1 month old...

My baby is already one month old today. It's a little bit scary how quickly time is passing. She's still such a good baby, sleeping a little bit longer stretches so momma can get some sleep too. Since she's a month old today, we are putting her in the crib in her room tonight to see how she does. I'm so tired of sleeping on the couch with her in the living room so that she and I don't wake up Kate or Charlie and Eric. I MISS MY BED! On another note, the summer is going by so fast! It's already almost August!! School starts for Charlie on Sept. 8th and he is so excited. (So am I) That boy did so well off the structure that a set schedule gave him. It will definitely be a challenge getting my butt out the door in the morning with 3 kids while looking semi decent ON TIME for school. I'm starting to try putting Charlie on a schedule now, he's been going to bed earlier which is great. His little 4 year-old attitude and back-talking is shocking me. Where did my sweet little Charlie go? The other day, I heard him muttering to himself in his room while he was in time-out. Guess what he was saying to himself? --- and I quote, "C'est ecoeurant que mommy ecoute pas a moi pi elle est ecoeurant." Fun, huh? I didn't' know whether to laugh or cry. I am hoping it's just a phase and we will get our sweetheart back soon. Other than that, we are all happy and healthy. I couldn't ask for anything more. Well, except maybe a few more hours of sleep at night. Our attempt at a group shot...

Sweet Ella Funny Charlie

Sassy Kate

Lil' Miss Kate got her ears pierced!!!

On a whim, I decided to get Kate's ears pierced today. We've been wanting to do it for a while... poor little Katie didn't see it coming. She was sitting there on me and laughing with Jackie and the ear piercing ladies when all of a sudden PAIN! She was so mad. She cried. I almost cried cause I felt so bad doing this to my poor girl. She didn't cry for very long cause I pulled out the trusty ol' bottle and she was happy again drinking away in Ella's car seat...lol. They're so cute on her! If at all possible, they make her eyes shine 10 times more. It was a fun day shopping and eating with my girls. A day I'll always remember but hope Kate won't...lol. She's growing up so fast. She talks so much that it amazes me! The whole way home from Brea Mall she told the story of how, "La madame a fait bobo a les oreilles a Kate." Seriously, she must have said it to us like, 50 times.

Kate at the Piercing Pagoda

Me & my baby girlThe lady marking where the earrings would go...Sad Kate...

Sitting in Ella's car seat afterwards

Beautiful girl

Sleepless Nights

I guess one good thing comes out of sleepless nights... I get inspired in my sleep-deprived state and somehow muster up some creativity. These are some pictures I took of Ella in the WEE hours of the morning when sleep wasn't an option. The little model looks peaceful and sleepy but she was wide awake a few minutes prior.

Presentation

We presented our little Ella tonight. True to Gosselin style, we were 10 minutes late getting to church. We were already late getting everywhere, throw another kid into the mix and we'll be lucky to get to any event before it ends. Oh well, a fault of mine that I really have to work on. It was a special night. It went by too quickly. My dad came and got Ella from me after the ceremony, which meant a lot. I was so nervous for him for some reason. But he did a great job ;o) She was so beautiful in her little flowered hat and she wore the same beautiful dress that Kate wore. It was a great party afterwards but we are happy to finally be done with all the after birth festivities and can now get back to normal life. Here are a few shots from Ella's big night with her family. -------

Things are really starting to calm down a bit around the Gosselin household. We're all adjusting to the new little life we acquired and I'm TRYING to get the kids on a better schedule. Having a very awake Kate at 3 am every night is weighing heavily on my patience. I'm looking forward to doing something summery this week cause we haven't really gotten a chance to sit back and enjoy this summer sun.

Sip & See

In true Jackie style, they hosted a Sip & See for my newest baby girl. A meet and greet of sorts. Many amazing people came together and everything turned out perfectly and beautifully. It was a fun, relaxing night of great conversation, cute babies, awesome food and the decor was nothing short of fabulous. A Sip & See is a southern tradition where people come see the new baby and enjoy a cup of tea (or wine or Diet coke... you get the picture). I'd never heard of it before and not being able to really go out until la presentation, I thought it was a wonderful idea. Instead of everyone coming to meet Ella at random times, we can all get together at once. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of our night...

My little flowered girl

"Sweet Ella's Sparkling Pinktini's"

The little buddies Ella & Emerie (Annie's girl)

And then there were 3...

It's been a while since I blogged. Things have been really hectic around here. We are officially the proud parents of a brand new baby girl. As soon as she came out and they put her on me, I knew. I said, "This is Ella." Her birth was quick. Maybe not for others, but compared to the births of Charlie and Katelyn, 5 hours is a piece of cake for me. The morning of the 30th, at 7am, the contractions started. It was almost surreal. I had been waiting so long and wanted so badly to go into labor that it surprised me that my body did it all on it's own. I was proud that I didn't need an induction. From that moment on I was in such a fog of pain that I dont really remember much. I just remember thinking I was crazy to have ever wanted to have a natural birth. The epidural sounded really good to me at that point. But I knew in my heart that I could do it and that I would regret it immensely if I didn't follow my birth plan. She was born at 12:59 pm and my little chub weighed in at 8 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 inches long. After her brief stay in the NICU, our little one came home with us on the 4th of July. I was a little nervous to have a newborn in the house again. It's always a shock to the system, the not sleeping. It's a good thing that she smells so amazing. She is so beautiful. She snuggles up in my neck and even at 4 am when I just want to cry because I am so tired, I fall more in love with her with every little cry. She looks just like I did when I was a baby. She even has mine and Charlie's little dimples. Im so incredibly in love with all 3 of them. Charlie and Kate are doing wonderfully. The sibling rivalry hasn't really reared it's ugly head yet. They dote on her and fight over who will hold her next. Even my little Kate! I was so worried she wouldn't do well. I felt really sad and heartsick when Kate wouldn't come see me in the hospital. I kept thinking, "What have I done? My little Kate is still a baby and she's been 'replaced'!" It's such a relief that she doesn't feel threatened. She calls Ella her baby. She puts the boppy around her waist and likes to lay Ella's head on her arm and look for her feet. She's so sweet and tender that it's almost too good to be true. Anyway, without further ado... here are my reasons for being.