Careful what you wish for ...

There are definitely days when I ask myself why I couldn't have had nice quiet well-behaved compliant children. Then days like today happen, and although the quiet is nice, it is also very weird.
With the babies/toddlers still recovering and the boys all getting sick as of yesterday, Jenny and I decided to combine forces today and let the kids have a milkshake and movie day - guaranteed to help fevers and sore throats ;-)
Let me tell you, there is an almost eerie like quality to seeing our three boys (P,R,&T) walking around the house, conversing in subdued tones, walking through the backyard, and sitting quietly watching movies ... not to mention all our bottomless pits ate today was a milkshake and a little mac&cheese. WEIRD!
Hope they feel better soon.

Soooo pitiful...

You know those moments as a mom when your kids are soooo sincerely pitiful that it just tugs at your heart. Thomas's fever spiked tonight and he just got pitiful. He threw up the tylenol I gave him and so I put him in the bath to lower his body temp. He was crying in the tub, and then when he got out and into his PJ's (I gave him one of Jason's t-shirts to sleep in.), he kind of leaned against me and said "I love you, Mommy" in that voice that just so expressed how pitiful he felt. Poor baby. :-(

Dropping like flies...

Well, T started running a fever today so that makes all three boys with this crazy virus. It seems to spread pretty easily too, because not only do we have it, but Tracy and Ally were under the weather last week and now Jenny's crew is dropping like flies as well. As of today, Ben & Aubrey seem to be improving but both Ryan and Phillip have spiked fevers - Ryans up to 104.7 (103.7 under the arm). Yikes!

Prayerfully this will pass quickly and all will be better by the end of the week. For right now, we are buying stock in Tylenol, Motrin, Pedialyte, and Patience ;-)

Memorial Day Weekend

When we first began talking about moving last year, one of the criteria we really wanted in a house was a back yard for the kids to play in. As usual, God knows our needs even before we do and when he led us to this house it not only had a fenced in back yard, but room enough for the trampoline T had always wanted as well as a future swingset (still have to save up for that one). So the deal was made that as soon as T finished first grade, Dad would set up his trampoline for him to enjoy during the summer.

We were very blessed to have had a four day weekend this past week. Thomas finished up school on Thursday and Jason took Friday off to put his trampoline together and officially kick off summer vacation. :-)

Of course, when you have a family with young kids things are always bound to come up, and we ended up with a virus going through the house than had CJ and Coeby absolutely pitiful, Jason wiped out, and T with a few sores in his mouth that - although they stung - really didn't slow him down all that much.

However, Daddy plugged along with Uncle Trey's help, and much to Thomas's delight, the trampoline was finished today and T got to try it out. I wish I knew where he gets all that energy...

He never saw it coming ... LOL

Little Man

Found this picture when I downloaded all of the pictures on my camera from the last few months ...

Aunt Megan and Uncle Neil thought they would help motivate Brascoe to represent himself well right from the start.


I personally think he did the condescending face a little too well. LOL

Learning how to be a big brother

We pulled out CJ's intellitainer this week and cleaned it off so Coeby could enjoy it now that he is becoming more active. It was the first time I have seen CJ have one of those "Hey, that's my toy" moments.
The intellitainer was one of CJ's favorite toys when he was younger, and I think he was excited to see it again and puzzled why he wasn't the one getting in it to play ...
It took a few minutes of watching Coeby, but CJ evidently decided that if he couldn't beat him, he might as well join him, so he pulled up his chair and proceeded to show little brother how it all worked. :-)

How the tortoise REALLY beat the hare

So I am going outside to get in the car with Ally and T a few days ago, and I saw something "running" across my front yard. I did a double take when I realized it was a turtle! - And I am not talking about your cute little 5 or 6 inch pond turtle here. If I had to make a guess, I would say it was about 16-18 inched long by 10-12 inches wide, and it FLEW down my front yard so fast the kids didn't even see it until it stopped in the bushes in front of our front porch.

