my first glimmer of hope, my first little glimmer of Callum in the form of a pregnancy test. I was cautiously optimistic. I took several more tests over the coming weeks, just to watch the lines grow darker and the numbers grow bigger on the fancy digital ones. This is not something I had done with Connor or Isla; I only took one test each. But, like I said, I was cautiously optimistic. But on March 28th, I began a new journey. I was able to end a chapter of life that was very difficult and a constant internal struggle for me. And I started a new chapter.

Callum.

March 28th, you forever changed me. You forever changed my family. You added to us. You gave us a hope. You gave me a new lease on my dream.

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13/52

Connor: He brought home this hat from his school easter party and he was insanely proud of it. He doesn't seem to really get that way about school crafts anymore and I really enjoyed how much he enjoyed it. 

 Isla: She is pretty dang proud of the fact that she can once again have a side braid and pigtails in her hair. 

Callum: He is oh-so-close to rolling from tummy to back. That's big stuff in baby world.  

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

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Happy Easter

Hoppy Easter…get it? Like easter bunnies hopping. Yeah, for some reason I thought it was super funny. That's what you get from a sleep deprived mom that stays up way too late into the night sometimes.  In all seriousness though, easter is like the most important of holidays to me because it symbolizes eternity to me and my sins being washed away. I am oh so thankful for Jesus coming to earth to die on the cross for all of us. It's pretty amazing.

My grandma made Connor this outfit when he was a baby. Given that it was freezing at easter in Scotland, Connor only sported it for a picture. So, I decided to dig it out for Callum to wear for a picture and for easter. While taking pictures, Connor asked why Callum was wearing a girl outfit. I still think he looks cute though.

Happy easter to you! I am hoping mine is filled with lots of family time, relaxing, egg hunts, smiling kids and worshiping my savior. I hope you have a great one as well.

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Isla Soup

Lately Isla has been really into making "soup". She calls it soup, I call it throwing a bunch of random ingredients in a bowl. She always brings it to me, promising it to be delicious and offers me a bite. Of course, she rarely dares to try it herself. The other day, Isla wanted a picture of herself with her soup and I told her I would do it in exchange for her taking a bite of her soup. I'm glad she accepted because her facial expressions are priceless. 

Doesn't that leave you wanting to try the soup too?! Believe it or not, she still offered it to me after trying it, still promising it to be delicious. Crazy girl, I love your little girl ways and will miss things like Isla soup when you stop doing it in just a few short years.

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A Visit to Fairytale Town

 

During Ian's busy season, the itch starts coming to get out of town on day trips. It allows both of us to fully focus on each other and the kids and not all the work (for him) and house mess (for me) that we left behind. In searching for places in our area to go, Fairytale Town came up. We had been to Fairyland in Oakland before, which is the same concept. Comparing the two, I will say, I liked how incredibly clean and new mostly everything seemed at Fairytale Town. It also has a ton of bathrooms, lots of wide open space for running around and wasn't jam packed with people. Fairyland does have some rides, but I am thinking Fairytale Town tops it. 

 

 

The kids had lots of fun playing. Their favorite things seemed to be watering the garden (which, hey, maybe I should put them in charge of that at our house!) and the play boat. Though Callum looks cute in these pictures, he was all sorts of high maintenance while we were there. Which, in his defense, he was at the height of a bad cold and I am sure feeling miserable…and wondering why the heck his parents were dragging him out of the house in that state. I have to say, taking a four and six year old to something like this is a dream. They actually listen to you when you call them and they don't dart off into the crowd. It sure takes the anxiety level down a few notches. Of course, I realize the irony that we will be right back in that stage with Callum in about two years. But I will enjoy it while I can!

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Three Kids, One Outfit

I always had so much fun doing comparisons of Connor and Isla when they were little, in the same outfit or doing the same thing at a certain age. I have so enjoyed going through their baby pictures since adding Callum to the family. It is almost like I am reliving their babyhoods and love going back and looking at the pictures to spur those memories. So, you can only imagine my excitement when I unpacked this adorable outfit. Some friends sent it to us when I was pregnant with Connor. And it is now on it's third Grimbleby. The only thing is, the weather and Callum's length wouldn't hold out until he is five months old to do this comparison. But, it's close enough.

Connor:

Isla:

Callum:

I guess I should have put him in the bumbo for the picture too, since the others were in it…Oops. But, you get the comparison, non-the-less. And, let's just say that the baby Grimbleby genes are strong in our family! They certainly all look related.

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12/52

Connor: Enjoying all the playtime with the sun streaming through our windows in the late afternoon.
 

 Isla: There is an attitude and sass that is coming out of this girl lately that equally scares me and makes me excited for the fiercely independent girl she is becoming. 

 Callum: I told you I can't resist a good sleeping-thumb-sucking-baby photo. Oh, and this poor boy has another cold. It is awful.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

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My Husband Has Ruined Me

I don't know if it's the newest little man in my life, or the fact that we now have a coffee pot that keeps coffee hot for long periods, but I find myself drinking copious amounts of coffee everyday. Like amounts that rival my early 20's when I practically lived off caffeine. And it sure doesn't hurt that I have fresh roasted coffee at my disposal. Anyway…

The other day I made myself coffee and left for the school run without bringing it along with me. Unfortunately, this happens a lot these days. I run out of time, or really just forget in the hustle and bustle of the morning to grab my coffee before I head out the door. But, on the days that Isla has school, we spend a lot of time in the car, so there is a lot of coffee drinking time to be had. On this particular day, I decided to go to starbucks and grab myself a cup of coffee.

