3 Months Old

Layton turned 3 months old yesterday! Part of me is sad because he's growing so fast and part of me is thankful we're past the unpredictability and total craziness of the newborn stage! I'm loving the little stage we're in right now. He's smiling, talking, and just seems happier. =)

Speaking of my pretty happy baby boy, things seem to have finally calmed down for us this month. We think we've figured out Layton's tummy issues, he's rarely super fussy, and we have a really consistent bedtime routine now and are getting a little more sleep. Yay! The only thing kind of crazy about this past month has been being on the go soo much. Hopefully since summer starts for us this week we'll slow down and be a little less busy!

3 month monkey pics of my baby boy...

 

Garrison at 3 months...

 

Austin at 3 months...

3 Months Stats and Happenings:

 

*Last Monday at the doctor you weighed 13 pounds, 6 ounces so a week later I'm predicting you weigh close to 14 pounds. I have no idea how long you are now but I do know that you seem to be a little bigger every single day! I think you're growing the fastest out of all my babies!

 

*You are wearing size 2 diapers and size 3-6 and 6 month clothes.

 

*You are still nursing but you took another bottle this month and did great! You eat every 3-3.5 hours during the day and only wake up once to eat during the night.

 

*You go to bed around 8:15 every night and usually wake up sometime between 2:00-4:00 to eat...although this morning you slept til 4:45. =) AND this month you slept all night once!!

 

*Unfortunately your little routine has been all over the place lately... which I think means you haven't really had much of a routine at all. You've napped in the car almost daily and have been back and forth to school, the store, baseball games, and everywhere in between more times than I can count. I am hoping to really focus on your routine more very soon as summer starts for us Thursday.

 

*You are smiling and "talking" more and more. It's one of my very favorite things!! And you especially love when we talk to you.

 

*You tried out your bumbo seat for the first time this month and I know we're about to start using it more and more. Today you sat in it while Austin and I did his alphabet puzzle. You were adorable sitting there watching us!

 

*Your fussy stretch is still during the early evening but you typically end up falling asleep and taking a short nap sometime around 5:30 or 6:00. 

 

*Your brothers still can't get enough of you. They love you to pieces and aren't afraid to show it! Haha. =)

 

We are all totally and completely smitten over you and are LOVING watching you grow! Happy Birthday Layton! We love you!!

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a FULL and super fun Mother's Day weekend. We're worn out today but sooo thankful for the weekend we enjoyed. It was a pretty special weekend for me and once again I was overcome with gratefulness God made me mama to these 3 and wife to such an amazing man. I am blessed beyond measure and loved everything about our fun weekend.

We kicked things off Saturday by traveling to meet up with my in-laws to celebrate with an early lunch. Things started off just a tad crazy but thankfully we avoided a teensy little crisis and were able to enjoy our lunch. Phew. Glad we were able to all have a happy time together afterall. =)

While we were there we gave gifts and made pictures and enjoyed letting the cousins catch up. And my sweet father-in-law surprised me with a gift card that I am so excited to use!!

Nana with her 5 grands.

We got home Saturday afternoon and tried to rest a little before my parents came over to keep Layton so Terrell and I could take the big boys to the Braves game. My mom was given tickets and she gave them to us... such a treat to go to the Braves game for free!! (Especially since my biggest boy had been asking when we were going and because it's a summer tradition... this time for free! The timing of these tickets were truly a blessing.)

We all had the best time at the game! (I'll do a separate post about it later.) Even if it did rain on us. The boys did GREAT and we were able to stay in our seats the entire time they played (we got up to take cover and walk around during the rain delay). We stayed until the end of the 7th innning when the Braves finally took the lead. Thank goodness! Up until that point it was 0-0 and Garrison was worried that neither team was going to win. Bless it. It was a late night but totally worth it. Big, big thanks to Granna and Papa for the tickets and for keeping our littlest man!!

