I Blinked

Just the other day I was following him as he enthusiastically skipped up the road to the bus stop for first time. 

 Then I blinked and turned from the passenger seat of my van and saw him driving. 

 

First day of Sophomore year

Just the other day I was pushing a grocery cart out to the van and he sat in the seat smiling up at me and we sang silly songs together without a care of who could be watching or listening. 

 Then I blinked and looked up and heard him talking about plans for his 10th birthday.

First day of 4th grade

 Just the other day I was nuzzling his sweet smellin' newborn baby head and giving Thanks to God for the opportunity to be a mama to a third boy.

Then I blinked and saw him glancing over his shoulder at me after trying on his new backpack for kindergarten

First day of kindergarten.

 

 

 

And there he goes...

 

 

 

 

 

5

Oh sweet boy....where has the time gone?

I remember so clearly the day we found out we were pregnant.  I remember so clearly the warm, April day that you came into the world.

These past 5 years have gone so fast.  But have been so sweet. 

You are so full of joy that is contagious and brings so much joy to everyone who knows and loves you. 

 You have a heart that loves big and isn't afraid to share that love with others.  

You have grown into such a big boy this past year.  Weekly play dates with friends, taking pride in the chores you do around the home, playing soccer, swim lessons, enthusiastically embracing all the learning opportunities at school, speech, church and home. 

You can't wait for Kindergarten.  I'm hoping the summer lasts forever.

Your favorite color is still yellow. Everyone knows it too!  It's a good favorite color for you because yellow is such a warm, cheery, happy color just like your personality.  

Routine is important.  There must be a book before bed regardless of the hour on the clock. We need to get a milk from Starbucks when we visit Target and you like to pick out lunchables from the grocery store after MOPS for a car picnic on the way to preschool.   

You want to be a Farmer Dad when you grow up and have 10 kids.  You tell me that you are going to give me bunnies and you insist that I come and visit your farm.  You got it, buddy!!!!

You have a curiosity and a love for Jesus which stretches my faith.  You love being together as a family, always encouraging game time.  You are very strict about meal time prayers.  The other day we stopped for lunch at a restaurant and you sweetly looked across the table and said, "Let's pray"  You tell me I'm beautiful at least 5 times a day.  You love to snuggle in my bed and have me read books to you.  It's a precious sweet time.  You seem to always beat me in Sorry.  I'm getting better though.  

You and BuhBuh continue to have a strong brotherly bond.  You enjoy when The Boy is left to babysit you and makes you a "mix bowl".  If given the choice between staying home with him and coming with me, you choose him

 

You love monster trucks and stuffed animals playdough and coloring.  Helping mom in the kitchen and helping dad in the yard.  

                       

You look forward to your weekly daddy nights and your stay home days on Mondays.  

I sure do love being your mommy.  I haven't taken a single day of these past 5 years for granted.  You have brought so much joy and love into this home than I would have ever thought was possible.  Although my heart breaks at the thought of you beginning school, I know that there will be more sweet blessings that you will continue to bring into our lives.   

Happy (a little late) Birthday my sweet boy.  What fun we are going to have in the months and years to come!

Car Talk

Little Dude:  I'm going to have lots of babies

The Daddy:  How many?

Little Dude:  10

The Daddy:  Who's going to be your wife?

Little Dude:  A girl.

The Daddy:  Who?

Little Dude:  Anybody.  Girls are easy to find.  They are everywhere.

Car Talk

Little Dude:  Did you see 'dat?

Me:  See what?

Little Dude:  'Dose army cows??

Me:  Army cows???  What did they look like?

Little Dude:  Black and white.

Me:  Ohhhh....**giggling as I realized exactly what he was talking about***

Summer Nights

The sky looks like the canvas of an artists masterpiece. 

 

Red and pink hues streak the sky as the sun slips just below the horizon.

"Now??" he asks anxiously for the umpteenth time.

"No, not yet," I reply.  I know how excited he is.

The colors in the sky begin to fade and the shadows grow longer and longer.

