Titus- 4 Months

"Mom, Titus is four like me. But he isn't big girl four he's baby four, right?" -Grace
Definitely looking bigger than his bear now. I picked out these coordinating outfits because they reminded me of the Illini.
This one in Daddy's Illini hat is my favorite!
Very serious-checking out the excersaucer for the first time.

Yesterday Titus was four months old. Oh, how I love being a mommy to a little boy. (and two little girls of course) He continues to grow and change. He is now sleeping through the night- yeah! And generally taking a morning, afternoon, & late afternoon nap. I was afraid we were going to have to start cereal when he woke me up 3 nights at 4:30 a.m. starving, but I guess it was just a growth spurt because after that he went back to his usual routine. We celebrated 4 months by getting out the excersaucer and the 6-9 month clothes. I am afraid we won't make it to fall for 12 month things if he keeps growing like this!

Titus Talking-

Discovery Depot Playdate

Taking a drive in the fire truck.
Milking the cow
Delivering the Mail (Just like Pop-o)
Checking out the water room.
Grace examines an x-ray in the veterinarian office.
Faith puts on her seatbelt in the tractor.
Faith takes a "ride" on the goat in the barn.
Nana checks out Faith's groceries in the store.
Grace puts on the fireman outfit.
Faith serves up some pizza in the restaurant.

We had a fun play date with Nana, Jessica, Carter, & Ellie. Jessica works with Nana at the hospital. We thought it was so funny when Carter said, "What kind of cousin is Grace?" Well, we aren't cousins but we sure enjoy play dates with them! We started our trip by spending the night at Nana's house. The girls woke up at 6 a.m. to crawl on the air mattress with Nana because they were excited to watch a movie.

We had planned to go to the zoo in Peoria, but due to rainy weather had to figure out an alternate plan. We ended up at the Discovery Depot in Galesburg, Illinois. I am really glad we went there because the kids loved it. It is a smaller children's museum. The girls really loved exploring the ambulance, police car, veterinarian office, barn, tractor, restaurant, post office, grocery store, and water area. They also had an outdoor play area we didn't explore due to the rain. I would definitely like to go back again. If you are in the area you should check it out.

Afterwards we went to eat at Hungry Hobos, a sub type shop we had never been to. Before packing up for home we attempted to fabric shop with all three kids for a fun blanket for Titus (more on that later). It was such a fun day!

Faith's "Goatee"

This is what happens when you leave your two year old on the potty and get distracted. She finds your mascara, thinks its lip gloss, and makes herself look like she is growing facial hair.

Saturday Mornings with Daddy

One of the many changes our family has adjusted to with Jeremy's new job is his absence when the girls wake up. He leaves very early most days. Since the girls are still little they really don't grasp the concept of the weekend. We find it so funny when they girls are so excited and surprised each Saturday morning to find Jeremy home when they wake up. One Saturday Faith excitedly told me, "Daddy in that bed!!!" when she discovered him still sleeping in our bed.

I love me a good family tradition. And Jeremy decided to start one of his own. Saturday morning breakfast with daddy. The girls love it. He makes a big yummy breakfast to start our day. We have mostly had waffles, but this week he expanded his menu and made ham, egg, & cheese biscuits. The girls are starting to anticipate this weekly meal. I love this video of Faith helping daddy cook. So if you are ever in our neighborhood and hungry on a Saturday morning stop by the Humiston Restaurant the food is quite yummy. (but we will probably be eating in our pjs)

Happy Anniversary

May 8th was Jeremy and I's 6th anniversary. Its hard to believe its been six years already. But, we do have three kids so I guess we are getting old... We didn't celebrate that weekend because it was Mother's day and Jeremy had planned a big surprise for me the following weekend. (Yes, I put the two days of the year you get pampered on in the same weekend-Guess I wasn't thinking someday I'd be a mom when I choose my wedding date...)

Warning- If you get annoyed by someone gushing about how wonderful their husband is you might want to skip this post.

So, anyway Jeremy has been planning a surprise for me for weeks. I was very curious. He has figured out that I associate planning and forethought with pure love. So I have enjoyed every moment of anticipating this surprise. While I am a good guesser he really surprised me this time. On Saturday my mom, sister Josie, and cousin's wife Kara headed to a local salon for a "spa day." It was lovely!!! We had fun chatting while being pampered. I had a manicure, pedicure, & a facial.