On Sunday morning we were up bright and early headed to the hometown for church and a day with my mom and grandmothers. We participated in our church's "Baby Celebration" service and thankfully Layton made it through without crying. He was awake and testy the whole time but never let the whole congregation know how he really felt. Haha.

Our church service was really special. I only cried 3 times. Mother's Day services always get to me.

After church we went to my parents' house so I could feed Layton before meeting up with my mom's side of the family for our annual Mother's Day lunch at Buckner's. This year we missed out on waiting in line with the whole fam (which is usually our best time to talk and visit) but we still had a delicious lunch with everyone and all 3 of the boys were wonderful. Happy Mother's Day to  me!

Granna with her 3 grands

 

My 3 little men who made me a mama. SO blessed.

After lunch we went back to my parents' house to give my mom her gifts and to hang out for a little while before going to visit my Nanny. We wrapped up our day in the hometown at her house talking and laughing and trying to keep the big boys from breaking anything. Ha! Then we had a super quiet and peaceful ride home as over half our car slept the whole way.

Mother's Day Weekend 2014 was special and fun and I'm so, so thankful we were able to share it with our moms and grandmothers. The influence they've had and the blessing they are is far too great and numerous to count. So thankful to be a mama and to be a daughter, granddaughter, and daughter-in-law to the most amazing ladies I know!

Friday Favorites: Mother's Day Week Edition

Better late than never. My favs from the week...

*No matter how crazy our Sunday mornings are trying to get everyone dressed and out the door on time, my big boys ALWAYS make me pause and smile because they look so handsome and adorable every single Sunday morning. I just want soak them up in this "little boy" stage because even though it's pretty wild and crazy at our house right now, this is a sweet, sweet time.

 

*My parents went to Tybee Island and Savannah recently to celebrate their anniversary and they brought the boys back matching little t-shirts. Matching my kiddos is like one of my favorite things ever. And I just had to document the first time all 3 were matching! Yay!!!

 



 

*On Tuesday night I had a special date with my littles. Garrison had a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese to go to (and Terrell took him) so I really wanted to do something special for Austin. We decided on our favorite pizza buffet. It was a super fun and special date night!



 

*I was invited to attend a Mother's Day tea party with Garrison's PreK class this week that was totally precious. The class sang a couple of songs to us and recited a poem and let me tell you Garrison Cade sang right to me like I was the only mom in the room. Melt my heart. Then our sweet kiddos brought us our gifts and their teachers served us sweet tea and strawberry shortcake. It was a special little tea party with my biggest boy. He certainly knows how to make me feel loved!

 *This little man's personality seems to be coming out a little more each day. These smiles are becoming a regular thing and I'm just in love!!

*Happy Friday and Happy Mother's Day Weekend! After this wild and crazy week I'm looking forward to a fun and memorable weekend with my favorite people!



Some of my Favorite Things About Being Their Mom

This week has been crazy busy but I finally made time for this post. It's my 4th annual list of some of my favorite things about being mom to my boys. I love how this list of favorites captures them, their personalities, and our relationship at this point in time, right at Mother's Day every year. Which is why I made time for it and why it's pretty special. =)

Garrison~

 

*Witnessing your love of learning. You are such a sponge and soak up any and everything new. You're an attentive, eager, and curious learner. You are going to soar in big school. (Those are the exact words of your Kindergarten screener by the way.)

 

*Watching you play with, encourage, and "lead" Austin. You're a pretty awesome big brother.

 

*Getting hugs and kisses from you. I hope you never outgrow that sweet, tender, and affectionate way about you.

 

*Listening to you retell an event, story, or experience. You are animated and detailed with a distinct southern drawl. There's nothing like it.

 

*Reading to you and your love of books.

 

*Seeing your gentle, loving, super sweet interactions with Layton. You are so great with your baby brother.

 

*Watching you play sports. You are a sports lover through and through so watching YOU play is a privilege! 

