These are the days...

Some days I look at these kids and I just can't believe how lucky I am to be able to have all three of them, and to stay home and play things like "Woody and Buzz to the Rescue" all afternoon.  Jacob is so sweet, Gwyn is so goofy and funny, and I just want to eat little Annie up!  Thank you God for blessing us with them, and thank you Brian for working so hard so that I can stay home and enjoy these precious years when they are little and experiencing new things everyday.

We have been doing swim lessons everyday this week and last week, and starting on Friday we've got an instructor coming to the house to do them in our pool two days / week through the end of September or so.  I'm looking forward to that because getting everyone dressed and dragged out of the house every morning at 8:45 is a bit of a challenge, so it will be nice to be home and be able to lay Annie down for nap if I need to.  The kids are doing well, Gwyn was having a hard time the first couple of days until she discovered they had a Dora pool toy and then her whole world got better...she is really enjoying it and actually willing to do more than even Jacob.  Jacob is doing pretty well, I had hopes he would learn to swim after a week or so, but I guess it takes time.  He is doing more and more everyday and gaining confidence, so hopefully he'll be swimming within the next month or so. Here is Annie hanging out at swim lessons.

Brian and I laughed about our last Friday night...family trip to eat dinner at Freebirds (make your own burrito place), then to Costco, then to Lowes (where the kids think playing on the tractors is SO fun, and for free!), and then for ice cream and we were home by 7 pm!  The kids thought it was the greatest!!  Friday night fun at our house:

It has been VERY hot here, so we've been taking advantage of the pool, but enjoying playing inside the house as well.  We've been doing playdates, crafts, and the kids are just getting so creative.  We are usually hiding from a big bear, or building a big ship so that the crocodiles don't eat us, or building a town (consisting of every lego we have, plus a firestation, plus a pirate ship, plus a batman house, plus a doll house, plus a fairy tree, plus a shoe house) where Buzz and Woody are in charge of keeping it safe from everything and they are always having to rescue this little pig that ends up on top of the firestation or trying to fly a plane, or someone has to go to jail, etc.  I could go on and on, something is new and different everyday.  Here are a couple of pictures of a painting project we did, Jacob is getting pretty good and drawing things, Gwyn is still in her squinty smile phase:)

Annie has learned a few new tricks, she is now pulling up and cruising around everything and spitting!  Yes, she likes to spit and the kids think it is the funniest thing ever.  They both really do love her.

If you are thinking that Annie just smiles in every picture, just wait:

When she cries she curles her little toes up real hard, like she did in this picture.  She is so cute, she really doesn't cry that much except at the church nursery, where she cries the ENTIRE time.  When I picked her up last time, I said was she really bad or just a little bad...they looked at me sympathetically and said she did have a period of about 10 minutes where she was calmed down and almost fell asleep, but then she started up again.  I'm sure they are really happy anytime they see us coming down the hallway!  Ha!  We've been only going to Sunday school and missing the service because I just feel too guilty to leave her in there for 3 hours.

On another note, Jacob and Gwyn went to Summer Fun Days for 3 days this week and 3 days next week at Jacob's preschool.  It is from 9-1 and we were late due to our swim lessons, but I was so proud of Gwyn!  She just walked right in and was so excited to go since she got to carry a lunch box like Jacob.  She told me they even went to the park (the playground), and she had alot of fun.  I told her that she and Jacob are going to rule that school, and she said "ya, rule the school."  It was pretty cute.

Annie was sleeping in her car seat and I took these pictures because she just looked so precious.  She kind of wrinkles her eyebrows when she sleeps like she is frowning.  Her bottom lip is always wet, her little hands have dimples and what looks like little rubberbands around her wrists and her little toes are for once, relaxed.

Funny things the kids said this week:

Jacob: Let's go to swimming lessons.

Gwyn:  I don't go to swimming lessons, I go to pool school.

