At the Dentist

Walking back to the room for his first dental appointment, Elliott turned around and said to me, "this is gonna be awesome!" I'm not sure what had him so excited about it, but he did do great. He even did an Aggie yell for the dentist when he was asked about his favorite football team (of course he was wearing his Aggie hat). 

I'm thankful for a very nice, patient and understanding dental hygienist, Jill, who loves our boys. I'm also thankful for the daughter of another hygienist who watched Jonas for me while I got my teeth cleaned. I'm still not sure what made me think it was a good idea to take a 1-year old with us for three appointments and two sets of x-rays! Oh well, we survived and we're cavity-free for at least another 6 months!

Sleepovers!

Last month Malachi went to his first sleepover at Carson's house. It was very strange to realize he was old enough to do that and be okay without me and Erik. I think it was a success because afterwards all he could talk about was when Carson would be able to spend the night at our house. So (finally!) a couple weeks ago Carson came to the Litter Family Fun Day at Grammy Litter's house and then spent the afternoon and night with us. The boys played Legos, Star Wars, spies,, video games, built a fort, drank pop, watched a movie, ate popcorn and cookies and camped in the basement. Malachi was extra excited too because Carson was able to go to church with us the next morning.

So sleepover #2 was a success! But, my goodness, it makes me feel old to have a child old enough for sleepovers!

Happy Birthday, Papaw!

Kelsey snapped this shot during Jonas' cake smash photo shoot and I thought it was too funny to not share. Too bad she didn't photoshop in the correct number on top of the cake!

Happy birthday, Dad! We hope you have a fun day and know how much we all love you!

My New Job

One of the reasons it's been difficult to find time to post more regularly lately is because of my newest job - babysitting! At the beginning of October I started watching a teacher's two kids every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. As with any job I've had to readjust my schedule a bit and get used to having less flexibility, but I am thankful for a way to make a little extra income while still being able to stay home with our boys.

 

Here's Elliott with his new playmate, Kylee. Kylee turned two in June. She is as big as Elliott and talks very well. She wants to be a little momma - always picking up the babies and trying to take care of them. She can be dramatic and bossy, and I'm learning what it's like to have a little girl around! She's definitely strong-willed but also a very sweet girl.

Here are Jonas and Bryson. Bryson will turn one in January. He is a super easy baby, as long as he's fed and has a clean diaper! He's bigger than Jonas and doing just about everything Jonas does, in fact it will not surprise me at all if he walks first!

I think it's been good for our boys to have other kids around - except for the colds they've passed back and forth a couple times now! There are days when my "time-out step" is worn out by the end of the afternoon and Elliott and Kylee fight like siblings on many occasions, but hopefully they will enjoy having friends around to play with during the week.

Malachi's First Awards Assembly

Last Friday was the awards assembly for Malachi's first quarter of 1st grade. We are so proud of him - he received awards for Perfect Attendance and A Honor Roll!

Way to go, Malachi! Keep up the good work!

Trick or Treat 2012

What a week we had last week! It was already going to be a busy week and then we had some crazy weather that resulted in Malachi's first ever snow day from school (in October!) and trick or treat being postponed from Wednesday until Friday. Being the procrastinator I am, that meant that Elliott's costume was not finished until about 4:00 on Friday. I did get Malachi's done earlier in the week because he had a Halloween carnival at school on Wednesday and mom knit Jonas' hat so it was also ready earlier. Thank goodness!

 

All that being said, I LOVE the way their costumes came together! Here they are as Luke Skywalker, R2D2 and Yoda:

As has become our Halloween tradition, we joined lots of friends at the Martin house for pizza before and then went and walked through their neighborhood. Amy also had hot chocolate and a few games ready when we got home. I'm not sure exactly how many kids were there, but here are a few of them:

Both Malachi and Elliott were very excited about getting so much candy this year. Jonas hung out in the stroller and got to enjoy one sucker.

 Malachi really got into his role as Luke!

 Elliott was goofy as always:

 It's a little blurry, but I love this picture of my boys!

Thank you, Amy and Eli, for inviting us to trick or treat with you and your boys. We had a great time and it's a tradition we look forward to every year!

Happy Birthday, Elliott!

Our middle man is three today! Wow! What an awesomely fun little guy we've been blessed with. Everyday I have at least one "Elliott story" - if not more. Elliott is fun-loving, generous, kind, considerate and hilarious. He loves his brothers. He also loves football, the Aggies, chicken nuggets, snacks, blue blankie and Jake E. Boy (his blue stuffed dog), legos, cars, playing outside, naptime, baseball and having his daddy home from work ("Is it your day off?").

 

Last night we celebrated Elliott's birthday and our friend Jack's birthday with a superhero party. We planned a bonfire and playing outside but the rain moved the party indoors. It may have been a little crowded, but I'm pretty sure all 19 kids and their parents still had fun just hanging out.

Thank you to everyone who made Elliott's and Jack's birthdays special. We love you all and are so thankful our children have friends like you!