Chronicles of the Family of Five

"Marching" on....

2011-04-19T21:16:00.004-04:00

These are actually a few pictures a high schooler from our church took before Christmas. We went to Maymont, on what could have been the coldest winter day of the year, and took a bunch of pictures in less than 45 minutes because it was SO cold. I think we need to have a spring "session" because they turned out so cute!

Three babes on a bridge!
The fam of five...

This one is probably my favorite. It's just joyous, with all of them laughing and being their silly ol' selves.

**Ok, back to March. It was still cold. I waited everyday--not so patiently---for spring to arrive. My kids need to get outside. A LOT. So, as you can see from the pictures below, they did despite the chilly weather. We just bundled up.

Milestones continue to be made around here. The kids are gaining independence every single day. They are pretty much dressing themselves--like digging out their winter hats when it's just a little frigid outside. Here's C with his monster hat...

And M with her puppy hat. ALL of my kids had one of these hats. M's is actually pink--C's is green, and P's is blue. I love them and will keep them forever. (the hats and the kids)

Frick and Frack sharing a moment at their table on the deck.

Again, ties are still sported most Sundays at Church. Here are all three of them--cheesin' it up! (Doesn't M look just a few weeks shy of being a teenager with that hairstyle?)

Montessori activities, cont. C working on transferring from big to small using a spoon and marbles.

Pompoms, tweezers, container, and ice cube trays. Fine motor skills at work.

Carter using magnetic letters and cookie sheet to spell his name. He also worked on putting the letters in ABC order, sorting them by color, and spelling basic sight words.

What else happened in March, you might ask?

The kids had a birthday party nearly every weekend for a friend of theirs. Luckily, most of them invite all three so they all get to enjoy the fun!

I started a new, very part-time job with an insurance company that a friend owns. Just doing some work from home stuff and presenting myself as a "client service representative."

I got to sneak away for a women's retreat at church. It was fun and full of sisterhood. Just what I needed.

It was conference day at preschool in early March. We got the chance to meet with all of the kids' teachers. All are doing great...P is an awesome helper and classroom assistant. He's progressing with learning his letter sounds and recognizing all of his letters. C is a RULE FOLLOWER. We laughed out loud when we heard this--he plays a different part at home. He is learning sight words, beginning to read basic books, and is interested in learning basic addition and subtraction. M is a caretaker in her classroom. She is working on her fine motor skills with writing her name and is great at spelling her name. Her teacher also told us that she actually prefers to stick close to the adults/teachers in the classroom vs. playing with classmates. We weren't surprised by this--she does this during playdates, too.

C injured his foot one weekend. It was the longest weekend of my life...and the day I took him to the pediatric orthopaedic specialist (IN SOUTHSIDE) is a day I won't ever forget. Just one of those days. Deserves a post all of it's own. Another day. Maybe.

The boys had their first Upward soccer practice of the season. It was AWESOME. They have both come such a long way since last season. Go Wolves!

2011-04-19T20:50:00.003-04:00

So, I have been slacking on the blog lately. We've just been busy, busy, busy around here. Today I read a quote that said, " The days are long, but the years are short." I'm making it my mission to remember that forever. These years are flying by--the boys are almost FIVE!! Yikes. I've got to record the happenings around here more frequently, these days are too important to forget. Here's what happened in February...

It was Circus Day at preschool. Carter was a tiger tamer, complete with a ring o'fire and Peyton was a trick motorcyclist. His teacher informed me that they had him "riding" through fiery hoops in his class.
Two peas in a pod. Carter has taken to wearing ties to church on Sundays. I love it. Here he is, stylin' with his sister.

The kids celebrated Valentine's Day with their class parties. By the end of each party, they are begging Will and I to go to their brother's class. Thankfully, Will has been able to attend each party with me...it's a lot of shuffling up and down the halls with three parties in three classes!

P at his party!

C at his party!

M at her party! Gosh, her hair is long here!

Mr. Lloyd celebrated his birthday. The big 3-5. Yowzers.

Happy Birthday!

In January and February, we started doing some Montessori inspired activities around here, about once a week. The purpose is to help them use their minds creatively, while also working on fine and gross motor skills. Here P is scooping gems into a silicone ice cube tray.

This is another Montessori inspired activity. C is practicing transferring skills using tweezers with pom-poms.

M "balancing" marbles on tub treads.

February was a chilly, chilly month around here! M continued to practice dance on Mondays in preparation of her recital this spring. The boys are still into superheroes (will that ever change?) and I began to sew. I'm such a novice, it's hysterical...but I am plodding along!

Deep Thoughts by P. Lloyd (and some by his mom, too!)

2011-01-07T09:53:00.005-05:00

I wrote this post a while ago...and left it unpublished for a while because I wasn't sure if I was going to share it or keep it just for me...but I think it is too cute not to share!

Welp, it's almost 10 a.m. on a Friday morning and I am in a quiet house with the only noise being the hum of the dishwasher and the spinning of the washing machine. It's sheets and dishes for me this morning--and dinner already going in the crockpot. The morning has started off just as I like it...productive! But the highlight of my day was the drive to preschool this morning. The kids are just awesome and they are growing so much everyday.

DISCLAIMER: And I would be dishonest if I said these years haven't been challenging for me as a mom. I don't want to look back on this as a grandparent mentoring her own children through their parenting days and say, "See, I never had challenging days!" But, above all, I have enjoyed so many precious moments with my kids EVERY SINGLE DAY and that is what it's all about.

OK, back to what I was saying...the kids have hit certain developmental stages that are normal... for the boys it's facing the fear of the dark and going upstairs or downstairs by themselves (if no one else is on that other floor). For M, it's not sleeping with the door closed and large stuffed walking characters (mascots, etc). But by far, my favorite developmental change has been their growth in conversational skills. Which brings me back to title of my post, Deep Thoughts by P. Lloyd; age 4. I have been enlightened over the past 36 hours (yes...all of this in 36 hours).

Deep Thought #1:

P: Mom, did you know that babies rain down from the sky? Me: Uh, what makes you think that? P: Well, Jesus makes babies and they rain down from the sky (maybe the need for a Baby Shower??LOL!) and land in their mommy's tummy until they come out.

Me: I'm just wondering if we carry umbrellas or basinettes on those days. P: of course, Mom, we carry umbrellas when it rains.

Deep Thought #2: (this was on the way to preschool this a.m.)

P: Mom, you'll always be with me, right? Me: Yep, always. P: well, Jesus is always with me and I love him like I love you. Me: (with tears welling up) wow, P...that makes mom SO happy to hear that. P: He lives in my heart, mom Me: P, if He lives in your heart He will never leave you, no matter what. Sometimes people try to make you believe differently because they don't know Him or don't share our beliefs, but you have to stay true. Ok? P: Mom, those people just don't know what they're talking about, do they? Me: Nope, they just don't know His goodness. This again prompted him to tell me again about babies raining from the sky...thanks to Jesus who makes them.

How awesome and insightful is that? I LOVE how they are changing and growing and it makes me thankful for each and every moment.
Just the other day, we spent 2 1/2 hours at the park on a WARM, FEBRUARY day. Lovely. Just lovely. And, to be honest, if you would have told me a year ago that I would be able to go to the park and actually breathe while being there, I would have rolled my eyes at you. Honestly. Because as a mom of 3 kids 15 months apart, I didn't actually think I would ever reach that point. But...folks...it has come. The time has come. We go to the park and PLAY--and usually each kids goes their separate direction (just as they have always done) but now I don't have to freak out about it. They come back to me, find me, ask me to play with them, push them on swings, etc. I DON'T HAVE TO CHASE THEM ANYMORE. And I can breathe. I see lots more breathing in my future (now I am sure that there will be other scenarios with my kids that will cause me to loose my breath or even hold my breath...but it will be for other reasons!) and I love that we have reached this stage. Praises for growth, breathing, and rearing up!

Cheers to a New Year!

2010-12-31T20:53:00.005-05:00

A year in pics...

December: After Christmas Eve Service. Nearly impossible for all three to look at once, right?

November: They dedicated a medical building to Will's dad: called the T. Stacy Lloyd Campus

October: Bridge days with my family in W. VA

September: The first day of school. Who's excited?

Late July/August: Beach week with my family. The boys and my granny!

July: celebrating July 4th with good friends and fireworks!

June: Just a random and sweet moment in the backyard.

May: the boys celebrated their 4th birthday at Maymont. Love their little arms around each other!

April: The boys first big fishing trip to Grave's Mountain with my parents, Aunt Sandra, and Uncle Jimmy. Carter caught 9 fish that day!

March: M lost her first tooth by heading face first into a picnic table during a game of chase at church. Ouch. Nice photo opps for Easter, right?

February: My beloved Granny turned 80. This woman is phenomenal. Loving, caring, kind, and even tough! :) Love her!

January: a belated Christmas celebration at Oma's with Aunt Gina and Uncle Philip and family. Sitting on Oma's steps outside...

In 2010--

we certainly faced some ups and downs of life and are looking forward to what's to come in the year ahead. Here's a glimpse into what went down in 2010

All three of our kids started preschool for three days a week at our church...and have grown so much--socially, spiritually, and developmentally.

We celebrated the life of Will's dad (and what an accomplished life it was!) and mourned at the loss of him here on earth

We gained a new nephew, Grayson Lloyd Saunders...and love the expansion of our family!

My grandmother celebrated her 80th birthday, what an amazing role model to me!

The kitchen got a new look...with a fresh coat of paint. (and the addition of a little thing called the Keurig coffee maker...OH MY!)

Will started a new job and he's learning how to navigate it quite well, while I continue to stay at home with the kids...and play referree, chef, taxi, etc.

I learned the basics of hand quilting, sewing, and picked up my knitting habits again.

We committed to eating at least 6 family dinners a week at home...and I'm pretty sure we were successful! (And, between breakfast, lunch, and dinner...I cooked approximately 78-80 meals each month...whew!)

On that note, I joined a freezer cooking co-op and it has proven to be A-MAZING.

I have felt and seen God working in my marriage. His hand is there, guiding, directing, and working softly...in His own perfect time.

Meredith, the youngest, turned out to be the first one to loose a tooth in our house (at the ripe age of 2 1/2).

I got the privelege to reconnect with some old college friends and make many new ones this year. That in itself is a real and true blessing.

M started dance this year (what a commitment!) and the boys enjoyed t-ball and soccer.

In 2010, we're feeling the urge to get more space...we'll see how that goes in 2011

For 2011, I have some goals. Not resolutions, just goals. No pressure here, folks.

To celebrate our 10th year anniversary (yikes, 10??!!) somewhere tropical. (Mom, are you reading this? Can we set up a babysitter for sometime around December 8ish of 2011??)

To live more in the moment. To rejoice in the time spent playing Memory and Dominoes instead of stressing over that 40 billionth (is that a word?) load of laundry that NEEDS to be folded.

To make it to the gym at least 4 times a week. Just for health--both physically and mentallly.

To stay committed in my life to God. To live for Him, with Him, and share His goodness with others.

To open my home, my life, and my heart to others. In simple terms, to be more of a Mary than a Martha. I'm working on it people. :) It's a goal.

Happy New Years, everyone. Love to each and every one of my readers. Here's to a life simply blessed in 2011. Cheers!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Meredith!

2010-09-06T22:31:00.002-04:00

Today is our "baby's" third birthday. I was just reminiscing and looking through pictures that were taken just a year ago and I cannot believe how much she has grown. Even just the past two weeks have brought growth and change for her. I was amazed at how many birthday phone calls she got today-and was even more surprised when she sat and held a conversation with each person on the other end of the line.
This year, knowing that Meredith is the final two year old to guide in our house, I have taken special care to take note of her changes and growth. It is bittersweet, as I have mentioned WAY TOO MANY times before, to think that our babies are growing up. But it has been so much fun to watch them grow. Over the past year, Meredith has really began to demonstrate her nurturing side. She takes care of our pets, her brothers, honestly--she even takes care of Will and I. Just recently, she has started sleeping on her floor. She claims the bed is too cold. I think it's because she secretly wants to have a doll sleepover every night. The next morning, Will and I can usually see the events that have transpired as she fights to go to sleep every night. Dolls are scattered everywhere, along with a stray book or two, as well as several cribs (aka--blankets). Two nights ago, specifically, we walked upstairs to cover her up and check in on her before we headed to bed and found a favorite doll of hers (sans clothing), bottom up with little parts of toilet paper all around her. Of course, her doll had gone potty! I have loved watching her imagination grab hold and I am in awe of what a caring little girl she is.
Meredith has also gotten into crafting and I have NO IDEA where she gets it from. Ha. My girl can sit for project upon project and churn them out. Suncatchers, painting, cutting, pasting--anything and everything crafty. She is working on writing an M and can identify the letter M as well as a few others. She is eager to learn and I have watched this develop over the past few months. Just a few days ago, I was reading a letter she got from her preschool teacher to her at the kitchen table. She was so excited that she giggled the entire time I read it to her. She is ready for a new start and is very excited to be in a big girl class.
Little M, you also still love to help around the house. Still unloading the dishes, but now sorting the silverware. Still helping to fold the laundry, but now you also help put it away! You also love to help cook in the kitchen and get excited to mix things up.
Most importantly, however, is what a joyful heart you have. At any given point of the day, you can be found singing or dancing, with a crowd or solo. You laugh constantly, play hard, and help others--all while singing and dancing. You are teaching me to live my life and express the joy I feel, and I couldn't ask for anything more! I love you, Meredith Addington!

Bittersweet beginnings...

2010-07-10T21:50:00.003-04:00

Tonight, Meredith slept in her big girl bed for the first time. I am sad and happy all at the same time. It's also the first night in 34 months where I have been present at bedtime and not rocked my girl to bed. She also gave up her paci during a trip to Granny's house on Father's Day weekend. The tides are turning and I am trying hard as a mom to embrace them. It's challenging, emotionally. All of babies have turned to toddlers and two of our toddlers have turned into children. The boys are growing at fast rates...they just had their four year check-up this week. Peyton is 41 1/2 inches and 41 pounds. He's in the 75-90% for weight and height. Carter is 37 3/4 inches and 32 pounds. He's in the 10% for weight and height. So funny to see their differences. Both are growing great. Dr. P said that we are likely to see a more competitive edge show up soon between them--I think that's already begun! The boys have been enjoying a few day camps at church and Meredith and I are enjoying our last "mommy and me" days before she starts preschool three days a week this fall...with her brothers! Yikes!
Feeling sad, excited, and anxious about it all!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boys!

2010-05-31T21:00:00.002-04:00

Today is the boys' fourth birthday. I honestly cannot believe it. People always warned me about this happening...giving the advice to "enjoy every moment because they grow up fast!" I'm beginning to see how true it is! They are growing so fast.

The year of "three" was an interesting year around here. The boys became hysterical little children who now sport catch phrases like: "wow, that's incredible" or "it's not really a big deal" or "I'll protect you." It was interesting in the fact that whatever one tries to do...the other two also have to try to do it, too. We thought that wouldn't last this long...as this definitely started to happen once Meredith was mobile--but it has continued for quite some time. This leaves the hub and I to do a lot of talking! They are very concerned about each siblings' welfare and they can't stand it when the other one is "missing" or is somewhere else...despite the fact they can argue for the entire day if we let them!

There has been so much growth in the past year, for both of you, both physically and emotionally. Peyton is now over 42 inches and weighs a little over 40 pounds. Carter and Meredith are almos the same size--and many people think that they are twins! Carter and Peyton started preschool and made many new friends. They talk constantly about their school friends and love to stay for extended day and have lunch there. The boys are learning how to reason, how to negotiate, and how to comprehend the real right from wrong.

This year, Carter could recite the Easter story and they could talk about the real meaning of Christmas. I was impressed and in awe (and proud) of both of these things. They are working hard on their manners and their table skills...and fuss over who gets to say the blessing before each meal.

I SPY books are a big hit around here and the boys could spend many, many minutes looking for objects in the books. They also love to play "I Spy" while in public, waiting our turn in line or in restaurants. Building has become a favorite pasttime around here--they love their Brio blocks and are getting into building with the small legos. Of course, they still LOVE their trucks and cars--but are beginning to use them in much more imaginative ways. They set up different roads and parking lots and pretend that they are actually driving places. Carter absolutely LOVES firetrucks and spends a lot of time making siren noises (!!!) and "reading" nonfiction firetruck books. Peyton still loves anything sports related and has quite recently become a big fan of Spiderman (which is interesting because he has never seen the show, comic book or movie!).

Both boys participated in their first season of soccer this spring. It was lots of fun. The season was a learning season, where they learned the basics of soccer like directional skills, dribbling, balancing, and boundaries. They loved the scrimmage portion of the season, but weren't huge fans of the skill games. They got their first trophies and were so proud of them. They toted them around for an entire day.

I have seen so much growth in my "babies" and I am so proud to be their momma. Thank you, boys, for the love you give me and the joy you add to my life. You help me to keep my priorities in check and my life in perspective. I love you, Peyton and Carter. Here's to fabulous fourth year of life!

Cha-ching!

2010-04-15T21:18:00.003-04:00

The title of the post is the sound I will soon be hearing in my coin purse! Our littlest Lloyd is potty training herself. For real. She just decided three days ago that she wanted to be a big girl and she started putting herself (!!) on the potty--with great success. Only one accident in three days--and she's even gotten up a few times at night to go! Just wanted to get it "on the books" for my record keeping. Way to go, little M, we're so proud of you!

A big ER trip for a little sweet girl...

2010-03-24T22:52:00.002-04:00

Welp, little M is trying to make some firsts of her own around here! She "lost" her first tooth today, accidentally. We went to church today and little M was playing outside. She fell while running and hit her face on the picnic table. She bloodied her nose, busted her lip and her front tooth FELL OUT. The entire tooth, root and all. We went to the ER with her (while our family friend stayed with our boys, THANK YOU!) and had a quick trip there. On route to the ER, Mer said, "Mommy, I need to brush my teeth because my tooth falled out." Will and I chuckled so hard at this, because she made quite the connection here...as we tell our kids that we have to brush our teeth to keep them healthy and prevent them from falling out. Sure enough, little M thought she needed to brush her teeth since she "lost" a tooth. We're going to run with this one, you can bet on it. A "teaching" time for all our kids here, lol. The dr. called the pediatric dentist who let us know that the risk of infection is too great to try to replace the tooth and the need for the "one stitch" in her lip wouldn't be worth the trauma to little M. So it was a fairly smooth trip for a very calm and obedient little patient for Dr. Nick. We souped her up with a push-up popsicle on the way home and she was a happy little camper who played with a few puzzles when she got home and went to bed for a (hopefully) restful night of sleep thanks to Children's Motrin. We have to follow-up with the pediatric dentist to be sure there is not a fracture in the gumline and to make sure there are not any fragments of the tooth left in her gums. But for now, we are just thankful that our toothless wonder is in awesome spirits...what a trooper!
**Funny sidenote: at the dinner table the other night, Peyton said, "Mom and Dad, I have some bad news." This pretty much had us bursting at the seams with laughter. When we asked him to continue, he told us that Meredith ran away from Mom while we were all at the mall. We busted out laughing (after we reaffirmed the fact that this was "bad news!")...at our little, witty, almost 4 year old and the phrases that he says. We don't even use the term "bad news" around here frequently simply because we don't think to use it, so we found it to be quite the amusing little comment from P.
Well, this momma is off to get some rest after this oh-so-eventful day.

Life is good!

