Life in the Day

I was going to title this post "A Day in the Life" but my chosen title feels more appropriate right now.  In true Kelle Hampton fashion, I am trying to focus on soaking up every bit of life every day.  As the weeks fly by with Milo, I am reminded that they really do grow up too fast, and as Maya's 4th birthday looms brightly in the not-too-distant future, I try daily (and sometimes even succeed) to enjoy each moment, each milestone, each drawing, each story.  I am well aware of the fact that Milo may be our last baby (by choice or circumstance), so while the OCD part of me screams "DIRTY DISHES!  STICKY FLOOR!!!", I try to balance that with playing and holding and coloring and know that, when the kids are in school (as in, college ;)) my house will probably get more of my focus.  Right now it is "clean enough to be healthy, messy enough to be happy" (thanks to my friend Jamie for that one :)).

Since I've been an infrequent blogger for the past 6 weeks, here is a short update on each child :)

MAYA:

Preschool and ballet are her main focuses right now.  Outside of that, she is loving going to the park and playing with her friends.  She asks me almost every day if we are going to see Isabella, and if I say no she quickly follows with, "well then we'll see Kendall (or Eden)".  She LOVES her brother.  We're having a princess party for her birthday, and today she told me that Milo could be her "little prince" <3  I love her more than I thought possible.

CHARLOTTE:

Charlotte has become quite the independent little lady of late.  While Maya is at preschool, she sets up whole picnics and/or tea parties for her babies, lays down and reads books, puts on dress-up clothes and dances around, and generally entertains herself.  She is becoming more and more verbal and I love that.  She is still cuddly some of the time, and I savor each hug and kiss.

MILO:

Milo is pretty much amazing all the time.  I mean, we have our rough nights and our days where I am holding him at arms length for Michael to take as soon as he walks in the door, but he is just my awesome little man.  The boy is growing like a weed and has the cutest little chubbly thighs and wrists.  He wants to be held pretty much all the time, and I happily (for the most part ;)) oblige.  He is already far too big for my liking!

And now, pictures...

Maya's favorite hairstyle :)

 

He is enjoying bathtime quite a bit more now!

Waiting for ballet to start

Charlotte wishes she could be in the class, too!

Showing what she learned in class

"Isabella, make a silly face!"

 

Trip to Duma's to buy beef...

At Becca and Julia's birthday party

Milo with Pam, my midwife <3

I love love love love love how they play together.  Love.

Bird's-eye view

Photo Shoot!

The kids and I met a friend at the park a few days ago, and everyone was magically in a good mood when we were getting ready to get in the car.  I decided it was the perfect opportunity for a photo shoot!  And, the one guaranteed way to get Maya to sit still and smile for the camera is to let her hold Milo, so it worked out :)

I need to do a longer post with updates about all the kiddos (isn't it crazy that I've moved from "both" to "all"???  I seriously have a moment of panic at least once a day that I've left one of them somewhere!).  But, for now I just need to get these pictures posted!  More later...

 

Big Red Park, (s)Milo

There has been a lot going on around here, and not much time to write!  Crazy, huh? :)  Our days are filled with playgroup, preschool, library time, La Leche League, family visits, spending as much time as possible outside, hanging out with friends, and sleep!  Milo is growing by leaps and bounds (I swear he gained a pound between Friday and Sunday with a major growth spurt!) and is cuter by the day.  The girls are totally in love with him!  

When we went from 1 kid to 2, the adjustment was epically difficult.  I was an emotional wreck, Maya could barely make it 10 minutes without having a meltdown, and Michael kindof didn't know what crisis to deal with first when he would walk into the room to all 3 of us crying!  It took us a while to get into a good groove.  Now that the girls are older, I LOVE the age difference (21 months) ~ they play together beautifully, protect each other, fight an average amount, and are generally BFFs ~ but in the beginning, holy moly was it a challenge.  The adjustment from 2 to 3 kids has been a breeze in comparison!  Of course the girls have had a bit of trouble at times, but for the most part they continue to play together and are loving that they have a new person to play with!  It also certainly helps that Milo is typically very chill and he is still sleeping quite a bit! :)  I've already told Michael that I am definitely interested in having a 4th (just not yet ;)).

Of course, pictures.  Chris and Penny came up to visit this past weekend (and Penny is coming back Thursday ~ yay!).  We went to the "big red park" and Charlotte insisted that she must wear her red dress to match :)

Somewhat unrelated, but for some reason I have a really difficult time editing pictures that contain a lot of red.  I'm considering slipcovers for my couch for this reason!  I'll have to ask Sierra Hampl about this one... 

 

Milo in the Beco...I'm planning on doing a post very soon on babywearing ;)

Milo's newest trick (only trick?) is his attempt to smile.  I swear he smiled at me 2 days ago but so far, despite singing and dancing and being generally silly, we haven't been able to get a repeat.  Here are some almost-smiles, though :)

Neck strength FTW!

And finally, sometimes when I'm snapping picture after picture, I catch some pretty amazing faces.  The following two are the RAW, unedited versions of my favorite "oops" pictures from last night's photo shoot :)  Normally these would go straight to the recycle bin, but I thought I'd share their awesomeness!