And then you see one.

Then two.

Then more than you can count. 

Bursts of light begin to twinkle just out our door breaking apart the still, darkness that has engulfed the yard.

Fireflies!

I hear the door slide open and then shut.  

He doesn't even ask to go out.  

Bare feet race across the deck and down the stairs into the summer night air to fulfill the mission of the moment.

I peer through the window from the kitchen, trying to keep an eye on the busyness. 

"I GOT ONE," he exclaims excitedly. 

Proudly, and carefully he slips his new friend into a jar with holes punched on top of the lid.  Again he slips out the door to find another.  He thinks his new friend needs a friend.  

What joy simple little things like lightening bugs can bring to an ordinary summer evening.  It's just about the perfect kind of summer evening there is to be had.  Especially if there's a scoop of ice cream to go with it!

June

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE the month of June???  30-blissful days of being unplugged (except for work.  I was on computer way more this year than in years past.  ICK!) and reconnecting. 

We take this so seriously that even people who come to our house during the month of June have to play along.

Cousins and friends who come over to play, and we even 10 kids we entertained when it was our turn to host for our Babysitting Co-op.

So what all did June entail here at the Yellow House on the Prairie??  (I should rename this blog!  What do you think?)  

Celebrating 15 years of marriage.  I had a conference to leave for that day.  But had flowers waiting for me when I checked into my hotel.  We celebrated when I returned with a Pops Symphony Concert with 

Micheal Cavanaugh and a movie 

Vacation Bible School.  The first one I was 100% responsible for planning and organizing.  It was awesome.  We had over 20 volunteers help to make it what it was.  We had about 60 children and youth and God showed up, that is for sure!

Trip to the zoo with cousins

Lots of games played as a family both inside and out.

 

Day trip to Chicago

 

 

Fireflies and Toads

Evenings at the ball park

Hours spent driving The Boy to and from 2 different camps, weights and conditioning for football, youth group, Village Inn, Friends houses. (Hence the reason there are NO pictures of him.  He hasn't been around much!  SNIFF!!!)

June is over.....but I am looking forward to enjoying July even if there are a few more electronics being used during the month.

Last Day of School: Litte Dude

Today was the end of Little Dudes first year of preschool.  

He has so loved preschool.  

When I would drop him off he'd skip down the hall, happy and excited.  When I would pick him up, he would run out with a smile on his face and jump into my arms.  

He would hug his best friend and the two of them would walk out to their mommy's vans holding hands.

Today was different.  There was no smile.  No running.  He tried to carry a big brave boy composer.  But his lip quivered just ever so slightly that I knew he was sad. 

We snapped a quick photo with his teacher. 

Then he fell into my arms, buried his head into my neck to hide his face.  

I could feel his warm tears on my neck.  

"Go!  Go!" he whimpered, motioning toward the door wanting to leave.  

Today there was no goodbye hug for his best friend; no walking her to her van.  

Today he just wasn't up to it.  

I tried to get a last day of school picture in the same spot that we took our first day of school picture.  But he just clung to me tighter.  

I'm so glad that he loved preschool that much.  Glad that we decided to keep him there next year rather than moving him into the program at our elementary school.  Sad that his heart was sad.  (I've never had a kiddo react that way to the end of school!!!)  But looking forward to all of the fun and adventure that we will have this summer. 

Hugs

A wise mom of grown children told me once, "Never stop hugging your kids.  Even if they don't like it, keep hugging them.  Because if you stop, they might decide they do want to be hugged by you and how would you know?"

So, I make it a point to hug my boys, all three of them, big, medium and small. 

Little Dude runs and jumps into my arms and squeezes.

BuhBuh lets me hug and kiss him.  But most times his arms dangle at his side.  Unless it's bedtime then he wants a big hug.  I think it's a stall tactic, but I don't care.  If he has a bad dream he still insists on a "good night" kiss to make it all better.

