September Instagram Pics

 C and Uncle Ray!

 These sweet little kicks came from Rio!  How precious are they!?

Dinner in the buff.  He's definitely Ryan's kid.

 Time to put the crib bumper on!

 Our support doesn't seem to be helping.  :(

This is how Ethan loves on Christian. He has done this since C was a baby and the only thing I can think of is we used to tell him not to grab the baby's hands when he was first born... (germs!) so we used to tell him he could touch Christian's feet... and I guess it stuck.  It's really the sweetest thing...

My Ethan.

I feel compelled to write a few lines about Ethan.  I don't really know how to express my feelings on this boy but I'm going to give it a shot.  Ethan is INCREDIBLE.  When he was born, I remember feeling so complete.  I knew we would have more children, but he just fulfilled me in a way that I can't really explain.  I felt instantly connected to him - he owned me right from the start.  He was the cutest and sweetest baby.  He was sick all the time, but always happy.  He struggled with eating and had severe reflux.  He laughed and smiled and was just so content - despite all this.  When he was about 18 mos old, he started showing his personality.  That personality was vibrant and outgoing, but also a little timid and cautious.  He was happy and active, but also had a temper that no child could touch.  If he got angry, it was loud and fierce and DID NOT stop.  He would cry and scream so hard from not getting what he wanted that he would make himself puke.  We used to joke that he was like the hulk... don't make hulk angry!  :)  Sadly, this was all just a frustration with not being able to communicate like he wanted, and also just the fact that we always gave in to whatever he wanted - which just fueled his tantrums when we had to really say no.  In July, Ethan turned 3 and even though he still is struggling with it a little, he is such a cool kid that I almost can't remember those tough 18 months.  He is absolutely hilarious, and when you get him one-on-one, you will never ever be bored.  He loves to sing and music is definitely a passion for him.  He loves books - he'd let you read to him all day long if you would.  He adores his brothers - both of them - and has such a bond with each of them - no one could ever break that type of bond.  He has really come alive in the last few months - showing off his coolness every day.  Ryan and I were just talking about how blessed we are with our boys... but Ethan is very special.  He isn't influenced by peer pressure, he's SUPER independent and very stubborn, and his love for his family and friends is just unbreakable.  He makes us laugh all day long... He's just amazing.  I can't wait to see what treasured memories he will make for himself and for our family.  The best is yet to come!!  Love you Ethan Chase!!

The Middle Child

Even though you're not the oldest,
or the youngest, you see,
Being in the middle is a really neat place to be!
The middle of a sandwich
is the most important part,
And in the middle of your body,
you will find your heart.
The engine in the middle
is what runs a good machine;
And our family wouldn't be the same
without you in between.

Sweet Zzz's!

He was so sleepy this particular day - I couldn't hardly wake him up.  Unfortunately, I have to wake him up so often to go pick up the big boys or to go take them to Little Gym/Karate or whatever.  This is probably why they say the 3rd kid has to be so chill... Cuz he doesn't get that "it's all about me" that the 1st gets... When I took these pictures, I had already tried to wake him up but he wouldn't wake... He was so tired.  Broke my heart having to disturb this little cutie pie.  Doesn't get much sweeter than this.

My bigs.

These boys are SOOOOOO cool!!!!

How lucky am I that I get to be their mommy!?  Seriously, these two are so fun!  I feel like a kid again sometimes playing with them and hearing their little stories they make up... They fight like crazy and play so fun... I adore them!!!

6 MONTHS OLD!!!!!

How can this little cutie already be 6 months old!!!??

Christian Michael!  My baby, my angel, my little taste of heaven.  He just makes me SO beyond happy!!  I took Christian to the doc on 9/16, and he was 16 pounds, 2 oz (28th percentile), 26 in (29th percentile) and his head was 43 cm (44th percentile). So he's a little guy!!!  I took him in because he was tugging his right ear a lot and not wanting to eat... He had a few "blow out" diapers and was having restless while sleeping at night, so I assumed - since we went through that with Ethan - that he must have an ear infection.  Turns out, he is definitely teething and has a cold.  Otherwise, he's ok!  Thank God!  He is just the coolest kid.  He has the brightest, bluest eyes and he loves to laugh and cackle... He is VERY spoiled - and yep, I do not care.  He is my baby boy, and I refuse to stop spoiling him.  He gets pretty much anything he wants at this point.  I tend to hold him every chance I get and I rock him to sleep everytime I can.  He is such chill baby as long as I hold him.  He definitely knows familiar faces - his brothers, his daddy, mimi and mommy.  He is starting to show his personality a lot.  Last week, I took him to our bible study on Saturday and he was WAILING when I picked him up.  The following day, I dropped him off at church, and they had to call me out of church to come get him because he was freaking out.  He immediately stopped crying when I took him.  I know this may be normal to most moms, but I've never had a kid who did this before!  Christian can, literally, not be calmed down by strangers.  He wants mommy or daddy and he will not settle for anyone else.  It's kind of precious to be honest.  It doesn't bother me yet.... Stay tuned, I may change my mind when he's doing this at 2 years old! HA!  Christian still loves his Jumperoo and loves to play/hold toys in his hands.  He still hates the car seat, with a passion, but he's starting to really like the Ergo carrier... which I have to use a lot!   He refuses a paci still, but uses that thumb constantly (it's still really cute!).  I've attempted cereal several times and he just gags and/or throws up each time.  This is exactly what

