Although we can't believe she's already been here two months, it would appear that she has! She had her check up Monday, and is still the chub monster we've all come to know and love. 11 pounds, 15 oz and 23.5 inches long -- in the 80th percentile for both! She had lots of smiles for the doctor, and even showed off her cute little coos and gurgles. Julia is a happy, healthy little girl, and like all babies really hated the shots. Standard check up for us!

Julia started school last Tuesday, and is mostly doing well. She is not the biggest fan of her bottle, and as a result doesn't eat as much during the day as she does when she's home. Since she's a big girl, she can handle it, but she is compensating by picking up a middle of the night feeding again. It is taking some getting used to, since before school she had been sleeping through the night. Ah well. By the end of this week she has been taking more, which is good. Hopefully she'll keep getting better, and luckily it will be only a couple more months before she starts solids, which will also help. Otherwise, she does well at school and her teachers love her. And I've done well with her being at school. It helps that I absolutely love this center and the staff there!

Now that we're being more intentional about spending more quality one-on-one time with Amelia, she is starting to calm down a little. Just a little, though -- she's still pretty crazy energetic! Her new thing is taking off, and then trying to put back on, all her clothes. She spends a lot of time stripped down to her diaper, and we frequently find her disrobed when we go in to check on her at night. At least she hasn't pulled off her own diaper, yet. Speaking of which, we are looking to start working on the potty training in the next couple of weeks. She will sit on her little potty, but so far no interest in doing anything there. I'm not too worried about it yet since they don't do potty training at school until she moves up to the next class. I would imagine they'll be doing that soon since she is such a handful in the toddler room these days.

Clara is looking forward to starting swim lessons in school on Monday -- it is all she talks about! She is trying really hard to be big -- helping out with both her sisters and trying to be Amelia's keeper much of the time. Her big news is kissing boys at school. Her daddy is very disturbed, and her teachers find it hilarious! I think it's cute, but I guess we need to work with her on it so as not to pass lots of germs around! :)

Steve passed his first licensing test and is working on prepping for the second one. Hopefully he'll be finished up by the end of June and we will enjoy the fruits of his labor in the form of a nice raise. And with daycare costs up significantly now that Julia is there, too, we can use the money! I'm doing my thing again at work, enjoying the relatively peaceful summer routine and getting ready for fall move-in already. The summer will go fast, I'm sure. We're also making plans and getting ready for our move next weekend -- to a four bedroom apartment, yay! Luckily it is the next building over, so it should be pretty easy as moves go. I am fortunate to have family in town to help with both moving and watching my girls, which is really a huge help!

That's pretty much what's new with us. I'll go through the excruciatingly long process that uploading pictures from my very slow computer has become so you can see how big Miss Julia has grown!

My special time with Julia ends tomorrow when I start work again. It is a strange feeling -- I am very sad to have to leave Julia, but since I do like my job it is not as bad as it could be. If I could bring Julia along and not have to pump, it would actually be perfect! In any case, back I go, and Julia will spend next week with her daddy learning about taking a bottle during the day. We've been giving her at least one a day, and she does ok, but I'm sure she'll get even better when she has to have them all day while I'm gone. The good news is that most days I will be able to go nurse her at lunch since daycare is so close. She'll start at daycare after Memorial Day -- lucky for us a little boy moved up just in time to open her spot.

We've been making the most of the end of my leave. This past weekend Clara, Amelia, and I went on the March for Babies with Papa. Even Buddee came along. It was fun, and the girls did amazingly well all things considered. Julia stayed home with Meemaw, and they had a nice time, too. Poor Steve had to work, but it was his last Saturday working. He got approved for a Monday through Friday work schedule, which is really exciting. We're looking forward to spending more time doing fun things as a family -- I see trips to the zoo, Sea World, and Fiesta Texas in our future!

Julia is growing like a weed, and is getting to be a lot of fun with her smiling and cooing. She is also starting to squirm around a lot, which can make holding her a challenge at times. She's still a big cuddle bug, although I know that stage is coming to an end soon. It amazes me how quickly they grow.

Not too much to report with Clara and Amelia. I can't wait until we get them into separate rooms when we move. Bedtime has become a nightmare (pun intended!) and I think having their own space will be good for them. They are starting to help more with chores, which is cute. They both make their beds, help set the table, water the plants, and feed the cats. It is fun to watch.

That's all for us right now. Hope I'm able to keep up with this once I'm working!

