The Carpenters' Corner

This and That

2012-01-20T13:01:00.001-06:00

Poor, Blog... You get so little attention these days. The three living, breathing man-children that I adore need me to feed them, play with them, care for them, teach them, and hold them. So, I spend more time living life with them and less time documenting life with them. One day I'll get better. Pinky promise. :)

For now, a few things...

* Clayton and I did this (http://www.housingaforest.com/ivory-soap-experiment/) experiment the other day. I found it on Pinterest, and I knew that C would love it. My hunch was correct. He thought it was super cool.

Who knew that Ivory soap did this...

after being in the microwave for 2 minutes???

The only problem is that my little scientist now wants to put everything else (shampoo, hair gel, hand soap, lotion, etc.) in the microwave just to see what would happen. Oh dear...

* I am a big fan of dressing a baby like a baby. I like bubbles and smocking and jon jons. I really do. I know that isn't everyone's taste, but I love it. You can only dress little boys in that style for a couple of years, though. After that, they spend the rest of their lives wearing khakis and polos.

But... I put Owen in a button up shirt and khakis on Sunday for church. I think it might have reformed me as a smockaholic. Not really, but he looked pretty cute in his little man clothes, I must say.

* You know what is totally awesome? Washing a full load of whites only to realize (when pulling them out of the dryer) that a certain 6 year old left an atomic fireball in the pocket of his khaki pants. What. a. mess.

I have washed some crazy things (rocks, legos, pens, pencils, etc.) being a boy mom, but an atomic fireball in a load of whites holds the current record for making the biggest mess. There were little speckles of red/pink on everything.

Lucky for me, I know the best stain remover ever made. Want me to tell you the secret? Liquid dishwashing detergent (I use the Costco version of Cascade). It works like a champ every time! I learned about it when I was trying to get all of the spit up stains out of Drew's baby clothes so that Owen could use them. I read about dishwashing liquid as a stain remover online. I discounted it as hogwash. Then, Leah's mom told me that it was legit. I tried it, and it worked!

I now know that it works on atomic fireball disasters as well. :)

* Owen is cutting his second tooth. I felt the bottom left tooth cut through the gum on May 8th, and the bottom right broke through yesterday.

So long, gummy grin. I'll miss you... :(

All of my babies have loved to teethe on water bottles. Is that normal? I've bought them all teething rings and such, but they prefer a water bottle. Whatev, Baby Blue Eyes.
* Drew is my little artistic fella. I am trying hard to encourage him to be creative. I wasn't good about that sort of thing with Clayton, and I wish that I would have been. Drew is happy to paint away for as long as I will let him. Love that boy!

* I have been serving the kids' lunches in muffin tins when we are at home. I know that isn't a new concept - I've seen it tons of places online. I just hadn't tried it until recently. They love it! I'm hoping that the novelty doesn't wear off, because I feel like they eat more this way.That's all for now, bloggy friends! Enjoy the 70 degree weather on this beautiful January day! I'm sure that we will pay for it in February. :-/

Owen is 8 Months Old!

2012-01-07T14:53:00.016-06:00

Happy Month-day to my favorite 8 month old on the planet!!!
I couldn't pick from his 8 month old photo shoot this morning, so I posted all of my favorites. :)

Such a sweet age...
I have no earthly idea how another month has passed, but somehow I find myself writing another monthly post. It's insane how fast 31 days has gone by and how much our boy has changed in that time. I think that 6-8 months is the most rapid change in development during the first year of a baby's life. They go from doing nothing but laying and rolling, to sitting independently and semi-crawling. Such big changes in a tiny babe's life!

At 8 months...

* Owen weighs 17.5 pounds. He didn't gain a ton of weight this month, but he is definitely growing. It's crazy to think that I was so worried about his size just 2 months ago. He had fallen off of his growth curve and I was so nervous about that. He chunked up quick and I couldn't be happier! I love a roly poly baby. :)
* He's also 27.5 inches long. He seems sooooo long! He will be a tall drink of water, just like the other Carpenter men. Ha!

* We only have a handful of size 2 diapers left, and when those are gone we will move up to size 3 full time. He has been wearing size 3 at night for a couple of months now.

* Owen wears 9 month or 9-12 month clothing for the most part. If it is a one piece outfit, he has to have a 12 month for the length. He wears a size 2 or 3 shoe.

* Owen sleeps in his crib for every nap and bedtime, but he fell asleep in his swing last week and I couldn't help but snap a few pictures. :) He sleeps with his pacifier and minky dot lovey. He always falls asleep laying on his right side holding his nanny in his right hand. Creature of habit, I guess.
* Owen still nurses 4-5 times a day and eats baby food 3 times a day. He has oatmeal and a stage 2 fruit for breakfast. He has a veggie and a fruit for lunch, and 2 veggies for dinner. He LOVES to eat! He fusses as soon as he sees me getting his meal ready and then kicks his feet in excitement when he gets the first bite.

* Owen had puffs for the first time on December 27th. He is pretty good with his pincer grasp, but can't quite get them in his mouth. So, I helped him out a bit. :) He wasn't sure about them at first, but quickly became a fan.

* He chipmunks puffs in his right hand and hold them soooo tight. I went to change his diaper an hour after his lunch and he still had one in his hand! Ha!

* Owen is sleeping pretty well these days. Of course, all of that will probably change with teething this coming month... As of now, he is taking 2 really good naps (2-3 hours) and a cat nap in the evening. He is sleeping 11-12 hours at night. (Yes, I am now knocking on wood!)
* Owen is sitting up so well that I took him out of his bath seat. He was a fan of the freedom - he splashed and splashed! It was so stinkin' cute!
* This month, Owen celebrated his first Christmas. Celebrating our first Christmas as a complete family of 5 was absolutely wonderful! Owen was always meant to be our final member. What a blessing he is!
* I try hard to limit O to one orange vegetable a day, because both Clayton and Drew had orange noses at this age. That beta carotene makes my babies look like oompa loompas! Ha! Even with limiting the carrots and sweet potatoes, Owen still has an orange-ish nose. ;)
* I can see the very beginning of a bottom tooth starting to break through! I am already mourning the loss of that bare bottom gum. :( I had to get a picture of it before it is gone forever...
* Owen has some veins that are close to the surface of the skin between his eyes (more towards his left eye). I asked the pediatrician about it when he was 2 months old and she said it was nothing to worry about. It may or may not go away. Just a little something interesting about our Owen.
* I know that every mother thinks that their baby is beautiful, but holy cow, this kid cute! Seriously. He makes the Gerber baby look ugly. :)

* Boys and their eyelashes... proof that life is, indeed, unfair. ;)
* Owen is trying so hard to crawl. I'm soooo not ready for that! I already have 2 mobile children that run circles around me - I can't imagine having another child that is on the go! Last week, Wade pointed to Owen because he was up on all 4s and rocking back and forth. I may have scooped him up and put him back on his bottom. I'll never tell! ;) However, he scoots all over the place and is quite good at maneuvering himself to exactly where he wants to me. He may as well be crawling!

My Darling Baby Boy,

Oh my precious child, you are almost too much for my heart to bear. You positively could not be sweeter! I have no earthly idea why God has blessed me so...

You were such a champ during all of the Christmas celebrations! You proved yourself to be the most flexible, laid-back baby there ever was. You napped wherever and whenever there was a lull in the activity. We pushed you so hard, and I would have been a mess with guilt if you hadn't done so well. You made added a new element of joy to the Christmas season for our whole family. Thank you for making a busy time of year easier on your Mama!

This month you have become an eating machine! You LOVE your baby food. So far, you have had peas, green beans, garden vegetables, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, peaches, apples, and apples with blueberries (in that order). You love them all! You make a sour face every once in a while with the peaches and apples with blueberries - maybe because they are so sweet??? You love your veggies - just like Drew did. I hope that you will continue to be a good eater, just like your big brother.

Your first year is 2/3s over! How is that possible?!?! Thankfully, I feel like you have stayed little for a good amount of time. I have squeezed every last drop of baby goodness out of these first 8 months, and plan to continue to do the same thing for the next 4. You are a precious treasure, my darling Owen Thomas! I'm so glad that you are mine!

I love you to the moon and back!
Mommy

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T14:44:00.000-06:00

Welcome 2012!

Santa Baby

2011-12-31T12:37:00.000-06:00

When Clayton was a baby, we got him a little Santa suit for his first Christmas. He wore it on our Christmas card that year. Drew wore it as well, and this year it was Owen's turn.

I thought he made a pretty cute little Santa! :)

Just for fun, here is Clayton in the same suit...

And our Drew...
Love my sweet babies...

