Stages....

7 months old today- this stage is so dag on cute. They start crawling, standing, walking, talking, laughing and their little personalities come out full force. They have cute little fat rolls on their legs, they are ALWAYS happy to see mommy, and you can dress them ANYWAY you want! They fit perfectly on your hip and they are not so heavy that you don't feel like you are breaking your back while holding them. They take 2 long naps a day and sleep all night long! Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful.... could I say more?



2 years old- They really can communicate so well at this point and it is so funny to hear them repeating everything you say, even the bad things they shouldn't say! They know how to make you laugh at this point and they try so hard. The sad part is this stage is the stage where they are losing their little wobbly run that they have. It is still there, but you can see it transforming in front of your eyes. They also are losing a lot of that baby fat that they had and getting more muscle and more of a "little boy" look. :-( This stage is also the "WHY" stage. Go to your room... "Why?" Eat your food... "Why?" Clean up your toys..."Why?" This is the stage where they are getting more independent and are really trying to establish who they are, for example: wanting certain clothes to wear, eating certain food, brushing their own teeth, deciding that they DON'T want to be potty trained. I laugh all the time at Braxton, he is so dag on funny! Who says Terrible 2's...




3 year olds- A very challenging stage. In fact, it has been the most challenging stage yet. They think that they are BIG KIDS and that they can make decisions on their own. This is the big tattle tell stage, which can be good or bad to be honest. Good when they tell on their brother for spilling water all over the hard wood floor and on the carpet, but bad when it is repeated 1 million times and bad when their little brother touches them and they have to tell me that over and over! They really DO NOT want to take a nap, but NEED a nap soooo bad. This stage is a sad stage because you see your baby grow up so much this year. They learn so much and talk about their friends at school. They can establish themselves now as a BOY or a GIRL. They start hanging with the boys and get crushes on the girls. They are a little moody and throw lots of tantrum's at this stage. This is hard because it is hard to control them since they are so big! They still want to be babies, but want to be big boys at the same time. But there are lots of good things that come out of this stage. Their creative side starts to take over. You can hear them talking with their stuffed animals before they go to sleep, you have the MOST interesting conversations with them before bed time or in the car, they start to understand the "world" and ask lots of questions. In fact, the questions are a big part of the 3, almost 4 stage...I am so trying to prepare myself for lots of crazy questions. For example, today on the way home from school, Sawyer was asking "How the reindeer ate their food at Christmas if they were on the roof?" "How did Santa get back on the roof to feed them?" "Why was the bag left on our kitchen counter that had the reindeer food in it?" "Where does Santa live?" "Can I fly a rocket ship to see him?" "Why can't I see Santa and why is it cold up in the North Pole all the time?" "Where is the North Pole?" "The North Pole is WAAAY up there, where heaven is? Is Santa in heaven with Jesus and the angels?" So many questions and very interesting questions that even make me think sometimes! This stage is hard for me as a mother because I look at my Sawyer, my first born and see a little boy now, not a baby. Oh how time has flown by and how wonderful these years have been with him, but I am so not ready for him to grow up yet!!!


I know that I will love all the upcoming stages in different ways, but even though it is so tough with 3 kids under 3, I would love to have them this young forever (with a few vacations to give me a break). I really am trying to treasure all the stressful moments with my kids because it really is such a wonderful stage.....all three under 3!!!

Big Balls

I know some of you have heard this story, but I still think it is funny enough to blog.

Braxton goes to First Baptist Daycare, and we love it. Jordan Blinson is his afternoon teacher, and fortunatly she is also our cousin, so this makes this story a little more bearable. I was teaching Braxton how to clean himself a few weeks ago so I could put up some clothes while they were washing off. I told him to wash under his pee worm (aka penis). He looked at me weird. I told him that he needs to wash his balls. Well, he thought this was so funny, he just laughed and laughed and scrubbed his "balls".

