Emily is crawling!

In the last couple weeks Emily has become mobile! Now I am one nervous Mommy trying to get all the little toys picked up before she makes it to them! I had to put some of Ethan's toys up after I found a micro car in her mouth--eek! She seems to find everything that she is NOT allowed to play with :) It is hard to believe that my third child is already roaming the house! The time just goes by too fast. Life is fun and busy right now as I am potty-training the two oldest also! Sometimes all the days of the week are just one blur, but it is so wonderful to be a Mom of 3. I wouldn't trade all the clean, quiet homes in the world for the happy chaos in mine :) Every day there is something the kids do or say that makes me laugh hard! I've embraced this season of my life by turning my living room into a daycare (of sorts), selling the formal dining room table, and making room for toys, books, and crafts. I don't regret it one bit.--I just know some day I'm going to long for these days when I can squeeze my kids little bodies, hear their sweet laughter, and watch them jump and play all over the house!  "Lord, thank you for my family!  You have blessed me so much.  Help me give these children and these days with them to you.  Help me teach/train them to live for you, and help them come to know you as their Savior at a young age.  Thank you for allowing me to stay at home and cherish the moments!  You have blessed me abundantly!  Thank you for what a great God you are in the good times and the hard times.  I love you!"

WORDS

Lately I've been thinking about how I've neglected writing down some of the things the kids say.  At this stage in my kids life there is always something that they say to make me chuckle.  Some of the funniest conversations happen between my two year old and 3 year old.  I wish I could remember them because they really are comical.  Here are some of the things that I CAN remember from this last day or two!

Ethan at 3 years and 3 months: 
Today I gave Ethan a great big smooch on the face.  He wiped his face with the back of his hand, and very expressively said, :"Yuckyyyy!" 

Last night, Jon, was reading a Bible story book of David and Goliath to the kids.  He was trying to explain to a 2 and 3 year old that David loved Jesus, but Goliath was a naughty man.  Ethan's reply was pointing to Goliath and saying in a very sober voice "yeah, spankings."  I guess Goliath should have gotten spankings ;)

Today I was outside picking up a bunch of trash in a field behind our yard.  I don't like picking up other peoples trash especially when they literally dump 2 large trash bags behind our fence.  Side note:  Please do NOT litter!!!!!!!!  I don't care what it is.  Don't throw it on the ground!  I shouldn't have to do community service just because someone else is lazy and selfish.  Okay, now that I've gotten that pet peave vocalized I will admit that on the inside I was a little grumpy about that filthy, rubber glove job.   And during that same time my 2 and 3 year old got into a mud puddle, and got our mail and accidentally spilled  it all over the yard!  So "yes" I was a LITTLE frustrated.  We went inside, and after giving the kids baths I asked them to forgive me for having a bad attitude and getting upset about having to pick up other peoples trash.  (I realize that even if they don't completely understand I need to set an example even in the area of asking forgiveness.)  Ethan replied by holding his nose and saying, "Yes, pewwwie!"  I had to smile that even he understood that was a smelly, gross job :) 

Madison at 2 years 2 months:
Yesterday I was praising Madison for being so sweet to baby Emily.  I told her how that made Jesus happy and Mommy happy.  She chimed in by saying, "baby too!" 

Madison is so good at loving on Emily, and being a little Mommy to her.  Sometimes she calls baby "cute."  She also is quick to help me correct her when she screeches.  She says loudly and firmly, "NO mam, baby!"  Today I said to baby Emily, "I love you!"  Right away Madison said to baby and I, "me too!" She wanted us to know that she loves baby too :0)

Lately Madison has been saying so many things, and I love hearing all of her little sentences.  Those sentences just spring up out of the blue, and make me smile.  She is also my little bookworm.  I really enjoy snuggling and reading to her.  Madison will often carry a book around the house with her.  She will also sit and listen to books for quite a while.  I LOVE it!

Emily at 10 months: 
Today Emily was holding a remote.  I took it away from her, and she was not happy!!!  To my utter surprise she clearly AND loudly said, "NO, no!"  While she was saying "no" she was looking straight into my eyes with the most challenging face that I have ever seen in a baby her age!  Wow!!!  I dealt with the problem, and talked to her as I would to my 2 year old.  I told her how naughty that was, and that she should NOT tell mommy "no".  Then I went on to tell her that she needs to say "yes" mam.  I repeated "yes" 2 times, and believe it or not she looked back at me and said "yeah" two times!--I have to admit that I'm a little flabbergasted because she is only 10 months and has a vocabulary of 6 words already.  She is saying words so much earlier than her older brother and sister did.  She also did the sign language for "all done" today.  Although she is my third baby it never ceases to amaze me what a baby can do! 

