What a day! We had a great one on Monday. I'm starting to realize how tired these birthdays can make me! We weren't planning a party or anything, but late last week, the boys thought it would be fun to have some neighborhood friends over on their birthday for pancake breakfast. The weekend was spent cleaning house & running errands getting things taken care of for the day. Yesterday morning, we had 11 neighborhood boys & 2 baby girls at the house for the event along with the moms. The kids ate & played & the moms were able to eat pancakes, too, & have some good conversation and a cup of coffee. It was a lot of fun and all the kids seemed to enjoy it, too.
We went to dinner at Red Robin and then we came home for presents & cake. Oh, that reminds me, Sunday afternoon/evening/night was also spent working on cakes for the birthday boys. Nathaniel had a tractor, Leyton a fire truck. They turned out cute. Then last night, I did cupcakes for Leyton for school (Nathaniel will take them next week), and then I had to finish up his "Star of the Week" poster for school as well. Last night was a late one too...I'm tired!
But, it is hard to believe the boys are four already. I guess birthdays are a good time to reflect on that and how they've changed in the past year. They are just so much fun and really growing in their thoughts and actions. It amazes me sometimes the relationships they draw from a situation without discussing each step of the process. They also seem to pick up on things very quickly - especially songs. Nathaniel just loves to help with projects involving tools and is definitely a rascal; a creative one, too. Leyton seems like he's older sometimes just because of the maturity he shows with helping out and keeping peace in the house. He is very sweet when he talks to Leah in such a sweet and soft voice. He can always make her smile and that makes me smile. Time sure does fly, though. It's just so strange to think how it doesn't seem long ago that they were our little preemie babies. Life is good and we are blessed.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Jacob's Quotable Quotes
Jacob's vocabulary continues to expand. Interestingly, the past week has involved a couple things that he hadn't been doing/saying before.
- Counting more & more; not that he knows what the numbers mean, but he'll count at least to 8, sometimes 10
- "GUP" = "Get up". He says this one with much gusto. It's especially nice when he wakes up at 5am and wants a drink..."GUP Dad! milk, please." It's usually said when he's really wanting you to move. Sometimes it better received than others.
- "I four." Leyton & Nathaniel's birthday was yesterday, they turned 4. Well, Jacob just wants to be big. Yesterday I was feeling kind of bad for him. I think he felt left out. Granted, he had a birthday last month & Leah is here, yet it seemed he felt he was the only one without presents, without cake, etc. Nathaniel actually gave him the sundae he got at Red Robin - Jacob was in heaven. Anyway, a good part of the day, he kept saying, "I four." It was cute. I'm sure this will be easier on him when Leah is bigger and/or when he understands things a bit better. In the mean time, he'll continue to dream big I suppose.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
Well, 2008 is off to a good start. We had a calm New Year's Eve & stayed home for snacks. It was nice. For New Year's Day, I did a bit of shopping and the kids played some at the mall. We don't typically do a lot for New Year's Eve because our anniversary is Jan. 3. A couple more days...this year is our 10th! Hard to believe. One thought we have had is about the difference between the first 5 years versus the second 5 years of our marriage. After 5 years, I was about half-way through pharmacy school, we had no children yet, and I'm not sure what we did with our time. 5 more years pass...four wonderful children, school is finished, same house, more stuff and still very happy. No complaints from me.
