A Favorite Picture

I know I've probably said this a million times about all of my kids...but this little guy has brought so much joy to each of our lives. He is such a happy baby and sweet to his brothers and even the dog. As #3, he is developing quickly since he desperately wants to keep up with his adoring big brothers. He would much rather play with their toys than his own and just this past week he has even started standing on his own.

This time last year, we had no idea how much our lives would change in only a few short months. I think it's fair to say that every member of our family is delighted that God brought Ty into our family.

I love this picture of my baby and me - though I often find aspects of this stage in life challenging, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm constantly reminded how blessed I am with my three beautiful boys and amazing husband. I never want to take these years for granted.

Spending Time with Great-Grandparents

My mom, the boys and I had the privilege of visiting my grandparents for a few hours during Spring Break week. It was fun and the boys just love all of their grandparents and great-grandparents. I'm so thankful they have a chance to know my grandparents. We have been blessed with a tremendous heritage. Here are just a few pictures from our visit.

The "Grandpa Trap" - I think every grandkid has been caught in this many times. :)

Visiting about school and games.

Titus charming everyone :) - they hadn't seen him since Nov. He has changed a lot!

The boys with my grandparents. Such wonderful times building memories.

A Look Back

Since Calvin celebrated his birthday this week, I thought it would be fun (at least for me :)) to look back at each of his birthdays with us. The first we had the privilege of celebrating with him as our son was when he turned 2 (he came home October of 2006 and turned 2 in April 2007). Here is a pic from each year - I can't believe how much he has changed!

2007

2008

2009

Birthday in Pictures!

The Birthday Boy - anxiously awaiting present time! :)

Who isn't excited by a pile of presents?!

Patrick watched as Calvin unwrapped the gift he choose to give him - 2 monster trucks. He was happy that Calvin wanted to share. :)

This was his main gift...

He started to realize what it was...

He was thrilled! After weeks of air guitar and using books, arms, elbows etc. as guitars, he now has one to play. He loves music and has been enamored with guitars especially!

The face of a happy musician.

The cake coming his way....

Blowing out the 4 candles.

A delighted boy!

The Orange Racecar Cake! I was pretty happy with the way it turned out but the real test was whether Calvin liked it - he chose a chocolate cake and I filled it with strawberry filling. Yum!

Calvin's 4!

Dear Calvin,

Can you really be 4? It seems like yesterday that you came into our lives and forever changed them for the better.

Calvin, you are an amazing son. You are affectionate and sweet. Every time you tell me that you love me, I melt even more. I love every single hug and kiss. And I love that you still like to sit on my lap and cuddle.

You have worked so hard this year on speech and wow, you have come such a long way! Your dad and I are so proud of you. You are learning so much at school and your teacher tells us you are doing well. You are artistic and creative and still a ham. Just recently you have really started to tease us and make jokes. One of your highest compliments is, "Mom, you're p[f]unny." Your eyes are constantly dancing with mischief.

This past year, you visited the beach for the first time and loved it! You also helped us welcome your baby brother and have excelled even more as a big brother. I love hearing the pride in your voice as you tell your friends, "This is OUR baby."

I am still in awe that God chose you to be our son. I cannot imagine our family any other way. I love you forever and always, no matter what.

Happy 4th Birthday, Calvin!

Love,
Mommy

"Camping Out"

Last week, for spring break, I combined several of the ideas into one fun day. :) The weather wasn't very nice so we set up camp inside. We "roasted" marshmallows on forks over our pretend fire (I missed getting a picture of it) and made s'mores. I set up the tent with sleeping bags and pillows and got the boys' camp chairs out. I popped popcorn and the watched Wall-E - all in the middle of the day. I think they had a good time! Here are a few pictures:

These two are tight and she loves all the attention.

Cheesing for the camera in his camp chair.

The "campsite." You can see the "fire" in the lower left corner.

The tent - ready for "outdoor" fun!


Pippi thought it was so comfy and great. :)

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I've tucked several away for future use! I'm pretty sure I'll need some creative ideas for this summer!

Easter Basket Fun

Waiting to check out their Easter baskets...er...buckets!

Titus was totally in on the action. :)

Showing Great-Grandma how Pez worked and getting help re-loading it.

Pez was definitely a hit and I think everyone had an appetizer of grape or orange Pez candy. :)

Pippi, basking in the sun and enjoying all of the people!