Christmas with G & Granddad

2011-12-31T12:35:00.000-06:00

On the 27th we had Christmas at G & Granddad's house. It was a good (& loud!) time, as usual! Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures to show for our day - I was too busy enjoying the company. :)

Love this picture of beautiful Morgan with Wade.

Mak is so sweet with Owen. She inherited her Mama's famous "baby bounce" and kept him happy as a lark the whole time. ;)

Thank you, G & Granddad, for making Christmas so special! You were too good to us!

Christmas with the Carpenters

2011-12-31T12:33:00.000-06:00

After our night at the Gaylord, the Carpenter crew came to our house to exchange gifts. It was a great time - as usual. :)

O loved his stocking from Grammie and Papaw

Drew got a Lightning McQueen bike! He was pumped!

Sweet Makinley bought Clayton 2 books at the store at her school. She is such a sweetheart!

Drew + Papaw = A Good Time
Those two are quite a pair...

Marsha made Wade & I and Corey & Leigh Ann each a quilt. I was shocked! I know that was hours and hours of work that she poured into a gift for us. It is beautiful and we will treasure it always!

I am so thankful for my in-laws! I could never have picked a better family to marry into. I feel so lucky to get to make Christmas memories with them. This was another wonderful year, for sure!

Christmas at the Gaylord

2011-12-31T12:24:00.000-06:00

Right before Thanksgiving, we got an email about the Gaylord having rooms for $109 a night during the week between Christmas and New Years. My sister-in-law got the same email and suggested that we all (us, them, and Wade's parents) get rooms for Christmas night. We thought it was a great idea! Then Grammie & Papaw sweetened the deal by getting us all tickets for ICE and SNOW for the morning of the 26th as part of our Christmas gifts. It was a fun time with the Carpenter side of the family.

Getting a picture of 3 kids looking a smiling is hard - getting a picture of 5 kids looking and smiling is impossible. Ha!

This little gem of a baby could have made the whole experience very difficult, but he did soooo well! He was happy and sweet the entire time. I don't think he ever fussed even once during the 24 hours that we were there. He is the best!

He slept wonderfully in the institutional looking iron crib. There were no bumpers, so I was worried that he would bump his head in the night. But, he slept like a baby - literally and figuratively!

We woke up and it was time for ICE! This year's theme was Shrek the Halls. Wade and I had been the year that the theme was How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but the boys had never been. It still amazes me what they can create out of colored ice!

Grammie & Papaw looked so cute in their parkas.

I remember being at ICE during the Grinch with Wade and some of our best friends. Wade and I commented to each other that people were crazy to bring babies and kids to the exhibit. It's way too cold for babies and kids would be a nightmare when everyone is dressed exactly the same. Fast forward to this year - we were those crazy people! I've had to eat my words hundreds of times since we had kids. This was just another example of that. ;)

The kids did great! Clayton stayed with Morgan & Makinley. Between Papaw, Grammie, Leigh Ann, and Wade, Drew was in great hands. And Owen was warm and toasty inside my parka. I put him in the Baby Bjorn and snapped my parka around him. His little noggin was the only thing that was exposed to the 9 degree cold. I felt like a kangaroo, but my little joey was pretty darn cute. Ha!

Drew loved the slide inside ICE. He went down it several times.

This picture of my brother-in-law is so funny to me! He is such a character! Nothing but love for ya, Corey!

Our little eskimo crew of 11. :)

By this point, Drew was D-O-N-E done. He was cold - bless his heart. Posing for a picture wasn't happening. Oh well...

When the parkas came off and the snow tubes came out - Drew was in heaven. We all loved tubing down the hills of SNOW. It was super fun!

Two Thumbs Up!

Drew and Aunt Leigh Ann

What a fun memory from Christmas 2011!

Nick the Elf

2011-12-31T12:16:00.000-06:00

We have a sweet little elf that visits our home between Thanksgiving and Christmas. :) Clayton named him "Nick." Every morning the boys woke up anxious to find where Nick was hiding. This year, he was in some very interesting places...

Apparently, he was very upset that about our C-5 wall of family pictures. He declared himself the 6th member of our family and situated himself in a picture frame while holding a 6. Ha!

He built a snowman out of marshmallows...

He made a parade out of cars and rode on the firetruck...

He turned our milk into green "elf juice."

The boys were worried that drinking the elf juice would make them turn into elves. Wade got a good rise out of Clayton by telling him that his ears were starting to get pointed. C ran to the bathroom to make sure that Wade was kidding. Ha!

He knelt by the nativity set.

He was reading one of our favorite books - The Crippled Lamb

He spelled out "Santa Says Hi" in scrabble tiles.

And he fished for goldfish in the potty using a candy cane fishing rod.

Clayton loves the show "River Monsters" on Animal Planet. So, there was a sign above the toilet advertising the next episode of River Monsters - "Nick's Big Catch." The boys thought this day was particularly funny. ;)

He took a marshmallow bubble bath with red and green shampoo and bubble bath.

On Christmas Eve, the boys were very sad that Nick would not be there when they woke up. Luckily, Nick left them a sweet note.

See you next year, Nick!

Christmas Morning 2011

2011-12-31T12:04:00.000-06:00

Ah, Christmas morning... the most anticipated morning of the year. :) Unfortunately, Wade and I were still not feeling great. But, as they say, "the show must go on!"

And, what a show it was!

Our boys are at such fun ages - they made Christmas morning so much fun! Clayton is our early bird, so he was up at 7:30 on the dot. Drew followed around 8, and Owen was up at 8:30 or so. Santa doesn't wrap gifts at our house, so there was plenty for Clayton to see before Drew woke up. Then we got to see Drew's reactions when he woke up. It was great!

Clayton had asked Santa for a basketball goal, Spy Net video glasses, and a safe (IDK...). Drew had asked for a DS, a Mickey Mouse guitar guy, and Smokey the Firetruck. They must have been good little boys, because Santa was very kind. :)

Our table had 4 basketballs in various sizes - a Daddy sized basketball, a Clayton sized basketball, a Drew sized basketball, and an Owen sized basketball. Wonder what that could mean...Clayton peeked through the blinds and saw a basketball goal with a big red bow. He started giggling hysterically and then ran out to see the goal firsthand. His reaction was priceless!

Drew was so much fun this year! Three really is the best Christmas... He was cracking me up with this crazy face he kept making. He would squish up one side of his face and make this confused expression while saying, "What?!?!" It was hysterical! There were lots of "Whoa!" and "Dat's cool!" and "Awesome!" from our little-big boy. He made Christmas so much fun!
This is the look I was talking about... Are you dying laughing??? It gets me everytime...

He was perplexed by the basketball goal. Ha!

A bounce house in the living room = heaven for little boys :)
I usually make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning. But... it just didn't happen this year. I am learning to adjust my expectations of myself. The boys were just as happy with store bought doughnuts decorated like snowmen and reindeer. Thank you, Pinterest! ;)

Owen was cute with his little Santa pile - a minky dot sleep sack, Sophie, Tiny Diner, and snack tower.

Clayton opened The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein - one of our favorite books to check out from the library. I guess that he has never paid attention to the back cover, because he took one look at the author's picture and said, "This guy looks creepy!" Ha ha!

This boy is crazy about the Focus on the Family series "Adventures in Odyssey."Clayton was happy to help Owen open his loot. ;)

Our mischevious 3 year old was sticking hex bugs down Owen's back. Welcome to life as the third boy, O!A kiss makes it all better, right? ;) We had a wonderful Christmas with our little family. What a fun season of life we are in!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-31T11:57:00.000-06:00

After a lovely morning of taking turns going to the doctor, our Christmas Eve took a turn for the best! We went to our church's Christmas Eve service. We went to the service that is specifically for families with small children. There were the precious noises of babies and toddlers intermixed with beautiful music. It was perfect for the season of life that we are in! :)

Our Children's Minister had asked Wade if he would play the role of a shepherd during the service. Wade is a good sport and agreed, of course. He was still sick as a dog, but he did a wonderful job. He answered all of the inverview questions that Mr. Jim asked about the night that Jesus was born. He was the best shepherd that I have ever seen. ;)

I love the way that our sanctuary looks all lit up by candlelight as we sing "Silent Night."

The boys thought it was fun having a shepherd for a Daddy. :)

The Three Muskateers

Me and my littlest fella
Owen had on the sweetest little Christmas bubble. I had to squeeze in a mini-photo shoot. Leah had told me that May babies are at the perfect age for good pictures when Christmas rolls around. She was right! Owen can sit up so well, but can't scoot yet. I got some sweet pictures of him this Christmas. :)

When Wade got home, the boys got to open their Christmas jammies and put them on. We read Luke 2 and then 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Such a sweet time... We set out cookies for Santa and sprinkled reindeer food. Then it was time for a long winter's nap...I had to include this real life outtake. This is typical of life these days - Clayton trying to cross his eyes, Owen eating Drew's foot, and Drew laughing his head off. I have about 145 pictures that are similar to this one. Ha!

