Chase is 5!!!

Five... when I stop and think about it, I cannot for the life of me figure out how five whole years have passed since we had our first son.  Five seems so grown up to me... two and three still seem like toddlers to me, four is preschool but five... five is a big kid!  I can't believe I have a big kid. 

Five years ago I had finally had my baby and I was loving every second of looking at his sweet face and snuggling him.  I had dreams about being a mommy since I was a little girl and I finally was a mom.  I loved him so much immediately and what a great baby he was.  I love looking at the pictures from that morning when my parents, Charles' parents and his sister got to see Chase for the first time.  I love my mother-in-law's expression... you can see the love in her eyes and can almost feel her excitement simply by just looking at the picture.  I loved every minute of him being a newborn and enjoyed every stage he has gone through since... minus the behavior stages that he (and every child) go through!

He really was an easy baby.  Once we got over how much pain he put me in every time I fed him, he was a pro at eating, a pro at sleeping and was just so content.  He started sleeping through the night for us very early, which I was very appreciative of.  Just getting a full night's sleep, without interruption, made me feel so human again!

The next pictures from his first to his second birthday are really interesting to me.  Chase was only six months old when we found out we were expecting again and what a shock.  I cried when the test turned positive almost immediately... I cried, not because I was sad I was having another baby, I cried because I was sad at how quickly Chase would have to grow up.  I was a little sad about the fact that he wouldn't be my baby for as long as I would have liked.. but He had bigger plans and now I wouldn't change them for anything!!  At the time, I felt like Chase was so grown up when Jacob was born.  I knew I basically had two babies but it didn't feel that way.  Looking at pictures though I'm shocked at how young Chase really was when Jacob was born.  I can't get over that I had two that close in age but it never really felt overwhelming at all... and I attribute all of that to the Lord.  He knew what He was doing and He didn't give us more than we could handle!

The next few years Chase loved his role as big brother.  He took care of Jacob, he taught him how to play with their toys and they were best friends.  It wasn't until Luke was born though that I saw just how much he loves to nurture and care for little ones.  I saw so much of myself in Chase when Luke came along... he loved his baby so much and you could see it in his eyes and see it in the way he touched Luke so gently. 

Chase is so grown up now... he is so responsible and really seems to want to listen and do right.  We have our moments, just like everyone, but I have seen so much change in him in just the last two months.  He is so caring and loving, sensitive, smart and eager to learn, loves going to church and Cubbies and is learning more and more with each year about God's word and how much He loves him.  He has such a sweet personality and I love seeing him grow more and more each day!

This day of celebrating our oldest has been so special.  We celebrated with family at Chuck E Cheese on Saturday (post coming next) so today was really relaxed.  I made him a special breakfast, Charles took him out to lunch just the two of them and then we had two of his best buddies and his cousin, Emma, over for a small birthday get together.  He has been looking forward to this for weeks!!  And what fun they have had... they played outside, ate pizza, cupcakes & ice cream, watched Cars 2 and had some popcorn.  Thankful for such great little buddies for him.  I will post about his birthday soon! 

Chase, 

Mommy and Daddy love you more than we could ever express.  You will understand it one day when you are a daddy and what an amazing daddy you will make... you have a great example to follow!  Keep being your sweet self, continue to ask Jesus to help you be the example that you need to be. We have been so proud of you this year as you've started preschool and done so amazing.  You're learning so much and we know that next year, when you start kindergarten, you are going to do so great.  Thank you for being such an amazing big brother to Jacob and to Luke.  What a blessing you are to us and we can't imagine what our lives would be like without you.  We love you so much!!

Going to See Santa

Tonight we took off for a fun family evening at Sandhills and what an amazing night we had.  Despite Luke not napping today at all, the big boys being very tired after a full week, we all hung in there and really enjoyed our night.  We started out by going to visit Santa.  We just haven't had a chance to go before today so we figured we'd take advantage of the nice weather and get out.  Walking in to see Santa I was thinking that Luke was not going to be a fan... he is not a fan these days of strangers.  He is very funny about people he doesn't know getting in his personal space.  Boy was I wrong!!  He walked around the room while the big boys were waiting in line and he was waving to Santa's helper as well as Santa.  Most of the time they weren't paying him any attention but he was still waving for all he was worth.  Once the big boys got up to the front of the line Luke walked up there and watched as each of them climbed up on his lap and talked to him.  Once it was Luke's turn he was completely fine sitting with a strange man in a red suit and a long white beard.  He stared at him for a few minutes and then started waving and giving Santa high fives.  When it was time to be done Luke didn't want to get down... he was quite comfortable on the old man's lap. :)

