Judd's Making Me Crazy!

BIG BOY

Sometimes he is so serious........

and sometimes he isn't.........

Wyatt weighed 26lbs 2 oz at his one year check-up and he was 31 inches long.

Trick-or-Treat

Our Baby Wyatt is ONE!

We've had family in town for the past week so I haven't had a chance to post about Wyatt's big day! He turned one on October 25th. We feel so blessed by each of our children. He is starting to walk (5 or 6 steps at a time) and I feel the same joy that I felt with the first two over his milestones. For those of you who have spent time with him you know that he is a funny baby and we enjoy him so much!

We've Been Busy!

Shew! I'm sorry that it's been so long since I blogged. I stay so busy. I have an extremely high maintenance baby boy. We really love him and enjoy him but he is a stinker.

Owen is five years old. I can't believe it. His birthday was September 26th and he got to camp at the Kentucky Horse Park. Brad and my dad camped with Owen and Judd. The boys loved it. Owen is doing so well in preschool and has learned so much. We are amazed by him constantly. He has a great memory and thought process.

Wyatt is close to walking but not there yet. He is way ahead of Owen who didn't walk until 16 months and Judd who didn't walk until 15 months. I think he will be walking by his 1st birthday in a few weeks. He is always working his way in to what his brothers are doing. Sometimes they trick him and get him to leave the room and then they shut the door real fast. It breaks Wyatt's heart. Of course, I get on them and make them include him. It's hard though because they have lots of little pieces and they love puzzles. They have to do their puzzles on the kitchen table because he tears everything apart. Wyatt says DUDD (Judd) all the time. He has a very loud, deep voice. I think he calls both Owen and Judd this. He babbles all the time and is very loud. Much louder than the other two. I wonder why? Probably so he can be heard around here!

Judd is as cute and funny as ever. He can tell you anything you want to know (or don't want to know) about Star Wars. He knows all the characters and the story line. It's amazing. He has become attached to a little stuffed penguin. He calls it his baby. He says he is potty trained but he really isn't. He knows what to do and will do it when he has to but otherwise he won't. I'm not sure what to do. Any suggestions? I've tried lots of things.

Here are some funny things the boys have said lately:

1. Georgetown College recently named their new fitness center after George H. W. Bush. He came to speak so the preschool walked the kids down to see him. When my dad picked him up he asked him who he got to see. Owen shrugged his shoulders and said, "Some man named Bush."

2. Owen has show-and-tell on Fridays and he is always trying to find something to take and share. Judd likes to pretend he is in school but he calls it ho-and-tell. This got a chuckle from Brad and me.

3. I was pushing the boys on the swings yesterday when the following conversation occured.
Owen: Mom when Judd burned his finger at Gram's house did you put ice on it when he was napping and did the ice melt in our bed?
Me: Yes, that is what happened.
Owen: Well, that's what my daddy told me but I wanted to make sure he was telling me the truth.
Me: Owen if daddy tells you something then it's the truth.
Judd: But mommy my daddy is crazy. I love him though.

4. After I had been pushing Judd in the swing for about 30 minutes in the heat he said, "Mommy, you are the best in the whole wide world."

These boys are a hoot!

UK Fan Day

It takes a while sometimes for us to find time to post a story or photographs but because of the holiday weekend, both parents are home and we seem to have a bit more time today. On Saturday, August 9, Keith and Karen (Dannette cousin and wife) came down from northern Kentucky and we went to the UK Football Fan Day at Commonwealth Stadium. We also met up with our good friends, Amy, Marvin, Ben, and Matthew. The boys loved the football field. They spent most of the time running in circles and rolling in the grass with some of their friends. We, too, had a nice time and intend to go again next year. There are five photos below of our fun-filled day in Lexington. (BTW, did any of you watch UK smash the University of Louisville yesterday?)

Photo 1. Future UK linebacker ready to go.

Photo 2. Wyatt with Matthew, a good buddy.

Photo 3. Touchdown celebration in the west end zone.

