Okay, this is probably my last day to post about C's potty training because he's got 1 out of the 2 accomplished. Yes, he does great with going pee, but pooping is another story. No interest what so ever.
Today he did something so awesome. I was in the boys room trying to figure out where I wanted to hang something. Boom, Christian bolted out of the room, ran into the bathroom, I heard the step stool being drug along the floor, heard the toilet lid being lifted, so I peeked in to see what he was doing. There he was, trying to pull down his pants to go to the bathroom. Yea!
Now, if pooping wasn't part of our bodily functions, I would have to say Christian is potty trained. Oh, well, it's only the first week. I am hoping by next week, he will get better with pooing.
Side note: I meant to post this on Christian's update and some cute things he says:
Milt:Milk
And one thing I try to teach my boys is not going by my plate or by my drink and helping themselves without asking. There have been times Christian has helped himself to my plates of food or cokes and the following conversation happens:
Me: "Christian, you need to ask before you put your hands in my food (or take a drink)."
C: "Ask."
Me: "No, don't say 'ask', you need to 'ask mama for a drink.'"
C: "Ask, Mama."
Me: 'sigh'
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Potty Training: Day 3
Today was a great day! No pee pee accidents!! And, he extended his time of having to go, to an hour!
He did go twosies one time in his underwear, but the second time he went today, I caught him trying and put him on the pot and he went.
So proud of this little guy and tomorrow I am hoping for no accidents!
Today was especially nice because Jeff took a personal day. He had a dentist appointment in the morning, so he just took the rest of the day off. It was nice for me because once he got home, I was able to go run some errands to a few of my favorite stores. Not having to worry about accidents and taking a toddler to the potty every hour was a nice break.
I am on my own again tomorrow, but Friday, Jeff is off, so we are planning something fun!
Looking forward to tomorrow!
He did go twosies one time in his underwear, but the second time he went today, I caught him trying and put him on the pot and he went.
So proud of this little guy and tomorrow I am hoping for no accidents!
Today was especially nice because Jeff took a personal day. He had a dentist appointment in the morning, so he just took the rest of the day off. It was nice for me because once he got home, I was able to go run some errands to a few of my favorite stores. Not having to worry about accidents and taking a toddler to the potty every hour was a nice break.
I am on my own again tomorrow, but Friday, Jeff is off, so we are planning something fun!
Looking forward to tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Potty Training: Day 2
Today was a successful day in my opinion. C did great. Only a hand full of accidents, but progress is progress.
I usually don't like to go anywhere the first week we are potty training, but I had already made plans to have one of Jeff's aunts watch Nathan so I could take the older two to a movie, before I had decided to potty train. Last week when I noticed we were on the last sleeve of diapers, I decided to go ahead and potty train since I didn't want to get anymore diapers. That was the only reason we went out today.
However, Christian did great. I put him in a pull-up, took him to the bathroom before we left and as soon as we got to the movies. Halfway through the movie he was saying something. I asked if he wanted popcorn, nope that wasn't it. I asked if he wanted the drink? Nope. I asked if he wanted the candy? Nope. Then I asked if he had to go potty? Yes. I was so proud. We all went to the potty together and he went. He did the same thing at the very end of the movie too. PROGRESS!!
Going #2 hasn't been that great. He has had no interest going in the toilet, so this is going to be tricky. This was one thing Joseph did great with when we trained him, so this is a new challenge for me. Christian went twice in his underwear and then after dinner, I waited about 40 minutes and just sat him on the pot for about 10 minutes. Nothing. I did the same thing about 40 minutes later. Nothing.
My hope is that tomorrow he will finally go in the toilet. But as for today it was a good day. Instead of going every 20-25 minutes, like yesterday, he was pushing 40 minutes today and both yesterday and today during nap times, stayed dry.
Yahoo for progress!
I usually don't like to go anywhere the first week we are potty training, but I had already made plans to have one of Jeff's aunts watch Nathan so I could take the older two to a movie, before I had decided to potty train. Last week when I noticed we were on the last sleeve of diapers, I decided to go ahead and potty train since I didn't want to get anymore diapers. That was the only reason we went out today.
However, Christian did great. I put him in a pull-up, took him to the bathroom before we left and as soon as we got to the movies. Halfway through the movie he was saying something. I asked if he wanted popcorn, nope that wasn't it. I asked if he wanted the drink? Nope. I asked if he wanted the candy? Nope. Then I asked if he had to go potty? Yes. I was so proud. We all went to the potty together and he went. He did the same thing at the very end of the movie too. PROGRESS!!
Going #2 hasn't been that great. He has had no interest going in the toilet, so this is going to be tricky. This was one thing Joseph did great with when we trained him, so this is a new challenge for me. Christian went twice in his underwear and then after dinner, I waited about 40 minutes and just sat him on the pot for about 10 minutes. Nothing. I did the same thing about 40 minutes later. Nothing.
My hope is that tomorrow he will finally go in the toilet. But as for today it was a good day. Instead of going every 20-25 minutes, like yesterday, he was pushing 40 minutes today and both yesterday and today during nap times, stayed dry.
Yahoo for progress!
Monday, July 25, 2011
C-Bear and Day 1 of Potty Training
Since I had given an update on the other two boys, I had been meaning to get on and do an update on Christian and what he's been up to. Since I haven't had the chance, I am combining my post on him and his first day of potty training.
This kid is awesome!
He makes all of us laugh a lot and keeps the mood light around here.
This kid can do the most awesome cross-eyes I have ever seen.
And he looks pretty handsome doing his "thinking" pose. One day I saw him doing this and I asked, "What are you doing?" To which he replied, "I thinking."
Today was his last size 5 diaper; He is in 3t shirts and 2t-3t shorts; Size 8 shoe; Lovesloveslovesloves Joseph; Isn't very serious, which can be a problem when he is being disciplined; Really enjoys movies now (his favorite right now is Gnomeo and Juliet); Just this week, he has started talking a lot more clear (I think strangers could understand him now); Loves anything that is big and loud (cars, trucks, tractors, trains, construction trucks, etc); Loves to play the guitar; Loves to dance to music; Loves pretty much any vegetable, broccoli is his absolute favorite; Loves "blue" chips (cool ranch Doritos); Loves all fruits; Has become very dramatic when he doesn't get his way (throws his self down and flails all around. I laugh at it, but I am pretty sure with Joseph at that age, I did not.);If I can't understand something he is saying, he will keep saying it over and over and over and over and over. It's frustrating sometimes because I just have to start guessing what his saying; Not too thrilled by cats or dogs (he was attacked by a wiener dog at the park once and ever since then, he isn't a fan); Loves to play baseball; Loves to play catch; Loves fruit chews and tic-tacs; Goes by Christian, C or C-bear.
Some of my favorite phrases he says:
This first day of potty training was a whole lot better than the first day that I potty trained Joe. We knew Christian was interested during our family trip to Florida in July, when he told us he wanted to use the potty. So we took him to the bathroom and he went. I didn't have the energy to train as soon as we got back from a trip, so we just asked before each bath time if he wanted to use the potty and we talked a lot about using it just to encourage his interest.
....Until tomorrow........
He makes all of us laugh a lot and keeps the mood light around here.
This kid can do the most awesome cross-eyes I have ever seen.
And he looks pretty handsome doing his "thinking" pose. One day I saw him doing this and I asked, "What are you doing?" To which he replied, "I thinking."
Today was his last size 5 diaper; He is in 3t shirts and 2t-3t shorts; Size 8 shoe; Lovesloveslovesloves Joseph; Isn't very serious, which can be a problem when he is being disciplined; Really enjoys movies now (his favorite right now is Gnomeo and Juliet); Just this week, he has started talking a lot more clear (I think strangers could understand him now); Loves anything that is big and loud (cars, trucks, tractors, trains, construction trucks, etc); Loves to play the guitar; Loves to dance to music; Loves pretty much any vegetable, broccoli is his absolute favorite; Loves "blue" chips (cool ranch Doritos); Loves all fruits; Has become very dramatic when he doesn't get his way (throws his self down and flails all around. I laugh at it, but I am pretty sure with Joseph at that age, I did not.);If I can't understand something he is saying, he will keep saying it over and over and over and over and over. It's frustrating sometimes because I just have to start guessing what his saying; Not too thrilled by cats or dogs (he was attacked by a wiener dog at the park once and ever since then, he isn't a fan); Loves to play baseball; Loves to play catch; Loves fruit chews and tic-tacs; Goes by Christian, C or C-bear.
