Sarah is now 3 months old and is growing and changing so quickly! She’s very smiley these days and so laid back and easy going that I am occasionally late to feed her or change her diaper. She rarely cries or screeches, but she is “talking” a lot. The big kids still love her and constantly tell us how cute, adorable, beautiful and smiley she is. She enjoys all of their attention and loves to sit and stare at them when they hold her.

Sarah is about to outgrow her 3 month clothes and is sleeping like a champ! She doesn’t go to see the doctor until December 31st, but I can tell that she’s heavier. She has chunky cheeks (like her brother did!) and a very round little face which the kids like to poke. She sleeps from 9pm to 5am which Mommy loves and has settled into a really good schedule, taking a short morning and evening nap and a long afternoon nap which occurs while the big kids nap as well, which is SO nice for Mommy!

It’s hard to believe that our oldest could already be six years old! Eden is growing up so quickly (much too quickly in my opinion!). School has taken her to a whole new level of maturity, knowledge and confidence. She knows everything (she seriously told me that last week!) and if you thought she was bossy before, you should see her now! I know she’s honing her leadership skills and will probably make a fantastic teacher when she grows up. Word from her teacher is that Eden is quite the helper and likes to encourage other students to follow the rules and keep focused during class.

Eden had her first school performance right before Thanksgiving and she was very cute on stage. She of course knew all of the motions and every word to every song. She is doing well in school and has already mastered all of the kindergarten sight words so her teacher has been sending home additional words each week. Eden is very motivated to read, but says that math is her favorite subject. She started subtraction last week and she amazes me with how quickly she has grasped the concept.

She’s still a wonderful big sister, and is constantly coming up with new games and ideas to keep her siblings entertained. Being at school all day makes it seem like we barely see Eden anymore, but we know she loves being at school and she hasn’t had any problems adjusting to the long days.

Eden is still doing gymnastics and was promoted to level 1/2 this past session. She’s the youngest in her group, but she’s determined to not be the “worst” in the class and works hard to be able to do all of the things that the 7 and 8 year olds can do. It’s funny to watch her on the bars, where girls who are at least a head taller than her are doing pull overs with their feet on the ground, while Eden has to use her upper body strength to pull herself up and then her abs to flip herself around.

A new interest for Eden is art. And although the constant crafting often results in paper scraps, scissors, glue, glitter, and a variety of other things all over my kitchen table and floor, it’s fun to see what she comes up with and in my very biased opinion, it’s pretty good. It will be fun to see what other things Eden discovers as she learns and grows as a six year old!

Sarah is growing so quickly! She gained 3 lbs in a month weighing in at 10lbs, 7 oz at her two month appointment. She has started smiling and now seems like a very happy baby! She likes her paci and her siblings (especially Andy!) and also bath time. She’s still sleeping pretty well, even though we keep messing with her schedule as we try to find a routine that works well for us and for her.

She has her first stuffy nose and is a good sport despite not being able to breathe very well. She has also started talking more, which thrills the big kids to no end. They mimic every peep she makes and announce to the entire house when she talks to them. 🙂

Sarah went on her first and second road trip this month and was a champ in the car! She slept most of the time she was in her car seat and did great in different surroundings. Sarah can’t wait for her next trip to West Lafayette and her first Thanksgiving!

Sarah Abigail was born on September 12, 2014. She weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz and was 19 inches long. She looked a lot like Andy did when he was a baby but with brown hair. She has a VERY loud cry, which earned her the nickname “Pterodactyl”.

Sarah is now 1 month old. She weighs 7 lbs, 8 oz and is 21 1/4 inches long. She is sleeping about 5 hours and then 3 hours at night and is much more content during the day. She hates having her diaper changed but really likes bath time. She has only smiled at Andy so far, despite pressure from everyone else in the family and has already made it clear that she prefers to be part of the group instead of in a room by herself.

The kids LOVE her (sometimes too much) and are always eager to hold her or put her paci in her mouth. They like it when she is down on the floor and they all lay around her talking to her and touching her little hands and feet. Andy says about 50 times a day, “Sarah is so cute!” while Grace tends to focus on how Sarah’s diapers smell and Eden likes to announce every move that Sarah makes.

There’s not very much time to rest with the fourth child, so Sarah has already been to the pumpkin patch twice, to three soccer games, to church many times, out to eat several times and went in for a little “show and tell” at both kids schools.

Most of the time Ben and I feel like we’re doing pretty well with 4 kids, but bath time and bed time are a bit challenging. We’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of family come to help us out. The big kids have loved the attention and fun activities with everyone and Ben and I have really appreciated the extra hands and the many meals that we’ve received.

Clearly the blog has suffered since we’ve been back in the US and life has been so hectic, but I didn’t realize that it had been quite so long since I last wrote. Here’s a quick update on everyone:

Ben- He really enjoys his job and is working from home almost every day now. We love getting to have lunch with him and the commute is pretty great as well 😉 Ben broke his wrist playing soccer in February and had to have surgery to put a plate in. His soccer days are now over (according to me!), but he did get to return to basketball last week and is quite happy about that.

Meghan- I’m doing well, and am enjoying pregnancy number 3. I’m 30 weeks now and Sarah is busy flipping and flopping, especially at night. She measured right on at her 28 week ultrasound and now we’re seeing the doctor every two weeks. We’ve stayed busy this summer with weekly trips to local parks and I’m looking forward to settling into more of a routine after school starts back up.

Eden- Eden is 5 1/2 now and starts kindergarten at the end of July! We can’t believe she’s old enough to go to school. She’ll go for a full day and will ride the bus. She’s very excited about both of those things and has been busy making plans about her new backpack, school clothes and school supplies. Eden moved to a new bedroom last week in preparation for Sarah, so she and Grace now share a pink room. She loves it (although gets easily annoyed by Grace talking to herself in bed) and shows everyone that comes over her new room. Her first tooth fell out a few weeks ago and she has another one that is loose. She’s still a good big sister, and likes to make plans, schedules and rules for everyone to follow.

Andy- Andy is still all boy, but has grown a lot in the past year and is much better at listening and following directions. He loved preschool and can’t wait to start the 4’s class in August. He joined his sisters at gymnastics this year and really like his class. Andy was also able to attend VBS this summer and had a great time! He is still fascinated by cars and has developed an interest in legos as well. He can spend hours building with his legos and driving his cars around in his room. Andy and Eden attended soccer camp last week and he really got into it. Ben and I both enjoyed watching him catch onto the skills and concepts of soccer and he thinks he wants to play in the fall.

Grace- At 2 1/2 Grace’s personality is much bigger than her body. She finally hit 20 lbs and it’s funny to watch her run around and hear her talk because she is so tiny. She copies everything her brother and sister do and thinks she’s the boss of the house. Grace isn’t afraid of anything (except bugs) and she often makes our hearts race as she climbs, jumps and runs around chasing Eden and Andy. She’s very excited about Sarah coming, but we anticipate her excitement will diminish once Sarah actually arrives and Grace is no longer the baby. Gracie loves sleeping in her new big girl bed, or at least being in her new big girl bed. We’re still working on the actual sleeping part, because being in a room with Eden AND in a big girl bed is apparently just too exciting.

We’ve had a busy summer so far with a wedding in May (all the kids were in it and were practically perfect!), many weekend trips to Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, Chicago, West Lafayette and Ohio and we have another wedding coming up in August. We hope your summer is going well and look forward to seeing many of you as the summer continues!