Gwyn:  Daddy, can you please go to work and make some money?

Jacob while trying to bring the shopping cart downstairs:  I'm a big boy and I can't do it!

Me to the kids: What do you think we should get Daddy for Father's Day?

Gwyn: a blanket

Jacob: a sheet and some candy

Jacob to Gwyn: You can't come to Father's Day, only boys can come.

Gwyn to Brian:  Please can I come to Father's Day?

Brian: Do you have a Daddy?

Gwyn: Yes

Brian: Then you can come

Gwyn: Yeah!

The one-eyed Pirate

If you haven't heard already, Gwyn literally scratched Jacob's eye out...not really, she accidentally poked him in the eye and her fingernail scratched part of his cornea off.  Amazingly, the eyes heal themselves quickly and within 24 hours his eye had completely healed itself over.  He did have some serious pain and it was very uncomfortable, the dr said it hurts pretty badly and feels like you need to rub it, but then the rubbing it is what makes it hurt the worse, so we had a lovely couple of days dealing with that.  Oh, and while we were there I had them look at Annie, and sure enough, she had the pink eye from Gwyn and also an ear infection.  At the Dr. it was Gwyn who was whining the most and wanted to go home, and the Dr joked that she was the reason that both Jacob and Annie were there, but somehow she didn't even have to be seen by the Dr, it didn't seem fair to Jacob.  He said he thought she needed a shot.  Ha!  Seriously though, I think he tried to look EXTRA pathetic in the picture I took of him.  They didn't have a mirror in the Drs office and he really wanted to see himself as a pirate.

Besides bringing all 3 kids to the Dr on 3 different occasions within the last week, I also managed the grocery store...this is an accomplishment worth mentioning!

It has been rainy and hot here.  We've been going to swim lessons, Jacob is doing great, Gwyn...not so much, but hopefully she'll get better because I've already paid for two weeks worth!  The kids are enjoying being outside, they love to look for lizards.  I told them the other day we needed to go back inside, they were getting too sweaty, to which Jacob replied "but we want our heads more sweaty!"

Unfortunately, Annie is taking this crawling thing pretty seriously, the kids were in the playroom and I was on the computer and I hear something and then my computer freezes...she had crawled underneath the desk and pulled the cables out of the computer...and so the baby proofing begins for the last time!  I've also had to start putting her in leggings even though it is 100 degrees here because she's wearing her little knees red, and today she had crawled to the foot of the stairs, pulled herself up and was just staring upstairs...I think she could hear Jacob and Gwyn up there...perfect, out to get another baby gate, one for the top of the stairs and one for the bottom of the stairs!  Babies R Us is determined to take every dollar we have!  I've tried to discourage this whole crawling thing as much as I can, but it isn't any use...she's on the move!

Funny things the kids said this week:

Jacob runs out to Brian to give him his chapstick in front of a landscaper that came by the house:  "Here is your lipstick Daddy!"

Gwyn to anyone who I tell what happened to Jacob's eye:  "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, I didn't do it!"

Summertime, Summertime, Sum-sum-summertime!

Summer has officially begun at our house.  We've been busy with pool time, playdates, more pool time, splash days and just in general having fun!  I've included a few various pictures from the last week or so.  The kids are loving our pool and we've been wearing them out in it after dinner on the weekdays and on the weekends.  The kids start their swim lessons next week, and we are hoping that Jacob picks it up quickly because he really wants to swim "out in the middle."  Brian told him he could pick out whatever pool toy he wanted when he learned to swim, and he's got his eyes set on a watergun...great!  Here are the kids at a recent pool playdate:

The kids in dress up, yes, Gwyn is still in her squinty smile phase:

