We're home...but we're leaving again.

So, I've been wanting to post some pictures from vacation ever since we got home two weeks ago, but it hasn't happened. And then, I wanted to post pictures of Baby C's baptism, but that hasn't happened. And now I have some more pictures from our FIRST SNOW, but that hasn't happened either. Someone told me before I had #3 that I was just going to have to lower my expectations. You can lower your expectations for this silly blog, if you want. :) It just isn't happening like I want it to. But, I'm really ok with that. I'm not aspiring to be a "super woman blogger" like some of the blogs I read. (wink, wink. you know who I'm referring to, don't you?)

SO, here are the 17 of us at the BAKER LAKER. We had a blast--it was just good to be together.

And, here are the 14 of us at the beach with the Counts side. I had a great birthday --playing in the sand with my kids, eating at my favorite restaurant and opening presents from Talbots. FUN.

Hopefully I'll post more later. For now, we're back to the east coast to see this friend. :) CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

We're Here!

We arrived "home" yesterday afternoon. I put that in quotes, because it is really very complicated to explain that to G money. We kept telling him, "We're going home to South Carolina." and he would look at us strangely. The only home he knows is the Rocky Mtns.

The plane rides went very well, considering. We woke the kids up at 4:30 on Monday morning, so they were pretty wiped out. I'm so thankful for the dvd player a friend lent us (SHELIA--you rock.) The boys passed it back and forth during the first (and longest) flight. For those of you who were praying, D-Struction got a seat!!! We strapped him into his car seat and he sat beside his Daddy. He was really a pretty happy boy for the most part. Baby Girl got very fussy on our way from Atlanta to Gville, but she fell asleep on my lap after about 5 minutes of screaming. I haven't seen her that mad in a while.

I realized that I'm a new woman now that I am a mother of 3. I have skills I didn't know I possessed. I can somehow maneuver a 3 1/2 year old, 22 month old, 4 month old and 3 carry on bags onto the plane with very little trouble while the Hero Husband installs the monster car seat we own. I can also change two diapers in the time it took the woman beside me to put on her makeup in the Atlanta airport bathroom. I'll let you know what else I discover about myself on this trip. :)

It's so good to be here with family! They are spoiling us and its only been a day. Things have changed since we were here last. There are lots of new buildings, and the trees are bigger than they were even 18 months ago. Everything looks so green, even after a summer of "no rain." We went running this morning, and Bryan had fun remembering things about the neighborhood he grew up in. (Running in humidity is really no fun, though. I'm pretty spoiled at 6000 ft.)

I'm sure I'll have pictures soon. Right now every little person is asleep, so thought I'd catch a minute and update those of you in CO who read these silly ramblings of mine. :) (Or those of you in AL, MO, FL, Germany...wherever you are.)

Labor Day Balloon Festival

I love Pike's Peak at sunrise--especially with big inflatable bouncy toys at the foot. Lovely, huh? I should've cropped. Oh well. :)

We all got up at the crack of dawn on Labor Day to head to the balloon festival. It is one of my favorite things to do in Colorado Springs. You get to stand in Memorial Park with hundreds of other people and you are surrounded by the balloons as they inflate. It's amazing. The boys were in awe---totally worth the 5:30 am wake up.

6 AM Smiles

Everyone in the family was pretty happy at 6 am...it was so worth it to see the balloons!

Camping with Daddy

Last night Bryan took G Money camping for the first time. He was SO excited!

First, they ate dinner. Yum.

Then they sat around the fire and ate Oreos.
And finally, they climbed in the tent and told stories and sang songs.

G Money had so much fun with his Daddy in the woods.
Maybe next time he'll make it the whole night! :)

Playtime

Lil Miss Sumo is getting stronger! I feel like she has changed so much in the last week--she's holding her head up better and interacting more. This shot is for you, Jaywalkers. :) No neck fat in the way of her pretty face. :) Thanks for the tip. Hard to believe she is THREE MONTHS today!! Wow!

JG came to play this morning. He is ready to walk so he can keep up with the big boys.

I think D-struction has grown a few inches this week. He just seems taller and leaner to me.

Look who's been practicing the bicycle! He's so proud of himself...

This week

DOn't you just love her "bracelets?" We went to the doctor yesterday for shots and she is 15.11. (12 weeks) Maybe I'll call her Sumo.

I'm always impressed with people who can get their children to sit still for pictures. I can usually get 2/3. (She probably doesn't count, yet, right?) Anyway, you can guess who doesn't want to be still. You can tell by the look on his face.

Mrs. Birdie (a dear, dear friend from church) had this quilt made for our girl by her daughter. I LOVE IT. The pinks and greens are perfect!!

Mom, this pig is scary.

