April Happenings

Wow!  The month of April is already gone.

Hurray for May!

Derek was gone for the first full week of April, and then we got a little reprieve, and then the diorama* began.  Here it is April 30th and hopefully the diorama is on it's way out.  I kept thinking that it would end certainly by the next day, and there it was....kept happening.  I told Derek, "I just want one day where I don't have to bathe somebody after a poop."  YUCK!!  I was ready to cry uncle, but not willing to pay the $75 co-pay for all of the little 3 to see the pediatrician.  I called the nurse.  She said to get them back on a pro-biotic, eliminate juices (only have 4-6 oz daily anyways), and increase starchy foods, and see if that would help end this nightmare.  So far, I think it's working....

So, enough talk about that...here are some things we did in-between all the fun of April.  There were some sunshine days, perfect for hat-wearing.

We celebrated a friend's birthday at a farm in Wake Forest.  I wish the whole family could have gone, but it was during nap-time, so only the big boys went.  

There were many animals to pet and hold.  Brighton wants to "rent-a-bunny" for his birthday.  If he still wants to, I will look back into it.  I'm all for less stuff and more "experiences".  We have WAY too much stuff!

Here's the birthday girl, Isabelle.  I met her and her mom when she was one-month old.  We were taking an infant massage class at the birth center.  Oh, to go back to that time again...

For Jamison's and Maverick's birthday, we returned some duplicate gifts and were able to get this sand and water table.  It's a hit with all the boys!

While Derek was gone, we celebrated Chandler's birthday at school.  They have a tradition where you walk around the sun the number of years that you are alive and talk about each year.  It is very nice and not something you would see in a normal public school.  I also brought in donut holes for the class to share which was a hit.  

On 4/28, Jamison had his first check up at the dentist.  He wasn't too happy about Dr. Dave poking around in his mouth, but I think that was mainly because he wanted to walk around some more.  Yes, he is still in his PJs.  That's what happens when you have to be somewhere at 8 a.m. with 4 kids in tow.  Plus, it was a school day.  Chandler also had sealants put on his molars, and then had a orthodontic appointment.  In-between the craziness, I left Chandler at the office and took Brighton to preschool.  It was 2.5 hours later when I was finally leaving to take Chandler to school.  Not my idea of a fun morning.  Oh, and Chandler is getting braces.  They wanted to do it last year in December, but he was only six, and I was secretly hoping that by some miracle, it would fix itself??  Well, that didn't happen, so now braces it is.  I'm at least waiting until June.

And this is how we ended April.

Yes, Jamison can climb a ladder.

Yes, he's not even 13 months.

And NO, I did not leave him there while I went and got my phone to take a picture.  I got him down, got my phone, and then restaged this picture.  But, this is exactly how I found him.  I won't mention who didn't put the ladder up, but it wasn't me.  

Easter Diorama

Time for Easter!

The boys enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt at our church a few Saturdays before Easter.  We decided to get our exercise and walk from our house.  The boys' second cousin, Chloe, came with us.  

On Palm Sunday, the boys sang at choir.  Brighton and Maverick sang with the Cherub Choir and sang, "I've got the Joy."  They were so precious.

Chandler sang with the kids choir, who was accompanied by the adult choir and handbells too.  They walked in waving the palms.  

On Good Friday, the diorama* started.  Maverick was the first victim that required a pants-bleaching and a bath after it was all said and done.  As soon as I was finished with that, que Brighton....then que Jamison.  You get the picture.  Not fun!  Needless to say, the diorama* was still happening a few days later, so we missed church.  I was so bummed that we missed Jamison's first Easter.  We have the cutest outfits that Mimi and Granddaddy Bob got for the boys and we didn't get to use them!  

It's okay...we will dress up once everybody is feeling better and get our "Easter" pictures 

a few weeks late!

Here Jamison discovers his Easter basket.

Wanted to get a picture of Jamison on Easter even if we were dressing up for church. 

Here's Jamison again, loving on his Easter chick.

Notice all the outfit changes?!?  Yes, diorama* at it's finest!

We delt with so much diarrhea over and over and over again, and the boys kept calling it diorama* and that word just sounds so much nicer, that's what we call it now...in our house anyways.  

Animal Farm Days/Pullen Park

Today, we headed to the NCSU Animal Farm days.  We invited our friends, Kim & baby Jett to come with us.  We had a great time.  We know the trick is getting there EARLY!  We hardly had to wait for anything, and it was perfect.  We were eating our ice-cream by 9:30!

Here, Brighton "milks" a pretend cow.

Jamison was happy to hang out with Jett (in his car seat) until us moms could get everything ready to go.  Jett is 2.5 months younger than Jamison.  

Everybody commented on our twins.  They were so cute together in my double stroller.

Maverick was having fun petting some animals: a goat, a lamb, chicks, and bunnies too.  

