November Randoms {and a video!}

Happy Veteran's Day 2015

Andrew enjoying his day off from school with his brothers <3

Such a cute little stinker

Andrew lost his first tooth!!

Having coffee with Mommy, Daddy and Mr. Will at the very grown up coffee shop :) Kidding, it's just milk!

When did he get so big??

This is a video of Alex. One day at the playground he saw some big kids running as fast as they could from one end and all the way up the slide. Now, everything we go...he tries to do this trick. He gets closer and closer every time! Maybe one day he will make it to the top!

Little White Dress

Dresses, and bows, and sparkles... Oh, my!

There are many special dresses that a girl will wear in her life. And, each serves specific purpose. You cannot wear the same special occasion dress twice. Then, it's not all that special, you know? And, specific colors can mean different things. Especially when you are Catholic. White is a very specific color that girls will will wear for 3 very special Sacraments: Baptism, Holy Communion, and Marriage.

I remember before we ever decided to have Austin (baby 3), that I knew I wanted a daughter one day (even though I was still playing the denial act). I kept seeing posts from friends and some of my favorite bloggers sharing their excitement in purchasing a First Communion dress and, then, realizing that there is only 1 more white dress to buy. I wanted that, too. I remember seeing all the excitement with my mom as we went Wedding Dress shopping. I remember the smiles from when we went Communion Dress shopping (though, I'm not sure I was super in to it at the time... Sorry, mom!). But, I do remember it.

And now it is my turn!! I have started the hunt for the perfect Little White Dress for Aria's Baptism. Only...there are a LOT of gorgeous Little White Dresses out there! A lot of beautiful dresses that are just perfect. I've narrowed it down quite a bit thanks to different price ranges. Some I came across had me saying, "Oooooohhhh!" and "Soooooo pretttttyyyyy!" Then I click on the link and nearly have a heart attack. I mean, really?! $800 for an INFANT DRESS?! Sure, I'm all about the importance of the Sacrament and all, but wow! So, yeah. There is a limit to the pretty. And there are some gorgeous dresses and the right price.

After two weeks of searching, I think I have narrowed it down to these choices. Also, I should point out that I don't do bonnets... I found the perfect thing to go with the dress which I'll share later. For now, ignore the bonnets.

Choice A

Cotton Christening Dress with Dobby Cross Design

Choice B

Circle Dobby Gown with Lace Trim

Choice C

Eyelet Organza Christening Dress

Choice D

Split-Front Christening Dress

There were a few others, but I had to cut it off somewhere. And, sure, I am WAY ahead of the game here since Aria will be Baptized sometime in the fall. But, with the moving situation and a kindergartner in the house... I just have to be on it here.

So, help a mama out! I know which one I am leaning toward, but let me hear from y'all! Which dress do you like?

Just 5: Happiness Found Within Chaos

With the chaos of buying/selling and all the unknowns that are stressing me out, it's good to take a breather and remember the things that are making me happy currently.

1. Trying to keep the house show-quality all day and every day is hard enough. Throw in 3 kids and a 22 week pregnant woman and....yeah. Crazy times, people. Crazy times. But, within the constant picking up after these little people of mine, I find things that make me stop and smile. Things that remind me of how happy these guys have made this mama.

Austin's collection of things on the kitchen window sill where he keeps an eye out for the cat and huge bumblebees.

2. Keeping everyone happy is not all that easy. It usually turns into complete chaos (trust me...I know this fact very well). But, when you keep that certain special handful of people that matter happy, then all is well. Sometimes it is still uncomfortable.... But in the sense that I have people all over me and I'm pregnant, so you are squishing me. Though, I try not to say anything. Just how long will I be able to hold them like this?

Yes. All 4 of them! Alex on the left. Andrew on the right. Austin in the middle mostly on my legs. And Aria is quite cozy in my tummy <3

3. My book club. Ok, well...it's more like the "It's not all about the book Book Club" and I love it. It is one of the best things ever. For one, getting into a really good book and forgetting about the house selling/buying madness is always a plus. The other awesome thing are the girlfriends. It is so, so wonderful to have friends who are there for each other and support each other. I love them all! We are currently reading this awesome book that I HATE putting down at the end of the night after realizing I should have been asleep ages ago. It is just so good. And I haven't even figured out the secret yet!! I'm almost there, though... I think... AHHH!!!

