The other morning...

I know I have not been great about my posts-I will catch up! But I had to sneak this in here since it was so precious! This was Tuesday morning and for those of you who know me well know that Scott is not home those mornings. So, Elijah woke up at 4:30 am for a bottle (very unusual since he sleeps 12 hours at night) and he fell back asleep. I decided to take the opportunity to take a shower (yes this is a rarity in the am at least) and make lunches, fold laundry, etc. Well I put Eli in my bed since I had to wake him up soon anyway. I already had Oliver in bed with me. He was on the opposite edge of Eli and, within a few minutes, you can see what happened...too perfect.

Three Weeks and Twelve Pounds

I have never had a child that wore 3-6 month clothing by the time they were a month. Nor did I have a child that actually ate and slept on a NORMAL schedule. God must have known that by the 5th time around we REALLY deserved it!!! Elijah is such a snuggly, calm little boy. Yes, he some gas and constipation issues, but oh boy is he THE BEST!!! He has gained 3 lbs in 3 weeks and his little cheeks certainly show it. He has the sweetest smile and his hair is to die for (before it gets that baby grease set in). Here you will see all of the people who have come to see him and who love him so much during these first few weeks!!

Amelia is SIX

So Moosie is 6. I cannot believe it. I remember: *when she was an infant and the only way she would sleep was on her daddy's chest while watching the same movie every night *when she was little, she always had the BIGGEST smile on her face (as she still does) *when she was almost 2, her sister, Isabelle taught her how to use the potty! *when she was just getting mobile and I could not imagine a more active child, until I had Oliver... *her curvy little body that wiggles as she walked-otherwise known as "voluptia bootie" *when we ended up at DeVos Children's Hospital the morning after Christmas because she ate a nut that got stuck in her airway. She waited like such a trooper with her Bam-Bam pony tail on the top of her head, entertaining all of the staff *the way she sleeps at night when she maneuvers her way down by your feet and you do not even know she is with you-we call her "spin cycle." *how she affects every person she meets with such a sense of enthusiasm, affection and empathy. She truly sees the best in everyone. And of course there is more! Amelia is the type of girl that you want to be around. She brings such love to everyone who knows her and we are reminded everyday when she greets us in the morning with her raspy voice and a big hug!!!!

Elijah Samuel

After much anticipation, our new son, Elijah Samuel, was born on August 27 at 11:00 pm. He weighed 9 lbs, 7 oz and 22 inches long. Wow!!! He outweighed his siblings by 3 whole pounds!!!!! He is beautiful with a head full of black hair-not sure if its curly or not. :) Everyone is doing fine!! We are so blessed to have this little guy join our family!

Birthday Boys

There's something special about my bond with my boys. They have this way of making me melt. They are not petty. They are not sassy (most of the time). They do not dwell on things. They do not blame me because their "favorite" outfit was not clean within 2 hours of it going into the wash. They are real. What you see is what you get. Their love is unconditional. Oh I love them so much. They are now 2 and 4. Their birthdays are 3 days apart. Scott and I had gone to the Montessori fundraiser in the Spring and the ONLY thing we wanted was the birthday party at the Fire Station. After a long night of bidding and out-bidding, we managed to walk out with our goal accomplished. Wow, was it WORTH it!! I must say this was by far the best birthday party we have ever had. The fire chief had everything set with favors and hats and an AMAZING and EDUCATIONAL tour planned for these 20 children, a mixture of both of their friends. Here is the lowdown: 1. Kids arrive and go crazy checking out all of the fire trucks. 2. Chief gathers them for a very detailed tour of the lounge, sleep room, kitchen, weight room, and a false alarm. 3. Other firemen give tours of all the trucks, their equipment, and let kids crawl all over them. 4. Kids watch a live demonstration of Jaws of Life and how they work, etc. 5. Firemen put on the gear and the mask and show the children how they are able to breathe when in the fire. 6. Chief pulls the ladder truck out of the garage and puts the 75 ft ladder all the way up and fireman climbs to the top. (yes, my heart was in my throat at this point) 7. Kids get to go for a ride around the lot in the fire truck (got to do this because the one man had a little crush on our German au pair, Jaqueline and her friend, Jessica) Ha ha 8. Got out the hose and sprayed the woods and parking lot. It was AMAZING to see that power. The kids ran around in the trails of the hose! Yes, by far worth every cent. We will never forget this one. Thanks guys for your selfless dedication to our community!

Adoption

Life has gotten away from me this summer and so here I am trying to catch up! Many of you already know but some do not, that we are adopting a baby boy who is due Sept 5. It is quite a lengthy story but we have been so blessed to have this birth mom and now friend, fall into our lap. The connections are endless and this was obviously God's plan for us! Well, we had an ultrasound yesterday, and at 35 weeks gestation, the baby (Elijah) is estimated at 7.4 lbs. Yikes! Now, of course, these are not super accurate, can go a lb either way. However, even so, by the time he is born he could be over 9 lbs. So, we will see what the dr says Friday! We could not be more excited and the kids are over the moon about it. I will post more with all of our pics from this summer's events!!!!

First artwork

So I am finally putting a photo of Ollie's first picture he drew at school in January. We are not sure if he will be a lefty like his brother, but he sure likes to draw and he holds the pencil appropriately ALREADY! I must mention also that permanent markers are FAR from his reach! Yes, we have been there, done that...