Mom works??

I'm a bit nervous about the weeks to come when I will likely be working some again. The boys were usually quick to respond about where I work. However, I think they've really gotten used to me being home. When my sister Beth asked them where I work, they gave her a strange look and answered 1) she doesn't (WHAT?), then 2) my mom works at home. We clarified to see if they would remember where I worked and they stuck with - no, my mom works at home. I asked Nathaniel about this and he said, "Well, you have to feed your daughter! She'll get hungry." So considerate. I did appreciate that I at least got credit for working at home! Precious boys.

Big Weekend Ahead

This coming weekend marks a big family weekend as well...my brother is getting married. We'll be heading to my parents' on Friday. The boys are looking forward to cake and soda and possibly mints. You know, the fun things at weddings! We will be bringing up the gifts during the ceremony. Hopefully that will go smoothly. I think (hope) Jacob & Leah will be carried, Leyton & Nathaniel will hopefully carry the gifts. We'll see how it goes. We're looking forward to seeing more of the family & celebrating this special event.

Baptism

On Sunday, Nov. 25, we celebrated Leah's baptism. It was wonderful. When I get a chance, I'll post a picture or two. Patrick's oldest sister Stacy & her husband Pat are the godparents. Leah wore a gown that my mom made (she's made one for each of the kids). It is beautiful and it looked great on her. Thanks Grandma! It was a special end to the Thanksgiving weekend as we had family over for a family brunch before the mass & baptism. We had a great crowd. I know it is a busy time of year and we really appreciated that so many were able to take time from their busy schedules to celebrate with us. It means a lot.

Leah at 6 weeks

Well Leah is now about 7 weeks. She had a dr. appt. last Friday & weighed 10lb 6.4 oz. & is 22.5 inches long. Growing quickly, smiling a lot, much enjoyed by all.

Dad's Tools No Longer Needed

In the midst of organizing & straightening in the last couple weeks, we found so many of the boys' toy tools. They were so excited to see so many of them together again. We talked about how helpful it is to keep stuff together like that so you know where to find it & so you have the full set (or at least several pieces) & can really enjoy playing. I told them that maybe we could give Dad back his tools since they had so many now (since they "borrow" his all the time & he can never find any when he needs them). Nathaniel told me, "Yeah, we can give Dad's back. We don't need them anymore. That's why I used Dad's, because I didn't know where mine were." I thought that was funny. I'm sure that's completely why they have spread all Dad's tools around the house - including each socket for the socket set!

Family Pictures

On Friday this week, we did go to the mall as a family...but not to shop. We had some family pictures taken. Would you believe that we actually got pictures of everyone - the family along with pictures of each individual child! I was completely and pleasantly surprised that we were able to accomplish this as it was somewhat stressful getting ready for the event. I was prepared to not get anything. I was so happy with the service we received as well given that we are probably not the easiest group to photograph. Especially with Jacob, who was totally not wanting to participate. After we were finished & were viewing the pictures, they gave him another chance as we had not gotten any of him individually. I appreciated that they were willing to try again...low & behold, we got some adorable shots. We had them taken this time at Flash! Digital Portraits. So far, I would highly recommend them. You can view some of our portraits from their website. If you want to see them, let me know & I'll give you our password.

Spitting is OK

Lately the boys have been spitting some. Not really spitting I guess, but just the strawberry type noise that emits a bit of moist spray. I've been telling them that we don't spit, but they just laugh & keep doing it. They really enjoy it. One time recently I once again reminded them not to do it. The response I got was again related to their idol - JIM COSGROVE (who by the way was mentioned on their Thanksgiving turkeys for school as something they're thankful for). Nathaniel told me, "Well, Jim Cosgrove spits." I said that I was pretty sure he doesn't. He told me that in fact he did when he sang the green alligator song...this song is about the unicorns and when they disappeared because they didn't get on the ark. In the song, Jim sings about green alligators, long neck geese, humpty back camels, and chimpanzees...cats, and rats, and ELEPHANTS (which is followed by a hand motion and an elephant noise similar to the noise the boys make but I don't think he sprays when he does it). Anyway, just funny how much they think of him & all the details.

