Love my boy!!

I had to journal dropping Thomas off to school today. He woke up pretty happy and ready to start the day. I love talking with the kids in the car for our 7 minute car ride to school. Thomas was telling me how he wasn't going to be sad at school and we talked about how much fun he was going to have. I dropped them off and he gave me a big kiss and hug and just as he was about to shut the door, he said,"Bye Mom, I won't let you down." I definitely got a god chuckle in because he was so cute in how he said it, but it also made me want to smother him with hugs and make sure he knew we are always proud of him. He is so cute. I am not sure where he got that but I told him he couldn't possibly let me down. He is a brave boy and doing great in school. It only took a week. He is all boy but he has a heart of gold. He always seems to want to do whats right. Yesterday he came up to me with kinda a sad look and told me he said a bad word. He told me he said, "that game is stupid." I told him it isn't a bad word, it's just not a word that is nice that we would call someone. I just happen to not like the word so he thinks it's a bad word. I am happy he will come up to me and tell me though. Communication and trust with my children is something I will always try to cultivate. I hope it continues! Love that boy so much!

I also need to give a shout out to Sonic for supplying me with bags of super yummy pellet ice. I get a huge bag for only $1.99. I have the severe ice craving again this pregnancy. I think it might be worse than it was with my pregnancy with Brynnley. I love it plain, but it also tastes so good with some root beer. Anyways, Eric is cute and tries to make sure I am stocked up at all times with my ice. We go through the Drive through often and only order bags of ice! Today a big cup of it made my day as my day was packed with a to do list of errands with my Brynn!!!

It's funny because now Thomas and Brynnley are always asking for ice. I even got my Mom hooked when she was here!

Where to start??

I think I will start with the last couple of weeks....that seems a little less time consuming.

I will catch up on all the fun adventures of the last few months I haven't posted about later.

We are officially in our home and have come very far in organizing all that we can until the basement is finished. Thanks to movers, Grandparents, myself, and hubby. For the first week until school started, we had kids running in and out of the house most of the day. The kids are pretty excited to have other kids their ages in the neighborhood. As soon as we pulled in, they were on the lookout. It took about 10 minutes and it seemed they had found best friends. We love our home and area. I love seeing only the beautiful bluffs(that I will be hiking someday)from the backyard. I love neighbors, but to the side is nice:) Ours are all to the side. From the back there isn't a house in sight. It's a breath of fresh air. Can't wait to have some open campfire, marshmallow roasting kind of nights in the back yard this fall.

I found some way cool super cheap turquoise lockers that our friend and clever painter is going to help me refurbish. I will be waiting a few months for that project. I mean I love a good project, but I know my limits!!

I got all hooked up with super nice OB staff. Only 8 weeks left! Ahhhh! Although my ribs and organs will welcome that gladly. We can't wait to meet our little guy!

We are loving the small town feel already(although my older sis. laughs when I call this a small town....she calls it a city). The people are beyond friendly and welcoming.

We have already explored some of our neighbor towns and found a pretty good local pizza joint. We have heard a lot about things 1 to 2 hours away that we can do as a weekend getaway together so we are looking forward to more exploring! Mount Rushmore being at the top of the list! Any visitor are welcome! Hint hint!!

We LOVE being so much closer to family and have already been to Denver and had family come up to help us unpack. Life savers!! Grammy and Grandpa came first and then Grandma James came soon after. She has been my partner in crime this week in trying to help this tired prego lady pick out everything for the basement.

Oh yeah, we move in and start finishing the basement. Why not? I laugh at chaos in the face. Okay I will admit I am an organizer and am going a bit crazy. Can't wait to have it done so the kids have lot's of space to play and run around and I can organize our food storage, playroom, and all the other stuff still in boxes in the garage ready to find a home.

Kids started school a week ago and have amazing teachers. I am excited for them and know they are going to have a great year. Avery makes a new friend everyday and LOVES everything about school. She tells me she does gymnastics with her friends everyday at recess. Thomas on the other hand is adjusting to all day school and misses home a lot. On the second day of school I asked him what the best part of his day was and he said, "coming home." On day three it was having root beer floats. As of today he is liking it more and more and getting a bit more use to the long day without Mom and Brynn. He also told me the first week that he wanted to stay home and help me clean all day. I am glad he is liking it more and more. I do miss them, but know school is the best thing for them. Mom can only do so much. I give props to Moms who home school their kids. I just wouldn't have the patience. I am grateful for awesome teachers who devote their day to loving and teaching our children. I amazed at how my kids come home and still have enough energy to play outside and run around. I thought Thomas would crash everyday. Anyways, I will post more with pictures of my cute Kindergartener and first grader later.

