Ode to Eve

Best big sister award goes to Eve. She's been exceptional with our newest addition. She was good with Graham, but the whole having a real baby int he house was new to her then. Now, she's a little pro at it. She's so gentle with her, and although she can get a bit rough when she's hyper or excited, she really knows how to be tender. 

She has done so much better with Graham as well. Before, he was such an aggravation to her, he was still a baby and didn't understand how to play with her, and such made her quite frustrated. I'm not sure if it's seeing teeny weeny Greta, but somehow the gap between Eve and G has gotten smaller. She's more patient with him, she interacts so much better with him, and includes him much much more. He seems like less of a baby brother, and more of simply a younger brother. Does that make any sense? I love seeing/hearing them play together, and although things usually end with one either screaming or in tears the time prior to that is heavenly. I am really looking forward to how Greta will fit in the mix, but at the same time I want her to be a baby forever. 

Eve surprises me every day, she's such a passionate little person, I marvel at how much emotion can fit in such a small being. When she is happy, she's so incredibly happy, and so goes the opposite side. 

She's understanding things so much more, especially aspects of the gospel. She says her prayers all by herself, and sometimes says the sweetest most unpredicted things. She's got such a king heart, her prayers are always for the welfare of others, it is so humbling to hear. Don't get me wrong, occasionally a "bless me I can get a new tinkerbell doll" or "please bless Graham at he won't steL my toys" slips in there, but hey, she's only 3. I would be more surprised if those things didn't enter her mind. 

She's also decided that she can now tie her own shoes. Impressive, right? What's impressive, is that she can cause such a complex series of knots that it takes me eons of time to untie. But she feels so proud when she does it herself, it's too adorable to stop. She can do bath time all by herself, you get the tub ready, and wash her hair, that's it. She plays and can do the rest herself. She cleas up her toys, drains the tub, dries, get dressed, lotion (sometimes) and can sort of brush her own hair. It's soo nice! 

The big girl is in dance this year, and she loves it! It's the highlight of her week.msnes doing really well, and she listens to her teacher much better than she does me haha. 

Some of my new favorite Eve quotes: 

*if I have something she can't have eg. Diet coke, she says "but mom, you have to share with me, Jesus says so" 

*i hear from the backseat while driving "c'mon lady, let's goooo!" Apparently when I mumble under my breath she hears every word. 

*in a public bathroom stall "mom, I need my privacy." So I turn around and face the door. Then I hear (with thick attitude along wih an eye roll) "mom, that means you need to get out of here, I will tell you when I'm done"....excuse me? She certainly has high demands for a 3 year old. 

*when we have to leave somewhere or go to bed "please mom, I need 5 more minutes! Ok, maybe only 2.... Can I please have 3 more minutes? I promise to be good!" As always, everything is a negotiation. 

*when she's frustrated "ahh, I want to be the mom so I can be the boss!!" That's right Eve, when you're the mom, you can be the boss. 

Pony Up

I decided October was the perfect time to "pony up" and make a donation for those fighting cancer. Due to havi baby and surgery, I couldn't run a race, or volunteer my time, so I decided to donate my hair. I've done it before, but it held a special meaning this time. This past year my Aunt Marilyn was diagnosed with ovarian and peritoneal cancer. After chemo, time, and a lot of fighting, she's doing really well (knock on wood) and we couldn't be more thrilled. 

Adios hair, I wasn't using the extra 9+ inches anyways :) 

Greta is 6 weeks

Little miss Greta turned 6 weeks old (a week late to post I know) and it is great. She is still my little slice of heaven. Ok, my other two are also slices of heaven, just smaller slices sometimes. She is gaining handsomely, about 9 lbs and a bit, not exactly sure. She has gotten herself on a slight routine lately, nothing exact, but I can at least have a slight idea of how evenings and nights go. 

With my oldest, I was much more concerned with schedules. Waking Eve to eat, making sure she had her exact times for nap/awake time, leaving activities because "it's nap time! I must get her home to nap only in her crib!" With only one baby, it's easy to dwell and sweat the small stuff, because you give all your time and energy to this little bundle. It's just natural for you as a mother to do so. You want everything to be perfect and make sure you do your best always, even if it inevitably leaves you frazzled and exhausted.

Now, having 3 kids, it forces you to prioritize. You are in survival mode the majority of the time, let alone thinking about schedules. She sleeps when she sleeps, and she's awake when she's awake. Now that she's gaining well, I never wake my sleeping baby. I barely get out of the house, let alone leave my precious outings for her nap. She naps well in her car seat, swing, crib, really anywhere her siblings can't touch her, so I let her nap wherever. 

