It's Fall Time

Fall time in Florida that is... we have days that are dropping into the 70's. Yes! My favorite time of the year.

Here I am, writing in this blog. I'm sure there were some of you who wondered if I was done for good. Actually, I did consider just shuttin' it down and deleting the whole thing, but here I am (glutton for guilt that I am) giving it yet another go. My inspiration is a blog that I enjoy reading that had several non-picture posts in a row. There is hope!

We have started school again. Clark in 1st grade and Bruce in Pre-school and Kate sadly left behind. She insists on wearing her own backpack many mornings in hopes that it will be her turn to go to school, and crying when it doesn't happen. Life is tough sometimes when you're 2.

Some happy news - we are expecting #4! A new baby due March 23rd with no hint yet of a name or a gender. Hopefully we'll have some news on that front soon. The gender, not the name. Don't hold your breath for a name. We are determinedly undetermined on the name until the absolute last minute.

Also, I've finally updated our family pictures, so everyone can know what we look like now and not 3 years ago... Here's to new beginnings. Again. :)

The Hoarse Whisperer

About a week ago Caleb & I were sitting on the couch after putting the kids to bed. (phew!) The boys share a room and are allowed to whisper after the lights are out for a little while (usually until they fall asleep unless they get too loud or get out of bed). This rule is mostly for parental sanity, since bedtime can get a little rowdy otherwise. Well, on this particular night I could hear them whispering... Through a closed door... And a fan blowing on high... Down a hallway... Whispering. The loudest whispering I've ever heard in my life. And I have to ask, does it still count as whispering if it's that loud?

Some Videos... Just for Fun

In case you haven't figured it out, I'm not the best blogger in the world. Probably not even second best. Probably. There are some things that mystify me about blogging to this day. I do enjoy reading OTHER people's blogs more than writing my own. I know, after reading my blog I'm sure this surprises you. I don't often comment, or have anything witty to say, but commenting on someone else's blog (no matter how much you love to read it) is a little nerve-racking. The whole comment submittal is like a test, and sometimes (I confess) I fail the little letter part at the end that makes sure you're not a spammer. Oh well, I digress.

As a confirmation of my blogging-impairment I could not get the cute video of my boys to upload. Drat! Here are some fun stories about the boys and videos of Kate are at the end.

Clark is my little perfectionist. He is doing a wonderful job learning to read. We tried the more direct approach where I read with him and sound out every word as we go along, but he got a bit frustrated with me (oops!). Now we're to the point where he has enough interest in reading to sound words out himself. Its been a lot less stressful for him, and he asks if he needs help with a hard word. I try to sit nearby, look out of the corner of my eye, and pretend to not be too interested or he'll stop. As an avid reader it is really fun to watch his love of reading develop. He wrote "I LAV YW" for me a couple weeks ago. I love when little kids spell feh-neht-ik-lee!

Bruce is still my loose cannon. He has a lot of personality in a little person. Actually all of my kids do, but for some reason it just comes in a more quotable form from Bruce. When Clark started Pre-K, Bruce developed an imaginary friend named Jack. He usually makes an appearance in Bruce's stories when other people are talking about something and he wants to contribute to the conversation, but can't think of anything to say. "Jack said/did..." is the most common. Sometimes I don't know how to respond when he asks me if he can pleeeeeease go to Jack's house to play. (Trust me. We've discussed it many times. Jack is completely imaginary.) Bruce is notorious for not seeing things in time when we're driving in the car. "Look! There's a ..." He can never find it in time. Even if we drive really slow. Well apparently he "saw" Jack while we were driving in the car the other day. It went a little like this... Bruce: "There's Jack!" Me: "Where?" (Only seeing a random bike rider on the sidewalk.) Bruce: "Oh... you missed him." Paybacks? I'm not sure.

This gem is lovingly entitled "Redneck Baby" in my computer. You'll see why. Caleb filmed this one while I was cooking dinner and you can tell since no self-respecting mother would video their own baby in only a diaper digging through and eating the contents of discarded cereal boxes on the kitchen floor, but she may post it on her blog because she thinks its funny. Don't judge.

