Science Center

Today I took the boys to the science center for the first time. My friend Carrie was nice enough to give us some extra tickets she had...THANK YOU SO MUCH CARRIE! I decided to leave Asher with my mom and have some good quality time with the big boys. We had so much fun. It's really funny how when you have 2 kids you think it's a lot, but now with 3 I thought having 2 was just soooo easy! LOL We ran from one thing to the next. First thing we went to was this new Robot exibit they have. We walked in and Boston said "WOW! OH...MY...GOSH!" There were robots everywhere. They just walked around in amazement at first. It was just so cute. Then we went to the nascar exhibit and they loved racing their cars on the track.

Next was the nature area and I thought this was really cool, probably cooler than they did. Papa had told them to be sure and see the alligators for them so they had been looking for them since we arrived and were very excited to finally see them. A lady was feeding them too, so they thought that was cool.

Then we went to kid land and this was definatly their favorite thing. Boston's favorite was the orange grove area where you got to pick them, harvest them, put them in crates and on a converer belt. He loved it!

Dallas favorite was the water area where you could change the flow of the water and make your boats race down the stream and the waterfalls. He could have played here for hours.

Then we headed over to the Dinasours and they were amazed by them.

They really enjoyed uncovering bones with the bruses too.

They also had an exhibit about sports and you could do several things related to this. When we got to this room it was filled with field trip kids so it was a little caoitic. But we did do a few things here and the boys even got to throw a baseball and see how fast they could through it. Boston through at 25 mph and Dallas at 15mph.

After that we headed back to the oranges and water and played for a while. Then went and ate our lunch in the car and took Boston to school. What a fun day together with my boys!

Feeding Frenzy

I got home this morning after my 6:15am workout to a wonderful greeting from Dallas waiting for me in the garage. "MOMMY you're HOME!" I love it when I leave and I'm missed. Since I'm with the kids all day I feel like old news sometimes. It's always good to be missed every now and then. Anyhow...everyone was hungry so I started making breakfast. I was cooking the oatmeal for the big boys, heating up baby food for Asher, cooking eggs for me and making Sean's lunch. In the midst of all this of course everyone needs me. And at one point, as all 3 boys were sitting around the table, it reminded me of a mommy bird feeding her baby birds in their nest. Asher would cry for more food and I would feed him a spoonful and get back to finishing fixing it all. Both boys are asking for this and that. Everyone chirping for their food. LOL I just had to laugh because the picture in my head made it all so funny.

Taking pics on the patio

While playing on our patio this afternoon I grabbed the camera to get a few shots with the great sunlight that was coming in while the sun was starting to set.

I think this picture of Asher might possibly be my very favorite picture I've ever taken. I just love how his eyes sparkle! He was so interested in how Boston was climbing all around and playing. He loves being outside and is especially loving the patio now with this great weather.
I liked this picture of Boston as well. He was climbing on the chairs as I was lying on the ground. So I grabbed this one of him.
And the budding photographer in him has learned very well how to operate my Nikon and can actually shoot some pretty good pics. This is one he took of me lying on the patio after a long day of being mommy.

Dallas was in a "mood" since he woke up and all he wanted to do is watch tv. That seems like all he wants to do lately and will have a tantrum on the floor if he doesn't get to. A lot of time we have to endure lots of crying while the tv is off. He finally came around after he heard JT and Lauren were outside. That's when fun Dallas came out to play.

Asher rolls from tummy to back!!! 1st time!

When I went in to get Asher this morning he had rolled from his tummy to his back! On Saturday morning when I went to get him he had done the same thing so I guess Sunday would really be his first time. But it was so early that I was a little dazed and confused...LOL What mom isn't at 4 am? He's rocking more and more each day. While trying to fall asleep for his nap yesterday I could here him in there rocking and playing with the toys attached to the crib. He's really growing up. And he loves his blankets! Especially his wawa. He will lean over to grab it and then cuddle it. It's just so PRECIOUS!

New Weekend posts

I posted all the fun stuff from the weekend so scroll down to see Disney fun and Sean's Bowling Party.

Happy Birthday Sean!

Today Sean turns 29...his last year in his twenties! Yeppie! He started his day out right with his 4:30 am workout...I'm really proud of him for going on his b-day...I skipped on mine! The boys and I met him for lunch out by his work at Cici's pizza. It was a nice lunch with daddy.

Asher sleeps...again!

Last night Asher slept threw the night for the first time in a couple of months...Ya! Since teething began his night schedule has been a little out of wack. The crazy thing was that he didn't even eat lunch or dinner (baby food that is). He just didn't want to. Maybe I should skip them more often! I hope that the sleeping keeps up...it was really nice to get a WHOLE night of sleep! (Although I can't complain much, when he does wake he usually eats for about 2 -3 minutes and goes back to bed)

This morning as I was cleaning up after breakfast Boston comes and gets me and says I've got to come look at Asher. So I come and Boston had put a cowboy hat on his head and he was laughing. So Boston grabbed one and asked me to take a picture of them together. Isn't this adorable. This is what true brotherly love looks like!

