First T-Ball Season

Chase had a great first season playing t-ball.  He seemed to really enjoy it, he learned a lot and was so proud to be playing a "real" baseball game!  This season he got really, really good at hitting the baseball (both off of the tee as well as when the ball was pitched to him), he learned the correct way to throw the ball, he learned how to field the ball, he learned about running the bases and he learned about what it means to be a part of a team.  He grew so much as a ball player this season and I can't wait for the many, many more seasons to come of watching him play ball!!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this season...

I put together a video of some of the clips I took this season as well as a few of my favorite pictures.  When Chase watched this video this morning the biggest smile was on his face.  He can't wait for his next baseball season!

Bubble Bath Fun

These boys have so much fun together and I can't wait until Luke can join in on the fun too!  The big boys experience so much together and truly are the best playmates.  Having them so close in age definitely has it's challenges but it also has so many positives.  The big boys love having bubble baths so a few weeks ago when they were having fun with all the bubbles I decided to snap a few pictures of the fun!

The boys are so close and it makes my heart so happy to watch them experience life together.  I hope they will always be there to support and encourage one another!!

Fourth of July, 2011

What a fun July 4th we had this year!!  We met up at Sandhills with a bunch of our great friends from our Sunday School class and everyone had such a great time.  The boys had so many friends to play with and the adults enjoyed the time together.  We all brought some fun snacks to share with each other and the kids... the favorite treat that night was what the Beam family brought, Popsicles!  I think Caroline, Chase & Jacob were the only kids to enjoy them that night before it started raining but at least they were able to enjoy them that night! 

The Morris family brought super fun sparklers that were enjoyed by the kids... the big kids (Trey & Chase) especially!  It took a second for Chase to get used to them... the first one scared him a little because he thought he was going to get burned but once he realized he would be fine he loved them!

Luke sat in his stroller most of the evening... he was super content as long as he had puffs to eat and Ginga (a.k.a Grandma) near by! :)

The big kids enjoyed running around and playing football together.  You can tell by their rosy cheeks how hard they all played!  Sweet Halle hung out on the blanket for most of the time, Katie was passed around and loved smiling at everyone, Lucy was still pretty cozy in her mama's belly and Avery spent the evening practicing her walking skills.

A little while after being at Sandhills a storm rolled in and out of nowhere it poured on us!  We all scrambled to our cars and sat it out for a little while about an hour.  As soon as we thought it was never going to stop raining it cleared up and we all reconvened in front of our cars.  Thank goodness the Ross' thought ahead and brought Wes' truck because it came in very useful to put all the kids in.  They all piled into the back of his truck and watched the show from there!

I love all of these sweet faces and loved seeing them all experience the fireworks show!  Can't wait to do this again next year!!!

Pool & Beach Trips

We made two trips to Hilton Head this summer and both visits we enjoyed lots of pool time and a few trips to the beach.  It was Luke's first time swimming in the pool and he loved it!  The first time down to HHI the pool was still a little chilly but by the time we were there the end of July it was nice and warm!  I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of Luke experiencing the pool for the first time... very bummed about that but take my word for it, he LOVED it!!  He splashed and would laugh and loved "sitting" on the steps like a big boy!  The big boys also loved every second of the pool time... they both have gotten so good at swimming with just swimmies and it's kind of nice to be able to let them go in and swim without having to hang on an adult!!  We took Chase's swimmies off a few times in July and he actually got the hang of swimming on his own... although he hated every second of it because the confidence isn't quite there yet! 

This summer was the first time Jacob felt comfortable enough to jump into the pool all by himself.  He would jump, go under water and come back up!  He was so proud of himself and once he did it a few times there was no stopping him.  I love how tight he closes his eyes even before jumping!!

This summer was also Luke's first time to the beach... I was not sure how he was going to react to the waves and to the feel of the sand but he loved it!!  He would sit in the shallow water and loved the feeling of the waves coming in and water going back out. 

He loved feeling the sand in between his fingers and toes.  I was surprised that he didn't try to eat the sand more than he did.... we really only had one time and he hated it!!  He cried and cried because he did not like the sand in his mouth (thank goodness!). :)

A few times he even got brave enough to crawl away from me and head in his own direction!  One time he had a few bikers stop just to watch this tiny little thing crawling in the middle of the beach, as happy and carefree as he could be!

The big boys loved the beach, like always!  They are getting braver and braver about the waves and wanting to out deep with Daddy.  Jacob loved chasing the waves and letting the waves chase him!  They both also really enjoyed all the room to dig and just be boys!

Beach trips are hard... the time it takes to get everything together, the sunscreen, the drive, the cleaning up and changing at the showers, dragging all the gear back to the car... getting home right at lunch time... but with as hard as it is we always love our trips to the beach and we have so much fun!!

One year ago today....

One year ago today I was waking up as a  mom of two sweet boys.  One year ago today I kissed my two boys on their foreheads before walking out the door to go to the hospital to have our third baby.  One year ago today we welcomed the sweetest little guy into our family.  One year ago today the Lord blessed us with another miracle!!!

I cannot believe that it has already been an entire year!  I loved my pregnancy with Luke... it was so easy, except for the pain of my pelvis being out of whack!  He was so little and I knew he wasn't going to weigh as much as my other two.  I was nervous but so ready to see him and hear him cry!  And what joy I had the moment he was born... you would think by the third time it wouldn't affect me as much but third child or not, third boy or not, hearing their first cry and seeing them for the very first time is one of my favorite things!!  What a sweet little cry he had too!

Seeing the big boys with him was amazing.  They both were so good with him from the start... especially Chase!  They always wanted to be near him and talk to him.  I think one of the memories I never want to forget is Charles telling me about Chase in his bedroom by himself one afternoon when Luke as in the NICU.  Charles walked back there to see what he was doing and as he got close to his door he overheard him talking... talking to Jesus.  He was thanking Jesus for his baby and asking Jesus to make him better.  That still brings tears to my eyes and so much joy to my heart!  We were so grateful that the Lord healed him as quickly as He did and that we were all able to come home and be a family of five!!

Luke is a pretty typical third child.... from early on he has had to just go with the flow.  Some days he had no morning nap, some days his naps were cut short... and he just goes with it.  He is definitely laid back and as long as he is fed he is good to go!  He has a lot of Chase's personality... he gets his feelings hurt easily and has gone through some separation anxiety/mommy attachment.  Although he did not go through it as bad or for as long as Chase did he definitely had more than Jacob.  His smile lights up my days and his laugh is so contagious!

I'm so thankful for this precious little boy... I cannot imagine our lives without him!  We pray for him daily... we pray for his heart to be tender and we pray for the day he will accept Jesus as his Savior.  We pray for his future, for his health and for his happiness!  We pray for ourselves as parents to these three boys... we pray that we would never stop seeking the Lord throughout this journey called parenthood and that He would never stop guiding us.  We would fail miserably without His help.  We are so blessed.
 

So, happy first birthday, Luke Thomas!  You make this family more complete and you are always so much fun.  We are so excited to see what this next year will bring!!  We love you so much!!