Kade and Preschool!

This picture was taken the day after his first day, but he got all dressed up again and so I snapped a few pictures with him in his back pack. He feels so big!

I didn't know he'd be accepted into preschool and didn't have my camera for the beginning of class, but this is Kade on his first day of preschool after class. I'd say he had a very good day. He's very comfortable in his new school.

In a previous post, I mentioned the crazy happenstance of Kade getting into preschool. That first day, I wasn't sure if he'd even be allowed to attend. (Because he wasn't even 3 for another two weeks and kids are supposed to be three before Sept. That's a four month difference!) The secretary told me to just ask the head teacher to see what she thought. As I talked with Miss Tracy, Kade was talking too -telling her his name and different things like that- and when I was finally able to ask "Do you think he can attend the three year old class even though he's not quite three?" She said, "Sure, just talking to him I know he's ready and will be fine." So, he walked right into to class and had his first day. Awesome!

Kade is doing so well and learning very quickly. His teachers really enjoy him and are constantly telling me how cute he is, and how funny and smart. They tell me he's a popular kid in class and that he's polite. (I love hearing these things.)
I tell the boys that school is their job and that they need to do their job well. Kade loves having a "job" and having a place to be. I can tell he feels so big and grown up. He is just as capable as Ben at many things, yet he's two years younger and, therefore, can't be involved in all the same things. That is so frustrating for him.

My grandpa used to say, "If you want smart kids, give them experiences." This preschool is giving Kade and Ben many great experiences and only increasing their intelligence. I love that. I love that Kade is in preschool!!!

Just a Quick Display of Gratitude.

A couple days ago, we learned that Ben's AMAZING preschool was closing and that he'd only have two days left. I was a little panic stricken, for several reasons -what would Ben do without his friends and the teachers he knows and loves? I didn't want to break the news. And, how the heck was I supposed to find him a new school mid year?! (I could teach him here -but it's the social stuff he needs and thrives on, which makes me want to send him to a school.)

Well, we were blessed. Another mom had found a preschool that was starting a BRAND NEW class TODAY! And, she was sure they'd still have an opening for Ben. And there was!! This preschool is the same preschool where Ben had attended, for a month, for "Summer Camp"; he already knows the place. And, with his best friend going there, we're set! (I like that it's a whole new set of kids, not Ben coming in as "the new kid.)
On top of that, they have a 3yr old class. I asked if Kade -who will be three in a week or so-could start the class, the teacher talked to him for a minute, and said "yes'. So, all of a sudden, without really any plan or thought to this whole thing, Kade is now attending preschool! He will have four months that he otherwise wouldn't have had, and I love that!

A couple awesome side notes....The new class starts at 1:30 -which, I'd normally not like at all, BUT, I have a new baby and being somewhere mid-morning means being pressed or rushed and no chance to grab extra sleep if possible. Now, I can actually breathe a little deeper on preschool days. Phew! And, it is $45 a month cheaper!! Whoo!

Things happen for reasons we don't always understand, but we can be greatly blessed when we do have to leave the comfortable, old and familiar places or routines. I had been freaking out -only to have things turn out in a way I couldn't have planned any better.

Carter's Blessing

Carter James was blessed this past Sunday. It was a beautiful blessing, and we had fun with our family. Carter was/is little sick, and he cried a little during the blessing. Poor guy. He wore the same outfit Ben and Kade wore. (In the picture, the outfit is missing the cute little vest that goes over top. Then at church he spit up all over it, so it's not in any post blessing pictures either.) He looks so cute. We love this little guy.

Carter before church almost ready for his blessing.

The Harris side of the family! Looks like a lot, but half were missing.

The Johnson side of the family. Still a few missing.

Compare! What Do You Think?!

Here are my three boys all at around 1 month -what do you think? Crazy little clone babies huh!

Carter at 1 1/2 months

Kade at 1 month (yep! -same jammies -funny coincidence!)

Carter-again- at 1 1/2 months.

Ben at 1 month.

Pictures Of Carter!

I have been horrible about posting pictures lately -especially of my new little guy. Well, here's a few. He's a great baby -really happy and so sweet. We all just love him! (oh, and his face is a little broken out lately.)

My Ben.