There was much more fun to come...

Christmas with the Hendricksons

2011-12-30T23:35:00.003-06:00

Before Wade & I ever had kids, we decided that we would make it a priority for our kids to always wake up at our house on Christmas morning. That was, and still is, important to us. However, that makes juggling all of our travel plans a little bit tricky. Fortunately, our parents are gracious and understanding of the fact that we are building memories with our little family. :)

This year, we had planned to go to Houston to see my Mom, Dad, sister, brother-in-law, and nephews from December 22nd-December 24th. We knew that we had to be back in time for our church's Christmas Eve service.

Unfortunately, I was feeling a little sniffily the morning that we left town, and I got progressively worse throughout that day and the following day. By Friday night Wade and I were both feeling awful. I felt terrible leaving my parents' house early - like we had jipped them out of a day. The boys were super sad to leave early, too. They begged to get to stay with Gran & Papa D another day. But... we were both miserable. We packed up our stuff and left Houston at 8:30 on Thursday night. The boys slept in the car and transitioned well to their beds at 1:30 when we got home. When we woke up on Christmas Eve morning, Wade and I took turns going to our doctor's office. Yes, going to the doctor on Christmas Eve was every bit as awesome as it sounds. :( Thankfully, they were open and able to get us both in. We both had sinus infections and I had an ear infection.

My sweet Mama had gone to a lot of trouble this year to make Christmas nice for us. I know that she was disappointed that we had to cut our visit short, but she hid it well. She kept saying that she just wanted us to get better in time for Christmas. Bless her heart for taking pity on us...

As soon as we got to my parents' we had a Happy Birthday Jesus party - complete with a symbolic cake, special plates and napkins, candles, and singing. During the party, some kids came to the door to sing carols to us. What timing! They sang a few songs and we donated to their cause - World Vision. It made for a very fun party for Jesus!

My parents went overboard with gifts, as usual. They were very good to us! They gave Owen his first ever Christmas present, so that was pretty special.

Drew was crazy about my Mom this trip. He wanted to be in her lap or right next to her the whole time. It was pretty cute. :)

My mom had put out a picture that she found of my Dad visiting Santa back in 1953. I thought it was so precious! My Dad was 5 years old when that picture was made. Such a neat piece of his history!

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for all that you did! I'm so sorry that we had to leave early. Thank you for being so understanding and willingness to go with the flow. We love you!

Bungees, Carousels, and Hamster Balls Oh My!

2011-12-30T23:20:00.018-06:00

On the Wednesday before Christmas, Leah and I took our kiddos to Grapevine Mills for a day o' friend fun. :) We started out with the bungee bouncing contraption that Clayton had done before. He went first and bounced his little heart out. He was in his element! Drew went next and he was MUCH more apprehensive. I think the initial shock scared him a little bit. ;) However, he pulled it together and worked his way up to where he was bouncing pretty high. He kept saying, "I'm Superman! I'm Superman!" Ha!

Mags was funny doing her "cheerleader moves." So funny.... She really was so graceful up there doing these little pirouette-like motions with her feet - pointed toes and everything. I think that she may have a future with Cirque de Soliel! If she does, I hope that she remembers where her passion all started - right in the middle of Grapevine Mills Mall. ;)

After a quick lunch in the food court, we made a stop at the carousel. It was Owen's first carousel ride - insert mini-milestone here. :) He loved it, and sat calmly taking in all of the lights.

As a grand finale, the kids got in these huge bubble things that the workers blew up with a huge compressor and hose. It was like a human hamster ball - hysterical! They ran and bounced into each other and worked off some serious calories. Towards the end, both Clayton and Drew just laid down inside their ball. I encouraged them to get back up - Mama didn't pay $10 for 5 minutes just for them to take a cat nap! Ha!

It was a super fun day for all! My crew (all 3 of my man cubs!) were asleep before we could get out of the parking lot. That's the sure sign of a great day!

The True Meaning of Christmas

2011-12-24T13:43:00.002-06:00

This is my 32nd Christmas, and they have all been wonderful. Of course there have been Christmases where myself or my family have been sick. There were several Christmases where I had to work at the hospital. There have been logistical dilemmas and bad weather, etc. Somehow, though, even when things aren't perfect, the joy of Christmas prevails and the true meaning of Christmas overshadows all else.

Of those 32 Christmases, however, the ones where I was either pregnant or holding one of my babies have been my all time favorites. There is a deep emotional bond to the Christmas Story those years. I feel closer to Mary - like I understand Christmas from her perspective more. I can imagine, from my own experience, what that very first Christmas was like for her.

This Christmas, I have spent a lot of time thinking about Mary and trying to reflect on the birth of Christ from his mother's vantage point. I have tried to make a conscious effort while I am rocking Owen to really think about what it was like for Mary.

I can identify with Mary from a physical standpoint. I look around Owen's nursery and see everything that makes mothering him easier - disposable diapers, wipes, a crib, his minky dot lovey, pacifiers, a mobile, a white noise maker, white out shades, and a glider. All of these modern conveniences in our warm home seem like necessities. Mary had none of those things. She had a stable, a manger, hay, animals, etc. What would I do if I had literally nothing with which to take care of my baby?

I can identify with Mary on an emotional level. As I nuzzle my sweet babe and feel the softness of the peach fuzz on his bald little head, I feel like my heart could burst because I love him more than I ever thought that I could. I can't wait to see what his future holds. I can't wait to see what his little personality will be like. I want to know him at every age as he grows. I want for him to be healthy and strong. I want for him to be kind and loving. I want for him to be happy. Most of all, I want for him to know the Lord and have an even stronger faith than I do. I would imagine that Mary wanted all of those things - except for the later, of course. She knew that her child was God in the flesh. He had the closest relationship with the Father than any human ever could. What joy she must have felt for her baby boy...

I can identify with Mary on a spiritual level. I look at my helpless little infant and I know that I would die for him in a second. He needs me. He depends on me. He is defenseless against the big, bad world out there. I am his Mama and I will protect him at all costs. I would imagine that Mary felt the same way. She wanted to protect her baby at all costs, too. The major difference here is that He would eventually die for her. Talk about bittersweet. I'd say that is pretty much the definition of the word.

This year, I am rejoicing in the fact that I have a sweet baby to remind me of the true meaning of Christmas. I am rejoicing in the fact that the King of Kings came in the form of a tiny baby to save me from eternal death. Thank you to the 9 month old version of Clayton, and the 8 week old version of Drew, and the 7 month old version of Owen for making the Christmas story come alive for me. I love each of you so very much...

What do you get....

2011-12-21T22:36:00.011-06:00

when you mix a redneck Christmas with an African safari???

You get our Monday night! Ha!

We surprised the boys with a fun family night of going to see the Christmas lights at Texas Motor Speedway and then went to eat at the Rainforest Cafe. They had a ball!

To see the lights at the Speedway, you actually drive on the concourse under the stands. Clayton thought that was pretty cool. :)

At this point, I asked Wade, "Is that some weird Yo Gabba Gabba creature next to the Christmas tree???" He kindly informed me that it was the Abominable Snowman. Riiiiiiggghhhtttt - I totally knew that. ;)

We let the boys bring glowsticks in the car. I have no idea why they like those things so much, but they are always a big hit.

After the lights display, we went to eat at the Rainforest Cafe. It was a crowd pleaser, as well.

Sweet O just goes with the flow. We were seated by an aquarium, so he was a happy camper watching the fish.

A balloon artist came to our table and made the boys each a parrot that attached to their shoulders.

This is such a fun, but crazy busy, time of year! I really enjoyed taking some time out to just enjoy being the 5 of us. I love being with my 4 favorite boys. ;)

Gingerbread Nativity 2011

2011-12-20T23:19:00.014-06:00

We have a really sweet family that lives behind us - our behind-the-fence neighbors, as we call each other. ;) They have two little girls that my boys adore, and Wade & I really like hanging out with their parents, Jennifer and Jason. Over the last year we have gotten to be pretty good friends. We pass kids over the fence back and forth to play in the backyard together and have gotten together for dinner several times. Unfortunately, our friends are moving to Oklahoma. So sad! :(

We got together on Saturday night for one last dinner. We brought the stuff for the kids to assemble our annual gingerbread nativities. The kids got really into it, and their creations came out super cute.