Jacob the human remote control
Well, this is Jacob's new title. He could be called other things I'm sure, but his activity lately with his big brothers have led me to call him the human remote control. Leyton has been listening to a new CD he got for Christmas. He really likes it. It's a Ralph's World CD and is lots of fun. Anyway, oh, another thing is that our actual remote for the DVD/CD player has been missing at least since 12/15. OK, so when you play the CD, you can't skip to another song or restart the one you're on. For example, if you're on song 7 out of 12 and it stops, you can just hit play and it restarts from the beginning. So, with Jacob...he has been taking great joy in playing with the CD player, pressing stop, turning it off, etc. He'll also adjust the volume on the stereo and no matter what, he just laughs. In addition, if you try to turn the TV on, he just turns it off. He'll keep doing it, too. So yes, I know it's probably good he doesn't want to watch TV, but it can get a bit annoying after a while. Although he has a pretty cute smile that's hard not to laugh about. He's quite the character that little Jacob. I'm pretty sure he's on his way to being a tough guy. His activity with the TV & CD/DVD player, he has been actually making the big boys VERY upset especially if it's later in the day. He laughs, they cry. Then about five minutes later, the roles have reversed for some reason and the big boys are getting revenge. A day in the life...it's great!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Sweet Peter
Well, please keep our nephew Peter & his family in your thoughts & prayers. They've had a rough few weeks since he had an accident at home and badly injured 2 fingers. It happened 3 weeks ago, but today he got his cast off his arm & it was a lot to handle for the family. He's only 2 1/2 and is doing well, but still has healing to do. We love all of them & hope each day gets easier for them. If you want to know more on what happened you can click to their blog here then the update here or at my link on the side "The Grahams."
Christmas: lots of fun, few pictures
Well, to be honest, we did get some of Christmas recorded on video, but very few photographs were taken. I think things went very quickly and Patrick & I pretty much had our hands full with someone at all times, so we didn't really have a hand for the camera. So, unfortunately, not too many good pics to post from the big day. We did the "elfyourself" (click the link here or below) thing, though, so you can watch that little video with the kids on it: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1456985371
ENJOY!
For Christmas this year we were with Patrick's family here in the Kansas City area. On Sat., we went to his parents for a visit with his Uncle Chuck & Aunt Marla who were in from Texas. We had a great visit and spent most of the day there. On Christmas Eve, we were with his family at his parents. We went to to overcrowded 4pm mass at our church and then headed over. I might add that the whole mass thing worked out well. You know how you have to be there like an hour early on these days? Well, we knew we wouldn't last that long, so we planned on being there about 25 minutes early. However, as usually happens, it's hard to actually get out of the house on time. So, we actually got to church about 3:55pm. OBVIOUSLY, we knew we would not have a seat. We were in the back in the lobby. The kids did great, though. Leyton & Nathaniel sat quietly on the floor & Patrick held Jacob, I held Leah. I was pleased with the results. We actually stood next to Scott & Bridget Davis, who we knew from college & previous jobs. I talked to Bridget & she told me they got there at 3:20pm. Ha, my response immediately was how glad I was we didn't get there sooner as we would have been in the same spot! Lucky us. I guess they probably didn't feel the same. I think their 2 girls were doing well, but ready to go.
The Christmas Eve party was a lot of fun and all of Patrick's family was there. We also had a few other extended family members there, so it was probably on the order of 35 people or so. We opened gifts after snacks and finally got home around 11:00pm or so.
The kids opened their presents on Christmas morning. I think this is our last year to kind of sleep in before the crack of dawn mornings begin. They didn't really know to go look under the tree. We enjoyed it while it lasted. They noticed the gifts around 8:30am & probably by 8:32am, it seemed we were finished. (Maybe that's a big exaggerated, but not much)
I think some of the favorite gifts were: golf clubs, Thomas trains, dump trucks, legos. Another thing they got were little band kits with about 7-10 instruments - they are enjoying making their own Jim Cosgrove bands. Leah was laid back & we went light on her. She did get lots of clothes this year, though. I laughed in anticipation of how things will change under the tree in a couple more years! We spent the whole day at home and enjoyed it very much. The kids were in bed early & got good rest to get back to normal the next day when Patrick was back to work.
On 12/26, my parents arrived in KS for a few days with us & my sister Beth. We always love their visits. They of course brought some more gifts for the kids to open from them & my brother Ben & sister-in-law Rachel: art easel w/ art supplies, lego table that Grandpa made, more trucks, trains, toy vacuum, etc.
