What a Day!

I knew yesterday would be a trying day after the whole shower incident. I think we were all out of sorts. Is it a full moon?

We were late for EVERYTHING and I am usually on time if not early all the time. It was like my clocks had sped up, I was just behind all day. I got Jacob to school while circle time was going on...he was SO ticked at me. They give them a little cup of juice and a snack before class and he had to miss his, he gave me a look that I know I will be seeing for many more years, that "my mama is sooo stupid" look. Adam and I have about an hour to kill in the morning before yoga so we came on home so I could pick up some and you know that didn't happen, Adam cried the entire time, he is just not a cryer, maybe he's teething or something, but it put me on edge. I was so grateful to go to yoga. It's a Mommy and Me class and Adam loves it and I needed the calm at that moment. I got behind crazy people driving 20 mph in a 45 zone and got there late as well! Adam had fallen asleep in the car and I thought he would sleep while I was there. WRONG! He woke up as soon as the class was starting with a second wind and proceeded to dash for the door the entire time. By the end I could tell the yoga instructors were getting pretty ticked off at the disruption and that is a feat, ticking off the calm yoga instructors, but I wasn't leaving. I paid for that class. I went after class to pick up Jacob and noticed he wasn't dressed the way he had left home, turns out he pooped his pants AND the teacher needed to come out and inform me of that in front of all those snooty women....see them all back away 3 feet further. I hate coming home with the baggie of shame. Fast forward to dinner time, I have nothing planned so I start grilled cheese and tomato soup, Jacob's favorite. I am standing there in a funk watching cheese melt when Jacob runs in crying and pointing. I look over and Adam is standing there with a blue face, no biggie I think, until Jacob holds up the marker which is missing the tip. ADAM ATE THE MARKER TIP! I proceed to freak out, scaring the little ones, but finally get a hold of myself long enough to call poison control. FYI: markers are non-toxic, the tip is fleshy and will dissolve in his digestive systems, he will have psychedelic poop for a few days. OH, and I burned the grilled cheese.

Today is starting out a little better, Adam slept late and Jacob is dressed and has made his bed already. I am hoping for a break in the weather, I think all this rain is making us stir crazy. I haven't been this glad to see a Friday since nickel beer night at the Dungeon in college. TGIF!!!

****If anyone out there watches Lost, please tell me what happened on Wednesday's episode. To top off my day I went to find my stupid TIVO didn't record it even though it has been on season pass for 2 YEARS!

As heard from the shower....

I have mentioned before that I am legally blind without corrections. I take a shower in a fuzzy haze every morning. This was good and fine when I could strap Adam into the swing and go about my business. Now he can climb out of the swing so it is just safer to close the bedroom door and let him goof around in there while I shower as quickly as possible. As I am soaping my hair I hear "No cat, no cat, damn cat ( yeah I swear, it rubs off on little ones, note to self...no more swearing ) and then some screaming, Jacob's screaming but I can't be totally sure there isn't
Adam screaming as well as cat screaming, after all there is water in my ears. I picture my kids getting mauled by my typically sweet cat, who just happens to hate Jacob with a vengence. So what would you do? I tear out of that shower, butt naked and soap dripping, to check on my kids, blind as a bat I might add. I yell "Where is the cat? What is she doing to you?" while actually feeling the floor on my hands and knees before my oldest brought me my glasses ( he knows Mama's glasses deal, has learned to watch forbidden shows while the sound is turned down while I am still in bed and also bring up snacks and eat them inches from me if I don't have my glasses on.) Once I come back to the land of the seeing I find nothing, just two stunned kids. Jacob informs me that the cat is in the closet (her home). I start checking him over for bloody stumps while he brings me a towel. I ask him again what was wrong with the cat, what was she doing? He says to me, confused like, " I said TAG, the tag in my underpants is itching me crazy!" It's going to be a GREAT day!

Brothers

Create your own video at One True Media

I have to thank Aimee over at The Busy Body for introducing me to this cool website. Be sure to turn up the volume.

I Just Have to Rant.....

Are people more rude these days or is it just me?

