Mother of the Year

I went to 2 different stores and had several phone calls with Aunt Darcy to get the "perfect gift" for James. Joya loved this toy so Darce thought James would love it as well. It is supposed to promote crawling and eye hand coordination. Well, it might do those things but not for J.

He does not like his so much. He did it the first time we started it up and so we put it away for a while thinking he is just overwhelmed. Well, I tried it again this week and the result was the same. So I did what any mom would do and turned the thing off so I could go get the camera. I may not be winning any mother of the year awards any time soon. Sorry Darce, for all the time you spent looking for this on the internet and the phone calls from me, but I think this may be a toy that may just have to be put on the shelf for a while. Drew and Gavin love it so maybe we will play with it while J. is asleep in the mornings. Thanks again for trying!

7 Months

I was negligent on posting for his 6 month so I HAVE to post for 7 months.
He is such a pleasant baby. He is very sweet and has such a contagious smile. I don't know how many times we have had total strangers tell us how cute he is. He is funny in that he tries to catch your attention so he can smile at you.
He loves watching his brothers. He also recently discovered how to bounce. We got out the bouncy seat and he bounces non-stop (as long as you are watching) for as long as we keep him in it. He is also rolling all over the place. He has give up trying to crawl because he has figured out he can just roll wherever he needs to go. Today at church he even tried to pull himself up from seated. He landed on his face but I was amazed at his trying. He is not very graceful at getting onto his belly from sitting but he is getting better-he is doing it on purpose now instead of just falling over and hoping for the best.
He is a good eater. He loves everything we have given him. He is cutting his front teeth right now so he wants to gnaw on everything. He is not nursing very well because he is afraid he might miss something and sometimes just wants to talk to me.
I asked Andrew what he had to say about J baby and he said, "he is just fun." He also said that he liked just getting to spend time with one and focus the attention on just one. We are having to be careful because I think we have a little bit of spoiledness on our hands. He is happy and content to just sit on your lap and play with your hands or watch his brothers-including his gray furry one.
We are so blessed to have him in our family and love to get to know him more and more and realize just how unique he is and what a little blessing he is in our lives. I know I was a little disappointed when I found out he was a boy, but I can't imagine my life without him. All I have to do is look into his eyes and knew that God had a plan when he brought him into our lives because I just love him more and more everyday. He completes our family and I now know that I am a blessed mother of 3 beautiful boys (and a gray furry adopted one).

OCD

We all know Harper is Obsessive Compulsive. Here are some pictures that prove his issues. Our wonderful neighbors from TN (notice I did not say old neighbors, Mark and Linda) have always given Harper a "baby" for Christmas. This is a stuffed thing with a squeaker in it. He does not rest until the squeaker is out as well as all the stuffing.
We gave it to him this Christmas while we were opening gifts to give him something to do. Big mistake we forgot that he wants us to hold it while he destroys it so he continually puts it on your lap but gives you the evil eye until you throw it back to him. Look at those beady, bulging eyes.
He is pretty intense during this whole process. As you can see it makes a mess, but at least it keeps him occupied. Along with his obsessions is the couch. He loves to sit on the couch and sleep. He is now sitting beside me giving me the eye because I am on the floor and not on the couch with him.
The last time we had him at the vet they told us he is a little over weight. That is an understatement. He is huge! He is also out of shape. Andrew tried to run with him this weekend and he ended up limping home and slept the rest of the day due to exhaustion. I would not know why he is over weight? He only has two little ones feeding him on top of his regular food that he obsesses over. In fact, just today he had two cupcakes-yes 2 almost whole cupcakes. The boys could not finish their cupcakes and wanted to put them in a bag for later. While I was getting them the weasel (Andrew's term of endearment for him) stole it right off the table). It doesn't help that his head is the perfect height for the table. He does not have to jump at all and can do it without any noise. The only noise I heard was, "N0, puppy. Mommy, he ate my cupcake" from Gavin. So, I told him no and said he was not obeying Mommy by getting food off the table and I turned to get the bag for Drew's cupcake and he proceeded to nab Drew's cupcake again the only noise heard was "Harper!" 2 cupcakes! At least they were made with applesauce and not oil.

Well, I am hearing, I am poopy Mommy in the monitor and they are supposed to be sleeping so I better see if this is true.
One last thing about Harp is that he is a much better dog with the boys than I ever could have imagined him to be even with his quirks and tubbyness he is a pretty good dog overall. He finally gave up and is sitting in my spot on the couch looking at me with his sad eyes.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Happy Birthday, Jesus. We made a birthday cake for Jesus and the boys helped decorate it. Excuse my hair and sweats, I had just had a shower and have given up on my hair. Andrew likes this picture because we all are licking the knives. You have to try it out, right?

Of course we had to sing it twice because that is how we sing things around here (at least twice). I think we have found another tradition!

Christmas Cont.

James showing off how big he is getting. Yes, I missed his 6 month posting. He 6 months on Christmas Eve. I promise I will make it up (someday).

Grandma and the boys!

Cheezin for the camera with his new slippers from Grandma and Grandpa.

Opening the gift they are currently fighting over as I type. They didn't want to open anything else after they opened the keyboard and guitar.

He was very excited!

Rockin out!

Cryin' it out!

(We made him put it away so he could open another gift-I know we are horrible parents.) If you are wondering what that is above his head it is Harper's Christmas gift. That is a post all on its own. Still plenty of pictures to come!

Christmas 2009

Not much time just a few pictures!