Summer madness

Summer is drawing to a close, and we continue to fill our days with fun.  We took the whole family to Zilker recently--on a day that actually wasn't sweltering.  The train ride is always first and never disappoints.

Matt found several bottlecaps (he has quite the collection going now) and fifty cents in found change throughout the park.  He was ecstatic.

Thursday mornings Steven has been taking the big boys to the driving range.  While Matt takes it seriously and actually makes contact with the ball and gets some distance...

...Will finds other ways to keep himself entertained.  He's so special.  All I know is it's nice to have a quiet morning with just Johnathan and I.

We hit another splash park where Matt & Will ran around like crazy only stopping to devour some snacks.  Little John snoozed in his carseat.

We visited Deep Eddy pool a couple weeks ago (Uncle Tim joined us too!), and it was delightful.  The water there is seriously cold, but it felt great on that very hot day.

Johnny quite enjoyed himself.  He sat and watched the action, ate, napped and then kicked around on our picnic blanket.

Will looks like he's being quite the handful.  Well, he usually is, but I assure you he was having fun.  I had been photographing Johnathan and he asked me to take his picture.  And this is how he chose to pose.  Dramatic much?

Matt and Will spent a lot of time jumping in from the side of the pool.  Trying to synchronize their jumps.

And then they nearly smothered their baby brother while wrestling on the blanket as they dried off.  Johnny didn't mind at all.  He's quite amused by them.

The whole family loved watching the Olympics.  I get so excited and inspired watching all those gifted athletes compete at such a level.  Matt's favorite events were swimming and track & field.  He referenced the globe and the atlas to figure out where all the different countries were and what their flags looked like.  Voluntarily of course.

My birthday was certainly a nice one.  My dear husband gave me flowers, and that always makes me happy.

The day started at a kids' birthday party--one of Will's little friends, Nathan, turned 3.  Then, I fled from the party and ALL my children and headed to join my girlfriends at Lake Austin Spa for a much needed and very enjoyable massage.  If only I could afford to visit that place more often!  It's a little piece of heaven.  Especially with my best girls by my side!

Meanwhile, Steven had all the kids for the day.  I came in and out to feed Johnathan, and he did great all day.  To make things more fun, louder and messier, Zach, Ava & Henry came over.  Good times.

We had dinner at Contigo, a hip little place on the east side with tasty delights that we all enjoyed.  Then I devoured the awesome birthday cake that Nicole made for me while we continued to conversate and enjoy ourselves.  Special times with my sweet girls.  What a blessing.  It was great for this mama--it recharged me!  A brilliant way to kick of my 34th year.

3 months

Mr. Johnathan has reached the 3 month mark, yay!!!  Time has flown.  This boy is coming alive.  Lately he has been all smiles and it is the cutest thing ever.  He coos and makes the sweetest little baby noises when you get face to face with him and talk to him.  He LOVES to be talked to.  He must like being told he's handsome because he smiles big every time, and I give him that compliment multiple times a day.  

This is my favorite shot.  He looks like a little doll.  His eyes are so big and bright---and still looking like they're going to be blue.

His legs are getting chubbier and oh so squeezable.  He is very strong and holds that head very steady.  He loves to sit up and see what's going on around him.  He's not a sit and be content kind of baby, and in fact he really prefers to be carried around so he can observe everything.  And let's be honest, there's a lot going on here and it's happening at an outrageously loud volume.  So, since the little prince prefers to be carried around on my hip I do everything one handed or else deal with his protests.  That period of great sleep turned out to last about 2 weeks, and now he is back to 6 hour stretches.  I feel like we are in this limbo period where he is trying to figure out how to soothe himself but he is still dependent on me.  He sucks on his little fingers but ultimately is more frustrated with them than soothed.  We're getting there.

This shot here is all Steven to me.  Makes me giggle.  Johnathan continues to be infatuated with his brothers and they are just as in love with him.  This evening after he had suffered through me bringing in the groceries, putting them away, folding laundry, making and eating dinner he sat on my lap at the table while I spoon fed Will the rest of his dinner and giggled listening to Will make up some fantastically silly song.  This of course just fed the beast that is Will.  He ate it up and loved the fact that Johnny was laughing at him.  It's just the beginning of that, right?

This boy is a delight.  Only thing that's not so delightful is the spit up.  He juices me multiple times a day.  And on the few occasions that I dodge it it goes ker-splat on the floor.  Ew.  Soon he will outgrow it.  Then I'll do laundry every 5 days instead of every 4?  Who am I kidding.  It's constant.  He may be messy, but we're keeping him.  We love our Johnny boy!

