Blooper Reel

The only thing I wanted to accomplish during our recent family vacation to Sea Island was to get a nice picture of my three boys along with a picture of all the grandkids. It's crazy that I can take decent photographs of another person's family, but I just can't seem to get any of my own. I couldn't bring myself to delete all of these because they were too hilarious. Enjoy :)

And Just Like That ...

... it's Fall!!  My big boys started school two weeks ago, and the weather started cooling off at the same time.  It really does feel like fall around here!  It is so nice to have some sort of schedule again and to feel like there's something to be accomplished each day.  The boys are just delighted to be in school, which warms my teacher-heart right up!

Tanner started his last year of Preschool.  He is doing the Pre-K program at the same school he's been at the past two years.  We are thrilled to be with Miss Lori and Miss Julie for the third year in a row.  To say we love them is an understatement, for sure.  I can already see how much he has grown and changed since school let out for the summer.  He is so confident walking into his classroom, making friends, doing his work.  I am so glad we decided to give him an extra year before Kindergarten.  One of the best things about school for him so far is that he found a new friend the very first day.  A little boy walked right up to him and said "Do you wanna be my friend?  You wanna play?"  I started talking to his mom afterwards and it turns out he lives right in our neighborhood ... just about three houses down.  To think all this time we've been living so close to each other and we are just meeting!  Another great thing about school this year is that he's in an afternoon class.  I was very nervous about how this would go, but it's turned out to be awesome.  He was bored anyway in the afternoons, trying to entertain himself while Landon napped.

Landon has also started preschool with Miss Lori.  He is in her 3-year-old program and goes two days per week.  So far he seems to really like it.  I chuckled when he got into the car after his first day.  We have about 15 minutes to kill after we pick up Landon and before we can drop off Tanner.  So we sit in the car and eat lunch and chat.  Landon just talked and talked and talked about what happened at school that day, providing me with lots of little details.  I took Tanner inside a few minutes later and told Miss Lori -- "Landon has told me more about school in the past 10 minutes than Tanner has in two years!"  It's amazing how different they are!  He seems to be making friends and talks about different boys that he plays with.  I was nervous that he would be crazy all of the time in there, but after going to meet-the-teacher day, I think he's going to fit right in.  Most of the other 3-year-olds were crazy as well.  Another mom even commented to me that my son was so well behaved.  I honestly thought I was going to faint after hearing that.  :)

Along with starting a new school year, we are also back to the gym.  SIGH ... I love the gym ... I feel like a new woman now that I can go back, leave my kids in childcare for an hour, and get a workout.  I. Love. It.  Up to this point, I've only been able to run.  Now, I feel like a whole new world has opened up to me -- ellipticals, classes, swimming, weights ... I have so much to choose from!  Jon has actually inspired me to do a triathlon next summer.  I don't know whether I'm going to do a sprint or an olympic distance yet, but it will be fun to have something to train for.  It's been so great to get back in the pool after many many years and start swimming again.  It really was my first love as far as competitive sports go!  The best part is, when Tanner is at school and the little ones go down for their nap, I don't have to try and sneak in a workout -- I can actually use that hour or two to get something productive done!  What a treat!  (And I'm laughing now as I act like mopping my floors, doing laundry, or cleaning bathrooms in peace is a "treat" - LOL!!)

Jon and I talk daily about how fast our boys seem to be growing.  Tanner is growing into an AWESOME kid.  We are so proud of him and think he's so much fun to hang out with.  He's mostly kind to his brothers, respectful of adults, and understands the importance of making good decisions.  No, he's not perfect, but he's growing UP, which is just amazing to watch.  So far, I really love age 5!  Just this last week, he mastered the monkey bars for the first time.  He has been working and working all summer.  When he finally made it all the way across, he shouted to me, "Mom!  I kept trying and trying and I did it!  I couldn't do it before but I didn't quit and now I did it!!"  I loved hearing that!  We've also been working hard on reading.  I could sit for HOURS next to him on the couch and listen to him sound out words, watching him beam with pride after finishing a page.  I'm so excited for him as I know this will open up a whole new world!  He is definitely in the very beginning stages, but it's so much fun to watch him grow!

