I can't believe my baby girl is already 3 months old. Technically, this happened on March 26th, but we can cut me a bit of slack, no? I am parenting 3 kiddos...

Anywho, Let me be the first to say, she is a delight and a pure joy. She's exactly what I needed and I didn't even know I needed her until I met her. 

At three months, Mikayla is sleeping pretty well at night {anywhere from 7-8 hours of sleep, wake to eat, sleep 4 more hours}. She can pick up her head, though she isn't a big fan of tummy time. {Sometimes her tummy time happens on my bed so I can kneel down beside the bed and be at her eye level.} She attempts to roll over but always gets stuck half-way over.  lol

Mikayla is also pretty petite. At her 2 month appointment, she was between the 10th and 25th percentile for her weight and height. She's still wearing size 0-3 months in clothes {3 month size in Carter's brand} and I call her our petite miss. 

Her hair is strawberry blonde...heavy on the strawberry...and I suspect she may have curly hair just like her mama. :) It seems to be the same texture as mine and gets what I call "furly" {frizzy and curly} as it's growing out. 

She's very patient and really has blended in to the family quite perfectly. I love what she has added to our lives and how she brings out our best characteristics.

Eliana {age 2 1/2} does a pretty good job as a big sister. She's not competitive at all but she has this nurturing spirit about her that can be a bit much for a baby sometimes. lol I love to hear her sing to Mikayla and especially love the way she greets the baby each day with a high pitched, "Hewo, Mikay-wa!" or "Hi Mickey-Pie!".

Her big brother, who will be 5 tomorrow {don't get me started on that}, is her biggest fan and her protector. He loves to talk to her and hold her. Of course, little Mik knows her brother's voice and always has a smile for him.

And if she happens to get fussy...

Alex can calm her down with just a kiss on her forehead.

Life with three kiddos is full and busy but I'm in love with the busyness of three kiddos.

She's Three Months Old!

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Alex will be 5 years old in 2 months and that means the quest for the "perfect" Kindergarten has begun. Mercifully, the hubster and I have narrowed down our options to 3 schools that we will be deciding from, each with their own list of pros and cons. {I'm happy to only have to choose from the 3, though.}

If you've ever gone school hunting before, you'll know that February generally marks the month of "Open House" mayhem wherein every mother and her {significant} other fill the schools in search of the perfect fit for their family. It's overwhelming as a first timer and a teensy bit stressful...

...just a little stressful....

...and anxiety fueling...

...you get the picture.

We've already attended one open house that was more like a "family reunion" of sorts for me than it was a tour of a school. I knew so many people on the faculty and even saw people there who I went to school with {way back when} who were also looking for a school home. That night left me smiling and feeling really good about Alex going to Kindergarten in the fall.

{Does he HAVE to go? *pout*}

The second of our three open house evenings was last night. This one already had me a little uneasy because it was a public school visit and I was raised in a private school...2 extremely different worlds, let me tell ya. In fact, some of you may have even seen my facebook post about this last night. Here's what I said:

I.Am.Irked. For Pete's sake...can someone tell me why a school would have an "open house" and ONLY have someone there to help with paperwork and NO ONE there to take you around the school or at least to the classroom and extra curricular rooms like the gym, art class, and whatnot? *Sigh* I think I've decided "No, thanks" and "I'll pass". {insert eye roll here}

Yep. It's true. The school advertised the evening as an Open House on their website...and in the paperwork they sent us home with...but they looked at us like we were crazy people when we asked if anyone could show us around the school. In fact, the woman we were talking to said the actual "open house" happens on Alex's first day of school. Huh? I was pretty put off by that and I felt like someone just slammed a door in my face. I was truly offended.

{Here's where the melt-down comes in}

The hubster and I got to talking about it and he thought that my irritation was due to my tendency to want control in these kind of situations. Well, that accusation got me even more upset and I began to cry. "I don't want control. I just want to know that I'm giving my son to the right person."

Have any of you stay-at-home moms been where I am now? I'm having such a hard time with the fact that he'll be spending most of his day in someone else's care and I have a real need to be comfortable with who that is and what they stand for. How do I give up that time I'm used to having with him? I guess this is why some moms cry on their child's first day of school, huh?

Our third and final Open House is tonight...wish us luck!

