Spring Time Round Up

I was afraid that having a newborn would cause us to miss out on adventures, but she hasn't slowed us down one bit. Adeline is really easy going and adaptable so we've been able to have a great spring.

We've had visits from both sets of grandparents. Our parents are so good to come to Arkansas and our kids absolutely love it! I'm always grateful to have extra hands to play with the girls and we all shed some tears when they have to go back home.

We loved having Nate's parents in town for Easter

With the beautiful weather, comes the itch to be outside as much as possible. We decided to brave a camping trip. We figured bedtime is a nightmare at home so how much worse could it be in the woods? We were pleased to find out it was actually so much better! The girls were super excited to sleep in a tent so they actually put themselves to bed. And by some miracle Adeline seemed to like sleeping in a tent as well and didn't wake up once in the night! We're considering sleeping in a tent every night at home...... We chose a perfect place to camp and had the entire campground all to ourselves, which was good since between us and our Shepherd and Pendleton cousins we had 6 adults, 8 kids, and 3 dogs. Nate got a new tent for his birthday. We went with the "instant tent" which was awesome! I'm all about the 2 minute set up! We also got one that was plenty big so we could fit our air mattress, the girls' cots, and Adeline's pack and play, plus space for Ollie and our stuff. It was perfect. Our girls had a grand time and I was relieved nobody fell in the fire or the pond.

Adeline spent much of the camping trip cuddled up with mom in the carrier

We are frequent attendees of story time at the local libraries. Yes that's plural. We hit up the Bentonville and Rogers library a couple of times a week.  The girls enjoy the fun songs and stories and there is usually a little craft at the end. I love that they get to be creative and I don't have to come up with a craft or gather the supplies!

Stringing beads at the library

Speaking of me not having to gather supplies, I love the Amazeum! It's a children's museum full of hands on activities. We have a family membership and it has been well worth the cost! The girls have a blast every time we go and I love that I don't have to clean up the mess!

Last weekend we were supposed to go to Branson with some friends but they had a medical emergency and we had to cancel just a few minutes before we were scheduled to leave. We were bummed to miss the trip but didn't want to let a perfectly good Saturday go to waste so we came up with a plan B. We headed out to the Gentry Wilderness Safari! The girls loved feeding and petting the animals. Well, Eden loved feeding and petting. Lydia is a bit more cautious and loved looking at the animals from a distance. Eden did get bit once by a little pony but after a few tears she declared, "I like to try again!" 

They both said the "Mama" (llama) was their favorite

The girls were very excited to see "Daniel Tiger" 

After a day with the animals, we decided to go to the drive-in movie theater and watch the new Jungle Book movie. We met up with Bryson and Alyssa. The girls thought it was pretty neat to get to watch a movie outside and of course any time spent with their cousins is a good time. The movie didn't start until about 9:00 PM so Lydia actually ended up falling asleep by the end in Nate's lap and Adeline slept in my arms, but Eden held strong until the ride home. 

It's easy to get caught up in the tasks of every day life so I'm so grateful that we've been able to take the time to do these fun things with our children and create such fun memories. Speaking of fun memories (or funny ones) Eden has an aversion to clothes so let me just leave you with this picture.....

Newborn Pictures

I'm finally getting around to posting Adeline's newborn photos.....only 2 months late! My mom did a beautiful job with these pictures. Thank you Mimi!

Our sweet girl turned 2 months old last Sunday. She is such a joy to our family. These first couple of months, I've spent holding her or wearing her in the carrier most of the day because it keeps her happy which keeps me happy! She's really turned a corner recently though and has been much better about lying on the floor or in her swing for periods of time. While it is easier for me to accomplish things, I'm already missing the constant cuddles! Unfortunately, she still hates her carseat. Almost every car ride she screams and cries and works herself into quite the frenzy. By the time we arrive at our destination she is sweaty, red faced, bug eyed, and foaming at the mouth! Hopefully, that improves before we drive out to California in June....

She has become such a smiley little girl which Eden and Lydia love. They constantly tell me, "Look Mommy, she's smiling at me!" 

She's not really on any sort of schedule, but that works for us right now. She's pretty flexible which makes it nice for getting out of the house to take the older girls to the park, playdates, and storytime. She has started sleeping through the night occasionally. It's awesome when it happens but I definitely don't count on it. 

At her 2 month checkup, she weighed in at 10 lbs 9.5 oz. Our doctor was very impressed with her head control and overall strength. I swear she was born being able to hold her head upright. It's so interesting how each of our kids have been so different in size, abilities, and personalities around the same stages. I can't wait to see what little Adeline has in store for us for the future!