More February Moments

I am already 30 weeks with Joah! Stephen and I were talking last night about how this time it doesn't even feel like we are about to add another baby in ten or less weeks. We are just so busy with everything else that we don't have time to think or dwell on the pregnancy as much as we did with the other two. Surreal or not it's happening so soon, and I know I'm going to be absolutely over the moon in love with another little boy!

30 weeks with James! (2009)

30 weeks with Jude! (2013)

The boys loved Big Machines Day at The McWane Center! Jude seems to be following in his brothers transportation-loving footsteps. He is currently obsessed with monster trucks!

This was James three years ago in the same crane at Big Machines Day (he had just turned two!).

I love when I catch a few candid moments of them reading or playing together:

Batman capes from a friend's party and Monster Jam on tv! 

 James and (kind of) Jude sang in church this past Sunday. James really talked a lot about how much he missed choir at our old church, and since we are still going through the growing pains of a relatively new church plant we did not have one offered. Since me and another sweet, lady were already teaching kindergarten and under on Wednesday night anyway, we just decided to add in a little choir portion too and the kids have been loving it! 

They are all about legos and mega blocks!

A Little Snow!

Everything was cancelled (school, church, etc.) yesterday in Alabama. There was a big band of snow coming our way and they weren't exactly sure how exactly it was going to play out. We ended up waiting all day to just get a little dusting right before bed. North Alabama got about 12 inches (crazy!). James was so excited and we were already in pajamas and had taken baths, but we let them run outside and enjoy the huge flakes that were falling down. James said: "I knew God was gonna make it happen, Mama! It just took some time...!"

The rest of the day was pretty lazy and spent inside. I did get to organize and price some stuff for an upcoming kid's consignment sale and work on my First Look lessons for all of March for my class at church since Stephen was home.

weather channel watching

Homemade baked cinnamon donuts for breakfast! I love baking but especially while I'm pregnant! (no one else seems to complain much about the increase in baking going on around here! ha!)

James: 5 years; Jude: 21 months

Interview with James at 5 Years:

James turned five on February 5th. I can't believe how the last five years have just flown by with him. He is such a special little boy and I say it all the time but he is truly just one-of-a-kind. He is so very active and energetic and physically never slows down, but he is also a very compassionate, deep-thinking/analytical, smart, book-loving, emotional child too. He is funny without even trying, and I constantly write down his little one-liners because I don't ever want to forget them. He has a huge vocabulary and often acts like a little mini-man (which we call him often!). He seriously has the most amazing memory and imagination. He can be so wild and rough, but he can be just as tender too! He definitely has his passionate, stubborn moments mixed in with the sweet, witty, and tender. We butt heads many times, but we have a very special bond that I pray that I will nurture (and God will bless) all of our days together. He is definitely a self-proclaimed "mama's boy!" I am excited about kindergarten in August and starting that journey together, and I look forward to all the days ahead. I know that God has such special plans for his life. We love you, James, and thank God for your life! Being your Mama and Daddy is the very best thing. You are so loved and don't ever forget it!

And here is the interview I did with James on his "favorites" at five years old:

About his physical look: He's still long and lean (I'll try and post exact numbers after his five year checkup in a few weeks), blonde hair that's darkening just a little all the time, and big blue eyes. He wears a 12 in shoes and size 4 or 5 in clothing. I think he's had a growth spurt here recently because his pants are getting a little shorter, and even though it would be a stretch to say that he loves eating, he is eating better than he ever has!

Colors: Blue, Green, Purple (just like at 4.5!)

Animal: Dog and Dragon (we are in imagination mode big time these days!)

TV Show: Monster Jam on Fox Sports, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Miles from Tomorrowland, Rescue Bots

Movie: The Three Musketeers (disney version)

Books: "Mama Will You Hold My Hand?", rescue bots books 

Food: "Rocket Soup" (vegetable soup) and hotdogs 

Drink: chocolate milk, "pack water" (flavored water), apple juice, hot chocolate, and coffee (I always save him my last sip!) 