Tanner is also doing fall soccer with Jon as his head coach.  Every Saturday morning, they head to the fields together, blasting "Party Rock Anthem" and "We Will Rock You" from Jon's jeep.  Tanner calls it his "pump-up" music.  I don't know if soccer is really the sport for him, but he sure is enjoying that time with his dad.  And I know Jon loves coaching.  He really is very good at it.

Today was a rough day for Landon.  He routinely gets croupy whenever he has a cold.  He hasn't been coughing, but his breathing today sounded terrible, and after his nap he had a short episode where it was hard for him to catch his breath.  I took him to the pediatrician immediately after picking Tanner up from school.  They gave him a breathing treatment in the office and sent us home with some steroids to help with the swelling in his airways.  He sounds awful.  I'm praying hard that he's better through the night and tomorrow.  I just hate it when he's not well!

Landon is such a sweet sweet boy on the inside. He just wants to have fun all the time and play all day.  It's not uncommon for him to bust out an "I love you, Mom!" at the most random times.  Melt me.  Lately, he's taken to sneaking into our room at night while Jon and I are downstairs watching TV.  When we head up to bed, we find a little bedbug all snuggled up under the sheets (or sometimes on top of them).  It's all I can do not to let him stay in there for the night.

Kellen is our resident sweetie pie.  I know I say this in every post, but we all just love that baby to pieces!  He is such a little light in our house and a joy to all of us!  I've decided that I really really love having a baby and having a 5 year old.  All of the ages in-between are kind of HAAARD!  (Sorry, Landon -- you'll be 5 before we know it, though!!!)  Anyways, back to the little dude.  He rolls all over the place these days and loves to just lay on the playroom floor with a few of his toys and have free reign of the space.  His first little tooth is poking through (his bottom left).  He's starting to enjoy solids a little bit more.  He still nurses about 5 times/day and has an 8oz bottle of formula every night for his dream feed.  He goes to bed EARLY -- once 5:45 hits, he has HAD IT.  It's all I can do to keep him awake until 6:00.  After his dream feed, he sleeps until about 5:00am, so 6-7 hours, when I nurse him and then he goes back to sleep.  I'm trying not to be discouraged that he's not sleeping all the way through the night yet.  I know (hope??) that eventually we'll be there.

Next week, I leave with the boys for a week of vacation with my family.  I'm so excited, but nervous about all the logistics of it.  Hopefully everything goes smoothly!  Can't wait to post all about it!

Enjoy this final picture!  I don't have anything too recent because my camera has been in the shop :(  But, the good news is, $200 later, it is fixed and ready to be picked up!!  ;)  A few weeks ago, Jon put the boys to bed while I was out grocery shopping.  For some reason, Tanner wanted to sleep in the guest bedroom, but Landon was adamant that he wanted to be in his own bed.  A little while later, Jon went up to check on them, and this is how they were sleeping in the guest bed.  So stinkin' cute.

Remember ...

when I used to actually have time to write a bit of thoughtful dialogue in my posts?  And have cute, witty captions beneath the pictures?  You know ... like 5-ish years ago?  Trying not to feel guilty about letting that slide ... :)

A few recent pics of my busy boys:

Typical Summer Morning:  Bedhead and big/little bro snuggle-time

My big boys heading out to their first Bears game

Kellen, 5 mos

Hello, drool :)

"Good Luck"

Mama's working hard to teach the boys how to be good sports.  

Lord knows, with a husband as competitive as mine, they are bound to be sore losers.  

 Last day of swim lessons for the summer

Waiting for their swimming report cards

Trick Question:  Guess who passed and who didn't ...

"It's okay, buddy.  Maybe next time ..."

Another busy day at the office

Limbo

Things are finally starting to slow down a bit these days.  Phew!  The calm before the storm, perhaps??