Then the girls went to spend the night at Gramy & Papa's house. Jeremy and I enjoyed ice cream cones, a walk in the park, dinner out with only one child, and a chic flick with popcorn. It was the perfect day girlfriend time, me time, time with my hubbie, and no cooking or cleaning!

I was also going to get my haircut, but really needed to get home to feed Titus so I went back Wednesday night. I also LOVE my new haircut. It was such a "fancy" haircut. She gave me a scalp massage, washed my hair (while the chair gave me a massage), cut, dried, styled, and actually made my hair look like the picture. Oh, and I got a free drink. This isn't the greatest picture... But you can see my big smile.

I feel so blessed to call Jeremy my husband. The last year has been a very difficult one in the life of our family. There have been moments when we were simply surviving and getting by. But God's faithfulness and our commitment have carried us through to more joy filled days.

Jeremy, I love you more each day. God has shown me this past year the balance we bring to each others lives, how our strengths compliment each others weaknesses, and how to cling to God and each other when the storms rage. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us... Happy Anniversary!

Mother's Day

We had a wonderful Mother's day. We went to church with Nana in Monmouth. Then we had a Mexican feast at her house instead of facing the holiday restaurant crowds with 3 little ones. (not relaxing) After lunch Nana made animal cut outs for the girls with her new cartridge she bought for the Cricuit we got her for Christmas. Grace was amazed as the machine made the animals she requested. We feel so blessed to have her in our family and especially enjoyed being able to spend Mother's day with her this year. Something we haven't ever been able to do before due to Jeremy's job.

Next we headed to my parent's house for dinner with my family. My sister and I had coordinated everyone to make the different parts of the meal & my dad grilled all the meat.

We tried to do as much as possible for my mom, since she is always the one cooking for everyone else. I am so thankful I have such an amazing mom to teach me what motherhood should look like.

Before dinner we had an "impromtu" photo session. I was excited to have a new picture of our family. When I look at this picture I see more than just a family photo. It is a snapshot of how being a mom is shaping me into a different person.

You see I am a detail oriented, clothes coordinating, plan ahead, recovering perfectionist. When I look at this photo I can easily see Titus already in his comfy pj's, unfixed wild curls escaping, and a whole rainbow of uncoordinated clothing. Or I can choose to see the gorgeous family God has blessed me with. I can be thankful I can have amazing photos of my family taken for free! And I can realize the best moments in my family's life are often times the impromptu ones, the ones only planned by God. I am so thankful to be "mama" to Grace, Faith, & Titus. I know more than anything else I have ever done raising them is challenging me to be the woman God desires me to be.

The Thinker

Anyone see any similarities?

Obviously Titus is going to be a genius....I'm just sayin'.

Mother's perspective...maybe.

But funny none the less.

Our Mother's Day Project

We had a very fun and VERY full weekend. (I will post pics later....hint hint, Mom) But, I love spending time with our family so I loved it! Although, the abundance of overtired Monday morning tears I am experiencing right now is slightly unlovely.

I have been very excited to share with you our Mother's Day Project. Now I am a crafty homemade gift giver at heart. And each year I enjoy coming up with a project to give the mothers in our family. (although I do struggle with Father's day...) But, I was especially excited about this year's gift. I even loved it so much I made myself one for the first time.

One of my new favorite blogs to read is Living with Lindsay. I discovered it last fall and when I saw she loved to "knock off" things she sees in the Pottery Barn catalog I knew she was a girl after my own heart. I totally heart Pottery Barn and if we ever strike it rich will actually order something from their catalog. But, I digress. For Christmas I made my mom a fun book page wreath from one of her tutorials. I plan to make me one too when I get around to it.

Then she had a $5 challenge where you had to make something by only spending $5 at a Dollar Store. The winner made this. Well, the inspiration for our gift came from what the winner made and a tutorial on Lindsay's blog on making your own silhouettes. I combined the two and came up with this:

From these pictures:

I made five total including one for myself and spent a total of $5 ($1 per plate at the Dollar Store) What a deal!! I had the rest of the materials on hand. Here are some tips if you wanted to try it yourself:

-Read Lindsay's tutorial.