This little reindeer and I teamed up to make a joint nativity. One of us crafted candy into a nativity and the other ate WAYYYY too many gumdrops. I'll let you figure out who did what. Ha!

Jason and Maddie both have beautiful voices and Jason plays the guitar. They gave us a preview of a duet that they were going to perform in church the next morning. It was so sweet - I got goosebumps.

Miss Briley is too funny! She and Clayton are good buddies.

Maddie is the little mother. She is so kind to Drew and Owen. Drew LOVES "Addie." :)

Drew was wound up on a major sugar high by this point. ;) He said, "Mommy, we need a whew-whew. You know 'dat thing that moves all of the cars when there is a fire. A si-earn. 'Dats it. A si-earn." So our stable had an orange siren on top. Ha!

Clayton was less than thrilled with his creation. The table kept shaking, and Clayton's stable suffered repeated earthquakes. ;)

What a cute crew of kids!

What a fun memory to make with our sweet friends!

Clayton's Christmas Party

2011-12-15T22:51:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Clayton's little Christmas party at school. It was precious, and he had so much fun. I love watching him interact with his classmates. :)

I helped the kiddos do some little crafts. They were all so cute - wanting their projects to look just like the examples.

One of the moms had made a Happy Birthday Jesus cake. She had a cute little explanation of the meaning behind the cake. I jotted down what she said because I thought that it was neat. :)

The chocolate cake symbolizes our sin.
The white frosting symbolizes His purity that covers our sinds.
The three yellow candles symbolize the three Wise Men bearing gifts for the Christ child.
The 1 & 2 candles symbolize that Christ is our light throughout the 12 months of the year.
The color red stands for His blood shed for us.
Encircling the cake with green frosting symbolizes the everlasting life that we have through Christ.

The kids sang Happy Birthday and then blew out the candles.

Clayton absolutely loves his sweet teacher. I do, too! She is such a sweetheart. The veteran moms had warned me that the 1st grade was going to be really difficult, and they were right! It is a lot of work! However, Mrs. T. works really hard to make our parent/teacher partnership work. I am so grateful for her!

They were dismissed at noon and won't return until January. I don't know who is more excited about Christmas break - Clayton or me! We are going to relax and recharge for the Spring semester. I can't believe that the 1st grade is already half over!

Santa Visit 2011

2011-12-14T17:09:00.011-06:00

On Saturday we went to the Gaylord to see Santa Claus. It was so much fun!!! The hotel is decorated so beautifully for Christmas and Santa was so sweet to our boys. Love that jolly ole chap! ;)

We waited in line for about 30 minutes, but none of us complained because there was so much to look at. The boys just stood in bewilderment, pointing out all of the decorations. It was one of those moments where you can really see Christmas through the eyes of a child.

I waited until the very last minute to change Owen into his outfit, for fear of some sort of blow out/spit up incident. I changed him in his carseat and Wade died laughing at how I practically stood him on his head contorting him into his outfit. Sweet little thing never made a fuss - he just rolls with it. Third babies are crazy awesome!

As soon as they got all of the boys situated, the camera lady got their attention with a clapper thing. They all looked straight at the camera and smiled for the first shot. Success. ;)

Clayton in line with his list. He drew a picture of Santa and our fireplace. If you look closely, you can see that he drew in our Elf on the Shelf, Nick. Ha!

I snapped this one when they were looking at the tree. They had no idea that I was taking their picture. I'm so glad that they love each other. :)

Poor kid - practically folded in half! All in the name of a cute outfit... :)

I love our yearly visits to Santa. Such fun memories with our boys...

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Deja Vu

2011-12-14T16:11:00.002-06:00

Clayton circa 6 months old

Owen at 7 months old

These Are The Days of Our Lives...

2011-12-08T13:51:00.004-06:00

This post is probably going to be a snooze fest for 99.9% of the people that read it. It's really a post that I am writing for myself and my family as part of our history. :)

I was talking to Wade last Wednesday night and telling him that I have been so discouraged lately because I feel like I am constantly spinning my wheels. I feel like I work so hard from sun up to sun down, but rarely get anything "extra" done. I am busy just keeping everything at neutral - just maintaining our children, our home, and our other commitments. I LOVE this season of life, for sure. I truly cannot imagine life ever getting better than it is right now. If I could freeze time and live in this exact same season forever, I gladly would. I love the ages that my kids are right now. I enjoy them so much! However, I wish so badly that I could do more for others. There are so many projects and committees and responsibilities that interest me - I want to say "yes" to everything. But, I honestly feel like I don't know what I could put on the back burner in order to commit to more. Just feeding, clothing, educating, and nurturing our children is pretty all encompassing.

I decided to write down exactly what a day in our life looks like right now. I figure that will serve two purposes. First, I think it will be so fun to look back in 20 years and remember exactly what life was like in December of 2011. Second, seeing in writing what I do throughout the day was so encouraging. It reminded me of how I felt back in my nursing days when I would review my charting at the end of my shift. Back then, I felt like I had many sets of vitals, many columns of assessments, and a medical administration record that showed that I had worked my tail off for 12 hours. I got that same feeling after seeing the notes that I had jotted out throughout the day - gratification that I had accomplished a lot during my day.

This is a busy, busy, season of life and I don't EVER want to forget the joys and trials of this season. So, here is what Thursday, December 8th, 2011 looked like in our home.

7:30am - I woke up to my sweet baby whimpering on the monitor. I went upstairs to feed him. In a perfect world, I would have woken up earlier to have my quiet time and shower before the boys woke up. But, if I am honest... there are very few "perfect" mornings right now. ;) We had been up until 1am the night before, so I snoozed through my alarm.
7:50 am - Came downstairs to the boys and Wade in the kitchen. Wade made biscuits and some sausage for breakfast. The boys always wake up famished, so they ate Nutra Grain bars while they waited on their biscuits and sausage.
8:00 am - We all ate breakfast together and talked about the day.
8:30 am - I cleaned up the kitchen and then went upstairs to lay Owen down for a nap.
8:45 am - I sorted all of our laundry from the last 3 days (4 loads) and started the darks.
9:00 am - We started our homeschool day. We read "Jacob Leaves Haran Secretly" out of The Child's Story Bible and worked on memorizing Luke 2:10-11. Owen was asleep and Drew sat and listened to me read the Bible story.
9:20 am - Clayton did his homework assignment. He copied 2 sentences from his history assignment the day before about papyrus and scribes. Clayton struggles with handwriting, so I try to do that early in the day before he is tired. Drew and I played with his Duplos while Clayton worked. We build a tower, which Drew declared to be "awesome!" :)
9:45 am - I worked with Clayton on his "Phonics Times" assignment. It is basically just a review of the concepts that they have been working on in Phonics. We did all of his flashcards (letter and diagraph sounds, sight words, and suffixes) and worked on the newest concept of final, stable, syllables ([ble, [dle, [tle, etc.). He also coded about 10 words using all of the phonics rules that he has learned. Drew continued to play with his Legos while I worked with Clayton.
10:00 am - Clayton did his Phonics worksheets independently while I quizzed Drew on his letter flashcards. He begs to do his letter flashcards. I think it makes him feel big after watching Clayton work on his flashcards. ;)
10:15 am - I let Drew continue to work on his letters using an app on my phone. Clayton read his assigned fluency reader to me and did his spelling fun worksheet (writing out his spelling words using different colors of map pencils and doing a word search using his spelling words).
10:30 am - I got Clayton started on his math worksheets, moved the darks to the dryer, and started a second load of darks. Owen woke up, so I fed him.
10:50 am - I let Clayton take a break to play with Drew while I went downstairs to feed Owen some oatmeal.
11:00am - I walked upstairs and laid Owen down on the floor while I went to his room to get him some clothes. When I came back, all three boys were MIA. Weird. I quickly found them all huddled in their playhouse. They were "taking a nap." Yeah, right. ;)
11:15 am - I got out some puzzles for Drew to work on while Clayton and I did his "Math Meeting" assignment. We went over the calendar (focusing on spelling all of the days of the week and months of the year), the weather (charted on his weather graph), wrote the digital time, wrote out the numbers from 400-600 counting by 10s, wrote even numbers from 0-56, figured out how to make $0.84 using various combinations of dimes, nickels, and pennies, and wrote out a fact family sequence using 15, 9, and 6. We also went through all of Clayton's math flashcards for his timed tests (25 problems in 2 minutes).
11:40 am - Clayton did his Map Skills page and his Bible/History project (a word search using words from the life of Joseph). I helped Drew clean up his puzzles and then cleaned up a massive blow out diaper courtesy of my littlest darling. Good times. :)
12:00 pm - I let the kids play in their playhouse for a bit while I gathered unused baby items for a friend to take to Romania on a mission trip. Then we all headed downstairs for lunch.
12:20 pm - I moved over another cycle of laundry and made lunch. Usually, when Wade is in town, he eats lunch with us. On this particular day, he met a friend for lunch.
12:30 pm - I fed the boys lunch and sorted laundry while they ate. Then we all went upstairs so that I could lay Owen down. When I came out of the nursery, I found the boys in the bathroom playing "Science Lab." This is a pretty common occurrence these days - circuit sets and "potions." I think it is pretty cute. ;)
I was appauled when Clayton said that he was using water with his circuit set. I scolded him about how he could electrocute himself and that he should NEVER use water with his circuit set. He was quick to point out the water powered circuit in the instruction manual that came with his set. Ooops! I guess that I was wrong. It still makes me nervy... I asked him to only set up that circuit when I was nearby and aware of what he was doing. Geesh.