This last video is the story of my life the last little while. Kate emptying the drawer, Kate emptying my purse, Kate emptying the toy box, Kate emptying the garbage, Kate emptying the laundry basket... You see the pattern, I'm sure. Good thing she's so cute because my house is a mess!

Back in the Saddle Again

It's been almost a year since I've posted anything here. This time period corresponds almost exactly with a part-time job I worked, and before too long I realized that I had bitten off a little more than I could chew.

I'm not sure what to write without making this entry incredibly long, so maybe I'll do a quick update followed by some snapshots of what has happened recently. I always admire the frequent, short posts of other bloggers, but never manage it myself. Age updates: Clark is 4.9-ish, Bruce is 3.5, Kate is 14 months.

We recently celebrated our 7 year anniversary. We've had a few "low key" anniversaries in the past few years (I wonder why. See children's ages above.), so we had a day-trip to Savannah, GA. It was beautiful! The architecture was amazing, we saw some fun shops, and ate some good food. These pics are from Paula Deen's restaurant "The Lady and Sons" which had some excellent Southern food: Fried Chicken, Fried Fish, Collard Greens, Grits, Black-eyed Peas, etc...

Caleb enjoying his meal. Just so you know, this is a posed shot. He took a similar picture of me, but I've spared you by not posting that one. (Don't worry... Permission was requested and granted.)

If we look a little sweaty/tired, we are. Sweaty but happy (see plate). It was H-O-T! I guess that's what you get for getting married in one of the hottest months of the year.

Me and Ms. Dean (in cut-out form)

This is Kate's first birthday party (in May).

Clark's wonderful Pre-School teacher Mrs. J. He had a really great year and now we're gearing up for "the big K" (a.k.a. Kindergarten).

The boys went to the "Father-Son Campout" again this year. We all enjoyed their night away. :) I think they set new records in dirtiness. (Look for this picture in the dictionary: Dirty, Happy)

Clark at a visit to the beach. We went with my brother Mike's family when they were in town last month and had a blast. Not the best picture, but I'm not the best photographer.

Bruce smiling. I think this was their expression for the whole day. They love the beach.

Kate running around at the beach. She is a water baby if I ever saw one. Lest you think I escaped all beach pictures, you can see my arm on the right of this picture. :)

Finally, a video of some baby giggles to brighten your day. Please excuse the mess in the background, but sometimes you gotta get these moments when they happen. It just happened to be a messy moment.

More to come soon... (fingers crossed) I will also be updating the profile pictures to something more recent in the near future.

Look-alikes

Baby Kate has this funny little baby fuzz mohawk on her head which is nearly impossible to capture in a picture. (I should say, with my camera and photography skills it is nearly impossible to capture.) Finally I got a decent shot. I hope you all can appreciate the hard work because it took about 14 pictures and this was nearly the only usable one and even this one is kinda blurry. One of my small accomplishments this week.

The other... potty training. I remember very clearly why I have been putting it off. We're not there yet, but its getting better everyday. We cannot seem to be able to get #2 in the potty and not in the pants. Any suggestions out there?

Floor Time

Brucie was playing with Kate on the floor the other day and I thought it was so cute, so I got the camera and was actually able to capture some of it. We watch the boys very closely around the baby so they don't "love her too much." This is an example of a good baby interaction day. I think Brucie does very well for a 2-year-old and this video shows a little of the baby talk they do with Kate.

Summer Days

So, I know it has been a really long time since I posted anything. I can always tell when its been too long because my dad always asks me when I'm going to post something new. So thanks to my dad for inspiring me to not be such a slacker. Some things never change. :)

This is a recent photo from Kate's baby blessing. (From left: Clark, Caleb (back), Bruce, Debbie(back), Kate)

Well, I can't remember when 3 months have gone by so quickly. Having 3 kids has definitely upped the ante. It's like hitting the fast-forward button for life. I can't believe it, but Clark just turned 4! He's going to pre-school in a month. Bruce is getting so big. Literally. He's a solid 2 year old at just about 32 pounds (3 pounds off from Clark). Kate is growing chubbier and cuter every day. She is such a happy baby, I can't even believe it. I tell people that I don't know if it's because I'm a better mom at child #3, or if there is more "action" to keep her entertained, or if she just has a sweet personality, but Kate is an easy-going and happy baby.