-Put a sticker or something on the wall for your kids to look at. Mine have heard "look at the camera" too many times and it was hard to get a profile until I gave them something to look at.

-Print your photos on card stock that makes them easier to trace.

-If you want to put them on a plate you can use Modge Podge or I used a spray polyurithane because I hate brush strokes.

And no, I'm not worried that the ladies in my family read my blog and now know how much their present cost. I come from a family of coupon cutting, rummage sale scouting, Aldi shopping ladies who really do believe it is the thought that counts.

Hope all the moms had a great Mother's day!

My Girls' "Masterpiece"

This week I heard Grace screaming during rest time. Upon investigation I discovered Faith had written on Grace's "purple" (her blanket) with a red crayon. After assuring her I could wash it I looked up to discover this:
Its kind of hard to see but that is red crayon all the way from the window to the changing table. Grace actually wrote part of her name on the wall and part on the furniture. And if you could see the artwork more clearly you can clearly see where Faith "drew" and then Grace took a turn. At least they shared the one crayon they found under their bed, right? (Okay, maybe not!) It took us (Oh, yes Grace & Faith were required to scrub the entire time) twenty minutes of scrubbing to remove it from the wall. Apparently this crayon wasn't so washable. But, don't worry purple easily came clean in a single visit to the washing machine. If only I could have stuck their wall in there. But, that wouldn't have been near as effective of a teaching moment, huh? Oh, the joys of little ones. I know I'm gonna miss this....someday.

Sisterhood

Sisters are different flowers from the same garden. ~Author Unknown

A sister is a forever friend. -Author Unknown

The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend. ~Cali Rae Turner

Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring - quite often the hard way. ~Pamela Dugdale

One of the areas our family is attempting to be counter cultural in is the area of sibling relationships. The world tells us that siblings fight, compete, and generally find each other annoying. However, the Bible teaches us that the family is a wonderful part of God's plan for making us into the person God desires for us to be. One of the "mom phrases" I'm sure my girls will repeat later in life and say, "Mom always said..." is "Your sister is your best friend." While my girls still get into disagreements and struggle as they learn to play and interact we are trying to use sisterhood to teach them how to be patient, kind, understanding, and loyal. I know having my little sister Josie has been a huge blessing in my life and I want my girls to enjoy this same blessing.

Weekend Fun

One of the fun new things our family is enjoying for the first time ever is "the weekend." While most people eagerly anticipate Friday and the upcoming wekend, it has been one of our family's busiest times. However, with Jeremy's new job we are enjoying looking forward to this new opportunity for family time. Here are some fun things we've been up to:

A few weeks ago we went to have lunch with my parents on Sunday afternoon. The girls enjoyed checking out Uncle Kit's new motorcycle.

That evening we went to Nana's church so I could talk to the Jr. High girls. The girls had fun playing while I helped. My favorite story from the evening was when someone asked Grace if she was allowed to have pop. Grace said, "Whats pop?" The volunteer told me she decided to give them milk instead. (I wonder how much longer I will get away with that!)

Last weekend was one of my favorite weekends of the whole year- City Wide Garage Sales. My mom, mother-in-law and family friend Judy once again had lots of fun scouting out deals. I mostly bought clothes for little man. Some of my other favorite finds included:

-pink sparkly shoes for Grace

-lots of cute jeans for Faith (somehow we only had one pair of 3T jeans-guess Grace skipped that size)

-a side by side stroller for $20!

-a large floating shelf that is going to be transformed into the perfect mantle for my fireplace (more on that later)

-striped purple p.j.s for Faith that Grace has a matching pair in her size!

My dear husband choose to skip town and go do some work for his dad. He is earning extra money so we can purchase a family pool pass this summer. (So excited about that!) When he got home we used dollars from Gramy to take advantage of the blizzard deal at DQ. The girls wanted chocolate ice cream cones (their new love). As you can see Faith fully enjoyed hers! She licked every drop out of the cone, I don't think she knew you could eat it. And I'm still working on getting that ice cream out of her shirt.

Hope you are having a great weekend!