Cleaning and scrubbing will wait ’till tomorrow, but children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs! Dust go to sleep! I’m rocking my baby. Babies don’t keep. – Ruth Hamilton

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Running and Cards!


This past weekend came very fast for Mark and I.  We built up this race so much in our heads and were pretty nervous-it was due to lack of training.  Sure, we (I) were running, but I hadn't got myself to a comfortable pace and hadn't done a full 3 miles.  We woke up with a burst of energy and I was excited.
Having three kids in three years doesn't leave us with a lot of alone time-running is our thing we really enjoy doing together.

My brother (who runs much more than us) joined us and pushed us hard.




There were 14,000 people!  I felt such emotion with all these people out to run together!  I don't know why we were worrying so much because we rocked it and even did better than the last time.


This was a fun race.  There were points during the race that people threw chalk on you.  It felt good and I'm ready for some more races.  I am even going to try for a 10K next!

When we got home we tried to have quiet time because we were taking them to a Cardinal baseball game...they were having too much fun with their cousins to sleep.  So we headed down to the Cardinal stadium.






It was bat day so we had to get there early-they gave kids under 13 real wooden bats!
Avery was in heaven with all the food.  A little girl next to her shared cotten candy!

Mack only made it to the bottom of the first inning!




We had fun playing with my phone.

The weather was not nice so we had to leave in the 5th inning.  But as we were walking back home a fire truck was pulling into the fire station (one of the oldest in the city) and the nice men invited us in.



They were pretty tired so it didn't last long, but it was really fun to see.



Our night ended with more time with cousins and pizza.  I love our kids get to see them so often even though we live 2 hours away from each other. 


It was a BUSY weekend.  We raced around the city and went to my favorite place-Busch Stadium!  Thank goodness our little man gets to be a part of all these fun things that have been in our minds while we were in the hospital.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Mack is a Total Daddy's Boy

Many little boys look up to their daddies, and Mack is one of those boys! Mack, Lincoln and Avery are so lucky to have Mark.  He is totally involved in their lives and is the one on the ground playing with them.  Mack is obsessed with him and I am starting to see this relationship develop with Lincoln.  Their eyes light up and momma is pushed to the side.  At least I have Avery who would like to be a part of me:)

It's amazing to see these relationships develop.  Mack is older, so I'm seeing more of a son/daddy relationship at a different stage.  I know eventually it will be both boys following him around.

This past weekend was a work weekend at the lake.  Everytime Mark turned on a machine, Mack was right by his side!  It didn't matter where he was.  Mark was mixing concrete to fix our fountain and Mack was there to help out!










 
When we got home, it was time to work at our house.  He hasn't wanted to sleep during nap time (which is a whole new post, but I thought I would hate no naps-no!  It's so nice to be able to do more in the afternoons.  And we're all back to sleeping in)  so he was outside helping daddy get the tractor ready.  Then he hopped on his truck and followed Mark around the yard for close to an hour. 
 
 
Lucky for Mark, he will have two admires!  I found this post from right before Mack got sick: Mack and Mark

Monday, April 22, 2013

Sometimes I'm in Shock

In my past posts I've talk about our Lincoln being a crazy man. Some days I'm in shock at what he does, but everyday I laugh so hard with him. He's naughty and he knows it! My love grows stronger as I watch him trying new things and try so hard to be like his siblings.

He has no fear and is TOTALLY his own person. I admire his uniqueness-but how do you stop such an active baby? We shall learn as time goes by-in the meantime, I'm going to take pictures and document this! He is one funny kid!!

He gets on all the bikes!

I think overalls are going to be his look-it fits his personality (kind of like his uncle)

I try to ignore his running so maybe he will come back, but nope he will keep going.  I tried hiding as he trucked down the driveway yesterday to see how far he would go...and there was not a limit for him.  I ended up sprinting down to bring him back.:)



This was a morning I wouldn't let him climb up on a chair so he could reach the candy jar.
These shoes are fitting for our man!  He is so fast!


This is just one afternoon outside.




 
I am in shock everyday with Lincoln, but it's a hoot to watch him!  This summer should be interesting and full of excitement.  Thank you Lincoln for the fun!

