Spring Break/Seattle

Bubba and Max

A couple weeks ago was spring break. John and I decided to go to Seattle to surprise our friend, Bubba, for his 40th birthday. So, I took the boys up to Dallas on Tuesday so that Max and I could spend some time with family. Then, on Thursday evening, Max and I met John at the airport (he flew up from Austin), and the three of us headed to Seattle. Eli and Jed stayed with my mom (Mammy) and got to spend time with family while we were gone. It was cousin Grayson's 12th birthday, so they got to go to his two birthday parties! They did other fun things like go the aquarium and see The Lorax at the movies. They had a blast and got lots of family time!

We had so much fun in Seattle, too! Bubba was very surprised when we walked into his house Thursday night. He had no idea we were coming. What made it even better was that he does that kind of stuff to people all the time, so we got to do it to him. It was nice to spend time with Bubba and Anna. We stayed at a little Bungalow a few houses down from them. Their neighbors rent out their basement for visitors, so it was perfect. We even got the neighbor discount! I was expecting it to be rainy and cold the whole time since that's what the forecast said. However, each afternoon, we got some nice sunny weather. It wasn't too cold either. One morning, it snowed huge giant flakes, but it wasn't too cold even then. Bubba said it rarely snows there, too. When it was snowing we were at the top of a hotel where Bub's parents were staying in downtown Seattle. It was really pretty watching the snow in the city from their room.

look closely at the big snowflakes

Bubba's party was fun. They rented out the community center in their neighborhood and everyone played dodge ball. I didn't play because I was wearing Max in the Ergo carrier. I'm glad I had an excuse because I'm not a huge fan of dodge ball, but it was fun to watch! The guests were all supposed to wear their best workout attire, Bub style. John wore his old Baylor basketball uniform, and everyone got a kick out of that. After the game, we all went to Bubbanna's to hang out. What a fun memory!

Max did great on his first vacation. He was happy being carted around the city, and just hanging out with friends. He was a happy baby on the plane as well. He mostly slept or ate or smiled at the people near us. Having only one kid with me feels like nothing now! When I'd tell people we were going to Seattle, I'd say "John and I are going...oh yeah, and Max, too". Max is just so laid back and easy...or maybe it's because he's our third and we're pros...or both!

One regret on our trip...we didn't take enough pictures!

Max at 4-5 months

Let's all say it together..."He's so big!" At his 4 month check up, he weighed 20 lbs. and was 28 in. long. As usual, they put >97%, which means he's still off the charts. He's rolling from back to belly and belly to back now, although he usually cries when that happens. I think it scares him. Max's head and neck are getting very strong now. He lifts his head way up during tummy time and looks like he wants to take off. He's not sitting up and not really close to doing so. When I sit him down on the ground, he just folds in half. We're working on that though. Max likes to sit in the highchair while we eat, but he's not eating solid food yet. I want to hold off on that as long as possible (at least one more month) because I'm not looking forward to the poops and the messes and the spoon feeding and the pureeing of foods when he starts eating solid food. We are hearing more babble out of Max as he experiments with new sounds. Lately he's been squealing very high pitched sounds. Eli and Jed think that's hilarious. Max is still a laid back little guy. He loves watching his brothers and they love making him smile and keeping him entertained. The last five months have gone by so fast! Slow down, baby boy!

PS- I was looking back on the blog at posts when Eli was 5 months old, and the post I wrote for Eli was very similar to the one I just wrote for Max. They look so much alike, it's amazing! Check out the post here.

tummy time

he's only 5 months, I promise!

Eli can tie his shoes!

That's right! Learning how to tie shoes feels like such a big milestone. Once Eli got some shoes with laces and decided he was ready to learn, he picked it up pretty quickly.

It all started with the Y-ties that they were selling at school. For some reason he was obsessed with getting some Y-ties...peer pressure, I guess. His shoes didn't have laces, so once he got the Y-ties (with his own money), he wanted to get new shoes with laces (using my money). Luckily for Eli, he needed new shoes, so we went and got some Shaq shoes, black with red soles, and with laces. They were another peer pressure purchase that Eli decided on because Xander from his basketball team has the same shoes.  Anyway, I guess it all paid off because Eli learned how to tie his shoes in the end. The Y-ties are sitting on his dresser because he decided he didn't want them in his shoes after all.

So, not only is Eli tying shoes, he's reading at a first grade level now, doing all sorts of chores around the house to earn some Lego money, and in a little over a month, he'll be SIX! That just blows my mind! He's becoming such a big kid now!

You can see the identical Shaq shoes (Xander is #34 and Eli #12)

The shoes in action!

The Exersaucer

Time to bring out the exersaucer again! It's hard to believe Max is old enough to play in it already. All three boys have loved that thing, thankfully. Eli and Jed were happy to introduce Max to the exersaucer and show him all the toys on it. The first time I put Max in it (at 4 mo. old), he was already too tall for the shortest setting, but I couldn't have put him in it sooner since he didn't have good head control. Oh well, I guess he better get used to being too tall for things!

whoa...

amazed

Max the Baylor Fan

We got to go to see a Baylor vs. UT basketball game last week. Eli and Jed stayed home with a sitter since it was a late game on a school night. Gramma was in town, so she went with me, John, and Max to the game. Max was great, as usual. He was sleeping in the Ergo carrier when we arrived, so when he woke up, he was very surprised to see where we were and amazed at all the hub bub going on around him. As you can see, we captured the look on his face in the pictures.

