Kickin' & Splashin'

Tonight was the first bath that I walked out of the bathroom just about a wet as the little one who was actually getting a bath!  Luke has now learned how to kick and splash during bath time and tonight he was so proud of his new skills.  I know bath time will only get more and more fun as he kicks, splashes and starts "talking".  I can't wait... this child is just so much fun and such an incredible blessing!!!

Halloween 2010

Halloween this year was pretty low key for us.  I purchased a costume last year that I knew would fit again this year and had another costume passed down to us from a great friend in Greenville.  Last year Chase dressed up as a fireman (in a costume that will probably fit him until he is 10) and Jacob was a fire truck.  This year I had the fireman costume and a doctor costume for the boys to choose from.  I was thinking Chase would be the doctor to mix it up a bit but when the costumes came out Halloween weekend he was very adamant about being the fireman.  And because Jacob's personality is to be good with whatever, it was fine with me!  So, without having to spend a penny on costumes this year, Chase was a fireman, Jacob was the cutest doctor ever & Luke wore a borrowed pea in a pod costume from his Aunt Becky.

The cutest fireman and doctor around!

The big boys dressed and ready with their pails!

My three boys, Halloween 2010

Quick side note about the above two pictures: I'm so used to photographing Chase and Jacob that sometimes I forget I have another child to add into the pictures.  That night I had gotten a few really good pictures of them on Grandma's fire place before going out to trick-or-treat and we were literally on our way out the door when I remembered I had another child who needed to be dressed up and that I needed a group picture with all my boys.  One day I'm sure I'll get used to having three children to get into pictures together but it hasn't happened yet :)  This also happened while back at the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago.  I put the big boys in a wagon with a few pumpkins and started snapping away.  All of the sudden I remembered I was holding my third child and it would be nice to have pumpkin patch pictures with all my boys.  And some days when running errands I seriously have to turn around and double check that I have all three boys in the car before pulling out of the driveway... I picture myself pulling away and leaving Luke sitting in his car seat in the house (which hopefully with never happen)!  Am I just sleep deprived or is that God's way of saying three's enough!? :)  Anyways... back to Halloween:

Our tradition for Halloween is becoming that Grandma's house has to be the first house we ring the door bell and trick-or-treat.  The boys really had the hang of it this year and were pretty good about alternating who got to ring the door bell.  If we weren't on top of it then the poor people who's house we were at would have their door bell rang 500 times! :)

The boys were so grown up as they walked from house to house.  Because we were on the side walk most of the time they wanted to walk on their own and would grab a hand when it was time to cross the street.  Jacob enjoyed walking back to the car with Grandma!

This is how Luke enjoyed Halloween this year.  I almost didn't dress him up because I knew he would be snuggled up in someone's arms but I did anyways.  I'm happy I did because he was a pretty cute pea in a pod but I was thankful he slept in Daddy's arms instead of fussing because of how tired he was!  What a good baby He has blessed us with!!!

And just for kicks, here are two pictures comparing Chase in the same costume two years in a row.  You can see just how much he has grown up and changed!!

He definitely filled out the costume a little bit better this year but with how small he is he still has a good, oh, 5 years before out growing it!  Maybe I should keep putting him in this costume every Halloween until he does out grow it just to see how many years it will fit him :)  Best twenty bucks I ever spent!!

Halloween this year was so much fun!  Both the boys knew exactly what to do this year, were polite when people answered the door and loved collecting so much candy. So far it has been a good bribe to use when going down for naps... they are able to each pick one treat out of their bucket before naps and put it on the table at their places.  If they go down for naps without me or Charles having to go in to correct them then they get their treat when they wake up.  It has worked like a charm and I love being able to put them in their room for naps and not have to remind them 10 times that it is time to go to sleep! :)  I can't believe that next year we'll have three walking around trick-or-treating!!

Fun at the Zoo

My brother decided a few weeks ago to bring his family up for the weekend.  We had so much fun just hanging out and letting the cousins play.  Luke had lots of Aunt Ashley snuggle time (which they both equally enjoyed) and the boys loved playing with Eli.  The weather was so perfect that weekend so we decided to enjoy it by going to the zoo for the morning.  What a gorgeous day to spend walking around the zoo, the animals were all out and active because it was so cool out and the boys loved seeing all the animals again.

We all enjoyed the zoo!  It was the first time that Danny, Ashley & Eli visited Riverbanks and they enjoyed it so much that we'll have to do it again in the spring!

The big boys loved seeing all the animals.  Luke slept in his car seat for most of our visit, rode in the backpack for a change of scenery and then hung out wide awake in his car seat for the rest of our time.  He was such a trooper considering he was missing his morning nap.

The three bigger cousins... too bad we couldn't get baby Luke in the picture too but this is a great picture of the big boys with their cousin, Eli.

