Welcome, Little Joe!!!!

The newest addition to our family, Little Joe, arrived via c-section on Friday morning, November 26th. This was just hours after Thanksgiving, our little "Black Friday baby". He was such a chunky thing that we have referred to him a few times as our own little Butterball turkey! :)

He's a handsome little big guy! I am about as sore as I expected, but we are both doing great. Here are some photos from yesterday and today, in no particular order:

 My wonderful friend, Rachel, who kept the other four kids for us for two nights!!! Brave woman!

 Another good friend, Valerie. She got to see him for his very first "alert" time, as he was wide awake and looking around nearly the whole time she was there!

 Valerie's daughter

 My good friend, Bethany, and 4 of her 5 children. Such a precious family!

The photographer who came in did very simple photos much like these two shown here. I basically reconstructed what she did and took some with my own camera. I may take more later.....I just don't see the sense in buying a few pictures in a "package" that costs $100 when I can do something similar for almost free!

 Grandma trying to get him to burp!

Jayla just had to get this picture of him with both eyes open!

 First bath, while Mommy was recovering from surgery.

 Right after delivery.

 Also shortly after delivery. He was very splotchy at first, but it mostly cleared up in a few hours.

 Our first family snap shots with Little Joe!

 I really hate being in pictures, but it is a must! At least every couple of years, right?

 Jack held him for a while and did not want t give him up!

 All of the kids are totally smitten with their little brother!

 I had to get a picture of him crying!

 My good friend, Mandie, and her son.....so sweet!

 Jacob just can't get enough of him!

Our good friends, David and Amy. Such precious people!

Jonathan, totally in love with this baby! I need to get more pics of him.

I literally cannot keep my eyes open, so I'm sure there is a lot I am forgetting, and I can't imagine the typos I am missing. I want to get this posted so I can share......I will add more tomorrow.

Kid-isms Roundup!

These are starting to pile up on my FB account, so I thought I'd round them all up and put them on here, lest I forget them! Some of these are funny, some only funny to us, some not funny but I just wanted to remember!

Jacob: Wow, the wind is blowing in my eyes! If I was the wind, I wouldn't blow in YOUR eyes!

Jonathan asks the strangest questions? I mean, this is constant, all day long, every day. Well, I just helped him estimate how many miles of intestines there are in the whole world. Yep. Exciting stuff.

11/15

My boys ask the strangest questions sometimes. Jonathan often informs me that being weird (because he asks weird questions) is the whole point of being a 10-year-old. Now Jacob is asking "silly" questions and has informed me that being silly is the whole point of being a 6-year-old! I am learning so much! :)

11/10

Ah, ha! I just figured out another word of Jack's! "Bye-bye ah na-na" means that he wants to go bye-bye in a minute!

11/09

Every time we talk about labor/birth, Jayla refers to the cord as the "vocal cord".

10/30

Jayla just told me, "Mommy, you're getting some WHITE hair! You're turning into an OLD GIRL!" LOL! Well, at least I'm still a girl! :)

10/28

The kids were asking me about the big light pole in our front yard that we haven't used in years. I was telling them it belongs to OG&E (the electric company), and we would have to pay for it to use it. Jayla didn't even get her sentence out because we started laughing, but she said, "Well, if it belongs to a genie......" :)

10/28

It is so difficult to get Jacob to help out with any of the chores, but he is LOVING ripping up the floor! LOL! I should just look for the more destructive jobs for him to do. ;)

10/26

Jayla and Jacob are pretending to be a mother and son. I think he is being more obedient to her than he normally is to me.

10/19

474-774-44747474447.....Jack's favorite number to call. 

10/14

We were out for a bit tonight and just got home. As we were on the front porch about to come in, the kids were being LOUD, laughing, singing and talking. I said not to be so loud because they'll wake up the neighbors. Jayla (8) said, "That's what happens when you have 4 kids!"

10/13

Jacob is always grumpy for some reason when he first wakes up. Always! But just now his "alarm" went off, and he's in a better mood now. (See 10/9)

10/11

Jonathan is singing "I'm Not Cool" again. He is belting it out, and he doesn't sing on key either. I love it! :)

10/10

I love that Jonathan is mowing now......and enjoys it! :) He wasn't quite tall enough last year, so it was hard and frustrating. This year he is asking to mow!!!!

10/9

Jacob's latest thing: He passes gas and tells everyone his alarm went off.

10/5

I love Jack's word for apple juice. He says, "Bapple doo!" :)

9/29

We were at a park. There were rails on the bridge, but Jacob slipped through them. He is always climbing on top and outside of where he is supposed to be! That little stinker is a dare devil! lol

There was never a "panic" moment (for me, at least). It was only a few feet drop. He could have gotten hurt, but not bad. Thankfully he was fine. He was laughing the whole time he was dangling while a friend was hanging onto him! Quite the little turd! lol

9/26

Jacob (5) is making an experiment. He mixed apple juice, Mt. Dew, milk, water & ketchup. He said it is supposed to keep the flies away. 