2010-03-18T22:53:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to check in and post about a few happening 'round here lately...
** Our little lady has hit the "trying 2's" (hate to deem it the terrible two's, she's really not terrible--and the hub was FAST to remind me that this too shall pass, as we've already experienced it x's 2 with the boys...and lived to tell about it!) She is now trying her hardest to run away from us after being called and she screams like a banchee when her brothers step within a mile radius of her. She is on guard, thinking they might take a toy from her. We're working on using words here, which is a process in and of itself!
** I, once again, have 50,000+ pictures to download. I have so enjoyed my new camera that the hub got me for Christmas, too much in fact. I am taking pictures of the floor people. Ok, not really the floor, but of everything and anything that will stand still long enough to get a shot. Needless to say, I need to download, crop, make digital scrapbooks...and the list goes on!
**My children are starting to report about their school days more. I LOVE this. Especially when one says, "brother got in trouble at school today." Sigh. When I picked them up earlier this week, P told me that C got in trouble at school. When I asked him why C got in trouble, he informed me that C yelled at his teacher. What??!!!??? When I asked C, he told me that he did yell at her b/c he wanted to save his snack that he didn't finish. One point for honesty, -2 points for yelling at a figure of authority. He did get reprimanded at home and we had several talks about speaking to authority figures respectfully. When we got to school today, his teacher was there to get them out of the car. I prompted C to apologize to his teacher, we discussed the situation with her (which she did inform me that he did apologize to her when they talked about the incident on Tuesday) and they got out of the car and skipped into the building. When I picked them up from school today--I asked them how the day went. C promptly informed me that he had a good day at school and then said, "Mom, I didn't yell at Ms. M today. I just said (telling me this in a whisper now) can I save my snack." It cracked me up that he whispered it...and I felt sweet parental redemption...maybe our discussion about authority figures sunk in??? :) I am hoping so!
**We have spent quite a few days this week at the park! We're loving this weather and we just love going to the various parks around this area. I absolutely love being a quiet observer at the park; watching the kids interact with kids on the playground. I am fascinated by how quickly kids can make new friends--without the burden many grown-ups face about approaching new people and striking up new conversations b/c of our own insecurities. I am learning the most fabulous (and most important) life lessons from my children. I am also learning that forgiveness should be a quick process (seeking and finding!).
** The hub and I have been taking a class titled, Growing Kids God's Way. It has been a wealth of refreshing knowlege for our marriage, our family, and our child rearing ways. We are very thankful for the truths and techniques we are learning. I have been involved in a study for the past 4 weeks called Apples of Gold. AofG is a study where women learn to better themselves--as wives, mothers, and friends and it's "taught" by a group of gracefully-aged women who have "been there, done that" and are there to teach us the ways of hospitality, kindness, loving ways for our husbands/children, and purity. We have about 3 more classes to go--and I can see a change brewing in my heart. There's lots of growth and learning all around in our house right now, not only in our children, but in us. I am truly thankful for the changes I am seeing.
**And, as for changes...the hub has gotten a job offer from a major corporation. While this is very exciting news for us, it also brings up a wealth of change for our family. I am really hoping that the hub won't have to travel **as much** and that we'll have even more dinners as a family. I would love to have 5-6 nights of dinner as a family exist in our house. That doesn't always happen around here and it's a goal well worth working toward. We'd love any prayers you have to offer regarding these changes.
And, I am sure that there is much more to update and post, but I have got to stop keeping these late night hours. I'm not quite sure when I decided it was "cool" to stay up late, but I am hoping my opinion of that changes soon. I'm tuckered out.
**OH, and one more "little" thought. All three of my babes will be in preschool for three days a week next year. SQUEAL. ACK! WHAT???!! I don't know what I will do with those free NINE hours a week...but I do have some decisions to make! It will be the boys' second year of preschool. Should I keep them together or separate them next year? I have my own pros/cons for this, but I will wait to see if I get any advice from my readers (are you out there???) first...
G'night!

Growing up!

2010-02-15T23:12:00.002-05:00

The babes are growing up--fast! Every day they have me chuckling at their remarks and leave me in amazement of how fast they are changing every day. They are all really becoming little people and it's really just so cool to witness. What's more is that they are all becoming little INDIVIDUAL people, each in their own.
Last night, while in the car, Peyton informed me that he's ready to fish. And then he followed that statement by saying that this year at the beach he will fish and he will hold the fish with his fingers without being scared. He also informed me that I can take his picture with his fish and pole this year, because he won't be scared! How precious is that?
For Valentine's Day, we got the boys their own sets of "big boy legos." They have each been hinting at the fact that they would love to have some legos. Little legos, like their friends Colin and Blake. Little legos for big boys. They LOVED their new blocks and have played with them so much already. However, the biggest hit for them were the 2, 1.00 packages, of little green army men. They have spent countless minutes lining them all up, putting them carefully away in their little boxes, only to line them up again 5 minutes later.
Meredith got a little keyboard for her Valentine's Day treat. That's been a hit for all three of them. Music bounces off the walls here as they punch they keys, in between building times and fort times for the army. Her other little treat was a new pair of sunglasses. Can I just tell you how adorable she is sporting this teal colored princess classes? Perfect for a girl who sees the world through rose tinted (or teal-tinted in this scenario) glasses.
They have all taken to helping mommy out around the house, too. Meredith is still my cleaning sidekick as she sports her papertowels in every attempt to help me dust and she is perfecting the art of hanging clothes on hangers. Big job for a little girl! The other day after she put her clothes on hangers, she hung them all up on the lower rung of her closet rack. I beamed. Sure, they didn't "go there" in my sense of putting them away, but she was so proud of her work and I am so proud of her effort. She continues to help me seek the joy in the "not-so-fun" tasks of maintaining a home. Today, all three of the kids helped with unloading the dishwasher. It was an interesting referree situation for me as that's usually M's thing she LOVES to do--and I had to remind her that many hands make light work, so it's more than perfectly ok that we have more helpers interested in the job!
And for the biggest news...
We have been learning how to dress ourselves around here. It's awesome to watch them progress. There have been many days when I have gone to get the boys up from their nap only to find them dressed in a completely different outfit than when I put them to bed! Carter prefers to have his shorts and football jersey on and P prefers to have on his "comfy" pants (hmmm...I just wonder where he gets that from!). Well today, I layed their clothes on the floor and showed them what goes in the front and left the room, leaving them with the task of doing it by themselves. And....THEY DID! ALL BY THEMSELVES--and exactly right! Wahoo! P was so proud of himself that he even went a step further and put on his own coat. (We're still working on socks as that has proven to be a challenge for them, but they can handle their shoes on their own!) I am one proud momma!
So, keep growing and sprouting little beans! I'm here to give you nourishment and encouragement every day and I am so proud of all that you are learning to do!

Pictures to share...

2010-02-02T21:42:00.006-05:00

The cousins enjoying a little leftover snow at Oma's
Will and Carter

A few of the Lloyd boys--

(From left) Carter, Will, Philip, Thomas, Zach, and Peyton

Oma and a few of her grandchildren

Some of the Lloyd cousins

Peyton, Carter, and Meredith

Little Miss Meredith

Snow!

A ringbearer...

Peyton, outside of the church...

The ringbearers

(this photo and the following photos are courtesy of Uncle Jeff! Thanks Jeff!)

The hub and I at the reception

Hmmm...

The Shirley Temple was beginning to kick in...

Our family in the pew during the wedding (P is in there somwhere!)

Carter

Peyton

My boys! Could those smiles be any sweeter, brighter, or more special?

We have spent the past 6 days relatively "shut-in" here at home. Little M has a very bizarre virus that has had her down with a fever for 6 days and has covered her mouth in blisters, C has been hacking for 6 days (thankfully the doc says she thinks it's just post-nasal drip!), and P appears to have two pink eyes. Momma needs a vacay. Or a personal health day. I'd gladly settle for either one.

Today we spent the morning making homemade Valentines using paint, glitter, and homemade hearts. The kids were entertained for a while and we followed that up with their first viewing of Snow White. P spent the rest of the morning marching around as a dwarf, singing "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho!" We haven't been outside to play for two days because of the illnesses and me being solo with them. They all have different amounts of patience when it comes to being out in the cold, wet snow.

It's rumored that we're going to get another big snow storm this weekend. My post on that snowfall might not be as chipper as the last post about snow. I'm thinking that I'm ready for spring and I'm not so happy about today's groundhog sightings. Who's side are you on, Phil? (boy, my tune has changed since I stopped teaching!)

Playing catch up...

2010-01-29T21:33:00.002-05:00

Hmmm...so much to catch up on. I'm not even sure where to start. I'm just going to spout off whatever comes to the top of my head. Lucky you. I apologize in advance.

- I still rock Meredith before bed EVERY. NIGHT. It's our tradition. I'm not sorry for that...I just want it on the books. Tonight, for the second night, my baby is running a fever and is just plain old puny. I just got to rock her for the second time tonight.

- My boys can recite the entire Pledge of Allegiance. I don't know if that's impressive for a three year old or not, but I was impressed. Tonight at dinner, we were talking about the states and how we lived in United States and Peyton added, you mean the United States of America. Yep. Then they recited the pledge; together. Precious.

- The wittiness of the boys seems to increase by the day. This is something I am told I should simply enjoy and expect to get better and better as the days go by. Something I am truly looking forward to. I wish I had the time, wisdom, and foresight to write them all down. I'll regret it one day.

- I made a New Year's Resolution this year. Not too typical for me. My resolution was to try my best to be overjoyed versus being overwhelmed. I think I am succeeding so far. Some days, in all honesty, I feel very out numbered and very overwhelmed. I feel like I talk ENTIRELY too much (and it's not necessarily positive talk all day long). So I am trying to keep my perspective in tact and remember that I have been been entrusted with a very special and unique job--raising these three babies. Loving these three babies. Sharing the word of God with these three babies. Wow, talk about a job. A job I am seeking to be more overjoyed about than overwhelmed about.

- Peyton did tell me the other day that he wanted to be a mommy when he grows up. When I asked him, "Why?" he informed me that it was because he wants to help people. It was one of my prouder moments as a mom.

- Meredith and I are enjoying our mommy and daughter days while the boys are in preschool twice a week. It seems we do a lot of running around, but I don't think she minds. Whenever I ask her where she wants to go, she usually tells me she wants to go to Costco. Funny. This past week, we did have a date where we went and had milk and muffins at Panera. It was fun. It was slow. And that was what both of us needed. I plan to do more of that.

- The boys were ringbearers in a wedding last weekend. They were precious, if I do say so myself. They did walk down the aisle successfully. Many told us they missed their "big" moment. Probably because it wasn't a slow jaunt down the aisle if you know what I mean. Will and I spent much of the ceremony covering the mouths of one or more of our children. Fun. The videographer was set up DIRECTLY behind us. We think she's probably regretting that decision now. Peyton expelled bodily noises THREE times during the exchange of the vows and proudly announced it EACH TIME. By this point in the ceremony my eyes were filling up with tears of laughter because I just couldn't believe it. In the end, Beth and Matt still got married and life goes on. I have to add that Beth (the bride) did mention that she didn't hear a thing. Whew. Will and I were covered in sweat by the time the ceremony was over. We rode the trolley over to the reception site (big hit with the boys) and the kids enjoyed Shirley temple drinks. My parents came to our rescue and took the kids for ice cream when they got to the point of crawling under the tables/tableclothes. Will and I were ready to join them under the tables, if you know what I mean.

Tomorrow...my expectation for myself is to upload pictures to support my stories. But...we are expecting a good snow. That might curb a few normal expectations as our day might be filled with playing, extra snow laundry, hot chocolate, and crock pot goodness. We'll just have to see...

Advent Season, Part 2

2009-12-25T01:14:00.002-05:00

We have officially reached the celebration of Christ's birth. I am like a kid on Christmas morning. I can't sleep. Too much anticipation. My anticipation, however, at this point in my life is so much different than the anticipation of years past. Christmas holds so many new meanings for me at this stage in my life. I am now a parent of three little lights of Christ. Three little lights that brighten my day every day, in some form or fashion. People always used to tell me that things in life got so much better, brighter, richer when you become a parent. I know hold those little tidbits of life to be so true. I am awake now, at 1:18 a.m. on Christmas morning because I cannot sleep. I cannot sleep because I am anticipating celebrating Christ's birth with my children. We've shared a birthday cake for Jesus and continued to make MANY ornaments to adorn our tree to celebrate in what's to come. We've been to see Lewis Ginter's Gardenfest of Lights, made MANY (MANY!!!) Christmas goodies, prepared homemade gifts for family, and read "Twas the Night Before Christmas, " and tomorrow we will read "Christmas Angels" which will share the Nativity story again with my children. I am spending my time tonight watching a church service on T.V.; despite the fact that I have already attended my Christmas Eve church service at my regular church. I just cannot seem to get enough of the celebration that is meant to be; much different than in years past---better in every way possible. I just feel that this is the best celebration ever, as my kids are now comprehending what Christmas means on a whole new level and that has made it more meaningful for me. Could I ask for any better gift for them or for me this year? I think not! Merry Christmas to all, may you be filled with Christ's love and childlike wonder on this day and every day in the New Year!
Stay Tuned for our Christmas pictures...

The Season of Advent, part 1

2009-12-13T20:48:00.003-05:00

We have been trying really hard to preserve the meaning of Christmas every day during this season of Advent. It has been a true joy to share these experiences with my children this year, as they are really cluing into the true meaning of Christmas and the celebration of Jesus' birth. It melts my heart to hear them sing Christmas songs and point out and name all of the figures on the Nativity. Tonight, while we were prepping dinner, Meredith was singing her own little made up song repeating "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph...Jesus, Mary, and Joseph..." over and over again. We've been to see the Legendary Santa, decorated Christmas cookies, made Christmas cupcakes, celebrated with our annual Christmas Cabin weekend with family, created Christmas ornaments, picked out and decorated our tree, indulged in a few Christmas movies (Rudolph and Veggie Tales, Star of Christmas are favorites around here), and read quite a few Christmas stories. I love watching the excitement on the kids' faces.

Carter actually took this picture of Meredith and I by the tree.

These two pictures are before we headed to church to do the Advent Reading. We practiced for a week and a half. Each child had a line. Carter and Meredith said their line in front of the 9 a.m. portion of the congregation. Peyton experienced a little stage fright and spent the entire time hitting his sister on the leg. Nice. REAL nice. :) Despite the less than stellar performance, the message was conveyed and God's word was shared...and that is the most important factor. They're just kids, right?

I just love these pictures of them.

Carter decorating the Christmas tree...

Meredith and Daddy decorating the tree with her special ornaments.

Stay tuned for The Season of Advent, part 2

Hello, is anyone out there?

2009-11-24T23:01:00.003-05:00

A few "oldies" but goodies to share from October...

My pumpkins and their pumpkins
Carter

Peyton

Meredith

My three, enjoying a mid-morning snack while looking for skunks (aka squirrels)

I'm just checking to see if anyone reads this blog anymore...

We've been here...and we've been busy, busy, busy. I have SO many pictures to upload to the blog and so many stories to share.

As a family, we're doing great. I am trying to keep my days in perspective and I'm really starting to side with those moms who told me while I was pregnant to "enjoy these days because they go by really fast and they're grown before you know it." Yep. I agree. The days, from my motherly perspective, are beginning to get mildly easier. The kids love to entertain--me, the hub, each other, basically anyone who will give them an audience.

The boys had their first official performance at preschool. It was a joy to watch. Carter is typically a "rule follower" and he was very diligent about singing his songs. We were told the performance was a bit long according to P and his teacher let us know that he might choose to skip out early during the show. This was not the case today! He proudly sang and wiggled lots on stage. Too, too cute.

Little M has turned into quite the helper around here. A lady in the church nursery on Sunday informed the hub that Mer is a three year old trapped inside of a two year olds body. This is what I have found to be quite true. She loves to sing and dance and play pretend.

We have been busy crafting, coloring, making pizzas, napping, enjoying rainy days, and getting sneak peeks at the holiday decorations at stores around the areas. It did inspire us to decorate, perhaps a little early, and the kids just walked around the house in amazement. They kept telling me, " Mom it's just beautiful." I can't wait for Christmas this year...another perk of being the mom of three three and under.

I hope to update more pics soon...

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ladybug!

2009-09-06T21:11:00.003-04:00

Two years ago today we were blessed with our sweet, sweet baby girl. In the past year, I have watched her grow so much, in so many unbelievable ways. She has formed this tremendous bond with her brothers and has a special connection with Carter...the two of them are like two peas in a pod. Ironically, many people mistake Mer for C's twin instead of Peyton. Meredith was an early bloomer for talking and a little later for her walking...much different in her patterns of development than her brothers. Recently she has started to become such a little girly-girl...loving purses, necklaces, hairbows, and wearing her momma's shoes. Tonight her daddy has shared with me that he is thrilled his baby girl (and that she IS) is turning two...but he will absolutely refuse for her to turn three. We just can't believe that it's true...24 months ago she was born. We are slowly beginning to feel the "baby fog" lift as we are having more and more fun everyday with them and their antics and spend much of the day laughing at their "funnies." The boys begin preschool very school (a whole post in itself, I am sure) and I am looking forward to having some mornings out with my girl. My little girl who is such a precious treasure to me. I love you little Ladybug, I just don't think you could get ANY sweeter! Happy 2nd Birthday!!

I stink at this bloggin' thing!

2009-08-26T23:44:00.002-04:00

Ok, ok. I admit it...I have failed at keeping up with the blog the past few months! But, on the flip side that just translates into the fact that we have been very busy creating precious (and wildly crazy!) memories around here.

I'm pretty much feeling like a ping-pong ball these days. The kids are keeping me bouncing in every which way this summer, in some awesome and some not-so-awesome ways! We've had fun at all of the Richmond hot spots for three year olds and under...the Children's Museum, the Metro Zoo, Lewis Ginter...all of the places that are perfect for active little ones. The not-so-awesome ways simply include basic and normal toddlerhood antics. The babes LOVE to tag-team their mamma by getting into little mischievous predicaments and exhaust me on a daily basis. But this too is a season...a sweet, sweet season that I MUST NOT rush away.

Tonight, there was one for the baby books that I just have to record. The babes were running around during power hour (that glorious hour where all adrenaline hits RIGHT BEFORE BEDTIME) and Mer got a little injury. Her lip was bleeding and her brothers were highly concerned for her. While I was holding her and attempting to console her, Peyton came up to me and said the following statements:
"Mom, I can hold her" "She's my grill (aka: girl)" "I just love her so much and want to protect her."

Me: all I could muster up was a few eyes full of tears and a "that's just precious, P." He was mighty proud of himself and gave ME a big hug and kiss. I'm one lucky mamma, that's for sure.

A week at the beach!

2009-07-29T09:14:00.004-04:00

We're at the beach. More excuses for procrastinating on posting pictures!
Just wanted to update for my memory log. Senior moments at the ripe age of 31 if I don't record it...or maybe it's just being occupied with three kids that help me have a few lapses.

So far at this point in the trip we have:
-Seen 68 baby turtles hatch and swim their way to the ocean. What an awesome sight to behold. Last year we saw a momma turtle laying her eggs so now we feel like we have seen the cycle become complete!
- Carter learned to ride a bike with training wheels. We have been practicing for quite some time at Ma-Maw and Pa-Paw's house and his first day at the beach, he just took off! Now he wants to ride the bike ANY chance he gets. Absolutely precious.
- We went to the Fort Fisher Aquarium yesterday with a lot of the family. It was awesome to watch the kids wander in wonder of all of the sea creatures. There were huge lobsters, saltwater fish native to North Carolina, and an albino alligator. Another highlight for the kids was that we got to take the car ferry to Fort Fisher, which was a first for them. They enjoyed feeding the seagulls from the back of the ferry...and the birds would scoop down and take the crackers right from their hands! (And I must mention that I got the joy of being pooped on while "relaxing" on the beach!)
- We have spent many hours on the beach and made a trip to the Point where the sound meets the ocean. The sun was setting and it was amazing to see. We're heading back there to take pictures tonight.
- The boys have played golf a few days and the girls had a relaxing day on shopping and having lunch out yesterday. Our girls day concluded with crafting of course...we painted beach scenes on wine glasses and made picture frames to hold our HUGE family picture that we'll take tonight. There are about 33 of us here--and 5 people celebrated their birthday while on vacay.
-Today holds kayaking in the waterways and a date night for us "young folks" with little ones. WE are so lucky to have such awesome family togetherness!