Amazon

4. Bows. Apparently bows make me happy. NOT the giant, obnoxious, satellite dish bows. The cute, sweet little bows that make me squeal, "Ahhh!! I'm having a girl!!" in the store. Well, sometimes in my head. Sometimes not. I know. I'm ridiculous! But, I don't care. Some of these bows sparkle. HA!

5. Little boys learning to read. Yes, 2 out of 3 of the boys in our home are right there on the cusp!! Andrew is doing an awesome job and I think it is finally clicking how the letters all have special things they do. And, Alex? Wow! He wanted to learn it all, too. So, all 3 of us are working on the same timeline and they are all doing really, really well! I plan on getting them this book in the next week or so. It is such a cute story. Basically, this pirate isn't allowed in the library because, well, he's a loud annoying pirate looking for treasure. The librarian explains to him that there is treasure in the library, but he must find it by cracking the code. The code is learning to read. I love it!!

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Well, those are the things that are making me happy on these very chaotic days at the House. Things might be crazier than our normal level of crazy, but it is still perfect. I just have to remember why we are doing these things.

So, what's making you happy right now?

Austin is 1!!!! {Birthdays}

 Yes, it is that magical time of year where you remember when you were all like this:

Sometime around 4 am before heading to the hospital on Nov 6th

And, then after a while, you get to see this:

But then a year passes by rather quickly...

Crazy, huh? He is such big boy now!

This was right after he woke up, as you can see in the top left picture. Not fully awake, but ready to party!

That guy is one special little dude. His brothers may be stinkers at times, but they love their Baby Austin so much. Ahem. They love their Austin so much. I was informed by Alex that we cannot call him "Baby Austin" as he is no longer 0 years old. "He is 1, mama. And that mean a little boy. When he is 3, like me, or maybe 5 (like Andrew), then he is a big boy. But, he not a baby." Sigh... 

We had quite the party day for this guy! First, birthday breakfast and presents from his brothers. They picked out a bunch of those Little People Wheelies cars. He loved them, of course (and the bigger ones, too, apparently). While he played, the boys got a bit of some school in while I cleaned the kitchen and got ready for Austin's day of fun.

We had an impromptu mini birthday party at the ice cream shop (which, silly me...I didn't get pictures of that. oops #momfail). I did get a picture of the party-goers though!

I just love that photo! It totally shows all their little personalities. Adorable!! :)

Afterwards, we met up with some more friends at the zoo (which...no...this is NOT a picture from the same day. Same friends, different time. Yet another #momfail)

By this point everyone was sick of the party hats and had entirely too much energy. So, even if I had thought to take a darn picture, I'm sure not one of mine would have chilled out for 2 seconds. Yeah.... Still, the zoo was fun and they were most definitely worn out by the end of the day! Especially, since I took them to Toys R Us afterwards.

Yes, I know. Insane is the word you are looking for. But, it all worked out. The boys knew that 1) Austin was the one picking out a toy and 2) Christmas is coming. Of course, with fact #2, all I heard was, "OOO! Look at this!! We want this on the list!" or "Let's tell Santa!" and "Let's take a picture and send it to Grandma!" Oh, my.

Austin did pick out a toy after we wandered a few toddler aisles. And it was super cute, too! He saw a dump truck and said, "CA!!!" (for car, but basically everything with wheels). I asked his if that's what he would like and gave me the biggest grin. Then we turn the corner to walk to the register. And, wow. I thought he was going to actually jump out of the cart to grab the BIGGER dump truck (which also happened to be orange). He saw that one and threw the smaller one down and reached with his grabby hands for this truck. It was so cute! So, of course, he got that one. And while I was glad it was super expensive (tag said $27 something), I was even happier when I went to pay! It got that thing for $17. Score. Everyone wins.

Jason came home for just a bit to give him his present before having to head back out. But there were smiles all around. He just loves that truck!

