my three little men: week 18

SPRING BREAK!!! We've all looked forward to this week for quite some time. Even without any major plans, we had a blast with all our small ones.

Amos and I started the week off with a little date. He was actually getting screened through PAT, but he helped me shop afterwards. He loves this and definitley considers it extra special fun. I enjoy having him a long too.

We aren't considering Pre-school for him, but with the program, they screen all three year olds. He scored very well, so I think we are on the right track.

That afternoon, Jason took Amos to do some coffee business. He got to spend most of the day out and about with one of us. He loved it, but Silas didn't. He kept asking me where Amos was and it dawned on me that they spend little to no time apart. They've been away from us quite a bit, but not from each other. The benefits of brothers. Someone's almost always there. I guess Silas didn't think Ivan was quite as cool as Amos to play with. Not yet anyway!

We soaked up all the Daddy time we could. Our Spring Break routine involved staying in bed until Amos got up to join us. Eventually they were all in bed with us. We'd make a nice big breakfast and then spend some time on the couch.

And there's been a lot of this going on.

Jason was able to get away for his annual Springbreak kayaking trip. The boys longingly watched him go. They're anticipating the day they can join him. He floated the Frog Bayou in Arkansas and was happily surprised by the challenge it presented. I was happy he made it home in one piece.

We got this guy's 4 month check-up and shots out of the way. He's a growing. Weighin 16 lbs and 3 oz. And was 24 1/2. Not quite big enough for Silver Dollar City rides, but he's getting there. He is still heavier than both his brothers at this same age, but about an inch shorter. Uh oh! Maybe that's why he's so squishy!!!

He actually ran a little fever with these shots, but recovered pretty quickly after getting them. Love those leg rolls.

He's still camping out at about 10 hours of sleep and 4 naps a day. He's content to watch all the crazy things happening around him most days. But he is much more grabby with toys and love ssticking anything in his mouth. He's dropped the swaddle for his naps and now likes to suck on a really light blanket. I think he just likes the security it offers him now that he can hold onto things.

 

Amos' newest thing this week is copying what we say. We've tried to ignore it so that it doesn't catch on too much. Copy cat. He is also crossing his eyes like a crazy person. Hence all the ridiculous pictures. How do we stop this? He loves doind it. And it kinda creeps Jason out.

We had a movie night and ice cream on Wednesday night. The boys were introduced to How to Train your Dragon. And then we finally watched Catching Fire Part 1. We thoroughly enjoyed both!

And then Friday was a full day of Silver Dollar City. I've got lots of pictures to share from there. We had a blast.

Spring break is our little tast of summer. We are refreshed and ready to finish out the year well. But summer is coming!

 

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mom's life: IKEA

My very first visit to Ikea happened back in 2008 on a trip down to Texas. I was very awed by the store, but as an unmarried college girl, I walked in and out without buying a thing. I did not make that mistake on my most recent trip to Ikea.

Quite the opposite really. Since my visit back in Novemeber, where I picked up a few small things and one LARGE item (our sectional), I've been slowly compiling a list of things to purchase at Ikea when I next got the chance to go. I had also saved all my Christmas and birthday money for the future trip. I was ready.

One day after sharinng the wonders of Ikea with friends, I was inspired to plan a day trip the first Friday Jason was out for springbreak. Ikea is always really busy on the weekends, so I thought a Friday would be a better day to go. Jason agreed. I have a wonderful husband, and I quickly invited a few friends to join in the fun.

It quickly became a whole girls day with Ikea, Trader Joes, shopping and dinner out. It was on the calendar and it was happening.

I kicked my planning into gear. I measured things. I explored their website. I wrote down colors, and sizes and crazy Swedish names. And then their outdoor furniture went on sale!! It was a sign. Since getting married, we've almost bought outdoor furniture every summer, and then just ended up being shocked at how expensive it is and didn't follow through. Not this time, at Ikea pricing, we would make it work and enjoy it for years to come.