Thanksgiving Fun

Thanksgiving has come and gone already. We had a wonderful time with family. This year was the year to be with my family and we actually celebrated at our house. My parents came to town and my sister and her family were in from Dallas. My younger sister Beth also joined us for the day. It was nice getting the house cleaned up for the gathering - we always say how we think it looks good when we are getting ready for company as it's rarely that decluttered otherwise! The boys had fun with their four visiting cousins - Alex, Allison, Nicholas & Peter. I think they all enjoyed meeting Leah. Allison & Alex seemed to enjoy holding her. Allison also read books to Leyton & Nathaniel & they enjoyed that very much. We missed my brother as he was not able to make it for the celebration. His big week is next week...finishing touches on the house before the big wedding to Rachel on December 1.

Our growing daughter

Leah is doing great. 5 1/2 weeks already, it's hard to believe. We'll get her size update on Friday at her well child visit. It seems she's a night owl, though, as most evenings she prefers to stay up, wide awake with mom & dad until 11:30pm or so. Some nights she's willing to lie in bed & fall asleep on her own, but others she prefers to hang out with us for a while. It's nice spending the one-on-one time with her, but it does cut into the sleep for mom & I don't really want my infant to get too used to staying up half the night! Ha. I'm sure we'll get that in order. She's a cutie, though. For the past week or so, she's started smiling when I talk to her. It's very cute. The boys want her to smile at them, too. We'll work on that. Leyton held her for a long time today. I admire his patience. She was actually quite upset and screaming, but he just sat there & didn't move. I would ask him if he was doing ok or if he was finished. He said no & that he wanted to hold her longer. Shortly after that, I gave her a pacifier & covered her up. It was about a minute & she fell asleep. We helped Leyton feel like a hero for putting his baby sister to sleep. He (well all of them are) is a cutie.

Bathtism

Next Sunday, we are having Leah baptized. We are looking forward to this and have been talking to the boys about it. Today in church, Leyton was asking about it. He said, "When is Leah's 'bathtism' going to be? When are they going to pour water on her head?" "Is that her bathtism?" I answered him and explained that her baptism was next Sunday and yes, that is when they will pour the water on her head & welcome her to the church, etc. His logic was right on, though, since obviously, there is some similarity in the bath & the baptism!

Jacob's Songs

We've really been enjoying Jacob's singing lately. You can catch him just playing or walking around singing a tune. We've heard: "Red Wagon" (Jim Cosgrove song), "Ta ra ra boomteay" (not sure of the spelling, but it's on a Sesame Street CD), and then there's the random "la la la, etc." It's just cute because he does it and doesn't even know anyone might be listening. Then if you look at him, he looks back & smiles & keeps singing. It's quite enjoyable. He seems to be enjoying himself, too.

Pictures...Halloween, Etc.

Our Johnny Cash Hit Song List

All 3 boys really like Johnny Cash music & like to sing. The other day, Leyton had a striped shirt on & said, "Mom, I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders." Cute.
Their top favorites (not in any specific order)...
- Stripes (also one of my favorites)
- Get Rhythm
- Ring of Fire (they say Ring de Fire)
and now I'm forgetting some...I'll add to this one later...I'm feeling interested to see the update on the KU vs. OSU football game going on now.

I'll also still post some belated Halloween pics & an update on Leah.

Happy Birthday, Patrick!