We really had a nice Christmas. Such busy times, though. I feel it's just been so busy. Next items on the agenda: 1/3 is Patrick & I's 10 year anniversary! time flies. Then 1/7 is Leyton & Nathaniel's 4th birthday. Need to keep planning & keep shopping a few more weeks!
I must say we had a great Christmas.
ENJOY!
For Christmas this year we were with Patrick's family here in the Kansas City area. On Sat., we went to his parents for a visit with his Uncle Chuck & Aunt Marla who were in from Texas. We had a great visit and spent most of the day there. On Christmas Eve, we were with his family at his parents. We went to to overcrowded 4pm mass at our church and then headed over. I might add that the whole mass thing worked out well. You know how you have to be there like an hour early on these days? Well, we knew we wouldn't last that long, so we planned on being there about 25 minutes early. However, as usually happens, it's hard to actually get out of the house on time. So, we actually got to church about 3:55pm. OBVIOUSLY, we knew we would not have a seat. We were in the back in the lobby. The kids did great, though. Leyton & Nathaniel sat quietly on the floor & Patrick held Jacob, I held Leah. I was pleased with the results. We actually stood next to Scott & Bridget Davis, who we knew from college & previous jobs. I talked to Bridget & she told me they got there at 3:20pm. Ha, my response immediately was how glad I was we didn't get there sooner as we would have been in the same spot! Lucky us. I guess they probably didn't feel the same. I think their 2 girls were doing well, but ready to go.
The Christmas Eve party was a lot of fun and all of Patrick's family was there. We also had a few other extended family members there, so it was probably on the order of 35 people or so. We opened gifts after snacks and finally got home around 11:00pm or so.
The kids opened their presents on Christmas morning. I think this is our last year to kind of sleep in before the crack of dawn mornings begin. They didn't really know to go look under the tree. We enjoyed it while it lasted. They noticed the gifts around 8:30am & probably by 8:32am, it seemed we were finished. (Maybe that's a big exaggerated, but not much)
I think some of the favorite gifts were: golf clubs, Thomas trains, dump trucks, legos. Another thing they got were little band kits with about 7-10 instruments - they are enjoying making their own Jim Cosgrove bands. Leah was laid back & we went light on her. She did get lots of clothes this year, though. I laughed in anticipation of how things will change under the tree in a couple more years! We spent the whole day at home and enjoyed it very much. The kids were in bed early & got good rest to get back to normal the next day when Patrick was back to work.
On 12/26, my parents arrived in KS for a few days with us & my sister Beth. We always love their visits. They of course brought some more gifts for the kids to open from them & my brother Ben & sister-in-law Rachel: art easel w/ art supplies, lego table that Grandpa made, more trucks, trains, toy vacuum, etc.
We really had a nice Christmas. Such busy times, though. I feel it's just been so busy. Next items on the agenda: 1/3 is Patrick & I's 10 year anniversary! time flies. Then 1/7 is Leyton & Nathaniel's 4th birthday. Need to keep planning & keep shopping a few more weeks!
I must say we had a great Christmas.
Frosty the Snowman
The other day I was showing the boys some things on the computer. I found on YouTube a little 2-3 minute video about Frosty the Snowman. I was actually looking for the good old traditional Rudolph show with Burl Ives, but didn't find it. Anyway, they really enjoyed watching it. So much so that now every time I get on the computer, Jacob wants to watch something...that's been tricky. Anyway, we've never talked about Frosty, but it seems they really paid attention. A few days later, Nathaniel told me that he wanted a Frosty the Snowman for our house. He said, "I want a Frosty the Snowman for us. I want a snowman that walks around and runs." Wow, he was watching. I actually spent a good amount of time trying to explain to him that it was not possible for us to have a snowman that walked around. I told him that it was just pretend and that he didn't really walk around; that it was just a story. The response, "Well, he did it on the computer?! I want one that walks around." Well, long story short, we went a few more rounds of explanation-protest-explanation-protest and then the conversation died. I don't think he is content with the outcome, but wouldn't it be neat if you could really have a snowman that walked around with you?! If anyone finds one, let me know!
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