Harper is SEVEN!

Today my hilarious, mischievous, super chill, absolute best-brother, kind, caring, stylish, music-loving, ALWAYS thinking of others-second born is SEVEN. So hard to believe. I see Harper as a perpetual four year old in my mind but the truth is, he is growing up. And I can't freeze time...I've tried, ha! 

Happy Birthday Harp!!! We LOVE you so much!

Grant is THREE!

Grant Joseph is THREE years old today!!!

That seriously blows.my.mind. I feel like I was JUST documenting his first year of life! 

Here is just a quick peek at what Grant is like at 3 years old!

-Grant still LOVES Barney and Elmo. He sings and dances along every day! He really likes to watch short Sesame Street Songs on youtube...his current faves are Pentatonix Sings to Five and the 3 Primary Colors song.

-Grant loves pretty much all breakfast foods (just don't mix his cereal and milk together-hysterical tantrum will ensue!). He's currently stuck in a chicken nugget and milk routine for lunch that I'm trying to break, and dinner is definitely a toss up.

-Grant can count to 20 (well, with a couple of extra 13's thrown in there, ha!). He can count actual objects up to about 10, he can sort colors and some objects into like groups, he can identify his numbers up to 5,  he can say his ABCs, but we haven't really gotten to identifying them yet! I'm pretty sure he knows his colors, but likes to blurt out any color he can think of before I even point to something, so it's hard to quiz him :) *I'm documenting this so I can look back to see his progress. Grant has come SO far in the last year and still has a way to go to get caught up, but I am SO SO proud of him!

-Grant is still working hard in speech! He's about to start going twice a week and I really think it's going to be good for him. He started putting words together and can identify more objects than I can count...our next step is really working towards answering us when we ask him questions and then speaking more spontaneously (instead of just when he wants something).

-Grant LOVES music. He can memorize just about any song effortlessly...his guilty pleasure is Taylor Swift, haha!

-Grant's favorite place in the world to be is outdoors. He loves to run freely and jump on the trampoline any chance he gets.

-His favorite books are Goodnight Moon and Brown Bear.

-His favorite songs are Baby Bumblebee and Bingo.

-Grant absolutely LOVES Carson and Harper. He follows them around and does and says anything they do. He goes to their room while they are at school and plays with their light sabers and gets into all the stuff he normally isn't allowed to touch ;)

-Speaking of which, Grant spends most of his waking hours teasing the boys ANY which way he can. While they are doing their homework, he runs in, snatches their homework sheet and then runs for his life, lol! He especially loves to take Carson's legos. He dives into a fetal position with Carson's treasures tucked tightly into his chest. SO funny. Well, to me...they don't think it is, ha!

-Grant is literally the most stubborn child/human being I have ever met in my life. He is like a grumpy old man trapped in a 3 yo's body. He doesn't like change. He doesn't like new stuff (all of his old stuff works just fine!). His stubbornness has really gotten into the way of his developmental growth. When his speech therapist is trying to get him to say/do/look at something, Grant will look at the ceiling and sing his ABC's at the top of his lungs. Or close his eyes tight and name any and every family member he can think of. And when he's tired of that, he'll pretend to be interested in what she's pointing at long enough to grab said object and chunk it across the room, always with a big smile on his face. Sigh. It is both hilarious and frustrating at the same time. SUCH a little stinker.

-Sweet boy still loves his Barney stuffed animal. He sleeps with him tucked in his arm every night and carries him around quite a bit during the day.

-His current favorite thing to do is to make a loud farting noise and then say, "EWWW Mama!" Or Daddy, or "Artin" or "Arper" or whoever may be around. :)

Grant absolutely adores Clara. He smothers her with kisses and hugs alllll day long (bless her heart, ha!). He watches carefully when I change her diaper and makes sure I always put "pow-per" on her. He calls her Twara and I secretly hope he always calls her that.

