Misc Updates :)

A couple of weeks ago we had Brayden over for the afternoon. Cruz wants to be included so badly that he's willing to play any role to be a part of the big boys' play. This day, he was in charge of collecting R & B's nerf bullets.

The other day, we were at the park with Monty and Sunnie and I heard Cruz say (yell) at Sunnie, "Don't talk 'bout my brudder that way!" Apparently Sunnie had said that Rowan wasn't nice or something equally trivial. :) Cruz's yelling wasn't okay but it was so sweet the way he stood up for his bro.

Coco had her physical therapy evaluation today and it went great! The therapist said that Cora's case is the mildest she's seen, gave us a few stretches and said to come back in a month. She said that if we feel Cora is better in a month, we can feel free to cancel our appointment. I'm so thankful it was so minor. :) 

It was a scary feeling taking her down to Phoenix Children's Hospital. I am so thankful that her reason for being there was minor and I would be okay never visiting there again with any of our children. I am thankful for such a neat, child friendly facility though, if we were to ever need it.

About once a month, our church makes a couple hundred lunches and takes them to downtown Phoenix and hands them out to people who are homeless. Roger and I felt like this would be a good experience for us and for Rowan but unfortunately only one of us could go since Cruz and Cora are too little. I am so thankful that I got to be the one to go and witness God working through Rowan. I couldn't be prouder of him. He fearlessly walked up to people he didn't know and offered them a lunch, a water bottle or a roll of toilet paper. He didn't stare, he didn't act awkward, he was just his sweet self. He definitely brought quite a few smiles. The experience prompted quite a few conversations with Rowan about the blessings in our lives and the blessing of serving others. Row can't wait to go back!

Cora Grace: 5 Months

Time is a funny thing. Some days feel like weeks but it seems like I just wrote Coco's 4 month post yesterday. 

Cora is such a silly little girl. She loves to stick out her tongue, squawk loudly and blow spit bubbles. She loves to get kisses and be tickled. Cora loves to giggle and nothing makes her giggle louder than her brothers. Rowan gets close to her face and giggles, which makes her giggle and the two of them go back and forth. Cruz is just plain silly. He dances around and makes silly sounds, which also get belly laughs out of her.

Cora is getting a lot stronger. She doesn't seem to mind tummy time now. She likes to reach out and touch everything around her. She's just starting to be interested in toys and putting them in her mouth. She'd much rather have a person talking to her and entertaining her.

Cora loves to eat. We haven't met a food that she doesn't like yet. She's tried most veggies and applesauce. The boys adore picking out which food she's going to eat and even more, they love feeding her.  Cora is now sleeping unswaddled! She is still going to bed around 6:45 or 7 and waking up around 7:15 with a bottle around 2:30. 

Cora is definitely a mama's girl. She's got stranger anxiety already. Its a little bit frustrating, actually. We have to advise our baby sitters not to look at her until she feels comfortable with them. If they don't, she'll get a pouty lip and start crying. She loves mommy, daddy or her brothers in her face but she's very wary of people she doesn't know.

Coco has her first physical therapy session for her tight neck muscle on Wednesday. Sometimes its hardly noticeable but other days the tilt is more pronounced. 

We just love this little girl more and more every day. She is seriously the best little baby and definitely the queen of this house. :)

Keeping it Real

Yep, we definitely kept it real this week. :)

Opening Day

Little League Pledge:

I trust in God 

I love my county

and will respect its laws.

I will play fair

and strive to win.

But win or lose

I will always do my best.

Today was the High Desert Little League opening day. There was a big ceremony and parade at the high school. All the teams from t-ball up to the majors paraded around the track. Rowan was super excited. He and his team looked darling waving their hats as they walked in.

The little boy in front of Rowan was on his team last fall. They became friends and were excited to be on the same team again this spring.

Rowan was really excited about his team's banner and the fact that their color is green.

Rowan's coach is a grandpa who has a granddaughter playing on the team.

Nothing New....

but just wanted to post the picture I'm using of the kids this week.

Happy Weekend!

Happy Love Day!

I bought the boys their red baskets the Valentine's Day before Cruz was born at the Target dollar spot. Last year at this time, I was pregnant with Cora but we didn't yet know if our baby was a he or a she. I spotted a pink heart shaped basket just like the ones Rowan and Cruz had while shopping at Target. I decided to pick it up just incase. :)

Cruz got a fishing game and a "guy",  Cora got bibs and an amber necklace, and Rowan got a small lego set and a "guy". They were all very excited. 

We love these three not because of anything they do but because they are our children, created perfectly and wonderfully by God himself. There are certain qualities and characteristics that we adore about each of them though. 

-I love how helpful you are with your little brother and sister.

-I love how curious you are about the world and how much you enjoy learning.

-I love the way you try new things without a fear of failure.

-I love the way you give so many hugs and kisses and the way you say "I wuf you" in your sweet little voice.

-I love the way you cling to your brother's hand in unfamiliar situations. 

-I love the way you genuinely care about others and their feelings.

-I love your smile, your little giggle and your sweet baby smell.

-I love the way you so perfectly complete our family.

-I love the way you've made this house full of boys fall in love with you (and your mama too!)

I am also thankful for my Roger. I wouldn't want to walk through life with anyone else. :)

No More!!!

Cruz decided all on his own that he was done with his night time pacifiers. He said good-bye yesterday and never looked back.

