S-U-M-M-E-R

We’re excited for SUMMER!!

I usually consider Memorial Day Weekend the kick off of summer…..but Kamryn still has 2.5 weeks of school left. So, we’ll wait until then to officially declare it summer in the Sass house. But, these kiddos (and myself) can not wait!! 

LOVE

……SO much love!! 

Just Poppin In ....

 Hope you all are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend!!

Have fun and be safe! 

My Circus

All the time I see girls on facebook linking up articles and blog posts about family planning. You know the ones. “Don’t ask me why I don’t have kids yet.” “No, I don’t want another baby yet.” “I want a big family/small family.” etc etc.

I used to find myself searching for those type of articles when we were a family with 2 kids and a family with 3 kids. I needed someone to justify my feeling of wanting more babies. Mostly, because everyone around me was telling me not to. When I had just Kamryn everyone asked us over and over again when we were going to give her a brother or a sister. Then once we had Logan the comments about being done because we had a boy and a girl started. After Kensington was born people REALLY wanted to drill into us we were done. Now that we have Tenley, we don’t come across a single person who doesn’t have a comment about the size of our family and/or telling us that we should stop having kids. Everyone says it with a smile but really, it’s everyone.

I remember after I had Kensington and those comments started I would get a knot in my stomach. I wanted another baby and everyone was telling me I shouldn’t. I wanted another baby so badly. I didn’t expect to have her only 16 months after Kensie was born but she was so incredibly wanted. What’s so bad about having a big family? Is it so bad if someone is content with 2 boys and decides not to try for that boy? And on the contrary…is it so bad if someone has 4 girls and decides to try for that girl one last time? 

Here’s the thing….I don’t care if you have no kids, if you have 1 or 20. Okay, 20 is a bit excessive. I hate that our society comes across like they think they know whats best for everyone. Notice I said our society “comes across like they think they know whats best”, I say this because I don’t think anyone means any harm by their comments. I think most of the time people are genuinely curious. I like to tease my friends and tell them to have babies and/or tell them to have more. But it’s just that…teasing. Sometimes it can come across rude and sometimes those words can be hurtful. I’ve been there and it sucks. 

Growing up pretty much every family I knew had 2, maybe 3 kids. I can think of a handful of families that had 4 or 5 and I know one family that had 7. My mom, was the oldest of 6 and my grandmother was the youngest of 13. Yes, times are different. Yes, everything is much more expensive. But, is it really our business if our neighbor decides to have 10 kids or just 1? No. Is it our business when they decide to do so? I don’t think so.

Tenley has been here for 2 months and we are finally getting into our groove. Everyone has adjusted to her being here and life is good. It has its crazy moments. There are times I don’t know how I can do this and there are times I find myself completely overwhelmed with how lucky I am. The latter being much more popular!! As a family of 6 and my 16 year old sister living with us our world is hectic but its so much fun! I’m sure people with 1 kid have just as much fun and even those with 8 kids. I’m sure the ones who have their kids 5 years apart have as much fun as me who did it every couple of years instead. I’m sure there is just as much love to go around whether you have 2 or 6 and I’m sure that somehow someway all those families figure out how to spread out there attention and figure out how to make things work financially. 

So, my point is. We’re all different people. Just because you had 2 kids and feel complete doesn’t mean everyone else is going to be the same as you. If someone had a baby and that baby is now 2.5 years old and they aren’t ready for another one, so what?!? I get it….its a conversation starter. Babies are a fun subject. But, you never know someones story. You never know if they had one and can’t have another for medical reasons. You never know if they have 5 and want 3 more. Why should we make someone feel like their feelings and wants for THEIR OWN FAMILY aren’t justifiable? 

One of my favorite sayings is: “Not my monkeys. Not my circus.”

These are MY monkeys. This is MY circus.

And whether or not you think we’re crazy for having a big family is none of my business! 

Hey! If we decided to have 4 more….none of your business either! ;) 

To each his own! 

Happy family planning y’all!! 

Thursday

Excuse the underwear….side note: he’s doing AWESOME in the potty training department!

I love Thursdays! It’s kinda like my love of holiday eve’s. A Thursday is like a mini Friday and who doesn’t love Fridays?? As the week goes on I find myself getting happier and happier…by Thursday I’m ready for the weekend and totally in weekend mode. See!! Thursday’s are the best! 

So …  Happy Thursday!!! 

From this crazy crew …. 

Kensington Bree - 18 Months Old

Kensington is 18 months old!! 

Yesterday I took her to her 18 month check up. It’s not often, well ever, that I get alone time with Kensington. So we both soaked up every second. She really is the happiest little girl ever. I keep finding myself wanting to call her a baby but then I look at that picture and realize my Kensington definitely isn’t a baby anymore. 

Some fun facts about Kensington:

-She’s 24 lbs and 33 inches tall.

-She says about 16 words, that I can think of off the top of my head. “Hi, bye, no, yeah, mama, dada, baby, wow, what’s that (I’m counting that as 2 words), wiggle, tickle, thank you and love you (both 2 words).” It’s so cute hearing her little voice.