Friday was Patrick's birthday. We all enjoyed our birthday party at home with dinner, presents, and the firetruck cake that they really wanted to make for him. It took a lot of our day to do this cake project, but that's what Leyton & Nathaniel really wanted, so we did it. I think they enjoyed it. They picked chocolate cake to make, yet they haven't eaten any bites of actual cake (Leyton meticulously scrapes off only the frosting; Nathaniel picks around at the cake & frosting, but I doubt he eats even 2 bites - always been his style with some of these sweet desserts - we feel safe giving him as big of a piece as he wants because we know he never eats it - no different this time). Jacob enjoyed the cake, too, but really just plays with it; maybe he ate a little. Fine with us - then we don't have to cut them off or tell them no about the cake all the time! I think Patrick had a nice day. We gave him shirts, a book, and a CD (Highwaymen - has Johnny Cash so the boys were excited as they really like Johnny Cash). That just gave me an idea on the next post - the Johnny Cash update.

Date Night - Garth Brooks!

Well, we lucked out on last Wednesday night. Patrick & I went out for a total of about 3 hours, but we saw some great entertainment! Patrick was invited through work to see one of the Garth Brooks shows in KC at the new Sprint Center. We had a great time. We were in a suite & enjoyed a great view with food & drink along with it. We arrived during the break between Trisha Yearwood & Garth & then stayed for the Garth part of the show. Patrick is not really a fan, but was still entertained. He really did a great job and seemed to really be enjoying himself. The boys and Leah were in great hands at home, so we enjoyed the short break and good conversation with one another that is sometimes hard to find the time to enjoy.

1st Parent Teacher Conferences

Well this week was a busy one (I guess now I see I haven't posted anything). I felt it was pretty busy. Tuesday we had our first conference at school which went well. The boys are both doing very well. It was nice to get a progress report. It was funny because it sounds like there had been a little bit of mixing up on colors; it was mentioned, for example, that at some point Leyton mixed up blue with purple. However, it was funny that before we knew this, Leyton had a discussion with Patrick about his crayons. He one evening told Patrick, when he picked up the blue, "this one is blue, but I think the paper looks purple." After the fact, this all made more sense why there was the detailed description on the blue crayon. Seems they know the colors actually, so that is good and is what we expected. I guess at school one day, Leyton had this issue come up and there must have been some discussion. Seems their teacher is enjoying them, though and it sounds like they're actually playing well with others and not always playing just with their brother. That was one thing I wondered about going in. I'm happy with their progress and they are still enjoying school.

The Gift of Time

So all the talk about energies reminded Patrick & I about another cute thing the big boys do at night when we're reading books in their room. When we tell them we're out of time & it's time to sleep, sometimes they'll reach in their imaginary pocket and hand us some time. "Here you go, Dad, here's some more time." If only it were that easy.

A Bit More on Energies

I was going to avoid going into the whole thing with costumes, but things changed on Halloween. Originally, the Bob the Builder costume was bought for Nathaniel (about a month ago) & Leyton was going to be Thomas. It wasn't until about a day before that they happened to switch ideas. OK, no problem. Although I was concerned they'd both want to be the Bob when it came time. Well, on Wed. afternoon they did end up napping & got some more energies. Nathaniel told me he had a lot in his basket now and that he would share them. Whew, because I felt like I could use some. However, when he woke up, he told me he also wanted to be Bob. There you have it; so we started (while Leyton was still sleeping) trying to assemble a second Bob costume with toys we had. We were making good progress. Then Leyton woke up. I said, "Leyton, what do you want to dress as?" He said Thomas! YEAH. So they switched through their nap. Is this like a belated case of Twin-to-twin transfusion (ha, ha)? Anyway, we did a switcharoo on costumes with them; Jacob was a great M&M & Leah was definitely cute. I'll put up some pictures this weekend. We all had a nice Halloween. We ran out of candy a bit sooner than expected & rounded up a few more treats around the house & still were out around 8pm. The 3 boys had fun visiting neighbors on our street; they didn't do the whole street, but seemed very content with their treats. Jacob walked quite a bit so I am sure that contributed to not going farther. They asked when it would be Halloween again and what they could dress as. Hopefully the time isn't here too quickly! They grow fast enough already!