Photo 4. Judson after the game, "We left it all on the field."

Photo 5. Owen after the game, "We blew the doors off the place!"

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, AUNT LAURA!

We love you and we hope you have a wonderful birthday!
I love Aunt Laura because:

Judd
*She bought me a present.
*She and Eric took me bowling.
*I like her dog, Diva.

Owen
*I like it when she visits.
*I like it when she takes us to the park.
*I like the Yoda shirt she bought me.

Wyatt
*She and I are both the babies of our family.
*ma ma ma da da da

Family Portrait

Owen drew this picture of our family. I think he did a good job. He was drawing with a black marker so everything is in black. He said that he put red lipstick on me. He said that he made him and Brad larger because they are bigger than us. He gets his creativity from Brad. I love seeing how he is changing. He loves learning and asks lots of questions about numbers and letters. Yesterday was his first day back to school and he had a good day. He said, "My belly was a little nervous when you all leaved me but then it got okay." He is such a sweet, sweet boy. He was happy that his friend Cooper was back. It's almost the exact same kids as last year.

Piano

Little Motzart loves the toy piano. He is very active and into EVERYTHING! I have put my plants out of reach and several other things. He is happiest when he is near his brothers. They try and block him sometimes but he is so big that he just rolls over them.

Updates

Wyatt will be 9 months on Friday. He went for his check-up today and he weighs 23 pounds and 2 ounces (75-90 percentile) and he is over 29 inches long (75 percentile). Like his brothers, his head size is greater than 90th percentile. His weight tends to match up with were Owen was at this age but Owen was longer. Wyatt is crawling and pulls up to everything and is cruising around. My favorite is when he pulls up to the little piano and plays it. I hope to get a video of it soon but the camera distracts him and he loses his balance.

We get together with the Fraziers often. We are glad to have friends close by. I thought it was funny to see Brad and Jimmy both sitting on the couch holding the babies. They are both such good dads.

Owen and Judd have been happy to spend time with their Highley grandparents this summer. They set up a pool for them and they both love it! I'm glad that they have two sets of grandparents pretty close. They will have such good memories when they get older.

Brad is the best husband and dad ever! He took a week off of work to build the boys a "set." That's what Owen and Judd call it. I'll take a better picture and post it later. I did good to get this one. It's hard to get them all to be still. It has a large deck, slide, and three swings. He built it from scratch and it's awesome. It also has a sand box which the boys have loved. These boys are lucky to have such a great dad!

BOOK

I have been reading a great book for mothers of boys. It's called Preparing Him for the Other Woman. It's a mother's guide to raising her son to love a wife and lead a family. This book was suggested to me by another mother at SCC whose children are almost all out of the house. She has great kids and I hope mine turn out as good as her children. If you have a son you must get this book. It is great! It gives you suggestions of things to do starting at 3 years old. I plan to go back and read it periodically. I've also been encouraged by it. Since I came from a family of three girls, I feel lost in boy world sometimes. I worry about how active they are but she explains how important it is to encourage them to be warriors. We want them to fight for their family someday. She also lists prayers after each chapter. I plan to copy them to index cards and pray them over my boys.

Owen and Judd went to Bible School at my parents church. Me being their mother, I knew that they would NOT preform at the program. My mom just knew that they would because they participated and were so cute during the week. On Sunday, everyone was going up on stage and Judd and Owen just sat in the pew. The teachers directed them on stage to which they just looked at the other kids and had their backs to the crowd for at least 1/2 of the time. I was laughing so hard. It was really funny. I wish I had it on video. They didn't sing one word or do one motion. Sometimes Owen even had his tongue hanging out. I couldn't stop laughing. Brad's parents drove all the way from Richmond to see it. Brad's mom said that he would have done the same thing. I never liked these performances and only did them because I was made to do them. At least we know that our kids didn't get mixed up in the hospital nursery. These are our children! I won't make them do it again.

