Making "the move"

Over the last few weeks I have been busy moving toys out of Chase & Jacob's room and up into the bonus room.  I knew that once we moved Jacob into Chase's room, there wouldn't be room for more than the two beds.  The room upstairs is basically theirs (expect for when Nana & Pop-Pop come to visit) and they love it!!  The majority of their toys are upstairs, there is a bed to rest on, a tv they can turn on (with my permission), and all the books and trains they could ever need.  The last two days they have spent most of their awake time up there and it has been so nice!  They are learning to put things back where they belong, with a little guidance, and I'm hoping to keep it organized.  I tried to sneak up on the boys yesterday and this is what I found... Chase reading The Little Train That Could to Jacob while watching Franklin.

So far they have played nicely together.  I took the video monitor out of their bedroom (mainly because I would rather not know who is waking who up!) and I put it upstairs so when they are up there I can somewhat keep an eye on them.  They are so cute to listen to as they carry on conversations with each other and pretend together.

To make room for Luke, the boys now share a bedroom.  I was anxious going into last night and for good reason.  Jacob is still very young and we have to keep that in mind as we get through this "adjustment period".  They normally are in bed by 7:45 and asleep by 8:15 at the latest.  Last night, however, they went to bed at their normal time and at 10:20 they were FINALLY asleep.  We probably went in 10 times last night to either remind them of what was expected or discipline if one or both were out of bed.  The next picture was just after reading Bible story, saying prayers, and kisses.  If only the had stayed that way once the door shut!

You would think that going to sleep 2 hours later would mean sleeping in just a little the next morning... nope!  6:40 we heard them laughing and they were both up for the day!  I know it's just all new and that eventually the novelty will wear off... we're just praying for patience and wisdom as to how to handle certain situations in the meantime!!  I must admit... the room looks so adorable with their matching fire trucks. 

Chase's side of the room

Jacob's side of the room

We even got new fan pulls (that we have needed since installing the fans a year ago) that are fire trucks.... I love them!

Now the task of sorting through EVERYTHING in Jacob's old room.  Lots to throw out, lots to put into the correct clothes bins, and lots of organizing to do before Luke joins the family.  It will feel SO good to get that room ready for our newest member... then maybe I can relax a little the rest of the summer :)

Busy few weeks

We have had a very busy last few weeks.  I feel like that is the story of our lives, and I know that as the boys get older things are not going to slow down!  Last week I hit a "nesting/cleaning" phase and got a lot done around the house.  By Thursday though, my back was done.  My parents came into town Thursday evening to stay with the boys while Charles and I took off for Tennessee.  It was an amazing weekend, for us, for the boys, and for Nana & Pop-Pop!  We enjoyed a few days of not having to think about naps and what our boys needed but we sure did miss them!!  We called a few times each day and got to talk to them.  Chase carried on entire conversations about his day and Jacob did well answering any questions we asked.  Their days were full as Nana & Pop-Pop kept them busy.  They read tons of books, went to the zoo, went to the park, read books, played, went out to breakfast, went on walks, rode bikes, and read more books. :)  Nana & Pop-Pop were exhausted by the end of the weekend but made some great memories with these two grandsons.  The following picture was taken a few weeks ago when we visited Nana & Pop-Pop in Hilton Head.  The boys love any and all the time they can get with their Nana & Pop-Pop!!

Things haven't quite slowed down since being home.  We have really enjoyed having our friend, Madilyn, over to play every day this week while her Grandma is out of town.  Becky has been dropping her off just after breakfast and picking her up after naps so the boys have had a lot of time playing with their friend.  She has really taken to Chase.  Today Chase was sitting on the floor just before nap time and I noticed that Madilyn kept rubbing his head.  Next thing I knew it she was sitting on his lap.  They just sat there snuggling while Chase watched his show.  It was too cute!!

I love this picture of Madilyn looking up to Jacob.  He seems SO big next to her!  I am amazed at how well this one year old, two year old, and three year old get along!!

