Don't know where to start...

I am so behind with these past few months I need to look through our calendar just to see what I should start with. The biggest news is that baby Morris #3 will be a BOY. We are not surprised and the boys are really excited. They talk about their baby brother all the time. They keep asking when he is coming and every time I go to the doctor they think I'm bringing him home. We have another ultrasound next Monday June 8th and we're going to take the boys along this time. We're almost decided on a name although the boys have plenty of ideas of what we should call him. I can't wait to see all of them together. 3 more months. Our doctor is planning to schedule the c-section in another couple appointments so it will be exciting to put that date on the calendar.

We celebrated my mom's birthday in April. We took her to Cheesecake Factory and the boys had their first piece of cheesecake and ate it all. They loved it.

Peyton

Connor


It was our first year to be home for Easter. Tad made the boys bunny pancakes.

(Peyton in solid Navy Vest) Impossible to get a good picture of the two of them together.


They also dyed eggs with Memaw, Papaw, Uncle Brian and Grandma.
(Peyton & Memaw)

(Tad & Peyton)

Uncle Brian & Peyton

Connor had enough w/ the pictures


We made a day trip to my grandmother's house for her birthday and went there for Mother's Day too. The boys enjoyed playing soccer w/ Great Uncle Max and helping Uncle Brian put Memaw's flowers in the ground.


The boys love to sing Happy Birthday and eat cake. Our basement is finally finished. We are so excited to have another place for all the toys. The boys do really well playing downstairs w/o us so that is a nice treat. It didn't take long to fill up the space and we don't even have our couch and chair down there yet.




Mostly we've been outside this past month. We've done lots of yard work but we're making progress. Tad has put out almost 70 bags of mulch and we're still not done. He ripped out the ground cover which I have wanted to get rid of for the past 2 years and it looks really good now. I was always afraid snakes or poison ivy would find a home in there. We had a garage sale and got rid of a lot of stuff. The boys obviously are hearing everything we say b/c Connor came outside during the sale and asked if these people were buying our "junk". I about died. Everyone there burst out laughing. I didn't know what to say. This week is the PGA Memorial Golf tournament. We live about 3 minutes from the course and usually try to go at least one day. We're hoping the weather continues to be great and Tad gets his usual tickets from his office.

Up next on our to-do list....get both boys completely potty trained. We are so close. Connor is working on it and Peyton has done a really good job. It feels great not to buy so many diapers. We also have 3 rooms we need to get re-painted. I have had fabric for window treatments for a couple months but haven't sat down long enough to start sewing. We're looking forward to finishing projects inside and out and then enjoying the summer. Outside & project pictures coming next time. Hopefully sooner than later.

Catching up

The past few months are a blur. Our biggest news this winter is that we're expecting our 3rd child at the end of the summer. For the past 2 months I mostly have watched the boys play as I lay around trying to feel better. This time around the morning sickness has been more like month long sickness that lasts all day. After trying my second medication, today is the best I've felt in a long time. It has actually worked out nice that it is too cold to get outside and run around. The boys are content to play indoors, have a few playdates, and visit the library. I am thankful they have each other to play and stay entertained.

We were able to get away in early February and visit Tad's family in Kansas City. It was a great time, even though I wasn't feeling like myself. It is always good to see everyone and the boys loved playing with their cousins, aunts & uncles, meme and papa. We took the boys bowling for the first time with Conrad and Caden and they loved it.



We went to T-Rex with Jacob and Austin and made 2 dinosaurs Dale and Sun (Thank you Uncle Clark and Aunt Stephanie) and dug for dinosaur bones. They sleep with their new dinosaurs every night now






We ate out at some fun places, especially Fritz's.



We got introduced to Rock Band and had a fun time playing that with Clark and Stephanie. I would actually love to get that for our house. The boys even joined in with their instruments.



Last week we got over to Leslie's house and saw her family plus Julie and the girls from Nashville. It was so much fun to get all the kids together. I love watching the girls and their dress up fun. The boys were the "dragons" that chased the princesses around the house. I wish I had felt better to stay longer and also to take pictures but we are still glad we were able to see everyone.