July Fun

July is almost over!  Let me fill you in.  July 4th was a great day--it only would have been better had Steven not had to work that day.  Boo.  We started the morning at our neighborhood's parade.  Matt was very much looking forward to all the candy that he would collect.  He's been really concerned about the lack of candy around here so he was eager to gather as much as he could.

I'd say he was successful.  He darted out into the street as soon as that candy hit the ground.  Will was not far behind.  Although, he learned pretty quick that Matt was the candy gathering champ and all he had to do was sit and wait for Matt to hand him some.  He ain't no dummy.

That afternoon we headed out to Bryan & Sarah's for some fun time with the family.  Sarah made an amazing gourmet hamburger dinner--she seriously harnessed her inner Martha Stewart that day and went ALL out.  It looked like a Pottery Barn magazine.  We had a delightful time.

That previous Sunday our church put on a fantastic fireworks show.  I believe that was Will's first experience with it, and he was overjoyed to say the least.  They both squealed with excitement and Matt was doing his best to try and reach up and grab them.

Here's a little family portrait.  Lots of expressions, right?  Johnathan did great and wasn't phased by the loudness of the fireworks display.  He did, however, spit up all over me.  But what's new?

We had some special visitors this month as well.  The Olivers!  They were in town for a wedding but made time for us one afternoon.  We enjoyed dinner together and then walked up our street to the sno cone stand.

Delightful!

We have also discovered an awesome water park out in Round Rock.  It has everything: great big slides, a lazy river, a little frog slide that Will is still talking about, plenty of shallow water, and a great little kids area.

Matt was just a hair under 48" so he couldn't go on the big slides.  Definitely next year!

We've had some good rain this month too, and the boys took advantage of all that fun wetness.  They ran out there in their clothes and had a a grand time.  So thankful for the rain!

And then, there's been lots of Lego building.  We have an absurd amount of Legos in this house, and I know it's only going to get more ridiculous.  Especially when the oldest is requesting a Lego themed birthday party this year.  We have definitely outgrown our current Lego bin.  And look at Steven building Legos like a boss and earning his keep as Father of the Year!

2 months

Johnathan has reached the 2 month mark already!  And what a handsome, happy baby he is.  He had his 2 month well check at the doctor this week, and he is lookin' good!  He weighed in at 12 lb. 2 oz. (60%ile) and is now 22 in. (25%ile) with his head in the 50%ile.  Compare that with Will at 2 months: 10 lb. 5 oz. and 20.5 in.; and then Matt at 2 months: 13 lb. 10 oz. and 23 in.  They are ALL different.  Johnathan seems to have landed himself in the middle of his brothers size wise--so far.  The rest of his appointment went well, and he got 3 shots at the end.  Boo.  That made him a fussy man for a day or two and threw off his sleep schedule for a couple days.  His brothers were thrilled to get to show off their baby brother to the doctor.  They really enjoyed getting to watch Dr. Brown check him over.

If ever I leave Johnathan unattended, this is how I find him.  With Will crouched over him or next to him smelling him.  It's the funniest thing.  Will will also bring him toys or line up his cars around him.  He is right next to me in every move I make to help take care of Johnathan.  He truly loves his brother.

What's he doing these days?  Well, he has become super smiley---he smiles with his whole face---one of those huge, open mouthed I'm going to eat you type of faces.  It's adorable.  He makes these sweet little coo noises when he is happy and content and kicking his little legs around on the floor.  He holds his head up really well, and I can now carry him around in the Baby Bjorn which is awesome.  He is enjoying his playmat more and more; he looks like he's riding a stationary bicycle he gets those legs and arms moving so fast.  He continues to eat like a champ, and I am so thankful.  I can't stop eating either.

He does enjoy the swing.  There's a little mirror up above, and he stares and smiles at himself until he is lulled to sleep.  Speaking of sleep, he's doing really great at night as of late.  Over the past 2 weeks he's started sleeping for longer and longer stretches at night.  Last night he slept from 8:15 to 5:30.  That's over 9 hours, people!  I actually feel rested today.  He's doing a great job.  He's really trying to get those hands in his mouth, and I feel that inevitably he will find his thumb.  It seems to only be a matter of time.

And, this is how he naps quite frequently during the day: on the go.  Life does not slow down with two busy bigger brothers.  Little John catches naps in his seat alongside the pool or in the Bjorn at the grocery store or in his seat at the gym.  He has no choice but to be flexible!  And I'm so grateful that he is.  He's the sweetest, and we are enjoying every minute!

Life

Life...is holding this sweet little baby and dodging his spit up.  We both go through about 3 changes of clothes per day.  Notice the pile on his shoulder.