Once we were done visiting Santa we went and ate dinner and then the boys enjoyed some ice cream from Marble Slab.  They all, all four of them, enjoyed their after dinner treat! :)

And just for the fun of it, I put the boys in their Christmas Sunday outfits last week for church.  I figured since I went with the brown and red scheme that these outfits will get a lot of use.  I love it when we're all ready for church early and have enough time to snap a few pictures!

I can't believe that Christmas is just a short 9 (almost 8 now) days away.  I have a lot to do before that day and I am hoping to get a lot done this week with Charles home from work.

Thanksgiving 2011

The day before the kids got out for Thanksgiving Chase's school had a Thanksgiving feast that I went to help out with.  The kids were so cute dressed up like Indians and they all enjoyed their feast.  Chase was so proud to have me at his school.

This year for Thanksgiving we went down to Hilton Head to enjoy a few relaxing days with my family.  I was really looking forward to the break... our weeks and weekends have been so full of things that it was so nice to think about a few days of sitting around, not having to go anywhere and no running back and forth to school.  I know I said this a few months ago, but school really changes our daily routine.... and he's only in preschool.  I can't imagine what next year will be like when I will be dropping one off for kindergarten and one off for preschool.  I am kind of looking forward to when the two oldest are in the same school and on the same schedule.  I know I will feel this way even more this time next year!!  But at the same time, I definitely don't want to rush the next year and a half because it's a little sad to think about both of the big boys being in full day school.  Anyways, the idea of a break was much needed and anticipated!!

We left for Hilton Head on Tuesday after school.  We took our time getting down there, stopping half way for dinner.  We set up our portable dvd players... we put one facing the back where both of the big boys could see it and the other turned around so Luke could also watch.  They did so great on the drive down and thankfully the traffic was not as bad as I was thinking it was going to be.  We spent the next three days enjoying time with my parents, grandparents and my brother and his family.  I worked out a little, worked a little taking my sister-in-law's maternity pictures and spent a lot of time in the kitchen.  The time in the kitchen with my grandma, mom and sister-in-law was so much fun and I wouldn't trade that time for anything!!  The boys also had such a great time together.  This was really the first time that Eli played with my boys... he and Jacob were inseparable... I think those two are going to be best buddies every time we get together!

On Friday we ventured out to the outlets but only to go in one store for a few things I needed.  It was crowded and I wouldn't have wanted to spend any more time out there than we did.  I'm looking forward to going back when I'm down in January and spending a little more time browsing! :)

I was so thankful that my grandparents decided to come up.  They stayed home last year and it just wasn't the same without them.  I was having a really hard time thinking of being without them for a second year in a row and I was so happy when they called to tell me they had decided to come up.  Our time with them is always so special and I am so thankful for the health that the Lord has given them and allowed them to be this involved in my kid's lives.  They were always so involved in our lives growing up and now both sets of parents are really involved in our kid's lives.  I love seeing how much our kids look forward to being around GG & Goomba, Nana & Pop-Pop and Ginga & Jupe.  Moments captured like the ones below just melt my heart!!

 It was a great break but on Saturday it was time to get home.  We wanted to beat the traffic so we got up Saturday morning, had breakfast and drove home.  It was nice to have Saturday to get unpacked, get ready for church and get back in the swing of things before the new week started.

My Boys at the Farm

Wow am I behind!!  Here's to hoping to get caught up on the blog today so we can get to all of the Santa/birthday/Christmas fun! :)

Last month we took the boys out to the old Muller Farm in Blythewood.  I needed to go out to scope it out for a session I was doing the next day and it seemed like the perfect time to get some pictures of my boys.  Being a photographer, you'd think I would have TONS and TONS of pictures of my own kids but sadly enough that is not the case.  I'm so busy these days taking pictures for everyone else that sometimes I forget to get pictures of my own boys.  The farm was such a great location for their pictures and they listened so well.  I was amazed at how great the pictures turned out of them.  All three are growing up so much and way too fast!!!