So the next day at daycare, Jordan comes up to me and says very quietly, "Jodi, does Braxton know what that (and she points down) is?" I laughed (thinking he was talking about his pee worm) and said, "Yes, he calls it his pee worm." She said, "No, I have heard him say that, but today he said, Jordan, (while pointing his finger to his aka Balls) "THAT'S MY BALLZZZZ!". And he was just laughing the whole time. Oh man, I have to really watch what I tell that boy, he tells everything!!! I then proceeded to tell her where he learned it and why he was saying it. At least it is my cousin that is his teacher right?

But, then this week, I go in there and there is 3 teachers out in the hall laughing at me as I am walking down the hall. Oh lord, what has my child done now. Well, Jordan is cracking up as I walk in the class room and she said, "Welp, he said something else today."

"What has he said now???" I said
"Well, I was changing him and he pointed to his balls, and said "that's my ballzzzz", and then he looked at me wide eyed and just as serious as he could be and said, "my daddy has BIG BALLZZZ." And he just laughed and laughed and of course so did she!!!

Ohhhhh lordy... I promise I didn't teach him that!!! Can you believe that innocent little face up there would say that????

Thank you lord for my 3 little blessings

(Pictures of my three little blessing feeding Jack the cow and Maci with one of our dogs, Britney.)

Tonight was one of those nights that I hugged my children and felt the undeniable love of God within them. I first nursed Maci, and she was so tired she fell a sleep in my arms. She is not a snugly baby, she will hug you but immediately push away and look for her bed. But tonight she was so tired she just fell right into my arms, put her head on my shoulder, pull her sweet little legs up into a ball and fell a sleep while I was rocking her in my arms. I had not closed her curtains in her room so I could see the sun setting (which was beautiful)and I thanked God for such a blessing. To be able to hold my little girl in my arms and feel that pure love that you only feel with your children was as close as you can possibly get to God in my opinion.

I then proceeded to go up stairs to Braxton's room. Scott had put them to bed while I was feeding Maci. Braxton was really excited to see me walk in the room, and immediately said he had to tell me something. I asked him what? He said "Hershey Kisses" but in a 2 year old voice. That means, I love you had much as I love Hershey Kisses. He tells me he loves me "2 much" and I tell him that I love him as much as I love Hershey Kisses. He IS my little Hershey Kiss. Then he proceeded to tell me that he had Boogers... which is a thing that comes out of his and Sawyer's mouth at least 20 times a day. They inherited my snotty nose! I had to laugh at that and after I got the BOOGERS off his nose, I rubbed my fingers though his soft hair while he was giggling and kissing me. So sweet! He loves to put his legs around my waist and arms as tight as they can go around my neck and kiss me over and over! You can see why he is my little Hershey Kiss! Again, I closed my eyes and thank the lord for everything he has given me in my life. I sometimes question why he has given me so much, but I thank him countless times for what I do have!

Then I went to my oldest child's room. I love talking with him at night because he has so many questions and it is really interesting to see how their little wheels are turning in their mind. He started asking me what me and Scott and Granddaddy Joe did when we were little. He asked if Granddaddy Joe did Ta Kwon Do like him. I told him that he had to work on the farm with Granddaddy Swade when he was little. He then asked, "Where is Granddaddy Swade." I told him that he was in heaven. He then proceeded to tell me that he saw Granddaddy Swade at the (Christmas) parade riding in a car and that he was waving at Granddaddy Joe. (Kinda gave me chills, but I really think he was just being a 3 year old making up 3 year old stuff). He then said, that he didn't want to get old and go to heaven. I told him that heaven was a wonderful place and that a long time from now, we will all go to heaven as long as we live a good life and always have God in our hearts. We started talking about all the Great Grandparentshave that are in heaven now, and he proceeded to talk about how they (mine and Scott's grandparents) would always be in our hearts.

I said, "That is right son, they will always be in our hearts and protect us and love us."

He then proceeded to ask, "Well if they are in our hearts, will they eat all our food that we eat?" Interesting concept, but "No son, they will not eat our food."

"But mommy where does our food go then?"

Interesting how the conversation can turn in a heartbeat. "Well our food goes into our stomach after we eat Sawyer."

"Well, is God in our stomach?"

"Yes, God is in our stomach and our hearts, brains, nose, ears, and eyes. He made us from head to toe."

"But mommy if he is in our eyes, how do we see him?"

"Well Sawyer, we don't see him we feel him."

