Birthday Journal...and Baby Clothes Quilt!

So some of you (or many of you, who knows) may read this and think, that's a no brainer, I've been doing that for a long time...others of you may read this and be enlightened on a new idea(s). If you are one of the latter, this post is for you! :-)

So there are two things that I've just begun working on in order to preserve memories of my boys as they grow. The first one hast to do with Birthday cards. I'm a very sentimental person and have a hard time getting rid of any birthday cards, Christmas cards, Valentines cards (the list could go on), not to mention artwork and crafts the kids have done, tickets from places we've been, etc. As you can imagine, things pile up, or should I say fill up crates! On the other hand, I'm an extreme organizer as well so these two things seem to fight against each other all the time because that side of me wants to purge and get rid of all the eccess and the sentimental side reads that stuff and can't let go many times. On to the point, this last Saturday morning I was decorating for Cohen's 1st Birthday party and I truly believe the Lord just gave me this idea...it did not come out of no where! As if someone said it outloud it hit me, why don't I start a Birthday Journal for our family! Instantly I was so excited I could hardly stand it!!! I went to my closet to see if I had a blank journal, and I did! So I set it out, writing at the top of the first page Cohen's name and age and underneath that the date of the party. When everyone was sitting to watch him open gifts I explained our new tradition. At each party/birthday for the boys we will have this journal out and anyone who would like to write a short little note/prayer to/for him in the book is more that welcome to. No pressure, but we will keep this journal for years to come and from time to time let the boys read things people have written to them. This is a much more concise way of keeping precious memories (just as written in cards) than having to have all that bulk. Not to say I won't ever keep any cards...just not nearly as many!

The second is quite different but I am just as excited! Since I've had my tubes tied and it's been sinking in that Cohen is my last baby, I've been slowly trying to let go of all the sweet little baby things that we've had all these years. I see each outfit and a flood of memories come rushing back, which I love. The thought of having to get rid of all these sweet items just makes me want to cry, even though at the same time I am so excited about how big they are getting each day! Well, I was at my sister-in-laws about a month ago and her sister-in-law told us about an idea that had been shared with her a while back. You save you faovorite items and when you have enough, make a quilt out of them. I loved the idea that forever I will have a quilt that I can sit down with and hold and touch each piece as I remember who wore that outfit and how cute they were!!!

I praise my God for caring about the little things and giving us ideas out of 'nowhere' that will have the oportunity to make an impact for a lifetime! Isn't our God awsome!!!

Cohen is 1!!!

Jungle themed 1st birthday cake

Well, he is almost 13 months old now...I'm a bit behind on the blog. It's been a great month, but a very busy month. One thing Chris said at the beginning of this year was that his goal for this year is to walk through the year and not run (in other words...don't get so busy doing work non stop that you don't enjoy the year with your family...that's kinda what happened last year). He has been doing a GREAT job at keeping his goal, I'll be the first to say, but as he mentioned about a week ago to our life group, May has been the first month he feels like the pace has picked up to a jog. I have to agree. It's ok though, we are aware of it and will keep things under control and not let them get too crazy.

On the other hand, Cohen's whole first year seemed to just slip right on by me! I have done my best to cherish this first year, knowing that he is my last baby, but WOW, I never dreamed it would fly by so quickly. It really was a great year, he is such a sweet and precious little boy! Such a fun little personality, crawling around the house all the time now saying "daaheeeeh, daaheeeh!" He LOVES Chris. I have to admit, I prayed for a daddy's boy this time since we already have 3 mamma's boys. And sure enough, I think Cohen is our biggest Daddy's boy yet. He's not walking yet but has taken a few steps for me. He loves to walk ALL around the house holding onto just one finger of mine or Chris' with just one of his hands...his balance is getting better and better so I know he will walk soon (although we kept saying that with all the other boys and they walked at 13 1/2mo., 15 mo. and 15 1/2 mo....in that order). It's all about the will, and believe me, in that order as well they had gotten more stubborn so lets pray Cohen walks REALLY soon! :-)

