Zoo pictures

The picture above is from our trip to the Gentry Safari Zoo. We went with three other families and this is my favorite shot of the day. Below is a picture from a recent trip to the Tulsa Zoo. This was the favorite spot of the day, the polar bear exhibit. He was in there just swimming back and forth in front of the window enjoying the cool water. All four boys were mesmerized.

We are home and I will update about the trip later.

Big boy hair cut!

I'm back sooner than expected. I just had to post this picture of Harper with his big boy hair cut. I took it in Sam's right before I printed the pics off my card. He looks like such a big boy now! I have never been very sentimental about my boys hair but this one hit me a little harder than the rest. I guess I am just sad that he is not a baby anymore.

Illinois here we come.

Well folks, tomorrow we leave on our annual family trip. I refrain from calling it a vacation because there are a few key elements that set this trip apart from a traditional vacation. For one a vacation should involve a body of water, be it a lake, ocean or river, any one would suffice. The next is you should actually be involved in the festivities on a vacation, not sitting at husbands relatives house taking care of the children while said husband is at the Nascar race drinking beer! My third reason is that my idea of a vacation does not include in-laws. Brent's mom takes this trip with us every year and that is fine but I think I would like it to just be Brent and the boys along for an real vacation. Last is that unless you are going to the coast, a vacation should never involve a 12 hour car ride especially with a 4 and 1 year old. Wish us luck.

Our eight year anniversary is next month and I have given my husband the challenge of planning a small trip for the four of us. I will let you know how he does or if he does.

I will check back in when we get home. We are coming back late on Mon. so it will probably be Tue. before I post. Love to all!!!

Can a mom catch a break?

Sometimes I feel like I am on a merry-go-round. Harper has been less fussy the last couple of days but now Mason is sick. He started complaining about feeling bad yesterday about 7p.m. We gave him some Motrin and a bath and then put him to bed. I went in to check on him about midnight and he was on fire! I took his temperature and was a little freaked out because it was 104.3 degrees. We had him take another dose of Motrin and continued to check his temperature for the next hour to make sure it was coming down. He came to our room and woke Brent up about 3a.m. and told him that his bed was wet and he wanted to sleep on our floor. He must have been sweating profusely when his fever broke. When he woke up this morning he drank a little sprite (the sick persons drink of choice) and then proceeded to throw it up on my bedroom floor. Yes, the bedroom that has brand spanking new carpet. On the bright side, at least red punch is not the sick persons drink of choice, it would have been much harder to clean up. On a typical day Mason eats quite a bit if through grazing alone but today he has had almost nothing until about 9p.m. He seems to have his appetite back now and is more energetic too. I am praying it was just a 24 hour bug and that Harper does not pick it up.

Thanks for the memories!

Today is my paternal grandmother's birthday. Mamaw passed away a few years ago and was by far the hardest loss I have ever experienced. My Papaw and Mamaw were the perfect grandparents. I know that after people pass we tend to only remember the good stuff but they really were amazing. During my childhood they stepped in and took over my dad's weekend visitations when my dad was unable to be there for me and my brother. That is a story in its self. My Papaw would come pick us up every other Friday after he got off work and take us to their house for the weekend. We would always giggle to ourselves on the ride because most of it was made with the blinker on, we thought that was the funniest thing in the world. I think my greatest childhood memories are of being with them and I bet my brother feels the same. In a world of dysfunction, they were a rock. Always stable and reliable.

My Papaw passed in my later teenage years of bone cancer. It was hard to see him at the final visit in the hospital. His lung continually filled up with fluid and prohibited his breathing until the nurses came and suctioned him. They never seemed to come as fast as I expected and I remember feeling so angry at them. The funeral was a beautiful celebration of his life. Most of the eulogy was stories we grand kids told the pastor at a meeting before the service. We laughed, we cried and we were thankful to have had such a loving and caring grandfather.

My beloved Mamaw also died of cancer. Honestly, it was in so many places in her body that I am not exactly sure where it started, lungs maybe. A few months before she died I took a week of vacation and went to Louisiana to care for her. That was pre-Mason and I was still working. We went back and forth to her chemo and radiation appointments all week. It was so hard to see her like that but I treasure that week as much as any in my life. We spent a lot of time talking about the past and about the future. I knew then that Brent and I were within a year of trying to get pregnant and she was so excited for me. She always loved having babies around. I think my cousin Hope's daughter Kayla was her favorite great-grandchild, although she would have denied having a favorite. Hope now has twin boys only a month or two older than Harper, Mamaw would have been tickled about that because she was an identical twin. She adored Tyler and I know my little guys would have been just as precious to her.