The other morning Judd got in bed with me and was laying on my chest and I was rubbing his back. It was a sweet moment. I did a big yawn and Judd said, "Mommy don't do that stinky air again." I couldn't stop laughing.

Chrissy (my sister in Phoenix) is still very sick with her pregnancy. She is more sick than anyone else I've known. She has to get IVs and has a pump of nausea medicine. She is 14 weeks. Please pray for her. She found out it's a boy. My parents had all girls. I wonder if they will have all grandsons?

Happy Birthday, Aunt Chrissy!!

Aunt Chrissy is 33 today. We wish we were in Phoenix to celebrate with her. The baby in her belly has made her really sick so we bet she's glad we aren't there. We think it must be a girl!

Why we love Aunt Chrissy:

Owen
*She's sweet to me.
*She likes us.
*She takes me to Chuck E. Cheese's.
*She sends me stuff in the mail.

Judd
*She's special.
*She's pretty.
*She sends me Star Wars men.

Wyatt
*She came to see me the week I was born.

We love you Aunt Chrissy. Come home soon.

Movie

Brad took the boys to see Prince Caspian. They loved the first movie. After the big battle scene, Owen leaned over to Brad and said, "Daddy, those guys are going to have to go home and take a shower. Aren't they?"

Sleeping Beauties

Brad found the boys snuggled together like this one morning. Too cute!
Sweet baby Wyatt!

Kids Say the Funniest Things

Here are some funny things that the boys have said:

-Judd put a white wash cloth on his head and asked Brad if that was what I wore when we got married. Brad said, "A washcloth?" Owen said, "What he means is, did mommy wear a princess outfit?"

-There are many ways we could get to our house leaving my parents house. Recently Brad turned down a street that he doesn't usually take. Owen said, "Are you mixing it up, Dad?" Brad was confused. Owen said, "You know. Are you taking a different way? I like it when you mix it up."

-Our kitchen table has four chairs. We all have a chair and Wyatt sits in the high chair. When the boys and I were having lunch the other day Owen said, "Mom, when we get our sister we are going to have to get a new table." We have plenty of time to worry about that!!!!

JUDD

It's Judd's turn (and Kristina requested). I blogged about Owen and I did a video of Wyatt. I don't want to slight the middle child! ;)

Judd is a wonderful little boy. He keeps us laughing a lot. Owen and Judd are so different. I love how God makes each of us unique and so very special.

Judd loves me more than anyone and I love it. He likes to hug and kiss me and tell me how much he loves me. What more could a mother want? I love his big, brown eyes and his long eyelashes.

Judd is the most attached to me but it's in a different way than Owen. Owen doesn't like the unknown but he loves his grandmas and will stay with them at the drop of a hat. Judd goes but not as readily and he is good away for one night. He is always ready to come home. Judd doesn't seem to mind the unknown. I'll be surprised if he cries when he goes to pre-school.

Judd had to get fillings at the dentist in his two front teeth this week. He fell on our porcelain tile and I think it caused some trauma to his teeth (and he really likes sugar). He was AWESOME! The dentist used gas and I could hear him walking him through every step. Judd never fussed once. The dentist was amazed and said it was very unusual. He is a very brave little boy.

Judd says the funniest things (his voice alone will make you laugh). He says his words like a hillbilly. He should be potty trained but he chooses to still use pull-ups. I'm not going to press the issue and he uses the potty much of the time. He'll come and tell me that he used the "big pot." I'm not sure where he got that but it sounds so funny.

He can take care of himself. Brad and I call him the AVENGER. Wyatt dropped a little truck on Owen's head (a 7 month old drops everything) and Owen cried. I'm sure it hurt. Judd thought he should pick up the truck and knock Wyatt in the head. Thank goodness Brad was there to stop it!

I hope you can tell how much I love my three little guys by reading this blog. It's a lot of work but it's so worth it. I'm so thankful that I have Brad to help me. I couldn't imagine a better dad for three wild boys.

