Jacob Owns Everything!

Well, Jacob is in a phase right now about "his" possessions. Everything he wants, that is, apparently is his. No, it's not to share; no, it's not Leah's; no, it's not anyone elses. It's "mine, mine." I guess he really is two! I bought a soccer ball for them today to share, but he's definitely claimed that as his new basketball, actually. He carried it around all day and even took it to bed. I had to talk to Patrick about that one...I didn't really think he needed it in bed since all I was hearing in the other room was the ball hitting the wall. He sure didn't want to give it up, but Patrick ended up putting it in the corner of Jacob's room. I'm sure we'll hear from him tonight, "Dad, Mom, I need my ball!" Luckily his big brothers are playing along & letting him claim it for the time being...that is until they decide they're ready to play soccer with it! Yikes. I'm not looking forward to that moment.

Full of Love

Sometimes when I ask the boys for a kiss or a hug, sometimes they tell me they're "all out, Mom." So then I have to wait until the next day or something. Today Nathaniel came and sat on my lap...
Nathaniel: Mom, I have a lot of kisses left. Would you like to have one?
Me: Of course I would. I would never say no to that!

Then Leyton told me he had a thousand kisses and a thousand hugs left. I told him I'd sure take as many as he wanted to give.

I know it won't last forever that dear ol' Mom gets kisses & hugs from my little guys, so I'll take them any time they're offered!

GO JAYHAWKS!

And let's say it again...GO JAYHAWKS! We had a fun day getting ready for the game. The game, though, was a little stressful! Ha. But, the result was just what we wanted!

A Few Easter Pictures

GO JAYHAWKS!

March Madness has been good for KU so far. Hopefully they'll hang in there in the next week or so! So if they win against Davidson, sure would be fun (but would also make me very nervous) to try and win against the Tarheels! We'll see on Sunday what will be next.

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter. I left Friday morning with the kids & we headed to Grandma Donna & Grandpa Jerry's. We got in during early afternoon & after dinner still had time to go to the park for a bit.

On Saturday, my friend Jen Welsch & her daughter, Lauren, drove out from St. Louis to visit us. Thanks, Jen! Nathaniel told me later that he wants "my friend & her little girl to visit us again. She's nice & I like her toy phone." Later on, we went to Ben & Rachel's for a brief visit then to Grandma Rita's for a few minutes as well. She's really wearing down. At this point I mostly pray for her to feel at peace with her life and what is to come. I want her to enjoy her days and it doesn't seem like that's happening right now. It was nice to see her, though. It was cute that she held Leah multiple times during our visit - more than she's had the chance to before.

Once again, my mom made a great meal for Easter, which we enjoyed on Saturday evening, before catching some good basketball games. Ben & Rachel visited for quite a while that night. Patrick came in on the Amtrak on Sat. evening as he had a breakfast meeting that morning he had to attend. We were all glad for Dad to get to our Easter trip!

I can't wait to post a picture or two of my cutie pies on Easter. I really thought everyone looked nice all dressed up. Sunday we went to mass at 8:30 (arrived around 8:10 & had a good seat thanks to 7am mass letting out after 8am). The kids were pretty good for it being out of routine, a longer mass, and more crowded. They were thrilled to find that after mass, the Easter bunny had visited Grandma & Grandpa's and left plenty of eggs & treats. Then we had a nice brunch & wrapped things up.

One drawback, I guess is that I woke up Sunday morning with a bit of a flu-type bug. Leah woke around 5am & I had to pass her off for a moment as I debated if the lovely throwing up event was coming - it was. But, I forced myself to rest a lot that day & that night so that Monday I was actually ok.

Boys will be Boys - Even at Easter

So I understand that it is normal for boys to want to play rough games like army, etc. In this Easter season, I guess I should think it's a good thing that the boys have had some of the Lenten journey and Christ's events sink in. Today they were playing and some of what I overheard was:

"No, you are condemned to death. You have to die on the cross even though you have done nothing wrong."

"No, you are condemned to death."

"OK, now carry your cross, Jesus. I know it's heavy."

