Fall Festival

We took our kids to a fall festival today at an apple orchard. We all had a ball! There was a variety of great activities for small kids including: pony rides, a super slide, bounce houses, hay pile, haunted forest, tracker barrel ride, hayride, apple slinging, story telling, scarecrow building, pumpkin picking.. It was so much fun! All three of the kids were on their best behavior. Good listening ears make these types of activities even better. Breena enjoyed doing everything. Eli was hesitant in the bounce houses & hayride at first but quickly got over his nerves. Toby was content to watch the whole thing in the stroller. We left with three happy kiddos & three freshly picked pumpkins!

School Fun!

We are off to a great start with classes this fall! Toby loves painting (rather he loves eating the paintbrush). Eli really enjoys puzzles. And Breena did a great job on her first homework assignment!

Potty Fun

Eli is now potty trained which is AWESOME! But little boys are a lot messier than girls in the bathroom! I wipe the toilet, floor, wall, several times per day! Eli likes to 1) Block the stream with his finger causing it to spray making him giggle 2) sit up a little to straight making a linear stream fly over the potty lid 3) dip tp in toilet water and pull it back out of toilet. YUCK! If you need me I'm currently purchasing a large stock of clorox wipes & antibacterial hand soap!

Choosing Contentment

Dave & I have a great system going on- he works full time & I go to the salon once he is home from work 2 days a week plus Saturdays. It allows us to not have to place our kids in daycare which is awesome. But it also means that with me working very part time our finances are tight. We were hoping to go to Mexico this winter but we had to make the decision that it wasn't wise to spend a chunk of money that size on ourselves at this point in our lives. I want a larger house but our house is just not going to sell for the amount we need to be able to comfortably move. Actually it won't even sell for the amount we bought it for! Darn economy. I'd like to have a date night out with Dave once a week but after we pay a sitter & for dinner we are spending a small fortune just for a few hours alone. I'd love a new car, to finish replacing the windows in our house, I'd like to build the kids a giant playhouse in the backyard & put up a privacy fence. All of the wants I have have begun overshadowing the great things we DO have. Like for instance the ability to let my kids nap in their own beds everyday, or have a full day off of all activities during the week to do whatever we want. Getting lost in our imaginations digging for treasures on the back yard & listening to Toby's baby snores when I rock him to sleep. Collecting acorns at the park, building sands castles, chasing imaginary dinosaurs, having a "sand" tea party. When I stop to think of all the awesomeness surrounding us I am completely content. Contentment (I'm finding) is a choice, a way of thinking. And so I am going to choose to be content. I'm going to stop making a wish list & spend more energy enjoying what we have & being thankful for it.

Birthday Boy

Toby has a great first birthday party today! He's had a busy week- turned one, learned to wave bye, & learned to say "uh oh spaghetti o"! What a big boy!

Preschool Bree

I mentioned a few days ago that Bree started preschool this week & she did awesome! She wasn't nervous at all & happily led the way into class. She kissed & hugged me goodbye before finding a puzzle to play with. Today was her second day of school. I had Eli & Toby with to drop her off this time (Eli was home sick with grandma on her first day). She introduces Eli to the class bunny & then said goodbye to us. We were almost out the door when Eli got distracted by a fish tank. I was trying to yank him away quickly so we didn't linger too long in her room when I felt a light tap on my back. Bree was standing there- I thought for sure she was sad that I was leaving & was going to cry. Instead she said, "Um mommy, when are we going to sing our songs because I'm ready.". Such a change from last year! Very proud of her!!! I went a little overboard with taking pictures as you can see below!

Tobias is ONE!!!

Happy First Birthday Tobias Allen!

 

 

 



 

 

I Love You Precious One.

Life's An Hourglass

I have three sick boys at my house (well two little boys & one grown man).  I was up with Eli snuggling his hot, feverish body last night when my mind began to wander.  I finally had him snoring next to me in bed & I pulled out my phone to look at baby pictures of Breena.  She started preschool today (and she was a ROCKSTAR by the way!).  I don't know when this happened. 

 

When did this baby ...

 

...become this big girl?

 

She doesn't look little anymore.  Her features are becoming more defined.  She is tall & lean.  She is polite.  We must have done a good job raising her because she is one incredible little girl.  Her first day at preschool was great.  She came home with stories to share & is anxious to go back on Thursday.  I am happy for her but sincerely sad for myself.  I finally have figured out how to balance the needs of all three kids, myself, housework, & my job while still finding plenty of time for fun.  And now our world is being jumbled & we will have to find a new normal routine. 

 

 

And then there is my little Toby who will be exactly one year old at 7:52am tomorrow morning. 