A Special Wyatt Video

OWEN

Owen has fallen asleep like this two times now. He doesn't take a nap every day anymore and sometimes he should. He just loves to play so much. Notice that he put one puzzle together but then fell asleep before he finished the other. I'm not sure why he likes to play at our front door. I guess it's because there is a nice open space there.

Owen finishes his first year of pre-school this week. It has been a daily struggle. He truly likes it after he gets there but he has some anxiety about going. I think he is afraid he will miss out on something that we are doing (which is usually nothing). I see so many similarities in Owen and me. Maybe it's being first born and maybe it's genetics.

Owen is a very sensitive child. He has a tender, tender heart. I love this about him. He is also very insightful and has a great thought process. We heard the boys talking in bed this morning so Brad got up and went to get in their bed. They all got under the covers and shot basketball from the bed. We have bucket of balls. Brad reminded the boys that they were going to Pop and Granny's to spend the night. Owen said, "Are you and mommy glad that we are going to be gone?" Brad told him that yes we were glad. Owen said, "Is it so you all can clean the house." Brad said that was one of the reasons. Owen said, "And so you all can rest." Is he a smart cookie or what?!?

Pictures

My sister took all of these pictures of the boys. She was visiting from Nasheville and spent the day with them and let me go shopping. The boys enjoyed Auntie Laura. Owen and Judd have on soccer uniforms that she brought them back from England.

Sweet, Sweet Baby!
I think all little boys love boots. Judd wears these a lot. Owen has some Spider Man snow boots. Somehow I have convinced them that you only wear boots at home!!

The boys got a Gator for Christmas (thanks to Granny Marcy and Pop). They are enjoying getting to use it now that it's warmer.

Mother's Day 2008

I feel so blessed to be the mother of three little boys. God has given me a huge task but I know he will be there to guide me through this journey. Last night Judd hugged my neck while I was sitting on the floor and said, "Mommy, you have all boys."

The following was written in my card.

Somthing nice about Mommy:

Owen: I love Mommy because she is a great, great, good mommy.
I like Mommy because she gives me kisses all the time.
I like Mommy because she loves me and I really love her, too.
I like that she gives me presents sometimes.

Judd: I like Dannette mommy. I like that she put on the "Monster Inc." I like that she puts on
the ghosts that come out of the mud (Scooby Doo DVD). I like her because she is Dannette, she is a girl.

Wyatt: Momomomomomom.

Such sweet, sweet boys!

Judd is 3 and Wyatt is 6 months

I can't believe that Judd is 3. Time goes by so fast! I try to remind myself this whenever I am in the middle of chaos around here. Judd is 36 1/2 inches tall (25-50 pecentile) and 30 pounds (50 percentile). He is a funny little boy. He is still really attached to me but does great going to church. We are making progress potty training but he has a mind of his own. He goes when he wants but refuses other times. This is one battle I don't care to fight. Owen was so much easier but all kids are different! The thing that has helped us the most......I keep telling him he gets to go to Owen's room downstairs at church once he uses the potty all the time. This seems to be helping. He is so smart and makes me laugh a lot. This morning he came into my room and I was asleep on the bed facing away from the door. He woke me up by shooting me in the rear with his nerf gun. I didn't think it was funny at the time but it makes me smile thinking about it now. He thought it was hilarious. Owen just asked me a question as I was typing this and Judd told him not to talk to the white witch. He is obscessed with the white witch in Narnia. He doesn't like her. Owen said, "I won't talk to her." He smiled a big smile at me and said, "Judd is pretending you are the white witch." Judd then aimed the nerf gun at me and said, "I'll get that witch." Owen said, "Don't shoot her in the head because it's really our mom." They are so funny and very creative!

Wyatt is still a very BIG boy. He is 27 3/8 inches tall (75 percentile) and weighs 21 pounds 4 onces (off the charts)!!! His head size is also off the charts just like the other two. I hope they have some brains in those big heads! He was pitiful when he got his shots. Brad has to go with me for these appointments because I still have a really hard time. It breaks my heart to hear his sad, hurt cry. Wyatt is so much like Owen in personality. He can cry and cry and cry. He can throw an awesome fit. He is usually happy and sweet though. He tends to be happier when is brothers and around. I think they are all going to be close.