Some of my favorite phrases he says:Baby Soup: Bathing Suit
DitDat: Tic Tac
Baby: Nathan (he has always called him baby, except when we first brought him home from the hospital, to which he called him "neighneigh".)
Beetar: Guitar
Conversation that I have had more than once with him:
C: "jibberish, jibberish"
M: "Hon, I don't understand what you are saying."
C: "Why?"
M: "Because you are two and you don't speak very clear."
C: "Oh."
Potty Training: Day 1 (Following talks about Poop and Pee)
Here is our sticker chart that we use for potty training. After 20 stickers, he gets something special like an ice cream cone, snow cone, trip to Jeff's work, trip to the zoo and then at the end, when the chart is completely full, he gets to go to the store and pick out a toy.
This first day of potty training was a whole lot better than the first day that I potty trained Joe. We knew Christian was interested during our family trip to Florida in July, when he told us he wanted to use the potty. So we took him to the bathroom and he went. I didn't have the energy to train as soon as we got back from a trip, so we just asked before each bath time if he wanted to use the potty and we talked a lot about using it just to encourage his interest. With Joseph, I just started because I thought he was mentally ready, but the first day was horrible. But with Christian, having already used the potty on several occasions and seeing Joseph go all the time, he took to it like a champ. He, like every new trainee, had several accidents. But, he got, I believe, a total of 13 or so stickers on his chart today! Pooping wasn't a success at all. All three times he went today were in his underwear. The thing with Christian is that he is super stealth when it comes to going #2, so it's hard to catch him in the act. I distinctly remember training Joe and catching him in the act and rushing him to the bathroom. Christian, however, 2 out of the 3 times today, I was sitting there playing with him as he went and had no idea. No grunts, no funny faces, nothing. So this is going to be a little tricky. The bright side to this, by the third time he went, you could tell he started and stopped himself from going. That's a good sign.
When I was thinking about starting this week, I was hesitant because it means my little guy is growing up. With Joseph, it was exciting and new, but with C, it means he is becoming a big boy and it makes me sad.
We don't have any special method to potty training. I have never even opened or read a book on potty training. The only thing I have looked up on training was when I was training Joseph and by his nap time his first day hadn't even gone in the toilet, I looked up ways to have a successful potty training experience via the internet.
What we do is: sticker charts with big rewards after 20 stickers (1 sticker for peeing and 2 stickers for pooing), treats after each successful use, stay home for a week (or really limit our errands for the week), Pull-ups only at nap time and bed time (and if we HAVE to run an errand the first week).
Today, I was planning on just taking him every 30 min or so, but he was having accidents before the 30 minute mark. So it ended up being more like every 20 minutes. I confident that the duration will get longer as the week goes on.
I was very please with his first day of training. I am hoping each day this week, we will have less and less accidents.
And here's my little C-bear in his last diaper.
....Until tomorrow........Thursday, July 21, 2011
Worrier
Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
...Okay, I know what the Bible says about worrying, but why do I struggle with it so much? If you know me at all, you know that I am a worrier. For as long as I can remember, I have always worried about things. When I was in second grade, I would worry about not passing and making it to third grade and all my friends would make fun of me. When I was in the third grade, I would worry about not passing and making it to the fourth grade. This continued each year all the way through college graduation. On graduation day, as I was sitting in the ceremony, I was thinking, "What if they don't call my name? What if I have one more class to take? What if my $40,000 piece of paper isn't in the tube?"
I have always worried!!! Some things I haven't worried much about, were things like dating or marrying. I had enough faith to know that was God's timing and if he didn't bring a guy in my path, I was confident enough to know that He had other plans for me. Although, I did have MY plan and that was to go to Junior College, play ball (which happened), go to a major university (which happened), study education and after a year of school, meet and date my guy for two years, get engaged for the last semester and marry right out of college. Well, I studied education, but the finding "mister right", dating, engaged and being married didn't go like I planned. All that to say, I distinctly remember one night in college in my room, thinking about my college career that was about to wrap up and not having any prospects. I did begin to worry slightly about never marrying, but I just prayed, felt peace about being "single and satisfied" (a sermon I had heard my last summer at college by Tony Evans)and was ready to pursue other things. (Side note: Jeff asked me out (or I sort of asked him), depends who you talk to , my last fall semester, dated 6 months, engaged 7 months and have now been married for almost 7 years).
As I have become a mom, I have realized how much I struggle with this sin. I can worry!!!! I'm not proud of the fact that I do worry as much as I do and I feel like I am constantly battling, trying to overcome fear and worry. Sometimes I worry so much, I feel like I get depressed and it can/has paralyzed me with fear. I have always wondered if this is a woman thing? Which I remember very clearly a pastor at Breakaway saying one time, "Women, You. Can. Worry!" Is this a motherly thing? I don't know, but I hate worrying.
I worry about departing before my children while they are young and they will never know how much I LOVED them. I worry about losing a child and having to go through that turmoil. I worry about losing Jeff and having to support my boys by doing everything. I worry about the house burning down at night and how I would get all three boys out of the house (this is really bad when Jeff travels and I am home by myself).
I worry about going to "shady places" and I don't mean places that have a lot of trees, because that would be awesome. I mean places that are plagued with conspicuous characters or as Jim Carey put it in a movie, "the decay of Western Society". This really stems from being held up at gun point, but that is another post. Jeff can attest to this because anytime we go downtown for anything or a new city, he has to have directions printed out and the mileage so we do end up taking the "scenic route" as he calls it.
I honestly don't know why I am posting about one of my greatest weaknesses here, but it was something I felt like sharing. Maybe to know that there are other mother's out there who struggle with the same things and have good advice on ways to overcome it. Or maybe it's to let other mother's know that there is someone else out there who worries about the same things they do. Or maybe this is form of therapy and a step towards overcoming it.
Since God is all knowing and He knows that I struggle with worrying, maybe that's why he has put the people in my life that he has. Like my college roommate. She was always so peaceful and calm and didn't ever seem to worry about anything. Like before major exams she would come back from the library having only studied a few hours and I would ask, "that's all you're going to study?" She would generally respond, "I studied as much as I could, if I pass, great, if I fail, oh well." I, on the other hand, would study for four stinkin' days for like 4 or 5 hours a night trying to over-prepare and then test day came and I would be like, "what if I studied the wrong chapters? what if I didn't study enough?" AGGGHHH.
Then Jeff came into my life. A guy who is so peaceful and knows that things happen because, well, "that's life." I wish I had that quality about me. To be so peaceful and calm and not be consumed with worry.
As much as I pray and hope that my children don't have this quality about them (because it can, at times, keep you from exploring and trying new things), it has kept me on a straight and narrow path. For example: In high school, when I would over hear friends talking about parties, and I'm not talking about getting together, playing games, eating cake, ice cream and pizza, kind of parties. Parties, that at one time one of my friends said to me, "Linds, it's not your kind of party." I would always think, I wouldn't go anyway, because the one time I do, cops would bust us, take me in, then there goes my basketball career, I would embarrass my family, blah, blah. So, in some respects, it was good (?).
But when I do start to worry or become anxious about things or have thoughts that are consuming me and cause me to take my eyes off Christ, I feel like God reminds of this particular scripture, 27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
...Okay, I know what the Bible says about worrying, but why do I struggle with it so much? If you know me at all, you know that I am a worrier. For as long as I can remember, I have always worried about things. When I was in second grade, I would worry about not passing and making it to third grade and all my friends would make fun of me. When I was in the third grade, I would worry about not passing and making it to the fourth grade. This continued each year all the way through college graduation. On graduation day, as I was sitting in the ceremony, I was thinking, "What if they don't call my name? What if I have one more class to take? What if my $40,000 piece of paper isn't in the tube?"
I have always worried!!! Some things I haven't worried much about, were things like dating or marrying. I had enough faith to know that was God's timing and if he didn't bring a guy in my path, I was confident enough to know that He had other plans for me. Although, I did have MY plan and that was to go to Junior College, play ball (which happened), go to a major university (which happened), study education and after a year of school, meet and date my guy for two years, get engaged for the last semester and marry right out of college. Well, I studied education, but the finding "mister right", dating, engaged and being married didn't go like I planned. All that to say, I distinctly remember one night in college in my room, thinking about my college career that was about to wrap up and not having any prospects. I did begin to worry slightly about never marrying, but I just prayed, felt peace about being "single and satisfied" (a sermon I had heard my last summer at college by Tony Evans)and was ready to pursue other things. (Side note: Jeff asked me out (or I sort of asked him), depends who you talk to , my last fall semester, dated 6 months, engaged 7 months and have now been married for almost 7 years).
