Goings On

Operation "basement playroom" is nearly complete. We are going to get some padding to put under the carpet and a nifty toy storage bin thing that we saw at Costco yesterday. But other than that, it is working out and the boys say it is like cousin Emma's basement, and that makes it a success! You may recall the last time we worked on organizing the basement back around Christmastime.

{This is what the playroom looks like after less than 30 minutes of use. Look at all the toys that would otherwise be all.over.my.house.}

It is not often that I would compare my life to a fairy tale, but upon looking at this giant Sumac tree in front of our house...you can't help but think of Jack and the Beanstalk. It is not a good thing. This morning, I put in a request for the management company to get over here and replace it with something else. It is like a giant tropical weed and it appears to have some kind of bug infestation. Yuck!

{It is much, much uglier in person, but you get the idea}

Since this blog doubles as my journal and the kids memory books, the following is a bit of information that falls into the "mommy's journal" category. I already got my first cycle (period)! Seriously, Nolan is only 6 weeks old and my body is already like "hey, lets start kicking out the eggs." Yeah, I might be the most fertile woman on the planet!

Hmmmm, what else. My mom gets here this week! That's right, Alaksa Grandma is visiting these parts for 10 days. I need to start planning some fun things or else we are just going to end up hanging out in the basement playroom way too much :) Oh, and I should probably plan some meals so she doesn't catch the drift that Bryan actually does most of the dinner cooking around here these days. Wouldn't want her to know what a lump in the kitchen she raised :) Or it could just be that I am running on next to no sleep lately with the baby and by 5 pm I am DONE.

Speaking of the baby, he is so darn cute and getting a little chubby, which I love. How come it isn't as cute for me to have a belly and chunky thighs? No fair. Nolan gets more and more personality every day and likes to be right in the thick of it. He wants to be in the same room as his noisy brothers and will nap right through anything...and I do mean anything.

{morning napping on the sofa in the living room downstairs, while the rest of the brood eats breakfast}

Get a Grip

Maybe I need to get one myself...a grip, that is.

But I am just head over heels in love with this little man, and his gorgeous lips.



And the way he wraps his little fingers around one of mine, totally unaware that he's got me wrapped around his little finger as well.

A Moment Between Brothers (and Hershey)

If you give two little boys chocolate milk and a kit kat as a special treat,

don't be surprised when you open the front door

and find them perched on the railing,

calling the milk their "beer."

And just chatting each other up in a way that only brothers can.

ONE MONTH

Nolan Patrick

At one month old you are growing and filling out at warp speed.

Your legs have still got some catching up to do to be in proportion to your trunk, but I think it's cute.

***

Mommy and Daddy marvel at your big tummy, and its insatiable appetite.

You are doing all the normal newborn activities.

Your rooting instinct is well-honed.

As is your startle reflex, which happens a lot in a house with two older brothers and two puppy dogs running around.

You are even starting to reach for things, like my camera strap.

I love your gummy smile.

(and the elusive dimple, that has yet to be captured on film)

I love your soft squirmy feet.

I love your big blue eyes that beckon for attention and already have such tremendous personality behind them.

Most of all, I love you, babe.

We have enjoyed every moment of this first month with you!

TOUGH GUY

Jack, you have got to be the toughest, most seriously excited about preschool little boy out there. I love you. And I love that you love your backpack. But no, honey, you cannot sleep with it on your back...especially after you fill it with toys.


I brought along a little snack for you since I knew you'd be hungry while we waited in between dropping of Warren and your class starting (there is a 30 minute delay).


Upon picking you up from school today (your first day of preschool!)

"ohyeahmommyIloveschool...wereadbooksandsangmusic...ohanddidyouknowthatanoctopushas8legsmommy?...8legs!" And only then did you finally take a breath.

Tids and Tads

(alternately titled "Three Jeers -- postpartum style")

So, it has been five weeks since I had a baby. Five weeks since I have:

::Felt the baby kicking my ribs

::Had heartburn

::Had to pee every 30 minutes...or else!

::Waddled (at least I think)

::Slept for more than 2 hours straight.

