Happy 5th Birthday Lily!

When it comes to birthdays, I like to go big! That is not to say I spend a lot of money on an elaborate party or expensive gifts. As a matter of fact we like for the kids to think of their party as their "big gift" and then get them a few small things that they have had their eye on. Going big around here means lots of small treats, surprises, and special privileges.

For her birthday this year my eldest requested a "princess party" and that is exactly what she got (thank you pinterest for making my daughter's dreams come true...I took full credit for each and every detail!)

This year was particularly crazy because Lily's birthday fell on a Friday (Aunt Kate flew in from DC that day), her "kid" party was Saturday, and Easter was Sunday. There was a LOT of cake!

On Friday Matt and I asked Mimi to watch the boys so that we could spend the afternoon with the birthday girl. I made Hello Kitty frosted sugar cookies for her class and they gave her a small gift so she was already having the best day of her life when we arrived at school to pick her up. We then headed to Red Robin for lunch. She got a kick out of being sung to by the staff but the highlight (possibly of the whole weekend) was when I gave her two quarters for the crane game that they have in the lobby. Like all kids, she is totally enamored of this giant flashing waste of money game that is bound to leave her brokenhearted. Even though I knew the risk was high, for the first time ever we said "yes" to giving it a try. Wouldn't you know it, Matt managed to hook not one (incredibly cheap and terribly ugly) toy from the bin but TWO! Somebody get that guy a Klondike! It gets even more amazing, one was pink and one was blue. Lily was THRILLED and immediately wanted to give one to Ben. It was amazing! We had planned to go to a movie but at the last minute Lily said she didn't really want to go. What she did want to do...go to the mall to ride the carousel and then hit up the craft store. You got it babe. After our afternoon of randomness we went back to Mimi's for pizza, cake, and presents. 

Mimi made Lily a beautiful dollhouse for her Barbies! She also received a few other gifts that she had specifically said she wanted (Puppy surprise and a Disney palace pet).

On Saturday I hosted a "Princess Party" for Lily and five of her friends. It was a "drop off" party and in my opinion a total success. My sister and I made all of the decorations, Matt made the table and chairs, and the girls had a great time painting suncatchers and decorating their own cupcakes. We did face paint and party games. The highlight of the party was making "princess putty" (slime made with borax and elmers glue). So much fun!!

Say YAY for birthdays! I love you coo coo girl. 

Hugh - 10 Months!

As expected April was so crazy busy that the task of writing Hugh's 9 month post fell very far down the to-do list. I have six posts drafted as a matter of fact just from last month alone. We all know that the only way anyone other than me is going to read those posts is if I do some sort of daily post "challenge". So here it goes, a post a day, every day, from now until June 21st. Lord knows I have the material and I can make the time...I think.

Enough about the business of blogging and onto the adorable baby!



TEN months, oh my gosh...does it get any better?? On a daily basis I vow not to eat him whole...and just barely keep my word. This little person owns me. I love all of my children equally and unconditionally obviously but this one doesn't talk back yet and is therefore my choice for a three legged race. Hugh and I spend a lot of time together. Matt and the bigs do their thing and we do ours, which mostly involves Hugh doing everything in his power to maintain physical contact with me. He is particularly fond of sitting in my lap and scaling my body so that he may bury his face in my neck. I do not hate that last part. Our days are so so easy. That is not to say that my day is always easy, but when it comes to this baby, I really can't believe that I deserve such a blessing.

Likes: (Everything because the world is so wonderful) I feel like I should change this list, but the top five really have remained unchanged: Mommy, being held, nursing, being tickled, having a fresh diaper, paci, pulling up to stand, being naked, tomato crunchies, riding in the car, the circle of neglect, snuggles, army crawling, the TV, attention from Ben and Lily, pulling hair, baths, Ben's toys, cords, the dog water bowl, remotes and iPhones. I did not change a single thing above from two months ago but I will add, ALL FOOD!

Dislikes: Being told no, having unsafe things taken away, not being permitted to splash in the dog water bowl. Again unchanged from two months ago. I suppose I should add that while Hugh likes to pull up he is not a fan of standing on his little chicken legs, nor has he figured out how to sit back down. I know it is just a ploy to get me to pick him up...and it still works every time.

