It Won't Be Like This For Long....

I often say these words to Gavin, or "you're gonna miss this," when we are standing in the middle of 3 screaming children, usually around dinner time! I try to say it with a smile, but usually with tears in my eyes. These words are both comforting and sad all at the same time.

When I'm up at 3 am, or when I get kicked in the stomach while in a sound sleep because someone snuck in there, it is nice to think, this too will pass. But when I'm having an intelligent converstation with my 4-year-old, or hear my 2-year-old say, "I love you," in that sweet little voice of his, or when I see the two of them hug and kiss each other goodnight, or when I watch my 10 week old smile a little half smile, I find these words sad, because I want to hold on to those little moments.

I know that with each new phase brings even more fun and enjoyment, but I can't help but sometimes wish for time to stand still.

Last night we went to see Darius Rucker, and "It Won't Be Like This For Long," is just one title of many of his hit songs. Sometimes I feel like he is writing our life's theme songs, but really isn't that what country music is all about, the fact that everyone can relate to it?

Anyway, here is one song that brought tears to my eyes last night...



Another song, not by Darius Rucker, but by Trace Atkins, also brings tears to my eyes when I listen to it.

Grandparents

Growing up, I had the privelage of seeing my grandparents on a regular basis. I have many fond memories growing up with my grandparents living right next door. However, it wasn't until I moved so far away and had my own children that I truly appreciated the fact that I got to see my grandparents on a daily basis. My children do not have that luxury, as we live over 2000 miles away from our parents. Because my kids do not see their grandparents on a regular basis it makes it that much more special for them when they come to visit. Since interacting with their grandparents is not a daily occurence, I feel the need to take lots of pictures when they are here. Here is a video documenting the total of 6 weeks that we were lucky enough to have grandparents around.

Enjoy!
Grandparents

Sibling Photoshoot

Monday I decided to torture my children and force them to partake in a photoshoot! I got the boys dressed in their "Big Brother," shirts and Lyla in her "Little Sister," shirt. As I was getting them dressed I neglected to look at the clock and so round 1 of the photoshoot is with Lyla screaming because she was actually due to eat. I quick fed her and then started round 2 of the photoshoot, which went pretty well. At the end I got the idea to put Lyla in her bouncy seat so that she would be safer than with her brothers holding her. While trying to get a picture the boys thought it was just hilarious to stick their fingers in the hole of the bouncy seat where you attach the toys. When Owen did it the first time it really wasn't funny, he and I both thought he was truly stuck, but after I got him out they both took turns "getting their fingers stuck."

I decided to create a whole video of this photoshoot, because I think although only a few of the pictures would be considered frame worthy, the actually photoshoot is pretty comical! Apparently my camera wasn't impressed with this photoshoot either, because immediately afterward it died, time to upgrade!

Enjoy...
Sibling Photoshoot 3

First Day of Freedom

What did I do the first day home with all my kids when I didn't have to squeeze in homework too? Well I:

~Danced with my boys in the kitchen
~Rearranged the contents of the kitchen cabinets
~Tortured my children with a photoshoot in their sibling shirts (more on that soon).
~Went on a playdate
~Organized/sorted some stray papers
~Played Uno with Owen during Max's nap
~Nursed my baby without having a laptop on my lap at the same time.
~Chatted with my Grandma on the phone
~Laid on the floor with all three kids for "tummy time."

Sure it wasn't all that picture pefect, I did break up quite a few fights, but overall it was a great day! It makes me really look forward to this summer.

Easter Recap

Outfit number 2 for Lyla, she loved wearing her little dress for Easter, the hat however, she was not overly impressed with!

This is the best I got for a sibling picture, I didn't even try for a family one!

Both boys enjoyed another Easter egg hunt at "Grandma" Della and "Papa" Rob's house! You may notice that both boys are wearing Halloween socks, their choice certainly not mine! I also really wanted Max to wear his blue polo shirt, however, he strongly refused and insisted on his airplane shirt. I really, really, really, hope my daughter doesn't tell me in two years that she will not wear a dress!!










We had a great Easter and hope you did too!

Happy Easter!

The Easter egg hunt was as entertaining as always this morning! This was the first year that Max was really into it and he found a few on his own. I told Owen before we went downstairs that he needed to let Max find some too, to my surprise, Owen would find one and give it to Max. Then together they opened all the eggs and shared the loot!


