Joy

MJ: Mommy, do you know what brings me joy?

Me: What baby?

MJ: When Jacob smiles, that brings me so much joy.

Me- in tears of joy

First Day of School for MJ and Ty

Ty is now at the "big school" with MJ!  We had a semi-dramatic start to our school year last week.  Ty spiked a low grade fever the night before his very first day of Pre-K so we kept him home -he was not very happy about it.  MJ was sad to go to school without Ty (he is very excited that they are in the same school again) but he was ready to begin FIRST GRADE!

How is my baby boy in first grade already?!!  He looks so grown up with that missing front tooth (he has also lost all four bottom teeth but two of his permanent ones are in).  He absolutely adores his new teachers and we are blessed to be a part of an incredible, supportive school.  We had our annual diabetes action plan meeting and I know he is in excellent hands there!

Ty felt much better the next day and had no fever... He was excited (and a little nervous) to start Pre-K! 

They went to school three days last week and only for half days which I think was a nice "gradual entry" into school - especially for Ty.  He was only going three hours a day last year and is now going 7.5 hours per day! 

Yesterday when I went to pick them up from carpool I spotted MJ standing there with his arm around Ty while they looked for my car.  It was so precious...I wish I had time to take a picture but a car pulled up next to me before I could grab my phone.  I'll try again today!  All they talked about on the way home was how they saw eachother at lunch - MJ helped Ty get his food and sit down at his table.  They were also excited to see cousin James (who is also in Pre-K at the school but is in the other Pre-K class)!    Just adorable.  I am already missing them during the day but I'm glad to have Catelin and Jake at home - at least until Catelin starts preschool in a couple of weeks! 

Happy first day of school, MJ and Ty Ty!

Great Grandma Irene is 100!

A couple of weeks ago, all of us flew up to Duluth, Minnesota to celebrate Great Grandma Irene's 100th birthday!!!  And when I say all of us, I mean Steve and I with all 4 kids along with Steve's 3 brothers and their families.  SEVENTEEN of us stayed in a house together - including 9 grandchildren (of which MJ is the oldest at the age of 6!).  Yes, it was very busy but all of the kids did great and we had so much fun.

We flew from Atlanta to Duluth with a layover in Minneapolis.  Jacob went on his first plane ride!!  He did amazing and slept the majority of the time.  MJ, Ty and Catelin have become quite the little travelers and did great as usual.  One of the flight attendants actually came up to me and said "you have the best, most well-behaved children."  To which I had to laugh and replied, "let's see if you say that after 24 hours with them instead of 2.5!"  hahahaha

The kids loved riding the train at the airport with cousin Reese:

We got into our rental car- a minivan (I love those sliding doors)- and about 5 minutes later I hear MJ yell from the backseat "Mommy, I lost my tooth!"  Yep he sure did!  This is the 4th tooth to come out but it is the first top tooth.  He literally looked 2 years older when I turned around and saw him.  And of course I started to tear up - how did my baby boy become so grown?

And yes, the tooth fairy visited him in Minnesota that night! 

Duluth is a beautiful city on Lake Superior - here are some pictures from my morning runs along the lake.

We took the kids down to Canal Park where they actually got IN the cold water and enjoyed throwing rocks and spending time with our extended family.

Great Grandma Irene's party was lovely- she looked incredible!  Everyone took turns visiting and taking pictures with the birthday girl!

And I had to get this picture of GG - born in 1915 and baby Jacob- born in 2015.  ONE HUNDRED years apart!

Here are a few more pictures from our trip...

We had a wonderful time.  Happy 100th birthday to Great Grandma Irene!!

Jake at 3 Months

3 months already?!  Jake is growing like a weed!  He had a big month- he went on his first plane ride in the middle of July to Minnesota (more on this later) and did great.  He also went in the pool for the first time and loved it!

His head control is getting better so I just started putting him in the Bumbo for short periods of time.  He seems to like it!

Jacob is definitely becoming more aware of his surroundings- he follows noises and tracks people across a room.  He still loves bright colors, lights and ceiling fans.  I swear he recognizes the voices of all his siblings- he smiles immediately when he hears them!

He sleeps from around 8:00pm to somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30am on average.  He takes two long naps and about 2 cat naps during the day.   He's eating 6 ounces every 2-3 hours while awake.

I am so in love with him - we all are!  He such a sweet, happy baby.  Listen to him giggling here:

BEST. SOUND. EVER.

Colorado!

 

 

 

We had a wonderful trip to Grandma and Grandpa Eco's ranch in Colorado over Fourth of July.  We booked the trip months ago with plans to take the whole family (including Jacob of course!).  My pediatrician thought he would be fine with the altitude but the more I read about it the more nervous I became - most experts agree it is safer to take babies to higher altitudes when they are 3 months of age (Jake was only 2 months at the time).  That coupled with the fact that the ranch is in the middle of nowhere was enough for us to change our plans a few weeks before we left.  I decided to cut my trip short and go from Thursday to Monday (instead of Thursday to Thursday) so I could get back to my little man (Ms. Lisa was kind enough to watch him during the time I was gone) while Steve and the "big kids" stayed until Thursday.  

 

MJ, Ty and Catelin did great on the trip out there - they have become very good travelers (especially since we let them play with the iPads on the plane!).  Once we were at the ranch exploring time began!  I love how much our kids love the outdoors...our trips to Colorado are heaven for them.  They love four wheeling, hiking, fishing, and exploring.   I'll let the pictures do the talking... 

 

 Fishing down at Lake Colleen:

 

 

Catelin being adorable:

 

 



The boys "glassing":

The ranch:

Four wheeling:

Yellow Jacket Ranch (their next door neighbors):

At the rodeo in Meeker:

 



Heading over to Mike Mitchell's ranch:

 

 

Hanging out on the porch:

 



More fishing:

Ty being silly:

 

 

I missed Jake like crazy but it was nice to be able to have some time to focus on MJ, Ty and Catelin.  My flight was delayed out of Hayden Monday morning and I missed my flight from Denver to Atlanta (after SPRINTING 54 gates down the airport terminal).  I could actually see the plane but they had already closed the doors.  I was devastated so I did what any sweet lover would do (after I cried and cried and cried):

 

 

Somehow I made it on the next flight out of Denver even though I was third in line on standby.  I was beyond happy!!  Unfortunately my bags didn't make the flight but they delivered them to me the next day.  I was so glad to be home with little man - and I got three days alone with him!  There was a lot of snuggling involved. 

 

And he told me he had fun with Ms. Lisa while I was gone :)

 



 

Steve was on his own with MJ, Ty and Catelin for the trip back and they did great!  They almost missed the flight out of Denver due to another delay in Hayden - I would have paid to see all of them sprinting all the way down the terminal!  Thankfully they made it.  :)  Jake and I were so happy to pick them up at the airport - they didn't stop kissing and hugging little man for 24 hours!