Breakfast Food: scrambled eggs and pancakes

Snacks/Desserts: "Let's do desserts first!" suckers, brownies, and cookies   Snacks: animal crackers, veggie straws/chips, cheese crackers, apple sauce "squeezies," and string cheese 

Fruits and Vegetables: cantaloupe, apple slices, and broccoli 

Outfit: dress up costumes

Toys: Rescue Bots

Best Friend: "my family" and Mahlon and Bentley from church

favorite holiday: Christmas 

Place to go: McWane Center and "Lego Land for sure" (although he's never been!) 

Favorite restaurant: Japanese, Chicken Salad Chick, and the fast food "places that give out toys"  

Where do you want to go on vacation?: camping out, Disney World, and beach

What do you want to be when you grow up: Policeman, Firefighter, and Traffic Guard
Me: "Anything else you want to add?" James: "What's your favorite 'real thing?" Monster Trucks!" "And this interview was so different than last time!" 

Jude (21 months on March 7th)

Wearing: mostly 18 month cloths and some 2T; size 4 diapers; size 6 or 6 1/2 in shoes

Growth: Maybe around 26 pounds on the home scale?; 33.5 inches long (another home measurement)

Sleeping: He cut down to one nap a day around 15 months but will occasionally take two if he falls asleep in the car if we are out in the morning or if he woke up really early; sleeps a few hours in the afternoon and 10 to 12 hours at night. The last few weeks have been some of his worst for sleep ever. He is cutting teeth and it has been brutal on everyone. 

Eating: He eats all table food. He is getting a little pickier than he used to be, but will still eat a wide variety. Fruit is still his favorite: bananas, apples, grapes, mandarin oranges, "boo boos" (blueberries), peaches, pineapple, etc. He still loves frozen peas more than any other vegetable and will eat green beans sometimes. He ate baked beans the other night at dinner and a few bites of chicken. His meat eating is very limited still (just like James at this age). He likes scrambled eggs, cheese, yogurt, and (sometimes) turkey lunchmeat or peanut butter as far as protein goes. He still really enjoys macaroni and cheese from a box. He enjoys when I make pankcake, waffles, or muffins for breakfast too. He likes cereal bars and string cheese. He loves sweets: "a coookieee", brownies, chocolate chips, ice cream, etc. He likes cheese crackers and rits "cackers." He is a little scavenger and always nibbling on food that anyone else has. He likes to run to his high chair or get a bowl himself when he's hungry which is so very different than James ever was so it still makes us smile. He likes "wa wa" (water) best and drinks apple juice and milk occasionally. (Whew! That was a lot....ha!)

Personality: Content, easy-going, extremely active, fearless, playful, independent, rough, and sneaky. He is into everything now. He is starting to have some little fits lately when things don't go his way but they are mild and totally age-appropritate. He is pretty obedient right now and doesn't seem super strong-willed. He does throw everything which makes us a little bit crazy (food, toys, water cups, cell phones, etc.). We've occasionally had to pop his hand and sometimes he will throw something and then pop his own hand and smile...oh my! He also cheers for himself though when he chooses to lay something down "nice and gentle." He is such a mess! 

Teething: He had 14 teeth now (and working on two more canine teeth)  

Look: big brown eyes and curly brown hair. :) 

New "Tricks": He loves music and will sing some of the words to quite a few songs (particularly the last few in a line or song), he is the biggest climber, he learned how to blow bubbles in the bath tub recently and was so proud (I guess he got tired of tasting bubble solution - ha!), he's very good at throwing balls and just seems to have a naturally good arm, he's into putting his own shoes (or trying too!) and running to the door to go outside (he's very independent! and thinks he's much bigger than he is!), he knows a lot of the alphabet song and will even repeat letter sounds when he hears me going over them with James, and his vocabulary has exploded to tons of words and sentences/phrases the last few weeks: "I do!' and "I want that!" 

