I met my best friend today. Mom’s best friend/sister (”Uncle Jackie”) had a baby (Baby Terra) just 5 days before me and she came out with her mom and dad to meet the Carmichaels! My brothers love to kiss her feet and we just like to hang on the couch together. This is a funny story: my mom dressed me up in this cute little polo number because she knew her preppy best friend would love it. And out comes Baby Terra in the EXACT SAME OUTFIT! Boy, was mom ever right! So, even though my brothers are twins and have never worn a matching outfit in their lives, here we sat, dressed in the exact same dress.

Even though we look like we’re ready to hit the tennis courts in Greenwich, we sure do look cute. (Uh… except Baby Terra’s stretch face. As her best friend, I took it upon myself to tell her that she needs to ask for her privacy next time she needs to stretch. And for the love of God, don’t allow cameras to capture it! What’s next, a shot on the toilet?! She’s far too pretty to be caught making that face!)

What a fun summer we’ve had! Adding Bell to the mix of our household has been such a treat. She’s a full fledged member of our family now instead of just a crying machine in cute clothes. Quinn has mastered the ability to calm her cries, and Cooper loves to smother her in kisses and tolerates her constant hair grabbing. She loves nothing more than to be with her big brothers – it’s truly amazing how she smiles immediately when they walk in the room.

So… we’ve spoken before about my favorite thing to do – create. Whether it’s creating a costume, creating a drawing or creating a play, I’m all over it. I led my class in an effort to not only write the script for our own play, but also do the costume design and put the show on for our parents. I’m a bad knight who refuses to protect the princess because she dances, and I don’t dance because I’m just too busy. I lock her in the dungeon and the lions help her get out. Then they all teach me how to dance, and we live happily ever after.

Mom and I recently took a trip to Ohio. My mom’s uncle Dusty died unexpectedly at the age of 49, so even though it was a sad trip, we enjoyed the 1:1 time that we so rarely get. Mom was even looking forward to the flights because it meant we would be together – just she and I. We both missed my brothers (a lot!), and called them all the time, but they had a great time with daddy. It was also super fun to get to know some of my mom’s side of the family – especially my cousin Lyla! She’s 6 months older than me, so even my brothers haven’t met her yet. She’s so fun – and she’s got the best exersaucer in the world!

RIP (Great) Uncle Dusty.
Bellie

Friends, meet Estelle. She is Uncle Mitch and Aunt Erin’s new baby. She’s a month younger than me… and though I’ve got a month on her, she’s got some serious ROLLS on me! Though she won’t intimidate me – I went right after her!

Go on with your bad self, Estelle!

Grrrrr… Mom was so excited. She got some awesome shots of us out on the lawn on July 4th, and it wasn’t until later tonight when she went to look at the photos that were overexposed because Quinn had been shooting with the camera earlier in the day and messing with the buttons. BOO! Opportunity lost!

The good news is that we had an AWESOME day! We went to Moraga Commons tonight and watched fireworks with mom, dad, grammy and Bell. Fun times.

We had a quick, but fun visit with the Waller girls as they passed through town. They’re FUN – we hope to get more time with them next time they are in town.

Ok. I really might be the luckiest girl in the world. My brothers are the bomb. When I cry, Quinn is the first one to run up to me and try to shake something in my face as a distraction… and he says in his high voice, “hi belly hi belly hi belly!” The good news is that 90% of the time, that’s all I need to stop crying. And Cooper. Sweet Cooper. The boy loves to come up to me and kiss me. Doesn’t matter to me that he’s probably doing it because mom can’t stop “awwww”-ing when he does this.

Lucky me.

Mom and dad went away last night for mom’s 36th birthday. They went to Carmel. They took Bell since mom is still giving her “booby milk.” As part of her gift, daddy took his girls shopping, and it hit mom that she’s now got a built in shopping buddy. Oh boy…

My big brothers have been so nice to me… so welcoming. Quinn, from the start, has been bold and interested in holding me. Not a fear shown. Coop, on the other hand, has been generous with kisses, but NEVER shown interest in holding me. Well, tonight at Pasta Pomodoro, no less, we had a moment. We took a big step tonight in our relationship. He asked to hold me. I’m a happy girl.

