Zoey @ 3 months old

She is starting to really tug and pull on her toys and recently we've tried out the Bumbo and her activity center. She is not quite loving them yet but getting there. For now she perfectly happy being help by mommy or daddy and just watching big sisters play.

She is definitely the poopiest of all my babies and is determined to ruin every single outfit she owns. I have made through two other kids and only a handful of poop stained clothes... Zoey is is pretty blowout friendly!

She started out sleeping in her crib in her own room. So far so good but her hands get really cold. She doesn't seem to mind but I feel so bad when she wakes up to eat and they are freezing :(

She is finally staying awake and more social a little longer at a time. Still only about 45 mins

Happy Valentine's Day!

Houston we have a thumbsucker

I'm one of those parents who pushes the paci in hopes of avoiding thumbsucking but clearly Zoey has her mind set already... I think it's super cute and I'm half tempted to not discourage it

(and I just noticed... there is the peace sign again)

My little model

As much as I complained about her hating the camera in the past, I can now rave about the opposite. She is such a ham and I don't even have to use bribery :).

She poses herself and here all I said was "what can you do with your hands?" and she gave me this

and here I just asked her not to smile (she likes to cheese it up with fakes smiles) and she "hugged" herself on her own account

History repeats

I used to (and still sometimes do) find Maja asleep on the floor in her room all the time.

Lately I've been finding Isla asleep on her rocking chair. She is too cute for words

I think Zoey looks like me

Out of all 3 girls her face looks most like mine at that age

Just some random phone cuteness

I do take a lot of phone pictures these days. I may or may not be addicted to Instagram too. You be the judge :)

I have been baking a lot and this is their favorite part

Such a strong girl

What Target with three girls looks like. I normally buy them a bag of popcorn to keep them occupied

Love that they have the same expression. I do think Zoey looks more like Maja then Isla

I can't get enough of her

Happy birthday Daddy!

Going through any type of special occasion is so fun these days. We went shopping for Daddy's presents and Maja insisted Daddy needed a teddy bear so of course she got him one. And a coffee mug and fondue set :). They picked out their own cards and couldn't wait to sing Happy Birthday!

Fun little comparison

All these were taken at exactly 2 months. Interesting seeing all their differences. I was convinced Zoey looked a lot like Maja but after looking at this, I'm not that sure anymore

Giving the crib a go

We tried rooming the older girls one night so I could test out the crib and Zoey did pretty good although I still brought her in with us when I went do bed since she wakes up to eat a few times still so it's easier for me. And Isla was too much of a pain in Maja's room so we probably won't use it for nights anytime soon but she does nap there every now and then and she LOVES her mobile!

Snow days

Once a year it snows. The city gets covered and literally looses control. Roads don't get plowed. Everything closes and you'd think it's just about the end of the world.

For us it just means lots of fun :).

We woke up to this one day and the girls were super excited

On the way to being completely independent

I dream of the day where all my kids can get themselves out of bed, make breakfast and entertain themselves until I get up. Sleeping in every once in a while would be nice :)

I'm one kid closer to that today!

Maja usually gets up, stands in my doorway and whispers "Mom.... Mom... Moooooom, can I please go downstairs?". I love that she asks permission (doubt Isla ever will, lol) but as soon as I say yes, she'll go down and play for a while until Isla and I wake up. At least I have until Isla wakes up and Zoey is usually last.

Well I noticed Maja has been sneaking whatever she can while she is playing downstairs. Pretzels, cookies and water. She sets it all up nice on a plate and sits at her tabla and eats it. That's awesome so I've been leaving things around for her so it's easier.

I think it's adorable, especially when she chooses her snak herself. This is what I found in the corner of the playroom one day

Zoey adores her Daddy

Her face lights up when she sees him

Sometimes you just have to let them express themselves

I try to keep it limited to while we are home as much as I can lol

2 month snuck up on me!

I wish she could stay tiny for longer. I don't feel like I have enough time to just enjoy her but I try as much as I can to just relax and look at her. We babywear a lot! she loves it and it gives us more cuddle time.

She has not had her two months check up yet but she has gotten huge! I can't believe I have a whole bin of small clothes to put away already :(.

At two months she:
- "talks" a lot
- belly laughs
- she can hold her head pretty well when I pull on her arms into a sitting position
- she started to grab and pull on the toys hanging from her mat
- no more swaddling. She likes to move around and sleep with her arms up just like her sisters
- yes, the peace sign seems to be her thing :)

Parenting Isla

Parenting Isla is a whole different ballgame. I like to refer to her as "the boy we never had" mainly because she is as rowdy, stubborn, loud, messy, independent and defiant as I would expect a boy to be. Granted if we had a boy he could very likely be the exact opposite of that but given she is her Daddy's carbon copy I can't help but see a mini toddler Jeff when I look at her.

She is all about the "I do it" and being a stinker a lot. We get a lot of the "what are you going to do about it" attitude even though she isn't being malicious... just challenging and testing her boundaries. And she taunts her sister a lot!

What's interesting is that she is a completely different child when is spending alone time with mom and dad so her behavior is definitely driven by the attention she does or not get. She is such a sweetheart then!

These days I've put a child lock thingy on her door so she can't come out of her room at night and wonder around the house. She doesn't mind it. In the morning when she is done sleeping she will stand by the door and call Maja to come open the door for her :).
Lately she has even began to turn her light on and reading her books or quietly playing after I put her to bed. Doesn't bother me as long as she goes to bed when she is done which she does.

We have tried to put her in Maja's room (since she is still using the room Zoey should be in) but each time we tried she made it more of a hassle then anything else so we will wait a few more months. Zoey will stay with us for a little while longer anyway.

But as much as she exhausts me and makes me want to rethink our non-spanking policy on regular basis, I love the heck out of her

Christmas recap

Christmas came and went and this was the year Maja was really into it. Isla kind of went along with whatever Maja did though.

We kept it fairly low key in terms of spending this year. Their one big gift was the dress up storage Jeff built and I filled with clearance costumes I bought right after Halloween. It's been a huge hit.
We also introduced the girls to Legos and made a cover for their little table to they can build on it whenever they want. They sure do love it!

One month chunk

10lbs 4oz 23 1/4"

Princesses and hairsprays

Now that Maja is in preschool she has been getting birthday party invitations pretty often. The last one was at a local kid hair salon and princess themed. The girls all got to pick out a dress and accessories and then got their hair and nails done. I love how much into it she was: