They inspire me to be better!

Both boys adore their baby brother, and they express it completely differently!! It is so much fun watching their little personalities develop and also watching how they relate to each other. Today I caught myself imagining them at different stages in their lives, trying to envision their friendship & bond, as well as ours... In grade school, on family vacations (hiking, kayaking), in High School, playing sports, married with kids at family get-togethers...

I'm trying to convince myself that my children won't leave me completely. I have this notion that girls never leave their moms, they're always close... but boys always do. What a heartbreaking thought! But I don't think about it, at least not for more than a minute! I want them to live close, I want to be close to their wives and their children, I want them to still talk to me alot- but I don't want to be an overbearing mother-in-law, I want to let go. One of my biggest hopes for my boys is that they will be wonderful husbands and fathers. I'm so thankful that I have some years before any of this comes to pass! LOL I really cannot imagine ever living without them close. Some kids MOVE (!) away from their parents... as in, states or even countries away! (gasp!) I will not think about that!

Anyways, those are just some random thoughts that were running through my head as I watched the boys play in the yard today. They were filling each other's gas tanks & 'fixing' the tires on their ride-on toys. They really are adorable!!

So back to the boys and Andrew...



Jake is completely enamored with him ... always wanting to snuggle him. He wakes up in the morning and says, quietly, "I yuv you Andrew! OOOOOHHHH, you're so CUTE!!! I yuuuvv youuu!!!!" as he gently rubs Andrew's face and head, and sprinkles him with little kisses. It's so sweet!



Austin also adores Andrew, but he shows it a bit more energetically.

He wakes up in the morning, and YELLS, (no matter how close or far away from the baby he is), "GOOD. MOOOR-NING EE-DREW!!!!! I. YUUVV! YOU EE-DREW!!!!" (It literally echoes throughout the house.) Austin will blow raspberries on Andrew's tummy, arm, or the top of his head. He will bring pacifiers and stick them in this mouth and pat his little round tummy. He tries to help me burp him, and of course he also plasters him with kisses.

And isn't this picture (below) just perfect? Doesn't it completly demonstrate what I'm trying to describe?

They are such good big brothers!

9/24/09 Age: 7 weeks

Here are some photos of Andrew that I took yesterday at the park.

P.S. I did it, I took all 3 boys to the park by myself! I went to a tiny park by my house, because Austin still gets into situations at big parks where we sometimes need to climb up and help him. (He is a climber and he's not afraid of big ledges). It was a successful trip... We got some coffee & lunch, brought it to the park and I laid out a blanket. Andrew & I sat, I ate and worked on my Bible Study, and the boys ate & played. We were the only people there, and there are only 3 slides & a swing, so it's nice & small. Little trips like this will build my confidence to attempt bigger ones. Still haven't tackled the grocery store with all 3!

Kevin went back to work after 6 1/2 weeks off. It was wonderful having him home. We are a great team and the boys were on cloud 9. After a week without him around, I finally have a taste of what it's like having 3. (Everyone asks, and I say it's GREAT because Kevin's home! I got to sleep in almost every day for 6 weeks!)

So, it's still going great, but of course the house is messy and I'm tired. We have hard moments, but don't we always? The biggest accomplishment, in my opinion, is that I have managed to get all 3 boys to sleep at the same time for naps. That is HUGE!

These kids

I love them

3 Weeks

8/29/09 3 weeks (3 2/7)

I wanted to take a picture of him in the belly mask, but he wouldn't fit! And he's growing so fast that I couldn't wait until our professional shoot. I wish I would have done it sooner! Who would've thought he would grow so much in just 3 weeks!?!

1 week

8/13/09 1 week

First Meetings

Here are a few pictures of the boys meeting Andrew for the first time at the hospital (8/7/09).


They are so sweet with the baby!

Jake giving kisses

And Austin giving kisses





They both are always wanting to give him kisses and hugs, and always asking to hold him. Austin says, "Want holdie baby Eh-drew?"




Austin is also always trying to take care of the baby by putting blankets on him (I have to watch this carefully!) and bringing him toy cars, dinosaurs (see below) and pacifiers.




Jake calls the pacifiers "baby castles" ... I don't know where this came from... maybe when I said "Paci's" he thought I said "castles"? Either way, I think it's adorable! Whenever the baby is awake, both boys come running and Andrew always brings a smile to their faces. It's the sweetest thing! They just adore him.



Being a big brother is a big responsibility, and it looks to me that these two boys are totally up for it. They are already doing a great job and I can tell that their baby brother holds a special place in their hearts. Just look at the way Jake is looking at him... so precious!

Welcome Baby!!!

I think it's about time to announce the birth of our sweet baby boy... 9 days later!

I'm afraid that this crazy creation called Facebook has taken the place of my blog... which is extremely unfortunate for me, because the blog is more permanent! (As I am making mine into a blurb book, which is a diary/scrapbook of sorts, a hard-bound record of the blog.) So, I will try to be better about documenting our life here on the blog, even if it is mostly for my own benefit!

So, on to the wonderful news!




The birth of our sweet baby boy:



Andrew Taylor
August 6, 2009
at 7:31 pm
9 pounds 1 ounce, 21 inches



I have no words to describe how extremely blessed we feel. He is perfect, precious, sweet as can be, an angel (and he has lots of angels too!)... our hearts are absolutely full and overflowing. I know I've said that before, but I can't figure out how else to describe the feeling.


I am overwhelmed with AWE countless times throughout these days. And my heart is just so full of thanks... for this precious and healthy baby, and for my wonderful husband and my two other sweet boys. I don't know how I landed here in this life, but I'm sure cherishing every moment & just feeling so incredibly thankful!


Ah, babymooning...


So without further ado, a few photos of our new arrival:




8/6/09 first breathtaking moments with mama

8/7/09
8/7/09



8/7/09 I love you indescribably, my sweet baby Andrew.



Birth story to come~*

Photos from July

Here are just a few more random photos from our July... It's been a fun & busy month!

We've been doing a lot of this lately:



And below is a cell-phone-photo of the boys eating their gummies (Juice-Plus) on the couch. Believe it or not, I was able to completely eliminate the furniture "artwork" with some crazy carpet cleaner I bought!



And below are some photos from my baby celebrations. Again, since many in my family are blog-shy, I have a very limited number of photos I can post. I just don't post pics if anybody else is in them. (Unless they have their own public blog, and/or say they don't mind.) But it's frustrating, because we had some REALLY cute and fun photos!!!

So my sister (Annie) threw Kevin and I a co-ed BBQ Poolside Baby Celebration. It was sooo much fun, and absolutely perfect!



My other sister, Christine, threw me a Blessingway. It was so special and fun and meant so much to me. These (linked) are posts I had written previously as I was planning her Blessingway, and here's another that talks more about what it is.




Getting pampered and feeling refreshed... loving the company of my Mom and sisters!



The belly mask we made after the delicious meal. I mean, DE-LICIOUS, some of the best food I've ever eaten!

Below, taken at a little carnival put on by SDFFCU.



And the last picture is just cute to me... the boys wanted the baby to have something to play with-- they each got their Lightning McQueen cars and put them in there for the baby. So cute! Already practicing their big-brother skills!

I don't know ANYone who doesn't excited about THIS!!!

Look what arrived today!!!!



(BTW, the delivery guy *THREW* it over our gate and stucco/brick wall onto our cement patio. Didn't knock or ring the doorbell. I was shocked!! You may not reuse a car seat if it are involved in a motor vehicle accident, but what about the not-so-gentle shipping and handling?! Jeez!!)

Anyways, as my title says, I don't know ANY one who doesn't get excited over the arrival of a brand new infant car seat!

Including these two little guys!



Austin was especially excited. When I took it out of the box and put it on the table, he immediately ran over, saying, "Baby? Baby? Baby?"

It was so cute! Then he sat in it for a moment and played with the straps. He is so sweet with babies. Which is surprising, since he is *rough* with just about everything else!

Hope this post didn't fake anyone out... the car seat is, indeed, empty! Hopefully it stays that way for at least another month or two!!!

More Contemplations on the Sweetness of it All

We are in the midst of potty training again! Thankfully (and to my great surprise), it's going way better than it did last time-- I am so proud of Jake!!!

And, since I linked to that old post above, I thought I would just provide a little house update as well. I am happy to say that it is off the market! We decided to stay here and add-on after the baby comes. If that doesn't work out, we will deal with it at the time. But we're happy with our decision for now. Our house is tiny (the boys already share a room!), but we love our yard, neighborhood, and town. We have room to add two bedrooms and still have some yard for the kids & BBQs, so that seemed a better option. We'll see what happens!

And, keeping with the theme I guess, here are some more photos of the boys playing with Kevin. He works so hard during the week, that I just absolutely love seeing him with the boys on the weekends. They are so cute together, and these boys adore their "Dada."

Kevin pulled out the T-ball gear and played some ball with the boys. Austin was so cute... every time he hit the ball (with Kevin's guidance), his face lit up and he got a huge smile... laughed a great big belly laugh, and went running after the ball. I want to imprint these moments and sounds in my memory FOREVER!!!!

And sweet Jake loves playing ball with Dada too... I can't believe how well he catches!!!

Sometimes he holds back his smiles in a way that reminds me so much of Kevin, the mysterious & seemingly shy Kevin that I met in High School. Jake will be smiling all over, but then pulls himself back inward a little, sticking his tongue behind his lower lip and quietly giggling. It makes me a little sad because I want him to smile and laugh freely! I've been telling him how much I love his smile and when he laughs. And I've also been more cognizant of how I sometimes don't smile or laugh as freely in the moments with my boys. Sometimes I'm so tired or preoccupied with other things (making meals, changing a diaper or disciplining (er, teaching), or whatever), that I give my "half-there" smile or laugh. Oh, it has felt sooo good to realize this, and live more fully in the moments!!! I can't get over the sweetness of it all!!!!

And a little bit of GUY-time in the yard... there was plenty of rolling laughter as they rough-housed around in the grass, rode on Daddy's shoulders, kicked the ball, and ran back and forth around the house.

I hope these boys always know just how loved they are by their Mommy & Daddy. We have been talking about it a lot lately... just how it is so beautiful, these boys. And how excited we are to meet and hold and love our newest addition. He is already so precious to us.

Sorry for the mushy-gushy posts lately! Well, kinda. Because when I make my blog into a blurb book, the kids might read it and feel a little bit happy. I know I will!

Oh, and before I go... here's a peek at what I've been up to last night and this afternoon. Birthday invitations! (Ignore the squiggly white lines, my attempts at hiding my personal information.) It's been so much fun to pull out paper, scissors and adhesive again.

This project inspired me to organize my photos (again). I got some really cool monthly dividers at Office Depot today on clearance... Office supplies truly make my heart sing... Markers, white out, and, OH! Those little colored sticky tabs and sticky notes? Pure joy!

For me, NESTING ALWAYS BEGINS WITH PHOTOS!!! I start out organizing photos, making lists of outstanding scrapbooking layouts, and then embark on some major catching up. Because you have to catch up before you have another human being to document the life of!!! The nesting quickly moves to the address book (both computerized and handwritten), then to lists of emergency contacts, allergies, etc. And then to the home... where it settles indefinitely until baby comes. This is one of my favorite parts of pregnancy.

Enough randomness for the evening. I'll try to write a post that's not about ME some time again in the future. haha