We're in a weird state of limbo right now.  Summer activities are over.  The pool is closing at the end of this week.  The weather has cooled off drastically -- 70's and lots of rain!  Most of our friends are starting school (Kindergarten) next week.  However, because we're sending Tanner to Pre-K this year, school doesn't begin for my boys for another 3.5 weeks.  I feel like I don't really have a plan for the next few weeks, and that bothers me.  I really need to come up with something that keeps us on a semi-regular schedule.    Every once in a while, an entire day or two spent at home is a welcome break from our busy-ness, but I find we all do much better and get along much better if we are able to get out and about in the mornings.

I've got to be honest.  I'm really nervous about this fall!  Landon will be in school 2 mornings/week from 9-11:30.  Tanner will be going 4 afternoons/week from 11:45-2:45.  I have a baby who needs 2 naps/day.  And I REALLY want to start going back to the gym.  I know it will all work out, but I'm anxious for us to find our new groove.

The start of a new school year always makes me miss teaching just a little bit.  I've been having the big boys sit down at the table with me every morning while Kellen naps to do "schoolwork."  Nothing big, and the boys seemed to love it the first time we did it, but now they whine and pout the whole time.  Of course, I take this much too personally and end up getting upset.  Why won't they PLAY with me??!!  I've been digging into my teacher stuff, making up fun learning games.  I'm working on counting and pre-writing skills with Landon and helping Tanner learn about addition, subtraction, and reviewing letter sounds.  I bribe them with stickers and treats.  One thing is for sure, my boys are not cut out for homeschooling -- and I'm not either.  But, I'm going to keep at it!  My goal is that Landon is comfortable holding a pencil and tracing simple lines by the time he starts in a few weeks.  And I would be thrilled if Tanner could see a letter and confidently identify the sound it makes.

A few weeks ago, I spent a Saturday afternoon taking Tanner and Landon on individual "dates."  What a special day for all of us!  Each boy picked their own activity with a little guidance from me.  Landon and I started the afternoon off with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese.  It was great to just follow him around and watch him use all of his coins, share some pizza, and then pick out prizes.  Tanner and I went to the "Painted Penguin" in the mall, where we both painted a little ceramic piece.  Tanner chose a Scooby Doo plaque.  Boy, did he have a lot to say while his hands were busy painting!  I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and hearing his thoughts while we sat and worked.  We finished the date by getting ice cream in the food court while we waited for our paintings to dry.  We're already talking about what we want to do for our next round of dates.  Can't wait!!

Kellen, oh Kellen!  People ask me all the time how the boys have adjusted to having him in the house.  Can I just say that he is the MOST POPULAR person in our entire home?  He never fails to put a smile on anyone's face.  The big boys adore him and are truly so good with him.  And I know that Kellen is very fond of them as well.  He and Tanner seem to have an especially close bond.  Since Kellen is rear-facing, and Tanner is in the WAAAAY back of the van, they actually face each other.  Sometimes I'll be driving and listening to Kellen just CRACK UP at Tanner.  He is just this little, chubby, super-soft, smiley, squealing bundle of joy.  I love him so much and I just try to cherish each day with him since I already feel the time passing much too quickly.  He's already 5 months old!!!  We just tried solids for the first time this past weekend.  He wasn't a happy camper having rice cereal spooned into his mouth.  And bananas this morning weren't too much better.  I'm thinking maybe I should give it a few more weeks, then re-visit.  Since life in general has kind of slowed down, we've been able to get into a bit of a routine with him:

7:30am wakeup
9:00 - 10:30am  nap
2:00- 4:30pm nap
6:00pm bedtime
11:00pm dream-feed
5:00am early morning feeding

This is the first week he has dropped his 2:00am feeding, which is very encouraging!

