3,22,8

No. That's not my high school locker combination. Those are the precious ages of my 3 sweet girls. I have been trying to write about them for a few months now, (I wonder what has kept me away from the blog??) so now I will try to do justice to their PERFECT personalities at these ages.

For ONCE in this crazy life, let's let the MIDDLE child get her glory first! :) I'm not biased or anything...but I am a middle child. :)

Sweet Emily is 22 months- 2 months away from turning 2! WOW! She is so much fun to watch and has such a unique personality that is developing. She adores her big sister and follows her at all times. They play together all day long and have really started "conversing" with one another. As you can imagine, this also leads to a little bit of conflict every now and then...and Emily stands her ground very firmly. She is either by Carolines side or off on her own entertaining herself. She is still doesn't say a whole lot as far as communicating goes- she asks for her passy and lovey, juice, says please and thank you, I'm sorry, and a few other things. Emily will call us mama, dada (or gaga), Caroline, Hannah, and Izzy. She will say words like cow, ball, block, monkey, dog, cat, and anything else you ask her to repeat she happily will oblige. She chooses to jibber jabber in her own language for the most part though...or just scream until we figure it out. ANY day now I know she will start the talking game but I am not in any rush. At all. My ears do a lot of listening to big sis and I cannot quite imagine 2 going at it all day...but maybe that means they will talk to one another instead?? We'll see. She has such a fun relationship with Brad- she literally shakes with delight when I say he is coming home and she will wait by the door for him. She giggles at EVERYTHING he does and is so smitten with him. Brad LOVES this! What a special bond between daddy and daughter.
She loves-
her passy
her green teddy bear lovey
"her" white blanket...with Carolines name on it
jewelry...bracelets are her favorite...or anything at all that can be worn on her wrists
my iphone
shoes
balls
The Wiggles dvds
animals- play and real
her daddy
coloring
cows
dancing
A few stats...
Size 24-2t clothes. She and Caroline share a room and a dresser...and the clothes are starting to all get mixed up together. Some days her outfits range from size 18 month to 4t...depending on the item and who dresses her...hahaha.
Size 5 diapers-- no where near ready for potty training.
Size 7-8 shoes
I think she probably weighs about 30lbs?? Not quite sure. We'll find out at her 2 year doctor visit.
She wakes up around 6:30 a.m. and goes to sleep happily at 7:00 p.m.
Naps once from 12-2, sometimes shorter
She has not had a hair cut yet- but she has a head FULL of red curly ringlets...I love to play with her hair! So gorgeous...not sure how easy it is going to be to maintain in the years to come, but for now it's perfect!
Loves to eat and snack all day long...mostly enjoys meats and potatoes at dinner! She is on a veggie strike right now.
She goes to Mother's Day Out 2 mornings a week and FINALLY doesn't put up a fight! No more tears!! Yahoo!! I knew it would happen one day. I'm so glad she enjoys it now. Makes my heart more at ease.
She is a ball of smiles most times through out the day. I cherish how carefree she is- she loves to get messy, and go full speed ahead without a moments hesitation at all times. At home she is very outgoing, but when people are around, or she is out in public, she tends to clam up. Could be the age/stage, maybe her personality.

We love Emily so very much and are so thankful for the true happiness and JOY she brings our family. She is such a beautiful gift from God.














Hannah baby turned 8 weeks old Tuesday. Where have the past weeks gone?? She is already starting to take on more "baby" characteristics and leave her "infant"ways. I will cherish each and every little minute of her little days. I try to find time each day to sit still and soak in her wonderful-ness. She is so very content for the most part- and can be consoled easily. She is a wonderful nurser and eats very fast. This makes life a lot easier than it could be if she were a slow eater. Things move FAST around our house :) She loves to sit upright on your shoulder and soak in the world around her. Her head control is getting better and better each day. She does NOT love tummy time yet. She is my first baby that I have truly kept her sleeping on her back at all times...because she is a FABULOUS sleeper!!
Yes, sit down. Take a moment. Gasp.
Yes. She is a great sleeper. The Lord KNEW that after 2 babies that would not sleep through the night until they were 10 and 12 months old...I NEEDED some sanity or the Hobbs crew may not survive. Little Hannah will usually sleep a long stretch of anywhere from 7-8 hours straight at night. Down side? She starts this stretch of sleep around 6:30...so it's not quite on target for my sleeping pattern yet, but we are getting there. I will take what I get! After her long stretch she usually goes back down for 2-3 more hours and wakes with the girls around 7. Naps are not the best right now, but we will get there. She still is just going with the flow with the rest of us girls that she cat naps all day long and I'm ok with that. Schedule?? Hmmm...not sure if I remember what that word means. She eats, sleeps, and plays when she wants. It makes us all a lot more relaxed...for the time being. We'll see how that plays out in the grand scheme of things.
She loves her swaddle and I love keeping her in it. I'm sure if you have seen us the past 8 weeks she has been all wrapped up snug in her "peapod" swaddler. This time around I figured out that you can even use the swaddle in the car seat...so she has worn it even more!
She hates riding in her car seat period. Swaddle or no swaddle.
We will go for her 2 month dr appointment in a few weeks but I am guessing she weighs about 12 lbs. She was 10.10 at her 1 month and 23 inches long. She is VERY long/tall and has the famous big feet of all her predecessors.
She is wearing size 3 month clothes
Size 2 diapers
Loves her green soother passy...so grateful for this! Neither of my older girls took to their passy until they were 6 months old (yes, I was still a passy pusher even at that age;)
She has a lot of hair- and it's dark brown/auburn. Her eyebrows are showing up red though. I think she will be a darker auburn red head.
Her eyes are dark brown right now...with a hint of hazel in the future I think :)
She loves to smile and coo now. Every time I go in to get her when she wakes she just wants to smile. Melts a mamas heart.
She is kicking those long little legs all the time duirng playtime. She usually just stares at her big sisters and watches the action that is going on around her.
She rotates from bouncy seat, swing, floor, bean bag (that's a new one for us this go round), the sleepy wrap, and my arms.
She is still sleeping in our bedroom in a bassinet but she is about to long to fit in it anymore and is going to make the move to her crib soon. She is sleeping so well it shouldn't be so terrible to have to stumble across our tiny hallway a few times a night. I'm also getting tired of Brads alarm and 10 snoozes waking her up at 4:30-5:00 each morning. So...she needs her own room.
We think that she may have a little bit of reflux so we started her on a little bit of zantac that seems to help her some. Not the spitting up kind (thankfully!!) but the uncomfortable, arch your back, screeching kind of reflux.
The BEST news yet...people say she looks like me!! Finally...a child that resembles their mommy just a little bit. She is simply perfect and we are loving having her as our caboose. So thankful she is healthy and growing and being LOVED on just like she should.
















