Cooper's Pirate Party!

Cooper had a Pirate Party on Saturday!  It was a lot of fun!  We grilled shish kabobs and pineapple and  had rice, fruit salad and some tropical punch.  It was great getting together with family! And it was so funny to see Cooper, Hudson and AJ dressed up like pirates!  Here are our little pirates ...

Arr! Mateys!

Garrett even got in on the action for a little while.  Oddly enough, he didn't seem to notice the big, hairy sticker right underneath his nose.  GT tried to sport a mustache too, but he looked less pirate and a little more like Hitler so we opted for no mustache for him.

The Treasure Chest Cake!

Opening Presents!

And giving out Hi Five thank yous!

Garrett was showing everyone how he can almost crawl!

sleepy baby

Cooper's Birthday (Part 1)

Cooper turned 3!  September 13 was his special day!  It was a Tuesday this year so we tried to make it as special as we could while still doing normal life.  He started the day by finding this present in the living room.  He was so excited!

Then he chose peanut butter waffles for breakfast! Yum! 

(notice Captain Hook is having a rough morning) 

Then it was off to take Hudson to Preschool then on to Ladies Bible Study where he had fun in his class.  LiLi, GT, Uncle Evan and I took him to lunch - he picked Texas Burger!  Then we made a special trip to Daddy's office to say hi.  By then it was time to go pick up Hudson at school.  I felt bad for the kid since he had gotten such a fun present that morning but didn't really get any time to play with it.  So he had a special "No Nap Birthday"  He was so excited to get to stay up and play with his pirate toys.  He and Hudson had a blast!  For dinner he chose another favorite - Chick-fil-A!  Then we went to the park.  This is how the day ended ... our little 3 year old pooped out in the backseat.  I think he had a great day! :)

The End of an Era

Jeff and I have felt for a while now that three kids is our number. It was a hard conclusion to come to ... I mean how do you really know these things for sure?  It was like when we first started having babies. How do you decide that you're ready? We came to the realization that you're never ready -  at some point we just had to say 'ok it's time'. Five years later we're now deciding that it's time to be done. Three seems to be a good number for us.  We're stretched, but not beyond what we can handle. We still have time, energy, and excitement for these three little blessings.

It's a decision we're happy with but it hasn't come without doubts. I look at these three precious boys and know that I could love three more just like them. But it is important to me to know that I have poured into each of these boys as much as I can while I have them. And so for us, the perfect number seems to be three. 

Two weeks ago I weaned Garrett.  It was a bittersweet moment for me.   This baby will be the last one that I nurse, the last one that I carried inside of me.  It marks the end of an era. This season of our lives has been a sweet one, full of hard work, but so amazingly sweet.  At times I get sad thinking about some of the things I will never experience again... the excitement of a positive pregnancy test, the surreal feeling of a baby moving inside of me, the elation of finding out what we're having, the relief and overwhelming joy of delivering a tiny baby, the satisfaction of sustaining a life breastfeeding.  The whole experience of bringing three lives into this world is beyond what I can express. I'm so very thankful for the blessing of being a mommy. 

And while I'm sad that this season is ending, I'm excited for a new season to begin- watching these three babies turn into young men. I'm also ready for a few things, namely to have my energy back. Ready to enjoy new experiences with these boys - school and trips and hobbies and sports! I'm ready to have my body back (it will never be the same that's for sure!) but I hope I can keep in mind the joy these stretch marks have brought me. 

It has been an amazing journey so far and it's only just beginning. I can't wait to see what else is in store!

Fun with Cousins

A few weeks ago we had a some of our nieces over for the night.  The boys had so much fun playing with their cousins.  The girls were so sweet - playing with the boys, helping with Garrett and cleaning up!  We had a good time!

The boys learned some new games.  Here they are playing Doggy, Doggy Where's Your Bone

Garrett enjoyed all the attention!

McKay loved holding baby G

Sullivan had fun playing dress up with the boys!

We did an art project.  Everyone painted boxes - jewelry boxes for the girls & toy boxes for the boys

My guys loved painting! I gotta start doing more crafts with them!

The finished boxes:
Cooper, Sullivan
McKay, Ellis
Hudson

1st Day of Preschool

Hudson was so excited for this day!  All summer long he asked me, "Is it Fall yet?"  He couldn't wait to go to school!  He was so excited that the night before his first day I made the rule that he couldn't get out of bed until 7 am.  I wanted to make sure he got some good rest before his big day.  At 7:07 am he came into our room.  He had already gone to the bathroom, gotten dressed, made up his bed, and put on his shoes and socks! He told us he was FAST! Indeed he was and we still had 2 hours before school started! :)

A week before school started we had Get Acquainted Day where we could go see his classroom and meet his teachers.  I was very thankful for this day.  It was so good for Hudson to see and process everything before I left him there.  He was extremely shy that day.  He stuck close to me and looked a little worried about the whole situation.  We talked it up all week - about how much fun he would have, about all the fun things he would learn, about all the new friends he would make.  He regained his excitement and told me that he wouldn't be shy on his first day of school.  Sure enough, he walked right in and had a great day.  Before I left I told him that I would be back to get him at 2 o'clock.  He gave me a serious nod and sat down at his table.  And that was that ... I left and when I picked him up he was all smiles!  I think it's going to be a great year!

So fun to have 2 friends in his class - Addie & Leila