As I have become a mom, I have realized how much I struggle with this sin. I can worry!!!! I'm not proud of the fact that I do worry as much as I do and I feel like I am constantly battling, trying to overcome fear and worry. Sometimes I worry so much, I feel like I get depressed and it can/has paralyzed me with fear. I have always wondered if this is a woman thing? Which I remember very clearly a pastor at Breakaway saying one time, "Women, You. Can. Worry!" Is this a motherly thing? I don't know, but I hate worrying.
I worry about departing before my children while they are young and they will never know how much I LOVED them. I worry about losing a child and having to go through that turmoil. I worry about losing Jeff and having to support my boys by doing everything. I worry about the house burning down at night and how I would get all three boys out of the house (this is really bad when Jeff travels and I am home by myself).
I worry about going to "shady places" and I don't mean places that have a lot of trees, because that would be awesome. I mean places that are plagued with conspicuous characters or as Jim Carey put it in a movie, "the decay of Western Society". This really stems from being held up at gun point, but that is another post. Jeff can attest to this because anytime we go downtown for anything or a new city, he has to have directions printed out and the mileage so we do end up taking the "scenic route" as he calls it.
I honestly don't know why I am posting about one of my greatest weaknesses here, but it was something I felt like sharing. Maybe to know that there are other mother's out there who struggle with the same things and have good advice on ways to overcome it. Or maybe it's to let other mother's know that there is someone else out there who worries about the same things they do. Or maybe this is form of therapy and a step towards overcoming it.
Since God is all knowing and He knows that I struggle with worrying, maybe that's why he has put the people in my life that he has. Like my college roommate. She was always so peaceful and calm and didn't ever seem to worry about anything. Like before major exams she would come back from the library having only studied a few hours and I would ask, "that's all you're going to study?" She would generally respond, "I studied as much as I could, if I pass, great, if I fail, oh well." I, on the other hand, would study for four stinkin' days for like 4 or 5 hours a night trying to over-prepare and then test day came and I would be like, "what if I studied the wrong chapters? what if I didn't study enough?" AGGGHHH.
Then Jeff came into my life. A guy who is so peaceful and knows that things happen because, well, "that's life." I wish I had that quality about me. To be so peaceful and calm and not be consumed with worry.
As much as I pray and hope that my children don't have this quality about them (because it can, at times, keep you from exploring and trying new things), it has kept me on a straight and narrow path. For example: In high school, when I would over hear friends talking about parties, and I'm not talking about getting together, playing games, eating cake, ice cream and pizza, kind of parties. Parties, that at one time one of my friends said to me, "Linds, it's not your kind of party." I would always think, I wouldn't go anyway, because the one time I do, cops would bust us, take me in, then there goes my basketball career, I would embarrass my family, blah, blah. So, in some respects, it was good (?).
But when I do start to worry or become anxious about things or have thoughts that are consuming me and cause me to take my eyes off Christ, I feel like God reminds of this particular scripture, 27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Broth'a from the same Moth'a
I started to title this post: "Bro's before (complete sentence here)," but something inside me said that wasn't appropriate and that my husband wouldn't approve of such a title.
On with the post. I love my two older boys and one of the things I love most about them is that they are brothers. Man, they are so adorable together and they are perfect for each other.
Now, I don't know if it's an age thing (they are 25months apart) that they get along so great right now or if I am just blessed, but my prayer is that they will always be this close. Jeff and I really encourage them to love one another, be kind to one another, think of one another, and share with each other. We also allow them to be 'boys.' As long as no one is in danger, bleeding, being suffocated or being attacked out of anger, it's alllllll guuuud.
Joe- Our leader; Serious; Take Charge; Lover; Daddy's boy; All about Marnie and Mimi; Loves cats and dogs; Careful ;Pleaser; Smart.
On with the post. I love my two older boys and one of the things I love most about them is that they are brothers. Man, they are so adorable together and they are perfect for each other.
Now, I don't know if it's an age thing (they are 25months apart) that they get along so great right now or if I am just blessed, but my prayer is that they will always be this close. Jeff and I really encourage them to love one another, be kind to one another, think of one another, and share with each other. We also allow them to be 'boys.' As long as no one is in danger, bleeding, being suffocated or being attacked out of anger, it's alllllll guuuud.
Joe- Our leader; Serious; Take Charge; Lover; Daddy's boy; All about Marnie and Mimi; Loves cats and dogs; Careful ;Pleaser; Smart.
C-bear-Our follower; Goofy (in a funny way, not a weird way); Kid goes by the seat of his diaper; Fighter; Mama and Dada's boy; All about Poppy and Papaw; Hates cats and dogs; Risk taker; Not so much of a pleaser (tender hearted though); Will do ANYTHING Joseph asks him to do (which tend to be things that Joseph knows he's not allowed to do, so he gets Christian to do it.....and he will).
And this post wouldn't be complete without a story:
The other night while cooking dinner, I hear their door shut (never a good thing). As I am cooking, I keep hearing these thuds and giggles coming from the room. After hearing this for about five minutes, I decide to make my way into the room. I crack the door quiet enough so they don't hear me. There they are, throwing their very heavy and hard Shamu's at their ceiling fan that is on. C's never reached the fan, of course, but could have at any time nailed Joe in the face. Joseph, however, was hitting the fan and could have hit a lightbulb that would have shattered on the two little hooligans that were standing directly underneath.
Oh, the joy of boys.
JSK
Here is my oldest son...
I love and adore this kid! Joseph is now 4 1/2 and is someone that I love being around so much. Just this past Spring, I told Jeff how much I have really started enjoying him. Now, I'm not saying that the first 3 years were unbearable, but he's just so much fun right now. He was the sweetest baby and toddler. But for some reason, when he turned 2 1/2, my limits were pressed to the max. We had a rough time with the three's (down right defiance, sassy, lying, talking back, talking ugly, using inappropriate tones, WHINING,etc), but soon after turning four, he gelled into this sweet kid. Now that our middle child is 2 1/2, we are noticing that it is a phase. We feel like we just got out of it with Joseph, and here we are, round two with our middle son.
Joseph is a big boy, always has been. He is in 4 pants; can wear 5/6 shirts; size 12 shoe; loves animals (more specifically, whales and sea creatures); loves to read; loves to learn; favorite breakfast is Shipley's, but since that isn't in our budget everyday, he loves his honey nut cheerios and muffins; loves anything with pasta; loves cool ranch Doritos; loves "pop-porn"; favorite movie right now is gnomeo and juliet;everyday he plays with his cars and animals; loves ice cream; favorite place to eat is probably Chick-fil-a; goes by Joseph or Joe; loves trains; just this summer, he started swimming under water; he is a great, great, great, big brother; great leader; is becoming more and more interested in Heaven and learning about God. I am hoping this is a sign of God getting a hold of his heart and Joseph responding one day; loves to help Jeff with anything; loves to play with Christian; he is getting to where he will ask me if he can help with something; very obedient kid (I usually only have to ask him to do something one time and he will do it. Lovelovelove this about him); first thing in the morning, he goes to the restroom and then gets dressed for day (Such a big help to me not having to ask him to do this); still pretty shy; pretty serious kid; has a "smart" sense of humor (he says really funny stuff and when I laugh, he will say "what'd I say?" Very witty kid)
This kid is an absolute joy to be around and my heart aches at the thought of him not being with me all day. I am so thankful I have one more entire year with him before he starts school. This Fall, my plan is to go through a preschool curriculum with him and see what I think about homeschooling. As of right now, we are public school, but if I enjoy the routine of effectively teaching my son and balancing the thousands of other motherly responsibilities I will probably home school. I love teaching and more importantly, I love teaching my boys. Either way we go for school, I will have the chance to do just that.