This weekend I went to my first high school football game in oh let's say 15 years. Eric will be on the side lines and sitting with us in the stand from time to time on Friday nights as the sports doc and we get to tag along. Grandma was with us this week and watched the kids so Eric and I went out to eat and then went to the game. I actually really enjoyed it. The crowd goes crazy(football and basketball are a big deal here) and the music was a pumpin. I got some popcorn and a drink and enjoyed the beautiful night of fresh air, tackles, cheering, and quite a few touch downs! Go Bear cats!!(It's funny because their logo is exactly like the one in Cincinnati and Eric kept asking people why they were wearing Cincinnati shirts when we first moved here.) Anyways, I had to laugh at the beginning of the game they had the winner of Miss America(either 2010 or 2011) announce that she was a proud graduate of the High school. They are pretty proud that Miss America graduated from this High school. I had a great time with my handsome date and also realized I am getting older as the High school kids all looked so little and young. I am not the biggest fan of football but I think we will make this our family outing some Friday nights. I had a good time. I think Thomas would eat it up too esp. being on the sideline with Dad when he's down there. Avery would come home having made 10 new friends, and Brynnley would love eating popcorn and jumping around to cheer on the team. She would probably get a big kick out of the mascot too. Now you know our plans this Friday night!

Don't they look little? Well I was sitting at the top of the bleachers.

Okay not the best picture, but we won!! I love their school pride. It made for a fun night!!

And luckily Eric only had to look at one kid who hurt his ankle before half time.

One of my best pals from Cincy motivated me to get going on my blog again!! Keep motivating me sista! I need it. I miss all my girls so much!!!

Taken before I left. I am the tree amongst the roses!! I have been so blessed to meet some of my closest friends over the years and I am sure that we will live on the same cul da sac in the next life (since most of them will not be heading west in this lifetime)!!!

Leaving my sistas was definitely the hardest part of the move! I miss you all and wish we were planning our girls night out this week! Eat some Greaters with giant chunks of chocolate for me!

Big leaf...

Thomas and Avery were playing tag with their friends outside when Thomas came running in to show me this giant leaf he had found. He was so excited about it. He even got a marker out and gave Mr. leaf a face. It was about the size of an 8x10 piece of paper. I love this kids love for life and everything around him!!

Not sure if you can tell how amazed he was by his find with that face!!

Growing and Growing....

Baby boy is almost 6 months along. I am LOVING that I can somewhat enjoy this pregnany now. The food adversions, nausea, irritability, lack of energy, etc. has gone out the window. Of course there are the aches, cramps, and nerve pinching stuff that occurs, but I am feeling great. In fact my house is super clean and organized and I just keep wanting to go through things and get rid of stuff. Yup...nesting!! Now getting through the summer with a big 'Ole belly of warmth.....we will see about that! I have only had Fall, Winter, and Spring pregnancies. As of right now AC is real nice!!!

We are so excited to have this little boy join our family. He loves to move around a lot(not sure if that's a sign of whats to come). I think he just doesn't want to be forgotten being the fourth child!!

No cravings really. In the beginning it was a hour to hour basis on what I could eat. One day I craved a pickle(first time in any pregnancy) but that lasted an hour and I wanted to never eat one again. I kinda like eating whatever I want again. I must say I have found an ice cream that I crave. It's called New England Crumberry pie. Yum! Anyways, enough about food..Here's another pic of the growing babe for memories sake! Again another side shot in the mirror. I really need to hire Eric or Avery but I never have them around when I think to update!!

I kinda blend in with the surroundings. Follow the arrow to find the growing bump! Ha!

We got some really cute photos of the kids this week that I will try and post later. Brynnley was so awesome at the photo shoot that the photographer was amazed. She actually followed direction, didn't jump around everywhere, and kept saying cheese in every photo he took. After he shot each photo she would say, "I did a cheese." Eric and I were pretty amazed too at how well she did. I had the hardest time not wanting to buy all the pictures. I typically don't look forward to taking pictures with three kids but it was pretty painless and the pictures are priceless!

Fathers Day 2012.....