I managed to get a sibling picture this morning, although no one is looking at the camera. Hopefully, I will be able to get one with them all in their Easter outfits later today!

And one last photo of the Easter bunny having her morning carrot, I mean Lyla having her morning bottle!!

More later on the Easter egg hunt at Rob and Della's and hopefully a picture when they are not in their pajamas!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Here is the latest cake I made. I ran out of frosting and had to make my own for the pink part of the bunny, but I think it turned out pretty well. Hopefully the kids will enjoy eating it tomorrow!

This is not Lyla's Easter outfit, but I thought it was fitting for the Easter weekend! I thought it was adorable on her.

Max wanted in on this photoshoot, as well, although he really wasn't cooperating for a nice picture. I think this picture is just hilarious though. They seem to have the exact same expression on their faces!!

Hope everyone has a great Easter tomorrow!

So Proud

Owen and I have been making a weekly trip to the Library for the last few months. He likes to pick out DVD's and they are only allowed out for one week, so we are forced to go on a weekly basis. Anyway, in the middle of March I noticed a sign advertising a reading incentive program for ages 4-12. If a child read 5 books they would receive a free hamburger or cheeseburger from In-n-Out. Well, Owen is 4 and loves In-n-Out so I got him a card and had him help me pick out 5 books. We took it home and he and Grandma Sue read all the books. The next week we got 5 more, and 5 more after that.

We turned in the card last week and this past weekend we cashed in one of the certificates. Before we left we snapped this picture, he couldn't be prouder of this gift certificate! When the lady at In-n-Out asked him if he wanted a hamburger or cheeseburger he replied, "I want a hamburger with cheese!"

Happy Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day I thought I would list the things that we do or have done in our household to help our planet.

1. Recycle
2. Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
3. Drink out of reuseable water bottles
4. Use ceiling fans so that the air conditioning doesn't have to be so high
5. Purchased window coverings that are energy efficient
6. Gavin carpools to work
7. Get carwashes at the carwash where they reuse the water, instead of washing it in our driveway.
8. Use reuseable grocery bags
9. Purchased energy efficient appliances
10. Reuse our sandwhich baggies, instead of throwing them away daily

Those are things we do, take a moment and think about things you do. Consider starting a new earth friendly habit today.

Really?

Gavin and I went to lunch yesterday at Red Robbin. I had been craving a burger from there for weeks and we had the day to ourselves with Lyla, since they boys were at preschool.

We walk into the restaurant and the host asks, "just 2?" Gavin lifts up the baby carrier and says, "well, 3 if you count her." The host continues and asks if we want a sling for the carrier or if we just want to slide her into the booth. We ask for the booth. He turns to get the menus and mumbles to himself that he will give us a children's menu just incase. As he turns to lead us to our table, I can't refrain from smiling, in response to him giving us a kid's menu.

We get to the table, Gavin slides Lyla into the booth, she is clearly visable to the host, who looked at her, laid the kid's menu on the table, and said, "I'll leave this in case you want to get her anything!"

Apparently this young male host, has not been around children much, I laughed outloud when he left our table!

We are Blessed

Tomorrow at midnight I will officially be done with my Master's classes. My degree will not be official until May 21st, but as far as I am concerned I am done.

Lately, I have been thinking about all that Gavin and I have accomplished/been through the past three years while Lesley has been a part of our lives.

~Gavin started his 22 month Master's program when Owen was 14 months old. He attended an entire weekend of classes once a month, leaving me home to tend to Owen. Owen at the time was a very demanding toddler and after just two months of Gavin starting his Master's program I became pregnant with Max, making staying home with a toddler all weekend long with no help even more exhausting.
~I started my 22 month Master's program in August of 2009, when Max was 5 months old. Gavin was not going to be finished until December 2009, so we spent 5 months with Gavin being gone one weekend for class and me another. During this time frame we were also working on selling our first home.
~At the start of the 2010-2011 school year, Gavin enrolled in 32 credits in order to go over two columns on the payscale, while I was still working on my last 16 credits of my Master's.
~In October we had an opportunity to purchase a new home, that needed a lot of work. Gavin spent every spare moment for 8 weeks fixing up the house, while I took care of the kids, again pregnant.
~We moved into our new home two weeks before Christmas.
~Lyla arrived two weeks early on Valentine's day.
~Now, I am finishing my Master's and gavin will be done with 16 of 32 credits next weekend.