He is understanding now when he is "wet" or "stinky" too. The other day I said "Oh, I smell stinky" (after working out) and he came and attempted to pull on the waistband of my pants like he was going to check for a dirty diaper (like we do for him)! Hilarious! 

Likes: playing, being on the go and into everything, eating, bath time, his tooth brush, being outside, anything that James is doing is where he wants to be, flipping through books, and he still loves dogs and other animals! He also really loves Elmo and Blaze and the Monster Machines now. He is starting to show an interest in transportation too. He has a knack for messing with apps on the phone/ipad that I don't even know how to work and changing settings like turning wifi off, for example! (oh boy!)  Dislikes are being stopped from all of his adventures and being left in the church nursery unless it's in James' big boy class (but doing better)

Jude, I can't believe that you are already 21 months old and that in just a few short months you will no longer be the "baby" of our family although you are very much a baby still in many ways. I love all the unique things about you that make you so different than your brother. I want you to know that I notice the differences, and I want to always know that I want to encourage the things that you excel in and delight in individually. Neither one or way is better, so just always be you! You are just such a fun and funny little personality. You are sunshine in this family. I delight in the unique little creation that you are, and I praise God for your life and every sweet second with you. Even thought you rarely want to snuggle and are my rough and tumble boy, I praise God for the tender moments and the sweet "kisses" for Mama or the rare moments that you look at books on my lap. I'm thankful that at the end of a day you still want to be rocked to sleep. I soak it all up! You are so loved and treasured! I love you, Mama 

Valentine's Day and Other February Randoms

I'm going to try to keep documenting on the blog as much as possible (even if it's just pictures from my phone). The days are flying by, and I know soon I'm going to be back in the midst of life with a newborn. Here are a few random February/Valentine's pictures:

I really got into making and eating heart shaped food the whole valentine's week. There was The Pioneer Woman meatloaf in the shape of a heart (and James actually ate it because of it's fun shape!), Bojangles BoBerry Biscuits, Sugar Cookies with homemade strawberry frosting (strawberries make a perfect pink without food dye for our little guy!), sandwiches cut into hearts, and apple sauce served in heart-shaped muffin containers. 

I even made stephen some peanut butter brownie truffles for his Valentine gift, and he got me a really pretty picture frame. :)

I bought this banner for Joah's room to hang over the crib and Stephen's mom embroidered Joah's name on it. I love adding just a few new touches to the stuff that we already used for Jude! 

Aunt Leah and Uncle JP sent Mardi Gras beads from New Orleans! 

28 weeks and third trimester!

Stephen and I went out on a Valentine's Day date. We ate a yummy brunch and walked around shops in Mountain Brook. It was perfect! When your Sundays starts as early as ours (in ministry!), there's even more reason to not want to be out in the traffic and crowds of Birmingham on the Saturday night of Valentine's.  

The boys enjoyed a morning with Nana and Grandpa at the zoo! It was the one warm and sunny day that we've had in the last few weeks, so I'm so glad the boys were able to get out and explore. This week cooped up inside with freezing temperatures and busy boys has not been our finest week...

James and I were "vest twins"!

James' Birthday Activities

I loved that we were able to spend a special day with James on his birthday as a family. It was a full day, and I think he had a lot of fun and felt very special. We started out at Chick-fil-a for breakfast. They are giving away free coffee all of February and we also had calendar cards for free chicken minis so it made for a very yummy but cheap breakfast. After breakfast, we headed to the McWane Center. We have memberships to both the McWane Center and Zoo, but it was just way too cold yesterday for that. The boys had lots of fun - every time we go they enjoy doing something a little different! After the McWane Center we headed to Toys R Us and let James use some of his birthday money for another lego set. And he still saved most of it, so we were pretty proud of him. They also gave him a birthday crown and balloon while we were there. In the same shopping center, we ran into Barnes and Noble to get a free birthday cupcake and then we headed to lunch at Cracker Barrel (his choice!). He wanted pancakes and chocolate milk. They also gave him birthday ice cream after the meal! After our late lunch we headed home for him to open his present from us. We got him a bike and helmet. He hadn't really asked for it (so I was a little nervous), but we thought it was a good classic gift for a five year old. He loved it and said it was his very favorite toy so we were pleasantly surprised! After a little bike riding on our street, we ate birthday brownies and watched his birthday slideshow of pictures and videos from this year. The day ended with a few phone calls from family, baths, and an early bedtime!