I've been trying really hard to lose the remainder of my baby weight.  So far, 31 pounds down, 5 pounds to go.  Yay!  I'm finally starting to fit into some of my regular jeans, which feels amazing.  I'm struggling a bit these days to stay motivated, but I know in the end it will all be worth it.  I really just want a huge piece of chocolate cake!  Which I should just have, so I can stop thinking about it, right?

I'm very much looking forward to my entire family being together over Labor Day weekend at my mom and dad's house.  I can't wait to see all of my siblings and their spouses!  I miss them all so much!

That's it for now.  I'm heading to bed early so I can do some reading :)  Pictures next time!  Promise!

Summertime

Boy, are we enjoying our summer here in the Hall house!  As usual, we are busy busy busy, trying to create a little bit of fun every day.  A few investments have really helped to make our days memorable:  swim lessons 4 mornings a week for 6 weeks, a pool pass, and a gigantic blow-up pool for our backyard.  Yes, they all involve water, but it's been ten thousand degrees here for the past few weeks, so it's been nice to spend the day keeping cool.  Most days, we go directly from pajamas to swimsuits to pajamas, with no need for real clothes in-between.  90% of my laundry is beach towels and swimsuits.  I love it!

All of this time in the water has really made little fishes out of my older boys.  My favorite part of the day is watching them learn how to swim each morning during their lesson.  Tanner is improving SO MUCH -- it just makes my heart want to burst.  He is trying hard to learn an actual freestyle stroke.  Right now he is in "alligators," but hopefully he will move on to "penguins" for the last session.  Landon is very timid during his lesson, but has no fear during free swim time.  He acts to his teacher like he's fearful of getting his hair/face wet, or scared to jump in off the side of the pool.  Once lessons are over, he'll spend an hour jumping in the pool all by himself, swimming underwater with his goggles, and following Tanner to where he can barely touch the bottom of the pool.  I keep telling him that he won't graduate from "turtles" to "alligators" if he doesn't start showing his coach what he can do.  He just looks at me and smiles his little Landon smile.  What am I gonna do with him?

We've also been enjoying several minor league baseball games watching the Kane County Cougars.  We found out the first game that we all get in free (with really great seats) for the entire season since Jon is a veteran.  So, we've been going to games almost every weekend that we've been home.  The boys LOVE the food, the fireworks after the game, and then running the bases after fireworks.  I'm not sure they realize an actual sport is being played.  They just think its a big snack bar with fireworks.

Tanner had his birthday a few weeks ago.  I can't believe how much older and more mature he's becoming!  I think 5 will be a good year for him.  He officially rides a 2-wheeler, can swing all by himself, and is working hard to master the monkey bars.  I'm constantly looking at Kellen (who is basically a clone of Tanner as a baby) and I wonder where my first baby went.  He is growing so fast.  We celebrated his birthday with a Scooby Doo party at home with friends.  I wish I had lots of pictures, but unfortunately, I was a crazy lady trying to run the party in 105 degree heat.  I think it might be the last birthday party I host at my house.  It's so much work the entire week before, and ends up being just as expensive as if we had it somewhere else.  We also had our annual beach birthday bash with the grandparents and  Uncle Eric on July 4th.  Once again, I think the temperature was over 100 degrees.  He got some really great gifts -- an iPod, some headphones, and -- drumroll, please -- a dream lite :)

Landon had a very hard time being the "birthday brother."  The conversation in our house this past month has been dominated by birthday talk.  Everytime we're in the store ... "Mom, can I have this for my birthday?"  Every disagreement involves "well, you're not invited to my birthday party."  Apparently, as of now, I am NOT invited to Landon's party, but I AM invited to Tanner's next party.  Tanner is invited to Landon's party, but Landon is NOT invited to Tanner's.  Did you get all that?  Will someone please inform Landon that he doesn't have a birthday for 9 more months? 

