Slow Down Time

I am struggling this week. My kids have all decided to hit milestones, or what I consider milestones, all in the same week! Toxey has suddenly weaned himself of the pacifier. The child wanted it all the time, and literally overnight will not touch one. Ella Katherine is turning five at the end of the week. Anne Hartley has slept dry all week, therefore no more pull ups. And on top of all that, I went through all the baby clothes to get rid of them. Life is so ironic how you want to rush through the tough parts, but when they are suddenly gone you miss them. I should be thrilled we won't have the same paci struggle like we did with Anne Hartley, or that I will not have to buy anymore pull ups, but I sit here finding myself a little broken over how quickly it is all happening! The last two years I have barely been able to keep my head above water, having three with me constantly with very little relief. I would complain frequently to myself and hope for a break, especially while Matt was away in Army training. In a short eight months though, EK will be starting Kindergarten and Hart will be in prek4. It will only be Toxey and I here during the day. While the little man and I will enjoy the quietness and drama free mornings, it just won't be the same. People are constantly telling me enjoy it, it goes by quickly. I think those people truly have forgotten the reality that comes with three children 4 and under. I think if they were to experience it again, they would rethink those words. I do not wish to go backwards, however I would love for it to just slow down a bit.

Christmas Pageant

Ella Katherine was in her first Christmas Pageant this past Sunday. What a joy to watch the young children sing praises to the Lord. I get teary eyed every year! Thankfully there are plenty of moments to laugh at also. She was a sheep and we have literally been practicing everyday learning the words of her songs. She makes me play the cd constantly. My pictures didn't turn out very good, but I am including a couple.

Madison Christmas Parade

We took the girls to the Madison Christmas Parade last Saturday. They randomly let Matts group out of drill for a couple of hours so he was able to join us. They had a blast. I left right after and was able to drive to Columbus to finally meet one of my best friend's baby, Murphy Hatcher. He is such a little bundle of joy and I could just eat him up!! I was able to spend the night with Kayla and Kevin. We had such a good time catching up. I can't wait to get to see him again!

Wednesdays Words

Ella Katherine: "Mom, You know why the flag is only half way up the pole right?" Me: "No, do you?" Ella Katherine: "Of course, because Barack Obama won the president." Anne Hartley: "Mom, could you ask God to close his eyes for two minutes. I am about to disobey." :)

Kate McPhail is Finally Home!

What a beautiful picture of God's grace! Sweet Kate finally came home Monday to my brother and sister in laws home in Oxford. Kate and her twin sister Maggie were born on August 31st at 26 weeks. Maggie passed away the next day and is now resting in Heaven. Although those left behind hurt, what an amazing thing that she never experienced this fallen world! A few days after Maggie's funeral it was discovered that Kate had suffered a brain bleed. It didn't look good, but miraculously she is doing great! She was born 1 lb. 14 oz. Kate now weighs 5lbs. 12 oz. There is still a long journey ahead. She is a little fighter. I can't wait to get to Oxford to love all over her. She is the custest little thing and my very first niece. Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow! Please pray for David, Jenny, Logan and sweet Kate.

Also here is a link to Kate's CaringBridge page where you can read her entire story. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katemcphail/mystory

Finally Home

As some of you know, Matt left for JAG school in Charlottesville, VA at the beginning of July. The kids and I joined him shortly after. However, our time with him was cut short due to a family emergency that we returned home for. We left him at the very beginning of September to come back to Mississippi. We were able to see him during his transition from Charlottesville to Ft. Benning for the weekend. Other than that quick visit we were separated the rest of the time. Thankfully, Matt finally returned home from JAG school on the weekend before Thanksgiving. I dropped the kids off in Collinsville and made the five hour drive to Ft. Benning for his graduation. We were able to spend a much needed weekend together and do all of our Christmas shopping. We are getting back into our routine and are so happy to be together as a family again. I also have a new found respect for single moms, particularly those with multiple kids! It was no walk in the park, but we survived and plenty of santification happened in the process. :)

Polo

Today after church we headed out to a local vineyard that host a polo match every Sunday afternoon. People put up tents and eat their lunch there. It was such a fun new thing to watch. We may have found our new Sunday afternoon tradition. Matt has the kids down at the pool now, so I am getting special time with my little man!:)

