The Rest of July

Very hard to believe that in two days it's August. And August always seems to fly by... the last month of summer. We have lots planned already and I am afraid September will creep up on me just as fast!

We have had a busy last couple of weeks... here's what we've been up to!

Little Jack Man is a rolling machine! So funny because at his 4 month appointment he wasn't rolling either direction yet and I asked my doctor about it because it seemed late from what I could remember. She said not to worry that they should only be rolling to their side at that point... then days later he rolled from tummy to back and another couples days went by and he was rolling from his back to his tummy! Now I can't get him to stay put!

One of my girlfriends that lives out of town was up the other week so the boys, my mom and I headed to their lake place to SWIM! They had a blast! 

Jack was not as into the water... but he sure looked cute in his speedo!

As I was saying... Mr. Rolly... he got caught in his little play mat!

We went to the ZOO!!! Last week or the week before... I don't know... hard to keep track... we headed to the cities with my sister-in-law, Ang to go to the zoo with my other sister-in-law, Rach. I have to be honest, my personality does not look at things like taking three SMALL children to the zoo with excitement. In all honesty, I get a little doom and gloom about the whole thing! I decided to get over my glass half empty attitude though because I knew my boys would love the experience! And they did! And lucky for me, Angie is like the female version of my husband! Must be a family thing! She balances me so well, just like Caleb does! My attitude is zoo + 3 little kids = misery. Their attitude is zoo + 3 kids = loads of fun! And they were more right than I was! But I would not have survived the day without help from Rach and Ang! I'm having a hard time adjusting with the age differences between the boys and Jack. It is just hard because I would love to be out and doing so many things with them but having Jack to tag along just seems to make things more difficult! 

Before we left for the zoo! I dressed them in neon yellow shirts so I could spot them easily!

Jack at the zoo! He did pretty good! For Jack :)

Luke checking out the monkeys! In love with them... just like his dad!

The penguins, they swam right up to the glass to see the boys and Sammie!

Luke, yes he wore these goggles the WHOLE day!

Riding on a wolf.

The splash pad! The favorite part of the day, really! It was so hot that day and it was a great reprieve from the heat!

Jack napping... he was one hot baby! And of course the batteries on his fan went out that day!

My favorite picture of the day! Before and after the zoo!! 

Luke, Kaydon (cousin), Max

Jack and Dad catching up! Caleb has been working a lot, like normal busy landscaping season, but he came home the other night and said he needed to spend some time with Jack and they had a sweet little chat. It's hard because most of the time I am busy putting Jack to bed and Caleb puts the twins to bed and he will stop me because he will go days without seeing Jack!

...Summer Campfire... 

The boys... always so helpful.. working on their go-cart... that does not GO!

We went out to a farm the other night to spend the evening. It's so great that our friends open up their home and farm to our crazy kids! The boys don't have many other favorite places to be!! It was a great Sunday spent playing with animals!

Baby kittens in the barn! Max was a little unsure of the claws!

My farmers! Such a highlight for them to feed the calves! Thanks to Amy for having the patience to let them help!! For about a week after this every time I would ask Luke to do something I would hear back... "No mom, I'm FARMER Luke!"

Brothers relaxing on a rainy morning!

Jack in the jumper! Wish I could say he loves it... but I think he's a little too little for it still!

I put this picture on Facebook the other day saying... Don't be fooled by this sweet grin... because this peanut has a TEMPER! It's crazy to me that he has such a will and agenda at such a small age! For example... we went to the zoo the other day and I gave him bottles all day since I pumped and we were traveling. The next day and for another week he would throw a fit every time I went to nurse him, but only when he was awake enough to throw a fit, he nursed fine at night and early morning. I was trying to figure out if he was teething (which I still think he's starting to), or if he had an ear ache, or if my let down was too fast, etc. Then we went to my brother's place this last weekend and same thing, bottles since we were traveling. We got home late Saturday night and then headed to Bayfield all day Sunday to pick berries. Sure enough, the fits not only continued but intensified. Sunday at 7:00 am he ate great and then refused to eat at 10:00 am, 1:00 pm, and finally after struggling with him for most of the day he gave in and nursed at 3:30 pm! Crazy! That's 8 hours! Once I figured out it was a battle of wills I was determined that he was going to nurse! I figured he wouldn't starve, but man... it was quite the fight! I am really nervous to see how we can mold this little boy's will for good!

I was in desperate need to get supper ready and was out of ideas of how to keep the boys entertained... so last ditch effort... I took Caleb's power cords in the garage and made a race track and parked my car so that they couldn't get down the driveway. It worked great! And Jack was happily entertained by it all too!

Oh man... the battles of brotherhood! I heard screams coming from the playroom and the story I heard was Luke used the leg of a cow (small toy) to puncture Max's face! Yikes! Only the beginning I'm afraid! 

Jack and Uncle Jack hanging out last weekend! They are buds!

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings when we were visiting with my brother and it was in a weird way the most peaceful dinner out I've had since I had Jack! It sounds crazy to say peaceful when describing Buffalo Wild Wings, but the boys were so mesmerized with the big screen TVs and so was Jack that it made the dinner a breeze!

Couldn't take his eyes off the TV!

Max was loving the CROWN! 

