Favorite times of day...

Now that I am staying home with the kiddos (well, the boys, KK is still at her Montessori school that we love, she loves...and well, a habit we just can't break...the place is amazing!!), I have come up with a "daily" schedule to keep myself from going a tad crazy.

Obviously it doesn't always work out as scheduled...but that is okay...I am flexible. However, there are 3 things that happen everyday that I absolutely adore!

1.) Katelyn getting up for school....this girl is NOT a morning person...at all. I always have to wake her up...and end up tickling her tummy usually to make it happen. Most of the time, she giggles and grabs my next and we head to the potty. There is the occassional day that she looks at me and rolls her eyes, says "NO!" and turns over...this is actually very funny to watch a 2 year old do. I then send her to the couch so she can cuddle with a blanket and enjoy a little Dora and head off to grab her clothes, shoes, bow and hair supplies. I come back to the couch and she gets dressed and then lets me fix her hair. Actually insists upon it...she loves her bows, what can I say? Then...the favorite part (although I enjoy our routine in general) is when we are done and waiting on her sweet daddy to come pick her up to take her to school (thank you Hubs, so I don't have to load up 3 kiddos this early) her and I cuddle on the couch under a fuzzy blanket and she lays her head on my pregnant belly. It is precious....I can then hear her lightly sing the Dora songs and can see her smiling from the back of her head. It is this moment of silence that we geniunely just enjoy each other.

2.) The boys waking up...there is no general rule of who will wake up first. Some days it is Bryce...others it is Carter...and then sometimes they are both ready to go when I walk in. I normally will hear them around 8am-8:30am and they will begin their morning conversation with each other. It is as though they are catching each other up on their nightly dreams. I will peak in to see them standing in their cribs staring at one another and just babbling. Very cute stuff! Then I will walk in and the bouncing begins...they both get smiles on their face and are ready for the day! It is amazing to see 2 sets of eyes and 2 smiles stare at you and literally feel the love they have...sometimes they even clap. It is my very own standing ovation:)

After these two parts of the day....everything else seems like a blur...breakfast...playtime...naptime (clean, clean, clean)lunch...bath...sometimes nap again and the off to get sister, and then make dinner...and this brings us to the last favorite moment.

3.) The boys go down around 7:30-8pm. Kev is home all nights except one during the week and on the night that he is not, my mom is here so we improvise...but on our usual evenings, I pick up one boy, Kev picks up the other...we normally trade off...KK is in her jammies and we all 5 head to the boys room. Each boy gets in their own crib and grabs their blankie, KK sits in between the cribs and Kev and I stand in front of all the kiddos and read Goodnight Moon. The boys know this means...bedtime, and KK, who has listened to this book about a million times, will read along. When we are done we all give the boys kisses and the lamp goes off. This gives us 30 minutes with just KK to finish out the day before her bedtime.

When days get so crazy...it is nice to know that I can count on the 3 wonderful moments that I hope I will remember forever.

Brycers....

This is my Mr. Bryce....Baby B...here are his stats....

Age: 13 months 2 days

Weight: 19 lbs 11 oz

Likes: He likes to climb...on anything and everything. He loves to play with any and every toy and is really starting to like to read books. Bathtime is his favorite. He actually cries when he has to get out...even if he has been in there for 30 minutes!! He LOVES LOVES LOVES to eat...and he will eat anything that I put in front of him. He is definitely a growing boy.

Dislikes: Waiting....for anything...food, cup, or if you take anything away from him he absolutely pitches a fit...HUGE TANTRUM...let's just say this kid has no patience...I see us butting heads in the future :)

Physical activity: He is my mover and shaker...as I mentioned, he is a climber. He started crawling a 7 months and is super fast. He is almost there on walking...he will stand up on his own, bend over and pick up toys...and you can just see it in his eyes that he wants to move and take a step forward...but he hesitates and just sits back down and crawls. Any day now though...my world will be turned upside down with him walking everywhere!!