Ethan did at this age, so I'm hoping not to have a repeat of that...but we'll keep trying.  Practice makes perfect, right?  He takes about 6-7 oz of formula, 4 times a day.  He goes to bed at 7p each night, goes right to sleep after and sleeps til about 630am the next morning.  He has been waking up around 430am - 500am each morning, laying in his bed, rolling around and talking to himself for about 45 minutes and then goes back to sleep til 630am - 700am.  He's been doing that for about a month.  Not sure what that's about but he seems to be perfectly fine with it.  :)  He can sit up by himself, kind of, for about 5 seconds.  He doesn't like it one bit.  He stiffens his back and presses backward - or he falls flat forward chewing on his feet.  But we keep practicing.  He is still taking the zantac, twice a day and the doc up'd his dosage to 1.4 ml - hopefully will help with all the spit up.  He takes a nap around 830am for a couple hours and then again at 100p for a couple hours.  He generally will take a cat nap around 430p/500p for about a half hour.  He is such a fun, happy, sweet boy!  I keep pinching myself because I cannot believe he's mine!  I wish I could freeze time and keep him this size and with this sweet demeanor!  I just LOVE this age!!!

Looking back at my little man...

At birth

 1 Month Old

 2 Months Old

 3 Months Old

 

4 Months Old

 5 Months Old

6 Months Old!!!

It's all good....

I want to start this by saying that I want my blog to be very transparent.  I don't want to be that person who only shows the "good stuff" all the time, because that's not real life - at least for us!
  With that being said, Jackson is MY kid for sure.  When I was a little girl, I got in trouble all the time - specifically in those first 3 or 4 grades in school - for talking too much! HA!  Surprise surprise, I like to talk!!!  So on the 6th day of class, Jackson's teacher came out to talk to me in the car pickup line.  She said Jackson didn't have his "normal" day and wasn't listening to her very well.... and she left me a note in his bag.  She said "he's not very happy that I had to write you a note, but we've talked about it and I want you to know that I love Jackson very much."  So when I got home and saw this, I was a bit sad to hear my little guy was already disrupting class.  I wasn't surprised because during the last month or so before he started school, he was really starting to act up. He wasn't listening to us, wasn't obeying, and I was having to ask him to do things many many times before he'd do it and then he'd do it with a bad attitude.  It's just normal stuff for this age.  I know that.  Jackson is a sweet, loving boy who is learning how his world is all shaped up.  He's learning boundaries and where his boundaries are, so of course to do that - one has to test those boundaries!  So, I thought about how to fix this.... and I came up a solution.  We started a new daily tracking of Jackson's behavior, and so far, so good!  Every single morning, he wakes up with a star and if he disobeys, etc, he gets a strike.  Each strike has a different consequence - but the first is basically a warning.  He also gets rewarded for keeping his star!  If he gets consecutive stars, the rewards get better and better.  He loves the rewards so much that he genuinely tries to keep his star every day!  He has been striving to get 7 days in a row of stars so he can have the friend of his choice over to his house for a playdate. He's doing awesome with this.  And he's had only GREAT reviews from his teacher since then!! I'm super proud of my big boy!! 

My three little pigs.

GO HOGS!!!

Karate!!

It's happened!!  Jackson has begun karate!!  Today, he will finish his 5th class, and at his 4th class, he received his first "stripe" and he was so proud!  He goes to karate class twice a week and those are probably his favorite two days of the week!  He's really loving it!  I'm so glad too because I really think karate will be so good for Jackson.... Jackson tends to be a little hyperactive and not the best listener... but karate is helping with that!!  His teacher is stern, yet funny - and demands respect and order... SOOOO good for Jackson! He is picking up on the moves and really doing well!  I'm super excited to watch him grow with this activity. 

Ethan Love.

Ethan is so in love with his baby brother.  Like crazy crazy love.  It's something that totally surprised me when Christian was born.  I expected Jackson to show a ton of affection but it was Ethan who has always had trouble keeping his hands off his little brother.  Ethan is so loving and cuddly with him.  He'll grab Christian's little feet, press those feet to his face and then look up to me and say "mommy, I LOVE my baby brother."  :) I know he really loves being a big brother too - he wants to show C everything, and show off how "big" he is... It just makes me so proud and happy!  Christian is one very blessed little boy to have two awesome big brothers in his life....

Ethan Starts Soccer!

 

My boy is growing up!! Ethan started soccer this fall - no more watching Bubba on the sidelines, not getting to participate... Ethan's time has come.  He's ready too!  He seems to really like soccer so far.... AND - he's so darn cute playing! Love this little fiesty man so much!!

It does a momma GOOD.