C-Bear's Third Birthday Party

For some weird reason, I really just want Joseph to grow up. I know that may sound a little weird, so let me explain. I love looking forward to the next things in life for Joseph. First, it was potty training, then it was getting into his big boy bed, then it was learning to ride a bike, and all the things coming up, like, starting school, playing sports, meeting new friends, going to high school, then going to college...etc, you guys get the idea by now.
But for the other two, I really want them to be my babies forever! When we transitioned Christian into Joe's room, I was sad. Then when we potty trained, I was bummed. Now, celebrating his third birthday! How in the heck is that possible? I don't mean to sound cliche, but I am convinced it was yesterday, I went over to my sister in law, Courtney's house, to hold Phillip who has just been born the day before and I was going in the next day to be induced to have Christian. It has gone by way too fast.
Tomorrow is C-bears actual birthday so I will be posting his stats, likes, phases after his three year check up. So for now, he are some snap shots of his (and Phillip's) special day.

I think this is going to be a new tradition for my boy's birthday parties; having a pinata to whack open. Poor kid, at a little bit of a disadvantage with his cast.

June was the one who whacked it open. You go girl!Christian listening to his card. When opened, it plays the song from Cars, "Life is a Highway.."His first pair of cowboy boots. Thanks Mimi and Papaw!!Still, at a disadvantage while eating. He gets the cast off Monday.
The birthday boys.We did a superhero theme for their party. We had a combination of Spiderman, Batman, Iron Man and Captain America. We had it at our house and had family, plus the Selby's (which we consider family :-) ).

I love when friends and family show my boys love!Nice thing about having a trampoline is that we don't have to do bouncy houses anymore!I must say, I love these low key parties. The boys have so much fun and there isn't too much stress on the parents. The nice thing about combining the parties is that you have help! So thank you Kyle and Courtney for making the yummy sliders!

I am curious as to what Christian will prefer next year. It was when Joseph turned 4 that he told me what exactly wanted to do for his birthday.

Happy 3rd birthday to my (one of my) superhero, C-bear!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

I am pretty sure I have already titled a post that, but I am too lazy to go and search to see if I have and title this post something else. This post may not be that interesting to you, but like I have said in a past post, I am really wanting to blog a lot more about the boys and the phases they are in for my records. I have a hard time sitting down, opening up a journal and writing down silly things they say or do.
The other night at Community Group, my friend Angie, asked if I have ever heard of Blurb.com. I had not and she told me that you can insert your posts on this web site and make your blog into a book. I was super duper excited because a few weeks prior I had been thinking about printing out all my blog posts and putting them in a binder and that being my journal for the boys and a keep sake for us to look back at and see what was going on in our lives during a certain time.
Seeing how printing all my posts since 2007 would take a lot of paper, ink and time, I decided to go check out Blurb.com. I loved the idea and web site so much, that I joined and started to transfer all my posts from 2007. It was so much fun reading and looking at all the pictures from then. I first started blogging when Joseph was about 8 months old!! Crazy! Now, he is 5 and now I have an (almost) 3 year old and 1 year old! INSANE.

One of the things I wanted to journal tonight was some pretty cute things the boys have said lately:

Joseph (5)
The other night we were at an intersection and Joseph asked, "Is this the road the airport is on?" Jeff and I, both very impressed, because it was, but we hardly ever take that particular way to the airport and you couldn't even see the airport from where we were.
Then on our way back from a friends house, the same night, we were at another intersection, and Joseph asks, "Is this the road the Y is on?" Again, we were both super impressed because again, he was correct and we don't go to the Y the way we were coming from and again, you couldn't see the Y. So, Jeff and I started talking to each other how impressed we were of him and his sense of direction (basically, gushing about how smart he was) and then Joseph pipes in, "Dada, am I a good knower?" *Sigh*

Joseph comes up to me while How To Train Your Dragon is playing and asks if I like the blue dragon. I say, "There's a blue dragon?" Joseph, "Yes, he comes with his girlfriend."
I kind of chuckle and ask, "Joseph, what's a girlfriend?" Joseph, "A girlfriend is someone you like a lot. Like, June." (She is Joseph's cousin and my boys love her! They pray for her every night.)

One night Christian was whining about something and I overheard Joseph say, "Christian, quit your honkin'."

Translations
Beard= Beer
Starve Wars=Star Wars
Life Saver=Light Saber
Smarshmellow=Marshmallow

Christian (3)
We have had this exchange a few times:
Christian, "NayNay bite me."
Me, "Aww, Nathan bit you?"
C, "No, he bite me."
Me, "He bit you?"
C, "Nooooo, *opening mouth and pointing to his teeth* he bite me."
Me, "Nathan bite you?"
C, "Yeah."