* Side note: He always wears those glasses when he plays scientist. They make his eyes look enormous. So cute...

1:00 pm - I laid Drew down for his nap. Wade came home and brought me lunch - he's so thoughtful. I ate my lunch while Clayton and I discussed what he had learned in Grammar the previous day.
1:20 pm - Clayton did his Grammar assignment (below). I read him a chapter out of The Story of the World entitled "The First Cities in India" and "The Honest Woodman" out of the Treasury of Virtues.

2:00 pm - I responded to some emails and then fed Owen (nursed and babyfood). Clayton worked on his creative writing assignment. He was supposed to write a story about an animal that lives in the water. Over Thanksgiving, he had watched a documentary about the Goonch catfish with Wade and Papaw. He is now officially obsessed with the man-eating catfish. That made the subject matter for his writing assignment an easy decision. Ha!
2:20 pm - I finally took a shower (better late than never!) and tried to psych myself up for the imminent Wally World trip.
3:30 pm - Drew woke up from his nap, and I went to Walmart. Bleh!
5:15 pm - I got home from Walmart and Wade helped me unload all of our groceries. I fed Owen and let him bounce in his Johnny Jump Up for a little while.
5:30 pm - Wade worked on dinner. I helped him and we talked about our day. The boys watched Arthur while we cooked.
6:00 pm - We ate dinner together and Owen played in his exersaucer in the kitchen.
6:30 pm - I laid Owen down for his last little cat nap.
7:00 pm - Baths for the big boys.
7:15 pm - Owen woke up and we did our Christmas devotional as a family.
7:45 pm - Owen got his bedtime bottle (a few ounces of formula to top him off) and his rice cereal.
8:15 pm - The big boys went to bed and we got to spend some one-on-one time with Owen.
8:45 pm - Owen went to bed for the night.
9:00 pm - I cleaned up the kitchen and put away the rest of the laundry while Wade worked on cutting the wood for a Christmas craft that we were making to give to all of the kids' teachers (both school & church) and our neighbors.
9:30 pm - I painted the above project and Wade assembled.
10:30 pm - I made Clayton's lunch for the next day.
11:00 pm - I addressed Christmas cards while Wade worked on stuff for church
12:15 pm - Bedtime for the adults in the family. Zzzzz....

That is a pretty typical day on Tuesdays & Thursdays. We rarely leave the house on those days and spend most of the day working on school. Mondays are typically the day that I clean, catch up on laundry, and go to the grocery store. Wednesdays are reserved for various appointments (doctors, dentists, etc.) and errands. Fridays Clayton has a partial school day on campus, so we take our time getting ready and then take Clayton to school at 9:00. Then I come home and do stuff around the house while the Littles are napping. We pick up Clayton at 3, and then our weekend begins.

I hope that I never, ever forget this season of life - the good, the bad, and the ugly. ;) I love the stage of our young family. There is never enough time or money, but we couldn't want for more. :)

Owen is 7 Months Old!

2011-12-07T13:24:00.016-06:00

My precious babe is 7 months old today! He has done a lot of growing up this month - he's changed soooo much.

* 7 month stats:
Weight: Just shy of 17 pounds, as best as I can tell... It's hard to get an accurate measurement on an antique scale when your subject is super wiggly. ;)
Height: ???
Clothes: 6-9 month and 9 month
Shoes: 6-12 month or size 2
Diaper: Size 2 during the day and Size 3 at night

* Owen continues to be such a happy baby! The sweet people that work in the nursery on Sundays always make such a fuss over him and how happy he is. I had to include his little report card from Sunday because I thought that their words were so kind. :) I'm so thankful that my baby is in good hands while Wade and I are in Sunday School and service.
* Owen is a "hip baby" now. He was getting to that awkward stage where he was a bit cumbersome to hold cradled in my arms, but wasn't quite comfortable to sit on my hip. Then all of the sudden, on November 11, 2011 it just felt right. I read recently in Parents magazine the editor's column about "Mini Milestones" - little things that don't necessarily make the baby book, but are important rites of passage in a Mama's heart. Becoming a "hip baby" was one of those types of things for me with all of my babies.

* Owen has changed so much physically this month! He has put on almost 2 pounds (which I am soooo happy about!), so his face has filled out and he has gotten some rolls. I can hardly contain myself when I see those chubby thighs - they just beg to be squeezed! Now that he has gained some weight, he looks more like Drew did as a baby. His eyelashes have also filled in and gotten darker, which makes him look like Clayton did as a baby. I'm starting to see many more similarities. I need to do another baby picture post. :)

* Oh, when he cuts those eyes... too cute for words!
* O is at that age where we kind of have a baby circuit going on. We just rotate from one piece of baby equipment to the next during his awake time. The exersaucer is still his favorite, but he love his swing, johnny jump up, bouncy, and boppy, too.

* Another mini-milestone this month... Owen is no longer sleeping in his swaddle! Insert gushing ugly cry here. :( I love a swaddled baby, and he was so happy to be wrapped up. But... it was time. We rode the swaddle train as long as we could. For the last month or so, I have been wrapping him in his Miracle Blanket with a Swaddle Me over that. When he started busting out of my double swaddle, I knew the ride was over. I just stopped cold turkey yesterday. With Clayton and Drew it was rough for 3 days and then they were fine. I'm hoping Owen follows suite. In 2 days we should be swaddle free and back to his normal sleeping pattern. Fingers crossed! I did have to get some pictures of him in his swaddle blankets one last time...

After his first unswaddled nap this morning...

* Owen has been gnawing on his fingers nonstop. People keep asking me if he is teething. I don't think that is the case... Clayton and Drew were both 8.5 months old when their first tooth popped through. I'm hoping that I have another 6 weeks to enjoy that bare bottom gum...
* Owen is definitely not on a true schedule like my other babies were. I truly believe that a schedule is important for babies, but I am learning that it just doesn't happen when you have older kids and many more commitments. In general, he nurses 5 times a day and takes 3 naps a day (2-2 hour naps and a cat nap in the evening). I'm hoping that we can get into a better groove this month. It sure would make life easier if he was more predictable.

* This month Owen went from eating a tablespoon of rice cereal at night to eating baby food once a day and oatmeal at night. We gave him rice cereal once a day for a week gradually increasing the amount from 1 tablespoon to 4 tablespoons. Once we knew that he was tolerating that well, we let him try oatmeal. After a week of oatmeal, we started on vegetables. Owen tried peas first and loved those. After 5 straight days of peas, we moved on to green beans. When he tolerated those well for 5 days, we moved on to squash. I know that everyone has different methods of introducing solids, but we followed this same plan with Drew and it worked well. We're hoping Owen will be a good eater as well. :)

* Owen hit a major milestone this month as well - he is now an independent sitter. I hadn't really made a conscious effort to practice his sitting skills with him like I did with Clayton and Drew. I remember helping C & D do the whole tripod sitting thing, but that just didn't register on my radar with Owen. Finally, the day before Thanksgiving, I sat him up and he sat all by himself for several seconds. He acted like an old pro! He had a few weeble-wobble days, but he sure doesn't fall over much any more. He sits with his back so straight... I'd be sad to see him upright, if he weren't so stinkin' cute in that position.

* Before I lay Owen down for naps or for bedtime, we always rock for a few minutes and I sing "You are My Sunshine." I don't rock him to sleep, but we rock long enough to get some good snuggle time in. :) As soon as I sing the first note, he does this cute little chuckle/laugh, almost like a nervous laugh. I can't even explain it, but I have to document it. I'm hoping reading those words will jog the memory in my heart. It's such a precious time that we share together...

