Mixed Emotions

So, this is going to be a different blog for me. Usually I have a cutesy pic of one or more of my kiddos and talk about what we're up to. The main reason this blog is different is because we've been up to absolutely NOTHING!!! Now, I don't want this blog to be a pity party or just me complaining because I truly am grateful for God's many blessings and have had more joy in the past 6 months than I've had in a long time. With that said, the past couple of days have consisted of cleaning up vomit (Graham's bed, my bed, my carpet, the babies' rug) and poop (my bed, my carpet) ... I think I've done 5 loads of laundry and washed my hands like a surgeon scrubbing in to surgery about 25 times. And my only contact with the outside world this week was my 2 hr. bible study on Wed. I have never been so over winter in my whole life!!! On the other hand, I have 3 healthy precious boys with whom I am completely enamored and can't get enough of. I have a loving husband who comes home every day after work to help get 3 boys fed, bathed, and put to bed and throws in some playtime, too. My heart melts when I hear Graham talking to the twins and saying, "It's ok, brother" when they cry and seeing the two of them starting to interact with each other is priceless. I'm at a stage in my life right now where all I feel like I do is serve, serve, serve and am constantly needed by someone, but sooner than I'd like to imagine my boys aren't going to need me so much and sadly probably won't want me all the time either. Life is so interesting. Thankfully the joys truly do outweigh the sorrows :)

p.s. Carter cut his first tooth yesterday ... see, i had to throw in something practical in this blog!!

5 Months Old

My sweet little buddies are 5 months old already ... why do babies grow SO fast?!?! Carter is starting to catch up to Luke ... last week at their check-up Carter weighed 13 lbs. 4 oz and Luke was 14 lbs. 1 oz. We're in full swing of solids ... they've tried sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and peas. Luke is definitely a better eater than Carter. I'm still having to feed them separately and cannot seem to keep their hands out of their mouths during meals. They really are at such a sweet age right now, and we are enjoying them tremendously!!

Kevin had to go out of town for the week, so I called in some recruits. We had a BLAST with Bet Bet and Snacks here ... thanks again for everything!!!

Big Snow

We got a really BIG snow on Friday ... Kevin and I are pretty sure it's the biggest snow we've ever seen in Nashville. We've been pretty much stuck at our house all weekend, but it's been a good one ... thank the Lord we did not lose electricity. Graham isn't the biggest fan of the snow (it's cold and we don't have the most appropriate clothing for him), but he did love sledding down the hill with our next door neighbors this morning. Luke and Carter were obviously oblivious but looked awfully cute all bundled up :)

My 3 snow angels

A snowy wagon ride

Daddy and his boys

Graham LOVED sledding

Pretty white blanket of snow

Bye Bye Paci

I've never seen kids suck their fingers, thumbs, hands, feet, etc. more than Luke and Carter. Graham was a paci lover (still is for bedtime), so it's crazy to me to see these little guys so into their fingers/thumbs. I guess I can check off weaning them from their paci off the list of tough parenting tasks. Solid food is still going well ... we're on dinner AND breakfast right now (rice and oatmeal). It's a tough task getting everyone fed, but the sooner they can get to table foods and finger feeding, the easier it will be on me :) On a completely different note, my funny Graham story of the week ... we were eating an apple at the park and hadn't finished it, so I let him hold on to it and bite off of it on the way home in the car. When we pulled into the carport, I got out of the car with a baggie for him to put the core in and a wipe to clean his sticky hands. I opened his car door and to my surprise his hands are totally empty. I asked him, "did you eat it all?" and he replied, "I ate it all gone, Mommy." My boy sure loves to eat!!!!

Luke sucking Carter's thumb

Carter sucking his toes

My college roommate, Robin, and her daughter, Anna, came for a really fun visit. It was great having a little girl around the house, and I LOVED having Robin here to be with ... and help out :)They were such perfect and easy house-guests ... y'all are welcome back ANYTIME!!

Let the Eating Begin

Here is to the beginning of being eaten out of house and home. I sure am going to have to prepare A LOT of food raising 3 boys ... I don't even want to know what our food bill is going to be soon :)

Carter says, "What is this stuff?"

Luke is not so sure about it either

This pic taken last Thur. for the National Championship was too cute not to post ... ROLL TIDE!!!!

Sea Island/New Years

We all had a BLAST at the beach. It was a little chilly, but at least we were able to play outside. I was a bit concerned before we left at how chaotic it was going to be with 7 kids age 4 and under, but all were happy and healthy and really enjoyed being around each other. Thanks Mom and Dad, for all you did to make our trip so great ... can't wait to get back in May :)

Click here if you want to see more pics from Christmas and New Years: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=408938507805%3A628876696

4 Months Old

We rang in the new year with the boys turning 4 months old. The last month has definitely been our best yet ... mainly because they are sleeping 10-11 hours at night now :) Carter is rolling over, but Luke hasn't quite figured it out yet. I feel like we're in really good phase right now. I was telling someone the other day that I'm afraid the next 4 months or so might be the best it's going to be for a while. Once they get mobile, it's really going to get crazy around here!! We don't go for their 4 month check up until the end of the month, so I don't know weights or percentiles right now, but they seem to be growing well. Luke is definitely still bigger, though. We just got back from their first trip to the beach ... another blog about that later. Back to reality and the VERY cold weather here in Nashville.