3 kids, 2 kids, 1 kid

Friday morning, I was up with the birds...er, I mean, our early rising kids.  Mal must have been particularly excited about the day because he was up at 5am, the girls tried to plow through the morning noise, but only got about 1/2 hour more in before they woke up.

I used to love the mornings with Mal.  He was at his happiest and we would have sweet playtime and a breakfast full of smiles.  Then he would go down for his nap and I would be able to drink my coffee, eat breakfast and clean up the house before he was up again and ready to play some more.

The morning with 3 kids is much more about survival now as either Jake or I try to get 3 diaper and clothing changes, milk in hands, breakfast at the table.  I try to grab a few sips of coffee but end up microwaving the same cup at least 3 times before finishing.  Breakfast time clean up is real time as the two littlest Sarasohn's eat everything off the floor, and by the time you are finished with the above mentioned activities, it is time to get Tegan and Lailah down for a nap.  Malachy at this point in the morning has TONS of energy and is at his loudest when you need some quiet to put the girls to sleep.  Mornings around here are not for the faint of heart, but we are used to it and it all magically happens each morning.

Lailah's first visit to Happy Hollow

Friday was particularly hectic because I was trying to get Mal and myself ready to head to Happy Hollow to meet up with our friends Tara and Bettie and Quade.  Because of the early morning wake up, the girls were pretty grumpy.  In a moment of weakness, I put Lailah down for her nap early.  It always backfires.  When she woke up 45 minutes later, I decided to bring her along to Happy Hollow.  If she was going to be miserable, she may as well be miserable outside.   ...and so Lailah happened upon her first visit to Happy Hollow.

Being there with just Mal and Lailah seemed like a total walk in the park...granted, I did have Tara there for back up when I needed to tend to Lailah.  But, I have to say, it did make me jealous of my friends who have one toddler and one baby.  I am sure it doesn't feel at all easy to them, but for this glorious moment, I was relishing in the freedom.

Happy to have some mommy time

After getting the two amusement park exhausted kids down, I got to spend some great 1:1 time with the wee youngest Sarasohn, who decided it was her turn to not sleep.  Although I hate it when the kids don't sleep, I do appreciate these moments to be alone with them.  Tegan seemed to like it too.

As easy as it was and as much as I enjoyed just having two kids and then one for part of the day, I do have to say my favorite part of the day, or even the week for that matter, was after dinner with all 3 kids awake and Jake and I laying around the living room playing with them.  Everyone was happy to be together.  The girls played with each other and with Mal.  Mal played with us and with the girls.  The girls were crawling all over us and Lailah must have given me 500 sloppy wet baby kisses. It may be a lot easier with 2 kids or 1, but really having all 5 of us together is the sweetest time of all (sappy I know, but totally true).