Boxes Boxes

Boxes, boxes everywhere!

Those are all empty which means we are making some good progress! 

Next on the docket? Tearing down boxes and taking out trash! We are getting close!

Normal

Tonight we went for a walk after dinner as a family. It was the first normal thing we have done in what feels like weeks. 

It was great. 

Officially official

It's official!!! Here is our new house! We signed the papers and it is now ours! 

Like the K-State rock? Our neighbors have already commented on it! It's a great conversation piece. Don't worry Kansas we won't forget any part of you!

We are just busy little bees inside trying to get all of our stuff unpacked and organized. 

Pretty much every room looks like this. But we are slowly making some progress!

Here is a little sneak peak of Saffryn's room. We let her and the boys choose their paint color for their rooms! Saffryn chose pink and Pierce chose blue. Saffryn got to help paint!

I will update more soon!

Pierce is Three

This post is about a month late! Oops!!! 

Look at how tall he is!!!

Stats:

He weighs 32 lbs 58% and is 34 inches tall 89%. He has blonde hair still and bright blue eyes. His eyes are the lightest of any of the kids! His skin so very fair. He wears size 4t pants. 3t shorts and 3t tops. He has just turned a big corner and is wearing underwear!!! Yippee!

Milestones: 

Obviously potting training is really starting to click with him! He is learning to count. He can pretend so well and in fact does it all the time! He might have the best imagination of the kids (thus far). He is starting to understand a lot more complex ideas and can remember them. He knows all of his colors and shapes. He is starting to recognize letters. He remembers lyrics to songs and can easily sing them back. He is starting to be able to catch balls and is pretty good at throwing them. He has just gotten very independent and wants to do things for himself! This includes (and not limited to) getting dressed, buckling himself, pouring things for himself, washing his own hands and brushing his own teeth! 

Likes:

He loves juice. His favorite food is probably fruit. He has just recently got into Super Heros. He LOVES Star Wars. He really enjoys playing family. He loves babies and young children. He likes building with Legos. He likes singing and dancing. He enjoys art projects and other discovery type activities.  

Misc: 

He is at a very awkward age for naps. If he takes a nap he has a hard time falling asleep at night but if he doesn't take a nap he is so cranky and over tired. He is also now aware that Saffryn doesn't take naps and he wants desperately to be big like her so he fights naps a lot now. He is also at a hard age to move I think. Saffryn understands a lot and Colt doesn't understand anything so they are doing pretty well. Pierce understands just enough to get stressed or confused. The poor kid just doesn't really know what is going on and I know it is hard for him. 

Personality: 

He is so very sensitive. He is a feeler for sure. He has such a big and caring heart and always looks out for his friends and family. He can be a bit whiny (lol) but we are trying to work on him learning to express his emotions in a more appropriate manner and really he is learning! He can be slow to warm up to new situations or people. I think it is because he is a catious and nervous person. He likes to do things on his timing. He is content to play by himself or with others. He is really a love guy. He reminds me a lot of his father: sweet, quiet, and sensitive. Pierce can be stubborn like his momma though and that plays out at the strangest times. But overall he goes with the flow! He can be a tad mischievous but always in a sweet and playful way. He has a great sense of humor and loves to get people laughing. He is also really good at pushing Saffryn's buttons and doing it with a straight face (though to be fair her buttons are pretty large and just so very easy to push. Lol).   

A few stories: 

While sitting at the table Pierce looks forlorn and says: "I don't want to be a boy anymore. I want to be a girl."

Me: "really? How come?"

Pierce: "I want to be a mom."

Me: "Oh, are you saying that because you want to get to take care of babies like I do?"

Pierce still kind of sad, "yea."

Me: "buddy, did you know boys can take care of babies, too? Dads take care of babies!"

Pierce with the biggest smile on his face: "oooh!"

Me: "And you know what else? There are lots of kids all over the world who need someone to love them. They don't have anyone to care for them. They are called orphans. Boys can definetly care for them. There are lots of ways for you to take care of babies when you get older!"

Pierce was so relieved and happy after our conversation. The kid loves babies and he has the sweetest heart!

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We were outside sitting by a tree and the bark was kind of peeled off in some parts. 

Pierce says: "mom you know what happened to that tree?"

Me: "no I don't."

P with a straight face: "I do. A dinosaur came over and took some bites out."

