Random Thoughts

Just a few odd tidbits....

• the boys have all had the swine flu
• we're cheering for the Phillies as they head into their second consecutive world series
• i made name banners for connor and jackson to hang in their room
• we went to halloween at hershey...and the boys had a major meltdown
• we're getting ready for our annual halloween get together with family
• connor had his first "homework" assignment...he had to pick a character from a book to dress up as on friday...then he had to draw a picture of the character in the setting of the book. he did a great job!
• connor has been bringing home books from school to read to us. he's doing great. we couldnt' be prouder
• jackson is the train king! he is constantly making up scenariios and rebuilding tracks in the play room. he could be there for hourson end!
• life is good beyond measure
• jackson and connor sang in children's choir. it was jackson's first time. he kept looking at the littel girl next to him. they both did awesome. the battery of the video camera died 19 second into the song!

So much

I've got a lot of catching up to do. There's been so much going on..and I'm way behind in posting things.

After Craig's great birthday celebration (I'm still trying to figure out how to download the pictures from Craig's mom's camera to my computer)...we weren't done celebrating.

That's because Sawyer turned 2 on October 13th.

He was ready. After watching so many others blow out their candles...he didn't skip a beat. The cake wasn't even out of my hands before you was puffing up those cheeks and letting loose. Connor and Jackson were disappointed that they didn't get a chance to help.



We ended up inviting the whole family over for dinner. Craig had asked for lasagna for his birthday dinner...and didn't get it because of the party...so we had lasagna. We had a full house!

We ended up singing Happy Birthday to Sawyer, Craig, my mom, and our nephew Austin. All celebrated a birthday between October 10-14th. WOW! Lots to be thankful for.

Sawyer got lots of help opening...and playing with his new toys. He got a cute little golf set from Grandma, some new trucks with a cool garage from Aunt Lori, and a new tricycle from mommy and daddy. :) He and Jackson are both enjoying that.

So Sawyer is 2!

Amazing.

At 2, Sawyer is....

• super sweet
• always on the go
• an early riser...he starts singing or talking around 5:30 some morning, but usually sleeps until 6
• very social..loves people and enjoys crowds
• a tough guy...if he wants you to move, he'll stand behind you and push...as if you are a blocking sled
• starting to talk...says momma, poppa (for daddy), go, no, ball, i got it, i do it, yes, bye-bye, hi
• he has the cutest little wave when saying good bye
• tries to sit on the potty like his big brothers (so far, nothing has happened)
• loves his blankie and carries it with him almost everywhere he goes (after it got mulch stuck to it this summer, he longer takes it outside)
• smiles all the time (his smile will be featured in our dentists ad campaign later this year)
• eats and eats and eats and eats
• weighs 35 pounds and is 35 inches tall
• is a future line backer
• loves bob builder and thomas the tank engine
• has started to pretend at the train table with his brothers
• holds my heart in the palm of his hands
  

On the same day Sawyer turned 7 months old...

Such a cutie pie! He was super smiley for his 7 month photo session! Too bad most of the good pictures are vertical and i don't know how to turn them. Anyway, he such a good guy.

At 7 months, he loves to

• sleep on his belly with his legs scrunched up underneath
• loves to eat...he enjoys all vegatables and fruits...he really digs applesauce and sweet potatoes and peaches
• he enjoys playing with is toys...in particular the soft sesame street books
• he's sleeping better, but still gets up about twice a night
• he's extremely cuddly!
• he is very social and won't fall asleep if anything is going on
• he talks all the time..especially when he gets excited
• he kicks his legs with vigor when he sees people
• his hair is soooo blonde...
• his brothers love him a bunch...someimes too much!
• he has his four top teeth almost the whole way in, and two bottom teeth the whole way there
• he is precious in my eyes

The big 4-0

so, this weekend we pulled off a bit of a surprise. it was craig's big birthday..we'd been counting down and doing nice things...it all wrapped up with a big surprise party saturday night. i invited people that craig hadn't seen for years. his old boss from 14 years ago, one of the pastors who married us, high school friends, church friends, neighbors who lived across the street since he was born.

