Being a mom of three kids has been interesting. Here are just a few things I've noticed that happen with three kids. I hope they make you smile, and I hope that they will make me smile to... sometime in the future. :)
* Eloise always has to poop or pee while I'm nursing. Always. It wouldn't be so bad if she had a better grasp on toilet paper and where it goes and what is an acceptable quantity to use for the situation at hand. Usually it's grossly inadequate which means I clean it up later (if you know what I mean) or way way way too much. I've come into the bathroom to find a whole roll of paper in the toilet, sometimes unrolled, sometimes not.
*No matter how much food I give my kids for lunch so they can eat while I feed Michael, it is never enough. But on the days I don't have to feed Michael during lunch time, the girls refuse to eat anything.
*Family dinners just got a whole lot more interesting because everyone eats at the same time.... I mean everyone. I usually eat my dinners one handed, while at the same time helping Eloise eat, trying to keep Evelynn in her chair, and serving up drinks. Doug handles serving food, making Evelynn eat, and sometimes cutting my food for me. It's quite the process, and no part of the day wears me out physically more and wears my patience thinner than dinner time. It's a good thing it gets dark so early now because my kids bed time is changing to 6:15 really really soon.
*All behavior problems now center around the time that I am nursing and unable to chase down the perpetrator to bring them to justice. It's really annoying.
*Both girls love Michael, but neither can understand the proper way to show affection. Common phrases I use now include "Don't yell in his face!" "Don't pick him up by the arms!" "Don't pick him up at all!" "He's trying to sleep, don't yell at him! He's sleeping, don't take his blanket off of him, he's sleeping don't poke his eyes! He's SLEEPING! Leave him ALONE!" Apparently a sleeping baby is irrestistable, but a baby awake is only fun if you can yell at them.
*Having a sick baby does not get any easier with more children. Michael had a double ear infection this last week and was gray from the pain that eating and crying caused. It was terrible, but thank goodness for Tylenol! What on earth did mom's do before Tylenol?
*My days have become so enmeshed in a routine that I don't think I could handle anything else being added. Doctors appointments are bad enough to work around! Without fail Evelynn begs to go somewhere, anywhere, everyday, even if we've already been to 3 different places. Apparently she doesn't like to be at home....
*Movies are my saving grace. If all else fails, I put in a movie. Sometimes I feel bad about that since I know my kids probably aren't supposed to be watching as much media as I'm providing, but... I'm not going to stop.
*Eloise is rebelling against her naps. This sucks. Majorly. One kid out of three taking naps is surprisingly not a good enough ratio to ensure a good day. Three for three is optimal, but also highly unlikely, but also highly needed and usually the only way I get a nap too. Care to guess how often that happens? Anyone?
*Three kids in one room is doable, but difficult. I know it's doable because I did it as a child, and so did Doug. I also know it's difficult because we are working on the transition from two to three right now. Wish us luck.
*Having three kids is interesting.On one hand, I always know what the day is going to hold (ie feeding, changing, wiping up spit up, getting kids clothed, cleaning, dealing with arguments, more cleaning etc) but I never know how the day is going to combine all those elements. It could either be the perfect storm, or a "normal" day. I'm not really saying that I'm stressing about life, but I'm not saying I'm not either. :)
*Lastly, I love my kids. I love my baby and I'm so glad he is in our family of three kids now. It makes me happy to know we have been blessed so much. It's not easy, but it's worth it.
Getting ready for Christmas.
Car shopping.
Enjoying Michael's smiles.
Seeing our little boy grow up.... a little bit at a time :)
Playing with friends.
Buying a new car. Yes, we love it.
Growing our hair.
And generally getting into mischief whenever possible.
The angel proclaiming to Mary pantless due to a misfortune earlier that evening.
Angel, Mary, and baby Jesus
The two wise men and one drunk Frenchman.
Follow the star!
We're not worthy! Worship the king!
And the wisemen departed by another way....
Mary, Angel, a stray wise man and a shepherd.
Post blessing picture. Michael is in the Jacobson blessing blanket that Doug was blessed in, but we got him his own outfit. You'd be shocked at how hard it is to find a 0-3 month baby church outfit! We went to 4 stores and finally found ONE in the last store, and it was the only one there!
Family picture with no one looking except Eloise, and Michael is crying. Classic. :) Pictured here is my mom Colleen, Doug, Eloise, me, Michael, my younger sister Lori, Evelynn, and my older brother Jesse.
The family line through the females. This is my grandma Showalter (my mom's mom).
Four generations of the Jacobson boys. Keith Earl Jacobson, David William Jacobson, Douglas Keith Jacobson, and Michael David Jacobson. The son takes on the grandpa's name as their middle name.
Evelynn was a Spider witch, but she did not want a spider on her face, so she got a bat instead.
Eloise was a fairy.
We carved pumpkins for FHE. This year we got smart and limited the girls to choosing faces for us to carve in their pumpkins and then only bought one for Doug and I to share. It made the whole process much simpler and faster. Eloise just wanted to stir her "pumpkin cake" (aka the seeds and guts) but was very proud of her tiny pumpkin she picked out.
Evelynn scooped out most of the guts herself.
After the blessing, Grandma Jacobson hosted a Halloween get together with the people in her neighborhood, and she had some of her daughters and granddaughters dress up as witches to deliver invitations. Grandma's costume was pretty amazing.
Here's the crew. They danced from door to door for almost and hour delivering invitations.
And my girls in their costumed glory.
Here they are getting in some pre-trick-or-treating practice in before the real thing. Unfortunately it rained, hard, during the time the girls were out and they got soaked and came in early. I was not taking them out (he he he, thank goodness for grandmas!) but they came home with quite enough candy as it was. They had more fun handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters who came to the door anyway.
The rest of the pictures are just things we've been up to lately. Michael's getting bigger, a little at a time. It was amazing to see him with Doug's dad, because he could be a Dave Jacobson doppelganger, if you could have one of those as a baby. You can definitely see the Jacobson strain coming through with him.
The weather has been really nice (minus Halloween when it rained so much) so we have spent a lot of time outside. It's been so nice, and I do not looked forward to winter but I guess we'll manage.
First game day!
Already loves the BYU football colors :)
Yum yum yum!
Flash! Whoa!
All the kids :)
Here I am checking into the hospital, very excited to have a baby!
There he is! What a relief!
Mondo big lips... I don't know why.
Born on September 13th at 9:56 am after two hours of labor, 7 lbs 4 oz 19 1/2 inches long
After the first good meal of the day. I have an avid eater.
Family photo... the best we could get at least.
Evelynn was in love with her brother from the first instant.
Chilling on mom's bed, watching movies and eating all the hospital's snacks. They loved it.
It took Eloise a while to warm up. This is the best she would do in the hospital.
Getting read to bring baby Michael home!
Go Cougars! Got to start early. :)