My Darling Owen,

What a big month this was! You had a major growth spurt and gained 2 pounds this month. I am so thankful that you are healthy and growing. :)

I am stuck in the age-old bittersweet battle that all mother's fight in their hearts. I want so badly for you to stay my tiny baby, but I know that if you did remain 7 months old, I would miss out on so much. I love that right now, I can meet all of your needs. But, I also want for you to learn to rely on the Lord to meet all of your needs. I love that you are so happy all of the time, but I know that you will have to experience trials to realize how truly strong you are.

I love that you are my baby, but I know that there is so much more fun to be had. If Drew had stayed a baby, I would never have know how funny and tender hearted he would be at 3 years old. If Clayton had stayed a baby, I would never have known what a brilliant mind he would have at 6 or how I would see him learning to be more of a servant every day. I'm excited to see what you will be like at 3 and 6 and so on. I am making a conscious decision each day to enjoy your babyhood without grieving the loss of your infancy. I'm excited to see how our family will evolve and change over time.

I can't imagine life getting better than it is at this very moment, but I know that it will.

You are such a gift, Baby Boy. I love you more than you will ever be able to fathom!

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2011-12-03T23:27:00.004-06:00

The Christmas season is upon us! I can't believe it is already December! Time just keeps on tickin' away...

We got to host our Sunday School department's Christmas party this weekend, so we were inspired to get all of our decorating done early. Wade is crazy helpful when it comes to decorating for the holidays. He really does the majority of the work - bless his heart! He put up a 9 foot tree, a 7.5 foot tree, and a 7 foot tree this year. He also did all of the outside decorations. He's pretty handy to have around, I must say. ;)

I've been thinking a lot lately about my childhood home. I try to remember where furniture was and how it was decorated. Some things I can remember vividly, and some are pretty fuzzy. I decided to try to take more pictures of our home for the boys to have when they are adults. Of course, they probably won't care a thing about what our house looked like in December of 2011, but maybe my daughter-in-laws will. Ha!

After an unfortunate event last year in which the angel from my nativity was decapitated, I decided that my favorite set should be up somewhere higher and safer. ;)

Our sentimental tree in the front room. Wade and I exchanged ornaments every year when we were dating and newlyweds. Now, we get a family ornament each year. This tree has all of those ornaments on there. I smiled as I hung the one from 1995 - the first year that we were dating. What a flashback! There are also lots of ornaments from our Christmas themed engagement party that our friends threw for us in 1999. So many memories on this tree...

Now, let the holiday shopping begin! Everything is decorated at my house, but not a single present has been purchased. It might be a little quiet on the 'ol blog for the next couple of weeks... ;)

Sitting Pretty

2011-12-03T23:24:00.002-06:00

Owen is sitting really well now for long periods of time. He looks so darn cute in his new upright state. I just had to post a few pictures. :)

These were taken on November 29th, 2011.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-03T22:57:00.028-06:00

This year we went out to East Texas to spend Thanksgiving with Wade's parents. We had a lovely time! Wade's parent were gracious hosts, as usual. We got to rest and relax and just enjoy the company. It was wonderful!

My little turkey starting sitting up independently. I decided to try him out and he just sat straight up like he had been doing it for months. I started squealing, "Look at him! Look at him! Look at him!" I wanted to make sure that Wade and his parents didn't miss the impromptu milestone. :)

There were some Weeble-Wobble moments, too, of course.

Cute little turkey booty.

Such a happy little fella!

There was lots of grandparent and great-grandparent time for the boys! All 3 of the great grandparents were able to join us for our Thanksgiving meal. Such a blessing!

Wade and his dad got to play some golf as well. Clayton and I joined Wade for a few practice holes. :)

Clayton drove the golf cart. Oh my lands - it was a crazy ride! I told Wade that he was going to have to teach him to drive a car. I already know that my nerves can't handle that! ;)

The deer just hang out right on the green. They add to the ambiance, for sure.

Clayton got a little putting lesson from his Daddy.

Papaw and Drew - what a pair they are!

O in his turkey shirt. :)

As a Thanksgiving treat, Owen got to have his first baby food (besides cereal, that is). He had peas, and he LOVED them. He opened his mouth big for each bite.
Wade's sister and her family joined us for the last day. It was so much fun to all be together! I didn't get any pictures of Leigh and the girls, but I did manage to get a cute one of O with Uncle Corey. They were watching Pawn Stars together. Ha!
We have a million things to be thankful for this year! We are grateful to serve a Risen Savior who blesses us abundantly. What a wonderful time of year to stop and truly give thanks for all that He has done!

Smocked Bubble

2011-12-03T22:16:00.002-06:00

When it comes to dressing my babies, I am a Southern girl through and through. I've never met a smocked bubble that I didn't like. :)

I bought several things on clearance when I was pregnant with Owen. I just assumed that he would be another big baby, so I erred on the side of caution when I was guesstimating size. I bought a smocked bubble in a 6 month thinking that it would get plenty of use over the summer. Unfortunately, Owen never got to wear it.

On November 13th we had some unseasonably warm weather, so I seized the opportunity to dress my baby in that sweet bubble. We had a mini photo session, of course. ;)

He looked just precious, if I do say so myself. :)

Owen's First Time to Sit at the Dinner Table

2011-11-15T20:07:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the big leagues, Baby Boy!

He looks so big... :) & :(

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Owen is 6 Months Old!

2011-11-07T22:13:00.004-06:00

A very Happy Half-Birthday to my favorite new 6 month old! My Baby Owen has been on the planet for half a year. As much as I have tried to dig in my heels, time keeps on ticking away. I am enjoying every second of O's babyhood. He is such a bright spot in our family!

Joy. Pure joy.

At 6 months old:

* Owen weighs 15 lbs even (10%) and was 27 inches long (72%). That, my friends, is the definition of long and lean! He is such a string bean! I have been pretty stressed about his weight for the last month. I'm just not used to a baby that is this skinny! The pediatrician is doing some tests to make sure that there isn't anything medically going on that would cause him not to gain weight, but she doesn't seem too concerned. We should have the results from the lab work back by the end of the week. I think that I will rest much easier once I know that those are all normal. Owen's head circumference was 43 cm (29%).

* Our little Love is getting so much more interactive! I got out our exersaucer last week and he went crazy over it. I could just see his little mind going into overdrive trying to figure it all out. It is probably his favorite piece of baby equipment right now.
* However, Little Mister still loves his swing, as well. He cranes his head to look at all of the little bugs and gets all wonky in the seat.

* He is rolling EVERYWHERE! I can lay him on a quilt and he is across the room in no time flat. He mostly rolls towards his right side - that seems to be his preference. We have had to get super vigilant about the gate at the top of the stairs. Let the baby proofing begin!
* Owen is at that stage where he loves his feet. I caught him sucking on his big toe in his bed earlier today. One day this boy will be over 6 feet tall, I'm sure. I just had to document that, way back when he was a wee babe, he could reach his toes to his face. Ha!

* This boy is nuts for his Papa. And, the feeling is mutual, I can assure you. O lights up when he sees is Dad. I love to watch them together.
* Owen's hair is starting to come in on top, but it is so blond that it doesn't show up in pictures. The bases of his eyelashes are also blond. As anxious as I am to see what he will look like with hair, I can't get enough of this bald head!
* We finally got a video monitor for the nursery. So... Owen moved upstairs to his room last week. I was sad to have to shut down the newborn suite (a.k.a. our master bedroom closet), but it was time. He seems happy in his own space, and I am enjoying being able to get ready without worrying that I will wake the baby. :)

* I had to take a picture tonight to prove that Owen is doing much better with his cereal. A certain family member was quite concerned about how sad O was in his previous cereal pictures. I hope that this sets her mind to ease. ;)
My Precious Baby Boy,

Oh, how I treasure every minute that I get with you! You are such a tremendous blessing in my life. You will never, ever know how much good you have done in your Mama's heart!

You have started waking up again in the night over the last few weeks. Oh, my heavens - those middle of the night feedings are taking a toll on your Mommy. I sleepily stumble up the stairs to your room, usually in a fog. As tired as I am, I still love to see your smiling face when I peek into your crib. All of the grouchiness just fades away. (Of course, if you would like to go back to your 10-11 hour stretches, I'd sure be grateful. :) )

I have always sang "You Are My Sunshine" to you and your brothers. Recently, I discovered the Elizabeth Mitchell version of the song. Her version makes me tear up every time! I know that one day, many years from now, I will dream about what it felt like to hold you as a baby. I'm trying desperately to train my arms to remember exactly what your little 15 pound body feels like. Oh, how I love to snuggle with you, Baby Boy.

I adore you so, my sweet Doll Baby. Happy Half Birthday to you! I look forward to many, many more days of celebrating you.