 

 

 

Tonight Dave said, "Goodnight Baby Toby" to him before bed & I about lost it.  Tomorrow he is no longer considered an infant.  The last of my three.  My baby isn't a baby. 

 

I have honestly been dreading him turning one.  Partly because I know how fast life moves and I am not ready to let go of having a baby.  Tomorrow will be a day filled with emotions as we celebrate the last first birthday of our kids (maybe even more so because I'm running on very few hours of sleep ;) ).  I'm in awe of the lives we've been given.

 

I stumbled upon the song "Hourglass" by Mindy Gledhill while searching for music to add to Toby's slideshow video.  The lyrics are perfect. 

 

Little boy, when you speak
I can't help but kiss your cheeks
I love the way you grab my hands
And tell me all about your plans

Rocket high, comets fly
You and I could hitch a ride
And fly away to Neverland
And give our best to Peter Pan

When you reach for the stars
Don't forget who you are
And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast
See the sand in my grasp
From the first to the last
Every grain becomes a memory of the past
Oh, life's an hourglass
Life's an hourglass


Dear Toby,

Dear Toby,

It was just one year ago I wrote a letter to you anticipating your birth.  It seems nearly impossible that today I am writing a letter to you for your first birthday.  This year has flown by.  Tomorrow you will officially be one year old!  What a great first year you’ve had!  I am so blessed to be your mommy.  I got to be there when you breathed your first breath. I listened to your first cry.  I fed you your first meal. I kissed away your first bump. I was the first to tell you that I love you.  I cheered you on when you learned to crawl.  I cried with you when you didn’t feel well.  I saw your first smile.  I was the first to thank God for giving you to our family (even before daddy knew you were on the way!).  I get to watch you grow & discover new things each day.  I will continue to be here as your biggest fan for the rest of your life.  You have completed our family and have made my heart bigger than I ever dreamed possible.  Thank you for the many smiles, giggles & sweetness you have brought into our home this year.  I love you right up to the moon & back.  Have the happiest first birthday ever!

All My Love,

Mommy

Gymnastics

Here are some photos of Bree & Eli's first night of gymnastics last week. They both did great & had lots of fun!

Big Week

Today's the big start of fall week at our house! Today was day one: Eli's ECFE class. He did AWESOME! No tears at all when I left the room. Toby & Breena went to sibling care & did great there too. Toby is battling a nasty cold so besides being pretty worn out he was good for the teachers. I'm sure that cold will travel our family- they always do. Hoping it'll skip Breena because she starts PRESCHOOL tomorrow! She is so excited & so am I. It's going to be great. Let the chaos of fall commence!

More milk please: the book

I found out a few weeks ago about a company that will turn a blog into a book. I have decided to capture my words & memories this way. Before I do this I will be going back & removing posts that don't really have much to do with our family or adventures. If you notice past posts missing- that's why!

Park

We went for a walk at the park this morning. It was a beautiful fall day.

(Almost) 4 & Fiesty!

Today the kids & I stopped at CVS to get a few things. The last time we were there Breena had some money to spend from Great Grandma & she chose to buy band aids. Well she remembered this today & in the car asked if I would buy band aids for her. I said no because that was a special treat she chose & we don't buy treats everytime we go to the store or it wouldn't be special anymore. Her response? "Well, I'm just going to bug you the rest of the day because I want band aids and you said no!". Where does she come up with this stuff?!? She didn't mention the band aids again when I further explained my reasoning thank goodness! Little Turkey!

Potty training day 4

Been in undies since 7am... NO accidents yet! There's no way it'll be this easy, but today is going great! It helps to having a cheering squad (aka bree & toby) waiting for him to pee!

Potty Training

So far today.... Potty: 4 Underwear:0

Keep it up Eli boy!!

4:18AM

Why yes boys, I would love to get up with you both at 4:18am! Ugh... Better be a long nap in my future today.

Dinner

Dinner time at our house is messy business. There is spilled milk nearly everyday, reminders to SIT down, arguments over who sits where, more reminders to SIT... The list goes on. Tonight was the first time in a long time that I almost had to leave the room because I couldnt stop laughing! We had french toast for supper & had given each child a small amount of butter on their plate so they could butter their own toast. We were almost all the way thru our meal when Bree yelled, "Eli ate all of my butter! No Ei!". Here without her knowing he was reaching over to steal small amount of butter off of her plate & eating it before we noticed! A few minutes later Bree notices her strawberries were gone & we knew who the culprit was! Eli just smiled& admitted that he had also been stealing strawberries! Little stinker!

Sillies