Now we have to get busy on things around the house. I have totally let everything go these past few months. We need to start working on the kids rooms. I will change the boys room into something older for them and pull the nursery bedding next door for the baby. It is gender neutral but we're sure it will be another boy so I'm not going to invest in anything new. Once the weather breaks there will be lots to do in the yard so we're trying to get focused and start indoors while it is still cold. I have plans to get the nasty wallpaper down in our bathroom and paint it. Plus we also need to give our guest room and bath a makeover - much needed since we bought this place. We had a guy come and bid on finishing off our basement. We think the extra room for the boys toys and chaos is probably a good thing when the baby comes.

That's a quick catch up on things here.

December Activities

The month of December always seems like a whirlwind of parties and celebrations. This year it seemed even more quick than usual. Tad was tied down with a trial the first 2 weeks of the month. The way the birthdays line up in our family we have a celebration every week. We started off the month with my Brother's birthday, exactly a week later the boys, and then a week after that Tad's birthday followed by Christmas. To sum it up, dessert, cake, and more dessert. The boys began to think every weekend it was time for another birthday.

We have enjoyed our weekly play dates with our good friends Jill & Mackenzie. The boys love both of them. We decided we would brave a cookie baking experience together with the kids.

There was a mild obsession with sprinkles from 2 out of 3 of them. It was funny to watch. Connor decided he would just eat his instead.

It is impossible for us to get a great picture of all of them. Seriously we tried everything but no luck. We achieved our goal- kill the morning with something fun and take some pictures. We had low expectations so we weren't disappointed.

We went to my mom's Christmas Eve for dinner.


The boys love playing hide and seek. It is so funny to play it with them. Usually it goes something like this- they ask you to cover them up under something, then go count, then come back and find them....or they will take turns counting, seeing the other one hide under a blanket and then act all excited when they "find them". What is more hilarious they will play this over and over for up to at least 30 min. and several times a day. We have to tell them to stop and go play something else.

Playing Hide and Seek w/ Papaw (their great-grandpa). They all got so tickled at this. It was great!

3rd Birthday

Last Friday night we celebrated the boys 3rd birthday. They said they wanted a Thomas Party. I made their cake again this year. Tad helped me when he got home late Thursday night. The Wilton Thomas pan was retired and I didn't plan ahead enough to find one so we created this. I wasn't crazy about the way it turned out but they loved it.

My parents and brother came over for dinner. With the holidays and Tad's work schedule we didn't plan anything big except pizza, cake, and presents. The boys woke up from their nap to find some Thomas decorations around the house. They couldn't wait for the "party". Peyton (L) Connor (R)

They kept asking when their friends were coming but we had family only so they were a little confused. I guess next year it will be time for a party with friends.

Anyway they loved ALL their presents. Uncle Brian gave them each a pack of the Disney Cars. They opened these first and we couldn't get them to put them down and open their next present. We had to take them away just to keep them unwrapping.



My mom bought them these adorable Christmas outfits- we hope to use for our card picture. They were excited b/c it has a train on the sweater. (My mom & Peyton)

Meme and Papa (Tad's parents) bought them the Deluxe Thomas Roundhouse for their train table. They were SO excited. I wish they could have seen them open it in person. I'm working on uploading a video of it b/c they were besides themselves. My dad gave them some new trains and once they opened the roundhouse they didn't put that or the new trains down.



While they were so busy playing with the new roundhouse and trains, Tad & I brought out our gift- a Thomas Train Table. We carried this from the guest room, through the foyer, and into the living room and they never saw what we were doing. We even set up some track, covered the table w/ wrapping paper and had to call them in to see they had another gift. They were really excited. We got it on tape. As soon as they opened it, they stopped and said "get the trains" and took off running after their new trains in the other room. They came running right back and started playing w/ everything.

We told them it was time for cake (Peyton had wanted it since 8 am that day). They both came into the kitchen, we sang to them, but as soon as they blew out the candles they both said " I'm done" and hopped down. We asked them where they were going and they said "to play with the roundhouse and train table". So we laughed, let them play, cut the cake and then I came in and asked them again if they wanted to come for ice cream and cake and they said "no- we're playing with the roundhouse". So there you have it. The rest of us had their birthday cake and finally 2 hours later once my family left and they played for a while, they had a piece of cake as their bedtime snack...even Connor tried it this time. It was crazy how much they just wanted to play w/ that.




It was a really fun time. The boys are busy every day with their new things. Its hard to believe Santa will be bringing more things in just another week.