Finally the day arrived. We were off a little after 8am and joked about not having a day like the movie Mom's Night Out. Luckily, we didn't decide to leave our cellphones in the car, and nobody stole the minivan! That's right, we were cruising in the minivan. How else would we get all our goodies home? We even laid the backseat down.

It been so long since I'd been shopping with friends, that I forgot how fun it is to just leisurely browse, discussing all the possibilities of certain items and pointing out your favorites. We took our time making it through the showrooms, had an Ikea lunch, and headed down to the Marketplace.

I had found everything on my list, (and a few extra add-ons :) ) And then it was time for the outdoor furniture. Too bad for me, a lot of people must have had our same thought process, and the set I was wanting was sold out. If I had been thinking, I would have come down and bought it as soon as we arrived at the store, but I wasn't. Instead of walking away with no outdoor furniture, I decided to get a different table in the same line, that wasn't on sale, but was a little bit bigger and still a really good price. I also picked up a couple of benches to go with it for now. Maybe next summer we can add the rest of the chairs.

After squeezing everything into the van, we met up with my older sister and headed to Trader Joes. We couldn't pass up some of their well known goodies like cookie butter - yum yum! Our last shopping stop was Charming Charlies where we moseyed around trying on jewelry and other accesories.

On the way up we had quickly agreed upon the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We met up with one of my friends from highschool and enjoyed a dinner without anyone sharing off our plates, or someone needing something cut up, fed or wiped. It was very nice to linger over our dinner and DESSERT with good company and good conversation.

It was hard not to unpackage my new bedding as soon as I got home, but it was late, and I was tired. I saved that fun for the next morning! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I've still have lots of plans for this room, but little by little things are coming together.

 

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weekend recap: our 4 month old

Sun and fun! That was our weekend. Jason's weekend started early with Friday off thanks to Parent Teacher Conferences. He was SO wonderful and let me get away his first day of break and he hung out with the boys - all of them! Reinforcements joined him that evening as his family came to town for the weekend.

Our Friday evening and Satruday was filled with family. The boys didn't know they were coming and were excited to tell me they were here the next morning when they woke up. Ivan loved all the attention and was full of smiles.

Amos and Silas had a blast playing with Emma and Teigan. They had on all our costumes, played Ninja Turtles, lots and lots of games. Later in the afternoon, we went outside. The kids played and we worked to clear out some brush in our front yard.

Ivan turned 4 months old on Saturday. He celebrated the 4 month mark by intentionally grabbing at toys a things all around him. I think he was held by someone all day long, making it a favorite day.

And then Sunday rolled around. It was the first Sunday in about 2 months where Jason didn't have to leave the house by 7. It was so nice to slow down and actually rest- good rest - on this day of rest. Everyone joined us in our bed first thing in the morning and then we made a nice big breakfast.

We worshipped together, prayed together and played together. And, of course, we spent time outside enjoying this beautiful weather.

Hope your weekend was delightful too! The best part! All of this week is the weekend! Teaching definitely has its perks!!!

 

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my three little men - week 17

Our whole week felt a little different, but it was sure fun. We began the week knowing that Jason only had 4 days of work, and then Spring Break would begin. Anticipating the break makes the days leading up to it go so much faster. Plus the weather was SUPER! Our cousins came over Monday and the kiddos played and played. Scout even joined the party making for a full house of friends.

I finally got around to cutting the boys hair. It had gotten rather unruly and even Amos had told me he needed a hair cut. It's always an ordeal, but this time went very smoothly. So maybe I won't wait 3 months to do it again. That's a lot of hair for 2 little boys.

We were also catching up from the time change of the weekend. No matter which, those time changes are hard to adjust to. However, Tuesday night we definitely benefited from lighter evenings. Jason got home and the whole family hit the trail. We are so excited for a spring filled with evenings like this.

We were very adventurous on Wednesday and took the car to the shop to get the tires rotated. We dropped it off at Firestone and then headed across the parking lot to the bank. I'm sure I looked like a hoot with Silas doing the stand-up ride on Ivan's stroller and holding Amos' hand. However, they did a great job listening. We then trekked our way to the mall and spent the rest of our time waiting at the new play spot in the mall. The boys love love love jumping around there. Speaking of jumping around, check out this guy. Isn't he the cutest? And he loves this thing. Score for Mom!