Caroline is 3 years 1 month old! She is a BALL of fun and excitement. She is so intelligent that she usually blows people away by her ability to hold a normal conversation. She loves to sit and recall/remember things from the past and truly remembers more about some things than I do!
She enjoys being told stories and her imagination has really started taking off- such fun! Caroline has already developed such a fun sense of humor and loves to be silly. Sometimes she will blurt out something that I can only understand as her attempts at Spanish (thanks Dora).
She loves to read books and now she loves to "teach" or read her books to anyone who will listen. She carries her special Christmas books around with her- to bed, to the store, to the park. She has spent the majority of this month preaching, teaching, and acting out the nativity story.
Caroline loves to do crafts of all kinds- she gets so excited and usually jumps for joy when I ask if she wants to do a craft. Coloring, painting, stickers, tissue paper play, play dough...the list is endless. She likes to create and I love watching her.
She is a lefty! She writes, eats, and throws with her left hand! A red head and a lefty?? Where are these genes coming from??
She knows almost all her letters and numbers...without any formal teaching or time spent on them. Pretty crazy. She likes to pretend to write and will scribble scrabble tiny little lines with her pen. She can write a "C" for her name and takes a lot of pride in it.
She has a favorite baby doll named "A-wee" or Allie to the rest of us:) Allie goes EVERYWHERE with her. Ever since Hannah arrived, Allie has become such an important part of our family as well. We need to all pray that nothing happens to baby Allie EVER.
She and Emily share their room and enjoy doing everything together. Same sleeping schedule- up at 6:30 or 7:00 and back to bed by 7pm. She naps from 12-2 just like sis- but in a separate room...which happens to be Hannah's crib right now. Silly I know. But I want to make sure that everyone gets all the nap/sleep that they need each day...and in the same room someone was always waking the other up too early. BUT since we are about to transfer Hannah into her room- Caroline's napping locale will be changing...probably down in the guest room/play room. Yay for transitions!! It never ends :)
Caroline has discovered the fun of taking a shower! She usually bathes with Emily first, then daddy lets her shower for a few minutes. She loves bathwash- coconut, mango infusion...all the fun soap that I have on our shelf. She also prefers to use a loofah. So funny. I guess it makes her feel grown up. She always asks how she "smells" after she gets out.
She is potty trained except through the night. I haven't braved that yet. She will nap in panties and is 99% always dry when she wakes. She is fine when we are out of the house together. But she still has a little issue with going at church on her own. Her teachers say she still prefers to wear pullups. We are getting there...no rush! I know she can do it...its just when she CHOOSES to do it at school/church when she goes to her Mothers Day Out twice a week.
Caroline is such a helper. She takes such good care of the 2 littles and is my perfect sidekick. She gets any and everything that she can possibly get to help- diapers, shoes, socks, clothes, cups, blankets, any and everything I ask. I'm so thankful for her. I never imagined my little 3 year old would be such an asset to our survival...but she is! She will clean up her own messes and even takes care of Emily's stuff most of the time. She really loves acting like "mommy" and it warms my heart. I need to take the time to really enjoy and mentor her during this time- because she is following in my footsteps...literally.
She loves to do her "quiet time" with me in the mornings. I read my Bible and she will pull out a basket I made for her called her quiet time basket that holds her little Bible stories and books. She loves to use my Bible and we have had such special times and conversations already. She loves to pray and quote scripture (totally made up of phrases and true verses). It is precious. I am so blessed to be able to see her little mind and heart growing and developing already at the tender age of 3.
Some stats-
weight? Guessing 35ish...she's skinny minny but tall. We'll know at her 3 year dr appointment.
Clothes- 3t to 4t's
shoes- 10's and growing quickly
She got her first haircut awhile back, but her first REAL haircut or style cut last month. She got it all cut the same length (waiting for those bangs to grow out) into a cute little bob. She prefers a "cwip" instead of ponytails...so she usually just wears a clip or bow in the front. Her hair is still red and as gorgeous as always. She has a bright shiny red splotch of hair up front that people always notice.
I am so thankful for my ball of energy and excitement. Her joy is contagious. I find myself learning things from her...and try to find the positives in all circumstances.













So I could totally write a book about each one of my girls any given day. I'm so in love. So thankful. So blessed. So busy. This is most likely all trivial info for everyone except me...but one day down the road I will be thankful to remember what a my girls were like in these early years.