In a Flash

Somehow we went from here:

To here:

in a flash.
In the blink of an eye, we have a Kindergartner who will turn 6 in one week and 4 days according to the ticker at the top of the blog.
Six years goes by fast...

Summer Time Fun

Well, it has been awhile since the last blog. Much has happened!
We are in the new house and almost unpacked. The whole family (including Jake the Dog) loves our pool.
We love that everyone has their own room, the game room upstairs and the closet space. Sometimes we reminisce about our old house but we don't drive by anymore and this one feels like home now. We have a had a few family parties and I initiated the wall with a full lemon pie on Jeff's birthday. Before

After
Slipped right off the pie plate.
One of these days (hopefully soon) we will have the walls painted, decor hung and all the boxes unpacked. For now, we are taking one day at a time and enjoying all the little thing each day brings.

Splish, Splash...

Ready for the pool! I thought Charlie would love the pool because he LOVES his bathtime. His goal is to scoot his baby bathtub up far enough to reach the faucet. He does this by rocking back and forth until he can reach the water. He always gives me a goofy grin when the tub starts moving.
Anyway, he LOVES the pool and the waterfall!


Elizabeth is our fish this summer. She is already our coppertone cutie, I wish I could tan like she does! She is diving for dive sticks (in the shallow end of course) and is so proud that she can swim without her vest. I don't have any pics of that, yet, but here she is rocking a camo tankini and Jeff's sunglasses!

No pics of Emily in the pool but not because she isn't swimming with us. Our camera is here in our temporary home BUT we are so ready for the water by the time we get all three dressed, lotioned up and in the pool that the camera is the last thing on our minds. Our new house (we close Monday!) has a pool and surely we will capture more shots of all the kiddos swimming!

T-ball 2010

We were lovin' us some t-ball this spring with two sweet players!

Did I mention that I signed up to be the team mom?? Why? Who knows! It was fun and Jeff and Jenn helped me out a lot (thanks you two!). We love watching the kids, they are hilarious! At the end of every game, Elizabeth would ask who won and Emily's question was usually about the end of game snack. Next year the girls will move up to the "girls only" team. Emily is excited about the visor she will get to wear instead of a baseball hat. Next up for the Jacobs sporting adventures will be fall soccer. Mosquito haven, here we come!

Notice the difference in the girls gloves. Emily loved her pink and black light up glove while Elizabeth has a "real baseball glove".

No longer a disbeliever...

I never really took the "Oh, you are having a boy? It's a whole new world." comments very seriously while I was pregnant with Charlie. After all, I am in the education field, I work with children everyday, I know the difference between boys and girls. Boys are active, they like to run, throw, play and get dirty. Girls like to color, they will sit in your lap and let you play with their hair, they will watch a full episode of Sesame Street and wash their hands after using the potty. I thought I had a few years before I had to brace myself for the "boyness" of a son. Uh, I miscalculated the timeline. Charlie is a grabber and he doesn't just grab to see what things feel like, he grabs to see what they taste like. The girls used to pick up random objects and look at them. Every once in awhile (read RARELY) did they put those objects in their mouths. Charlie will pick up a random object and doesn't even bother to glance at it before putting it in his mouth. Nothing is safe with that child. We often misjudge the length of his arms. We move objects to a safe distance and he manages to grab them anyway. Just the other night he managed to dump the last remnants of my margarita on to me and himself. His onesie smelled strongly of tequila (don't judge) and we were both fairly sticky on the ride home.
Jeff took him to his 6 month check up and he reported that C destroyed the paper on the table (honestly, who doesn't), grabbed the dr.'s stethoscope with both hands and pulled and managed to grab various other objects during his examination. He also proceeded in getting one of the band aids off his leg and into his mouth by the time they reached the elevator.
Life will never be dull with this precious boy, the fun has just begun.

