Kevin's 5th Birthday: Part 3 (the final installment)

One of my many sweet baby boys is 5 years old and will going to Kindergarten next fall! Crazy. Kevin saw this picture of him when he was a baby and before he knew it was him he said "oh there's my sweet baby Jordan." He loves his brothers so much. He cheers them on, helps them, hugs them and is a great example for them (most of the time). Kevin accidentally bumped Jordan in the head with his shoe the other day and Jordan started crying. Kevin started crying too and through his tears said "I feel bad!" It was very sweet.

Kevin is very smart and has a great attention span. He has an amazing memory and has great attention to detail. He is artistic and musical. He is sensitive and likes to play sports. He is a great leader, but also a little shy. He hates to be cold (just like his mom). He likes to snuggle and doesn't like to play by himself. He likes to follow the rules and loves one on one time with mom and dad.

Kevin was born April 28, 2004. His exact due date. Also on the same month and day that my little sister was born.

We had one last party for him on his actual birthday with all his family. He had a t-ball game that night and everyone came to cheer him on. He definitely had the biggest cheering section (ten people, plus two babies (yes, they are people too)...

It was also the coach's birthday, so his wife brought cupcakes for all and they sang happy birthday...

When he woke up that morning he had a new bike waiting for him (a 16", no training wheels)...

Ashton is SO excited to FINALLY get Kevin's old bike (a 12"). He has been stuck on a trike for much longer then he needed to be.

The boys made little pizza's for everyone after the game...

Ashton picked out his own present to give to Kevin (we got two so they could play together and not fight over them!)...

And he got the Transformer he has been wanting for a long time- "Grimlock"...

Happy Birthday Kevin! We love you to the moon and back!

Jordan Sleeps!

I started putting Jordan in his crib when I first put him down for the night (between 8-9pm). First it only lasted 45min. Then until 12:30am, then 1:30am. Two nights ago I had to comfort him at 12am (did not feed him) then he went back to sleep until 3:45am. Last night he slept straight through, without waking from 9-5:15am!! That just over 8 hours! Maybe he was dreaming of swimming with the fish in the ocean or floating in his crib with the waves lapping up against the side...

Kevin's 5th Birthday: Part 2

Today Kevin celebrated his birthday at school. His birthday isn't until Tuesday (the 28th) but he does not go to school that day. I left Jordan with Jeremy and spent the morning with Kevin at school. It wasn't a typical day because they spent a full hour at the park, so I didn't get to see what a "normal" day was like, but it was still fun (school is 2hr. 45min.) When they went to the park I went upstairs to visit Ashton in his class. The were getting ready to go outside and play too. He was pleasantly surprised to see me which was apparent when his face got all flushed when he saw me. It was pretty cute.

The birthday boy got his own special "5" year old crown and at circle time he shared with the class his board of pictures about himself and his past birthdays...

At the end of the day he passed out special prizes to each of his friends in class. Each friend got a Diego card game, a small coloring book and a bag of fishy crackers.

On our way back from the park he told me he was glad I came and that "This was the best school day ever!" Totally worth it!

Kevin's 5th Birthday: Part 1

Kevin's 5th birthday is this Tuesday, April 28th. My first born is almost 5 years old! and I'm on my third baby! Boy how time flys when your having boys.

This weekend he had a small party with his friends. I asked him who he wanted to come to his birthday party and he said "Rowan, Kellen and Colton". So we decided to just leave it at that. No big party like last year. At the last minute we also invited Charlotte. She is our neighbor (along with Rowan). She is also 2 1/2 like Ashton. Besides the noise level, the other thing that is nice about a smaller party (for moms that is) is that means only a few new toys are added to the too big of a collection he already has.

The kids had fun playing Hullabaloo...

Monopoly...

and Scrabble Jr....

Eating pizza...

Opening presents...

and eating cupcakes!

As you can see, the cupcakes didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped. I frosted them the night before and I think a few were a little too warm still. Darn it. The kids didn't seem to care and they still tasted good. A little too good, because I couldn't stop eating them!

This year my goal was to plan a party for a lot less money then years past. What I normally do is have custom invitations made and mailed to about 15 people. I buy a bunch of decorations to go with the theme of the party along with matching plates, napkins etc. Purchase a specially decorated birthday cake. Buy party favors for 10-15 kids and give the birthday boy lots of presents.

This year I sent an evite to 3 people. I recycled decorations from past parties. Bought plates and napkins from the Dollar Tree. Baked my own cupcakes (as you can see above). Sent the kids home with a balloon that was part of the decorations, and only bought Kevin two presents.

I was very proud of myself! And guess what?? I don't think Kevin even noticed a difference!

My Three Sons

This post has been in the works for awhile. I have these great pictures and I finally got them together. It all started when I took a cute picture of Ashton on the couch having a big yawn when he was only 1 month old. After I looked at it, I remembered that I had a picture just like that of Kevin around that age, and they had the exact same "yawn face." Then I got a picture of Ashton sucking his bottom lip when he was 5 months old and later realized that I had a picture of Kevin doing the same thing, at the same age! So I started getting the pictures together in Photoshop so I could see them right next to each other, then purposely got the same shots of the boys at the same age so I could have more of these. Its really fun to look at how different (or the same) the boys look at the same age, in the same clothes or making the same face.

What do you think? Does Jordan look like Ashton or Kevin? or just himself? I think Kevin and Ashton look pretty different. Even now with Kevin's brown hair and green eyes, and Ashton's strawberry blond hair and bright blue eyes. But Jordan is really a mix of the two I think. See for yourself:

*In every picture it is, from left to right: Kevin, Ashton in the middle, then Jordan.

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

I must say, I think Jeremy and I have some pretty cute boys!

Praying for Stellan

Some of you may already know Stellan from MckMama's blog. He is a sweet 5 month old baby boy from the Midwest with SVT (a heart condition that makes his heart beat too fast - at one point it was 300 beat/min.) You can read all about his story at My Charming Kids. I first found MckMama through my friends blog and have been in like with her ever since. She is strong in her faith, entertaining and in the same stage of life that I am. She has three boys the same age as my three boys, but she also has a little girl that is right between Ashton & Jordan's age.

I have a special place in my heart for Stellan. He is only weeks older then Jordan. I just can't imagine how hard it would be to be in her shoes. We have been so blessed with healthy children, that it is hard to see my kids suffer from the little things like colds, coughs, tummy aches, eye infections, ear aches, bumps & bruises. I can't imagine seeing my baby in the hospital covered with wires and feeling absolutely miserable. On top of that, needing to be with your baby, but also missing your other children who you no longer see everyday.

We've been keeping up with MckMama through her blog and her twitters. Kevin has even asked me from time to time how Stellan is doing. I think it has been such an important lesson for him to learn compassion for others, even if you don't know them. Like the good Samaritan. So MckMama has this special name gallery on her site where people all over the world have written his name to let them know they are thinking and praying for him. Can you imagine your own childs name, written by a complete stranger who is wishing him well, on the great wall of China, in the sands of South Africa or just made out of legos by another mommy and her child in another state? So myself and my sister, who also follows MckMama, made our own Stellan tribute and I wanted to share, because I think they turned out so cute! They have both been posted in the name gallery with hundreds of others. Here is mine, thanks to my sweet Jordan's foot:

Here is Heather's, thanks to her sweet Talea's cheek (is she cute or what?!):

Stellan is currently at a children's hospital in Boston with his mom, but out of state from his dad and siblings. Please keep them in your prayers.

Easter weekend

Yesterday Kevin had a t-ball game and did a great job. I think he had more fun this time, now that he is getting the hang of it. Then last night Jeremy and I went to the Wine & Beer Festival in Portland with Dan (brother-in-law) and Michelle (Jeremy's sister). Mimi and Papa Tim watched all four boys. They made cookies AND dyed Easter eggs. Boy, they are ambitious! We had a great time hanging out, just the adults and trying some yummy new drinks and eating yummy food. We used one of our tokens for this photo booth:

You'll have to check out Michelle's blog: Mama Goree to see more pictures. She also often post about our family and the boys, so its worth a looksee. Plus then you can see her cutie pie Stuart (he is only 2 weeks older then Jordan).

Today we went to church in the largest tent ever erected in Clark County. The music was awesome as usual, a great message and lots of spontaneous baptisms! There was a party in heaven today! I was baptised as a baby. I believe it was my very first Easter. Someday I will be ready to be baptised again, but this time I will be the one making the choice. I don't feel like I'm quite there yet, but I'm working on it.

After church we spent the day at the Baker's. Good company. Good food. Here is Mimi Janet with Jordan:

The boys have so much fun with the Easter eggs this time of year. We end of having plastic Easter eggs all over the house for a month. They love opening them, closing them, putting treats and prizes in them, hiding them, putting them in their basket etc. Here they are at the Moms Club Easter egg hunt:

When we got home they decided to just dump everything out in the grass and show their good friend and neighbor, Rowan. They even shared their treats.

The cutest T-Baller ever!

Yup, that's MY son. Number 3 of the "Red Fire". Kevin had his first game Tuesday. It was so cute to watch. Kevin was the first batter and started the game off with a base hit on his first swing! Check it out:

Here he is running from 1st to 2nd. It is so cute! Check out his thumbs-up and wave, when he gets to the base. Too cute:

This little clip is too cute to pass up. Here he is doing the happy dance at 2nd base. Notice how he eventually realizes that the second baseman was watching him and so he decides to stop:



Here are a few pic's of him out in the field warming up:

When they were actually playing the game and the ball was hit, all the kids would go for it, almost in a big dog pile. Whoever got the ball would just be so proud he got it, he would forget to throw it. Kevin bumped heads with one kid and almost got ran over by the apposing teams runner. A few tears and a hug from dad and he was just OK enough to get through the end of the game.

Kevin did a great job. It really is so fun to watch him play a sport that I enjoyed playing for so long. He seems to have a lot of fun, as long as he is not too cold or doesn't get hurt. He was tired by the end of the game and wanted to be done before it was actually over. He wasn't sure how he thought of it after it was all said and done. I'm hoping he will stick with it. I'm going to try and not be that parent that pushes something on my child just because "I" want him to do it. I want him to have the opportunity to try lots of different things so he finds what he really enjoys doing. He has played tennis, soccer and swimming and there is always a day he says he doesn't want to play anymore, then the next day he can't wait to do it again. I hope I know when to push and not to push.

Did I mention he was also the catcher one inning? :)

"Reunited...

...and it feels so good!"

In case you were wondering...we are no longer Waiting for Daddy. Jeremy came home last Wednesday afternoon! The boys woke up to there Dad here waiting for them. When I asked them, what is the first thing you want to do with Daddy when he comes home? Kevin said "wrestler!" and Ashton said "Tackle Time!" So this is what was going on only minutes after they woke up...

and this...

As you may have guessed, they don't get much "tackle time" with mom. I am a girl for goodness sake and I have long hair that can get pulled and two other things that are pretty important to Jordan right now, that can get squished and poked. ouch! So we are all happy Dad is hear to help get out that "boy" energy.

It was 24-1/2 days, or 588 hours, if your counting, of single parenthood. It was challenging. The first week was busy with lots of friends and family. The second week was a little slower due to all the boys having a cold. They even had to stay home from school a couple days. The last week and a half was the hardest. My patients was running out and I felt like I was failing as a parent. I felt like I was always saying do this, do that, don't do that and they wouldn't listen. Kevin was doing a lot of things even after I asked him not too and talking back. I was definitely ready for someone to help me parent, because I was done. Someone else please just take over. If only it was that easy. I think I need to be better about calling on God for help. The transition of Jeremy coming home from a long work trip is challenging. We need different things to relieve us from the different, but equally stressful time we have had while apart. So we are adjusting, but it is so much better when he is here. It sounds like there will be another long stretch in May.


Sometimes I think, can I/we handle FOUR kids?? (no I'm not pregnant, but I REALLY want a girl, which means we would have to have another baby) Jeremy will always go out of town to some extant. But even when we are both here, its hard. I am thankful we have family close by to help.

We are really enjoying this great weather and looking forward to Kevin's first t-ball game on Tuesday.

Sunday we went up to my parents house in Hockinson and enjoyed a warm sunny day. This is the view from their back yard...isn't it great?!