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We had a small party at our home yesterday. He LOVED when we sang Happy Birthday to him and he actually was somewhat interested in his presents (which was big surprise!) Here are some pics:

Singing Happy Birthday...I have a video I'll upload later!

Waiting patiently to open presents :)

He kept hugging all of his new clothes, haha!

He was NOT in a picture taking mood!

Happy THIRD Birthday Grant!!! We love you SO much sweet boy-words cannot even express!!!

Carson's Birthday Party

Just a few pictures from Carson's 8th Birthday Party from a few weeks ago! It was just a small gathering of our immediate families...Kane took him and Harper to the movies to see Night at the Museum, too. 

Cake is super sloppy, but I didn't have much time to throw it together...it tasted good which is all that matters! :)

Carson is EIGHT!

Eight whole years ago, our oldest baby was born. I can hardly believe its been that long. 

Carson is the sweetest, smartest, kindest little boy I know. He is my right-hand man when Kane is not home. I try not to ask too much of him, but being the oldest of four, he helps a lot..Whether it's keeping Grant busy so I can wash dishes, picking up toys (that he didn't take out), or talking to Clara so I can finish dinner, I know that I can always count on him. 

Carson's absolute favorite things in the world are: 

Legos.

Reading.

Football.

He spends hours and hours every week with his nose stuck in a book...he always reads through several books at a time..he doesn't have a preference...this past week he's been reading Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, and a Goosebumps book. 

I'm not going to get into the Football thing, because I have had about ALL I can take of football talk, ha! But just know that he is o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d. His favorite team is the SF 49ers. He has NFL trading cards that he carries around and studies the players stats. And thats all I'll say about that, haha.

Carson is still an avid Lego builder/fan. Just like his football cards, he has a container of minifigures that he takes out and plays with several time a day. He got a Lego Minifigure Encyclopedia for Christmas and it goes everywhere with him.

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I love you SO much Carson. Even though Daddy and I had no idea what we were doing 8 years ago (sometimes I question whether we know what we are doing now, ha!), God knew exactly what he was doing when He blessed our lives with you. Happy Birthday to the kid who made me a mom. I love you buddy!

Harper is SIX!

It is downright shocking to type these words...but my little rockstar is SIX today. Call me crazy, but I still think of Harp as a 3-4 year old...sadly, those days are gone. He has grown and matured SO much this past year. He is rocking kindergarten! He is such an awesome reader, flying through books and writing stories nonstop...that has been his favorite thing to do lately! He either types them on the computer or makes his own "book" filled with stories from the unconquerable Power Rangers. :) Speaking of which, he is CRAZY about some Power Rangers lately...another certain child of mine will seriously have a new "thing" every week..(you name it...Avengers, Star Wars, Angry Birds, Zombies, etc.), but Harper stays faithful to his Rangers (and Spidey!) of course. :) He has always been so simple and easy to please, and I LOVE that about him. Harper is still a budding rockstar, spending his afternoons "playing" his guitar and perfecting his cool moves. He loves to pretend play, and is always seen around the house with some kind of costume on.............or nothing at all. :) It's either one extreme or another...and even if I have to tell him to go put some pants on 54654x a day, I wouldn't have it any other way! 

6 years of Harp: 

(top row: NB, 4mon, 1y. 2nd row: all 2-3ys, 3rd row: 4y, 5y, 6y)

We love you SO much Harper (or "Ar-pah" as Grant calls you :) You bring so much joy to our lives! 

Happy 6th Birthday to the coolest kid I know!!

Grant is TWO/Barney Bash!!

I cannot believe I'm typing this, but our littlest love is TWO today! 

Here is a little bit about Grant at 2:

Grant LOVES Barney...we have several DVDs from when the boys were little and Grant loves to sing and dance along with the big purple guy...he has a stuffed Barney that he carries around and sleeps with every night, too!

His favorite food is pizza, bananas, and chicken nuggets...Not the healthiest group of food, but he has become quite the picky eater lately, so we are just going with it.

