Little Man Update

 

Seven months already? How did we get here? How did it go by so fast?

Our little Evan seems not-so-little anymore! I think he gains a roll a day. He is eating baby food full-time now and he can’t get enough. His favorite is mashed avocado and least favorite is applesauce (huh?). Just when I think he’s had enough food, he’s crying for more. I guess because he’s the youngest brother he feels he needs to make up for it with his size

By the way, have you seen these before? They are making my on-the-go life easier. I wish I had these when the other boys were babies. They are little pouches of organic, and healthy baby foods. The top of the pouch is a spout and you can purchase these little spoon toppers that screw on.

So say you’re out at a restaurant and the baby starts crying because he’s hungry. You take out the baby food pouch, screw on the spoon and feed him! No bowl, baby food jar or water to carry around. Throw away the pouch when you’re done and reuse the spoon. Too easy!

As you can see, he is sitting up now. He still has spills so I have to be beside him when we attempt sitting up. He has a new love of toys. Anything will do, keys, bottles, tupperware, etc. They help make tummy time more enjoyable as well. We’re considering doing away with his infant carrier because he is just so big, it’s no longer helpful. Sigh. Nathan believes Evan is trying to talk to us through his varied grunts and sounds. There are screams, raspberries, gurgling, and believe it or not, Ian and I have both heard him ask for “mama”!

Last week, we celebrated the Fourth of July on the beach. ~On a side note, a very happy birthday to a very special Great Grandpa!~ I was unsure how Evan would feel about the loud booms and bright flashes in the sky we call fireworks, but I was surprised at how much they entertained him. But I shouldn’t be surprised. He is a happy little baby, content in most circumstances. We love you Evan!

Our Little Triathlete

 

Being a mother of 4 boys is such a privilege. I am over-the-moon thankful that God saw fit to make us an all boy family. Sure, it has its challenges. Yes, boys are often misunderstood. But there is joy, complete joy, in letting them be all that they are.

You’ll remember that last year Jacob competed in his first triathlon. Well he’s at it again this year. This time around was a little more challenging. Well, twice as challenging to be exact. Being grouped in with the 10 year olds, he swam 100 meters, biked 2 miles and ran 1/2 mile. But he proved to be a champ, distance didn’t mean a thing.

The swim was tough. Everyone got out of the water breathing hard.

Unfortunately, his helmet straps got tangled and he lost about 3 minutes trying to figure it out. He was happy once he got going.

 

By the way, Jacob’s wearing his first real Teva’s! His parents being from the hometown of Teva’s, we thought it was fitting that he should race in his first pair. I know the cool thing is to wear those funny looking toe shoes but I just couldn’t do it. They’re funny looking. Sorry.

Oh, and we lost Nathan during the race. That wasn’t fun. Then we found him, phewww.

Jacob and I agreed that the end was the best part of the whole race. I’m about to show you the event with lots of pictures

Jacob was on the last stretch of the run, just before you get to the finish line. The racers have to cross the bike path. Which means you have to stop if there are bikes racing. So Jacob and another 10 year old named, Jacob also, had to stop and wait to run. The volunteer standing by let them know when to go and it was almost as if she said “on your marks, get set, go” because those two Jacob’s knew they were going to have to race it out! (Jacob’s wearing the blue swim shorts)

The two boys were looking at each other the whole way. They were neck and neck.

One of them would pull ahead and then the other would push himself to match. It was a dead sprint to the finish.

They were so tired and they had already endured so much but here at the end, they gave it all they got. Finish strong we say!

Who was going to get there first? Who was going to win this all out battle? The suspense was so much fun. I’ve never seen Jacob push so hard for something. He’s my superhero. And then, just at the end, a few steps from the finish line…

 

Jacob pulls ahead to finish first! (and smiling).

I couldn’t be more proud of my hard working boy. He trained hard and tried hard. And as everyone in our family except Ian says, it’s about trying your best and having fun. Ian says, it’s all about winning!

So he celebrated with his friends who also competed.

And climbed to the top of a hill with his brother and had a little Rocky moment.

Not that he knows who Rocky is.

Berry Adventure

Hello again blog world. How I’ve missed you! It’s been sometime since my last post and I wish I could say it was for a better reason other than a very nasty cold/flu bug made it’s way slowly through our entire family for the month of June. Not a great way to start the summer at all.

Blueberry picking. Blueberry picking is a great way to start the summer. The season was almost over so we decided to make the trip up north just outside of Houston for some blueberry picking. It’s my favorite fruit to pick. It takes the kids a long time to fill up their buckets and Austin is perfectly happy to walk around and test the fruit of each tree to be sure they are the best.