An Open House and My Minnie Melt-Down

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While at the farm the other day, we were visiting with 2 horses when we saw another horse very eager for attention. ;)

Peek-A-Boo!

He got some love and we all laughed to see him stick his head out the window like that. I named him "Mr. Ed."

For more Wordless Wednesday, join me in linking up at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Peek-A-Boo

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I was looking at photos from our cider mill trip last year as I've been craving some fall weather. Fall just happens to be my favorite season, you know. I can't believe how much bigger my littles are in just one year and I really can't believe that I'll have one more in that bunch next year. Wowza...

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Looking Back

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OK. So. Any mom knows the emotion I'm about to talk about. I refer to it as the "Don't wake up Mama Bear" emotion.

And guess what?

Someone...er...something woke up this mama bear.

My poor son has been sick for almost 3 weeks now. It all started when a 24 hour stomach bug was passed through my family and Alex just never fully recovered. His Doctor thinks that even after 14 days of being sick that it was still viral but in my heart, I feel that his is not the right diagnosis.

Thankfully, a lot of tests were done on his blood and {cover your ears if you get grossed out easily} his stool. So far, we know nothing except that we see no change in Alex whatsoever. He's becoming a very picky eater, his energy is low, he just doesn't feel well, and I want to hit the "Stop" button and get him back to being my energetic boy.

We have about 3 or so tests that we're waiting on results from and hopefully one of those gives us an answer to the "What on earth is going on?" question. For now, I'm stuck in a very frustrating situation. I pray constantly for my little guy and I do believe God answers prayer. What's ironic is when he first started feeling sick, Alex told me that he asked Jesus to heal him and Jesus said, "Nope. Sorry. You're sick." and I explained that God does answer prayer, we just don't always get the answer we want. Now, I remind myself that God sometimes gives a different kind of "Yes" than we understand or anticipate.

As a mama bear, I want to defend my son and fight off anything that tries to bring him down. I get so fed up with the "no answers yet" and I grow impatient on things as sophisticated as laboratories and technicians. I want answers now. I want him better now. But when I get that tense and upset, I remember to put it all back into the hands of God and trust Him.

That doesn't mean I give up. No. I don't do the whole "Let go and let God" bit to the extreme of naivety and apathy. I will pursue answers and do my best to comfort my son while trusting God to give us guidance and peace in the journey.

Enough is Enough?

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Alright, well, maybe I do have a stubborn will. Just a teensy bit.

See. We had this issue with stuffed friends in the bedroom. We had them sitting nicely on a rocking chair that we weren't using and somehow they always ended up on the floor. Hmph.

Enter a trip to Ikea. We found this cool thing and decided to buy it and try it out. {I'm pretty sure it cost us $3.}

Anywho, today is the first day in weeks that I've been able to open windows and doors in our home without getting blasted by heat and humidity. This inspired me to do a deep cleaning in Alex and Eliana's room. Part of this cleaning was getting the animals up and out of the way.

I happily headed off to the front closet to grab the hubster's drill and drill bits along with an anchor and an eye-hook. I found where I wanted the animals to hang and drilled a hole in the ceiling. {I guessed the right size bit on the first try!} After anchoring in the eye-hook, it was time to hang our new storage. Here's where it gets scary.

I was standing on a rocking chair {so not smart, I know} and trying to hang the toy storage when I heard a "chop, chop, chop" by my head. Like, RIGHT next to my ear. Do you see the fan blades in the picture? Yah. I almost chopped myself with fan blades. Luckily, I got my "lean" on and finished the project without getting hurt.

Sometimes a mom has to do what a mom has to do. You know?

Stubborn Will? Me? Nah.

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Nah. Where's the fun in NOT telling an incredibly crazy story?

So, I went to camp last week and had a wonderful time. I was so surprised to see how quickly I snapped into "photography mode" {beginner's mode at best, but still...}. My job was of utmost importance to me and the opportunity to meet almost 60 children and capture their memories was really not a job at all.

Everything was going great, minus the nausea and food aversions, until Wednesday. In "camp time", Wednesday is the day to play catch up with photos to even out how many pictures each child has. There's a carnival set up at camp and basically myself and 2 other people chased specific children down to get extra shots of them. It's busy and a bit tricky. Since the children are all wards of the state, their photo cannot include another child in it...at all...not even a profile of another child can be in the background. Anywho...things were going well until I walked by a bounce house and tripped.