I decided to make a trip to Target after dropping Jacob off at school this morning. I love Target, it makes me happy to go there. Adam was in a spectacularly good mood this morning so we started out having a GREAT time! I found tons of knitting kits to give my neice at Christmas for 2 bucks! Anyway, I steer through the toy aisle to check out their clearance and find some things on a bottom shelf I want to see but a lady's cart is in the way. I kind of scoot myself in and realize I can't get in so I ask if I can move her cart just a millimeter out of the way and you know what she said? "NO, you can wait." I was stunned. Well I get out of there and went to the razors because I need razors TODAY. There were three employees stocking that aisle, or I should say supposed to be stocking that aisle because all I saw was a flirt fest when I tried to get in and find some razors. I was actually stopped by a teenage girl who informed me that I was not allowed to be in that aisle? WHAT? So I explain to her that I want a certain brand of razors, hand her my coupon and she stomps off and comes back with an entirely different brand of razors and then tries to argue with me when I tell her that wasn't what I was looking for. You have got to be kidding me! So then I finish my shopping with my happy guy and I start unloading my very full cart and a woman pulls up behind me, plops down the divider RIGHT BEHIND my four things I managed to get up there and starts unloading. I tried to explain to her,very nicely I might add, that I still had tons of stuff to put up on the belt, but she couldn't hear me for talking on her cell phone the whole time. Even the cashier tried to get her to stop but she never paid attention. I had to hand everything to the cashier one at a time because she had finally taken up the entire check out line. Unbelievable! On a brighter note, I totally love old people! Every senior citizen in the place stopped and played with my sweet boy and he loved it. Most of them thought he was a girl, even though he was dressed head to toe in blue, but I was so grateful to see some friendly attitude. Well, gotta go hit the Walmart so I can find some razors, hope it goes better there.

100 Things about Me

1. My name is Andria, like Andrea, but spelled with an i.
2. I have been married almost 7 years.
3. My husband was a friend of my sister, that is how we met.
4. My first son was born eight weeks prematurely.
5. My second son was full term.
6. I had c-sections with both kids.
7. I was born in Texas, but moved to West Virginia when I was 15 and loved it there.
8. Six years ago we moved to Texas for my husband's job, 60 miles from where I was born.
9. We moved to Texas to be closer to my parents who had moved to Louisiana.
10. My parents moved back to West Virginia, 2 miles from the home we lived in, five years ago.
11. I miss West Virginia
12. I have one sister who has 2 stepdaughters and 1 daughter.
13. My stepneice passed away 6 months ago.
14. I drive an SUV
15. I have a Labrador Retriever.
16. I named the dog Ezra because it is my favorite boy name.
17. I never thought I would have boys, that is why I gave the dog my favorite name.
18. I wanted my first child to be a girl and was upset when I found out he was a boy.
19. I wanted my second child to be a boy and was happy when I found out he was a boy.
20. It took eighteen months to get pregnant with each child.
21. I have a very close relationship with my mother.
22. I call my mother every morning when I first wake up...I have done this since I went away for college.
23. I went to West Virginia University for seven years.
24. I have a bachelors degree in elementary education.
25. I have a masters degree in special education.
26. I taught second grade until I had my first son.
27. I have a cat named Phoebe.
28. My old high school boyfriend is still one of my best friends.
29. My college boyfriend passed away in a car accident.
30. My college roommate passed away from breast cancer.
31. I am lazy.
32. I am scared to fly in a plane.
33. I get tense when I am around people I do not know.
34. I am shy and have a hard time meeting new people.
35. I had PPD and post traumatic stress disorder after the birth of my first son.
36. I have red hair and I like it.
37. I have never colored my hair.
38. I do not wear make up.
39. I have an addiction to body lotions.
40. I love the smell of Lowes
41. I watch American Idol faithfully, but didn't start until the third season.
42. I have watched Guiding Light since I was in the Eighth Grade.
43. My favorite show is Seinfeld.
44. I lived in the same town as Brad Paisley.
45. I taught at the same school as Brad Paisley's mother.
46. I must smell everything. If I am cooking, I will smell each spice before I put it in, if I pour milk etc. I will smell it before I put it in the glass. I don't know why I do this..my mom pointed it out to me.
47. I had irrational fears that my sons would die of SIDS.
48. I met Clara Harris at a wedding.
49. I hate my neighborhood.
50. I am a Virgo
51. I have a need to be organized, but it's getting harder to do that.
52. I cannot leave the house until all the beds are made.
53. I love beer
54. I like to go to Hooters.
55. I love to cook.
56. I like to work from a list, it makes me feel good to check things off.
57. I will not ride a roller coaster in which my feet dangle for fear of losing my shoes.
58. If I have a burger or a sandwich I always eat half of one half then start on the next half and then go back and finish the rest. I never realized I did this until my husband pointed it out to me last year. I have tried to eat the whole sandwich but I cannot.
59. I bite my fingernails.
60. I lived on the same floor in the same dorm with the same people for four years in college and LOVED it. We were all like family and did everything together. Sadly, I have lost touch with many of them. I want more than anything to introduce those friends to my boys.
61. I lived in Virginia Beach after college and loved it.
62. I left Virginia Beach after four years to move to WV and be with my now husband.
63. My husband and I lived together for 2 years before we got married.
64. I am addicted to sudoko and crossword puzzles.
65. I have to read a book or do a puzzle in bed at night or I cannot fall asleep.
66. I love blue cheese.
67. I love green olives. I didn't eat my first green olive until I was at a football tailgate in college. I was 22.
68. I will not eat fish.
69. I wish I could redo Jacob's baby year.
70. I do not like to drive, I fear traffic.
71. I love carnivals and amusement parks.
72. I love to shop at Target.
73. I love to grocery shop, even with my kids it's a stress reliever for me.
74. I take Jacob to the Day Out with Thomas each year in Austin just so we can eat at the PF Changs across the street.
75. My husband is "thrifty" and it is starting to wear off on me too.
76. I like to scrapbook and I think I am pretty good at it.
77. I would like to take a photography class someday.
78. I love framing and hanging my kids pictures. It's like a boy shrine around here.
79. I am too cheap to buy Tide detergent, although it is my favorite.
80. I would love to have more children but I am too old.
81. I hated being pregnant.
82. I do miss feeling a baby move inside of me though.
83. I must shower and shave my legs everyday.
84. I have bad eyesight...I have worn glasses since the third grade, but I know I needed them sooner. I have 20/400 vision.
85. I like hospital food.
86. I have four really close friends, but none of them live close to me.
87. I truly believe I have the most beautiful boys who ever lived.
88. I didn't even know what blogs were until I googled 17 weeks pregnant 2 summers ago and found someone's blog.
89. I enjoy reading other people's blogs.
90. I am a huge procrastinator.
91. We rode out Hurricane Rita.
92. I wish I lived in the boonies away from neighbors with only trees to see.
93. But I wouldn't want to do that if it meant no DSL, TIVO, or satellite tv.
94. My mom wanted to name me Sarah Denise but my dad hated the name.
95. I was going to name my first child Grace and my second one Rachel if they had been girls.
96. I like to play on the jungle gym and I am glad I have an excuse to do it now.
97. I love being snowed in during a huge blizzard. NO chance of that happening here.
98. My 20th high school reunion is next summer....I doubt I will go.
99. I am happy with my life.
100. I can't think of 100 things about me.