Today, my first born turns five. How can this be? He was just born and just barely made me a mom. From that first moment, only seconds ago, my heart burst as I looked at this perfect baby boy. How could those seconds really be years? How could the time fly this quickly and change my toothless, chubby thigh-ed, baldy into this big boy who is so capable, independent, bright and amazing?

Ben is such a blessing, such an example, and has been one of my very best friends. He is just more than I could have imagined or wished for. He's been my teacher, my helper, my entertainment and my comforter. And, he only seems to grow more and more incredible everyday.

I could never thank the Lord enough for my Ben; he made me a mom and introduced me to the toughest, and most precious, joyful job and experience I have ever known. I am so grateful.

I am so not perfect, and have so many things I need to improve in myself. I am not always the mom Ben, or my other boys, deserve, but am working on it, and pray every night to be the mom worthy of such remarkable children.

I love you Ben! Thank you for everything! Happy Birthday!

Three Weeks In....

Carter is now three weeks old. Crazy! And, though Joe's been home most of these weeks, I've had a few days alone to get an idea of what life is like Me vs. Three. It has been a mix of good and totally do-able, to a little hectic and unnerving. But, all in all I think we'll all survive this change.

The night time feedings are still hard to get use too. But, Carter is pretty consistent on when he wakes up to eat, and he's pretty good to go right back to sleep -so far. There have been a few nights where he's stayed up visiting with me for a while though. ;) But, I don't mind that too much.

Carter is a pretty happy little guy; although, lately I've eaten a combination of acidic foods, dairy and veggies, so he's had some gassy, sad days. I've had to be reminded of just all the foods you shouldn't eat for a while -there are so many. Still, he's pretty calm.

Ben and Kade are still liking the new addition. They kiss him and get excited when he's awake, and they'll talk to him. It's nice.

Kade potty trained himself which was EXTREMELY unexpected, so the week Carter came home Kade was in undies, accident free, and using the potty like he's been trained for years. Joe can't stop saying, "That kid is amazing.", 'cause Kade just waltz's in and goes (he's even changed the tissue roll when it ran out.) Crazy -but really nice.
Ben has been the same reliable little man he always has been. He helps me with everything and has been pretty low maintenance since Carter came home. He's doing great in school and is having his first "friend" birthday party next week. Crazy -he'll be five.

This has been a long journal type post, but I want to remember a few highlights of our first weeks as a new family of five.

Just funny...

I asked Ben if he had a girlfriend (i can't remember now why, but anyway) he said, "Yeah, it's Abby (this older girl in primary who helped him during a primary event). I said, "Is she the one with brown hair and glasses?" He said, "Yeah. And, she has a bracelet on her teeth." Me: "You mean braces?" Ben: "Oh yeah, yeah, braces." Ha ha ha.

Today Ben asked for something that he couldn't have, and I told him no. He started to get upset, to which I told him, "Having a cow it's gonna help you get what you want, so please don't have a cow."

Kade said, "I'm gonna go tell dad Ben's acting like a cow." And he did. Joe was in the other room and hadn't heard the conversation, so when Kade said, "Ben's acting like a cow." Joe asked, "He is? What, did he Moo?" Kade said, "yeah." Oh, funny boys.

He Can Do Anything!

This kid is amazing! For a while now, Joe has been urging me to start potty training Kade. (Kade had used the potty several times and was ready-go to a few post previous.) However, potty training a child while pregnant -no matter how far along -is not my idea of a good time. I concluded that, unless Joe could take off two weeks to fully train Kade, we'd have to wait till the baby was born to start the "Potty Training Adventure".
Anyway, almost immediately after we brought Carter home, Kade decided he wasn't wearing diapers and was going to be a full time potty user. Joe bought him some awesome Superhero Squad undies and Kade's never looked back. This kid fully potty trained himself!! I'm not exaggerating! He has had no accidents so far and doesn't even ask for Joe or I to help. It's crazy -but SOOO nice.
I thought that I'd be mopping up messes and cleaning out undies. I cannot express how thrilled I am that some how we skipped past all that. It's like Kade's been trained for a year -seriously. Kade has always been a boy who can figure things out for himself. He's Mr. Independant, for sure, and he never ceases to amaze me. Thank you Kade for training yourself! You have no idea how grateful I am to you! I love you!

....And More Pics.

So cute. His eye isn't normally squinty, but i love the shape of his mouth.

Kade loved the idea of taking pictures. I think he's feeling so big these days.