 

*Answering, or *trying* to answer your questions. You are so inquisitive. You ask deep questions and want to know the "why" and "how" of all kinds of things. Your questions lead to interesting conversations and discussions and I almost always learn something from you!

 

*Watching you perform. You are a natural performer it seems. Any time you've had any kind of program at school you just shine. You are totally in the zone and passionate about whatever you're singing or reciting that I think I smile during your entire performance. You are a joy to watch.

 

*Seeing your love for your family. Your favorite people in the whole world are our little party of 5... with your grandparents and extended family right behind. You like the 5 of us being together and doing fun things as a family and just love us deeply. 

 

You are a huge blessing to our family Garrison Cade and I am honored to be your mama. I love you more than you could ever know!! 

 

Austin~

 

*Feeling your head on my shoulder and your whole little body in my lap. Even though you're growing bigger and bigger you still love to be held and to sit in my lap and to rest your head on my shoulder... just like when you were a baby. There's no sweeter feeling.

 

*Watching you mimick Garrison and have so much fun with him. You love your big brother... and doing what he does and saying what he says. It's so fun to watch y'all together.

 

*Reading to you at naptime. Reading you 3-4 books everyday before your nap is our daily alone time. I think that time is precious to us both.

 

*Listening to you sing. You've become quite the little singer and entertainer lately and it melts my heart and totally cracks me up all at the same time. You make me smile and laugh daily!

 

*Kissing your boo-boos. You still come straight to me for a kiss whenever you get hurt and I love making it all better.

 

*Watching your face light up with joy when you see me in the mornings. Usually daddy gets you up and then you come looking for me and are so happy to see me! 

 

*Listening to you talk to Layton. You are smitten over your baby brother and have the sweetest way of talking to him.

 

*Watching your "cheese" face when you're getting your picture made. While I love your natural smile best of all, your "cheese" face is so you right now. It's hilarious and precious and crazy and cute. It is totally unique to YOU!

 

*Listening to you pray. The sound of your little voice talking to God is one of the sweetest things ever. In the midst of your jumbled words and ramblings you always manage to remember the things you're thankful for and the prayer requests we've talked about. So, so sweet.

 

*Witnessing your friendliness to people when we're out and about. You're always quick to wave or say hello or even tell someone your life story if they speak to you. I hope you're always a friendly "people person" who makes a lasting impression on those you meet.

 

You are an amazing gift to our family Austin and I am honored to be your mama. I love you more than you could ever know!!

 

Layton~

 

*Rocking you before naps and bedtime. Such a sweet, peaceful time that I absolutely treasure and do my best to soak up. Because before I know it, you'll be as big as your brothers!

 

*Watching you smile. SO ADORABLE.

 

*Listening to you "talk" to me and watching your sweet expressions. There is nothing like having your baby talk and smile and coo at you.

 

*Carrying you around the house. Even though you give me a work out, I love carrying you around and feeling you in my arms.

 

*Waking you up every morning and seeing how happy (and relieved if you're starving) you are to see me!

 

*Smelling you after bath time. Best. smell. ever.

 

*Witnessing the way you're starting to repsond to your big brothers. I am so excited and thankful for the bond you 3 will share.

 

*Watching you with your daddy. You have an amazing dad and I love to watch him with you.

 

*Giving you a bath. You are so super cute and sweet in your little bath tub. It's one of my favorite times with you.

 

*Watching you grow and change a little every single day. It's bittersweet but the greatest privilege!

 

You are a precious joy to our family Layton and I am honored to be your mama. I love you more than you could ever know!!

Fun Times, Close Calls, & Mother's Day Week

We had a mostly good weekend around these parts. The weather was beautiful. My biggest boy had a baseball game on Saturday that my parents and my sister and her husband were able to come to. We enjoyed a fun lunch together and laughed really hard. My hubby and I were able to catch up on a few shows together. For the first time since Layton was born we made it to Sunday School and the church service. The whole family enjoyed time together outside yesterday afternoon. Terrell grilled a delicious "summer meal" for us. There was lots of FUN about our weekend. (So much of it I didn't take a single picture.)