This year we had to become one with the tree and really get in there. (Pay no attention to the scraggly haircuts, we’re going for the Bieber look , just kidding).

It was about one million degrees that day. Okay, I’m exaggerating but it was hot enough that we were all very sweaty when our work was done. This is what Austin and Evan thought of the heat,

“not cool Mom, not cool!”

So it’s necessary after a hard hour of picking blueberries to do this,

Watermelon snow cones make everything better. Poor little Evan was so sweaty and holding him was making him even hotter. The snow cone was doing its job to cool me off, I though it would work wonders for him as well. So I gave him his first red dye saturated, sugar loaded, artificial flavored bite of watermelon snow cone. Bad mom, bad mom! And this is what he thought,

“Don’t do that again Mom. Ever.”

I love our adventures together!

Happy Half Birthday Evan!

I don’t know why these posts are so difficult for me.

Maybe it’s because my 9 year old looked at me the other day and said “Mom, I’m a big boy. Let me do it”. And just yesterday he was this little right?

Maybe it’s because my 6 year old looked at the 9 year old and said “You’re almost 20, because you’re already 9”. Is it really going to happen that fast?

Stop growing! I say.

Speaking of growth, look at this chub. It’s his half birthday today.  Six months, gone in the blink of an eye. Sigh.

Evan is a lot of fun right now. He laughs big laughs and smiles big smiles and squeals big squeals. His brother Austin can make him laugh like no one else. Probably because he’s full of crazy antics! He just found his voice and can babble up a storm. I think he’s developed 3 new rolls on each arm since my last post . The more to kiss! He’s cut two new teeth on his bottom gums. That didn’t make him very happy.

He is confirmation of our need for a bulk warehouse membership. We started baby food this month and he LOVES it. So far, he eats oat bran cereal, avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas, pears and brown rice cereal. I was trying to think of which is his favorite, but lets be real. This boy loves to eat anything. His big brother Nathan loves to help feed him, but thinks Evan is a really messy eater.

We have reached that dreaded stage where falling asleep in public no longer exists. He needs his bed for naptime. I say dreaded only because we loose some our flexibility. But I comfort myself remembering that its only a short season. I’m going to enjoy each phase of him being little because I know it will be gone all to soon.

It’s completely fitting that his favorite song is “You are my Sunshine”. You are my sunshine, my little sunshine. You make me happy, when the skies are grey. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take, my sunshine away”.

It’s Our Last Day of School

We’re having a little party over here. Doing a little dance.

It’s our last day of school this year!

We’ve successfully completed kindergarten and the third grade. The boys and I were remembering all the wonderful new things we learned this year in American history, geography, math, grammar, reading and so much more. Praise God! It is by His grace alone that we’ve accomplished all that we do. Where He calls, He certainly equips.

In honor of our last day, we made a little homemade celebration. A special treat for all our hard work.

 

Be jealous. No don’t be jealous, I’m going to share the recipe with you and their super easy.

Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Mix up your favorite recipe or box of chocolate (in my opinion, dark chocolate is the way to go) cake. After you’ve mixed and divided the batter into cupcake tins, insert one unwrapped miniature Reese’s cup into the batter.

I spread a little batter over the top of the Reese’s before I baked them so that the chocolate wouldn’t be burned in the oven.

Bake as directed. Let the cupcakes cool and whip up some peanut butter buttercream. I used a box of powdered sugar, 1 stick of butter at room temperature, 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 cup of milk.

Spread frosting as desired and top with a miniature Reese’s. Voila.

If you think these are over the top, you’re right! So have a glass of milk ready to wash it down. But I can’t think of any better way to celebrate than with chocolate and peanut butter!

Let me count the ways…

There are many reasons why I love each one of my boys.

But there are some things I never want to forget that started early, specifically with Nathan. These boys of mine can be so rough and rowdy sometimes. I savor the sweet moments because normally there is a lot of noise and chaos. A lot.

It’s no surprise to anyone that Nathan is our kind hearted, lover boy. There seems to be a natural tendency in him to love and consider others. He’s completely thoughtful and caring, to his core.

For instance, there’s the time we were having lunch in McDonald’s and the bigger boys were playing in the playground equipment. There was also a little girl playing who suddenly decided she didn’t enjoy being up so high. Her mom was carefully trying to call her down. Her big brother even climbed up and attempted to coax her down. All with no luck. And I watched as I saw something that didn’t surprise me but rather, melt my heart further. Nathan saw the girl’s need, left what he was doing and helped her. He used his sweetest voice and walked with her, ever so gently, to the direction she needed to get down. She was a perfect stranger, but that didn’t stop him. He was so kind and so gentle. How did I deserve this kid? He’s precious.

