Phil's Pills - Blog Style: 2013

goons

These little men....they can be complete goons sometimes. If you could have seen the pictures I had to sort through to get this one. Sometimes, being a mom is hard work. Usually I feel over-worked, under-appreciated, tired, ignored, frustrated and pretty much like a broken record player. But every now and again, I get a chance to stop and look at the big picture. I get a glimpse of the men these sweet faces will become and am reminded of the gift they each are. I am so thankful this Christmas to have my little family and know they are mine forever.

one

My little Luke. I can't believe it's been a whole year since you first entered our lives. To say you have changed us would be an understatement. I had no idea babies could be so difficult. And yet, those smiles mean so much more to me when they come from you. I love to watch you smile and play with your daddy and brothers, who you so adore. I love that you love to peek around corners to play peek-a-boo. And I love to watch you point at things when you get excited. I love you little bug. We are so happy you have blessed our little family this last year.

Three

I keep telling this guy to stop growing on me, but it never seems to work. He turned 3 this last Sunday. He requested a Mickey Mouse birthday (hence the mouse ears). Sam is my independent child. He wants to do everything by himself, especially if big brother can do it. We got him a big boy bike for his birthday and he already rides it like a pro. He loves to laugh and be funny. He loves his brothers. And big surprise, he loves anything with wheels.

pumpkin patch

It has kind of been a crazy October around here. It seems like all of our weekends have been filled up with soccer, birthday parties, football, etc. But we finally made a trip out to a pumpkin patch yesterday. It wasn't the cool kind like back home where you can actually go pick your own pumpkin right off the vine, but the boys were excited to pick out a large pumpkin, and even more excited to take turns pulling it around in the wagon. And guess what?? I even convinced Phil to come along...his first time ever!

oil ranch

Today our church did a play group at a local oil ranch. I invited my sister-in-law to come along with her kids. Sam and Clark had so much fun running around together. We rode trains, tractors, fed cows (of which I think Sam may be scared of forever), saw lots of animals, rode ponies and swings, and picked pumpkins. The kids completely wore themselves out, but it was a great day.

a date

Last weekend, Phil and I took Wade to his first BYU football game (which was awesome, by the way). We told him it was a special date with his mom and dad. He loved every minute of it, and did very well sitting through the whole game.

Fast forward to this week. Wade brought his schoolwork home on Tuesday and as I was looking through it, I noticed that he had written "BYU" at the top of most of the pages. We have previously talked to him about not writing/scribbling on his work, so I was surprised when I saw this. I mean, I'm glad he had fun at the game, but I didn't think it would warrant writing on his papers. Then I realized exactly where he had written it...right after "date." He just thought he was supposed to write what he did on his date. Love this kid. He kind of melts my heart sometimes.

10 months

Oh, this little baby of mine has sure given me a run for my money. He can be so sweet, but he is so needy. He is definitely a little mama's boy. He prefers me when he is frustrated or upset. But he adores his daddy. Seriously, I have never seen a kid light up so much at the sight of his daddy. As of this week, this little one is officially on the go. He can finally scoot all over the place and get almost anywhere he wants to go. He just finally decided he could go, and go he did. Life is about to get crazy. He also loves to wave, give kisses and clap his hands....and, or course, eat!

Joy School

This little man started joy school this week. Every day when we drop Wade off at the school bus, Sam breaks down crying because he wants to go to school, too. He was so excited when I told him he was starting school as well. He is going with 3 of his little friends from nursery, just once a week. Can't believe he's growing up so much.

soccer

Wade had his very first soccer game ever today. He hasn't been too interested in sports until this year, so we have waited to start him. Despite never having played or really even seen soccer before, he had a good first game. About what I expected. He mostly just followed all the other kids around, pretty clueless. He did manage to kick the ball twice, which he was so proud of. This sweet little boy is just not very aggressive. Hopefully with some more practice he'll get the hang of it.

9 months

My little squirt is 9 months old. He is up to the 45% for weight and 75% for height. So not quite where his brothers were, but definitely growing. He is finally starting to inch forward, the exact same way Sam and Wade did. I can't believe all three have crawled the same way, it's too funny.

back to school

We did it. We survived our first day of kindergarten. And yes, I mean we. I was discouraged from walking Wade into his classroom this morning, so I had to send my 5 year old off to a new school by himself from the curb. He turned around, smiled at me, waved and he was off. He was so happy and excited. I was a wreck. I have to give props to his school. They astounded me with their organization. I had nothing to worry about, my little one was in good hands. But I missed him dearly.

But we did it.

It gets easier from here right? Oh wait, no I still have to send him off on the bus....maybe next week.

I am going to miss this little helper this year. Love him.

beach day part 2

Yesterday we took another adventure out to Galvenston Beach, this time to the north shore. Having spent most of the summer in the water, my boys were much more prepared for playing in the waves this time around (which made their daddy's day). It had rained earlier in the morning thus cooling everything down, making it a very enjoyable evening...even if we did end up with sand everywhere.

number 8

Phil and I recently celebrated our 8th anniversary. It has been the best time of my life. I seriously have so much fun being married to this guy.