It is hard to believe that Julia is over a month old now! At her one month check-up, she weighed in at 10 lbs 5 oz and was 21.5 inches long -- 80% for weight and 60% for length. Definitely a big girl, and growing! She's still a great baby and is fitting in great into our little family. A few big milestones for her -- she started smiling at about 4 weeks, lost her umbilical stump and got her first bath and had her first bottle at a month. We give her at least one bottle each day now to get her ready for daycare. I'll be going back to work in only ten more days, so she needs to get used to taking a bottle well. She does a little better every day with it.

We had a couple big events in Julia's life this past weekend. My mom and our friends at church threw a welcome Julia shower on Saturday. It was great to pass Julia around and celebrate her birth. I brought Clara, and she had a blast in her party princess dress! She is getting to be such a big girl, it is hard to believe sometimes. I am so proud of the little person she is turning into!

Then on Sunday was the baptism. Her aunts and uncles on my side of the family were all there -- Scott, Felecia, Aaron, Lisa, and Matthew. Lisa is her godmother, and Matthew is her godfather. My godmother Doreen made her an absolutely gorgeous gown, and Lisa added shoes and a hat. She was beautiful. The ceremony was great. Julia decided to make an event of it by having a giant poop just before the actual baptism. Since it was so close to the time, we didn't have a chance to change her. When we finally did, we realized it had leaked out of her diaper, all over her gown, and all over her Aunt Lisa's white sweater. Thank goodness for stain removing pens! Sadly, after the baptism I got pretty sick so I couldn't enjoy the little party we had at my parents' house, but I think everyone else had a great time. Oh, and my family did a surprise 30th birthday party for me at the same time. Yep, it is getting very close to being that time!

Thankfully on Monday I was feeling better, but I still missed out on the zoo trip. Steve, Papa, and the assorted aunts and uncles took Clara and Amelia, and a good time was had by all. Julia, Meemaw and I hung out at the house which was ok, too. We also spent time with family on Tuesday. I wanted Clara, Amelia, and Julia to have as much time as possible with Aaron, Lisa, and Matthew since we don't get to see them as often as we would like.

Oh, and we found out that Amelia has a skill we didn't know about -- she can count to ten! Funny story, Lisa was playing with her and said "one" when Amelia brought her a toy. Then Amelia went out to "two" and kept going. It is really cute to hear her, and she is so proud of herself. Amelia was very good this weekend for her. We had a couple episodes where she put her stubborn streak on display, most notably when we had to remove her from church due to screaming, but otherwise she did very well.

Wednesday it was back to normal, and the rest of the week the girls have been getting back into more of a routine again. It was really hard seeing everyone go. I wish we could all be together more often. The girls love spending time with their aunts and uncles, and it seems the feeling is mutual! Hopefully, everyone will be back for Scott and Felecia's wedding in January.

I am starting to feel a little sad about the upcoming end of my maternity leave. Julia is really starting to interact, smiling and talking, and it will be hard to leave her. But that's how it goes.

I'll post some pictures from the weekend when I get them off my parents' computer this weekend. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Ok, so I can't seem to figure out the new way of posting pictures since they changed things -- bah stupid microsoft and their need to always change things that work fine as they are! Anyways, I am going to set up some internet picture account, so if you want access, let me know and we'll just do pictures that way instead. And if anyone has figured out how to do it on here, please share your wisdom!

After much debate from friends and family (there seemed to be a 50-50 split between those who swore we were having a boy and those who said girl) Julia Stephanie made her appearance and proved Steve and I right -- we are now the proud parents of three beautiful girls!  Julia was born at 4:24am on Sunday, March 30, and was a big girl at 8lbs 12oz and almost 21 inches long. She has a full head of stick-straight blond hair and bright blue eyes. We are of course completely in love with her! She's been a great baby so far -- she has an amazingly laid back personality and doesn't get upset about things very often. And since she is a big girl, she sleeps well at night -- usually 4 hours between feedings -- and I feel much more rested now than I did while I was pregnant! Both Clara and Amelia adore their little sister. Clara wants to help with everything, and Amelia is always right next to her touching her and saying "baby" over and over again. It is so fun to watch them, although we have to protect little Julia from the sometimes over-enthusiastic love from her big sisters!

Clara is great in her role as big sister to two. She helps out in many ways, her favorite seems to be with bathing. Of course, sometimes she wants to help Julia walk, too, which we tell her will come in time! She has been acting out a little bit, being more whiny than usual and having a couple potty accidents, but mostly seems to be adjusting well to the new dynamic. School is going great for her. She recognizes most of her numbers, can count up to 15 well, and is starting to figure out letters. We are very proud of her new skills! She is also adding new words all the time, and can talk about more complicated concepts, which is fun. She loves to help with everything -- she even helped Papa wash the car this weekend and helps Steve and I in the kitchen. It is amazing the things she remembers and can understand. She does great with the other kids in her class, and seems to be forming more friendships with little boys, much to her Daddy's dismay. She went through a brief period of hitting and kicking, but seems to have moved past that now. Overall, she's a fun kid, and if we could just convince her not to whine and cry whenever she gets frustrated or upset, life would be great!

