fun fair.

The school up the street had their annual fun fair in May and we were encouraged at kindergarten roundup to take the new kindergartners.  So of course we were there! The boys had a blast playing all of the games and actually won some fun prizes!  They had a treasure box walk - just like the cake walk only you got to pick a toy (donated used toys from kids from the school) - and Levi won on the first try and picked out a super cool Optimus Prime!  We played a second time because Isaiah was bummed he didn't win - and to our surprise he won on round 2!  We also did the book walk and won our very own copy of Skippyjon Jones that the boys were over the top excited about!  The other games and activities were a lot of fun too, the boys enjoyed a round or two in the inflatables and Isaiah was thrilled to see the loft in the library.  All in all I think Isaiah was pretty excited and proud of his new school which was what the night was all about!  I cannot believe we almost have a kindergartner on our hands - but I can tell these next years of elementary school are going to be lots of fun!

all 3 take 2

On May 2 we did another attempt for Mother's Day cards ... I think I used one from here - I can't even remember for sure which one I went with anymore :)

Love my boys!

by the way - notice that Isaiah has footed jammies on again - I'm not sure why he loves them so much, but he does!

May day.

The boys were excited about May Day this year!  I almost forgot about it, but the night before I remembered and made sure we had the stuff to make some baskets in the morning.  They were simple - but that made it even better.  We took red cups and used letter stickers to spell out names on them and filled them with some popcorn and candy (nothing wrong with using leftover Easter candy, right? -- Levi tried to sneak in a candycane, but I figured that was going a bit too far!) and used the few pipe cleaners that we had as handles and the rest of the baskets got yarn.  The boys couldn't wait to go pass them out.  It was a day Caiden was with us too so he was just as excited.  Because of the limited time we had before school we did 13 baskets, but I think if time wasn't a factor the boys would have wanted to go all day!  We also stuck to friends close to home. 

The boys couldn't have been more excited when Emersyn dropped a basket off for each boy right before bed too.  What a fun day!  

fire station.

Isaiah's preschool class took their spring field trip to the fire station. Luckily I was able to get the afternoon off work to go along and Mark was able to sneak away from work too.   It was so cute to see all the kids excited about all the fire trucks and it was also very interesting to hear all the firemen had to say.  I think we all learned a lot!   Isaiah said his favorite part was that he got to touch the fireman suit.

One thing to note in the pictures below is Isaiah and the sweet little red-haired girl - this is Vivianne - one of his favorite friends from school, isn't she cute? :)

Gotta love my little fireman! 

all 3

I was trying to get a good picture of all 3 boys for Mother's Day cards on April 25....I thought they looked so cute all in jammies - which by the way - Isaiah still LOVES these footed jammies and insists on wearing them at least once or twice a week even when it's 90 degrees outside.  :)  Levi also insists on wearing his footed jammies, but immediately switches to shorts as soon as I put him to bed. Unfortunately we didn't capture a picture that night, but I think they are kinda funny anyway...

we've got a roller...

I'm trying really hard to blog in order, but before I forget the week that the rolling actually started happening, I wanted to get it on here...

Last week Titus started rolling all over the place!  He has been able to roll from his tummy to his back for quite some time (a few months) but not the other way around.  On Monday May 14 he rolled from his back to his tummy while we were working on a diaper change....and from that move forward he's been rolling all over the place!  If you put him on his back, within minutes you will find that he's on his tummy...crazy boy.  I know it's just a matter of time before the crawling begins!

soccer - Team Storm.

Isaiah participated in the Rec Center's 4 & 5 year old soccer again this spring.  Once again he loved it and did a great job.  The weather this year was so much better than last year - I was really hoping we wouldn't be sitting through freezing cold rain filled practices again, and we didn't! Isaiah played hard and listened to his coaches very well this year and even scored several goals!  

Caiden played soccer this year too.  It was fun for them to be in it together - but on different teams.  Gotta love best buds.

Levi cannot wait for his turn next year!  And I must say he did a great job sitting through all of the practices watching all the kids play while he was stuck with me and the baby (and daddy, grandma or grandpa who made it to a few practices too).  Only one practice were we sitting close enough to the playground that he got to go play while I sat in between the park and the soccer field.  I suppose that's what being a brother is all about - supporting each other from the sidelines.

my boys

I love my boys.  

I get all kinds of comments when I'm out and about with my 3 (or 4) boys about how I'm so out numbered or people asking if we will try for a girl or all kinds of other comments about the number of boys in our family.  I think it's kind of funny and I wouldn't want it any other way.  (and if you are one of those who wonder about trying for a girl but just don't want to ask - at this point the answer is no! :) but you know, things are always changing around here - and our plan doesn't always match God's either!).

I just love this picture of my boys below.  It's very rare that they all wear a hat - Levi is about the only regular baseball cap wearer in our family.  He is to the point that he wears one about daily - Isaiah wears one next to never and Mark is a bit in between.  And Ty-tee - this is his first experience wearing one.  This picture shows off each of them so well...