Kellen, oh Kellen.  He's nothing but a big chunky bundle of joy around here.  All four of us completely adore him.  He has been loving the pool, too.  As soon as I bring him into the water, I have two big brothers on me in seconds -- trying to kiss him and hug him and love on him.  They love to make him smile and laugh.   Just this week he started rolling over.  The boys are always clapping for him and cheering for him when he does it.  He's a lucky baby, isn't he?  He is still not sleeping through the night, but every once in a while he'll give me a 6 hour stretch.  I'm trying to have faith that one day he'll sleep all the way through.  We gave him his first turn in the exersaucer yesterday.  He liked it for about 2 minutes, then he was crying.  Maybe it's a little early.  We'll keep trying :)

Jon is competing in his second triathlon of the season this weekend.  We are all excited to go and cheer him on.  He has taken the summer off from school and we are so excited to have him around for bedtime several evenings each week.  He and the boys have all these little made-up games that they play together, complete with scoring and everything.  I'm a total outsider during these times, usually just listening from the kitchen as I tidy things up from dinner.

I feel like I don't really have time to do ANYTHING these days.  Literally every minute of my day is taken up caring for my boys and my house.  I can't wait to just take a shower and crawl into bed at the end of every day.  I'm trying hard not to wish this time away, but I just keep thinking -- its got to get easier than this!  Fortunately, my parents have given us several opportunities to get away without the kids this summer.  Once for Jon's first triathlon, then for a wedding trip to TN, and in a few weeks we'll get another break as we travel to Ohio for another wedding.  It is so nice to have a day or two without little people to take care of, and I know they LOVE spending time with their grandparents.  Plus, its a great feeling to really miss them and count the minutes till we see them again!  

I was actually able to get away for a long weekend just this past week.  Several of my Colorado Springs girls met in Indiana for a girls' weekend.  We had the BEST time together and I feel like we picked up right where we left off 5 years ago!  What a treat it was for me to visit with these ladies!  I was able to bring Kellen with me and he was a dream baby.  I thoroughly enjoyed my special time with just him.  I think he did, too :)

Here's a few recent pics.  Enjoy!  

Baby Love

Has it really only been 3 months

since this sweet baby boy was born?  

Because I feel like I've loved him 

FOREVER.

Life With Three Kids = BUSY

Originally, I wanted to document how our entire day usually goes, but by the time I got to 11:00am, I was EXHAUSTED just reading about it!  So ... 

Here's a look at our typical summer MORNING:

7:00 Wakeup 

• Landon is our resident early bird and has usually already made his way downstairs, turned on the TV, helped himself to a granola bar, and set out a cocoa packet for me to make him when I get downstairs.  

• Kellen is usually sleeping in bed with me after his EARLY morning feeding.  I just love to snuggle him during that time -- he is so soft and sweet!  And it buys us both a few more hours of sleep. :)

• Tanner makes his way into my bedroom, turns on the TV, and asks to hold Kellen.

• Jon has left the house much earlier in order to hit the gym on the way to work.

• I check my email and the weather while I nurse the baby, then change him and get myself ready for the day.

7:30 Downstairs

• Make breakfast for the kids -- usually pancakes.  Try to avoid syrup ending up all over the bottom level of my house.  Race around the kitchen refilling milks, cutting up more pancakes, pouring more syrup, etc.

• Unload dishwasher

• Start a load of laundry

• Pack a lunch -- we'll probably be eating at a park, pool, etc.  

• Determine what's for dinner.  

• Clean up syrupy mess that has spread across the bottom level of my house.

• Kiss someone's boo-boo.  

• Yell at the boys to stop fighting

8:30 Prep for Morning Outing

• Get kids dressed, brush teeth, etc.

• Pack swim bag

• Pack bag for whatever we're doing afterwards

• Start loading up car

• Remind the boys how lucky they are to have each other.  Plead with them to stop fighting.

• Put Kellen down for a nap (he's a champ, btw -- I can lay him down awake and he puts himself to sleep -- thank you, LORD!!!)

• Kiss someone's boo-boo.

9:30 Time to Go!

• Tell the boys to put their shoes on

• Fill up water bottles

• Threaten boys that we will have to stay home if they don't put their shoes on.

