Blessed Beyond Measure: A2H 2019.13-14: The Circus

Since returning to work, life has been almost a complete blur. As I type this Hazel is almost 4 months old, yet I still haven't blogged about her 3 month birthday. That said, I am working hard to catch up and will do so with some rushed posts filling in what few details I can still remember along the way...

The 13th and 14th weeks of 2019 ended the month of March and began the month of April (my 2nd and 3rd weeks back to work). Being a working mama again, I did my best during this time to get used to the new 'normal' and juggle being an employee, wife and mother of three kids...which I continue to work at. I am not always great at the constant juggling act and at times it is a complete circus, but I love my family and I do my best.

Video: Chats with Hazel

Sometimes surviving and maintaining the juggling act requires a little fuel... Being my daughter, Hazel (of course) made a grab for my ice cream too! ;)

On Wednesday Eric sent this to me. A true picture of what our Circus looks like!

On Thursday, I had to pick the kids up early from daycare and school so we enjoyed a little detour to the park to enjoy a bit of sunshine and fun before Daddy got home...

Hazel's first attempt at swinging

FB Post: A warmish, sunny Spring day combined with an early daycare pick-up called for a trip to the park #babysfirstswingride #unimpressed @ Nash

I let Hazel try the swings at the park for the first time and she wasn't totally impressed, but once I turned her away from the wind (she HATES the wind), I was able to get a couple of smiles out of her.

Video: Swinging

That night, we had some fun playing together in the living room before bed..

Eric and Hazel put on a little dance show for us...

2 Videos: Hazel's Got Moves

...and Avery entertained us by "riding a bicycle upside-down"...

Video: Avery and his Imaginary Bike

The next day it was Friday, my dayoff. Since Asher didn't have school for the day I decided to be brave and venture out of the house for a fun day with friends at the Kohl Children's Museum (more on that to come). At the end of our time there, the kids got their faces painted by my friend Britni. Avery was painted into a tiger per his request and he was THRILLED to say the least. When we got home later that day, I brought Hazel and the kids into the house and then headed back out to the garage to get some other things I had in the van. Before I went back outside, I told Avery that he was not allowed to go on the couch until he washed his face off (Asher had already washed off his face). He looked at me in panic and I assured him that he did NOT have to wash off his face right now, he just needed to stay off the couch. Then I headed outside. When I came back into the house, I was surprised to find that Avery was hysterical. Although I had not thought any more about Avery's face, he apparently had never considered the fact that he would eventually have to wash off his face painting and now he was terribly sad. I tried to convince him that it was okay and that he could keep it on for a while still, but there was no cheering him up. He cried for close to an hour total and as the tears streamed down his face, so did the paint. Eventually, I figured that since the tiger was already inadvertently being washed off I grabbed a wet paper towel and wiped his face off. He continued to cry on the couch next to Hazel and I and then something unexpected happened: Hazel started to cry too. It was one of the cutest things I've ever witnessed from my kids. I don't know if Hazel was being empathetic about Avery's sadness or if his noisy crying was simply too much for her little ears, but she started to cry too. Every time that Avery would stop crying, Hazel would stop too and start to smile. Then he would start up again and she would follow suit. It was quite entertaining and interesting to see the bond that our littles share.

FB Post: So Avery was really sad about something and kept crying for a long time. His mini twin decided she didn’t like big brother being sad and started crying too. Every time he stopped, she would stop and smile. Then when he started to cry again she would get a big frowny face and start crying too! #siblinglove #siblingempathy #asherwantedinontheaction😆

2 Videos: Tears of Empathy

When the weekend came, we all enjoyed some lazy time at home...

Video: The Tingler

When Uncle Baby Robby was here the week prior we had planned to have him introduce Hazel to The Tingler (which he did to Avery and made him cry!). Since we ended up forgetting about it, Eric tried it on her this weekend and then sent the video to Rob. I can't say she enjoyed it, but she did tolerate it much better than Avery did!

Brother-Sister ride on Sandy on Sunday morning at Meijer...