After the Animal Farm Days, we decided to head over to Pullen.  We had already packed a lunch, and we were finished up so much earlier than expected, that it just made sense to continue the fun.  Baby Jett had never been to Pullen before so we made sure to give him the full tour.  

Kim is pretty good at selfies!

We all rode the carousel and the train.  All of my boys rode the boats, but baby Jett just watched.  Kim was afraid he might try to escape!  It was a wonderful day and so much fun.  Can't wait to go back to Pullen again this spring/summer!

Stats @ 1 & 3 years

Jamison (12 months)
Weight: 21 lbs, 9 oz, 55%
Height: 29", 19%
Head: 48.5 cm, 97%

Maverick (3 years)
Weight: 33.3 lbs, 66%
Height: 40.2", 95%
BMI: 14, 8%

Jamison, wow!  You are one! 

At one year old, you have already taken your first steps.  You have 8 teeth.  You officially dropped your morning nap on your birthday.  You still do more crawling than walking, but we'll see how much longer that lasts.  You are still exclusively breast-fed.  We will probably introduce milk sometime this month.  You are doing better in the sleep department, and in retrospect, you will become night-weaned after this week!  You love to eat whatever the family is eating, especially when it's pizza.  Don't bother cutting it up...you'll take a large slice.  You love being outside and getting into anything you're not supposed to.

Maverick....three years already???

Maverick at three years old, you are still a "baby" but are entering into boyhood.  Everybody loves your golden curls, and you know it.  You still take a 1.5 hour long nap in the afternoons and sleep from about 7:30 p.m. till 7 a.m.  You are still a picky/finicky eater.  You don't like most breads, muffins, pizza, pastas...etc...  Mexican seems to be your favorite.  You can get very aggressive with your older brothers and don't realize your own strength sometimes.  You love to get hugs.  You are such a sweet boy, and we love you so much!

Jamie's Party

Today we celebrated my baby boy turning ONE!

Being the youngest of four, Jamison has a lot of older friends.  His siblings have friends, and they have younger siblings, and sometimes if we are lucky they'll include the baby.

Jamison's best bud, Jett (a first-born) was the only baby-friend that could make it to the party.  I was so glad that Jamison had a friend his age to have fun with :)

The big kids were in to playing basketball.

Here is Jamison's cake.  I'm not sure the total hours that were put into this, but let's just say it was more that four.  It was worth it though.  Tasted great!  I still haven't perfected my grandmother's recipe, but I'm getting closer each time I practice.  

We did a spread of food including pizza, chips/salsa/homemade guacamole, hummus/pretzels/carrots, trail mix, and fruit salad.  

Grandma made the punch that was a hit with the kids.  The theme was fish, and the ice ring had frozen gummy fish inside.  How cute!

Jamison had his free smash cake from Harris Teeter.  Can't beat that!

I helped him blow out his candle, and then we let him go to town.  He was the most adventurous of all the boys.  He didn't make a huge mess.  In fact, he had fun going "yum" with his mouth as he would pretend to take a bite and then back off and smile and repeat, repeat, repeat.  

After the sugar rush which was all the icing, we let Jamison open his presents.  Imagine a small baby in the middle of a sea of big kids, all trying to "help" and see the gifts.  Yes, that's what it was.  I don't think Jamison minded, so I just went with it.  

I had Derek take a photo of the punch, since it was so pretty with my blue and white polka-dot straw. Can't really tell from the picture, but it was Pinterest-worthy.

My great Aunt Edith was able to join us for this party as well.  She says she calls my boys her adopted grandchildren since she never had any of her own.

It was such a fun party and I was so happy to celebrate it with all our family and friends!

We love you, Jamison.

Happy Birthday!!!

April 3rd

April 3rd was such a special day for me.

Granted, two of my boys were celebrating their birthdays and my baby turned one, but April 3rd is the day I became a mom.  Six years later to the day, I was blessed again.  Until you are a mom, you don't realize that your children's birthdays are more of a gift for you than for your children. At least that's how I feel.  

Anyways, we decided to recreate the day's events from one year ago.  We started off the morning with donuts and some present opening.  Chandler got several Junie B. Jones books.  I think he had read two of them before we even made it to the museum an hour later.  The boy loves books, what can I say?

Yes, Jamison ate the entire donut!

Chandler blowing out his candles.

Maverick wanted candles too.  Since he still doesn't quite get this day is for Chandler and Jamison (heck, his birthday party was just a few days ago) we indulged him too.  Brighton tried to get candles and have us sing to him too, but that's where I drew the line.

Jamison got a baby CD player from Mom & Dad.  He loves things that will make music and he loves to dance (as seen below).

After breakfast we headed to the Durham L&S Museum and ended the day at Red Robin for dinner.  It was a great day for all of us.  Daddy took off work, so he got to join in all the festivities too.

I can't believe my baby is one (and my big boy is SEVEN)!