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.