Sweet Ella

This morning, I was having a conversation with J, and Ella noticed I was crying as we were talking. She grabbed her blanket and immediately came over to me.

"Will you 'nuggle me?"

"Sure, Ella," I said, as I pulled her sweetness into my lap.

And then she looked at me. As she wiped one of my tears, she said with the most genuine sincerity, "did daddy hurt you?"

It certainly made both of us laugh in that moment. I was also quick to let her know that I was not crying because daddy had hurt me!

north, south, east, west

Bo has realized that our van has a directional computer up in the front of the car, and he has been very curious about the letters that appear and change as we drive.

I explained the concept of direction and told him what each of the letters stands for. He was absolutely captivated and he's made it his mission to make sure I know our direction during all excursions in the car.

After lunch today, we were playing in the den. Bo asked about the directions once again, so I showed him east. He immediately found west. I then told him that I was north, and he discovered daddy was south.

"I'm going to give you a south hug, dad!" he said as he charged for J.

On the go

When mommy's away...

I had to go to the dentist this morning, and J was here with the kids for a little over an hour. When I got home, I realized why they have so much fun with him.

Destructo-Jack leaves a trail of toys in his wake!

They spent most of the hour constructing this road/train/tower. It was massive, and they were so excited to tell me all about it.



Dad certainly has some creative construction abilities that I do not possess!

Next, I think I'm going to be big like daddy!

The birthday celebration began almost a month ago as we celebrated early with Gigi, Papa, and Aunt Sarah. Today we wrapped things up with a small gathering of Bo's friends.

We chose a weekday for the party because J's schedule has been so crazy. This was the only time that we could do the party and he could join us. Because of school and work, it was only a few kids, but that meant the moms didn't have to stay with their kids.

Side note: I never really know where or when the "drop and go" begins for a birthday party. Obviously, a one year old should be supervised by mommy for a party, but three, four, five?? Is there some definitive etiquette on this one?

Bo requested a Curious George theme, so I did my best. I was bummed that I didn't get this sign up for his actual birthday, but we wouldn't have even been in town to enjoy it!

The monkey cake.

Those are bananas on the cupcakes. They weren't exactly what I envisioned, but they were close enough!

Bo got the music going for everyone.

I created an indoor obstacle course for the kids to do. They had to do a series of exercises and collect bananas. I love this shot of Bo in the air. He was doing the "jumps" at the end of the course and then he headed through the finish line.

Unlike last year, it was an absolutely beautiful day, so we headed outside after our obstacle course. It was 45 minutes of delight! It actually made me think I could handle triplets...assuming they came out at 3 years old, potty-trained and well-behaved :)

Bo enjoyed swinging on the rings and pretending he was a monkey.

Back inside for lunch...

...and cake!

I can't believe he's really four! As we took a family walk around the neighborhood this afternoon, he casually informed me that next he planned to be big like daddy and he ran off laughing in the wind.

Gymnastics

We went to a gymnastics birthday party a few weeks ago, and I rediscovered these pictures today.

Bo loved, loved, loved the bungee swing!

Ella was a little less excited about the whole thing. She did the swing once and had a mini-meltdown halfway through. Then, she asked to go again only lower. As she went up the second time, she kept shouting, "Mine go lower please!" until her feet were almost on the ground. After that, I think she had more fun watching the other kids do it!

The parachute was a bit hit too!

This is one of my favorite videos of late. Bo had a great time on the zipline as well. He was definitely nervous at first. He kept walking over to it and then walking away. I finally convinced him to try it once, and he thought it was big fun! I think he did it at least a dozen times after that.

Oh, and I just have to say thanks to the other parents there that helped my kids. J was on call, so I had all three by myself. I think Ella went potty 6 or 7 times, and I'm pretty sure I held Jack the whole time. I could not have done it without some help!

Bedtime [in iambic pentameter]

Daddy's working tonight so he's not home.
Dinner, clean-up, and pj's all alone.