Park Time

 We took time off from the regular Saturday "to do" list, and went out to have some family fun.  We went to a pet store, a new park, and a few stores.  The pet store is really a MUST if you have little kids!  Even my 9 month old loved that place!  Madison really made us smile with her happy, excitement over all the animals.  Ethan enjoyed watching the dogs get their hair cut.  He really didn't want to leave.  Thankfully we prepared him for the "goodbyes"  that had to happen.  I try to talk to him before we do something fun.  It really helps!  Many times when he struggles with something ending I will refer back to that "good bye/all done" talk that we had.   Usually he will sadly but obediently respond by saying "good bye" to the store, church, park, etc.  Someday I'm going to miss hearing the kids talk to buildings and objects as if they were alive :)  Every time we leave our house I get to hear a 3 year old and 2 year old say "goodbye house."  Usually Jon and I chime in and say it too :)  

Here are the kids having a super-duper time at the park.  Emily really enjoyed the park also.  She was just one big, happy smile the whole time!  She was fearless on the slide and swing.

9 month old and 2 year old:  only a 4 lb. difference!

Emily is at the age where she does well with picture taking--Yay!

Sitting on a dinosaur all by herself!

Love this!

I think these two look alike.

I admit that seeing all 3 children swinging in a row gave my throat a happy lump!  3 children in 2 and a half years.  Crazy?  Maybe a little :)  OKAY the back to back pregnancies were NOT fun!   But it is so AMAZINGLY fun to have all 3 kids at an age where they enjoy the same things!   So worth it!  My cup runneth over!  LOVE being a mom even on the hard days.

Thanking the Lord for 3 healthy children. 

chunky monkey

Hanging out

She loves to climb!

I like the colors in this picture.  I'm so glad she color coordinated with the dinosaur :o) just teasing!

I loved all of the big, old trees at this park.  See the one in the background?

You can do it!

Scared to walk on the bridge!  To me it looked more scary to sit and scoot across it.

Bring a child to a park.  It puts a smile on their face and your own!

"I'm a big girl now!"

Big boys need big slides :)

The wheel he is standing on twists.  It was fun to watch him get up on it. 

Madison "helps" Emily.

Sweetheart

I asked Ethan for a smile, and this is what I got :)  Lovely!

Children grow up too fast!  Every day there are wonderful moments and memories to be made.  I just don't want them to be over too soon!  Is there a way to push pause every once and a while?

Emily at 9 Months

Dear Emily,
You are close to 9 months old now!  I feel as though I blinked my eyes, and my infant became a chubby little baby girl!  You have two teeth, round blue eyes, a round little face, and a sweet "Emily" smile!  I've been told that you look nothing like my side of the family, and many people say you look just like your Dad.  You definitely have the "Cline" look, but a little of me too!  Your nature is more on the serious side, but I still get plenty of smiles from you!  Tickling you makes me laugh.  You don't always giggle, but instead start a quiet, inner gurgle that turns into a "ha!" at the end of your excitement!  Many times when other people try to get you to smile you stare them down as if to say, "You are weird!"  There is nothing like doing all kinds of ridiculous noises and faces only to get a blank stare from a baby :)  It can be funny!

You look grumpy :)  Too funny!

Right now you are not crawling, but you get up on your chubby hands and knees and rock back and forth.  You also scoot backwards on your tummy.  You keep yourself busy by putting EVERYTHING in your mouth.  I really have to watch out for that!  You absolutely LOVE being entertained by your 3 and 2 year old brother and sister.  Ethan looks out for you and cares for you in a very protective way.  He is good at getting you to giggle also!  Madison gets all excited when you smile and talk to her.  You love it when she is practically on top of you and right in your face :)  You are not easily scared or disturbed by anything.  I credit that to your sister and brother!  You are actually my first baby to not be scared of the vacuum.  When I vacuum the carpet you just sit on the floor and watch the vacuum with a somewhat analytical look.


  

Discovering the grass.

This is "cool" stuff!

Awe!  That is the happy, sweet Emily I love!

Up until a month ago you were a pretty laid back girl.  Now you have discovered that you CAN get attention.  You do an extremely high-pitched screech!  After you do these blood-curdling screeches you give me a huge grin.  Your face looks so satisfied and happy when I look at you.  I guess you know how to get attention, and you are making the most of it!  We do REALLY hope this screeching will be short-lived.  We are working with you on it.  I can hardly believe that noise comes from that sweet face of yours!  Your blue eyes look SO innocent.  At 9 months old you appear laid back, but you still have a very outgoing, aggressive/stubborn streak!  Maybe it's the German coming out in you!  Let's see... I predict that Madison's free-spirit, BIG tease personality will probably drive you crazy; Ethan's dominating, particular ways will not intimidate/faze you; and you will probably butt heads more than once while trying to be the leader of the pack :)  As the youngest in this family you definitely hold your own!  I pray that God will use that determined spirit of yours for His good.  I love you so much, and enjoy discovering who you are every day!  I cherish all of the hugs, kisses, and squeezes I can get out of you as a baby!  I LOVE the rolls on those thighs of yours, and just can't help but kiss your chubby cheeks all day long!  I could just eat you up!!!--figuratively speaking :)  Don't grow up too fast, Emily.  I love my baby!