Birthday Party Overload

One might say that three birthday parties in two days, at the same location, is a bit much. I was that person, until I saw the wreckless abondon that my girls enjoyed. Watching them interact with friends and jump into a pit of foam blocks (germ infested, I know) was priceless. The fact that my presence isn't really needed anymore doesn't make me sad. It makes me feel like a secret spy into their social networking. Elizabeth enjoys the physical activity and her "best friends" that happen to be boys. Emily relishes the sqeauling and giggling of the girls but isn't afraid to sweat. Of course the cake and ice cream along with the goodie bag is the favorite of both girls. Elizabeth scrapes every last crumb and shred of icing off the plate, while Emily rushes through her dessert in hopes that she can squeak out one more moment of play/social interaction with her friends. As I stand with the other moms and converse about which swim lessons are best, how many days in preschool make a difference, I'm secretly watching my sweet babies grow into big girls. Time flies when you're having fun...

My Happy Place...

As the stress of selling and buying house, deciding between putting more money into an older vehicle or throwing in the towel and buying a new one and the chaos of life with three kids takes its toll, I find myself escaping into my happy place. My happy place(s) of late is rocking a sweet baby boy to sleep. Just as he is falling asleep and relaxing in my arms, he reaches up to feel my face (his eyes still closed) as if to say "just checking that it is still you mama". It was also watching the excitement of Elizabeth come home from school and announce that she is the "Special Helper" this week. She loves having this role but to her the most exciting part is that when you are the "Special Helper" your mom can come read to the class. She has been waiting for this day for a long time. I often hear about the other moms who come read to the class and she constantly asks when I will have my turn. When she found out that I was available to come and fulfill her dream she jumped up and down. I know she had her doubts about my availability because she told Jeff that he would probably have to come read because "Mommy has to work". Ugh, the sting of salt being poured into the wound otherwise known as the working Mom's guilt. The place I find the most amusement is listening to Emily sing along to the Rolling Stones. She loves one particular song, I have no idea what it is called, but she recognizes it every time it comes on the radio. I am too busy laughing at her singing along (not the correct words mind you) to notice which song is playing. Jeff is very proud of his influence on her musical taste and holds onto this as hope that she will come around to prefer this genre of music, even though she typically requests Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus as her top picks from the Ipod.
I know that we are blessed beyond what we deserve. Things will work out how they are supposed to with all the "stuff" and I will continue to escape to my happy places in this adventure known as parenthood.

Stuff

I should warn any reader that this post will be full of random information, along with typos and misspellings.
The last month has flown by and it is hard to believe that Easter is in two weeks. We had a couple of weeks of great temps but have had a small setback in wearing our flip flops this weekend. I have full faith in Houston weather and know that in a few short days we will have our toes exposed again!
Charlie had his four month check-up on the 10th and weighed in at a whopping 16 1/2 pounds. He has also grown four inches in four months and is wearing 6-9 month clothes. He is a big, healthy boy who is always smiling and making us laugh. He has discovered his thumb and all four of us are constantly discouraging him from "eating" his hand. We are a paci kind of family. We started him on rice cereal and some veggies, which he spits out. I've seen babies do this on t.v. but have never experienced it first hand. I have had to wipe myself down after feeding him green beans and sweet potatoes. I am bound and determined to have one nonpicky eater so I'll keep feeding him the yucky stuff until he likes it. NOT going to feel guilty about either.
Poor Emily has had strep three times since January. The doc thinks the lastest case is due to the fact the last antibiotic wasn't effective. Jeff and I are ready to discuss a tonsilectomy for the poor girl. The rule of thumb is 5 cases of strep in one year, we are more than half way there. She is so much sweeter when she feels better. It does make us feel bad for the battles we go through with her not knowing that the poor child feels terrible. She is the type of kid that doesn't complain of feeling bad but can be running a 101 fever. We usually don't know she is sick until she sleeps past 8:30, doesn't eat breakfast or vomits. *Note to self: if she is calling me "grossest mommy ever" maybe she has strep again.
Elizabeth will be registering for Kindergarten on the 25th, well I will be registering her. GULP. How did my baby get this old?? I've always told myself I will not be one of those moms who crys, takes a million pics, lingers outside the classroom, etc. but as this milestone approaches I find myself morphing into that mom. Afterall, sometimes those moms make my job awkward and uncomfortable when I am peeling their child off of them and ushering the poor kid into the classroom. Typically, the child isn't the one with the problem. (Don't worry, if you are reading this and you have experienced that with me, I'm not talking about you.)
The girls first t-ball game is this Saturday, should be entertaining. Emily knocks the ball out of the infield on most at-bats at practice but could really careless about playing. She is the rough and tough girly girl. Elizabeth loves the game and loves the uniform but often hits the tee on her at-bats. She is the sensitive tomboy. They are too funny.
Our Spring Break was uneventful and full of home improvement projects (what else is new). We met with the realtor (yea Laura Sanders) and are hoping to have the house on the market by April 1st. Stay tuned...

