The Big 2!

Matthew turned the Big 2 earlier this month and I might have to say, (for the 100th time) this is my favorite age yet!!! There are days when I sit and laugh at Matthew as I see his personality develop. He is such a funny, sweet, strong willed kid.  He loves to sing, dance and mostly entertain. He can also carry a very serious face when in a crowd but I know behind that stern look, his brain is taking in so much! He is starting to understand that his brothers are "real" little dudes and not babies stuck in a baby seat. He is starting to ask for them, when they are napping and attempt to play with them.  Matthew is talking very well. He can count to 10, sing his ABC's( forgets about half of them) but lights up when he says Z, and can REMEMBER just about everything we teach him or say. He is very smart and we cant wait to see how he does in school. Although, his mommy-itis kicked in about a month ago and he really doesnt like for me to leave his side! So I'm asking for prayers on the first few days of school.

Matthew weighed in at 33.5 lbs and measured 3 ft tall!!! I'm so proud to have big, tall boys like their daddy!

I sit and wonder somedays at what Matthew will do when he grows up. I pray that he will have a heart for Jesus and be very loving. That he will always put others before himself and that he will always tell the truth. But as you can see in this picture-  his interest in music and dancing, is making me wonder if we have a little rockstar in the brewing. He sure does bring a smile to our faces and we couldnt ask for more!

House Hunting

We haven't really made it super public... but who reads this blog anyways? :)  We are definitely house hunting and trying to figure out what is best for us. As most of you know, we LOVE our neighborhood and house now. But 3 kids later and we are just about splitting at the seams.  We are looking for something in this Mayfaire/WB area with 4 or 5 bedrooms and a little more play space and a yard. We like new construction(I mean who doesn't) but neither of us have an interest in renovating something older and it's not like we have the extra time on our hands. With these specifics, our options are limited and I think we are going to wait until we love something we see or we have talked about building if we can find the right lot.  We are so blessed and could definitely make it work here, but as the boys grow, we would love to be in a neighborhood with kids, pool, etc.  Praying God will give us some clarity as we start this journey. Will keep everyone posted!

And just a pic for giggles- please look at Wyatt's face!

Disney in a nutshell

So you might ask why we went to Disney World with 3 babies under 2 years old. Well... Matt won/earned the big summer family trip with his company and this year it happened to be Disney. So we thought why not attempt it and let Matthew get to enjoy all the characters, etc. We took along Matt's parents and definitely couldn't have done it without them. It really was fun but boy was it exhausting.  Just traveling with little ones is physically and mentally tiring. And did I mention it was HOT... like 97 the day we went to the park! Feeding bottles on the go, trying to get everyone naps, and then fitting into a hotel room was extremely hard. Thank goodness for Mary Grey and her Hilton points/magic spell she always puts on the front desk clerk, we got moved to the biggest room they had and it fit 3 cribs without even feeling crowded. We did attempt the Magic Kingdom twice and Matthew's excitement was priceless. He got to meet Mary Poppins, Mickey and Minnie, Goofy, and many more. He rode Dumbo, Pirates of the Caribbean, and saw several shows. His favorite part was probably the celebration parade outside of the castle. The kid just loves music and dancing!!! I can't even put into words the bus rides to and from the park and trying to get the huge double and single stroller and all the kids on to the bus. Needless to say, I was READY to be back home and back on schedule! And I haven't left the house with the kids since we got home on Saturday..ha! 

Weekends are tough around here!

I wish I could say our weekends are relaxing and enjoyable for all, but for some reason the weekends seem tougher than the weekdays!  I know Matt and I both wake up Saturday morning to the sound of babies crying and I know my selfish mind thinks, "can't i just rest today, sleep in and do nothing."Well, there is ABSOLUTELY no sitting, resting, or relaxing in this house! I know this is a season and it too shall pass but it's non-stop from 6am-8pm! I think the biggest change from weekdays to weekends- is I now have Matt as my right hand man(which is a good thing but it's very different from having our nanny, Megan who is here 3 days during the week with me).  Megan and I are a team- we have everything down pat, we have systems of who does what, we divide chores, we divide up the kids and we make it happen!  We have a full-day routine as if we are running a daycare. I workout, shower and run errands during nap time. With 3 under the age of 2.. you have to schedule out things and we really don't leave the house much!  The weekends are a different story.  We go out to breakfast, which messes up nap times, we take Matthew to parks, we try to enjoy our time together as a family instead of worrying with cleaning and cooking, etc.  But ya'll- it's like a tornado in our house when this happens; toys are everywhere, food everywhere, empty bottles everywhere, bibs, burpcloths, diapers, and our patience usually starts to run a little low by Sunday afternoon:) I have to really work on not fussing at Matt when he doesn't make a bottle right or burp the baby perfectly. I try to remember that he works his butt off all week and he wants to relax too. Deep down we both know that this challenge is making us stronger but there are times, when all 3 boys are fussing and we just look at each other and smile.  Anyways, I'm so thankful for both weekdays and weekends, and hopefully we'll find a healthy balance here soon!