Nicknames: Youkie, Youkie-pie, Hoo, Hughtiepie

Milestones: Army crawling/crawling hybrid, five teeth total (without so much as a whimper), a million new foods, pulling up, waving bye bye (this is also accompanied by a loud "AYE" which I would almost call his first word even though he has been saying "mama" and "dada" indiscriminately for weeks), head tilting to get attention (we say awww), trying to blow kisses!



Feeding: For some reason we have had a harder time getting into a meal routine with our third bambino. Poor guy. I will totally admit that for a few weeks after he started on solids, feeding him an actual meal or two during the day was usually an afterthought. More than once on our road trip we realized late in that day that Hugh had not eaten lunch! That is not to say he wasn't pounding bottles of breast milk (special shout out to Lily for assisting with so many of those bottles in the back seat!) so I know he wasn't going hungry, but still, geez! I am happy to report that once we were settled in at home again, yet another new routine has formed.



Nursing is still going strong, and I think it is safe to say that we will glide right to the one year mark, at which point I would normally push for a little mama-led-weaning. BUT the moment I think "this might my last baby" is the same moment that I think "I'll nurse him as long as he wants". Realistically it will be somewhere in between. My sweet baby currently nurses 5 times a day. All but one of those feedings is right before he goes to sleep. I do not nurse him to sleep, but I know there is a whole lot of soothing going on as we rock gently in the dark and he fills his little tummy.

Hugh wakes up around 6 am and nurses on one side, probably about 6 ounces, and goes back to bed. At 8:30 he is up for the morning, nurses on the other side and then goes to the high chair for cereal and toast. Ready for confession number 547 of this post, we give him peanut butter! I held off as long as I could, but once he got a taste of it from Ben's toast he was hooked. So far there isn't anything he is allergic or adverse to, so he gets ALL THE FOOD. Grilled cheese, hamburger, pasta, strawberries and tomato crunchies are his current favorites...but he doesn't flat out refuse anything. We have not given him "sweets" as I do like to wait for "baby's first birthday cake", but other than that we let him at least try everything we are eating. Lunch around noon is usually a banana and a cheese stick with a few handfuls of cheerios. Dinner at 4:55pm (on the dot) veggie puree mixed with baby oat cereal, and half a grilled cheese or pasta, plus whatever we are are having for dinner...sometimes pizza!

Sleeping: Really not a lot has changed in the sleep department. Hugh still sleeps through the night, nurses sort of early, and then goes back to bed for a few hours. He goes down for a morning nap at 10. For the past few days he has stretched this to two hours! After lunch we hang out until 2 and then he nurses and goes down for a nap. This one is usually only about an hour, which isn't enough. Everyone is much happier when this nap lasts until 4, but that really only happens once or twice a week. By 7pm he is begging to nurse and then it is "night night little prince". I go in and check on him when I go to bed and almost always he pokes his head up (totally a tummy sleeper), gives a sleepy smile, and then immediately goes back to sleep.  

Odds and Ends: With such an easy going dude around it is easy to take these sweet days for granted. Confession number 958, when Hugh cries for more than just a few minutes it irrationally irritates everyone in the whole house. Isn't that terrible!? He is so good natured that WE are spoiled rotten. Like "why is he making that sound, make it stop!!" irrational. As a result he is spoiled rotten because at first squawk someone will go to him, selfishly to spare our delicate ears from the terribleness of a baby crying. Birth order man...that stuff is no joke. (More on this is an upcoming post!)

Ben has taken a new interest in his little bro. Interest isn't even the right word, adoration maybe? I'm not sure that is the right word either...maybe just love. This is what love looks like.

We have made it to allergy season here in Maine and while "the literature" (as our pediatrician put it) states that kids under five do not have seasonal allergies, I beg to differ. It seems that I have passed my allergies on to all three of my poor kids. Hugh is snotty and his left eye is weepy. I have noticed lately that when the eye really gets to weeping the upper lid swells and it droops. It is not so droopy that I think it is affecting his vision, but you had better believe I googled the crap out of it and will bring it up at Hugh's next appointment. In the mean time he and I spend a lot of time inside playing with Ben's trains.