Virginia Safari Park

Last night we went to Baja Bean Co. I am a huge fan now!! Of course I have yet to find a Mexican restaurant that I am not a fan of! I am fairly certain the whole place had a party upon our departure, and it probably took three people to clean up my kids mess. We then went to Kohr's frozen custard. Today we ventured out to Buffalo, VA to the Virginia Safari Park. We were quite hesitant to make the 70 minute drive and spend the money. I mean this place is in the middle of nowhere. Much to our surprise it was WONDERFUL!!! We first ate a picnic lunch, then we headed to the walk through park. We were able to feed lots of different animals including a giraffe. We then got in our car and drove through the Safari part. The animals literally stick their heads in your car to eat food from your buckets. We fed Zebra, Llama (Which EK is dying for one now), Ostrich, Pigs. We saw every kind of animal you could possible imagine. We even saw a llama that literally just been born right in front of us. My favorite quote of the day was of course by Ella Kat. A momma Squirrel Monkey that has beard was nursing, and EK screams out, "Weird momma, why is that grandpa feeding that baby from it's milkers?" We made lots of wonderful memories their today and I am so thankful we took the risk. This past week was fairly uneventful minus date night.

Weekend Adventures

A quick recap of last weekend. Saturday morning we got a late start and headed to Chiles Orchards. We picked fresh peaches and had homemade peach ice cream. It was such a fun time for the girls and a great way to show them that food does not come from the grocery store. :) We then headed to Blue Mountain Brewery for lunch. By far my favorite place here so far. It is hidden in the mountains with an amazing view. We sat out under a beautiful arbor while the kids jumped in an inflatable jump house. So beautiful and the food is to die for! We then just drove a little ways on the Blue Ridge Parkway where we stopped at Humpback Rocks. Sunday we attended Trinity Presbyterian again. We then went to Walnut Creek Lake where we took a picnic lunch. We swam and the girls built sand castles. The Kona Ice truck happened to come by for a yummy treat. I finally had to purchase a camera. I left my big Nikon at home, so I had to buy a cheapo this week. I was missing far to many memories. About to post pics of what we did today. Oh and I forgot to mention one of the precious female JAGs kept the kids Thursday night to allow Matt and I to go out to eat. Can I tell you how much I love this girl!! We walked the pedestrian mall and ate at a Italian restaurant. It was pretty good.

Our Little Adventure

Well the Vitart clan has relocated temporarily to Charlottesville. Matt is attending JAG school here with the Army. I am going to try to keep this thing up while we are here so that we will be able to remember our little adventure. Plus there is very little I can accomplish at nap time in a one bedroom hotel room with three kids. We are loving this area. It is so beautiful. Matt and I headed out on July 1 driving this way. We went to Charleston, SC on the way up for about five days. Matt dropped me off at Durham to catch a flight back to the kiddos who had spent a week at Grammy and Pappys. Matt then went to Ft. Lee for two weeks of introduction training. The kids, my mom and I made the incredibly long drive back up to Charlottesville on July 25th. We spent three days on the road but had a great time. We stopped over in Chattanooga, TN and played in Coolidge Park. We then spent the night in Murphy, NC. The next day we drove to Efland, NC where we spent the night on a working farm. I am just going to have to face the fact that my girls are definitely more cut out for the city life. I need to move them back to Collinsville ASAP. After about five minutes they were much to hot and dramatic for us to do much on the farm. We did get to see the pigs, cows, sheep and chickens. I was totally back in my element! We then finally arrived on July 27th to our destination. It took a few days for Matt to adjust to having four more people here, but we have all settled in now. I am going to lay out what we did so far just for my memory. I am going to change format on next post, but I just need to jot all this down before it becomes fuzzy. Friday July 27th- We arrived around 4p.m. to Charlottesville. When Matt got out of class we headed to Brixx Pizza. Very yummy! Saturday July 28th- Mom kept Toxey and we headed to Monticello with the girls. The kids museum there was excellent. Tour was a major failure. What led me to believe a four and three year old would be interested in someone's home they knew nothing about I am not sure. After room three where Hart nearly ripped actual orignial paintings off the wall in Thomas Jefferson's bedroom and both girls layed down on the floor we attempted to find an exit. They obviously were prepared for this becaused suddenly a side door flew open and about four people with walkie talkies guided us through hidden hallways and out the door. Creepy! We then left immediately and dined at Michie's Tavern. Very cool place and yummy food. However, I find it so humorous that people are so fascinated with getting to eat fried chicken, mashed potatoes and blackeyed peas with sweet tea. I mean this is what we have most days. There advertisement said try food from yesteryear.:) That night mom kept all three kids and Matt and I were able to eat out and drive around a little. We ate at The Virginian on the Corner. It was so good. Their mac and cheese is to die for! Toxey also took his first steps to grammy on this night. Sunday July 29th- We visited Trinity Presbyterian and really enjoyed it. It's difficult trying new churches when you get to listen to Pastor Carl in church or Sunday school with John Kwasny or Tim Dryden every Sunday, but we did enjoy it. The kids did great in the nursery. They said Hart ate her weight in graham crackers (imagine that.) Monday July 30th- Mom and I ventured out to Penn Park where the kiddos played. We then had to take mom to the airport much to our disapproval of her leaving. Tuesday July 31st- I took the kids down to the pedestrian mall which is so neat. We went to the Virginia Discovery Museum where we played and rode the carousel outside. Then we walked to the visitor center. That night I went to the JAG wive's welcome coffee for us where I was able to visit with some of the professor's wives and other spouses. Matt took the kids for yogurt while I was away. Wednesday August 1st- We picked us Ms. Meg at airport and ate at Chickfila. Thursday August 2nd We went with the two other spouses and children to Bounce n Play. Such a cool place!! Friday August 3rd We went with the same playgroup to Forest Hills Park where they have a great playground and spray park.