In closing I just want to say with a heavy heart, Happy Birthday Mamaw. I love you and miss you. Thank you for all the memories.

More teeth!

We have had a bit of a reprieve from the teething until the last few days. I realized today that Harper has had very good reason to be fussy. He had his first one year molar break through. If I hadn't been tickling him with his head thrown back in a full out laugh, I may not have figured it out for a long time. I can't believe we have to do more of this teething... ugh!

Otherwise Harper is just the light of my world. I just melt when he smiles at me. He is growing so fast and seems to have a new skill to show off almost daily. He is getting quite good at saying mama and dada. Mama comes out a lot when he is distressed and wants me because I am his comforter. He knows that Brent is dada and calls to him when he sees or wants to go see his daddy. He said bye-bye a few days ago when I prompted him. Yesterday he picked the phone up off the floor put it to his ear and said hello. That was a proud moment because those of you who know me well know that he has obviously been paying close attention to me, I live on the phone. I think he picks up on things quick because he watches Mason too.

Mason told me today that "this baby is wearing me out", because he was helping me watch him and Harper was not happy and kept fussing. Mason is still totally in love with his little brother. They play together a lot. For the most part Mason is patient and understanding with Harper. There are times when he just wants him to go away too. I think they are destined to be best friends for life. That just makes my heart sing!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.

I'm back!

I know, I totally stink at the frequent updating. I do happen to have a really good excuse. I have been without internet for weeks now because of the move to the new house. Since we had not sold the old house, Brent was still working over there. He finally moved his office to the new house this weekend because we close on the old one in the morning. Yea to having the computer back in the house with me!

So much has happened since I last posted that there is no way I can get caught up in one post. With that in mind I will give you a few tidbits and fill in details later.

Harper had his first birthday and is walking now. He has changed so much in the last few weeks. More later about that.

Mason is still a maniac! We just took a wonderful trip to the Tulsa Zoo on Wed. He was mesmerized by the polar bears.

We are of course in the new house now and we LOVE it. The first night was very weird and I got a little teary-eyed walking through the old house today for the last time but it's all good. Big thanks to Mike, Lori and Brendan for all the help, we couldn't have moved all of our stuff without you.

On the note of moving, my friend Reagan is now on her way to a new home in Florida. I am excited for her but sad for myself. We have had an awkward year and I think things were starting to get back to normal and then she up and moves on me. Oh well, at least she is moving to a cool place so maybe we can visit, how bout it Reags?

I hope to be more consistent with my posts. Love to all!

Two moons?

While sitting in our front yard a few days ago, Mason noticed that he could see the sun and moon at the same time. He has noticed it before so it was no big deal. A little later we went to the new house and were watching daddy mow the yard. Mason looks up and says "Mom, there are two moons!" I was a little confused so I asked him to explain. He said pointing to the sky that there was one moon and the other one was at our other house. I had never thought about the subject from a four year old perspective. He now realizes that there is only one moon but a little disappointed all the same.

Harper is still trying to cut his other front tooth. Can anyone say MERCY? We have had quite a few hard nights and he is not eating as well as usual. It is so close to breaking through and I hope that ends our problems.

We started moving a lot of our stuff this weekend. The attic is cleaned out and a lot of my kitchen stuff is now at the new house. I figure the next two weekends will be all we need to make the permanent move. We still have not sold our house and just made the first payment on the new house(ouch!) so I am becoming a little uneasy. We showed it yesterday to our State Representative and he seemed quite interested but I am afraid to get my hopes up. I know it will all work out in God's time and that He already has the perfect family for this house, so I will continue to pray for His will. I just hope He is not trying to teach me patience again.

That boy can eat!

My grocery bill is about to be even more insane than usual. Harper is doing really well on solids so I have been offering him more and more "real food". He was only getting Gerber baby food for a long time. We transitioned into Cheerios and Gerber graduates, then on to frozen sweet peas. I know it sounds disgusting but a friend of mine told me try it because her son loves them and low and behold mine did too. Now the child is eating as much as Mason at times. He had four slices of turkey cold cuts, about twenty peas and ten to fifteen goldfish for lunch today. He is definitely a carnivore just like Mason. Those kids love their meat, sorry Porter family. Harper can easily eat two or three chicken nuggets and of course he love fries as well. I am very thankful that my boys are good eaters. Life is good. By the way, this pic of my 3 sons was taken on Feb. 13, 2007.