My husband - trying so hard to make me happy even when I'm having him do something he really doesn't want to - most days he simply lives to make me a happy wife - and I KNOW I'm lucky to have him so many women would dream to have a man that treated them the way I am treated.  Let's just say I know I'm not always easy to please! haha.

Titus - just one of the gang, watching, watching, watching and I think he's always contemplating how he can be doing what his big brothers are doing - hold on little buddy - it won't be long.

Levi - the goofball.  Always being just a bit silly (or a lot silly) and not wanting to follow directions (like look at the camera), but he's just too cute to be mad.  

Isaiah - he's finally figured it out - just smile the first time and it will be over in a minute.  trying to be just like his daddy and showing love to his mama.  what a great big, big brother and sweet little son.

our little fish.

I'm finding it to be so fun to watch each of my boys' strengths come out - I guess I knew they'd each have activities that they enjoyed more than others, that they'd excel at faster than others and maybe even catch on faster than their peers, but I didn't realize it would start when they were so little.  Levi doesn't seem all that little to me, I mean I have a 5 month old baby to compare him to - he looks like big kid - but he really is still so little.  And he is a little fish.  He is a good swimmer!  We've known since he was 2 that he loved the water, that he had no fear of water and he would gladly get in the water whenever the opportunity arose (there have been more than one occasion when we had to jump in fully clothed after him in the pool so he wouldn't drown!).   With all this being said, I'm sure you can guess that Levi passed his preschool swimming lessons this spring with flying colors :)  He LOVED just about every minute of it.  I will say that he was probably the youngest in the class and one of the most restless in the class - a bit of a challenge to keep him on task, but mainly because I think it was very easy for him - and he still did great.  He was doing the front float and back float all the way across the little pool without her help and each time he was done she'd respond with a huge grin and a "Awesome Levi!" or "Wow Levi!!"  The teacher was so impressed with him and was super excited when we asked her about private lessons.  Her response was, "YES!  He has so much talent.  Give me one lesson with him and I'd have him swimming across the pool!!!"  So I think we will do private lessons for him - as he already agreed that he wants to do it.  But one of the cutest parts of the whole spring swimming lessons was several times on our way to them he'd say, "I really want to go to swimming lessons without the teacher!"  He wanted to be able to jump in and play and splash :)

I'm so very proud of Levi and his swimming skills.  I'm happy that we've found something he enjoys so well even at 3 years old.  Who knows if he will still enjoy swimming when he gets a bit bigger, but if he does it will be a new experience for me as I've never been to a swim meet and have no clue what's all involved in the sport.  But for now, I'm just glad we've got a positive way to let out some of his oh-so-much energy!  So with that being said - who's up for some pool days this summer?!

By the way - I tried and tried to explain to Levi that he didn't need to wear the swimming shirt to lessons since they were indoors and the sun wouldn't be shining on him, but for all of the lessons but one he insisted that he needed to wear it! :)

Easter in pictures.

He is risen!  And we did lots to celebrate!  

It was finally my turn to head to a classroom party so on Good Friday I went to Isaiah's preschool class party.  It just so happened that Isaiah was also the "leader" that day.  On leader days you get to bring a snack for your class, bring show and tell, lead the carpet time activities and be the line leader when going out to the playground.  I was very excited about it and so was Isaiah.  It was so fun :)  by the way - notice Isaiah's super sweet boots - these were his all time favorite footwear from the day he opened them on Christmas Eve (thank you Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Mark!) and we gave up on trying to get him to choose other shoes -- pretty classy, huh? haha

My dear friend Kammy held her very last annual Easter egg hunt.  Her son decided that he was done with Easter egg hunts after this year so she decided it would be her last.  She's invited Isaiah to this hunt since he was 7 months old - so it will be sad next year when there is no Kammy hunt - but the boys sure loved it this year! And she went all out with big Easter baskets for each kid that was invited.  Thank you KAMMY!

I can't remember if it was the back of our Rice Krispy's box or a commerical for them that I saw the idea to make little birds nests and Easter eggs Rice Krispy treats, but where ever I saw it - the boys and I enjoyed making them -- and eating them the day before Easter!

Easter morning the boys woke up to find that the Easter bunny had left a little treat.  We really don't make a big deal about the Easter bunny either way - I think it's a fun thing to do so I figured a few batman things I found on the 90% off clearance section of the dollar isle at Target would be fun (yep that's right 10 cents each!) and a chocolate bunny each (even a dark chocolate one for me and a peanut butter chocolate for daddy -- okay maybe the chocolate bunny thing was a bit selfish haha:)

After church we went over to my parents house to celebrate with my parents, my sisters family, my Grandma Irene and Uncle Tom & Aunt Sheri.  We had fun dying Easter eggs and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Then the dad's went out to hide about 150 eggs for the kids to find.  Another fun thing for the kids to do and the adults to watch!