He can count to 10 and loves the ABC song (even if he only gets some of the letters :)

Grant thinks his big brothers are the best things in the world. He loves to follow them around, watch what they are doing, and wrestle with them!

His favorite place to be in the world is outdoors. He loves to explore, stop and look at trees, and go full speed to his hearts content.

He still takes a solid 1-2 hour nap everyday, and would sleep longer if it weren't for having to pick up the boys from school. Bedtime at night is 8pm, and he is normally awake just after 7.

His favorite toys are his stacking cups (I need to video this...it is hilarious...he stacks his cups as fast as humanly possible), balls of all shapes and sizes, and his counting Lion...when he imitates the Lion, his "roar" sounds more like "Wow!" which might be the cutest thing in the world. 

Grant loves to sing and dance along with all music! The boys are always blaring some horrible Kidz Bop junk (haha...seriously, though!), and Grant just LOVES to dance along with it!

He has the best personality...always so sweet, and will do anything for a laugh. I'm sure I'll be eating my words in a few months, but I rarely have to get after him...And when I do, a stern voice will send him into puddles of tears. Typing that makes me want to go pick him up from his crib and kiss his chubby cheeks a million times.

He really loves praise...when he figures something out or says a new word, he gets a huge smile on his face and claps for himself.

He still takes a paci every night (but not during the day)...I don't think we'll  take it away for a while...we didn't with the boys until they turned three...which is also when we potty-trained them...that is prob the same route we'll go with Grant!

He LOVES shoes. And showers. Just not together.

Grant still has therapy twice a week (and will continue to for the next year). He is doing SO well, and has blossomed so much! When he's being stubborn and ready to be done with the session, he'll ask me to pick him up, look at the therapist, and with a big smile say, "BYE!!" LOL!! It is both rude and hilarious at the same time.

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Switching gears....we had a small Barney bash today at our home with our immediate family...Everyone had a great time! Here are some pics from his Barney Bash! :)

I made the cake, and bought the personalized Barney icing sheet from Etsy. Loved how it looked, and will def be doing it again in the future!

My mom got a Cricut for Christmas and made his birthday banner! Also..side note (bc its bothering me, ha! I rearranged furniture and am crafting some things right now, so please ignore the off-centered family pic above the tv) :)

I'm throwing this pic in simply bc of the NC sign I made is in it :)

LOL! I had to throw this one in...he was super cranky when he first woke up from his nap!

Luckily he cheered up pretty quick! :)

Harp got this firetruck from the treasure box at school and gave it to Grant for his bday. Heart bursting.

Found a Barney pillow pet on Amazon! He LOVED it!

All for now! Happy Birthday sweet baby! You have blessed our lives beyond comprehension, and we love you SO much!!

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2 kid parties down, 1 more to go in a few weeks! Then we are done until 2015!

Harper's Birthday Party

We had Harp's 4th birthday party last Sunday (April 1). With a 6 week old, his party really snuck up on me and we kind of waited until the last minute to throw it together.

Harp is not much for big crowds, so we decided to just stick with our immediate families (and my two childhood BFFs ) which was a good move...10 minutes into the party he told me there were too many people here! :) 

he chose a pirate theme: 

sea water

pirates blood

birthday cake...i made this right before the party started...long story about what happened with his first cake!

food

blowing out the candle!

it was lots of fun...but thank goodness we are D.O.N.E. with birthday parties for the year! all three boys birthdays are within the first 4 months of the year, so we don't have to worry about hosting another until next January!

Harper is 4!

I'm not sure how it happened or when it happened, but my Harper is four today.

He has turned into a smart, quirky, independent little boy.

Now, don't get me wrong...He is still very much a mama's boy. But Harper really does march to the beat of his own drum. Some may call it "difficult." Or deviant, even. But we call it Harper being Harper. He keeps us on our toes, providing us with endless entertainment and punchlines, galore. 

He loves both of his brothers fiercely. He is also SO considerate and thoughtful of others. 

We just love our Harper so much.

Happy Birthday sweet boy!