God bless the poison control center!

So maybe I am not such a seasoned professional at this baby proofing thing after all. While I was in the bathroom, Harper made his way to his favorite no-no spot, the door stop at the front door. He then spotted the bath & body works wallflower (scented plug-in) pulled it from the wall, unscrewed it and started sucking the protruding wick. In my defense I had just moved a table that had been hiding it but left the plug-in there because we had showed the house to a potential buyer earlier that day and I wanted it to smell nice when they walked in. Anyway, it obviously tasted pretty bad because he immediately started to throw up. I walked out of the bathroom to find him with the forbidden item in his hand and vomit all over him and the floor. I started to freak out and called Brent who told me to hang up and call poison control, of course (I am not good under pressure). Fortunately he had only consumed a small amount that is apparently not toxic. They were however concerned that he may have aspirated some of the vomit so we had to watch him close for any wheezing or fever. It has been long enough now that we are confident he is fine. It was a hard lesson to learn and I am so thankful he is okay.

Mason has turned into a total bookworm. I am so thrilled that he loves to be read to. He also enjoys "reading" books to us on occasion. I have a love for reading that I rarely get to indulge in anymore, but never the less my love has not changed so passing that passion on to my kids is quite exciting. Mason will start a kindergarten ready program at his kids day out in the fall so I hope all the reading we do helps to prepare him. I turned our phone number into a song and have been singing it to him to help him learn it easier. He always remembers the first three and the last two but mumbles the two in the middle. I will continue sing the silly song until he gets it and then it's on to our new address. My friend Reagan talked about her daughter being strong willed in her new blog and as bad as I felt for her, it made me feel better because I know I am not alone and that maybe Mason is not that unusual after all. I guess misery really does love company.

I saw Tyler a few days ago and he looks so good, except for all of the skateboarding bruises and scrapes. He got his hair cut really short again so it looks very nice. I don't see him as often as I would like so I really cherish any time we spend together.

Let me know who is checking in, I would love to hear from you!

My crazy life!

Okay, I know I have really fallen off of the update wagon. Life has just been so crazy here. Since I last posted everyone in my house has been sick at least once, a few of us have had multiple bouts with various illnesses. Fortunately everybody is well now.

Sweet little Harper is trying to cut his 6th tooth. He is crawling now and therefore into everything. The doorstop to our front door is one of his favorite forbidden areas. The fireplace is a real problem right now, he can get up on the hearth and have his hands inside the chain screens before you can turn around. Any cord that is plugged into the wall is also a huge attraction for him. He seems to be going through a separation anxiety phase right now. I have heard that a lot of babies do that around 9 months (Mason never did). By the way he is now 10 1/2 months old. He gets upset if I am not where he can see me. If I walk out of the room he will totally loose it. It better just be a phase because I will loose my mind if he doesn't grow out of this soon. He does however adore his Daddy and brother. As long as he is well rested and well fed then he does well with either one of them. The nursery at church seems hopeless right now, at least on Wed. nights.

Mason had his Power Ranger birthday party at Fun City. Five of his little friends came and they all seemed to have a good time. He keeps asking me if he is still four. It cracks me up and confuses me all at once. He loved all of the goodies that the Easter bunny brought, chocolate being his favorite. He got his first chocolate bunny this year. That was always a big tradition in our house growing up. Mason's was very small and I would only let him have a couple of small bites at a time.

Our big news is that we bought a new house. We have been cruising neighborhoods that we like for quite a while, just hoping to stumble on the right house. We found it in one of the areas that we love. The yard is great, 2 acres with lots of mature trees. We had a fantastic egg hunt Sun. afternoon in the new backyard. The house is 4177 square feet. That is more than double what we have now! It is 4 bed, 4 1/2 bath. We have had all new floors put in and a lot of painting also so it looks really good now. When we first saw it I was overwhelmed by the amount of updating that needed to be done. There is still lots to be done but we can live there and do the rest, one project at a time. Mason is excited about his new room and about climbing the trees (only the small ones of course). Harper is getting the smallest room which happens to be about the size of our master bedroom in the old house. All of the rooms are wonderfully large and it has an insane amount of built in storage space and closet space. The new pantry is as big or bigger than our old laundry room. I am really stoked about that! I will post more details as we work on it. We are still not quite sure when we are moving, maybe another week or two. Oh yeah, please pray that our old house sells soon. We hope to not be making two mortgage payments for long.