Translations
Beard=Beer
Starve Wars=Star Wars
Life Saver=Light Saber
Comemom= Come on
Milt=Milk
Joefuff=Joseph

Having boys, I have learned......

Every since I was young and dreamed of becoming a mother, I always wanted four boys. I was super athletic, active and loved being outdoors when I was growing up, so I thought I would do a better job raising boys.

Well, God has blessed me with three amazing little boys and as I type that, it puts on a little grin on my face just thinking about how blessed I am. When we talk about having a fourth, and that it could potentially be a girl, I get a little nervous. All I really know are boys: trucks, balls, loud noises, messes, etc, so the thought of dolls, playhouses, pink, bows and having to do hair, really freaks me out. Don't get me wrong, I adore all the little girls I know and I would be more than happy to watch your daughter for ya, but having my own, really makes me nervous.

Since I have three boys, I have learned a lot about the World of Boys these past five years. If you have a son, you may relate to a few of these or if you have all boys, you may relate to all of the following:

Having boys, I have learned:
*That decorations for holidays just isn't going to happen until they are all out of the house. They tend to take the decorations I have set out and use them as weapons or target practice.

*I posted this a long time ago as a status on Facebook, but thought I would say it again; throw pillows are horrible to have on the couch or beds because they are used for one of the following: weapons, walls to their forts or obstacle course, shields, or tissues/napkins.

*I am beginning to believe that the appropriate position for the toilet seat is to be up.

*They go by the rule, "If it's yellow, let it mellow."

*That peeing with your brother, at the same time, is the new thing to do.

*No accessories needed, all boys need are shorts, a shirt (some of the time), and as Joseph once said, "I don't need shoes, I have my feet." Reminds me of that Kenny Chesney song from back in the day (did I just say that?), "No shoes, no shirt, no problem."

*Every firm, straight thing (sticks, wood,etc) can be used for several things, some examples are: sword, bat, or spear.

*That by age 5, 3/4 of their shirts will consist of some superhero; Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and one I learned last night, Flash.

*That they don't really care if they match or coordinate. They wear their favorite shirt, favorite shorts, favorite jacket and favorite shoes, no matter if it coordinates. Example below.....
*They like to build "blocks".....whatever that means. To clarify, it's not them stacking blocks, because that would be good and they would be learning, but no, to build "blocks" in this house means to get as many toys as you can find and put them in front or behind (my least favorite location) doors. Example.......this "block" is in front of a door, a little better than behind the door. *I don't think the words "Quiet" and "Walk" are in a boys vocabulary.

*If they see any type of furniture that is a foot or more off the ground, their goal is to climb to the top of it and jump off.

*Anything that is round shaped, is a considered a ball and most be thrown.

*Have to be super careful about how you ask questions, as an example:
(C, my almost 3 yr old, is in Joseph's bed during rest time, but is to be in his bed)
Me: Christian, you are to be in your bed and if I catch you in Joe's bed again, you are going to be disciplined. Joseph, please be an encourager to Christian and if see him doing something he's not supposed to be doing, encourage him to do the right thing. Do you want to see him be disciplined?
Joseph: Uhhhhh. Yes!
(Doh! Not what I was going for!)

*And as the next couple of pictures will show, it is very difficult to get one picture with them all looking and smiling at the camera.

.....Seriously, is it that difficult for you boys to look at your Mama and smile?

Even though it's nice to escape this male dominated house every once and a while for a pedicure, clothes shopping or coffee with some of my girlfriends, the World of Boys is pretty entertaining. And even though we have our fair share of chaotic moments, we have a lot of precious moments that I know will pass by quickly. I love these little guys so much and as happy as I am that God has blessed me with them, I am so glad they have each other. They truly are a "Band of Brothers," and my prayer for them is that they will continue to have the love, support and bond they have now, the rest of their lives.

Christmas 2011

Christmas Day 2011

This Christmas was like every other Christmas since we've had children....crazy. This was our year to be in Dallas Christmas morning, so that means we are running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to host a birthday party, attend birthday parties, get last minute gifts, do our family Christmas, do Jeff's family Christmas, come home and unload all the goodies from Marnie and Poppy, then pack up our things, and head to Dallas all between December 21-24.

The years that we go to Dallas, we usually do our Christmas the morning or the evening of the 23. Then every year, we do Christmas Eve morning with Jeff's family, which I love because it frees us up to head to Dallas and not miss Christmas with either family. Then about nap time, we head out towards Dallas and are there by 7 or 8 in the evening.

Even though it's crazy, it's a lot of fun watching the boys open their gifts and get excited about them. We hope that your Christmas was just as crazy and exciting as ours.

Here are some pictures from our wonderful Christmas.

Attempting to get one of the boys....