Not important, but I LIKE!

Some girls really like getting new shoes, clothes, flowers, jewelry, perfume, makeovers, or bags.  I have to admit that what gives me that same happiness is home organization and home improvement!  I think it has something to do with my extremely practical nature.  I would rather have something that helps me function well and that I will use every day than something pretty that I rarely get to use/wear at home.  I saw these one dollar totes at Target, and I went a little crazy!  It was the PERFECT (cheap) solution for organizing everything in our laundry room.  Our laundry room is the "catch all" room that I have to store tools, paint, kids crafts, my husbands mowing shoes, lunch boxes, medicine, and the list goes on and on!  With these handy totes I can easily get down the kids paint supply basket, coloring basket, home improvement basket (hammer, nails, measuring tape), and so on.  I'm in LOVE!   It just makes life easier and more organized.  Being a SAHM doesn't make it easier to keep a completely clean and organized home.  I think it is because we are CONSTANTLY using and taking out things from living in it all day every day.  My house is usually completely cluttered with toys, blankets and pillows for the kids forts, dishes that need to be done, laundry that either needs to be washed, folded, or put away, paper clutter, little to do projects, etc.  Sound familiar?  I guess it is just lived in VERY well.  Anyway it really makes me happy to see the closets, drawers, and other things organized!  That helps me function better as a mom, and gives me the satisfaction of having little pieces of order in my otherwise chaotic (but wonderful) life! P.S. These totes are also great for toy organization, tub toys (handles fit over the faucet), cleaning baskets, hair bow basket (keep the headbands, brush, and so on inside) etc.!!!!  If you have any other great, cheap ideas let me know! 

Any ideas on how to hide the water heater?

I don't have a medicine cabinet so I keep all of my first aid supplies and medicine on top of the dryer.

Love having everything off the floor!

Hair bow basket.  Madison will LOVE playing with this!

This was my favorite idea for this 1 dollar tote!

My pantry is hard to keep organized, but I enjoy it much better when it is!  Maybe someday I can do some of those cool pinterest ideas.

Teaching in the Little Years

We have been talking/teaching our kids about Bible's and giving to the Lord.  They were given their first Bible the Sunday before last.  We talked about treating it special and the need to take care of it.  Ethan really took to heart how he needed to "cherish" the Bible.  He wanted to sleep with it the next couple of nights!  The kids were also given a quarter for the offering.  I had to keep myself from laughing Sunday night because I was literally looking all over the back pew trying to find my sons quarter.  I think one of the ushers thought I had lost my mind!  Things like that are a big deal to Ethan, and I knew I needed to find that coin to help prevent an outburst of concern!  Well, I could not find it, and in the process of looking for it somehow Madison lost her quarter as well.  So when the offering plate came around neither of the kids had their money to give, and Ethan had to be taken out.  Jon found the quarters after church, and he had Maddie go up front and put them in the plate :)  Note to self:  Give the coins to the kids during the offering and not before church!

I loved talking to the kids about giving their money to Jesus.  Little lessons like that are the things I really enjoy as a mom.  When I was talking to the kids I would ask them who they were giving their money too.  Their sweet faces would light up and respond by saying "Jesus" with their best pronunciation.  It was truly precious how much they wanted to give their quarters to Jesus.  They were so happy that they could "give" something.  Before church we lined up chairs in the kitchen and practiced them giving their quarter by putting it in the bowl Jon passed to me.  I really felt that was a NEED since I wanted them to understand that they were "giving" it and NOT getting it back :)

Here are some pictures of the kids outside our church's front door.  Normally I would only post one picture, but I couldn't resist posting all five.  I laughed while I was looking through these.  Emily is looking forward in every picture except the last one.  And OF COURSE the last one is the only good picture of both Ethan and Madison with faces forward :)  Getting a good picture of all 3 children facing the camera is no easy task! I do a very loud monkey noise to get their attention and make them smile.  Unfortunately it isn't very feminine, and it really isn't something I can do in public without looking like a crazy mom!

O

Keeping it Positive!

Picnic in the living room.  This blanket isn't very stylish, but it is special because my Grandma made it.

It was a little less messy to let them eat their sandwich whole.

Sometimes I have to look past the mess and enjoy the moment!!!

My kids really enjoy eating in the living room! 

FUN!

