Saturday, October 26, 2013

Baby #4....Wowza

“Body and soul, I am marvelously made
You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.”
Psalm 139

 

God has created you in a special way and already knows you and loves you dearly. We love you too! He is blessing our family with your life as opposed to someone else, and for this I am so grateful for! Someone might think we do not “need” you because you already have 3 little big brothers. But you are irreplaceable in our eyes, and we want you because God’s plan is perfect and always meets our needs in unexpected ways.
Each of our children has brought a new unique joy to my life. I wouldn’t have ever experienced that particular joy in my life if he was not born. That is what makes me most excited about the birth of this new baby…I will look forward to a whole new creation, a whole new love, a whole new little look and smile, a unique heavenly joy that no one or nothing else in this world can bring me.
Yes, I know this will be challenging to say the least…juggling life (and juggling babies too at times it seems) with four under the age of three. But how can I say no? If we are all here for a bigger purpose, this must be mine. Doing my best to bring up these little souls to be champions and soldiers for Christ in a world that needs it. God has big plans for these little men, maybe a little woman. And it will make a great story in history. So amidst the 6 diaper changes by 10:30am, 12 teeth cut in 4 months time, or refereeing wrestling matches all day, we make it fun and full of giggles as much as we can. God somehow gives us the graces we need to make it to another day. Seeing the friendships and irreplaceable bonds that have already formed with my children, the way John and Dominic get so excited to see each other after waking up, or how they dote on Isaac, is like tasting a little piece of heaven.
The thought of adding another little babe to the mix is overwhelming to think about at times, but something we look forward to and feel privileged to be a part of.  We cannot wait to meet you, little baby!

 
 
 
 
 From Dad,
It is hard to prepare yourself for what these few years of marriage have blessed us with and I never would have imagined having such a full life. I always new I would love having kids, and more (in numbers) than what most family would consider "appropriate" but never this fast.
We do get a lot of weird looks and inappropriate comments but I would never change what God has done with our family. I can't even imagine how my life would be like without them. While our life is not conventional by any stretch of the imagination, mine has never been and I don't think I would want it to. It is much more fun, exciting, and exhausting living this way. Having said all this though, I do hope we have a little bit longer of a break next time. :) 
To Baby #4: I got to see you with Mommy two days ago. The excitement we get from those small short moments with you never gets old. I am not patient by any stretch of the imagination and simply can't wait to see what you are going to look like. You might want to stay in though as long as you can. Dominic is a little crazy!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Let's go fly a kite!

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon to fly a kite and pack a picnic. After many attempts, then realizing we were missing a part and fixed it, we got the kite to soar! John and Dominic had a blast running around and helping Dad get the kite off the ground.

Video:  Kite Flying





Our Adventure-er


Dominic, "Nicki" (pronounced neekee), "stuffins", "pooh bear", "tum tum", "snickers",
you are one crazy boy these days, but we love every ounce of you. You like to bite people, you like to yell, climb on the table, mess with John, demand Mom holds you if she's anywhere near Isaac, jump in bathtubs, eat dirt, throw rocks, blow bubble with your snot (sorry, gross)....
You also love to give Mama and Dada kisses, eat bananas whole, play with John Phillip and make him laugh, stick your tongue under the running bathtub faucet, read your Blue's clues book, watch Winney they Pooh, play Mommy's kitchen stuff, but most especially DANCE.

You have such a daring, loving, funny personality with a pinch...or a lot of spunk. Your hair kills me, as well as your dimples and scrunched up nose when you smile hard. I love your fat head and big beautiful eyes. You're one of a kind and my precious little gem! Please stay little forever.