2009-07-20T22:16:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I have finally decided to stop procrastinating and start blogging again. Partly due to the pressure I have put on myself because I have now learned that I have a pretty good amount of readers! Who knew all it took was a little "leave of absence" to find out people actually read this stuff! However, I am so so far behind that I have decided to go through each file of pictures and diplomatically (aka: randomly) pick out pictures from the thumbnail files (aka: files TOO small to even see which pictures I am actually picking) and post them. With a max of 5 picks from each month...which is A. LOT. considering I have not posted pictures since late February. Yikes. Enough rambling and procrastinating...onto pictures people! :) Little Mer on Easter
The cousins doing ring-around-the rosie in the backyard during our Easter celebration. I absolutely LOVE this picture of them!

My cousin, Tyler, who is proudly sporting his UVA sweatshirt and his UVA dyed Easter egg. Courtesy of our egg dying party here at the house. From one Wahoo to another...

Meredith with her eggs. She LOVED to hunt for eggs this year! So fun!

Here's a picture trying to assemble the "Hall" family cousins in the backyard. This would have been one of those random pictures that I would have not picked IF I could have seen them properly, b/c we did end up getting some decent shots of all of them together! :)

P with his golf club on Easter. Can't have a day outside without a little putting, right?

Carter talking to one of his great aunts about Easter. They call to check on "their" babies quite frequently and the boys and M love to talk to them!

Easter loot from the bunny! Notice the raisins, toothbrush, and flashlight. What will the Easter Bunny think of next? Brussel sprouts? :)

Carter checking out his basket. Again...raisins?

Ah, finally a kid who was psyched about the raisins! Thanks Easter Bunny!

Dying eggs for the first time ever! And, we only had 2 egg casualties!

Cupcakes made with the kids...

Making Easter cupcakes with the boys (in their PJ's). And, yes, I know I have a third child. Sometimes she sneaks in a morning nap or sleeps late. Sometimes it's mommy and boy time and sometimes it's mommy and daughter time! :)

Play-doh! The kids love to make snakes, pizzas, and shapes with cookie cutters. Mom loves to clean up their messes. With enthusiasm. And sarcasm.

Cake anyone? Carter promises to share...

How about snow in July? Nope, you're not seeing things, it's finally some pictures from the snowstorm in March! :) This is Carter and the hub.

As many of you know, this was the first REAL snow in VA in a long while. And it was the first REAL snow my kiddies have ever seen. This pictures serves as evidence as to how they felt about it at first. It was cold and wet and cold and wet. Eventually they got over that and began playing. We made a snow penguin (complete with a bow tie!), many snowballs, and attempted to teach the kids how to make snow angels. After playing for over an hour, we huddled inside for hot chocolate with LOTS of marshmallows!!!

Little M in the snow. It was so deep she could barely walk!

This picture shows how much snow we actually got in March! This was the beginning of our snow adventure, before he got wet or cold!

Snuggling on the couch after playing outside in her snowflake jammies!

Our crazy family....mom and dad have FIVE grandchildren under FIVE! And, no we can never get a picture with everyone looking! :)

P looking very much like a big boy!

A family birthday picture from the hub's 33rd birthday.

And, that's all I can muster for now. Hopefully I will be back tomorrow to finish from May-July! Whew!

Just a quick update...

2009-06-24T23:10:00.002-04:00

The last few weeks have been full of fun, fun, fun!
-- We had the great fortune of attending my cousin's graduation from high school...and we got to hear him give a speech in front of his entire graduating class (nearly 500 students) because he was the VALEDICTORIAN! Yep, first in his class of 500+ students! What an accomplishment! Tyler, we're so proud of you and we know you will only continue to find more and more success as you continue on your journey in life! We're pulling for you and praying for you on the next step in your adventure! Go Hoos!
--On graduation weekend, I got to have my two girly-girl cousins spend the night the night before graduation. We watched a movie, snacked, and painted our toenails once the kids fell asleep. Always such a joy to have my girls here!
-- King's Dominion passes are in full swing 'round here. The kids LOVE to ride the rides in "Kiddie Land" and they now are motivated to eat more of their breakfast, lunch, dinner plates so that they can grow bigger and ride the "coasters." It's adorable, b/c after many meals they say, "Mommy, I am bigger now! I can ride more coasters!"
-- They boys are learning to ride bikes with training wheels. Crazy! How did they get so big? They learned during one of our trips to Ma-Maw and Pa-Paw's house and it's so precious.
-- The kids are in Vacation Bible School this week. It's a bag of mixed emotions for me! I have had the pleasure of being at "school" with them this week as I work in the kitchen and they participate in preschool VBS. I say it's mixed emotions for me because 1. it means they're growing up! They wear backpacks to school every day with big boy underwear packed inside (minus Mer of course!) and walk right into their classroom ready to start their day. 2. It's absolutely awesome to see them participate with their group. They are doing crafts, having snacks, playing games, singing songs...it makes my heart swell each time I get to sneak a peek at them! I catch up with them at the end of the VBS day in the Sanctuary and we get to sing and dance together before heading home. It's so neat to watch them grow and explore right before my eyes.

And, yes the pics are still in lockdown. Blech. Battery becomes dead every couple of days b/c I keep taking pictures and not charging the thing. One day. It will happen. One day.
I'm off to bed to gear up for another day of VBS!
G'night!

2009-06-07T22:10:00.002-04:00

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my pictures have yet to gather enough money (aka--my time) to post bail. So for tonight, yet again, they shall remain in solitary camera confinement. Maybe tomorrow?? Maybe?
(And then maybe you'll be lucky enough to have me stop making such cheesy references to my camera acting as a jail to the proof of events around here lately.)

Notes on the littlest Lloyd...

2009-06-07T21:49:00.005-04:00

Just catching up...or trying to at least! We had a fabulous weekend around here. Saturday morning, I took the kids to the Ashland Strawberry Faire while Will squeezed in a round of golf. The kids were so patient with everything, the boys did amazingly well with the potty situations there, and we enjoyed lots of strawberry-ish treats for all. I was even brave enough the let the boys walk for a little while towards the end and they followed directions and listened so well, I am so proud of them! We stuck around the train tracks to see a train roll through Ashland...it was such a treat for the boys, but not so much for little M. She peaked around the edge of the stroller with crocodile tears in her eyes saying "I not like it, momma!" She is now in the stage where loud noises are quite frightening to her (the lawn mower, the tractor, thunder). I feel the need to give a little update on the littlest Lloyd, M, since many of the last posts have included facts and tidbits primarily dedicated to the boys. Little M is quite impressive these days, I must say. Not that I am biased or anything. :) She has started the very beginning stages of potty interest (due to the ongoing training of her brothers, I'm sure). She sits on the little potty now and tells me often that she has to go potty. We haven't gone yet, but I bet this summer she could be on her way. She is learning to really play imaginatively. She pretends that dolls are crying, that buckets are suitable purses (she loves to fill them with random things from around the house), she enjoys cleaning (wipes are a favorite toy now...she likes to go around wiping everything) and she also likes to play trains and cars with her brothers. Another favorite pasttime of M's is to unload the dishwasher. She is an excellent helper, as she climbs up on the dishwasher door (bad habit, I know) and unloads EVERY cup in the dishwasher. She even tries to match the stoppers of the sippy cups with the lids and the lids with the cups!! Mer is learning songs, like the ABC song, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." She is quite the creature of habit, EVERY night at bedtime she has me lay her down, cover her up, and then give her a hug and a kiss by asking me for them! She constantly reminds me that she is "Pa-Paw's girl" although she is pretty much attached to my hip all. day. long. At 21 months, she can hold full conversations, understand nearly any direction given, complete simple puzzles but still thinks that everything is "yellyo" (yellow) and every animal is either a rooster or a cow and says moo or cock-a-doodle-doo. That's progress, because just a week ago every animal was a cow that mooed. She is a stinker, plain and simple. I've tried to get her to be girly by wearing necklaces and pigtails, but both last only about 2.5 seconds on her body. I bought some "stay put" elastics today, so we'll give those a try this week! She's trying desparately to keep up with everything her brothers are doing, while I'm trying to keep up with all three of them! The three of them are such blessings to me, could I be any luckier?

My Two who are Three

2009-05-31T21:41:00.002-04:00

**Disclaimer: I have about 782 pictures on my camera screaming: "download me and let me out of here!" I'm ignoring their pleas for just one more night. I'm making a goal to let them out of their camera imprisonment tomorrow. We'll see if they make bail.

Ah, boys. My two who are three. I don't even know where to begin. This last year has been absolutely incredible. Both of you have grown in ways completely unimaginable to me, your mommy. In the past year, you have learned to have full dialogues with me and nearly anyone who is willing to lend you an ear. You love to talk on the phone and you cherish your Pa-Paw's truck. You both know the words to "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," and "Low, Low, Low." Every night, we wrap up our evening bedtime routine with our very special renditions of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and the "Diamond Rock Song" (Hush Little Baby)--and you remind me very frequently not to sing it fast. Singing isn't the only thing you don't want me to do fast--you are consistently helping me slow down and enjoy the little pleasures of life from your point of view. You are both active and can be rambunctious! As the mom of two toddler boys, I have to pray to God a lot asking me to help to see you through His eyes and demonstrate His love to you each day. You deserve that and so much more. You have fascinated me by the fact that you guys can name nearly every train that makes up the Thomas the Train line and you have become masters of puzzles. Our coffee and kitchen tables are a parking lot for many little Matchbox cars, trucks, and planes these days...and I wouldn't trade that for anything. I can always refinish the coffee table or the kitchen table --but maybe I won't because they'll help me fondly remember these days I have with you. I am so very glad that I have the chance to be able to spend our days together and we frequent many fun spots together. I wouldn't trade those experiences with anyone---you guys love the Children's Museum, the park, the backyard, Granny's House, Petsmart....anything that will bring about an opportunity to greet others and try something new! We've started playing games and it's funny to watch your competitive streaks develop. You guys love playgrounds, riding your new scooters, riding your bikes, making train tracks, and watching Caillou. Hide and Seek and I Spy are also hits around here now. Often times you guys express the interest to do things independently without your other brother...but quickly ask for them within 10 minutes if you are out of each other's sight. And, surprisingly to me, you like to dress alike. If one sees what the first one dressed it wearing, you ask me if you will have the same shirt as brother. You both love your sister so much. You kiss her goodnight everynight, help her up when she falls, and can't wait to greet her when she is waking up in the morning. You still seem "too little" to be able to do this stuff!! Where has the time gone?

As for you, Peyton, my oldest baby...
- You are an incredible athlete at the ripe age of three. This year we bought you a real golf club set for your birthday--and you can chip a ball across the yard! We may be biased, but we think you have some amazing talent.
- You have the funniest and wittiest little personality. You take bows after you come down the slide, use the potty, make a funny comment, or toss a bball in the hoop. Bow is followed promptly by a "Thank you, thank you!" You also say funny things like "score!" or "geezy-peezy." or "that's cool, man!"
- You potty trained in less than a week. Tonight, on your 3rd bday, you are sported big boy undies to bed! Way to go, buddy!
- I admire your uncanny ability to greet anyone. You often tell strangers to "have a nice day" and you have learned to use your manners quite well. Usually at the park or just about any other public play place, you long to meet a new friend--and it's usually an older kid.
-You sing your ABC's and can count to 15 at this point. We're working on identifying our letters and numbers now.
-Graciousness is a gift you behold. A gift it is...
-These words are heard often my Mer and myself: "Mommy/Mer you are an angel." or "Mommy I love your hair/shirt/bracelet, etc; it's just beautiful!"

As for you, Carter, my middle baby--
- You are a fairly quiet observer. You pipe in with quirky little songs, tidbits, comments, and knowledge out of the blue and usually take your Dad and I by surprise!
- Your personality can be stubborn and strong yet sweet and snuggly all at the same time. You want what you want when you want it and will work hard to get it...sometimes in a stubborn way, sometimes in a snuggly, sweet way.
- You sing your ABC's and can count to 15 at this point. We're working on identifying our letters and numbers now.
-You LOVE animals. I constantly spot you snuggling with the dog. My favorite memory was when you brought a pillow and a "crib" (blanket) for Haley and layed down beside her to rest. Precious.
- You are interested in electronic gadgets (take after your dad??). You know how to work the remote, the phone, and my camera accurately.
- You can pick up songs and phrases extraordinarily fast--you catch your Dad and I off guard quite often because you can hear a song or a beat a few times and quickly pick it up. A few favorites: "Hot Diggity-Dog" "Shake Your Booty"
-You have the gift of intuitiveness. You study books, games, and people. You also observe emotions well and can often match how people's expressions match their emotions.
-You are a snuggler. You still want to be held, hold my hand, have your back rubbed, and be tickled. I hope this never changes!

Your personalities and abilities are growing and developing so much. I am very proud of you both and my favorite phrase from both of you is hearing "I love you so much, mom!" I am thankful for our days, our memories, and the gifts you share with me each day.
Happy Birthday to my boys! I love you!

Happy "Triple" Birthday!

2009-05-30T22:16:00.002-04:00

Today is my birthday, I am now officially 31. I honestly do not know where the year of 30 went, but it is gone and it went fast. People keep telling me that's what happens once you reach a certain point. I guess I'm there.
I had the most fabulous day today. Three years ago, I was in the hospital on this day, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our boys. We thought that they were going to be born on this day--and we'd share our birthdays for the rest of our lives. Secretly, I didn't want that to happen. I wanted them to have their "own" day. Ok, and honestly I wanted to have my own day too. :) But, as these three years have passed (too quickly I might add) I am finding what a joy it is to share birthdays with them. They ARE the best gift ever. And I find that on "my day" I end up reminiscing about one of my favorite birthdays of all time....the birthday that I spent in the hospital waiting to meet them and see their precious faces. I also now spend my day prepping for any upcoming birthday celebration for them! And, I honestly enjoy every moment of that time--making their day special in turn makes my day very special too.
We had their party today. A soccer party. We spent the morning cooking, cleaning, and finishing all last minute preparations for the picnic that would follow their party. At their party at the Sports Center of Richmond (this place is fabulous for bday parties, btw), they played games, ate pizza and cake, and opened gifts. The kids were so funny to watch on the field--they really enjoyed their times and the giant parachute. The coach was amazing with them and quite patient I must add. :)
In honor of my 31 years, I am going to reflect upon a few things that have happened over the past 31 years of my life:
- I have graduated three times--once from HS, once from undergrad, and once from grad school. I just wish I knew then what I know now...
- I have now lived in 5 different "homes."
- I am three children and one husband richer.
- I have a deeper appreciation of family, as a mom, a sister, a daughter, and a granddaughter. There is absolutely nothing more important than family.
-I understand how much I need my girlfriends and how much I cherish our time together. There is nothing like my girls--and all of the memories we made, the time we've shared, the laughter we've had, and the tears we've wiped.
- I believe that life is what you make it. Sometimes it's hard to see the sun through the storm, but God never promised an easy ride; just a safe landing!
-My faith in God is stronger than it has ever been. I owe this to my children, my MOPS sisters, my small group sisters, penning my testimony, and my baptism at the age of 30.
-Life only gets sweeter with age.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post: Two Who are Three: A Tribute to my Boys.
Here's to amazing days full of family, friends, cake, candles and wishes!

It's 10 p.m., do you know where your babies are?

2009-05-04T22:32:00.002-04:00

Welp, it's been quite a while and I still haven't posted pictures or caught up. I think I have about 742 pictures on my camera waiting to be downloaded. I'll get there....soon. I. hope.

Today was day #1 of potty training Peyton. On Saturday, while in the diaper aisle of Target, he informed me that he is done with diapers. Ok. That sounds promising to me...and my wallet! So we made a trip to the potty aisle instead and picked out a new (and another...this one makes #3) potty seat for our house. We've got the big boy undies and lots of other goodies to prep for potty training.

Sunday we attended our nephew's first birthday party, Happy Birthday Brayden! And once we got home, Peyton went potty for the first time! Yipppeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! Monday a.m.; and he's in big boy undies and the day begins. He did so well all day long and only had one accident. We even made it out of the house to make a brief trip to the grocery store...and he even pottied at the store! I am so incredibly proud of him, even more so than normal! He's so funny, witty, and growing up so fast!

After bathtime, we settled the babes down for bed. Two stories, three songs, prayers said, and one more final potty trip...we put the boys to bed. Or so we thought. I was indulgently watching Dancing with the Stars (cheesy, I know...but I admit it!) while reading a magazine (gotta love the ability to multi-task!) and I hear the pitter patter of tiny feet. Then I see the bobbing of two little heads. Creeping around the kitchen table to come and see me...

So, naturally I put them both back in bed and sing one more song and shut the door tight this time around. Back downstairs to my quilty pleasure/s of reading/watching. I think they are finally fast asleep. I think anyway. I hear a thud and a few more pitter patters and ask the hub if he can see the babe over the corner of the couch. And he says he doesn't see him--but I know he's there b/c I can sense him and hear the pitter patters continue. Sure enough, a little sandy haired head comes bobbing around the table again. It's Peyton. After ANOTHER trip to the potty and a few browsing moments at his toys (like they change after he goes to bed?) he informs us that "he's fine...he doesn't need to sleep." But, we know better because 6 a.m.---regardless of how late they go to bed---comes early for all of us around here. He then informs us that Carter is sleeping, in mommy's bed. (just when we were thinking "at least it's only 1/3 of our children awake!)

We creep upstairs to find the t.v. on and Carter sound asleep. In. Our. Bed.
It's 10 p.m. folks, do you know where your babies are?

Two for the "baby books"

2009-04-06T22:22:00.002-04:00

Two quick notes I want to remember for my sentimental mommy side:
1. The boys are now into "playing with mommy." Frequently during the day they come to me and ask me if I want to play with them. Cars, trucks, or building train tracks for Carter. Throwing, kicking, or catching the ball for Peyton. I LOVE THIS. It is too, too cute. We have been spending lots of time playing around here...which is what I think I am meant to do. Housework can wait, right?
2. The boys are now expressing emotion with words. It is stinkin' adorable. Some of the things we hear around here now include:
I miss Daddy. __________ (Blake, Ryan, Daddy) is my best friend. I am tired/hungry/grumpy (love that one!), etc. Mommy is happy....Daddy is happy... (can also be followed by Mommy is frustrated, lol).

I will be back sometime this week, in between playing, to post more about the girl's weekend and the babes. Apparently I DO have more than one reader of this blog, I have received LOTS of feedback about my posting (or lack thereof). :) G'night!

We're here...really....

2009-04-03T21:37:00.002-04:00

Ok, so really...we're here. We have withstanded (is that a word?) the awful stomach bug at our house---and it's really put me behind in a lot of areas, this blog being one of them. We've been trying to enjoy as much of the spring weather as we can in between the rainy days. I'm off tomorrow to celebrate my wonderful Mom's 60th birthday with my Granny and my aunts. I'll be back to post in a few days...promise. Cheers!

Smile, Mommy!

2009-03-14T21:02:00.003-04:00

Last night, I was tired and felt I had tons to do. Admittingly, I was trying to rush the kids to bed so that I could get to my chores and prep for my Thirty-One party this morning. In my hurriedness, Peyton looked at me and said, "Smile, Mommy." How could I not?
Then he said, "Hug Daddy, Mommy." How do they know what we need right when we need it?
I am so grateful for that!

**And, yes, I know...I am behind on posting snow pictures. I am going to get there this weekend, I promise. My camera's battery is dead, yadda, yadda. I'll get caught up soon! And for my lurkers, I know you're out there....post a comment now and then. It brings a smile to my face!