3 Year Olds

Connor & Peyton turned 3 last Friday. Any parent would agree that these years pass so quickly. I can't believe it! They arrived safely to us at 38 1/2 weeks. I was so ready to have them here - I was miserable. Tad & I had no clue as first time parents. We often think back to our first night at home. It was snowy and I was released from the hospital at 11:00 PM- we got home at midnight. What hospital does that to someone? But they did. We had the babies in a bassinet next to our bed and it was the worst night. The babies cried all night. Everytime they woke up they were SOAKED. It was probably user error on the diapers but we swore there was something wrong w/ the diapers. We were completely exhausted by 5:00 am. The drawer full of clean blankets, sheets, and sleepers was already empty. We were like zombies...trying to stay awake to hold them so they'd stop crying. I remember looking at Tad and checking the clock and saying "ok it is finally 5:00 am. My mom is always awake by 5:30 so 30 more minutes and I can call her to come over." Promptly when that time came I called her crying to come help. Of course she did. She sent Tad and I both to bed and took the boys downstairs. By lunch time everything was so much better. There is something about the middle of the night that makes the perspective so much worse. A couple weeks later we actually had my mom move in with us for the next couple months. The boys had collic and even w/ a 3rd set of hands it was rough times. Every month got easier. Now 3 yrs. later those times seem like so long ago. Thank goodness. We are still blessed w/ my mom's help as we need it. The boys love their grandma.

The boys seem older all the time. They keep us laughing and smiling with the things they say. It is fun to watch them learn and see their relationship with each other grow. Most days they are best friends. They love to wake each other up in the morning, usually play the same thing together (most often Thomas Trains) all days. I rarely find them in separate rooms in the house.

I love to listen to their conversations. They play make believe and take turns being different characters or trains. They also push each others buttons and fight over trains, who sits where, etc. but I suppose that is something expected to work through. I get asked a lot if they have the same personalities. They do and they don't. The love so many of the same things but there are things that make them each unique from one another.

The both love: Thomas Trains, Disney's CARS, being outdoors, dirt, trucks, any kind of fruit, most vegetables, love to run everywhere, play hide and seek, want to do things w/o help. They are first shy in a group of people they don't know but eventually wind up being one of the loudest. They are overall very happy and healthy boys and usually good listeners (for being 3) that keep us laughing by the hour.

Peyton- loves cake & memaw's cookies, carmel corn, brocolli, spaghetti w/ no sauce, is crushed if he gets in trouble, reminds Connor of "rules", appoints himself and loves being the "teacher" when we play games, uses new words first.

Connor- hates sweets- unless it is memaw's cookies, wants ketchup and sauce w/ any meal, hates brocolli, laughs easy, pushes the limits on getting in trouble and sometimes thinks we're joking (seriously), is more likely to try something new before Peyton, BUT scared easier by movies.

We love these boys. They are so sweet and bring much happiness and love to our house. Happy Birthday Peyton & Connor.

Connor's first trip to the dentist

It is that time of year when our calendar seems to be filling up with well checks. The boys are turning 3 and so we've scheduled our eye and teeth appointments along w/ the pediatrician's well check. Peyton did great at the eye doc. last month. Today was Connor turn to try an appointment alone. Connor is more shy around strangers between the 2 of them but he did great.

Miss Sandy was the hygenist. She is GREAT with kids. She had fun names for the instruments, made the chair into a "ride" and even had a movie to show about plaque germs. She gave him sunglasses to wear w/ the bright light turned on. Connor thought he was so "cool". He wanted to wear the sunglasses the whole time. We couldn't get him to take those off until we were leaving. He did a great job letting her do the cleaning, checking, etc...and continued to do great when the dentist came in too. We had a different dentist than we planned on, probably scheduling miscommunication, but we still loved the appointment. Here are a few shots I took to share w/ Tad.

I have really enjoyed the times I can take just one boy and go somewhere- even if it is to a doctor's appt. It is so DIFFERENT and easier when they are separated. They really act like different boys when they aren't together to get each other wound up. Although we are usually ready to get home and see the other one.

Showing Miss Sandy his teeth

Letting Miss Sandy clean his teeth

Connor trying "Mr. Thirsty" - the straw that sucks away the water

Peeking out of the sunglasses

Finished w/ the movie, waiting on the dentist

No Cavities- Ready to go home!