I love and adore this kid! Joseph is now 4 1/2 and is someone that I love being around so much. Just this past Spring, I told Jeff how much I have really started enjoying him. Now, I'm not saying that the first 3 years were unbearable, but he's just so much fun right now. He was the sweetest baby and toddler. But for some reason, when he turned 2 1/2, my limits were pressed to the max. We had a rough time with the three's (down right defiance, sassy, lying, talking back, talking ugly, using inappropriate tones, WHINING,etc), but soon after turning four, he gelled into this sweet kid. Now that our middle child is 2 1/2, we are noticing that it is a phase. We feel like we just got out of it with Joseph, and here we are, round two with our middle son.
Joseph is a big boy, always has been. He is in 4 pants; can wear 5/6 shirts; size 12 shoe; loves animals (more specifically, whales and sea creatures); loves to read; loves to learn; favorite breakfast is Shipley's, but since that isn't in our budget everyday, he loves his honey nut cheerios and muffins; loves anything with pasta; loves cool ranch Doritos; loves "pop-porn"; favorite movie right now is gnomeo and juliet;everyday he plays with his cars and animals; loves ice cream; favorite place to eat is probably Chick-fil-a; goes by Joseph or Joe; loves trains; just this summer, he started swimming under water; he is a great, great, great, big brother; great leader; is becoming more and more interested in Heaven and learning about God. I am hoping this is a sign of God getting a hold of his heart and Joseph responding one day; loves to help Jeff with anything; loves to play with Christian; he is getting to where he will ask me if he can help with something; very obedient kid (I usually only have to ask him to do something one time and he will do it. Lovelovelove this about him); first thing in the morning, he goes to the restroom and then gets dressed for day (Such a big help to me not having to ask him to do this); still pretty shy; pretty serious kid; has a "smart" sense of humor (he says really funny stuff and when I laugh, he will say "what'd I say?" Very witty kid)
This kid is an absolute joy to be around and my heart aches at the thought of him not being with me all day. I am so thankful I have one more entire year with him before he starts school. This Fall, my plan is to go through a preschool curriculum with him and see what I think about homeschooling. As of right now, we are public school, but if I enjoy the routine of effectively teaching my son and balancing the thousands of other motherly responsibilities I will probably home school. I love teaching and more importantly, I love teaching my boys. Either way we go for school, I will have the chance to do just that. Thursday, July 7, 2011
8 Months
Where has the time gone? I can't believe this little guy......
("Raising the roof") Does anyone do that anymore?
is 8 months old already. We aren't 100% sure if we are going to have a fourth, so to think that it is going this fast (for what could potentially, be our last baby) is kind of sad. I hesitated for a while to put his NB-0/3 month clothes up because I didn't want to believe that he was too big for those clothes already.
Fun Facts about Nathan:
-Sits up unassisted.
-I hate this phrase, but he is totally a Mama's boy. He prefers me over everyone!
-He likes to be held a lot!
-Sleeping through the night since 2 months
-He takes 2-3 naps a day, each lasting around 1 1/2 -2 hrs.
-Nursing 4x's/day
-Some of his nicknames: NeighNeigh, baby, chickpea, and smallfry
-Really loves watching Joe and C
-He is a screamer!
-I wouldn't say he's the unhappiest of the three, but he defiantly lets you know when he doesn't like something.
-He grunts and cries when the older two take things away from him.
-Just this week, he started doing a "push up." Now, it's just getting his knees under him and he will be off.
-Loves to grab and hold anything he can get his hands on.
-Loves his puffs.
-He has come so close to saying, "mama." (the older two said "dada" first, so this is epic!)
-Loves being outside.
-Pretty decent car baby. He only protest if we put him in his seat after a nap. He does great if he is sleepy or we go somewhere during nap time.
-Loves bath time.
Love, love, love this little guy!
is 8 months old already. We aren't 100% sure if we are going to have a fourth, so to think that it is going this fast (for what could potentially, be our last baby) is kind of sad. I hesitated for a while to put his NB-0/3 month clothes up because I didn't want to believe that he was too big for those clothes already.
Fun Facts about Nathan:-Size 2 diaper
-Size 3-6 mo and 6-9mo clothes
-Size 2 shoe (he's got the tiniest foot I have ever seen)
-Just this week he has transitioned from baby food to both baby food and table food. This week, he has had, mac and cheese, eggs, toast, chicken nuggets, and fries (third baby for you).
-Sits up unassisted.-I hate this phrase, but he is totally a Mama's boy. He prefers me over everyone!
-He likes to be held a lot!
-Sleeping through the night since 2 months
-He takes 2-3 naps a day, each lasting around 1 1/2 -2 hrs.
-Nursing 4x's/day
-Some of his nicknames: NeighNeigh, baby, chickpea, and smallfry-Really loves watching Joe and C
-He is a screamer!
-I wouldn't say he's the unhappiest of the three, but he defiantly lets you know when he doesn't like something.
-He grunts and cries when the older two take things away from him.
-Just this week, he started doing a "push up." Now, it's just getting his knees under him and he will be off.
-Loves to grab and hold anything he can get his hands on.-Loves his puffs.
-He has come so close to saying, "mama." (the older two said "dada" first, so this is epic!)
-Loves being outside.
-Pretty decent car baby. He only protest if we put him in his seat after a nap. He does great if he is sleepy or we go somewhere during nap time.
-Loves bath time.
Love, love, love this little guy!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
For Funsies
The other day I thought I had this great idea for a "game" on my blog and have a giveaway for the winner. After talking to someone that I know very well, "we" thought it wasn't that great of a game.
Today, while eating lunch at Chick-fil-a, I ran into my sister in law, Lindsay. I started telling her about the idea of wanting to have a giveaway and she mentioned to me what one blog mama does sometimes for giveaways. It was brilliant! Thanks Lindsay!
Whoever (or is it Whomever?), gives me the best caption for the second picture will become the new owner of these:
They are Yellow Box sandals. The winner will have the opportunity to go here and select your favorite color. The only restriction is that they are one of the $21.99 pairs (sorry for the limitation, but I'm not a cash pinata.) These sandals are amazing and by far, the most comfortable ones that I have ever owned!
Here's the picture:
Since most of you reading this will be on my FB, please leave the caption in the comment box there.
Contest is over at 10:00pm cst tonight.
Good luck!
Today, while eating lunch at Chick-fil-a, I ran into my sister in law, Lindsay. I started telling her about the idea of wanting to have a giveaway and she mentioned to me what one blog mama does sometimes for giveaways. It was brilliant! Thanks Lindsay!
Whoever (or is it Whomever?), gives me the best caption for the second picture will become the new owner of these:
They are Yellow Box sandals. The winner will have the opportunity to go here and select your favorite color. The only restriction is that they are one of the $21.99 pairs (sorry for the limitation, but I'm not a cash pinata.) These sandals are amazing and by far, the most comfortable ones that I have ever owned!Here's the picture:
Since most of you reading this will be on my FB, please leave the caption in the comment box there.Contest is over at 10:00pm cst tonight.
I will read the comments to Jeff and have him choose his favorite.
Good luck!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Life in my shoes
A blog that I read frequently had mentioned that she was going to blog about her daily routine for one week. She mentioned that one of the reasons she wanted to journal about her day, was so that she could look back on it one day and see how busy of a mama she was.
One of the reasons I really wanted to get back into blogging was for a very similar reason. I wanted to have something I can go back to, look at, read about what was going on in our lives, and see how much the boys have changed. For a while, I had been keeping a journal by my bed and would write things the boys were doing, something funny they did that day, or some of the funny things they would say, but I started to drift from writing because I was just too lazy and more times than not, I would get serious writers cramp!
So, today, I thought I would blog about my day(only today, not for an entire week) and all that we did. It's nothing extraordinary, but a pretty typical day around here.
For stay at home moms, it may be encouraging to know that you aren't the only one who doesn't get "me time" until 8pm at night or ever get to just sit and think, for the empty Nester's, it may be a walk down memory lane and may have you wishing for a second that you could have one more of these days back, and for those of you who don't have kids, well, this may be a form of birth control.
6:10 a-7 a: I wake up and C wakes up (but I go put him in our bed. I am NOT on mommy-duty until 7a), I do some laundry, have my quiet time.
7a-8a: J wakes up, I get dressed, make my bed, Nathan wakes up, change his diaper, make pancakes and bacon, we all eat breakfast, the older two watch cartoons.