-She babbles and laughs non-stop.

-She’s walking about 50%, some days more like 75% of the time. I still can’t believe we’re not walking all the time yet. But when she’s playing with Kamryn and Logan she walks A LOT more. Girlfriend is just stubborn and crawling/walking on her knees is faster. She also looks for praise every time she walks…which is hilarious!

-She’s my best eater. There’s nothing she refuses…yet.

-She is the happiest little girl and barely cries. Like ever. 

-She LOVES baby Tenley..Kamryn and Logan too. And they are crazy about her too! 

-She’s still such a Daddy’s girl. No one makes that girl excited like her daddy.

-She’s definitely GIRLY! She gets excited about new clothes and new shoes..I don’t know how she knows they are new but she does. And if I’m getting Kamryn ready for school and put a bow in her hair Kensington checks to see if she’s wearing one and if she’s not she insists I put one on her. It’s adorable!

Kensington is such a joy! I always say to Mike she’s the perfect kid to be only 16 months older than her little sister. She’s not one to be overshadowed and honestly she doesn’t care….yet. She’s so content and happy that she hasn’t shown even an ounce of jealousy. Kensie will just push her way in there and make herself known if she needs some attention. I feel so extremely blessed to be this sweet girls mama. 

A quick story–On Sunday I enlisted Lexi to help me clean up the toys (actually throw away/donate 7 trash bags full of toys) in the back room. It was a huge project and Lex wasn’t exactly thrilled to help me so she was moody. Well, with every toy she picked up she asked me if she could throw it out. Quite a few I kept finding myself saying “No! Have you see how cute Kensington is when she plays with that?!?” Every time Lexi would laugh at me because I kept saying it over and over again. I guess I have a special place in my heart for Kensington. None of her toys made it into the trash bags. LOL! 

We are all crazy about our Kensie-Girl! 

I love you Kensington Bree!!

My Whole Heart

My Four. 

Everything I ever dreamed of wrapped up in one little picture. I can’t help but smile, thank God and feel overly blessed that these babies are mine. Life is good! It’s crazy busy, it’s insanely stressful but it’s so much fun! The fun outweighs the stress every time. In my eyes, it truly does not get any better than this. 

Spring FINALLY

Well after a cold and rainy week last week we’ve been rewarded with the best weather ever! High 60’s and sunny!! The kids and I are soaking up every second we can outside.

Kamryn has just 5 weeks left before school is out for the summer. We are so excited! It’s been a crazy busy year. Next year Kamryn will be in full time school. 1st grade will be her first year going to school for a full day. Man, oh man, I’m going to miss my girl so much! I’ll be cherishing these days with her home with us.

I keep going back and forth but I think we’ve decided to forego preschool for Logan and will just send him to Kindergarten when he’s 5. When we sent Kamryn to preschool I didn’t see a huge difference from when she started until she graduated from the program. Especially academically and to me that’s the most important part. Kindergarten she absolutely thrived and I’m absolutely amazed at how much she’s learned in such a short amount of time. She made friends in preschool who she will most likely never see again. Well, maybe when they are older since they all go to different elementary schools. Logan knows basically everything that Kamryn was asked about at her Kindergarten screening. The only thing he doesn’t care to learn as of right now is writing. Kamryn didn’t care to write at 3-4 years old either so I’m not particularly worried about that. I know it would be good for the social aspect but if I’m being honest I don’t know that that’s enough for me. Is that terrible? Preschool is expensive and honestly, with Mikes career change we are still on a strict budget. If he absolutely needed preschool we would send him but right now I honestly don’t think its a necessity. Plus, we are extremely fortunate that I’m home. I can work with him on the things he needs to know for Kinder. I just pray between now and Sept 2017 he learns how to share better.

Kensington is really excited for the warmer weather! I don’t blame her one bit!! Girlfriend still prefers to crawl instead of walk but IS walking. That counts. right? I can’t believe she’s 18 months old today! Happy 1/2 Birthday Kensington!!

All the sass from Kamryn and Logan…such a boy! 

Kam’s pumped to be wearing her Spring/Summer dresses FINALLY! She would wear a dress every single day if she could.

This picture of Kensington and Tenley was like a slap in the face ::Kristen Sass…you have TWO babies!:: Listen, I know I have two babies but seeing them in this picture was a reality check of how close in age they really are. 16 months is not a big age difference. I’m sure at some point its going to almost feel like they are twins. The years to come are going to be so much fun with these two! (…and thankfully I’ve got a few years to decide on the whole preschool thing with the little ones. LOL!)

Just a quick little update on life in the Sass house.

Happy Spring!!!

The Sass Four

I sent Mike these pictures today and we laughed and laughed at what a mess these kids are! Look at those outfits!! 

“Hey! It’s Tenley!” 

Do you think Kamryn loves her sister? I just love how she’s looking at her in this picture.

Anddd there’s Logan. Actually, Logan looks put together (surprise surprise). Kensington is just in hang out clothes. She looks like Punky Brewster! And Kamryn, oh Kamryn. Too small CHRISTMAS pj’s and a princess dress! 

