Happy 3rd Birthday Witten!

Witten has grown up so much over the last year! He has such a caring and reserved yet silly personality. It's been so fun to see him as a big brother and how he takes care of Prim, but also does the silliest things with her that make her laugh so hard. One day he said "Mom, you know what? I think I really like Prim!" I can see parts of him come out that are eunique to him being a BIG brother instead of always being the littlest. We're so thankful for the awesome boy God made him to be!

Hanging lights before the party!

Playing with friends while the hot dogs are grilling.

For Witten's birthday I asked him how he'd like to celebrate...either with lots of family and friends at home or just a few specific people while we choose some fun activity or place to go to. He didn't waiver in choosing a small group :) and then he decided it would be the most fun to have a camp out! So we invited two cousins and his neighbor friend over to cook out hotdogs and play in the fort in the backyard. It was a blast! He helped choose all the plates, napkins, goodies for his guests (a lollipop and superhero tattoo), and the cake as well. I'd have to say it was one of the most enjoyable birthday celebrations we've had because we got to really be with him and enjoy him playing and doing things he loves without being bombarded with a crowd or lots of activity. Once dinner, cake eating, and present opening was over, we set up the tent and teepee and got our pjs on. Daddy told all the boys a loooonng story about a boy and his dad on an adventure until they got pretty sleepy. All slept well and made for a super fun memorable celebration for our 3 year old!

Summer Recap

This is what summer should look like, right? Everyone sleeping in!

Man, we've had such a blast this summer. It's been a surprisingly cool summer, so we've spent a good amount of our time outside exploring, playing, taking walks, going to the pool, playing in our new fort, having picnics in our front yard, and trying to soak it all in.

racing on the loud bridge by the pond of one of our favorite parks

painting with mommy and daddy on our on-going summer remodel

The boys love pretending, so I feel like no matter where they are there's some kind of explanation for who they're rescuing or where we need to hurry to be safe or protect somebody. So fun! When we started talking about Daddy being home more in the summer (after Prim was born) Tytus had two things he was looking forward to: building a fort with Daddy, going on vacation. We had talked about getting to do those things in the summer once his preschool was out to get the boys excited about what was to come. Well, most of the summer went by and we realized that the fort idea might not happen this summer. We threw around some ideas, but weren't too sure on what to do since our time had been taken up by some home projects already. Little did we know, a neighbor was getting rid of their fort/swing set in the backyard and would freely give it to anyone who would help remove it for them. Yay for us! Ian got some guys to help haul it, and Uncle Mark and Ian spent some time digging out holes one night to place it securely in the ground the next day. So far, it's been a hit! It's the first thing they want to do almost every day after breakfast.

They've been watching Octonauts and were mimicking one of the characters that is a rabbit.
Tytus chose these carrots specifically at the store and we ate through all of them right when we got
home because they would climb up and down the fort saying "Got it Cap'n!"and take a bite.

We also got to go on a trip to Sea World that we had been planning on doing this summer with the boys. They've been really into learning about animals, specifically sea creatures, and we thought it would be a fun experience since we live fairly close to San Antonio.  On our way to a hotel that night we stopped in down town Austin to watch the bats fly from the bridge. We got dinner and ate it on the bridge while the sun went down. Once it was about to set, the bats all started to fly out. It was a lot quieter than I imagined, but it was amazing to see that number of bats. The boys have a book about different places in Texas, so it was fun for them to see what the book was illustrating.

Sea World was an adventure! We enjoyed getting to see the different animals, ride a few rides, the boys splashed around in the splash pad/climbing area, and we drank lots of water! Man, it was hot! All in all I would say it was a fun trip and interesting to see some of the animals in real life, but it was a little too fast-paced for our ideal vacation. Great memories were made, with the highlight for the boys being the last show we saw with acrobatic divers, dolphins, and belugas. They have both been trying out different ways to be divers or flip around like those guys were doing in the show. Yikes!

Some good exploring has been going on around our backyard, neighborhood, and just around Austin in general. We've been going to the library more frequently again, walking down to our creek to see if it's filled up with water yet (they've been praying for God to fill it up with rain), and building tons of legos. One Saturday we headed out to our favorite breakfast spot and then went to Zilker to walk around and climb the giant rocks in the center of the park. Ian had run in a race at the park the night before and Tytus thought it'd be fun to come back to climb around in the day time. It was such beautiful weather and good time to spend together!

Well, summer is coming to a close and I can't believe it! Is it really time for preschool to start again?!

All ready with their backpacks

First day of school!

Prim - 3 and 4 Months

3 months

Prim is a pretty happy camper. She's also been a great sleeper, giving me a full nights sleep of 12+ hours since she turned 2 months. She got sick right after she turned 3 months and went through some interesting sleep habits (waking up more often at night). Now that we're on month 4 we've gotten back on our normal sleeping through the night and we're both loving it. :) Other than her sleep changing, most everything else has either stayed the same or gotten better with her. I guess she just has so much to watch and listen to that she's content most of the time. I just don't remember the boys playing on their own as well as she does.....usually as long as she is near the action and can see where we are she's happy to continue playing on her back, belly, or in her bouncer. Probably her favorite time of day is bath time. Usually no matter how tired she is, she still gets really happy and talkative at bath time! She also loves going on walks and swinging in her swing outside. She's gotten good at scooting herself in a circle when she's on her belly but hasn't rolled over yet. Tytus and Witten weren't much for rolling so I guess I just expected her to be the same as them and kind of just skip that milestone. I think her favorite position is sitting up. She can sit and stand with someone holding her hands or supporting her, but she's not quite strong enough to hold herself all the way up for too long.

