Miles of Smiles

We have had many reasons to smile the last few weeks and have received them from EVERY member of the family. We started with Emily's 4th birthday party at The Little Gym. 18 energy-filled kiddos who had previously been trapped inside due to bad weather, had a grand time running, jumping and playing in the gym.
The girls had their Christmas concert at Little Lambs and we were very entertained by the dancing and kid watching. Listening to three and four year olds sing about Jesus' birthday brings a smile to everyone's face and when you couple that with a great rendetion of "Pharoh, Pharoh" (dance moves included) one can't help but laugh.
Jeff was all smiles when his three week vacation started the morning of the 11th!
Our family attended the Christmas Eve service at Second Baptist Woodway, it was beautiful. The candlelight at the end of the service was breathtaking. All three kids were perfect during the service. The girls sat and stood at the appropriate times and Charlie slept through the whole service.
Charlie gave us his first smile on Christmas Eve which was the best present two parents could ask for. It has now become our mission to make him smile at every opportunity.
Christmas morning brought many smiles from the girls. Elizabeth was ecstatic that Santa brought her a Batman Cave and Emily loves her Mermaid Barbie doll and slide for the bathtub. The slide is for the doll, not Emily.
We are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Birmingham Bosche clan, due to arrive this afternoon. The girls can't wait to play with cousin Alex and spend the night at Nana's. The sleeping bags are already waiting by the front door.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

It snowed!! Well, it fell from the sky and then disappeared before it hit the ground. We didn't have it stick out here in Cypress like everyone else in Houston and the surrounding areas. The girls were bundled up like Eskimos and sent out to "play" in he snow. This equated to them trying to catch it on their tongues and then deciding it was a lot like rain. While they were impressed at first, they quickly realized there would be no snow-man building adventure. Emily held out hope for this all day and even part of the next morning. All she would have been able to build was a mudman! While there are no visible snowflakes in the posted pictures, there are two adorable, bundled up girls trying to catch the snow!

Who needs a parka in December?

Well, November ended with a bang-literally. Jeff's two feet came crashing through the ceiling in the kitchen. (Picture shows patched up temporary fix.) He was in the attic in search of the cause of "the smell" otherwise known as a dead rat. He found one corpse right before the misstep. He was unharmed for the most part. Unfortunately we can't say the same for the kitchen ceiling. The departed rodent was discarded, however there must have been more than one because the smell still remains.
December started with cold rain and a chance of snow this week. While I think that will be exciting, the fact that my two oldest children are without heavy coats will be a problem. I mean, who needs heavy coats at the beginning of December when you live in Houston? Evidently we do! As I headed out to JC Penny in search of parkas (surely there are some left on the racks) I discovered that other moms of girls wearing 4/5 were aware of this need before I was because there are none to be found in my girls' sizes. So I will continue with the search tomorrow. How awful it would be if they were denied play time in the snow because they are without a parka. I do realize that in the off chance it does snow and they play in it without a heavy coat, they will not catch a fatal disease. This is Houston after all, which means it "snows" for 20 mins and melts the instant in touches the ground.
I have put up and decorated the Christmas tree with some reluctance-from myself. The kids presents are wrapped and under the tree, although I am some what regretting that decision since they are inspecting them at every chance as well as interrogating me about the contents. I have figured out that the in plain view presents do offer some parental leverage. I caught myself saying this to the girls today: " Every time you girls fight you will have a present removed from under the tree." A lofty threat that will most likely not be followed through on but seems to be effective for now.

Thanksgiving

Things our family is thankful for:
Elizabeth: "Mommy and Charlie" I'm sure she is thankful for other people but we happened to be in her line of sight when I asked.
Emily: "My whole family."
Charlie: No verbal answer but I have a feeling he would say "Tummy sleep time on Mommy".
Jeff: I think right now Jeff is thankful for sleep. A newborn at home and working two 24 hr shifts at the station with very little sleep makes for a tired Daddy. He went to bed tonight at 8:00.
Cathy: A complete family that we didn't know was incomplete until Charlie came into our lives. Also, good health for all of us and wonderful family and friends!