8a-9a:I nurse N, get clothes out of dryer, put a load in the wash and another in the dryer, clean the boys rooms so I can vacuum, find a sippy cup in the older boys room (can't get myself to open it to see if it's water or milk. My hope is that it is water.), I vacuum the boys rooms,
I continue vacuuming the entry way, N starts crying to be picked up, C wants a snack (I won't let him have one because he hasn't finished his breakfast),
Vacuum living room rug, vacuum our room, get C dressed, brush boys teeth, do a short bible lesson with boys (and by short I mean about 15 minutes. After all, I have a 2 yr old and 7 month old in attendance).
9a-10a: Change a dirty diaper, load up and head to the Y, work out until 11a.
11a-12p: We arrive back home from the Y, get the older boys lunch, put N down for a nap, I clean up breakfast dishes, found out that it was milk in the sippy cup that I stumbled across in the boys room (gag!), load dishwasher, boys go off and play, I eat my lunch, N still asleep, clean up lunch mess, check my emails, change another diaper
J in outfit #2
12p-1p: Put clothes in washer and dryer, do puzzles with the older two, N wakes up, change another diaper.
One of the reasons I really wanted to get back into blogging was for a very similar reason. I wanted to have something I can go back to, look at, read about what was going on in our lives, and see how much the boys have changed. For a while, I had been keeping a journal by my bed and would write things the boys were doing, something funny they did that day, or some of the funny things they would say, but I started to drift from writing because I was just too lazy and more times than not, I would get serious writers cramp!
So, today, I thought I would blog about my day(only today, not for an entire week) and all that we did. It's nothing extraordinary, but a pretty typical day around here.
For stay at home moms, it may be encouraging to know that you aren't the only one who doesn't get "me time" until 8pm at night or ever get to just sit and think, for the empty Nester's, it may be a walk down memory lane and may have you wishing for a second that you could have one more of these days back, and for those of you who don't have kids, well, this may be a form of birth control.
6:10 a-7 a: I wake up and C wakes up (but I go put him in our bed. I am NOT on mommy-duty until 7a), I do some laundry, have my quiet time.
7a-8a: J wakes up, I get dressed, make my bed, Nathan wakes up, change his diaper, make pancakes and bacon, we all eat breakfast, the older two watch cartoons.
8a-9a:I nurse N, get clothes out of dryer, put a load in the wash and another in the dryer, clean the boys rooms so I can vacuum, find a sippy cup in the older boys room (can't get myself to open it to see if it's water or milk. My hope is that it is water.), I vacuum the boys rooms,What the boys room looks like when I pick it up and vacuum (this is at 8:35)
I continue vacuuming the entry way, N starts crying to be picked up, C wants a snack (I won't let him have one because he hasn't finished his breakfast),What the boys room looks like at 8:45a
Vacuum living room rug, vacuum our room, get C dressed, brush boys teeth, do a short bible lesson with boys (and by short I mean about 15 minutes. After all, I have a 2 yr old and 7 month old in attendance).9a-10a: Change a dirty diaper, load up and head to the Y, work out until 11a.
11a-12p: We arrive back home from the Y, get the older boys lunch, put N down for a nap, I clean up breakfast dishes, found out that it was milk in the sippy cup that I stumbled across in the boys room (gag!), load dishwasher, boys go off and play, I eat my lunch, N still asleep, clean up lunch mess, check my emails, change another diaper
Boys room at 11:57a
J in outfit #2
12p-1p: Put clothes in washer and dryer, do puzzles with the older two, N wakes up, change another diaper.1p-2p: Feed N lunch, nurse, play with boys.
2p-3p: Have boys pick up toys in living room and kitchen, read books, older two lay down for a nap/quiet time, I fold and put clothes away.
3p-4p: Check emails, lay N down for second nap, read some blogs and FB, fold more clothes, unload dishwasher.
4p-5p: Boys wake up, have snacks, watch an episode of Word World, I read.
5p-6p: Change a diaper, N wakes up, I nurse, go outside and play, Jeff arrives home (hallelujah!)
6p-7p: Heat up dinner (leftover night is the best), eat dinner
7p-8p: Give N a bath, get him dressed for bed, nurse and put him to bed, go outside with older boys and Jeff, and play in the water.
8p-9p: Older boys get pj's on, teeth brushed and put in bed.
9p..................Free at last , free at last, thank the Lord, I am free at last!
I know, not that entertaining, but something for me to look back on and see how busy I was during this phase of my life. This is a typical Monday though, not a lot of drama (boys, for some reason play really well together on Mondays), stay close to home to relax from our very busy weekends and for me to get chores done. I like being able to get a lot of things done at the beginning of the week, so at the end, we can go places and have play dates.
The reason I took a picture of J changing, was because, lately, he has been going through this phase of wanting to change all day. One day last week he went through about 5 outfits. The following day, I put my foot down and told him he couldn't change anymore, but that caused, how can I say this?, DRA.MA! So we compromised: he can change throughout the day only if he hangs up his shirts and puts his shorts in the drawer. If I find a shirt or pair of shorts on the floor, he isn't allowed to change anymore for that day. Seems to have worked.
What's your schedule like?
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Cars 2!
As you can imagine, we are excited about this weekend because.......
....has made it's way into theatres. Unfortunately, we have a packed weekend due to meetings, date night, church, grocery shopping, etc., so we don't know if we can make it this weekend to go see Cars 2. But we are super excited that this movie has finally come out.
One of the reason this movie is special to me is because Cars was the very first movie that Joseph sat through and watched (over and over and over and over and over). And, the Cars characters was the first thing that he started collecting. Ok, ok, lets be honest, Jeff and I got caught up in it to. We used the cars for rewards, got them just because we loved the little guy, and Joseph talked Mimi into getting half of the characters.
I remember having these conversations with him:
(At Walmart in the toy isle)
J: Mama, I want this Lightning McQueen.
M: But, you already have a Lightning McQueen.
J: But not this one. I don't have this Lightning McQueen with the dirt on it.
(Disney started to break our bank account by making hundred's of different McQueen's).
We went from this one car to this............
58 cars total!
....has made it's way into theatres. Unfortunately, we have a packed weekend due to meetings, date night, church, grocery shopping, etc., so we don't know if we can make it this weekend to go see Cars 2. But we are super excited that this movie has finally come out.One of the reason this movie is special to me is because Cars was the very first movie that Joseph sat through and watched (over and over and over and over and over). And, the Cars characters was the first thing that he started collecting. Ok, ok, lets be honest, Jeff and I got caught up in it to. We used the cars for rewards, got them just because we loved the little guy, and Joseph talked Mimi into getting half of the characters.
I remember having these conversations with him:
(At Walmart in the toy isle)
J: Mama, I want this Lightning McQueen.
M: But, you already have a Lightning McQueen.
J: But not this one. I don't have this Lightning McQueen with the dirt on it.
(Disney started to break our bank account by making hundred's of different McQueen's).
It all started with this particular McQueen. Joe had just watched the movie and soon after we started potty training. I went to the grocery store and while I was checking out, I saw this car. I purchased it to give to him as a reward for using the potty and from that moment on, he was hooked. (Now that I come to think of it, this might have been his first car, ever.)
We went from this one car to this............
58 cars total! We know, it's insane!
I am nervous now about this movie and all the new cars they are going to come out with. We honestly don't have much more room in their car bucket for any new cars.
And to conclude, if your boys ever come over to play and they want to play with cars that don't have eyes on them (once a request from my nephew, Mark), you might have to BYOBOC (bring your own bucket of cars).
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Whoa! A Post!
I know, I know, it's been about 8 months since my last post. I can't believe it either. I honestly, have been so busy with three boys, I don't have a lot of time to sit down and write a post. However, while I was on our family vacation, I had the itch to start up again. Now, I'm not making any promises to this being a regular thing again, but I would like to keep up with it more than I have been.
So, to kick off my first post of 2011, I am going to blog about our recent trip. The pictures are not in the correct order, which irritates the snot outta me ( I can never put them up correctly), I am going to tell the story of our trip through the order of my pictures.
Since Joe was 2 1/2, we started collecting the characters from the first movie he ever watched, Cars. We have been able to collect almost all the original characters over the past two years. Unfortunately, there have been two characters that we haven't been able to find out our local stores: Lizzy and Red. Sooooooo, you can imagine our excitement when we walked into the World of Disney store and found Red. (And you can imagine the irritation from me when I went to our local Walmart after returning from Florida, to find this exact Red on the shelves. Ugh!)