I hope you all have not given up on me since I have been such a slacker. Maybe I am back on track now, but no promises.

You put what in you nose?

Greetings friends and family,

Mason had an eventful day today. After eating a Hershey kiss, he decided to stick the balled up foil wrap in his nose. I am not sure how long it had been there when he told me about it. It only took a couple of attempts to get it out but the real battle was convincing him to let me stick tweezers up his nose. I hope it was a lesson learned. A few days ago while Brent and I were watching tv Mason came in the room with his toy fishing pole and asked Brent to pull the line out. He went back to his room and after a couple of minutes we heard something hit the globes on his ceiling fan. Brent went in to investigate and Mason told him that he was trying to swing from his fan using his pole. Of course Brent started explaining why he couldn't do that but Mason was sure it would be okay because he said he is very fast. Who knows what this kid will think of next. I love that he has such a full and active imagination but I am sure that it will create much chaos in the future.

My sister-in-law Dawn is having their baby on Jan. 29th. I am excited about a new baby girl in the family. They are naming her Mary-Scott and I hope to go down to see them the last week in Feb. My brother Scotty is going back to New Orleans that week to work so it will be a good time to be there to help Dawn. She is having a scheduled c-section so please keep her and the baby in your prayers for a safe and uneventful delivery.

Harper has teeth!

Time goes fast when you have children. My boys keep me so busy that I am really struggling to find time to sit down and update the site. I am sorry I have not been more faithful.

Harper has had a few milestone moments since I last posted. On Dec. 23rd, he pulled to standing while in his crib. He has just now gotten good at balancing once he is up. If he is anywhere close to anything that he can grab a hold of then he is trying to pull up now. He is getting up on his knees and rocking now and also moving backwards when on his tummy. He gets very mad when he runs into anything that stops his progress across the room. When he is sitting up he can lean over on his hands and pull a little then readjust and pull again to get where he wants to go. I have seen him move across a room that way, it is quite funny. Another milestone is 3 teeth! I noticed signs of one on top first but the two on the bottom have actually come in first. He seems to be sleeping better now that they are in, we had a few terrible nights in a row before I figured out what was happening. At his six month check up on Dec. 26th (he was actually 7 months that day) he weighed 21 lbs.(90th %) and was 26 inches long (25th %). He was right on track developmentally except for the pulling up which Dr. said was early for his age. He is growing so fast, almost out of all of his 6/9 month clothes. I just want to make it all slow down. Daddy says Harper is our last one (I am still on the fence about it) so I want him to stay a baby for as long as possible.

Mason is already planning his birthday party. We still have two and a half months before he turns four but he is already excited. Power Rangers are his new thing. That is the theme he has picked out for the party. I got him a black sweat suit for his Jitterbugs performance (a creative movement class at his preschool) and he calls it his black ranger costume. He started back to school on Thursday and I'm not sure which one of us was more ready. We have also worked out a weekly play date with Mason's friend Robert. Mason loves to play with Robert and they seem to really enjoy each others company because they can play for hours without conflict. That's a pretty big feat for boys their age. I enjoy the opportunity to cultivate and nurture his little friendships.

We spent Christmas day with Tyler. We opened presents and ate the traditional meal. I think everyone had a nice time. I always enjoy having all of my boys together.

Thanks for checking in, hope you are enjoying the site.

Long time no post

Hello again,
My friend/neighbor, Melanie was giving me a hard time because I have not posted in such a long time so here I am. We have been busy with our trip to Louisiana and just with life in general so I have just not made time to sit down and update.

Tyler's birthday evening was nice. We ate too much and just enjoyed each other's company. He looks so good and seems to be really happy. He is looking for a job because he works with Mia, his girlfriend and they feel like it would be better for their relationship if they were not togther all the time. He would like to find something that does not involve food. He is planning to spend Christmas day with us here at our house and I am very happy about that. I got to spend the afternoon with him on Thursday and that was good, at least for me. I think his little brothers make him a little crazy because he is not used to them and their noise.

Mason is already talking about his birthday. I can't remeber what got him started on it but he talks about it all the time now. I think maybe because he has been to a couple of friend's parties in the past few weeks at the place where we are going to have his party. When he gets on a kick about something he can be relentless. We have also been talking a lot about Jesus' birthday. I am trying really hard to keep our focus on the Lord this holiday season. Mason is not really excited about Santa because we have not really played it up this year. If it wasn't for the "better be good or Santa won't bring you anything" I would be happy to drop him from our tradition all together. Mason is still an awesome big brother. He always asks to hold Harper and loves to kiss and hug on him. He is such a joy.