Then there was the “I don’t want to waste you money on night time pull-ups” comment. We’ve been working on night training for oh, several months. One night I was having a conversation with Nathan and asking him if he’d be more comfortable at night wearing pull-ups until he figures out how to wake himself up at night. His comment to me was not what I expected. I expected “I’m a big boy, I don’t wear pull-ups” or “that would be too embarrassing”. But his response was filled with concern for me. “Mom, I don’t want to waste your money having to buy so many pull-ups for me. I want to keep trying”. Where does he come up with that stuff? Sure, it may have been an excuse to not wear pull-ups but that’s some pretty mature logic if so.

And the way he served his brother with a warming towel after their wet bodies left the bath. Austin and Nathan were taking a bath the other evening and they both decided they were done. They slipped out of the tub and little Austin was shivering and cowering from being so wet and cold. Nathan was already opening the cabinet to get himself a fresh towel when he saw his little brother’s condition. He then selflessly gave up his towel and carefully covered his little brother. Sigh. What can I say? His brothers are blessed to have him.

I would like to tell you that there’s something we did to create this. I’d love to tell you I read some awesome parenting book, applied it and ended up with these results. But I can not boast. It is the kindness of God to give us each of our wonderful boys. It is God’s mercy to give us such a lovely child. I pray that we can be faithful parents to meet each of their developing needs and strengths.

Let me count the all the ways I love them…1,000, 2,000, 3,000…

The Truest Friend-A Tribute to Mom

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving

 

When I was young, my Mom was my lifeline. She did everything for me. Once I could do everything for myself, her role changed. Somewhere through that awkward phase, she became my friend. Then I had children, and she became a grandma. And that’s when I learned to appreciate her like never before. The extension of her love for me, given to my children is priceless and beautiful.

She really loves my children so well, and equally, she still makes the effort to spend girly time with me! Such as…

pedicures and coffee!

Whether you call her Mom or Grandma. She’s one awesome lady!

Happy Mothers Day!!! I love you Mom.

The Rest of My Life

On this day, 12 years ago, how could these two kids have known?

How could they have known all the new friends they would meet outside of their hometown and through them get to experience the kindness of God through strangers? How could they have known the adventures they’d have in Europe and see history come alive? How could they know how elated they would be at the birth of each of their FOUR SONS and how they would worship God through His gift of life? How could they have known how incredibly difficult an 18 month deployment was and how sufficient the grace of God is? How could they have known that God’s promise of a good plan was true when they left life in the Army and moved to a strange metropolis?

How could they have known how amazing and difficult marriage can be? That even though it wasn’t always easy, God’s design for marriage was reflecting His love for us. That celebrating meant so much more with the one you love by your side.  That communicating, forgiving, compromising, humbling yourself and sacrificing was possible only through the help of the Holy Spirit. That love on earth could be so binding. That God would so graciously work in each of their hearts to make them more like Christ through their relationship in marriage?

How could they have known that 12 years later, after all those ups and downs, that they would still love each other so much? That holding hands would still be so special and being together was still more fun than being alone. How could they foresee the joy they would experience together and how much they would grow as one?

Happy Anniversary my love. I can’t foresee what the next 12 years will bring but I hope they will be as wonderful as the last 12.

As the words from our wedding song goes “When I said I loved you well, that’s what I meant. I plan to show you if it takes me the rest of my life.”

(Also see, Remembering Our Vows, and Our Dating Story)

Had to Share

I just had to share this. Just.had.to.

Recently on a trip to a mall in Houston, the boys discovered a motion sensory dance game. The screen shows the moves and you copy them. Needless to say, they had a blast. Those games are fun! So we splurged and got a game we could use on our Playstaion Move at home. It's called Just Dance 4.

You ought to see how sweaty they are after doing a couple of the songs. They love it.

There's one dance in particular they like. I'm not sure why, but they do. They like it so much they have it memorized. I love it! They let me record it so I could share it with you.

Enjoy. It's pretty awesome.

Just Like a Baby

Puppies are funny creatures.
Boys are funny creatures.
Now it makes sense that boys and puppies go together!
This little puppy (who remains nameless. And now we’re testing out “Daisy”) is convinced she is a baby!
For instance, she likes to be held like a baby. Ian is all too happy to oblige.