We gotta give mom and dad some credit… We know how tired they are. That little lady doesn’t let them sleep well at night, and they STILL take us to the coolest places! Just a couple things we have done recently was a trip to the Lafayette Reservoir last weekend where we rented paddle boats and went out on the water. Sooo cool!

And this weekend, they took us to a place called Fairy Land. It’s in Oakland, and supposedly the place Walt Disney got his inspiration for Disneyland. It was super slow there today, so we got to ride the rides for a bunch of times with no lines. In fact, we rode a small caged ferris wheel for (literally) 30 minutes. Just the two of us. Every once in a while, the technician would have to stop it to let someone else on, but we just kept going and going while mom and dad pushed Bell around in the stroller.

So, props again to mom and dad for keeping us entertained!

It’s H-O-T in Lafayette! No, I’m not just talking about us… I’m talking about the weather! So much for not needing air conditioning?!

Oh, what fun I’m having. I’m still a blob that only knows how to move my arms and legs and laugh… but damn I’m cute! And I’m a big girl – Doctors say I’m 97% in length and 80% in weight.

I think I’ve started to irritate my brothers though. My crying makes Quinn, in particular, a little crazy. When I’m not crying, he’s pretty into me, but the second I start, he puts his hands over his ears. And Cooper still doesn’t really want to hold me. He’ll kiss me and be cute, but when asked if he wants to hold me, he almost runs out of the room. I think he’s scared of hurting me. We’re just going through a rough patch – I’m sure they’ll come around to me. Otherwise, we’re in some deep trouble.

What fun we are having. Yes, we’re all sleep deprived and usually somewhat grumpy because of that sleep deprivation, but we really are settling into our lives as a family of six. Crazy to think that just four years ago, it was just mom, dad and bernie. We’ve doubled in size in four years!

Oh… what a life I lead. I hang out: eat, sleep, poop and be adored by my cool big brothers. I could get used to this. And I’ve really got the “I’m so cute” giggle down pat.

But, it’s not all great. There are times I FREAK out… which then makes my brothers freak out – especially when we are all in the car together. They don’t seem to like me crying in the car for some reason. And I refuse to be set down. I’m still sleeping in mom and dad’s room in a bassinet and I keep dad up most of the night because I will only sleep being held in movement. No, mom and dad can’t even lay down with me – i’m very particular. Dad’s got the hold down pat, but I let him know if he’s 1/4 of an inch off or something. They are PRAYING that this is just a needy phase. I hate to break it to them, but they should settle right in…

Each year just keeps getting better and better. We become better friends with each, our parents seem to chill out more and life is good. Four is good. We’re pretty happy with it. Yes, we still fight, but we really love each other. Best friends, we are. Always confused and even a little lost when the other isn’t around. And becoming big brothers has been great for us. Gives us a job. And we take it very seriously.

The party this year was at a park in San Francisco, since that’s where most of our friends still live. We had a pirate (Quinn) and racing car (Cooper) themed birthday. People brought loads and loads of gifts, and we couldn’t stay away from the gift area. Mom and dad said it was a little rude to just linger around the gifts, but we were light magnets to them – just kept getting sucked back in to them.

Here’s a little about us at four:

Quinn is ALL about creativity. It’s truly amazing how inspired he is – and FOCUSED he is – when he’s doing any form of creative art. When he’s not obsessing and being a perfectionist, he’s such a joy to watch. The creativity he shows is truly incredible for his age. And not necessarily in drawing, but more so in making things. He knows exactly what he wants to make, and often has great ideas on how to make it. Emma has been an enormous help in exercising this creative side for him.

Cooper is really turning into an incredibly outgoing little guy. For the longest time, he would hide behind mom or dad’s leg when seeing people he doesn’t know well. Well, he’s done a 180. He goes up to anyone and says, “My name is Cooper and ‘dis is my bruder Quinn.” He loves making sure all the kids are included at the playground and really pays a lot of attention to emotions. In books, he’s always asking, “why is he making this face.” And he’s very sensitive – in a wonderful way… wants to make sure everyone is happy.