Oh, but Tenley….underneath that snuggly blanket she was all dolled up. As usual….

Look at those cheeks!! Yes, I kiss them all. day. long.

I just love these kiddos so much! It’s hard work but so fun to be there mama. I am really trying to enjoy every second of this craziness I call life. Someday all 4 will be off to college and out on their own. I just know I’m going to wonder where the time went. I’ve gotta soak it all up now! These four crazies are the best part of my life!! Even on the days when I’m stuck wondering what the hell we were thinking having 4 kids in 6 years! ;-) 

Alert! Alert!

Everybody off the road …. These two have stolen Uncle Steve’s Harley and are on the loose!! ;-) 

Kensington & Tenley

It’s not all that often that Kensington cares to interact with Tenley. Kensington is such an easy going baby…toddler. She’s so content just doing her own thing. If she didn’t have 4 teeth coming in at the same time, yes FOUR!, I swear she’d never cry. She gets excited when she see’s me carry Tenley in the room and sometimes will come over and check her out while I’m feeding her. But other than that she could care less she’s here. She’s not even 18 months yet. At this point, in her mind it’s all about her.

So this morning when I put Tenley in the mamaroo and Kensington walked right over to see her I grabbed my phone and started snapping pictures. I mean…SO cute!! 

“Let me see those feet!”

“Do you need your binky?”

“Hmmmm….”

“MUAH!” (Yes she gave her a kiss and I missed it)

“I LOVE her!!”

“Tenley, we’re going to be the best of friends.”

A Day In The Life

Someday I’m going to look bad fondly on these days when I had 4 kids 6 and under at home with me. Kamryn is on school vacation so I figured yesterday was the perfect day to document what we do from the moment we wake up until we go to sleep. Our life is simple, it’s boring, but it’s our life. Feel free to skip over this post completely….I’ll totally understand.

My day starts with Kamryn waking me up about 7:30. Tenley and I technically started our day at 2am, but I didn’t take a picture of that. We were back to sleep by 3 and up for the day at 7:30.

Someone woke up soaked…so I got her dressed for the day and she was ready to eat! So sad

Feeding time …. Picture credit goes to my assistant Kamryn Sass

(side note: Excuse my roots. I need my hair done so badly. I keep going back and forth between my usual blonde and/or adding in some lowlights the same shade of my natural color…we’ll see.)

After I feed Tenley I hear someone laughing in their room. It’s Kensington…the happiest kid in the world!

Then it’s time to get this guy. Who sleeps with a bazillion stuffed animals and asks me to “find him” every morning. LOL!

It’s breakfast time …. she’s the only one I snapped a picture of eating her breakfast. A pop tart, Logan’s choice. No worries…they topped it off with some real fruit. 

Time to get dressed!

Everyday, yes every single day, I go to get an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts. The only way I stay sane as a stay at home mom. It’s now part of our routine. The girls wanted a picture before we got in the car.

And to never be outdone by his sisters, Logan asked to jump in too. 

After a serious dance party in the car we get back home. Ahhhh…..so good!

It’s time to change diaper number 5 or 6 of the day, mama has lost count. This is how Kamryn and I feel about dirty diapers. Logan still isn’t fully potty trained. UGH!!! I’ve tried every trick out there, I’ll take the magic wand please!

I feed Tenley again, just no pictures this time and the big kids watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. 

About halfway through Alvin and the Chipmunks Kamryn decided she wanted to paint her nails. #girlygirl

•• LUNCH TIME •• (forgot to take pics)

My favorite 1 year old little girl is napping behind that door.

Some much needed fresh air! We play outside for the next few hours while the babies nap. It’s a gorgeous day outside!!

Snuggles with sweet Tenley James after another bottle.

Why oh why does he insist on getting so filthy while he plays?!? #boyswillbeboys

Gammy came over and surprised the kids. They were SO excited!

Well, this post took an exciting turn. It was the day Kensington started full on walking!! WOO HOO!! (What a mess! Strawberries everywhere and a deck that needs to be sanded and painted) 

Daddy came home from work and we continued to play outside. We’ve gotta soak up this Spring weather. It’s going supposed to be raining majority of next week. 

•• DINNER TIME ••

While Mike and Gammy got the big kids in the bath and ready for bed, I fed and got in some snuggle time with cranky Tenley. It’s that time of night (the witching hour) where all she wants is to be held, if not she cries and cries. 

After bath watching Sesame Street  before bed. Kensington is OBSESSED with Elmo.

We read books in Logan’s room. A favorite time of day for all of us. 

We get all the kids to bed, a little later than usual. Kamryns the last one to go down at 9. It is school vacation after all! Gammy heads home, Mike and I get ready for bed and I get just a couple of hours sleep before Tenley has me up again. Ahhh….life with an infant.

And that’s pretty much what my normal day looks like these days. I slacked with pictures at the end of the day and sadly didn’t get a single picture of my handsome husband. But…even so I did it. I know I’ll appreciate looking back on this post someday!