Pumpkin Patch 2011

I am really taking advantage of the pumpkin patch picture years, because with boys, I know it will soon come to an end.
For me, it's fun to go back each year and compare pictures to previous years and see how much each boy has changed. Last years pumpkin patch, I was about ready to have our little bundle of joy, Nathan, and C-bear was a little guy.
Taking pictures this year was a little challenging because: Joseph pretty much doesn't smile for the camera, instead, he does these super silly grins, goofy faces, or frowns. Christian, cheeses so hard it looks like he is dropping pellets in his undies. As for Nathan, he was distracted by the hay, grass, pumpkins, other mothers yelling at their kids while trying to get their pictures, "hey look up here. hey hey hey," and the cars that were zooming down the road.
Even though I didn't get the most amazing shot ever, I did capture one of my favorite traditions through the camera and we went away with three pumpkins (small, medium and large), for my little pumpkins, also, small, medium and large.

Love these guys!!

See, cheesing so hard!

Yes! All looking at the camera, although,Christian is about to sneeze.

See, silly smile

Beavers Bend Weekend

About two weeks ago we were blessed by my parents, a.k.a, Mimi and Papaw with a trip to Beavers Bend, Oklahoma.
We have been wanting to go camping for a while now, but with Nathan only being 11 months, we weren't sure how tent camping would go. The more Jeff and I talked about it, we thought if we were going to go tent camping, we should go around the Houston area just in case Nathan didn't sleep well in the tent. We had planned if the first night of sleep didn't go well, Nathan and I would make the short drive back home.
After looking at area camp sites and all of them being sold out, we decided to go with a cabin. We were going back and forth between Arkansas and Beavers Bend. My parents suggested Oklahoma because they had a lot to do at BB State Park.
They were right, it was a blast.
The cabin we stayed in was awesome! Usually when you hear or experience a cabin deep in the woods, you think: dirty, nasty, big spiders, dirty, roaches are going to come out of the shower head. Not the cabins we stayed in. They were so nice and clean. It had a kitchen so we, well, my mom (Love You!), was able to cook. We were very secluded, so the boys were able to go outside by themselves and play. Boys are just meant for outdoors and woods!
Here are some pictures from our trip:

Papaw and Nathan enjoying the nice, peaceful river.

What was supposed to be,"just take your shoes off and feel the water,"turned into becoming fully submerged.

I talk a lot about how I love my husband and you may get tired of it, but this picture captures one of the most beautiful things about him. He is such a great dad. Always interested in what the boys are saying and doing. Love that about him.

Enjoying some cotton candy.

Nathan was very interested in holding the blue fluffy stuff, but WOULD NOT eat it. He just tore it apart and would throw the pieces on the ground.

They had a train that ran through BB State Park. It was a nice, scenic ride.

This kid has been DYING to climb trees lately. A few weeks ago when we went to the zoo, it took us forever to get through because he wanted to climb every.single.tree! Needless to say, he enjoyed all the big trees that he could climb.

What I can imagine my boys faces would look like if we lived in the woods. Notice how dirty it is?

Just one of the beautiful views.

Some other highlights: Watching the Rangers win!, roasting marshmallows, kayaking, the boys telling Jeff and I that we forgot to go camping (we had talked so much about camping in a tent, that since we didn't do it, we didn't go camping), almost beating Jeff in a bike race around the camp ground, meeting two labs that were so sweet that I actually thought for a second taking them home with us, and boys sleeping a huge chunk of the 8 hour trip back. They were exhausted!

Thank you Mimi and Papaw for a fantastic weekend!

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.)