The Waddell Family: Life with three kids...

I have not updated since August...and that was Adia's birth story a month after she was born. Maybe there are some moms out there who are able to keep everything up perfectly with three small kids, but I am not one of them! I am going to do my best to try and recall some of the more memorable moments since Adia's birth.

First, let me tell you a few things about Adia. She is such a sweet baby! She is a big girl, topping the scales at 12 lbs, 2 oz at her 1 month well check. Thankfully she has slowed down a bit. At two months she was 14 lbs, which is still big, but at least it was on the growth chart. :) While she is a good baby, she does let us know when she is unhappy, but she is usually consolable. She loves to watch her brother and sister. Whenever she gets upset when I lay her in the swing or bouncer, Cora Leigh can go over and talk to her, and it almost always calms her down. She is such a good big sister! Micah tries to do his part too. When he is not stealing her blanket or socks, he likes to try and find Adia's pacifier and stick it in her mouth. He tries this when she is asleep too, which does not always end well. :) He does loves his baby sister, and says her name quite well!

Micah...what to say about Micah. For the longest time, we thought he was not going to talk, but he talks all the time now! It is amazing how many words he has added to his vocabulary in such a short time. Some of his favorites are mommy, daddy, sis, Adia, baby, Papaw, Nana, Grandpa, Grandma, banana, apple, cracker, cheese, bread, milk, no, and mine. He also has started saying "uh-oh" a lot and said "pretty" today. He will combine words to say 2-3 word sentences at times. The kid is into EVERYTHING. He loves to put toys in the diaper champ which we now check every time before we take the bag to the garbage can. He loves to get behind the couch, unplug things from outlets, unroll toilet paper, climb on the toilet where he can reach the kleenex and "blow" his nose and throw the kleenex in the garbage, stand on chairs/the couch/the ottoman, climb onto the kitchen table, climb up the back of the couch, and climb into the baby swing. He has also figured out that what big sis has to drink is usually better than what he has (we still just give him milk and water), so anytime Cora's drink is left on the kitchen table, he will climb up there and help himself. He. Is. A. Mess. ...that one. But the little stinker is cute as a button, so all he has to do is flash a smile and it's hard to be mad at him.

Cora Leigh has had a lot going on the past few months. She is at such a fun age where she listens pretty well, and she can do a lot to help with her little brother and sister. While I am nursing the baby, Micah loves to take that opportunity to get into things, so Cora is my big helper in keeping him from hurting himself. (We also had to rearrange our living room furniture - no longer for optimal tv viewing - so we would not have to worry about Micah climbing up the couch and falling over the banister down the stairs.) She has such a wonderful imagination right now! She loves to pretend we are the Octonauts or My Little Pony characters. She also really likes the show "Doc McStuffins" and gives me check ups regularly. If I am trying to cook, I can count on her to come in the kitchen wanting to help. LOVES to cook. I try to allow her to help with ingredient measuring/dumping/stirring and egg cracking. She also turned 4 years old on September 16 (birthday party post to follow)! She was very excited to be turning 4, and she frequently tells me about things that she is able to do now that she is 4 years old. Just last week, she also had strabismus surgery. Basically, that is correcting the alignment of the eyes by tightening the muscles. It was rough the day of the surgery. She was just pitiful, but by Saturday she was doing much better, and by Sunday you would not have guessed she had had surgery two days prior! Her eyes are still red a week later, but they are getting better. We go to the eye doctor next week for a checkup. Now that he eyes are in alignment, we have to wait and see if her brain decides to start using the eyes together. There is actually a small chance it will not help. We will just have to wait and see!

I love each of my kids more than I could have imagined possible, but - I won't lie - it is not easy having three so close in age and so little. There have been more times than I can count that both Adia and Micah have needed their Mommy's attention at the same time. I end up having to decide which need is more pressing and let the other child scream until I can get to him/her. There have been a couple of times when all three have been crying at the same time, and that is just about more than I can handle. Lunch time is one of the most stressful times of the day. It seems that Adia is always ready to have her lunch the same time as Cora and Micah, which means somebody has to wait. Even if Adia isn't ready to eat, she frequently gets upset when I try to lay her down to get lunch ready for the other two, so I end up trying to do everything one-handed. Trying to get lunch for myself is nearly impossible, and it is usually swallowed whole so I can tend to everyone else. While not filthy, my house is by no means tidy. There are toys everywhere, dishes gets piled up easily, the laundry is a constant battle, and the floors always seem to need sweeping. I'm getting a little better at cooking, but planning meals and actually cooking them has also been a major struggle. Cora Leigh actually told me the other day when I asked what she would like for me to cook for dinner: "Let's just get Daddy to pick something up. That way you won't be tired. Cooking makes you tired." And she is right! But at the end of the day, when I see my children's sweet smiles and hear the giggles, it is totally worth the struggle. It is only for a season, and odds are, we will look back and wish we could get back the smiles and giggles one day. There is beauty in the chaos.

Here are some pics of the past few months. Fun times!