"3"

I have two days before a little girl in the house turns one year old, and with all of her birthday planning, I realized I had forgotten to blog about a very important day (oh geesh, if you must know, at the end of April!) when a very grown-up boy turned 3!

Funny how life with four kids changes you. Seriously, I never thought I would be thinking about stuff like equal blogtime for my kids. :) But with each unique personality and relationship that God has given us with our kids, I do think about equality. And how much attention each one gets. And who I read to last, and for how long. And whose turn it is to fetch me a diaper. And how much each one ate at supper, and when they pottied last.

I did it with one, so I'm guessing that you do it too.

But the funnier thing about all of this is that I like the idea that many children leads to less equality. Because in a loving way, it's healthy for them to know that it's not all about them all of the time.

Yes, I realize this is a birthday post. Are you still with me? :)

All mom-guilt aside, the point is, Chase is 3. And he's quickly going on whatever age Jack and Trey are acting like on any given day.

I remember "3" with the other boys. And I'll admit, it makes me cringe a little bit. Tyler adores this age. I seem to have less patience for it for some reason. But with a bit more experience this time around, I'm soaking up all the cuteness I can, because there sure is a lot of it. And I'm convinced that in God's great wisdom, he made "3" the cutest age, so you can live through those 3 year old moments when they forget all about being cute.

I like to say that Chase is the oldest three year old I have ever had. He likes to run with the big boys. He does more, knows more, and says more stuff than the other two ever did at this age. Trying to be big brings him much happiness a lot of the time, and much frustration the rest of the time. Because three year olds can't always do what 6 and 7 year olds do, no matter how hard they try.

He's into Scooby Doo big time, and says the word "Like..." way too often because Shaggy Rogers is his hero. He talks about going to preschool this fall, but he doesn't know what August means in terms of timeframe, so he asks every day if "today is the day" when he will go. He loves to cook with his momma, and would bake cupcakes every day if I said yes. He talks nonstop, and entertains us constantly with his made-up songs, usually to the tune of the Star Wars theme song ("I-have-to-go... to-the-potty.... yes-I-do..."). Oh, and speaking of Star Wars, he knows more about the characters than I do. His memory amazes me.

Chase loves to play dress-up. Lucky for him, the third time around I've decided to choose my battles, so he even gets to wear his Spidey outfit to the store on occasion. He wants candy for breakfast every morning, and never tires of asking, even though I've told him "no" every day for the last 58 days straight. Chase has a very special relationship with his daddy. They often run errands together or go out to breakfast, just the two of them. And when he's not with his dad? Well, let's just say that I have a shadow closer than Peter Pan's.

Did I mention that he's cute?

And really stubborn.

If I try to open the door for him, he gets frustrated and tells me to shut it because he wants to open it. Then he (fumbling and taking what seems like forever) opens it for me, and says, "The gentleman always helps the ladies."

And the cute factor wins again.

He's silly and smart, which might just turn out to be a pretty good mix when he gets his emotions in check. Whenever that might be. My guess is it's not happening at "3".

But you never know. This one could be different.

Then again, he always repeats everything his brothers say.

Chase Dylan, my sweet third boy.

Thanking God for you, and for "3".

To Tyler...

When I first said "I love you..."

I thought I understood the full meaning of those words.

But when I watch you as a dad -

playing and laughing,

giving a big hug,

just being there -

I realize that when I first said "I love you"

I had just begun to understand all my heart could hold for you.

I thank God for making you mine-

and then for making you ours.

-DaySpring

"How can we thank God enough for you and for the joy and delight you have given us...?" 1 Thess. 3:9 TLB

Happy Father's Day

We love you!

Whitney, Jack, Trey, Chase and Tess

Girl issues...

She got my uni-brow. So did Trey, but guys seem to pull it off a little better.

She also likes to squint a lot. Sooo much personality starting to come out (maybe with a little attitude mixed in)!

And, I've decided that most of my pictures of her will be this close for a very long time. She wants to eat the camera, and there's no stopping her.

AND, that's all I have to say, because it's late. :)

Late...

Gosh, what kind of a mother blogger am I? I've got to blog about this kid's birthday... ...before it's this kid's birthday...

But I can't tonight, because it's late. In every sense of the word.

And I was going to get smarter about being late to bed. But I haven't gotten there yet. Because apparently I excel in lateness.

There you have it.

The end of an era...

Do I have any male readers, I wonder (I dare you to comment if you're out there. Now that would be interesting.)? If so, you may want to go back to your ESPN site, weather.com, youtube, itunes, or wherever it is in internetland where you guys like to hang out.

As for this blog, it's time to get reflective, in a sappy mom sort of way.

I'm pretty sure I have nursed a baby for the last time.

(You can't say I didn't warn you, guys...)

Tess will be one year old this month... so hard to believe! It's time, I suppose, but it is still a little bittersweet for me nonetheless.

You see, Tess is the last one. It's a permanent sort of thing, unless the Lord, who is sovereign, chooses us for some modern-day miracle. That made me sad for a while too, but now I'm over it. I think the baseball schedule did it for me.

Nursing is not for everyone, I know this. But for me, it has been a wonderful choice.

And a lengthy one...

Four children, and almost a four year commitment. With each baby that came along, I swore I'd at least pump and give them a bottle every once and a while. Like when I wanted to go out on a date or something. But I never did. Before you get the idea that I'm that die-hard, I'm not. I'm mostly just lazy. :)

While this made for some excellent bonding, it also made for one land-locked momma. Especially early on when feedings are so frequent. Either I stayed or the baby went with me. Simple as that. Most of the time this worked well, but sometimes it did feel like a huge sacrifice. Especially as the older ones got older, and the juggling of the schedules became more involved.

But looking back, my did it go quickly. And now that I am leaving the childbearing years of my life behind, I am becoming sentimental. You know, of the 3am feedings that you think they might never give up... now those are some of the most precious memories I have. When everyone else in the house was asleep and all was quiet (I don't know about your house, but that's a rarity around here!), what a joy it was to have that one-on-one time rocking and feeding a sweet little one. And praying. Lots of opportunities to pray in the middle of the night for me over the years... :)

Are you a weary momma today? Whether you nurse or not, it's all hard work. But I'm slowly gaining perspective. I'm trying not to wish the days away anymore. Because there will come a day when they'd rather hang out with their cool dad instead of you. You'll compete with baseball schedules and friends down the street, messy creeks and all things Star Wars.

And you might just look back on those baby days and think to yourself, "Those were simple times," even though it didn't feel very simple at the time.

Just ask me.

Now before you start to think that I'm stuck in a retrospective rut - trust me - I'm already looking ahead. There is so much to look forward to! Fun, new opportunities that come with each new stage of parenting. And possibly my favorite part... date nights with my favorite guy that can begin before the baby is in bed for the night.

Yes, I think I'm starting to like this...