The first sip I took of the coffee made me think they used cigarette ash as coffee grinds. Obviously I don't know what cigarette ash tastes like, but if I had to guess, it would have been this cup of coffee. Yeah, it was awful. And thankfully, when I got home, my forgotten coffee was still nice and hot, sitting in the tumbler on the dining room table.

But seriously, I have never thought of myself as a coffee snob…or connoisseur. I leave that to my husband. Just give me coffee and I will drink it. Now, I find myself not only turning my nose up to coffee, but even no longer regularly drinking dark roast. WHO AM I?!

I blame Ian. Apparently starbucks is no longer good enough for me…of course, maybe that's a good thing considering how they are ruining their rewards program and all.

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Three Kids

 

I woke up to three kids in bed with me the other day. That's not an uncommon occurrence around here these days and makes me so thankful we upgraded to a king size bed a year ago. Connor is usually the first one up, but on this particular day it was Callum. And since it's hard to notice Isla in the background (and the fact that she is practically smooshing Connor) I thought I would include a picture of the two older kids as well. 

While pregnant, a lot of people wanted to talk to me about the transition to three kids. The main takeaway I kept getting is that three kids is the tipping point when you just have to start letting things go. Most people talked about their house going downhill or not having three hands while out in public with three children. While I do feel like a circus act while in public at times, I feel like something else has majorly taken a hit. 

Life. 

I seriously can't keep up on the life outside of the five of us. I don't know if this is because of transitioning to three, having an infant or it being Ian's busy season. But I just forget every single thing that is non-essential. Case in point, we were supposed to have dinner at someone's house last week. I forgot until THAT EVENING. Oops. And people are constantly having to remind me of things they need from me. Let's not even talk about getting together with friends because that one is practically nonexistent…which I really am sad about. 

I think I am in coping mode…also known as my new normal. Then again, we (yes, freaking "we"…not just Ian here) only have a month left of busy season. Things should hopefully be more normal again after that. But, if not, I hope that I somehow find a better way of interacting with people outside the walls of my home. 

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11/52

Connor: This kid loves to play dress up, but in his imaginative play, things have to be done as realistically as possible. He is definitely a very literal person. 

Isla: I know this isn't the best picture (and I'm in it), but this girl and I spend a lot of time in the car together. My phone ends up filled with pictures of her and I in the car. We pass our time talking, reading…and heading through the drive thru for a treat every once in a while.

Callum: Even though I still don't know how I feel about his thumb sucking, I can't seem to stop taking pictures of it because he looks so dang cute doing it. Oh, and he sleeps an incredibly long time when he sucks his thumb, so there is that. 

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

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Callum {3 months}

Weight: 12lbs, 14oz

Length: 25 inches

Likes: Sleeping on his tummy, his swing, sitting up (in the bumbo or on someone's lap), playing on his play mat, his brother and sister, his thumb

Dislikes: His carseat, people holding him in the laying down position, loud/startling noises

After battling rsv right when he turned two months, things only went uphill from there. But, it was a looong two weeks of sickness and I started to wonder if a fussy baby was just the "new Callum". But, he got better and his sunny disposition came back. As long has he isn't hungry or tired, Callum is full of smiles for people. And, it's kind of funny when you can get him to smile while crying. Even Connor is entertained by that one. 

Callum has started sleeping long stretches through the night. We are talking 8-10 hours stretches. It has been really nice. I actually had to wake him up to feed him when my alarm clock went off the other morning. He had slept all night long! Basically I found out he loved the swing and have been letting him sleep in it. I put a monitor by it, so I can hear in my room if he wakes at night. But, if I try letting him sleep in his crib, he seems to wake every 2 hours or so. So really, I don't care what people say, he can sleep in the swing all he wants! I'll cross the bridge of getting him out of the swing later on down the road…that's  a job for future (well rested) Jessica. 

Callum has fully become a thumb sucker. He tends to only do it when he is ready to go to sleep. But, he quickly finds his thumb and puts himself to sleep. It sure is cute looking. But I am still nervous about having to wean him off his thumb when he is older. 

If you lay Callum down, he tries sitting up. He fully lifts his head up, but also tries using his abs to sit up…he can't exactly get anywhere, but you can tell he's trying. But rolling over, yeah, that hasn't happened yet. He hasn't even attempted it. He is very active though. Kicking his arms and legs and can scoot around while laying down too. Yet, he hasn't even accidentally rolled over while on his stomach even. It will happen in due time. 

Callum still hates his car seat. This makes running errands very stressful at times. But, when we get places, if I plop him in his stroller, he is as happy as can be. The last few times I have tried wearing him in a carrier, he has flipped out and calmed down as soon as I get him out. I am hoping that is just a small phase because trying to carry Callum with one arm  while pushing a cart with the other is quite the challenge…though it sure is building up my arm muscles! 

I can't believe it has already been three months that Callum has been a part of our family. Yet, it feels so normal having him around. I sure do love this little man of mine. 

And, just in case you like to compare like me, here is Connor's 3 month update and Isla's too. 

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