Graham at 3.5 years

The epitome of Graham-- riding a lawn mower at the tool shop, clutching Teddy. 

I stinkin LOVE this kid.

These days, he and Owen are frenemies-
they love playing together but they hate sharing toys.

Grahammers, you are cherished and adored. You made me a Mommy, and you made me fall in love with being a Mommy. So incredibly thankful God has given me 3.5 years with you. 

Age: 3.5 years

Stats: No idea how much he weights/ how tall he is.

Clothes: 3T. 

Mother's Day pic with my three littles. Typical.
#wetried

Favorite Foods: Cupcakes still take first place in his heart. Followed closely by cheese crackers, and anything off Daddy's plate- especially sandwiches. ;) He's a good eater overall-- loves any and all fruits, meats, and has made major progress on vegetables. My favorite read ever on helping kids who are picky eaters is French Kids Eat Everything. We follow most of their suggestions, and it works!!

Words: He is a talking machine. I love how I constantly know what he's thinking, because he cannot hold it in. His favorite things to talk about are cars and trucks, windshield wipers, neighbors, etc. He cracks me up every day about something random. Lately he wants to know certain things about people when we hang out with them-- mainly what vehicle they drive, if they have toys and tools at their house, things like that. Haha.

Activities:

- MOPS (He seems like such a big boy, walking in bravely carrying his backpack, to play with his friends.)
- Music class (At our neighborhood library. He really really really loves it. He runs and sings and has learned to follow instructions from a teacher.)
- Grocery shopping (He's like a celebrity at Kroger and Trader Joe's. This kid is charming.)
- Church (We've started keeping him with us during worship, and then he goes to his class.)
- Mowing with Daddy (His favorite of all time- he takes his little toy mower outside and walks around, pushing it while Daddy mows the grass.)
- Tool shop with Daddy (Their special "boy time"--with Owen too.)
- Children's Museum
- Splash pad (FAVORITE!)
- Parks
- Porch/ backyard play (especially sidewalk chalk and digging in the dirt with his shovel)

The car hauler at the library. The librarians literally go to get it for him  the minute we walk in.
No need to ask; we're regulars and kid knows what he likes. ;)

His favorite toy at the community gardens. He'll ride it for an hour straight.

Learning to ride his first bike!!!

Favorite friends: He definitely has friends now. Haha. Mostly same as last time... He loves to play with Elodie and Lewis, Chet, Chapman, Liam, Cori, Charlotte and Jonathan. And of course, we always remind him that Owen is his best friend. ;)

Favorite Things: His DADDY!!!! And doing anything with him-- mowing the grass, going to the tool shop, doing house remodels, building things. He has definitely crossed over from being a Mama's boy to Daddy's little shadow these days. And we both love it. So, so sweet. Also, still being center of attention. He loves having any adult's ear to talk off. He thinks every adult, without a child attached to them, is there to listen to his every thought. He loves playing on the front porch and talking to all of our neighbors as they come and go. He's still obsessed with Teddy; he literally goes EVERYWHERE with him. We've recently started taking him with us to the worship part of our church service, and he LOVES it. One of my favorite memories is him singing along to "Great is Thy Faithfulness" on Mother's Day. He loves watching the guys up front play their guitars, and now reeancts "worshipping Jesus" at home, with his toy guitar and "singing loudly" and praying for our hearts. It's adorable. He also loves antyhing to do with cars and trucks, and has declared that when he turns 16, he will drive a fire truck and help peple in trouble. He loves anything outside, especially splash pads. Still a big fan of reading books-- lately Curious George, Clifford, Corduroy, Little Critter, and anything new from the library are his faves. He's really into coloring and sidewalk chalk lately too.

I LOVE how excited he gets about the splash pad.

He's really thorough in everything he does.

Always "drives the minivan" while I buckle the other two in their carseats. 

