beach

on sunday, our gospel community group went to the beach, so steve and i packed up all three boys, a picnic dinner and a few sand toys and joined them. it was absolutely gorgeous out (with the wind blowing off the water, you almost didn't notice the heat) and we had a great time. titus did pretty well: sleeping a little, flirting a little and crying a little. gabe played in the water forever and wouldn't even let steve hold his hand. and ezra... well he spent most of the night walking up and down a friend's surfboard. so glad summer is finally here!

three-year-old gabe

finally, we made it to the pediatrician and got the stats on three-year-old gabe. so, a couple months late, but here is the here it is!

gabe at three years...

:: weighs in at 35 pounds (75-90th percentile) and is 38.75 inches tall (75-90th percentile).

:: has quiet time every day, but only naps a couple of times a week. gabe has never needed as much sleep as some kids do, so i was not surprised when he started to drop his nap. when i was pregnant, i would make him nap with me, but nowadays, he is back to playing through a decent number of naptimes a week.

:: loves orange. in fact, at the moment he is obsessively bothered by the tan walls in his room and often suggests that perhaps we should paint his room orange.

:: can spot and name almost all of the letters in the alphabet and most of the numbers as well. for the most part, he is self taught.

:: has an entire army of imaginary friends. in fact, he spends not a moment of the day alone! many of his imaginary friends are kids from church, but a very large number of them are completely made up and have completely unpronounceable names.

:: loves to play with ezra. finally sweet ezra has demonstrated his worth as a playmate to gabe, and they are now nearly inseparable. they play together all day in gabe's room and are such great buddies now! in fact, this morning, gabe declared to me that he and ezra were sharing cheerios because "we are best friends, and best buddies."

:: is a big kid. just ask him. and if, for some reason, you forget that he is big, he will surely remind you. and then he will stand up straight and say "see?"

:: is an amazing big brother to titus. he comforts him when he cries ("it's okay, titus, your big brother's here") and loves to hold him. it is so sweet to see him show such care to titus.

:: amazes us everyday with his language and insight. there is no doubt in our minds that he is a bright kid and he definitely loves to learn. he is constantly asking questions about the things around him. the current question of choice is probing the fruit-ness of everything. "mom, is a rock a fruit?" "mom, is steak a fruit?"

the view from here...

has changed dramatically since last month.

life is a little more chaotic, a little more loud and just a little more perfect. today, i made (and ate) lunch with one hand while a very sleepy, slightly cranky titus slept in my arm. there is much to juggle, but i know that there will be a time, really not too far from now, when i wish there was a little more craziness in my life... when i will wish to make lunch with one hand and cuddle with the other.

trying to remember to soak it all in while he is so tiny. trying to remember to be thankful for the quiet, sleepy moments with just him, even the ones that interrupt my sleep.

they will pass so quickly, and i want to remember them fully.

piano man

i love the joy on ezra's face when he plays the piano.

the brothers

today was my second day alone with all three boys (gabe and ezra went to stay with steve's parents for a few days right after we got back from the hospital). there is certainly more juggling and thinking ahead required to balance a one-week-old, a sixteen month old and a three-year-old than i figured there would be. but, i am happy to report that we are adjusting and learning and settling in. slowly, life with three is beginning to feel more normal.

as for the two older brothers, they are thrilled with titus's presence. gabe dotes on him and soothes him whenever there are tears. he has this incredibly sweet voice that is reserved only for titus. he has also finally grasped the fact that titus will not be able to play with him until he gets bigger. i think that was a little disappointing for him at first, but he seems content now with simply cooing at him.

ezra's first reaction was to immediately poke and prod titus. he is endlessly curious about the very sleepy, often very loud creature that has taken over our house. i have to watch him very closely so that titus doesn't end up with a finger in the eye or a smack on the face. ezra is also very proud of his ability to identify titus. dozens of times a day, he gets my attention simply to point and say "dadas", which we quickly realized is his way of saying titus's name. when titus cries. ezra helpfully brings me a pacifier (but not before, unhelpfully, putting it in his own mouth). in fact, he brings me various titus-related things throughout the day.

it is so nice to have all three boys together and although there are certainly times when the chaos of it all gets the best of me, it is so thrilling to see them already learning to love and care for one another.

sleepy

we are a little sleepy around here. but there is more to come shortly, we promise.