Hugh's mobility has sort of stalled. He was competently doing the "wounded soldier" at 8 months. Two months later, although I have seen him crawl on his knees on occasion, he is still happy to just drag his legs around behind him. Pulling up is hard work and very exciting (is that true?) but he is showing zero signs of moving his legs or even balancing on them. A lot of the time he is standing precariously on his tip toes! Don't get me wrong, I am in no rush!! I just would have guessed that he would be closer to walking by now.

Lastly, confession number 3928 of this post, we all think Hugh is going through a bit of a homely phase! Haha. Don't get me wrong, homely is a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e, but it is also hilarious. His new teeth are about six times too big for his face and lately his hair looks like that of a rabid cartoon character. Ben was almost 16 months before he needed a hair cut...I don't think Youkie will make it nearly that long. Combine the frighteningly large teeth and crazy hair with the snots and the droopy eye, and our little dude takes homely to a whole new (hilarious) level!

What I am trying to say, my darling Hugh, is that we literally couldn't love you more, and we will never love you less.

Up next: Here comes summer!! 

Hugh - 8 Months!

I cannot handle this cuteness.

Oh eight month olds, how I adore thee. I cherish the newborn months in so many ways, and when I am 100 I will still look back on those first few months with each of my babies as the most content times in my life. That being said, as far as the baby days go...we are really hitting the good stuff. Hugh is becoming more of a little person with each passing day. He is starting to communicate and interact with the world around him. He is mobile and making mischief at every turn. Everything is new and exciting, and seeing the world be so amazing through his eyes is a tremendous privilege. Plus his smile lights up the universe!



This will be a short post I think, not a whole lot has changed in the last four weeks. Hugh had his first cold, a sad milestone indeed. We all came down with it and couldn't shake it. Ben was sick for almost three full weeks. Luckily it was mostly just snots and coughs, no fevers...I hate fevers.

Aside from the sickies the only other major event to report was a leaky roof. Turns out when seven feet of snow pile up on your roof a good portion of that water will try to get in your house. Who knew. The worst part came when the rug in the baby suite acted as a wick and pulled the water running down the walls half way across the closet floor. Combine a soaking wet rug, no ventilation, and a space heater keeping the whole room a balmy 70 degrees, and we basically had the recipe for a rain forest.  It took about a day for the musty smell to permeate all of our clothes and drive the baby out to our room. So on top of not feeling so hot, Hugh was back in our bright and considerably cooler bedroom...not a whole lot of sleeping through the night was happening. I am happy to report we are all dried out, and Hugh is back to sleeping blissfully through the night in the closet.

Likes: (Everything because the world is so wonderful) I feel like I should change this list, but the top five really have remained unchanged: Mommy, being held, nursing, being tickled, having a fresh diaper, paci, trying to stand, being naked, tomato crunchies, riding in the car, the circle of neglect, snuggles, army crawling, the TV, attention from Ben and Lily, pulling hair, baths, Ben's toys, cords, the dog water bowl, remotes and iPhones (seriously how do they know!)

Dislikes: Being told no, having unsafe things taken away, not being permitted to splash in the dog water bowl

Nicknames: Youkie, Youkie-pie, Hoo, Hughtiepie

Milestones: Army crawling, self feeding, first tooth!

Feeding: Again, not a whole lot has changed since last month. Nursing is still going great (6 times a day give or take) and solids are getting easier. Hugh has stopped resisting being spoon fed, and most nights Daddy is able to get him to eat 4+oz of puree mixed with 3+oz of baby oat cereal. Mommy confession...I have not been making Hugh's baby food. Gasp, I know. I bought a case of organic purees from Amazon, and in my head it was definitely a "one time thing", and then two days ago I ordered another one. It really isn't that much more work to make the food, but I just haven't added it back into the routine (or the grocery list). As I previously mentioned spoon feeding a baby is not my idea of fun, so I have been working on teaching Hugh to self feed from a pouch...with varied success. Some days he seems to know exactly what to do, and before I can bat an eye the pouch has been sucked dry, but other days he squeezes it all over the tray and himself. I am starting to suspect that the latter is not entirely accidental. Stinker. We are working on adding another meal to the routine or at the very least a breakfast snack.