Taking out cabinets to install a dishwasher (!!!!!) with Daddy.
Note all the tools shoved in his pockets. ;)

Mom's Proudest Moment: Absolutely the moment he met Audrey. I melted. This is one of those memories that I wish I could've bottled up and kept forever, but it will definitely always be tattooed in my brain. He was in such awe and excitement and wonder, he facial expressions were the BEST! Watching him oooh and ahhhh over her, touching her face and fingers and toes was incredibly precious. Oh, and also how much he loves worship at church. Seeing him sing along to hymns, and then re-enact it at home. My heart was bursting. We pray every night he will love Jesus from an early age. AND learning to pee-pee in the potty!!!!! Haha. But so true.

Dad's Proudest Moment: Singing hymns at church, and home. And memorizing so many books that we read all the time.

Audrey at 2 months

Weight: 11 lbs, 11 oz (her appt was a week or so after she turned two months, so this is a little generous) This is the 75th %

Height: 23.5" (90th%)

Clothing size: 3 months! She was in Newborn size til about 6 weeks and then I packed them up. The only way I could keep from crying was to look ahead to all the cute new clothes waiting patiently in her closet! 

Diaper size: She's in size 1 now, and we are almost out of disposables! Friends and family were so sweet to give us a good stash to make it through the first couple of months, and now we're about to go back to the real world of cloth. Eek.

Feeding: She is still guzzling her milk for the most part (10ish minutes total), but sometimes when she's sleepy, she'll take her time. She nurses every 2.5-3 hours during the day, and in the past 2 weeks has started making MAJOR progress at night. Most nights she only gets up once to eat now!!!!!! And then goes back to sleep without crying!!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Seriously such a game-changer.

Sleeping: Girlfriend is making progress!!!!!! She's on an eat-wake-sleep schedule ish during the day, so she naps a ton still. I love that she can still sleep through Graham and Owen running around her like crazies, and she doesn't even flinch. When does this end?? I can never remember, but it is so nice now. I usually put her down around 8pm ish at night, give her a dream feed around 10pm ish when I go to bed, and then lately she's usually been getting up once around 2-3am, and then again at 6-7am, when we just go ahead and start the day. It feels amazing to only get up once/ night, but it's even more awesome that she isn't screaming every time I put her down anymore, too. WHEW. That was rough.

Finalllllllly warmed up to the swing. She takes some naps in here these days,
totally oblivious to my wild boys running laps and screaming around her. 

Milestones: Finally smiling! Cooing. The end of baby zits!!!

Likes: Same as last month-- Being held. Mama's milk. The Ergo. Her paci... Also, being swaddled. 

Dislikes: Mostly still the same-- Not being held. Her car seat. Baths. Tummy time. 

Owen racing cars on her back during tummy time. ;)

Adventures: Meeting Andrew's family. 1st Memorial Day- cookout with friends. Backyard parties. Neighborhood walks. Music class. Church. Play dates. MOPS. Grocery trips.

What we couldn't live with out: She seriously lives in the Ergo. At least a few hours every day, I put her in there to give the boys full attention, cook dinner, walk, whatever, and she is so happy being snuggled and held close. 

Best part of parenting this age: The smiles and the coos are so stinkin sweet. And all the snuggles of course!!!! I still can't believe I got a GIRL!!!!! The shock and excitement and gratitude has not worn off yet!!!!

Hardest part of parenting this age: Nighttime sleep is so, so much better. Only nursing her once in the middle of the night most nights feels totally doable! So lately the hardest part has been juggling meeting all three kiddos' needs--- it feels all-consuming, with lots and lots of meltdowns and whining and crying every day. I do really see how God has expanded my capacity to deal with all this with much more patience than I used to, though--outwardly and inwardly. Praise Jesus. But some days are rough!! One day Andrew came home as we were already eating dinner, and he started laughing, taking in the scene. "Do you realize you're feeding four people right now?!!!" I was helping Graham and Owen take bites, I was feeding myself, and I was nursing Audrey. #momlife ;)

#momlife