Three on Thursday: Sick and Tired

 All of the boys have been sick in the past two weeks. I shouldn't really complain because this is the first sickness we've had all winter and really, no one's puking, we're just coughing our lungs up every 2.3 seconds...which in case your curious can be REALLY annoying. It's a fun thing to get frustrated over (I'm working on my patience!). It's better then puke...I don't handle puke well, just ask Trevor. But it's still hard to see them not feeling well or sleeping well. Hopefully we've turned the corner and everyone will be back to their usual crazy, smiley self soon!

Declan had his tooth pulled a year ago and there's still no sign of a new one coming. Hopefully soon! The boys are all hanging out with grandma and Papa for a few days. It's a much, MUCH needed recharge for Trevor and I. Trevor is taking some time off work and we plan to be lazy, eat good food and SLEEP!

Trevor has been working a few overnights in the past month. Last week when he was home sleeping in the afternoon I went to let him know I was going to leave the boys home while I got Carson from school. When I went into our room he wasn't there. Weird...checked the bathroom, no Trevor, the big boys' room, no Trevor.....where could he be? Apparently sleeping in Bennett's crib! I'm here to tell you that man can sleep anywhere!

Three on Thursday: Look whose getting big!

Guess who turned 5 months yesterday? It's weird because I keep thinking he's a newborn but then he starts rolling all over the place, laughing, grabbing everything he can get his little paws on, following Emily all over the house and falling asleep all by himself. This 5 months has gone by so fast, like they always do. I've started making some of my own baby food and freezing it for him. I don't really have any intention of starting anytime soon....that seems like such a chore! But when I do he'll have some avocado, sweet potatoes, carrots and whatever else I can find to make for him. I hope he likes it!

Bennett wanted in on Maddox's month pictures.Maddox was in a silly mood. 

Guess who made the step to the big boy bathtub this week. Carson has been booted to the shower. He likes it though so it was too tough to convince him. 

I made a cake the other day and everyone had something to lick when we were done.

Videos

Maddox smiling and talking away in his exersaucer! He's started smacking his lips, its hilarious! We just can't seem to catch it on video though.

I had a really crappy day the other day. Nothing real specific just a long day of mothering. Towards the end of it we were in line at the car wash and Declan started being silly and Bennett thought it was hysterical. His laugh sure brightened my otherwise awful day. It was just the thing I needed to hear to remind me why I didn't want to find the nearest 9 to 5 office job.

Three on Thursday: Cell Phone Pictures

Thank God for smart phones. I mean, how did the world function without them? How did I function without it? I couldn't be on Facebook at any given moment, take pictures of my kids doing various silly things to send to my husband, find out where a birthday party was when we showed up at the wrong place or run 2.17  without stopping while listening to Pandora ON MY PHONE. Oh I suppose they called their friends to find out what they were doing or wrote them a letter, used a real camera, maybe even one with film, stopped at a gas station to ask for directions and well....I don't know how anyone ran before the invention of Itunes or Pandora....to me that seems pretty much impossible and something I don't want to experience. I'm high maintenance like that. So, if you look through my phone you'll find lots of fun pictures, mostly of my kids and lately of things I've cooked or baked....like homemade lasagna and bread or the chicken salad I made, for my mom and I, that was delicious. Apparently, I'm turning into a Betty Crocker right before your eyes!

Enough about food, onto some pictures..

Declan started soccer last week. It's right after he gets out of school on Wednesdays and most of those little kids are in his preschool class. As you can see Bennett would also like to be part of the class, as would two other siblings...can you see them? It's good for Declan, he's been needing something to keep him busy besides his baby brothers.

The other day they were playing doctor. Declan even set up a makeshift bed for Bennett. Sometimes they get along so well. 

Oh it's two pictures! We went to the Children's Museum the other day to enjoy our membership once last time. Our favorite room is the water room. The boys love having daddy there to explain on the intricate workings of water. Something tells me I'll have another engineer in my life some day!

Three on Thursday: Busy!

Well, I guess if I'm going to post three pictures every THursday then I'm going to have to start taking more pictures. Ha! Life is busy. Like REALLY busy and as a result, it seems my time behind the camera is few and far between. I knew having four kids would be busy but I guess I didn't realize it would be the kind of busy that would have me wondering "just what did I get done today?" Turns out it mostly involves keeping 4 boys fed, dressed, schooled, diapered, nursed, napped and entertained takes up Every. Single. Second. Of. My. Day. It's the kind of busy I love but it's also the kind of busy that leaves me completely exhausted every day. I can't make it through a 30 minute show or read 4 pages in my book before I'm lights out. I'm quite the site after 8pm....just ask my husband. 