But, we also had 2 really close calls. Scary close calls. And those weren't fun. We barely avoided the emergency room. TWICE. 

Garrison fell off the bed and hit his head on our nightstand (while I wasn't home) resulting in a nasty cut and lots of blood and us googling whether he'd need stitches or not. Thankfully we determined he didn't and are just keeping a close eye on it. It appears to be starting to heal already.

Then, last night after supper Austin stood up in his highchair and tried to sit on the back of it which caused him to literally do a back flip off of it and land flat on his belly and face in the floor. I witnessed this one and pretty much freaked out. It scared me to death. I started crying. Garrison started crying. Thankfully Austin was okay but traumatized. (I was okay but traumatized as well.)

Terrell and I both had to decompress after those little incidents. Both were scary and dangerous and could've been much worse. I think we feel like we experienced 2 miracles in that no one was seriously injured and we didn't have to make a single (or double!) trip to the ER. We are so grateful for God's protection over our babies! What an up and down weekend. Gracious.

Now I'm looking forward to Mother's Day week. (I know it's actually Teacher Appreciation week. Yay for teachers!!) But this week is going to be fun for me mainly because I'm a mama. I have a special Mother's Day tea party I'm attending, I'll be on the receiving end of some special gifts, and I'll be doing some shopping for our moms... and well this is just a fun holiday I could SO take advantage of. However, my hubby is the absolute best and me taking advantage just wouldn't be fair. But it's still nice to dream about. =)

Happy Teacher Appreciation and Mother's Day week!!

*This is also our last full week of school which means it's a busy but fun time for my big boys. My biggest is preparing for PreK graduation. Waaaaahhh! If I let myself really dwell on how this is the end of an era and how pretty much everything changes next year and how life will never be the same and how Austin's best bud is leaving him for big school and how Kindergarten is just a really BIG DEAL, then I kind of start to feel some anxiety and sadness and like maybe I'm on the verge of a little, okay huge, meltdown. But everytime the threat of that meltdown comes my way I avoid it. I run from it. I pray. I distract myself. I remind myself of the reassurance of other moms who have faced Kindergarten and survived. In other words, it's just all bottled up and pushed deep down. Because I feel guilty for feeling sad because this is a good thing. It's a blessing. This means my biggest baby is growing and healthy and ready for a new milestone. And who has time for a meltdown right now? Not I. Mama is busy and rarely has 2 seconds of privacy or quiet to dwell on it. Let's just hope this bottled up meltdown doesn't explode in the middle of graduation next week. Sigh.

Friday Favorites

For some reason I didn't take many pictures this week. Probably because it was a pretty uneventful week... and sometimes those are the best kind. A peek at my favorites...

*Our family date night last Friday night (aka my date with all my boys) was definitely a highlight. Going out to eat during this season may be a little crazy and busy but it's still something the whole family enjoys and it's still oh so nice to be waited on with no food preparation or clean-up required by mama and daddy. A win-win!

*This little love slept through the night for the very first time on Monday night! I put him to bed around 8:00 or so and he didn't wake up until about 6:00 Tuesday morning!! It was SO refreshing... even if I did wake up at 5:35 to check on him via the monitor and couldn't go back to sleep.

*This past week was a good week for our little baseball player. Our team finally started scoring some runs and our players finally got a chance to run some bases. Love my #10!

 

*The boys got water guns from my parents as part of their Easter gifts and they have really loved having them. They've squirted daddy's car, cleaned some rocks, and had a little water gun fight with daddy. Then, one afternoon this week they decided to ride around in their cars trying to squirt each other... even though their guns were just about completely empty. It was an exciting thrill for my big boys. They laughed and squealed the whole time. I loved being their audience.

