Family Blessings

I am so thankful the Lord blessed my kids with a wonderful family.  Not that Jay and I are great, but that they are supported by a network of grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins that love them unconditionally.  My favorite memories as a child involve my extended family.  I loved spending a week with both sets of grandparents in the summer, sleepovers with my cousins, and learning how to babysit by taking care of my little cousins. 

Charlotte and Nana

Grandma, Uncle Mark, Grandpa, Trey, Charlotte, myself and Jay

Charlotte and her cousin Jacob

 This past week we saw a lot of family.  At a bridal shower for my cousin I met a woman who was asking who all the different people at the shower were.  I tried to explain the different people and how we were all related and she was just in awe.  She kept saying, "That is so wonderful that you have so much family and you all live close together."  She wasn't in the car with 3 kids for six hours that evening so we could make it back home, but even with the long car ride I wouldn't exchange that time for anything.

Trey playing football one Thanksgiving with Uncle Mark.

Trey and his cousins Chandler and Halle

Trey and his cousin Nellie

My kids have grandparents on both sides that are still setting a wonderful example of a Christian marriage and raising a Christian family.  They spend weekdays with Grandpa and Grandma when I work.  The memories they are building everyday with their grandparents are priceless and ones I know they will treasure when they are adults with their own families.  Trey and Charlotte just got back from a week at Nana and Papa's house where they had so much fun and didn't want to come home.  They are constantly asking to have sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's house or Nana and Papa's house.  Both Jay and I's parents live in the house where we grow up so the kids are playing with our old toys and asking their grandparents questions about life when their mommy and daddy were little.  

Charlotte's baby dedication with both sets of grandparents

Besides just grandparents my kids have cousins.  One of the best childhood relationships to have is cousins.  I didn't have a sister, but I had plenty of girl cousins to grow up with.  We didn't fight like sisters might but we had all the positive aspects of a sister relationship.  I have a cousin that I see maybe every year or two, but yesterday as soon as Esther was awake she came and took my baby and just held her.  Even though I hadn't seen her in a long time, we are just as comfortable with each other as ever and want to love on each other's children.  My kids love their cousins in a special way and are building relationships that will last forever with their cousins. 

Chandler and Trey- 1 month old and 4 months old

Jacob, Trey and Chandler

Charlotte and her cousin Halle

Charlotte and her cousin Jayla

 The kids also love to ask about our brothers and what it was like growing up with them.  Jay has one brother and I have two.  The kids love their all their uncles and aunts and they think it is so neat to find out how everyone fits together in our family. 

Uncle Mark and Charlotte

Newborn Trey and Auntie Jill

Uncle Mark and Uncle Stephen changed Trey's diaper in the hospital.

When I was pregnant with Charlotte many people told me that best gift I could give to Trey was a sibling.  I have seen that truth in so many ways, but I also think one the best gifts Jay and I can give our kids is an extended family that loves them.  I appreciate the fact that even though we don't live in the same town as most of our family, we do see them very often and that we are all committed to making sure our kids have those family memories as they grow up. 

 

I realize I have very few pictures of Esther with her extended family. I have to remember to work on this the next time we get together!

It's Officially Summer!!

To celebrate the first day of summer we had some friends come visit for a swim in the creek.  Last summer the creek was too high to swim in because of massive rain amounts all summer.  This summer the weather is cooperating much better for swimming.  Trey and Charlotte had on their bathing suits and floaties for 4 hours before we left!  They love to be in the water.  Trey's favorite part was throwing the rocks and Charlotte's was swimming to each person in the creek.  Esther came in with me for few minutes and dipped her toes in the water.  Then she got sleepy and took a nap in her stroller along the bank while we swam.  We had so much fun with our friends and look forward to many more evening swims this summer. 

Charlotte found this swimming hat to wear. 

The creek is the perfect depth for the kids to be comfortable walking around or swimming. 

Charlotte was like a fish in the water and did not like that she had to stay near a grown up.  

It was great having friends to swim with! 

Esther slept for about an hour in her stroller. I guess all the fresh air wore her out! 

There was a rocky area in the middle of the creek that was perfect for skipping rocks.  

Sorry for the poor quality pictures.  I had to zoom in on my phone from the bank because I didn't want to risk my phone taking a swim in the creek with us! 

Cuteness Overload

This baby is too cute!  She has changed so much in the past few weeks and it is hard to believe she is only 3 months old. 

Her favorite place to nap is in someone's arms, with her swing being a close second. 

She doesn't mind tummy time anymore and is extremely close to rolling over! 

Esther looks so cute all dolled up for church! 

Why are double chins only cute when you are a baby?

This week she has started to grab toys and hold onto them.  She works really hard to try to get them in her mouth. 

We broke out the bumbo about three weeks ago and now she can sit in it for longer than three minutes.  She sat in the kitchen and helped me bake a cake yesterday.  She is the only baking assistant around here that doesn't try to lick the batter when I turn around. 

Finally, Esther has started scooting on the floor by lifting up her back and bottom and pushing off with her heals. I am not too excited about this new development because life with a mobile baby is 10x crazier than with a stationary baby.  

I put her on the play mat last night and then ran upstairs to fix someone's covers and when I came back down she had moved a good ways away.  Slow down Esther!! 

Field Day

One of the highlights of Trey's year of Pre-K was field day.  His class was supposed to wear yellow so Esther and I made a quick Wal-mart run during a terrible thunderstorm (that is love people) and found the brightest, neon yellow shirt imaginable.  He loved all the games, especially the ones that involved water. 

Playing Catch Up

My lack of blogging coincides with the end of my maternity leave.  I had a wonderful three months at home and then went back to teach for two weeks and now I am home again with all three kids.  We have a busy summer ahead and I want to do my best to document all our memories.  Here are some late May events I don't want to forget!

Trey had a community field trip to our local small town.  Charlotte, Esther and I got to tag along.  Esther slept most of the time in the ergo and Charlotte acted like she was part of the class.  We went to the fire station, bank, and a local farm.

Esther has really strong neck and trunk control so I took the bumbo out of the closet a few weeks ago.  She only sits in it for a few minutes at a time.  The big kids were quite excited to find out they still fit into the bumbo!

The kids know on Sunday morning I get to pick what they wear. I have started giving them choices of outfits so they have some control, but church is the one day a week I like them for them to actually match. 

Charlotte said, "Mommy, Esther looks like little bo peep!"

This is what happens when they get to pick their clothes: flip flop tshirt and a clip on tie. 

We spent Memorial Day Weekend at home having fun together.  The kids played so great at home and Jay and I enjoyed just relaxing as a family. We got a cheapo baby pool (why have we never gotten one before??) and made smores from a fire pit Jay put together with some rocks.  Jay and the kids had never eaten a smore before and everyone gave them 2 thumbs up!  I see lots more water play and marshmallow roasting this summer!