To sum it all up, I could not be more thankful for the gift God has given us in Cohen! I cannot wait to see the plans God has for him as he gets older. My prayer is that he will grow up to be an awsome warior for Christ, leading other to Him by his daily example! Below are a few pics from his First Birthday Party a couple of weeks ago.
Sittin' in front of his birthday banner...he just looked as cute as it gets!He LOVES balloons!
All the boys!
Opening gifts...Mama had to help, he wasn't interested much. To this day, Corbin wins the award for best show at your 1 year old birthday party...he truly entertained us all!
"Hey, that looks good!:"It's mushy, what is that?""And it sticks to my fingers, Mama doesn't usually feed me this!"
"Let's see how this taste, I'm curious!"
"Now that's good! Who's been holding out on me?!"
Messy Face, Happy Baby!
Callen decided to get completely inside of the box the little people house came in...it really was pretty funny! He's such the kid that will figure out absolutely anything strange, wild, crazy, adventurous and/or just out of the norm to do! I love that about him!!!
Bobby was mailing Cade off to somewhere...whereever it was Cade was very excited about it!
Birthday Boy diaper was thanks to Uncle Kendal! :-)

"We'r donna habba Buddy Jack dog"

At least that's what Cade wants and has been talking about all morning long. Actually what he was asking me was why everyone liked to have dogs? I told them because people like dogs and they are fun to have and asked him if he wanted to have a dog one day. Of course he said yes and then said "we'r donna habba Buddy Jack dog (Aunt Kallie & Uncle Kevin's dog)...and a Poyo dog (that's Polo, Uncle Bobby and Aunt Kim's dog)...and a Petzel dog (Nanna-D & G-Daddy's dog)...we like petzel's don't we mom?!" It was precious and I was just giggling and saying "oh really?" when I hear Corbin pipe in, who had been sitting next to us the whole time, and say "wow, that's a lot of dogs!" Well said Corbin, my exact thoughts! :-) Don't worry though, it will be at least a few more years before Mommy is ready to get a 'Buddy Jack' dog'! I've got enough on my plate as is for now...gotta love the conversations though! I pray they never stop!

Wise Beyond His Years!

So we were sitting at the table eating lunch today and Corbin says "Mom, do they make more stores for boys or more stores for girls?" I said probably girls and he said " Why, because girls like to shop a bunch and boys don't?" I looked up with a bit of a shocked face I'm sure and said "Son, I think you hit the nail on the head!" I have to admit I was surprised that he knew that!

Biggest Birthday Donut Ever!

Yes, this donut was the size of the box! We go to this GREAT donut place in Trophy Club and the owner, Jama, LOVES our boys! It's the only donut place we ever go to and we go about 3 times a month (for the last 2 1/2 years) so she knows us all by name. I saw her at the grocery store the other day and was telling her we had Cohen's birthday the next day (he was with me). Her eyes lit up and she told me to send Chris up there in the morning because she wanted to make Cohen a birthday donut! So below are pics of the boys reactions...they LOVED it! One last note, her husband was with her and he told me that starting soon they are going to run a snow cone shop (out of the same shop as the donut shop) in the afternoons...the boys will LOVE that too! We pray for Jama and her family, that if they do not know Christ, they may see Him in us, and that God would give us an opportunity to share His love with them!
Their eyes were wide as saucers when they first saw the donut!
Cohen was very excited...he has obviously learned what a donut looks like!
Jama wanted a picture of all 4 taking a bite at the same time...Cohen went for the donut holes first.
Cohen really couldn't eat it fast enough, at least in his eyes...I think he thought brothers might eat it all! :-)

How Sweet it is to be Loved by You!

I walked into our living room the other day to find sweet baby brother Cohen cuddling on top of gentle and protective big brother Corbin. It's moments like this that I pray I never forget! And my daily prayer is that they continue to grow to love each other even more each and every day!

Elmo Soup?

Well, let me start at the begining but try not to make this too long. Cade, since about the age of 6 months old or so, started sucking on his index and middle finger of his right hand and putting his fingers from his left hand in his belly button while doing it. Some kids hold a blanket and smell it or rub it while they suck their fingers or thumb...no, our son puts his fingers in his belly button!?! So, about a year ago one morning he came in my room and was doing that and I just asked him what he was doing. He said "tirin' it" (translated stirring it). Of course I was a bit confused so I said "stirring what?" He said "my Elmo soup!" with a big grin on his face. Of course by now I'm going to play along so I say "MMM! Can I have some?" He says "no, Elmo soup all gone, you have poop soup!" and just laughed and lauged at my reaction!!! I laughed on and on too of course because I could believe he was just makin' this up off the cuff. So stinkin' cute! So the other day when he was layin' on the couch I decided I needed some picks of this so I'll never forget it!!! Have I mentioned that I LOVE this kid!!?!!