And I couldn't be happier! I am past what I call (somewhat affectionately) the worst part of the postpartum ordeal. My hormones have settled down (goodbye teenage acne!), I am sufficiently used to the lack of sleep (aka numb), and I am starting to feel like my normal self again. That's not to say that I look like my normal self though.

So, all three jeers are going to the postpartum woman. The first is for the flab that is my belly. Why do you trick me by fitting into some of my normal jeans, only to hang/bulge over the top?

...sigh...

Second jeer goes to my chest (boobs, mammary glands, hooters...whatever the word on the street is these days). All I can say is ugh. I mean, I LOVE breastfeeding, honestly, it would just be great if it wasn't accompanied by so much hugeness and soreness and leakiness. Okay moving on...

Third jeer goes to my tired, tired eyes. See for yourself! I look tired. No amount of makeup can hide it!

Here. Here is my best eyes wide open, fake smile look at the moment.
It's not fooling anyone.

I know this is a worthless post, but all three boys are sleeping and I am just sitting here near comatose with the baby monitor next to me (do baby monitors creep out anyone else but me? -- spooky!). I know I should try to nap too, but it's just that I have laundry to fold and that would make me a slacker, right? So instead of folding the laundry I will just sit here and procrastinate :) But if anyone asks, I am thinking about what to make for dinner...that's my story.

On a totally unrelated topic, why on Earth do little kids always put sunglasses on upside down?

And why does that picture remind me of my first post {smile}?

Class of 2022

Congrats, Warren, on your first day of Kindergarten!

You are so special!

And such a good big brother to both Nolan...

...and Jack

As I watched you line up in front of your teacher, I could see the apprehension and a little nervousness register on your adorable face. I had to pull my sunglasses down so you wouldn't see me tear up. I love you so much!

Three Tears

As a mother of three boys, I know I'll someday face the heart ache of my sons telling another, different, entirely not-me girl "I love you."

I know that they may disappoint me as teenagers (speeding tickets, a bad grade), do things behind my back (go in "halfsies" on birth control with their little tramp of a girlfriend, stay out past curfew), not always tell me the truth (break a knick-knack, sneak out of the house)...and I am bracing myself for all of that. I grew up with two brothers, I am not disillusioned -- at all.

But prepare myself for their entering elementary school...now that is another story. These are real tears, people, not crocodile ones.

The first tear goes to Warren, who starts Kindergarten on Monday. Monday! Holy Cow! I mean, go class of 2022! Seems like yesterday I was making crazy hair when he got out of the bath and pushing him around in his dump truck. Now he has a three ring binder and a cubby. Waaaaaaaah....


The second tear goes to my second born. Jack starts preschool on Tuesday. He is so excited and proud and really I am too...really. Sniff. It's just that I can't believe he will be sitting in the little chair with the little table in the little classroom -- without me. I may have to force him to squeeze into the Bumbo chair one last time, just for old times sake. I guess he can't sit at his toy desk forever, grinning at mommy.


The last tear is for Nolan, who is a whole one month old. He rocks the party in his swing :)


Three jeers are next!

Three Cheers!

What's that? My posts are starting to sound like Sports Nation?

Hmmm....well maybe that's because I fall asleep nearly every night listening to it in the background as Bryan catches up from the day's episode on DVR.

Could be...

One cheer for the boys' new desk and chair (we got this earlier in the day that Nolan was born. found them at a thrift store in Longmont!) and all the creative "homework" it has spurred the boys to partake in.

One cheer for an empty hamper. I no longer hate laundry thanks to these!

And the fact that Warren folded nearly an entire load of whites this morning!

And the final cheer for the day goes to McDonalds for having lego cars in their Happy Meals right now. Jack was elated!

(And a final mention goes to Nolan for taking a long nap, allowing me some extra time to take such trivial pictures)

Yup, I said that!

So, both Bryan and I totally spaced our own wedding anniversary
(6 years now, and it was yesterday for what it's worth).

***

~the day when this picture that lives in our living room was taken~

Yeah, we are to that point in our lives :)

That magical place where you can totally forget to even acknowledge an important milestone...and you are fine with it.

In fact, more than fine.

Maybe even a little relieved because it's not like you have the energy to get dressed up

(nothing fits yet anyhow)

and go out on the town.