Feeding the animals was probably the favorite for both boys.  Chase figured out all on his own to grab some hay and feed the goats through the fence and Jacob fed the llama food that had been dropped on the ground.  Jacob laughed so hard every time... too bad I didn't have our video camera.  They also enjoyed feeding the giraffe.

On the way back to the car with Aunt Ashley after lots of zoo fun!

Our zoo trip was so much fun and it made it that much more fun that we had Uncle Dan, Aunt Ashley and cousin Eli to share it with!  The boys love spending time with their aunts and uncles.  Thanks Danny & Ashley for bringing Eli up for a visit and loving our boys so much!  We had a blast and can't wait for the next time we can spend a weekend just hanging out and having fun. :)

Welcome, Fall!

Fall and spring are my two very favorite seasons of the year... I love winter because of the holidays but the weather is so perfect during fall and spring, especially for the boys.  I love that they can go out back and play until their little hearts are content and they don't come in drenched in sweat.  I also love being able to open up the house and have the fresh air coming in.  Our days lately have been spent out back playing on their swing set, playing in the sandbox and sitting at their picnic table playing with their favorite, play doh. 

 They are definitely the happiest outside!  Makes my job so much easier these days when they can get out, run off their energy ... and honestly, some days they seem to get along so much better when they are outside.  Here is what else we've been up to:

Boys watching Tiger football... to say they're not having a good season is an understatement but we'll still wear our Tiger gear and cheer them on keep our fingers crossed that somehow we'll pull out a win :)

Chase is still absolutely loving being a big brother and wants to help out with Luke as much as he can.  He wants to change diapers (key word, wants), loves to talk to him and hold him and is on top of the world when Luke smiles at him.

This little man is growing like a weed!  He has changed so much over the last few weeks.  He loves to talk to you with his eyes, makes the cutest expressions and is on the verge of talking and laughing.  He smiles at anything and everything and loves watching the mobile on the swing.  He melts my heart daily!

Jacob continues to do pretty much everything his brother does.  He is learning his letters right along side his brother, he loves to read books and learns all of Chase's Cubbies verses each week.  He will be doubly prepared next year when he is old enough to start Awanas :)

We went for a great stretch of time (really Luke's first 10 weeks of life) without one person in this house being sick.  Since then, Chase has been sick twice.  This was the first sickness of the season and it wiped him out!!  It ended up just being a 24 hour fever bug but his fever was super high for those 24 hours and he was miserable!  Hoping we don't have a winter of sickness after sickness but knowing how our winters have been the last two years I'm not getting my hopes up too high!

Because of something pretty scary that happened in our neighborhood (right next door to be exact) a few weeks ago, Sam has moved up in the world in our house.  She was spending a lot of time outside or in the garage because all the dog hair was driving me crazy but now she is back inside full time.  The boys could not be happier!!!  I guess I will just have to get used to vacuuming twice a day ;)

Luke has the biggest grins these days but what makes us laugh so hard each time is that he loves to stick his tongue out, especially while he gives us his biggest grins.  One day soon I will have to get his smiles on video because he is obsessed with his tongue and it's so adorable!!

And finally, Chase is really into drawing and writing his letters lately.  Here he drew a picture of an elephant and if you look closely you can see the elephants eyes, ears, trunk and legs.  Pretty good for a 3 year old, don't you think?

So, that's how we've been spending our fall season so far... although now it has gotten so cold that it feels like winter!  Hoping for a few more weeks of beautiful fall weather before it turns cold for good... but also so ready to decorate for Christmas.  I'm going to have to have a lot of self control over the next two weeks because I'm so ready to start playing Christmas music!  I would start playing it today but I think that might be a little too early... I guess I'll try to wait until our drive back home after Thanksgiving (or maybe the drive down)! :)

The Way He Sleeps

I love the poses I have found Luke in during his sleep.  There are times where he is covering his ears (must have been too much noise), there are times when he has buried his face (these times I quickly snap a picture and then turn his head to make sure he's getting enough oxygen)... he often puts his tiny little bum up in the air and all of these times he's just beyond adorable!!  I love sleeping babies!!

But this post is mainly for Amber... she noticed very early on that every time she saw Luke sleeping he was always sleeping with his arms straight down by his side.  I hadn't really noticed up to that point but since that day I have caught him SO many times sleeping with his arms by his side.  In fact, the other day he was drowsy so I laid him down on his tummy and watched him for about 5 minutes while he wiggled and squirmed.  He would not be still and settle down until both of his arms were down by his side.  He still sometimes sleeps with his hands up by his face but I've noticed he loves sleeping with his arms down by his sides or tucked under him.

I love all the ways this child sleeps!  He is so peaceful and is such an amazing sleeper... some days I feel like all he does is sleep in his bed and I never see him.  But I'm thankful that he sleeps through his brother's noise and I pray that continues!!  He knows what he likes and most of the times it's on his tummy with his arms down by his sides! :)