When we look back at one year ago (one of mom’s favorite videos of our birthday party recap), we can’t believe how much we’ve grown. We’ll surely say the same thing next year, as our brains are soaking in a ridiculous amount of data every moment.

Happy birthday to us!

What is that you say? Oh… it’s hard keeping track of all of our ladies? Oh yeah… tell me about it!

Had another great day with our girls, Pier and Piper. Their mom and dad are pretty cool too. And our dad drug us all over on this blanket. Man, his cool factor went way up. He usually embarrasses us in front of our girlfriends, but we gotta give him props today. Well done, Dad.

I’m not afraid to admit it – I’m scared of the toddler alligator roller coaster in Merced, and no one is going to make me feel less of a man because of it! I didn’t even pretend to be calm. The second the thing took off, Quinn and I freaked. At least for the photo, Quinn was able to put on a brave face, but the first time around the bend, we were screaming for mom to get us off. Doesn’t matter that there were 2 year old girls behind us – I care too much about my life! And it’s MERCED, for God sakes! Who KNOWS what kind of quality we are dealing with! ;)

Shakin like a leaf (still!),
Coop

Well, now mom and dad don’t need to hear about Halloween in April anymore! “Hallelujah” they say. Who knew there was this guy called the Easter Bunny who brings us candy and toys (though only if we are good boys)?! This is the first Easter that we remember, and boy was it filled with fun activities! First we died eggs with mama… then we went to a crazy fun easter egg hunt. Though, if you watch the video, you’ll see that we had no idea what to do. Dude, there were 2 year olds running circles around us! It was a bit embarrassing. Not to mention the ghetto Easter bags we carried that double as grocery bags (nice prep, Mom!). After a little tough love and cheering from mom, we got a move on and acquired some serious eggs. THEN, the Easter Bunny brought us baskets and we went to a park with a jumpy. I’m overwhelmed. All this fabulousness in one weekend?! It’s almost too much for this 4 year old to take!

Yummmm!
Cooper

We’ve had a lot going on here the past few weeks, but Haley and Skylar visiting from LA has been a real highlight. Ok, ok… they really came to meet Baby Bell and for Daddy’s 40th birthday party, but we sure did have a good time hanging with them. They love to pick us up and carry us (with our feet dragging the ground). These are our kind of ladies. They carry us around and entertain us all the time. Oh, and they are pretty. Niiiiice.

i’m already proving to be a “tester.” i just don’t like to make things easy for people. i’ve decided mom can’t eat dairy (at least until we figure out of that’s the reason for the allergic reaction all over my body!). i also kindly decided to give my first photographer a run for her money. and boy did we go at it. she just didn’t give up on me. when you see the pictures below, you’d never believe that i cried 60% of the time, screamed 10% of the time, stared blankly into space for 20% of the time and pooped and peed on mom (no diaper!) the remaining 10% (no joke!).

enter the miracle worker – jenny lee. this woman has some good timing (and amazing talent). she perfectly captured my “in between” moments. those oh-so-sweet moments that were in between two meltdowns and make for awesome photos. and she captured the meltdowns too, but that’s the reality of my life as a colicky baby, so it was appropriate. i only get this time once in my life, so i’m glad it was documented so beautifully with my family.

i know good talent when i see it people, and this woman’s got it. and it’s not only photographic talent… this woman knows her way around kids. at one point during the day, she asked for mom and dad to leave the room and took the huge risk of being left alone with two rascal 3 year old boys and a 1 month old girl. now THAT takes talent. and nerve. check out her site here and her blog here. and make sure you have a box of tissues when you check out the galleries on her site. mom cries every time she watches them (those hormones!).

