1+1+1=3

It's hard to believe, just four short years ago we had this little man.

Then two years later, we were blessed with our C-bear.

Then 21 months after that, we were blessed with our third boy.

I get asked a lot what it's like to have three and how difficult it is going from 1 to 2 and then 2 to 3. I remember someone telling me that going from no kids to one was difficult and going from 1 to 2 was also difficult. Then he continued to say that 2 to 3 and then 3 to 4 wasn't that bad. After going from 2 to 3 myself and then my sister in law having her fourth, I asked her what she thought about that statement. We came to the conclusion that the statement wasn't completely accurate. We concluded that it really depends on the order of your kids and their personalities that determines how smooth the transition is.

Going from having no kids to having a child is probably a challenge for everyone. The thing that I most struggled with was getting to be with just Jeff all the time. At the very beginning of being a new mom, I remember missing those nights of just Jeff and I on the couch watching our favorite shows. Now, my life was wrapped up in our new little bundle of joy.

As for going from 1 to 2, that was actually a pretty smooth transition for us. Joseph was a super sweet 2 year old. Didn't get in to much, watched cartoons, and would play in his room for long periods of time. He was also a very patient toddler. He understood from a very young age what it meant when I would say, "hold on, let me finish this and then I will help you." He basically made my job look easy. Christian as an infant was awesome! The kid slept all day, so that allowed me to help Joseph a lot during the day and play with him. And if I had a rough night of sleep, Joseph was so calm that he would just sit on the couch and watch cartoons as long as they were on so I could catch a cat nap with Christian in the early mornings.

Going from 2 to 3 was one of the most challenging things I have ever encountered. Nathan was one of those babies you hear about who has his days and nights mixed up. THAT was my kid. He slept all day and would start his alert time at 9p and would be awake off and on until about 5a and then around 5a till late evening he would sleep. I remember some days feeling like a zombie. I would get really dizzy, nauseated, and super exhausted from the lack of sleep
I was getting. Christian and Nathan are only 21months apart, and Christian wasn't anything like Joseph. He just now (at 2 1/2) will sit and watch cartoons, so that was challenging when I would turn on the toons to try to catch a power nap and he wouldn't sit down. He would want something and wouldn't quit asking until I got it for him or would want to be held. This was also a peek travel time for Jeff at his work, so that was extremely difficult. Trying to manage three small children on a total of 5 hours of interrupted sleep was insane.

Now that I get sleep, things are pretty smooth, tiring, but smooth. The older two play great together and are generally in the same location, so that's nice to be able to keep up with them. Nathan is a pretty content baby and is with me at all times, unless he's sleeping, so it's easy to keep up with him.

At times I feel like I have it together, but then I go to Wal-Mart on Fridays to go grocery shopping. I get this comment at least 3 or more times while shopping, "Wow, you have your hands full." I am hoping they are saying that because I really do have my hands full (having 3 boys, 4yrs of age and under) and not because I have this "look" on my face or because my kids are out of control.

As tiring as it can be to be a mother of 3 growing boys, I love them to death. Most days I am ready to put them to bed and have an evening of peace, by when I settle into my room for the evening, I can't stop talking about them and look forward to the next day.

Love my little men!

Summer Recap

Here is our Summer recap in pictures: (No particular order)

We played in the water a lot!We went to watch the Astros play the San Fransisco Giants. First time to go as an entire family and Nathan's first Major League game. *Sidenote* We didn't plan it like this, but the last time I had seen the Giants play was when they were playing the Rangers for the World Series and I was laid out on the couch in labor with Nathan.
Took a much needed and anticipated overnight trip to Galveston.

Boys worked hard and read 60 books each to get their reading medals.

Came across a stack of tortillas that a certain little two year old took out of the bag and took a bite of the entire stack!

We went to Dallas to celebrate Cooper's First Birthday.

Ate Strawberries

Went to Cocoa Beach and Ron Jon Surf Shop.

Went to a wedding at Disney world.

Graduated from diapers.

Sat in large buckets of water to cool off.

And we celebrated Nathan turning 7 months,

8 months,

and 9 months.

Hope you had a great summer!

Where Oust Thou Fall?

As much as I love summers: Popsicles, shorts and sandals, water parks, slip-n-slides, cookouts, splash pads, water balloon fights, water gun fights, sounds of the ice cream truck, the Children's museum, dollar movies at Cinemark, Summer book club, and our latest invention.... Our very own......
water slide

I am so ready for the Fall: Pumpkin Patch, pumpkin bread, cheaper water bills, cheaper electricity bills, picnic's at the park, playing outside, the Zoo, soups and stews.

And as much as I love summers: I am tired of SWEATING as soon as I step outside, feeling like I have to change more than once a day, shower more than once a day, always having my hair in a pony tail, having to ALWAYS start the car before I get any of the kids put in, limited to things indoors and with air conditioning.

Come on Fall!

Weird.

I thought this was pretty funny: Here is a picture of Christian at 9 months...Here he is at 2. Thought it was funny how similar the picture is two years later.

Here is Joseph at 2 holding Christian at 6 months.
Here is Joseph at 4, holding Nathan at 8 months. Says a lot about their big brother Joseph. Christian and Nathan both ADORE him!

Nathan at 9 months

Nathan,
You are now nine months! I can't believe it!

-You wear size 3 diapers.
-You can still squeeze into 3-6 months, but mostly wear 6-9 months. I will stop cramming you into 3-6 months when the Fall comes.
-You wear size 2 shoe.
-You LOVE any kind of ball.
-You like to hold something in both hands while you are playing. It's super cute to watch you try and figure out what to do when you want something else, but you already have something in both hands.
-You wave bye-bye.
-You say something that sounds a lot like Dada.
-You take 2 long naps and are in bed for the night by 8.
-Nurse 3 times a day.
-You eat some baby food, but you mostly eat what we are eating. You love anything with pasta. Just like your brothers!
-You went to your first Astro's game last Friday and you did great. We took all three of you and Dada and I were so impressed with all of you.
-You love apples, especially, when you get to hold it and just chomp away at it.

