Blink...and March is gone!

Well hello there blog followers!  Long time no see...

March has been an incredibly busy month it turns out.  Illness finally left us (for a bit), and the warm weather came bounding in.  We had a wonderful St. Patricks Day weekend, filled with leprechaun traps, yummy food, and lots of family and friends time.

We started off March with the arrival of our Girl Scout Cookies!  Of course we were excited to eat them (perhaps my challenge to lose weight did not), but also excited to deliver them to all of the wonderful people who bought them!  We spent weekends delivering to some of our local friends, and then took advantage of one sunny Sunday afternoon to hit the neighborhood next to us.  Erinn got decked out in her "uniform", and we took a jaunt as a family up the hill to deliver the cookies.  All of the customers were so friendly, and we ended up getting quite the workout as well as having to take our jackets off because it was so warm!  I am sure everyone was just as excited to receive their treats as we were, and a couple of hours later we returned home tired and accomplished!  Erinn was so proud of how she had done.  All in all, she sold 216 boxes!!  That was double what she did last year.






We spent much of the next weeks spending lots of time outdoors because of the beautiful weather!  We joined lots of friends for walks around Harrybrooke Park, and I even got to purchase a new jogging stroller to go with my new obsession of running.  The girls got to ride bikes, play on the swings, we got new sidewalk chalk for the driveway, and even Mattelyn got to enjoy the outdoors in her exersaucer.  She is completely entranced with the springy sounds of the birds chirping, and she loves to feel the outdoor air.  She is going to follow suit of our other children, who you will never find indoors on a nice sunny day!

Our next adventure was St. Patricks Day!  We started out the day attending a birthday party for Regan's friend Aidan, and after that, got to meet Uncle Jamie, Amy, and Lily at Sarah Noble for a walk.  Lily is only 11 days younger than Mattie, and they hadn't seen each other in a while.  Although they didn't pay much attention to one another at all (in fact, I am not sure that either of them was fully aware of the others existence), us Mommies got to have a nice chat while the Daddies played catch and the older kids rode bikes.  It was a nice, but brief visit with the Reeds, and then we were off again, this time to the dollar store.  We purchased some new items for our Leprechaun trap, and then headed home to start production.  The girls had a blast building the trap, Mattie supervised from her high chair, and then we got some family shots in the front yard.  When all that was said and done, we were famished and getting chilly, so we headed in for some corned beef and cabbage and cupcakes for dessert!

Lily

Happy St. Patricks Day from the Williams Clan

That night, we set the trap and headed to bed.  Wouldn't you know it, those playful leprechauns showed up, played with our toys and left a mess.  Although we did not catch one, we deduced that one must have gotten caught in our trap briefly, as he left his hat behind!  Unfortunately, Mommy is not going to be able to keep up with these shenanigans because she has a very observant 6 year old that is on to her games!  What a nice day it was!

A Hat!

In other news, Mattelyn went for her 6 month checkup on Friday March 23rd.  She weighed in at a whopping 14lbs. 14oz, and was 25 1/2 inches long.  Why is it that I have the long skinny kids?  The pediatrician was impressed with the variety of foods she has consumed, which at this point consisted of a plethora of veggies, fruits, and some meats.  She is not a huge "meat eater", and although she prefers my homemade vegs and fruits, she is not a fan of the meat meals I make her.  Oh well, soon enough she will be eating table food on her own, and so it will only be a short while of giving her the processed baby food.  She is in the process of mastering her pincer grasp, and is able to eat Gerber puffs and wagon wheels, graham crackers, and cheerios on her own.  She has also gnawed on bread and rolls, and has been known to willingly have bites of whatever you are eating.  This week we are working on mastering a sippy cup with water, to help quench her thirst without having to resort to the bottle.  She sleeps great, is sitting up for longer periods at a time, is never in the same place I left her thanks to her "backwards crawling", and loves to jump.  She is becoming more and more independent by the day, and I find this rewarding and also a bit sad.  Where did my infant go?

This week is also a big week for the girls as they start T-ball/Rookie ball practices.  We went to the sporting goods store the other day to obtain all their equipment, and both girls are excited to be playing, and also to have Daddy as their coach.  Regan starts T-ball this year, and is a natural.  She is our "boy", and tends to be like her father in that she is good at just about everything she tries.  She has a cannon of an arm, and is super excited to be able to play this year and not just watch.  Big sister Erinn will have her first year of being on a team without a tee involved.  Now it is getting into the fundamentals of the game.  She is also quite gifted in this arena, but tends to be more of a diva.  I think she will like it better when she is on a team of all girls.  But her long legs give her a nice stride, and she is quick on the base path (big surprise).  I am excited as well, and will dust off my cheerleading skills just enough to be their biggest fan!

I am happy to report that Regan has also been doing better with her urological issues.  After seeing two pediatric urologists and trying her on a medicine for overactive bladder, we have actually found more success in a ten dollar potty watch from One Step Ahead.  The medicine caused her belly to be sick, and that was making things worse as opposed to helping the situation.  So we heard about the watch, and decided to give it a try.  She wears it like a regular watch, and it is set so that it plays a tune and lights up every half hour, reminding her to go try.  Although the days she goes to the bathroom every 10-15 minutes it is less than helpful, it has ultimately been a success with fewer accidents in the last week than she was having in one day alone!  We are hoping that this whole thing can be rectified prior to her going to Kindergarten in the fall.  The last thing she needs is a stigma, or kids to pick on her for something she has no control over.

This week, Rob and I also went to Erinn's parent-teacher conference.  Her teacher is absolutely wonderful, and thinks very highly of her.  Her reading and writing has improved since the last P-T conference (November), and she is right on track for entering second grade.  Of course I was pleased that academically she is doing well, but I think the highlight of the conference was when the teacher said that Erinn is always such a happy little girl, that she is a great friend to others, and always eager to learn new things and help out where she can.  Those are words that make my heart happy.  Of course I know she goes to school to learn, but knowing that she is such a good person in character is also important to me.  Rob and I have had several teachers tell us that we "must be doing something right", because our children are "so well behaved and such a pleasure to have around".  This is definitely good to hear, because we all know as parents, we often wonder if we are doing right by our children.  Ahhh, a sigh of relief and a well deserved pat on the back later, we left the conference and came home to hug our wonderful little girl.

It really has been a lovely couple of weeks.  Blessed with good weather, good company, and good news, we have all been in great spirits!  My continued challenge to lose 10 pounds in 100 days has also allowed me to have more energy and enjoy the days more.  I am successfully down 9 pounds, one whole pants size, and one more notch over on the belt!  I feel great, and that is what is most important.  Although some head colds/allergies/flu-ish like symptoms have gotten us down a little these past few days, we end March with renewed vigor, and ready to take on April just the same.  We have some wonderful plans to finish out March, including a visit to cousin Kayleigh's, our cookie booth sale for Daisies, and some much needed haircuts!  And then we head into April and are excited about egg coloring and Easter, spring vacation, and BASEBALL!  

Hopefully it will not be the end of April before I blog again, but I will not make any promises!!  Life is so full and busy, and that is great!  Although my blog should be the Williams Monthly at this point, that doesn't have quite the same ring to it.  I'll try harder.  Until next time...

Happy Spring!

This is what I call blessed!