Cardoza Christmas

We spent the evening with the Cardozas to eat, hang out and exchange presents.  Last year the kids decorated melted snowman cookies and this year they decorated cupcakes.  Each of them had a very distinct way they liked to decorate.  Connor wants tons of icing and whatever sprinkles William is holding, William wants tons of sprinkles especially if they are the color Connor is waiting for, Bella is careful and quite precise (very feminine!) and Micah was icing free.  The rest of the evening was spent with the kids jumping on cushions and playing upstairs while the adults got to talk and be adults which doesn't happen very often :)

m & m christmas

For the last 5 years we have set aside a special night in December for celebrating Christmas with the Moons.  It's actually 6 years if you count the year I was pregnant with Micah and Justin was still in Korea waiting for another month before he could come home.  The only difference last Thursday was one more little boy was present and a little girl was hanging out in a belly.  We had a wonderful night eating yummy Chicken a la nehnie and exchanging an array of presents.  It is definitely one of the best nights of the season.  Tonight we get to celebrate with our other bestest friends the Cardozas for another night of fabulous friends and crazy kids!

one month

For a baby shower gift I was given stickers labeling months 1-12 to use for Logan's 'month days'  I didn't do this with either of his brothers but am very excited about doing this for him.  My friend Tara does this with her boys in a chair next to a stuffed animal to show how big they've gotten compared to their surroundings.  So here is Logan in his chair next to his cute owl pillow from Nehnie.  I even made him a manly pair of baby legs to wear for each picture as well!

One Month:
* weighs 11 lbs 7 oz and is 21 1/4 inches
* eats a lot- every 2 1/2-3 hours
* likes to nap in his swing or bouncy seat.  I've tried to lay him down during the day in his bassinet but he will have none of it.  Which I've decided not to mind because a naps a nap right now so I'll take it however I get it.  He will sleep in his bassinet at night until around the 4am-6am period when he would prefer just to snuggle instead.  I've decided not to worry about this yet either since I also like to sleep and will take it anyway I can get it!
*likes warm baths
*tolerates a paci occasionally but doesn't seem to 'need' it as much as his brothers did.  This may change though.

jesse tree

We started a new tradition with the boys this year, the Jesse Tree.  My friend Sarah told me about it last year and I found a free download with all the lessons and ornaments from Ann Voskamp.  Now I have to go ahead and let you know that we haven't done it every night.  With our new little Logan, life isn't exactly on a normal schedule so we've missed a few nights, but on a smooth day Zach reads the scripture and we talk about it after dinner and let the boys hang the ornament on our special tree I got this year just for this.  Micah and Connor seem to enjoy it so far.  They get really excited about trying to guess what the picture is on the ornament and getting to have their turn to hang it on the tree.  During the reading it's hit or miss how much they pay attention but we're practicing our listening skills and trying to remember that they are 4 and 2!  Regardless of how able we are to do all of it this year I am so happy we started it and can't wait to continue it every year.

embrace the camera: starting again

I haven't embraced in quite sometime and I have missed it!!  Especially after looking back through pictures and seeing some of just me and one of my boys playing, talking, being silly, etc.  I am officially back and dedicating Thursdays to pictures of my little men before time catches up with us and they are real grown men.  This mama knows way too much how fast it goes and I don't want to forget a thing, both good and bad!  Here is me and with my youngest two.

Our new little Logan

Connor (#2)

now go {embrace!}

Jacob and Maximus

I stand firm on my belief that you can create almost any toy for boys out of cardboard and duct tape.  For example...

While shopping for a birthday present for a friend Micah saw a Tommy Gun.  You know those huge machine guns that gangsters used.  He asked for it and I promptly replied NOT A CHANCE!  When we got home he asked Zach if he would make him a huge gun.  He's father promptly replied SURE and spent the next 20 minutes fashioning this huge gun out of cardboard and duct tape.  Connor then decided he had to have one as well so on went more cardboard cutting and so on.  Much to my heart's delight they soon grew tired of their ginormous 3D guns and began riding them around the yard like they were horses.  YES!  Cowboys I can handle ;)  I am not kidding when I say they two of them played with their 'horses' ALL DAY.  Seriously had to make them come inside after 4 when it was freezing and starting to get in to the dusk time of day.  The next day they asked Zach to add a head and tail to Maximus (connor's horse) and Jacob (micah's horse) and have continued to play cowboys, jousting, and horse racing until these poor creatures are on their last leg.  This is one of those days that being a mama of boys was nothing but pure joy!

3 peas in a pod

My three peas...

Logan

Connor

Micah

It's been three weeks since boy number three entered the world.  I just love these three pictures of them.  Looking at them you think wow they are just the same but paying closer attention you can see their difference and being with them you can definitely see they each have their own wonderful and challenging personalities.  That said...

The question to ask a new mama (whether it's her first or 20th each child makes you a new mama all over again) is "so how's it going" or "how are you doing".  I do not mind this question at all because I know the asker is truly wanting to know how we're doing.  Even those people who as the "stupid" pregnancy questions before the baby gets here wants to be helpful after they come.  It's not always an easy question to answer though because to explain completely how we are all doing would take waaaayyyy too long if I was to be completely honest with my answer.  My usual answer is the boys are doing great and loving him and playing really well together and I'm still adjusting to the busyness of life.  Short, sweet and doesn't lie and say it's awesome but doesn't reveal to much of the nitty gritty.  Even in this, my own blog where I can say what I want, I really don't want to go through the WHOLE honest answer because frankly it's exhausting to even think about.  Yesterday I had my first emotional meltdown a.k.a crying fest.  It was a mixture of exhaustion, holiday preparations, and the inability to be completely there for anyone in my family.  I know there will be a point where I can give each of the men in my family exactly what they need from me their mother or wife but I"m definitely not there yet.  The problem is I didn't realize I wasn't there yet until yesterday when I was trying and failing and finally just crying.  I would say it was ironic but God is never ironic.  I was praying in the wee hours that very day about the boys and my mothering and asking for His Spirit to be present with me in my relationships and caretaking of them but the whole time I was assuming I had it all covered.  In 12 short hours He proved that I did not.  Now while the majority of this meltdown was normal due to the season of life we have just entered there was still a valuable lesson I learned.  This morning, again in the wee hours, I read these words "I can't do everything, and I'm not supposed to"  Newborn or not I can not do and be everything to my baby boys and that's ok because I'm not supposed to.  I'm their mama not their creator, savior or holy spirit.  Thank GOD, no seriously THANK YOU, that He's got them in His hands!

 My sister in law Jessica had her third child two weeks before Logan was born.  She has 3 kids 3 and under.  She just wrote this today...read it!  I feel we will be bonding through this experience of three!