Lots of Love

The girls LOVE their little brother. Elizabeth's favorite way to show him how much she cares is to "pet" his head and talk to him in a very strange voice. Emily likes to get right in his face and love him up close. Sometimes they love him so much it makes him cry. One thing is for certain, he is easy to love. He likes to smile at us, coo and babble at us. There is nothing better than rescuing him from his bed and having him look up and give you a squinty smile. I have a feeling that he will keep all of us wrapped around his finger for a very long time...

I'm an alien-I think

Elizabeth has been making Valentines for everyone in our family and her friends at school. She won't tell me that they are for me, she tells me they are for "aliens". I guess she believes that she is misleading me and will have this big surprise for me on Valentines Day. I am playing along and find it quite endearing when she loudly whispers to Jeff that "alien mom gets two Valentine hearts". Evidently, he is in on the secret and is not an alien. During her outpouring of love she is making them for every friend in her class. God bless that child and her sweet spirit. I hope and pray (as I am choosing to believe every anxious mom does) that her friends will accept these homemade Valentines with excitement as she has labored over them all night. She traced, cut out and wrote every child's name on the hearts and picked out specific colors that her classmates would like. We are taping a lollipop on them for the party because this mom knows a little extra somethin' won't hurt.

Getting Ready

We are experiencing the joys of getting our house ready to sell. I love our little house and will be sad to move but reality is we are out of room.
This is a house of firsts: first time home buyers, first time car owners (two paid off!), first time parents (as well as second and third times), first time "hunkering" down for a hurricane on our own (not one but two), along with many other small firsts that come with growing up, being married and paying bills. The experts say to clean out, add fresh coats of paint and try to hide all of the living that has goes on in the house. Yes, I will do that but what I would like to show is that this house has seen our family grow, which potential home buyers won't see because I am told to put away family photos. They won't see the fun because Jeff is painting over the crayon on the walls, the skid marks from the ride-on firetruck, push toys and walkers and patching the holes from various objects being catapulted from toddlers hands.
I am holding out as long as possible on cleaning out the girls room and bath toys. The obvious reason being that they might kill each other if they don't have something to play with but also because part of me thinks potential home buyers might find comfort in knowing that the bedroom holds one million toys and that 5 bath time Barbies, a mesh bag full of foam letters, two things of bubble bath, Cowabunga Coconut shampoo and one extravagant Barbie mermaid slide, all fit quite nicely in the bathtub corner shelf.

The Ups and Downs of my 32nd year

I turned 33 on Tuesday, which was also Groundhog Day. The girls make it impossible to be disgruntled about getting older and frankly, I found it quite enjoyable and relished their celebration of my birth! I was bummed that the furry rodent saw his shadow because I am ready for some warmer temps.
It has been a busy year for us in the Jacobs household this past year, with many ups and some downs. They are listed in chronological order

Ups:
-our first trip to Disneyworld
-finding out we were having a third child (while very surprising at first)
-having the opportunity to work 1.5 miles away from home
-watching Elizabeth play t-ball
-finding out we were going to be the parents of a BOY!
-watching the girls learn to swim (for real) and Elizabeth jumping off the diving board
-seeing the pure joy on Emily's face during her dance class

-Elizabeth playing soccer was priceless
-giving birth to our sweet Charlie and knowing that he has completed our family
-celebrating nine years of marriage
-finding out we will have our first niece in June

Downs:
-leaving dear friends and students at a school that I love
-comforting Elizabeth over the death of her beloved frog Hoppy and holding back tears myself even though I strongly disliked having an amphibian in the house
-saying goodbye to our sweet dogs Roscoe and then Cooter (much harder than I could have ever imagined)

I can only imagine that this year will be full of exciting things along with disappointments and growing pains. While I hope the time goes slowly because I am realizing that what they say is true "time flies"; I also can't wait to see what year 33 holds in its grasp.

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). :)