I Love Garage Sales!!!

Along with the beautiful weather in the springtime come's lots of garage sales! Of course, we've all been couped up in our houses all winter long, going through stuff and making piles in our garage that we are ready to get rid of. It makes sense. I'm not even going to try and convince anyone that they should or shouldn't love a good garage sale. You either love them or you don't! One of the main reasons I love them though is clearly seen in the picture below...you can find GREAT, almost new and brand new stuff for an even GREATER price!!! Just in case you are wondering what I spent on ALL that stuff....drum role please...$21.25!!! You know what they say, "One man's junk is another man's treasher"! I truly believe it! Happy Garage Sale shopping!

Welcome Flip Flop Seasons!!!

So as you can see from the first picture, I don't do well with all of thousands of socks...well I'm sure that is a bit of an exageration in numbers but it sure feels like that when looking for matches, folding them and then trying to get them in the correct person's drawer! Go ahead, chuckle, I know it's funny, even to me! :-) So, here in lies just one reason, but a BIG one, that I am extremely thankful we have officially moved into flip flop season again! We LOVE flip flops and you don't have to wear socks with them...or can I say you shouldn't! :-) Of course, just to give you one more good laugh, I thought I would throw in a picture of our flip flop basket that is in our entry way...and that's just half of our flip flops so you can imagine the hunt that sometimes occurs when we can't find matching ones! Still, even then, that doesn't even hold a candle to the ongoing mountain of socks we have all winter long!

Kids say/do the darndest things!

So just to put a smile on your face I thought I would tell y'all just a few funny/sweet things the boys have said in the past couple of weeks. One small piece of advice I would give to all you mom's of little ones out there who may read this (I wish someone had have told me to do this when Corbin was born but I didn't lose that much time and some of it I was able to think back and remember...with the help of family of course!), buy a journal specifically to write sweet and funny things your children say in. We all know how precious they can be and how fast they grow up, if you write things down then you know you'll be able to remember it forever! Don't worry, I'm planning on getting future use out of my journal (which I started only a little over a year ago and already have over 15 pages!)...I may not be able to plan any weddings, but you better believe those rehearsal dinners are going to be the funnest and funniest (due to the top ten list that will be pulled from this journal and read aloud!) ones you've ever been to!!! I love you Boys!! :-) Please don't kill me for recording this stuff! :-)

Callen...was laying on our bed playing with and talking to Chris and I last night and decides there are aliens up on the planet (our light) on our ceiling and began shooting them of course. Chris joined in and then Callen made all these crazy funny boy blow up noises and said "I just bombed you up, Daddy"! We just laughed as he continued to shoot the other aliens.

Corbin...was watching me as I bleached some new shirts for them today and at one point walked away and came back and said "are they cleared yet Mom?". I wasn't sure at first what he meant but then I realized, bleached, he doesn't know that word. :-)

Cade...so you need to scrunch your shoulders up like you don't know something, cock your head to one side, scwint your eyes and face up and pooch your lips out and say "oh maih dooodnessss". Yes, that is exactly what he does and he loves to tell Chris and I that we don't do it right...or actually he says "you can't do it, I do it". I could just eat him up!!!

Callen...I noticed the other day that he had been particularly facinated by his muscles that day. That evening before going to bed he came in and had some goggles (which by the way last summer when I bought them for them and Nanna-D called them goggles, he said "Nanna-D, their gobbles!") on which were making his hair stick up. I told him to go look at his hair in the mirror. I followed of course and when he got in their he made a funny face and stared at himself for a minute and then promptly turned to the side, makine a GQ face and flexing those muscles with all of his might, all the while watching and admiring himself! Couldn't help but laugh and then give him big hugs and kisses!

Corbin...was playing Wii with me the other day and was loosing each game (so was I of course...this 30 game deal is hard but don't worry, we will conquer eventually!). He turned to me after about the 4th game and said "Mom, it's not about winning it's about playing the game and doing your best!". I pray he believes that but also wonder how much of his mom's extreme competitiveness he got and if he was also just trying to convince himself that it's ok to loose. He's such a sweet heart!!!

Cade...Chris holds up a tomatoe from his salad that he does not want and Cade says "Tan I have that maytoe?! I like maytoes!"