Where has Time Gone?

What this little cutie patootie is NOT doing:

Sleeping

Taking a Bottle

He is too cute for me to stay mad for long though! I can't believe my baby is six months already! He is eating lots and lots of baby food, rolling over like crazy, starting to sit up a little, and thinks his sisters are the greatest thing in the world! He is definitely a momma's boy already. I can hardly leave the room.

Sweet Boy

My dear friend Maggie Ingram came over and snapped some shots of little Toxey man when he was about three weeks old. I really enjoyed visiting with her and getting these precious pics. Toxey was in a foul mood and the girls were acting like hoodlums. Maggie was so patient! I was amazed she was able to get any good shots though.

Stir Crazy

We haven't been able to get out much since Toxey came along so I took the girls to one of our favorite places this summer while I was pregnant, the fountains at Renaissance.

We are Officially Outnumbered

Mark "Toxey" Vitart
July 1, 2011
11:59a.m.
7lbs. 6ounces
20 inches long

I figured I better jot all this down before I forget numbers and birth story. Gets harder to remember details when you have three to remember. Sweet thing is already 7 weeks old tomorrow so I am a little behind.
All three of my deliveries were pretty similar, however number three moves much quicker!! I went in for my appointment at 37 weeks and 5 days. Blood pressure was up and I was very swollen, as with Ella Katherine and Anne-Hartley. He told me to come to the hospital that night at 5:00p.m. where they would administer a cervadil. Night was pretty calm. Next morning they started pitocin and he broke my water around 7:30 at which I was 1.5 centimeters. By 9:30 I was hurting pretty good. I didn't want to ask for epidural because I assumed it had only dilated maybe another centimeter or two from my past experiences. The nurse was having a horrible time monitoring his heart rate. I was so happy that she told me we needed to go ahead and do epidural so I would quit moving around. This would help her monitor his heart rate better. I hate asking for epidural for some reason. Anyways the anesthesiologist came about five minutes later. She inserted my epidural no kidding four times. Not fun! However it was totally worth it as always. The nurse checked me immediately after and I was already 8cm. I couldn't believe that in two hours time I went from 1.5 to 8cm. The next two centimeters went a little slower. When I got to ten probably around 11:30a.m. Toxey wouldn't drop all the way. She inserted a catheter and within minutes i started feeling lots of pressure. Now the doctor was still at his office at the end of Lakeland and had to make it all the way to Woman's in lunch traffic. She said we would wait until he was in the building to do the first push. Well we heard his voice coming, so we did one push. Now at this point the room was not set up for birth. We all assumed I would have to do several pushes before that needed to take place. We did one push and he crowned. She told me to stop, and then she went to the cabinets to prepare a few things. In the meantime I just knew I felt Toxey coming out. I asked Matt and when he looked he turned completely white. Then I preceded to look, and Toxey's head was literally laying on the bed and noone was around. They start yelling for Dr. Wolfe to come in there. He casually walks in and when he looks at my face and then looked down he put a little pep in his step. He didn't even have time to get fully clothed. I think Matt was seconds away from grabbing the baby out himself. Dr. Wolfe then let me cut the cord myself. It was really neat.

Happy Easter!!

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Anne-Hartley Turns Two

I can't believe my baby girl turned two!! We are trying to start making some changes before little Toxey arrives. So far potty training has been a fail! Paci weaning -Fail! Big Girl bed has been our only success! The fails are mainly mommy's fault. I am having such a hard time letting her grow up! She is finally starting to form some sentences. Poor thing has a hard time talking because big sister is never quiet enough to give her a chance. Her favorite right now are Dora, Max and Ruby, her blankee(night night), and anything involving food!
We celebrated with just a small family cookout. It was fun! She was so proud when everyone sang to her! She wanted a Max and Ruby cake, and it was so yummy!