Kade kept moving around -so most of his pics are blurry.

My mellow baby. He will just sit and visit with ya; he's a great listener. ;) (This picture actually reminda me of my baby picture -our eyes are the same and are heads are round melons. Still, he's a good mix of me and joe.)

A Couple More Pics...

Having a hard time...

Ben wants to be "with his new friend Carter" all the time -he's very good with his new brother.

So sweet -To me, he's a good middle ground between Ben and Kade. I'll work on getting a picture with his eyes open.

He's just precious. He's a great sleeper -so far- and a great eater!(p.s. this is the hat the hospital gave him -it's so cute, and beats out their regular standard hats. I'm thinking someone knitted a whole bunch of hats as a service project and gave them to the hospital -cause this is a totally homemade adorable hat.)

Just Pics! (The story is below.)

Beautiful! Little bruised from delivery, but perfect!

They are crazy! And...now we have three!

I love being surrounded by four great guys!

Ben said, over and over, "This is my new friend Carter. I love him." And, he really, really does.

Wow -kind of a goofy eye picture -but good enough to show me, lovin' my new little guy. (It also looks like a cut my hair -i didn't.) Yay! I was finally finished!

He's Here!!!!

Carter James Harris is here! He is beautiful and amazing. How did the world ever exist without him?

Here are a few highlights -pictures will come soon.

--We checked into the hospital at 7:30am and things progressed slowly until they broke my water at 3pm. I got an epidural -(Thank you sooo much to whom ever invented the epidural, it's heaven sent.) and, things moved quickly. The whole labor and delivery was a little over ten hours. (Ben and Kade were both 12 hrs.)
--Once I was ready to push, I only pushed for 15 min., which is way faster than with either of the other boys (I pushed for an hour with both Ben and Kade.) He came out facing up and peed on the doctor. (Which is just what Kade had done.)
--They put him instantly up to my chest, and I held him while Joe cut the cord and the nurses cleaned him off. He was perfect in every way. He was 8lbs 2oz and 20 1/2 inches long. His head was a beautiful, perfect shape.
--He never had to leave the room- all of the equipment was in my room, which was wonderful too. His APCARR (?) score was 8 then 9 -which is perfect!
The nurses and doctor were wonderful, and I am thankful to have had great people taking care of me and little Carter. I am expecting to heal much quicker this time; delivery was easier on my body this time around. Whoo.
-- Aunt Nattie was able to hear Carter be born from the hallway. And held him before heading out of town.
--Grandma Lana, who babysat the boys all day, brought Ben and Kade in to meet Carter. They LOVED him. Thanks Mom!!!!
I have to find the camera and upload pics -then you'll all get to see him! We are so glad he's here!

Simon Says....

Tonight for Family Home Evening we played Simon Says -a game both boys have come to love, but don't fully understand. It's funny what they have us all do. Well, nothing was funnier than tonight when Kade said, "Simon Says....Everybody Fart!" Hmmmm. Quickly after, Kade started making fart noises, so that's what we all did. He's two, it was his turn, do we did what Simon said. :)

Cute Things Said and Amazing Accomplishments.

Kade: "Hey Dada, thanks for paying for the house." (He's said this at least once a day the last four days.) This comes from him asking me, "Why does Dada go to work?" I answered, "He works so he can pay for the house, and pay for food etc, etc." Kade thought to thank Joe, all on his own. Love him!

Ben: "You're a cute little mama." This compliment came early one morning when I was not at all looking cute. Thanks Ben.

A couple days ago, Ben was sounding out a book, and when Joe walked by he heard him and sat down with him to help guide this attempt at reading. Now, over the past three days, Ben has been trying to "read"....he sounds out words, but also guesses, and sometimes he's looses patience, but we're starting the real reading process. Cool!!

Two days ago, Kade comes up to me -half naked- and announces that he "peed and pooped in the potty". I went to the potty -it was empty; I checked his bum (he had pooped) and when seeing a diaper on the floor, I feared it was dirty. But, there was nothing in the diaper....which meant he had in fact pooped in the potty, and since he's peed a million times in the potty I had no doubt he had done that as well. He's practically trained himself!

I have been waiting to potty train till after this baby comes (which is 8 days away -at most) when I won't mind, half as much, bending down to clean up accidents. So, potty training for real will start soon. (There's still obvious practice and teaching we need to do yet.)