Life...is a balancing act.  I'm a multitasking machine and have mastered many chores with one hand while holding a wiggly wobbly headed baby in the other.

Life...is this sad little face being told that no, we won't be seeing Josh Brown today because he lives in Dallas, and no we won't be going to the beach until the end of August.  "In a few minutes, Mommy?" No...several weeks, Will.  Sigh.  He just doesn't understand time or the fact that people live in other cities.  He has dissolved into tears on numerous occasions because I have to break the news to him that Josh is not coming to our house just because he wants him to.

Life...is trying to stay cool in this summer heat.  We visited a cool pool out in Pflugerville recently that boasts two big slides, a little lazy river and a nice area for the little guy.  Will went down this slide no less than 50 times in a row.

We picnic lunched it and had a great time.  Little John snoozed in his car seat the entire time.  I actually got to swim!

Life...is frequenting the sno cone stand at the end of the street as often as I can find an occasion.  They really are tasty.

Life...is watching these two boys play, and play, and play together.  They've gotten pretty close this summer and really enjoy being silly together...especially at the dinner table.  So, I have to remind them of this sweetness when they are arguing over possession of prized Hot Wheels cars for the 500th time.  My darling husband loves to bring home Hot Wheels that he sells at his Walgreens, and then I have to deal with the arguments over them when he leaves for work.  Because whatever new cars are given are the ones they both want to play with the most.  And we have a huge bucket full of cars.  It's kind of ridiculous.  If it wasn't for the fact that Steven loves finding cool cars as much as the boys love to receive them and play with them, I would tell him to stop "surprising" them with them.  The backlash is not fun.

Life...is trying to keep these guys entertained.  Everyday I hear, "Mom, what are we doing today?" or "Is this all we're doing today?"  Like I'm some sort of cruise director lining up fun activities for them everyday.  One week, we went to an indoor bouncy house place, a splash park and an indoor trampoline park.  It was pretty awesome.

Life...is spending time with our friends.  These kids are still crazy about each other.
We took them to the trampoline park and followed it up with lunch at none other than Chick-Fil-A.  Everyone was pleased.

Life...is keeping Will from smothering Johnathan.  It's not out of dislike for the baby, in fact, Will is totally in love with him.  He loves to lay on him, snuggle up close to him, get right in his face, and his favorite of all is to smell him.  All day you'll hear me saying, "Will, get off your brother!!"  He retorts with, "but Mommy, I'm just smelling him!"  So weird.  Will loves his baby brother.

Life...is staring at this sweet little face everyday.  It's still hard to believe that he is mine.  And we've had him now for 2 months!  Crazy.

Life...is a house FULL of boys.  And I love it!

Reunion

Life is happening fast around here, and I can't stop it.  Here it is July, and summer is flying by.  I'm waaaay behind on this here blog...I apologize.  Seemingly, adding another little person the family complicates life even more and steals what little free time I have.  But that's OK!  Little Johnny is wonderful.  More on him later.  First, let me begin with the trip that Steven, Tim, Matt & Will took to Jacksonville the weekend of Johnathan's shower.  

It was the annual Kolb reunion.  I'm told I missed out on a really fun time.  The party was out on Lake Jacksonville this year, so the kids got to enjoy some water activities.

That day, Steven was texting me with updates.  One said, "Matt is tubing like a boss."  Indeed he did.  He'd never tubed before, but apparently he took right to it and loved every second.

And a little girl cousin was attached to him all day so I am told.  Her name is Juliana and she was infatuated with Matt.  He acted all cool about it when I asked him about her.  Mmmhmm.  I gotta say, I'm sorry I missed out.  Sounds like everyone had a great time.  I'm sad I didn't get to watch Matt tube or watch that girl follow him around.

I love this one of the boys asleep in the same bed.  Looks like Will took over the bed.  All 2.5 feet of him.  Hehehe.

While the big boys were away, Johnathan and I had a weekend of bonding.  He was a fussy man that weekend, so it honestly was not a relaxing time for me.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the beautiful shower that my friends and family threw for me and Johnathan.  The decorations were so cute (crafty Alison outdid herself once again!), and the food was beautiful and delicious.  Those girls are pros.  Johnathan was spoiled with all number of wonderful things...onesies, diapers, wipes, toys, you name it, and I got some awesome gift cards to enjoy some future shopping sprees just for ME!  So nice.

I tried taking some 1 month pictures of Johnny that weekend, but he really was not in the mood.  The whole time.

I tried putting him the swing outside all stuffed in there with a blanket.  It lasted about a minute.  Waaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!  The ball of fuss lasted for a couple weeks, but he's come out of it and is a happier, smiley baby now.