Peter is 3!

Here's the thing about kids.  They're exhausting.  They're difficult.  They talk too much.  They don't ever let YOU talk.  They wake up too early.  They don't understand reason.  Or sharing.  They're a shit-ton of work.

But they're addicting.  And fascinating.  And so very beautiful.

I simply cannot believe my baby turns 3 today.  How did that happen?  How did three entire years pass since he entered this world and forever changed mine?

To say I'd love another baby is a complete understatement.  I wish my pregnancies weren't so complicated and that I wasn't such a worrier.  Under other, better circumstances, I'd jump at having a fourth.  But I would be lying if I said that, even after a fourth, I'd admit to being totally done.

I read this article today that puts so much of how I feel into words… The Last One

Today I celebrate my sweet, feisty, funny, beautiful little last.  I thank God he's mine and ours and I can honestly say I have loved every single minute he's been here.

Happy birthday, little love.  The world is yours.

And he's gone...

We took Chris in to work around 6:30pm last night for him to begin the long and painful process of getting ready to board the plane.  (I received a text from him a little after 4am this morning saying they were just boarding.)

Our day started with a mix of errands until we received a call from Peter's preschool teacher saying he had a temperature of 102.5.   Ugggh, poor baby.  So we turned around and picked him back up… 

Pete fell asleep as soon as we got home. 

Chris cleared out (most of) his office last week since he'll have a new job when he returns from Afghanistan...

 The boys enjoyed drawing on the white board and being silly...

…except for Peter.  He just sat and watched them play.  Definitely not feeling good.

The boys and I stayed for about 20 minutes and then said our goodbyes...

It's hard to believe, but I miss him already.  It is nice that the "clock" has started and we're hopeful this deployment will be a short one.  

Petey's 3rd Birthday Party!

Today we had a little birthday party to celebrate Peter's 3rd birthday! (His actual birthday is this upcoming Wednesday.)

Peter was SO excited to have everyone over...

What a great group of kids...

We had a firetruck-themed party...

Are these not the cutest little cupcake holders you've ever seen!?

 

 The kids ate pizza...

 …sang Happy Birthday and ate cupcakes & ice cream…

 (Let's completely disregard the fact that I sang "…toooo mommy…."  Um, huh????  Bizarre and odd and there's no excuse for it.  Mommy= cray-cray.)

Peter opened lots of awesome gifts!

Magna-Tiles from Gigi!
This has been "the hit gift" among friends lately!

A new Razor Scooter from his brothers!

A Spiderman race car and Hulk from Gabe, Addy, and Ava!

A Ninja Turtle puzzle, a cool shield, and a 3-pack of bubble gum
(his ALL-time favorite candy!) from Nico and Gabby!

Such anticipation!

A drill set from Mommy and Daddy--
his friend, Clark, got one from Christmas and Peter loved it!

Addy and Peter playing with the drill set. 

A cool educational sorting game
from Aunt Meggie and Uncle T!
It's a "fruit pie" with lots of different ways to play.

We saved a few gifts from us and the grandparents to give him on his "real" birthday on Wednesday too.  What a great day!  So glad Daddy was still here to help us celebrate.

(I'm pretty sure Daddy loves these magna-tiles 

as much-- or more!-- than Pete.)

Had to document...

Since my plan is to hopefully one day hit "PRINT" on this entire blog-- so the boys have it as a lasting memory of their childhood, or at least their mom's version of their childhood-- I had to document Peter's accomplishment yesterday afternoon.

While waiting for the big boys to come off the bus, I suggested he try riding Gabe (our neighbor)'s bicycle, which has no training wheels.  As God as my witness, that child got on and rode that two-wheeler not once but TWICE down the entire length of the driveway without any hand-holding on the back or assistance from me!!!  It was incredible and I wish I could have somehow gotten it on film.

Pete turns 3 one week from today.  He is such a natural athlete and daredevil and 3rd boy… and there's no telling where the combination of those three will get him one day!

The plan is to take off his training wheels and encourage him to keep practicing.  I'll keep you posted!!

Valentine's Weekend...

We were lucky to have Grandpa and Ita drive down this past weekend to see Chris before he leaves and watch the boys so Chris and I could have a night out in Chapel Hill alone.  It was a great weekend!

 The boys immediately wanted to show off their dance moves...

On Saturday morning, Grandpa and Chris took Henry to his last basketball camp!  

Henry's certificate was in the car.

Look how tall Henry is!

Then Grandpa (alone) took James and Henry to James's basketball game…

Nice shot, James!

On Saturday, after Chris and I squealed wheels out quietly left, they had a little party!

new shirts and pizza :)

 This little inflatable Scooby Doo sleeping bag was James's when he was little.  Grandpa and Ita brought it down for Peter who LOVES it.  He immediately put it in his shark tent they said.

Meanwhile, Chris and I had a great time walking around The Streets of Southpoint in Chapel Hill.  It was SO nice to be able to shop in stores like Athleta, Lululemon, and Nordstrom!  I can assure you, we have none of those stores in Fayetteville!

We stayed at The Siena Hotel which was beautiful and had dinner at The Top of the Hill, our Chapel Hill favorite.

Thank you, Keith and Marta, for braving the 16" of snow in Maryland (that fell the night before they left) and the 7" we received here to say goodbye to Chris and give us an opportunity to do the same.  We all had a fabulous weekend!  xo

Snow Day #3…this time around...

It snowed about 6-7" here.  We baked homemade chocolate chip cookies (again), made Chex Mix kiddie peanut butter snack mix (on side of the box), played Clue, logged many, many hours on www.abcmouse.com and the Xbox...

During the past three days, we've done countless art projects...

Disregard name on art apron--
we're big on "going green" and recycling around here. :)

 'loomed it until my eyes were blurry...

played in the snow and shoveled driveways…

marveled at the beauty of snow…

thanked Chris for buying me my absolute most-favorite, most-used gift, my beloved treadmill…

And now, I think it's fair and time to say, I'm done.  All done.  Out of fun ideas and ready for school to open again.

We'll see if the kids go back tomorrow for Valentine's Day!?

**UPDATE: Within seconds of posting this, we received notification that the children WILL NOT have school tomorrow.  I think it's safe to say American children who live anywhere up and down the east coast should just go ahead and repeat this year of schooling.  Let's just get a re-do and save us all the headache of trying to make up these days.