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

Owen's First Attempt at Rice Cereal

2011-11-06T15:23:00.006-06:00

We gave our sweet little Owen his first few bites of rice cereal on November 1st. He is almost 6 months old and seemed to be showing signs of being ready for solids. So, we took the plunge a week early. :)

It went.... Well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Smiley and happy sitting in his Bumbo...

Cooing and sticking his tongue out...

Letting the first bite dribble out of his mouth...

Trying to make himself like it...

Nope, this stuff is not good...

Why are you torturing me????

Poor kid. He hated it! I remember how much Drew loved his first experience with solids. I kindof expected Owen to be the same way. Notsomuch...

In his defense, Owen had never had formula before, and I mixed the rice cereal with Enfamil. I guess that he wasn't a big fan of the taste. We have continued to mix his cereal with formula every night, and he has gotten progressively better. I am pleased to say that he gobbled it up last night like it was his job. We've made good progress! :)

Another milestone marked off of the list...

Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T15:08:00.005-06:00

The boys had a ton of fun this year dressing up and going trick or treating. Clayton was an Air Force pilot, Drew was an astronaut, and Owen was a monkey. They were pretty cute! :)

Clayton carved his first solo jack-o-lantern at a friend's birthday party. I thought that he did pretty good.
Lukey got to go trick or treating with us! He was a darling little Buzz Lightyear.
Clayton begged for aviator glasses. He thought that he was big stuff wearing them!
Owen was a cutie pie little monkey, if I do say so myself. ;)
It was actually a hand-me-down costume from Clayton's first Halloween. Too cute not to use again!

Halloween 2005

Halloween 2011

The Big Boys

O just rode in his stroller - happy to be along for the ride. Sweet little boy...
Clayton and Drew made quite a haul! I'm looking for a dentist in our area that offers a candy buy back program. Ha!

What might have been...

2011-11-06T15:01:00.002-06:00

Since this blog is our family scrapbook of sorts, I feel the need to be more vigilant in documenting historical events.

A couple of weeks have passed now, so I think that I am ready to talk about the World Series this year. Our Rangers were so close to winning the whole series, that we could taste it! Wade's parents happened to be in town during game 6, and it was an intense night at our house while we all huddled around the TV. Twice the Rangers came within one strike of winning, only to let the Cardinals get another run. It was heartbreaking.

There were very high highs...

Followed by very low, lows. My Hubs face was so distraught after the game. I really wish that they could have pulled it off. There's always next year, though! We aren't fair-weather fans around here. Go Rangers!

Drew's 3rd Birthday Party

2011-10-31T10:07:00.004-05:00

Way back in August, Clayton asked Drew what kind of party he wanted to have for his 3rd birthday. Drew immediately answered, "I have a Lightning 'Queen party!" I am not super crazy about licensed character parties, I must admit. So, I gently tried to dissuade him from his request by offering many, many other options. Homeboy was not budging at all! He was dead set on a Lightning McQueen party and never wavered from that theme.

So, I caved. It is his party, not mine. He should get what he wants, right? :)

We had the party at our town's community center. They have an indoor water park that Drew was pretty excited about. Our family and a few close friends came to celebrate our boy. He had a ball and still talks about his fun "birf-day party." Ha!

Motor Oil (Sweet Tea) & Antifreeze (Lemon Lime Kool Aid)

Tatoo Station

Wade's little mini-me makes his 3 the same way as his Daddy - with his middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.
They are so quirky!

Drew giving one of his sweet buds a big thank you hug. :)

"Thank you for my presents!"

Time for a birthday swim!

RA Racers

2011-10-31T09:43:00.004-05:00

Our church has a missions organization for boys that meets on Wednesday nights. It is called RAs (Royal Ambassadors). They work on scripture memory and learning about missions. They work on various mission projects and have guest speakers that come to speak to them. In addition to their heavy focus on missions, they throw in some fun activities. They have an annual camp out in the spring and a pinewood derby in the fall.

Wade was actually in RAs as a kid, and has many fond memories from that part of his childhood. His mom saved his vest and his old pinewood derby cars. I love that he has such a soft spot in his heart for this organization. When he was asked to teach the 1st grade RAs, he was happy to accept. :)

RA Racers was on October 21st this year. Clayton & Wade worked hard for weeks on Clayton's car. Hobby Lobby has a whole section dedicated to RA Racers, so we made many trips to the good ole Hob Lob. ;) There was lots of talk of color schemes, aerodynamics, weight positions, preparing the axel, etc. It was pretty cute to watch Wade & Clayton bond over this project.

There were 9 cars from the 1st graders, and there was some fierce competition. Ha!

Clayton with 2 of his buddies.

When all was said and done, Clayton won 2nd place. He was sooo proud!

I realized after the race that, between our 3 boys, there will be a grand total of 18 RA race cars made by our family. I'd say that we are off to a good start. ;)

Clayton's First "Poim"

2011-10-31T09:39:00.003-05:00

Clayton wrote this on 10/15/11. He handed it to me folded with "Poim" written on the outside.
Translation: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. You are so pretty. You are so sweet. You cannot be beat. Love, Clayton"

Handwriting - S
Spelling - S
Sentiment - E+++++ :)

Drew is 3!!!

2011-10-23T23:00:00.003-05:00

My Drew turned 3 years old today! I cannot fathom how 3 years have passed since I first held this precious boy...
At 3 years old...

* Drew is 40.75 inches tall and weighs 38 pounds (according to my measurements today). He wears 4T shirts and 3T pants. He wears a size 9 1/2 shoe.

* We spend a lot of time in the car these days, and Drew is such a good rider. He just talks and sings the whole time. He is getting to that stage where his imagination is in overdrive. When we are in the car, he is always pretending that we are in a race. He'll say, "Mommy, we're winning the race!" or "Mommy, that white truck is first and we are second." He ranks all of the cars around us. It cracks me up!

* I'm not quite sure how it started, but Drew thinks that he can change the stoplights and make them turn green. He'll say, "Mommy, I will change the light to green in just a minute." When the light eventually changes, he says, "See! See! I did it!" I always say thank you, to which he replies, "My pleasure." Funny boy. :)

* Drew loves the song "I Will Follow" by Chris Tomlin. He asks for me to play it every time that we are in the car. He sings along and it is just precious. I tear up every time that he sings, "If 'dis life I lose, I will follow you." Those words coming out of his little mouth with his little lisp - it gets me every single time.

* I printed off some letter flash cards at the beginning of the school year. Drew has loved to practice with them! We work on them while Clayton is doing his school work, and I think that it makes Drew feel big to have "school work" also. :) He has gotten really good at recognizing his letters. He consistently gets all of the letters except for Aa, Ii, Jj (he always says, "'dat letter looks like a candy cane!"), Kk (he always says "X"), Qq, and Vv. I think that is really good for a brand new 3 year old!

* Drew's favorite color is green. He would eat at McDonald's for every meal if we allowed him to do so (chicken nuggets and apples). His favorite TV show is Rescue Heroes on Qubo, and he LOVES to color with markers.
* Drew has the cutest little way of saying things. I'm sure that they are pretty typical, but I need to make a list so that I don't forget. :) If you ask his age, he will say, "I'm free!" He says, "'Sanks!" instead of "Thanks." He tries to sound big on the phone and says, "Whatcha doin'?" but he drags the phrase out and it sounds funny. He says his brother's names are "Cwayton and Owen." When we pick Clayton up from school, he always asks, "Hey Cwayton! How your day at school? You keep all your tickets?" He has figured out that those are always my first questions and tries to beat me to the punch. :)

* Clayton was really particular about his bedtime routine at 3, and Drew is definitely following suite. We always sing the same four songs in the same order - "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands," "Jesus Loves the Little Children," "Deep & Wide," and "I am a Promise." He will correct us (kindly, of course) if we go out of order. :)
* He always requests a "huggy, kissy, nosey" before bed (hug, kiss, and Eskimo kiss). :)

* If you ask Drew his full name, he will respond, "Andrew Scooby Doo Carp'der." Ha!
* He has been brainwashed by my T-sip husband and flashes the hook 'em horns sign pretty often. Ugh - where did I go wrong???
* Drew LOVES his brothers! He really looks up to Clayton and tries to copy anything that his big brother does - that is a blessing and a curse at times. ;) He also loves Owen and is so sweet and nurturing to his baby brother. It is so neat to watch him step into the big brother role as well.
Drewy Drewster,

I seriously don't think that I have ever been around a happier child! You have your moments, of course, but you spend the vast majority of the day laughing and playing like you don't have a care in the world. You squeeze every last drop of fun out of life, and I love that about you! I hope that you always have that joyful attitude.

