Hope this brightens your day

A hug from Russell:)

in the potty

This post is for Daddy

Beware it is a little gross:)

Russell is far from potty trained....

that being said:

Russell went in the potty for the first time the other day

AND...

He hasn't done it since

But...

He was so proud!

Rhett is 1 month

Rhett is one month old today.

He is already playing with his big brothers....

Quint, Russell, and Rhett in their "boat"

Date Night

With three kids under 4

and a budget

Date night at our house....

looks a little like this:)

Someday we will be able to go out to sexy small table dinner and sit for hours...

not worrying about how bedtime went, or if Rett needs to nurse....

It will be great when we get there....

BUT,

for now our life is bedtime.

Full of stories, bath, animal crackers and milk.

For now, Rett needs me every 3 hours....I know someday he won't.

Someday I may be able to go to tiny table dinner with my handsome husband,

but I will probably be jazzed if my boys call me on a regular basis.

So we embrace it.

For now, a quiet house, cozy couch, a beer, and a red box is a super hot date.

Speaking of embracing it: time to feed Rett.

a moment: move the wagon

Today the boys were playing outside. Russell wanted the shovel, but it was pinned under the wagon wheel. I watched as he addressed this problem. He tried to pull it out with all his strength. Then he tried even harder. "Ahhhhhh"......he said as he pulled. I was worried he would get frustrated, and I was about to step in and help him, when he changed his plan.

I waited to see what he would do next....

He left the shovel and went over to the wagon handle. He proceeded to pull the wagon until the wheel was no longer on the shovel. This may seem simple...but I was amazed.

Its official: Russell is a genius:)

That is the opinion of a totally unbiased momma (wink, wink)

Spitter

Rhett is an amazing baby, but he is my first spitter. I love calling him spitter because it reminds me of an endearing character from the TV show Greek. Anyways. I was so proud that I had just mopped my floor, and then it happened. Rett spit up all down the back of my shirt and the very clean floor. Ahhhh. The floor never remains clean for more than a few minutes....but it was so nice while it lasted. Spit up is gross....but I can't help but love my little spitter:)

If you are wondering....

Yes, it was in my hair.

And no, I did not wash it till much later that night....

Thats life in Mommy world!

I even had my sunglasses

It was my first day flying solo with the babies.

We were not running late.

We were in the car with all our gear and I even had my sunglasses.

You see, my sunglasses always seem to be an indicator of if I have EVERYTHING.

I don't take time to grab them if I need critical things like keys or diapers.

Here is a pic of us in the car, on time, with ALL our stuff...

even my sunglasses.

Rhett is 2....WEEKS!

Rett Richardson 2 Weeks Old....

Long Legs

Hiccups

Spitter

Eater

Sleepy

Deep thinker

Tough

Hardy

Quiet

Hair

Rebecca saves the day

BK couldn't make it to drill weekend last month, so he told me he would have to go this month. When I have a brand new baby I thought! Oh no....but then I remembered Rebecca was coming in that weekend to meet Rett and help out.

This prevented a break down, I am sure we would have survived but Rebecca coming gave me a lot of peace of mind:)

Did I mention I don't love drill weekend....mainly because I don't like to share BK.

Friday she arrived and Mom flew out......I am so grateful for both their help!

Rebecca was a rock star.

She jumped into our chaos with two feet.

I would have been in trouble without her, not to mention lonely!

Here are some pics:

Mom and Rebecca trading places at the airport

Aunt Rebecca bonding with Rhett

We had to show Aunt Rebecca the football people

Go Hawkeyes:)

Aunt Rebecca is so fun, she made cookies with the boys

Russell's tongue injury

It looked much worse when it was gushing blood....but looking back maybe I over reacted a bit. The good news is I learned a lot about tongues and how they heal. I feel like being a mom of three boys requires a vast knowledge of random injuries. Maybe I need a book, when to call 911, when to call the doctor, and when to wait and see. Let me know if a book like that exists:)

A third parent

I have decided there are many times in my life where I could really use a third parent. When BK is working and I need to be two places at once....when I didn't sleep because someone was up all night and I'm dying for a nap.......when I had the flu last winter and couldn't move, etc.

Another prime example is when we are about to have a baby.

Ideally BK and I could be at the birth, but that leaves us with two boys with no where to go. We don't have family in town, state or even within our time zone. We had gracious offers from friends to watch the boys but I didn't want to drop them off in the middle of the night with our friends who all have a few kids of their own. Since we don't have a third parent hanging around.....

Grammy flew to the rescue!!

My mom's life is busy.....but she dropped everything for 10 days to come to be our third parent.

It would have been really rough without her here to step in.

THANK YOU GRAMMY!!

Here are some pics of her time here.

Arrival: Day before baby arrives!

Her first order of business: take BK out for his birthday:)

He chose Hardees...

The boys were pumped too

She watched the boys during the birth and brought them to meet their new brother

Grammy meeting Rett

She took Quint to preschool

She was a huge help at the park

Played with the boys and showed them photos on her computer

Boys are all about wrestling....Grammy got in on the action

Thanks again for all the help!

The Mail

Going to the mailbox is a man activity in our home. I could care less about checking the mail and BK is really into it. The boys have taken to the tradition and nearly every night they make the trek down the hallway of our building to get the mail. They love it, and it is something special to do with Daddy. I love it, because it is 5 minutes of total silence during a hectic dinner hour:)

Tonight the boys decided that Rett should come too. I love that they already want to include him on man adventures. Here are some pics of Daddy and his little men on their trip to the get the mail.

Dino peanut butter and jelly

My mom has an amazing gift with children. I would say all children, even teenagers, but one of her favorite stages is preschool age. She always comes up with creative ideas to entertain them. Dino peanut butter and jelly is a perfect example. Mom saw this cute cutter that makes two dinosaurs out of one peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This is something I would never think to buy but Mom did. She brought it with her when she came to help with the boys while we had Rhett.

It was a huge hit...and still is:)

Like I said, she has a gift.

So, if your children like the crust cut off and are into dinosaurs,

I would highly recommend spending two dollars on this cutter.

It is awesome.

Buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Shape-Sandwich-Cutter-Ideal/dp/B0041RXNX4

Grammy making dino peanut butter and jelly

Our dinosaurs often battle

Russell and Quint battle with their dinos....then eat the heads off

Dino Battle