• Transfer Kellen to his carseat

• Pretend to call swim coach and tell her we won't make it

• Boys finally put their shoes on 

• Tell boys to get in their seats in the van.

• Run back inside at least 4 times to gather last minute things that we need.

• Come back outside to find that boys are in the 2 front seats, pretending to drive.

• Put on a show for the neighbors to hear as I yell at my children to GET. IN. THEIR. SEATS!!

• Kiss someone's boo-boo.

• Try to collect myself as I head to Dunkin' Donuts for my Medium Iced Coffee with Coconut, Cream, and Sugar.  Order a 5 ct munchkins for the boys to share as a snack after swim lessons.

10:00  Swimming

• Gather my crew and head into the pool building

• Rush into the teeny tiny locker room with both boys and a stroller, along with 30 other moms/kids, and make my boys go potty.

• Undress big boys and send them into the pool area with cheers and kisses and an earnest reminder to listen to their coach.  Remind Landon NOT to splash coach in the face.

• Sit down, get out my nursing cover, and start feeding Kellen.

• Shock teenage male pool manager along with a few other spectators by escorting T or L to the bathroom to go poopy while I continue to nurse the baby.  

• Chill for a few minutes and watch the boys swim.  Make sure to give Tanner a few thumbs up.  Make a V with 2 fingers, point to my own eyes, then to Landon so he knows I'm watching him.

• Fold big boys into a towel hug and tell them how proud I am as they exit the pool and I try to dry them off.  

• Head back into teeny tiny crowded locker room.  Get kids changed into dry clothes.  Listen to another mom tell me that I have my hands full … that I'm done having kids, right???  Wait … unless I want to try for a girl, right???  

• Tell her with a big smile how much we enjoy having boys and that we don't know if we're done and that if we did have another one, we would most certainly welcome another boy.  Hope that she's doesn't live in my neighborhood and wasn't privy to the scene in the garage earlier that morning.  

Are you tired yet???

Sturdy

It's a good thing...

he's so sturdy ...

because this 2.5 month old ...

is WELL-LOVED ...

by the big boys :)

Has it really been several weeks since my last post?  Time is just flying here.  Today at the park, a neighbor asked me how life was with three.  The only thing that came to mind was "busy."  That's probably an understatement.  Truly, most days I feel like I don't even sit down until after all the kids are in bed, unless I'm nursing the baby ... and even then sometimes I'm walking around -- LOL!!  This last part drives Jon nuts, but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do, and when all three kids are in fits, something's gotta give :)

First and foremost ... our littlest man is not so little anymore.  (sniff, sniff)  I just took out our six-month clothes about two weeks ago, and already they are quite snug.  I'm just hoping there are some summer clothes in the 9-month bin, since that will probably be coming out next week :)  Kellen turned two-months old last week and had his check-up this Monday.  He is 24.5 inches long (95th percentile) and 15lbs 8oz, which is way off the charts.  Most of the time I feel like I'm carrying around a 6-month old.  He is the absolute joy of each day for me (and probably my boys, too).  He really is such a sweet sweet baby, all smiles and usually content unless he's hungry, tired, or needs changed.  In the midst of all the whining and tears from my older boys, all I have to do is get a little snuggle from the baby to remind myself why I love being a mom.  Ahhhh .... babies are the BEST, and this baby just MELTS me.

Stealing kisses from Grammy at the zoo

Love him!

Our biggest boy, Tanner, has had an eventful few weeks!  He brought home the stomach flu about two weeks ago and spent 4 days on the couch.  It was the worst!  Poor guy.  I HATE the stomach flu more than any other sickness.  First of all, it makes me sick just wondering if and when the rest of the family is going to get it.  Secondly, we are stuck in the house, trying to keep healthy kids away from sick kids.  And most of all, even though I'm the one who has to clean up all the puke, I'm still the bad guy because I can't let the victim have anything to eat!  UGGGH!  Just when I thought we were done with it, Landon started throwing up.  He's not a very good patient, btw.  He literally lays on the couch SCREAMING all day.  SCREAM.  ING.  It was a long few days with him.