The Desserts

While I missed getting pictures of our Easter meal, I did remember to pull out the camera and take pictures of the desserts. I liked doing "finger desserts" - it was nice and light for after a big brunch/dinner.

Mini Cheesecakes w/Balsamic Strawberries

Carrot Cupcakes w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Brown Sugar Shortbread w/Chocolate & Pecans

Lemon Cream Cupcakes w/Lemon Frosting

Our Handsome Little Men

I was so excited to find matching outfits in all of their sizes - I know they won't let me do that for very long. :) And yes, Titus has been drooling like crazy - at least it's not spit-up! Natural smiles are hard to come by these days and we never seem to capture all three but I was happy with this attempt. I'll post more Easter pics this week as well as photos from our spring break fun. :)

7 Months...

...and ever so sweet! He loves to pose for the camera!
More pictures on the boys' blog.

A Snow Day!

I'm still here! I've tried to blog about three times but haven't had the time or the pictures. I also haven't even been entering very many giveaways...in case you wondered if that was the cause of my silence. :) It's just been a crazy week.

Today we woke up to 10.5 inches of snow!!!


After pretty much never believing the weather people this year, they were actually right. :) It's beautiful and it meant that we had Andrew home all day - yes, he worked some but still, he was here and we had lunch together. It was so nice! We ventured out this evening to my parents (10 min. away) to take the boys sledding and invited ourselves for dinner, too. :) I don't think they minded - I brought cookies and salad. I managed to get us stuck in snow on the way there - no sliding, just too much snow not cleared off the road. Thankfully, some good samaritans stopped and helped us get unstuck! I love it when people are kind!


The boys enjoyed the sledding! I just took pictures and Titus stayed in (we are working hard to keep him healthy!). My parents have a great hill in the backyard.

Snow days always make me want to bake! So, I made Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies, Iced Sugar Cookies (the boys request - they helped), and biscuits. We had homemade chicken noodle soup with the biscuits for lunch - I don't know why I don't make it more often!

Tomorrow I head to work - one of my co-workers broke her ankle which necessitated surgery and she will be off work for 3-4 weeks. I'm going to be tripling my hours temporarily and working 3 mornings a week (while the boys are at school). It will be different but the extra income will be helpful, they are being super flexible so I can still pick the boys up at school, and it's only for a few weeks. Andrew is able to drop them off and family members will watch Ty for a few hours.

So that's what's going on around here!

A Picture Post

Fun in the Snow!

Hot Chocolate to Warm Up!

This Guy Turned 5 Months Last Week - Check Out His Pictures Here!

Open House Pics!

I, of course, did not take nearly as many pictures as I hoped. In fact, we have virtually no pictures of the people who blessed us by coming to celebrate with us! We had about 50 people stop in (adults & children). It was so much fun!

The 3 brothers before it started - they couldn't wait for a party and as Calvin said with his hands outstretched, "All, ALL the people!"

Me with the man-of-the-hour. My hair was a little damp from my last minute shower. :)

The Food Table

Our menu: BBQ Pork Sandwiches, Macaroni & Cheese, Veggies & Dip, Apples & Bananas, Heart-Shaped Jello Jigglers, Tortilla Chips & Salsa, Potato Chips, Molasses Cookies, Iced Sugar Cookies, and White Cake w/Strawberry Mousse Filling.

The BEAUTIFUL cookies my mom made. She surprised us by decorating them all - it made me get a little teary. They were so cute and it was so thoughtful! They tasted as good as they looked!

The Cake - I love how it turned out!

The boys with one of their friends. I realized we've reached a whole new level of independence - the boys took all their friends upstairs to play with the toys. We barely saw them except when they wanted more food :) or when we checked on them. They had a blast!

Uncle Noah & Uncle Wesley with Patrick and one of our friend's little ones.

Our friend, Heather, loving on Ty. He was passed around and didn't mind at all.

Our family photo that arrived on the door step on Saturday. I had won an 11x14 print of a photo of my choice and had no idea it would come then! My dad took the photo (you've seen it before) and I sent it to a lady who touched it up, blew it up, and mounted it for framing. We are thrilled with it!

The five of us at the end of the evening. We were tired but it was worth it!

The star of the show. It seemed like he knew it was all about him - he worked so hard to stay awake. :) He took a couple of cat naps during the party but he loved all the attention and was a perfect angel. :) Oh and he slept for 10 straight hours afterwards (he's never slept more than 7) - I think we wore him out! His 3 month pictures are on the boys' blog.