We are excited about getting the stimulus package around here. We are getting ready to start looking for a used van (Toyota). Our van has been great but it doesn't have air any more and it has close to 200,000 miles. It will be nice to have a car in the 2000's. It will be the low 2000's but we aren't complaining.

Sweet Brothers

Many of you ask me about Owen and Judd sleeping in the same bed. It's worked out really well for us. They are so close and I love their sweet relationship. Don't get me wrong, they still fuss at times but for the most part they love each other. Brad goes to work very early and he couldn't pass up taking this picture. We find them snuggled together in their sleep often.

Questions?

I get many questions from the boys. I'm sure I'll get even more when Wyatt starts talking. One of the recent questions was...What does "meddling kids" mean? How do you explain meddling to a 4 and 3 year old? They heard the phrase on Scooby. I tried giving several explanations but I wasn't convinced myself so I told them to ask Brad when he gets home. That's wrong of me, I know. Sheesh! What's a girl to do with so many boys?!? I bet I tell them to ask Brad many things. The benefit of having all boys!

We were driving to Frankfort last week so that I could get my hair cut. It was raining in G-town (slightly) but on the interstate it stopped and the sun was out. Owen asked why the rain stopped but before I answered he decided he knew. He said, "I know why mom. God worked his magic and made it stop raining." I love the minds of children.

The boys have been enjoying cans of FLARP! It was given to them by my brother-in-law (with my permission). A little girl brought it to Owen's school for Show and Tell. I figured it was okay if she had it. She's one of the most adorable little girls I've seen! FLARP is hilarious! One of my friends calls it Prozac in a can. You can't help but laugh when you stick your finger in it. It's called noise putty. I bet you can figure out the noise by the name. This is just another something you learn to get used to when you have so many boys. :O)

I have a really cute picture to post of Owen and Judd but I can't find the camera and Judd is calling for me to put Narnia on for him to watch.

Coming soon....Judd's 3rd Birthday (April 21st)

I'm so far behind.....

Below are pictures of the snow storm we had the weekend of March 7th - 9th. The boys were so excited to play in the snow. Our neighbors (diagonally behind us) let their dog (a beagle) come play with them.

Wyatt sat at the back door and watched his brothers play. Poor baby! He can play next year.

Brad went to Atlanta for a work conference on Sunday morning March 15th and didn't return until Wednesday night March 19th. I survived but I sure did miss him. The boys missed him too. I went out with my Life Group girls on the Thursday after he returned. Brad also watched Caroline so Jessica could go (Brett had a meeting). Caroline, Owen, and Judd worked on our fence while we were gone.

Finally, Easter pictures. The first picture isn't very good because of the photographer (me). The boys looked so cute. I didn't get a picture of Wyatt. I'll put his outfit back on him and take a picture soon. He was so cute.

I love these moments.....

Happy 40th Birthday!!

Brad turned 40 on February 27th. I think he had a nice birthday. Our parents (orchestrated by me) went in together and bought him an IPOD. It's his first piece of technology in a long time!!! He also went to a Brazilian Steakhouse in Cincinnati with some guys and I know it's one of his favorite places to eat. I don't think he looks 40 and if 50 is the new 30 then he's really only 20. :)

Wyatt is four months old now. He is a sweet baby and has a precious smile. I must say that he is not like I imagined he would be. I always thought that the 3rd baby would be really laid back and easy. He may be the most difficult. He's at least a close second to Owen. My mother-in-law watched all three boys for a few hours yesterday so that Brad and I could see a movie. She said she didn't see how I got anything done. That made me feel good because some days I don't get anything done. It's all worth it though. I'm not complaining.

Wyatt had his 4 month shots on Friday and his appointment with the Pediatric Urologist. Everything was good with both doctors. He was 25 1/2 inches long (75 percentile), 19 lbs. 8 oz. (greater than 95 percentile), and his head was in the 95th percentile. I can feel his two bottom, front teeth coming in as well.

