Thoughts On Three

Since Everett turned 3 in May, I have observed a lot of changes in him. He is really turning into a little boy. It has been so fun. Yes challenging, but fun. I am learning more and more about Everett's personality each passing day. He is witty and funny. He loves to make others laugh and has such a great sense of humor. 3 year old humor is the best. I love our simple conversations. This morning he told me that when Eleanor is born he is going to have a tea party with her. He also keeps asking me if she is going to be a ballerina. Ever since we introduced him to The Nutcracker last December he loves ballerinas. I guess because it combines his love for dance and classical music. I also love that when we get in the car he asks me to play him the Beatles. I think Eric may like that even more. Sure he is stubborn. He has a very strong will. He is quick to reply with, "I don't want to......." Parenting him can definitely be difficult at times. But overall, he is a joy. The moment I found out that I was having a boy I felt clueless. I didn't know much about boys. I am still learning. But one thing I know for sure, this boy loves his mama. We have a special relationship. 3 has been fun. And it keeps getting better. I have also been thinking and preparing for what life will look like with 3 children. Many people have questioned me on how I am going to do it. I honestly don't know. I can't believe that in 2.5 months (2 months if history repeats itself) we will have 3 kids, 3 and under. It will be challenging for sure. However, I can't express how excited I am to meet this little girl. She will be such a great addition to our family. This pregnancy has been different. I feel like I have experienced every symptom under the sun and my endurance and energy are so low. I feel her kicking so strongly now, even to the point it sometimes brings tears from the pain! She is definitely letting me know many times throughout the day (and night!) that she is here. I am counting down the days until she is in our arms.

And I can't leave this guy out. He is a mess lately! For over a week now he has been whiny, fussy, and unhappy. I am chalking it up to teething since he is showing signs of that. Nothing makes him happy and he just wants to be held all day long. This morning the boys were watching a video and I found Hampton like this.......

I guess he was just extra tired. What happened to my content and joyful baby!? I know he will return to his normal self soon. Or at least we hope! For now we will just snuggle extra, and maybe watch a few more videos than normal. That is my survival plan!

Al Fresco Dining

We took lunch outside today.......

and it was good.......

Nap Insurance

How do you insure that your babies will take a good, long afternoon nap? You wear them out in the morning! That is what I did this morning. We first went to Eric's office for a quick visit and then headed over to Montreat to the playground. This is such a great playground/park, however it is about 30 minutes away so we don't go very often. The playground is shaded mostly and there are these beautiful creeks running throughout. It was hot today, so the cool water felt so good! Hampton enjoyed throwing the rocks into the water, but mostly wanted to cuddle with mama and watch Everett. The little minnows kept tickling his toes.

It must have been somewhat comical for any onlooker watching me waddle around the creek with my big belly, all the while toting a 25 pound toddler and lifeguarding a 3 year old.

After playing in the water, we had a picnic lunch and then played on the playground for a bit. I so wish Hampton would walk. He really wanted to play, but there is only so much you can do when crawling is your only form of mobility. He is getting there.

Everett completely shocked me today by going down several rather large slides without even requiring any kind of encouragement. He just acted like it was no big deal and had so much fun.

Before we left I changed both babes into their pjs. We had a 30 minute drive so we listened to some soothing music and I already had their room ready for nap when we got home. Needless to say they feel asleep quickly. I was wore out too. On the drive home Everett said, "I am a happy boy." That is by far one of the best comments he has ever made to me and I told him I am one happy mama.

Father's Day and Friends

I am working tomorrow, so today I wanted to "celebrate" Father's Day. This mug made me think of the "World's Best Boss" mug on The Office. Eric drank orange juice out of it proudly this morning. We also had Eric's favorite orange rolls. The boys loved them, needless to say. The rest of the morning Eric spent doing dad things such as home projects and checking off the "honey-do list." After nap time, our friends the Mertens came over. Our original plan was to go swimming, but a nasty storm cancelled that out. We had fun playing inside though. Hampton really took to Abigail. It was even more confirmed today that Hampton likes a crowd as well. I am realizing more and more what a social bug this baby is.