The only thing I can figure is that it used the slope of our yard and lifted its legs to basically toboggan down the yard. Seriously though, how often do you see that?

Where no man has gone before ...

We got brave last weekend and decided to do a separate houses boy vs. girl&babies sleepover.

Jenny and I had Caitlin, Aubrey, CJ, Ben, & Brascoe at her house, and Jason and Phil took on the three boys (Thomas, Phillip, & Ryan) at our house. I think the night was a hit. I know we had fun at the girls house and from the pictures and stories, I am pretty sure the boys had a blast ... and the dads survived. LOL

Yea!

My hubby is so smart :-) He found a way to go online and download my camera software, so once he is able to install it, I should be able to download pictures again. Yea!
Isn't it nice when the little things are so exciting - LOL :-)

Where does the time go?

Every mother has those days when she has to look twice at her kids because they seem to have aged overnight. Rarely does it happen with all three of mine at the same time.

My three sweet boys are still asleep - and yes, I said sweet. :-p

I noticed Brascoe face as Jason held him up playing peekaboo last night. It had slimmed all of a sudden and I could see the wheels spinning behind those eyes of his. I could the the little boy he was becoming.

CJ is still sleeping in a crib with a crib tent for safety purposes, and as I went in to check on him this morning I was struck by how long he is getting. He used to ALWAYS sleep folded in half like a little rag doll, but he is starting to stretch out, and all of a sudden my baby of three and a half years is becoming a little boy in front of my eyes.

Then there is Thomas. My firstborn baby will be done with 1st grade in three days. I am going to be the mother of a second grader!

Where does the time go??

Poor Pictureless Posts

So, I had two different or three things that happened I was going to post about, and I actually took pictures to accompany the posts. Yea! Then I went to download my pictures from my camera and realized that J hadn't reloaded the software after trying to repair my crashed computer. Okay ... quick fix we thought... until we realized that the CD with the software disappeared somewhere in the move ... oh man :-(
So, to recap: I have two or three cute stories to post with cute pics to illustrate them, and all the pics are stuck in my camera unable to get to my computer.

Phooey.

As the day begins...

Well, I just got Coeby back to bed after his 5:00am meal and figured I would sit and type for few minutes before the house comes alive with today's activites - especially since this is the quietest my house is ever likely to be. :-)

I don't know what is up with Coeby this weekend, but he has gone from eating once in the middle of the night to twice a night the past few nights. Here I am hoping we are working toward him actually sleeping through the night, and he goes backwards on us. LOL - my children! Maybe it's a growth spurt. What can I say? That boy is huge! Oh, he is not fat by any means, but he is actually sizing age/clothing appropriate. He weighed 16lbs 7oz at this six month appt last week and was just under the 50% for height/weight. I don't think T or Cj ever made it out of the 5% until T was Four years old. CJ is still small and will probably always be. See - I'm used to the small kids a few sizes behind! I keep joking that Coeby and CJ will be sharing clothes soon (and they proabbly will). :-)

Thomas will finish first grade this Thursday. (Yea!) I think we are both looking forward to it. Home schooling is challenging and wonderful all at the same time, but as much as we enjoy it, I think T and I both have felt spring fever kicking in these last few weeks. Thomas is really doing well, and I think he will end up with A's in all of his subjects for this year - and mommy is a pretty tough grader. The next four days will be the longest as far a material to do and loose ends to tie up, but Friday will be so rewarding. :-) Jason is even taking the day off so he and T can have a play day to put together T's new trampoline. (It was his end of first grade/ welcome to the new house that actually has a backyard treat.)

I have already gotten T's curriculum for next year, and it is so funny for both of us to be so ready for summer on one hand and giddy with excitement looking over all he gets to do next year on the other. I will be doing more structured preschool stuff with CJ as well next year. He has really made some strides forward in the last 6 months or so.