We're slowly trying to figure this guy out. Sometimes he wants rocked, sometimes he wants swaddled, sometimes he wants his arms out, sometimes he wants to sleep on his tummy. It's a giant puzzle that both Trevor and I struggle to put together every single day. We were blessed with Bennett who just went to sleep, still goes to sleep for that matter, anywhere, anytime. 

Good thing he provides such cute smiles during the day to make up for his craziness. 

And then there's this one. His speech is really doing well. He's got a ways to go to be understandable but we've added lots of new words to our vocab. Most noticeable is the word "NO." Why is that always the easiest to say? At least it sounds good coming out of his cute little face....even when it looks like this!

Three on Thursday

My dear friend Amy asked if anyone wanted to join her in a Three on Thursday blogging adventure. Basically, a way of getting the blog juices flowing by posting three photos every Thursday. I jumped on the chance because I've been slacking on my blog for quite awhile and I thought this would give me a good jump start. Life is busy! In fact, it's so busy that I missed last week. But, this week I've found a few minutes to put a post together. Hopefully it will be a continuing trend! 

Carson started basketball 2 weeks ago. He really likes it and we've enjoyed watching him. He's getting good at dribbling (while running down the court) and passing to his teammates. His also been doing some ice skating with Trevor, his reading is amazing and he's started taking spelling tests at school.

This is red man, at least that's what he wanted to be referred to last week when we had some baking to do and he was wearing all red. He was pretty excited to put on his "baking shirt" and he's quite the helper in the kitchen. We made muffins, a cake and some pizza dough for Pizza Friday! He's officially been tested (he passed!) and is registered for Kindergarten. Yikes! And he's going to start soccer with some of his school friends next week.

This little squirt turned 4 months old last week. So much to say about him. He's 17.9 pounds and 26.5 inches long. Compared to his brothers he's just a little heavier then Declan (our smallest) at 4 months and he's the longest by a half inch to Carson. Bennett weighed 22 pounds at 4 months....man he was big. Maddox has been busy lately. He found his toes, drools like a faucet, no longer wants to be rocked to sleep, he laughs and he loves to suck on his hands. Oh, and he's a crappy napper. The other boys were fantastic nappers sleeping anywhere from 2 to 3 hours for most, if not all, naps. In fact Bennett and Declan still do (yes, I'm lucky!)This little bugger is lucky to make it 90 minutes and most times (like right now....he's pissed I haven't picked him up yet, guess he won't go back to sleep...darn!) he slept for a whopping 45 minutes. Good thing he's so cute!

As for the rest of us....Bennett is wearing underwear and I can't get him to poop on the potty but he has very few accidents and wakes up from nap and bedtime dry 95% of the time. I'm shocked by it and very happy.....one giant step closer to having only one in diapers. Trevor and I have been running. I ran for 20 minutes straight the other day. I've never done that before....I've never run a mile before without stopping. It's weird, to actually enjoy running...I always thought only crazy people did that. I usually have a ten minute period during my workout where I wonder why I'm doing this but that passes and I feel great and energetic and amazed that I'm actually doing it. My goal is to run a 5k in May with my friends, we'll see!

A Very Merry Christmas

Today is our first day back to school, back to a routine that requires wearing something other then jammies ALL DAY. It was a good vacation. It's kind of a shock to the system though, at least for me. But I'm glad to be back to a routine, although I do miss having Carson around here all day, and so does Declan.

Christmas was wonderful, as it always is. The boys ate up all the magic that is Christmas and they were very sad to see Freddie the Elf go away. These kids make Christmas so amazing, so special and so memorable. I remember Christmas being so fun as a kid but as a parent, well, Christmas ROCKS!

Look at us all coordinated. Aren't we adorable and slightly annoying? 

You like that bling?

Yes I died my hair. Yes it's dark. Yes, I love it!

Jesus' birthday cake was quite tasty!

Maddox slept threw it all....even the clean up....notice there are no presents left under the tree? 

Yes, big boy underwear. Yes, we're potty training. Nope, it was not in my plan (for at least another 6 months). But he's doing it and he's doing pretty well.And he loves his underwear. Today he was a little miffed that I made him put on a diaper for nap. He's been waking up dry and only had a handful of accidents in a WEEK of training.

Looks who can skate! Hockey anyone? 

Daddy couldn't be more proud!