By the grace of God, nobody else got sick.  We were all able to make it to Tanner's preschool graduation last Wednesday evening.  MawMaw even came into town for it!  Even though he'll be back at the same preschool next year for Pre-K, he was still able to go through graduation with the rest of his classmates.  It was pretty adorable.  They all paraded into the gym with little graduation caps, then stood with their classmates and sang a few songs for us.  Tanner had to use the restroom SO BAD, he had both hands on his crotch and pretty much danced through all of the songs.  He waited until they were handing out diplomas to finally tell a teacher that he had to potty.  Thankfully, she ran him out to the bathroom and they made it out just in time for him to receive his.

I was kind of sad knowing that he is saying goodbye to all of his classmates, who will be going on to Kindergarten together, but I know it's all for the best.  Here is a picture of him with his best friend, Scarlet, from school.

How cute are his little ears sticking out from his cap?  

Tanner also started his first soccer league a few weeks ago.  Jon and I literally toasted each other with our coffees as we drove up to the fields the first week.  We were SO excited (probably way more excited than Tanner was).  The beginning of sports with our crew ... so fun!  After the first two games, we're not sure if soccer is really his thing.  He doesn't appear to be having much fun, but we're really trying to encourage him as much as possible and celebrate our Saturdays at the field together as a family.  Grandpa Hall gave us a piece of advice after last week's game (Tanner looked like he was ready to fall asleep on the field).  He said to give him a shot of maple syrup right before next week's game -- he used to do that for all of his boys before their Rocket Football games when they were little.  We'll give it a try!

Despite the huge smile in the picture below, Landon has been going through a little rough patch.  I'm hoping it's just a phase!  He used to be so pleasant to be around.  Now, he is just whining and crying and screaming ALL OF THE TIME I feel like.  My sister reminded me that Tanner went through a similar phase when he was three.  He's trying so hard to be independent, but he gets so frustrated SO quickly!!  One thing that's been really positive for him this week is camp.  I signed him and Tanner up for a three week session with the park district.  It's in the morning for three days/week and he is in class with Tanner.  Miss Lori, our most favorite preschool teacher, is the leader and both boys are really loving it.  They get to pack a lunch each day, do crafts, and play outside.  I get to have a few hours to run errands or be at home with JUST Kellen.  I told my mom on Monday that it was the fastest three hours of my entire life!  LOL!!  

My Terrific/Terrible Three-Year-Old

Ready for the first day of camp ...

With the weather getting nicer out, I'm so excited to have a fun summer with my boys!  Every once in a while, when I'm running through the neighborhood, I see another mom and her three elementary-age boys outside.  The mom looks pretty athletic and they are always shooting hoops, hitting balls, or playing some sort of game together.  I hope that in a few years somebody will run by my house and see the same thing:)  I'm so thankful for my little crew of boys!  Thanking God at the end of every overwhelmingly busy day for those little souls!

Another Picture Update :)

Check out the Chubbs :)

Looking more and more like Tanner's Baby Pics

Typical Kellen:  Passing out in the middle of the playroom while the big boys play around him.  I think I need to record the big boys' voices while they play together ... maybe use it to help get the little guy to sleep at night and nap time :)  

This little man has brought nothing but JOY to our family.  Love him!!

And this guy, too!  I feel like he and Kellen are growing at similar rates right now.  Landon just seems taller and more mature each day.  I'm so in love with his funny and sensitive personality!

My three guys at Easter.  This pictures makes me feel like such a lucky mom!

Truly the best, most gentle, kind-hearted big brother ever.

Sweet Boy

So happy to be outside at the park!

Best buddies licking their fingers as we make Landon's "Poopy Cake" to celebrate the big day :)  Not sure who's more excited -- Landon having done the deed, or Tanner getting an opportunity to eat chocolate cake!