Thinking clearly!

I took the boys to the library this afternoon and as we were leaving the parking lot I started thinking about dinner ideas. We hadn't gone to the grocery store this weekend, so it was going to have to be a dinner out, which was just fine with me! I asked the boys what they wanted for dinner and Jackson responds, "Ice cream!" Not wanting to be left out, Joshua also shouts, "Ice cream!" Well, we can't have ice cream for dinner and I told Jackson that we'd have to think about other ideas. He then says, "Ice cream helps me think better, Mommy!" Funny guy!! (We stopped and got some ice cream sandwiches to have for dessert and let Daddy bring home Chipotle--can't go wrong with that! :)

Reaching new heights!

What boy can resist climbing?? Especially when it's Daddys fancy ladder. Certainly not our boys!!--we've got some monkeys in our house!!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!?

Such great kids and sometimes such troublemakers!! Not really, they just look like they are up to something!

Giggles!!

While the big boys were napping, I had some quality one-on-one time with Jonathan. It was so sweet!! He's got the best baby laugh! Enjoy--it'll make your day, I promise!! :) Happy Friday!

A stranger's comment

I took Joshua and Jonathan to the paint store this morning so we could get the last few things AW needs to get the bathroom painted this weekend. (Jackson was at pre-school). A lady saw us on the parking and said, "I don't know how you do it with two!" I told her, "Oh, this is easy! My oldest is at pre-school today." She then got this almost scared look and just said, "God bless you!" Thanks!! I am blessed!! I have three fabulous little boys and even during the most difficult times (this week was especially difficult!!!) I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

At the table

Jonathan has been upgraded to the table with us!! He may not be eating table foods yet, but Jonathan is now joining us during dinner. We love having him with us to be a part of dinner and conversation...and yes, sometimes craziness and chaos!! Here's the million dollar question...What will our table be like in the next year or later?? :)

Jackson's Big Boy Bike!!

He's so grown up!! Our little man is now riding a two-wheeler, with training wheels! He's so excited, and so are we. We got his bike yesterday afternoon. But then AW had to go back to the store since the box was missing the pedals, so Jackson didn't get to ride it yesterday (on a very sunny nice day). This morning he woke up asking to go ride his bike and I couldn't say no, even though it was a windy, a bit rainy, icky day. Jackson is doing fantasticly well!! Joshua is now upgraded to the tricycle, which is loves and can almost ride!! :)

Huge milestone!!

So, we are thrilled!! After years of struggling with credit card debt and student loans, and many other bills along the way, we are so excited that as of yesterday, we are done with all of our credit card debt as well as my student loans!! Our next goal is to work toward AW's student loan and our car, and of course there's the house!! :) We were by no means living an extravagant lifestyle at all, we were just spending more than we were bringing in and pretty soon we realized that we were in quite deep!! Oh, and paying for a semester of AW's college tuition with the card didn't help either!! We met with my brother in law in December of 2007 and we had to write down all our expenses and income---what an eye-opener! At that point we realized we had to cut out quite a bit, so we did. No TV--that was the hardest.

Anyway, no one wants all the details, I'm sure, so let's just say that I am just so relieved to be at this point, especially with all the stuff that is going on in the world!! Thank you for praying for our situation and being excited along with us! (Oh, and we promise we don't get in this situation again!!) :)

Birthday Lunch

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Uncle Bunyan, Happy Birthday to you!! Happy Birthday, little brother! Love you!

Some pictures from the birthday lunch! Rachel, I want the cheesecake recipe--amazing!!

Photo shoot

If I could make a living taking pictures I would be really happy! I absolutely love taking pictures, and my boys are my main subjects. Obviously! :)

Here is my latest mini photo shoot of Jonathan. Super cute baby, just like his big brothers!!

Allen-Wade enjoys reading books to the boys at bedtime, but lap-space is running out!

Forts, music, and talking

Sometimes a video just captures it the best!

I was trying to get Jonathan to talk, but he was choosing to be smiley and quiet instead. No worries though, Jackson and Joshua made up the Jonathan's silence!



Yes, even a Mommy can make a fort---although not nearly as good as Daddy! I love it when the boys break into "song!!" So cute!

Random Things

Just a few tidbits:

*Jonathan slept through the night for the first time last night!! He was in his crib in the boys' room and slept from 9-6:15! It was wonderful and the first full night's sleep for both AW and me since early December.

Jonathan all wrapped up and cozy in his crib!

*Joshua's vocabulary has exploded in recent weeks and he talks all the time! Yesterday at dinner AW said, "I can even understand most of what he says now!" :) It's fun to see him try and do the things that Jackson can do--they play fairly well together, most of the time! :)

All three boys in a fort that AW built!

*After struggling to get out of credit card debt for a while, we have finally paid off another card!! Hooray!! Now we only have one more card which still has a balance on it! Hopefully in a month or two we can wipe that out!!! We are so excited!!

*Something not so great...Jackson puts up such a fight when he knows it's a school day. It took him about 25 minutes to get dressed this morning. He was so sad knowing he had to go to school. He used to love being at school, but not so much anymore!! I talked to his teachers this morning and they did admit that he has had a harder time adjusting since being back there and it's also hard because he only goes one day a week. As a mom, I don't like to see my little boy sad. As a teacher, I know how fun school is and how important for some of those early skills, not to mention the social aspect of things. I am torn on what to do. Next week are parent-teacher conferences, and for the first time, I get to be on the parent side of things!! We'll see what his teachers say, but we're leaning toward keeping him home with us for a while. (PS. I picked him up early today at 11:30 and he told me he had a great time--maybe half-day preschool is the way to go for him).

Jackson's proud of his art project at pre-school. Ms Berger, his teacher, and Makenna, his best buddy, are in the background.

*It's official... I will be home another semester! I turned in my official letter last week to extend my maternity leave. This may not be the best time to do that and we're not sure how it's all going to financially work out in the fall, but three kids in full-time daycare just costs too much!! I will probably have to find some part-time work, which may not be easy in this economy! Better start now!

*Last weekend was super fun and I haven't even had a chance to blog about it. Since my birthday brunch got cancelled a few weeks ago, my fabulous husband decided to re-schedule it, but didn't tell me! We were going to have brunch at Krista's house, which we have done lots of times, so I didn't think anything of it! It wasn't until I was asked to get the door and saw my sister's family there, that I started to realize what was going on!! It was so sweet!! I felt so loved to have friends and family there to celebrate my 30th birthday!! So far being 30 is pretty fabulous!!