Jeff and Nathan at Cocoa Beach. This was a fun, but very challenging trip. You know have you have it in your head that everything will be fine and work out great, but forget you have a 7 month old that is going to hate everything about the beach? When we first got there, everything was great. Nathan nursed, we set up his pack n play under an umbrella, gave him some crackers, should be a happy camper, right? WRONG. When it was time for his nap, he protested his nice little pack n play (that he has slept in the entire trip) and got so worked up, that he couldn't be consoled. So, we had to cut our beach trip about an hour short.
This little man had a great vacation. He learned how to hold his breath and "swim" under water, he got to go to SeaWorld with Jeff, he did the boggy board at the beach (until he nosed dive on one wave and came up with a mouth full of salty sea water), he made me realize that he is at a great age to travel to Disney World with, and he made me laugh by having the following conversation:
Papaw and C at Cocoa Beach.
The reason for this wonderful trip....getting see my cousin Elizabeth get married. I can't believe she is married. Such a beautiful person inside and out!
Okay, I have left out this little detail, until now. But the wedding was at the Grand Floridian, Disney World. That being the case, our little munchkins had their own kids menu at the reception. They also had a Mickey Mouse watermelon cut out. The boys loved it!
Nathan and my grandmother.
Christian boy has always been my best sleeper. From days old, he could and still can sleep anywhere. If he's tired, he will just lay his head down where he can, and catch some z's. Here at the wedding, he decided to curl up on Mimi and take a quick cat nap.
Here at my two oldest before the wedding. C, is honestly, my most smiley and happy child, but my pictures, nowadays, beg to differ.
Oh boy, we are at the age where we are going to make faces for the camera, rather than smile. *sigh*
(l-r) Christian, my nephew, Cooper, Joseph holding Nathan.
What your car will look like when you have 4 babies and 3 adults traveling. (Or maybe, your car always looks like this when you travel.)
Four very happy boys to be out of their car seats.
This little guy did great on the trip too. No lie, I am pretty sure the very first day we drove, he slept a good 5-6hrs out of 8hrs driving. Such a good traveler! On this trip, he became very brave and started jumping of the side of the pool, going under, popping up and swimming to the ladder. He also, decided he wanted to start using the potty and on several occasions, while in our room, used the potty. We are not, however, potty training right now. I am one of those mom's who likes to stay home an entire week, get it down, and then start going back out. It's too early in the summer for me to want to stay home for an entire week.
This little angel boy did pretty good. The first days of driving, both going there and coming home, he protested his car seat a little. Then the second day, he was like, "oh, this isn't that bad," and slept most of the trip. He did great sleeping away from home. The only rough days we had were at the wedding(which he needed a nap badly) and the beach day (which he, again, needed a nap badly). I realized on this trip how different all my boys are: J, he would always fall asleep nursing, catch about a 40 min nap on me, and be great. C, kid could/can sleep anywhere. N, ummm, yeah, he's a little more demanding. He has to be in his bed, on his belly, AC set at about 75 degrees, no blankets, etc. So, needless to say, he isn't as easy to take places during his "fussy" times.
When you've been driving in the car for two days, you start to go a little crazy. In some cases, you might smell your brother's croc, say "ewwww" and have everyone, including yourself, lol'ing.
So, to kick off my first post of 2011, I am going to blog about our recent trip. The pictures are not in the correct order, which irritates the snot outta me ( I can never put them up correctly), I am going to tell the story of our trip through the order of my pictures.
Since Joe was 2 1/2, we started collecting the characters from the first movie he ever watched, Cars. We have been able to collect almost all the original characters over the past two years. Unfortunately, there have been two characters that we haven't been able to find out our local stores: Lizzy and Red. Sooooooo, you can imagine our excitement when we walked into the World of Disney store and found Red. (And you can imagine the irritation from me when I went to our local Walmart after returning from Florida, to find this exact Red on the shelves. Ugh!)
Jeff and Nathan at Cocoa Beach. This was a fun, but very challenging trip. You know have you have it in your head that everything will be fine and work out great, but forget you have a 7 month old that is going to hate everything about the beach? When we first got there, everything was great. Nathan nursed, we set up his pack n play under an umbrella, gave him some crackers, should be a happy camper, right? WRONG. When it was time for his nap, he protested his nice little pack n play (that he has slept in the entire trip) and got so worked up, that he couldn't be consoled. So, we had to cut our beach trip about an hour short.
This little man had a great vacation. He learned how to hold his breath and "swim" under water, he got to go to SeaWorld with Jeff, he did the boggy board at the beach (until he nosed dive on one wave and came up with a mouth full of salty sea water), he made me realize that he is at a great age to travel to Disney World with, and he made me laugh by having the following conversation:We are at a Wendy's (somewhere on the road, in Florida).
Joseph, would have made a great caveman, because he hates to wear shoes. So much in fact, one time when I told him to go get his shoes on, he replied, "I don't need shoes, I have my feet."
So, we are at Wendy's eating and Joe, like everywhere we go, took his shoes off and is walking around the restaurant:
Me: Joe, please go put your shoes back on!
J: Why?
Me: Be cause we are in a restaurant, people are eating, and it's bad manners to being running around bare foot. Plus, it's disgusting."
J: (in his normal, deep, manly voice) Dada, I have to poop.
Papaw and C at Cocoa Beach.
The reason for this wonderful trip....getting see my cousin Elizabeth get married. I can't believe she is married. Such a beautiful person inside and out!
Okay, I have left out this little detail, until now. But the wedding was at the Grand Floridian, Disney World. That being the case, our little munchkins had their own kids menu at the reception. They also had a Mickey Mouse watermelon cut out. The boys loved it!
Nathan and my grandmother.
Christian boy has always been my best sleeper. From days old, he could and still can sleep anywhere. If he's tired, he will just lay his head down where he can, and catch some z's. Here at the wedding, he decided to curl up on Mimi and take a quick cat nap.
Here at my two oldest before the wedding. C, is honestly, my most smiley and happy child, but my pictures, nowadays, beg to differ.
Oh boy, we are at the age where we are going to make faces for the camera, rather than smile. *sigh*
(l-r) Christian, my nephew, Cooper, Joseph holding Nathan.
What your car will look like when you have 4 babies and 3 adults traveling. (Or maybe, your car always looks like this when you travel.) Four very happy boys to be out of their car seats.
This little guy did great on the trip too. No lie, I am pretty sure the very first day we drove, he slept a good 5-6hrs out of 8hrs driving. Such a good traveler! On this trip, he became very brave and started jumping of the side of the pool, going under, popping up and swimming to the ladder. He also, decided he wanted to start using the potty and on several occasions, while in our room, used the potty. We are not, however, potty training right now. I am one of those mom's who likes to stay home an entire week, get it down, and then start going back out. It's too early in the summer for me to want to stay home for an entire week.
This little angel boy did pretty good. The first days of driving, both going there and coming home, he protested his car seat a little. Then the second day, he was like, "oh, this isn't that bad," and slept most of the trip. He did great sleeping away from home. The only rough days we had were at the wedding(which he needed a nap badly) and the beach day (which he, again, needed a nap badly). I realized on this trip how different all my boys are: J, he would always fall asleep nursing, catch about a 40 min nap on me, and be great. C, kid could/can sleep anywhere. N, ummm, yeah, he's a little more demanding. He has to be in his bed, on his belly, AC set at about 75 degrees, no blankets, etc. So, needless to say, he isn't as easy to take places during his "fussy" times.
When you've been driving in the car for two days, you start to go a little crazy. In some cases, you might smell your brother's croc, say "ewwww" and have everyone, including yourself, lol'ing.That's all in pictures. We had a great time with family and our extended family. We stayed at this awesome resort that my mom was able to rent from a relative of a friend from work (did you follow that?). We stayed on Disney grounds at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. If you are planning a trip to Disney World anytime soon, this is a great place to stay. They had about 5 or 6 pools, two of them with slides, 2 lazy rivers, putt putt, movies on the lawn, and different activities for the kids throughout the day. The condo we stayed in had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, washer, dryer and patio. As I have become a stay at home mom, I have realized that hotel stays, or in this case, a resort stay, are ideal for you. I did cook a meal on this trip, but I love the fact that we had the option of not having to cook or clean for an entire week.
Some things I learned on the trip:
-Once you get into Florida, at every food exit you either have 2 of the 3, or in some cases all of three to choose from :Burger King, McDonald's and Waffle house.