She's a great baby, not fussy, great sleeper, mellow, and so delicious. She is starting to get more chub, and I'm loving it. She sleeps one 5.5 hour stretch at night, anywhere from 11 or midnight to 4 or 5. It's bliss. The two hours before her long stretch is so nice, the house is quiet, and it's just our alone time. I get one on one with Eve and Graham during the day, but nights are for Greta and I. She loves her pacifier, but doesn't need it to sleep thank goodness. Once she falls asleep she spits it right out, that's helpful because then I know she's definitely asleep :) she just outgrew all of her newborn clothes....no lies, I wept a little. This is such a precious stage of life, I think no matter what, you're sad to let it go. 

Graham is 15 months

This guy is getting so big, without my consent. He's 15 months already, which means lots of things. He's running all over, ALL the time, and only 3 more months until he can go to nursery :) 

But he is changing so much, my mellow "go with the flow" baby suddenly has an opinion. He used to eat whatever you put in front of him. Now, you have to be creative. He will still eat most things, but he has to think he's doing it himself. For example, the bowl of oatmeal has to sit on his tray, and he gets his own spoon to hold and try to feed himself with. Meanwhile you sneak in bites when he's not looking, or charmingly singing exaggerated versions of Old McDonald and the Wheels on the Bus. It's a science as of late. But he still eats a lot, I mean a lot. This morning he had a bowl of oatmeal, piece of toast, yogurt and then drank a good portion of grandma's smoothie. It's crazy. But I guess you have to eat that much to have the 95th percentile locked up. Just had his check up, 95th for head 95th for height, and about 75th for weight. He is a tank. 32 inches long, he is only 4 inches short of his sister that is 2.5 years his senior. Haha, she will soon regret the bullying that has transpired over the past year, he's catching up quickly. He is 26.5 lbs, and only 3 lbs lighter than Eve. 

He is so incredibly busy, really no words can adequately describe just how busy he is. He can climb anything. I left him for about 3 mins and came to find him climbed up standing in my bathroom sink picking all the blossoms off my decorative branches on the counter. He can get on top of the kitchen table in mere seconds. And any chair, stair, table, dresser, seems to have this cosmic power that lures him in, he must climb it. And if you get in the way, heaven help you.

Fun fact, did you know rats can squeeze their way through a hole the size of a quarter? Yeah, Graham's a lot like that. But we sure love him, he is such a sweetheart. Aside from the boyish tendencies, he's such a great toddler. He is absolutely obsessed with his sisters. He wants to snuggle that baby all the time, she's never safe. Leaving her on the couch means Graham standing right next to it, giving her his version of soft pats and hugs...it usually ends in a fussy newborn, but that's ok, I'm glad he loves her. He loves every opportunity to hold her (with protective help of course) and when it's time to take her, well he gets this Kung fu grip on her like I've never seen. He's going to be a very protective big brother :) he stopped stealing her pacifiers, he now shoves them in her mouth to the point where she gags a bit, but he is always so proud of himself when he does it. He started playing with Eve's baby dolls it's the cutest thing ever. We love you Graham, even if your shenanigans have shaved at least 10 years off my life. 

Keeping it classy at the Edwards home :)

Surgery

I've been a little MIA lately, that is mostly to be blamed on my surgery. A few weeks ago I had a hernia repair surgery completed laparoscopically. The doctor/surgeon wasn't exactly sure what caused them, but he seems to think its due to my pregnancies. 

So 4 weeks postpartum, I went under. Surgery went well, although they found it was a bit more complicated than they had anticipated. I had an umbilical hernia, and a few inches higher had a GI hernia. But, once they got in there they found the space between them was a channel of more hernias, although smaller, they formed a "zipper" as the surgeon put it. So more mesh was placed, and a few extra incisions. I'm glad we got to it when we did. 

Recovery was rough, I had no idea just how much you use your abdominal muscles. I also had no idea it would take this long to recover, they tell you it takes at least 4-6 weeks, but I always figured they were over shooting it...they weren't. 3 weeks out and I'm just starting to feel somewhat normal again. I am still limited in my activities, but I am able to softly laugh now, and I no longer want to die every time I sneeze...stupid allergies. After 2 weeks I could start taking care of Greta, picking her up and feeding her, as long as she's propped up and I'm not holding her for long periods. 

It's been great in some ways my mom has taken such great care of he kids and I, I have been so blessed. She's run the household better than I do at my best, I have so much to learn. So while I'm laying in bed recovering, she taught Graham how to do stairs, Eve how to navigate her way through the gospel apps in the iPad, and many other things on my to-do list I never got to. It's been a very humbling experience having people help me and do things for me, being stuck watching. The ward was incredibly helpful in organizing meals to come to the house, it was so so helpful. 

Still unable to lift Graham or Eve, and it will probably be a while. But I'm so thankful for the progress I've made, and looking forward to getting back to normal :)