A look back

2013- wow, it flew by.  Busy is an understatement for our family.  This year has been all about our three boys and being out numbered.  Jeff and I are fortunate to have each other as a parenting team, but there team is still bigger than ours. J   

We have learned how to divide our attention and our kids have learned to be more patient.  God gave us such a sweet baby in Mark; he is more laid back than either of his brothers (probably because he has to be), but goes with the flow most of the time.  He has been eating so much lately, I feel like I can’t keep him fed.  Mark loves his brothers and wants to do what they do, he loves to play in their room and play with their toys.  All 3 boys are all so different and each have unique needs.  This year, Ty has gained so much independence.  He wants to do so much himself, but at times reminds us that he is only 3 when he has a melt down.  He’ll stand in the middle of a room and cry and when I ask what’s wrong, he’ll say, “I don’t know” in a whiny voice.  Aiden usually looks at him funny and says, “Ty, why are you crying?”.    Aiden is so mature for his age, sometimes I feel like I’m talking to a 10 year old.  He has grown out of his need to be with mom or dad, he is fine staying with someone else, but still prefers to be at home.  He has shown us this year that he is truly gifted in math and has a unique logistical mind.  I pray that God will show us how to nurture this gift so it will be used when he is older.  He is such a rule follower and hates to disappoint us.  

But can I just say, raising three children is hard!  A quick trip to a grocery store is exhausting!  Mark constantly wants food, Ty is mischievous and turning your back on him is dangerous and Aiden, who can typically entertain himself, can sometimes demand my attention with a fact type question.  Usually I can't answer it anyway; he'll ask me something like "How many feet is it to the sun from the Earth?"  I'm learning that what worked for one doesn't work for all, so we're constantly developing new strategies in parenting.  The boys fight and wrestle a lot!  When I go out with all 3, I've learned to ignore the looks of pity or of judgement.  People will often comment that I am brave, or that I have my hands full and of course I get asked regularly if we're going to try for a girl.  My response is always, "I did try . . . twice!"  Keeping the house clean and maintaining laundry is a constant battle.  I wake up almost every morning start a load, empty the dishwasher, vacuum the living room and I think to myself, "I JUST did this yesterday" or "Why am I doing this, they're just going to get it dirty again?".  Having a third child has made me forgetful.  I used to be so on top of things, but now I'm doing good to remember a friend's birthday and by the time I do, its usually too late to put the card in the mail.  

At this point, I can laugh at myself and I've learned to let things go.  I have some moments, but I've learned how to manage and to focus on the big stuff, and let the small things go.  I've said it before, I am a completely different mother with Mark than I was with Aiden; a better mother!  I LOVE having 3 boys.  God gave me exactly what I can handle and what I needed.  There are many advantages of having 3; people don't give me parenting advice anymore, most don't have as many children as I do.  I've also gotten pretty good at multitasking.  I can feed a baby, play catch with a toddler, and give math problems to a kindergartner.  The older boys love playing together and they are both so sweet to Mark.  Many times I catch them playing together and I think to myself, "what would they do without each other".  I've learned what NOT to do about many things.  I'm pretty much a baby expert, I've learned how to get them to sleep, to eat, and what entertains them.  Each baby has been easier than the previous.  I've also learned that they are almost indestructible.  One of my boys has a hard fall almost on a daily basis; I usually don't even flinch when one falls.  This is my life, and I love it.

The boys had great birthdays back in February and I’ll never forget taking them to Dave and Busters.  It was focused time on them (away from Mark) and the smiles on their faces were priceless.  Now having Mark, it seems so easy to just take 2 somewhere.  (I would probably say caring for 3 is easy if I had 4, and so on)

We attempted our first organized sport with Aiden this year and I think we were so blessed to get on the “Pirate” team.  We met some great people who were like minded in regards to children and baseball.  We weren’t too serious, but we wanted to teach them teamwork, practice, and having fun.  I’m really looking forward to watching Aiden and Ty play together this coming spring.

Aiden wrapped up his second half of pre-school this year with Ms. Karen at HFBA, and the second half he was much more comfortable than the first.  Again, we were blessed to be a part of a great group of people in the students, their parents and a wonderful teacher.  He learned so much, but most importantly he gained independence.  Jeff and I struggled (me more than him) with where to put Aiden for Kindergarten.  Since Aiden was born, we have been concerned with our public schools; after being told about the “School Choice” program we chose Rocky Creek Elementary where many of his friends would also be attending.  It has been hard this fall, with two teachers already and a large class, it’s not our ideal situation for our extremely intelligent 5 year old.  I have spoke to many people about my concerns and I’ll never forget running into a former teacher of mine from high school.  He looked at me, held my shoulders and said, “Your son will be fine”.  I needed to hear that and be reassured.  I now understand that what we do at home has a much more profound impact on our children than what they do at school.  I pray for him and his teacher daily and I pray that God will lead us to the right school as they get older.

Ty started pre-school this year at HFBA and as we expected, he is thriving and learning so much!  His teacher has become a sweet friend to me, she also has 3 children (older than ours), but has given me some great advice.  Ms. Casey is great at what she does and we are blessed that she is Ty’s teacher.  He colors in the lines and is learning his letters, the letter sounds and even the signs for each letter in sign language.  He prays and learns bible stories at school as well.  He has made some friends; Tayden and Emery seem to be his favorite.

This summer was so rainy!  We went to the pool when we could, but it seemed like it rained every other day. We spent time riding bikes, going to parks and playing outside.  We had many play dates with our friends; the Dove family has become a true blessing to ours.  The boys love spending time with their girls, and Mark and Brayden are starting to finally notice each other. J The boys and I did crafts when it rained and I didn’t appreciate the lack of schedule enough in the summer time.  It was nice that we didn’t have to be anywhere at any certain time.  When school is in, Mark’s naps are constantly interrupted by dropping off or picking up one of his brothers.  The day flies by and I feel like I spend a lot of time in the car.

I’ll remember this year because it will be the year I ran . . . a lot.  I actually wore out the running shoes I bought in January just before the half marathon.  I figured out that I ran about 300 miles in those shoes and I had to buy a new pair 2 weeks before the race.  I ran my first 5K in May, a 10K in July and the half marathon in November.  My entire family was tired of me running, so I’ve taken a break these past few weeks over the holidays.  I’ll start again soon and Jeff is going to join me!

We had many great memories with our families.  A fun week at the beach with Gram and Chief and my brothers family, Uncle Collin and Aunt Sarah's wedding, fun at LegoLand with Nannie and many more great times!

Holidays were so much fun this year, Easter, Halloween and Christmas all stand out as great memories for the boys.  I love their ages and their child-like faith.  I can only pray for faith like theirs.  God and prayer are a constant presence in our home.  The boys pray before dinner and we read their devotion and pray again before bed.  They don’t have full understanding, but they know God loves them.  Just recently Aiden was riding his bike and Jeff and I were cleaning the garage.  He asked if we could come out to the drive way with him, and we told him in a few minutes.  He said okay and told me, “there are only 2 people out here”.  I asked who and he said, “Me and God”.

2013 was a great year.  I have no doubt that 2014 will be great as well!