9/23

Jayla decided to change clothes again. Jonathan was getting impatient, while waiting for the bathroom, and he told her she didn't need to change her pants too!

Her reply, "Do these pants look like they match this shirt?!"

Jonathan, "You have a point."

9/19

Jack is saying, "More bee-ba!" which means "more pizza". Earlier he asked me, "Eat bee-ba?" :) This kid is really starting to talk a LOT more clearly, putting up to 3 or 4 words together!

9/12

Jacob (5) is all boy and loves being gross. He made up this song, "If someone breaks wind, I will buy more oxygen." Hey, it rhymes!

9/9

Jacob just told me that Jonathan stole some of his pennies the other day, and then added "but before I tell on him, he put them back."

9/8

Jayla says, "Mommy, can we go to the store sometime and buy something?" That's it! She just wants to go shopping! She finally did say that she wants to buy something for the baby. :)

9/3

My kiddos are making up new "Minute to Win It" games. :)

8/29

My kids have been singing "Big House" lately. Jack's version is, "bee bee owe, la-la-la-la, bee bee owe, la-la-la-la" So cute! It's not *quite* as cute when the older kids imitate him though.

8/25

Yesterday Jayla said "Shoot!", then Jacob asked me, "Mommy, are we allowed to say that?" So I told him it was not a bad word. Then he asked me, "Can we say 'burn it'?" It took me a couple of seconds, but then it clicked.

Get it? "Dad burn it!"

8/15

Jack peed in the potty for the first time on Thursday!!!!! He went twice that day and then FOUR times on Friday! (I think we were out more yesterday, so he didn't have as many opportunities.) He is telling me when he needs to go! I think I underestimated him. Maybe he'll be completely in underwear before baby is born after all! :)

7/27

Well, it was positive! Jack has a confirmed case of Pertussis! Jacob and Jayla are sounding pretty bad too now, and Jonathan is also starting to cough. :( As I look back over the last couple of weeks, I think I may have had a light case of it, and I really think Myles may have been the one to start all of this mess!

7/22

Jack was SWEATING yesterday!!!! After he had the THIRD seizure yesterday afternoon, Myles put him in a cold bath. :( Afterward, they both fell asleep on Jayla's bed, then Myles woke up and left Jack there for a bit longer. Her bed still has the plastic on the mattress and didn't have a sheet on it at the time, so when I went to wake him up, his back and head were covered with sweat! Seriously, this is the first time we've ever seen him sweat, so did something change?! I hope that means no more seizures.....but I won't hold my breath on that.

(and he still continues to sweat!!!)

7/15

Jonathan and Jayla spent the night with friends last night (missing them!), so Daddy was in charge of Jacob and Jack. When I got home, Jack was only in a diaper, and I noticed he had flecks of green paint or something all over his chest and tummy. Jacob said that Jack got into Jayla's nail polish. Sounds believable. Then I noticed how neatly each and every one of his fingernails were painted. Hmmm.....I didn't know Jack could do such a great job on his own nails, on both hands!!! He finally fessed up this morning!

6/27

Today is my "baby's" third birthday!!! He had a visit from Grandma on Friday, was sung to by some great friends last night and got to blow out a candle on his birthday brownie, then we had a small family party today, complete with cupcakes, ice cream and presents. Jack just loves hearing that song with his name in it! :)

6/14

I was reading several books with the kids earlier. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman was one of them. After noticing how HUGE the egg is, on the 3rd page the mother bird leaves to go find the baby bird some food since he is about to hatch. She referred to the baby as "he", so I asked, "Now how does she know it is a boy?!" Jonathan and Jayla, without hesitation and at the same time, as serious as could be said, "Ultrasound." Hmmm.....I wonder what's been on our mind so much lately?! :)

5/31

Jack and Jacob woke up while it was still dark because of the storm and came in to our bed. It was very loud and flashy, I'm surprised they weren't all 4 in there! Jacob tells me that he knows what lightning is. I asked him "What?" and he said, "It's electric in the sky. I learned it from Postman Pat." I guess the many conversations we have had about weather didn't matter, he learns from cartoons instead!

5/17

heard the heartbeat for the first time today! It never gets old!!!! ♥

5/8

Jonathan just asked me, "Mommy, how do astronauts scratch themselves?"

3/10

‎"No one can have too many friends.".....wise words from my 7yo daughter, Jayla. :)

2/24

Tonight for the 3rd night in the last week or so, Jonathan asked me if he could stay up and study the bible. OF COURSE YOU CAN!!! I am so proud of him. It is so awesome watching my children grow in their knowledge and understanding of and love for Christ! :)