This could happen to you...

If you hear your children laughing from another room and you suspect the nature of the laughter sounds a little like they are up to no good...follow your instinct...or this could happen to you!
Your middle child will appear from that room and will be freshly painted with a face from a horror movie. You will then be forced to take that child to your grandfather's visitation and explain to everyone that no, you did not beat your child's face, those black marks are just smudges of black marker that would not come off after multiple attempts to clean one's face. Just sayin'...next time, stick your head in the room and just assume something is going on more then laughing boys!! :)

my little sorter

 

As a third child, this boy picks up on so much. And most recently we have found him completing some of our sorting games...

 

It is so fun to watch him reach milestones...

 

 

 And they often remind me that this little one who cried and was sick with ear infections and never slept and hated the car-seat and just had a rough first year of life...is most certainly growing into a fun, high energy, smart, funny, handsome, and fastly learning little boy.

And on some of these days I just smile to myself as he conquers another milestone and keeps showing me there is so much more to him then tears and sleepless nights and screaming sessions...

 

 There is this precious little child of God created to be bold and risky and ambitious and keeps me thinking outside the box...and he most certainly has taken me through the tears and screaming stages and into the wonders of God's ability to make all things good...like finally figuring out just how to sort through the colors of life and figure out where they go. This little sorter has helped me sort through my own stages of growing and these days we both walk side by side a little bit better for it!!

 

26 weeks and ...

Okay, while I am posting a 24 week preggo picture, I am actually 26 weeks! The days are flying by this month and this is the most up to date photo my almost 9 year old has captured :) Baby Girl is moving a lot these days... flips and kicks towards my right side and she reaches way down low in my abdomen and all the way up to just under my ribs. I feel like she is either long or moves really fast in there. I have been feeling pretty normal pregnancy stuff and just started to notice my sleeping being interrupted by numb spots on my hips... My signature "getting very pregnant" symptom.  Baby Girl is still nameless, but her clothes stack is starting to pile up. A good friend of mine found a beautiful old dresser that is going to be perfect repainted pink for her bedroom. Once spring hits, that is on my paint list! I love dreaming of baby girl and can't wait (ok, I could use a couple more months :-) to meet her. A baby girl. It still sounds weird coming out of my mouth. But what fun she will bring! 26 weeks and counting... feel free to leave some name ideas in the comment box...we're stuck!

a glance

It is often hard to capture a real day at home with a house full of little ones. But these are 3 quick "in the moment" glances...

 Today, at this moment...this boy is running a fever...still. He has been since Wednesday. Thankful I am a stay home mama this week and not scrambling to figure out work/child-care schedules with a sick child at home.

 And this boy...I opened his bedroom door and got this look :) Typical Austin...just creating his own fun doing something completely random.

Of course I caught this one getting into something. Pushed stool over to kitchen desk and seconds away from destroying a bag of muffins. Probably wanting to take a bite out of each one and then throw it to the dogs. So glad I caught him in the act...those are good muffins!!

petite painter

 Carson got curious when we pulled out finger paints the other day...

 He started with a finger tip...

 And ended with hands and arms full...

 He decided he loved it...

 and loved it and loved it!

 The firsts have begun...

 and I pray I don't forget the lasts, too!

Party in Pink

Austin was born 7 days before Christmas.  I knew having a Christmas baby would be tricky each year and I didn't want the holiday to stomp out his birthday specialness and fun.  I've yet to find a good rhythm for how and when we celebrate it, but this year we ended up pushing his party fun back into January. Partly due to sickness and partly due to enough already going on in December.  But what we lack in timing, we made up for in fun surprises!

Our boy loves anything with wheels and this boy's Dad had some connections to a sweet pink limo! We surprised him when it pulled in to pick him up to take him to Chuck E Cheese!

I think everyone loved the car ride...

Both our boys got real comfy fast and had fun checking out all the bells and whistles a long pink car like this has!

We drove and picked up Austin's buddies...

Jaxon helped chauffeur them into the car...

And I think they were a "little"excited to ride in style... as one kid said "lets just drive around in this car and not go to Chuck E Cheese!"

If you know me, you know I really don't love Chuck E Cheese :) But our birthday boy had been saying for months that he wanted a party here. As much as I tried to give other very fun options, this is what he wanted...so we obliged.

We had pizza and cake and played plenty...

It was so crazy to watch our boy sit with his buddies and chat away and eat and be merry together... our five year old boy! Growing, growing...they just keep my heart fluttering as they soar through these little years.

to remember

Each year we head to the Dells is a little different...a few things I want to remember about this year...

Some years we have morning napping babes and nursing babes and afternoon napping kids and anything in-between. This year was so great because all our kids were at an age where we could go to the parks as a whole family almost every time. Next year...not so much :)

This year, our boys each found something they loved in the water and stayed busy. They also still like to play with each other, which for a mama...makes my heart so happy.

Jaxon is clearly growing up and this year I noticed it so much more. While I sometimes heard complaining about being at a "baby pool", I also saw lots of joy come out of him as he faced the big waves, big water rides, and hung out with the adults in the afternoon. Being an oldest kid myself and often times much older then my own cousins/siblings...I can appreciate being accepted by the adult crowd and this year Jaxon really tried to be included in the "bigger events" we did. I also had a fun little helper in the baby pools with his little brother and carrying things back and forth.

This child will make my heart skip beats until the day I hand him over for his wife to worry about!! Once he warmed up to the idea of big pools and little slides, he was all in. He insisted on swimming at his nose level. He just likes life a bit on the edge. Good for him, he will be a mountain mover some day!

My sweet blonde haired baby boy this year...and the bonus? He slept all night this year! Last year I paced the halls with this young man in the wee hours of the morning trying not to wake up the whole suite. So, so thankful this year he slept.

Both big kids got pretty excited to hit the arcade. I love that their Dad joins them to round up a bunch of points for prizes...or maybe he is just a kid at heart? Either way, I loved seeing both boys play games with their dad.

And this was my youngest boy this year...often times just below my bulging belly and holding tight enough to not lose me, but always looking for the next adventure to run after. Oh, and this was my belly this year too...also a wonderful memory...baby girl waiting to join us :)

And last, but not least, I never have to worry about food... snacks have become a meal-time and there is just nothing better then gathering around good food ever!