Boogie Turns 6!

Today I became the mother of a 6 year old. When did that happen?!?  I can't believe that 6 years ago today I gave birth to my first baby.  I still remember the rush of excitement on our drive to the hospital.  The 27 1/2 hours of labor and the 3 hours of pushing. Oh.Yes. THREE hours of pushing.  The result was our first born. Our son. Our Boogie Man.

Boogie has been thinking of this day for weeks!  He has been counting down. He awoke with a smile on his face and told me that he was going to sing, "Happy Birthday to Me" all the way to school. And he did. However, the closer the school became, the more softly he sang to himself, that by the time we reached the school he was barely whispering it, but I could still hear it. He told everyone he encountered that it was his birthday. It was truly a magnificent day.

We started with me telling him the good memories of his birth and how his daddy named him after his grandfathers.  He and his siblings had a special donut birthday breakfast.  I sang "Happy Birthday to You."  I brought cupcakes and juice boxes to his class for a midday snack.  I came back with his siblings and Lola just an hour later to look over his accomplishments for "Literacy Knight" where the kids showed up their reading and writing skills.  He waited very, very patiently to open gifts and I allowed him to play "Angry Birds" on my phone while he waited for Daddy to come home from work.

We opened presents and he received his second "Angry Birds" game. I saw how much loved one that he received as the favor for a friend's party and I thought he would like another. He can and will spend hours building new sets and trying them out.  He also got his first "Beyblade" set.  It came with an arena and two Beyblades to battle. The ultimate gift was his pedal bike! He was so excited. He's been cruising around on his glider for a year now and we thought he was ready for a pedal bike. He jumped and squealed when he saw it. I'm so happy that tomorrow is the first day of Spring Break and that he can spend all weekend and all next week riding his new bike. Pretty awesome.

We had a wonderful dinner at his favorite restaurant. Lola joined us for his birthday dinner. My dear son happy all day long. He felts like I wanted to him feel today and how I want him to feel always:  important and happy.

I love his thirst for knowledge and I am grateful for his eagerness to share God's word.  He makes me a better person and a better Mama every single day.  I love when he is kind to his sister. I love that he still loves to cuddle, be held & hugged, and that he allows Mama to give him kisses. I love that he LOVES to read and to listen to audiobooks. I am so blessed to be his Mama. Happy, happy birthday Boogie. I LOVE YOU! ALWAYS! xoxo

My 6 Year old!

5 Years Old

4 Years Old

3 Years Old

2 Years Old

1 Year old

Just Born!

Twinkies

I heard a story on NPR a few weeks ago about how Hostess had to file for bankruptcy and it may be an end to Twinkies. While I have not eaten a Twinkie in forever, I was suddenly sad that a whole new generation of kids (mine included) would never taste a Twinkie.  I grew up with the tasty cake treat. We only had it every now and again, but I could recognize a Twinkie anywhere! Isn't it a staple snack amongst T-ball and soccer teams?  Fortunately, Hostess has released a statement that Twinkies are not gone...yet.

Just the other day I dropped off our MOPS donations for a local food pantry. As we were walking out of the door, one of the volunteers offered the spongey cake treat to Buggy.  I couldn't resist and let her have it. Now at least one of my three children has had a taste of the long standing treat enjoyed by many generations of kids everywhere. Now to introduce it to the boys!

Bug with her first Twinkie!

Walking Petals

When we walked out the door this morning, there was a slight breeze. Many of the cherry blossom petals were flying in the air and it was gorgeous. It looked like it was snowing dainty pink petals.  Buggy said, "Look Mama, walking petals!"  Boogs corrected her and said that petals don't walk.  He also said it looked like it was snowing petals, not "walking" petals.

When we were walking through the parking lot to go to the grocery store, many of the petals on the ground were being blown by the wind and lines of petals looked like waves with bits of individual pink petals dancing on the asphalt.  Buggy looked at them and said, "See, I said they were walking petals. Look at them walk."

