All That Hard Work Is Finally Paying Off

{"Mama...look at me! I'm finally getting the hang of this!"}

I was lying on the floor this morning next to Andrew getting some tummy time in on his play mat when I caught him using his arms to push his head up. This is the highest he's held his head thus far and for a long period of time. Well okay, for only 5-10 seconds at a time, but that's still a big accomplishment for him. Just to review his previous work to get to this point, I'm including a few pictures to help demonstrate:

{"Again, why are you doing this to me?"}

{"See...I can rest my head on my hands!"}

{"And suck on them when that gets tiring!"}

{"And of course there's ALWAYS time to sleep when I don't want to lift my head up anymore."}

Before I know it, he'll be rolling over in no time. He still very much dislikes "tummy time" so I'm sure it'll come with a price. Like LOTS and LOTS of crying and whinning. That's the way it goes I'm afraid!

More Reasons Why I Love Spring

Things start to grow and come alive again. Flowers and children alike!! :)

All Aboard!

A train excibit was in town at the Expo Center for a few weeks and we knew how much Jocelyn LOVED trains and how much fun the kids would have. Andrew is only 3 months old but I know he would have enjoyed it too if he wasn't sleeping away in his stroller. :)

We made it a complete surprise - they had NO idea where we were going for the afternoon. The train whistle was a big hit, as well as the peanut butter fudge they had available to buy. YUM! :) It's too bad there was a long line for the train rides though...naps were a bigger priority than enduring a $3 ride and the lines that came with. But the wooden whistle they got as a souvineer will surely keep them entertained. I say that now...it may accidentally get lost. LOL

Three Months

Some new discoveries in the past month are:

* has found his hands and loves to suck on them

* babbling a lot more. seems to already be a "talker"

* has made his blue blanket with cars & trains his most favorite and loves to snuggle with it. he'll even ditch his beloved pacifier for his blankie

* lifts his legs up in the air and holds his knees while he's laying down

* bats at his toys on the play mat when he's on his back or in the carseat

* starting to lift his head really well when on tummy

* started sleeping through the night

* watches his sisters more intently now and adores them when they're nearby
* tries to sneak in some basketball watching with his daddy

* can pull one of the saddest pouts

* enjoys us reading stories

* LOVES to smile and laugh

* our big cuddlebug - loves to snuggle with us

Green Day

{Some goodies my awesome Visiting Teacher brought over for us to enjoy. YUM!}

It's St. Patrick's Day and I've got all of my kids dressed in green. It first started with my green clover socks, then HAD to make sure Aubrey was wearing green to school so she wouldn't get pinched and then naturally I HAD to have Jocelyn and Andrew sporting the color as well. Wouldn't want to leave them out of the festivities, right? (With John's work uniform, I wasn't worried about him wearing green!)

Hope you had a great one! :)

Spring Soccer Has Begun

SPRING soccer has begun! We'll be in full swing now with tons of practices and games but it seems that with every new season, she gets better and better and enjoys it more and more. Jocelyn even loves going and BEGS to go if I happen to stay home with Andrew to get dinner done or whatnot on occasion. I believe most of the begging stems from the fact that most of the practices/games are held with a playground nearby. Motives people! And lots of priorities this little girl has. :)

Our family was driving to Aubrey's soccer practice tonight and when we pulled up to the school, Jocelyn belted out, "where are we going kids?" She was so calm about it too - not even realizing she had said something funny. :) We all started laughing. We replied back to her ever so gently, "well KIDS...we're going to soccer." That seemed like a good enough reason to her. She was all smiles: PLAYTIME!!!

Aubrey hopped out practically before the truck was put into park (not really - but she was VERY eager to get to play some soccer with her other teammates). About 20 steps later (unfastening seat belts, getting stroller out and unfolded, etc.) we were finally on our way to the field to watch her kick the ball and mingle with the other parents. After 3 months, it's safe to say that I'm still adjusting. LOTS to do at times. For instance, going to story time at the library with Jocelyn has been our thing even before Andrew was conceived. I was even taking her until the very week Andrew was born. About a month ago, we finally ventured out to story time again. WOW! I know our family grew in numbers but the number of arms I have did not. I'm still trying to figure out how in the world am I supposed to hold Andrew in one arm (with him inside his car seat), the diaper bag flung over my right shoulder, holding Jocelyn's hand in my left (until I need to stop and adjust holding the car seat every 10 feet - the thing gets quite heavy!), and the books you say? Well, I'm trying to answer that very question myself. I clearly need to find a system that works. I do know that once the weather gets a bit nicer out, I can put Andrew in the Baby Bjorn. At the end of a 20 minute story time at the library, I'm exhausted! Well...I carried off the original topic but now you can see a better picture (hopefully) of my library nightmare at the moment! :) Somehow, it'll all work out someway or another. It always does.

My Brother, My Pet?

Jocelyn: mama? can I pet him (Andrew)?
me: no honey. we don't pet people.
Jocelyn: but why not?!
me: because we only pet animals. you can give him a kiss instead if you'd like.
Jocelyn: (excited) OKAY! :)

Then she proceeded to bend down and kiss him on the forehead and mutter under her breath: "oh-such a BIG boy!"