Sleeping: Now that we are all feeling well again Hugh has resumed his previous routine. Alternating during the day between nursing, playing, and taking hour and a half long naps. My other kids definitely took longer naps at this age, but as long as he is sleeping through the night I will happily oblige this schedule. It does make it a little hard to plan outings and errands because it seems like Hugh is always either taking a nap or getting ready to take a nap (amazing how fast an 90 minutes flies by). But let's be honest, I am more than happy to stay at home with Hugh all day, so for me Hugh's nap schedule isn't really that much of an inconvenience. Plus his schedule is just as important as everyone else's, and I try to uphold it the same way I do Lily's school schedule or Ben's afternoon nap. Sometimes a disruption can't be avoided and that's okay too. Life is a balancing act for sure. 

Odds and Ends: Hugh is officially mobile. His go-to move isn't quite a crawl, but don't be fooled, he is a quick little bugger. I am calling it right now, Hugh is going to be our "must baby proof everything" kid. Lily never got into anything, ever. Ben was a little more curious and stubborn, but it was a short phase. I swear Hugh has a glint in his eye for mischief! He loves cords and plugs and going after anything that could be potentially dangerous or messy. I can only imagine how much trouble he is going to get in once he is up on two feet!

The big kids certainly get a kick out of Hugh's new found mobility. I can see the wheels turning in Ben's head as he watches his brother go from being a "baby" to a playmate...accomplice...rival. I'm with you Ben, it is fun and a little scary! But oh the love and my bursting heart. We've said it all along buddy, you are the perfect addition to our family, and none of us can imagine a life without you.

Up next: Bunny baskets, the world's most daring family road trip, and a full month of birthday celebrations!! (Hugh's nine month post will very likely be late as we will be in the throws of "Epic Family Roadtrip!")

Hugh - 7 Months!

How can it be?

I know that I am not supposed to have a favorite...I KNOW! It really isn't my fault. Hugh you are the best baby in the entire world. And, well, let's be honest here...your siblings spend a good portion of the day in time out have a lot of feelings. One day I will wake up and you too will have a temper and the ability to stomp and/or yell...and I will be forced to choose a new favorite, ha! But for now, heaven help me because you OWN me. You are (said like Chris Traeger because we are binge watching Parks & Rec) LITERALLY the sweetest, most adorable, ridiculously delicious little boy on the planet. So rarely are you even slightly unhappy that the other night when you cried for all of 3 minutes "for no reason" both Daddy and I were worried that you were sick. I am sure that when I come back and read this post two years from now I will be certain that I was exaggerating...future self, I am not exaggerating! Of course he is not perfectly content all of the time. In fact as I type he is fighting nap and actually screaming quite loudly. BUT if I went in and got him, BOOM crying over and he would charm us all with giggles. (Sorry buddy you still need a nap, I am not coming to get you!)

Likes: Mommy, being held, nursing, being tickled, having a fresh diaper, paci, rolling, trying to stand, FEET!, drooling all over everything, being naked, tomato crunchies, riding in the car, the circle of neglect, tummy time, snuggles, the play mat, scooting off the play mat, jingly sounds, the TV, attention from Ben and Lily, pulling hair, baths (finally), chewing everything within reach.

Dislikes: Being told no, solid foods, having unsafe things taken away

Nicknames: Youkie, Youkie-pie, Hoo, Hughtiepie



Milestones: Sleeping through the night (dropping a mid-night feeding), sitting, solid foods, baby's first 5K!

Feeding: Hugh still loves to nurse above all else. In fact I might argue that in protest of solid foods he actually cues to nurse more frequently than he was a few weeks ago. Of course he is also getting bigger/older and he may be nursing more because he is hungrier. Whatever the reason Hugh is still nursing 6-7 times per day in addition to taking a 6-7oz bottle just before bed. First time me would probably be doing some finger wagging as third time me sits on the couch to nurse Hugh purely for his comfort at least once a day. Lily was an efficiency queen who only nursed when she was hungry and Ben was all about solids once we started. While I breastfed each of them until their first birthday neither nursed just because they liked it.

