I'm back!

Zach, Dulcy, Luke, Dad and Eli

Zach, Eli and Luke

Luke, Eli and Zach trying on maternity clothes at Target - this was their idea (and pre-haircuts. Post hair-cut pictures below)

OK, I know I sound like a broken record - it's been unforgivably long since my last blog. So much has happened, I don't even know where to start. Let's start with the littlest guy - yes it's a boy! I'm 21 weeks pregnant now and we know for sure that it's a boy (even I could see it on the sonogram photos). I admit that I was a little bit bummed out when we first found out, because I'm such a mama's girl - my Mom is one of my best friends and my closest confidante, and I know no matter how close I am with the boys, it will be a very different relationship. But I accepted it pretty fast and now look forward to another little guy - this one all by himself! Here are a couple of good pictures from sonograms...

Feet up, head down - looking right

It's a boy!


Eli and Zach touching baby brother - they love him already

Now for the boys... They are driving me crazy! I mean, let's be honest - 3 2-yr old BOYS are enough to make me insane, and there's no use denying it. The great thing is I know that the asylums aren't full of mothers who literally went insane, so I know there's hope! They're normal 2 year olds times three, with lots of pushing and fighting over toys, that sort of thing. I hope they outgrow a lot of this, but in the meantime I'm trying to be consistent with discipline and keep everyone safe! So that's the downside. The upside of having 3 2-yr old boys is that they're starting to talk a lot, singing songs, understanding directions, helping clean up (a little), reading their favorite stories to me almost verbatim (not really reading, just so we're clear!) So lots of really good fun things. I'll take one at a time to point out some of their individual points.

Eli

Check out the bog boy undies

This little one is soooo loving and soooo mischievous! He has a scar on his forehead that will never heal, because he is continually re-injuring himself with his antics. He climbs everything, jumps off anything, and hugs everyone. He is starting to talk more, and he has the cutest little lisp - adorable! He's really good with his colors and loves to play with cars. He's a couple of handfuls, but if he outgrows the terrible twos, no one will be able to resist him!

Eli was the best getting his haircut - sat on his own like a big boy!

Luke

Just waking up

What a clever little dude! He's quiet, but there is so much hiding behind his beautiful eyes that I can't wait until he starts really talking and letting it all out. His major accomplishment (so far) is potty training! I've been working with all three of them for the past 3 days and he has taken to so quickly. He is by no means trained (hopefully that will be the good news in my next post) but he is starting to really get it. He also knows lots of his ABC's, with several letters missing along the way, but he's coming along. He's turned into a real Mommy-lover too, which is so nice. He gives great hugs!

AND he loves to clean! This is his after haircut shot

Zach

Blowing bubbles - ahhh!

There's a lot to say about Zachy, because he's the big talker. I think it makes so much difference when they can communicate verbally, because he has really developed into a character since he started conversing! He sings - Christmas songs, Mickey Mouse songs, Jesus Loves Me (all the boys have their own version of this - so cute!) - really he can and will repeat almost anything he hears. He says, "See you later alligator", "After while crocodile", "knock it off", "you're gonna go to timeout", and a million other sayings. He talks to his Pap Pap almost every day - the other boys say "hello", but Zach has a conversation. He's pretty sharp too - he can count all the way up to 20, with a few numbers here and there which he skips. He's not really interested in potty training though - he might be the tough nut to crack!

What a big smile - and nice hair! His hair is notoriously wild - some of my friends can't recognize him when it looks this neat!

The big events that have happened were a visit from Nana - so special! They boys really got attached to her this time and she got to see all of their adorableness in person. She is just wonderful with them (of course) and gave me some big time relief for the month she was here. She is so generous with her time and love - I couldn't ask for a better Mama!

Zach, Eli and Luke with their new train table. We put this thing together until like 2:30 am Christmas Day - ugh!

Christmas was fun this year too! The boys did not like Santa in person, but were really into him when they didn't have to see him. They also talked a lot about Baby Jesus this year. It's so fun to see the differences in that experience from year to year. They loved unwrapping presents but didn't tear through then like I know they will. They wanted to play with each new thing. It was quiet, just John, the boys and I, but that allowed us to soak up every minute of their joy. We all went to church on Christmas day and they had no childcare so the boys sat with us in big church. That was fun for everyone around us (I hope!) They were dancing in the aisles to the music and played with toys and ate snacks during the sermon. It was a great family experience!

Christmas wore me out though! It sure is different when you have a bunch of toddlers running around, trying to get everything ready. I'm recovered (mostly) and got the decorations down way earlier than usual. (The boys encouraged this by starting to tear the garland off). So now I'm just trying to keep up with the boys and get rest for the new baby. John's been doing some fishing in the local urban lakes, which is a nice relaxing thing for him. Not much luck, but that doesn't bother him. He's a true fisherman!

We also did family photos in November. The ones at the top are a teaser; I'll add more in the next blog! Hope to blog again soon - but no promises - I've learned my lesson!