I was telling my brothers that I refused to post here until my name was in lights in the URL, but I caved. Mom’s been tied up a bit doing other stuff (like feeding my porky self), so I’m going to let it slide this time, but I fully expect to see the site renamed in the very near future. We could do BellsBloggingBoys.com… or BloggingBoys+Bell.com… we’ll see where we net out, but know that there will be a launch party not unlike the lavish Silicon Valley start up launch parties in the late 90’s.

Now on to me… I’ve been on center stage at the Carmichael house for a full month now and gotta say, I’m a pretty lucky gal. I’ve got two brothers who love to tell my mom and dad every move I’m making… I’ve got a dog that has become my watch dog by planting his 130 lb self right in front of my swing when I’m cold chillin… and I’ve got two parents who wait on me hand and foot. So all in all, I don’t have any complaints. Except the gas. The GAS! Mom says it’s not ladylike to talk about gas, but Lord have mercy! My brothers get a big kick out of it and mom keeps threatening to take me to the doctor about it, so it’s quite the talk of the town. In other gross news, I’m starting to get baby acne. Mom is hopeful we’ll keep it at bay until my first big photo shoot, but not sure we’ll be so lucky.

So that’s it, fans. Thank you for all the well wishes and welcomes. I’m psyched to be here and have big plans for this life of mine.

Until next time…
-baby bell

Home Depot didn’t know what hit ‘em. Nor did dad. He decided that it would be a fun bonding thing for us to go to Home Depot today. You see, they do this special building seminar for kids our size the first Saturday of each month (that’s the burbs for you!), but we decided to do our own thing. What 3-year-old wants to sit and listen to some old guy with a tool belt telling us how to build a race track? Hey, I got an idea – call us when it’s done!

Like father, like sons.

Today we met our baby sister. Quinn and Daddy were right all along – a GIRL! Her name is Campbell Joy Carmichael, but we call her “Bell.” At 8 lbs flat (and 20.5 inches), she weighs more than 3x what we weighed when we were born! Crazy to think about.

She’s also smart. In a stroke of genius, she got us a present for our first meeting with her. Now, if that ain’t smart, I don’t know what is. We, too, brought her little gifts – Valentine’s cards that we made (mine red and of course Quinn’s was blue), as well as little baby table decorations found at the party supply store. I found a baby carriage with a teddy bear in it and Quinn found a bell that is meant for weddings, but he though it was most appropriate. We were really gentle with her as we dropped her presents into her little hospital bassinet.

One confusing thing is that mom and dad have been telling us for ages about how babies cry – a lot – but she didn’t make a peep the whole time we were there. Maybe it’s because she likes us a little.

BIG BROTHER (finally!),
Cooper

No… this is *not* OUR baby… this is Miss Terra Blue McDonnell – “Uncle Jackie’s” baby. She and Uncle Chris were at the hospital all day and we got a new cousin this evening. Can’t wait to meet her.

We’ll have an update on OUR baby soon!

Seriously – how lucky did we get with Emma? Check out our castle made out of FlyingPeas boxes and whatever else we could find!

This whole “nesting” instinct is fascinating to me. I didn’t have a chance to go through this process last time given the boys’ severe prematurity, but boy is it in full effect now! My maternity leave started yesterday, and my list of things to do actually inspires me instead of exhausts me! Who knows how much time I have before the new little muffin makes his/her grand appearance, but I can assure you of one thing – I’ll be busy every second. I’m going to try to get my fair share of naps in so I can rest up and get well before baby (been sick for 2 weeks!), but really feel happy to have a few days to get ready for the baby as well as have special time with the boys.

39 weeks pregnant! WHOOHOO!

Note that this post is a more about me documenting this pregnancy versus something that I think will be interesting to others… so I won’t be offended if you move on to the next post now.

While more people are saying they think it’s a girl than a boy, I’m dead set that this little babe has a penis. Yes, it would probably be healthy to even the hormones in the household a bit and a lot of fun to have a little lady friend in the house, but I also find myself romanticizing about a house full of boys… so either way, I’m one lucky gal.

