Some Birthdays

Well, we celebrated Abby's birthday a little late this year because her birthday was just one day after Rachel's. But I was able to make another princess cake this year.

We can't get this girl to wear something in her hair to keep the hair out of her eyes!

Luke's birthday came the 1st of April. He loved blowing out the candles and singing "Happy Birthday". He is such a cute little man.

My Kids

I took a few pictures of the kids over the past few weeks and wanted to share the best ones.

Rachel -- 5 weeks

Luke -- 2 years

Abby -- 4 years

Introducing Rachel Valerie Wilford

Our little girl finally arrived 13 days overdue on March 4th. She was 8 lbs 2 oz and 21 1/4" long. We named her Rachel Valerie Wilford.

She cried bloody murder the first 30 minutes of life. She was closing her eyes so tightly that her eyelids were turning inside out! Jonny and I were both wondering what we'd gotten ourselves into again. Then they brought her back from her bath. She was all wrapped up and warm and we basically haven't heard a peep from her since! She is an absolute angel! None of that crying inconsolably at night for hours and bouncing her in your arms as you dance around the room. She does love to be held but she will just be content to be in your arms as you sit on the couch.

I really enjoyed my stay in the hospital. Jonny took care of Abby and Luke so it was just Rachel and me most of the time. It gave us the perfect chance to bond. We would just lie on the bed together for hours. I would sing her songs or talk to her while she was awake. It is hard to explain but it is just what I needed to help me deal with the fears I had of having three kids. Even before I left the hospital I felt a strong bond, attachment, and connection with Rachel. With the other kids that didn't come as quickly. The "newborn stage" isn't my favorite part of being a mom because all they seem to do is eat, sleep, poop, and cry. But I find myself wanting to hold Rachel even when she'd be content to be in her swing or bouncer. That is so not like me! Maybe it is because I don't have to hold her in the middle of the night so I can actually enjoy doing it during the day! But whatever it is, I enjoy just having her in my arms. She really is a sweetheart.

Abby loves Rachel. When she hears Rachel waking up from a nap, she'll run into the room saying, "Its ok sweetheart" in the cutest little voice. Then she'll stroke her cheek and keep her happy until I can get there. She loves picking out Rachel's clothes for the day. And yes, she'll choose a dress most of the time!

Luke is so cute with Rachel. He tackles most kids but he tries to be very soft with Rachel. Well, as soft as a 34 lb two year old can boy can be! (As a side note to my son's weight, I can't tell you how grateful I am that I didn't need a C-section.) He enjoys giving her head-butting kisses, giving her full-body-weight snuggles, getting on top of her and saying "horsey ride", and sticking his pointer finger in her mouth for her to suck on. All of which make her cry except the finger sucking. That she enjoys. Mama is the one who has the problem with that.

For all my worrying about having three kids, it really hasn't been too bad. I've purposely not left the house with all three of them for the first few weeks because I didn't think I could handle it. But we had our first adventure last Thursday and it went quite well. I was pleasantly surprised and completely happy! Abby was very obedient and Rachel was asleep strapped to my body the whole time so I really only had to deal with Luke. It was a great beginning!

It has been a joy having Rachel in our home and we are all completely in love with her!

Take Daddy Down

Luke loves anything that involves balls and tackling. Seriously, if he keeps this up he is going to be a great linebacker! He just grabs onto kids, puts his weight (32 lbs) into it, and they are on the ground. Abby has a fun time letting Luke tackle her...until she's had enough. Unfortunately, Luke doesn't ever know when to stop. So, next comes Abby's screaming which causes hearing loss.

Lately Jonny and Luke started a game called "Take Daddy Down". It usually involves Luke trying to tackle Jonny but in this video Luke decided to use a bat to help him out!

Princess Snuggle

Abby came up to me one day and stated that she wanted to give me a "princess snuggle". I had no idea what she was talking about but said ok. She gave me a little hug and her leg popped up. I think she's seen enough princess movies!



Her old nursery leader loved to get a "princess snuggle" every Sunday.

Biting the Toesies

One evening Luke and I were playing in the main room when we heard Jonny and Abby saying they were going to come and eat Lukie's toesies. They are an especially tasty treat if I do say so myself! ;) Abby came to "eat them" which she usually pretends to do quite well. However, this time Lukie's blood curdling scream informed me she didn't do a good job pretending. I think she felt pretty bad because she immediately said she was sorry without being prompted.

Ironically, the next evening Lukie was playing at Abby's feet and took a bite of her toesies! She screamed bloody murder and kept saying, "Lukie bit my toesies!"

What goes around comes around! Abby better be more cautious in the future. Luke's looking like he might be the revenge type.

Sharing a Room

Jonny's parents are coming home from their mission in Ireland in just a week and a half. We are excited for their return. They will be staying with us for a while. That means that Luke and Abby need to share a room. I didn't know how well Abby would take to that idea so I started moving little things from Luke's room into hers a bit at a time. Within a week everything was in Abby's room except Luke's crib. She wasn't having any problems with the changes so far.


One day we were "pretend" talking on the phone to Grandpa Wilford and I said something like, "Grandpa, we are getting your room ready for you. We just need to move Luke's crib into Abby's room and then you and Grandma can have a place to sleep." We got off the phone and Abby said, "Let's get Luke's crib!" So, that is exactly what we did next.


That night she wanted to go to bed at the same time as Luke. The next day she wanted to take a nap at the same time as Luke. She was just loving it! And so was I! One evening I was walking into their room when I noticed the following...


Luke's name had been removed from his old door and placed on their door. I asked Jonny if he moved it but he hadn't. Abby had to have done it! I almost cried just looking at it. She loves her little brother.

And I was afraid she wouldn't like sharing a room!