family

family

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

whobody makes me laugh every single day?


Nash has always had quite the personality….and it is so much fun to see how he is ‘growing into it’.  He is becoming such a big boy. Here are a few insights into Nash as a brand new FOUR year old!


he loves to signal things instead of say them.
But, usually explaining his signal, and then giving his signal takes up more time than just saying what he wants to communicate! 
*“mom when I do this, (knocks on bowl 3 times), it means I’m gonna throw up.” 
*“mom when I do this, (clicks his tounge), it means I’m ready for lunch.”
*“Nash, tell me when you are buckled.” “mom, when you hear a CLICK start driving fast!”


he has the cutest way of saying things.
He does not use correct sounds in his speech. (Yes, I know that some of you are rolling your eyes…saying I shouldn’t encourage it…don’t worry I don’t… BUT I don’t correct it yet either.)  He says “w’s” instead of “r’s” and “l’s” ….for example “Mom, I weally wike wittle Cwoozie!”.  He also adds an “sch” on anything that should probably be just “s”.  This is my favorite.  For example: “mom, thisch placshe ish aweshome!!!” Love it.  Not only is his little boy speech impediment cute, but even the way that he puts his words in order is sometimes so adorable. He is very funny.

he loves Cruz…a lot.
Every time he gets in the car after preschool he says to Cruz… “hey there, wittle fewwa. Did you missh me while I wash at preschool?” It is a.dor.a.ble.  They are best friends, worst enemies.  Nash isn’t appreciating it much that Cruz is beginning to ‘fight back’ and have opinons.  But he still looks out for him, and loves to help with his wittle buddy.  His newest thing is “reading” to Cruz.  He tells me he is going to read to Cruz “in his head”….and then he sits down with a book, invites Cruz over, and they just silently look at the book together….for about 30 seconds, until Cruz tries to take the book away and they begin to fight.


he is very, very thoughtful.
The other day, Jason was not feeling well….and he was still helping with Harvest but was in and out of the house a lot.  One time when he came in, he looked terrible…and Nash says “sowry you’re not feeling sho good, dad.” Melted my heart.  He also apologizes to me profusely when his sheets are wet in the morning.

he is very quick to say I’m sorry.
This isn’t always a good thing.  Lets say we are playing downstairs with friends…Nash gets frustrated with Lola, and hits her…and then turns and looks at me before I can even say anything and says “but mawm, I showwry.” Then when I dish out the punishment, he keeps saying it…thinking that if he is sorry, then maybe he won’t have to do the time.

he wears his heart on his sleeve.
He is usually either *very happy or *very sad. There isn’t a whole lot in between…and he can go from one to the other in zero-point-two.  (We have had a lot more ‘sad’ Nash since preschool began…but I think he is just a little bit tired out!)  He is so happy most of the time, and usually has a big cheesy grin on his face.  But, if he wants to sit by….lets say….Keaton at the dinner table, and Keaton already chose the spot between Lola and Cruz, Nash is heartbroken. We have to work on that one a little…

he LOVES preschool.
Nash only has preschool 3 mornings a week, but those mornings can’t come quickly enough for him. He loves to go to school. First, he gets to ride with “Kole & Tate” (Nikole…& Tate)…. And he idolizes his teacher Lisa.  He talks about different friends each time, and loves to tell me who the leader was, what they had for snack, and which centers he got to go to!  The other day he told me he got to go to the art center 3 times in a row! (they just draw popsicle sticks to choose their center).   I asked him what he made… he said “nothin’ I was just hangin’ out in there”.  Too funny. He probably spent an hour surrounded by markers, crayons, scissors and paper…and he just skipped the creativity part and just hung out. Talk about living in the moment.


he STILL NEEDS his naps.
Nash still sleeps with his blankie…and whichever stuffed animal he chooses as his favorite on that day.  He loves to have me lay with him for a few minutes and just chat before naptime…and even more he loves to do prayers and snuggle with me a bit before bedtime. He is really a great sleeper…. And either wakes up extremely happy OR extremely grumpy. No in between. When he wakes up happy, it is usually when Jason and I …and usually Keaton and Lola are already sitting at the table eating breakfast… Suddenly, he will just open the door across the hallway a crack, and then just peek around the door and click his tongue multiple times, then, Jason will click back and they have this clicking conversation for a few minutes. Too cute.  Then Nash will usually run out fully dressed….and extremely proud.   When he wakes up extremely grumpy…well, nothing is right, his pants are too long, his shirt is too little, his socks have bumps in the toes, the chex are too crunched up, and the sun is too bright. These mornings used to be few and far between….but, the pressure of preschool has been taking a toll on him. He seems to be coming back around to mostly happy Nash though.



