No more Binkers

It is official, I have taken the binks away and Carson is doing just fine. He does ask for it but I just tell him no and give him something else to play with. He slept well last night, guess we should have taken it away much sooner but hey he loved it and needed something to keep him "small" Now that Jackson is here we don't have room for 2 babies in the house. Carson has officially graduated to BIG BOY. We love you Carson, you truly do brighten our lives.

Zoo fun

Jackson taking a snooze in his carseat. I should have taken a picture of the boys together because they got to wear their matching outfits. Next time we will definately get a picture.

We took the kids to the zoo on Friday and although we knew it was going to be hot we survived and didn't feel the heat until it was time to go home. Most of the animals were out and active and the kids got to see the animals, not like times before when they are all asleep. Jackson was a trooper, slept the entire time and we managed to make it through the whole zoo without having to stop and feed him. We love how easy he is. Afraid that he will have his difficult times as a teenager.

My boy

Jackson is growing more and more each day, he is starting to fill out and get little cheeks. He is such a good boy, can't believe he is already almost one month old. He is a sweet addition to our family and can't imagine life without him.

All in a days work

Carson's room after we picked it up.
Carson's room before we cleaned it up

Madison's room after we cleaned it up

Madison's room before

The mess is even in the hallway!

I don't know how many times I am cleaning up kids rooms and putting them "back together" I thought it would be fun to take pictures of our typical "before" and "after" daily cleaning of the rooms. Sometimes I wish I had a playroom so we only destroyed one room instead of half of the house. The other reason I wish I had a playroom was bedtime. Carson will be content and lay down and go to sleep but soon enough he will be in his big boy bed and may climb out to play with his toys (not looking forward to that). Lets see last night I went in to Madison's room because I heard something and yes she was still awake playing with her toys instead of sleeping. Did I mention it was 11:30 pm? What a night owl. Would really be nice to have a place to "play" and a place to "relax and sleep". The kids need their own spaces and are learning responsibility to help clean up, right? Think our next room will be a 4 bedroom so we have a place to play together... We will see how that works.

A much needed trip to the beach

We were adventurous and went over to Pismo and Avila on Sunday for the day. I was a little nervous taking Jackson, that is a long way for a little one to be in a carseat, especially one who HATES his carseat. He did great, slept the entire way. Probably cried a total of 5 minutes in the car, but that is to be expected. The weather was wonderful, nice and cool. The kids played and played and had fun in the sand. They were both laying around and playing in the sand. Wish I would have taken pictures of all of us. Jackson slept all day and really didn't leave his carseat or I would have had pictures of him too. Next time, right??? Well we had a much needed escape from the heat and the kids had a blast. Glad we went.

bath time !!

I was being adventurous and gave all the kids and myself baths / showers this morning. Can't believe it took 1 1/2 hours to get everyone ready. Jackson is starting to like baths and does not cry anymore when he takes a bath. He actually just stares at himself in the bathroom mirror (I put his bathtub on the bathroom counter). The kids are all adjusting better to having a baby in the house, they may be letting him breathe now. Either that or the newness is wearing off and they are getting back to their routines. I am adjusting well to being a mother to three very young needy children! Love them all!!

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Shark Tent

We had our cousins over for a sleep over last week and thought it would be fun to get out the shark tent and let the girls sleep in there. Well that was almost a week ago and it is still up. Madison has slept in there when Lily came over and also had a solo campout. We need to take it down, but honestly it has been nice to be able to just zip up the mess and not be tripping over it.

Photo shoot

We had Jackson's pics taken and I know I will love them all. Here is a sneak peak of my little cutie! Thanks Michelle for putting up with me and working your magic!

What I love...