We had a great time....the only problem, i didn't take a single picture. this shot of the happy birthday banner that connor and i made was taken Sunday morning. (note the floppy balloon). my mother-in-law had her camera and took lots of shots. hopefully i'll figure out a way to post them here.

i haven't taken many pictures lately...but i thought i'd share a few...

Here are the boys with some of their favorite things. They asked me to take pictures of them with their Thomas Lego engines. Notice the big smiles. Too cute.

Tuesday is Sawyer's 2nd birthday. Can't believe it! In some ways he seems so much older. He is quite the ham. We'll celebrate with family on Tuesday. Wow.

Catching up

Okay...so a lot has been going on since I last updated.

This is Mitchell's 6 month picture. He had his 6 month well baby visit. He got 3 shots...including flu vaccine. He cried a little...I held him and got blood all over my shirt! He weighs 16 pounds...and is in the 80th pecentile for length. ( i can't remember the specifics right now...bad mommy.)

The weekend of September 18th was my class reunion. Time flies when you're having fun! It was great to see old friends and reconnect. Boy have we changed...mostly for the good I hope. The reunion really made me reflect. I really have to thank God for blessing me with extraordinary friends. I am so forunate to have people in my life who are such truly loving and kind people.

On the Monday after our reunion, Mel, Steph and I got together to cook. It was our freezer meal day. We had a blast...got a lot done...but really missed Chris. It's just not the same without the whole crew!

We also had an awesome experience this weekend. Thanks to my mom, Craig and I got to go to a nascar race. We went to Dover International Speedway with my Uncle Mike and Aunt Holly. They've been going there since 1992 I think. They knew every nook and cranny...and showed us around. It was so fun. The sound is overwhelming...but so cool. We rented head phones and a scanner. Wow! What a day. (My mom also volunteered to watch all FOUR boys. Its the first time we've been away from all of them for an extended period of time. She deserves a gold star for offering her services!!!)

Connor has been under the weather the last few days. He had a fever of 102 on Monday...stayed home from school on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to Craig, he's feeling better now. He'll probably head back to school tomorrow.

Even though he wasn't feeling the best, we headed out to our neighbors and got a ton of fall decorations. All for $20. They each got to pick a big pumpkin and a little one. We'll see if we do any carving this year.

This is Sawyer and Jackson chasing after the chickens on the farm. They could have stayed there all day. Too cute.

BIG, BIG Stuff

So, we've had an incredibly busy...and productive few days.

After a really, really long day at work on Wednesday, I woke up Thursday morning exhausted. Fortunately, Craig was home so he got up with the kids...and made pancakes for breakfast. We all walked Connor out to the bus. We were chilling in the rec room trying to figure out what to do when the phone rang. It was my BFF Chris...she needed to go to Target and asked if she could come visit. Absolutely, I said. She and her youngest drove up and spent a few hours a our house. It was great.

She's to blame for this next picture though.



Here we are at the Strasburg Railroad on Saturday. We went to celebrate a HUGE event in our lives.

Jackson is potty trained!!!!! (okay...we're 99.9999% there, but what's an accident among friends?)

It all started with Chris sharing her potty boot camp strategy with us. Craig and I were both off Friday. We woke up...it was pouring...we put Connor on the bus and potty boot camp here we come! We started off slow...but by the afternoon we were having great success! Jackson did awesome. We couldn't have been prouder...we cheering, we danced, we clapped....he pooped. He even called me into the bathroom at one point to see his "accomplishment". Yeah.

To further reward and encourage him, we headed over to the Strasburg Railroad to see Thomas. It is usually crazy busy over there when Thomas is in town...but because of the rain and overcast skies, we were good to go. The boys had a great time...and Jackson smiled like you wouldn't believe.