This weekend, Eric also introduced Asher to Pokemon Go and like most things he gets into he was completely obsessed. It started out as a fun thing for them to do together since Asher was already all about Pokemon, but quickly turned into something that would drive us a little mad. Before that happened though the two of them did share some fun father-son bonding time.

On Sunday, we went to church as always and I was able to dress Hazel up in a very special outfit. It was an owl outfit that I loved and picked out for my one and only sweet little niece Olive. Buying clothes for her was/is always a special treat as before Hazel I had no little girls to pick things out for. I never thought that this adorable little outfit would come back to me, so I was thrilled to be able to dress our little lady in it!

Video: Singing to Hazel

FB Post: Baby girl’s favorite song so far. Every time I sing it she is all smiles and sometimes she will even sing along

The next week (week 14) continued the 'Circus' by starting out on Monday with April Fool's Day. Every year, Eric calls his Dad (now with help of the boys) to tell him that there is a dinosaur in the back yard...and this year he had proof!...

Video: Backyard Dinosaur!

On Wednesday, Eric and I enjoyed our Date Night (with Hazel) while the boys were at Awana. When we were finished with dinner, we headed to Target for a little shopping. While I searched for some Easter basket ideas for the boys, Eric and Hazel enjoyed a little Super Mario Brothers.

Some Bunny Loves You Hazel!

Thursday...

Looking adorable in her new Lamb towel after bath time. <3

On Friday, after a little morning snuggles with our little lady (who slept for almost 8 hours straight!!), Eric brought the kids to daycare and school while I enjoyed a little Me Time.

FB Post: This little lady slept for almost 8 hours straight last night 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 (it was in her swing (I’m a cheater), but I’ll take what I can get!!) #littlemisssunshine

I seriously cannot describe just how blessed I feel when I look at this little face!

While I enjoyed a morning to myself, my first stop was at Ruffalo's Hair Studio for a new haircut. After my last couple of cheapo haircuts at Great Clips (which almost brought me to tears) I decided to get a new cut from a real stylist and I am so glad that I did! It was more costly, but felt well taken care off and was thrilled with the results...if only I could figure out how to recreate them on my own (I think I'm going to have to purchase a flat iron!).

FB Post: I am rarely a fan of being on this side of the 📷 lense, but after being utterly bummed by my last haircut at Great Clips I finally bit the bullet and scheduled a cut at a REAL salon in town! A BIG thank you to Sam at Ruffolo’s Hair Studio!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 I feel younger, lighter and not a hot mess!!🙌🏻🙌🏻 #illnevergobacktothewaythingswere

After my haircut, I enjoyed some shopping time on my own to find goodies for the kids' Easter baskets. Then, it was time to pick up the kiddos. I headed to Asher's school to pick him up first and thought he'd be excited to see me. When I asked him how the day was though he started to cry and said it was horrible. ;( Then he continued on to say that he wasn't feeling well and that he hadn't felt good all day. He said that he even turned down a cupcake for a classmate's birthday, so I knew it must be true. I felt his forehead and could immediately tell that he was warm. We headed off to pick up Avery and Hazel and then got back home to find that he had a fever of 103! Poor guy. I gave him some tylenol and then we spent the afternoon snuggling on the couch and watching cartoons. That evening he was feeling a little better so we enjoyed the Spring weather and headed to the nearby church parking lot for a little family time...of riding bikes, scooters and playing Pokemon Go.

2 Videos: Hazel Laughs

(FB Post: The best sound in the world 💕 #babysfirstlaughs #littlemisssunshine)

Knowing that Hazel was close to the milestone of laughing (which is probably my favorite milestone a baby comes to) we all spent a lot of time during these two weeks to try and make her laugh. During week 13 Eric and I were each able to get a chuckle or two here and there, but nothing too substantial...

...Then on Friday night Asher (still not feeling well) starts to cough and Hazel starts giggling like crazy 😝 figures.

Since Asher was feeling pretty crumby throughout the remainder of the weekend, we kept it pretty low-key (which I guess really isn't any different than the rest of the time).