Friday, April 19, 2013

What a Dog

This is one amazing animal! Happy Friday!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

COOLNESS

I Keep writing about the amazing people in our lives...
 Well, this wonderful woman at Mid City Lumber has been sweet to Mark and our kids.  Her father made our kids a car after Mack was born.
 As Mark was leaving today for Mack's appointment, he came into the house with this box full of handmade trucks and boats!  Oh My Oh My!
 We kept the pink dump truck (for Avery) and sent the rest to the hospital in St. Louis!  What an amazing gift to others. 

I haven't written (or taken a picture-much of it is too emotional for me) about another amazing opportunity Mack had-It was a fROG (Forever Rely On God).  Mack received a fROG in the mail and it meant a lot to us.  With the fROG, was a letter from a three year old boy who was born with half a heart.  His letter was directly to Mack and explained life in the hospital.  I had heard about this little boy through a sweet friend at work. I was told his story in the beginning of our journey and it was so emotional for me.  People are amazing.  People are kind.  These stupid people (the ones hurting people-like in Boston) who TRY and ruin things for us will NEVER replace the good things people do!!!

Some other kids will get to enjoy these awesome trucks and many kids will have some FROGS jumping to them soon!  Just remember the smallest gesture can be the biggest memory in someones life! 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

What Can Be Done in 48 Hours?

I'm sure much more can happen in 48 hours, but for us this weekend was packed.


On Friday, Mack had to get platelets and blood (which took 4 hours). Even though we played the whole time, it gets exhausting.  We ended our night with homemade pizzas on the grill with Nanny and Papa H.

We woke up on Saturday morning and started to get ready for a visit to the Clydesdale's.  About 20 minutes away from our house, Anheiser Busch owns a beautiful horse farm.  The farm gives tours and we have been waiting to go for a year.  We built it up so the kids were very excited-we looked at pictures and watched some videos.




We met Nanny and Papa H. and "tried" to listen to the tour.  Lincoln is a bit to handle in social situations...HE'S A RUNNER!!!

 Even if we didn't hear everything, we got to be together and saw some really cool horses!  The Momma horses were preggo and two just had babies that week.  It was amazing to see them interact with their babies and become protective.  We also saw a horse being bathed, but...















The coolest thing to me, was how the horse above was so interested in Mack.  There were a lot of kids around, but as soon as Mack walked up, he moved toward him.  It's amazing how animals are in tune with humans and can sense a sickness!!



Of course at the end of any Anheiser Busch tour you get complimentary beers!  It was fun to enjoy these before heading out...

And by out, I mean out!  I had lunch with my family and helped put everyone down for naps and then I was on my way!

On my way to meet Tara-my BFF from high school.  She is the one who came down after Mack was last out of the hospital to help and lost someone very dear to her-her mom.  Together we both headed out 2 hours from our homes to meet in the lovely Quincy IL.

Like most friends do, we did nothing!  We swapped clothes for our kids-Girl clothes for her baby girl and awesome boy clothes for my little men.

Then we popped open a good bottle of wine and just sat talking, talking, and talking.  Then we ran out for a bite to eat only to return back to our room to put our P.J's on and talk. 

While I was away, Mark grilled with the kids and took them to the hardware store to get plants and other things around the house.  He is so good alone with the kids-sometimes I think he likes it better :) haha!  They love their daddy time that is for sure!

It was a night I've been dreaming about since having my third baby.  One night in a hotel room, with a friend, and a bottle of wine!


I got back on Sunday just in time to see them before naps and quiet time.  When everyone stirred we planted seeds and flowers and headed to the trail to run.  Our plan was to have Lincoln play at Nanny and Papa H's house, but Mack jumped out of the car wanting to stay as well.  This made Avery so happy!  "It's me without the boys!" she said.  She waits patiently as her mom and dad make their way through a 2 1/2 mile run and then gets to run with us.  I think she is ready for some sports because this girl is fast!!!!!
After our run we headed back to Nanny and Papa H's house for a delicious meal! YUM!  It was perfect after a nice run.  Mack played with rice and was all about cleaning it up:









 
It was a busy 48 hours, but one to remember!