That's where this happened. Ouch. 

No, really...big time ouch. 

I just took this picture today so it's been a week since the incident.

Basically, my thigh met with an iron stake that was anchoring down the bounce house. In an effort to not fall on my stomach, I had to use it as leverage to lift myself up again. I did some major muscle damage and couldn't go up stairs or squat down without making my muscles spasm like crazy.

Actually, I find it kind of ironic that the white of the bruise is almost in a heart shape. Oh, the things we do for the people we love. And yes, I had just met these children but I fell in love with each of them while I was there. Because of that love, I kept going. Nausea didn't stop me. Boo-boo's didn't stop me. Extreme exhaustion didn't stop me. I love those children and only had a week to show them what love means. {I'll share a neat story about camp another time.}

Speaking of exhaustion and loving children...

How to begin?

I got home from camp and I was more than excited to wrap my arms around my kiddos until they couldn't take it anymore. I had just gotten settled in my home and the next day, with temperatures in the high 80's with massive amounts of humidity, the condo's AC unit went kaput. 

UGH!

We had someone come out and look at it right away and he said we needed to replace the whole thing and it would cost us about $3700. Seriously. But, since I'm never willing to accept the first quote until it's been confirmed, I got on Google to search some things out. Luckily, I found a very talented man who could replace the broken part for only $750 and give a one year warranty on it. Phew!

In the meantime, we had to stay with my in-laws to beat the heat and keep everyone comfortable. We arrived on Sunday and the hubster got a flu bug that day. Monday evening, the bug showed up in Alex and a fever started spiking in Eliana. Late night Monday is when the bug caught me...all night and into yesterday. Eliana went to the pediatrician's office yesterday because we couldn't get rid of the fever for good and he couldn't find anything wrong but gave us a lot to look for. And today, here I sit. 

Finally. 

Recovered and keeping a close eye on the kiddos but all is well. 

Is it really only Wednesday? 

Thank God for His faithfulness. 

Should I Spare You The Story?

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On Saturday, my family headed to a BBQ with friends and had an amazing time. While we were there, a huge thunderstorm swept through and left the sky looking like this.

And while that was cool, the photographer in me was most excited for unique lighting the sky gave for pictures like this.

I hope your weekend was enjoyable as well!

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 minutes for mom.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Of The Weekend

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This weekend we'll be hanging out with our buddy Thomas again.

When Alex was only 2, he called him "Tessy".

But last year, Alex enjoyed his day even more than the first time. {Yes, he could say "Thomas" by this point. lol}

This year, he's extremely excited to see his buddy again and get his train ride. I'll let you know how it goes!

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 minutes for mom. 

W.W. ~ Looking Forward To Another Day With Thomas!

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Here's just a few pictures from our Easter fun! Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt and Sunday Alex got to play with his buddy, Bo, at his Grandparent's house. :)

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Easter

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I had so much fun creating Alex's request for a John Deere "Big Rock Candy Mountain" cake for his 4th birthday. I only had my own ideas to work with and I was really happy with the way it turned out.

Well...let me specify that last statement. I'm really happy with the way Alex responded to his cake. :) He was SO excited for it and kept taking peeks at in while it was in the fridge.

Anyway, here's the process, step by step.

I started with a small sheet cake and a 6 in. round cake. I didn't have enough green or yellow fondant to do a solid color on the sheet cake so I thought of doing the stripes. Nothing says "John Deere" like yellow and green! Of course, you can't put on the fondant until you put on a layer of butter cream icing.

Then I went at the 6 inch cake with a bread knife. I wanted to cut down the sides to make it look more like a big hill or "mountain" instead of a perfect circle. On that, I put chunks of brown fondant on the side to give it a really earthy, dirty look. Green fondant topped it off to make the grass where the dum-dum suckers grow. :)

 I used the alphabet and numbers cookie cutters we had to cut out the words "Alex is 4".

And to complete the "Big rock candy mountain" feel, I bought a pack of John Deere vehicles to place on the cake. I filled the trailer of the tractor with green and yellow M&M's and filled the back of the gator with green and yellow jelly beans. 