"Well, when you were little mommy, where was I if I lived in your stomach." Another turn!!!

Man is this conversation getting interesting!!! "Well, Sawyer when mommy was little she didn't know daddy and she played like you play now and it wasn't until mommy met daddy and fell in love and got married that she decided that she would have you."

"But, I lived in your stomach, so what did I do?"

"Well, mommy didn't know about you, but God did. Okay son, let me kiss you good night now and I will see you in the morning." I knew there would be more questions I really couldn't' answer good if I keep talking to him, and I know that the conversation would keep going on until the sun came back up if I let him. It is amazing how their little brain works!!!

I kissed him good night and again closed my eyes and thanked the lord for my 3 little blessings.

So I came downstairs and talked to Scott about our conversation and we just smiled at each other because we talk about how blessed we are in life at least once a week. We don't go to church like we should, but we do try to teach our children about God and to be good and to pray for all our blessings and for others.

How I would like to end this blog is I want everyone to know that reads this and even the ones that don't read this, that I am praying for you and I hope that your life is as blessed as mine. If not, I do hope that God can heal the hurt that you are feeling or makes things better for you in your life... because if you have faith, he can!

Just another typical day

I don't even know if I will be able to finish this blog.... or complete it the way I want to, but I just thought I would write down what a typical day with a 3 year old, 2 year old and a 6 month old is like.

6:45- Maci is up crying, ready to eat!

7:00- Nurse Maci, she is the sweetest little baby I could have ever asked for. She is smiling and trying to talk to me. (She said MaMa yesterday, by accident, but she still said it!)

Take her back in the bedroom with me to have a little Maci/Mommy time. I turn on Mickey Mouse and then Sawyer walks in my room. He is just as sweet as it comes, FOR NOW, hugging on Maci, talking with her, loving on her.... he really loves his little sister.

I ask Sawyer if he wants me to make him Mickey Mouse Pancakes with Chocolate Chips on it. He is very excited and can't wait to eat them!!! We walk to the kitchen and I hear Braxton crying, ready to get up.

This just throws Sawyer into a down right tandrem because I have to make a detour to get Braxton up INSTEAD of making his Mickey Mouse Pancakes RIGHT THEN!!!

I fuss at Sawyer, telling him that if he acts like that, I will not make them at all. I walk up the stairs to Braxton being such a sweet heart. He shows me his new boo-boo on his elbow and can't wait to show his brother. I bring him downstairs, and he runs over to Sawyer showing him his boo-boo, and Sawyer screams...."I DON'T WANT TO LOOK AT HIM, I DON'T WANT HIM NEAR ME." Poor Braxton, was just devastaed. I told Sawyer to go upstairs if he was going to act like that, that noone wants to be around a moody little boy.

Finially, he turned his mood around and started playing with Maci and Braxton. I get the pancakes mix out, with little kids are swarming around my ankles, I send the puppy dogs (aka kids) in the living room so I can cook, and start my creation. As the pancakes were cooking, Sawyer yells, "Maci is going up the steps." Yep, 6 months old and already climbing the steps. I run and get her off the steps, and put her around the toys. Flip the pancakes, put the chocolate chips on..... by this time, Sawyer is in his chair whinning that he is hungry. "Son I am going as fast as I can."

Braxton is entertaining Maci, Sawyer is whinning that he wants his pancakes. I finially got his pancake ready, and go back to the skillet to cook some more. As soon as I get back to cooking, Sawyer is whinning that he is thirsty. "Son, I will get to it as soon as I can." Braxton is now heading to the table now. " I stinkied mommy." I go change a Really stinky diaper, while I was about to throw up literally, WHILE multi tasking by trying to keep Maci from crawling over to the dipaer and putting her hands and mouth all in Braxton's stinky.