Thursday brought a lot of cleaning for Mom, and outside time for the boys. Jason had two late nights in the row with Parent Teacher Conferences, so it was a blessing to have nice weather that let us get outside in the evenings.

It definitely helped that I had something super fun to look forward to! A daytrip to IKEA with friends. More on that next week.

Ivan Jude - 17 weeks old aka 4 months

It was love at first sight when he got this jumper on Monday. He's been a crazy jumping man since. We have a perfect place to put it where he can see what's going on while I'm working in the kitchen.

All week long I tried to work on him taking a bottle so that he didn't starve while I was gone on my day trip to Ikea. We didn't make too much success, but realized that when he got hungry enough, he would eat.

I tried to drop his dreamfeed one day this week, but he was not interested in that business. In fact, he woke twice in the night. So we are both happily back to the dreamfeed and 10 hours of sleep.

Here the boys are doing "school"! They love it and so do I. So thankful for a space that makes it convient and easy.

This guy likes school time too!

 

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mom's life: 1st edition

So I realize that I rarely talk about myself on our blog. I've done a pretty good job documenting the boys lives and all their happenings. I'm so glad that I've been able to keep it up, because it has already proven useful looking back with each new baby and I can't imagine what it will be like in years to come. But, I've done a bad job filling in the gaps of our lives, the parents.

We've actually had quite a lot happening. But I'm going to start small. We're in training. For a race that is.

Back in 2011, after having Amos, I made a plan to run a race after having each of my babies. The plan was to use the training to get back in shape after the pregnancy. So far, I've followoed through on the plan. I ran the 1st Joplin Marathon in 2012, with my dad. The funny part was that I was actually pregnant with Silas at the time. So much for getting back in shape.

The after having Silas, I again ran the Joplin Marathon in 2013, with my dad. I was not pregnant and posted a pretty good time, placing 5th in my age division.

Then, I decided to stop. I had been running consistently for 9 years of my life at this point, and was ready for a break. My body got so use to the calories that I burned while running, that it wasn't very effective for weight loss, and it didn't like me taking any breaks.

Since then, I've only done short HIT workouts and have loved it. Ironically, in my time off, Jason has started running fairly regularly and has completed two 25K trail runs. He's loved it so much and wanted us to do one together,

And now you are up to date. We are running a 25K trail run down in Stillwater, OK on April 11th. Our 6 year anniversary! I know, "how romantic!" We are very excited and are planning on dropping off all three of the boys at the Grandparents for the weekend.

We've gotten to train a little bit together, but mostly our training has been separately. It's been fun to look forward to doing this together, but I think, after the race, I'm continuing my hiatis from running. It just takes up so much time. Maybe when the boys are older and can do it with us, I'll pick it up again.

 

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weekend recap: the circus

We had a full, fun weekend.

The weekend started off with a Ladies Night for Mom. It was a bittersweet night, as it was the last one as ladies of a Church called Mystery. We wanted the night to be extra special. We catered in Olive Garden, soup and salad, and created an intimate atmosphere. Suprisingly, almost everyone was able to join us that night. We even had a book & movie exchange where everyone was able to share a little part of themselves. Most importantly, we were able to be together, share, laugh and love. We were ending well.

Amos woke up the next morning with one question on his mind: "Is today the day we are going to the circus?" And it was. My family was able to come over early on Saturday and hang out.

The kids enjoyed playing as they always do, and we enjoyed talking and eating. Jason served coffee at the Joplin Greenhouse for the first time. He was just giving it away for free, but enjoyed figuring things out and meeting new people. After quick naps, we all loaded up for the circus.

We were not fully prepared for the madness that would be waiting in a car line backed up onto the interstate, or trying to park our vehicle, but once we finally did park, we were ready for the fun. We decided to go to the 4 pm showing and aparently half of Joplin decided to too! Luckily we bought our tickets online, because by the time we got there, they were sending people away.

