Owen at 2 years!!

Birthday balloons in bed is our favorite tradition!

When I asked him his favorite part of his birthday, he said "cupcake!" ;)

He's obsessed with his birthday "mow-mow"

Sweet Obaby, you made your fast and furious entrance into this world two years ago, and our family has never been the same. Your fierce love and determined spirit have marked your two years of life, and we see the "young fighter" (your name's meaning) coming out daily. We pray this will be channeled to be a great warrior for God's kingdom. You were made to work hard and love large, little one. We are incredibly thankful to be your parents, and delight in the little boy you're becoming. You are cherished, Owen John.

Age: 2 years

Stats: Will find out soon at Dr appointment

Clothes: 18 months still

Keepin' it real- this is his signature look!!

Favorite Foods: Kid can eat!!! His fave is probably anything with bread (grilled cheese, banana bread, pumpkin muffins, etc.). He also LOVES yogurt, and as soon as he finishes his last bite, he immediately starts screaming, "yeah!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!" for another serving, in anticipation of me asking if he wants more. Haha. Every.time.

Words: He has really taken off in the last few months. He repeats so much of what we say, and has started putting lots of two-word phrases together, like "daddy mow," "mama book," "bite please," "balloon pop," etc. He still calls Audrey "baby" and doesn't have a word yet for Graham. Whenever Audrey starts to cry, he immediately starts chanting "paci! Paci! Paci!" He has one volume- LOUD. All the time. 

Activities:
- MOPS
- Music class
- Grocery shopping
- Church
- Children's museum
-Splash pad
- Parks
- Playdates

Favorite friends: Really, these are kiddos his age that we have playdates with. Because let's be honest, they barely acknowledge each other right now. So, future friends- Lewis, Chet, Jack, Liam, Lexi, Bennett, Max.

Favorite Things: Holding random small objects that he can't live without, for like three days, until he moves onto the next object... Could be a play-do container, a rubber duck, a certain ball, etc. Also, BALLS in general. He looooooooves to hold them and throw them and talk about them and take other kids' away. Looking like he'll be the athletic one of the family, since Graham has rarely shown interest. Loves pushing the toy mower and riding his toy racecar around inside. LOVES being outside, exploring or swinging. Loves books and will bring me books to read all day long. Graham is definitely in the "frenemy " category, but Audrey has his heart. He still squeals over her, gives her kisses, plays with her hands and feet. So, so presh.

Mom's Proudest Moment: Probably watching him become a big brother. He's kinda at a tough age right now, asserting independence without the skills or communication to go with it. So to see him love all over Audrey with such a tender heart has been incredibly special -and surprising. He squeals over her and kisses her and wants to be near her all day long. Melt my heart.

Big brother duty- encouragement during tummy time ;)

Dad's Proudest Moment: "Helping" me with so many projects around the house and in the yard.

Audrey Katherine at 3 months

Weight: No doctor's appointment this month, but I'll weigh her on my neighbor's scale soon just to make sure she's doing okay!

Height: ??

Clothing size: 3 months, but her onesies are getting tight! She's a long baby!!

Diaper size: Size 1. We are somehow still in disposable!! Family and friends were incredibly generous to give us so many diapers to get through the newborn days, and they have lasted much longer than we thought!! I was so terrified of having 3 in cloth, but I only have one right now (Owen)! Graham is now potty trained (!!!!!) and Audrey's still in disposables, so it hasn't been bad at all! 

Feeding: She is nursing about every 3 hours during the day, and getting up usually twice/ night. (We kinda got off track with night feedings while my Mom was here for two weeks, and Audrey and I shared a room. Every time she made a noise, I just fed her to get her back to sleep. Trying to get back to once/ night.)  Some of the biggest differences between her and the boys are the fact that she has been almost painless since the beginning (both boys hurt me incredibly badly and I had to wear a nipple shield with them both for months), she sometimes only nurses on one side and she's way faster no matter what, and she barely spits up (Graham especially had MASSIVE spit up). She's the only one who seems like she knows what she's doing. (The boys always seemed clueless, and so was I.) All of this feels like God's grace to me in the third child. Nursing had been incredibly hard, painful, consuming, frustrating, confusing, and heartbreaking in the past. I did it, but I hated it. I think this babe is going to help redeem all of that. Crazy how different my experiences have been.

Post-nursing snuggles with that sweet, pudgy belly. :)

Sleeping: Pretty much the same as last month. She naps for about 1.5 hours ish each 3 hour cycle throughout the day, and then I put her down for the night around 8pm, give her a dream feed when I go to bed around 10, and then she usually gets up twice (ish) to eat, and then again around 6/7am when we start the day. Finallllllllllllly getting more on a schedule throughout the day. (Feedings usually around 6:30a, 9:30a, 12:30p, 3:30p, 6:30p, 9:30p, and then whenever she wakes up at night. She stays up for about 1 hour after the feeding, and then naps til the next feeding ish.)

Milestones: Smiling and cooing more and more. Much more alert. Much stronger head control.

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

My favorite pic this month. :)

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

Adventures: First 4th of July (cookout with friends)! Surviving 3 weeks without Daddy (working on his PHD). Enjoying 2 weeks with Nonnie. First "beach" trip (really a lake ;). 

Sweet little firecracker.

I mean, come on. PRESH.

Nonnie is the BEST!

Daddy's HOME!!!
Audrey getting snuggles and Graham talking his ear off on everything he missed. ;)

Beach babe.

What we couldn't live with out: Although I wouldn't call this an "essential," one thing we've used a ton this month is the Bumbo. She's finally old enough to sit in it, and it is super helpful in keeping the boys from trampling on her and in taking places like the beach! 

Doesn't she look so much older in this thing?!
The Bumbo adds five months to ya. ;)

Best part of parenting this age: The newborn stage is incredibly sweet, but it feels so good to get out of the "fourth trimester"!!! She is doing so much better sleeping on her own, she responds to us with smiles and coos, she just seems "sturdier," and she is also just coming into her own little person. When I pray and thank God for her, I still just cry over His goodness to us in the sweet gift of her life. We adore you, Audrey girl.

Hardest part of parenting this age: Probably the fact that it feels like at least one of them is screaming at me alllllllllllll day long. So worth it, but so hard sometimes. #3kiddos3andunder

#life :)

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