A Gift

I am truly the most blessed woman in the world! My husband spoiled me this past weekend and made me feel like a princess (seriously, over the top spoiled me!)... I love having all these boys taking care of me.

I have learned a few things about being a mom the past 5 1/2 (almost 6, yikes!!!) years. I've learned that it is nothing like I thought it would be, it's more rewarding and harder than I imagined. I've learned that I can't do it alone. Trey's support and love allows me to be the best mom I can be. God's grace abounds when it comes to parenting and I'm thankful He starts everyday with new promises and hope. However, what I've learned the most about has to be...

the gift of the ordinary day. I don't know how many of you have seen the video on y0utube, but it is very touching and puts in to words what I have been learning the last few years. Without a doubt I would say God used my sweet nephew Bayler to teach me to appreciate the gift of DAILY life with my children more than any song or book ever could. So right now, I am just thankful that I get to be the mom to these 3 amazing boys EVERY, ORDINARY, day. I want to remember how everyday...

...Jacob wakes with a smile and peaks through the crib to see who is coming to rescue him.
...Jon wants to cuddle on the couch with his night-nights and watch a show before he starts his day.
...David has to know what our schedule is and what time everything is happening.
...when I roll over and see my handsome husband lying beside me, my heart still skips a beat.
...Jacob squeals with delight when we bounce down the stairs or he sees his brothers.
...David makes the cutest "baby voice" when he talks to Jacob.
...Jon hugs so tight and calls me sweet mudder.
...Jacob has the sweetest little baby dimples on his hands and I love the smell of his baby breath.
...Jon loves for me to rub his back when he's going to sleep.
...David follows his dad around like a little shadow and adores him to pieces.
...my life is so full and my cup runs over.

First Tooth

This little bunny FINALLY got his first tooth. I think he's been teething since he was 4 months old! By the way, I'm sure he'll be pretty upset when he sees these pictures one day.

Have I mentioned he is very loved???

His brothers take very good care of him... kisses are given by the hour around here :)!

David plays ball!

Our little ball player did so well this weekend! I was amazed at the difference in his ability to pay attention and follow the rules this year in comparison to last year. Even his t-shirt fit him! He is getting so big.

"David! Are you goin' to let me play too? I'll show you how to run super fast!"- Jon

Trey was working so he had to meet us at the field. Papa Dock rode with me to help unload our clan. I guess great minds think alike, ha!

Coach Bobby had David show the team how to get ready to hit. David is a great listener and it helps him on the field. This past weekend he played first base, short stop, and behind the pitcher. He had a blast!

Daddy T came to watch one of his 7 grandsons play ball (DeeDee had the stomach flu). Think they will spend a lot of time at the ball field?!? At least Rob and Risha are expecting a little girl soon. We need a little pink in the mix :)!

Overheard

"Jon-Jon! Get off the counter! How many times have I told you... we DO NOT play with knives?!?"

"Boys! Washing hands and flushing is required EACH TIME you go to the bathroom. Not just sometimes."

"But it's my turn on the ipad, mom!!!"

"Bam!" "Huh!" "Pish!" "Shish!"... or any sound you think a superhero can make. Constantly. David makes noise constantly.

Family Night: Baseball season is here!

We had a very short, but sweet, family night tonight. David's t-ball season starts tomorrow so I was determined to kick it off with a baseball themed family night! Wellspring is moving into MB Middle School this weekend so Trey is super busy, but we managed to fit in about 45 minutes of family time after they finished t-ball practice before he was out the door again :). We ate hot dogs, chips, and I made baseball cupcakes too!

This kid LOVES baseball! He is SO excited about playing tomorrow.

Our littlest slugger was in bed before the night began, however I did take his picture before bath time. This was Trey's hat when he was a baby... so precious!


What a funny kid! Jon is going to have a tough time watching David from the stands this year. He wants to play too... next year he'll be old enough. And I'll have to hire a driver to balance all the different practices and games :)!


We spent a few minutes reviewing each position during dinner and made up our very own "secret" hand shake for when David takes the field tomorrow. My boys are so much fun! After dinner we watched Everyone's Hero and had some snuggle time on the couch. By far, my favorite part of the night was when David looked at me and said...

"Mom, do you think Bayler is playing baseball in heaven with Babe Ruth? I bet he is! That is so cool." Love that kid so much! And boy, do we ever miss The Bean! What a special kid he was...