Brian has been busy on his endless "honey do" list here at the house, he and Jacob put up Jacob's new ceiling fan last Saturday, he installed a new toiletseat, a new doorbell, hooks around the house, hung up the remaining pictures, fixing the fridge water valve, putting the swingset  back together, etc.  I've been busy keeping our days somewhat organized and fun-filled.  The kids keep asking, "who is coming over next" as soon as someone leaves, and "what is next" as soon as they get tired of something we are doing.  It has been nice they are both liking to draw, and Jacob likes to work on his letters.  I will say my quality of life has improved dramatically with my new washer and dryer that does almost double the loads I used to do and in twice the time...now, if only they made one that came with a folder, or better yet, someone to actually put away all the cleaned and folded laundry!  Ha!  I no longer have any help...my daytime sitter that helped me out so that I could work a few hours for Jason's consulting company a week, moved back to Chicago, and my babysitter from church just left for a church camp and then off to Texas A&M, so boo!  Somehow, I've still managed the post office, grocery store, watch repair place, eye doctor, and of course, Target with all 3 kids.  That is seriously an accomplishment!  Oh, and to top off my list of daily "to dos" Brian lost his credit card and someone tried to use it 3 times at different gas stations, so thankfully they put a hold on the charges for fraud alert...he didn't even notice it was missing until I told him we got a fraud alert notice!

Annie the official crawler will not do it for the camera.  Here is the video I got of her NOT crawling, she apparently thought it was hilarious to take off anytime I didn't have the camera going and immediately stop and sit there and laugh whenever I got the camera out...I'll get her within the next week or so!

Gwyn is still famous for her made up songs and singing.  Her latest goes "don't be mean...don't be mean...don't be mean to us....be nice....be nice....be nice to us."  She also sings "Jacob's got a scooter, I've got a scooter, Carter has a scooter, Cole doesn't have a scooter, Annie doesn't have a scooter."  It is hilarious, she just has the sweetest little voice.  I did have to take her to the urgent care center about 7 am on Memorial Day, she woke up screaming her little eyes were glued shut, and she ended up having pink eye which has cleared up pretty quickly.  Poor thing also has a little cold this week that she, Jacob, and myself picked up (possibly from Annie, who just got over it), and we've had to start breathing treatments again.  I'm just praying that she doesn't end up having asthma in the long run, it just seems anytime she catches any time of a little bug it goes straight to her lungs and her breathing gets very labored. 

Jacob is growing up, and is such a helper.  Yesterday, he cleaned up his whole closet and his whole tool bench without me asking.  He was so proud of himself, when I told him how happy that made me, and how proud I was of him.  He then told me he needed help with the rest of his room, so we cleaned it together.  I'm finding he really responds when he tell him how good he does at something, he's such a sweet boy, and yes, he has his moments with Gwyn and Annie, but he does love them and loves to play with them.  If this is any indication of how much fun he is having, here he is at dinner trying to eat his pizza, so he can ear a popscicle after dinner, but he just can barely stay awake.  It is hilarious that Gwyn tries to act asleep like him!

Funny things the kids said this week:

City-boy Jacob:  We live in the forrest!

Gwyn:  I'm going to strawberry bucks with Daddy.  (That is Starbucks, and it is their thing they do together.)

Gwyn to Brian when he picked out her clothes:  Hey, this not match!

Jacob quoting Wubbsy:  You're a genius!  Ah, shucks!

Gwyn asking Brian to let Jacob go with them to Strawberry Bucks:  Jacob can come?  He is our friend.

Jacob:  We need to go on a picnic and eat our food out of a basket on the grass.

Settling In

The kids are adjusting well to the new house, and we've finally got some pictures up on the walls, so it is starting to feel like home.  Brian and Jacob went to St. Louis where they visited Brian's grandpa and met his parents and Stacy and Justin there for the weekend.  They went to Maggiano's, to the zoo, to a Cardinals baseball game, the Galleria, and so on.  Jacob had alot of fun, especially I think being an only child, although he did miss his Gwynnie and after he had made a Fred Bird at the Build a Bear workshop at the St. Louis Cardinals game, he HAD to get Gwyn a Hello Kitty.  He was so excited to give it to her, and she said she loved it.