This picture makes me laugh out loud! I don't really know what to say about it because whenever I look at that sweet face to get some inspiration, I just laugh.

We took Miss Fatty to the doctor for her 2 month check up last Thursday. She is 10 weeks old and weighed in at 14.10. (!) I love this girl. She started "talking" to me this week. It's so fun.

Bedrooms

Just thought I'd post the bedrooms for your enjoyment. :) You can see the crib in the corner of this picture; D-struction is still sleeping there. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep him contained. He really likes to lay on the bottom bunk and say "sleep." That only lasts about 30 seconds before he's up again, though.

G-Money knows he is big stuff now that he gets to climb a ladder to get into his bed each night. He has done great on the top bunk. I can't believe what a big boy he is. (Yes, he is 3 1/2 now.)


Once D-struction is out of the crib it will move into this room. The cradle has been great for now! I'm not sure how much longer she'll be able to be in it, but we'll push it for as long as possible. I guess there's always the pack-n-play if we need it.

check this out

my sister is getting good at taking pictures and the whole photoshop thing...

That cute baby Spencer is my nephew who was here visiting this past weekend. I'll post some more pictures of out time with them when I get them on the computer...

Quotes you don't want to hear...

"Ma'am, your children are leaving," said the Safeway clerk as she handed me my change.

Sure enough, G money was pushing the other two children across the store in the cart. He didn't get too far, don't worry.


"There's not enough arsenic in the ant trap to affect him." Poison control lady.

D-struction has this new thing where he likes to pick up things with his teeth and drop them in random places. He found the ant trap, put it between his teeth, brought it to where I was washing dishes and then dropped it in the dishwasher.

and finally...

"Well, you know, kitchen clogs do smell worse than sewage back ups." Roto Rooter guy.

He's right.

Bryan: "I'm going to go shovel the poop now."
Erika: "Honey, it's not poop, it's just rotten food."
Bryan: "What's the difference? It's the same thing--it just hasn't been digested yet."

He's right, too. And, he is my HERO.
It's been quite a week, friends. Actually, I think it's only been since Wednesday.

This week...

We celebrated 9 years...

Heavy D--almost 20 months. I love this crazy kid. Bryan thinks he needs a new blogger name, so I think we've decided on
"D-struction." much more appropriate, anyway.

A moment of stillness--it really only lasted a moment and was completely staged by mommy. I wanted to take more, but there was little cooperation.

She just gets cuter and sweeter every day. She's moved up to size 3 diapers already, slept for 7 HOURS STRAIGHT the last two nights,(!!)and got her first cold. Wonder where she picked that up from? No blogger name for this girl yet...we're taking nominations.

What we've been waiting for.

Last night our church voted to elect this man to be our next Senior Pastor!!
We are THRILLED--God is so good and faithful.

I have to laugh at the timing of it all. Apparently, he was our search committee's first choice two years ago and he told them "no" over and over. The timing just wasn't right for him, his family, or his church in Orlando. I'm so glad God is leading him our way now. Mark shared with us the elders' perspective on his leaving UPC. They told him, "We are sending you to Colorado. We are in this with you." Isn't that beautiful? The church is HUGE and God just moves His people around.

Bryan is so excited to get to work under Mark. They share many of the same passions and it will just be good to be under someone older and wiser. We are looking forward to this next season of our lives!

"For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies."

Today...

I just couldn't resist taking a few shots of this girl after her bath this afternoon. Cleaning under her fat cheeks/chin was quite a chore. Don't you love how you can't even see the collar of her onesie? Porker!! I need to sneak her into the doctor's office again for a quick weight check.

full body shot.

She's got such a cute grin.

G Money at the same age...what do you think?

Happy Girl

Caroline has started smiling this week. I caught one today...it's not a great shot, but you get the idea. She's got great dimples--the ones on her cheeks are my favorite. :)
(Yes, she does look like G-Money did at this age...)

The Boys

We went to play at a friend's house on Saturday morning, and this was our waterslide set-up. Pretty redneck, but such a fun time for the kids!

Can't get enough of this one...he is such a ham. Don't you love the fashion statement? We have no problem mixing stripes and plaids in our home as long as it means the boy will keep his hat on. For some reason, he really likes this particular hat. :)

Lil Miss Fatty

I took Caroline to the doctor and asked if I could just stick her on the scale with her clothes on--I just wanted to get in and out, you know? We have a pretty small practice and I just adore my pediatrician. Well, little Miss Priss weighed 10.7 with her clothes on last Monday. That means she gained about 3 1/2 pounds in about 3 weeks. The proof is in the fat rolls:


Hard to believe G money was a few ounces smaller than this when he was born...


And Heavy D?

I just love fat babies.