The loves of Dads life(minus his loving wife of course....since we aren't celebrating couples day, I am only mentioning the little people in his life)....taken before church on Father's Day.

Avery Elise....Age 6
"I love Dad because he plays with me"



Best buds!!

Brynnley Jean....Age 2 (going on 8)
"I love Dad because he gives me treats whenever I want and spoils me rotten" (Mom helped a little bit with my quote)

I didn't get as many photos of this little lady.....always on the go!! She's so cute and LOVES her Dad. She light up and jumps to get him everyday when he gets home from work. I almost want to go to work to come home to that. I kinda enjoy watching it too though! I finally snapped a shot of her face (instead of the back of her hair) when she was begging me to take the camera so she could be the photographer.

Thomas James....Age 5 (Who is now a man!!)
"I love Dad because he is nice to me"

Thomas was soooo cute on Father's day. He wore a suit and wanted to make sure Dad did too. He was beyond proud to be dressed like Dad. This little boy looks up to his Dad so much.

Dad helping him tie his shoes.


Mini me....Oh I how I love my boys!!!

Beaming....Handsome like his Dad!

The three amigos!!! And amigos they are. Thomas's posing cracks me up in every photo!! Eveyone of them has him doing something different.

And this sweet bunch gives us the opportunity to celebrate this special day! What a lucky Dad and what lucky kids to have such an amazing father. Thomas is also posing for a Mr. Mac ad! I think he might just get the job with that face!!!

Brynn is thinking, "Alright Mom I will give you what you want and let you take a picture of me.....but just this once!"

Can you tell we had a great day! We got Dad all his favorite things, let him sleep in(best gift ever), made him a yummy dinner, and just made sure we smothered him with love!!! With these three that's pretty easy to do.

And there's a little guy who is rapidly taking up space in my belly that can't wait to meet you too! I'm sure he can't wait to get his turn to be tossed up high in the air.

All 5 of us love you to pieces Daddio! You are the best dad in the world.

Thank you Dad for playing games with us even if you come home tired. Thank you for taking us out for ice cream often, playing outside with us in the hot or cold, throwing us high up in the air, making us laugh, working so hard to provide for us, showing us you love our Mom, fixing the chains on our bikes, putting band-aids on our scrapes and comforting us when we are sad. You teach us so many things. It's the reason we ask you everyday if you have to work the next day. We just love being around you. We love you so much!

Love,
Avery, Thomas, Brynnley, and lil' bro.

Happy Birthday Thomas James(6-14-07)!!!

My sweet boy turned 5 on Thursday. We had such a great day as a family. I asked Thomas what he wanted to do and right away he told me he wanted to be with his family.

The birthday festivities began on Wednesday night. Thomas wanted to have a sleep over with his best friend Avery. The kids came up with a great idea. They just needed a little help from Mom to fully execute the great idea.

Best Buds!!!

They had so much fun. I told them they could play for a few minutes and talk and then it was time for them to go to bed. I went to check up on them 15 min. later and they were both fast asleep. So I got my partner in crime and we left our mark on the main floor.


As for the birthday cake....well I love to be creative and make my kids birthday cakes for their birthday with their requests. This year(even with half of my stuff packed up) I had it all figured out. Thomas wanted an airplane cake. Thomas doesn't love cake, so I was going to make a fudge chocolate cake with oreo ice cream etc. I was ready for the task. We headed out to pick up supplies/food and at one of the stores, Thomas ran into a bubble gum cake. He was so excited about this cake and that's all that mattered to me. My ideas washed away a lot quicker than they appeared and I was glad that I now had extra time to play with the kids instead of creating his cake. So that is how the bubble gum cake came to celebrate the big occasion with us. I added candles and a number "5" sparkler. You can see that Thomas wasn't expecting fireworks on his cake when I lite everything up.

Love his face!!! It was pretty awesome and boy did it light up his cake! I was hoping it wouldn;t light up the table as well. Here's is a better look at the infamous dreamy bubblicious cake........

When the sparkler went out, he felt much more comfortable blowing out the 5 candles awaiting him. Shock still hadn't worn off though.....

Really in that picture his eyes were saying let's do a little less picture taking and a lot more gum chewing! The whole reason he wanted the cake in the first place! He did like the cake, but he was all about the gum!