They had some easel type poles out, too, which were their crosses.

Luckily, I think they did make it to the end to pretend to rise from the dead.

To top it off, tonight at bath time, Nathaniel said he wanted to skip bath. He told me he wanted his clothes off that he wore today & he was going to be Jesus (in his underwear) because Jesus' clothes were taken from him, right?

Another Typical Day...

A rainy St. Patrick's Day. I contemplated taking the kids to the Kansas City parade, but opted not to due to the rain. So, this morning we played at a neighbor's house for about an hour, then spent the rest of the day at home. Here's some of what the day involved:

This morning: the 3 boys were being "workers." They walked (more like strutted) around the house with their tool boxes (Dad's socket set type tool boxes) telling me, "Mom, we're the workers. The workers are here to work on your stuff." I welcomed them to the house. They worked on the bathroom (flushed the toilet a few times) then moved on to the kitchen & family room seeming to be on a mission. Then they took their tape measures & Leyton & Nathaniel lined up with Leah. "Mom, we're measuring Leah. She's ok, she doesn't have to stay at the doctor." (Boy am I lucky!).

After lunch, we had some quiet time & I worked on a bunch of laundry.

After quiet time, they decided they needed my laundry baskets. Leyton on one couch, Nathaniel on the other with them turned the tall direction facing one another just watching each other. "Mom, these are our cars. We need to keep our cars."

Ok, I figure, it's probably better for me if I just put the clothes away anyway & make the few extra trips on the stairs.

After that, the baskets were back on the floor; Leyton in one, Nathaniel in the other. I think Jacob was awake by this point & was just enjoying the entertainment (as was I). Now they decided to scrunch down & put pillows on top of them. They began hatching. That's right, "crack, crack." "Chirp, chirp, Mom, I hatched...now I'm a chick. I'm flying away - Mom, I bet you didn't know that baby birds could fly so quickly?!" This was Leyton. Nathaniel hatched also & said, "Mom, now I'm a kitten!" I told him they didn't hatch, but he thought they did & I decided to avoid the long discussion.

Finally, we got to concert time - usually 4:30 or so in the afternoon. A good change of pace. Three boys singing away. Leyton had his own song today: "Oh Lord, Oh Lord, oh won't you play volleyball with me...and Bethy...and Robert. Oh Lord, Oh Lord, oh won't you play volleyball with me." There's a keeper!

The last conversation tonight with them in bed:
Nathaniel: Mom, I want to sell our house.

Mom: What? Where will we live?

Nathaniel: I want to move by Ralph's World (another singer they like - he's on the east coast somewhere)

Mom: Well, then we won't live by Jim Cosgrove. Is that ok?

Nathaniel: Well, maybe we could come see him?

Mom: It would be a very long trip.

Nathaniel: I don't want to sell this house because it has all my stuff in it. Good night.

Putting this all together just adds up to a great day. Lots of love, lots of hugs, & lots of "I love you's" too.

Tonight's Prayers

Today I received a plastic egg from Leyton & one from Nathaniel with a note inside. Leyton's said "Mommy & Daddy" & Nathaniel's said "Mommy." I was a bit confused with it & they said, "It's for you, Mommy, it means that I love you." That itself was sweet, but then I saw the note that came home from school with the egg. It was written by their teacher & it said, "Dear Parents, inside this egg is something your child would like to pray about. Please help them say a prayer." What a sweet and wonderful thing to do! So tonight we did this when we said our prayers. Nathaniel went on to pray about a few other things like, "Thank you, Jesus, for letting my Mommy stay home a lot of days." and "Thank you Jesus for sending me a baby sister." That was a great way to end the day. I love all of them so much!

Thanks, Grandma!

We got a surprise visit from my mom this week. Patrick was supposed to be out of town, but was too busy to go, so he stayed here & worked. Either way, it has been nice having Grandma here. The kids are enjoying it, too. Today they Leyton & Nathaniel were calling her "silly. Grandma, you're silly all the time." We asked why & they said, "because you call us the wrong names!" I guess that makes most parents, grandparents, etc. silly because I'm pretty sure we all do it at one time or another! They said, "you called me Leyton-Nathaniel, etc."

