Beddy Bye

Something is missing tonight in G-Ville...  Can you guess what it is?

That's right... the full crib!

Our little MG is a big girl tonight following a harrowing fall during naptime.  Cries and tears were heard echoing from her room, but thankfully our little sweetie was more shaken than hurt.  It was so shocking to walk into her room and find her on the floor!

Bye, bye baby crib.  Hello toddler bed!

Daddy fixed it up right when he got home from work this evening.

Good thing mom and dad have been getting more rest lately... 

Because that's probably coming to an end very soon! ;)  haha  If it's not one, it's another.

 Bedtime went very smoothly tonight, though, so maybe she'll breeze through this transition without a hiccup.  Thank goodness MG has such a good role model roommate.  We've always said J is "all business" about getting to sleep.  He hits the bed and is out.  No monkeying around.  Perfect.

I'll let you know how things go tomorrow morning.  We are usually greeted ~6:30 by J walking in our room to say good morning.  Ten bucks two little people enter tomorrow! ;)  It will be precious.  GG and I have already shared a laugh about it.

And in other news...

We love reading to our baby sis.  And apparently, she likes to listen.  Had to capture this today because it melted my heart.  Love my #1 and my #5... and all the ones in-between.

Off to dreamland.  God bless,

With Faces Like These...

How could our weekend be anything but amazing?
The Johnson crew was back this weekend for more fun and what an enjoyable time we had.  It is always a treat to spend time with them.  Queen B and her Prince T are pretty incredible friends and awesome parents to their brood.  They have the sweetest little bears and *boy* do we love seeing them!

They left tonight after dinner and I've sadly gone back to my laundry since...  It was getting pretty pathetic.  I folded four loads tonight with two more on the way.  And btw--Johnsons, while folding I found your pillow cases that were supposed to be on your pillows before you arrived.  lol.  So sorry about that! ;)  Looks like you made do just fine--thanks for filling in my blanks! ;)

We don't know when we'll see them next (thanks to their move to MN!).  But we snapped a picture anyway to document the kids' growth when we get together again.  Until then, may God keep us close in prayer and friendship.  God bless!

Busch Baby!

What a fun, fun day we enjoyed at Busch Gardens!  The weather held out long enough for us to fit everything in, especially the Sesame Street Forest of Fun and oodles of kiddie rides around the park.  The boys were brave enough to try some bigger rides and would *probably* have braved an adult coaster or two, but time nor weather would allow.  They did make it onto the pendulum ship/"ocean motion"-type ride (3x) and loved it.  Fun was had by all!!  Thanks Johnson clan! ;)

We are sitting down to adult dinner of homemade pizza, salad, and wine now.  Ahh...  We're calling it a good day and are ready to kick back.  

Off to the goodness...  God bless!

Mea Culpa

Playdates with friends
+ good friends arriving from out-of-town
+ yummy food and wonderful fellowship
+ our usual G craziness
+ a fun trip today to Busch Gardens =
A mama who is blogging from the car! and falling through on her promises!! So sorry! *all of your understanding earns you TWO posts today!! I'll be back again after our adventures today!

Big Baby, Little Baby

As a mama bear, all my kids are my babies.  Just the other day in conversation, I referred to all of them as babies, which surely got a response from my oldest two as they proclaimed that they were not, in fact, babies.  Heaven forbid!  "No," I told them, "You will always be my babies."  

And they are.  They are my precious, gift-from-God babies, who are growing, learning, absorbing, transforming day by day... into one day godly men and women.  That is my prayer.  

But for now, they're babies and I'll keep them that way. ;)

What's so cool to see this time around, though, is how very helpful the big babies are being with the little babies.  Just yesterday M sat talking and cooing with his baby sister when she awoke.  He bought me some time until I could get there and feed her.  He was a brilliant big brother and baby G rewarded him with gracious smiles and baby chatter.

If only I had taken the moment then to offer a thanks to my M or sincere pat on the back for being such an attentive brother.  Instead we went on our way and later had this outcome.  I felt horribly.  Being around each other so much this summer has brought out my more critical side and he's, unfortunately, born the brunt of my expectation and criticism.  It's funny, then, how that negative cycle perpetuates, breeding more undesirable behavior and heightened sensitivity.  Ahh, parenting...  I'll get it right one of these days. ;)  We are definitely a work in progress, but at least we're working at it and not giving up!

Fortunately, I'm Loved and Forgiven.  I use up my measure of His Grace daily and then some.  And hopefully with that awesome Grace, I can pass along the love and encouragement to my babies to build them up to be holy men and women of God.