And this boy loves to perform......

Everett playing with David.

And completely loving on Madilyn. He loves babies.

The four babes. Pretty soon Eleanor will join this bunch.

Such a great day with family and friends.

Lazy Days Of Summer

The past few days my mom and aunt have been here visiting. Everett loved Aunt Jenny's swimming goggles. He even wore them to library story time! We also ate at Cracker Barrel. The boys love this place! They ate so well.

Also, I am definitely asking for these rocking chairs for our back deck. Maybe an upcoming birthday gift!?

We went to Antler Hill and saw the animals. Everett is always a bit cautious with the horses.

Everett introducing "nigh-nigh" to a real sheep.

At library story time.

Nothing says summer like swimming in your underwear. Everett likes to help me water the garden.

Oh the lazy days of summer.......

So I discovered when the beverage is sweet like lemonade, not only can Everett drink perfectly well out of an open cup, but Hampton can too! He did amazingly well.

Looking forward to many more happy summer days around here.......

Loving These Two

They completely wear me out, but I am so in love with these two. This morning they worked on birthday cards for Dada.
Everett was working diligently on building something with blocks and Hampton kept knocking them over. Everett is funny when this happens because he usually tries to give Hampy an alternative toy-something other than what he is playing with. Here is Hampy playing with his blocks.

Everett then went back to his creation. We are working on patterns. Not sure if he gets it yet.

I also had an OB appt today, along with my glucose test. Everything went well and looks good. I have another appt in early July (I'll be 30 weeks) and then I will have appts every two weeks! I am so excited to meet our little girl. I wonder how she'll fit into the mix!?!

Day Trip

Yesterday we woke up at 6 am (the babies were our alarm clock) and wondered what we would do that day. We suddenly felt the urge to get out of the house and go on an adventure. So we called Gigi (Eric's mom) to see if she would like to join us. She agreed and so we headed to Greenville, SC. We met at Mimi's Cafe and I was so excited. When we were living in Louisville we went to Mimi's all the time and oh how we miss it! The boys were so excited to see Gigi and it was such a great surprise for them.

They are Mimi's fans as well and loved the muffins and chocolate chip pancakes.

Everett being silly.

After brunch, we went to the zoo. Everett kept saying we were going to the jungle.

The elephants were the first to greet us.

So it was hot. Really hot. 95 degrees hot. We knew it would be warm so we dressed in cool clothing and had plenty of water. I also doused the babies in sunscreen due to their fair skin.

Hampton squealed when he saw this! He was so cute pointing at all the animals.

After the zoo we went to Coldstone to get some ice-cream! It was a great end to our trip. We then said goodbye to Gigi and headed home. Within minutes this little miracle happened.....

We were going to make a stop for some cheap gas, but decided against it for fear of waking the babes. We joked that even if we saw a sign for free gas we wouldn't stop. A peaceful drive is worth it.

Another great family day full of activity and making memories.

Another Week

I don't have much to blog about tonight. We have had a pretty uneventful week and that is alright with me. We didn't even get out this week except for Wednesday when we went to the library's story time. Everett continues to impress me with how outgoing he has become. He sang all the songs and was the first to volunteer to be the librarian's helper. I'm so proud of him. Everett and Hampton have really gotten into bubbles lately. Everett has gotten really good at blowing bubbles and Hampton likes to pop them. Hampton has also added the word "bubble" to his list and I think I caught him saying "more bubble" this week.

It has been really warm outside and we can only tolerate it for short periods. One of my goals this summer was to spend as much time outside as possible, but with me being pregnant and the boys being so fair skinned and hot natured, we may have to be careful. It still has been nice though even if for only a few minutes.

We are looking forward to celebrating Eric's birthday next weekend. I have already hyped it up with Everett and he said he was going to make him some cupcakes. I love that he can now have a conversation (well as only a 3 year old can) with me now. His imagination has also exploded, which is fun.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. We have no plans tomorrow, except to spend time together. It looks like another hot day! Maybe we'll attempt the pool again.