On the realistic side, it's 3 times as hard with 3 kids. There are 3 times as many tantrums, 3 times as much work, 3 times as many messes, and 3 times as much laundry. (Seriously, I can never "finish" the laundry these days since it just keeps coming.) There's also 3 times as many cute stories, 3 times the laughter, as well as 3 little people in our family that I love very much. So, those are some things keep me sane.

Alright, a little update on my little ones.

Clark blowing out his candles. I know it looks like there are 8 candles, but the long ones don't count since I thought they were going to look like sparklers (they said they were sparkler candles). Oh well.

Clark playing with Baby Kate.

Clark just celebrated his 4th birthday. We had a fun time decorating for it and getting ready all week. He picked out his birthday cupcakes - confetti cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles - but he never eats the cupcake only the frosting. I was standing in the grocery aisle trying to talk him into something chocolate when Caleb called me back to the present and reminded me it was HIS birthday after all. Good call Caleb. :) He wanted to leave the decorations up "all the time", but we agreed to leave them up for a week. Clark was very patient with Brucie, who thought it was his birthday too. After saying his bedtime prayer on his birthday he asked "Can I say another prayer? Heavenly Father, thank you that I could have a good birthday party and thank you for a Mommy who loves me..." Of course it makes me smile to hear my little boy say something so sweet. He is a very thoughtful boy and his wheels are always turning. He's getting good at building things with blocks and using his imagination. He's learning to play board games and starting to recognize his letters and their sounds. He's excited to start his half-day preschool class next month. You know, 4-year-old stuff. :)



Brucie with his helmet/grocery basket on. He's wearing an inflatable swimsuit in case you're wondering. We were about to go out to the pool when we took this picture.

Bruce is so sweet. He always wants to sit in your lap and cuddle, which is getting harder since he is such a big boy. Brucie growing so fast, in fact I think he is going through a growth spurt right now. I usually make the boys wait for dinner without snacks, but dinner still had a while and Bruce was sounding desperately hungry, so I fixed him a bowl of Cheerios. He sat down and ate 4 full man-size bowls of Cheerios. They weren't even Honey Nut or anything. I can't even eat that much. Bruce keeps track of everyone coming and going, he remembers everyone's name and will keep tabs on where they are in the house. He will mention people by name that he barely met days or weeks ago. He loves his brother and also clashes with him (like a 2 year old does) about every 5 minutes. Recently, he said to my mom (Grandma) when she was telling Uncle D they might have to go home, "You are NOT going home! Because I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!" It sounded more like a threat in the delivery, but very funny if you've heard him before with a full scowl on his face.



This is Kate in a good mood. This picture says it all and is pretty accurate as to how she is most of the time. If all babies were as sweet as Kate is, I'm convinced that more people would have children.



Kate in her Sunday outfit. It doesn't matter that the temperature is mid- to upper-90s. I couldn't help it, I love the bonnet!

Kate is growing fast, like little babies do. She's about 3 months old and smiles all the time. She's getting more interested in toys, but is still mostly interested in people's faces. She's trying to use her hands more and more. Its too soon to really know, but we think she might end up left handed since that is the hand that reaches for things first and usually the hand that ends up in her mouth. She is very patient with her brothers and I love to hear them talk baby talk to her. "Ooooooh. Who's the cute baby? Are you a teeny girl? Are you a little baby Kate? I love you baby." That kind of talk coming from such active 2- and 4-year-old boys is funny to me every time.

Mostly we've been hanging out at home since it is so hot outside and hard to get 3 little ones in and out of the car by myself. I have low motivation when I don't have a specific errand to run. Good thing we have so much family nearby to hang out with. We love it.

Here are some pictures I took today of the boys playing around. Clark found some swim goggles and they were just being silly together.

Thanks for reading our blog! I will try to be better about posting more often.