This little one also turned 8 months old. Oh, how I love his blue eyes. He is not even thinking about crawling yet, and I am ok with that. It makes my life easier. But he is sitting up like a champ and trying to catch up to his brothers by packing on the pounds (mainly in his cheeks).

road trip

We took a little road trip to Dallas this weekend to see our sweet new nephew be blessed. Our little buddy Clark got to ride with in our van with us on the way there. Clark and Sam are like two peas in a pod. I see lots of mischief happening with them over the next two years. On our way, we stopped and had a picnic at the Sam Houston statue. The statue is pretty awesome, but having a picnic in the afternoon in Houston in August....well, it's not quite as awesome.

The cousins all had so much playing together. I love seeing my boys play with their cousins. It reminds me of my childhood days. I hope they grow up to be as close as I was with my cousins.

And the boys got to see their sweet Aunt Katie again. We don't get to see her very often, but we love her!

7 months

Another month has come and gone. I almost feel like I have 3 kids under control...well, at least one day a week...when I have Phil's help. This little squirt is growing up on me. He is starting to sit up all by himself. He rolls all over the place. And is sleeping most of the night now (something my other babes never did). And true to being one of my boys, this kid can eat. He loves his solids, and gets so mad at me when his food his gone. Luke adores his big brothers, and will often start giggling just when he sees them. Keep giggling little buddy!

our week

We are slowly adjusting to life here in Houston (although not the heat). This week, we went on an early morning outing to pick blueberries at a local farm. Wade and Sam were good little helpers, at least until Wade got too sweaty to handle it and Sam realized he could eat the berries without getting in trouble. I am pretty sure he ate more blueberries than he brought home.

We have spent a good amount of time at the pool. Both boys are finally loving the water and becoming less scared of it. They have figured out that with the help of flotation devices they can swim by themselves. We are trying to get them into swimming lessons soon.

Wade still likes to love on his baby brother and Luke has still survived so far. This picture pretty much sums it up.

When Wade isn't too sweaty to be outside, he loves to practice riding his bike. He's finally getting good. Hope those training wheels will come off soon.

And we made it to the temple this week.

the beach

We spent the afternoon yesterday at Galveston Beach with one of Phil's brothers and fam. In all the years Phil lived in Houston, he had never been. It was our boys first visit to an actual ocean beach. We forgot to warn Wade that the water was salty. Much to our surprise, our shy, timid first-born ran right into the water and quite enjoyed playing in the waves with his dad.

Sam is still struggling with all the change that has been going on, and was much happier to spend his day on the sand playing in the mud.

This one did a great job just chilling. He didn't even mind all the sand his brothers so lovingly spread all over him.

We managed to build a few sand castles. This one lasted about 30 seconds...the boys enjoyed smashing them more than admiring them...go figure.

I was silly enough to think I needed to pack everyone's water shoes. Usually when we go to the "beach" in Utah, it is all rocks. It was a pleasant surprise to be able to walk around without cutting up our feet. Oh, and the the breeze was a fabulous change up to the deathly humidity we've been experiencing. And even though our commute home (2 1/2 hours) reminded us of our days in DC, everyone still had a great day.

6 months

I love this little guy so much. He is so happy and smiley now. At 6 months Luke is still only in the 20th percentile for weight, but 90th percentile for head. He loves to eat, especially if we are eating. And he adores his big brothers. He loves it when they stop to play with him. He can finally roll over and loves to squeal and talk giggle. I could just eat those cheeks up!

before we left

It seems like we had been counting down the days to our move forever. And then, before we knew it, everything happened at once and we were gone. Before we left, we got to spend a couple of days with our Grandma and Grandpa Broadbent. They flew to Russia today to be missionaries for two years.

And this little guy graduated from preschool. He is such a joy and is so excited for kindergarten (which much to his mother's chagrin is all day).

And now, after our 3 day drive, we are in Texas trying to survive the heat. Things I have learned about living here so far are:

5: Grocery stores are empty on Saturday nights.

4: You can't leave butter out on the counter.

3: My boys sweat continuously.

2: I get to go to bed an hour earlier without my husband giving me a hard time.

1: After being outside in 95 degree/50% humidity weather, a 78 degree house feels amazing

Camping

We went camping with the boys last weekend. They were in heaven...something tells me this is what my summers will be like for, oh, the rest of my life. We only went for one night, but they loved every minute of it, and since we have a tent trailer, it's not so bad for me. I was worried about how Luke would handle it, but he did great. Sam got out of the car and immediately started picking up and throwing rocks (such a boy). Wade was daddy's little helper, he'll be a boy scout before we know it. We're packing up to head to Texas this week, so we may have a camping hiatus for a while. Unless of course its for boys night out.