Owen officially likes school. As long as he gets enough sleep then there is no complaining. We can tell that he really enjoys himself now and he likes doing "papers." He tells me that the girls are mostly good but the boys get in trouble. While he doesn't always have good behavior at home, he has very good behavior at school.

Judd really enjoys going to church. We told him last night that church was this morning and he said, "That sounds like fun." I mentioned earlier that Judd was the easiest baby. He hasn't been the easiest toddler though. If he doesn't like something he expresses himself by telling you that he is going to get a monster to come get you. It's a good thing that he is so stinkin' cute.

Many of you know that our church puts food in backpacks for students of several schools we have adopted. They send the backpacks home with students over the weekend. We bought some instant mac n cheese to donate. The boys keep asking why I bought it and who it's for. We plan to start helping sort the food as a family. It's important to us that they learn to serve.

I will try and take pictures soon and post them.

Pictures and More

These pictures were taken on 12/10/07. Wyatt is a lot bigger now. Wyatt loves taking a bath with his big brothers. They each take a turn holding him while I wash him.

Below are bath pictures from tonight. Don't you just love Wyatt's rolls!?!

Wyatt and Brad are sacked out in these pictures. I thought they looked too cute not to take a picture.

Kid's Say the Cutest Things

Owen and Judd are so amazing and I love the things they say (most of the time). Saturday was my dad's birthday so we were at my parents house. For those of you that don't know, my grandmother (maternal) lives with my parents. Wyatt fell asleep so Granny was rocking him in her room. I told the other two boys that we were ready to go so Judd walked back to Granny's room and said, "We need our baby so we can take him home." She asked him if the baby could stay but he wouldn't have it. Too cute. I love the relationship I see between all three boys. Owen also walked back to Granny's room to tell her bye. She asked the boys if they knew that she loved them. Owen said, "I love you too Granny and I will never stop loving you or praying for you." He is so sweet.

Wyatt is amazing. He is so strong and loves to be in the middle of everything. I think he will torment his older brothers when he is able. He doesn't seem to be bothered to have them in his face or poking him. He doesn't want for stimulation.

I don't have time at the moment but I'll post pictures soon.

Busy, Busy

Sorry that it's been so long since I posted. I stay so busy it seems but I am truly enjoying the boys so much. I've finally got them all taking an afternoon nap at the same time so I have a few minutes to post and relax.

Owen is doing so much better in preschool. He still says that he doesn't want to go but he doesn't cry when we get there. He seems to really enjoy himself but he still has some anxiety. From day one, a little girl named Riley has comforted Owen. She is adorable. I'll try and get a picture of her before the school year ends. She is so nurturing and loves Owen. Her mom tells the teachers that she speaks of Owen often. On Tuesday the teachers told me that Riley and Owen held hands and danced. This was huge because Owen has never danced at school before and they've been dancing all year long. Also, they were throwing noodles up and play time and giggling. Ms. Ginger said that their laugh was infectious and she couldn't help but laugh with them. If we ask Owen a question about Riley he acts as if he doesn't know who we are talking about. He is such a little boy.

Judd is amazing. He has an incredible vocabulary and says so many funny things. I can never think of them when I'm posting though. I need to keep a list to jot down and have Brad keep a list. One thing he says funny is your. He says oars instead. He will bring me something like my phone and say "Here is oars phone."

I probably shouldn't pass along what they told my dad because it may say something about my lack of parenting skills but I need to document it for when they get bigger. My dad took the two big boys to see the lights at the Horse Park over Christmas and they told him that they don't always do what their mommy tells them to do. My dad told them that I should spank them when they don't mind. They told him that I did spank but it didn't hurt. I've been doing time outs!!!

Wyatt is growing so fast and he's so sweet. He has discovered his hands and he will sit in his swing, rub his hands together, and look at them. He also likes watching Barney with the boys and he looks too cute sitting in the Bumbo seat.