We had us a "girls weekend" complete with getting up extra early on Saturday morning to go to our old house since they were having a community garage sale.  We got there about 6:30 am, and by 8:30, I had hardly sold anything.  So, with a the motivation of the closing at 11 am on Monday and HAVING to get everything out (added to the fact that I had two hot and miserable little girls with me at the time), I pretty much said everything was free, take it if you want it, and miraculously it worked and I was out of there by a little before 10 am!  We were exhausted and came home for their naps, then went to Jason's for a bit before spending a quiet early evening here at our new home (as Gwyn calls it). 

We celebrated Jason's 33rd birthday on Tuesday night.  The kids were all excited for the cake, and then they wanted to know if tomorrow was their birthday.

Other news:  Annie is 7 months old!  She is doing great and getting so big, she's starting to crawl, sticks everything in her mouth, she loves peas and bananas, and wait for it....is sleeping through the night!!!! Yes, she might just get a little bit of a bonus in her inheritance for giving me my nights back sooner than Jacob or Gwyn did!  She is such a happy little baby, she loves being with people, loves to stare at Gwyn, laugh at Jacob, and loves to be tickled.  Here she is at 7 months:

Here is Jacob @ 7 months:

Here is Gwyn @ 7 months:

Here are just a few random pics from this week...Jacob loves to dress up, and now that he has a pool, he's turned into water-man:

Gwyn wants to be known as super-girl, does this stance and then takes off running "super fast" (She is also in a taking-her-clothes-off-at-every-opportunity phase, but she is still keeping her diaper on!).  I also realized when I was brushing her teeth the other night that she almost has both of her bottom molars all the way in. 

Here is Annie just being sweet and playing, the second one is of her staring at Gwyn...she is mesmerized by her brother and sister:

Then she started to take off crawling!

This last one is of Gwyn before we went to church on Sunday.  I had the girls dressed so cute in their Baby Lulu dresses, and she HAD to wear her "super fast" shoes.  I guess super girl always has to be prepared!  She is still giving her squinty smile.

Funny things the kids said this week:

Jacob:  I brush my teeth, so they don't get black.

Gwyn: Cats eat mouses.

Gwyn:  I want to go home, to my old home.

Jacob: You can't climb like spider man unless you are Peter Parker.

Gwyn:  I love you so much Annie!

Gwyn:  My Jacob is lost (when Jacob was in St. Louis).

We've moved!

We have moved!  It has a been a very long and tiring process, but we are finally in our new house.  The kids are doing great here, they are sleeping well and enjoying the stairs and hopefully soon the pool (we've gotten alot of rain recently, so it is quite cold!).  Gwyn did say a couple of times the first day or so that she wanted to go home, but with Jacob constantly saying that this is our new home, I think she is getting it.  The kids loved all the boxes, you wouldn't believe the number of castles that have been built and torn down around both our old house and this one in the past week!

One thing that happened last week is that Jacob can write his name!  He's so proud!

We have been so busy with the move, but thankfully we had alot of help.  My dad was down for over a week helping fix the house up, and my mom came down for the weekend to help with the kids.  Then, Rick came down for a week and Sue came down for the weekend of the actual move.  It is very tough to move with 3 kids, and we were all sore and tired in the end, but we did it (as Dora would say!).  It was also so nice to have Jason bring food all the time, and my first night to cook in the house was last night.  I'm loving my gas stove. 

I took a few pictures of the house, but we have nothing on the walls, and stuff is still everywhere, so hopefully by next week I'll be able to post some pictures of the house.  It was also Jacob's last day of school yesterday, and he'll be going to 4 days of preschool next year...I can't believe he's growing up so fast! 

