Making room for ruffles and tutus

David, Max, and Titus have learned a hard life lesson the last few weeks. A few really. 

#1: Girls have a lot of stuff. 

#2: They will want all your closet space to put said stuff in. 

#3: All the stuff they have is never enough. So they will get more. And you will lose more closet space. 

Poor dudes. 

Our weekdays and nights have been busy lately so we've really only got the weekends to work on baby girl preparations. One weekend recently, we moved the beds and dressers to accommodate a 4th kid in the 2 bedrooms they'll share. The next weekend we tackled closets. We added more hanging space for clothes in one room and stacked the other closet full of boxes and storage-y stuff. This weekend, we have plans to buy pink spray paint and finish a few crafty projects I have going for her. No major rearranging or heavy lifting this weekend; Kira has to share our time this week with back-to-school plans for David. My buddy is heading to Kindergarten next Wednesday!

On top of turning our house upside down and moving things all over, I've been neck deep in sewing projects with my mom. We've come up with all sorts of creative ways to add pink and ruffles to things. My poor boys are sick to death of JoAnn fabrics and Hobby Lobby. I'm pretty sure if they never saw another flowery patterned bolt of fabric or stood for another tutu fitting it would still be too soon. Poor guys. {*Side note: Titus really hates wearing tutus. Go figure. Also, he seems to cry harder if you laugh and say he's pretty. Most times he'll pinch his forearms and proudly declare with a grunt "strong!"}

BUT I am saving oodles of money and making lots of melt your heart, make you squeal, to-die-for super cute things. Dave made me a spreadsheet {because that's how accountants roll} and totaled up all my projects. So far we've spent $80 and saved nearly $200 over buying the same things in a store! I'll take that kind of savings all day long. And, as a bonus, I'm way happier with the things we've created than if I'd just pulled something off a shelf. 

Now on to pictures....

All three boys are sleeping in the same room now

The toy, clothes and diaper changing room 

The new and improved clothes closet!
David and Max can now reach to get their
own clothes.

We unstitched every seam of the old bouncy seat,
used the old pieces as patterns for new ones
then reassembled the whole thing. We saved the
blue frame and buckles from the boys' seat
and just girlified  the rest with a flower print fabric.
Photos don't do it justice. It's adorable. Maybe my
favorite project so far.  

All the flowers are pinned on so they can
be easily removed and aren't destroyed
in the washer when I need to wash the
seat. Poo happens. Gotta plan ahead.

Miss Kira and her Kangaroo have
matching pink tutus. 

From flowers to teddy bears in hats to tea cups -
this girl has got a burp cloth to fit the occasion.

Super soft and snuggly flannel blanket. 

A new boppy nursing pillow cover to replace the
green and orange dino one I used with the boys. 

And finally, to avoid spending $60+ replacing our torn
pack and play, we made a simple bassinet.
We'll keep this downstairs in the living room for her naps
and such when she's a newborn. Hopefully, it will also keep
rolling balls, zooming trucks and rowdy brothers off of her. 

Made from a laundry basket so it's easy to clean, cheap and
reusable when she outgrows it! 

Just 5-6 more weeks until our sweet girl arrives! 

Running hugs

Does anything make one feel as special as an arms wide open, running at you hug?

Jesus on the cross

Max can't sit still for a whole meal. He can't help it. He's a wiggler. We often have to give him 30 second jumping breaks halfway through a meal just to help him focus on finishing what's on his plate. While we have a "bottoms in your chairs" rule during mealtime, it's not unusual at all to see him bopping up and down in the kitchen while the rest of us eat calmly. It's just how my Max was made. 

On night he was in the middle of a jumping break, when he caught our attention to show us how "he can be Jesus". I melted. That dude drives me bananas sometimes, but he is so stinkin' sweet and cute when he wants to be. 

"I'm Jesus on the cross!"

"Being a mom is so glamorous".....said no one ever.

I'm always proud when my kid does something great, like most moms are, but I draw the line at poop. 

