I'm a mess

Oh sleep deprivation. You make blogging so hard. Finding the time is hard enough, but when I open up that blank, white, menacing, empty post screen... I type and delete and retype and sit and think and FOR THE LIFE OF ME cannot coherently write out the thoughts in my head.

Would you settle for a few pictures? I thought so. You're so forgiving like that.

Little lady is a SNOOZER. She is giving me 4-5 hour stretches between nursing pretty regularly now, especially in the evenings and overnight. She has Armbruster blood running through her veins, as evidenced by the positions I catch her sleeping in.

I know, I want to snuggle her right now, too, after looking at those tiny hands and kissable cheeks. Lucky for me she's due for her nighttime feeding any minute! Cannot wait to tuck in with her for a cozy night of sleep on a rainy night.

A few days ago Robbie and I slipped out of the house together just the two of us - I was desperate for a latte. Rob stayed home with the girls, already asleep for the night, and on our way to Starbucks we discovered a full rainbow in the evening sky! It was gone by the time we headed home. I'm glad Robbie and I stopped on the sidewalk and had a little refresher about Noah and the great flood, and God's promise to us to never flood the earth again, with the symbol of His promise right in front of us!

Sadly the little jaunt included me dropping my iPhone on the tile floor and completely shattering the screen. Have I mentioned how much I dislike the clumsiness that comes with pregnancy and the '4th trimester'? It's ridiculous.

Next: A sweet moment last week, when Robbie asked to hold Maddie over his shoulder 'like mommy does'.

Our new favorite book before bedtime is Judy Sierra's "The Sleepy Little Alphabet". If you have kids, I highly recommend her books. This book taught Ellie her ABC's - she can nearly say the whole alphabet, but we're still working on random letter recognition.

"Hmmm... which letter do I love the most!?"

{She's a big fan of "W"...}

The sun was not shining, it was too wet to play...

Snuggling sisters one morning.

Ellie = no longer the baby, if there was any lingering question!

"Dis-ah-Maddie!"

Maddie seems to be angry at my early morning photo shoot...

I was sort of pleased with myself the afternoon I took this picture with my phone, because I figured out how to cook dinner while all 3 kids were awake. Up until now, that used to signal carry out or pizza delivery! Granted, by the time Rob walked in the door, the older 2 were fighting over something and Maddie was trying to milk her own fist. But we all sat down and ate dinner together. Success!

Ahh... I love this picture. It's the first time I had the chance to sit on the couch by myself in the middle of the day, having put all 3 kids down for naps in their beds. I didn't trust the situation, and ate my lunch fast.

And just to prove that things aren't always as good as they seem, Ellie woke up 20 minutes after I took that picture (a good hour earlier than she should have), as well as Maddie (she was ticked that I had the nerve to nap her in her bassinet). Also? Did you notice that no one is sleeping in an actual twin bed? It's cribs all around here. And because R and E need to start sharing a room so that Maddie can move into the nursery, we will be assembling a 3rd crib. Once the older 2 are used to sleeping in the same room together and the novelty has worn off, we are thinking the transition to twin beds might be easier. Or praying that it will be. Whatever. I just want to sleep more and this seems to be the best way to accomplish that goal.

Uncle Brad and Aunt Christine came to visit last Thursday and Friday! It was so great to introduce them to Maddie, and they were both so adorable with her (as they are with all of their nieces and nephews).

We are teaching the kids how to play dominos - and I particularly love that Ellie now plays in this squat position often.

Yesterday we went to a wedding in Wisconsin, and didn't get home until midnight. We wouldn't have missed it for the world, but oh my goodness if I'm not an old lady already because today I was exhausted! And I couldn't sing in church this morning because I semi lose my voice when I stay up too late. Robbie and Ellie were in MOODS this afternoon because of unsuccessful naps, so we decided to field trip it out to Sonic in Aurora for dinner. When we got home I let them consume their juice boxes on the front walk, a safe place for the inevitable mess. They surprised me and did well with them...

And then they surprised me by looking years older than they actually are. Stop growing up!

And that concludes yet another random catch up blog post in which all the photos came from my phone. I'm a sad excuse for a blogger. Hang with me, I'll be back soon.