CJ repeats everything he hears these days - not always accurately, but close enough that you can tell what he is saying if you listen carefully. I know his verbal language skills still have a long way to go, but as far as communication, even his ST is impressed with his signing ability. We have 28 Signing Time DVDs at last count, and CJ still loves them as much as the day we first introduced them to him. I honestly think he memorizes a lot of the signs the first time he watches each new DVD. :-) Mommy has some catching up to do - Yikes!

CJ has also started to really play interactively with others these past few months, and he is beginning to follow directions somewhat as well. So many of us working with C can see his brain working behind those eyes of his and know there is so much more he understands than what he communicates. I think we are just waiting to see if it is just a personality (as in "in my own timing") thing or actually a developmental impairment that is hindering his responsive/ following directions skills.

CJ also just got new articulated SMOs to help him jump any last hurdles in learning to walk. The SMOs don't seem to bug him as much as the AFOs did, and he is adjusting to them fairly well. Hopefully this will give him just enough stability in his ankles to be more confidant about taking those first steps on his own.

Well, I can hear stirrings in the house, so I guess I will go start laying things out for the day before I end up with my hands full. :-)

My Little Mischief Makers :-)

Introductions

For those of you who I have not kept in contact with as often as I should have during the last few years, here is a re-introduction to my crew ...

Thomas (soon to be seven) - My strong willed, headstrong firstborn with a sensitive heart and a naivety most people would miss behind the extroverted persona he exudes. I have said over and over that Thomas is my little brother all over again, and while I still see so much of Trey in him, I am coming to recognize more and more of myself in this feisty little boy ... and yes, it is scary to see yourself so aptly on display in the mannerisms and exuberance of your child.
I see in Thomas all of the same insecurities I had as a child, and yet, like every parent, I can't seem to always get through to him the message of "I've been there before. I know where you are. I know how you feel and why you behave the way you do, and you don't have to go down that path. Trust me." I keep praying one day he will listen, but until then I will just keep praying and keep hugging and keep hopefully directing in the right direction. How else can I describe the special place my precious firstborn holds in my life? Thomas is my heart.

CJ (soon to be four) - How often is it one gets to see the physical persona of joy? It is in his smile; it is in his laugh; it is in the way his entire face lights up when he sees me in the morning or when he finally gets an unexpected pounce on his big brother. It is in the laugh that bubbled out when he figured out how to tickle his little brothers toes.
CJ is a question - how will I ever be everything to him that he needs? With all of my flaws, my failings and shortcomings, how did God ever find me worthy of such a child? Will I be enough for him?
CJ is a character builder - he makes me view things differently whether I want to or not. His disability has brought so many doctors and therapists and rules and regulators into my life that at times I just want to run away and hide so that I can raise my child on my own without Big Brother seemingly peeking over my shoulder at every turn. CJ can make me question my place in this world more than any other child, but he can also take the worst days of my life and cover them with a healing balm just by seeing that look on his face that says "You are everything to me Mommy. This smile is for you." CJ is my sunshine.

Brascoe (Coeby to everyone else) six months old - Brascoe is the one that tells me I have to press on - I can't give up on me yet. He is such a little Thomas, and yet the place he holds in my heart is all his own. Brascoe reminds me of how precious being a mommy is when you know that the little one in your arms believes his whole world revolves around you. I am his anchor... and that feeling - the trust that shines in his eyes when he looks at me and cries "pick me up Mommy and I know everything will be ok" - nothing else compares to it. He makes the sleepless nights worth it (not that I would mind him sleeping through the night ...) :-), and he helps me look forward to the next step ahead. I don't know if Brascoe will be the last child I will have - I sincerely hope not - but regardless, I am so thankful for him - for today - for all of the moments I am here to share with yet another precious child. Brascoe is my blessing.

New Beginnings

It has been too long since I last had a place to write and share my wonderful boys with family and friends. Jason has repeatedly told me that I should start a blog, and now I am finally taking his advice.

I will try to keep this as up to date as possible and give those interested a glimpse into our world as it evolves day by day.

Blessing to you all...