Boys in Bluebonnets

You can't live in Texas without having the yearly picture in the bluebonnets. I LOVE the bluebonnets, I just wish we lived away from the city so that we could see more of them. After that upsetting loss last night (let's not speak anymore of it), it was nice to find these in my inbox to start my day.

Let's Go Mountaineers!

They just barely made it, but West Virginia is going to the sweet sixteen two years in a row! They play Texas tonight. If you are in Texas today and see the only people in WVU gear, that would be us. Keep your fingers crossed!

Pic of the Week

And the photographer really thought this was a good one......

Is it Daylight Savings time yet?

Jacob woke up at 6:04 this morning. I need daylight savings time. The sun comes up WAY too early for me to be functional by rising that early. It reminds me of when we were in Maine and the sun came up at 5 am because we were on the edge of the country, only then we could get a nap at 9 because we didn't have any children. Anyway....I should've hopped out of bed with my oldest and fixed his breakfast and cheerfully got him ready for the day but I couldn't...I tried but my eyes wouldn't stay open. Have I mentioned before that I need ten hours of sleep to be fully functional? Did I mention I have kids and I get MAYBE six hours of sleep? Big cosmic joke on me..haha. Anyway.....(see, I am rambling, not enough sleep)....Adam sleeps well in the morning, in fact he can sleep until 9 many mornings, so I kept dozing back off with him and every now and then poor Jacob would come in and whisper in that loud whispery way kids do, "Is it time for school?" "No, baby not until the alarm goes off, go back to bed it's still night time (hard to convince with the sun shining through)" Finally, I drag myself out of bed and go in to find Jacob playing Leapster on his bed...his MADE UP bed, completely dressed shoes and all, his bag packed and his teeth were brushed!! He was so happy to see me, not because he loves his mama, but because I can drive. He was READY for school. Now I have lately begun having small panic attacks thinking about sending Jacob to kindergarten next year. The thought of him being gone EVERY DAY is upsetting to me, I don't do change well. I had semi-convinced myself that I should hold him back a year because he isn't ready, but in reality it is me who isn't ready, obviously. This was my nudge from God to let me know that I need to gear up, kindergarten is coming and my baby is so ready for it even if I am not. My mom was right, they grow up WAY too fast!