Videos: Banana Head    Exploring Isaac      Dog!      Pooh Bear


Never without crazy hair

Yummy dimple boy
Trying to drink up all the water


You like to wear your boots..they make you happy

 
Love your toes


 



Terrific Two's

So "the two's" prove to be not as terrible as people say. Our experience so far has been the hard phase being one to two years....yes, YOU, Dominic. ;) John's imagination is starting to soar, he loves to stack anything and everything...also line his animals up in a line, he is talking more, loves to dance, read books, play outside, and likes to be an artist of all kinds....painting, coloring, play dough. He likes to flirt with girls at church, or at the library haha (picture below). He also is starting to be a little sneaky and tries to lie or blame things on others now too, which is hard not to laugh at. Examples: walks slowly into the family room with food hiding behind his back, looking at me like nothing is going on. Or whenever he has a stinky diaper, he blames it on Dominic or Dad without fail...."Dom, poo poo." Nope, never Mom, haha. Only Dad and Dominic. He is strong willed, but very sweet, and always up for wrestling or playing of any kind. Never thought I would love having boys so much. I love watching you grow John Phillip!

Videos:  Dancin'      Painting      


We love to stack...anything and everything...especially the prized horses.





 
John loves to hold baby "eyes." This time he even put him to sleep with his special foot hold. ;)

 
 






























Caught John and cousin Margaret in a sweet moment after mass.
John and Dominic like to gang up on her and treat her like another
brother...poor thing.
Library girlfriend
                                                                                     
                                                                        Little artist.


Favorite book = My First Farm (aunt "Mimi" gave him)
Heading to work in his pajamas
Always has to line his animals up just right

 


 



Sunday, May 5, 2013

Puppy Dog Tails

They will never know life without each other, and seem to love it that way. I feel like I am constantly breaking up a wrestling match or giving someone their toy back. But at the same time, they don't like being apart anymore and are best buds.

We've found John try to go wake Dominic up from his nap a couple times now. Every once in a while if I have to wake Dominic up so he doesn't sleep too late, I'll let John do it and he gets so excited. He always wants to "hold Dom" after his naps. Or if Dominic refuses, then John will at least try and hold his hand. Lately, they've love to dance together. Also, slam doors in each other's face....awesome. They also now fight over Isaac. They compete for his love and attention, it's pretty cute and comical. John usually rubs Isaac's cheeks and says, "Oh, baby eyes"...as Dominic just lays on top of him.

Dominic usually has something fun or crazy to show John, and John follows. Example: I hear John laughing uncontrollably outside. I look to see what's going on as Dominic proceeds to pour water on his head from the buckets to get a reaction. Dominic also usually thinks of something fun to play with or do, and John follows. They love to make each other laugh and giggle. They love to play in their fort/slide. John's favorite character right now is Woody and Buzz, and Dominic's is Pooh Bear.

They have conversations together. I don't know what they're saying....but I know they understand each other and they laugh at what each other are saying/babbling. They also know exactly how to get on each other's nerves, or what get's the other one mad. I'm sure when John potty trains, Dominic will do it too so he can be just like him.

They are quite the pair. Quite the daring duo. I love seeing them interact together. Me and Phil might be exhausted most of the time, but thoroughly entertained and loved on by these two.

Videos:

Wrestling--Borderline abusive/don't know why Phil let this happen/but funny
Diaper Dudes
DANCE!
Conversing
Outside Play
Pillow Fight
Box Head


You know, shoving Dominic in a corner to give him a close shave.

Post bath time snuggles with Dad








Saturday at Lowes with Dad



Dynamic Duo




King Isaac

He is the king in this house right now. Doted on, loved on, squeezed on, sat on. His cheeks are more than kissable. You can't help but laugh with his giggles. He's starting to get very vocal. He loves tummy time and playing/grabbing toys.

Isaac, I want you to remember how your brothers fight over you and love you so much right now. Can't wait to see how you continue to fit into their posse they have going.

Videos:
Little giggles
King Isaac
John holding Isaac
Lunch time with Isaac


Yes, the moving objects are John and Dominic, crawling in your baby tunnel with you.
 

Dom's play toy

KY wildcat's biggest fan

Forced to play check-up
You love to look at your hands and eat them too.


Lookin' cute in overalls

Big boy playing with his toys

You're John's teddy bear


We got a picture together!

Dad knows how to hold you just right
Holding Daddy's hand