Quote

"I think God is singing the Poop Goes in the Potty song right now and saying YAY JON because He just saw me go poop in the potty!!!"- Jon, age 3

Jon Strikes Again!

So... yesterday I had to run into the grocery store for 5 things. I didn't write down the 5 items because one would think a 33 year old, somewhat intelligent, mom to 3 boys could remember such a short list. I had to concentrate. Hard. With 3 boys in tow. All is well until I go to check out with previously mentioned 5 (now 7 because the boys each wanted something that I said "yes" to) items. No wallet. I knew I had put the wallet in the buggy, but now it is gone. First thought? Someone took it. Next thought... Jon.

Me: "Boys, did you see what happened to mommy's wallet?!?"

Jon: "Yes, I made it dis-da-pier." "Wike magic!"

Me: "What!?! Where?!?"

David: "Oh yeah mom, Jon threw your wallet on the floor by the apples (our first stop in the store mind you!) and said it was magic. I don't think it was a very good trick though!"

Thankfully a nice employee was putting out fruit and noticed it lying in the middle of the floor. She turned it in and I was able to pick it up at the service desk.

It will be at least 2 more years before they see the inside of the grocery store again!!!

This kid...

...might make me lose my mind! Just recently he has...

*drank 1/2 bottle of children's ibuprophen, requiring me to call poison control at 5:30am to find out if he needed to visit the ER. Thankfully, he didn't.
*is on his 3rd case of strep throat this winter.
*only took 3 and 1/2 years to potty train.
*been awake by 4:30am for almost 4 nights straight, ready to start his day. Not cool. At all.

He also makes me laugh harder and feel more loved by...

*saying words like:
bah-bum (bottom)
be-got (forgot)
be-sert (dessert)
I can't spell how he says "Jacob", but it sounds like ketchup.
*he calls me "sweet mama" or "mud-der" (mother), ha!
*just running up and hugging me really tight.

Jon-Jon is a mess and his passion has been in full force lately. What a character! I hope this is not a reflection of his teenage years... I might not make it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a grand day,

with our 3 little,

leprechauns!

(the oldest 2 were to busy to sit for pictures!)

Family Night: Dr. Seuss

We had family night again last night. David was sick when our preschool did Wacky Wednesday and celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday so I promised him we would do our own at home. Again, so easy and we all had a blast! My friend Jessica did this with her 3 boys last week so I took her idea for our dessert... cat in the hat, hats!

We dressed WACKY and ate green eggs and ham. My boys LOVE breakfast foods, so there were no disagreements about finishing dinner :)!

We read books during dinner...

and took pictures of the wackiest boys. Trey would have won first prize :).

After dinner we played I Can Do That, which is a cat in the hat game for preschoolers. David received it for Christmas. It's a really fun (not long!) game :). We had a great time together. I love all the sweet boys God has given me!

I want to eat him with a spoon...

He is just the sweetest, happiest little guy! We are so in love!

Seven

I just can't believe that Jacob is already 7 months old! The time is really going too quickly. I think I cherish each stage more with him than I did with David and Jon. I regret not taking more time to enjoy their daily life as infants, but I guess realizing how fast it passes just comes with maturity. I LOVE how he completes our family. And I always want to remember how LOVED this little guy is... his brothers both think he is the greatest. And he thinks the same of them. Most days I will find at least one of them making him laugh so hard he gets the hiccups!

Jakey poo is such a GREAT, GREAT baby! He is cutting teeth right now so he has some interrupted naps and LOTS of drool, but other than that he is easy going. His day to day schedule looks like this:

7:00am- nurses, cereal
Goes to Ju-Gi's house to play :)!
AM nap
11:00- bottle (6oz.)
Mid day cat nap in his car seat while I run errands and pick up boys from school
2:00- nurses
Afternoon nap
4:30- nurses
5:30 veggie, fruit
Bath- his FAVORITE!
6:30- nurses
Down for the night!

Development:
He can ALMOST sit by himself.
He loves bath time and splashes in the water like a crazy kid!
Rolls everywhere.
"Talks" a lot... much more than David and Jon because Jacob won't take a paci.
Likes food... especially avocado, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, and pears.
Already likes to drink water from a sippy cup.
Loves to hug and cuddle.
His favorite toy is the exersaucer.
Enjoys strolling.
Often sucks in his bottom lip (see following picture).
Completely ROCKS on Sunday mornings when his whole schedule is disrupted.
His hair is so long on top, if we don't comb it over it covers his eyes.
And he STILL has blue eyes.


