October in Florida

Oh my little people…I love you so much. These kids…I can’t believe they are mine sometimes.  It’s hard to fathom that we created a family in 4 years.  It seems like just the other day Brad was holding their sweet little warm cheeks right after birth next to me for their first momma kiss, and now they are catching their first frogs….

Jack caught his first frog in October :) And then he started to hop away, and we almost saw tears! Brad quickly explained how he wouldn’t be able to stay forever because they don’t have “houses” like us and they have to go searching for food & water.  Jack listened intently and the next morning when Mr. Frog was gone Jack said, “It’s okay Maddy he had to go find some food!” And in Madeline’s sweet little voice she said, “Oh…” It melted my heart…oh the life lessons of preschoolers!

Brennan…my little sugar! Oh my…the baby of the family he is…and I am loving ever single bit of it :)

Madeline Grace…loves Jack.  She does everything he does, and so far he’s a good sport having his little sister always in tow!

Seriously…these are my kids…they are my world!

Darth Vadar, a princess & one sweet baby!

Halloween was so much fun this year! My kids got so much candy…and truthfully I just let them eat as much as they wanted when they wanted…picking my battles & just having fun is my new motto lately.  Who cares if on Halloween night and a few days after they eat a ton of candy…YOLO!! (mom, nana & pop pop this means…you only live once!)

Yes…that is my husband…he was quite entertaining ;)  And…they kids thought it was the best thing ever!

Baby Brennan…oh my! My little love.  My last little love btw…breaks my heart that there will be no more little babies in my life, but I know the right decision was made.  Brennan…still the happy go with the flow little guy that he’s always been who is CRAWLING now and pulling up and sitting up and clapping and just getting too big too fast! 

It was so odd to me when Jack came up with his Star Wars fascination.  Honestly I didn’t know much about Star Wars (ask me now…I’m an expert ;) He wanted to be Darth Vader…and he took his role very seriously. Jack is 4 1/2 now, in love with building things, better than me at LEGO Batman on the PS3, doing great in school, & becoming such a sweet understanding patient little man!

My precious princess! Such a sweetie…she’s 2 1/2, potty trained, a snuggle bug with some attitude on occasion, still obsessed with babies & my little love!

the kids set the pace

Sometimes my sweet Madeline just wants me to hold her and the truth is I just can’t….I feel stretched pretty thin sometimes.  On a few occasions Jack has offered to hold her…so sweet.

He’s a pretty cool cat.

My mom got the kids  TRIO blocks….Have you ever bought them? My kids LOVE them.  They are really easy to build and don’t fall apart as easy as Legos.  This was Jack’s creation one day.  Yes…it’s a gun.  Yes…it bothered me at first that he loves guns so much, but now not really…HE’S A BOY.  I don’t think they can help it~ His brain is seriously wired to like this stuff, and he wants to kill bad guys and monsters so that’s productive.

Madeline on the other hand is wired to take care of babies.  Little momma…loves her babies!

And to dress herself : )

She is my little Rasta~

Nights on the beach…if you need a place to go to let you mind forget everything else…nothing beats listening to the crashing waves, feeling the soft breeze on your face & the sand beneath your feet.

Or you could play outside in the water after a downpour…with no clothes on.

Madeline & Brennan

 

Oh Madeline! Brennan was about 4-5 months in this picture. I had laid him down on his back and then walked around the corner to find this…

Then I said, “Madeline did you turn Brennan over?” and she did this….

And this…

Then she said, “Baby Ban?” while touching his head…

Yep…guilty is the verdict!  He didn’t seemed too bothered though! Brennan is so used to being handled by Jack and Madeline there isn’t much that will upset him!

Madeline sure does love him! She is always wanting to help me with him! Little sweeties…I love them so much!

The best daddy…

 

Jack calls him “Dad”

Madeline calls him “Da EEEE”

Brennan calls him “Da Da Da Da” (or at  least that’s the sound he makes and Brad fully claims it as referring to him)

Brad is the best Dad in the world!

Aren’t they cute? They totally melt my heart!

Jack’s 4th Birthday

My little man turned four on July 9th!  I know it’s late to be blogging about it, but now that life has settled down I’m trying to catch up!

The first few birthday parties I threw were big ones.  The last few I’ve thrown have been small ones, and I’ll admit it’s been kind of nice.  I love celebrating with friends and family, but small family parties aren’t too bad!  For Madeline’s birthday I was postpartum and still very much recovering.  For Jack’s we had just moved to Niceville and we were exhausted and really didn’t know anyone yet.  Mimi happened to be in town visiting so she celebrated with us, and we had a blast.  I actually have found that I get to enjoy these birthday parties a lot better because I’m not entertaining, cleaning, coordinating, etc.  But, I’m pretty sure the big parties will be in full swing for next year! We’ve already met so many great friends & I look forward to celebrating with them too~

For Jack’s 4th he requested STAR WARS!  He wanted everything STAR WARS and currently has a request for his new room to be decorated in STAR WARS.  It was a nice evening…we had everything decorated when he woke up from his nap and just let him set the pace.  We had cake before dinner, opened presents, then made his favorite meal “Mimi’s Roast & Rice n Gravy.”  We had so much fun just hanging out and playing with his new toys.  I felt a little guilty about not having a big party with friends, etc. until at the end of the night he told me, “Mom this was the BEST birthday ever!” 

Jack & Brad in Darth Vader disguise! Darth Vader is the current request for Halloween….so I’m trying to decide if I’ll make Madeline Princess Leia & Brennan Yoda : ) We’ll see!  I’m not sure Princess Leia is the princess Madeine has in mind!

Seriously this little boy is so dang sweet!  I can’t believe he’s four already!