New Header for my blog

I was tired of my old header and took a second to creat my own today. I like it much better.

Sean's bowling b-day party

We went bowling tonight to celebrate Sean's birthday with our families. What a great time we had together. We had quite a crowd. It's amazing how many in Sean's family have moved from up North down here now. And his Grandpa Dale and Shirley are down for a few months as well. We had Sean's parents, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Larry, Laurie, Mike and Ellie, my parents, Wes and Suzanne, Chad and Lauren and Grandma Blanche. Boston had a great time bowling. He can now do it all by himself and he's so proud of that. Every time he would bowl he would turn around and look to us for all the applause and support. It was so funny. He even bowled 2 strikes! Dallas also enjoyed bowling with a little help from one of us. Asher enjoyed being held by everyone and gnawing away on his zwieback cracker. The boys had a blast playing in the arcade which was right behind us. They drove the car game and played skee ball and air hockey (without tokens most of the time!) I even bowled 2 strikes (but never made it out to the hundreds...must of been those frames I only bowled 1 in!!)

My dad took all the pics for me since i was busy running around chasing kids or talking. I wish I had gotten a pic of him. He looks amazing. He had surgery on his eyes because of cataracts and he now doesn't have to wear glasses anymore. His eyes sparkled blue with this awesome deep blue shirt he had on. And he's still growing out the grey bread, I do really hope he keeps it. It looks so handsome. And he looks about 15 years younger!!! Of course we all said by next Christmas maybe he could dress up as Santa Claus.

It was great getting to see Sean's grandpa Dale and talking to him for a little while. It's too bad we don't get to spend more time with him. He's a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. What a great man.

I think Sean had a great time at his bowling birthday party. He got some really great gifts and he's already enjoying a lot!

Boston bowling

Asher and his zwieback...yummy!

Laurie and her daughter Ellie

Mommy eating with Dallas and Daddy
Dallas sneaking some icing
Grandpa Dale, Sean's dad Dale, Asher and Pat

Asher in some funny glasses Wes brought for the boys

Suzanne talking to Blanche and Shirley
Great Grandpa Dale with his great grandchildrenLarry having a REALLY good time!

Books,mommy breaks, sons and daughters

I bought the most wonderful book today at the bookstore called "Let Me Hold You Longer" by Karen Kingsbury. Sean was watching all three boys while I got away for some much needed quiet, downtime for mommy. I really needed to refuel without everyone needing me. Oh how wonderful going to the bookstore can be. Grabbing a few books and sitting in the chair and escaping to another land. I even had a chance to read a book on the musical "Wicked" (a book I had read back in high school when I was playing the part of The Wicked Witch of the West in our production of The Wizard of Oz. The book had just come out at the time and I thought it would be really good for some background info on her. What a great book!) I got the CD for Christmas but have been wanting so badly to see it. It's actually coming to Orlando but they sold out so quickly that I wasn't able to get tickets. :-( Can I just tell you how sad I am about that! Anyhow...it was great to look at all the pics and how they cast the show...fun fun fun for this old theatre major......Anyhow...back to the Karen Kingsbury book. It's a beautiful kids book, but really I think its more for the moms out there. It's a touching reminder of how fast the childhood years go by. Instead of focusing on the "firsts", like first words and such, it focuses on the "lasts", ones that we forget most of the time. Like last time I feed you, last time you had a mid-day nap. More than any other book I've read, it made me want to cherish all these precious times with my little blessings even more. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. And it's a WONDERFUL gift for a new mom. Ah...it really is beautiful. I bought it so I can pull it out during those moments that I'm wishing away these hard baby/toddler/preschooler years.

By do I love my little boys. I'm really cherishing the lasts with Asher, wondering if this will be my last time feeding a baby, having a baby in my belly, rocking him. Since we really aren't planning on getting pregnant again, the only way this would happen is if it's in God's plans. Which it just might, and that would be fine with me. We have both always had a passion for China adoptions and feel led to adopt there. So far we both feel confirmation from God that this is His plan for us to have a girl. And it's funny how much I've prayed for a girl. Even before trying with Asher I was praying that I might get pregnant with a girl. Since I was little I've always wanted a daughter. And God knows the desires of my heart and he says "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 And I believe that either he will give us a daughter, whether it be our biological one or adopted, or he will change my strong desire to have one. With each boy my passion for sons gets so strong. I LOVE having boys. I think it is such a wonderful thing for a mom to have sons. But I would also like Sean to experience the love a daddy has for his daughter. I hear from other friends that it changes a man completely. And I've felt lately that God has been working on my heart to desire more for adoption than giving birth myself, but tonight as I was tucking Asher into bed I caught a glimpse of a little girls outfit hanging in this closet, a baby present I hadn't yet sent out. And the desire flooded my heart to have a baby girl with brown curly hair and big blue eyes. But I trust God with this more than I've ever trusted Him. And I truly believe he knows what is best for our family and he will grant us that. And I know that His plan is the best and leads to more happiness than I can ever imagine. So who knows....only the future will tell what our family will look like. Until then....I'll love on my 3 precious little angels and thank God everyday for them!

