Autumn

I used to swing right here growing up. Grandpa re-installed the rope swing.




We just rearranged all the car seats in the back seat of our pickup. Gavin had been in his infant carrier for a bit too long. Daniel graduated to a booster, and Vincent moved from the middle to the window seat. Vincent was the only one who kept the same car seat, but he was the most excited about his "new car seat". I guess he likes sitting by the window.
I love carrying the boys inside when they're asleep. They are so precious. Slowly I unbuckle one kid at a time, carry him inside while he lays his sleeping head on my shoulder. Then, I lay him in his bed and removed his shoes and socks (they're very insistent about this, even when they're mostly asleep.) Once that kid is settled, I repeat the routine three times. I take a moment to enjoy the sight of three peaceful boys all snug in their beds and walk out of the room for a quiet naptime. Ahhh, what a great feeling.

Our local Biker Gang

We went on a hike through a beautiful Sycamore Grove, there were meadows and creeks with bridges and piles of dirt to upturn and rocks to throw in the water. It was a gorgeous day and we loved spending it outside.

Here is Vincent low riding on his new bike. He came home after going on a ride with his daddy and stood up to pedal saying: "Look mom, I'm standing up just like daddy."

Gavin's Climb

Yesterday, Jordan and I were sitting on the deck talking when I looked over and saw Gavin and Daniel looking out the window of the tree house. "How did Gavin get in the there", I asked Daniel. "He climbed up", he tells me. So he did. 11 months old. He's trying to figure out how to climb down now. He can get down two steps.

Gavin Walking

In the last week, Gavin's gone from taking more steps each day to actually walking more than crawling. He's so proud of himself, walking across the room with a huge smile on his face, hands in the air for balance. My little baby will be one in just a couple weeks.

Kuddos Kiddos

Daniel and Vincent and I went to Fresno this weekend to celebrate Devyn's 2nd Birthday. It was a great trip, thanks to Tracy and Paul watching Gavin for the day. Life is so much easier with two.
On the way home, we got to see a beautiful sunset...I know, beautiful scenery is the first thing that comes to mind when contemplating a drive to Fresno, but there is was. The boys and I really enjoyed it. We rarely see the sun sink low in the sky due to the hills just west of us, so this was a real treat.

Happy Birthday Devyn! Everyone enjoyed the cupcakes.

Gavin is getting an ATTITUDE! Just ask auntie Jess. She dared to tell him not to touch the stove the other day and she got STINK EYE.

We worked right through breakfast the other day.

Vincent woke up from a peaceful night of slumber and the first words out of his mouth "Can you put on my pumpkin socks?" Immediately followed by "Where's my watch?" Thanks Auntie Robyn and Auntie Megan.

Daniel drew his self portrait this evening on the Doodle Pro.

For about a year we've been trying to get Daniel to get up and use the potty on his own if he needs to at night. He refused to get out of bed without yelling for us and getting permission first, even if it's 2am. We weren't really complaining, it's great he stays in bed so well. But we really could use as much sleep as we can get, so I came up with a different idea, since explaining it clearly was not taking.
He now keeps his "Hall Pass" on the shelf next to his bed. He carries it with him when using the facilities. If he leaves it in the bathroom, he then yells for us to bring it back to him. "I forgot my Hall!" We're getting there. His face lit up like he just got a great present when I first gave this to him.

Poo Poo Dinner

Poo is a word we hear quite a bit in our house. We try to keep the boys from talking this way, but for some reason, it seems to be a universally fantastic concept for kids this age.
We eat dinner around 6pm every evening. At some point during the meal, both Daniel and Vincent need to take their daily constitutional. George and I can't figure out why this is almost always during dinner, but it is. We've come to deal with this. Daniel excuses himself from the meal and Vincent who is still in diapers just sits there all red in the face. Appetizing. Even Gavin is joining in on this nightly ritual.
This evening, Gavin is constipated. He has been for several days now, so we've been giving him pears, prunes & watermelon to try and help loosen things up. During dinner he was crying and trying to push something out. So sad. We're pretty much done with dinner when Vincent says "uh oh" There's a strange dollop of something on the chair he is now straddling backwards...then the smell hits me and there's no denying what is dripping out of his diaper, down his leg, onto the chair and onto the floor. I don't know how he does it, but that was....well, I have no words. We carried him out to the backyard, doused him with warm water while he touched his toes, then got him back inside for a bath. Wow, ending dinner with a bang.
As soon as I got Vincent's clean diaper on, dried off from the bath, George and I trade. He hands me a fussy Gavin while he gets Vincent's jammies on. So I take Gavin into the other room to see if all his crying and pushing during dinner produced anything. No luck. I go for the pediatric suppository and stick it in....there's no room. It pops back out 3 times. The poor little guys was just so backed up. Then he starts to push again, I hold his knees up to his chest, trying to do what I can for him. He's in pain. He's making progress. At this point, I'm literally pulling poo out of my baby's booty. Gross, but that's what a mother will do.
What is Daniel doing this whole ordeal...you guessed it. Sitting on the pot, yelling at the top of his lungs "I'M ALL DONE!" This is our queue to come wipe him. How is there this much poo happening at one time? I don't know, but I'm done for the night! Just thought you all should know about how our dinner went tonight.