Mimi and Papaw working hard at getting all the awesome food ready.
NayNay on his new ride.

My brother-in-law Josh made Jeff and my dad these cigar box guitars. He did an awesome job!

C looking over the carrier that he and Joe received. This was defiantly one of their favorites!

Joseph opening one of his gifts.

Christmas at Marnie and Poppy's.

He was super excited about his new tractor.

And his Spiderman Mask.

We got the boys a trampoline for Christmas. Nathan loves being on that thing!

Until next Christmas....

Joseph's Fifth Birthday

Five years ago, a little miracle named Joseph Scott, came into our lifes on Decmeber 21, 2006 in style. He made me work for him and gave me a few scares at the beginning, but all the hard work has defiantely made these five years worth it.I absoluetly adore this little guy. He brings our family so much joy! I am so thankful God brought him first into our lives, because he is such an amazing older brother and helper.

Joseph at 5:
Loves his little brothers. We have our fair share of arguments and not wanting to share, but overall, he is awesome with Christian and Nathan.
He's really starting to get into ninja, power rangers and good guy/bad guy toys.
Loves to be read to.
Still loves animals. Wants a dog so bad, but I think he understands why this year wouldn't be the best year to get one for Christmas. He still loves catching frogs and lizards.
Loves baseball.
Still loves his popcorn and movies. One of his favorite movies right now is King Fu Panda.
His favorite drinks are milk, coke and sprite.
He has a sweet tooth, so I have to be on super high alert when we have sweets in the house.
Loves lollipops and bubble gum.
Adores all his cousins and would have them over everyday if I would let him!
He really got into swimming this past summer, so we are thinking about getting him lessons this coming summer to teach him how to swim. I am hoping that he will enjoy it and take to it like a champ.
Can remember things very well. Great for when I am going to the store to get a few items.
Favorite breakfast is Shipley's.
Favorite play place is Chick-fil-a.
Loves to go to the Rodeo with Marnie and Poppy.
Still pretty shy and timid. However, yesterday we were walking from the parking lot to go meet Jeff . As we were walking, a man was passing us and Joseph randomly gave him a high five. I was very surprised.







The following pictures are of his birthdays from the past five years.

Celebrating his First Birthday.

#2
#3
#4

#5

Even though we celebrated his birthday a little early, we still like to make the day of his birthday special. This year started out like it has the past two birthdays....making our way to Shipley's for breakfast to get his favorite: blue frosted donut with sprinkles and a sausage and cheese kolache, came home and watched a movie. Then we headed to Jeff's work to have lunch with him and so Joseph could ride the escalators. After we had lunch with Jeff, we drove to go and see another one of his favorite people, Marnie. We went to see, visit and get as much candy as they possibly could in a span of 30 mintues. After they were induced with a candy coma, we headed home for some much needed rest time. The rest of the day, we spent playing together and hanging out. After dinner, we all got a bowl of icecream, stuck a candle in his icecream and sang Happy Birthday.

I don't know about Joseph, but I enjoyed the day of celebration. Love this little guy so much and I am super excited to see what God has in store for him this coming year.

Happy 5th Birthday, Joseph!

Joseph's Fifth Birthday Party

I forgot to load this one, but wanted to make sure it got on here. This makes me smile because everyone was gathered around the table to sing "Happy Birthday," and right before we started, I said, "Hey Joe, smile for me." As he looked up and started to give me a big grin, he saw all his cousins staring at him and the smile was quickly replaced by this face. I guess when you are turning 5, you are just too cool for mom. This weekend we celebrated Joseph's birthday a few days early. His birthday is at one of the most crazy, busy times of year. In the month of December, we have his birthday, our nephews Rex and Jack's birthdays and our anniversary. We usually have his party the weekend before or the day of his birthday (since it's a holiday for everyone), but to make that decision I always call my sister in law to see when she is having parties for her boys. Yes, it's crazy!

I am planning to post the day of his actual birthday about what he is up to nowaday's, but for today, I am posting mostly pictures from his party.

This year, I let him tell me everything he wanted, which is nice so I didn't have to think up anything to do. He wanted it at the house, his cousins over, a whale cake, and hotdogs (which we didn't do since we had a few adults stay and visit, so we ordered Papa John's, which is better than hotdogs).

I love how kids are so impressed with little things. As I was making this, I was thinking how horrible it was turning out, but Joseph thought it was the best thing. I guess as long as a kid can tell what it is, then it's considered a success.

As Joseph was opening gifts, our nephew Rex came up to him and started talking. This little guy and Joseph share the same birthday.

Opening our gift....his first G.I Joe.

Singing "Happy Birthday."

A boys birthday party isn't complete without a Superman,

....sword fighting.

.....and wrestling.