Getting Closer

I had a checkup today. I am now going every two weeks which is crazy to me! Toxey is already measuring 30 weeks! They said he is going to be a big boy! We are finally starting to get the nursery together, and I am quite pleased with it! We are doing alot of the stuff ourselves which is much cheaper and more fun!! We have really enjoyed it! I will post pictures when completed. Of course now we have two jealous little girls. Ella Katherine ask her daddy when he is painting her room at least once a day! Good luck with that one sweet girl!

Top Ten Things I Have Learned About Being a Stay at Home Mom

1. I will never be able to do ANYTHING without an audience again!

2. I have learned I can have a really ugly sinful side

3. The true meaning of a desperate housewife.

4. I am up for any opportunity with a free nursery.

5. How was playing with toys so much fun as a child!

6. What is adult tv? If it's not on Sprout or Disney I don't know what it is.

7. My house has never and will never be clean! This has probably been my greatest misconception!

8. I thought I was becoming my own boss, but I have a 3 and nearly 2 year old filling those shoes!

9. I swore I would get up and get ready everyday. HA! Sweatpants and house shoes are my wardrobe of choice. You know its bad when you walk out in jeans and a casual shirt, and your 3 year old says " Mommy, you look bootiful!"

10. I am so blessed to get to experience every little moment of their lives. (I have to remind myself of this quite often!)

Still Here

I actually have a night off from the kids and I have been up since 3:00 a.m. Why? Do mothers ever sleep normal again?? I have done everything I can do without waking up Matt, so I figured this was as good of a time as any to update the blog.

Remember how I said since I was staying at home now, I would keep the blog updated. HA! Little did I know how little of time I would have. We are finally starting to settle into our new lifestyle though. Hopefully when we get our routine down a little better I will be more persistent.

We are heading to Orange Beach around lunch time today and I am thrilled!! Not as much as the girls though. It is a much needed change of scenery. Daddy will only be able to join us for a couple of days, but I guess its better than nothing. I can't wait to hang out with my family and get all the little cousins together. Pray for us though, four three and unders and a grouchy pregnant lady!

Speaking of pregnant, I am 22 weeks now and moving right along. I am pretty sure I look like I am 35 weeks. It amazes me how much quicker you pop out with each pregnancy. Carrying a boy has proven to be so much different. I guess I haven't shared that news on here either. It is a boy, Mark "Toxey" Vitart. Mark is my dad's name. I have so much respect and admiration for my dad. He is the kindest, most humble, smartest man I have ever known! I am proud to let my son carry on his name. Toxey is what he will be called, is Matt's middle name. It was his great grandfather's name. I have always loved it, and it is so unique. I have definitely gotten some crazy reactions when I tell people the name, but I fully expected that. We are beginning preparations for little man's arrival. I have ordered all the nursery stuff. I guess eventually we will get around to painting. It is overwhelming having a different gender on your third. I didn't have a stitch of blue in this house. I am trying to buy things up at seasonal clearances and get all the hand me down stuff I can (hint hint.) Hart baby moved to a big girl bed this past week. It was the most unbelievably smooth transition! She is SO proud of herself. Next we will move on to paci weaning and potty training. Surely I can achieve those before July!!

Lots of Changes

We have had many changes around the Vitart household. One of which will hopefully lead to me having the time to keep this blog up better. Thanksgiving week was my last week of working outside the home. I am now a full time stay at home mom and am loving it. It is definitely a big adjustment from what I was used, but we are working on getting our routine down. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to raise my girls.

In other news, we are expecting baby number three! It will arrive sometime in July. We are thrilled! Things should definitely get interesting around here. I will go to the doctor on Friday to get a due date, etc.. Ella Katherine is super excited. She claims we are having two babies and they will be named Santa and Relf.

Ella Katherine turned three yesterday. She is such a little comedian! Her favorite things these days are muscials, Dora, cooking, dressup, her "night night", and artwork.

Anne-Hartley or "Hart Baby" will be 20 months tomorrow. She is so full of life. The child loves to eat!! Her favorite things are doing everything her sissy does, getting into all the cabinets, her paci and blankie, and being Ms. Independent.

Matt and I will celebrate four years of wedded bliss (and chaos:)) tomorrow. We have had a wonderful four years full of stress, but many blessings. We have moved, started and completed law school, had two babies with another on the way, joined the Army, completed and passed the bar, moved again, became a stay at home mom, and the list goes on and on. I love you and am so happy that God chose you for me to make this journey with!