So, so thankful...

I am so, so thankful for many things. On Thanksgiving especially, I am thankful for family. We had the opportunity to see everyone this year, so that made it all the more wonderful.

Gavin. I couldn't love you any more. You remind me so much of your Daddy... I guess that's why I have a little crush on you. ;) Everyday, you make me smile with your laughter and cute way of saying everything. You are such a mommy's boy right now and I will cherish our cuddles forever.
Jacob. You are the smartest four year old I've ever known. As a first grade teacher, I am in awe of all of the things you are able to read and write. Your brain goes a mile a minute and I love that you are so curious about learning new things. I am such a proud mommy and wouldn't change a single thing about you.

Casey. Everyday I am with you, I feel so blessed that we made the decision to have three kids. Daddy made you laugh for the first time on Thanksgiving and I will always remember how sweet those soft giggles were. Thanks for being such a good baby.


Maddie. Especially with three boys, I am so lucky to have an adorable, special niece. If I ever have the need to buy cute dresses or braid hair, I have you. It means the world to me that you are so patient, playful, and loving to Jacob, Gavin, and Casey.


Travis. You are such a BOY! I can't wait to see what a great athlete you will be someday. I will always remember how cute you were when you jumped on your trampoline for the first time. Your smile can melt anyone's heart and my boys love playing with you.

Here we are on Thanksgiving, playing wii on the big screen. We also celebrated Christmas with my dad, since he will be in Hawaii for the next few months. Gavin couldn't have been more happy to bring Jessie home to Woody and Buzz. It's cute how much he plays with and loves her already. Jacob got the new tag reading system and I can't break him away from all of his new books!

We spent the day after Thanksgiving with Adam's side of the family. His dad really wanted an old-fashioned Christmas tree filled with handmade ornaments, so the boys had fun making his dream come true! There is an ornament for everyone in the family and pictures of each of the grandkids. It turned out really cute.


Doesn't Casey look so grown up in this picture?
One of our favorite traditions of Thanksgiving is getting out Santa Claus each year. Not only do the boys love pushing his button and dancing to the music, they were in for a surprise this year! We discovered that you can talk into a microphone and Santa's lips move along with whatever you are saying. Even though it was Daddy's voice, Gavin was convinced Santa was actually talking to him. He blushed and answered his questions in a timid little voice. Jacob answered his questions too, but kept looking around to see where Daddy was hiding with the microphone.

He did it!

I've been trying to be consistent with Casey during the day as far as when he is eating, awake, and sleeping. According to Babywise, he should be sleeping through the night by eight weeks. He had slept for about five hours straight by eight weeks, but that was his max so far.

Throughout this past month, Casey was somehow back to eating every three to four hours at night. Jacob and Gavin were sleeping from nine until five at this age, so I was trying to figure out what was different. I did notice that every time he was waking up, he had broken out of his swaddle. When he was a newborn, we wrapped a blanket around him before we swaddled him because he was so little. Now that he had gotten bigger, we could barely velcro the swaddler around him. So that made it easy for him to kick right out of it.

Suddenly the lightbulb flashed in my head... if I just wrap the swaddler around him without the blanket, it will fit him again! So I dressed him in extra warm jammies (I think he was getting cold too) and carefully placed him swaddled in the bassinet.

I woke up at 2:30. In shock. He hadn't gotten up since 8 o'clock to eat. I checked on him. Sleeping soundly. A few minutes later I checked on him again to make sure he was still breathing. Finally, I went back to bed. I didn't hear his little cry until 5 o'clock. 5 o'clock! 9 hours straight! YEAH!

Last night, I was careful to follow the exact same routine... even putting him in the same pajamas for good luck. He slept from 9 o'clock to 5 o'clock. Thank goodness, because I am a big fan of sleep!

Adding to the collection

You might have read about this before, but we have a tradition in our family. Usually a few weeks before our new baby is born, we go to Build-a-Bear to make their very own special bear. Jacob's bear is chocolate and it has a recording of Adam and I saying that we love him. Gavin's bear is vanilla and it sounds like this, "Love you Gavin (Daddy), love you Gavin (Mommy), wuv you Ga-bin (Jacob)." The more kids we have, the more fun the bear and experience gets!



Since we didn't know if our baby was a boy or a girl, we had to make Casey's bear after he was born. Jacob and Gavin had the best time... it was so much more fun than when Adam and I had gone by ourselves almost five years ago. Adam wanted to get a little dog, but I talked him into a black bear so it would match his brothers. It was really cute watching Jacob and Gavin kissing the hearts that went in his tummy, giving him a bath, and helping Daddy fill out his birth certificate.

So Casey's bear sounds like this, "Love you Casey (Daddy), love you Casey (Mommy), love you Casey (Jacob bursting into laughter), and Gavin's sweet, soft voice (luv you Ca-sey)." The boys, of course, like Casey's bear the best because it has their voices on it. Going through the experience also rekindled a love for their own bear. My favorite is watching them bring Casey his bear to comfort him if he is crying or just to keep him company.