Another big event, was that Annie got her first popscicle.  This is a big deal at our house, everynight after dinner it is popscicles before bedtime, and Brian gave Gwyn hers while he was holding Annie and she just reached right out and grabbed it from Gwyn (and of course the tears came fast!).  Anyway, Annie loved it, and yes, Gwyn got another one, and the kids just thought it was great that Annie got to sit with them and eat one too.

Here is one more picture of Gwyn, she is in a major fake smiling phase, she thinks the bigger the smile and squintier the eyes, the better!

Summertime Fun!

We love summer time in Houston...well, I should say that we love playing in the water during the summer, not so much the HOT summertime in Houston!  The kids had fun in the backyard today, and I got a few cute pictures.  Who knew the water hose would still be so entertaining.  The kids have now discovered if they wet the slide on the playset and then slide down it, they go flying off the end.  I got some video of this today, we were dying laughing at them having so much fun.  Poor little Annie was just itching to crawl over and join the fun, but then she discovered she could try to eat grass, ha!

Today was also Jacob's birthday chapel at his school and Mother's Day Tea.  I had a good time at both.  We again had to have the conversation that it wasn't really his birthday, but they were just celebrating all the summer birthdays today since they wouldn't be in school for his birthday in July.  He asked why they counted to 4 if he wasn't 4 and still 3.  Another long conversation that ended with, "but she touched four of my fingers to count to 4."  I think he finally got it, but wanted to know where his cake was!  Here is a picture of him at his birthday chapel....yes, he is picking his nose which was the least embarrassing thing he did (he lifted his shirt up over his head and stuck his hand down his pants in front of everyone while he was up there...I guess he was bored after being up there for about 5 minutes!).

The Mother's Day Tea was nice.  They had place settings set out for all the moms with special things from the kids and the kids acted as our "waiters" to bring us some juice or tea and cake.  Jacob was so proud of the things he made.  They sang us a couple of songs, gave us a flower, and then gave us a picture they had drawn of their family.  Jacob's was too cute, he said he loved it when I played in his room with him, and my job was cleaning up after him (ha!, he is right about that!), and his favorite thing I make is strawberries (I'm excellent at washing them I guess!). 

Little Annie is just growing so fast.  She loves her some vegetables and she likes to hold her own bottle!  I had to put this picture in here for all those people who can remember that Jacob never did learn to hold his bottle, he would just lay himself out and never attempt to hold it...he was just fine with you doing everything for him...not Annie (or Gwyn!), they want control of that bottle!

And yes, that is a pack of breathe right strips next to her.  Jacob and Gwyn and I like to play a game called "let's see what Annie will try to eat" (don't worry, they do it with me supervising them) and Jacob got that box of breathe right strips.  They just think it is so funny that she tries to put everything in her mouth, Gwyn says, "that not food!" "that not taste good!"  Annie does like to eat her feet, and I caught Gwyn doing it the other day, and she said "look Mommy, I do it like Annie!"  I have so much fun playing with those kids everyday.  They are getting pretty funny together.  Jacob and Gwyn make up games, make up words, read each other books, the other day, I heard Jacob telling Gwyn about how Peter Parker got bit by a radio spider.  I asked him if he meant radioactive spider, and he said, "no Mommy, a RADIO spider."  Oh, okay.

Annie is getting ready to be on the move.  If she wants something she rolls over to it, she's up on her knees bouncing, gets into a crawling position, attempts a couple of moves with her knees and then usually face plants.  She is getting determined.  You should see the look in her eyes when she sees Jacob and Gwyn running around.  I really would like her to stay put for awhile.  With this house move, that is all I need is to worry about her getting into everything!

Oh yes, an update on the house.  We closed last Thursday, and my dad has been down helping us get somethings done on the house that will be hard to do before we move in.  By the time he leaves, the whole upstairs will pretty much be brand new!  He has also worked several inspection items, and things are coming along really well, but I keep adding things to the list!  He goes back Sunday, and Rick comes in for a week to help finish up some projects and help us move in.  We are getting excited!!