his favorite thing to do is 
spend time with Keaton and Lola.
He really looks up to his big brother and sister. He loves playing with them outside and keeping up with them as much as he can. His absolute favorite, most special thing, is to have sleepovers with one of them. They are both very good about reading to him…and making him feel very special in their rooms.  Soon, Nash will be moving into Keaton’s room for good….they will be roommates…I hope they both enjoy that as much as sleepovers.


he is very entertaining.
Like most 4 year olds, he says the funniest things. I can truly say Nash makes me laugh every day.  I even giggle when he drinks his orange juice in the morning...he acts like he hasn't had a thing to drink in days...and can make 1 oz. last for like 30 seconds of drinking. Jason usually says "throw him a life jacket" when he is having his morning drinkathon.  He is so innocent, yet, not really. He loves to entertain. He is very social and loves playdates and babysitters.  His stories are great to listen to, and he is very, very funny.  He knows a lot more ‘bathroom humor’ than he should…thanks to K&L….and he knows how to use it without REALLY being naughty.  He can say the naughtiest and the sweetest thing in the same sentence...and totally get away with it. He is a charmer...watch out ladies!

whobody is 4 year old Nash?



Well, last weekend it was Nash's 4th birthday!

 I have a lot to write about...(and hopefully I actually do it).  
I like to do a post with a description of each kid around their birthday...they are so fun to look back on. 

I looked at Nash's 'description' from last year (check it out)...and I cried because I was laughing so hard.  I hope I "have it in me" to write something up for Nash as a 4 year old soon...
but, for now, I will start with the annual...birthday interview
*here is last year's interview if you want to compare



birthday interview


1. My favorite food is....chicken.

2. My favorite sport is....soccer ball.

3. My favorite color is....blue.

4. My favorite thing to do outside is....go in the hay fort.

5. My favorite song is...Jake & the Neverland Pirates.

6. When I grow up I want to be...crane driver.

7. The coolest person on earth is...Katie.

8. If I could go anywhere in the world I would go... Jumpin Janes!

9. My favorite treat is...Rolos.

10. A food I really don't like is...broccoli.

11. My best friends are...Keaton Lola and Cruz, and Kyle and Paige and Brooklyn and Tate and Hayden.

12. Three words to describe me are...funny, fast, and tall.

13. My favorite book is.....David & Goliath

14. Before I fall asleep I think about...Jesus.

15. I love to learn about...apples.

16. My favorite thing to do with Keaton is...play baseball.

17. My favorite thing to do with Lola is...read a book on the couch.

18. My favorite thing to do with Cruz is...play games.

19. Something that makes me happy is...tattoos.

20. The best thing about being four years old is...going to preschool!


Thursday, September 19, 2013

whobody is cinco de reimer?

So. I am officially 20 weeks pregnant with baby #5! 
We had our ultrasound yesterday and all is well.  
Another perfectly "boring" ultrasound...which is wonderful.  
I am amazed at how thoroughly they are able to check out the growing baby...and all of the wonderfully intricate things they can see. (For instance, the 4 chambers of the heart....crazy!) I think that with each baby the ultrasounds have gotten longer and more thorough...I swear Keaton's ultrasound only lasted a few minutes! Eight years changes a lot...and I guess I am 'almost' at the point of being labeled an "advanced age pregnancy". 

We did NOT find out the gender of "cinco de reimer"... but I was definitely tempted to.  I love to plan and be ready for things...but I also love a good surprise.  We did consider finding out, but in the end, we decided to just do this time what we did with all the others...wait and see.  As for right now I do not have a strong feeling either way. I think Jason is thinking it is another boy, but he hasn't decided for sure yet either.  Neither list of names sounds 'right' yet either... The baby was only measuring a few days ahead, so my due date is still February 6th. That really seems like it is a long ways away! (It also feels like I have been pregnant forever already too...at least the worst half is over :))  
I know that it will come soon enough...patience is a virtue. 

I feel incredibly, incredibly blessed to be expecting our fifth child. 
I am always amazed at how apparent God's hand is 
to me in the development of a baby.  
It is truly something I thank him for each and every day.  
Our children have been such a blessing, and I am constantly amazed to see their different personalities come out in all of life's situations. (Sometimes in good ways and sometimes...not so good.)  I am very much looking forward to meeting this upcoming little one and seeing how he or she fits into our family (and, really, seeing how he or she fits into the car...or around the table....yikes;)) 




The ultrasound tech had a very hard time getting a "good" picture of the baby. 
He or she kept on pulling her hands and legs up to their face. 
It was amazing to see how much the baby was moving and how little of it I could feel! 
Wow. The tech did say that the baby was approximately 11 oz. (wowzers). 
I did look back at Cruz's 4d ultrasound pic in whobody is not a horse...or an alien? and I guess this baby does look a LOT like Cruz in his ultrasound pic. *But, I realize that most ultrasounds look the same anyway. 