Amelia seems to be having a more difficult time with the transition, and if possible has become more of a challenge to handle since Julia's birth. We are working through it, and I think that with a little time and consistent application of rules, expectations, and consequences we'll start to see improvement. She's a great kid overall, just willful and as she grows, her acting out becomes more dangerous both for her and for her sisters. And of course she can be incredibly sweet and loving, too! I think she misses being the baby, but she already seems to be doing better sharing Mommy and Daddy with a new baby. She is a great helper with diaper disposal and putting things in the laundry hamper. And the first thing she wants to do every morning is see, hug, and kiss Julia. It is very sweet! She is also talking up a storm, putting words together, and using new words (albeit not necessarily recognizable ones!) all the time. She's also trying to jump, which is really cute to watch. She loves to paint and draw, and is still all about taking things apart and putting them back together.

I'm enjoying spending time home with Julia during the day and then with the whole family in the evenings. My leave will pass much too quickly, but I am lucky to have a job flexible enough to accommodate my family time. It shouldn't be too bad going back. Steve is getting ready to take his big test at work to get his license (and of course the associated pay raise!) and is also adjusting to the reality of living in a home filled with girls. Going from two to three kids has been pretty challenging, but we're all making it work as best we can.

I'll try to keep everyone up to date with pictures!

So I've decided that since I will never catch up, I'm going to skip over all the time that has passed since Christmas and just pick up where we are now!

Easter is tomorrow, and we've been having fun preparing. The girls had a party at school last Friday, and got to go on an egg hunt. They both had a lot of fun. They are looking forward to more Easter fun at Meemaw and Papa's house tomorrow, after church in their special Easter dresses, of course! I'm sure some day they will stop enjoying it, but for now I have a lot of fun dressing them in cute matching outfits, and they are adorable! I think it is one of the fun things about having little girls! Last weekend I had them in matching dresses, too, and I'll post some pictures. They even let me fix their hair, which is a rare thing.

Amelia has really embraced talking, and has a bunch of new words that she seems to add to every day. It is a relief that she is finally learning to express herself in ways other than screaming. Clara has been very helpful in teaching Steve and I what Amelia is trying to say -- she is incredibly intuitive when it comes to Amelia and seems to really understand what she is saying. Amelia is also working on cutting the last few teeth she's missing -- all incisors since she already has all the her molars. It makes her a bit fussy, but at least she's filling in the spaces that make her smile look a little funny. We've decided Amelia is our little daredevil girl. She can climb just about anything, and has no fear. Last month she managed to dislocate her elbow, which means we all have to be extra careful now so she doesn't repeat that injury. It is only a matter of time before she ends up in the emergency room -- she's a lot like her dad in that way! He spent lots of time there as a child! She also is obsessed with figuring out how things work, which is fun to watch. We're going to have to keep a close eye on that one!

Clara is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to Amelia's independence. She doesn't always like to share, and seems to feel a bit threatened by Amelia as she does more and more big girl things. She's also taken to acting up a bit at school -- hitting and kicking like a lot of the boys in her class -- so we're working on that. But she is also becoming a great helper around the house. She sets the table at mealtimes and even helps cook sometimes. She also helps with other little chores, and keeps the cats and her sister in line. Clara is really excited about the new baby coming, and can't wait to be mommy's helper with everything. I am really looking forward to seeing her in that nurturing role, since it seems to come so naturally to her. Even as I type this she is cradling one of her stuffed animals -- it is so cute! She says the funniest things, too, as her vocabulary becomes more and more grown up. We are really enjoying watching her grow and learn.

Steve and I are both doing well. We finally have everything ready for the baby, which is nice since baby should be making an appearance anytime now. My official due date is Monday, but since both girls disregarded theirs and came a few days later, I am guessing the same will be true this time around. We'll just have to see! Clara is really set on having another sister, and most other people seem to think we're having a boy. Only time will tell! We found out we'll be able to move to a bigger apartment in May, which will be so nice. We will be a little cramped here in our two bedroom for a while, but once we can move all the kids can have their own rooms, which should help us all feel a little less on top of each other.

I'll try to stay on top of this blog better while I'm out on leave so you can all stay up to date with the new baby and how the girls are reacting. We are definitely excited about baby coming and all the fun things that go along with that process. I'll also post some current pictures of the girls so you can all see how much they have grown!