Thanksgiving dinner

Jacob loves counting down the days until whatever birthday, holiday, or special occasion is coming next. So currently, we are counting down the days to Thanksgiving. Yesterday, Jacob was telling me all about what he was going to eat. It started out normal, then the dinner got a little random.

"On Thanksgiving, we will have a yummy dinner. There will be turkey without bones, smashed potatoes (are they going to be smashed, mommy?), beef, spicy chicken, and ummm... can you get me some ketchup for the turkey?"

Wow. I'm sure glad that is not what we'll be having on Thanksgiving. OK, maybe the turkey and smashed potatoes.

Growing up so fast!

How cute are the matching flight suits?!

Playing SUPER BABY with Daddy

These huge smiles are my favorite...
Here are our wedding rings on his little toes!

SER-I-OUSLY!!

Jacob is a huge fan of Madagascar. He has watched this movie so many times and absolutely loves it. Especially when it gets to the "I like to move it, move it" part... he always sings and we dance together. So needless to say, we've been counting down to the opening day for Madagascar 2 for months.

Today was the day. We went to McDonald's for lunch so Jacob and Gavin could get a Madagascar Happy Meal and toy. When Adam got home, we went to dinner and walked around the mall since we had some time before the movie started.

Then the drama began. I got out my wallet and realized that my debit card was missing. I knew that I put it back into my wallet after dinner, so it had to be somewhere in the store. I asked a woman who worked there and she made some calls to see if it had been turned in. While we were waiting, Jacob jumps up and down because he has to go potty. So we detour to the bathroom. Minutes later, he comes out with absolutely soaked underwear and jeans. Seriously! I'm really not sure how it happened, but I guess it was good we were in a clothing store. While Adam was buying Jacob some sweats, the clerk recognized our last name and told him she had found my debit card. Thank goodness!

We made it to the movie and found some seats near the aisle. Adam got up to get popcorn and offered to take the boys with him, but they really wanted to stay in the movie theater. So that left me with Jacob and Gavin while I was trying to nurse Casey. I forgot my Hooter-hider (the best mommy invention ever, in my opinion) so I was trying to nurse with a blanket... which I'm horrible at and Casey isn't used to. Meanwhile, Gavin dropped his Alex toy from the Happy Meal and was super upset about it. He was crying, Casey was crying, and the movie hadn't even started. Thankfully, Adam came back with the popcorn and the boys were happily occupied. I had to leave a few times when Casey was fussing, but eventually he fell asleep and I was able to watch the movie.

Going out is hard work these days! I really liked the movie though, it was a great sequel. Afterward, we stopped at McDonald's to buy the rest of the Madagascar toys. I also bought mini cones for Jacob and Gavin. When we pulled into the driveway, we realized that Gavin had fallen asleep with the uneaten cone in his hand... and it melted all over himself and the car seat. Niiice.

Baby sign language

You know how infants usually keep their hands tightly closed in a fist? Well, Casey was laying in bed when Jacob's eyes all of a sudden were huge in excitement. "Mommy! Casey is making an A!" Sure enough, Casey's little hands were making the letter A in sign language. Jacob thinks he is the smartest baby ever.

Woody and Buzz

Gavin is obsessed with Woody and Buzz. He got Woody from my sister and Buzz from my mom for his birthday last year. I am not exaggerating when I say that he finds them first thing in the morning and plays with them all. day. long. I always try to put them back in the toy room when I'm cleaning up, but he immediately notices they are missing and gets them back out again. Usually, he just holds them or plays quietly while he moves the characters around. Today, he really wanted to bring them along for the car ride to Jacob's preschool. That was when I heard Gavin talking for Woody and Buzz for the first time.

G: "AHHHH!"
M: "What's wrong?"
G: "It too windy! AHHHH!"
M: Looks out the car window to see the crisp, beautiful (not windy at all) day.
G: "Oh no! My hat! It too windy!"
M: Realizes that he is talking for Woody.
G: "It too scary!"
M: "The wind is too scary?"
G: "Yes. The wind. I lost my hat!" Blows and blows until the hat falls off again.

Scary is a frequent word in Gavin's vocabulary, but he doesn't quite understand the meaning yet. I know because this morning I was dressing him and couldn't quite get his shirt over his head. He exclaimed, "Mommy, it too scary!" but I think he meant too small. (Unless he really was scared because I couldn't get the shirt on)

Then I took Gavin in the bedroom to say good morning to Daddy. It was pretty dark, so Gavin's eyes got big and he said, "No! It too scary!" Then he ran back into the living room. A few minutes later, he came to the bedroom door and said softly, "Mommy! Are you scared?"