Harper is sitting up on his own and when on his tummy he is trying to pull his knees up under him. He can only manage to make himself go backwards for now. He is such a happy baby. He smiles this big huge beautiful smile most of the time. He has gotten really chubby. We are actually getting more comments about his cheeks than his red hair these days. Speaking of hair, Harper and my neice, Tess have almost the exact same hair color. I am glad because she has beautiful hair.

Today is Brent's 31st birthday. We had a busy day because we hosted the Tabler Christmas get together at our house today. I think everyone had a nice time. Mason really enjoyed the cousins, 2 of the 3 are red heads by the way. They are a lot older than him but they still had fun playing together.

Well that is it for now but I will try to be more consistent with my postings.

How did I get so lucky?

Hi,
Harper is growing way too fast. We graduated him to a big car seat today. He had almost out grown the infant carrier seat we have been using since he was born. The weight limit is 22 lbs. and he was already 19lbs. 4 ozs. a few weeks ago at the Dr. He seems to have had a huge growth spurt in the last few weeks. He has gotten really chunky and now looks so much like Mason did at the same age. He is eating solids really well. At most of his feedings I have to give him 1 1/2 to 2 jars of baby food, the 2.5 oz jars. Squash seems to be his favorite but he has liked everything we have tried so far. Carrots, applesauce and banana's are the others. He is totally filling out most of his 6/9 month clothes. He continues to be such a good baby. Every where we go people are drawn to him because of his big bright smile and of course the red hair.

Mason has had no problems from his dental work. He even seems to be eating better now. He is such a silly boy, always cracking me up with the funny things that come out of his mouth. He asked me to turn on a movie for him a few days ago and I suggested he just play with his toys instead. He told me, "I can do both mom, don't worry I can handle it". I laughed so hard. His friend Robert came over to play yesterday afternoon and they has such a good time. They were in the back yard for over two hours. Between the sand box, the swing and the four-wheeler I am not sure which was the most fun. Mason has a play date set up for Robert's house on Thursday afternoon. I am so glad he has friends he plays well with. He is such a social child, always asking if a friend can come to play.

Monday is Tyler's 19th birthday. I can hardly believe that he is all grown up. His is coming for dinner that night with Mia, his girlfriend. His request was for "real food", he wants meat and veggies. The menu will consist of cube steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, black eyed peas and corn bread or rolls. I am not a big fan of cooking right now but I am always excited to cook for him. Any opportunity to spend time with him is a huge spirit lifter for me.

I continue to count my blessings every day. I am so thankful for my three health boys no matter how big or small they are. I am blessed with a husband who always loves me even when I am not the easiest person to be with. He is such a good daddy. Mason has so much fun playing with his dad and Harper's face just lights up when daddy smiles at him. How did I get so lucky?

God is good

Hello,
All is well here. Mason was very brave and gave us little trouble on Wednesday. Everything went smooth and he is very proud of his "new teeth". The only time he really lost control was when they were taking him away from me. The nurse had to carry him away, screaming for me of course. When she came back to get the bed she said that he really loves his mommy. It made me feel good and bad all at the same time. I am so thankful that it is over and that Mason did so well. He was ready to go to school on Thursday morning and has had no problems.

This morning I put Harper on Mason's bed while I fixed Harper's bath. Harper really loves to lay in brother's room. When I walked back in, Mason had a pillow on top of Harper and was sitting on the pillow. I could not see Harper's head and he was not making any noise so my heart dropped to my stomach. I thought Mason had smothered him. I ran across the room pulled Mason off of him and saw his little head peaking out from under the pillow. He was just watching his brother and didn't seem to mind any of it. As soon as I realized he was okay I gave Mason a good spanking and explained why that was not an okay thing to do. Mason had no intention of hurting the baby, he was playing and thought Harper was having fun too. I don't think Mason would ever hurt him on purpose but I won't be leaving him alone in brother's room anymore just in case. That was way too scary, I thought I was going to throw up after it was all over.

Happy happy 35th birthday to my friend Crystal. (she will love her age being on here!) I love you and hope you have another great year trying to keep up with that sweet little boy.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for Mason on Wednesday. God is so good to us.


Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 106:1

Sick baby is well again.

It has been a while since I have posted because Harper was sick and therefore very needy. He is finally well and back to his normal smiling self. He missed out on trick or treating because he was too sick to get out in the cold weather. Mason on the other hand had a blast. Daddy took him around our neighborhood while I stayed at home with Harper handing out candy. When they got back I took Mason to church for our trunk or treat. He really enjoyed that because a lot of his friends were there. Mason was a firefighters and Harper was supposed to be a dalmation. They looked so cute in their coordinating costumes.

On Wednesday Mason is having dental work done and will be put under anesthesia at Springdale hospital's ambulatory clinic. I am most concerned about how I am going to convince him he can't eat before the 11:00 a.m. appointment. Dr. Rhodes insisted on doing the work this way because Mason totally freaked out at his in office appt. Please be in prayer for all of this to go smooth.

I hope to update again before Wed. but if not I will be sure to do it Thur. and let you know how it went.


What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Emerson

Flash back

I had a serious flash back moment this morning. I walked into Mason's room and he was sitting on the bed watching one of Tyler's old Ninja Turtle movies. It was like going back in time 16 years. Tyler was about 2 or 3 when the Turtles made their original appearance and he could not get enough of them. We had TMNT everything! It is kind of weird for Mason to now be interested in the same thing, but also kind of cool too. I am really glad I saved those movies now.

Mason did the funniest thing this morning. I told him I needed to feed Harper his carrots so of course Mason wanted to help. He proceeded to the fridge and started to get the bag of baby carrots out. After I explained about Harper's lack of teeth and therefore a need for mashed baby food carrots, he totally got it. It is funny how everything is literal to him right now. Later this morning he asked me for a snack so I got him a granola bar, a little later he started calling me. When I went to him he told me I was wrong. Confused I asked him about what? He said I was wrong because a granola bar was not a good idea and pointed to the half eaten bar on the floor. I guess it took him a while to figure out it wasn't what he wanted.

Harper has been a little fussy today because he has a bit of a cold or allergies, I am not sure which one. Pray for him to sleep well tonight.

Find joy in the journey!

Hello again,
I realize life is not always what we expect but some days really take me by surprise. Mason had the meltdown of meltdowns this morning. We were on our way home from my Fit 4 Christ class (an awesome exercise class) and he had a fit because he wanted to go to the mall or McDonald's. When he realized I was not going to give in he completely lost it. Daddy had to literally peel him out of the car seat. It took a few trys to find the right distraction to get him out of his funk. I have said before that Mason is a very strong willed child but today I was ready to call Super Nanny! I know that the joy far out weighs the stress and I embrace it all. I just have to remind myself to hold on tight in the middle of the crazy moments because the joy is in the journey.

Welcome

Hi everyone,
I am creating this blog to help keep anyone who is interested, informed about what is going on with our family. The boys are growing so fast and changing everyday.

Tyler will be 19 on the 20th of Nov. I don't see him as much as I would like, he is very independent and has more important things going on than talking to or hanging out with me. We did spend part of the day together a little over a week ago and he is doing well. He has really matured a lot over the past year and seems to have his head on straight again. I pray for him a lot and hope we continue to be close.

Mason was 3 1/2 in Sept. and is the strongest willed child I have ever known. He is so smart, almost too smart. He says the most clever things and is very funny. He is going to a kids day out program on Mondays and Thursdays. It has been really good for him and for me. Right now he is very concerned about what things are for boys and what things are for girls. He got mad at school the other day because his teacher gave him a pink pencil. Now if he is around female friends, he has no problem playing with barbies and babies. He has a very sweet spirt, he loves his baby brother more that I ever thought possible. He has acted out a little since Harper's arrival but not towards Harper. He does not always understand why Harper's needs come first, at least when it comes to feeding the baby. I am excited to see their relationship grow as they grow.

Harper is 5 months old today. We started solids this week and he loves them. I took him to have pictures this morning and he did really good. As soon as I get the link to the pics I will post it. He has the most beautiful red hair I have ever seen. I have received so much joy from this amazing little guy. If you just glance his direction he breaks out in a huge grin. He has gotten kind of spoiled and can be needy sometimes but I know it is a situation we created for ourselves. He really is an awesome baby.

All in all I feel so blessed that God has trusted me to care for these three boys. Thanks for checking out my site, I will try to keep it updated with info about the boys.


Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.
Psalm 127:3