I absolutely love being a mother to three beautiful children. They are the reason I feel I was put on this earth. I love that they all need their Mommy in their own special way. I love each and every one of them for their own special personalities and little quirks. I thought I would take some time to reflect on what it is that I love about each of them. Jackson

My mother in law always tells me that I have won the baby lottery and I am so lucky to have such easy babies to take care of. Jackson is very content and patient with his Mommy. I have only heard his really cry loudly maybe 2-3 times. He does not fuss much, just loves to eat and sleep. He loves to be swaddled and held in your arms. He will tolerate being awake and just laying in his bed looking around, but he would much rather be looking around and sitting or laying on someone's lap. I love that he looks like his Daddy (at least I think so) and that he tolerates his brother and sister so well. Don't know how he does it with them always in his face and touching him. I am so glad that we had another baby and although it gets rough at times when I look at the innocence in his eyes I can't help but to think that he was sent here for a reason. I love having a newborn (well I might complain at times but that is just sleep deprivation)
Carson

Carson is my independent little man. He wants to be a big boy and wants to do everything by himself. He is growing up so fast. I love that he will play independently in his room, give him trains and he will play all day. I love that he is talking so much and making us laugh each and every day. I love that he comes up behind his sister and gives her a big hug and wont let go, they walk around the house connected quite frequently, Maybe he is just trying to make a train, who knows? I love that he is my best sleeper. He loves his bed and loves to sleep, all he needs is 2 binkies, 1 train and 1 bear. If he doesn't have those things he will let you know. I love having a little boy to play with. I love getting down on the ground and playing cars or trains with him. I look forward to getting dirty and playing boy games with him and his brother.

Madison

Madison is definately her Mommy's girl. She wants to do everything her Mommy is doing. She loves to be creative and do little art projects. She loves to help cook and clean up. She loves to play outside and always has. She absolutely is a girly girl. She loves makeup and dressup, but not to excited to comb her hair. She LOVES her brothers and loves to take care of them, she even loves helping to change Jackson's diapers. I love how she tells Carson, "Come with Sissy I will help you!" She is my only girl, my little princess and I cherish the special times we share together. Although she is getting quite big, will be 4 in February, she still is my baby girl. Every afternoon for nap we have to rock in the rocking chair. It is our special time and although she wants to be big and do big girl things she still is my baby girl and always will be. She can make me smile in an instant with the cute things she says.

Three Amigos

I just love this picture of the cousins together. Madison and Carson are just crazy about their cousin Parker, and so are we. Parker Happy 1/2 Birthday, you are getting so big and handsome, we love ya! Can't wait for you to get bigger and run around with us.

Just like Mommy

All of my family will attest that as a young child I was always in the kitchen playing and sitting on the kitchen table or laying on the kitchen floor. Well I think Madison and Carson may have got that from me. Recently Carson has decided that on top of the kitchen table is the best place to play, eat, or shake all the salt out of the shakers and then lick the shaker. Yuck I know. We now do not store them on the table. Madison joins in too, but not nearly as often as Carson. Then both lay around on the kitchen floor and talk and laugh together and I can't help but to think about how my parents and family felt like trying to keep me out of their way. I can only imagine how many times my parents were telling me to get off the table, now I am telling it to my children. Wow am I old now!

Sand Art

We were out on a walk on Saturday and found a yardsale. We bought a kit to make sand art animals and decided to buy it. Last night upon putting Madison to bed I promised her if she slept in her bed all night we would make sand art in the morning, well I had to keep to my promise. After we (Madison and Mommy) were all cleaned up we ventured into the kitchen and got to work. She wanted to do it all by herself and did a very good job of not making a disaster. She was done and I told her she made a beautiful "creation". Carson at this point had crawled up on the table and was watching his big sissy. She was finished and I was starting to clean up when Carson ran to Grandma crying saying "creation, creation...." holding the tiny funnel to put in the plastic vases. So in he came and he made one with Mommy. He wanted to do it himself but I KNEW that would result in a disaster so Mommy helped. He was so proud and happy he got to play too. I guess he needs to start being more involved in our crafts and activities. He is such a big boy and we love him.

Our little boy

Here are some new pictures of our cute little Jackson. He is changing more and more everyday. What a cutie!!

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