To Blog or Not to Blog?

Each time it crosses my mind or my to-do list to take the time to write another blog post I find myself wondering if I should just give up on this endeavor. It seemed like such a great idea when I started it during my pregnancy with Noah. It also seemed that blogging once a month was a very attainable goal. Now, blogging once a quarter almost seems impossible. Having 3 kids might have something to do with that....I guess I've found myself on here once again. So, maybe instead of giving up altogether, I simply need to lessen my expectations and be thankful for the memories I get committed to my blog, even if it is only a couple of times a year.

The other question I find myself pondering is whether I should write different posts for each of the kids or include all updates in one lump sum. While individual posts sound great, let's be real. I'm writing one post every 4-6 months. Trying to up that to 3 posts each time I manage to brush the virtual cobwebs off my blog is not going to happen. So, a big, bulky update it will be. Maybe I need to blog more often. I just answered 2 questions that have been plaguing me for 2.5 years, in a matter of minutes. Something about spewing thoughts onto paper provides a real sense of clarity.

Okay, enough of my internal debates, let's get on with this big, bulky update.

NOAH'S BIRTHDAY
Noah just celebrated his 5th (yes, FIVE!) birthday! I still think of myself as an early 20-something, not as someone who is getting ready to enroll their child in Kindergarten. Yikes! We celebrated his birthday multiple times which he certainly had little complaint about. The day before his birthday, Noah took brownies and strawberries to school for a special birthday treat snack to share with his class. On his actual birthday we took him and a friend from church (Abram) to Red Robin for dinner and to Big Al's to play in the arcade (or to play video games, as Noah says). They were hysterical together! We had such a great time listening to their 4/5 year old conversations. A good time was had by all. The next day, we had a family party for Noah. Guests in attendance included: Great Grandpa & Great Grandma Gibson, Papa & Nana, Grandpa & Grandma, Uncle Nathan, Auntie Kendra, and Paigey. Uncle Aaron and his prom date, Nina, stopped by on their way to school. The decor was Minion-themed, at Noah's request, of course. We played Spot It Jr., for which Uncle Nathan took home the grandiose prize of Smartfood Popcorn, and Tic-Tac Toe, from which Sam managed to earn a bag of peanut M&M's. Noah was gifted some new clothes, legos, connects, books, a fun new sprinkler, and several sandbox toys (Nana & Papa are cleaning out Noah's sandbox, putting new sand in, and making a cover for it so all the neighborhood cats will be forced to do their duty elsewhere).

MELANIE'S MILES
Mels, as we often call her, is quite the little traveler. In her short 4.5 months of life, she has managed to see places I did not see until my adult life. She has flown on an international flight, secured her passport, visited 5 states, and put a whole lot of miles on her car seat! Luckily for us, she is an amazing traveler and is happy wherever she is as long as she's got a fresh dipes and a full belly.

In February, Sam, Melanie, and I all went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We stayed at an all inclusive resort, Grand Velas, for 4 days. Simply put, it was heaven on earth! The weather could not have been more perfect! The infinity pools (yes, pools. There were 3.) were beautiful and ranged in temperature so the perfect dip was always available. We were right on the beach and had the most amazing view! We played tennis, ping pong, swam, shopped, ate more food than should be humanly possible in 4 days, and the best part is that we did all of this with some fresh, delicious beverage in-hand. We were treated like royalty; people waiting on us hand and foot. The employees (especially our personal concierge, Luis who called Mels "mi amore") ADORED Melanie so we felt extra special. They had everything Mel needed: a crib, stroller, bouncy seat, baby bath, special soap and a bath sponge for her, and toys. I'm pretty sure we could have secured almost anything we wanted in that resort by just flashing her face as our form of payment. After the LONG, MISERABLE winter we had, it was so wonderful to go and we did not want to come back!

In March, Mels and I headed to Pendleton to spend a weekend with Emmy, one of my best friends from Corban. We had a wonderful girls' weekend complete with manicures, junk food, and at least 3 chick flicks. It was so relaxing!

At the end of March-the first week end of April, we all went with my parents and the Hunters to visit Keith and Kristi in Montana. It was a mostly wonderful vacation with lots of fun family time. We played games, explored Great Falls, watched Sing, and just relaxed. The not-so-great part was that my mom and I got the flu REALLY BAD the night before we left. Everyone, expect for Melanie, Noah, and Sam, managed to contract it after that. It sucked!

May 1-2, Melanie, my dad, and I went to Salt Lake City to go through the Serta Factory and to pick up a new (to them) car that my parents bought online. They had it shipped from Colorado to SLC and we drove it home from there. It is a pretty, green Subaru Outback wagon. It was a short trip, but very fun and relaxing!

In case you're counting, the 5 states Bellies (as Noah calls her) has visited are: Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Utah, and California (on our way to Mexico). That's not even mentioning the 2 trips we took to Michigan while she was still in utero, which would add Colorado, Nevada, and Michigan to the list! That gives a grand total of 8 states she "visited" before she was 5 months old :)

We'll see what comes next on Melanie's itinerary. Coeur d'Alene and McCall are on the docket for summer. Who knows where else the warm-weather months will take us?!

