Three Months

Bridgette turned three months on Monday!  Three months has always been a milestone for me with my babies.  I seem to start thinking clearly again after that "fourth trimester" is over.  Our little Bridgette is such a sweet baby.  She smiles easily and is cooing non-stop these days to anyone who will pay attention.  She tolerates her siblings smothering affection well.  She's following in the footsteps of her sister and only sleeping 45-minutes at a time during the day, but is giving me some long stretches at night that I'm thankful for.  The hair is obviously her most noticeable feature right now (still trying to figure out what to do with it all!), but I can't wait to see more of her personality shine as she continues to grow.  She's still our smallest baby, just now starting to fit into her three-month clothes where her brother and sister had already grown into theirs at two months.  She likes her hands when she can find them, tolerates longer tummy time sessions, and is the best little traveler - being toted her and there and everywhere in her car seat.  

We love you, Bridgette!   

Gretchen at two months.  I'm still trying to find the resemblance in these sweet sisters!

 

Whirlwind

We took advantage of Ryan having Friday off and planned a whirlwind overnight trip.  Our first stop was Stonehenge.  This is Deborah's third time in England and she'd never seen the wonder, so we decided it was a good place to start for an overnight trip.

Our family of three at Stonehenge in 2008.

Four years later, with two more kids (Bridgette was sleeping in the stroller).  The wind was crazy!  I thought it might actually blow Gretchen over at one point.

Rooke and Gretchen wanted one of the free hand-held audio tour guides.  Sure!  They kept the kids busy for most of our time walking around.

Gretchen used hers to pretend it was a cell phone.  Love her.

We needed some time to re-group away from it all.  

After Stonehenge, we headed to Salisbury.  We've seen a lot of cathedrals since moving to England, but this one took my breath away as we walked up to it.  It was dark the first time we visited in 2008.

Grammy Deb had a sucker for each of the kids to keep their mouths quiet enjoy while we were inside the cathedral where a service was being held.  

While waiting for our dinner at a pub in Salisbury, we played the funny face game.  Good times were had by all.  Who do you think won?!  

We stayed at a quaint inn for the night, then drove to Oxford the next morning after a full English breakfast (no beans, please!).  Ryan and I spent our sixth anniversary in Oxford and were happy to return.  While walking past the Bodleian Library, we decided it wasn't a great place to tour with our three kids, but the courtyard was still impressive.  

The Turf Tavern.  One of our favorite pub meals from our England trip four years ago.  It didn't disappoint.  

And it's known for more than just good food! . . .

There was a pretty long line to get into Christ College, so we opted out and just enjoyed the exterior view before heading home (with an Ikea stop on the way!).

It was a great whirlwind overnight trip and fun to have Deborah along with us!

The Leader of the Pack

We had a happy Father's Day Sunday, celebrating a man who is an incredible daddy to our three precious children.  

Ryan loves his kids so much, he offered them each a Belgian chocolate.  This is true love, people.

Ryan's been a good father from day one.  But starting a family while in law school, full time, and working off and on jobs was a big load to carry.  I'll never fully understand the sacrifices he made to keep his wife and kids a priority during those three-and-a-half years of working towards becoming an attorney, but he dealt with the tension and struggle of the balancing act with strength and conviction. 

Watching Ryan father our kids over the last year, without law school staring him in the face every day, has blessed me beyond words.  He's amazing.  He's fun.  He gets the kids laughing and giggling.  He's energetic.  He paints nails.  He plays racers.  He changes diapers.  He encourages me to get out for some alone time.  He keeps life at home exciting for all of us.  And I hadn't seen this side of him to the fullest extent until this past year.  He comes home from work each day completely ready to help, serve, love, and care for his family.  

And adjusting to life with a newborn this third time around has also been totally different without law school in the picture.  Classes started for him two days after Rooke was born.  We got four days with him at home after Gretchen joined us.  With Bridgette, we were grateful to have a full week of paternity leave and remain thankful for a job that allows him to be home with us most evenings without extra work or responsibilities to think of.  His devotion to helping and serving me as much as he could after Bridgette was born has made the move from two to three feel like a breeze.  

Ryan fits the role of father well.  He instructs and disciplines with love.  He teaches by example.  He prays.  He leads our family to keep Christ at the center.  The kids LOVE him.  They respect him.  And they make sure to see him off to work every day with waves, hugs, kisses, more hugs, "I love you" in sign-language, and window-watching until his red car is completely out of sight.  Even threats of soggy cereal can't pull them away from this morning ritual.  He wouldn't have it any other way.  

Cute Kids

Special Visitors to Dover

We've been going here and there and everywhere the past week with our very special visitors . . . Grammy Deb and G-Daddy!  Ryan's parents came for a 10-day visit and we packed our days with fun sight-seeing adventures.  Unfortunately, I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to, but Kevin made up for what I missed so I'll try to get more from him to post later.  We've said goodbye to G-Daddy already, but are looking forward to having Grammy Deb stay for another three weeks - hooray! 

We took an overnight trip South to see the Dover Castle and spend a little time on the coast.  Unfortunately, we got rained out on day two at our seaside stop, but enjoyed the get-away together and were thankful for good weather on the first day when we wandered all over the castle grounds. 

Ready.  Aim.  FIRE!

Our tea break

Bridgette gets the award for super-star-traveler.  She spent a lot of time in her carseat/stroller and was an absolute trooper.  She also slept great in the hotel!

Walking down to get a closer view of the ferries going to and from France.  I stayed up with the sleeping baby in her stroller, but they also got a good look at the white cliffs (which we off to the left) from down there.

Sleeping with G-Daddy