A rainy day with Mickey

Today we went to Disney with the boys. It sprinkled off and on all day, but we had a blast anyhow. We even go to see Space Mountain with all the lights on while riding the boys favorite ride, People Mover. They rode it 3 times with daddy (Asher fell asleep on the first ride so mommy put him in the stroller.) Dallas road Buzz Lightyear ride with Daddy. Boston is still very unsure of this ride. I know that if he would at least ride it one time he would love it. What happened to my little dare devil that begged and finally we gave in and he road Thunder Mountain 3 times at the age of 3! But we did, after much crying and forcing, get Boston to ride Peter Pan. Dallas just loves it. After Boston road it he LOVED it and wanted to ride again. Dallas road the Magic Carpet ride for the first time (my first time too). We had sooo much fun! No one was up for Pirates of the Carribean except Daddy, so poor daddy didn't get to ride his favorite ride. One our way out of the park we got poured on and daddy and mommy were soaked. But we had a great day at the park!

Asher holding on the the handle on the monorail

Crazy Mommy riding the Magic Carpet ride with Dallas (yes, I'm wearing glasses for those of you who have never seen me in them. I found out last January I have a stigmatizim in both eyes-I don't even know how to spell that! I just recently started wearing them more often...life is much more crisp with them on and as my friend Mindy Fritts told me..."Cricket, life is meant to be crisp!"
While eating lunch the birds just hovered around the boys. I turned my head to feed Asher for a second and turned back and all of Boston's sandwich was gone. He had fed it to the birds! At least he ate half before tossing it. And I sure did enjoy taking a bunch of pics of the beautiful assortment of birds)

Daddy took Boston over to Tom Sawyer's island for a little bit. Dallas didn't want to go (why can't these two like the same things...ugh) so mommy stayed back with the littler boys while daddy took Boston over. Sean had never been there before. So Boston showed him the caves and they headed back.

While waiting for them to come back I shot a few pics of Dallas
This is SO a Dallas face!
Asher was clapping at Daddy and Boston riding the raft

What a great family day at Disney again! And Sean and I celebrated his birthday a little early by going to our favorite restaurant, Melting Pot for dinner. Yummy!!!

What naptime?

For some reason Asher was just wide awake durning his normal 1:00 nap (the 2 hours in the day that I get everything done that I need to get done because Dallas is sleeping too.) But today Asher and I had some good one on one time. We had a lot of fun just playing around. I needed to change so I set him on my bed, where the cat was hiding out trying to take her nap. Asher was so facisnated with her and so cute I ran to get the camera but by the time I got back the cat was jumping off the bed, so I got these shots instead. I had to share them because they were so cute of him, just hanging out in mommy and daddy's bed.

Teething Asher

Asher and his two front teeth...isn't he the cutest!

He loves stuffed animals, especially this little bear. And of course I can't remember who gave it to him (actually it might have been a hand me down that the other boys never played with...oh my brain...it hurts)
Laughing at mommy and her hat... I was pushing it on top of my head so the flash could go off...he though this was so funny
Asher is teething again, his upper teeth I'm pretty sure. As you can see in this pic his two lower ones are coming in quite nicely. But when he wants to chew on my finger its pretty painful now...LOL His favorite teething item would be anything metal...yes...thats what happens to the third child, they grab what they can while mommy isn't looking. Absolute fav is mommy's keys. Today I found him chewing on the handles to his dresser in his room while I was putting away clothes. Crazy child. I guess it's cold and hard...but yuk!

He's such a cutie. I just love how he smiles at me. Can melt all the troubles of the day away. And his sweet little hug, ahh, just wonderful! As I'm sitting here writing this he's in his bouncy next to me talking away. He dropped his pacifier and looked at me and said "mama mama mama." Guess he does associate it with me! When daddy's on the phone a lot of the times he says "dadadadada". Yes, I know what your thinking, he's a genius....well of course. What else would you expect...LOL He's got to start talking to keep up with this family!

Asher on all fours...ready to crawl?

Today while I was playing with Asher on the floor he got up on all four, his arms and his knees and started rocking for the first time! Crawling will be coming soon now...better put away all those little toys the boys have. He was so proud of himself the smile on his face was just HUGE! I wish I had had the camera to capture it. And he loves to stand up while holding on to something. I caught this pic a few days ago when he was holding my hand and the toy. So cute. Can't even imagine him crawling and walking soon. Time goes by toooooo fast!!!!