Happy Birthday, "Ganny!"

2009-02-28T20:18:00.005-05:00

Today we celebrated my Grandma's birthday. Almost all of our family made it to celebrate her big day...there is so much to celebrate when it comes to my Grandma's life. She is a true woman of grace who knows how to love unselfishly and show so much care and tenderness to those that she loves (which is virtually anyone and everyone). I have so much to learn from her...and if my future grandchildren feel a smidge of the love for me as I feel for my Granny...then I will be truly blessed! I have such wonderful memories of my Granny--from childhood to present day--and I am so thankful for these memories.

Happy birthday Granny! We love you!

Tonight when I was putting my boys to bed, I was talking to them and asking them about the day. While talking to Peyton, I asked him what his favorite part of the day was. His response? "Ganny!" (Of course loyal readers, you know what comes next...tears welling in my eyes!)

And believe me, the child knows what the word favorite means--and I know this because anytime he sneaks a snack (yes, at 2 1/2!) or a piece of "forbidden" (gasp!) candy from the counter he always comes to tell me. And how does he come to tell me? By rubbing his belly and saying, "Yum, mommy...candy....my favwite!"

How precious is that?

And you know what, P? She was my favorite part of the day, too!

I love New York

2009-02-16T22:36:00.004-05:00

The hub and I had a wonderful long weekend in New York and this post is going to be entirely about our trip...solely for my memory (or lack thereof) purposes.

We arrived on Friday, early afternoon, and caught a shuttle into the city. Our location was perfect, 5th Avenue and 45 St. We were blocks away from the big city attractions and it was awesome. We didn't brave one single cab ride while there, but did make every effort to become experts with the Metro system. (we failed miserably on some efforts there).

On Friday, we had lunch at an awesome little pub and spent the afternoon planning out our trip and exploring our surroundings. We visited Rockefeller Center and the rink...we were freezing just watching, I can't imagine how cold it was on the ice. We had dinner at the Tribeca Grill to celebrate the hub's birthday. The dinner experience was a culinary treat, once we actually found the restaurant after exiting the subway. Fortunately a native to Tribeca walked us halfway to our restaurant while she was out walking her dog. Tribeca Grill acknowledged the hub's birthday with an amazing piece of Chocolate Torte Cake. Absolutely delish. We ended up back in Times Square where we were coerced into attending a comedy show...5 acts in 90 minutes. Tons of laughing and complete politically incorrect jokes. The meager 10.00 entrance fee to the comedy club also provided us with free acess to the dualing piano bar right next door, where we ended up on stage providing some comic relief of our own by dancing and using hand gestures to Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog. I'm sure people where laughing quite hard at us...I know we were cracking up at ourselves.

The rink at Rockefeller Center
Old Glory amongst the massive skyscrapers.

Dinner and the amazing Chocolate Torte at the Tribeca Grill.

Happy Birthday, hubs!

We found ourselves doing things our kids would also enjoy. Like exploring (in awe and amazement) the 4 story Toys R Us in Times Square. It was fascinating for me as an adult, I can't imagine what kids think of this place. They have a ferris wheel on the inside, the Empire State Building made solely out of legos and things like this animated T-Rex. Awesome!

Saturday provided us with a nice opportunity to sleep past 5:45 a.m....and allow me to shower without the shower door being opened up 5+ times while I am trying to wash my hair. After our not-so-delish continental breakfast, we hit the streets. Our itinery included a stop to the WTC, but this was where we failed at the Metro system. We just couldn't get it together enough to find the right connector train to head to the Financial District. We settled for China Town instead...and went on for the search of a good chinese restaurant and some hot purses. We did end up finding a great little restaurant with the best chinese food I have ever tasted. However, we didn't have much luck in the purse department. I was on the search for the "ever popular" giraffe print purse by Dooney and Burke for my aunt and pal. After three attempts at various secret and sketchy spots, I determined that the purses looked too junky and fake and I quit searching for the "real thing." We made our way back to midtown--to stand in line for the half price Broadway tickets. Ha. On Valentine's Day. The line looked incredibly daunting, as it was wrapped around the block, but we decided to join the masses anyway. We waited in line...all the way to the ticket counter (it actually moved surprisingly fast) only to find out that they didn't have any shows available with two consecutive seats. That led us to walking to the theater box office and got tickets to Broadway Forbidden. Prior to the show, we decided to forgo a "fancy V-Day" dinner and settle for a classic slice of NYC pizza and garlic knots. We didn't regret our decision there. The show was great...a satire of sorts on the typical Broadway shows. Funny and a great way to spend Valentine's evening. We were so worn out after the show that we headed in the direction of our hotel...but didn't end up going back there. I had done a little research on cupcake tours and bakeries in NYC ( I have the biggest, best, and worst sweet tooth) and found ourselves back in Rockefeller Plaza at the ever-famous Magnolia Bakery. Yes, my fellow Sex and the City Fans, THE Magnolia Bakery. You'll find pictures below (yes, I am obsessed--with pictures and sweets) and descriptions to match. We also ended up going up to the Top of the Rock in the plaza--to catch the view of NYC at night. On a clear night from the Top of the Rock, you can see an amazing 85 mile distance around the city. Absolutely breathtaking and amazing. We were so worn out by this point (and a little frostbitten) that we decided to call it a night.

Times Square (from our spot in the cheap tickets line)

The hub and I in front of this V-Day inspired art in Times Square

The sweet treats from Magnolia Bakery. The hub got the chocolate one...and I of course picked the pink one. Simply delectable.

A scrumptious sight for my fellow Sex and the City girls!

Apparently, I liked this picture so much that I put it on this post twice. (Or maybe I'm just plain exhausted and not paying attention to what I am doing.)

Sunday morning, we found ourselves sleeping in again and then heading for brunch at The Maison, an awesome little French restaurant. I truly think the NY has some of the best food around. We headed to Herald Square for shopping (rather, browsing) and perusing the ginormous Macy's of NYC. We also headed to FAO Schwartz, Tiffany's, and Central Park before heading back to the hotel to head out of town. We caught another shuttle who promised to get us to the airport "in plenty of time" to catch our plane. Yep. Apparently New Yorkers have a different defintion of plenty. We barely....and I mean barely....caught our flight. We were due to fly out at 3:58 and we got to the airport at 3:22. You read that right. Needless to say, we made every minute of our trip count--literally. It was much needed time away for both of us, a great time to reconnect and refresh. Thanks for the memories, hub. I love you and am so thankful for you!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2009-02-10T22:41:00.004-05:00

My boy, Peyton looking all grown up!

The hub, Holly, and Jacob

Oma, the hub, and Jacob

Let them eat cake!

"Cheese!"

a family portrait

Daddy and his brood
The boys picked out his cake and his basketball candles. They were so excited to tell him that they (on their own) were yelling "daddy, daddy, daddy, we picked out a cake for you!" They were yelling this the minute he walked in the door!

Lighting the candles...and singing Happy Birthday Daddy!

The hub's birthday, the big 3-3 is actually on Friday. We celebrated with family tonight because we're having a "grown-up" weekend getaway to NYC this weekend for his birthday. Here are a few pictures from our family celebration...

Happy Birthday babe!

Catching up...

2009-02-10T21:56:00.004-05:00

It's been a while, so here's my futile attempt to catch up...in pictures of course! :)

**Disclaimer--these pictures are mixed up and in random order! They range anywhere from beginning of January to the beginning of February. I'm slightly behind!

My kids like to take all of the cushions off of my couch (even though they know they aren't supposed to!) and bounce on them and jump on them. So, one evening, I was vacumming the dining room (who purposefully puts carpet in the dining room?) and came in to find them bouncing on the cushions...and STANDING on the coffee table. All three of them. I am "lucky" they were skilled enough to jump on the cushions...not on each other or the floor!
Peyton in his baseball hat, with his glove and ball. He loves sports of all kinds and was trying to catch the ball with his little gloves. Adorable!

We made a trip to visit Granny (my grandmother) the last weekend in January. I love it there...and loved spending time there as a kid (and still do as an adult!!). One of my greatest joys is now watching my kids loving their time there, too. My family is awesome with my kids. They call and check on the boys and Mer all the time and I am so grateful for them! The picture above is of Peyton is his cowboy hat at Granny's.

Peyton with Holly and Jacob

Peyton "petting" Jacob

The boys kissing Pa-Paw (and trying to sneak bites of chili)

The cousins together!

The cousins together with Aunt Holly, Uncle Jeff, and Oma

Oma comes down nearly every week to spend a few days with Holly, Jeff and Jacob. We're lucky that she comes to spend a few hours with us, too. Here's a picture of her looking through a family photo album with the boys.

Reagan at the Children's Museum

Ryan and Reagan painting their Valentine's hearts at C-MoR

Carter diligently working on his heart at C-MoR.

Peyton posing at C-MoR.

Meredith has become quite the little dare devil. She helps unload the dishwasher by standing on the dishwasher door (gasp!), sneaking under the gate to crawl up the stairs,
and climbing up on the table. Here she is climbing up on the table trying to eat a banana, peel and all!

The princess and her pink ATV.

We've been up to the normal stuff around here. So enjoying the warm front spiking the temperatures here in Central Virginia. It's been so nice to sneak outside and head to the park or have lunch outdoors. Hope all is well with ya'll too!

Oh, I forgot!

2009-01-29T22:23:00.002-05:00

Two posts in one day...it's a small miracle (or it could just be that I am addicted to my laptop and the hub's out of town...which means lots o'quiet time for me!)
Last night, little Jacob came to visit with Aunt Holly. Of course I teared up many time last night, too...(seems to be a theme lately, but kids just get to me!). The boys wanted to pat (or pet) him and desperately wanted to hold him. He's getting so big and he's too precious--and Holly is really a great and patient mom to him.
So the point of my story is that during dinner, I told the boys that they could have a cookie if they ate their dinner well. However, they didn't eat their dinner well...actually they didn't eat anything. ANYTHING. So, no cookies for them. I left their dinners on the counter in case they changed their minds, which they did. Quite a few times, the hub, Holly and I caught P running to the counter to get a bite of dinner--a fistful here and a fistful there. Then Carter decided to get into the action and take bites,too. After 2 or 3 bites Carter got the "wise" idea to take the plate to the dog bowl (while thinking none of the adults were aware) and dump the entire contents in Haley's bowl. Then he brought the bowl over to us on the couch and said, " I ate it all, I get cookie." Not quite, buddy, not quite. Nice try, though.

An evening to remember...

2009-01-29T21:34:00.003-05:00

Tonight, little Meredith would not settle down at bedtime. I think she is hitting a growth spurt or something...not exactly sure what's going on. The boys and I were downstairs cleaning up the wreckage of toys from the day when I heard her cry--and cry---and cry. That's abnormal for Mer + bedtime. So I encouraged the boys to hustle up and finish cleaning so we could go and help sissy. They raced up the stairs and got to her door...knocking and saying "it's ok girlfriend, we're coming!" That was step one to melting my heart.
Once I opened the door for their eager and chubby little hands, they raced to Mer. Carter's words: "Don't worry sissy, it's ok...I'm here." Peyton's words: "Girlfriend, shhh....it's ok."
Peyton offered her his space shuttle and raced from the room (unusual-he's the one to stick by her side). Carter stayed with me to make sure all was ok. Mer kept saying, "I stuck" meaning she was stuck in her blanket. Then she proceeded to say "baby, baby, baby." She's gotten in a habit of wanting to snuggle, cuddle, and sleep with a baby. So I opened up a baby for her from her collection of dolls (I couldn't for the life of my find her favorite...go figure!). All the while, Carter is still saying, "it's ok sissy, it's ok."
I gave Mer the baby and took her out of her crib to hold her and calm her for a little while. Carter came over to me and started rocking my legs and singing "rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye..." (which is the song my mom sings to him when she is snuggling him at night). Then he left the room, but not before letting Meredith know that he would leave a crack. I know that sounds crazy, but my boys request "crack" every night when they go to bed. Meaning, they like a crack in their door at bedtime. And I secretly think that is so they can sneak out of their beds at 5:45 or 6 a.m. to come and wake us up every morn! He was gone all of 1.7 seconds before he creeped back in and whispered to Mer (even though she wasn't crying at all!) "shh! It's ok. It's dark, but nuttin scarwy." I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes, repeatedly. You see, it is normally P and M that kind of take care of each other. Sure, C gets in the mix and hugs and kisses his brother and sister but P and M just have this little "something" about them. Maybe it's the oldest and the youngest bond, who knows...but tonight Carter was the best big brother, ever!
Too, too cute...and definitely a night to remember!

For my personal record:
Peyton knows nearly every word to Jesus Loves Me and He's Got the Whole World In His Hands...(he even hums the instrumental parts to this song!!!)
Peyton says so many funny things and is developing awesome manners. My personal favorite right now is "you silly moose!"
Meredith has the most adorable fake laugh...and loves getting into mischief. This includes wrecking any and every train track we build.
Carter loves to play imaginatively. Very imaginatively. He could play for an hour with Little People figures, guiding trains over skillfully created train tracks, and thinks that every noise he hears is a train (hence...the it's ok sissy, it's dark...but it's nuttin scarwy.) If they hear any beeping or whistling, he'll say "it was just a train!"

Sidecar

2009-01-18T20:35:00.002-05:00

We had a normal day around here...church, Sunday school/volunteering in church nursery, driving through a few neighborhoods (we like to do that after church sometimes...it's random and odd, but we do), lunch, and nap. Well naptime was not a go today and we figured that might be the case because they slept for 15 minutes while we did our usual "Sunday drive" and we knew they would not be in their rooms long b/c we were going to visit with some friends. After lunch we put them down for just a little bit to have some "quiet time." Yep, I said "quiet time." They were rambunctious for a few minutes (or 10) and then they actually settled down. Usually I rejoice in the quiet of naptime, but today should not have been one of those days! When we went to get them out of their room so we could leave to go visit friends, they had made a big mess. I passed Carter on the stairs who politely informed that "I made a GIANT mess." Next came Peyton, who also politely informed me that he had in fact "made a GIANT mess, too." When I saw their room I immediately understood what they were talking about. They had emptied out the book baskets, dumped out their pj drawer, and scooped out of their socks from their rightful home. Lucky for me, the hub cleaned it up. I got the break. Usually this will happen to me on random nap days--but I always commandeer their assistance in cleaning up. But, the hub had it under control, right?
So we went to visit our friends and had a wonderful time playing together, eating, and watching the playoff football games. When we returned home, we got the kids ready for bed and spent some time in their room snuggling and saying prayers. Peyton decided it would be a good idea to dump out the entire contents of a dump truck sitting in the floor. Of course, that fueled the hub to respond by making him pick it all up because he had just put all of that stuff in there from cleaning up after nap. The bed of the dump truck was filled with all things random from the overages and spillages during naptime. So, Peyton is picking it up and the hub is reminding him to get it all and put it back. To which Peyton's response is....EEEEEVEN THE SOOOOOCCCCCK??? (imagine this in-between tears and frustration b/c he is tired from zero nap today and he's mad b/c he has to clean up his mess). The hub had shoved everything in the floor into the bed of this dump truck...and we could not help but laugh out loud at P. EEEEVVVEEENNN THE SOOOOOCCCKKK????? Finally after his fit of laughter, the hub said, "No, we can put the sock back where it belongs." Ah, never a dull moment. Thanks for the giggles, P!

Potlucky Post

2009-01-12T21:23:00.006-05:00

Ok, so here are a few belated Christmas pictures from our various family Christmas celebrations. I am sure there are more to come in the next few days...

The beloved Thomas Train!

Mer's special present from Daddy---a pink ATV!

Proof that Santa had visited, the cookies and milk were ALL GONE! Imagine that!
(and the paci's were gone too, for the 200th time!)

Family dinner on Christmas Eve at my Mom and Dad's house..

Brayden and Pa-Paw. It was Brayden's first Chrismas!

Skylar Rae and her Easy Bake Oven! What a great gift!

My three babes checking out the cat outside at Oma's house

And, they all sat still for a picture. I said, they all sat still...not that they all looked at the camera! :)

Opening presents at Oma's house. Notice Mer SITTING on the present that her brothers are trying to open!

Here's a picture of a playdate/Christmas lunch that we hosted with a few friends. We enjoyed lunch and the kids "painted" photo ornaments.

Our annual Christmas cookie baking with the kids. Bedtimes were a lot later during the holiday season...we had to squeeze in lots of fun things!

Hall Family Cousin Photo...

Can you believe they all sat still this long--and almost every one of them is looking at the camera? It's a Christmas miracle!

Meredith and Opa

One of Mer's new gifts--a shopping cart. What every girl needs!

Opening gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. They were adorable. They preciously took their time to open the gifts, stopping each time to play with each new toy. It was awesome!

Ok, so I got a beautiful new laptop for Christmas...and I can't believe it has taken me this long to post on it!

I realized I have been more of a picture poster lately, rather than sharing stories about my kids. In the past, I have shared humorous stories about the brood but I am now finding that everyday around here feels like a sitcom. The kids are all at hilarious stages, cracking me up pretty much every minute of every day.

Here's just a few random thoughts on life as a fam of five these days--

- The boys now ask me "What time is is? I am tired." As if they have any clue about time, bedtime, and the such.

- Bathtime tsunamis are back. IN FULL SWING. Now, instead of making their little sister petrified about bathing with the "brubbas" (in Mer's language), SHE is the tsunami along with them. The bathtub is one crowded lifeboat these days. I think we need a bigger tub or separate

bathtimes again 'round here. Ah, always an adventure!

-Mer is no longer a baby. She went from being a one year old to a toddler in 2.5 seconds. Where does the time go? Now she comes to me and says adorable little phrases like: "I'm runnin' Mama!" and "I go hide now." She uses a utensil at. every.meal. Every. Meal. She will protest until she gets a utensil, just like her brubbas. Her other adorable moments include saying "I love you" and searching for her papi (pacifier) by saying "Papi, where are you?" Just tonight, in the heat of little patience for me as my boys boycotted bedtime, she woke up from sleeping. (Probably provoked by the noise coming from the next room) and just wanted to be held tight. I am thankful for those little reminders of quiet among the storm. :)

-The boys are obsessed with Thomas The Tank Engine. Amazingly, the can name every train--and that is something that I cannot do! I can hand them a train and they instantly shout of the name: Percy, Freddie, Thomas, Rosie...on and on! We build about 7, 432 train tracks a day (ok, maybe only 7,431 train tracks) only for them to seek and destroy them 4 seconds later!

- C and P sleep together every naptime and bedtime (once they settle down from getting out of the bed, getting back in the bed, spreading blankets and toys across the room, emptying their armoire drawers--much to my chagrin--). It is priceless. They are getting the meaning of togetherness and I think that the sleeping together has facilitated that. Now when it's time to sleep they say they want to sleep "togeda" and now when they are playing they will sometimes come to the resolution to play together vs. fight over a toy. Notice the "sometimes" in that sentence.

-They are learning the meaning of teamwork...lol. Last night, the hub went out to watch a bball game with a friend and I was here to finalize bedtime with the babes. When the hub was on his way out the door, I asked him to check in on the boys one more time b/c I thought I heard their door open and their voices escalate. He said it was way too quiet for them to be out of the room or for their door to be open. Low and behold...he was mistaken. I walked up a few stairs to see if, in fact, their door was open...and it was. I walked into my bedroom where I found two little peanuts curled up together watching Animal Planet. They were snuggled up in blankets with pillows--and looked up to find me there. Their only response was--"Look mama, I watching crocodiles and alligators." And, yes...they were. I was tempted to let them stay there b/c I think they would have been fine for a little while longer, but they are already trying to sneak in AS LITTLE sleep as possible, so I gave them five more minutes and chased them like little mice back to their own cages.