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Daniel's Fourth Birthday

Cupcakes with Sprinklers, a watch, Buzz Lightyear, his first camera...Daniel is Four! He got his hearing tested at his 4 year check-up and looked like such a big kid, raising his hand or saying "I hear it" when it beeped. Sometimes it's the little things that make reality sink in.
Daniel brings so much joy to our family. He is a sweet, sensitive boy. He loves playing with his brothers and often calls Vincent his "honey". He enjoys coloring, painting, writing his letters and riding his bike. He's also recently starting singing his heart out- his own made-up songs. We are so thankful that God put Daniel in our family.
Our friend, Mark took photos at the birthday party while I walked around aimlessly. Kia had her baby at 5am the morning of the party, so I was up all night with text messages, kids waking up, George coughing...I was totally out of it. The new little cousin is a healthy, adorable baby boy. We're very excited for Kia and Ryan.
Jessica was able to come up for the birthday party and the birth of the seventh cousin. She timed that trip well. It took my parents 4 years and one day to rack up seven grand kids, they were so close to getting there in under four years.



On Daniel's Birthday, we went to the pumkin patch with some neighbor friends. The boys had fun running around with Anden and Hudson.
Vincent is a big fan of showing off his muscles, he also likes to see everyone elses and then acts really impressed when someone flexes for him. "Whoa!" he says.
George got the boys (and himself) a Hot Wheels track. This thing shoots out the cars onto the track and they can go around and around indefinitely, well, until the batteries run out. Vincent keeps saying "it goes wealy, wealy Fay-ust". He used to say "fast" with just one syllable, but he's recently changed it to two syllables for emphasis. Maybe he learned this at "Spreekool."

Oh boy!

Gavin is now 11 months old. He's walking half-way across the room, getting more steady every day. He's really quick, after hearing certain sounds, he comes racing into the room to get in on the action. Examples of things he likes to get into would be- the refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, sliding door, setting a drink down on the end table, the bathroom door, the pile as I try to sweep. He likes to be in on all this action....right in the middle of it.

Rainy day Superheros

It poured rain all night and all day today. It was great. The boys dressed up as Superman and Batman. We painted, colored, played the keyboard, played in the garage, watched Bug's Lifeyear...that's Toy Story. They jumped off the back of the couch and the armrest yelling at the top of their lungs "to infimibee and beyond!!!" over and over. They stayed in their jammies all day.
We were supposed to go to "Fun with ABC's" at the community center this morning- our preschool. But there was no way I was dragging three little boys through 300 yards of torrential downpour to get to a 45 minute class. We practiced the letter "D" at home today.
It was great to have a cozy day at home. I got my fill for a few months now, unfortunately it's the same forecast for tomorrow...and we will actually be leaving the house for day two. I'm hoping Daniel makes a good umbrella carrier when we head off to Bible Study in the morning.
By 6 this evening, the rain let up and bit, so the boys got their shoes and coats on (over their pajamas) and went and played in the puddles, getting drenched. It was great to get some fresh air before dinner.
For our 2 and 3 year olds, these were our options for costume sizes. One is "toddler", which Vincent is busting out of. The next size up was "small" which Daniel is swimming in, especially with the built in muscles. I don't get it. I guess 3T and 4T are not big money makers.

Auntie Tracy was over on Sunday. So Daniel decided to play pretend with her.
So he says: "I'll be God and you do something bad."
We all died laughing.
Then I was interested to see what in the world he would do with this senario.
So he tells Tracy the same thing again, this time Tracy struggles to find something "bad" to do, so he tells her to hit her head...which she does. Then Daniel hides behind the couch, he comes out a minute later saying, "you're all better now!"
He was hiding and healing her, just like God in Heaven. We pray to God and he makes our boo boos all better, we believe this even though we don't see Him.