Monday, Monday

I actually like Mondays. It is the only day of the week in which we don't have something scheduled. The only day we can stay in our jammies until noon and laze around doing nothing if we so desire. It also gets us back into the groove after having Dad home all weekend. Now don't get me wrong, we love hanging out with Dad and he is a big help most of the time, he just doesn't do things the way we do things all week long. I like my schedule, it's not real rigid, but I know what I am doing most days at what time and since I do it all myself I can keep up with those things, harder to do with another helper here. Yesterday, for instance, Derick took Adam out with him to walk the dog and was gone over an hour. When they finally returned Adam began crying and crying. I thought he wanted to go back outside, but that just made it worse. Finally that poor baby went to his high chair and tried to climb in...DOH! We forgot to feed him lunch! I thought Dad had done it and vice versa. It's just easier during the week when I only have to keep up with what I am doing.

Here are the kids doing their lazy Monday things.....a little bit of Thomas on Sprout and Adam's new thing: dancing in the shower. Happy Monday to ya!

The Train Book

Look what my big guy did this morning! Jacob spent almost an hour putting together a 27 page train book. I was shocked! I had no idea he could draw this well. He just recently even showed an interest in it and even then it was mostly scribbles. We stapled it together and he dictated his story for me to write on each page and it actually made pretty good sense. This was the title page....for those of you in the Thomas know, it is Spencer. He drew a different train on each page, it is absolutely fascinating to me because I can tell who they all are....who knew he could do that?

Can We Build It?

Yes We Can!

It has been a lllaazzyy day here today and I am enjoying it. No school this morning with it being spring break so no lunch to make, no bath to take, no rush.....soooo nice. Jacob wanted to dress in his Halloween costume and since I decided we weren't going out today I figured what the heck? He has had that thing for 2 years and is about to bust completely out of it so he might as well enjoy it while he can. Even if we did go out I would probably let him wear it, I am in that kind of mood today.

My motivated moms calendar sits on the counter. It says that today I should vacuum the second floor, clip the children's nails, and declutter the medicine cabinets. I did declutter the medicine cabinets, sort of, last night in a hunt for a good headache remedy. It is allergy time folks and the sinus headaches have surfaced. I found a bottle of vicodin left over from Adam's birth and gave it a try....wiped that headache out in twenty minutes but I tell ya, I am so completely loopy today. I don't remember them effecting me this way last year, must have been dosed for a 170 pound woman since that is what I was then, my 120 pound self feels like I have been at a keg party. SOOOO, I am not a motivated mom today, in fact I have napped and played legos almost all day long.....maybe tomorrow I can double up on that work list.

How did we get here?

We went from 12 year old girls to women with children in the blink of an eye.
Erin, Evan, Jacob and me in 2003

Is the weekend over already?

Went to the lake this weekend......I LOVE going to the lake. I hate getting packed to go there, the three hour drive there, cleaning up to leave there, the three hour drive home, and the unpacking but while I am there I love it. I would live there if I could. The place has a huge yard and few neighbors and is just so quiet and peaceful. I have finally figured out that I am a country girl. I spent most of my life trying to get away from it, but nope, that's who I am. My parents built a nice home up there about eight years ago, a place to retire to and since they are back in WV it's up to us, usually, to go up and make sure things are ship shape. I am a country girl as long as there is a shower and a toilet. Derick pitched the tent in the yard thinking they would "camp out". We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows (drank beer)and sang songs by the campfire. It was a lot of fun until it got dark and Jacob got scared and Adam started screaming because we wouldn't let him put his feet in the fire, so we camped just the way I like it....did the fun stuff outdoors and went inside for a bath and bedtime!