This will make you laugh... i promise

In case you missed my facebook post, I will share the video on the blog. I am so glad I had my camera near by because this was so cute! Greyson got so tickled at Wyatt kicking around... must be a twin thing! Precious!

Crazy Love

I have been by myself with all 3 kids more recently and it's absolute chaos during the day. I won't go into detail about some of my crazier days, because there isn't words to describe them. My sweet friend, who has triplets and an older child, told me my good days will get better and the bad ones get worse! Boy, what she right and I am truly blessed to have met someone who is in a similar situation who can listen to me and say "I know".  Despite the hard days, there are precious moments that you just want to bottle up and remember forever. Especially with our big boy Matthew lately who is talking so much!  Our sweet and strong willed firstborn has done so well with the transition to having two more babies under our roof and having to share Mommy!  I feel like it's definitely pushed him to grow up quicker and figure things out himself. He is still so young, it's really hard to explain to him, "hang on- I have to feed the babies again! On a positive note though-He started the potty training thing himself and is doing so well. We haven't had even one accident today! Still in diapers at naps and nighttime- but huge props to him for catching on at 22 months!! Let's be for real though- potty training is hard and time consuming.

These pictures below are from a friend's wedding reception. Matthew, like his daddy, likes to entertain crowds. He found the photo booth props and had a blast! He would come out in a different hat, glasses, guitar, every time he went back there. 

 Sweet....

Funny...

Almost 2...

Weekend!

We had a really good weekend with the boys. We aren't much for sitting around the house(especially since I spend a lot of time here during the week) so we pack the whole crew up and head out. It started with Friday night pasta  at the house though, a little pre-race meal for Matt and yummy Italian for me! This italian meal is quite easy and took about 15 minutes. It consist of  frozen Italian style Turkey Meatballs(from Whole Foods or Trader Joes), pasta sauce and whole wheat noodles. We threw in a salad to have some greens. 

Saturday morning was CRAZY but so successful- trying to feed all 3 and load them in the car by 7am to get to Kure Beach by 7:45 to see Matt finish his triathlon. I had been the previous two years, and both times I was pregnant and it was like 100 degrees and I vowed never to go back. Ha- if you know me- you know I can't miss out on stuff and wanted to support Matt. So I woke up at 6am- packed the car ahead of time with diaper bags, strollers, food, bottles, water, toys, and some COFFEE for the road. I fed Greyson, then Wyatt, changed both and loaded them in carseats, woke Matthew, threw him on the potty(yes, we are potty training at 22 mo old!) and packed his breakfast to-go. I am proud to say that we were pulling out of the driveway at 7:05am!!  We picked up Doug, Matt's God-father  who is so much help and headed to the race to watch Matt and Derrick finish. They did so amazing and I'm so proud of them both. Matt won 1st place in his category and here is his stud picture from his sponsor Land Rover, Cape Fear.  

Saturday afternoon, we took Matthew to Jones'  2nd birthday party. The Stainbacks are dear friends of ours and their son Jones is only 2 months ahead of Matthew.  It was Elmo themed and Elmo himself showed to the party and was a huge hit!!

I will finish up with a picture from our Sunday picnic at Wrightsville Beach Park. We picked up Jersey Mikes and all shared the subs. Matthew took off to the park, and I sat in the shade with Stella and the twins. We love including our 1st child, Stella, when we can and she is so sweet. She was keeping watch of the twins right here.  We do seem to attract onlookers ALL the time, so we might need to take Stella more often:)