She was right. The petals looked like they were walking and dancing. I wish I could have gotten a video of the petals "walking" or being blown around. It's so pretty. I'm sure by the end of this windy day, many of the cherry blossoms will be gone from their branches. But it sure was pretty while it lasted.

Ahhhh, Bliss

I have this counter. It has become my everything counter and it's where everything gets dumped. About 3 years ago I had it completely cleaned off and it stayed that way the entire time my husband was away on a business trip.  He came home. It became our dumping ground. Again. It's been driving me nuts for 3 years. I finally cleaned it off again.

Bliss=having a clean counter

Unfortunately, I found a new dumping ground. I cleaned off the dining table the other day so I put all the junk from the counter on it. It's the papers. I am buried in papers.  I just want to chuck the whole thing in the garbage. But I probably shouldn't, right? But I am determined to get it cleaned off this weekend. Well by Thanksgiving!

Temporary dumping ground :(

Butterfly Mama

I love handmade items. I love supporting friends who make handmade items.  I have a very talented friend, Chrissy, who makes beautiful baby items. She makes them because she enjoys using her creativity. She has made gorgeous items for her husband's coworkers, for friends, and now she is expanding her creativity into making and selling beautiful handmade baby/kid items.

Check out my friend Chrissy's Facebook page at Butterfly Mama.  I was the blessed recipient of beautiful baby burp cloths and a matching giraffe onesie when my sweet Mr. Bananas was born. I have since ordered a few more burp cloths for Mr. B. With his reflux you can never have enough burp cloths.  I have also ordered for gift sets for my friends who have had or are having babies.

Her workmanship is exquisite, sturdy, and good quality.  Everything is still like new even with multiple washings.  I like having personalized burp cloths.  It means I will never have to guess which is mine when I'm at a play group. I have gotten numerous compliments on anything made by Butterfly Mama.  In need of a sweet gift set for a baby shower? Definitely check out Butterfly Mama on Facebook!

Personalized Burp Cloths 

Baby blanket, burp cloth, pacifier clip

Complete gift set

Personalized burp cloths I bought for a friend

Paw Print t-shirt

Personalized burp cloths

Pillow case

Almost Wordless Wednesday--Dancing Man

Because we all need a smile and there is something so cute about a baby dancing :)

Lenten Soup Supper

During the Lenten Season our parish organizes Friday Soup Suppers. For the last few years we have attended the Family Soup Supper. Monsignor makes yummy soup for the families, meets with the kids to discuss the importance and reason behind Lent, and then we all meet in the Church for a kid-friendly version of the Stations of the Cross. It is one of my favorite traditions.

This year, Boogie spoke up and answered questions.  When Monsignor asked what Boogie was doing for Lent he said, "I gave up tv and video games. And my mommy is making baby blankets for the pregnancy center."  I looked up startled and my husband and I smiled at each other.  #1 Boogie knew that this was a time for us to give up something and #2, he noticed that I was making something for the pregnancy centers and thought to mention it. I was really touched and humbled by my little man.

Buggy answered questions, too. Gathering her courage after seeing her brother stand up and share what she was doing during Lent. Even the littlest in the trio sat on the outskirts of the group and raised his hand.  Even though he couldn't articulate anything about Lent, he was there ready to participate.

I am truly humbled by my children.  They have given up their favorite pastime of watching television without complaint. And they have obviously been paying attention. Whenever Buggy asks me to whom I am giving my latest blanket project, I always reply, "To a baby who needs it."

While I love making blankets for the many friends who are having or have had babies recently, I am woefully behind. I dedicated Lent to a time of making for those who need it more and hope to catch up with my friends soon.  In the meantime I will pray for the baby who receive my latest creation and learn from my children. I am humbled.