Chris has been a saint, as usual. Making me shakes whenever I want them, cooking dinners often, getting us settled into our home, letting me sleep in, and just being a great sense of support. I often think of how lucky my boys are to learn to be good men from the finest.

This pregnancy has generally been a piece of cake (here’s to the same for delivery!). But I guess it’s unfair to compare it to my last one. Yes, I’ve been tired, but I’ve not been sick, can still get around pretty darn well, been eating like a horse and still staying at a healthy weight, had no water retention/swelling, etc. So, once again, counting my lucky stars. Hoping this luck continues by being blessed with an easy baby! :)

Emma (our au pair) continues to be an angel in our lives. One of my favorite stories from this pregnancy involves her. She was talking with the boys and they were telling her about how STRONG daddy is… and how “he’s the strongest person in the whole wide world!” They then continue to talk about how strong she is as well since she carries them as pirates and throws them in the dungeon (her bathtub). Cooper then said softly to her, “mommy’s not very strong.” Emma, being the fabulouso person she is, thought “oh no… this is not the impression they should have of their mother!” So she started asking them about my belly… how big it is (”soooo big!”), and what’s in my belly (”a HUGGGE baby!”) and what it must feel like to carry that HUGE baby around in my HUGE belly all day long… well, long story short, the boys ended the conversation saying that “mommy is the strongest person in the whole world!” Warms my heart everytime I think of it. Love that she even thought to make that point with them. Her creativity with them on a daily basis has contributed enormously to their growth this year, and I am sickened at the thought that she will be leaving us in July to go back to South Africa. WHAH!!!

Ok – enough of my update. I want to close with a pic of the muffin in my belly at 9 months… I know these shots are not always the most attractive, but just think it’s incredible. Can’t wait to meet you, little one.

P.S. Any suggestions on a new name for the blog if we have a girl?!

Mom realizes she’s been ultra lame at updating our blog. In fact, she was just telling Cooper and I today that she’s GOT to document some of the funny things we’ve been saying. I’m not sure what’s so funny about things we say, but here goes:

–Cooper asked mom the other day where the door is for the baby to come out of. What’s funny about that? She said she didn’t know whether laugh her boom boom off or be impressed with how smart that question seemed to her for a 3 year old.
–Cooper and I are also really into talking (ok, laughing) about who is going to “gobble that baby up” faster when it comes home.
–I, out of the blue, started telling mom (with one finger in the air), “don’t bother me with details.” Again, not sure why this is funny because I mean it, and use it correctly, but adults seem to get a real kick out of this.

And as for a general update:
–I think our baby is a girl and Cooper thinks it’s a boy. We love to kiss mom’s belly. Cooper, in particular, enjoys pulling her shirt up to expose her bare belly in public and kiss it. I save her the embarrassment.
–Things are going awesome for me at school, though I did get into trouble the other day for calling my teacher Sarah (whom I love) a poo poo face. The potty talk is all the rage in our house these days, but mom and dad are putting their foot down (and doing everything in their power not to laugh).
–Cooper, as usual, fit right on in to the new school. Mom and dad absolutely ADORE picking us up because they see the huge smiles on our faces from being so happy at school all day.
–Mommy’s belly is HUGE. It’s hard for her to play pirates with us these days – or anything rough for that matter – but she still manages to run around with us all day and give us baths and story time each night.
–Mom bosses dad around constantly and he’s a champ for taking it.

Well, that about wraps up the Carmichael household for the month of January. We also did a lot of settling into our new house (feels like we’ve been here for gazillions of years), and trying to keep warm (those who said the East Bay had warmer weather than SF are liars! Oops… didn’t mean to name call).

For months and months, I’ve been into dressing like mommy. So much that I’ve got running in high heals nailed and carry a purse like I have my whole life… Dad has been a champ about this and only drew the line when I was requesting to wear mom’s heals in public (more for my safety than anything) – but I’ve rocked a purse (granted, with pirates in them!) many a days out and about.

Well… I’ve put all of that behind me. At least for this week. And it appears dad is more than happy about this change. I’m all about being daddy, and working on getting Cooper to join me in my daily quest.