Communication: (Same as bubba) What is funny about the boys is that they are not saying alot of "words". He knows "Mom" and "Dad"....usually uses Dad...he is a daddy's boy. But otherwise he just seems to babble alot. The best is when the boys are in their rooms in their cribs and are going down or waking up they have a language all of their own. They laugh and babble and will have their own "conversations". I can't wait until they want to talk to us :)

Weird Habit/thing: His laugh.....he sounds like he should be on the movie Revenge of the Nerds...his laugh is a mixture of high pitch snort...makes me laugh...hard

Bryce just puts you at ease with his presence. He has a smile that will cause anyone to stop and smile back. Although impatient at times, about 95% of the time he is super happy!! He has an unstoppable amount of energy and has a love for life. He is a cuddler and a wonderful sleeper. He even has a smile when he is sick. He is definitely the mischevious one but his charm wins you over ever time. He just makes me happy.

Carter Barter

This is my lil' Carter man....Baby A...here are his stats....

Age: 13 months (well...tomorrow)

Weight: 18 lbs 11 oz

Likes: He loves to crawl everywhere and he is a "tinkerer". He is SOO interested in how everything works. He has a decent attention span...for a one year old...he can play with a specific toy without getting completely distracted. Bathtime is also a favorite of his...he gets in and the legs start bouncing and water starts going EVERYWHERE...he is super cute. He also loves to play ball. He can sit and roll it back and forth and he thinks this is hilarious and usually gets a belly laugh out of him.

Dislikes: Having his diaper changed...hates it...and ear drops. He just (and his brother) got tubes in and they have to have ear drops and it is like fighting a ninja.

Physical activity: He is crawling everywhere, and although it took him a long time to get up and go...at least with the conventional crawl, now he is pulling up on everything and walking from every piece of furniture he can get his hands on. I think it will be a little while before he takes his first actual steps, but it isn't slowing him down.

Communication: What is funny about the boys is that they are not saying alot of "words". He knows "Mom" and "Dad"....usually uses Dad...he is a daddy's boy. But otherwise he just seems to babble alot. The best is when the boys are in their rooms in their cribs and are going down or waking up they have a language all of their own. They laugh and babble and will have their own "conversations". I can't wait until they want to talk to us :)

Weird Habit/thing: The weirdest thing about Carter's habits is that he MUST have something in each hand...so funny...he likes to hold two crackers, two toys...two pacifiers or two cups. It is really funny....

Carter is such a sweet boy. He has really come into his own. He is a great eater and has a great attitude and unbelievable patience. He has gotten feisty when it comes to his brother taking a toy...but for the most part he is happy go lucky. When he was born he was so tiny...barely 5 pounds and when we headed home he was less...(losing the normal 8% of birth rate...but it came right back). He then went from being tiny to round. It was quite funny...he didn't grow in length but his belly sure did. Now that he is so active and has gotten a little bit of height he has become a little boy! He is absolutely adorable and I can't help but smile when I see him.

Ahh....Carter Barter (our name for him around the house)....you are such a special boy!!

Don't you fox me.....

Is one of the many lines you will hear in my household on a daily basis...let me explain...KK is 2 1/2 years old and has been developing quite a "diva-like" personality. She is testing waters and boundaries and we are quickly developing the rights and wrongs, while choosing our battles carefully.

She has begun to "talk back" at times, and usually we can nip it in the bud without much fuss, however, when she is feeling especially feisty she makes this odd noise (and face for that matter) in order to "talk back" without "talking about". The first time this happened...I wanted to giggle because it is quite funny, however, once you laugh as a parent you have lost all leverage. So I looked at her and asked what she was doing and as serious as can be, she told me she was being a fox. Still not really sure where this came from....but now it is apart of our lives.

However, now when she says it...I do not feel like laughing...it actually bothers me because I know she is trying to sass me, so therefore, out of my mouth comes "Don't you fox me...." as serious as can be. Ahh...parenting...cracks me up sometimes.