It was a good game since Baylor won! As John says, "it's always good to see UT loose, especially when it's to Baylor". Sic'em Bears!

look closely to see Max's expression

check out those surprised blue eyes!

of course we all wore our green and gold with pride!

Jed and his monster trucks

The collection continues to grow. I think it's getting close to 30 monster trucks now. Each one has a name and every one of them is special in some way. I think Eli and Jed could watch Monster Jam videos on youtube for hours if we let them! Jed likes to line them up perfectly so that if you move one just a little, he knows and will move it back right away. Jed also pretends the trucks are his babies. He feeds them num-nums, carries them in his backpack, and sings to them. I love it! That's definitely a memory I want to save for later!

Crunchy Mama

This makes me laugh! After I saw this I realized that I am a crunchy mom. I've done or said most of these things!

In case you are wondering what a crunchy mom is exactly...

• The slang dictionary definition: hippie-esque; ALL-NATURAL. Refers to the crunch of granola, which (as goes the stereotype) hippie-esque people are likely to eat.
• The definition from the Urban Dictionary: Mother who supports homebirth, breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, gentle discipline, etc. One who questions established medical authority; tends to be vegetarian and/or prepare all-organic foods. See crunchy and hippie.

There are different levels of cruchiness. I found a "How Crunchy Are You?" quiz online. I'm just below ultra-crunchy. I'm happy with my crunchiness and glad to know this about myself. Austin may have some influence in my crunchiness and that's why I love Austin! I think I would have some crunchy tendencies, Austin or no Austin.

Now, off to make myself some deodorant and put some garlic drops in the boys' ears...

Third Baby

This is what happens with the third baby: you put him down to play for longer than intended and when you come back to check on him, he's fallen asleep! No crying, minimal fussing, just content to fall asleep on the play mat. Nice!

Science Fair

A science fair?...for kindergartners?  I thought that was a little ridiculous myself.  The kidergarten and 1st grade students were required to do a collection project, which was going to make it easier for us since Eli likes to collect things. He already had at least three collections to choose from, and he decided to do his project on shells. We did some research online on what types of shells he had and ended up learning about them! Eli told us what to type for the report, vocabulary, etc. We took pictures of his shells and printed them out. Then I glued it all on the board. All our hard work paid off because Eli got a blue ribbon! He is very proud of his ribbon. I have put the project board away in a safe place and I am seriouly thinking about using it for Jed's kinder science project!  

The display of some of the types of shells

Basketball!

Eli is playing basketball again this year through the Y.  He's beginning to understand the game better this time and having fun playing, too!  We were going to take a break from sports but Eli really wanted to play basketball this winter.  John isn't the official coach, but he's been helping out at the games.  The games are entertaining as always!

#12!

I barely got Eli's basket on video


We also took the boys to their first college basketball game last week. It was UT versus Kansas, but it was still fun. A Baylor game would've been more exciting! John wore his Baylor shirt to the game, and we checked in on the Baylor game that was going on during the UT game, so we didn't feel like traders. The boys had a great time. Max slept through most of the game. We sat in the very last row at the very top of the Frank Erwin Center. It was perfect because we could put all our stuff up behind us since there was a small ledge behind us and the wall. I was even able to lay Max there to change his diaper instead of climbing up and down the steep stairs. Apparently Eli is a big Longhorn fan now...boo! Jed said his favorite part was the girls...the cheerleaders!

Eli snuck in a hook 'em as I took the picture

Espanol

Evidently Eli is learning Spanish in his dual language program at school. He wrote this sentence about the pet rock he decorated: "Mi mascota es wna tortwga se llama Max es mi amigo". He wrote W for U. It translates: "My pet is a turtle. His name is Max. He is my friend." Eli painted his rock green to look like a turtle.

I love seeing and hearing Eli's Spanish!

Super Heros!

Jed is all about Spiderman! There are variations to Jed's Spidermam: Spiderman costume w/ muscles, Spiderman pjs w/ webs, he adds the cape to the Spiderman costume, or without the mask he's Peter Parker, or sometimes he goes cape only with or without the Superman belt. No matter what, you have to address him as Spiderman or Superman (not Jed) when he's in uniform.

pjs w/ webs

Spiderman book

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Peter Parker

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Max at 2-3 months

Our Max is now 3 months old already!  At his 2 month check up he weighed in at 16 lbs. 9 oz. and 26 in. long. He's way off the growth chart!  Max is all about his hands. He's always clasping them together or chewing on them or looking at them and studying them. He also has recently discovered that he can use them to grab things. Max is very smiley and likes to "chat" with people with ooos and ahhs. Eli and Jed get the most smiles out of Max. He loves his big brothers!

cute monkey suit

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the angle makes his feet look big!

check out my hand

"Daddy's Little Farmer" John Deere shirt

My 3 Sons

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25 Rules for Mothers with Sons

I read this on a blog and thought it was a good list of things to remember as I raise my boys.

Max meets Max!

We were happy to introduce "little" Max to Grandad Max last week. Two Perkins just alike!