First "Official" Field Trip

Today we went to a local fire department with a group of homeschoolers. We joined a group called TEACH (Tallahassee Evangelical Association of Christian Homeschoolers). At the first meeting there were schedules of some upcoming field trips that we could sign up for. I knew Drew and Knox would enjoy the field trips, but I also thought it was important to let them "hang out" with some other homeschool kids. As soon as we got there Drew went right up front with the other kids so that he could see. I love to see that he is coming out of his shell. He used to hang back and be very shy. Knox was "scared" so I got to hold him about 75% of the time. It was okay, except I'm getting so big that it's hard to carry him around, and one time when I switched him to the other side something pulled in my back, so I have had a heating pad on my back off and on since we got home. I don't know when to ice or heat, but so far the heat has felt good and the boys have enjoyed playing with it when I'm not using it. Anyway, back to the fire department, they told us when we left that if you go to any fire department between 9-7 and ask to see fire engines they will happily show them to you. I thought that was neat that the firemen are so open to visitors.

Here are my attempts at getting a picture of the boys on the fire truck. The first take was the best for sure!

Here is Knox in the fire truck. Drew had gone through with all of the other kids before I could take a picture.

I think Knox was attempting to "slide" down the pole.

Drew (in the blue shirt) was listening with some of the other kids. He "LOVES" to learn about new things. He's fun to teach. I wonder what it will be like with my other boys if they aren't as into learning.

There was an actual emergency call while we were there, so we got to watch the trucks leave. They then returned about 2 minutes later, telling us it was a broken down car on the side of the road. I didn't hear what had happened, so when I asked Drew, he just told me it was a false alarm. :)

Here they are watching a fireman get dressed in all of his gear. This was not Knox's favorite part. He seems to get scared of anything "dressed up". (ex. the chic-fil-e cow terrified him) I'm wondering what will happen when we finally make it to Disney.

Here is a picture of the boys "reuniting" about half way through the tour. I can already tell that this will be a favorite picture of mine in the future!

Sorry about the lack of blogs. I just don't seem to be very motivated to anything beyond what's necessary. The pregnancy is going well. I'm 29 weeks and everything has been looking good. The small concern that was noted earlier, seems to have taken care of itself, so as far as we know our little baby boy is healthy!

It's a....

...boy! We found out this week what we are expecting. I think we were both surprised because we had no feeling either way. But, as you can see from the picture it was pretty obvious. Everything looked really good. There is one concern, but we'll be seeing a specialist shortly and should gather more information at that time. I'm thrilled to think of being a mommy of 3 boys. I know we would have been just as thrilled about a girl, but it's nice to know we have all the toys, clothes, etc. Now we just have to start figuring out other things like bunk beds for the boys and a new car! We've been kind of dragging our feet, but we need to start moving it a little since we're half way to the finish line. :)Here are the boys in the waiting room after we found out.

Drew Turns 4! (2 1/2 months ago)

We had a wonderful birthday celebration with Drew this year. Months before his birthday he began to discuss his "theme" with me. We had a lot of good ideas this year....fighting, soldiers, pirates....but, he finally decided on super heroes. I'm not sure how he got into superheroes, since he doesn't really own many, or watch shows about them, but somehow he discovered them on his own. It's usually through books he sees at the library or book store. Anyway, once he came up with his theme I started "googling" ideas. On-line I found a cake idea, a fun game, and a way to make costumes. With this age, I realize you can't do too much or they get overwhelmed. Here's some pictures of our fun day! (FYI- I was 6 weeks pregnant, and this was the last weekend I felt good. So glad my nauseau waited until after Drew's big day) Here we are in the preparation stage. Drew was making sure he could run in his costume. The costumes were SO simple and inexpensive. The cape is made from a plastic tablecloth. 1 tablecloth= about 8 capes. I made the labels on the back myself, and just used the first initial of each child's name. The video for making the cape was on YouTube.

The masks and wrist bands were made out of foam sheets. I used elastic for around the head, and velcro to attach the wrist bands. Each band had a different shape drawn on them to add some interest.

The morning of the party was exciting because we had a bounce house being delivered. Here are the boys watching the set-up. I was pleasantly surprised that the cost of renting one was so reasonable.
Drew's superhero bounce house.
Here is Drew helping me to bake his cake and cupcakes. We had just gotten this hat in the mail and he needed to try it out.

