Mommy's Little Helper

Someone wanted to help unload the dishwasher... or something.

He was NOT happy when I got him down.

Playing in the Snow With Daddy

Sam is much better than me about taking the kids out to play in the snow. I don't like the cold and the process of getting the kids into their snow clothes is crazy. But Sam convinced me to get out there with them this past weekend.

There was snow eating,

snow angel making, 

snowball throwing, 

and cuteness.

Lots of cuteness.

Oh, and don't forget the snot-cicles!

Marriage is Wonderful

Have you heard the song "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran? It's a good one.

As Sam and I listened to that song on Saturday night while he swept the floor and I did the dishes, the line "maybe we found love right where we are" resonated with me. Since having kids our relationship has had to evolve a little bit. We don't spend as much time alone as we used to, but we are able to use the time we do have together (even if it's cleaning or doing home projects) to talk and joke and help our relationship grow.

"It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions. You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together." 

- Ricard G. Scott

Ellie-isms.

Here are a few funny things about Ellie that I have been keeping track of for the past few months. She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure!

1. Ellie: "when I grow up, I want to be a chicken."

2. Conversation with boy at library:

Ellie: our house is so messy (thanks, Ellie! :) )

Boy: do you know what my grandma does? She cleans up and vacuums. You should do that. (Yeah, maybe I should get on that! ;) )

3. The kids were all in their rooms supposed to be napping. I could hear them making noise and laughing, but I didn't do anything because I was in the middle of a workout. After awhile I called in to Ellie that she better be in her bed, and she said "can I nap with Jonah in my room?" I said no, and she said "well he is in here." I went to go see, and sure enough she had somehow gotten him out of his playpen without hurting him and without me hearing. When I asked her how he got out of bed she said "the wind blew him out."

4. Ellie ate all of her popcorn and was trying to convince Nathan to give her some of his. After trying for awhile she said "If you give me some popcorn I'll marry you!" It worked.

5. Ellie: "Mom, did you know reindeers can smell lion poop?"

6. We were at the library, and the kids always run to the fish tank as soon as we get there. Ellie saw that one of the fish was dead and said, "Mom, why is that fish swimming upside down?"

And I love finding these blurry selfies on my phone.

An I-Phone, Some Whining, and Some Laughing

Getting my kids to do their chores is NOT EASY! Distractions and whining seem to be so much more fun:

Oh, and making messes like the one in the boys' room... I'm not sure why they thought it was a good idea to dump the entire contents of their closet onto the bedroom floor. You better believe they didn't like cleaning that one up either, though.

Good thing I like these cute little monkeys!

Thumb-Sucker No More

Ever since Jonah started sleeping un-swaddled at about 4 months, he was a thumb-sucker. And I mean a THUMB-SUCKER! When we started him on rice cereal, the only way he could figure out how to swallow it was by putting his thumb in his mouth and sucking the food down. He would suck his thumb when he was sleeping, when he was bored, when he was mad and needed comfort, when he was tired, and when he was hungry. I thought for sure he would be 10 years old and still sucking his thumb. This picture was taken in California just a few days before Christmas:

I'm so glad I took it because a few days after we got home from this trip, I noticed I hadn't seen Jonah suck his thumb for awhile. It's been about a week now, and I haven't seen him put it in his mouth once. Though I am EXTREMELY glad I won't have to help him learn to stop sucking his thumb at a later age, I miss it a little bit! He's becoming less of a baby and more of a toddler. He's just getting entirely too big!

(He had black beans with dinner that night, and he had the funniest little goatee... But it got washed off before I could get a picture... So I took a picture of the half-washed-off version. Still cute, that's for sure!)

We are so glad this little guy is in our family! He brings joy to our lives every day.

The More I Add, the More Joyful it Becomes

     This morning as I was doing some cleaning, Jonah started fussing. I picked him up and played with him for awhile, but then I needed to get back to cleaning while the other two kids were occupied so I grabbed the baby carrier and put the little guy on my back. As I was getting the straps adjusted and ready to go, he just snuggled right up to my back as happy as could be. For some reason it was one of those moments where I thought "I'm going to miss this some day." So I snapped a picture.

     And even though it is a less than flattering picture of me, I think it is one of my favorites. My little baby is quickly outgrowing "baby" stage and it is making me sad.

     This post from lovingmylot.com pretty much sums it up:

"The first time a kind stranger peeked at my newborn baby and gushed, “Oh honey, treasure every second!” I almost burst into tears.  Not because I was so touched, but because I was so tired...Two weeks ago I gave birth to baby number three...This time, if a kindly stranger tells me to treasure every second, I think I will burst into tears.  Not because of my lost figure or freedom, but because I so ardently understand that the seconds truly are numbered.  They are grains of sand slipping through the hourglass, never to be returned.  That’s the funny thing about motherhood.  You start off with so little on your plate, and it feels like you’re absolutely drowning.  And yet the more you add, the more joyful it becomes.  Because somewhere in between adding more babies, and more diapers, and more laundry, you also add more perspective.  You realize there are worse things than a long night, and challenges really do pass, and tiny toes don’t stay tiny forever.  You know cribs turn into beds, and strollers turn into bikes, and the chubby cheeks making fish faces today will be wearing your makeup tomorrow."

I don't pretend to know all there is to learn about motherhood, but lately I have marveled at how much my kids are learning and growing. They aren't going to be little forever. Though I am overwhelmed more often than I would like to admit with my three little ones, it has definitely gotten easier. And I have had more time to enjoy the every day moments of having young kids. I really do love being a mom. It's the hardest thing I have ever done, but I absolutely love it.

Now off to make sure there are no monsters in Ellie's room... or Nathan's room... or my room... or the family room... or the basement...