Grandma also got to join us today for the Easter party at preschool (early party since next week is spring break). It was a fun day.

A Jim Sighting

Well, this one is a few things about Jim Cosgrove. First, I worked this past Saturday & Patrick had the kids all day on his own. I think they had a great day. Jim was singing at the mall, so he took them to that & I think that was a great way to break up the day. They were able to visit with the Cosgrove family before the show for a bit and everyone always enjoys that. We also found out he has a new CD coming out this year! YEAH, we can't wait. Anyway, Patrick said that with the four kids - the three boys had their guitars in hand & were singing & dancing & then Leah watching all the motion & enjoying the show as well - it was an eventful couple of hours. He also mentioned that they were photographed several times by people who found the kids entertaining. The final thing he mentioned was that several people told him he was brave. Hopefully that was a compliment?

The second part of this story is just simply about Nathaniel at home and his daily regimen of telling us that he's not Nathaniel anymore, but he's Jim. On occasion, Jacob has even been known to play into this & come to me saying, "Mom, Jim pushed me." As if Jim is actually here. Then what brought this to mind was today when Leah & Jacob were napping. I went outside on this sunny day with Leyton & Nathaniel to play in the back yard. I was pushing them on the swings, & Nathaniel plainly says, "Mom, aren't you glad Jim comes to your house to play with your kids?" I really laughed with this one. What a hoot.

Jacob's Surprise

Lately we've noticed something Jacob has picked up without us even working on it with him. He'll sing...

"A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I- K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S- - -Y-Z, next time won't you sing with me."

We were pleasantly surprised with how he picked all this up on his own.

My Place of Employment

Well, it's called many things. Most commonly, "Jayhawk hospital." I like that one.

A little background on the other: Patrick's office is in Gardner. Many days when he comes home, the boys ask, "Dad, how was Gardner?" For Jacob this is, "How Gar-ner?"

So my other comment about work I get is from Jacob when I get home, "Mom, how Gar-ner?" Always makes me smile as well & I answer, "Great!"

Grateful for my Four Sleeping Blessings

Just before going to bed tonight, I got an update on a family member of a close friend. They were expecting their third baby and tonight received the unfortunate news that the baby had passed away. Her due date was sometime in the fall. I truly feel for them. It brought back some of the feelings I had when we had our miscarriage before I was pregnant with Leyton & Nathaniel. It also really made me take a minute to think of our four little miracles alive & sleeping soundly throughout the house - and just how fortunate we are to have these blessings. We don't always know God's plan and sometimes it is difficult to understand when we are presented with such a situation, that's for sure. A good reminder to appreciate every moment and realize the miracle that has been entrusted to us as parents. Extra kisses for all of them tonight.

Leah's 4-month Check-up

Well Leah visited Dr. Herrick on 2/26, so she was actually more like 4 1/2 months. She's doing well. He commented that she had a great attention span. I'm not sure how you get that at her age, but I'm proud of her (ha, ha). She's as cute as ever. Really making a lot of noise these days & screeching, etc. She really wants to sit up but isn't quite there yet. When you put her in the bouncer, though, she lifts her legs to try & pull herself into a sitting position. She also really covers some territory wiggling around on the floor. The exersaucer is in the family room & she likes that. She'll sit in it & watch her surroundings & occasionally gnaw on a piece or two. That reminds me, no teeth yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before the cute gummy grin is interrupted by the first tooth. I'm in no hurry - she's already growing fast enough. Hard to believe she's on her way to 5 months already. She weighed 14lb 6oz (60th percentile) & was 25 1/4 inches long (75th percentile). Sounds good to me! I guess I should post a recent picture to show how she's changing. It seems most people think there's resemblance between she & Jacob & Leyton. We'll see as times goes on. The next development I'd be ok with, though, is sleeping through the night. She has some good nights & then some nights like the last few where she's up 4 times. Oh well, all in all, that time is short. Sleep is overrated I suppose. Speaking of which, I think I should get to sleep.