The 3 kids on the look out!  They didn't want to miss a thing! :)

Two more weeks and the summer will be here!  Charles is so ready for this school year to be over.  He will have a week home before summer school starts and then he will have a few more weeks home before going to a training in Greenville the end of July.  Once he's done with that it will be time to meet Luke.  It's crazy to think how quickly the time is going to go by this summer and before we know it we will be a family of 5, parents to 3 little boys!!  I can't wait!  There is a lot to do though between now and then.  The biggest being Jacob's move from his own room into Chase's room.  I am a little apprehensive about that, knowing that one will always be waking the other up, but the monitor is going upstairs so that I don't drive myself crazy.  I am sure it will take a few weeks for them both to adjust and I am sure we will have a few cranky days with 2 tired boys, but I am ready to tackle this hurdle and get over it so the boys can get used to a new normal before the baby comes.  They love being together and playing together so I am hoping it will be good for both of them!

Chase reading his Thomas book to Jacob.  They are so close and for the most part love being together.  I hope and pray that the bond they have only grows stronger as they grow up!!

Finally, here is a video of Chase being a baseball player!  This child is so into sports but I don't know that I have ever seen a 3 year old with the hand-eye coordination that he has (and I am not just saying that because he is my child!).  Charles works with him a lot on hitting the baseball and now that he is holding the bat right and standing the right way he can hit the ball almost every time!  The video is short and you can't really get a good idea of how hard he hits it but you can hear him hit the ball and then see how proud of himself he is!  His daddy is just as proud, if not prouder! :)

Lately

Lately, we've been super busy!  I am not sure if I have already hit the "nesting" stage or if having my parents for the weekend have put my behind in gear, but either way I have gotten so much done around the house.  Charles and I are going to Tennessee for the weekend, leaving Thursday after school.  We haven't gone away by ourselves since starting our family so we are very  much looking forward to it.  It will be very foreign to us to drive, eat, sleep, and talk without having to think about our 2 year old and our 3 year old!  We are going for the wedding of Charles' childhood best friend, who was his best man in our wedding.  We are looking forward to hopefully a lot of rest and downtime, just the two of us, as well as lots of time with friends!  I am getting lots of extra loves in though because I know I am going to miss our boys like crazy!!

Now to catch up.... Easter was a great weekend, despite the fact that Chase came down with the first of two bouts of strep throat.  Saturday morning, early, he woke up crying complaining that his throat hurt and he had spiked a high fever out of no where.  Something in me told me to take him to the weekend office and get him checked out.  I am SO glad I did because it ended up being strep throat... Amoxicillin and a good night's sleep and he was already getting back to feeling better.  At first I thought I would be going to church on Easter Sunday all by myself (which I was really bummed about) but with how much better Chase was feeling that morning we got both of the boys ready, Charles dropped me & Jacob off for Sunday School, and then Charles & Chase met me in big church.  Chase sat through the entire service without making a sound.  We were so proud of him.

Boys at Grandma's house a few days after Easter in their Easter clothes.

We finished Chase's round of antibiotics and two days later it all started again, the exact same way... so back to the doctor we went and sure enough, the Amoxicillin didn't knock it out so we went on to Omnicef.  That one did the trick and thankfully we have been healthy since then.   We have enjoyed this nice weather and have taken the boys to the playground a few times each week.  Every day when the boys go down for naps, Chase tells me he is going to take a good nap so he can have his energy for the playground! :)  Here are a few pictures of the boys having fun.

Last week Charles and I went to the doctor for my 24 week ultrasound.  Luke looks amazing and healthy and we couldn't be happier.  He was not very cooperative during the ultrasound, he was breach and had the cord right in front of his face, but we got a few really good ones.

This is a good profile picture of Luke.  He is tiny, seems to take after his big brother Chase, measuring right now in only the 12th percentile but the doctors at this point aren't too concerned.  They said I may have a few more ultrasounds to monitor his growth but it may just be that he is on the smaller side.

Lately we have wondered every night when we go in to tuck Jacob in if he is going to be in his bed or not.  A few times we have gone in late at night to tuck him in and he has been on the floor!  A few other times we have gone in and found lots of toys in his bed, which means only one thing.. that he got out of bed and played before going to sleep.  Oh well... he'll eventually learn that nighttime is not playtime! :)  This is how we found him one night... crazy kid! :)

Finally, one last picture of Chase.  You never know what you're going to get with this kid or what he is going to say, but he never fails to crack us up.  We love his personality and he definitely keeps us laughing!