Trick-or-Treating 2011

We had so much fun going trick-or-treating this year.  For some reason, it was so much easier than it has been the last two years.  I'm not sure if it was easier because the big boys have grown up so much or if it was because Luke rode in the stroller and we weren't having to fight with a little one wanting to get down and walk.  Whatever the reason, it was really enjoyable this year.  We gave the big boys really small buckets thinking we wouldn't accumulate that much candy but even with the small buckets we still somehow ended up with tons of candy!  Most of you know how hard I am working on watching what I eat and going to the gym and I'm very proud of myself that I have left all of the candy alone!  I've been letting the boys pick a treat after dinner if we've had a great day and if they ate their dinner so I'm hoping soon it will all be out of the house! :)

I was determined this year to not buy Halloween costumes.  As I thought about it more and more it seemed ridiculous to me to go buy something for each of them for them to only wear it once.  So... once again (for the third year running) we recycled the fireman costume.  This year Jacob wore it.  Chase wore his Clemson Tigers football gear that he got for his birthday last year and Luke wore the lion costume that Chase wore on his first Halloween (Oct. 2007) and Jacob also wore it for his first Halloween (Oct. 2008).  It worked, it was easy, all were happy and it saved us a little bit of money.

The boys were so excited to go trick-or-treating.  We held them off until 6:30 and then went out.  We always trick-or-treat at Ginga & Jupe's house first so that is what we did.

Then we all piled into the car (including Ginga) and went to the neighborhood just down the road from Ginga's house.  It is so special to be able to do these kinds of special things with Ginga & Jupe every year and the boys really look forward to it!  Trick-or-treating would not be the same without Ginga with us! :)

The big boys did such a great job this year of walking and taking turns ringing the doorbell.  We didn't even have to remind them who's turn it was... they remembered from house to house who rang the door bell last and they were so polite with each other.  Maybe that is why this year seemed so much easier... there was no running to beat each other to the door in order to be the one to ring it.  They walked together, took turns and it was so nice to not have to remind them every house we went to!!

It was so cute to see them standing side by side waiting patiently at each house.  I'm so thankful the Lord gave them brothers to do these kinds of things with!!

And this is what Luke did that night... he didn't know what he was missing out on and I was completely fine with that! :)

 It was a fun night trick-or-treating... we went to about 10 or so houses and that was plenty!!  Chase saw the tiger paw pumpkin and of course we had to get the Clemson football player's picture by the tiger paw! :)

For five nights straight after Halloween Jacob woke up in the middle of the night terrified.  He would either cry out for us or he would get up in Chase's bed he was so scared.  After the fifth straight night of waking up I was able to talk to him the next morning and finally get to the bottom of what was scaring him....

... in Jacob's mind this was not a black cat but rather a big, black, scary dragon.  While walking past it Chase wanted to go see it but Jacob stayed back, holding Ginga's hand very tight!  Well, he kept having nightmares about that dragon and waking up thinking the dragon was in his room.  Poor guy!!  Who would have thought a big, black, scary looking cat would do that to a child?!?!  (note the sarcasm!)  But Daddy to the rescue... he took Jacob on a "dragon hunt" that evening and problem fixed, thank goodness.. until the next time he sees a big blow up cat! :)

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Every October we take a Saturday morning and head to the pumpkin patch (a.k.a. Harmons Tree Farm) with family.  Last year we skipped out on going since Luke was so tiny so it felt good to go back this year.  We are normally one of the first ones there when they open... we have to get an early start in order to be home for football and afternoon naps.  The big boys really enjoyed playing on the playground (with the exception of Jacob falling off the ladder and hitting his head), we all enjoyed the hayride and even though we didn't buy a pumpkin we all still had fun picking out the perfect one!  There are rumors of Harmons closing at the end of the year and we're hoping that whoever ends up buying the farm will keep it up and running because it is definitely a fun place to visit!

Having three boys is a lot of fun, a lot of work, but I wouldn't trade it for anything... but the hardest job sometimes is just getting them all to look and smile at once! :)

Aunt Anna and Uncle Jake joined us as well as Aunt Brook, Emma & Ben.  We were even able to convince Jupe (Charles' Dad) to join us this year!!