Jacob, you are one amazing little blessing. I can't imagine our family without you and we can't wait to see how God uses you to do great things one day. Our prayer is that you love Him more than anything else. We can't wait until you can run around with your big brothers, but secretly we love that you're still the baby. You always will be! We love you so much little man...

Family Night: Karate Kid Style

I've been reading Heather's blog for a while. She does something called Family NIght and I've always wanted to start something like it for the boys. Honestly, I was just waiting for them to get a little older. I've learned (mostly from trying organized sports with kids under the age of 5, ha!) that we have much higher expectations than the kids do when it comes to "special" things. Now that David is older, Trey and I both felt he would really "get" that the purpose of the night was for them to know we care about them, love them, and want to spend time doing things as a family that they would love to do! My one goal for the night was for them to have fun and us spend a few hours together as a family. I think it was a success!



It was actually really simple, cost us no extra $, and we all had a great time. The menu was pizza rolls, fruit, and fortune cookies... all eaten with chop sticks, of course!

I made all of us "karate kid" headbands with our names on them. And for the boys, I cut up some of Trey's old t-shirts to make karate outfits. David has worn his to bed and a birthday party since Friday :)!

Even Jacob joined in the fun!

Trey and I both thought Jon looked a little like the character "Johnny" on the original Karate Kid movie...

And Jon ate EVERY bite with his chop sticks! "HI-YA! Momma!"

Yum...



After dinner, Trey did a little karate "lesson" with the big boys while I put Jacob to bed. Oh my! They loved it!

"This is fun dad!" -Jon

They had a great time...

Of course, there were tears... I'm not sure why Jon was crying. Maybe Trey let the boys have a real match and David forgot Jon was only 3?!?


After dinner and karate lessons we all sat down and watched the new Karate Kid movie. It was not as good as the original, but David and Jon really liked it.

Can't wait for the next family night!

Puzzle Boy

This kid LOVES to do puzzles! Jon will sit for a while in the evening and do puzzles. He sticks out his tongue and concentrates really hard. So cute!

Mimi gave Jon a set of 4 Thomas puzzles that are his current favorite. He will line them up and make sure all the edges match and make a straight line. This picture is what happens I ask him to smile at the camera... what a stinker!

Brains

The boys have hit some milestones lately and I wanted to document them...

David: His reading and writing improve daily. We have almost completed his 100 books for the year (since Christmas break) so he will be a part of the 100 book club. He reads at a level 8. He wrote this at school last week...

I think love is lovein God because he takxa kyr of us. David K.

Jon: Knows all but 4 of his letters (Gg, Hh, Uu,Vv) and can write his name. He signed each of his valentines for his classmates. He still won't poop on the potty.

Jacob: Found his toes this week and beamed with pride!

6 Months

David. February 2006

Jon. May 2008

Jacob. February 2011

Quote remembered...

As quoted by Trey while we were deliriously climbing into bed last night:
"I think this pretty much sums up our daily life right now. Look what is in our bed... a laser gun, baby sweater, a pink princess pull-up (long story), and butt paste."

Gotta love it!!!

Found: Pictures from Mexico

I recently found my small camera which I took on vacation with us this summer to Mexico! Funny story... last Christmas, Trey and Jake worked together to surprise Anne and I with a trip to Playa del Carmen in June of 2010. Trey booked the trip on December 22nd. I found out I was pregnant with Jacob on December 23rd. My doctor said it was fine for me to still travel and we had a blast! I wish I hadn't been pregnant because Trey and I do not get to travel often, but we still had fun and loved spending time with Jake and Anne. Here are some pictures of a VERY pregnant me and our trip :)!

We stayed at The Royal in Playa del Carmen... it was AMAZING! The food was delicious, the rooms were heavenly, and the spa even had a prenatal massage they offered :)!

Since we live at the beach, Trey and I spent more time in the pools... I did what I do best when I have no responsiblities, READ! This summer's pick was "The Help" and it was incredible!!!

The four of us... it really was great to spend time with Jake and Anne. We miss them!

The perfect couple :)!

Relaxed and ready to come home... or maybe not :)!