Our seats were not ideal, but luckily, it is true that there are no bad seats under the BIG TOP! Amos was pretty much mesmerize from the start. He would say, "Those silly clowns." And at the end, he decided that Spiderman was his favorite. Never would have guessed that. Silas enjoyed it too, but maybe not quite as much as Amos. I thin his favorite part was sitting in Daddy and Gramps' laps for 2 hours.

My parents took the two older boys home with them so that we would be able to stay around after our last church service. They were thrilled and we chose well because it was nice on time change weekend to just have a baby.

The service was so good. The reality of our church closing is hitting very slowly for us. It has been our home for nearly 6 year and our main reason for being in Joplin. We have both grown so much while there and can truly say that we understand grace and the Gospel more now than 6 years ago. We have been deeply loved by our church, especially during Ivan's sickness. However, we ended very well. There was life and joy on Sunday, and we are trusting that Jesus is better, and has so much in store for the future.

Our weekend ended with a nice run in Kansas. Before picking up the boys, we dropped Ivan off with my parents and went to Big Hill for a long run. With three kids, we rarely get a chance to run together, so it was a real treat. Plus the weather was superb!

 

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my three little men - week 16

We spent a lot of time at home during this cold week. Starting Saturday, we cozied down at home and enjoyed being trapped. However, fun for us, we had more daring friends that came over for dinner, snow and all. It was my type of Saturday.

We braved the snow on Sunday to make it to church. In fact, Jason didn't think the van would make it so it attempted and succeeded in cramming all three carseats into the CR-V (it has 4-wheel drive) I'm glad we know we can do it in a pinch, but I am very thankful I don't have to do that everyday. Love our van.

I put off going shopping Sunday afternoon and opted to be at home resting. I needed to spend some quality time with our new king-sized bed. I regretted that decision Monday night at 830pm standing in the Walmart check-out line.

We did get out of the house for a Parents As Teachers Dr. Suess Celebration. It was a pretty creative, fun time. And we even got to try Green Eggs and Ham.

It's a good thing we got out of the house when we did because we were pleasantly suprised by 2 snow days after that. More Daddy time! And hopefully the last snow day of the year. He's back to work today, but then we've got a fun-filled weekend planned. Ladies Night, serving coffee, the circus, and an awesome send-off service at church!

Ivan Jude - 15 weeks old. He's freshly bathed and looking good.

I may have been a little too daring with Ivan's changes this week. I decided to just drop the swaddle cold turkey. He hated that idea, but I pushed on. He's seemed to do a better job at putting himself back to sleep, but he just sleeps so much better with it, so he's back in it for the weekend. Maybe next week.

But we did successfully move him to his room. We no longer have an extra roommate. All three boys are upstairs! He's still in his rock-n-play upstairs, but doing great. Considering both of his brothers were in their bedrooms by 6 weeks old, I'd say he got the specail treatment. And rightly so. But it was time for us. He was starting to notice us way to much in the morning and had a hard time sleeping past my alarm.

Following along with his brothers, someone's been trying his hardest to sit this week. Bonus points if you can identify the sitters below.

Silas John aka hat man. No, he's not obsessed with Despicable Me or Minions, he just loves to have a hat on his head. No joke. We get dresed and he searches for a hat to wear. I don't mind because it tames the crazy.

He's still got this potty training down. He has had a couple of accidents, but nothing major and consistently tells us when he needs to go. We are almost out of candy and I'm not planning on replenishing it, so we'll see what happens.

Amos Jack aka I Love to Make this Face. He is so bound and determined to do everything on his own, that he amazes me in what he can do. He's been getting dressed by himself for ages, but now he can button up his shirt and pants. He can almost zip up his coat. Fasten and unfasten himself in his car seat. Get fruit from the fridge. And wipe his own booty. With two younger brothers, most of those things are extremely nice but he just seems so old.

We are ready to bust out of the house with the nice weather next week!

 

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