It has been several weeks since Matt or I have tried to give Hugh milk that has been previously frozen. To follow up from last month however Hugh did drink the milk that was only in the freezer for about 24 hours without any fuss. I suspect that he really is just that sensitive to variations in the taste of the milk. That is not to say that the milk in the freezer tastes different than the milk he had been happily drinking that day/week, but it does taste different than the milk he was drinking a few hours before...if that makes sense. I am hoping that as we introduce more and more solids that he becomes desensitized to variations in taste. The likelihood that he will drink even a quarter of the freezer stash is slim, but it makes me feel better knowing it is there if we need it. I will admit that I could probably start pumping less and let my supply decrease a little without the universe spinning wildly out of control. I will also admit that sometimes I pump for my own comfort and while I fully realize that this encourages my supply I do not like to run when I am lugging around 8-10 ounces of milk, call me crazy.

Solids are going...fine. I don't really worry about much these days, but again, first time me would not approve of my lackadaisical approach to Hugh's meals. Some days he eats, some days he doesn't. Some days he gags a few times and then seems to remember how to swallow. Other days all he does is gag. I don't think he likes bananas, haha. He likes to sit in the high chair with the family. He LOVES gerber tomato cruchies. I should probably worry that he is going to be my kid that lives on granola bars and crackers for 3 years. Eh, too soon to tell. For now we will just keep trying with cereal and squash and throw some other purees at him every few days. I bought some refillable pouches to try since I am already so over spoon feeding. Sorry Hughtie, we can bond in other ways buddy!

Sleeping: Two words: SLEEP TRAINED. Boom.

Ok, so maybe there are more than two words I can say on the subject of sleep. Hallelujah comes to mind!

Hugh was a textbook sleep trainer. It literally (there I go again Chris Traeger) took me three nights of gradually extending the amount of time I let him CIO to completely eliminate our middle of the night feeding. I do not go to him when he is crying during a nap (see above) but even my cold black heart has its limits. If I feel like a little paci assistance will salvage a nap or if I can just tell that he is getting too worked up...I totally fold. With Hugh I can do that. He is not an all or nothing baby. Talk about freaking liberating!!

In the last few weeks a schedule, of Hugh's design, has emerged. We start our day between 6 and 7. I nurse Hugh on one side in the toasty baby suite (I moved the glider in there, because I am a doer people). He only nurses on one side and then I put him back to bed. He wakes up again between 8:30 and 9 and I nurse him again. He hangs out for about an hour. Seriously, by 10am he is ready to go back down for a nap. Lily did the exact same thing (I just looked it up and so did Ben!). He gets up a little before noon and goes back down around 2:30. His afternoon nap is variable but we try and get 2 hours...that did not happen today. He is all nightgowned up for bed by 7:30. Kiss kiss, goodnight little prince.

Sigh, Hugh. SIGH! You are so wonderful.

Odds and Ends: I really can't explain all of the gushing this month other than to say that I just feel so lucky to have an easy baby. The big kids are sort of crushing us right now so our laid back dude is just...ah there are no words. If you have had a really difficult baby then you know what I am saying. If you have only had happy amazing babies that sleep all night then you have no clue just how amazing you have it, but we can still be friends.

Matt pushed Hugh in the jogger on a very cold Valentine's Day for our "year of races" February event. Clearly making Dingle the coolest, most badass husband/dad ever and Hugh a total boss for already completing his first 5K. The big kids really need to step up their game.

I realized that aside from the race Hugh has spent about 15 minutes outside since November. Sorry buddy...it's cold.

Hugh is getting a little too mobile for my liking. He isn't crawling but he is scooting and can drag himself surprisingly far across the rug on his belly. It is only a matter of time until he realizes that he is definitely strong enough to lift that big ol' belly up off the floor. Rolls for days. Like our very own Pillsbury dough boy!

Up next: Finger foods and warmer temps (because it can't stay this cold forever)