Here is a close-up of the cake. It was definitely not perfect, but when I priced out cakes that I wanted, it made the decision to try making my own much easier. I always use box cake mixes, but I make my own buttercream icing and I think that helps it to taste pretty good. :)

Here's the final cake with the topper and cupcakes.

Knox hanging out at the party.

Using the stomp rocket with our friend Callie. It's a really fun and inexpensive toy for anyone interested. We even use it inside.

Brothers

Here's Drew openning a few toys. We got him a Leapster. I really debated about it, because I don't want a video game kid. But, Drew loves it and he respects our limits on it. He's usually allowed to play it every other night in his bed after we tuck him in, and then he can play until we say lights out. He's never whined about it during the day. I can't believe how quickly he picked it up. He's way better at it than I am.

This year he got a bike from Mimi and Papa. Now that it's hot he rides it a lot inside the house around the dining room table.

The one activity I found on-line had to do with a "bad man". This was how the kids would be earning their costumes. I gathered the kids and told them that today they would all get a chance to be a super hero and that I would need their help. Andy (I mean), the Bad Man rushed out and the first thing he did was drop a load of bombs (black balloons). The kids had to diffuse (pop) all of the bombs. Once the did this they all earned their cape.



Next, the bad man dropped kryptonite (green rocks from Michaels). The kids couldn't touch it, so they took turns with tongs putting them in a safe bucket. I didn't really get good pictures of this, but here's Knox playing in the bucket of rocks. The kids then earned their wrist bands.

The last thing that happened is that Bad Man stole a present. The kids grabbed water guns and had to chase him and spray him until he gave up. They all earned their masks.

Here is Drew once he earned everything. The kids seemed to really enjoy it. It wasn't much planning and it added just enough to the party to have something fun for them to all do together. Most importantly, Drew loved his party!! A happy boy=a happy mommy. :)

bowling

Our homegroup decided to go bowling one night and we had a great time. I hadn't bowled in years and I forgot how much fun it could be. The kids really enjoyed it, and couldn't wait for it to be their turn again.

Here's a picture of Drew and his buddy James. They have been friends for life. :)

I'm back!

So...I haven't posted in forever, but I have a good excuse. We found out we were pregnant!! I have been so sick, I haven't been doing much of anything. I'm finally feeling some relief from the nauseau, so I'm trying to get back to doing some of our normal activities. Hopefully, I can catch you up on some of the fun things that have happened over the past few months.

Here are pictures of when we told the boys we were having a baby. We waited until our first ultrasound. I'm about 10 weeks along in these pictures. The boys are excited, but honestly I think they forget most of the time. 9 months is a long time to wait!

Go Maroon and Yellow!

I figured if I put Maroon and Yellow instead of Garnet and Gold it won't seem like I'm cheering for FSU as much!! Yesterday our neighbor invited the boys and I to join her at an afternoon FSU game. It was a beautiful day, plus Andy was out of town, so I thought it would be a lot of fun. I let Drew skip his nap so that we could get there on time, and I put Knox down a little early. Other than some meltdowns (from Knox) as we were getting ready to leave, the boys did really well. Our neighbor's son plays on the team, so we wanted to go and show our support. Andy and Drew have gone to a few games and they really enjoy this "boy" time. It would probably be easier if I just had Drew, but I thought it was fun letting Knox experience the game.

When we first got there we were standing at the fence watching them warm up, when one of the pitchers came up to us and handed Knox a ball, then gave Drew a high five.Here is Knox showing off his treasure. He LOVES balls. At one point during the game he wanted to throw the ball back onto the field, because he saw that's where all of the other balls were.This is our neighbor coming over to say hi to the boys.There was a kid next to us getting autographs and he offered us his marker, so we asked Robbie to sign it for the boys. It was their first autograph!Knox did not like to sit down for long. I think the only time he sat was when I was feeding him a hot dog. It made for an interesting time. I wasn't sure what the "protocol" at a game is. I didn't know if he was a distraction, or if people are used to it, but there was no getting him to sit still. We stayed through the 7th inning.

Here is our neighbor Kathy. She and her husband are so good to the boys. They are always giving them a special treat and they always remember to give them a present on special occasions. We're very blessed to have such great neighbors!On our way home! Drew had a great time....and you can see Knox (below) did as well!