Yup, this 6 year anniversay can just bite the dust.

And we'll make up for it next year...that is if we remember! :)

Anyhow, on Saturday (which was the day before our anniversary, ha!) we took the boys and cousin Emma to the Wildlife Experience Museum.

***

{I LOVE little boys in dungarees}

Dare I say that there is something downright sexy

(can I say sexy on this "family" blog?)

about a man holding a baby like an old pro.

Yup, I said that!

***

Oh and here's a little sleeping baby eye candy, because who doesn't love a sleeping baby with such smoochable lips?!

4...3...2...1...0

4 Wonderful weeks since Nolan was born

Bringing the total to 3 amazing little Lawson Boys

Even though the most hours in a row I have slept is 2 between feedings,

I am so glad we are 1 big happy family!

[0 -- the number of pictures where one child or another isn't fussing...oh well!]

Vintage Posts -- Installment #7

~Bryan's First Trip to Alaska~

[December, 2002]

Well the stakes were high and the pressure was on.

I was out to impress and make sure the trip lived up to any expectations Bryan had both about meeting his then girlfriend's family and visiting the super cool (literally) state that she was born and raised in
...in the dead of winter...

Like, the frozen waterfall kind of dead of winter.

Better yet, the "hey look at there's a guy climbing that frozen waterfall kind of dead of winter."

On the bright side, it was near Christmastime, so everything was festive and we got dressed up and went for a nice dinner downtown at the Glacier Brewhouse.

(Bryan, me, mom, Bruce)

(me and mom)

And of course we skied. (me and mom)

Because where else but Alyeska ski resort can you stop at a random point on the trail and snap this shot with Cook Inlet in the backdrop?

Honestly...

We are SO overdue for another visit!

Dimpled Darling

Yes, I realize you can't see his dimple in this picture...the dimple that shows up on his right cheek when he smiles at his adoring Mamma. You'll just have to take my word for it for now. Until I capture it on film :)

Nolan and I have had the most relaxing time just the two of us, since taking Warren and Jack down for their Grandpa's company picnic yesterday afternoon. Some great bonding time for sure! How is it possible to love him more and more each day?!?

In Preparation

Well, school starts August 24th! Warren is in half day Kindergarten in the mornings, and Jack is in preschool on Tuesday and Thursday in the morning. I am so excited for them...okay and a little for myself to have more of a schedule emerge and get some time with just one kid every week.

But at the same time, it is a little daunting -- the getting ready for school to start, that is. The boys have been staying up much later than normal, eating at all times of the day, and just generally hamming it up this Summer. Plus we have a newborn. Yeah, there isn't a lot of schedule going on around here.

So, starting last week we have been taking some steps to get them ready for the transition into fall. And by them, I mean all three!

Warren and Jack are getting put to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 pm. They now 100% of the time get themselves dressed both in pajamas at night and clothes in the morning. They put their dirty clothes in their hamper and grab the days' clothes out of this nifty contraption Bryan found at Nordstrom for their closet.



You wouldn't believe what a huge deal it is for them to be self-sufficient in this way. Especially since Warren is almost to the point of being able to completely groom himself. He washes his hands and face and brushes his own teeth -- usually. I can just about see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will just say "boys go get ready" and 15 min later two perfectly attired and groomed little boys will emerge. Ahhhh...sure, they sometimes doddle, and they almost always have something on backwards, and it is a sure thing that there will be toothpaste on the counter. But I am suppressing my inner perfectionist/clean freak and enjoying the fact that the morning routine is sustainable.

As for Nolan, I am already starting to see a little bit of a schedule emerging. I give him a bath every night after Warren and Jack are tucked in. Then he has an extensive feeding/burping/snuggle/rocking time and falls asleep at about 10 pm. He usually sleeps for 3-4 hours at this first stretch of the night. A couple more feedings and diaper changes during the night and the sun starts to come up. He is taking two longer naps per day too. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Of course he still falls asleep for little cat naps throughout the day, like when he is in the car. I haven't pushed the issue of a schedule on him yet, but it is nice to see that he is already gravitating to one!

{Morning Nap}


I am feeling confident that we will be rearing to go come August 24th and if I could sum it up in one word right now, it would be -- doable!