We are so happy that things are still 'so far, so good' in this pregnancy. 
I keep on hoping and praying that things will continue to go well for this growing baby!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

whobody is in preschool?

 Today was the day Nash has been looking forward to for MONTHS.
His first day of preschool.

He came out of his bedroom this morning, fully dressed....
and did this (which I made him reenact for this picture) 
and he yelled:
"ITSCH MY FIRSHT DAY OF PRESCHOOL!!!"

He is very, very, very happy to be going to school

I am sure he will be great for Lisa-the-teacher. 
 It seems with both Lola and Nash, they turned a corner about 2 months before preschool started....I worried about BOTH of them and their behavior in school, but by the time it came around, they were different kids. (phew)

Nash is a wonderful little boy.  He is full of joy!  

This is a kid who either LOVES something or HATES something. 
There is no in between with him.  (But, truly, he mostly loves things.)  
He has become very caring towards Cruz and really loves to play with him, 
even if it is sometimes a little rough.  
He especially loves to be included in things that Keaton and Lola do....and be a 'big kid'.  

I have said it before, and I will say it again...
it is SO much fun to see the developing personalities of each of my kids.  
They truly are a blessing.

As I said earlier, Nash was super excited for his first day of school.  
He ate breakfast and then went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. 
Then I heard the pshhhhhh sound of mousse.  
Yes, this kid LOVES to put mousse in his hair....and really wanted to do it last night after his bath, but I convinced him to wait until this morning.







When we got to preschool, 
he was not nervous at all...
just extremely PROUD.



We found two of his bestest buddies for pictures: Tate...

...and Hayden.  
She seemed to be a little bit more in a silly mood than Tate. :)



Nash gave me a quick 
bump, high five, hug and kiss
...and sent me out the door.  
He is SO ready for this, and, surprisingly, so am I.

I am SURE that I drove away from here crying when I dropped Keaton off....
but not today.  
It helps that he is so excited about his and 
barely nervous at all.  


I KNOW he is going to have a great day. 
I can't wait for 11:00 to come so I can pick him up and hear all about it.  
(He will be disappointed that it is over so soon.)

For now, I am getting lots done around the house...Cruz is just now waking up! 
Now for some quality time with my littlest buddy.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

whobody is all packed up for preschool?

So, I JUST went into Nash's room and got his backpack to get it ready for his first day of school tomorrow. 

He informed me that he already has it packed......


So, I pulled everything out...

and here are the bare essentials he thought he would need during his 3 hours of preschool! 



1 superhero cape
1 work goggles
1 whistle
8 pairs of socks
2 single socks
1 cardinal's foam claw
1 stuffed monkey
1 tape measure
6 matchbox trucks/cars
2 plastic dinosaurs

 [ Well. At least he got it ready! ]

I am sure Lisa-the-teacher will appreciate his preparedness.  Now...to find the REAL list of supplies I am supposed to send.  

(I'm pretty sure it doesn't include anything he has already packed.)

Monday, September 2, 2013

whobody went on the river....again?

Last week, when we went on the river, we let the older three ride on the tube all the way from our slip to the sandbar! (via backwaters, of course). 

 I thought this would cause Cruz a baby heart attack...BUT he didn't seem to mind a bit!  
The kids loved having a ride all the way there, and Jason and I agreed that 
it was the quietest, most peaceful ride we have EVER had to the sandbar 
(with kids, at least).




When we got to the sandbar, we were the only ones there 
(I think this was on a Sunday night?)...so that makes it even more enjoyable.  

Keaton got right to WORK...
with a little "help" from Cruzie.




I then attempted a group picture.


I have a LOT of pictures from Cruz at the sandbar...
but, he is the only one that really sticks close enough to me the whole night to get very many pictures.  



The nice thing about the water being SO low is that there really aren't a lot of places for the kids to be in too much danger!  


Below is a picture of Keaton's finished project...
he dug these little waterways out for little fish to live in....
I believe
he called it his "fish hatchery".

Nash and Lola found a spot that was deep enough to swim in...
they very much enjoyed splashing around in the water!



These are some pictures of what Cruz does in the water. 

He kept on doing this the whole night...
he would just lay down and look at his reflection in the water.
 It was extremely serious business.
...he did it like it was HIS JOB.  

I kept on thinking he was drinking the water (eeewww)  but, nope, just chilling.




I'm pretty sure he thought he was swimming like Nash and Lola! 


Look at that muscle man!


Nash LOVES to find clams! 
He always wants to bring them home, but we make him throw them all 
back into the river on our way home.


Nash stuck this stick with leaves straight up in the water
...it looked like a little tree. 
We kept on trying to get Cruz to push it over.  

There is just something about boys trying to push trees over into the river. 

 [Too funny]


It was another BEAUTIFUL night on the river.