They're Growing Up!

It's amazing how quickly your children change.  My oldest guy seems to have grown up overnight.  He's into being helpful, playing wonderfully with his sister, and using phrases like "I am responsible for picking these things up."  Ah, music to my ears.  Even the temper tantrums seem to have subsided this week.  I could get used to this! 

Sweet and sassy little J is into using the potty and playing with both of her brothers.  She loves to be the follower when her older brother has a great play scheme to participate in, but she is the leader when it comes to sweet Baby W.  The games of chase are hilarious, especially when she can be seen "walking" just like him.  The giggles and squeals are priceless. 

Last, but not least, sweet Baby W is into everything!  He has started to point to what he wants and we have quickly figured out what he wants.  Goes to the refrigerator:  a drink.  To the tv:  Yo Gabba Gabba.  Just today:  pointing to the cake pan, accompanied by grunting and signing please:  chocolate zucchini cake.  Ah, a boy after his mother's heart. 

My sweet little ones are growing up.  One of the best parts of being a parent is seeing your children interact with each other.  I must admit, my kids may be the cutest on the planet!  They are sweet, yet sassy.  Polite, but to the point.  Creative, smart, musical, imaginative, you name it.  They are well-rounded little people who may just grow up to be the best of friends.  They care about each other.  From the sweet little, "Are you okays?" to the hugs and kisses they give each other at night.  I think we're doing a pretty darn good job with this little family of ours!

My Baby Turned 1!

It's been a big week of celebrating in our house.  My sweet Baby W turned one this week.  I can't believe that a year has already gone by.  It was a hard day for me, but I spent so much of the day laughing and smiling as he continued practicing his newfound walking skills.  The pure joy and excitement he shows while walking is so cute.  I guess with such an adoring audience it's impossible not to show some emotion.  I love his facial expression:  mouth wide open and eyebrows lifted up.  I've tried to capture it on the videocamera and the camera.  Hopefully it's there, as I'd love to have that memory forever.

We have one last first birthday celebration next weekend.  Then it will officially be over and that second birthday will sneak up on me before I know it.  Everyone always says how quickly the time goes and I am realizing now that it's true.  Time needs to slow down, please! 

Making Mom's Heart Melt

Today I caught myself smiling so much.  The kids were doing the cutest things throughout the day!  The older two were fighting (which is not so cute!) and N finally walked away and headed up the stairs to their room.  J followed and I thought the fighting would continue.  I let them go up, close the door, and waited a few minutes.  It was so quiet, I became worried about what was going on.  I opened the door to find them both sitting in a chair together with a look-and-find book.  N was asking J to find each item and she couldn't be happier to play along.  It was so sweet to watch as he rooted her on and she grinned each time she found the object. 

Little W wanted in on the sibling action, too!  He is constantly practicing his walking skills by standing up and taking as many steps as he can in someone's direction.  N has found this to be a fun game and encourages him to stand up and walk to him.  They did this several times today.  Sweet Baby W would laugh and clap as his brother cheered him on.  Precious!

First Birthday Preparations

I find it really hard to believe that my sweet little boy will be one in just a week.  This weekend we are having a birthday party with my extended family to celebrate all of the August birthdays.  My grandma turns 85 this year, which is the reason we are having such a big "bash."  Sweet Baby W shares his birthday with his Grandma Great, so it will be a very special celebration for us. 

The theme for this first birthday party is the zoo.  Baby W is a little monkey, so I will test my cake decorating skills once again to make him an adorable monkey cake.  I think I will create a lion smash cake for the little guy, as well as some frozen chocolate covered bananas.  I'm sure it will be great. 

First birthdays are always hard for me.  I can't believe how a year has possibly passed since we met our new addition.  I am glad we get to celebrate with many members of my family that we normally wouldn't see.  What wonderful memories we'll have!

The Quiet Minutes Before Bed...

In the quiet minutes before bed while I'm feeding Baby W, I am finally able to take a deep breath, close my eyes, and think about how lucky I am that God has blessed me with three beautiful, healthy, and loving children.  The days go by so quickly and there are times I find myself wishing the day to be over when we're having a rough day, but someday I will wish I had these days back.  I need to post notes around my house telling me to sit back and enjoy the ride, soon they'll be off at school and I'll miss all of the chaos during the day.  They really do grow up too fast!

In those last few minutes before I lay him down, I take time to pray for the health, safety, and happiness of my children.  I hope that they stay out of harm's way and know how much they are loved and cared for by not only us, but all of their extended family.  They are so sweet and I am so lucky to be their mom.

Excitement in our House

This week our sweet little W started pushing himself up to standing all on his own.  He was so proud of himself and his siblings were thrilled!  We started clapping for him and now he stands up and claps for himself.  He has been working hard and practicing each day.  It didn't take long before he started taking a few steps, but only to him mommy!  :)  I'm sure soon he'll be all over the place.  Where has the time gone?  My sweet baby is almost one and on the move.  I always have a tough time with first birthdays and I can tell this is going to be a rough one, too.  It seems like the second half of that first year just flies by.  At least he's a mama's boy and loves to cuddle with me still.  I'll just have to hold onto that as long as possible.

Where has the time gone?

I guess this new entry, 8 months after the last, pretty much sums up how life has been with 3.  Busy, chaotic, and exhausting!  We are approaching Little W's first birthday and I finally feel like I may be getting back on my feet.  To say it has been difficult is an understatement, but we have survived and are better for it.  Everyone has grown up so much and there are too many stories to share.  Good thing I keep a little journal for each kid, so when the fog clears I can look back on it and laugh!

Now is a time for us to regroup and move forward.  I've found the desire to do a little "life makeover" and have been working on little things each day.  We are working to become a little more "green" and to improve our food choices.  I have been looking into organic produce and grass fed animals.  We will see how much of this we can change on a budget.  I am hoping that we can incorporate some of these changes little by little.

Today I took my first step into preparing some items I normally purchase from scratch.  In lieu of fruit snacks, I am attempting homemade fruit roll-ups.  I found some overripe apricots at the Farmer's Market and decided to puree them and turn them into a yummy, healthy snack (I hope!).    

As for going a little more "green," we are starting with changing from paper napkins to cloth.  I found some cute flannel napkins on Etsy that should arrive for the kids soon and I know we have some in our hutch that my husband and I can use.  I am going to look into green cleaning products next and ditching the paper towels. 

This is a lot of change, but change is good.  There are lessons to be taught to our kids and I hope to use this blog as a way keeping a record of the progress we make.