Then it was time to relax and get a little gift from Grandpa and Grandma.  Levi loved his bug puzzle and Isaiah was VERY excited about his Angry Birds t-shirt.  He was also super excited to get a chance to play Angry Birds!  Funny thing was we had 3 kids old enough to use an Ipad and all 3 of them playing at one time (my dad, Mark and my sister each have one!).   And Aunt Sheri got in some cuddle time with the baby!

We are so thankful for our freedom in Christ and that we have so many friends and family to spend this life with!

(Our small group also had a little Easter party with an egg hung, but I remembered my camera and forgot the memory card so I didn't get any pictures...check back, maybe I will get some.)

5 months old!

Baby Titus turned 5 months old on May 12!

Isn't he so sweet?

He continues to LOVE attention and wants to be held most of the time, although he may go a bit longer on his own and will be happy if someone (like his brothers) is entertaining him while he's sitting in the high chair or laying on the floor.  Luckily he still doesn't really care who it is holding him as long as it is someone.  He definitely knows who his mommy and daddy are, but doesn't mind if anyone else pays attention to him.

Mark recently taught Titus that he has a tongue.  He would stick his tongue out over and over at him making bubbling sounds for days in a row and after a few days Titus started sticking his tongue out and now does it very frequently.  I think he likes to show off that he can do it as when someone smiles at him he sticks out his tongue. :)

Titus finally has a morning routine that we can get him to nap well for anywhere between 1-3 hours.  He needs a good feeding and then he will fall asleep and can easily be transferred onto our bed......which is where he continues to sleep at night.  :)  I have yet to try him in his own room - I really should - but maybe I'm just a little afraid that I'd miss him.  haha.  and I'm not sure if I could drag myself out of bed in the middle of the night to feed him.  He usually takes an evening nap from 6-730 or even 8-930 and then will be up for a bit to eat and goes to bed with me around 11.  He typically sleeps until 3am and eats and then is up again about 5 to eat again.

Starting after his evening nap he does start preferring to be with his mommy and by 10 or so he is ready for some major cuddle time.  And he makes it known when he is ready for bed.  He will fuss and wiggle until we go to bed.

He can sit up on his own for very short periods of time (30 seconds maybe?) and still prefers to be sitting up so he can see what is going on.  He spends time in the bumbo chair each day!  He does a good job watching me make meals, but really only lasts in the chair about 15 minutes.  Funny thing is, is that his little thighs are getting so chunky that I have to push them into the leg holes on the bumbo - it won't be long and he will be all too big to sit in it!

 His brother's still love to have him in the bathtub with them and Titus continues to like the bath now too.  He will be in his little tub inside the big one with the big boys.  He will sit calmly for quite awhile and is content in his towel for a bit after.

He is starting the put everything in his mouth phase, but is often content if he just has something in his hands.  If he gets fussy in the car I can usually quiet him down for a little while by giving him just about anything to hold (like the wipes container from the diaper bag).  More and more things make it to his mouth, but has little interest in the toys that are made to go there :)  You will often find him with his mouth open just waiting for something to go in it!

I think we've given in to the idea that  Titus is completely a thumb sucker.  He started liking his thumb at just a few weeks old (maybe sooner) and we have tried many binkies hoping that he would go for them, but he refuses.  He just wants his thumb.  He really only goes for it when he is tired which is actually quite convenient!  I can remember countless times when I had to search and search for a binky for Levi and being so frustrated that there wasn't one to be found - won't have that problem with a thumb!  He does look awfully cute with it in his mouth too.  Here's hoping we won't have thousands of dollars in dental work because of it!

Isaiah and Levi continue to show so much love to their baby brother.  Many times throughout the day they will stop what they are doing to give him a little hug or attention.  They will also entertain him when I'm trying to get something done (like the laundry switched over) which is a big help!

He has started to really notice his feet and likes to grab at them.  I can tell it won't be long until the toes make it to his mouth.  :)

It's hard to even think back to life without this little guy and it feels so good to have him as a party of our family.  I look forward to all the memories that we will create as a family of 5.  We love you baby TyTy!

20 questions

In the car on the way home from my sisters Mark and I taught Isaiah and Levi how to play 20 questions...the game where someone thinks of something - anything - and the rest of the players have 20  yes/no questions to figure out what it is.  In our version the number of questions was unlimited.  I went first and Mark and Isaiah asked lots of questions and Isaiah finally guessed it - a tiger.  Because he guessed it, Isaiah got to think of something.  So Mark and I started asking questions...

I don't remember all the specific questions but part way through one of us asked...
-Is it bigger than a car? - yes
-Is it alive? - no
he then went outside the rules and said that you use it to make something work.  we asked a few more questions and then...
-is it God? - no!! It can't be God, I said it wasn't alive!  (Mark and I just looked at each other and grinned)
we asked several more questions and then he said, "it's something on our street."
-is it the street light?  no
-is it the stop sign? no
-is it the concrete? no
-is it the gravel? no
-is it the asphalt?  hahahaha what?
finally after several more questions I said, "is it the electrical wires."
YES!!

Of all the things in the whole wide world to think of, Isaiah picks the electrical wires that go from the electrical poll to our neighbors house.  :)