Jack was hamming it up for Crystal and Jake! He was all smiles before we headed home!

It was a chilly July day in Bayfield this last Sunday berry picking! We had to take some of Nana's homemade booties out of storage for the day!

Just minutes after we left from berry picking... it's hard work! :)

So since the first is quickly approaching, like in a day or so, I will probably be unable to post until I get all of my bookwork done for the month. But I'm hoping if I can keep my posts more frequent they will be shorter! 

RoDeO, etc.

I decided that I really enjoy following blogs that update more than once a month... so I'm making an effort. We'll see how long it lasts! 

My little lawn mowing partner! He did so good!! It cracked me up that he left those muffs on the whole time. He had a blast just chewing away on his backpack!

All my landscapers! They LOVE wearing those goofy muffs. And I love the chubby cheeks they give them!

Not sure if I posted this picture already on the last post about Jack, but he found his toes and loves them! More built in entertainment!

Supper last night... the boys were excited because I told them I was making meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting and corn sprinkles! They loved it all... not as appetizing to their dad, but it worked for the kids!

Dad and Max headed into the rodeo!

My cowboys!

Cousin Trevon and Luke. They are two peas in a pod and just love each other! So thankful for cousins and family! My boys get so excited to see all of their cousins whenever given the chance.

On the way home from the rodeo... it was a late night! But the boys did great and were so enthralled with all of the horses, baby cows, big cows, huge bulls, cowboys, etc. They were concerned at times for the baby cows that were being tied up... but as soon as they got over that they were scheming how to tie up their own cows out at Grandma and Grandpa's!

My mom took Jack last night so that I could go with Caleb and the boys. It was so nice to go with, but I sure missed my little man. That was the longest I had been away from him yet, about 5 hours! But he did great for my mom and I think she enjoyed the alone time with him too! He was sound asleep on her bed when I got there to pick him up and I think he would have happily stayed there all night!

Speaking of my littlest man... I put him down for a nap this morning (on his tummy) and I heard him squealing a while later up in his room and walked in to find him like this! He was so proud and just beaming from ear to ear... too cute!

Just Jack!

So I haven't been really good at updating on "Wee Man" since he has entered our world! "Wee Man" is what Caleb has so sweetly tagged our little Jack as. He so far has become a family favorite, as you can see below!

Great big brothers!!

Sweet, chubby, charmer!

Jack just had his four month appointment on Tuesday, the 9th and he is doing great! He was 14 lbs 15 oz (so probably 15 lbs by lunch) and 25.5" long. He is hovering just under the 50th percentile for weight and a little over the 50th for height.
Other updates: Rolling from tummy to back, almost rolling from back to tummy (currently from back to side all the time), found his toes, smiles a ton, loves to coo and talk and is obsessed with ceiling fans... best built-in entertainment for him! He's starting to light up when he hears and sees his brothers (when they take the appropriate step back so he can see them!)

Baby Cakes getting kisses from his cousin Sammie. He loves her... as she loves him too!

More kisses!

My walking partner... I have had some days lately where I am pretty much DONE at the end of the day and the other week Caleb worked until dark just about every night and came home early, around 8:00, so I took advantage of an hour left of daylight to unwind, alone, on a walk... however... as I was trying to channel peace and solitude this little man kept looking up at me... reminding me that I was not alone, and more importantly, reminding me that I DO love being a mom! 

Sweet sleeping boy. He likes his swing!

Jack is contagiously happy in the morning! Oh... and as far as milestones/updates, this kid is an amazing sleeper! I know he will ebb and flow as he goes through growth spurts and other changes but since he was about 3-4 weeks old he's been sleeping through the night!! He has his very occasional middle of the night awakenings, like last night actually, but I think it was from those darn shots he got yesterday!

Naked baby modeling!

Big boy dressed for church! We love these shorts, Aunt Kathy! 

Seriously, such a sweet sleeping baby!! He looks so much like my brother Jake here. I went through some old family photos and was amazed at how much Max and Jack resemble my brother's baby pictures!

So overall I would say that little Jack has stolen all of our hearts and is just the best little addition to our family! It does so often feel strange to me to do things ONCE! I feel like I am always forgetting a baby, or at least multiple repetitions of regular tasks. I have come to love diaper changes, rocking, burping, bathing, all the normal baby "chores" now that they no longer feel like chores. One and done. Kind of nice and very fun to just relax and enjoy him! It makes me feel a little bad for the boys sometimes because everything was a system, a job, a task with them... change one, scoot over, change the next, pat to sleep quickly before the other cries, uh-oh, Luke puked and Max pooped, start all over! Ha! I find between having that all first and just having one this time... I have way more patience and actually laugh now when Jack poops in a fresh diaper... funny how time changes things!

I think I'm safe to say the adjustment period now feels over and we are all (including M&L) very excited to have him here everyday... I say that because the boys for a while wondered how long Jack was going to stay! He is a super sweet, chubby and happy baby... but if you get on his bad side he goes from 0 to 60 in about a second! When Jack is mad, he's mad. Period. Ha! He does love to nurse though, which is my best weapon against those tantrums... should be interesting to see how that plays out as he gets older and has me wrapped around his finger! Baby Jack, we love you to pieces, especially those chubby legs and... we are happy you are here to stay! :)