My Three Boys (four when you count Boyd)

I wish I could box up every great moment and go back and relive it whenever I want. I just love those "Mom Moments" you have when your kids say the sweetest things or your baby is cooing and smiling as much as they possibly can with their chubby cheeks and you just don't want to let it go. I wish you could push the pause button on life and just soak in it for a while. Funny how life keeps moving no matter what you do or what you want.

Lately I've been looking at Ben, Chase, and Miles and I want them to stop growing. Ben is getting so tall! I noticed tonight that his favorite jammies (transformer jammies :) are getting too small. I remember we got those jammies from a friend who had a son that was a few years older than Ben and I thought Ben would never be able to fit in them because they were so big. How did this happen?

And then... the other day Chase fell asleep in the car and I went to carry him inside and I couldn't believe how big he was! I savored the moment of carrying his limp body... oh how I love him.

And this morning I was dressing Miles and realized that the Newborn size clothes were way too small and he was fitting into the 3-6 month clothes the best. I almost cried.

So I just wanted to take a moment and write as much as I can about each of them. Feel free to read or not. And just so you know... the bragging is starting right now :).

Ben!!

Ben just turned 5 about a month ago and he's in preschool right now and is loving it. He is one of the most social little guys I've ever seen. Everyone loves him (and why wouldn't they :)! He really is just nice and sweet and at times tender. Speaking of... he absolutely LOVES Miles. At times it is almost annoying because he is constantly wanting to hug and kiss him, but I'm trying to be careful not to squash the cuteness. Here's a short conversation we had just a few weeks ago:

Ben: "Miles smells funny!"

Me: "oh yeah... what does he smell like?"

Ben: "He smells like... um... Candy!"

And I'm not sure if it's school or what... but the "silliness factor" has skyrocketed. Sometimes it drives me crazy and other times I think it's hilarious. For example he says the word "cookie" all the time. It's like he finally figured out that he shouldn't say "butt, fart, or poopie" so he says "cookie" instead (I guess it kind of sounds like poopie). For example... "you're a cookie!" or "that's cookie" or if you ask him a question that he doesn't want to answer he just says "uh... cookie!" Funny.

He spends most of his Day playing with Chase. They play amazingly well together and they have a great time. Oh... and he recently discovered Power Rangers. His favorite things right now are transformers, bakugans, cars, micromachines (Boyd gave his old set to Ben and Chase for Christmas), imaginex toys, and all his little action hero guys (he's got a great imagination). Also he loves jumping on the trampoline, going to the park, and more than anything he loves playing with his friends. I love him so much... of course... but I really do :).

Chase!!

What do you say about Chase? He's a ball of fire and I love it. He has no trouble keeping up with Ben and his friends and he's just kind of crazy. He's so much fun, but he has a sweet side too. He loves to hug and kiss Miles like Ben, but he's a lot more cautious. Chase is constantly talking and he has no trouble letting you know what he wants... he's very specific. A request I hear multiple times a day is, "Mom... can I have some milk in my Toy Story 3 cup?" This child knows what he wants and he won't let you forget it.

He's already potty trained, which is AMAZING!!! This is one of my favorite stories. I tried to potty train him a few weeks before I had Miles and it wasn't going so well so I gave up. But then he would fight me every day about wearing a diaper. Then when my Mom was here and I was in the hospital, Chase woke up before my mom, took off his diaper, and then put on his "big boy Thomas pants." He went into the room where my mom was, stuck his little bum out, and shook it back and forth while saying, "I got on my big boy pants!" My mom told him that he could keep them on, but if he messed up once, then he would be back in diapers. Well... he knew what he wanted and he didn't mess up and he's been trained ever since. Back to that day though... when he came to see me in the hospital, he stood up on my bed right in front of me and pulled down his pants so I could see is underwear and he shook his bum back and forth. He was pretty proud about that. I love him! He cracks me up!

He loves playing with Ben so much, but he enjoys his one on one time while Ben is at school. He loves balls, all the same toys I listed with Ben, thomas trains, Lightning Mcqueen, Spiderman, Iron Man, and his airplane blankey.

Miles!!

My sweet Baby!!! Mmmm... I just want to soak him up! He is SO darn CUTE! I think God has blessed me with an easygoing child. He sleeps really well and he has that same "Wide eyed look" that Ben and Chase had as babies. He's super alert when he's awake and coos and smiles like crazy. I love his sweet baby smell and I love how he snuggles into me. I sometimes wish I had the time to sit there and hold him all day. Oh I love him.

Boyd!!

I love watching Boyd get down and wrestle with Ben and Chase and they absolutely love it. They also love when Boyd jumps on the trampoline with them. Their laughs are our of control. So fun. I didn't know he was going to be such a good Dad when I married him. I mean... I hoped for it, but I just love seeing how much he loves his kids. And... he has stepped up to the plate with helping me out through pregnancy, c-section, and figuring out how to juggle everything with three kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you Boyd. Oh how I love thee :). You're amazing! (fellow readers... please don't roll your eyes... ok you can... but I mean it)

If you actually read through this whole thing... I'm impressed! Thanks for reading. I'm hoping that writing down these few things will help me hold on to this time a little better. I feel so blessed and I'm so grateful for my boys. Although I'm not sure how grateful I will be for them in the morning after I've stayed up til 1:00 writing this :). I planned on posting pictures... but I might have to do that tomorrow... I need to go to bed :)