On top of the mountain, I also placed the candy around the bottom of the suckers.

 When it was done, I placed it in the fridge, and enjoyed snacking on the scraps of fondant left over. Yum.

And there you have it. Lots of fondant, a few toys, some candy, and a 4 year old's idea for a cake is all you need to make your own. ;)

Making Alex's John Deere Cake

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On the 4th, Alex turned 4.

I made his "John Deere" cake for him. {Pssst. The hill is supposed to be a "big rock candy mountain". Alex requested this}

On the 9th, the hubster turned 30. We threw him a surprise party and one of the highlights was a jam session with some friends we used to play gigs with {waaaaaay back in the day}. Eliana helped. :)

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5minutesformom.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Of Boys and Birthdays

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Spring and Summer weather means spending time outside. And since winter seems to last forever where we live, my kiddos have been waiting forever to head out and play without coming back inside freezing cold. When our Little Tikes Cozy Truck arrived for review, Alex and Eliana were both excited for me to put it together so they could enjoy it.

 There were a lot of pieces to assemble but most of it was pretty simple. At least, it was simple enough for me to put it together on my own. Lucky for me, there were easy to follow instructions as well as videos for me to watch online so I could keep up and assemble it correctly.I only had a little bit of trouble with getting the roof on {I'm so out of shape} but the hubster was able to figure that out for us.

Finally, our Cozy Truck was assembled and Alex couldn't wait to drive it around. I can't say I can blame him either. This truck is pretty cool!

Alex loved the face on the new Cozy Truck and compared it to something out of the Disney movie, CARS. And I can't begin to tell you how much he and Eliana both enjoy the tailgate that opens and closes. Toys are constantly put in there before one of them takes a spin. {Eliana lets her babies ride back there. lol} The cup holders are a neat touch too. This allows the kiddos to set their drinks down somewhere safe while they play.

Alex and Eliana are thrilled to own their Little Tikes Cozy Truck and {most of the time} they share it nicely. Alex's biggest frustration is that the steering wheel doesn't really steer the truck. Once he gets the hang of it, though, I'm sure he'll enjoy it even more.

The great thing about this truck is the way it's designed with both my 4 year old and 17 month in mind. There is a floor that can be installed in the bottom of the truck so that Eliana's feet won't hang out and there's also a handle to hold on the truck's roof so that the hubster or I can easily push her around. What a great option! I love when big ticket items like this come with options to allow it to grow with your child/children.

Buy It:
You can buy the Little Tikes Cozy Truck for $79.99

Keep up with Little Tikes on Facebook and Twitter.

THE GIVEAWAY!! {Now Closed}

One winner will receive a Little Tikes Cozy Truck of his/her own!

To enter:
Tell me one other specific item from Little Tikes that would make your spring or summer more fun!

For additional entries:

• Blog about this giveaway with links back to this post/blog.
• *For 2 Extra Entries* Become a fan of Coffee with the Mrs. on Facebook. {Comment with 2 separate comments for credit}
• Grab my button for your sidebar. 
• Subscribe to my blog by e-mail through feedburner {the coffee cup at the top of the right sidebar with the orange rss symbol. comment with the e-mail address you subscribed with}
• Follow my blog *For 2 Extra Entries* {right beneath the Giveaways listing on sidebar. Comment with 2 separate comments for credit}
• Follow me on Twitter @TheMrsC (comment with your twitter name)
• Tweet about this giveaway.  If you want, you can say “CoffeeWithTheMrs.com is giving away a @LittleTikes Cozy Truck and I want to win!” {Just make sure to link to my blog or the giveaway and @LittleTikes}.  {comment with a link to your tweet}
•                       **TWICE daily retweets are available for extra entries. Leave a comment with a link to your daily tweet{s}

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. This giveaway will run until April 24th at 11:59pm ET. The winner will be selected by using random.org and will be contacted and announced on or around April 25th. If the prize is not claimed within 48 hours of initial contact, I will randomly select another winner. Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. Open to US.

**Thanks to Little Tikes, who supplied the items to facilitate this review and giveaway. I wasn't compensated in any way. In this post I share my thoughts and opinions of the item mentioned. Others may have a different experience or opinion.**

Our Little Tikes Cozy Truck ~ Spring Celebration {review and giveway}

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