Noah & Paigey on our great Montana hike

Noah & Papa perusing Ross in MT

Mel's getting ready for a swim in Mexico

Mel's getting ready for adventure in Salt Lake

Relaxing with Daddy in Mexico

Girls' weekend in Pendleton!

Touring Mexico!

CHLOE GIRL
Chloe is just over 2.5 and there are days when it shows! She is a remarkably sweet girl, especially when she can be on her own (she plays extremely well by herself, but trouble manages to come around if she's playing with her brother or cousin. The fault seems to lie equally with all 3 of them). She is at that I'm-going-to-be-so-independent-it-hurts stage. She wants to do everything for herself and gets quickly frustrated when things don't go as she envisioned.

That being said, she is a fun little toddler and she brightens our house a whole lot! She is still the girly-est little thing you've ever met. From picking out her outfit, requesting (almost daily!) manicures and pedicures, to the jewelry she insists on wearing and the hairstyles she insists on sporting, that girl is quite the princess.

She's becoming quite interested in school and asks often when she can go to school at Messiah. Unfortunately, her September birthday means she misses the cutoff for this year and will have to wait awhile longer. She has been working hard at school at home when Noah is practicing his reading/writing/math, etc. Learning the alphabet and how to spell her name is currently top priority. She knows about 7 letters and all her colors. She knows her basic shapes and we've been working to identify some of the trickier ones. Counting is also something she enjoys. She can count to 12 by herself, if she doesn't get distracted :)

Chloe testing out lawnmowers @ Home Depot

Chloe on Easter

Chloe in all her headbanded splendor

And there you have it, our big, bulky update. For now. I'll get to penning our next chunk of news sometime this summer, perhaps after we return from all our vacations.

Sibling Story Hour

A Family of Five!

Things have changed quite a bit in the Vanderwall household since my last post. We welcomed Melanie Lynne on Wednesday, December 14, 2016! She weighed 6 lb. 10 oz. and was 20.75 in. long. She's a beautiful baby with a head full of dark, soft hair! She's got pretty blue eyes and was born with her daddy's darker complexion. She looks quite a bit like Sam's baby pictures; dark hair and dark skin. We'll see if this lasts :)

Mel is the easiest baby! Our first night home from the hospital with both Noah and Chloe were only barely survivable at best. You know those nights, with a newborn, that cause you to ask yourself, "Dear goodness! What have I done?!?!?" Luckily for us, both of them turned out to be great sleepers after that first night. Even more lucky (or blessed) for us, Melanie didn't have that awful first night! She put herself right to sleep and has been doing so ever since. She typically wakes up twice to eat, once in the middle of the night and once in the early morning. She's usually only up for 20-30 minutes (diaper change included) and then puts herself right back to sleep. She doesn't cry when she wakes up to eat, but just lays in her bed sucking on her fists, which she is remarkably good at breaking out of her swaddle. I guess you gotta do whatchya gotta do when hunger calls. She almost never fusses during the day either. Basically the only time she will is if she's poopie.

She came at 37 weeks, 1 day, due to pre-eclampsia, AGAIN! Gosh, how I hate that! However, she was my fastest and easiest labor. Eight and half hours and 3 pushes later we had a baby! (Don't comment on this and tell me about your 3 hour labor with one little push...8.5 hours and 3 pushes for her is down from 26 hours and 30 minutes of pushing with Noah. Let me have my moment). Being 3 weeks early, she slept CONSTANTLY and was not very alert for those first 3 weeks. On her due date (Jan. 3) it was as if her body suddenly realized she was supposed to be living life outside the womb. She suddenly became much more alert and started having 2 or 3 long awake periods every day. Apparently, she was quite aware of her rude awakening to the outside world and decided to do her best to ignore it until it was actually time for her to be here.

Noah and Chloe have adjusted very well to having another sibling. We sort of feared the fight for the princess crown between Chloe and Melanie, but Chloe just ADORES her and is such a great helper! Noah is so go-with-the-flow that he was incredibly excited to welcome Melanie, just as he was with Chloe. They both love to hold her, help with burping her, diaper changes, bouncing her in her bouncy seat, and spending time talking to her. It is going to be so fun to watch them grow together!

Even though having pre-eclampsia and being induced for the 3rd time wasn't high on my priority list, I was very excited to have a baby in my arms for the holidays! And, actually, I kind of like being induced...it's just the pre-eclampsia part I could do without. I'm glad Melanie's birthday has a little separation from the holidays. Hopefully she'll always feel celebrated and not like her birthday gets lumped in with Christmas.

My recovery has been quick and easy, just as it was with Chloe. I've been chomping at the bit to start working out again and could not stand waiting until 6 weeks postpartum, so I started slowly at 4 weeks. I'm now 5 weeks out and am feeling great! I'm excited to continue progressing toward being strong and having stamina again.

Adjusting to life as a family of 5 has been almost seamless. I still feel that the transition from 0 kids to 1 kid was the most challenging. Transitioning from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 hasn't been bad at all! I'm grateful that the Lord has blessed with us 3 good eaters and sleepers. I think He knows I'm too much of a sissy to handle anything otherwise :) Sam and I are both grateful for His many, many blessings, the 3 biggest of which are our precious kids!