I absolutely despise the term "middle child." I feel like people have this preconceived idea of that place in birth order. I refuse to use those words to describe you. I call you my "Little-Big Boy" or my "Happy Medium." I try to tell you how special you are because you are the only one of our sons that has both a big brother and a little brother. Isn't that cool?!?! I hope that you always feel like your spot in our family is crucial and important. You are the magic link that holds our family together. I don't ever want to imagine what our family would be like without you. We all benefit so much from you!

You, Dear Child, have personality with a capital P! You are so much fun to be around! You have the greatest laugh. I don't even know how to describe it. It's just so pure and uninhibited. If I could bottle that up, the world would be a much better place.

Three years ago today, you changed me. You have made me more relaxed. I don't take myself or life as serious. I have more fun. I love harder. I am a better version of myself because of you. Your joy is infectious, and I am glad that you share it freely with me. You have such a special place in my heart, Drew Carpenter. Don't you ever forget what a treasure you are!

I love you to the moon and back!
Mommy

2011-10-18T13:25:00.001-05:00

I leave the room for a minute to lay Drew down, and...

I come back to Rapper Owen courtesy of Big BotherClayton.

Boys... :-)

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Location:When Mommy's Away...

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-12T15:51:00.008-05:00

Last year, we were fortunate enough to stumble upon an awesome pumpkin patch right by my BFF, Leah's, mom's house. It is in Decatur, so it is a bit of a drive, but we were soooo pleased last year. We decided to make it an annual tradition. :) Last Thursday, we loaded up 2 cars to maximum capacity and headed out to the country. It was just as good (if not better!) this year. We all had the best time!
Here is the post from last year. **Mascara Alert**: Drew looks still looked like a baby back then and now he is a certifiable big boy. Looking back at last year will make you cry big, fat crocodile tears. Or maybe that's just me... :-/

My Three Dapper Darlings :)

This year, Mama Ginger was kind enough to go to the patch with us and then to host Leah, Holly, Abbey, and I and all of our kiddos for lunch. That's 4 adults and 7 kiddos! She is a saint, I tell ya! Lunch was yummy and the company was even better. :)

Leah, Holly, Me, and Abs
I have such beautiful friends! Their hearts are even prettier than their faces, I can assure you of that. Love these girls!

Kiddo Group Shot
Clayton, Drew, Caroline, Maggie, Sadie, and Luke

There's somethin' about that Drew - he makes me smile.

My Punkin' in the punkin's

Apparently, the pumpkins were much more interesting than his Mama jumping up and down acting like a fool trying to get him to smile. Ha!

After the children had paid their toll by smiling for a gazillion pictures, it was time to let them loose to enjoy the fun! This patch has animals, bounce houses, a barrel train, hayrides, face painting, etc. It is pretty much a kid's paradise.

This year they had a pedal go kart track. Clayton was in hog heaven! Right after I took this picture he said, "Muscles, don't fail me now!" Ha ha! Crazy kid.

Drew loved the goats. I'm pretty sure that he exceeded his allotment of 1 cup of goat food at least 10 times over. :)

Clayton was a bigger fan of the chicks. He was so sweet holding this one and talking baby talk to him, "Aw, little buddy, do you miss your Mama?"

"Can we keep him, puh-leeeezzzz?"

The future Mr. & Mrs. Clayton Carpenter
We're racking up the pictures for their wedding slide show. ;)

Drew and his bud, Luke

It was a full day of fun! We didn't get home until 4:30 and the boys just got car naps on the road. But, we left with full bellies and happy hearts. Can't wait til next year!

Owen is 5 Months Old

2011-10-07T23:05:00.006-05:00

My Baby O turned 5 months old today! I can hardly believe it...

Owen with his frog and elephant

This sweet little face... be still my heart. :)

* I weighed and measured Owen tonight and he was 26 inches long and weighed 14 lbs. 8 oz. It sure seems like he has grown more than 1/2 an inch and 6 oz. this month, but I double checked and got the same thing. So... I guess that he is just going to be long and lean. :)

* O is in between sizes when it comes to clothing. He can still wear some of his 0-3 mth stuff, but he wears some 3-6 mth things as well. He has a few dressy outfits that fit small that he wears a 6 mth in. He's kinda all over the map. :)

* He still wears a size 2 diaper.

* He still nurses every 3-3.5 hours during the day and sleeps for 1.5-2 hours in between feedings.

* My precious babe is as bald as a billiard ball! He has lost what little bit of dark hair that he had on top and the hair coming in looks much lighter. Could we have another blondie on our hands??? He does have a few little tufts of dark hair remaining on the back with a bald spot in the middle from where he sleeps. It makes for quite the comical hairline. ;)
* Sweet Baby has grown to love bath time. Our infant seat broke and I didn't really see the sense in replacing it. So, O has been taking sink baths 90% of the time. We have put him in the bigger bath seat a few times, and he seems to like it.

Sweet & Clean straight from the bathtub

Chillaxin' in the sink. Ha!

* Owen is sleeping great. I've learned not to jinx myself by putting an exact number, but we are very pleased with his progress. :) O still sleeps in his Miracle Blanket. He is so funny when we wrap him up. If he is fussy, he calms down immediately. It is his happy place. Ha!

One of the darling ladies in the nursery at church calls his swaddle blanket his "off switch." This particular lady is a home ec. teacher at the high school. She said that she told her students all about Owen and his swaddle when she taught a unit on calming infants. I love that she has my boy figured out so well!

I know that the Miracle Blanket will be retired very soon, and that is going to pain my heart. What will I do when I no longer have a baby to swaddle??? That is my most favorite thing about infants. Maybe I will have it bronzed or something... ;)
* He is so funny when he wakes up in his Miracle Blanket. He flops his legs like a mermaid's tale. He'll be happy as a lark in there smiling away, but he raises his legs up and then slams them down. It is so funny... I remember Drew doing the same thing at this age.

* O still loves his play gym. The lady bug is his favorite.
* He is also a big fan of his bouncy seat this month. He will sit in that thing for as long as we will let him.
* He has started doing "baby crunches" and grabbing at the bird and monkey. He is so happy when he finally catches them.
* I told Wade this month that my neck and shoulders were really hurting. I debated about seeing a chiropractor or sleeping on a different mattress. Then I realized that I hurt from holding Owen so much! I am hunched over staring at that sweet face every chance that I get. I joke that I am holding him to protect him from his wild brothers, but I just don't want to waste a minute of holding my last baby. (sniff, sniff)

* Owen chews on his fingers 24/7. People keep asking if he is cutting teeth. I sure hope not! Clayton and Drew were 8.5 months before they cut their first tooth. I'm hoping that I have a few more months with that precious gummy grin.
* Um... I have no real bullet point for these two pictures. Owen is just adorable. Period. The end.

* Clayton and Drew are completely nuts about their baby brother. Clayton loves to hold him or lay down on the couch next to him and talk to him. Drew says, "Owen is our precious love bug." I hope that they will always be the very best of friends.
* Owen visited his first pumpkin patch yesterday. His little bald head was pretty cute nestled among the pumpkins. ;)

My Dearest Owen Thomas,

Oh my word, Child, you could not be a better baby. You just couldn't. I am beyond grateful that you are so easy. You are so content and happy. You go with the flow and make life with three kids much more manageable than I ever thought that it would be. We spend so much time in the car and on the go these days. You are so sweet to just come along for the ride. I would bet cash money that you are going to be our most laid back kid. All of the theories on birth order make so much more sense to me with each child that we have had.

You are a wonderful treasure to me, Sweet Babe. I love you so much that my heart literally hurts some times. Every month with you I think, "This is my favorite age..." And then the next month comes along and I think, "No, I was wrong. This is my favorite age..." I know that it will be like that from here on out. I want to hang on to every bit of baby that I can get out of you, but I know that I will love every stage even more than the one before. You are such a tremendous blessing in my life.

My favorite thing about this month is that you really know who I am, and I feel like you love me back now. :) When our eyes meet from across the room, you smile so big and start to kick your feet like crazy with excitement. You know that I'm your Mama! I make you happy and that thrills me to no end!

You don't know all of my many faults yet. You don't know that I can't cook worth a darn. You've never complained about a single meal that I have made you.

You don't know that I'm not very funny. The slightest hint of a silly face is enough to make you shake with laughter.

You don't know that I have trouble juggling life with three kids, a house to maintain, and a husband that travels. Your needs are met and you are content.

You so precious to me, and I hope that you and your brothers will always know what overwhelming joy that you have brought to my life. I always knew that I would love being a mother, but it is even better than my very best dreams.

I adore you, my darling 5 month old!

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy