taking a walk

My oh my how time sure does fly. I'm taking a little walk down memory lane today and pulling out some oldies (as far as pictures go). Yesterday (it seems) my boys looked like this.

Just two little boys.

Then I blinked, and now this is what they looked like this morning before going off to school.

My oldest just started first grade, and the middle baby is now in full day pre-k 3 days a week. Every time I look at the picture above, I almost get a tear. How is it he looks so big standing there with his lunch, all ready to go?? They both had a wonderful first day and had lots to talk about on the way home. I just can't believe how fast they are growing up. It seems I can hardly catch my breath before we're at another big milestone.

I had a wonderful day chatting it up with this little one here. Here she is in one of her new favorite places to play.
We had quite the chat this morning, the way she was babblin' on was so sweet. I think she told me everything shes done in her past 4 months - and then some! It's a blessing to get some time to savor with just her while the big kids are in school.

During nap time I even cleaned house. Grams and Papas are coming this weekend (hi mom and dad if you're reading) and so I'm getting things ready for their visit. Of course I can't wait to see them and the kids are super excited as well. I don't much like doing it, but I LOVE the way my house smells after I mop all the floors.

And to keep with the whole "time flying" bit...10 years ago yesterday the hubs and I took a chance and started dating. Some thought we were crazy, but I'm glad we made that call because it seems to be working out pretty well for us so far! So here's to another great 10 years - and many more after that!

10-ish years ago (I think it may be over that but it's hard to find older pictures on this computer so I'm using what I've got.)

And a somewhat more recent one (last year)

Wow is all I can say about that first picture. It just makes the second one look that much better. With that trip down memory lane I'm off to bed. Night all.

Monkey'n around

Hello all! It's late, and I should be in bed. But I'm waiting for laundry to finish up, so to kill time I'm watching "Fried Green Tomatoes" and decided to do some bloggin'.

The other day we finally made it over to our zoo to check it out. The boys had a grand old time and baby G decided it would be a good time for her morning nap. All in all it was the perfect trip.

We all agreed the new tiger exhibit was the coolest. We visited them no less than 5 times.

They had lots of fun cheesing it up for the camera

And of course we ran into some TOTALLY WILD animals that were a kind all of their own.

We're doing all we can to fill up our last few days of summer with FUN! I even packed up the 4 of us and we spent a day at the beach. It was fabulous. The kids ran, splashed, and I think we took home 1/2 of the sand with us. But it was worth it. Sadly, I have no pictures of that. I actually remembered to pack the camera but didn't check to make sure the battery was charged. Oh well. We had such a good time we will be going back again.

School is just around the corner, so close I can taste it. Of course I'll miss the company of the kids during the day, but some things are just so much easier to do with just one in tow - like shopping!! :)

Alright, well I'm off to fold towels. Hope your weeks are off to a great start!!

miss-match

I love having the kids dressed in matching clothes. Well, at least I used to. Not matching each other, but just on their own being - shirts, shorts, socks all in some sort of coordinated fashion. Apparently somewhere along the roller-coaster that has been these past few months, I threw that notion out the window and have simply settled for them being dressed. As proven by the following.

This is how they came down to leave the other day. I took one look and just had to giggle. Not my big kid so much...but this one...

My most favorite part.

Yes everyone, the red/white/blue star socks. LOVE it! He was pretty proud of himself for what he had put together (he's all about getting himself dressed), so I just said "looks good to me" and we were on our merry little way. When did this happen?? Apparently being a mama of three has mellowed me out a bit. But I figure when your 4 and you've got a cute smile like this little one, you can get away with just about anything.


At least I still get to dress the baby.

With that I'm off to bed. I hope all you out there are having a good week thus far! Night Y'all.

First Bites

It's late, but I wanted to document a first here! Well, a first for baby G.

As predicted, the little one just couldn't wait to start on her cereal, and she LOVES it. I tell you what this girl was ready to eat. She eats with us at supper, and I think she's just so thrilled to be part of the "family dinner" she can't stand it.

I was going to try to hold off, but she was getting to that point where she was just hungry ALL THE TIME and was oh so interested in what we were eating. We've got the rice down, so I'll be trying another one out soon. So far so good!!

And yes (for you all wondering), she is eating in her car seat...note to self: GO BUY CHAIR FOR BABY TO EAT IN!! Night folks!

Angels a-singin'

There are very few things I miss about Connecticut. Basically I can count them on one hand and most of those are just naming friends. But on the top of that list (maybe even above the friends) is the grocery delivery service from stop and shop. BEST.SERVICE.EVER. I kid you not, it was nothing short of fantabulous. Shopping at my computer in my jammies with the kids sleeping. I would schedule early AM deliveries, and my shopping would be done, before 8 without even leaving the house. I was oh so sad to have left that wonderful store behind.

UNTIL...a friend posted the other day that one of our local stores has curbside pick-up, you just have to go pick it up and they bring it out to your car. I was thinking that would be pretty good, then I checked and not only can I do that...BUT some stores DELIVER as well!!! I tell you the heavens opened and a little halleluiah chorus started playing. Okay...maybe not. But it was close - really close. Between that and Trader Joes, I may actually get my kids fed some home cooked (or close enough) meals yet. At least we know the baby is covered...

Yesterday it took not one, but two attempts to get us to the grocery store. The first was a fail and resulted in turning around 1/2 way there to try again later. That sort of sums up how yesterday went...that and this face.

I told him to make his best "angry" face...that's it I guess.