"Thank you, Daddy!"

After dinner we did celebration #1 (we had cupcakes for the next few days since Jason missed out), and, oh my.... He's not a big fan of the birthday candle. But LOVES the cupcake!

 

Oh, Austin... You are such a funny, sweet, amazing little boy! You make all of us smile and your little laugh just warms our hearts. We love you so very much!!

Happy 1st birthday to our little super guy!!

SomeONE Got a Haircut...and SomeONE will be Turning ONE!!!

Note: Please excuse the picture quality... I had Andrew taking photos for me as Jason was working last this particular day last week. 

I'm just going to come out and say it... He is ADORABLE!! Those sweet eyes and sweet little face of his. He makes this family quite happy!

First Halloween photo! Ok, while he may not look happy. Let me just tell you... He wanted to sit there all night. In that spot. And was SO mad when we had to get going. So silly!

He definitely went back to smiling when his big brothers shared some yummy ice cream with him, though.

How's that for strange photo? Halloween costumes with a Christmas tree in the background. Haha!

Someone got mail!! Austin got his first "First Birthday" card in the mail yesterday! Thanks, Ma & Dave!

He loves it, can you tell?! So cute!

Still can't believe he will be one tomorrow!!!

Last year...at this time, I was getting ready to go pick up Andrew and Alex from school. Finished a weekend of fun filled with Trick or Treating everywhere and getting the "shocked that I was out and about face" just days before my 2nd C-section. Crazy times. But pretty awesome, too.

Now, this once big baby is now a big boy. Walking and talking (says a few words we all understand - the rest is more only what I understand...sometimes). He loves playing "CA!!" (catch) with his brothers and playing with "CA!!" (cars and trucks), too. But, I think that smiling is his favorite thing to do! All smiles almost all of the time!!

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(Haha! Perfect, right? Ok, now, that's the only Christmas thing you are going to see from me until Advent (November 30th). Seriously. Ok, fine...maybe the few Christmas presents for my family at Thanksgiving. But that's it. Each holiday is getting their own month.)

Walking at 11 Months!!

Check it out!! Austin is walking!! YAY!! (click to make it bigger)

And, look what I found! But, first... I KNOW that I have a picture of Andrew getting his first pair of shoes at the Stride Rite store... Mark and Sarah were with us. And, why I can't find it, I have no idea. But, I did find these!

Alex walking about a month before his 1st birthday - I KNOW he started around the 10-11 month mark... But, alas... 2nd child.

Andrew walking around with careful confidence a month after he turned 1. But, I know for a  FACT that he started walking at 10 months. I wonder if I can pull up that credit card info. I just want to prove that I remember it. LOL

Andrew is 5!!! {Birthday in Pictures}

Before heading to Mass, I had to grab a picture of my big kid!! Can you believe it?!

 

Party favors done the night before - mini bubbles and lollipops!

Andrew made a Lego Packer Logo for the party

Of course, I had to add my girly touch with flowers

Love him!! And, how about that Alex? Pulling an Aaron Rodgers move, I see.

All the little Packers in the House!

Ever since he saw Eddie Lacy #27 wearing The Hulk underarmour(?) tee, he loves that player!

 

The finished cake per Andrew's request!

Decoration done so...Game on!

Party table all set!!

 

Watching the first quarter and waiting to get this party started

These guys are so serious they just kept it here...and watched this...until the game started LOL

Gulping down some energy before the party

One of the cutest ninja turtles!

 

The girls are dancing and all the kids are saying "let's get the party started!" as I bring out the cake. So cute!!

I am just in love with that face of Andrew's!! He was so happy and so excited!!

Singing "Happy Birthday!"

And realized that I accidentally mixed up the trick candles with the regular candles...

So did all the kids! They started getting closer and were amazed that the candles kept "coming back on" - oops!!

Such a good group of friends we have!

The kids played and played and played!!

We were so glad to have everyone come out and party with us!

Thank you so much to all of our wonderful friends who made it out here to celebrate Andrew's big #5!!! He said that this was "the best part ever with the best friends!" We love y'all!!

GO PACK GO!!!