Exhausted Bo is running wild and free.
It's time for bed, but "mommy I'm not three,
I want to dance and play with trucks; I'm four,
I'll whine and cry and scream all on the floor."

Naked Ella runs and dances so free,
Number of pee-pees in the potty: three.
Pjs, naked, pjs, naked, run, run.
"I don't want to be dressed mom, you're no fun!"

Jack is happy only with his mommy.
Poopy clean up rolling on his tummy.
Thinks peek-a-boo with Ella is a charm,
but put me down and it's a big alarm!

And Bo now gives it up and crawls in bed.
Jack snuggles into blankie-hair so red.
Back to Ella, it's time to brush your teeth,
Just one more drink of water mommy, pleeeeease?

They are all tucked in, though not yet asleep,
Mommy hopes she won't hear another peep.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

We took advantage of a windy day [and some unseasonably warm weather] not too long ago to fly a kite. It was big fun; well worth the 97 cents it cost!

(Yes, Bo is in his pajamas. We were home all day and he asked if it could be a "pajama day" so I obliged.)

Does that make me crazy?

Today, I did something that was probably a little silly. I dragged all three kids to my doctor's appointment [the one with the stirrups] at 1:15, which around here is the much anticipated beginning of naptime. Let me just say that the initial plan was for said children to be home napping with my hubby, but long story short, he was no longer available to supervise them.

So despite the fact that I waited almost an hour to see the doctor, it was actually a success. I came prepared with the portable DVD player, the Veggie Tales version of Jonah, and snacks for when the doctor came in to do the exam.

I don't think Bo even turned his head away from the movie. That's the great thing about having kids that don't watch a whole lot of TV. When they do get to watch, they are quiet and still!

Ella had to go potty about 10 minutes before the doctor arrived, but I was not about to parade her out to the restroom in my handkerchief of a gown! Thankfully, she was able to hold it until we were all done.

Jack fussed for about 3 minutes early on in the waiting, but when he realized I was not going to get him up out of his seat [I was wearing a glorified kitchen towel, remember?], he settled for pulling on the toys attached to the car seat handle.

I considered bumping the appointment and rescheduling a number of times, but I was glad I didn't when the doctor walked into the room. Let's just say she was very pregant! Considering I saw her 10 months ago, it was a little bit of a shock. Her due date is Monday, so I'm glad I didn't wait even one more day!

Mr. Big Stuff

We're finally back from yet another weekend on the road. Whew! I think we are actually going to be home for a good little stretch. I, for one, am really looking forward to the consistency. If we can make it through the end of this month, J will have a little less on his plate as well!

Here are a few of my favorite shots of Bo from his birthday.

Big birthday dinner...

Back at the apartment for cake. There was one stubborn candle, and Bo was so fascinated by the smoke when he finally got it blown out!

The cake was delicious!

We had lots of fun building train tracks all weekend. J and I got Bo a train set for his birthday and it was exactly the excitement we imagined. Now that we're back home, Bo is anticipating some sort of train/road combo with his tracks and his blocks. I hope my creative input is sufficient.

I really wonder how it's possible that it has already been four years. I remember the day Bo was born so vividly. The sights, the smells, and the emotions of it all are still so fresh.

Is it possible he used to be this bright eyed little boy that snuggled into my chest and stared at me in wonder as they placed him in my arms?

Every day since his birthday, Bo proclaims, "I'm four years old!" multiple times throughout the day. It's a constant reminder that someone hit fast-forward on my life the day he was born. Thankfully, he still snuggles with me and stares at me in wonder; I know those days will soon come to an end as well.

Survivor

Well, we survived the fourth birthday stomach bug that turned out not to be that big of a deal after all.

Bo did wake up a little grumpy on his actual birthday, but I like to think that was the aftershocks of his sour stomach :)

I am bummed that I haven't done a better job posting here lately! There's so much going on that I want to get out of my head and into words.

Between J's week out of town [once again] for moonlighting, Bo's birthday, and a feeble attempt at a Valentine's celebration, I've spent very little time online. I think I'm starting to learn that I need to be more realistic about what I really can do!