Bath Time!

The boys are great at helping push her (gently) in the swing

This is where she spends part of her morning while I'm making breakfast

practicing standing (and putting everything in her mouth!)

practicing sittin'

One of Tytus' favorite things is to dress her up in all her frilly outfits!

She's also a giggler! A few days ago Tytus heard her get up from her nap and raced in to see what we were doing (since he's usually looking  for a reason to cut his quiet time short) and he made her laugh SO much. They kept giggling back and forth and I couldn't help but laugh myself. I finally decided to try to catch some of it on camera because it was too good to pass up.

The months seem to be flying by! I can't wait to see what we get to learn about her next :)

4 months

2 months old (in pictures)

Our happy two month old

A lot has happened from Prim's first to second month. She's been all over the place and has been a happy little camper through all of it! Here's a little recap of what we've been up to and what she's been doing along with us!

Schlitterbaun!

 We planned to take a mini-vacation for just the five of us and it was so much fun! We kept postponing the trip because of all the rain, but finally we just picked one of the less rainy days and went for it. It was a blast, and Prim enjoyed sleeping about as much as the boys enjoyed splashing around.

sleeping away

the submarine the boys played in for the first half of the day

woo hoo! lots of sliding!

Sleeping all around the house:

Prim has been known to be found asleep in just about any room in our house. It's definitely been a change being in a two-story house with a little one, so it's not the most convenient to always put her upstairs for naps. She'll usually just naps wherever we are.

On daddy's side of the bed downstairs while we were playing outside

In our chair in the living room while we eat lunch

Outside while the boys swim

Visiting both grandparents:

We got to get in lots of swimming and also visited the zoo in our two trips to Dallas. It was a fun way to have Ian's time off come to a close. The boys had a blast splashing around and spending time with family. It was fun for Prim to go along and do things that we enjoy doing with our families!

Watching penguins at the zoo

swimming!

napping :)

lots of smiles and "talking"

bedtime snuggles

and, of course, more swimming

Time with brothers:

Prim goes right along with what Tytus and Witten are doing and really loves to know they're around. If it suddenly goes quiet (like everyone has left the room) she usually gets pretty sad. It's been a nice break every now and then to have the boys go with Ian and run errands and whatnot while Prim and I have some time alone at home, but I'd say she's become really accustomed to having a bustle around the house and definitely seems to the miss their activity when they're gone. 

Sitting while they watch the Octonauts and mommy folds some laundry

Lounging under an awesome fort while they "protect" her

playing with Witten while we make breakfast in the morning

Welcome Sweet Prim Rose

Our new family of five!

Prim has been such an anticipated little one! It feels like we waited an eternity for her, and we're so excited that she's here! Her name means first rose or first love. It's very fitting since it's a name we've had chosen since we were pregnant with Tytus. She's been on our minds since the very first. :) My pregnancy with her was very uneventful and healthy, and I praise God for that! Toward the end of each of my pregnancies with the boys I had complications that could have been very serious, so that thought lingered in my mind as we neared the end of this pregnancy. "What if I miss something? What if she's not growing? What if something's wrong and we don't catch it?" I kept thinking these things to myself until I finally came to a point that I realized only God knows what's going on with her and His plan is perfect. It was big lesson in trust and patience as I chose to let go of any anxiety I had and look to Him to give me peace about how/when she would join our family. Lo and behold she was our biggest baby yet and has been such a sweet and content little girl! She came at 11:49 on April 14 weighing 7lb 4oz. We are so thankful for her! I'm especially thankful for how God showed His power as my faith was stretched in the waiting period. I learned to trust in new ways as He was growing that healthy little girl in me.

On our way to the hospital (Tytus was already at school)

Meeting Prim for the first time!

Finally home with our little bundle

Since we have the gift of Ian being home for several weeks, life has continued at a relatively normal pace. We've continued to do pretty much all of our normal activities each week, and it's been such a special time for our family of five. Prim's gotten to come along on our errands, grocery shopping, church, eating out, birthday parties, walks to the park, doctor visits, gymnastics, school....and the list goes on. She's a pretty easy-going little girl and seems to feel the most comfortable when she's in the commotion of what we're all doing. 

The boys coming to check on her in our room in the morning.

In the audience at Tytus' end of year performance at school.

Mother's Day -  the boys building with Legos and Prim taking a nap.

The boys haven't skipped a beat with her. They love being big brothers! If she's upset about something they make sure to come check on her or ask if they can help. Today I laid Prim down next to Tytus while he was playing and he said "Hey Prim! How are you today?" :) They include her in what we're doing just like she's always been here, and it's really fun to watch how gentle and patient they are with her so far. They are both great brothers so far!

Meeting and holding her for the first time.

Tytus loves holding his sister....he's waited quite some time for her :)

Witten talking and watching her closely once we brought her home from the hospital.

So here's what a typical day looks like at this point:

Mommy and Prim napping

Boys wrestling

Our one month old!