My friend, Erin, came over on Saturday. She wasn't able to come for Jacob's party last week (she rsvp'd) so she wanted to bring her boys to play with him. It was a long drive for her but she did it to make my boy happy. I was so touched. Jacob was so suprised and happy to see his best bud Evan. They had a blast. I so enjoyed watching them play like big boys. Erin and I have been friends since seventh grade, so long ago I can't even do the math in my head. We used to go to the lake together as children and now we are the parents refereeing squabbles and fixing dinner plates...so weird. We stayed up really late talking, the first time we have been able to do that in 20 years; I still feel 14 when we are together. I am thrilled that our boys are good friends as well and hope that their friendship will last....can't wait until Zane and Adam can play like that.

Now it is back to the daily grind.....lunches to make, clothes to wash, floors to mop....the list goes on. I have a new plan of attack though: have you seen this? I hope this will finally be the answer to a clean house!

Jacob at Five

Things about Jacob at five years old:
*He weighs 40 pounds and is 41 1/2 inches tall.
*He wears size 5 clothes most of the time and I have had to just recently start buying his things in the boy department rather than the toddlers....so sad
*He wakes up at 6:45 every morning without fail
*His favorite food is cheese enchiladas, I can bribe him to do most anything with a promise to a trip to a mexican restaurant.
*He can identify the letters of the alphabet and what sound each makes.
*He can sound out some 3 letter words
*He can count to 100, but almost always leaves out 16
*He can write his first name
*He knows right from left
*He knows his colors and what colors you can make from mixing those colors.
*He likes to do mazes and dot to dots and does them well.
*He can play Super Mario 3 from my old 1989 nintendo better than I ever could
*He LOVES his brother and is very helpful with him.
*His new favorite toy is his legos, he can play with these for hours.
*He wears size 11 shoes.
*He watches ToddWorld every morning and we must tivo it when we leave for school.
*When I put him in time out he always goes up and brushes his teeth, I havent' figured out why yet
*The library is his favorite place and he won't go to bed without reading a book.
*He still LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine; he knows every single train ever made and can act out every story ever told with amazing accuracy.
*Can sing "Sweet Home Alabama", "Ring of Fire" and "Our House" along with all the Thomas songs.
*He does chores: he takes the garbage out and the cans to curb on garbage day and brings them back in, feeds the dog, makes his bed, makes sure his and Adam's laundry is in the laundry room, puts his folded clothes away.

Rodeo Houston

We went to the rodeo yesterday. Aside from the fact that we pretty much needed to take out a small loan just to park, it was a good time. I think they should give financial aid and scholarships to deserving families because, jeez louise, it is not affordable family entertainment. We love to take the kids there and they both enjoyed it, but I seriously doubt we go next year. For entrance, parking, a dinner that left us all still hungry, 14 ride tickets to ride 4 rides, photo of kids on a longhorn and a beer (you know I ain't doing the rodeo without a beer!) it set us back 73 bucks. My husband is a tightwad, in a good way, but still a tightwad and that vein in his head was popping the entire time. Just wait until we head to Disney baby!

Jacob is learning about cowboys in school so he really liked "being a cowboy" although he was bummed we didnt go in to actually see any cowboys since we stuck to the livestock show, it would have cost us SO much more to see the rodeo. We also watched a cow milking demonstration which he instantly equated to Mom's breast pump, loudly for people to hear. "Look, Mama, it gets the milk out of the cow just like your boobies!" Adam liked the petting zoo...he woofed at all the animals. Jacob rode a small roller coaster twice and went into some sort of play areas at the carnival, but his favorite was the foot massagers. My sister sent him five bucks for his birthday and he spent one of them using the massager 4 times. Good times, good times.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

The party was a success! I am SO glad we did it there! We probably would have spent about the same having it here so I would do it again in a heartbeat. We ended up with 12 kids coming and 2 of his school friends brought siblings so I was nice and included them as well even if it did cost me 32 extra bucks. The school moms barely spoke to me, huddled up with each other and one of them was downright rude. She showed late with her kid AND his brother immediately plopped them down and found a spot in the corner and dug out the cell phone and that was how she stayed for an hour and a half. Never once did she interact with any of us, or her kids, although I tried repeatedly to inform her of the pizza and pop available. Towards the end she and the kids went barreling out the door and I thought they had left but turns out boy M has a stomach virus and is puking in the restroom. She came back to inform of that little tidbit before they took off. THANKS, nice little parting gift for the rest of us. BUT, Jacob loved every minute of it. They colored wooden trains, got their faces painted and arms tattooed, had pizza and icees and cake, and scrambled on the jungle gym. The party ladies did a WONDERFUL job with all of them and even the most timid of the bunch took to them and partied the whole time. Geoffery the giraffe showed at the end with a cool shirt for Jacob and I think that was his favorite part. He was excited to have all his friends there, I don't think he even realized that most of his class wasn't there. Adam got passed around the entire afternoon, but he didnt' seem to mind. Someone was always giving him cake or pizza so no stranger anxiety then. I cried when they sang Happy Birthday and when he blew out his candles (which took him a long time, there were so many of them!) and when he stood up after opening the gifts to thank everybody for the gifts and for coming to his party, I am sure prompted by the party lady, but nonetheless very grown up of him. I was happy to be surrounded by the few friends we have made here in this town who always come out to support my kids on their big days. I made it through five, only 364 more days until six....oh my.