-Don't every stop in Ocala, Florida because you will be afraid for the safety of your child and your own life!
-If you make a stop long enough for lunch, 5 out of 7 individuals will have to "take the browns to the superbowl."(Jeff's going to be so embarrassed that I wrote that)
-The further you get into Florida, the older people get.
-My wonderful husband set up a date for a place called Texas de Brazil. I learned if you eat your weight in meat, you will walk funny afterwards. (This place was awesome and I recommend it to everyone!)
-Disney World is not for a 2yr old or 7 month old.
-When at the beach and you are in a hurry to get your screaming infant out of the heat and into the AC vehicle, no one will tell you that you look like Marilyn Manson. (How did I find out that I looked him? I took Joe to the bathroom at a 7eleven, and when I looked in the mirror, I noticed. )
-When you haven't gotten a Slurpee in years and go to get one for the first time, you find yourself getting way too much and it spewing everywhere and now you have to clean up the counter, the cup, your hands and I think I had to wipe up the floor. (this was post Marilyn Manson look).
-Watching the Dallas Mavs beat LeBron and the Heat will be an NBA Finals that I will never forget!
And to conclude, I love my boys and my husband so much and enjoyed getting to spend an entire week with all four and not having any chores!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
36 Weeks and counting
I feel pretty bad about not posting about or taking any pictures of myself throughout this entire pregnancy. Now that it is almost over, I thought, "why not share with everyone how this one has gone."
When I post this, I will be 36 weeks, with 3 more weeks to go. My Doctor wants to induce me again since I have had a history of post partum hemorrhaging with my first two deliveries. She will induce me my 39th week, which will be the week of November 15. I am quite okay with being induced. It really fits my personality style. I like things to be under control, I like to be able to prepare my mind with what is to come, and being induced allows that.
I have felt pretty good most of this pregnancy. The energy level hasn't been near the same as with J and C. I think part of it is that we got pregnant with baby #3 when C was 14 months as opposed to getting pregnant with C when J was 18 months. Four months makes a huge difference! Also, C is a much more active toddler than what J was. Sometimes I don't know if its because of his personality or because he has an older brother he tries to keep up with. When I got pregnant with C, my little man J was a much more peaceful and low active child. He would just sit and play wherever you plopped him....much easier to be pregnant with that kind of baby, than with one who likes to be held ( a lot!) and who is climbing on everything.
Things I have missed or am starting to miss and things I am looking forward to:
- I can't wait to sleep on my stomach again. I am really only comfortable sleeping on my right side for some reason and that is starting to get uncomfortable.
-Working out. I was only able to workout up to 32 weeks with this one as opposed to 36 weeks with the first two. My weight gain hasn't been as much with this one, but I feel so out of shape. I can't wait to get back into running and going to Power Pump again.
-After seeing a few people have some great success with weight watchers, I think Jeff and I are going to do that together once I have the baby. After some thought, I may postpone this until after the holidays. Seriously, start WW a week before Thanksgiving and four weeks before Christmas!? I enjoy my food too much to be that dedicated. But after Christmas...for sure going to do WW.
-Being able to sit comfortably on the floor and play with the boys. I can't wait to be able to jump up and on to my feet again. I am also tired of, and I am sure other people are to, of making a grunting sound every time I have to get up.
-My regular clothes!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some names we have on our list:
Nathan
Ethan
Thomas
Ryan
Michael
More than likely, we are going to use Ellis, my maiden name, as his middle name. This has been a middle name for the last two boys but just have never used it. We have talked about having four kids, but after this pregnancy and it being a boy, we thought we should go ahead and use this as a middle name while we have the chance.
*(Since I have started this post, I have had my 36 week check up) I am 1 cm dilated and some effaced. They did some blood work to check my platelet count. This will determine whether or not I will be able to get the epidural. Please pray that the numbers are above normal (So I can get the drugs ;-)) or peace for me if I am not able to have it (Cause it gonna hurt!).
That's about all I have regarding this pregnancy. It's been pretty smooth, but this was by far the hardest pregnancy of the three. A few people I have talked to during this pregnancy told me that their third pregnancy made up their mind that they didn't want anymore. Much more difficult having to take care of two other children as opposed to none or one.
If I could, ask that you please pray for our family. Please pray for a safe, smooth, easy (if that's possible) delivery. This is about the time of my pregnancy where I get anxious and worry about everything and I don't feel like I don't breathe a sigh of relief until I know he's healthy, I am healthy, we're both safe, and we are home as a family again.
Thank you!
When I post this, I will be 36 weeks, with 3 more weeks to go. My Doctor wants to induce me again since I have had a history of post partum hemorrhaging with my first two deliveries. She will induce me my 39th week, which will be the week of November 15. I am quite okay with being induced. It really fits my personality style. I like things to be under control, I like to be able to prepare my mind with what is to come, and being induced allows that.
I have felt pretty good most of this pregnancy. The energy level hasn't been near the same as with J and C. I think part of it is that we got pregnant with baby #3 when C was 14 months as opposed to getting pregnant with C when J was 18 months. Four months makes a huge difference! Also, C is a much more active toddler than what J was. Sometimes I don't know if its because of his personality or because he has an older brother he tries to keep up with. When I got pregnant with C, my little man J was a much more peaceful and low active child. He would just sit and play wherever you plopped him....much easier to be pregnant with that kind of baby, than with one who likes to be held ( a lot!) and who is climbing on everything.
Things I have missed or am starting to miss and things I am looking forward to:
- I can't wait to sleep on my stomach again. I am really only comfortable sleeping on my right side for some reason and that is starting to get uncomfortable.
-Working out. I was only able to workout up to 32 weeks with this one as opposed to 36 weeks with the first two. My weight gain hasn't been as much with this one, but I feel so out of shape. I can't wait to get back into running and going to Power Pump again.
-After seeing a few people have some great success with weight watchers, I think Jeff and I are going to do that together once I have the baby. After some thought, I may postpone this until after the holidays. Seriously, start WW a week before Thanksgiving and four weeks before Christmas!? I enjoy my food too much to be that dedicated. But after Christmas...for sure going to do WW.
-Being able to sit comfortably on the floor and play with the boys. I can't wait to be able to jump up and on to my feet again. I am also tired of, and I am sure other people are to, of making a grunting sound every time I have to get up.
-My regular clothes!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some names we have on our list:
Nathan
Ethan
Thomas
Ryan
Michael
More than likely, we are going to use Ellis, my maiden name, as his middle name. This has been a middle name for the last two boys but just have never used it. We have talked about having four kids, but after this pregnancy and it being a boy, we thought we should go ahead and use this as a middle name while we have the chance.
*(Since I have started this post, I have had my 36 week check up) I am 1 cm dilated and some effaced. They did some blood work to check my platelet count. This will determine whether or not I will be able to get the epidural. Please pray that the numbers are above normal (So I can get the drugs ;-)) or peace for me if I am not able to have it (Cause it gonna hurt!).
That's about all I have regarding this pregnancy. It's been pretty smooth, but this was by far the hardest pregnancy of the three. A few people I have talked to during this pregnancy told me that their third pregnancy made up their mind that they didn't want anymore. Much more difficult having to take care of two other children as opposed to none or one.
If I could, ask that you please pray for our family. Please pray for a safe, smooth, easy (if that's possible) delivery. This is about the time of my pregnancy where I get anxious and worry about everything and I don't feel like I don't breathe a sigh of relief until I know he's healthy, I am healthy, we're both safe, and we are home as a family again.
Thank you!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Our summer in Review
This summer was a great one, but boy, we were busy! Looking back, we had a lot of fun, a lot of memories, but I am honestly glad that it has come to an end. The amount of traveling really took its toll on me this summer, so I am glad that for the next couple of months, we will be staying put.
I usually enjoy my summers now that I have kiddos. I love taking them to parks, spray parks, the zoo, the beach, and Schlitterbahn, but for some reason this summer we didn't do too much of anything because I just down right didn't feel like it. This pregnancy has been a little more challenging, so the inability to get up and go at the snap of a finger, having to hold Christian quite a bit still, and the heat, just made me miserable. Needless to say, I have been looking forward to Fall since we arrived back from our trip to Colorado. Hopefully, the cooler weather(whenever that gets here) will motivate me to take the boys to the park, zoo, basically anything that is outdoors, these next couple of months.