 The kids riding the hayride with Ginga & Jupe.  It's a rare thing to get a picture of them with all of their grandkids so we took advantage of our trip to the pumpkin patch! :)

It was a fun visit to the pumpkin patch and we're all hoping they will still be open and running as usual next year!

14 Months and then some

Luke turned 14 months old on the 17th this month and it is hard to believe that this was the age Chase was when Jacob was born!!!  Not quite sure how I managed to survive that period of time but I did and I wouldn't change it for anything.  This stage that Luke is in is SO much fun... he has learned that what he does will get a reaction, most of the time it's to get someone to laugh or smile.  Everywhere we go people are always talking about how laid back he is and how he just doesn't care about much.   That is mostly true... just don't try to take his sippy cup away from him before he's done! :) 

He's a third child so he doesn't have much of a choice whether or not to be laid back... he definitely goes with the flow and is so much fun.  He can be so silly and is such a little love.  He blows kisses, signs (thank you, please and we're working on more) and waves bye.  All of these things he usually does with his tongue sticking out... it is just kind of his thing! :)  He loves to snuggle, is a huge fan of his paci and lovey and goes to bed like he hasn't slept in days.  If every baby were like him, I think I could have four more! ;) (just kidding!)  But seriously, he always has a smile on his face!!

He has had some great playtime with a few friends lately... he was even there to offer one of his favorite little friends some support as she had her one year photo shoot! :)

And we're teaching him early, just like the other boys, to love Clemson.  This season Clemson has made it rather easy to "like" them but we're teaching him win or lose, Clemson is our team! :)

That's about it for his 14 month post.... he finally broke a few more teeth so instead of only having four teeth (two bottom and two top) he now has four on the top.  I'm sure the two on the bottom will be breaking through any day now.  And I will soon get a video of little man walking!  He's figuring out that being vertical means being bigger! :)

Catching Up - September

Wow!!  I cannot believe how quickly these last few weeks have been flying by.... I cannot believe that Luke is already 14 months old, that Chase has been in school for 6 weeks and that we are so quickly approaching the holiday season.   This is going to be a major catch up post because it would take me forever to do multiple posts and honestly, we haven't been up to too many exciting things lately... other than school, church and our normal routine!

To catch up on the boys.... Chase is doing great in school and we are so proud of him!  He loves it and is learning so much.  I am so thankful for such a wonderful preschool for him and he has great teachers!!  I'm hoping maybe Jacob can get in their class next year :)

Jacob has figured out how to be content and play by himself while Chase is at school.  It was an adjustment but I also find fun things for us to do several mornings a week... meeting friends at the zoo, playing at the park, running errands.  He loves being my biggest helper while Chase is gone and it makes him feel special!  He has learned very quickly that when Chase is gone it is his turn to play with anything he wants without his big brother bothering him.  He has really enjoyed playing with Chase's Alfie! :)

Luke is doing great!!  He is in the process of trying to decide whether or not he wants to drop his morning nap.  Some mornings he makes it very clear (by fussing) that he is not interested at all in sleeping during his morning nap and other days he goes right to sleep.  At this point I will keep offering him the opportunity to sleep and won't stress if he doesn't.  He always takes a great afternoon nap, which to me is more important anyways!  He has been walking some the past few weeks but prefers to drop to his knees and crawl if he wants to get somewhere quickly.  With him being our third and our baby, I am definitely not rushing any of these stages because I know how quickly it goes!! 

He LOVES being outside... he loves crawling and walking in the grass, he loves smelling the flowers and he loves throwing balls with his brothers and daddy!  This next picture is Luke getting ready to "smell" the flowers.  Anytime he does anything (signs thank you, blows kisses, etc.) he sticks that tongue out!!  He always has and it's so cute!!

 He seriously is the happiest when he is outside.  When I am gone and he is fussy all Charles has to do is take him out back and things are all better... it was that way with Chase, with Jacob and it's no different with Luke!

Luke got an adorable new outfit from Aunt Sarah & Uncle Matt for his birthday and he has gotten so much use out of it already!!  It is my favorite thing for him right now, especially for church!!

Well, that catches us up from September.  By doing this post one thing became very obvious to me... I take the majority of my pictures in the mornings when Chase is at school and I have gotten very, very few pictures of Chase.  I guess I really need to work on that!! :) 

Hopefully soon I can catch up the beginning of October so I can post about our fun trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend.