August moments

Our August days...

Christian turned 9 years old!

Such beautiful clouds

Noah, you are extra safe with glasses AND goggles.

A happy, splashy Isaac.

Big brother reading time

A movie/snack night with the older two in the basement, prior to school starting!

 I am a very blessed mama.

Our summer to-do list, in backwards form (we didn't exactly make the list before hand)...

The first two weeks of school for Noah were half-days. While Christian was at school all day, these two enjoyed playing in the mornings.

I thought I'd try and tackle some extra stinky clothes with fabric softener...and it is best to shake up the bottle when the lid is actually screwed on securely. A positive note..my arm smelled really clean and fresh the rest of the day!

Isaac has definitely entered the next level of owning his personality. He was quiet, and when I went looking for him in his room which was dark and 'empty', I turned and told Ben "he's not in here!" Then I heard a "yooooo-oooo" (think of the Norwegian guy off the movie Frozen) followed by lots of giggling when I found him like this in the closet! Oh he was SO proud of himself!

A group effort of some kind!

Noah, a now kindergartener had his first library day at school...this was the his first book he picked.

One of those days where nap time wasn't able to happen at a normal hour, and then the blessed supper hour arrived, super cranky...but him in the carrier..and he passed out!

It was "purple day" for Noah at school, and this was the closet we had. Jonah wanted to match..and since Isaac had the shirt as well (thank you Grandma) we had to take a picture. When I said I wanted their picture, Noah said, "well let's hold hands, so Isaac doesn't run away!!"

An early evening thunderstorm was very welcomed. It made for some great splashing, and then Daddy came home and played some form of horseplay/ninja something with Noah and Jonah. Lots of laughing.

Jonah's starting preschool!!! Oh my. Lots of emotions for everyone.

Back to School

The summer has come to an end. And we now have three little boys that are going off to school.

Christian 3rd grade

Noah: Kindergarten

Jonah: Preschool (Tues/Thurs)

 They didn't ALL leave me yet....I get to have this one home for 2 1/2 hours twice a week by HIMSELF :)

Praying for a good school year, for learning, for friendships, for internal growth, for new discoveries, for health, and for respect for themselves and others.

Phases and Phrases

I wish I could remember ALL the funny sayings. But even the ones that aren't necessarily funny, I want to remember the things each of these boys say. They are certainly ALL verbal at this point!!

Christian's phrases....

"Apparently, _______ (any number of things could be said here)."

"He deliberately did that." 

"He OBVIOUSLY wants to annoy me." 

"I literally didn't know that would happen.

"I technically can't reach that, can you help."

"Please stop. Can you please stop. Please stop." (It seems as though he thinks if he can say this on repeat quickly without many breaks, the other person is going to feel as though they should listen to what he is wanting. He tries to make the point he is asking nicely...however, if you hear HOW this is said, it maybe isn't the easiest to listen to.)

"Dis-arupt" = interrupt "Noah, don't dis-arupt me, I was talking!"

Noah's phrases...

"What should I do??" So commonly asked these days leading up to school starting. He is so good at keeping with a project or task if started, but just needs that extra boost to get the idea in his head to get going. "I can handle it." When he wants to do a puzzle, he doesn't want to "just" do a 100 piece puzzle, he wants a 200 piece puzzle, because he "can handle it!"

"I can do it by myself." or "I want to do it by myself." He has been wanting to prove to himself and us that he can handle doing things independently. Examples: Making his bed without being told, bathing himself (start to finish...he just can't get the towel off the hook, and that is really irritating that he just HAS to ask for assistance with that), the complete bedtime routine. He has made it clear that now that he is in kindergarten, he is BIG enough to do these things by himself!

"Constructions" = instructions. He will refer to the "constructions" to his Lego sets, or plus-plus sets and it just makes me want to giggle so hard every time.

Jonah's phrases....

"I don't want ta. I need ta do it." (He replaces "to" with "ta"..said with a bit of a southern drawl.)

"I want Daddy." (this one should be #1 comment/statement on repeat...it is said ALOT!!!)

With Jonah, it is more how he says things rather than what he is saying. It is the eye rolls, the sighing, the acting as though he is about 15 instead of 3. He does alot of "behind-the-scenes" talking. He is NOT a fan of being heard by people he doesn't know well, and he certainly won't be seen talking on the phone, whether it is just regular phone or FaceTime. But you get him playing with Legos, blocks, animals, bricks, etc....he is going to be making up stories and talking away to those toys!!

Isaac's phrases...

"Baa-pa, baa-pa." (Back-pack, back-pack. He saw an episode of Dora the Explorer with his brothers, and that saying STUCK to say the least!! That show says backpack quite a bit!) 

He also says, "ma-ma", "daa-da". Oh, and he certainly knows much more than he speaks. When mentioning the word, "scream" even within a sentence, he gives that ornery ol' look and gives a very distinctive scream. 

Just within this week he has started saying a clear, "doooonnn!" (= don't) and "noooooo" ( = no)

He is jabbering combinations of sounds together, so much so, that sometimes it seems like actual sentences are going to pop out of there at any moment!

Happy Birthday Christian [ #9 ]

Happy 9th Birthday Christian!!

On your actual birthday, you woke up with strep throat....boo.

You spent most of the day lying on the couch. But you felt good enough to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for angel food cake (after we had chicken noodle soup at home).

 Fortunately, the antibiotics kicked in after 24 hours and you were feeling much better. 

The Sweigart birthday party took place the weekend after, consisting of grilled hamburgers, an assortment of chips, finger jello, fruit salad, beans, with chocolate chip cookie bar "cake"!

You had Owen over for a little birthday party. We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to swim, then to the park with a happy hour Sonic treat to play with the football you got.

Grandma and Grandpa H, Great Grandma and Grandpa H, and Great Grandpa John came over to celebrate as well! You seem to get 3 birthday parties every year, and haven't complained about it yet!

You've already said, you'd like me to make this cake again next year...it was a jello poke cake :)

Hope you feel all the love and birthday blessings Christian...

you are a gift, a very special growing boy, and we love you very much.

Rain Rain Rain

After a bit of a downer of a day, it ended with a rain storm...a beautiful rain storm.

Jonah and Noah wanted to play in it, and it just all our hearts good.

Isaac and I watched from under the garage.

And then...Daddy came home. And "Ninja Noah" came alive! They all chased Daddy around the driveway, played basketball, and ended the day soaked!!