She thinks the bouncy chairs were bought just for her.

She marvels at how well made a Boppy pillow is for sleeping puppies. Even though it was strategically placed on the couch so she couldn’t reach it.

It’s like we have child #5 in the house!

Making Your Own Mother’s Day Gift

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. I thought it would be a perfect time to share a little craft I made this last week.

I’ve been on a jewelry making kick these last few months. For my 6 year olds superhero birthday party, I made bottle top superhero pendants as a party favor. When my mom and sister came to visit, Nathan and I made beaded bracelets for them.

This weekend, with church friends, I was celebrating some new babies and their mamas and I wanted to make something special for them. I saw this tutorial online and thought it was a perfect gift. I’ve really been inspired by birds and nests lately (see this post). So I created my own bird’s nest necklace for my friends. It’s so easy, you can make your own too.

You will need these items:

Assorted beads, I used pearls and glass beads

Jewelry wire, I used 24 gauge

Jump rings

Necklace chains

The first step: Cut off a long section of the jewelry wire and arrange the desired amount of beads at the end of the wire. As an extra precaution, I tucked the end of the wire into the last bead on the end.

Second Step: wrap the wire around the beads. The first necklace I made I wrapped them tightly and it turned out okay. I liked the look better when it was wrapped looser and in more of a circular fashion.

Third Step: loop the wire around the created “nest” in desired sections. When I used 4 beads, I made 2 sets of loops. When I used 3 beads, I created 3 sets of loops. You can loop them twice or 3 times. I liked the exaggerated look of 3 loops. When I finished the loops, I cut the wire and tucked the end into the “nest”.

Final Step: add a jump ring. I used one of the wires from the “nest” but you could also create an extra support by adding a twisted loop on the back of the pendant.

Add chains and the necklaces are finished! Easy right?

A perfect gift for the mothers in your life. Or, if you’re like me, and have 4 small boys, you make your own Mother’s Day gift

Being 5 Months Old

How did we get here? How does 5 months go by so quickly?

Can you tell what his newest trick is? Just last week, Evan decided he needed to be mobile. Twice, he rolled over from his back to his belly. Although, once he got on his belly, he decided he didn’t really enjoy being there but then he was stuck. Mom had to come rescue him.

It’s a true statement that each child in a family is completely individual, and Evan is no exception. He is our first baby to be a screamer. And I mean, SCREAMER! When he wants to be noticed or tended to, he can release some high-pitched, mighty screams. I don’t mean crying, it is certainly screaming. It’s almost comical because he’s capable of turning it on and off like a light switch. We figure as the youngest of four boys, he’s just making his voice heard.

He’s not so sure about our new puppy. He is very fascinated by her crazy antics. Surprisingly, I think he even enjoys when she nibbles on his toes ( but Mommy does not appreciate it at all and puts an end to it). Having a crawler and a puppy ought to be interesting!

Evan hasn’t been weighed recently but he must weigh 20 pounds already. Are all those rolls a giveaway to his weight? He still loves to be snuggled and rocked in mom’s arms. With all that weight lifting, no need for the gym for me, ha!

Everyday, we love to kiss those sweet cheeks, tickle those tiny toes and hold those precious little fingers. And I know this won’t last forever. One day he’ll be 2 years old like his big brother, then 6, then 9 and so on. I held each one of them this way and they just kept growing. Evan is such a bundle of joy. We love him so much and we thank God for this little blessing.

The Newest Family Member

Ever since the fall, the men in my house, with sad longing faces, have been asking this question, “when will we get another dog?”. 

We knew we had to wait for the baby to come and get a little older. New babies and new puppies are not a good idea.

I suggested we wait until after our homeschool co-op was finished. With that added work load, a puppy would not be well taken care of.

Two weeks after the end of our co-op, Ian found a family whose Labrador had a liter of puppies. “Let’s go see them. I mean, let’s just go look at them.” Now everyone knows you don’t go and just look at puppies. So, we came home with a puppy of our own.

Ian wasn’t the only one happy! This is our 6 week old chocolate lab coming home with us.

We still haven’t officially named her. The boys are calling her Brownie, I like Gracie ( in keeping with our previous dog’s name Glory) and Ian likes Lady. We’ll have to decide soon.

She is super sweet. Loves to cuddle. Has the prettiest eyes. Hates to be alone. Loves her tug of war toy.

Needless to say, all the boys in my house are in puppy heaven.  And even though I’m not a fan of puppy training, housebreaking, crate training, and endless chewing up things, I must say, I’m having fun with her too. How could you resist this face?