We started the summer off with a family trip to Colorado. We had a blast and we look forward to the opportunity to go again. We were able to join my sisters in law, Courtney and Lindsay and their families. We all stayed in a cabin, in the middle of the woods and enjoyed every minute of it. It was especially fun for Joseph to have all his cousins at the same place as we were. The weather was perfect when we were there. The first night and our second day, it wasn't cool, it was cold! I had to wear a hoodie and the kids had to wear jackets. It was perfect!
Highlights from Colorado: Seeing all the kids play together; playing and BEATING Jeff at ping pong ( I haven't done that since college); intending to scare Jeff, but scaring Lindsay instead; hanging out with the adults and playing games; Holiday World(I think that's what it was called, I can never remember); being out in the woods and admiring God's wonderful creations; eating pizza; seeing a hotel named "That'll Do Motel" and a restaurant called "Ain't Notin' fancy Restaurant" (two places that will never have my services).
After Colorado, the two boys and I made some trips to Dallas. One to welcome my nephew Cooper Layne and the other to see some family from Indiana. Both trips were a lot of fun, but very tiring since Jeff wasn't able to join us. One trip that we went up there for, my mom and I took the boys to a water park. It was a lot of fun and both boys had a blast. Joseph is at such a fun age for that stuff now. He can tell you what he wants to do and then he talks about it for weeks afterwards.
I usually enjoy my summers now that I have kiddos. I love taking them to parks, spray parks, the zoo, the beach, and Schlitterbahn, but for some reason this summer we didn't do too much of anything because I just down right didn't feel like it. This pregnancy has been a little more challenging, so the inability to get up and go at the snap of a finger, having to hold Christian quite a bit still, and the heat, just made me miserable. Needless to say, I have been looking forward to Fall since we arrived back from our trip to Colorado. Hopefully, the cooler weather(whenever that gets here) will motivate me to take the boys to the park, zoo, basically anything that is outdoors, these next couple of months.
We started the summer off with a family trip to Colorado. We had a blast and we look forward to the opportunity to go again. We were able to join my sisters in law, Courtney and Lindsay and their families. We all stayed in a cabin, in the middle of the woods and enjoyed every minute of it. It was especially fun for Joseph to have all his cousins at the same place as we were. The weather was perfect when we were there. The first night and our second day, it wasn't cool, it was cold! I had to wear a hoodie and the kids had to wear jackets. It was perfect!
Highlights from Colorado: Seeing all the kids play together; playing and BEATING Jeff at ping pong ( I haven't done that since college); intending to scare Jeff, but scaring Lindsay instead; hanging out with the adults and playing games; Holiday World(I think that's what it was called, I can never remember); being out in the woods and admiring God's wonderful creations; eating pizza; seeing a hotel named "That'll Do Motel" and a restaurant called "Ain't Notin' fancy Restaurant" (two places that will never have my services).
After Colorado, the two boys and I made some trips to Dallas. One to welcome my nephew Cooper Layne and the other to see some family from Indiana. Both trips were a lot of fun, but very tiring since Jeff wasn't able to join us. One trip that we went up there for, my mom and I took the boys to a water park. It was a lot of fun and both boys had a blast. Joseph is at such a fun age for that stuff now. He can tell you what he wants to do and then he talks about it for weeks afterwards.
Highlights from our Dallas trips: Going to Splash Kingdom; Joseph "going" off my parents diving board; Christian and his stealthiness, making his way to the very top step of my parents stairs(about 30-40 hardwood floor steps, straight down= heart stopper); meeting baby Cooper; getting to see some extended family that we haven't seen in a while; Joseph falling in love with my sisters dog, Max, and ever since that trip, has wanted a dog....really, really bad!; The electricity going out both times we were there. Now what are the odds in that? Luckily, both times it was in the middle of the night, so we didn't get too hot.
To finish up our summer, we were able to finally make it down to Galveston and go to the beach for the day. I had been wanting to do this all summer, but, like I said before, our summer has been pretty busy. Joseph loves the water, so I knew he would have a good time, and Christian we haven't taken to the beach since he was 9 months, so I was curious to see what he would do. Joseph, as expected, loved it, but Christian took a while to warm up. It could have been because he had a virus accompanied with an ear infection and double eye infection a few days before. I don't think the salty water and sand in the eyes was very pleasing to him. After sitting in my lap for a while and some tasty snacks, he perked up and started playing.
This summer, my little C-bear hit the 18 month mark. I remember Joseph so well at this age and enjoying him so much. Not that the first 17 months didn't mean anything, but it all seems like a blur to me. For some reason, for both my boys, at 18 months their personalities really started coming out, they both started to turn into boys, and it seems like they both started really talking at this age. So much fun to watch them grow, change, and learn.
Christian:
Joseph, is now 3 1/2, and still makes me laugh. I was able to post about him a while back, so I won't bore you with all the intimate details of what it's like having a 3 year old, just some of his new things.
We are looking forward to this fall and everything that we have in store: Mimi and Papaw visiting, some college friends coming to visit, County Fair, Fall Festivals, Houston Air Show, pumpkin patch, and of course, Halloween....(Joseph doesn't really care to be anything, he just talks about the candy. Easy enough, huh?)
To finish up our summer, we were able to finally make it down to Galveston and go to the beach for the day. I had been wanting to do this all summer, but, like I said before, our summer has been pretty busy. Joseph loves the water, so I knew he would have a good time, and Christian we haven't taken to the beach since he was 9 months, so I was curious to see what he would do. Joseph, as expected, loved it, but Christian took a while to warm up. It could have been because he had a virus accompanied with an ear infection and double eye infection a few days before. I don't think the salty water and sand in the eyes was very pleasing to him. After sitting in my lap for a while and some tasty snacks, he perked up and started playing.
This summer, my little C-bear hit the 18 month mark. I remember Joseph so well at this age and enjoying him so much. Not that the first 17 months didn't mean anything, but it all seems like a blur to me. For some reason, for both my boys, at 18 months their personalities really started coming out, they both started to turn into boys, and it seems like they both started really talking at this age. So much fun to watch them grow, change, and learn.
Christian:
Loves to smile
Loves to suck his thumb
Loves to touch my face and play with my hair
Loves cars and any kind of dump truck, excavator, fire truck, etc.
Loves to 'cook'
Picks on Joseph....a lot!
Hugs on Joseph...a lot! (this is usually his apology after smacking, biting or pinching Joe)
Loves riding toys
Loves to climb
Can say about 10-12 words (only Jeff and I can really understand them); my favorite being 'Mo.Mo' (for more), and 'eeessh' (for please)
Joseph, is now 3 1/2, and still makes me laugh. I was able to post about him a while back, so I won't bore you with all the intimate details of what it's like having a 3 year old, just some of his new things.
Joseph:
Loves Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ( We watch it so much, he can quote most of the movie and if you see Christian, ask him what baby Brent says..he too will quote the movie) and Cars.
Loves animals....still
Loves animals....still
Loves his Cars cars....still
Wants a dog
Loves Word World
Loves candy and his newest trick, he can chew gum WITHOUT swallowing it!
Such a good big brother. Has his run-ins with C, but most of all, pretty sweet to him. He is also super sweet to his unborn brother. He will kiss my belly and talk to him.
Loves tools
Loves helping Jeff or myself with anything and everything.
Really does say the darnedest things:
*Driving around in our new van (yes, I officially became a minivan mama this summer) for the first time, Joe said, "This is really neat."
*We have a book titled 'My Grandma is wonderful." He saw it one day and started singing, "My Grandma is great, my grandma is great." I then asked, "who is your grandma?"(Meaning for him to say Mimi or Marnie). To which he responded, "Yo Mama." (I am pretty sure he meant to say 'your', but it came out as 'yo'.)
*Jeff went to our room one night after work to get changed. He turns to both boys after getting dressed and says, "lets go". Joseph then says, "But..."
Jeff, "No buts,"
Joe, (looking at his bottom) "yes, we have butts."
One of my favorite words he says right now: smarshmallows (marshmallows)
We are looking forward to this fall and everything that we have in store: Mimi and Papaw visiting, some college friends coming to visit, County Fair, Fall Festivals, Houston Air Show, pumpkin patch, and of course, Halloween....(Joseph doesn't really care to be anything, he just talks about the candy. Easy enough, huh?)Until next post.....
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