Max: "Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. {every mom loves this right? Especially when on the phone} MOM! MOM! MOOOOM! MOMMMMMAAAA!!!!!!" 

Me: "Max, honey, I'm on the phone. Can you please wait one minute?" 

Max: "NO! I pooped 4 poops and it's really great and it's in the toilet and I want you to see it and then I want you to wipe me." 

Me: "Sorry, friend. I gotta hang up now. Max pooped great poop and the screaming you hear in the background isn't going to stop til I look at it." {I'm glad my friend is a mom and she totally got this}

Max: "Look at this! I have never pooped a great poop like this before!"

P.S. It was just your run-of-the-mill, everyday poop. Nothing special. Being a mom is so....so......I have no words. 

33 weeks!

Ninja Turtle David

You know what kind of mom I am? The kind that makes her ninja turtle loving son a crime fighting costume out of a scrap of fabric, a strip of ribbon, a dollar store disposable roasting pan and a $1.50 can of spray paint. 

Haircut

The ponytail is gone! Titus got his haircut today. And he got M&Ms as a treat. Can you tell? ;)

1st trip to the dentist

All three boys had their first dental cleaning and check up this week. David needed a dentist to sign off on his school health forms so he had to go in. Max is convinced if David does something then he needs to also so he was scheduled too. Once I had 2 out of 3 going in, it just felt silly not to make an appointment for Titus too so they all ended up with appointments. 

. We talked about who the dentist was and what it meant to have your teeth cleaned {with an emphasis on the details of the process, the tools he'd use, what the chair looked like and how long it would take for David and an emphasis on the fun, adventure, we've-never-done-this-before, let's-meet-a-new-friend part of it for Max}. They were very excited to meet this mysterious new dentist guy.

Max was first in the chair. He was nervous and he cried a bit, but he tried to be brave. We saw a pediatric dentist and I'm SO glad we did! They were great about calming fears, talking things through and being super quick. The hygienist even got a tissue and wiped his tears away for him! So sweet. They encouraged the idea of less thumb sucking, but said it's not a huge deal. Other than that, Max got a great report. 

David was up next. He was nervous too and needed me close, but he was determined to be a man and not cry. Not a single tear was shed. He opened wide and laid very still while the dentist worked. His report was also very good. No cavities or problems. His 6 year molars are trying to push through and {brace yourself!} he has 2 lower front teeth that are loosening some. The dentist said we'd probably see him lose them both before the end of the year. I almost cried on the spot. My baby can't be that big already! Going to school, losing teeth...when did this happen?! 

I knew Titus would be the biggest crier so he went last. He was terrified and was really reluctant to open his mouth for some stranger but the big boys were very encouraging and sweet; With their support he climbed in the chair by himself and laid down for his cleaning. It was not without buckets of tears, but he did it. His teeth are also in good shape. They're not concerned in the least about his thumb sucking and he has no cavities. He lost the "Who has the most teeth?" contest {David and Max, very proudly, tied for first with 20 each}, but he's catching up. His 2 year molars are in the process of cutting through right now. 

Everyone got a smiley faced goody bag filled with cartoon covered toothbrushes, floss and berry flavored toothpaste. Nobody bit the dentist or threw a massive tantrum so they got prizes out of the prize box on the way out the door. Overall, great trip, but I'm glad it only comes once every six months. :)

They were awarded for their heroic, man-like bravery at the dentist with a picnic at the park. We packed PB&Js, pretzel twists and juice then picked Daddy up from work. Eating lunch with Daddy is a very special treat. :) When lunch was over, the boys scavenged for sticks, climbed trees and pretended to destroy bad guys. Basic man stuff. 

A little friend joined our picnic.
Very exciting to a table full of little boys!

David: "Max, hurry up! There's bad guys coming!"
Max: "Sorry, buddy!"

David: "BOOM! BOOOOM! Die, everybody!!"
Max: "Fire....boom. Fire....boom."

Max: "My gun is too little! It's not working!"
David: "It's ok. I've got it...just one more guy....NAILED IT!"