I LOVE this picture! Look at how my little guy is snuggling into me!

 Playing Outside with dirt, Bubbles, and bugs. 

"Ball Bugs" aka Rolly Polly bugs are God's gift to Moms. These little creatures have entertained my creatures for hours so far this spring! They love these things. I'm sure it's a matter of time before we have full on colonies living in our house. 

Update on Our Family:


Daniel: 
The kid is convinced that he can catch a bird, and he reminds us of it whenever we're outside. Every time he sees one, we hear: "I want catch bird. Like Katelyn." The boys don't yet understand the difference between wild and domestic animals, and that Katelyn's bird came from a store, not a tree.. 
He loves gum-- and he's good with it. One day both boys got to get a $.01 gum ball from Kohler's gum ball  machine and he strutted his stuff, chewing that thing the entire day! 
We also hear this throughout the day: "No, I do it." To which I often respond in song: "There's the easy way and the Daniel way." 
Other things I hear throughout the day: "I hold baby" (usually at the most inconvenient times, like when I he's crying and I'm sitting down to feed him), "chicken uggets," and he's learning how to count. Thanks to the Leap Frog shows, he can sometimes count to ten. But when he was learning, this is an example of how he would count:1,2,8,40. He would say numbers from one to ten,and then he throw 40 in there. Not quite sure where that came from but he's pretty consistent about it.

James: 
Both boys say: "I don't love..." instead of I don't like.
The firetruck obsession is officially over (after a good 1 1/2 years) and he has moved on to Helicopters. Lucky for him, we'll be seeing some at an air show this weekend.
We've gone Swimming a few times so far and he's getting the hang of it. He puts his face in when he's wearing goggles and I'm thinking he'll graduate from the water wings pretty soon. Both boys Love the water.

Andrew:
Is a comfortable and easy baby, although just recently he has discovered how much he loves sleeping in our bed with us as that is quickly becoming habit. He's a solid little kid, having gained a pound by his 2 wk appt. I call him my "Little Chunk" (and have since the day he was born), Ama calls him "Beefy" and Mike calls him "The Brick." That one's my favorite. He's obviously a good eater which will hopefully cross over to his sleeping. He sleeps a lot, especially when he's being held, but he wakes up often. Fun, fun!


Mike:
Got to go to CA for the weekend:) Mike never gets to travel with his work nor does he ever take getaways without the family. I think he's traveled twice since we've been married. He went for a mountain bike race-- not racing, but to be trained on a new timing system. I think he enjoyed it and that we need to send him off more often. 


Me: 
Just grateful for a few minutes to get on the computer and update the blog. Life is pretty busy and throughout the day I have to make a conscious effort to breathe. I love my newborns. It's such a busy, sleepless, and tiring time, but it's also the most tender and special. They bring a peaceful, sacred, and tender spirit to the home that you just can't get any other way. It's like they bring a little light from heaven that slowly dims as they become more aware of their surroundings. Mike and I have been dreading 3 kids for years, and now it has arrived. It's just as busy and crazy as I expected, but I think the thing that's hardest for me is how much I miss my James and Daniel. I can't play with and enjoy them like I could before. I know that'll change as Andrew gets older, and at which point I'll have three fun little critters to run around with!


Tender story: James Lights up when sees Andrew. They have a sweet little connection and both adore each other. He's innately very good with Andrew and somehow knows how to calm him. Andrew was crying really hard while I put him down to get dinner ready. All of a sudden the crying just stopped. I had raw chicken all over my hands but wanted to see what was wrong-- I thought he was suffocating in the blanket. I enter the "talking room" to find a calm Andrew looking at and enjoying James who was holding each hand tightly with his own, had his face three inches away, and with every ounce of his being was trying to make his baby brother happy. It was a sweet spirit-to-spirit connection and the sight brought tears to my eyes. All I could do was kneel down next to my boy and give him a handless hug and try to express my gratitude for such a helpful and loving boy with a heart much bigger and better than my own. 
Those two have a connection. James adores him and has an innate way with him. Andrew adores James and has a special expression, almost a smile, when James is with him. Even Ama commented on the expression he gets only with James. We're so lucky to have such tender boys.  And Daniel, well, he is just hilarious. He brings laughter to our lives just by being his own unique self and by Beating to his own drum.