Dad's Big Helpers

Little Miss Maylee

Maylee's personality has come alive in the last week or so.  She is so much fun!  I can't wait until she starts talking more because there is no telling what is going on in that little mind of hers!

She likes to have a drink in her hands most of the time.  She takes after Grandad on that one!  Shoes are another one of her favorites right now.  Most of the time she'll put on one boot and another random shoe.

Clip on earrings.  That she also tried to put on Daxton.  All of a sudden she is into everything girly. 

Including Barbies.  She takes clothes to people and makes them dress Barbies for her. 

Even Papa got roped in.

Being outside is her favorite. 

This is her most awesome run.  She swings her arms up high in the front and then behind her back when she gets excited.

Just love her to death!

Church in Boots

I told Mikayla she couldn't wear flip flops to church because they weren't nice enough and after trying to convince me a million times that flip flops with jewels on them were fancy she finally gave up and brought out her boots.  "Are these fancy enough Mom? I've worn boots to church before!"  Okay.  You got it.  The girls were boots to church on Sunday and Daxton wore boot socks.  Gotta keep up our redneck appearances!

For Christmas Dustin's parents gave Daxton and Dustin matching ties.  Dustin couldn't wait to wear them to church together and even though it was huge on Daxton they looked so cute together on Sunday!

Simply "Deluctable"

Church!

Daxton's first day of church was last week and he looked like such a stud!  The girls were pretty darn cute, too.

What brother?

It only took over 5 weeks, but the girls just discovered they have a brother.  They are such big helpers! Mikayla likes to help bathe Daxton, give him his binkie, bring me diapers, have photoshoots with him, and inform me every time he spits up (which is pretty much constantly).  Maylee likes to feed him, stuff a binkie in any hole on his face she can find, try and lift him up, give him blankies, push him in his swing, and brings me his play mat for him (I think it's a cue it's time for me to put him down and pick her up).

And, for the most part, Daxton is a pretty good sport about it all.

Dancing Queen

Mikayla started a dance class on Tuesday and loved it.  She mostly just watched (ie stared at all the other kids), but she has been talking about it non-stop since then.  Hopefully she will get braver and pull out all the rockstar moves she does at home when she is at class.

Reality Check

I get frustrated sometimes with all the perfectionism that appears in the blogging/Pinterest world.  While I love to read crafty blogs and dream of organizing and making over my house I wonder how these moms really do it all.  Can their lives really be as perfect as they make it appear?  It got me wondering what people think after reading our blog.  I tend to blog about the happy things because that's what makes me happy, but life is not always picture perfect and I keep feeling like I need to write out some of my thoughts.  That being said-my life is perfect to me.  I love the life I live.  Perfect, though, is different for me than it probably is for most people. My idea of perfect has drastically changed since Daxton was born and I am sure it will change again and again over the years of raising a family. Here is a glimpse of my perfect, happy life.

I have the cutest little girls on the planet...that don't have their hair done or matching outfits most days.  Mikayla picks out their outfits and it's always a gamble of what you're gonna get.  Maylee's nose is constantly runny, they are always covered in dirt, PB&J has become their lifeline, their shoes are on the wrong feet more often than not...and guess what?  They are happy.

Daxton is a hard baby.  The poor little guy has awful tummy trouble and has been in pain much of the time.  Because of that he doesn't sleep much and cries when he is put down.  Some nights I  would celebrate a half an hour stretch of sleep because that meant he wasn't crying for half an hour.  The grand part is that Dustin is willing to help me out a ton.  I have an awesome Mom that took him to her house one night so we could sleep.  We have friends that have offered so many suggestions to help him out and I think we are on the upswing and have found something that is working for him.  The last two nights we've had several 2.5 hour stretches of sleep and he has been calm and content for two days.  Heaven.  Despite it all, I couldn't adore him anymore.  

Having a clean (picked up) house is important to me, but that is impossible right now.  I've let that go.  If you can see any part of the floor on any given day I count that as success.

Homemade dinner just isn't gonna happen.  Freezer meals are saving us big time.  No one is hurting from that, either.

We are that crew that everyone stares at in the store.  Kids climbing all over the cart, groceries falling on the floor, baby crying, toddler pulling everything off the shelves faster than I can put it back, stinky diapers that are just going to have to wait, and getting nasty stares from all the people who seem to have forgotten what it's like to take 3 kids 4 and under to the store by yourself.  But, I am learning to ignore it all and we are getting out.

And church?  We are no longer the quiet bench and I don't think we ever will be again!  We make it there each week, though.

Extras?  What's that?  The necessities get done most of the time and nothing more.  Someday, but not today.

Dustin and I haven't slept in weeks and our eyes show evidence of that.  Both of us have been asked and no, we aren't sick.  We are just raising a family.  We are building a home.  We are exhausted, but we are happy.  We have been blessed with three of the most precious kiddos ever.  We are in love and life is good.  Perfect?  No.  Perfect for us?  Yes.

Bad Day

Painting yourself instead of your paper makes for some rough clean up.  

Would you believe this is after being washed up?

Life With Three

Is Messy.

Is chaotic.

Is love.