Starting Solids

Mason was a little unsure, but he ended up doing a pretty good job eating his cereal.

Festival of Trees

We went to the Festival of Trees today with Grammy, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Leslie, and Annabelle. Jack informed us that this was NOT the real Santa because the real Santa is at the mall.

Adam gazing at the M&M Christmas tree- I think he wanted to eat it.
Jackie making a craft with Grammy

Jack picked out the biggest, most time-consuming thing they had for face painting. He did really well sitting there to get it done. He liked looking at it in the mirror, but wanted it off by the time that we made it to the car.

Doll baby Annabelle with her doll

Adam fascinated by the light-up necklace Grammy gave him

Mason ready to go home

Funny

I had all three boys with me in line to buy pjs at The Children's Place today. The long line snaked around the store and we were stuck for a little while by the adorable toddler girls clothes. I reached up to examine a precious flowers and hearts fleece hoodie and heard, "Stop it, Michelle, you don't even have any girls!"

I turned around...only to find that the comment was directed at the woman standing beside me: another Michelle with three little boys.

My excuse was that I was looking for Annabelle. But, really, I love having all boys. There is only room for one princess in this family and she is me.

Oops, Bad Mommy

I have only occasionally been giving Adam a regular cup and then usually with a straw. He still was using sippy cups most of the time. This was not really because I didn't think he could drink from a cup, but because he spills alot and it was easier for me to give him a sippy and not have a mess to clean up. So, completely my fault that we couldn't check "can drink from cup" off his developmental checklist.

But, this morning, I was feeling very tolerant(or maybe because I know I have to scrub the kitchen floor today anyway) and handed him an open cup of juice. He drank it as if he's been doing it forever, no spills.

Rated PG-13

I can't believe I'm actually going to post this. But, I almost fell over laughing when I heard this, so I have to record it.

Jack was awake, lying in his bed. I went in and was talking to him for a little bit, when this gem came out. "My peepee is growing."

I managed to keep a straight face and not comment, but he wasn't done.

"When you play with peepees, they grow."

Still not commenting, still a straight face. Until....

"Like a beanstalk! You know how beanstalks grow and grow?"

Yup, almost fell off the edge of his bed, I was laughing so hard.

Happy Thanksgiving

We went to Aunt Leslie's grandma's house for Thanksgiving. Adam and Annabelle had fun playing together when they weren't looking out the back door at the big kids who were able to play outside. Jack ran around outside with the big kids. Mason was passed around to everyone, staying happy all afternoon, despite the fact that it was his naptime.

It was a nice Thanksgiving. Aunt Leslie's family graciously inviting us to join them when our plans changed and we didn't go to South Carolina with Daddy's family. Hopefully, we'll get down there next year.

Toilet training- round 2

Could it be? Could Adam be ready? Is it possible that soon I could have just ONE child in diapers? Now, granted, I did have just one child in diapers for about a month not too long ago...and then Mason was born, so that didn't last long. Just having one in diapers would be so exciting.

When Adam has a dirty diaper, he will come to me and say "P.U. YUCK!"(peeee yewwww yuck? How do you spell that anyway???)

So, it could be time. It will help that they all have to try to use the potty at school, in addition to seeing his big brother using the potty.

Then again, how do you potty train a child who could win a gold medal in the Olympic sport of Toilet Diving?

Comments

Going all over the place with three boys under the age of four, I hear many comments from people. The most common one being "You have your hands full." I usually get annoyed by people who say things like this. But, I'd like to thank the woman who saw me taking the three boys into the grocery store today(Mason in the front carrier, Jack and Adam holding my hands- and not stomping in any of the many puddles we came across), who said "You are amazing!"...with no sarcasm or disbelief in her voice, just kindness.

I'll take that as a compliment and say thank you to the lady in the Giant Eagle parking lot, for making my day. :)

Hair gel

Jack was upstairs with Daddy this morning while Daddy was getting ready for work. Jack decided that he needed to put hair gel in his hair, too. Of course, he used a TON of gel. Daddy did his best to get some of it out, even wetting Jack's hair down. Right after this, we had to leave to go grocery shopping, so I put Jack's winter hat on his head. He left it on the whole time we were gone, so his hair had a chance to dry under the hat and get a lovely style from all that gel. He's hiding from the camera because he says that his hair is "all messed up!"

Editing to say that when he saw himself in the mirror tonight he said "I'm having a bad hair day."

Sleeping thru the night

Mason slept thru the night last night- the first time in a very long time. I woke up at 6:30, realizing that I hadn't been jolted from my sleep at any point last night by a crying baby. Instead of delighting in my first full night's sleep in what feels like forever, I dashed to his room to be sure that he was okay. He was still sleeping, with a faint little grin on his face.

I don't know if it was because of the shots he had yesterday or- fingers crossed- the start of a wonderful new habit, but I'll take it!

Funny Boys

Adam is running around with a gift bag, chanting "Trick or treat! Candy!"

Meanwhile, Jack has decided that instead of saying "Excuse me" when he passes gas(in a house of three little boys, it's amazing it's taken this long to have a post about farts...), he should say "Excuse the stink!"

6 month check-up

Mason had his 6 month check-up today. He weighs 16lb, 11oz and is 26in long. He took his shots like a champ, but he's worn out now.

6 Months Old

Mason is six months old today. He's a smiley, happy, flirty little guy. Tomorrow is his check up, so we'll see just how much he's been growing.

Library

It's cold and rainy here today. Thank goodness for the library; it gives the boys a place to get out of the house and play for a little while.