-And, for the record, the preliminary stages of potty training have begun. Oh the joys. It's a potty party non-stop around here, as everyone now thinks they have to potty all the time so that they can either 1) get a treat or 2) wear Thomas underwear! Oh my, the fun is just beginning. And little Mer likes to be in on the action,too---she walks around saying potty, potty, potty. I once had a dream that I wanted to train all three at once--and all I can say is that it is just that--a dream.

- And lastly, but probably my most favorite little tidbit about our life around here- is that I love decorating for every season. I have always loved to decorate for every season, but now that we have kids who notice when things change it makes it all the more fun. So, while the hub was in Chicago-I got the itch. (As I normally do when he exits town for a few days---it translates into me doing oddly productive things like bathing the dog with all three kids. Wait a minute. I didn't bathe the dog WITH the three kids. I just meant that all three kids helped me bathe the dog). Once of my itches I had to scratch this time was to take down the rest of my wintery stuff--i.e.- snowflakes and snowmen--and replace it with all things Valentine. So now our house dons hearts, pink and red stuff, and gushy Valentine decor. I put out my Valentine flag and a little decor on my tiny porch and my boys noticed. We were in the driveway coming home from church when P said..."Look daddy, it's a heart." And the hub and I didn't get it...for quite a few minutes as we kept asking him what he was talking about. So, he kept saying "It's a heart...up der" while pointing to the flag. Once we finally caught on, we acknowleged that in fact it was a heart. Which prompted P to reply, "yes, it is a heart...a heart for Jesus." Now where on earth he came up with that is beyond me, but it was precious. Oh, how he manages to keep me on my toes and help me remain grounded is simply beyond my understanding.

-Ah, it's nice to be back to posting. But the three under three keep me quite hopping, (and at the end of the day, I am just sheer exhausted!)--hope to share again soon! Enjoy!

Welcome Baby Jacob!

2008-12-27T10:13:00.006-05:00

Uncle Will
Baby Jacob

Jacob

Does it get any sweeter than this?

A very proud Auntie Kara!

Oma and her grandson

Nana and Pop

Nana

Pop

Proud Uncle Will

Uncle Will meeting his nephew for the first time!

Jeff sharing the great news of Jacob's birth-

Father and son-

The new baby less than an hour old!

Jacob's nurse with Jacob

Congratulations Holly, Jeff, and Jacob! He is such a beautiful baby and we're so proud of you Holly and Jeff! We love you so much already, Jacob.

My seven special Christmas memories

2008-12-26T10:44:00.003-05:00

Ok, so my last post said I would share my seven favorite Christmas memories...here they go---
1. When I was a kid, we used to travel to my Grandma's house for the holidays. My aunts would dress up as Santa, ring bells, and stomp on the rooftop to signal Santa's arrival. It solidified the magic of Santa and Christmas for me as a kid.
2. Wrapping presents! When I was younger up until I left for college, mom and I would "hole" ourselves in a room and have a wrapping fest for hours upon end. We would turn on Christmas carols (old RECORD, yep, I said RECORD, favorites like Loretta Lynn and Elvis Presley). I have such great memories of my mom and I spending this special time together and I still cherish those Christmas carols as my favorite to this day.
3. In our house when we were growing up, we would decorate our tree with goodies. We spent time wrapping up Hershey kisses, M & M's and candy canes and hanging them on the tree. We would wrap them in Saran wrap and tie pretty ribbons around them as the hanger for the tree. It was so unique and special that my brother, mom and I did this together each year.
4. Christmas Eve service. No particular one, every single one. As a kid, I fondly remember going with a few friends to candlelight services and even a few midnight services! I absolutely LOVE the glow of the candlelight as the church becomes engulfed with Silent Night and marvel at the miracle of Jesus' birth.
5. Christmas with my children. Having kids has totally changed my perspective on MANY things...my faith, love, joy, and the element of surprise. This year was no different. The kids are starting to comprehend so much and they were overjoyed this year. Yesterday, it was such a treat to hear my boys say, "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" and they were so tickled with the gifts that Santa had brought them. They have been asking for weeks...."Santa bring presents?" Everyday we've had to tell them..."no, not yet!" I loved playing "elf" for Santa and finding the things that I thought they would enjoy so much. And--they were precious. They took their time in opening each gift and played with each one a little while before moving on to the next one.
6. Our Cabin Christmas each year with family. You have probably read my extensive raving blog post about our annual Cabin trip, but I just can't describe enough just how much I love that trip. Family is the biggest blessing we can experience here on earth and we're just so lucky to have the opportunity to get together and cherish one another.
7. And, my new favorite Christmas memory: December 25th, 2008. We spent all day yesterday waiting on the arrival of the birth of a baby boy...our newest nephew Jacob William Saunders. He squeaked past midnight and ended up arriving at 12:22 a.m. My SIL and BIL had a long day anxiously awaiting his arrival, but were rewarded with a precious and sweet son. The hub and I had the great opportunity to be there when he was born and spent many a moments oogling, oohing, and ahhing over him in the nursery. It was also a reflective time for many to spend Christmas evening in the hospital nursery, anxiously waiting and praying...as we prepared to celebrate the birth of Jacob and the birthday of Jesus, it seemed very fitting to me. He is perfect and beautiful and the family is doing great. Will and I said we might never find a more precious Christmas gift than this new addition to our family. Welcome Jacob...we can't wait to discover the gifts you have added to this world.
A belated Merry Christmas to you all!
Cheers!

Let there be peace on earth...

2008-12-16T22:02:00.011-05:00

Brotherly love, what could be sweeter?

For the record, I feel like I am celebrating the "Twelve Days of Incidents" Around here, vs. the "Twelve Days of Christmas." THis weekend, we celebrated at our annual Hamm Family Cabin Celebration--and ended up bringing Meredith home with a puffy, busted lip after an upclose and personal meeting with the hardwood floors at the cabin. We hadn't been home two hours when P was running excitedly around our house, tripped over the transition strip on the floor between the Fam. room and the kitchen and went nose first onto our antique solid wooden church pew. We were debating whether it was broken but have come to the conclusion that it is just badly bruised. (And this was hard for me--for anyone who knows me knows that one of my greatest weaknesses is a bloody nose--and his was MORE than bloody!) That was just on Sunday! On Monday, the boys boycotted naps (nothing too unusual) by C leaping out of his crib and leaping into P's crib. This usually involves wrestling, giggling, sometimes crying...and today it involved A LOT of crying by C. When I went up to put him back in his holding tank, he kept crying and crying each time I touched his hand or arm. So, I called the hub who was fortunately in the driveway and off to Urgent care C and I went. But, not before we heard a LOUD thump upstairs. Mer decided to join in the "fun" and leap out of her bed. Needless to say, her bed is now at it's lowest spot and the boys have transitioned into "toddler beds." After our urgent care visit, it was determined that Carter might have an occult fracture on his elbow and they sent us home with a sling, a referral to a pediatric orthopedic specialist, and copies of x-rays. Well, fortunately the sling was on for all of two hours before Carter yanked it off and returned to his old self--wrestling, sommersalting off the couch, and rolling on the floor with his brother and sister. Today he shows no sign of being injured. Nope, instead, he decided to delight me with vomit about 2 feet in front of our front door as we were on our way OUT the door to the gym. I am reminded to be thankful for all blessings though-as we haven't seen any more vomit as of this evening, his arm seems to be fine, Mer's lip is recovering nicely, and Peyt's nose is looking slightly bruised. Oh, the adventures of parenting and life with BOYS!!

On a different note, we have been working hard to celebrate the joy of Christmas in our homes and our hearts every day in our house. This includes an annual trip to Douthat State Park for our Hamm family cabin weekend. This weekend is a weekend that I look forward to all year and cherish in my heart all year long. There is absolutely nothing like it and we are so incredibly fortunate to be able to celebrate with our family. To give a little background for my readers and to aid in my memory for years to come--my mom is one of seven children, six of whom are still with here on earth. There is quite a separation of ages between my Granny's oldest child and my Granny's "baby." All of my Granny's children have each had children of their own and there is quite a separation of ages between the oldest and youngest grandchild. It's more like "generation 1" and "generation 2" of grandchildren. Generation 1 now have children of their own--the oldest great grandchild is 15 years old! What a blessing it is for my Granny to be able to celebrate and share her life with all of us, especially a great grandchild who is in high school! There are MANY, MANY of us-and we continually outgrew everyone's homes for Christmas celebrations. Now, we convene every year at Douthat and spend two nights renting out a lodge full of bunk beds, a huge fireplace, tables that seat 30+ people, and a huge piece of property for playing football and having marshmallow wars. We've been doing this for 7 years now--and, I can't forget to mention that "rules" go by the wayside at the cabin. That means LATE bedtimes for all, PJ's whenever you want to wear them, candy canes for breakfast, and non-existing normal naptimes for everyone. Every year the festivities include standing around the lodge, hand in hand, saying grace and giving thanks to God for our biggest blessing--each other. Santa pays a visit each year, we have a "dance-off" talent show, this year we added a male beauty paegant, we eat until we almost bust, and we simply spend time catching up with one another. I honestly can't think of a better way to celebrate my family and the blessings we have in each other. My Granny is a remarkable woman. She has taught us all how to live a humble and grateful life and how to love unconditionally. SHE is the reason we do this every year, for she is the hub of our family. We love you, Granny. I relish in how truly lucky we are to have this weekend together (and many more celebrations throughout the year, fortunately!) for I know that not all families have this. I have LOTS of pictures to share with my readers, as they will give you a small glimpse into our memories made at Douthat State Park every year-- (and I have a few pics of bumps, bruises, and transitional phases at our house mixed in along the way!!)

Peyt in his "big boy" bed!

Haley, our precious pup, even got in on the new bed celebration! Tonight, before they would lay down, they had to get a kiss from Haley! How sweet!

Peyton

Ok, so Carter fell asleep in the car on the way back from the Urgent Care center. He was sleeping so soundly that I managed to put him down on the couch--and then P proceeded to pile toys on him AND lay on him--and he STILL didn't budge! (Excuse that giant mound of laundry screaming, "FOLD ME, PLEASE!")

Carter with his sling--which lasted maybe 2 hours before he slung it off and got down to playing again! (yes, pun intended!)

(And, really, I don't let my kids sleep on the couch...ever, it just managed to happen twice this day!)

Here's a close up of Peyton's poor nose!

A family picture in front of the fireplace at the cabin.

C dragging his Santa bag down the LONG hallway filled with rooms upon rooms of bunkbeds for all!

Every year, "the girls" give little presents to each other. This is rite of passage--as only "girls" who are 18 and up participate in this part. These range from homeade treats and goodies to cd's to pj's. This year two of the gifts were matching PJ sets and handpainted wine monogrammed wine glasses. Here we are toasting... (we're missing a few girls who left earlier in the evening!) P.S.- That is Granny in the middle with the pink striped PJ's--doesn't she look like a spring chick?

The three "generation 1" girl cousins and one transplant--my sister-in-law!

This is the hub in his male beauty paegant "get up." Sorry for the sideways photo, folks...it's probably better that way anyway! :)

Some of the girls "performing" in our talent show dance off!

DJ Meredith. And, yes-that is a Christmas tree box. Every year we decorate the cabin with a tree (complete with many homeade ornaments from past cabin years and topped with an angel made by my BIL Jeff when he and Holly came to the cabin one year!) and have many other decorated spots throughout the cabin. My uncle Mike even takes time to string lights outside (what happened this year, Mike?) for all to enjoy--we know how to celebrate right!

Everyone gathers together to watch and enjoy my Granny opening up her gifts from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This is Granny-opening new tennis shoes to wear to Curves! One fit mama!

Meredith with her unsuccessful Santa sitting!

Peyton loved Santa so much that he wanted to keep coming back to talk about the toys in his santa bag! I couldn't help but get misty eyed from this--he was thanking him for the kite that he brought him! That boy is so precious and mannerly!

C is still a little skittish around the man in red. However, he did brave a hug from Santa--although he wanted NO part of sitting on his lap!

Cousin Ashley and Santa

Cousin Cody and Santa

My newphew Brayden and his first time with Santa, isn't this priceless?

Santa making his way to the cabin!

Carter having a peaceful moment!

C outside with his marshmallow gun-

Megan and Brayden

So, I mentioned that most rules just go out the window on "cabin weekend." You can sometimes catch a kid or two snuggled up in any spot to take a nap (you can find this as bedtime, too!). This is C passed out from all of the fun and excitement. Suprisingly, there was no kink in his neck!

Yet another kid passed out--on a cozy spot! Little Mer and Uncle Hoss resting during the festivities.

My cousin Christie took the opportunity to snatch up Carter from his uncomfortable couch spot and steal a snuggle!

Little Meredith

A family game of football--kids of all ages get involved!

Football-

Another shot of C passed out on the couch!

This puts it in perspective just how tiny our little girl is!

M munching on a whole apple! :)

Brayden and Meredith playing together

Peyton enjoying the great outdoors. That child could live outside if we allowed him to!

The Hamm family cabin weekend 2008! Can't wait until next year!

Uncle Mike and C making his marshmallow gun concoction-

The Marshmallow Warriors

P working on his strategy for the marshmallow war!

This final picture is of the kids and our tree at home. It took me about 543 tries and a bag of gummy bears to get them to sit next to one another for a family picture--and this was the best one of them all! I just had to share it!

Here's to celebrating family, faith, and love! Stayed tuned for my next post...my 7 special Christmas memories (as inspired by blogging buddy Mrs. P!). Cheers!

Oh Christmas tree...and more

2008-12-05T22:19:00.004-05:00

As usual, we have busy around here. Same old song, different dance these days! I apologize for just posting mainly pics lately, but I am trying to keep my head afloat. The babes and I have been busy feathering our nest for the greatest holiday of the year...Christmas. I absolutely LOVE Christmas and our house is aglow with many, many decorations. I never knew how much more I would enjoy the holiday once I had children of my own. They are so overjoyed about every aspect of the season and it just boggles (and thrills) me. This week, they made birthday cards of Jesus at our MOPS meeting and they have been so proud of them. "I made dat, mamma!" is an exclamation I have been hearing lately and it's just too stinkin' cute. In fact, after our adventure (for my MOPS moms!) of decorating the Christmas tree--the kids said they made dat, too. I guess they think they did because they helped string lights and put on ornaments. We started a very humorous Christmas tradition this year called the Elf on a Shelf. If you are unfamiliar with this tradition, it is an elf who comes complete with a storybook about his duties and jobs of reporting back to Santa each night. The elf finds a new place to "hide" each day once he returns to our home from the North Pole. There are even written rules and regs about the Elf on a Shelf--like the kids can talk freely to him but he isn't allowed to verbally respond and they aren't allowed to touch him. As "elf keepers" it is our duty to protect him (tough job in a house of 3 kids 2 1/2 and under!) and name him. The hub thought that Petey would be a fitting name for him, no rhyme nor reason, just a name. Well, that in itself is hilarious because our kids cannot pronounce Petey. So, throughout the day, he gets called various things ranging from Pee-Pee to Pete. Oh, the joys and giggles these little ones bring. We haven't had many casualties with our Christmas decorations yet, only one lonely snowglobe which had the good fortune of ending up in the bathroom sink busted at the seams with glitter and snow abounding. Oh well. If it had to bust (even though we weren't supposed to touch it...you know) the bathroom sink was probably the BEST place for it to happen for clean-up purposes.

This week at MOPS, the pastor to families at our church; Billy, gave a great devotional. He has FOUR boys 7 and under (wow!) and he gave us great insight into his outlook on parenting and facing the "adventures" of family. (Our theme for MOPS this year is "Adventures in Mothering"...oh so fitting). He reminded us that we will be faced with many, many adventures as moms...but it is our job to cherish these times (whether they be trying adventures, peaceful adventures, or pleasure-filled adventures) for one day we will look back upon these times and relish in their sweet (and often humorous) memories. It's really helping me these days (which are seeming a little too adventurous for me lately!) to remember that we are chosen to be who we are and we are given a purpose here on Earth--by God. It's quite a compliment, a gift, and somewhat overwhelming to realize that I am their mom. Nobody else can be that, it's a job reserved just for me...and it's something that I am still wrapping my brain around (even 2 1/2 years later!). What a special calling--to be a mother to these three kids---on adventurous and on calm days now and in the future!

So below, you'll find my usual hodgepodge of pictures. They range from playdates, to Thanksgiving, to Christmas decorating...enjoy!

Carter and the hub decorating the tree--
All of my boys feathering our nest!

The babes and the tree

Peyton putting on an ornament. He kept saying "it's not working, mom!" because the ornaments were difficult for them to stick on the tree!

P and the tree

My silly boys in front of our tree!

The marvel and wonder of Christmas lights!

Everyone wanted to help Daddy put up the tree. Why is it that our definitions of "help" differ so greatly from toddlers? :) The boys kept asking--"is daddy hiding?"

An attempt to get a few good headshots of the boys for Christmas card pictures--
Carter

Peyton

The teenage cousins over Thanksgiving weekend. Apparently Mer was too cool to sit with us-she hd to sit with the teens, too!

Wednesday before Thanksgiving; Kristen, Ryan, and Reagan came over to "craft." (The kids have another pronunciation for craft...it rhymes with nap). We made turkey cupcakes and handprint turkey placemats. Well, Kristen traced their handprints then proceeded to cut out 1.5 million copies of their handprints for the rest of the project---we're too young for scissors round here. :)

This is me on our Wednesday, fam of five Thanksgiving. Complete with an apron that says "domestic diva." Go ahead, you can laugh. It was a gift from Will--and it gives me something to work towards, right?

Mer indulging in our T-giving feast.

The boys eating Thanksgiving dinner. You can catch a glimpse of their turkey placemats under their plates. While eating we talked about what it means to be thankful. When we asked the boys what they were/are thankful for we got the initial response of "our bed." Isn't that funny? We make them sleep on the floor, so we questioned their sarcasm there--ok, ok, I am just kidding, they do have beds...and I am sure they are thankful for them. Thankful that they can bounce in them, boycott naps in them, climb in and out of them, throw all of their blankets out of them--oh the list just goes on and on. After we got over our initial chuckle about their beds, they said that they were thankful for mommy, daddy, and sissy. Priceless.

The three musketeers during one of our many playdates together!

My dad--the "handyman"--came down to fix a leak in our sink. Everyone wanted to get a piece of the action. Peyton is always trying to learn something new! (don't mind the mess on the floor...can you believe how much stuff can be stored under a sink?)

The teeter totter at Cartwheels and Coffee in Carytown. Love that place!

P in the hubs bball shoes. Those are some ginormous shoes to fill, buddy!

And our last pic--this is Ms. B. She is Memphis' new mommy. She loves him. I mean LOVES him. And we love her. She has kept in contact with us since she adopted Memph and she called me the other day to discuss his tummyache. He's getting just what he needs from her--and we're oh so grateful for that! Thank you, Mrs. B!

5 Kernels Of Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T13:41:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday I shared a devotional that I found, called The 5 Kernels Of Thanksgiving, at our MOPS meeting. I don't know about you, my readers, but I sometimes get lost in the Thanksgiving Holiday rush and stress of the big meal and can forget to be truly thankful for the most important blessings in my life. I also find myself being thankful for more materialistic objects than necessary...so I am on a mission to change that for myself this Thanksgiving! I did some researching and found this post about The 5 Kernels of Thanksgiving and it really grounded me. Grounded me in ways that will bring about a new spirit in me for Thanksgiving...for it's not just about the turkey, pumpkin pies, Black Friday, or the countdown to Christmas--it's about recognizing and sharing God's love for all of us. Please take a moment to read the highlighted title above...it may ground you, too!