The Big Day

Jacob woke up at 6 am asking if he was any taller and singing "Sweet Home Alabama". Every year I decorate a Thomas cake for him and we eat it for breakfast. I was wiped out last night and didn't do any frosting so he helped me early before Dad and Adam woke up. I totally forgot how to make the decorator bags so I just ended up smearing the frosting on with a knife, not a real pretty cake but he liked it. The last day of four was fun. We played at the park and bowled and ate hot dots and french fries then topped it off with dinner at his friend's house. We now head to the TRU for the big party. I am nervous. Two more school mom's called and left messages yesterday, one to say they were coming. Yeah, like I didn't figure out that you spent 3 weeks trying to find something else to do....SO I told them 15, I have 13 who said they were definitely coming, that leaves me 2 spots for the seven others PLUS the six from church that I TOTALLY forgot about. I am hoping by not RSVPing that means no in their world. More to come later....wish us luck.

The Last Day.....

This is the last day that Jacob will be four. We make a big deal of it and do fun things each year since the big day is usually so busy and we tend to spend it with friends. It is a nice tradition. Today Derick will be coming home early from work and we will all be heading to Jacob's favorite park, then do some bowling, and top it off with ice cream all before dinner. My sister called at the crack of dawn this morning to wish him a happy birthday....she honestly thought his birthday was March 3. This would probably upset some people and I guess it should upset me more, but to know my sister this is typical. Jacob liked that she was calling to give him last day of four wishes so it all worked out. Abigail's birthday is the 12th, I think I will call on the 10th just for fun.

I think I have 12 kids coming to the party. Three moms from school actually did call last week to RSVP, two more called to say they were not coming and nine of them just completely blew me off. One mom caught me as I was getting Adam out of the car yesterday afternoon (totally snuck up and made me jump). First of all she wanted to know if I was Jacob's mom. It took all I had not to say "No, I am just some crazy lady who takes him home every day" anyway, I was nice. She says "You know, my boy REALLY wants to come to Jacob's party, he asks everyday, but we have ball practice at 3:30 (the time the party is over) could it be possible for us to come if it rains?" UH, thanks for letting me know we were your second choice, really makes a girl feel good. I wanted to say, "hell no bitch, what are you thinking?" but of course I am nice for the sake of son (or maybe because I hate scenes and confrontation) and say "why of course" I am a sap. I did let her know that I had to tell the TRU my final count MONDAY and she would have to call me ahead of time so I can call them, but truly, even if it rains I doubt I see them. I found the whole encounter really odd. Of course, I find it more odd that most of them didn't even give me the time of day to let me know one way or the other. I will freak out if more than 12 kids show.

I really wanted to post some of Jacob's sweet baby pictures but we did not buy a digital camera until he was five months old, what were we thinking? Maybe by his sixth birthday (jeez, I can barely write that) I will figure out my scanner and get some baby prints posted. Here he is at 11 weeks old.

March 1

Jacob will only be four for 3 more days. This makes me a little sad. The kid's birthdays are bittersweet for me. We all have a great time and it is wonderful to see how much they have grown in a year's time, but at the same time they just keep getting older. I look forward to the new stages, but I miss the old ones. Every year since Jacob came along March 1 is kind of a weird day for me. He was born on March 4, it just sneaks up on you what with February being a short month...I find myself kind of putting off thoughts of another year older then all of sudden it's March and I better face it quick it's coming. I think this year might be harder than the previous ones, he is FIVE, that is one whole hand AND he starts school next year! I can't believe this same teeny baby is the same one now sitting here playing with his baby brother, teaching him things, reading to him. I can't believe five years have passed. He was 2 weeks old in this picture, the NICU nurses took it of him.