 

*Since having Layton I haven't had tons of quality one-on-one time with my middle man.... until this week. On Tuesday and Thursday while Garrison was at school and Layton was napping, Austin and I tackled some number recognition and one-to-one correspondence practice. He's an eager learner and really enjoyed the little activities I came up with. Matching Easter eggs with one half showing a numeral and one half showing a corresponding number of dots was his favorite. He also loves stickers and do a dot markers so everything turned out to be a big hit for him. And oh how I loved my extra alone time with him too!

 

*My big boy on the job was a special blessing this week. He's been a huge helper and has almost earned a week's wages. =)

*Terrell got off work early yesterday and grilled for us last night.  Double bonus! It was a great little kick-off to theweekend'salmosthere!

We're looking forward to a fun but not too busy weekend. Happy Friday!!!

On the Job

Garrison Cade is officially on the job. =)

Terrell and I finally worked out the details of Garrison's "jobs" and the little allowance he'll receive. And I'm mainly writing about it for my own memory because it's been a fun new thing for my big boy and a first for us as parents. Who knows how long it will last or how soon we'll have to tweak it, but for now we've got a plan and our first week in- things are going great!

While Garrison and Austin both have things they are expected to do because they're old enough and we're trying to establish good habits and a little responsibility and because they're members of our family and we have to work together as a team (being a team is quickly becoming our family and couple motto, haha), we never once considered an allowance for them this early. And we still aren't considering it for Austin because he wouldn't understand it anyway. But Garrison presented the idea to us after watching an episode of Team Umizoomi and seeing another little boy work for an allowance. So, as I mentioned in my previous post, we're just going to run with it. He really likes to help out and do extra things around the house ("jobs" as he calls them), so while he's motivated, why not?

As of now we're coming up with little extra things he can do mainly during his quiet time since he's started getting bored and restless and becoming my shadow during that time... plus he can do it all solo without little brother tagging along. We aren't going to require or make him do anything. He already puts his dirty clothes in his basket/hamper everytime. He already takes his plate and cup to the sink after meals. He already helps clean up toys and messes every night before bed. And him and Austin both take care of gathering up all the trash every Wednesday night on trash night. So the "jobs" he's requested are completely extra and completely optional.

For now he's just really excited about earning money by helping out with these extras so I'm having to think of things everyday for him to do. This week he's been sweeping with his little kid-sized broom every day. One day he swept his bathroom and the hallway. One day he swept the kitchen, laundry room, and my bathroom. He's also sorted lots of laundry for me this week and helped load and unload the dishwasher. And just today he cleaned baseboards in the hallway. He's been a huge blessing!

*Disclaimer: I am not making him do any of these chores. There is no child labor going on here. He asks for jobs to do and so I tell him the things I could use help with or the chores I think he's capable of doing and then he does them voluntarily. And afterwards he's so proud of his work and the fact that he helped....voluntarily.

Just thought I'd clear that up one more time.

Moving right along to compensation.

We decided to pay him a quarter a day every week day... weekends don't count because we aren't always home and we'd just like to take the weekends off. We decided on a quarter a day for a couple reasons. One because he's 5 and doesn't need a huge allowance and two because then he'll have $1.25 at the end of every week. The dollar he can spend at the dollar store or in the dollar section of Target or Walmart (possibly while we're out on the weekends) and the extra quarter he can take and give as an offering at church. If it lasts for more than a week or two we'll also talk about saving his money so he can purchase more than 1 item at a time or possibly buy a bigger item. We may even increase the allowance if it lasts. But for now, it's just a fun way for my 5 year old to do some jobs and earn some cash. Or coins. =) And I have to say the look and smile on his face after he gets paid his quarter is priceless. He is so proud and so grateful it just melts my heart. 

This may be a little premature, but I'm going to go ahead and declare Garrison's first week on the job a success. And a big blessing for his mama!