God, please let us remember what blessings--large and small-we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Help us to see that Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what we HAVE already and help us see that You have already given us all that we truly need. And, let us rejoice in our family and our time together this holiday season enjoying every moment together while giving thanks to You. Bless our thoughts and remind us to be humble as we enter the next Holiday season...the season of giving, the season of joy, and the season of celebrating Your birth. Guide us to be thankful and see the true importance of each season. Amen

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For the record

2008-11-20T22:44:00.002-05:00

The boys are now nearly 2 1/2 years old. I can't believe it, where is the time going?
Carter is now obsessed with directions and loves to point out everything I am doing in the car. "Go "dis way" mamma!" "Hey mommy, we're going up de hill!" "Going down de hill!" and my favorite is "mommy, now we are going around the curtain!" (Curtain is his word for curve)
It is just absolutely amazing to watch their little minds grow and absorb so much of what's happening around them. Carter is also fascinated with tactile toys-he loves to play with those bead toys (I have absolutely no idea what the technical name for them is) and he could seriously drive his trains, trucks, and cars on every pretend road in our house. Right now, he is also working very hard on the skill of staying next to mommy. He has to hold my hand on the way into the gym--actually he INSISTS on holding my hand on the way in, and at times that's hard b/c my hands are usually quite full...but I'm not complaining!
Peyton is becoming my little mannerly man. He now says " 'scuse me" when he belches (hey, it's progress, right), and " 'scuse me" when he bumps you...now we're working on the " 'scuse me" when adults are talking. Tonight, after supper he said "Momma, thank you very much for my sgetti." Could that be any cuter? He is also very interested in taking all the toys in the room and lining them up in a big line several times a day...and sometimes that line turns into a very LARGE pile. (Did I mention I am pining for a playroom for all those toys?) He is also a superb big brother. Every night when I put Mer to bed he insists on kissing her goodnight once I announce she's heading to sleep. And, of course he continues to be my rough and tumble little guy (or should I say big guy?). This child would tackle an elephant if it got in his path. The other day, when I went to pick them up from the Kidzone at the gym, he was skating. Yep, I said skating. They do fun things with them at the gym while I get to exercise (clarity for my mental state!) and skating is one of them. I got to go and pick him up from his "class" and it was priceless. He was running around with skates on. He's 2 1/2 folks!
And the princess, ah the princess. The little peanut is still as tiny as tiny can be, but I can't figure out how. She can down more food than both of her brothers combined...in fact she often eats their leftovers. Mer is now running and chatting up a storm and it's happening way too fast for me! She can identify her toes, her nose, and her belly. She can also make the sounds of a cat, a dog, and a cow when she is asked the question...what noise does a __________make? Her vocab continues to grow by the minute--she can now say night-night, belly, toes, nose, want snack (nack), apple juice, book, brother (bubba), up, down, cow in addition to her other previous words. She is also getting to the stage where she loves books and she is the sweetest little snuggle bug. She cracks me up because she is just down right "busy." There's not a minute in the kitchen where she's not under my feet protesting for me to pick her up just so I can show her what I am doing on the counter. I am just amazed by how quickly they are growing!

We have had a great week around here--we got to go to the Children's Museum this Tuesday (that family membership was by far one of my favorite purchases for us!!!), had a playdate with friends on Wednesday, and went to MOPS today. Tomorrow, we're hoping to catch our breath and stick a little closer to home! I am digging this chilly, chilly weather--it's so nice to finally feel a taste of Fall (maybe winter?) around here.
Hope ya'll are having a great week!
Cheers!

A new goldmine!

2008-11-13T20:27:00.003-05:00

I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends. There are quite a large number of us who are fortunate enough to stay home with are kids (and we miss those who cannot!) and we formed a playgroup because we've grown to that size and number. Each week we get together...and it's such a neat group of women with kids of various ages and all of us moms know each other from one place or another. It's really such a blessing--and such a relief--to get together with other moms who are going through or have been through many of the same situations that I am facing. Add that to my MOPS group and I have a wealth of abundant resources at my fingertips. Lucky gal am I!
Well, today we found a goldmine (well, actually Suzanne/Allison found the goldmine). It's called Cartwheels and Coffee and it's in Carytown. You can check it out on their site: http://www.cartwheelsandcoffee.com/
It's a spot for parents and kids where the kids can play, they have story hour, classes for parents and kids/babies, and coffee for parents! Playing and caffeine! The kids listened the some great classic stories by Eric Carle and played themselves silly! It was wonderful! It's definitely a spot we'll be visiting more often...and I just wanted to share this great spot with any other parents who read this blog. I even have pics (big shock, there) and I'll share those this weekend!
Enjoy!

**Oh, and I must add a tiny update....I have been in touch a few times with Ms. B, Memphis' new mom. She LOVES him and I know he is where he belongs. She's going to send me some pictures soon...which I will share with ya'll. Yet another goldmine and blessing!

Goodbye old friend

2008-11-08T23:07:00.004-05:00

Friday was a hard day around here. Unfortunately we had to surrender our first "baby" to a new (but very loving) home. We have been dragging our feet to find Memphis a new home, as he just can't jive being in a home with three small kids and two adults who can't find the adequate time or energy to provide him with what he needs. It was time to improve his quality of life and give him a better living (and loving) situation. He just wasn't willing to share his space with our babies, despite the fact that he too was one of our babies. Thankfully, our prayers were answered and we found him the perfect home. His new mom (which is still very hard for me to say) was looking for an adult dog who would be her constant companion. A dog who would sit on the couch with her and sleep with her at night. She was looking for a new friend, and they found each other. She cried with me as I let him go and she cried when she first met him because she was so joyful about her new friend. I believe in my heart that it's a perfect fit--and I am feeling at peace. She called us this morning to fill us in on the details of their first night together. He stayed on her couch with her until she called him to go to bed. He followed her there and slept beside her. She sent pictures to me on my phone today. Thank you, God, for filling this need for us. Here's to you old friend. We love you and miss you.

Halloween, finally!

2008-11-08T22:33:00.007-05:00

Ma-Maw and Mer at the church fall festival
The four musketeers--

Peyton "flying" like a bat!

Sometimes I am driven batty. Haha!

Carter's version of "flying" like a bat!

All three saying cheese at the end of the night!

Trick or Treat!

Candy!

A brotherly hug before the fun starts!

All dressed up for a night of treats!

Mamma and her little ladybug--

Carter with the calf at our 2nd trip to the patch!

Peyton Thomas

The perfect pumpkin?

Carter Patrick

Mer with her friend, Tuck. They were trying to hug! :)

Ever heard of "all you can carry?"

My attempt at getting all three to take a posed picture. You see how well that went

Mer's "first" trip to the patch--last year, she was in the bjorn! :) How time flies!

Meredith Addington

On the "tractor" as they say-

looking for the pumpkin field

Will's 10 year college reunion was a few weeks ago. These are some late night, good time pictures with some old friends!

A reunion for many of us sorority sisters, too!

It was such a rainy day...but it didn't put a damper on our festivities! We stuck out the rain and enjoyed our time with old friends. As they say, old friends are the best friends...right, Erica?

I can' t manage to keep up these days. We're all hanging in there, the boys are keeping me on my toes and Mer isn't too far behind nowadays! The boys have learned how to strategically get out of their cribs (yes, I am probably the only mother on the face of the earth who has tried to keep her children embedded in their cribs for as long as possible). But, I fear that we have days of zero naps and sleepless nights ahead. It all started on Wednesday, when I heard them awaken from their nap. I went up to get them and C, much to my surprise, greeted me at the door. "Hi mommy!" he yelled. "Hi Carter!" I shockingly replied! Of course P had to chime in and tell me, "Carter jump out of bed, mommy!" Yikes. So, the night arrived and they went to bed. Peacefully, to my surprise. NO loud thumps (although the normal giggling and playing ensued until they crashed, which is nothing short of unusual). The next morning, I went in to get them up and found them in the sweetest of ways. Carter had jumped ship and made his way to P's bed...and they were in there together--snuggled up and reading a book. I couldn't make it downstairs fast enough to grab my camera. It was a priceless moment. Unfortunately, I didn't call nap time priceless for that day or the next as they tried their hardest to boycott any and all parts of a nap because they're no longer contained! Today, when the hub went in to get them up from nap (because I was out having some much needed ME time!!! yeah!) they were in opposite beds than when the hub put them down for nap. We don't even want to know how or why that happened. So, it looks like we've got huge transitions ahead. I welcome any and all advice on how to smoothly do this with TWO TWO year olds. Will they (or we) ever sleep again?

So, on to Halloween. It was a priceless night. The boys were absolutely adorable in the bat costumes and Mer was precious as a little ladybug. The guys quickly got the hang of trick of treating and Peyton pretty much walked the entire neighborhood. For 50% of the neighborhood, they asked mannerly for candy with the traditional "Trick or Treat." Unfortunately for the other 50% of the neighborhood got "I want some candy" despite how many times we reminded them of how that wasn't the nice way to say something! They did often tell the homeowners to "have good night" and "thank you!" On Saturday, we got the joy of spending the evening at my brother and sister-in-law's church's fall festival (say that 10 times in a fast form). So, the pictures you see are a mix from the two. Enjoy!

Happy Early Halloween

2008-10-30T22:23:00.003-04:00

So, we made our trip #2 to the pumpkin patch today. The weather was gorgeous and the kids had a fabulous time. I was sorta sad that they didn't have many (or any) of the activities open for the kids...the people said they are reserved for school groups during the week. It was Mer's first memorable experience to the patch (last year, she was a wee tiny tot!!) and she was just precious. She has been spotting all of the pumpkins around our house and walks around A LOT yelling "pumpins!!!pumpins!!!" There was no shortage of her yelling today...she was so excited to see the pumpins! She also spouted out "tractor" when she saw the hayride, that was a word I never knew she knew. The boys had an amazing time running through the patch as we took our leisurely time running around the pumpkins. They each found a green pumpkin and they even gave a few pumpkins hugs! Too, too cute! We trekked through the Christmas shop, stopped to visit the pigs, and got geared up for the holidays to come. Pictures to follow...

We're baaacckkk...

2008-10-24T21:06:00.003-04:00

Ok, so we have been gone for quite a while! We've been busy, busy, busy...but I am happy to report that we are all healthy and happy. I am WAY behind on posting pics and telling stories so that is my commitment tonight! That means that this is going to be a hodgepodge post full of pictures with little dictation. By the time I finished uploading all of the photos I am now too pooped out to write!

I do have one precious story to share:

My kids are active. Very active. So I relish in the quiet times with them, when we say our blessings and prayers, when we get the great opportunity to get all the way through a book (we read a lot every day...we just don't always get to the last page!!! And that drives me nuts!), a snuggle on the couch...you know those precious times. Well, tonight I put little M in bed and the boys were running around like mad upstairs while I was trying to finish up a chore or two. They have gotten into a habit, which I am sure I mentioned before, that they like to "nuggle" in mommy's bed before they go to their own bed to sleep. Tonight as I was picking up the remnants of laundry and organizing various toys, they crawled up into my bed and said, "let's nuggle, momma!" Well, of course I couldn't resist. So we cuddled and P brought me THREE books to read. Yep. THREE books---and we finished each one. When we wrapped up the last one, I announced that it was time for bed and we needed to head to their room. That's when P said, let's "pway" mommy. And that melted me. We say nighttime prayers every night and now the boys specifically request them, which is just awesome and amazing to me. That's the one thing I feel I am truly doing right. At the end of our "scripted and traditional" prayer, we always freestyle and include prayers for our family and friends and mention specific prayer concerns. Every night, we pray for a host of people in our family with specific needs. Every night, we pray for baby Jacob who is growing in Aunt Holly's belly. But, every night it is Will and I who mention these freestyle prayer requests. Except tonight. While still in bed, we sang a blessing and at the end before I even had the chance, C started to freestyle. He said, "Bless Aunt Debbie, Opa, and Baby Jacob." (imagine it in his cute toddler voice and slight difficulty pronouncing Debbie!) I was amazed, floored, and of course teary eyed. I added (and they repeated) Paula Jean, and Sarah and Jason to our list and they said "Amen!" Certainly a quiet moment (Thank you God, for giving me those quiet moments...especially those quiet moments with my children when I can hear Your voice) that I will relish for years to come.

We got to take a scenic railroad tour while in W. VA last weekend (we've been traveling fools!). The scenery was beautiful and the boys kept telling me that they could ride the train all day! :)

My little cousin Seth was just amazing with my boys. This picture says it all.

The gang on the railroad tour...

Lots of pictures of Mer from the railroad trip. She moves a lot slower than the boys right now--making for a much easier digital photo subject!

The girls--

Isn't she sweet?

I know this picture is sideways, it was just too cute to not include this time around!

Seth and Carter

The boys---

We took a trip last week to the Ashland Berry Farm with our MOPS group. Too much fun!

C and Ryan. THink this was right after she told him she loves him SO much. Isn't that hilarious?

My boys

I'd like to say they were picking out the perfect pumpkin, but really they were just playing in the dirt!

Our lastest visit to see Opa. When we left, Carter stroked his cheeks and told him he loved him.

Baking a cake with mama. :) A pumpkin cake-and the boys first experience of baking with me. Now they think it is perfectly acceptable to simply pull up a chair to the kitchen counter any ol'time. What was I thinking? :)

The marvel of the Kitchen-Aid!

So, we made a wonderful trip to Aruba. (without the babes, Mrs. P! I wish I was that good!) It was for the wedding of two friends, Barrie and James. It was gorgeous and provided some much needed couple time for the hub and I. Below you'll find pics of our trip. THere's documentation of the hub's crazy rehearsal dinner speech (complete with police costume and parting gifts for B and J), a conga line (would a Massey wedding be complete without one? Or without the traditional opportunity for Jimmy to dance solo on the dance floor?), doo-rags towards the end of the reception for everyone including the DJ and bartender (did I mention it was SWELTERING in Aruba?), and beautiful scenic pics from our Jeep excursion with Barrie and James. Enjoy!

The groomsmen

Signing the marriage certificate

The guys pre-wedding

"Going to the chapel..."

Speaks for itself...

Rehearsal dinner roast...errr...toast.

The view...

Me and the guys

Local lore says it is good luck to stack rocks along the coastline for family and friends. We made a family stack and a stack for Holly and Jeff to bring them luck with the upcoming birth of their baby...as they start their family together.

The newlyweds with their "stack."

My handsome groomsmen...

The wedding party

A day at the park---

These are our pictures from Hilton Head (finally). And now, I am too pooped to finish! I'll be back to comment tomorrow!

Naptime on vacation, the fun never stops...

Roasting marshmallows and making s'mores! Yum!

2008-10-07T22:44:00.003-04:00

We're here...back from Aruba. Waiting for my shampooed carpet to dry and the laundry to disappear. I have been trying to desparately download and blog tonight but I am having difficulties with my new Memory Manager software. Another story for another night. I am hoping to have pictures and stories to share tomorrow about our Hilton Head trip and five days in Aruba. I've missed you guys...I have lots of blogging buddies to catch up with!
G'night! Pictures to come tomorrow, I hope. :)

I love the beach!

2008-09-24T16:58:00.002-04:00

Hmm. We're here and having a blast. It has been so wonderfully relaxing...
A few trip highlights include:
- watching my brother put a ponytail in his daughter's hair. Does it get any sweeter?
- miles and miles of endless shore and sand. No body is here. It's "off season" so we've pretty much got the beach and the pool to ourselves!
- miles and miles of endless shore and sand. The kids can play and I don't have to worry about keeping one eye on them and one eye on my book. Tee hee.
-miles and miles of endless shore and sand. It's breezy and beautiful and lots of room for us. Did I already mention that?
- lunch at the Salty Dog (the lowlight was the temper tantrum x's 2 on the way out)
- relaxing family dinners "in" --with lots of good homecooking, plus a meal or two out for some good seafood!
- our "spa" pedicures (aka--my as the manicurist for my mom, myself, my sister-in-law, and my niece. Complete with jewels and hot pink polish! We are at the beach, right?
-outlets, outlets, outlets. Who can beat the prices at the Gymboree outlet?
-Shopping, shopping, shopping! I love specialty stores, artsy stores, crafty stores, beach souvenir stores, girly stores, etc...I love them ALL!!
- seeing my brother snuggled up with the "littlest" grandchild...so sweet.
- Mer's reaction to actually being able to walk on the beach this trip--she loves to eat the sand!
- Peyton's first pony ride. I have to wait to get home to download the pictures, but it's priceless! It's name was Mocha--chocolate brown and so cute. And I can't go without mentioning that C refused to ride but got so chummy with a goat that the goat was trying to squeeze under the gate to come back with us! (C also thought it would be a good idea to try to help him along by pulling on his ears and horns!)
- Roasting s'mores at the fire pit last night. Yum. The boys loved roasting marshmallows and Mer loved eating the graham crackers.
- Banana Cabana drinks. yum!
-kids that have played SO hard that they crash at night and sleep soundly till morning when they crawl into bed with you...
-fishing in the lake
-walks on the beach
More to come, I am sure! I'm off to snuggle with the cutest little nephew right now!
Here's to another Banana Cabana!
Cheers!

We're at the beach, baby!

2008-09-20T23:03:00.002-04:00

Yippee! We made it. It only took us about 9 hours and 15 minutes, but we're at the beach! Thank goodness we caravaned with my parents and got to trade a kid with them every now and then...because all of my kids LOVE riding in Pa-Paw's truck! It's such a treat for them...and now we know why---because my mom had snacks like Clark Bars and Gummy Worms for them. No wonder they didn't want to ride in our car with water, bananas, and cheerios. Imagine that. Anyhoo, I digress...but what's new. The kids did very well and we're staying at an amazing resort with my brother, sister-in-law, my niece and nephew and mom and dad. It's been a long time coming as we haven't taken a family vacation with all of us since I can remember. Can't wait to see what the next week holds. I'm sure I will be back to share our adventures before the week is done...

Here's to family, vacation, and time spent together! Cheers!

Oh the simple things...

2008-09-18T20:32:00.006-04:00

I tried a new adventure today. It was called D-M-V. Yes, folks. That's right. The Department of Motor Vehicles. And, to make it even more adventurous, I took all three of my kids. I thought that today seemed like a great day for a quest out of the ordinary. So, we trekked up the road to the super store of all things vehicle...and only had to wait 15-20 minutes, tops! And, better yet, I picked the best seat in the house! I decided to sit in the back-- because as we all know, DMV is as quiet as a library at 6 a.m. on a Monday morning and my kids---well let's just say that the four of us aren't so quiet. Why was it the best seat in the house? Because sitting a seat or two over was a superbly nice man who completely understood the woes of parenting multiples. He pulled out a few (yes, a few!!) pictures of his adorable 3 1/2 year old fraternal twin girls and just started chatting away about them. His advice was probably some of the best advice I have recieved regarding parenting multiples and I am just tickled pink! He chatted me up about potty training, sharing toys, the joys (*!??#) of three year olds (which actually frightened more than excited me), preschool, and the difference between having twins and having two kids close in age (and there are many differences, let me say...coming from a mom who has twins and a baby close in age to them!). I so enjoyed his advice and our wait was over in a flash. I am so thankful for that, such a small treat but a big blessing for the four of us at the same time. The kids "read" books and played with matchbox cars and pretty much stayed entertained the entire time. It was awesome. Which brings me to my point...of the simple things. I have GOT to slow down and enjoy them and the little (and big) blessings they bring along, for they are really what matters most. I am working on having daily conversations with God, versus a Sunday sermon experience or a daily 5 minute devotional with my kids. I am working on keeping Him closer to my heart and chatting Him up all day (and thanking Him all day), just like this nice man at DMV did with me today. That nice man made my day so much brighter...and I know that if I just chatted it up with God all day, my rewards would be greater and my days so much brighter! Something to work on...for sure!
And to top off the day of simple pleasures, one of my all-time favorite treats for Fall is back! The Pumpkin Spice Latte made it's debut about a week ago at my local Starbucks. That's when I know Fall is creeping up on me...which I just get estatic about. I love Fall and everything about it from Pumpkin Spice Lattes to my mantle decorated with harvest treasures. In fact, I started decorating for the season a week ago...in our 90 degree spurt, and just finished up this past Wednesday. Now if I could only get the lights to work on my twig pumpkins on the front porch I would be golden! :)
And on a completely random note (as this post has been full of hodgepodge thoughts today), we're headed to the beach for a week tomorrow. And, I am sure this will totally confuse my brain and body as to what season it really is...as I was just gushing about how much I love Fall! So I am sitting here on the blog, listening to my boys boycotting nap and the running washing machine, while I should be prepping and packing for our trip! Yikes!
I guess I better get back to work. See ya in a week!