The Boy curls up into a fetal position and squirms.  But I hug him anyway.  It doesn't really hurt my feelings that he doesn't hug back.  Because my job is to let him know that I love HIM

This weekend The Boy and I were at a youth retreat and at the end everyone runs around hugging all of their friends new and old.  

As I was trying to round up my group I was standing there face to face with The Boy; looking up to him.  He leaned in and let me hug him.  We were in the middle of a group of people and he didn't care.  We stood there longer than any other hug we have had recently.  This time it wasn't one sided either.  

Camera Cable FOUND!!!!

YIPPIE!!!!  Here are some pictures of our new 4 year old enjoying his birthday!!!

HAHA!  He's trying to give a double thumbs up!

Birthday Letter

Dear Little Dude,

Happy 4th Birthday, my sweet, little boy!!!!  You have been counting down birthdays until yours since after The Boy's.  First we celebrate Jesus' birthday, then Daddy's.  You knew that yours was coming up after Daddy's.  So then we started to count sleeps.

You woke up this morning and came to our room and knew that you didn't have any more sleeps left!!!  You knew that TODAY was THE day!!!

Then you thought about it.

Perhaps a little more deeply than most little boys your age.

You got that little whimper; crack in your voice as you tried to talk.

"I don't want to be four," you said.  "I want to be three"

You nestled your little head into my neck.  I think I might have even felt a couple of warm crocodile tears on my cheeks.

But then BuhBuh came to your rescue!!!  He said he had something for you....he put one of his toys and some of his guys on a shelf down low and told you that you could play with those toys anytime you liked and you didn't have to ask.

Thanks BuhBuh!!!

We celebrated YOU with some gifts and birthday cinnamon rolls just like we do with your big brothers.  You really enjoyed opening your gifts.  You got some new games, a pillow pet, a Leapster with some games and a soccer ball.

The cool thing about having your birthday fall on a Sunday is that your church family sings to you!!!  You were pretty excited about this and were giving some pretty enthusiastic fist pumps during the special serenade. 

We went out to lunch with some of our church family.  You asked if the restaurant was a good birthday place and were thrilled, as always that they had your favorite.  Chocolate milk!!!  Mommy and Daddy and The Boy had bible study then we came home and played your with your new games.

You are looking forward to your family dinner next Saturday when your aunties and uncles and cousins and grandmas and papa's will all be here.  Mommy is looking forward to it too.

What a fun year it has been to watch you grow and play and learn.

Naps are a thing of the past.  Once summer hit, it was just too hard to keep any kind of a nap schedule.  You do pretty good for the most part and go to bed well at night.  The car can still almost always lull you to sleep.  Which is not good when it's late afternoon.  We go back and forth between streaks of you climbing into our bed at night.  You've been really good about it lately, waiting until the sun comes up before you come in.  That I'm OK with! 

Although you were mostly potty trained prior to your 3rd birthday, there were a couple of more potty training hurdles that we had to conquer.  Which we did this past summer.   YIPPIE!!!

You started participating in the children's ministry programs at Church on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings.  I love that you are able to be independent from mom for short periods.  You also have loved going to preschool this past school year!  You run into your classroom everyday with so much anticipation and excitement and a couple of hours later run out of the classroom excited to see me.  It's been good for both of us I think.

You have a special friend that you met this year at preschool.  A cute little brunette girl who you hug at the beginning of the day at preschool and once more to say goodbye.  The two of you walk out to your mommy's vans holding hands every day.  It's only cute and allowed because you are this young.  We have discussed how she may not spend the night at your house because it's not appropriate for girls and boys to have sleep overs.  But we have enjoyed a couple of play dates after school with her.  You say she's your best friend; your favorite friend.  You tell me that you will miss her just about every day when we leave school.  I think it's precious that your first best friend is a little dark haired girl, just like both of your big brothers had first best friends who were little girls with dark hair as well.