Keep on keeping on...
God bless,

Custer Buster Boo

I would be remiss in mentioning J's birthday without giving a shout-out to our sweet yellow boy, Custer.  On July 28th, our beloved Cussie-boy turned 10.  Our fuzzy first child has now lived a decade.  WOW!

I will never forget GG and I getting to visit him when he was just a day old.  We had claimed him from the womb--we wanted a yellow male and one had been born out of 6 pups.  It was meant to be.  He was the only puppy topping the scales at 1 pound at birth, the biggest in the litter.  He would seek out his mother for private feedings, he was such a big boy!  I dubbed him "the big yellow school bus" from the start...

    

He is still as sweet as can be (aside from his occasional hacking cough from eating mulch--lovely).  He keeps to himself mostly, but stays closer than ever during storms.  The kids will try to cover him with blankets to stop his shivering--very endearing.

Custer is starting to show his age, but just last week a neighbor boy attempted to ride him(!) and made it a few feet.  Cus has still got it!  Our boy is still a strong one, but don't worry, I put a stop to all dog-riding!  Poor old yellow!  I can't imagine his thoughts every time we arrive home from the hospital with another baby.  "Oh gosh, here we go again... " :)

For his birthday, C got several walks, a thorough brushing and nail trim, a swim in the pond, and a nice bath!  He looked so fuzzy that night...

Here's to our wonderfully patient, always-loving, sweet Cussie-boy!  Happy decade!

Happy 4th, J!

With everything going on this summer, J's birthday snuck up on us...  What a precious gift arrived to us on August 5th of 2008!  He came in a whirlwind after we had been diverted from one hospital and almost denied at the next before they finally took us in... he was born an hour later.  Since we only had an hour, he was my first "au-natural" baby (not planned) and helped solidify my love for labor and delivery without drugs!!  All I remember is being done, cherishing my sweet baby boy, and being so relieved it was over and that I survived.  lol

J was the world's sweetest and easiest baby.  I remember sitting him in the bouncer chair and he would lay and watch his brothers, contentedly sitting until it was time for his next nap.  Easy, folks!  As I type, I'm realizing how alike Baby G is to her older brother, J.  She is so content to be in the mix and not cause a fuss!  Thank you, Lord.  My line to J as a baby was, "You are so good to your mama because you know I can't handle anything more!" :)  What a gift our little J was and continues to be.

At four J is the little caboose that follows his two older brothers around and wants to do everything like them.  He is much more independent than they were at this age, mostly because he sees them do things and wants to measure up.  Case in point, on the night of his birthday I helped him get into and out of the shower and then busied myself getting his brothers toward bathing.  Meanwhile, J found jammies and a pull-up, got dressed, and tucked himself into bed.  I found him there almost asleep and couldn't believe he had taken such initiative!  Love it!  We brushed teeth, snuggled and said prayers.  What a good boy!

He is growing like a weed and will easily surpass his brothers in height someday.  Anytime they're being too rough with him, I remind them that little brothers someday might be larger brothers who can inflict pain! ;)  J has a very dear heart as seen in his interactions with MG.  They play (and fight) well together.  It warms my heart to watch him look out for her when we're out and about.  Every night when I finish tucking them in and walk out of the room, I hear her call to him ("J'sie, J'sie") to talk with her.  Melt me.

J and his birthday buddies

We did our traditional BK birthday on Sunday--so easy and so fun for the kids.  J invited 4 buddies and 2 could make it.  Don't be sad, though, because when you add in the rest of the G clan, you've got a ready-made party!  J was in heaven!  The kids played, ate, had cake and opened gifts.  And the adults got to mainly sit and watch and snuggle the baby.  Perfect.

 

 Who says you can't doctor the store-bought cake?  Lego additions by Daddy!

 Mimi and sweet stuff

Papa and the birthday boy 

 And was the birthday boy happy?  You betcha!

One last quick J anecdote--last night at dinner (a full family dinner on a weeknight = heaven!!) when talking about future professions, J disclosed he wanted to be a tiger.  "Wow J," said Daddy, "A tiger!"  "Yes, Daddy, a boy tiger," he replied.  A boy tiger, it is.  We couldn't stop giggling.  SO cute!

And one more final note, today begins my "30 days of blogging".  That's right, folks!  30 days-in-a-row of consistent blogging.  You can find me back here tomorrow and the next and the next... without question.  Time to get back on the horse!!

Love you, J boy!  We are so blessed to have you in our lives.