Future Van Gogh?

Construction paper: $3

Paints: $6

Spiderman smock: $4

Messy fun on the back deck?: Priceless.  

Dishwasher Helper Reprised

Seems my kids have a certain love for the dishwasher.  They certainly didn't get it from me.

Gavin- 8 months old

Landon-  11 months old 

Growing Up Gavin

Gavin is getting so big.  It seems like I went to sleep, and bam, he woke up a toddler!  Of course, he's only 8 months old, but lately it seems like he learns something new every day!  What a big boy!  His latest feat?  Pulling himself up to stand.  I forgot about this stage of baby development.  It's the time when bumps on the head are an almost daily event.  Or wait, is that only in my family?  He is such a fast mover.... he climbs steps and can stand up on anything that he can reach.  But, he's yet to figure out how to get down from the standing position.  And therefore: the head bumps.  

Lincoln Park Zoo

On Wednesday we joined Rachel Parks and her 4 kids at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  I have never been to the Lincoln Park area, and it was so beautiful!  I hope we get to spend more time there in the future as a family.  It proved to be quite challenging to walk around the zoo with 7 kids: 2 nursing babies, a toddler, 2 preschoolers, and 2 grade schoolers.  We probably spent more time doing bathroom breaks than we did seeing animals, but oh well.  Brayden loved the cheetahs (his new favorite animal) and the bats, and Landon enjoyed the swinging monkeys.  There was one monkey that gave us quite a show!  He was swinging, climbing, and jumping all over the cage... it was hilarious!  He would occasionally stop and stare at all the people as if he knew that we were watching-- what an entertainer!  

There was also a children's zoo area where the boys had fun climbing and playing outside in the water. There was a spray area where fountains would shoot into the air randomly.   Brayden was a hoot to watch.  He would sit on top of the sprinkler and wait for the water to shoot out.   When the water turned on, he giggled like crazy!  

Waiting for the water...

So funny!

I love this!!

What in the world are you doing, Brayden?

Probably my favorite part of the day was getting some rare but adorable picture of all three boys eating a soft pretzel from the snack stand.  Love my boys!!

America's Favorite Pastime

Last week (or was it two weeks ago? Time flies!) we enjoyed a Schaumburg Flyers game.  It was the boys' first 'live' baseball game, and boy did they have a great time!  Honestly, they probably spent about 10 minutes total actually watching the game... the rest of the time was spent enjoying the other activities throughout the ballfield. Brayden's favorite part by far was the batting cages.  It was so precious to watch him line up with the big boys, pick up a metal bat that probably weighed more than he did, and climb into that cage with anticipation.  He swung that bat as each pitch came his way, and may I brag a bit?... he did a really good job for a 4 year old!  I don't know why I'm bragging... I have absolutely no athletic ability at all, so it certainly didn't come from me!  Thank you PopPop for all of those hours spent pitching to Bray!  

Wait for it, wait for it... 

Here it comes!

Home Run Hitter!!!

The boys also enjoyed a playground and a moon bounce.  Landon always cracks me up/scares me to death inside of those moonbounce things.  He has so much confidence that he behaves as if he is 6 feet tall.  But since he barely hits 2 1/2 feet, the threat of Landon being crushed inside of there is quite high.  But Landon climbs in there with the courage of a king, and jumps/flips/falls all over the place.  And he always climbs out with a smile and without an injury.  Yet, this time at the ballpark, there were just a few too many kids inside the moonbounce.  Landon was knocked down more times than I could count.  And when he climbed out, well, his face just said it all.  

Festival Park

I love my kids so much.  I really do.  I would do anything for them.  Sure, I lose my patience with them more times than I would care to admit on this blog, but they really are my world.  These days with them home with me are so precious, and I truly treasure this time as they seem to get older each day.  I get teary-eyed while writing this.  

Today we visited Festival Park in Elgin.  If you live in the area, it's a great (free!) park for kids of all ages.  There are fountains that come up out of the ground as well as a climbing area that the older ones can enjoy.  Both boys are always a bit hesitant when we arrive.  But, once in they get in the fountains, they thoroughly enjoy themselves (as you can see in the photos)!   Gavin spent most of the day in the stroller, but I did take him out for a few moments to splash in the water.  Wow!  What a water baby!  He LOVED it!  It was too hard to capture a photo of him, but trust me, his face was priceless.  Brayden, the always doting older brother, was so encouraging and playful with Gavin.  And Landon, the fearless adventurer, was adorable as ever.  

Sometimes I am really proud of my kids.  Brayden is at the age where the discipline issues are not usually ones of outright defiance, but of internal 'heart' issues.  We spend a lot of time discussing 'good choices' that please Jesus, versus 'bad choices' that make Jesus sad.  I have been very proud of Brayden lately for making 'good choices' that honor Jesus.  He is not at the place yet that he has accepted Christ as his Savior, but he clearly loves Jesus and wants to please him.  And when he makes those good choices, it is so rewarding.  All of those moments spent disciplining him seem to pay off.  I wonder if that is how God feels when we obey him.  I know I personally have such a long way to go in making 'good choices'.  It is the internal sin that I struggle with.  My thoughts, attitudes, and 'issues of the heart' are the things that I want to please Christ.  So I guess both Brayden and I will continue to work on this daily.  :)  

Cutie Cousins

Caleb came over the other day for a couple of hours.  While Brayden and Landon napped, Caleb and Gavin were laying (lying?) on the ground staring up at the ceiling fan.  It was cheap and easy entertainment for them, and I even had the chance to eat some lunch with no babies/toddlers/kids climbing on me!  Oh, the little things.  It's crazy how things change when you have kids.  I remember when I was pregnant and people always said, "Just wait until you have kids!  Things will change!"  And I absolutely hated it.  I remember thinking, "How hard can it be?  Things aren't going to change THAT much."  

Well, as much as I hate to admit it, those people were right.  There are some 'not so glamourous' parts of motherhood that I am experiencing on a daily basis.  I am now blogging about having 10 minutes to myself to eat lunch.  I am listening to the bathroom fan because my baby will not sleep without the white noise.  I am watching the news (the news! I'm old!) to catch the weather to see if it will be nice enough to go to the park with the boys tomorrow.  My 7 month old baby is sleeping in our bed next to me, which I swore I would NEVER do.  My kitchen is a disaster zone, and right now I'm deciding if I want to clean it up now, or just leave it until the morning.    I am wearing my hair in a ponytail for the 4th time this week, and it's only Wednesday.  I am still in my bathing suit from our trip to the water park today.  I haven't been to the gym since Saturday.  I let Landon drink Coke today.  I nursed Gavin in the back of the car today... twice.  I yelled at the boys for waking up Gavin during his nap, again.  I let the boys watch DVDs in the back of the van just for the sake of quiet during car rides.  I went barefoot almost all day.  

Well, that's enough 'confessions of motherhood' for now.  Now to the joys of having little baby cousins.  I am so excited to see Gavin and Caleb grow older together. They are both such easygoing babies, and I think they could be great playmates!  They were adorable together, just staring up at the fan.  I stood above them and snapped more photos than usual, just trying to get the two of them to smile at me.  Despite my best efforts, Caleb would not give me a smile.  I think he thought I was a crazy lady, with all of my jumping and noise-making to get their attention.  The pictures are still cute though!