Max's 4th Birthday

Wow!!  Do I really have a 4-yr-old?  It is so hard for me to believe.  It seems like only yesterday Paul and I embarked on this parenting thing...  Now my world has expanded in ways I could have never thought possible:  1) I have more knowledge about superheroes and trucks and tractors than I could ever imagine was necessary; 2) I have almost mastered the art of aiming "it" into the toilet; 3) I have resigned myself to being okay with a messy house;  4)  After being spit-up on, peed on,  and having peanut butter-smudged (or snot-smudged) hands and faces wipe themselves on my clothing, I am perfectly unswayed by a stranger pointing out to me that my zipper is down;  5) I enjoy dancing around my living room on whim (even though I have no rhythm or moves and would only previously do this after having SEVERAL cocktails);  6) I really, REALLY enjoy and appreciate any and all free time; 7) I spend more time noticing clouds and bugs and worms and dirt and sunsets and pickup trucks and school buses and motorcycles and pointing any of them out as a diversion while driving or at a play date; 8) I have made so many more wonderful and meaningful relationships with amazing "mom" friends; 9) I have loved more and laughed more and enjoyed life more than I know I otherwise would without these life-sucking, sweet little wonderful mini-Paul's around.  This list could go on and on and on...

Max on the morning of his 4th birthday. 

He was so excited to finally be four.  For the last several months he has been almost infatuated with age and at the same time frustrated that he wasn't moving from the number "3" as quickly as he would like. He is so grown up and independent.  I almost want to say responsible and reliable, but that is a stretch.  At least he is responsible and reliable for a four-year-old.  I am very proud of him but at the same time sad that my little guy is practically all grown up.  I feel like I am sending him off to college already...

Probably most sad of all is that he has outgrown his love of spiderman.  He has had an obsession with the "web-slinging-superhero" for well over a year now, and just out of the blue announced that he wanted a "Transformer" birthday party. What???  Transformers?  How does he even know about them and what happened to spiderman?  Guess I will be learning more than I ever thought I would about transformers.  So far I know that the yellow one is named "Bumble Bee" and he is a "good-guy."  He is also Max's favorite.

We had his birthday at United Sports Training Center--a huge indoor sports complex nearby.  It was a lot of fun and very easy for us as we only had to show up with the cake and drinks.  And our credit card.

Max's Transformer Cake

And as hard as I have tried to stop it, baby Jack just keeps growing and growing...

JR at 2 months old, weighing in at 12.6 lbs (50%), and 23.75 inches long (75%).  He is cooing and smiling and so sweet and fun.  I am enjoying and loving him to pieces.

I finally gave in to Paul and agreed to let Sam get a hair cut.  I only wanted a trim, though, and the lady practically buzzed him.  We are totally growing the curls back because I miss them so... He is still as cute as can be only he looks so much older.  

Sam is such a funny kid and he is so irresistibly cute.  He loves to wear hats and sunglasses and boots and has an opinion on everything.  He is talking up a storm--in sentences.  He sleeps in a big-boy bed and thinks he is just as big as Max (he almost is!)  Sam is super affectionate and loves to snuggle, but he is very strong-willed and persistent.  Unlike his older brother, he is undeterred by "time-out".  He has the most mischievous smile and can charm his way into getting whatever he wants--neither Paul nor I can resist his enticing "Pleeeease".

Here are some pics of the boys in the yard on a beautiful Autumn day.  

The abundance of sticks found around the yard this time of year makes for the best toys...

I am actually caught up with blogging now because the next two pictures were actually taken this morning. After several unusually warm days, today was rainy so we had to think of fun things to do indoors.  I had planned on making this my first trip back to the Y to start exercising again, but we got so caught up in painting and play dough and playing that I procrastinated.  I will try again on Friday...

Halloween

Halloween... it seems so long ago.  But my boys were so cute for this special day and all of the fun parties leading up to it, that I just have to quickly blog about it. 

I didn't get many pics of Jack in his cute little monster "costume" since he was asleep most of the time, and on the actual day of Halloween he had a diaper "blow-out" while wearing said "costume" just minutes before we were headed out for a picture and trick-or-treating fun. 

Baby Jack, 6 weeks old

My cute little Max.  Who is getting so big.  He is finally starting to give me good smiles when I point the camera his way--but I still get a few of his funny, cheesy grins and crazy poses.

And he is such a good helper and so sweet with Jack.  He and Sam play really good together about 25% of the time and fight the other 75%, but they both are so great around Jack.  They actually fight over who can get closest to his face (for whatever reason they think they can't see Jack--or vice-versa--unless they are right up in his face).

JR started smiling somewhere between 5-6 weeks of age.  I feel like life is so hectic that we never have time to organize a "picture taking moment" as weird as that sounds.  With only one (or even with just two) kids life is SO much simpler, it is easy to just whip out the camera and take a picture.  With three, however, life is a totally new ball game.  When Paul gets home during the "witching" hour, our night is super crazy and we never pause long enough to think about getting the camera.  So, on the days I do think of it, I am flying solo--trying to simultaneously get Jack to smile while shooting a photo of it--not an easy task...   But, isn't he just perfect??

My days just fly by, and sometimes it seems like I spend all my time feeding a kid, cleaning up after feeding a kid, getting a meal ready to feed a kid, changing a diaper or putting one or another of the kids down for a nap.  Before I know it the day is over and I am still chasing my tail.  My house is a complete mess, and the laundry piles up for a least a couple of weeks (fortunately, we all have enough underwear to go that long!).  Thank goodness I still have a freezer full of frozen dinners and a husband who likes leftovers...

On the Saturday before Halloween we got our first snow storm!  It was a little out of the ordinary for the Philly area to have a snow strom in October--apparently that hasn't happened since the '70s--but Max and Sam weren't complaining.  I had to frantically search around for snow gear, though.  We were experiencing 70 degree weather just before this storm, so I was a little unprepared...

Max had a Halloween party and parade at his preschool.  He was very proud of his Captain America costume (his new favorite superhero) and was very resistant to taking it off after the parade.

Getting ready for trick-or-treating...