Matthew 19:14

But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

My littlest man raising his hand to share his Lenten promises with Monsignor. Buggy is 3rd from the end with Boogie, in all orange, is on her right. They are listening to Monsignor

Interloper

Hubby and I have an interloper.  These days every time we go upstairs to go to bed we've been finding this:

Yes, she's asleep. She's smiling in her sleep.

She's made herself quite cozy by bringing her Elmo book to bed, the pink blanket I made for her, and "Little Foot."

Yeah. That's all I got. Yeah.  

This started up when Hubby came home last month from his long business trip. We find her in our bed several times a week.  Fortunately, she transfers easily.  But I'm afraid if she keeps this up she may never get the little brother and sister she desperately wants us to add to our family ;)

Earmuffs

My family and I gave up television this Lenten Season. We don't miss it, not even a little bit. It makes me wonder if we should cancel our satellite services and maybe give up the tv altogether.  The kids have been fantastic about it and I'm so proud of them!

I wish I could say that I was able to get more things done since I haven't been watching tv, but it's hard to say. Something new crops up every day and my "to do" list keeps getting longer...*sigh* I don't think I'll every truly catch up, but I'll always try!

One of the things I hate about tv is all of the commercials, especially the scary ones. Usually there's an ad for a new movie that my kids can't watch, but the ad shows up during a football game or some other thing that we're watching. A friend of ours has trained his kids to put their hands over their ears and to squeeze their eyes shut until the inappropriate commercial is over. He calls out "earmuffs!" and the kids do this until he gives the kids the all clear.

When we watch tv, that's what we started having our kids do.  Here is a picture of Buggy doing her earmuffs routine:

Since we haven't watched tv, we haven't had to do this in a while...maybe the tv will just have to stay off!

Mr. Bananas' Birthday Bonanza

We finally celebrated Mr. B's 1st birthday last week. We kept it small by inviting family (if you count 15 cousins, 3 uncles and 4 aunts, and all of the grandparents being a small get together...we still missed a few relatives who couldn't make it!)

I was talked down from having a pinata, picture banners, and craft projects at the party. Instead we left it as it should be for a 1 year old's birthday with cousins playing, lots of food, cake & ice cream, and gifts.  My mom was very helpful and came to give me a hand which was awesome, since I accidentally double-booked Mr. B's birthday for the same day that I was attending a baby shower for a friend. Oops!

Mr. Bananas enjoyed his day in the limelight. He enjoyed all of the attention, and for the first time I saw him gravitate towards the other kids (who were not his siblings) in play.  He didn't actually play with them, but he joined the group, bopped around, and tried to pick up toys to be a part of the gang. It was really cute.

We went with a monkey theme because, well, we call him Mr. Bananas.  He had some wonderful presents, but I have to say that his "baby book" was my favorite.  His Godmother (my SIL who attended the birth) put together many of my blog posts referring to my pregnancy with him and his monthly summaries in a book. It was the most touching and perfect gift. And, yes, I know that it took her a really, really long time to put it together.  I've been reading my 3rd pregnancy journey via his baby book and I love having that reference to his life. I wish I had known about blogging with the other two so that I could have kept a better record of my pregnancies with them.  Though, they each have a traditional baby book. I might to go back and fill in with what I remember.

Thank you, L. for that incredible gift of your time by making Mr. B's memory book. It is something that will be treasured forever.

So here's to having a 5 year old, 3 year old, and a 1 year old!  When did you get so big, Mr. Bananas?  I must say, that there are days that I wonder if I can manage having three when life seems so overwhelming, and then I look at my three little monkeys playing so well together and realize that this is the life I was meant to have. Enjoying my children, celebrating their births, and being their mommy.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward."

Psalm 127:3 New King James Version

Continuing the tradition of homemade cakes. (Banana cake with chocolate frosting in the middle!)

My Monkey checking out his Monkey cake

Happy birthday to you!

Playing with (around?) his friends.

One of my favorite pictures. Mr. B. with his Godmother, surrounded by cousins.

New animal book!