Backpack, Backpack

Adam has been wearing his backpack all around the house. Good thing Jack has been gone all day, out with Grammy, since he doesn't like Adam using his old backpack. We had told him that he couldn't use it any more because he got it all dirty and beat up at camp this summer. So, Adam using it makes him mad. But, since Aunt Leslie told me that she got the boys backpacks for Christmas, I figured there wasn't really a point in buying Adam a new one for school, since he'll have one soon enough.

Now I have the backpack song stuck in my head. Gotta love Dora the Explorer.

Adam is a puppy

Adam's latest way to amuse himself is to act like a puppy. He will "ruff, ruff" and pant. He also will lick you on the cheek(or arm or whatever he can get to) instead of giving a regular kiss. He thinks he's hilarious.

All Smiles

Thanksgiving Feast at preschool

Jack was super excited to eat popcorn, since that's not something we usually let him have(he eats everything so fast, popcorn seems like a choking hazard just waiting to happen). Notice the lovely Christmas sweatshirt already- he dressed himself for school on Thursday.

First Day of School

Adam's turn! Today was his first day of pre-preschool class. It meets once a week for 75 minutes. It seems like a cute program. He happily went in to play, but it's going to take him some time before he readily sits to do the different activities, instead of wanting to do his own thing.

All Bundled Up

They do love each other

When I dropped off Jack at Awana tonight, Adam cried and was reaching for him, yelling "Jackie! Jackie!"

He is used to dropping off Jack at preschool and doesn't get upset then, but he's not usually with me at Awana. I guess he was worried that I forgot Jack.

It's nice to know that even though they fight, they really do love each other.

Naptime

On our way home from Awana tonight, Jack told me "God is taking a nap up in Heaven."
"Oh really, Jackie? You think God is napping?"
In a tone that implied he thinks Mommy must be stupid, "It's dark and we take naps in the dark and we wake up when the daytime comes."

Snow

Adam is fascinated by the falling snow. Guess it's time to get out the snow boots.

Choo Choo

Look, Adam shared his trains with me, Mommy!

Jackie should take sharing lessons from his little brother.

A pile of boys

More Cake!

Adam trying his hardest to get more cake after inhaling his piece, even licking the plate when he was done to make sure he got every last crumb. All these little ones turning two recently; they used to be the babies of the group and now they are all running around with the big kids. Adam has some cute little girlfriends around if he decides to be anything like his big brother.

Jackie's girlfriends

Jackie likes to tell us that he has "two groups of girlfriends": his school girlfriends and his other girlfriends. Here he is with two of his "other" girlfriends.

Dancing in the Rain

When we headed out today, the boys ran right straight to the puddles in the driveway to play. They think it's fun to jump around in the rain.

Those eyelashes

Not even the best mascara can make mine look like Mason's.

He has a tooth

After much fuss, Mason's first tooth broke thru the surface a few days ago. It's not all the way up, but you can see the top of it and you can definitely feel it; he likes to chomp on fingers!

Jackie's Turkey

Or maybe Jackie IS a turkey. Progress reports came home from school today. We were shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that he has to work on not talking out of turn. He's doing fine otherwise, though.

Fun with Daddy

Awana Grand Prix

Last night was the Awana Grand Prix. Jackie and Daddy worked on the car- Jackie wanted orange and Daddy found the brightest orange I've ever seen.

Jack was happy that he raced "a lot, lot, lot, lot, lot of times!" For one of the races, Jackie decided to see if his car would go faster if he raced it backwards. It didn't make it the whole way down the track, so he gave it a nice hard shove and sent it flying the rest of the way.


A big thanks to Kim for the pics!

Pirates

Jack found the treasure chest that I used to keep in my classroom, so the boys have been playing pirates for most of the day. I should have taken a picture when they first started playing because they were walking around with it, each of them holding onto one of the side handles. Shortly after that, they decided that they are from rival pirate ships and made it their mission to steal the treasure from each other. Many "Arrrrrgh"s and "Aiyyy"s could be heard today, along with a pirate song that they both sing. Adam found a connect-the-dots coloring page that he is calling a treasure map. Given their pirate obsession, I should have brought the treasure chest up from the basement a long time ago.

Mid-giggle

Making Cookies

The boys took good naps this afternoon, so instead of having to rush into their bedtime routine after dinner, I let them make cookies. We made Aggression Cookies: the thought behind them being that the longer you knead the dough, the sweeter the cookie is. Jack had a great time kneading and punching the dough. Adam didn't want anything to do with the dough, but he had no problem eating the cookies afterwards.

Basketball Player

Feeling Better

Mason seems to be much better now. Orajel works wonders, so it must be teething that has been bothering him.

Poor Baby

Mason had a rough night last night, crying harder than he ever has- it was more like screaming. I took him to the doctor today and she did a very thorough exam and proclaimed him "perfect." Of course, he smiled and cooed at her as if nothing were ever wrong in the first place. He's still a bit crabby today. I'm hoping he's just teething.

Indian Summer

We are taking advantage of the beautiful fall days before the cold settles in for the long haul. We went to one of the boys' favorite parks where the boys played in the sand. Adam kept trying to ride other kids' bikes while we were there and was getting frustrated that he couldn't. He put on a helmet and then looked at me like, "What? I have a helmet on, let me ride!"

We stopped for ice cream on the way home...can you see the annoyance in their faces that they didn't get bigger cones?

Pirate Ship

When we stopped to get some apples last week, there wasn't time to let Adam play because we had to head back to pick up Jackie from preschool. The way he asked to play on the "pie-it" ship made it sound like his heart was breaking. So, when we had more time today, we headed back to play and get more apples.

Early Morning Cuddle