Pride and Joy

{My two Jacks}

{This suitcase is nearly as big as him}

Being a parent is...

...as humbling as it is uplifting.
...as frustrating as it is confidence boosting.
...and as exhausting as it is exhilerating.

And when you see your child doing a good deed, like pulling his Great Grandpa's (whom he is named after) luggage all the way from the luggage carousel to the car, you can't help but feel proud to know you must be doing something right!

Duck, Duck, Goose!

Just a little eye-candy from our most recent visit to our Children's Museum.

Nolan loves toys and stuffies now.

And he kinda looks like Elmer Fudd lately, don't ya think? :0)

He is so cute!

{Oh wait! That's not a...}

{I'll just give it a hug then}

{OH! Hi Mommy!}

Smile!

Thanksgiving 2009 will forever be the day that my firstborn lost his first tooth.

We had to read Dr. Suess' "The Tooth Book" and the toothfairy was very generous (and emotional) towards Warren on this milestone.

Random

A typical chat with my four year old:

Me: "Jack, you are being very argumentative."

Jack: "Noooo I'm not!"

Me: "...."

***

What do these pics have to do with anything? Nothing, other than I didn't even know Warren and Jack had taken them until I went to dowload my camera. They must have taken them during one of the many outings where I wait in the car with the brood and send Bryan in to Costco/grocery store/Starbucks, etc to get what we need without all going in.
So, apparently this is what I look like while I am scouring the exit door of whatever store we are patroning, waiting for my husband to come rescue me from being the only adult in a van full of noisy boys, one of whom usually climbs into my lap while the other unloads my purse! Awesome!

***
Nothings worse than forgetting to take off your sunglasses for a great photo op. The Broncos fountain is in the background, we were getting ready to go into the stadium, the sun was shining, I'm next to my beautiful little sister...and...I've got the bug-eyed big sunglasses on, reflecting the guy struggling to take our picture with my super simple point and shoot camera. Sigh...

{Better luck next time}

Four Months

Holding toys and bringing them to your mouth.

Eating your first solids (rice cereal with breast milk). You gobbled it up the first time like a pro.
Sleeping (some) in your crib. You finally have a nursery that we created in a portion of the master bedroom.
You are 12 lb, 4oz and 24.5 inches. You are very skinny and long.
No surprise there.
Blond hair coming in as your straggly newborn hair continues to fall out/rub off.
Laughing so hard you can't seem to stop yourself.

Watching everything your brothers do.

Craning your neck to see what they're up to.

Laying on the sheepskin rug that we got you for an early Christmas present.

Babbling and screeching so loud it sometimes surprises us that you are capable of such loud baby talking.
Mimicking sounds, especially "mama."

I predict there will be babies born 9 months after their mamas meet you, Nolan.
You are not good birth control. You are so sweet and happy.
I can't even remember what it was like before we were blessed with you in our family!

{Life with three boys is quite good!}

SO TRUE.

You know what they say.

~~~

That by the third kid,

you are way more relaxed.

Not being quite as neurotic

about making people that want to hold the baby wash their hands

(as you stand and watch),

making sure they've had infant CPR

...and ummmm...

asking if they've completed kindergarten.
~~~
{Well...}

{Truer }

{Words}

{Were Never Spoken}

And Nolan is none the worse for the wear because of it!

ANTICIPATION

I would have been there too...pressing my nose against the oven door, watching the cookies bake...

...if I hadn't been standing at the sink, licking cookie dough off the spoon!

Four Reals?

Jack to me: "Is this a NASCAR, mommy?"

Me: "where?", looking out the window as we are stopped at a red light.

Jack: "this car that we are in...your car."

Me: "Oh. No, this is a mini-van, Jack. Which is just slightly less cool than a NASCAR."

I CANNOT believe I am planning your fourth birthday party, Jack Dylan. You are too precious, just like the day we took these pictures of you with your enormous blue eyes in the bathtub. May you always be so sweet! And may it always be so easy to decide what food to have at your party--pizza! Yum, yum, yum :)


{Bet you'll need another bath after your birthday party...my messiest eater!}

Twins

{Separated by 30 years no doubt...but still twins}

I have nother clever or witty cooking in my head at the moment, so I'll just share a few of the funny things I recall the boys saying today.

When Nolan was laying on his back and happened to look backwards at something above his head, giving us a rare glimpse of his neck, Warren goes "oh my gosh, mommy, his neck just came out of his body." I have to admit, it was kind of a surprise to see what is under our little chunky monkey's neck rolls.