I then get Braxton's pancake ready, and fix their milk in between flipping pancakes. Sawyer starts whinning that his hands are sticky. "Lick them" I said. He keeps whinning... so I get a wet cloth, wipe his hands down, just so he can stick them right back into the sticky syrup. Braxton gets up in his chair, Sawyer is done now. One up, one down... and mommy on the move. I get Braxton bib on, wipe Sawyer's hands off and I sit down to eat. Braxton starts screaming that his hands are sticky. So back over to Braxton seat to wipe his hands off. Maci starts screaming. I go over to see what she is doing, she is hanging on to dear life underneath our table because she couldn't get traction on her feet to stand up on our hard wood and if she lets go she will fall flat on her poor little head. Good thing she is strong though!!! Braxton starts whinning that he is done now. I clean him off, put his down.... clean up their dishes, and sit down to eat... maybe? Pancakes are cold now, but I still attempt to eat them. Sawyer screams to me that Maci is crawling up the stairs again. "Seriously?" I think.

Get Maci off the steps again, and put her in her high chair so I can eat! Sit down to eat again, the boys start fighting... "Just ignore it Jodi, let thme duke it out." I think. They keep fighting, so I get up again and turn on "Life" off the dicovery channel to distract them. I sit down to eat, Maci is whinning because she wants down, and a commerical comes on the TV. ( My kids do not know what commericals are because everything is DVR'ed). Sawyer starts yelling, "Cord it mommy, cord it mommy." What Sawyer? "Cord it mommy,I want to see the monkey's again." Ohhhh, Fast Forward it. Oh the language barriers us mothers have to endure.

So that entertained them long enough for me to eat. I start cleaning the kitchen up, Sawyer runs over to me with stinky on his hand saying he stinkied in his pants. "Really Sawyer, you are getting ready to turn 4 in June???" I clean his hands, his pants and sit him on the potty. I then clean his butt after he is done and go back to the kitchen. Maci is getting sleepy, so I put her down, and try and teach the boys some letters and shapes. (I have a friend Cameron who is homeschooling her children and I thought I would try to at least teach my children the alphabet if she can homeschool hers.) I get the letter book out of Braxton, we go to the letter "D" before he was so distracted by the pictures on the book that he had NO interest in the letters anymore. Sawyer started screaming because he didn't want to trace his letters with the "green" marker he wanted the "red' one that Braxton had. I gave him another "red" one, but he threw a complete tandrem, kicking his feet hands, screaming.... just because he wanted the one that Braxton had. I pick him up, very calmly and said I was taking him to his room to sit until he could decide wheather he wanted to act "almost" 4. He calmed down immediatly, and said he would use the purple marker. By this time Braxton was throwing a fit and ready to get down. Really, how does Cameron do it??? I am so not cut out to be a teacher.

It is now almost 11:00 and I have broken up countless fights between the two little boys, Sawyer has been up to his room for hitting Braxton in the face with a truck and thinking "I am sorry" will somehow cancel out the fact that he hit him on purpose, Braxton has sit in time out for throwing cards all over the place from a game that Sawyer and I were playing, and Maci is now awake ready for some more mommy milk. Now, let's get some more laundry done, shower sometime?, and go to Ta Kwon Do, and go coach a bunch of 3 year olds in soccer. Sounds lovely huh?

6 syllables

Sawyer Blog number 2!!!

Sawyer has the such a country accent that he can make the word
MEEEAAAEEEE aka "me"
into a 6 syllable word!

7:00

Sawyer, my little early bird. He not only looks like Scott, but he inherited Scott's early bird tendanacies, which I am not very fond of. As most of you know, I am just not a morning person.... if I can sleep in, I will. But, Sawyer will get up at the crack of dawn now.

I have at least tried to keep him in bed until 7:00. So while we are practicing on our numbers, I have really tried to teach him the number SEVEN ZERO ZERO. That magic number is the number he has to wait for his clock to turn to until he can get out of bed. And I have set his clock behind so maybe he would stay in bed for another 10 ro 15 minutes. I tried to get slick this week though and set it behind 30 minutes. And he would come in the bathroom around 7 on the dot while I was getting ready for work saying, "Mommy, it is light outside and my clock is not at ZERO, ZERO, ZERO, ZERO, ZERO, ZERO. "

Really Sawyer? Well Mommy is going to have to fix that clock because mommies clock says it is 7:01. So much for me being slick huh?

What Hard work does to you....

I have worked so hard today with daddy that I fell asleep on the skidsteer!!!!