Boys vs. Girls

Here is what I have learned just in the last two weeks in some differences between a son and daughters:
1. Clothes-Boys clothes have the ability to be mixed and matched quite easily.
2. Diapers changes-MUCH more difficult with a boy. Charlie actually peed in his ear today-I kid you not! I was way too confident and left him open to the breeze. Don't worry, I put a tad bit of rubbing alcohol in his ear to dry it out.
3. Gas-He has proven to be better belcher and gas passer and seems happier for it. I'm wondering if this is an innate ability of all males.
4. Mommy love-I'm not sure if it is because he is THE last baby or because he is more of a Mommy baby but I've been fairly selfish with sharing this sweet little man. I have no doubt that one day I will be looking up at my precious son and wishing that he would curl up on my chest and sleep or wrap his hand around my finger being hopelessly dependent on his Mommy.

Welcome to the World Charles William Jacobs!

Charlie entered the World on Monday, November 9, 2009 at 8:39 a.m. He weighed a healthy 9 pounds 6 ounces and is 21 1/2 inches long! He came via c-section and it took 4, count them, 4 people to "push" him out of the incision. Even the anesthesiologist got in on the action. We were so excited to welcome him to the family.

The girls weren't able to come up to the hospital because of the new H1N1 policy but the anticipation built up and they were VERY excited to bring him home on Thursday.

Jeff and I thought we were prepared for the first night having done it twice before-we thought wrong. No amount of experience prepares you for the exhaustion, confusion, middle-of-the-night diaper changing (all the more challenging with a boy, I might add) and scrambling around that newborn care requires.

While we are walking around today in a zombie-like state, we feel extremely blessed to have this sweet baby boy in our lives.

See ya October, Hello November

October is over and we are getting closer to being a family of 5. We had a Pink Panther and a ghost this year. Trick or treating was great, the girls are now brave enough to go up to the doors without us trailing right behind them. I made it from block to block but we probably made it to fewer houses because of my slower pace.

So, we say good-bye to October and look forward to bringing a new blessing into the family, counting down the days until Christmas and stuffing ourselves full of holiday goodies.

Pumpkin Fun

Last Saturday we made a quick trip to the neighborhood pumpkin patch. I was all about getting the "perfect pictures" while the girls wanted to run around and roll the pumpkins. I've realized I need to loosen up, actually doing it will be the challenge. We love going to Dewberry Farm but I am not in any condition to walk around that much. We will be back there next year with all three kiddos.
Last night, the girls helped Jeff carve one of the pumpkins. They scooped out the seeds and the "mulch" as Elizabeth calls the pulp. I was surprised that they actually stuck their hands into the pumpkin once or twice. The cute, little jack-o-lantern is stinking up my kitchen but the girls are constantly walking by to admire their handiwork so I will deal with the smell (at least for one more day). :)

The Nursery!
Well, the nursery is pretty much complete. It has a dalamation/fireman theme (I know, hard to believe) and we think it looks pretty cute. It was decorated with the help from a lot of people. Thank you to all of you who helped out with Charlie's room. The bedding and window treatment were sewn and monogrammed by Dorothy Hendrick and Dawn Buffington, friends of my Mom. We still need a few wall decorations but aren't too worried about that. Our whole family had a lot of fun with the room and the girls are VERY excited about welcoming their baby brother to our family.

What a day!

I started off the day trying to do some baby preparation. We ended the day with the girls bedroom completely rearranged, toys moved around and out AND closer to being ready for Charlie.
The girls bunk beds are no longer in the bunk position. One was getting too much fan/ac and the other was getting too little. So after measuring, contemplating, measuring and talking again...the beds are separated. Well, after Grandpa Kirk and Nana came over to help with the labor part. Now there is a slightly broken rail on Elizabeth's bed that wasn't there this morning but Jeff is sure he can fix it.
The girls were very excited to have "new" beds. We felt the need to reward all of our hard effort with dinner at Chuy's. Whew, I hope tomorrow is a little more relaxing.

The Flu

The "swine" flu arrived at our house late Sunday afternoon. Poor Elizabeth was pretty sick for a couple of days but is bouncing back today. So far Emily has managed to escape it but not without a case of cabin fever. We kept her home from school just in case but am now thinking we should have sent her. Hopefully this is the end of the swine visit, only time will tell.
We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of sweet Charlie. 39 days or less to go! My doctor visit went well yesterday and the doctor says he is a big boy. I think by looking at me that is quite obvious.
We think we are prepared but is anyone ever really prepared for 3 kids??