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We were reading I love You Forever and the kids kept asking questions about the boy growing up and the mother getting older. Pierce was so confused and kept asking why she looked different and why her hair was a different color. 

Me: "Well sometimes when people get older their hair changes to grey or white."

Pierce looking even more confused says: "but mom my hair is already white."

Lol

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Saffryn was having a hard night one night. We were sitting at the table trying to eat dinner and she was throwing an epic tantrum. 

Pierce says seriously and quietly with a sigh, "just send her to bed."

Dan and I couldn't stop laughing. Saffryn was so thrown off by it it actually stopped her tantrum. 

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After watching The Sound of Music Pierce went around singing the song "How do you solve a problem like Maria" except his words were: 

"Nobody ever really likes Maria" lol!!! Given the context of the song in the movie I would say that is pretty clever and it was so cute because he was just happily singing it to himself not trying to be funny or anything. I love hearing his sweet voice singing. 

He is so much fun! I love his sense of humor, his sensitive spirit, and his imagination! He brings so much joy and love to my heart! Happy 3rd birthday little "Piecey". 

A Day in the Life

Here is a snippet of Max's days:

Suck on his fingers for a bit

Some play time with mom. See his blonde (with a tiny hint of red) hair coming up on top????

Eat. Then snuggle. 

And snuggle. 

And snuggle. 

Wake up and repeat! 

Such a sweet baby. 

Nothing In Particular

I have lost my voice today. It's funny because I feel fine but my throat got a little scratchy yesterday and this morning my voice is gone. The kids are all very weirded out by me not talking. And trying to parent a toddler using non verbal cues is quite challenging! But we are trucking along. I have a lot to do before we move NEXT week! So I am taking today "off" and playing/watching movies in hopes that my voice and motivation come back tomorrow. 

In the meantime here are a few random pictures I have taken the last couple of days. Enjoy!

What in the World

Max was napping which is my signal to prepare dinner (unless of course I want to do it one handed or with a screaming baby. None of which is my favorite, truth be told). 

I told the boys to play in their room and they willingly shuffled off. Saffryn was still with her Gigi so I was free to make dinner. Winning. Totally winning. 

After a rather labor intensive dinner prep it was ready to go in the oven and I was ready to check on my boys. 

Are you ready? 

I walked into this:

What in the world??? Those mattresses are pretty heavy. And the curtains were very interesting. Maybe we are listening to too much rock n roll and they were partying like rock stars while trashing their room? Lol. I really don't know but between this and this:

(The pictures don't seem nearly as bad as it felt at the time. It felt like the biggest mess EVER)

And a baby Max who had just woke up I no longer felt like I was winning. 

But I did feel like listening to some more  rock n roll. So we did. And we cleaned. And it was great. 

 

Puddle Jumping

We had a very rainy morning here that left a few puddles around our neighborhood. After nap time we put on our boots and tried to splash through them all!

You will notice Saffryn isn't in any of those pictures. That's because she is off having her own fun on her first solo trip with her Gigi! I can promise you she is not suffering! :)

Playtime

Ohmygoodness!!!!! My sweet sweet baby!

Grandparents

I am now fully convinced nobody loves kids more than their grandparents. I shouldn't be surprised really. When I think of my own grandparents I am immediately filled with warm fuzzy feelings. My time and memories I have with then are some of my most treasured. They always made me feel so loved, special, funny and important. I still get giddy when it's time to go visit my grandparents (I am a grown women and I still cry every time we leave. Ask Dan if you don't believe me). My grandparents are so dear to me. 

It is so fun to see my children grow those feelings and relationships with their grandparents. We are very lucky that both sets of our parents long to be a hands on part of our children's lives. It's fun to see them love my kids and think they are funny and special people. 

Which all brings me to the point of this post...we had special visitors come!!!

My dad and Deana came to see us! My kids were so excited to have them come! They were such great sports! They brought some new toys with them (including a slip n slide! FUN!!!) and spent the whole time playing and interacting with the kids. Here are some pictures. 

Grandpa Darren meeting baby Max!

They spent a lot of time making cards together!

Max loved sweet Deana!

Snuggling up to watch a movie. 

I love this picture!!! Playing together on the swings!

You can see how excited Max was! Play time!!!

I wish I would have gotten more pictures. 

Anyway, thanks for loving my children and creating special memories with them! If they are half as sappy as I am they will treasure you guys forever! :)