The 1st born cousin with the youngest cousin=LOVE

Almost Wordless Wednesday--Sibling Play

There is something harmonious when having three children. Yes, harmonious. Not always, but when it happens it is something beautiful to behold.  I love they way the way they occupy one another, help one another, teach one another, and play with one another.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the three of them playing together. Probably because they all move too quickly for my camera ;)

Recently I was able to observe a sweet scene to between Buggy and Mr. Bananas.  She loved playing with him (and dressing him up!) and he loved the one on one attention given by his favorite person.

Hmmmm, what can I find for you to put on?

Try this! You look gorgeous!

Picnic anyone?

Sibling Love

Every afternoon I have to wake up the little kids from their nap before we pick up their big brother from school. Most days I wake up Buggy first, because she's usually groggy from her nap and I have to put on her shoes and jacket.  Sometimes, Mr. Bananas will wake up first and together we wake up Buggy.

He loves waking her up and it's probably the only time she has a smile on her face when someone wakes her up. These two love each other and it is so evident in their interactions.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them:

I hope my children will remain close as they grow and gain their own friends. I hope they may never forget one another, but always include one another.

Little Packer Fan

Our darling daughter felt she needed to wear her daddy's hat to ward off the sun the other day. Daddy gave up his hat to the little girl who has stolen his heart.  Here is a picture of Buggy supporting her Daddy's favorite team, the Green Bay Packers. I think she makes a very cute Packer fan.

Hang Loose!

Daddy's favorite little girl supporting his favorite team

Cousin Birthday Party

This year is the first year that Boogie was included in a larger cousin birthday party.  Instead of individual parties, we and our extended family agreed that it would be easier to celebrate the kids' birthdays by seasons. Boogie joined the Winter birthdays this year and we celebrated his birthday along with 8 of his cousins (that's almost half the clan!)

Instead of inviting a ton of outside friends we kept it small (relatively) with just the cousins, a couple of cousins from another side of the family and a few Godparents who are not part of the clan by birth or marriage, but definitely still a part of the family.  The party took place in a bounce house (a warehouse filled with inflatables).  The cousins had fun bouncing with another and celebrating together.

I liked this set up, because being part of a family, especially a large one, means that you will inevitably have to share.  Boogie shared his birthday with his cousins and loved it. He loved spending time with them and being part of the group. He's easing his way out of being one of the "little" cousins :)

Boogie's Godmother and her family were invited. She has a daughter who is Buggy's age. Buggy enjoyed running around and holding hands with her friend C. They were a cute pair trying to help one another enter the bounce houses, racing each other down the slides, and climbing the "mountain" in the dino house. I wish I had gotten pictures.

Mr. Bananas loved the attention from his Godparents and whoever was willing to hold him.

I am exhausted after the party even though there was very little for me to do but keep an eye on the kiddos. I think it's a little overstimulating to be in a large warehouse with kids bouncing all over the place.  It was a fun day and most importantly my sweet Boogie was able to celebrate with his cousins and be a part of the group.

His actual birthday isn't until the end of the month and I'm planning a very small "friend" party with some of his kindergarten buddies.  But I think this celebration will tide him over until then.

Happy early birthday, Boogie Man!

Another Lost Tooth

My sweet Boogs has lost his 3rd tooth. He lost it a few weeks ago on February 19th (oh my, where has the time gone!)  I was taking a nap (Daddy was supervising the kiddos) when Boogie raced into my room: "Mommy, Mommy! I lost my tooth" and when I opened my eyes I saw a grinning Boogie with one less tooth. I asked him where it was and there was a pause, "I'll be right back!" and he raced out again. He came back up a few minutes later to inform me he must have swallowed it while he was eating lunch. He wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy and received a dollar for his lost tooth. Boy, have prices have gone up!

I love the new smile and think he looks adorable!

To find out what the tooth fairy pays for the first lost tooth, and how Boogs lost two teeth his first week of kindergarden check out my previous post.