You love the color yellow.  You have begun to enjoy watching Dora during your TV time in the afternoons.  You love to play games.  You play well with BuhBuh, The Boy, cousins, playgroup friends and church friends.  You love to snuggle with mommy in her bed and read books.  You love to wrestle with your Daddy.  You give me countless hugs and kisses all day long.  I love that.  You give a pretty terrific high five.  Recently you've mastered the "super spin"  and you can tell some pretty hilarious knock-knock jokes.  You like to rev your monster trucks through the house.  Your speech is improving, although we think we will need some speech services next school year.  You say such cute, funny things.  You tell me I'm beautiful then ask if that has melted my heart.  And yes, it does, every time. 

We've had lots of fun adventures this past year.  I've always said that 3 is one of my favorite years.  But, I have to tell ya my sweet boy, I'm REALLY excited for 4!!!  I can't wait to spend this last year home with you before you begin all of the adventures of school that lie ahead.  But not yet!!!  Let's just take it slow, one day at a time enjoying the moments that God gives us.

Happy Birthday my sweet little guy.  Mommy loves you so much!!!!


***editors note:  If I werent' trying to unpack boxes (yes, still!) and get ready for a birthday party on top of the normal things that we do day to day, maybe I could have found my camera cable to share some birthday pictures with you.  But NOOOOO, it wants to remain hidden.*** 

Brothers

BuhBuh:  I like being the middle child

Me:  *grinning*  Oh yeah?  Why is that?

BuhBuh:  Because if I were the oldest I'd only have two younger brothers and no big brother and if I were the youngest I'd only have two older brothers and no younger brothers. 

After this bedtime conversation with BuhBuh, both of these pictures flashed into my mind. 

  

Mark Twain Lake, July 2009

Starved Rock State Park, July 2010

I love both of these pictures of my boys.

They both tell me a story.

They both capture a precious, shared moment between the three of them. 

They both give me insight into each of their hearts.

They both remind me that despite the moments of arguing and fighting that occur;  despite my worrying about whether or not my boys will grow up and be brothers who are friends; despite me worrying about whether or not I'm treating them fairly because of their "birth order;"  I know...I see that there is a bond between them that only the three of them will ever share.

I pray that it will continue to grow stronger through the years.

Spring Break Vacation

One of my favorite things is to take vacations with my family.  It gives us a break from the everyday.  It gives us an escape from the busy.  It gives us intentional time together to have fun and enjoy one another without the worry of the calendar, clock or to-do list.

Our Spring Break vacation was split between Walt Disney World in Orlando and Grandma and Grandpa's Florida house in Fort Myers.

 I know Little Dude won't remember his first trip to Walt Disney World .  But it's pretty special to watch a 3-year old experience the excitement of Disney World for the first time and to be part of that excitement and joy with them. 

 

Although BuhBuh had been to Walt Disney World 5 years ago, we really got to watch him experience it all over again.  

 

He rode several roller coasters, often times putting up a fight to not ride them, but was always so happy when he did.  

Oh!  And he got to have a little light saber battle.  

 

Although he asked if he could battle on the dark side (sigh) he thought it was pretty cool. 

The Boy was such a trooper.  He did get to ride several roller coasters which he enjoyed.  But he was a good helper with his brothers. 

 

 

He never complained when we rode on the "kid" rides.  

 

I was worried that he wasn't having any fun.  This was the first vacation that I actually worried and wondered about that.  But when we got home he did tell me that he had fun.  My Sweetie and I realized as we walked out of the Magic Kingdom at 1 in the morning on our last "night" in the parks, that he might not be with us the next time we go. 

We really crammed a lot of the Disney Experience into a short amount of time.  We walked a lot, ate very little, slept very little, but had a ton of fun.  

After the Extreme Disney part of the trip, we drove to Fort Myers to stay with My Sweetie's parents at their Florida home.  We spent one day looking for alligators in the Everglades.

 

The rest of the time there we spent relaxing on the beach. 

It was BuhBuh's and Little Dude's first time to the ocean. All three boys had a blast playing in the water, digging in the sand and searching for shells. 

I had a blast sitting in my chair watching and soaking up the memories.