Jack was telling me today, in a sassy moment of his, that he doesn't need parents and can just take care of himself. So, I asked him "who will kiss you goodnight then, Jack?" And he responded "I can just kiss myself, see?" and he kissed his arm and tried to be serious. Instead bursting out laughing at his own ridiculousness.

Thats all I got for now. Check back often :)

Either Way

We've either got a kid with some major athletic ability...

...or one that really knows how to improvise and set himself up for success.

Either way, it doesn't seem to impact his ability to attract the opposite sex...already!

{He was downright giddy to be asked to dance by this little lady at a wedding reception}

THREE

I am loving the number three.
The family dynamic is all that I hoped it would be.

Three sets of busy Puma sock clad feet.

{Where will they go?}

Three sets of curious, happy hands.

{Will they always help eachother?}

I love having three boys!

A little bit about me

My diet is going...okay. A few lapses...like the fact that the phrase "how many calories in a glass of white wine" is sitting in my google toolbox search thingy on my browser. The answer is only 77 by the way!

But seriously, I am in a sharing mood so here are a few things that you may or may not know about me. And I guess I figure if you are reading my blog, then you must be interested on some level =] So, here are some things about me right now, the Charity of 2009. Some are good, some are less than flattering, but all are me.
***

Sometimes my confidence is shakey. I can practically get into a mode where I question every decision I make and have ever made. Did I pick the right major in college? Was it wise to have Warren and Jack so close in age? Is the striped wall in my dining room over the top? Do I even like my own taste in clothes?
It is not productive. Self-reflection is good though so I try to find a balance.

***

I feel best when I have girlfriends that I am in regular contact with. I have always been the type to have a couple of really close girlfriends, but I definitely had a period in college where I had lost contact with my good highschool/childhood friends and was still grasping for new friendships. It was hard especially since I was at a mostly male college and then entered a mostly male industry. So, as an adult, this is something I put concerted effort into. It's not always easy, since friendships take energy and some work, just like any other relationship. But, when I slack in this department I can feel a negative result right away.
***

I am super emotional when it comes to my family. When my baby sister scored her first goal in soccer, I cried. When I see my mom at the airport, I cry. When my brother graduated boot camp in the Air Force...you guessed it. We may not be a super close knit family by all standards, but I love them immensely. And now my own family gets to be on the receiving end of my emotions. When the boys blow out their birthday candles each year, I (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) hold back tears, thinking vividly of the day they were born. Every milestone brings a well of emotion that usually manifests in tears. It can be embarassing.

***
I can be vain. I am naturally thin. I hope that only an appropriate amount of my self-esteem relies on my appearance. The funny thing is I am either totally gross in gnarly sweats or completely made up and in my best outfit of the moment. I have no real middle gear right now. So, I end up surprising a lot of people who know me in sweat-pant land who happen to see me in make-up land and vice versa. Sorry peeps!

***

I like things to be just so. Not completely in the OCD type way. But yeah, I may come down and fix the throw pillows on the couches before bed. I have always been one to take good care of my things and my surroundings. I like order and calm. I am a closet minimalist. I think if I couldn't have kids I would live in a zen house with platform beds and modern furniture from IKEA, with little bamboo plants and water fountains wispering Japanese proverbs ;) This stands in stark contrast to the reality of my life with three boys!

***

Despite being a super emotional creature, I find it hard to display my feelings of love for my husband sometimes. There are times throughout every single day that I feel a strong sense of love and adoration well up for him and I think "I must go and hug him or tell him how great he is." Then on my way to do so, I run into a load of laundry to fold and that somehow takes priority, the moment passes and the next thing I tell him is to turn down the volume on the TV. Why does that happen? Why do I feel silly to be openly lovey dovey with my own husband? Ouch -- it isn't always pretty to self-reflect.

***
I am a hard worker. I have a lot of energy. So, I have accomplished quite a bit in my 30 years on this planet. It hasn't always been smooth sailing and there are a lot of things I would do differently of course. But I continue to learn and grow and try to understand myself and how I can be a better person. I want to read this many years from now and laugh at the Charity of 2009 but also think of her fondly.

Saucy

Nolan spent some saucy time in his exersaucer...

...while we noshed on a saucy dinner of chicken parmesan made by my rock star husband.
{Nolan wasn't the only one drooling}