Whew, that whole balance thing is one serious life lesson!

All that to say, I have some great birthday pics and we've had lots of fun already making train tracks with the new train set J and I got Bo for his birthday. We've got a small party with a few friends planned for next week, so maybe I'll just lump all the birthday photos in with that post!

I love being out of town with the kids because it really does allow me to play with them. Many of the day to day obligations I have are removed, so I get a lot more time building things [and tearing them down :)].

Time for some Thomas games with Bo!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, my baby-turned-big-boy turns four.

I can hardly wrap my mind around it.

Today, I spent hours baking and decorating delicious goodies to share with all his little friends at MOPS tomorrow.

Tonight, he started throwing up.

Looks like it's going to be an interesting birthday.

George and Charky

Woke up early thinking about my sis.

Prayed all morning and kept checking the time.

Maniacally kept my phone within earshot and eyesight during my the entire hour of my body pump class.

Had a total sobbing meltdown in the cardio room at the gym when I got the call.

It's TWINS!

I am ecstatic, elated, overwhelmed, in awe of God's graciousness, and utterly blown away by the miraculousness of it all.

We knew Sarah was pregnant when she visited a few short weeks ago, but were blissfully unaware of the twin status in her womb until her ultrasound today.

When I first asked Bo about the baby, "it's a boy," he boldly asserted, "and his name will be George." [We are loving Curious George these days, in case you're wondering where that one came from!]

Sarah casually asked Bo what he thought if there were a second baby in there. "Oh, it will be a boy too, and his name will be Charky!" [Charky is one of George's good friends, an energetic pup who gets in all kinds of trouble.]

While I don't think the babies will be named George or Charky, I do think that my sister and her husband will make fantastic parents! We are so excited for this amazing blessing!

September cannot come fast enough!

Sequence Shots

Admittedly, I'm not the world's best photographer. I feel like I'm learning some here and there and maybe we'll make an investment in a really nice camera someday, but for right now, I'm making do with the point and shoot.

That said, I feel like sometimes my photographs look so strange. The kids just don't really look like themselves or the photo just doesn't quite capture the moment the way it really was. I don't know if it's the flash or my angle or what, but I just find that the picture is missing something sometimes.

I've enjoyed playing around with the function on my camera that takes a series of frames in succession. Most of the time, I feel like it's a slightly more honest portrayal of the moment. I took about 30 pictures of Jack in a row the other day just hanging out in his high chair as we were finishing lunch. Here are a few of my faves:

I love that red mohawk SOOOOOO much!

This is his classic grin!

"Yeve me sum pi-va-cee"

I left Ella alone in the bathroom to go potty [per her request; see entry title] and when I walked in the office, this was what had just popped up on my screensaver:

I was in that moment in an instant! I remember her baby chubs and her shoulder length curly hair [she's just over 6 months in this shot] and that look just before she broke out into a huge grin.

And now, somehow, it's been two years, and she's become this:

A walking, talking, potty-using, baby doll lovin', long-haired little girl!

I really can't even get my mind around it.

She has made being potty trained a full time job, and we're now three days accident free, including naps and nighttime. When did she grow up?

It's been a journey!

I don't even know what to say. Potty training with Bo was not the easiest. He started tinkling in the potty regularly at about 18 months, but it took many more months, and many pairs of dirty underwear to conquer the poo.

Many people told me that boys were harder to train than girls. I certainly hoped so!

Ella seems to be proof of that one.

It started with watching her older brother.

There were a couple of attempts to show her how cool "big girl" underwear were, but she wasn't totally convinced.

We've been using the potty for a while, but Ella just really didn't seem all that interested. And with a new little one around, I didn't really push it.

For the past few days she's been asking to use the potty more and more frequently, so yesterday I put her in underwear. She had one accident all day! This morning, she was crying in her bed because she went pee-pee in her diaper before I got in there to get her up. She's been dry all day, and she even excused herself after lunch to poo in the potty!

While I don't think we're out of the "accident" zone quite yet, we are making the official switch to underwear.

Woo-hoo!