I'm a big kid now!

2008-09-18T20:32:00.003-04:00

I have been a terrible blogger lately!
We've been super busy! Last Saturday, we sporadically decided to give up the pacifiers for the twins. Carter had come up to me and said "bye, bye paci." So, that prompted me to get rid of them. It's time. They are 2+ now and they are ready. We had a brief little love ceremony for the little pieces of bedtime comfort that have soothed our boys since they were little peapods. We carried them into Meredith's room, because we had discussed how pacifiers are for babies. Each boy brought their favorite paci to her crib and chucked it in...because she is now the only baby in the house. That night, we put Mer to bed (with her surplus of pacifiers) in her crib and went to tuck in the boys. They have gotten into a habit of wanting to "nuggle" in mommy and daddy's bed before they go to their own. I'm sure it's a habit we'll regret in the near future as it's already becoming quite a bedtime ritual that's hard to go without each night. We went into our bed and all snuggled under the covers and talked about the end of pacifiers. It was ceremonial...and a landmark for us. May sound silly, I know--but I just can't believe how grown up they are. They were fine, I think it was harder for me! So, they went to bed without any struggles and they didn't even ask for them. Yippee! The next day...not so much. They only had them at bedtime anyway, but that seemed to be a huge feat for them on Sunday. In fact, it was so huge that they boycotted any and all of their naptime. No naptime for two year olds equals crankiness. No naptime for twin two year olds equals double the crankiness. Yuck. Later in the day, however, I was informed of one of the funniest comments I have heard in a long while. All of the babes and the hub went to Whole Foods with the hub's mom as I went to Bible study. Well, when I returned and we all shared dinner, they shared with me what Peyton said regarding his sister now having his paci. Apparently she had one of his beloveds and said..."girlfriend's got MY paci." How funny is that? Now you must imagine it in true Peyton fashion and very unique pronunciation. He calls Mer "girlfriend" now instead of baby. I guess she's moving up in his line of affection? And when he calls her "girlfriend" he means it in every southern sista sense of the word...with his little intonation of Girl-fwend. Adorable.
Needless to say, they (or should I say I) have survived this milestone in their lives. They have asked for them very occassionally but surpass the topic pretty quickly once reminded where they've gone.
Today, we had our first MOPS meeting of the year. Love it. Absolutely LOVE it. Such a great group of women to fellowship with and a fantastic support group. And, going along with the title of my post, I almost teared up when I was leaving the meeting. You see, the boys are now "upstairs" in a "big" kid classroom where they sing, play, have snack, and do crafts. It's incredible. Like a mini preschool for 2 hours. When we were leaving today, Peyton did NOT want to go. In fact he was making me sweat as he was dragging his feet and trying to lay out on the floor in protest. Lovely, let me tell you. But, I take it as a good sign that he is comfortable at our church and had a wonderful time at his first MOPS meeting of the year. Well, back on track...while we were leaving he said, "Hey, it's Ben. Hi Ben!" It was precious to me because not only had he never met Ben before today yet he remembered his face and put his name with it, but he recognized that it was a friend from his class! That is what made me want to tear up...in between the beads of sweat forming on my forehead while trying to hold Meredith in my arms and stub off his temper tantrum about leaving for the day. (thanks to Kristen for taking care of Carter for me and getting him to the car while I was sweating through this...and for finding my keys that I lost on my way into MOPS this morning! Whew!)
After MOPs, we went to lunch with Kristen, Ryan and Reagan and it is just precious to watch the sweet friendship between Ry and the boys. Too, too cute. When we were getting out of the car, Carter kept saying he wanted to see Ryan!!!!! Upon greeting each other, Ryan gave Carter the cutest and biggest hug to him and then to Peyton. They all held hands, thanks to Ryan being the mother hen, on their way into the restaurant.
As for little Mer, she is just developing every day. She is now full time walking and talking up a storm. Her vocab now consists of:
baby, ball, bath (baf!), Haley, momma, daddy, sissy, up, uh-oh, bye, hi (both complete with little Miss America style waves), doggy, all done, all gone (with hands in the air for a little audience participation), out, mmm (when she eats), ooohhh(when she likes something), bubble, pop (which she sings the bubble song with me...and echos the chorus at the end with POP! Thanks to Mrs. P for introducing this song to me when I spent the day with her in the MOPPETS classroom! We use it for everything now and adapt the song to include many words (potty, dinner, etc.)
And, now the girl plays ball. Yep. I guess you can't live with two older brothers and one sport fiend of a dad and not play ball. She'll roll the ball back and forth with you, it's crazy. Last night the hub was reading to the babes and Carter took the book and put it away in the book basket. I guess he had decided they had read enough. Well sure enough, our little girl walked to the book basket, found the same book and brought it back to her daddy. She put the book on the couch and opened it up...as if to say "well, aren't you going to keep reading? I wasn't finished!" I tell you what, the days are just getting more and more fun by the minute around here.
Three under two...certainly an adventure, that's for sure. But it's an adventure I wouldn't trade for anything.

Whew! Where do I begin?

2008-09-12T21:53:00.004-04:00

We have had one whirlwind of a week! I'm only going to backtrack to Wednesday...because honestly that is as far back as I can remember! We had Mer's one year check up...and my little peanut is 19 lb 12 oz! I've never had such a "little" baby before. The doctor was amazed at her cognitive abilities and said that I should be looking to find her identifying body parts and mimicking animal noises soon (intentionally, that is). She has now added the words baby, out, and up to her vocabulary and I just can't believe how much she is changing every day. The dr. actually referred to her as "one neat one year old." And, of course I just have to agree.
After our one year check up, I headed to pick up the boys from Kristen's house (she graciously watched the boys so that I could have an actual appointment where I could hear what the dr. was saying). And we headed off to the Children's Museum of Richmond (C-MOR). Honestly, I have always been fearful of doing this museum as a solo parent of three kids 2 and under. I didn't know the layout and wasn't sure what the future of C-MOR would hold for us! Well, let me say that I have just found my new favorite spot for us. It was WONDERFUL. WONDERFUL, I say! The only tragic part is that I left my beloved camera at home, so I am without pictures of our first experience there (which, I think that I am on the path to naming the camera. It truly has become my sidekick since I started having children and I cannot live without it. Any name suggestions, feel free to share!!) Back on track about our trip...they have a phenomenal art room complete with ANY art supplies you can imagine (which the only art P was interested in was escape art. He wanted NO part of any craft that day!), a huge FENCED in play area outside (fence being the optimal word!!) complete with a sandbox and water activities, a toddler play area inside with a play kitchen, slide, blocks, puzzles, etc., and an "apple tree" complete with red apples (aka-red balls that my two really enjoyed tossing towards the end of the trip--yikes!), an indoor water feature, a children's theater complete with hand puppets, an indoor dinosaur "fossil excavation" area, tables for lunch-----you name and they've got it! We all had so much fun. Carter LOVED the sandbox and driving his train through the sand and M was content soaking it all in. I cannot wait to return and explore all of the contents to the fullest. And, of course it will be such a great place during the cold winter months. It's on days like this when I feel even more blessed to be at home with my babes to experience places like C-MOR together. It was great! And the rest of Wednesday continued on as normal, with the hub traveling and me playing. We rounded up the day with our "B" themed dinner of baked barbecue chicken, broccoli, and blueberries. Say that fast 10 times!
On Thursday we headed to church for a minute to meet a new MOPS friend and the kids got to play with some of their friends from the MOPPETS group. Great to see everyone. On a side note, the we go to church where we also attend MOPS. My kids are fairly used to the nursery rooms and the long hallway leading up to them. Well, in the long hallway, during preschool time, contains all of the preschoolers bags and stuff. On this particular day, the preschoolers had their "show and tell" items under their bags. The show and tell items all reflected the letter "A" and one child had brought an apple. Well, while I was talking to another mom, I looked over to see Carter taking two bites out of an apple. An apple that he had gotten off the FLOOR, where the show and tell items were being housed! Yikes. My boy took two bites out of someone's show and tell apple! I felt awful and put the apple up on the shelf for the show and tell preschooler. I was fairly embarrassed and just as we were holding hands to leave, another preschool teacher came in the hall and rather firmly told my children not the touch the preschoolers' items. And, I agreed, but my kids didn't get the whole show and tell idea. So, I tried my best to explain it...and then the teacher spotted the apple sans two bites. Uh-oh. She started going on about how the apple was eaten and marched herself into the classroom to announce it to the teacher. I apologized quietly and felt awful. I don't know what else I could have done, I was all out of spare apples to leave behind to replace it! More lessons for me to continue to enforce...when will they understand not to touch things that aren't ours? After church, it was a mad dash home to pack the car chock full of baby stuff to sell and head to Ma-Maw and Pa-Paw's house. We participated in a consignment sale to get rid of some of our "baby" stuff...and I must say I had a terribly hard time doing so. I think I listened to the ringing chimes of the exersaucer a good 20 times (and even one more time in the parking lot of the sale) before I could surrender it for good. It just brings back way too many memories of the babies being just that...babies. Mom and I got the good fortune of shopping early at the sale and finding some great deals for the kids. An alphabet floor puzzle for .50? Polo Ralph Lauren hot pink corduroy pants for our buddy, Ryan, for $5.00? A singing Thomas the Train book for Carter and one of those bead toys with the metal wire-thingies for C...his newest obsession! Who can beat those deals? We took Mer with us and she got so antsy towards the end of the shopping trip that I let her out of the stroller (what was I thinking?). Well, she was content holding my hand and walking down the aisles as mom waiting in the FOREVER LONG check-out line...until she decided she had enough and wanted to crawl. QUICKLY. AWAY FROM ME! SO, she crawled and boogied as fast as possible away from me, under tables, and farther and farther away. I am only sharing this so that you readers will chuckle at the mental picture of me crawling under tables and pushing through racks of clothes to catch up with my one year old. Funny, let me tell you. All the while she kept looking back over her shoulder and laughing hysterically like Bolt in the Beijing Olympics eying his competitors...far, far behind him. She is a piece of work.
Friday rolled around and we spent all day at Ma-Maw and Pa-Paw's house. (And I mean ALL day, as all three children decided that it would be a fine idea to rise and shine at 5:30 a.m.! I don't do 5:30 a.m. anymore, not since I started "working from home.") So, we had a full day of fun and lots of tired babes by noon. As always, we thank Ma-Maw and Pa-Paw for being such gracious hosts. We couldn't ask for anything more! The evening ended with a celebratory dinner for my brother, J...because today is his birthday! Happy Birthday, Jason! We went to dinner to celebrate, upon which we realized that P is really learning the fine art of manipulation, potty, and poop. Sounds horrible, I know. We were sitting at the table and finishing up dinner when the hub took M to change her because she had pooed. So, P immediately said that he wanted to go with Daddy! When I quietly tried to explain that he had to change M b/c she was stinky he started chanting..."I pooped, too!" And while I was trying to hush him and quiet him, he just kept getting louder and louder and louder. Yep. Right at the dinner table with folks ALL AROUND. Needless to say, I quickly scooped him up and we went outside where it prompted a very timely and appropriate conversation about restaurant and table manners. And, we didn't return to the table! So, I was a little frazzled and we headed back to home. For our hour drive, P talked about Pa-Paw and Pa-Paw's red truck repeatedly for 15 minutes, followed by the sweetest sentiment to me..."Mamma, I wanna nuggle (snuggle)," while C and M slept the whole way home. Ew, who can top that? After three trips back and forth to the car to unlock, unbuckle, and carry them upstairs one by one...they're all tucked in...and probably feeling just as worn out as I am right now. Here's to an even better weekend!
Cheers!

Par-tay on! :) What a great weekend!

2008-09-08T20:55:00.011-04:00

We had such an awesome weekend, filled with birthday parties galore! It started with our buddy, Reagan's, party on Friday. She turned one...and she was born almost exactly 24 hours before Meredith! Crazy coincidence, we just know they'll end up the best of buddies!

The friends enjoying cake at the table!

Mer was conversing on the phone (already?) while the others enjoyed cake. She obviously doesn't get her sweet tooth from me!

This picture was actually at my niece's bday party on Saturday. Her and Meredith share the same birthday! How cool is that? And, not only is Mer talking on the phone already, but she is also trying to steal kisses from boys! I need to have a chat with her! (This is M with her pal, Trevor...and apparently her first love!)
M, still kissing....
Skylar with her aunt, Micki Lea. Megan made the blue ballerina cake herself!
Mer, on her birthday.
(yes, it's out of order...what's new?) This is Reagan with her birthday cake. She did an awesome job devouring it!

Mer got this playhouse from my aunts, cousins, and granny. I love it, she loves it and the boys love it, too! Fun times ahead, I can tell!
More time in the playhouse-
Still playing in the playhouse...and I can see her imaginative wheels turning! :)
Hot dog anyone?
This is a picture from Skylar's bday party of Will and my nephew, Brayden. Aren't they just too, too cute?

This sets the scene for all of our fam and friends who were absent party-goers. We missed you!

(This pic features the Magic Fairy Princess Dust and the handmade crowns...thanks to Burger King and spray paint!)

The table settings...
The cake and sentiments table-
A pic of the pavillion. It's so much fun to plan a pink princess party!
Mer's "crown"
You'll see a later picture of how much she liked wearing it...

Some of our guests during lunch-
PaPaw and his youngest grandchildren
Skylar and her crown. Does it get any cuter?
Carter is such a ham. He loved the crown (for about 5 minutes) and LOVED the playhouse! WHat a hit!
Our friend, Maggie, in the playhouse. We're the envy of all our friends...just kidding!

Cake time for Mer (and apparently C, too!)
She was very dainty with her cake, which comes as absolutely NO surprise to us!
Yum!
Her crown. She loved it, didn't she? Well, it could have been that I think I accidently snapped the elastic under her chin while putting it on! Or it could be M's version of..."It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!"
P during lunch.

Brayden, the cutest little prince.
Uncle Jeff and Mer during presents.
Will, excited about the possibilities of what the future holds for our house. Barbies, tutus, slippers, prom, dating...
Skylar sliding at the park!
Peyton and Michara at the top of the big slide!

The boys had dinner outside of the playhouse when we got home! They LOVE this toy!
Meredith is dying to get into the toy her daddy is opening.
One cake, one birthday, one song, one party, one hat (the only way I could get her to wear it...)= one tired birthday princess!
M found a piece of cake someone had left on the picnic table bench. I think she thought she was being sneaky when she found it...and once we found her and took this picture, she left the cake alone!
Scoping out the prospects of getting caught!

Happy birthday little princess!

We had such a wonderful time! The weather was PERFECT and there was a great breeze at the park. We have enjoyed playing with every one of Mer's toys. I think the boys and Mer thought it was Christmas today when they came downstairs because they just played with toy after toy after toy. As for me, I am thoroughly enjoying just having some good ol' fashioned girl toys around now. Doll houses, play food, pink blocks, a purse that counts/sings/tells opposites, a piano that teaches, and a playhouse; it takes me back to my childhood days of pretend and imagination! Who could ask for more? I don't know who is enjoying these birthday toys more...the boys, Meredith, or ME!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2008-09-05T21:19:00.005-04:00

Well, tomorrow is M's big day. Numero Uno. The FIRST birthday. I honestly can't believe it. I know what happens from this point on...once a baby hits the "one year" mark it's warp speed into toddlerhood. I remember it clearly from the boys. One day they were barely walking and the next they were holding conversations with us...and each other!

It was around 1 a.m. on September 6th that labor started and our princess was born at 12:11 p.m....on our dr's lunch hour! Mer was almost delivered by the nurses, thank goodness my dr. doesn't eat much (j/k!). Seriously, this year of growth has been amazing. I cannot believe the things that Mer can do...she speaks fairly well (momma, daddy, uh-oh, kitty, yucky, doggy, thank you, mmm,hi, bye, and sissy), has the most precious Miss America wave, and is inches away from walking. A true blessing in our lives, she is a little princess who is bound to give her two older brothers a run for their money. Happy birthday, baby! I can't believe you're one!

This is my FAVORITE picture of Meredith. This was taken in the hospital, the day we were discharged.

Sissy's arrival home...and the boys first glance of her at THEIR house. Notice the tip toes and little head peeing over the edge of the car seat. They have gone from not paying too much attention to her (when she first arrived) to barely containing themselves in the morning to see her. As soon as they hear a peep, they say..."Oh! Baby awake!" and run to greet her. In the past week, they have both started calling her versions of "Meredith." Before then, Peyton only addressed her as "baby" and Carter referred to her as "sissy." Their love for her is more than evident.
Two proud parents on our way home from the hospital!

A proud papa with his baby girl-
Peyton meeting the baby for the first time with Aunt Holly.
The boys peeking at sissy. This was their first trip to the hospital to meet her.
P meeting Mer. He was so curious to touch her.
The sweet baby. At this point, I didn't think she looked too much like C or P. Looking back now...I can lots of resemblances!

Right after M was born! I felt like I had run a marathon and won first prize!
Mamma and her sweet girl!
Daddy's girl right from the start!
She was this calm and laid back from the start. She just snoozed in the isolete after they evaluated her with her arms above her head, just like Carter! They both still sleep this way!
Aunt Megan, cousin Skylar, and Meredith. Skylar and Mer share the exact same birthday...only 3 years apart. How cool is that?

Well, my princess...I hope you have a wonderful day! I know that you will be showered in kisses and love all day (not that different from any other day here). I can't wait to squeeze you in the morning and reminisce about the special day that you entered the world! Thanks be to God for my amazing little blessing! Happy Birthday, Meredith!

Back from Margaritaville, back to reality....

