May 2012

Grammy came out in early May to help with the kids. I was put on modified bed rest in late April, meaning I could do limited activities, so we really needed help with the wee ones. As always, Grammy spoiled the kiddos rotten with daily activities such as art lessons, making fairy villages in the back yard, spraying them with the hose while they jumped on the trampoline, running and playing in the rain, and playing with them on the slip'n'slide. Let's face it, she's waaaay more fun than I am so the kids were in heaven! She also made all our meals every day, took care of me while I sat in bed complaining, did our laundry, went grocery shopping, and cleaned the house. She ran the house for us and raised our babies for 3 months while Russ was at work or traveling around the world on business and while I laid in bed making our third little human. There's absolutely no way we would have been able to do it without her.

I really feel like I missed out on being with my kids for 3 full months. I didn't get to share in the big or small activities of their daily lives. It was sad for me, but such a blessing that my mom came out and took over...and a total blessing that she's a picture junkie! She took so many pictures that I feel like I got to be with my kiddos during that time since I can see their sweet faces in the photos.

During the three months Grammy played Mommy...

Lilly's hair grew and curled and grew and curled some more...

The girls played in the backyard nearly every single day...

They got to have a lot of art lessons...

They played indoor basketball and jumped on the furniture...

Jayda had a tough time learning about a family friend who passed away. Grammy found her having some "alone time" praying for him and his family in the backyard...

When Russ was home, he was tired, and spent every waking minute

 taking care of me and the girls and trying to give Grammy a break...

This was the only view I'd get of outside (except for doctors appointments) for 3 months!

The girls played in the mud and on the playset...

They played games on the trampoline...

 Daddy was able to take the girls to the Air Show in DC one beautiful Saturday morning.
They had a great time!

We had family marshmallow roasts on the front lawn and made smores...

The girls played dress up and did their own make up quite often...

The girls love their Fairy Garden in the front yard...

They rode their bikes in the driveway...

They ate popsicles on the front swing...

They would water the front sidewalk in hopes of bringing out earth worms...

They played in the slip-n-slide...

 They played & got messy in the dirt after we had some large trees removed from our back yard..

Since Jayda was being home-schooled during this time and I was super sick,
 Kerri would come and work with her on school work.

Grammy painted the girls nails outside on the new stump.

Grammy bought a plant for Jayda to develop her Green Thumb 

(and it lived until Grammy left and mommy had to care for it...at which time it promptly died). 

Grammy's so fun! She gets right down and dirty with the kids! 

Here's Gigi (Lilly's best buddy) and her awesome static hair on the trampoline! 

On top of getting her first fever blister, Jayda scratched her eye one night and couldn't open it without screaming. She calmed down once my make shift eye patch held on some ice.

We moved the older girls into one room so now they share! We needed a room for the baby so Jayda & Lilly get to be together. Jayda decided she was too old for Snow White so Grammy painted over her and made it into more of a garden/castle scene sans the princess.

Grammy hooked the girls up with a dog leash to use as a pully system on the slip-n-slide.

Overall, May was pretty great since Grammy was here keeping the kids healthy and happy and making sure I was able to keep our sweet baby in my belly as long as possible!