Little Emily had a good time too!

The best part of baking is tasting!  This was also the first time we've made chocolate crinkle cookies.

Yummy!!!  I know Daddy really likes that shirt of Ethan's :0)

The more it shows the better it tastes :)

This just captures his goofiness!

I will be honest.  This past week was a hard parenting week.  I always want to be positive, and I will get to the positive part soon.  But first I just want to mention that I am an imperfect mom with imperfect children.  I try to remember and write about all the good things, but that doesn't mean that I don't have very REAL challenges everyday in training and disciplining my kids.  (If you have been around them than that probably doesn't need to be explained-hehe!)  I have really been exhausted/discouraged from some discipline issues with my son.  It just breaks my heart to see the disobedience and bad behavior that came out this week.  It has been a constant reminder to me of how I SHOULD be constantly/fervently praying for my children as they grow.  Jon and I have gone through some really tough times with Ethan, and God has always been faithful to bring us through them.  But what has nagged at me for quite some time is the "Jekyll and Hyde" personality that comes and goes with him.  For two weeks he can be an extremely thoughtful, kind, and helpful little boy.  Then the next thing I know I wake up to a different child who doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself and acts out all day long.  In my head I'm confused and asking myself "what happened?"  Monday night I was so tired from all of the discipline issues that I just started crying at our Ladies Bible Study!  I am thankful for that small group of ladies who I know are praying much for me.  Especially since I poured my heart and eyes out!!! The whole week of our Bible study has been on obedience, and in so many ways it convicted me in my own life and my personal walk with the Lord.  It was also convicting me as a mom in my obedience to train my children.  I tell my kids, "Slow obedience is NO obedience!"  Yet how many times am I slow to obey God's will?  When my child is so defiantly disobedient I do have to wonder if I myself am being completely obedient to the Lord.  Through this reflection I am thankful that God is working on me, and that is where I want to be.  I am thankful for His forgiveness, and for His amazing love.  No matter how naughty my 3 year old can be I always want to remember how God has loved me through all of my sin, and that I am just a sinner saved by God's grace.  My child's sin is no uglier than my own sin.

Ethan loves these blocks that he got for his birthday.

He built this church.  I thought he did a great job.  I loved how he stood Madison's doll house people on the step going in to the church!  It is good to see in Ethan's play that he realizes what a big part of our lives church is. 

I barely had time to take this pic. before the eyes were eaten!

Ethan looked at his pancake quite a while before eating it.

He kept talking about the hair, eyes, and  mouth.  I definitely want to do some more fun food things.  I enjoy this as much as the kids do!

 The Positive part is this: I think I may have figured out what could be a HUGE contributing factor to Ethan's  behavior.  I believe that it might have something to do with the food he eats!  We bought a big box of fruit snacks a week and a half ago.  I think it was that same time that he started eating those that his "acting out" and bad behavior started.  For the last couple days I've cut out the fruit snacks, and yesterday Ethan woke up and he was the sweet, caring, more obedient, and much happier boy that I remember.   What I am starting to ask myself now is, "Can certain types of food affect a child that much?"  The answer is "YES", and it is a big discovery to me!  The more I read about red food dye and hear about gluten the more it is making me aware of what Ethan has been eating.  I'm starting to think back to the past, and how the food he ate might correlate to many of his outbursts and days that he is just a different child.   I really think it might be some kind of allergy/major sensitivity to red food dye since the fruit snacks I buy are all 100% natural.  I am going to completely cut out anything with red food dye, and I'll continue watching him closely to see if gluten may also give him negative results.  Discovering this about Ethan has really been a journey of about 3 years of ignorance on my part!  I praise the Lord for allowing me to finally see this.  Now I just have to put some work into his diet!

This girl paints with just an apron because she is notoriously messy!

He always starts with dabbing.  Looks pretty cool.

washing hands

During long days of discipline/obedience issues I really try to get beyond my extreme fatigue and do things that I know would be fun and give the kids something to look forward to.  It helps redirect our focus.  Whether it is singing Bible songs, baking, having a picnic in the living room, playing with play dough, painting, markers, cleaning, or just creating a simple new game I want my children to see that there IS joy in living for Jesus. One of the Bible songs that Madison really loves says, "It's bubbling, it's bubbling, it's bubbling in my soul; there's singing and laughing since Jesus made me whole.  Folks don't understand it, nor can I keep it quiet.--It's bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling day and night!" That song always makes me smile.  Ethan does a "hahaha" at the laughing part and many times both kids get very quiet and put their fingers up to their mouth when we sing the word quiet.  That song is simple and short and it reminds me that no matter what the circumstances are I should always have joy in Jesus!  What a good reminder to me on rough days :)

Emily and I.  Emily wasn't too happy, and I am giving my tired smile :)