In just five short years of marriage we have lived in six different apartments/houses, moved over 2000 miles away from our parents, become parents ourselves to three beautiful babies, stressed over our finances, and earned two Master's degrees. We have juggled all of this and I can still only count on one hand the number of major arguments we have had. Sure we have done our fair share of bickering, but arguing not so much.

We make a great team. We are both hard workers, who have the same vision for what we want out of life. We encourage each other; when one of us feels like we are drowning in obligations the other lends a hand. We make sure we always take time after the kids go to bed at night to regroup. And now more than ever we make sure that we go out at least once a month on a date night.

I know that no matter what life hands us we will tackle it together. I am proud of our accomplishments and of our relationship. They say that having a child, building/buying/selling a house, or working fulltime and going to school, are all things that can put stress on a marriage. We have done all of these things simultaneously and have not only survived but have strengthened our relationship.

I am not going to stress over whatever else life has in store for us, like the current proposal to not pay teachers for Master's Degrees. I know that together we will find a way to survive, because each night when I tuck my babies into bed, and hear them tell me they love me, I am reminded that we are blessed.

Baking with Grandma

Owen loves to help out in the kitchen whenever I am baking. While Grandma was here this trip she decided to let Owen help her make me some peanut butter cookies, since I can't eat chocolate. The cookies were delicious!

Playing Games with Papa

Before my dad could escape to the shower one morning, Max suckered him in to a game of Hungry Hippos. Or was it that I pawned the task of playing that game to my dad, so that I could shower. Either way, I am pretty sure both thoroughly enjoyed themselves!!





And since it was his first time playing, Max let Papa win!

A Morning at the Park

Across from our house, we have a nice little grassy park with two different sidewalk routes that the boys can ride their bikes on.
Owen loves to go over their and ride his bike like a race car around the "track." Max likes to come along and gets around pretty quickly on his little motorcycle. After playing in the park for a while and watching the lawn mower cut the grass, we decided to get out of the lawn mowers way and ride around the block.
This was the first bike ride where both boys were riding! Maybe soon Max's legs will be long enough to ride the tricycle.

I'm so Happy

We took a little drive this morning to HomeDepot to price out some things for our backyard project. The HomeDepot, we shop at is conveniently located by a Kohl's, Target, BabiesRUs/ToysRUs, and now a Michaels!!!

At Last

Finally after living here for 4 months, we can get both cars in the garage!!!

Next, sorting and filing 2 years worth of papers!

A Cold Day in Vegas

It was a little chilly on Sunday morning, so I couldn't resist dressing Lyla in the handmade sweater that she received as a baby gift. It was a little big, and when I put it on her she looked at me like, "it isn't that cold out." I thought she was adorable in it, I think she will get to wear it more on cool evenings in Michigan this summer when she is a little bit bigger!

Tummy Time

I laid Lyla down for some tummy time. I told her she needed to stay there for 10 minutes. She screamed for 7, then fell asleep.

Sleep only lasted long enough for me to take this picture, then she screamed more! She absolutely hates tummy time, but I know we have to keep trying, because we don't want her to have to wear a helmet like her older brother Max had to do.

Final Day with the Cousins

Monday was the final day for cousin bonding in Vegas. Finally, the weather cooperated for the midwesterners and they were able to spend time at the pool. Owen and I joined them for a little swim. Owen was scared at first when he first jumped in, being that this is the first time he was in water since last summer, but once he got used to it, he swam all around the pool, jumping in, ect., with no help from me, which left me available to snap a few pictures.





Later that afternoon, Sarah and the kids came back to the house while Nate gambled with Papa. Graham was taking a nap and Lyla was content so we decided to take the older boys back to the Dinosaur Park. After that it was time for another yummy home cooked meal then out for U-Swirl frozen yogurt before saying goodbye!



We had a great time with the Roberts family. We can't wait to spend more time with them this summer!

End in Sight?