Both boys used their pacifiers until they were almost three and that never really bothered me. Cruz only used it at night and it was a comfort to him. However, a month or so ago we started talking about how pretty soon, Cruz was going to have to give up his pacifier and then he would get to go to the store and choose a special toy. A couple times we asked him if he was ready and he said no. We didn't make a big deal out of it or anything. Yesterday, out of the blue, he came and asked me for a bag so he could get rid of all his pacifiers and pick out a toy. The rest is history. :)

Our big boy is also pull up free at nap time and is doing a fabulous job learning to write his name. 

Loving with a big side of silly, that's our big almost three year old. We are so proud of the little boy he's become. He's stepped into his big brother role with ease.

Pretty in Pink

Cora has so many sweet pink/red Valentine's outfits that she's been wearing them all week. :) Here's a peek at our pretty princess.

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Rowan had his first Spring t-ball practice last night. His new team is the Oakland A's which is perfect for him because their color is green! It was chilly out but Rowan had a blast at practice and loved bringing his new "bat-pack" in which he can carry his glove, helmet, bat and balls. This is one of his favorite Christmas gifts from Grammy and Grampy.

I haven't forgotten about my sweet Cruz. He has some exciting news to share too so he's going to get a post of his very own later today or maybe tomorrow. Check back for it! :)

Getting Ready for Valentine's Day!

When you are a pre-schooler there is a lot to do to get ready for the big day. 

Rowan had to make his Valentine's Day box at home. I guess since he's in a class of 17, his teacher didn't feel like tackling that project alone. :) Cruz, in his class of 7, made his box at school. 

Rowan was thrilled with his wrapping paper covered shoe box and foam sticky hearts.

Coco just cheered everyone on looking as adorable as ever. She doesn't need the pillow to prop her up on her rocking chair anymore. She's getting so big so fast! 

I found a neat idea for some superhero Valentines on Pinterest. I made the same ones for both boys' classes. I think they turned out pretty cute and most importantly, Rowan and Cruz are SO excited to hand them out to their friends.

Both boys have their parties tomorrow so we are almost ready to go. I'm going to put together their teacher's Valentines during naps today! :)

Growing Up

There's been a lot of growing up going on around here lately and I'm not sure I like it. :)

Rowan is officially a reader. He is whipping through the little books that I have for him and is ready to go on to the next set. I am having a hard time believing that he is old enough to be READING WORDS. Yikes.

I don't have any videos but Cruz Emerson is growing up too. He knows the days of the week, can count higher than twenty and can put on his own pants, lol. That is super helpful to me in the mornings. I can't believe his third birthday is in just two months. We are planning a special party for our special boy.

Other than starting solids and being a happy little thing, Coco has started being super interested in her surroundings. She's generally so laid back so to see her getting excited about the things around her is really fun.

Here's the sibling picture for the week. It was taken on my phone so its not the best quality but I love the silliness/expressions on each one of the kids.

Carrot Babes

All three of our little babies ate carrots as their first food. Cora likes her solids so far. She doesn't get super excited about them but she happily accepts them.... the word 'indifferent' comes to mind. :)

Miss Cora has developed a bit of a spoiled streak which I fear is only going to get worse. She does not like being left alone. She'll happily play in her exersaucer, jumper, etc. IF someone is there talking to her while she's doing it. Walk away and she'll scream. I don't remember the boys doing that this early on. Sissy is used to having someone in her face and apparently, she's grown to like it. Thankfully Rowan and Cruz are happy to entertain her most of the time. They refer to her as "princess" which appears to be a role that she's happy to play. :)

The Park

We've had an unseasonably cold winter here in AZ.. the coldest one since the 1980's. Yuck. It was a gorgeous day on Saturday though so we took full advantage and headed to the park.

Cruz is fearless. In fact, both of the boys are fearless. 

My little peanut makes me sooo nervous when he's up so high climbing and such. I just grit my teeth and cheer him on because apparently, that's just what boys do.

Rowan was climbing on top of this thing instead of inside it. I love the look of awe on the little boy's face who is watching him. Rowan definitely thinks he's pretty big stuff at four and a half.

Cruz still has a touch of a cough.... he covers his mouth without being reminded about 90 percent of the time. This photo will forever remind me of the other 10 percent. 

Remember the little boy who was scared of tunnel slides?? Not anymore! Cruz did the biggest one at the park. I've been on that slide and its scary... especially when you only weigh 26 pounds. He came down so fast. 

Coco and her bow enjoyed the fresh air and watching her brothers play.

Hope you all had a great weekend! I have the pleasure of a consult at the oral surgeon tomorrow regarding my wisdom teeth. I'm really wishing that I'd gone ahead and had them out when I was still on my parents insurance. Yuck. :)

Four, Five, Four Months

This is from last Saturday. The kids were all getting over various sicknesses. Rowan had strep and a virus with a high fever, which I then caught. Cora had an ear infection and Cruz had strep, croup and the flu. It was a fun week, let me tell ya! :)

Today was a super gorgeous day in the 70's. We spent much of the morning at the park. It is near impossible to get all the kids looking at the same time. I mean, you'd think that with Rowan being 4 and a half that he could follow directions but nope. :) In fact, when I brought up that point to him he said, "I'm only good at following directions at school." 

We made another trip to the pediatrician this week (that makes trip 7 for 2013). This time it was for a WELL visit instead of a sick one. Miss Coco weighed in at 14 lbs 1 oz and 26.5 inches. She is soo long, I can't even believe it. I'm kind of nervous she's going to be taller than Cruz soon. No joke. :) Cora did well with her shots and had a good dr. visit. She got a referral to a physical therapist because she has a slight tilt to her head as a result of a tight neck muscle. Its so minor that her doctor thought it might work itself out but I wanted to be proactive and pushed for the referral. Its hardly noticeable unless you are looking for it. :)

I guess that's our update for now. Happy Weekend!!