2008-09-03T21:52:00.003-04:00

We had such a busy (and incredible) Labor Day weekend! It started with a friend's Stock the Bar party on Saturday, where the hub and I got some much needed time to catch up with some old friends. We had way too much fun, if there is such a thing. The majority of Sunday was spent at my mom and dad's house with the kids...we are so thankful for such wonderful grandparents. The kids just roam and run and play and it's so relaxing and refreshing. Monday was our big concert day...to see Jimmy Buffett! It was by far the best concert I have ever attended. This was my second Buffett show and the setting is such an experience. If the world functioned like a Buffett concert, life would be much sweeter, slower, and more relaxed. When you have the opportunity to go...please do. You would truly never be disappointed because everyone (and I mean everyone) is so friendly and laid back. We met some of the nicest people who were tailgating all around us. Fun, fun, fun! Not to mention, we got some awesome quality time with my Jason and Megan (my brother and SIL). Tuesday, I stayed at Mom's house will the hub worked...and she was so kind to help me get even more prepared for Mer's birthday party this weekend. Thanks again, Mom!!!
The hub is away on business and the original purpose for this post is for my daily reality check. Since we were having so much fun this weekend, we had TONS to catch up on today! So, after the usual vacuuming, dusting, dishes, laundry, and organizing chores were complete, we needed to head out for some errands. I'm beginning to stress a little, because as I mentioned above, M's bday party is this weekend. And the hub is away until Friday. So that spells stress for me and tons of stuff to do...ALONE with all three of my lovelies. :) So, I was dreading the trip to the mall to hit Gymboree's big sale (LOVE it) for M's birthday gifts. All of the children were precious and I was able to pick out 2 shirts, a dress, a sweater, and a pair of pants for Meredith...without rushing or fussing. I thought I was probably pushing my luck and went to the Gap to look for some more goodies...because my niece shares a birthday with Meredith and I just love to get her a cute outfit every year for her birthday. So, in the Gap we go...and the kids were precious...again! We picked out an adorable outfit for Skylar and another cute outfit for Miss Mer and headed to the food court. I had called my friend, Kristen, before the mall outing and I was telling her how I was stressing over the trip. She (who is always my "mall buddy" and who usually gives me ideas to try when I go it alone with all three, but I am never so brave to attempt them!) suggested that I feed them dinner there...ALONE. At the time I thought she was nuts (like the first time she suggested I bath all three in the tub together and it resulted in a tsunami tidal wave experience for Mer) and I thought it would be way to chaotic to actually shop and eat dinner alone with my munchkins tonight. But since the trip was going so well, I thought I would try. We managed to eat (all four of us!!) very peacefully and I didn't feel one drop of sweat on my brow (which is a miracle in itself because any other time at the Food Court I can be seen resembling a chicken with my head cut off as I race around to cut up food for each child, pass out napkins, dip, and drinks to my babes all the while trying to catch a bite or two for myself). But, in all honesty, I actually think it was the calmest of calm as far as experiences at the mall with three young children can go. The boys even got to ride the "choo-choo" and the school bus at the food court, whew! We even managed two more stops before arriving home to prepare for bed.
At home was where the real fun began (as it always does, right?). I was putting everyone in their pj's and serving up cups of milk when little Mer started crawling towards her brothers at a lightning speed. I promise, I have NEVER seen a baby move so fast. Upon reaching them, she would catapult herself onto them and start laughing hysterically. She did this not once, but MANY, MANY times! Fits of giggling and wrestling began and lasted for a good 20 minutes. And the funniest thing about it all was that the little peanut was the instigator. On "normal days" (don't ask me what those are!!), I spend 85% of my time muttering the words: "be nice" or "she's a baby, be careful" or "watch out for sissy" or "don't throw that train at her head!" But today, it was different. They sat on her, grabbed her by the shirt, she tackled them, cackled aloud, crawled over them, and then came back for more. I don't know if I have ever laughed so loud. I called my mom so that she could hear the ruckus coming from all three of them as WWF continued in our living room. When I was sharing this story with the hub, he said the sweetest thing. He said, that's just typical of our Mer. Always surprising us, always finding ways to melt your heart when you least expect it. It's oh-so-true. She's our little surprise.
She turns one on Saturday. Tonight I rocked her extra long and held her extra tight. Our little surprise walked down the entire hallway holding my hand tonight. She's getting bigger by the minute and it's killing me.
So, yes...it was back to reality today. Back to days of surprises...from amazing behaviors at the mall to WWF in the living room. So long, Margaritaville!

Ahh, a day in the life...

2008-08-28T22:38:00.004-04:00

We had such a wonderful day today, filled chock full of time with family and friends. We started out the day with a play date with some of my old co-workers who are now also SAHMs. It's so nice to have a group of women and kids to connect with and share our experiences with...and you know we've got all kinds of experiences to share. The kids played wonderfully with their friends, Blake and Tuck (poor little Mer is the only girl in the bunch!), had lunch together, and made the trek home for nap time. You know it's gonna be a good day when the kids fall asleep in the car and you can manage to slither them up the stairs, slip off their shoes, and plop them in their beds...and they stay asleep the WHOLE time. Wow, it must have been some play date!
While they napped, I made a rainy day appropriate meal...meatloaf (in the shape of a palm tree in honor of Will and I's concert date on Monday to see Jimmy Buffet! Yes, folks! That's right...we're headed to Margaritaville!) with potatoes.
Meredith woke up first (no surprise there) and we got our daily momma and daughter bonding time. She is just too sweet for words. Actually speaking of words, she continues to amaze the hub and I everyday. Today the word "kisses" was added to the list of vocabulary for her. She can also say doggy, kitty cat, thank you, sissy, yucky, "mmm", momma, daddy, and uh oh. The boys woke up right as I was sticking the meatloaf in the oven, lucky me!
We played until dinner and I took Carter to Wawa to pick up some shredded cheese and sour cream for our potatoes. You would have thought that I took him to Disneyland today. I guess convenience stores aren't really designed for young kids and as you can tell by my post...my kids have never seen the inside of one. I'm just not that brave to do all three in such a small, confined space. Anyhoo, I digress. All of the stuff in Wawa was just right for his height! He could reach A LOT OF STUFF, right at HIS eye level. So, he tried to carry a bag of chips, a granola bar, and a bag of fruit snacks. However, we didn't leave the store with any of that...just 2 tootsie rolls which seemed to appease him...and I made him promise to share one with his brother.
We ate our rainy day dinner and decided to do baths right after the meal...because the impending important event of the night was looming....The REDSKINS played tonight. I only mention this because Peyton spent 30 minutes during dinner chanting Redskins and we felt that we couldn't deny him (or the hub) the chance of watching a little of the game.
Bath time...was adventurous as usual. The hub made the bath and it was FULL Of bubbles tonight. Which of course, just tickled the kids to death. We had a bubble blizzard, literally--where Will taught them how to put the bubbles on their hands and blow them all over the tub and each other. Fun for them, but oh much more fun for the mom who gets to clean it all up after the bath. LOL. We made bubble mustaches and beards and even put some on our ears to make bubble earrings. All three kids had to have their hair done before exiting the tub and tonight's "do" was the traditional Mohawk (maybe pics will follow tomorrow). All in a day's bath.
But, this of course, led up to the football game...and the exciting event of the Redskins for Peyton. He just learned how to catch a ball on Sunday and he is just beside himself. Carter was content playing with his train set and Meredith had a small blue football to chew on so she could share the spirit as well. The highlight of the football evening, however, was the fact that Peyton would watch the screen then try to act out what they were doing. If you have never seen a one man football team, we invite you to join us on any Sunday afternoon during football season. We guarantee that you will laugh your pants off. Literally. He throws the ball to one of us (or at one of us, I should say) and then when you go to throw it back to him, he falls on the ground. Now, the falling part is not unusual for P...as many of you know he is much akin to his father's nickname of "Fall down the hill Will." But, the hysterical part is that P fell down everytime we threw the ball to him---as if someone was tackling him. We laughed until we cried, as this kid will do anything for a smile or an audience. Carter continued to play with his trains and Mer was practicing her walking skills..all the while their brother is trying to conduct a solo football game in the middle of the living room. I think we're the definition of chaos. In fact, check the dictionary, we might be the featured image. :) The evening ended with lots of snuggling from C, P, and M...and our evening prayers. Can't think of a better way to spend our day...or night!

**And, please bear with me, the blog is undergoing a slight face lift. I'm a very indecisive person and I am very likely to change my mind about my background....quite possibly 10 times or more. Feel free to leave your thoughts about our new look!**

Have a great night!

Um, help...please!?

2008-08-22T20:47:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I have learned how to get past the annoying and rarely nice comments of people regarding the busload of children I have under the age of 2 1/2. However, I have not learned how to get past pushing a stroller titled The Big Joovy Caboose loaded down with three kids through Target while carrying a jumbo box of diapers, a two pack of sippy cups (Thomas the Train for the boys), a tube of A & D (just LOVE diaper rash), a bag of pretzel rods and Sun Chips (for our upcoming trip/picnic at King's Dominion later in the day), and a 2 Liter of soda ...to make it safely to the checkout counter with all four of us in one piece (and manage to not harm any Target consumers in the process). I. Am. Being. Serious. Here. If you happen to have any advice that could help me out, I would sincerely appreciate it. Think on it. Sleep on it if you have to...but please spare me any advice that includes:
A. Wait until the Hub comes home to go out (I'd go crazy some days PLUS he travels overnight twice a week)
B. Use the basket under the stroller to carry items in the store (I don't want to appear as if I am trying to shoplift AND The Big Joovy Caboose isn't exactly prized on the great storage basket underneath. Just how am I supposed to get to that thing again?)

I was overdue for a sarcastic rant. There you go. Enjoy...and be thinking of some helpful tips, PLEASE!

A day at the park--

2008-08-16T15:54:00.007-04:00

Things are finally slowing down around here and we're slowly settling back into our routine. We've been enjoying the beautiful weather this week...where's that coming from? Today we met up with some friends--Kristen, Jeremy, Ryan and Reagan for a picnic lunch and a park date. The kids did such a good job being "big kids" and walked nearly the entire park! We got to feed the goats and have lunch under a huge shade tree...can it get any better than that?

Jeremy, Kristen, Ryan and Carter feeding the goats.
Will and the boys feeding the goats.
Peyton up close and person with the goat.
Carter and the goat...I see a pattern here. :)
Carter, Peyton, and Ryan looking at the bunny.
Reagan chillin in her ride-
The three musketeers (this was after Kristen tried to get the boys to kiss Ry on the cheek really fast so I could snap a picture. Silly digital delays prevented that picture from proving it to be true!)
A family photo with a lot of bull...I mean, a big bull.
Ryan and Jeremy with the prize cow.
Ok, does it get ANY cuter than this? Seriously?

Meredith, chillaxin as my cousins would say. :)
A Sauer family photo
A Lloyd family photo
C and daddy
I have to sneak in pics of Meredith, since she didn't get out to walk and enjoy any exhibits!

Daddy and the boys checking out things in the Nature Center.
The boys were exploring the BIG fish in the tank.
Ryan is on top of Jeremy's shoulders, pretty much rivaling the height of the trees.
The view from behind...
My ham actually got on the bench himself and turned to pose like this for the camera. Not camera shy here, eh?

The otters in the Nature Center (oh, and our kids are in the picture, too)
Walking back to the car. Last summer, Kristen and I took Ryan, Carter, and Peyton to Maymont in August. Mind you, we were both due in September with Reagan and Meredith. It was hot as blue blazes that day and we trekked up the hill to your right in this picture. I was hoping for me it would trigger labor (last year, not this year!), but no such luck...Meredith came on her own 3 weeks later!

And, this is what happens to kids after walking/riding the entire length of Maymont Park on a fairly warm summer day. All of them....out like lights.

Have a great weekend!

It's a....

2008-08-14T22:03:00.003-04:00

Well, Holly and Jeff had their big gender revealing tonight. So all the family gathered anxiously to hear the news. Jeff made us take sides...the left half of the room represented "boy" and the right half of the room represented "girl." It was interesting to see that it was a pretty even split. I orginially thought it was a girl, until I saw Holly yesterday...and realized that she's carrying fairly low which resulted in a last minute change of opinion--to a boy. And, it is. A boy, that is. Now, we're looking forward to being able to unload even more of the boy toys around here...and sharing the cluttering with someone else! :)
Congrats Holly and Jeff! A new little Saunders is on HIS way!

Where do I start?

2008-08-09T22:30:00.012-04:00

How cute is this picture? (Thanks Michara!)
Little Man Carter
Playing on the playground at the beach!
Meredith truly enjoyed her own personal bike seat!
Peyton heading to the ocean.

"The Cousins at Oak Island"
Mama with 2/3 of her babes... Peyton ABSOLUTELY rebelled against taking this photo with me!
This is Peyton still avoiding the camera after my attempt at a mom/kids shot!
So, after I fought with him and tried to get him to walk to the ocean with ME for the family photo opportunity, he decided to walk down with cousin Cody! Stinker! (but isn't this a priceless photo?)
So, after many failed attempts, I did manage to get a family shot of us all holding hands...heading to the playground at the condos.

The princess' first sampling of the big water...the jury's still out on her opinion of it...
The brothers fishing together.
A shot of all the cousins. We tie dyed shirts while we were on vacation...and they turned out so well! The boys have matching shirts and Mer and I have matching shirts. Too cute! :)
Our family beach photo, it wasn't windy at all that day!
The best angle of all! Another photo of the cousins at the beach.

Ok, so a small dead fish drifted ashore. Leave it up to my twin two year old boys to find the one small dead fish on the whole beach to play with. (And notice the poor little goldfish laying beside the real fish...a little foreshadowing, maybe?) They were fascinated by this small dead fish...which thankfully provided a chance to get the both of them together in a picture. A rare moment indeed.
Still hanging out with the small dead fish. Yep.
Yum. Popsicles. My aunt Pam brought down a box of popsicles because it was nearing the end of the week and she wanted to get rid of them. No problem for my boys. I think they each had 6 popsicles....a piece. Whoops.
Carter with his beloved snack. And sticky shirt.

Little Mer in the water. Don't ya just want to squeeze her?

My aunt Dee and Uncle Mike found the cutest bike seat for Meredith. It's a WeeRide seat and it attaches to the front of the bike. The boys also had a bike trailer on the back of Uncle Mikes' bike and they absolutely LOVED riding the bike! Mer loved it, too. I couldn't see her face while riding, but I could hear her giggles and squeals of delight.
My baby girl, just chilling.
P trying to catch a "fash!"
My two wonderful cousins, Michara and Ashley with Meredith. They are so incredibly helpful with all of my babies! Thanks girls!
Carter, my snack monster. He would've been content sitting in that chair ALL DAY LONG eating snacks. How does this kid stay so little?

So, we braved ocean kayaking. Our voyage "out" to the intercoastal waterway was wonderful, relaxing, and absolutely beautiful. I actually contemplated becoming a kayaker of the James River post-vacation...because I enjoyed it so much and it seemed like an awesome workout. That was until the way back "in" from the intercoastal waterway. We were kayaking on a pretty windy day and made our trek back against the current. Yep. Not too much fun for me. In fact, it was a pure test of faith. I was freaked out. I didn't worry so much about tipping as I did about seeing dry land again. I felt like I paddled and paddled but just stayed in the same location. Defeated...a word that consistently ran through my head on the way in. My uncle Mike had to end up towing me back, paddling together, for the last leg of the journey. I was pooped...and done. Thanks Uncle Mike! You saved me!! (And for the record, I would so do it again....on a much less windy day earlier in the afternoon...but I think I will pass on becoming a James River Kayaker for now!)
More kayaking pictures (pre-trip!)
Cody, the boy scout!
Tyler and Michara, double teaming the waters!

See that kayak in the back. The yellow and orange one? That one was mine. And, yes...it was tied to the kayak in front of it! See that man? That's Uncle Mike...my kayaking hero! Thanks again!

The boys splashing in the ocean!
The big sand truck which provided many hours of amusement!
Peyton LOVED the ocean!
Mer got to go to dinner with the girls while my wonderful cousins babysat the boys. She was sucking on a lemon in this photo. Why...you may ask??? Well, my dear, sweet, never- really- makes -a -fuss- little sweetheart decided that on this day in a restaurant would be the best time to test her lungs for proper functioning. And they work...very well I might add. She just kept squealing and squealing at the TOP of her little (but powerful) lungs. So, the lemon did the trick. In fact, three lemons did the trick.
The "girls" on our girls' night out.

This is the fishing spot for the boys. Notice the two little chairs and fishing poles, set up courtesy of Aunt Dee and Uncle Mike. Thanks guys!
Mer and Michara, catching a nap on the beach.
Uncle Mike playing with Carter in the ocean. Too fun!
Peyton the fisherman!
Enjoying the water, splashing away!

Well, I've been gone from the blog world for two weeks and I don't even know how to begin to catch up on this thing! I have honestly been a procrastinating blogger because the last two weeks have been chock full of good stuff to report. The babes and I went to Oak Island, NC for a beach vacation with my mom's side of the family for a week. The hub, unfortunately, couldn't join us because he had to work, work, work. Ick. This wasn't the first beach trip for the boys because we went to VA Beach last summer...and it was wonderful. But this summer was even better. I realized that they really had grown and changed a lot over the course of the year and they were digging EVERYTHING at the beach. We started our days with many repeated phrases (did I say MANY?) that they wanted to go "to the beach!!!!!" Too, too cute. (The only downfall to the trip was that I lost many, many pictures thanks to a memory card that decided to turn evil. So this is just a sampling of the pictures. I know I will be able to snake some of my mom's pictures to add to the blog...there are many more stories to share!) This was Mer's debut at the beach and she did incredibly well. She slept on the beach multiple times, under the umbrella or in the arms of a family member. She also enjoyed a baby pool that we brought to the ocean...and that provided many hours of enjoyment for her. All of my aunts and uncles were incredibly awesome with my babes, everyone just stepped right in and helped out in any way possible...I really can't say enough about all of the help I got from everyone. The babes got so much incredible love and individual attention from my family. I can't think of any better way to spend a week! ALL of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were so helpful, and my mom was an absolute lifesaver and I am so thankful for all of your help! We are truly blessed!
(And now I am too beat to share any more of the events over the course of the last two weeks, so those posts will just have to wait!)

Two for Tuesday (Well, I guess it's now technically Wednesday)

2008-07-23T00:12:00.003-04:00

I have to share a quick post about our day...it's one of those things where if I don't write it down I won't remember, so here it goes!
If you are a follower of the Chronicles, you know about our three in the tub adventures. Well, today was no different. All three in the tub together. The boys were kind of rowdy tonight (well, more so than usual if you can imagine!) so I cut Mer's bath a little short and got her out to dress her. I temporarily left the boys in the tub (please don't worry, I'm right next to them!) to get her lotioned, diapered, and dressed. Well before two seconds have passed, I see one naked boy streak past me. Then another naked boy streak past me. Yep. That's right. They know how to get out of the tub...by themselves! Yikes! So, they're running around all over like mad with their naked little booties shaking water all over every room. As I am still lotioning, dressing, and diapering (not necessarily in that order) Mer they are in her room. It's at this point when I hear a noise. A noise that sounds like someone peeing on my floor. So I whip my head around to find a little boy peeing on the floor. That sends me to my speech of....we don't pee pee on the floor! We only pee pee in the potty or in a diaper! Boys!!! Stop peeing! Well, they both looked up at me (and I have no idea who the culprit is) and start giggling. Giggling! Then the funniest part happens. Peyt looks up at me and says, "Carter peed on the floor." Which Carter follows with, "Peyton peed on the floor!" And they kept this up one after the other. So, I had to turn my head so they couldn't see me bust out in a smile/laugh over the situation. Since when do two year olds know to blame something like this on each other? I will spare you the details of the other noises I heard while trying to clean up the pee and keep the boys from trying to get BACK INTO the bathtub (thank goodness I got the diapers on shortly thereafter!!) They seriously cease to amaze me and keep me laughing. So, I had to clean up the pee and proceed downstairs for the rest of our nightly routine...still giggling about their little stunt.
Other things that amazed me today...
1. Mer took her first official step tonight. Reaching for Mama from the coffee table.
2. We were looking at a Cookie Monster book (which C. Monster had taught my children insanely horrible table manners which I am furiously trying to correct. They think it's funny to end every meal eating food like C. Monster eats his cookies!) about a food guessing game. Well, little Carter could name every food in the book...obscure things like lettuce, pudding, green pea pods, and whole carrots. I know this isn't the mark of a genius quite yet, but it is just amazing how sponge-like their brains are at this stage!
3. Peyt amazed me with his recognition of animals in a book we were reading at bedtime. He could point out the bears and deer (won't PaPaw be proud?)...the trip to the zoo really helped to solidify some of the stuff we're reading about and learning here at home. Craziness!
4. The boys have started to pick on each other like real siblings. It's so...um...I don't know...how to describe it. They are already doing the "crying because you hurt/annoyed me" but really I am faking to see what you'll do. It's quite amusing. Their antics are unbelievable. It is really humorous to watch but kind of confusing to deal with as a parent. Things I must muddle over in my brain...where to draw the line, do I draw the line...ah. Parenthood. It's all about making the right mistakes...(must give credit to John Chewning for that piece of wisdom and for Erica for sharing it with me on many occasions!)
Ok...I'm truly off to bed now!