For the last several months, Gavin has set his alarm on his cell phone and gotten up with Owen at 12:30 am to take him to the bathroom. This seemed to eliminate the bed wetting issue. Throughout these several months we have had a multitude of discussions as to when we would be able to stop this process and he will just get up on his own. I jokingly have commented, "It has to stop sometime right? It's not like his college roommate or wife will be waking him up at night!"

Well, two nights ago, he was standing at the end of our bed crying, when we woke up we discovered he had an accident at the end of our bed. We were not upset about this, infact, we were thrilled, because we realized he woke up knowing he had to go potty, he just didn't make it to the potty.

Last night, he woke up twice on his own and got us to take him potty. For now, the alarm will still be set, but I am thinking that there may be an end in sight for this process!!! And his eyes twinkled this morning when I had him give me a double high five for being such a big boy!!

Day 3 with the Cousins

On Sunday afternoon, after the younger boys were up from their nap, we decided to take the whole gang to the best place on the strip (in my opinion), the Bellagio Gardens and Fountain.

The Gardens were gorgeous as always, but a little confusing for four and two-year-old since it had a Ferris Wheel and Carousel that was not rideable, but we did manage to get some pretty good pictures of the kids together.



The kids really enjoyed looking at the butterflies and everyone was in awe of the fountain show. After that little excursion we headed home for a home cooked meal, followed by sleepy boys vegging out infront of the TV.

Lyla is 2 Months Old

I can't believe that our daughter has already been a part of our lives for two whole months. These past two months are pretty much a blur to me. Lots of sleepless nights make for days that just sort of blend in to one another.

Today was the first day in over six weeks that it was just the five of us waking up in our house. Which meant it was the first day that I had to take Lyla with me to take the boys to preschool and we made it!

I enjoyed a little quiet time with her this morning when Lyla laid on the floor for a half hour or so and smiled and cooed at me.

Lyla had her 2 month well check today. She weighed in at 11 pounds 1 ounce and is 22.5 inches long. This is the 50-75th percentile for both height and weight. It says on the paper from the doctor's office that you can't spoil a baby in the first 6-8 months, but I think we already have a spoiled baby on our hands. She sure does love to be held!

She also had three shots today and was not pleased about that at all. This evening she cried for over an hour, finally after a bath, a dose of tylenol, and a feeding, she is happily sleeping in her swing.

I am looking forward to another month of watching her grow, develop, and hopefully start sleeping better!

Day 2 with the Cousins

On Saturday, the Roberts' family went sight seeing at Red Rock Canyon. They arrived back at our house in time for Max and Graham to take a nap. Since they were napping Sarah and I decided to take the older boys to the Dinosaur park at Aliante since Caleb really likes Dinosaurs! First, they dug for dinosaur bones, while doing this they decided to bury their shovels, they did this so well that we lost one!

Next, they did a lot of climbing and sliding on the big playset, while Aunt Sarah and I chit chatted.

Then after a long wait, they were able to take a turn on the swings. Apparently, Aunt Sarah is a better pusher on the swings, because when Owen requested her to push him and I pushed Caleb, Caleb asked for his mom back! Finally, we headed home so that the adults could get ready to go on a date without the kids, Grandma and Papa volunteered to watch all 5 of the grandkids.

That evening Sarah, Nate, Gavin, and I went to dinner at Vino's in Aliante. It was really nice to be able to chat with them, without being interupted by screaming little boys! While we were out, Grandma and Papa treated the boys to Happy Meals, while they had Chili's, then the boys had a Pajama Party watching Toy Story 3. All was quiet when we got home, (Max had gone to bed already) but once we were home the boys got their second wind....




Everyone had a good time and slept well that night too, especially Grandma and Papa!

Day 1 with the Cousins

Caleb and Graham arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday night, but they didn't see their cousins until Friday morning. After they were introduced to Lyla, they spent the rest of the day hard at play. They took a quick spin around the house checking out all the toys and being introduced to where Owen and Max live, but the majority of their time was spent outside playing in the dirt and on the "playground!"


These boys were quite exhausted at the end of the day!

Lyla meets her Cousins

Lyla got to meet her cousins Caleb and Graham this weekend. They came on an airplane for the very first time from Chicago just to meet her...well and to play with Owen and Max. We were very excited to have them in town. Graham the two-year-old was especially interested in holding her.


Lyla was happy to meet them, but Owen was most excited to have his cousins at his house to play. More posts to follow on their cousin time.