Here are some pictures from the day (they are all out of order!):

I thought I'd document 27 weeks and entering the 3rd trimester and just a little bit closer to welcoming our third boy!
(I just went to the doctor and I passed my glucose test, and I'm measuring "perfectly!" I'll take it! Joah's heart rate was in the 150's which is great!) 

I love this boy so much. I can't believe that he's going to still be such a baby when our new baby is born, so I just pray the Lord will give me the strength and grace to be all that they need from me. 

Happy little "melmo" lover! 

Our birthday boy!

We didn't have enough wrapping paper so Stephen just rang the door bell and we told James that he had a surprise!

I am just overwhelmed with how much I love my children (especially on days like this)!

James working on his new lego set with Daddy!

Birthday Brownies! A major favorite in our family. Jude was exhausted and had already fallen asleep (at 6:30) but perked up long enough to eat brownies with us!

Inside a fish at the McWane Center!

Arrrrgh mateys! Jude kept putting his sticker over his eye. He is such a ham!

I love these brothers! (They look so similar except for all the dark vs. light features and the curls!)

Playing store (one of their favorites!).  

Happy 5th Birthday, James

Every year I write a letter to my children on their birthdays that includes my heart for them and how I've watched them grow and change that year. I know it's kind of heavy for them at this age (we don't even read the letter to them now), but I'm really writing them for the future and my hope that they will enjoy having my thoughts and words of love and affirmation recorded in writing when they are older. We stick the letters in a "fun" card that usually matches the theme of their party and/or their interests for that year so that they can have a card that they can appreciate now too.

Today is James' 5th Birthday and here is a little excerpt (as he gets older especially I am feeling the need to hold some things back just for him!) from the letter that I wrote this year. We have a fun-filled day set aside for celebrating him. Stephen has worked quite a few weekends and not had a lot of time off the last few weeks, so he was able to spend the day with us too! I will try and post some pictures of the activity and restaurant that James chooses later. I know some might accuse me of making "too much" of my children, but I always want to err on the side of too much when it comes to them. God loves us lavishly (of course, He corrects, disciplines, and answers "no" sometimes too!) and I want to love my boys lavishly in a way that they would begin to comprehend the lavish (and perfect!) love of their Father. Not to get on a soap box, but in a world where people demean mothers and/or their children (perfect strangers, no less!) in the grocery store line when their children are tired and melting down, where we abort countless unborn lives, where we refer to a mother as "just a mom," where we say to a glowing pregnant mother "two wasn't enough?" or "another boy? how disappointing!" (and all in front of your children too!)...and I could go on and on just from this third pregnancy alone. In this world where life and birth are so completely devalued, I want to wave the banner on the miracle and beauty of life. I want to celebrate it, and I want my children to see it celebrated so that they would not embrace the attitudes of the culture. (Didn't mean to get on that soap box...ha!)

Happy 5th Birthday, James! Today is your "golden birthday" and I pray that you'll always know what a treasure you are to us. We love you and accept you unconditionally with all of your boyish wonder and glory: your noise, your unbelievable energy, your wit, your endless imagination, your passion and emotion, your stubbornness (that you try and back with logical debate!), and your heart of compassion. We praise God for your life! We praise Him for your love of transportation, transformers, and pretend play. We praise Him for choosing you to be the big brother of two little brothers and allowing us to parent such a special little boy. We praise God for the plans that He has for your life and thank Him every day (and ask Him every day) for another day to watch them unfold. We love you forever!