-You really love Joseph, but Christian, you are still trying to get used to him. You usually grunt or squeal when he gets anywhere near you.

-You love being held by your Mama!

-Just this week, you started getting on all four's. (Your brothers were almost the exact same age when they began to crawl.)

-You are super flexible!

-We have to watch you very closely now because you are very determined and quick when you see something you want. You have managed to somehow get a hold of a dice and put it in your mouth.

-You have made a trip to the ER for rapid breathing.
-When the older two are playing rough with me or Dada, you scream and cry. I think you are scared they are hurting us.

-You give kisses on command.

-You dance when we say, "dance, dance, dance."

-You are very interested in the TV when it's on.

-At your 9 month check up you were 15 lbs 8 oz (1%) and 27.o in (13%). You are our tiny one!

I fall in love with you more and more everyday! I feel so blessed to be your mama, neighneigh!

Past Two Weeks

The past two weeks have been absolutely crazy in the Kirklin household.

About two weeks ago, this little guy turned 9 months. He is such a joy in our lives and I adore this precious little gift. As most mom's know, babies go in at 9 months for a well baby visit. The appointment was scheduled for Thursday, but the day before I noticed Nathan not being himself. He was super fussy, bad cough, bad runny nose, not interested in eating. He would only eat fruit and nurse that day. On Wednesday, I remember thinking that the timing of his cold was perfect since we were going in the next day, so if it was an ear infection or sinus infection, we could get something for it.
Thursday came and he felt really warm the morning of. We went to the appointment and when the doctor came to evaluate him, he checked his vitals (which is always a routine for a well baby visit). He asked me, "have you noticed him breathing really fast?" I hadn't. So Dr. D monitored him for a while and was counting his breaths. He then asked the nurse to come in and check his oxygen levels. The first time they were at 91 (100 is normal. I asked my mom, whose a nurse, and asked how bad 91 was and she said that they gave mom's oxygen at levels of 92). Since his levels were low, he said he wanted to do a breathing treatment in the office. So we had that done. That was exciting. N was screaming! Joseph was crying and telling me to take the mask off because Nathan didn't like it. The machine was SUPER loud, and C was in the corner dancing and singing. After the treatment, his levels were checked again and they had gone up to 95. We were then administered Albuterol, told to watch his breathing and if I didn't feel like his breathing was slowing down, I needed to call. Nathan was given his shot (which he didn't even squeak...I guess because, to him, it was nothing to having that mask on) and we went home. Nathan woke up from his first nap with a fever, still breathing rapidly and really fussy. He then took his second nap and woke up breathing really fast. I decided to call the Dr. office just to see how much longer they wanted me to monitor his breathing and they thought that he had been breathing to long at that pace, so they told us to make our way to the Texas Children's. After about 7 hours of being there, monitoring his breathing and given some treatments, we were okay to leave. (When we got there, his breaths were at 70/minute and they should be at 40/minute. ). The next couple of days were pretty tense and making sure he didn't start with the rapid breathing again.

Friday, we celebrated Poppy's birthday with some burgers on the grill.
Saturday morning I learned that I have to get glasses. Then that evening after picking up Christian from date night, he had a fever and super bad runny nose.
Sunday, we decided to keep everyone home to rest from the crazy couple of days and then Jeff started feeling bad. He ended up going to RediClinic and was told he had an upper respiratory virus.
Monday on the way home from work, Jeff was in a fender bender. His car was dented and scratched, but not much more than that. Joseph starts to get a bad cough and runny nose.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we pretty much stayed home trying to get well. I cloroxed, lysoled and cleaned like nobody's business.

Tuesday, we did managed to make a quick trip to the library so the boys could pick up their medals!
They each "read" 60 books this summer! Joseph was especially proud of his medal.

One of the reasons I was working so hard on getting the boys healthy was because Jeff and I had an over night trip planned to Galveston for a least 9 months. (Can you see the excitement in our faces?) We had an awesome time! We stayed at the San Luis in Galveston. We walked the strand Thursday evening and ate seafood. Then that evening we walked the beach and hung out at the hotel pool. Friday, we went to Schlitterbahn, which was a blast! My mama came down and kept all three boys.

This week has slowed down quite a bit....Thank the Lord!

This morning started off interesting with Joseph and Christian secretly eating and ENTIRE pint of Cookies and Cream Ice cream! I asked Jeff, hoping he had already eaten some and he said he hadn't touched it.

Today we went to Jeff's work to have lunch with him and so that the boys could ride the escalators as reward for C for his potty training. How's that going, you ask? Well, he is a one step forward, two step backwards trainee. One day he will be accident free. The next day, he will just poo in his pants. Then the next day, he will have four peeing accidents in a span of 45 minutes and poop in his pants. I can't figure him out!
And we have "using the potty"on our minds a lot lately, so much in fact, this conversation occurred between me and my 2 year old (the one we are trying to get to use the potty)

C: "jibberish, I die"

Me: "Christian, where do you go when you die?"

C: "The potty!"

(I ask him all day long, "where do you go poop?" and his response is, "THE POTTY!" He knows the answer, now it's just getting him to do it.)

Potty Training: Day 4

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'

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!

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!

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:

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........

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

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.

A few reasons this Band of Brothers works:

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.

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:

-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!

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.

I will read the comments to Jeff and have him choose his favorite.

Good luck!