Dad got off work early so the party started pretty early. We went to Target to spend his birthday money from Grammy and Grandpa(the kids so look forward to this). Our tradition is to let the birthday child pick whoever they want to take them out for a special outing. Typically Avery wants me to take her and Thomas wants Eric. This year Thomas wanted the whole family to go. We had a good time as he searched for the perfect present to take home and love. His Dad was proud and excited he chose a lego air shuttle for he and Dad to build together that evening.

We also went to the restaurant of his choice as a family. The infamous Red Robin. They sang Happy Birthday and gave him his own ice cream sundae. You can't have enough sugar on your birthday! Here are a picture from the phone camera since I left the other one home.

I wonder if I have a picture of Thomas not making a face?? We will have fun looking back on these someday!

After dinner, we went home to open up his birthday presents. The moment he had been waiting for.

It was a pretty awesome day! We all had so much fun celebrating this awesome little man! We always love being together as a family so I was glad Thomas wanted to do everything together.

I love you Thomas James so much! You are the best kind of boy and have a heart of gold. You are such a joy to have in our home and hold a BIG key to my heart.

There are so many things I love about you Thomas. I love that little mind of yours that doesn't seem to stop thinking. You love to learn. You want to know about everything. You making me laugh all the time. I love your facial expressions. I love how much you love your sisters. You will stick up for them any day. I also love your excitement and desire to have a little brother. I know you will be the best example and you love him to pieces already! I love your sense of adventure. I love your creativity and imagination. I love your laugh. You ability to make friends. You are very athletic and active. It will be fun to see what your interests are in the future. You are almost always up for trying out new things. I love how you look up to your Dad. He could do no wrong in your eyes and you love to tell him all about your day when he comes in the door from work. You are compassionate to those in need. The other day out of the blue, you wanted to buy Grandpa a card cause you thought it would make him feel better.

I could go on and on for a long time as there are so many things I cherish about you. You truly make our home so much fun. I am not sure what your sisters would do without you. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with a choice son like you. I love love love you!!!

Just one of the many questions Thomas asked Dad the other day when they ran an errand together.

Thomas: "Dad do you have a girlfriend"
Dad: "Yes son, your Mom is my girlfriend forever"
Thomas: "Oh, so Mom's your BFF?"

I catch him all the time saying to Avery, "we are best friends forever." Apparently he even knows what "BFF" stands for.

Happy 5th birthday to the strongest, fastest, funnest, most lovable 5 year old in the world!!! We love you buddy!!

Potty time.......or NOT!?!?

Brynnley tells me all the time that she wants to go to the potty. Eric was home all morning so he took it upon himself to take on her request. She sat there with Avery for quite some time. They had a great time together and Avery was her positive cheerleader telling her to go to the bathroom. In the end it was super cute to see the sisters interact and laugh together but no "deed" was done. Hence why I am just not quite ready to tackle potty training just yet. Maybe before baby come though. I think with her sister there to entertain her when the time comes it could possibly come sooner than I expected. As I have said before though, I think this is a case of wanting to do everything her siblings do. She is definitely a natural on the potty though. Ha! No inserts or training potties necessary!

These two are the cutest! They love each other so much. I think there was too big of a gap to enjoy times like these with my sisters when we were younger(not the hanging out by the toilet thing, but just hanging out) we are all super close now though. I am glad I can capture these sweet moments now just in case these two forget when they become teenagers!



I must say I am LOVING having the kids home with a schedule of our own. They get to play together for hours without having to pause to take Thomas to school. I am grateful they can all get along and play so well. Don't get me wrong, they do have their moments as all kids do, but for the most part they just love having each other to play with. I may be a pregnant nut case if it weren't so! Patience can be slim some days!! And who doesn't love a slower morning on occasion.

Besides our big trip west this summer, we have loved seeing our friends, going to the park, playing with the neighborhood kids, eating lunch outside, doing errands, cleaning(kids are learning the summer work before play rules), and they play a lot together so I can slowly prepare for all the upcoming events soon to come. We also plan on doing some summer movies and exploring some new things with friends too. Oh and here's to black dirty feet and hands! Gone are the every other day showers. The kids live outside and it shows at the end of the day.........Ahhhh summer! I love it.

It may not be potty time just yet around here, but we are excited to have party time tomorrow!!!

Big T is going to be 5. He is so excited. We will be having lot's of family fun tomorrow to celebrate the sweetest 5 year old boy I know! More on my awesome little birthday man soon!