But today was better. The angels from above were still smiling on me. We made it to church, grabbed lunch, and made it to Target AND Home Depot. I got dinner made and all kids were in bed by 8pm. They were even bathed. Oh, and I finally got a picture of all three of my kiddos together, looking at the camera, and smiling - nothing short of a miracle and it only took 4 months...

My heart sings.

I love the way our girl crosses her ankles...she sleeps like that too. LOVE IT. With that I'm off to bed. Oh, and I think we have bats on our front porch?? Not even kidding. Night everyone.

why the blog??

Let me just say there are so many other things I should be doing right now...but I am taking FULL advantage of the fact that the boys are playing (nicely I might add) and the baby girl is fast asleep and one happy napper. My friend Ali posted a post the other day and it inspired me to do the same. So I'm stepping WAY out of my little bloggy box and linking up with Kelly's Korner - (not me - another cool Kelly) and getting into why I do this little thing called "bloggin" and tips for others who may be thinking about starting one of there own.

First a bit about why I choose to blog. Some of you out there may wonder "why does this gal blog??" to begin with. Well that's a good question. It's certainly not because I have expert parenting expertise, or mad awesome skills that I feel the world just wouldn't be complete without me sharing, or that we are just SOOO interesting. No...that would not be it. I started blogging years ago because my best friend Nataleigh told me to. Yes folks, I broke under peer pressure...at the age of 25! In my defense she's very convincing...HA! She had started one, and wanted me to do one so we could read about what was going on in our respective lives.

That first blog is long gone - much like my family life, my blog life has had it's fair share of moves and changes - but I've got "the one" now (I think) and I'm sticking to it. So, why do I do it? Well mostly to keep up with family and friends. Most of you reading know that we're a military family, so we are on the move every 2 to 3 years which means that A #1 we're not close to family, and B #2 we're always meeting new people and adding them to our real life "friends" list. So this is an easy way to keep in touch for those who are interested in what we are up to.

I also blog about my family, so that maybe one day when we look back on this thing, we can remember some of these happy times. I try to keep a scrapbook, but with three kiddos it's hard to find the time. However, the computer gives me a way to journal and include pictures to capture some of those precious moments.

And finally I blog because it's more fun than what I should be doing right now - laundry, cleaning bathrooms and running the sweeper. Yes ya'll - I blog to procrastinate doing my chores. Shameless.

So what makes a "good" blog. Really, I have no wonderful tips. All I can do is share what attracts me to read other blogs, and that is pretty simple.

• Be true - to yourself and let the real you shine through. I know lots of others have said this as well...but I really think this has to be the most important one. Don't try to make it into something that you're not. Be happy with what it is and go from there. It's all about you, so as long as what you have makes you happy - you're all set.
• Have FUN with it. Add pictures, tell funny stories when you have one, I've even posted jokes before that made me laugh. Of course life isn't always about the fun times, but I think it's good to have a mix.

Okay, those are my two main tips. I know...like I said I'm not full of worldly wisdom. But I think those are really important. So there you have it folks - the why's and what's behind our little bloggy here. Hope to see you around! :)

4 month-aversary

Again...I am a week late posting this. Well not quite a week - but pretty close. However, I consider it an accomplishment to be getting these done at all - so there ya go. Last week our little girl hit 4 months - here is what she is up to these days - besides being absolutely adorable.

Baby girl: you are quite honestly the HAPPIEST baby I have ever met. You smile and giggle when you are talked to and just have the sweetest little grin. I could just eat you up. At your check-up you weighed in at 16 lbs 10 oz and nearly 26 inches long. This puts you in the 90th percentile. You are wearing 6-9/12 month clothes now and have moved up to a size 3 diaper. I suspect that (just like your brothers) you will stay at this size for awhile.

The doc said you can start on cereal whenever we feel you're ready - although he happens to think you're not going to wait much longer - I agree. You had your shots and although you were quite ticked off at the moment, you seem to have forgiven me. It also appears that you may be working on that first tooth...such a big girl!

Last month was a busy month for you. You had yet another road trip and are now quite the pro at riding in the car. We all loaded up and traveled down to Delray Beach, FL to go to cousin Joel and Megan's Wedding. It was a wonderful time and you got to meet lots of family! Then we took a few days to stay at Grams and Papa's house, celebrate your brothers 4th birthday, and visit with more family, before heading back to VA. You were a fantastic baby the entire time. You even got some time at the beach and the pool!!


Last week you finally conquered rolling over. You can now roll front to back, and also from your back to your front. You are quite proud of this accomplishment and show off your new trick whenever possible.

This smiles just melts my heart

Other things you love: chewing on my fingers, your "waffle print" blankets, your bothers - oh my how you grin and giggle when they are around, bath-time, being outside, story time at night, and sitting up like a big girl (with help of course). I can tell you're going to be busy and doing all you can to keep up with your big brothers.

Mama's finger - yum yum

You just brighten our day; We love you oh so much Baby G!!

That's about it for this past month. It's been busy and I can't believe she is already 4 months old. The time is flying by. I want it to slow down, but at the same time, I can't wait to see what she will do this month.

The rest of us are doing well. My 1/2 marathon is about a month away now (YIKES) and the boys are excited to start school in a few weeks (I am also excited for this). Baby G will also be baptized later this month - FINALLY!! For now the kids and I are keeping busy while hubs is out and enjoying the last few weeks of summer. But I must wrap this up - we have a missing Little Einstein and I've been tasked with helping to find her...guess I'm on a mission. Later folks.