As if all this wasn't exciting enough....


Mitchell is now 6 months old! Can you believe it!? And you know what comes with 6 months...



His first taste of real food. Green beans were the vegetable of choice. He seemed to like it. As a matter of fact, he really seemed ready for more than cereal. He did a great job. A few faces and some mess...but hey, what are you gonna do.

At 6 months, here's a few tidbits on Mitchell....

• you have 3 teeth...but are drooling to beat the band. there are a bunch more just ready to break through
• you are roly poly and are always flipping around in your crib
• you coo and laugh all the time
• you are starting to sit up on your own...but topple over as soon as you reach for something
• you love your brothers...they cover you with kisses and hugs always...though you can sometimes be overwhelmed by their "excessive" love
• you still don't sleep through the night. you're up at least once to nurse. i'm convinced it's just so you can smile at mommy in the middle of the night
• you have the cutest smile...its worth those wake-up calls just to see it
• you are super healthy and head to your 6 month doctor visit this week.
• you are loved beyond measure

On a side note...I got a chance to see a movie star today. Jonathon Groff was in town for the local premier of "Taking Woodstock". He's such a super nice guy.

Wow...what a weekend.

Labor Day

We've been trying to labor as little as possible this holiday weekend. Craig finished up the water line project on Friday...so now we have a "water hydrant" at the end of the lane. He did a great job. He also hung the new door on the tobacco shed...with the help of our neighbor. It looks good too. This is the first time that the tobacco shed has been used since Craig's father grew tobacco. It's nice to make use of the barn.

Saturday afternoon Mitchell and I headed out to the Hospice Auction for a bit. He was a real hit. Everyone said he looks like me...I hope that's a good thing.

When we got home, we headed out to the pond with Connor, Jackson and Daddy and did some fishin'. Didn't catch a darn thing, but we had a good time trying. Turns out our fishing rods are not in the best shape (not a big surprise). We'll have to work on them for next time.


jackson loved helping Craig get the line ready...though he was the most patient of fishermen. As soon as I headed in to get Mitchell a hat...Jackson was right behind.


Connor enjoyed it. When I asked if he caught anything he said...no fish...just a bunch of this green stuff! Yech. He though maybe we'd eat fish for dinner if they caught something. I have a feeling his "fish" would have turned out looking a lot like chicken nuggets.

Connor and Jackson had a cute moment on the way home from church. Jackson was trying to talk to me while Craig was in the store getting milk and a paper...I was having a hard time hearing him so he kept repeating himself. To which Connor yelled out..."shut it off Jackson". Jackson responded defiantly..."I will not shut it off...I'm trying to talk here.". Craig and I cracked up. Connor quickly pointed out that he did not say shut up...that's not allowed in our house!

Oh, my.

We're (okay...it's actually Craig that's done 99.6% of the work) almost done painting the barns. Tomorrow I'll take some pictures and share.

School Daze

Okay...so I mentioned the help from the Grandmas for the first day of school, but I only included a picture of them from the knees down. So, I thought I'd add this picture. Here we are waiting for the bus. (I'm honestly not sure where Connor is in this picture...I promise he is not in the middle of the road!)

This is Day 2. It was chilly again...but this time Connor's sweatshirt did not have pockets. (Minor issue!?!?!) So, I dug out the spider man gloves. Good thing I knew right where they were. Connor was tickled.

Here's the bus...pulling right up to the end of our lane! It was so nice. Mitchell was actually still sleeping, so Connor, Jackson, Sawyer and I walked out to the end of the lane together. (Jackson even put on his new back pack)

Jackson was a little sad that he didn't get to go with Connor. Connor asked me to take a picture of he and Jackson next to the bus....that way Jackson could look at the picture later and feel good...like it was his bus too. It was such a kind thought...too bad I couldn't get the shot off in time. I promise I'll try again this week.