the extras...

Well everyone knows how hard the Christmas card photo shoot is so here are is a preview of what we are not using. Adorable boys but all 3 boys all looking cute at the same time....really? They were all pretty sweet through the ordeal though. Unfortunately my patience dwindled and as you will soon see i had to opt for individual shots. I am rolling with "it's the thought that counts, not the picture".

If only John-John was with them it is almost card worthy. How sweet are they???

John Hayden eventually tried to eat the entire strand of lights. His sweet brother Anders thought he would help him accomplish this....

You would think this one is "Yeah we're done!" but in fact it was the bag of marshmallows on my head about to be doled out to the participants. JHS must be the third kid because I know I never gave Will any marshmallows at 11 months!

clowning around

Sometimes I look at these boys and wonder where in the world the energy is made! They can go non-stop for hours and laugh over nothing. It is simply wonderful to see their friendships develop and love grow. We are blessed to have three such sweet, joyful and amazing little boys.

In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust His holy name. Psalm 33:21

Fall Fun!

It is hard to believe that sweet little Anders is big enough to understand "big boy school" but boy, did he! He was so excited about his first day of MDO with new friends. Here he is ready to go....

Will created a pumpkin for the Storybook Contest that got named "best super pumpkin." He did a great job!

Little John-John is really getting big and has a mind of his own these days. What he wants, he goes to get. No need to wait around for someone else, who quite likely will take her own sweet time! He is such a sweet boy that it is hard to find fault in his logic. God sure knew what we needed with this one!

These 2 hoodlums get into trouble every chance they can find. What in the world will we do when JHS can walk on his own???? They will certainly be buddies. I caught them in the basket and Anders was trying to lift it up and carry John Hayden around the room. We compromised with pushing the basket. When everyone is sick and inside ALL DAY LONG, let's do what we can!

Boy time

Last weekend was a fun for all, even after halloween was over. Will had a soccer game on Saturday and the babies loved it! Lots of room to run, chase, and wrestle makes for a perfect afternoon for boys. Will is quite the soccer player and more importantly LOVES it! His team is the pirates and this is the second year they have played together. Andrew stormed the field a couple of times to try to get the other team off their game. He decided to practice in the back field just in case they needed an extra player. Sweet little John-John is always a hit with the other mamas. His smile charms them into holding him every week....score!

There is always time to pull out the dress up for a riveting game of "Star Wars" in the backyard. (More running, chasing & wrestling...we just add anything that could be considered a light sabre.) The fall weather is great and makes it easier to enjoy time outside with the boys, which is where they always are anyway!

happy hunting....

We had a great Halloween! We were sure Anders was going to punt on the pumpkin costume like he did the night before. Daddy wins the prize for "best bribe" that started off a full night of sugar overload. It worked and mommy got her "pumpkin patch" pictures....well, let's not get picky.




This little pumpkin was a trooper....he trick-or-treated in the stroller with all the big kids. Once we dumped the hat, the night improved. Luckily for John Hayden, sweet Rachel was home and candy-hunted with us to provide at least a little attention to him.



The neighborhood halloween party included a hayride, which the 2 big boys loved! W is now big enough to go unchaperoned but we thought A-train might need a little more monitoring. We didn't want to find the "smashing pumpkins" come to life on halloween night....



Still enjoying the rewards of his hardwork....almost 9pm and still going strong. This was the end of the road for our most dedicated trick-or-treater of the night. It is nice to see the magic of childhood come alive again....he was really enamored with the whole thing. It was worth the sticky fingers and candy stained outfits to see the pure joy after each house. What a big boy we have!

happy birthday anders!

A little late but no problem....Here is the birthday boy in all his glory! His pumpkin party was a huge hit! He LOVED the pumpkin decorating, the cake, the presents, not the singing so much though. OF course, Joh Hayden was more than happy to get in a little practice with the gift exploration. William was most thrilled with the icing test. Brothers are always so helpful in the the celebration! His real birthday was uneventful but fun for him anyway. (Except the gash on the head from which he has recovered nicely.) Finally, his sweet friends came to celebrate with him again this week. Presents, cupcakes, the whole nine yards...He is one lucky, little boy. I think he is like his mama...birthdays are the best!

Daddy brought donuts!

Last weekend Greg & the boys went to get a breakfast treat. When they came home, they had halloween donuts and even a donut hole for John Hayden (third kid, start things a little earlier). This was how it ended for the littles.

Ready, Set, Fall!

So, for as long as I can remember, when I heard someone say something about their "blog" I rolled my eyes at the silly idea. I have finally succumbed to the pressure and feel like enough people are asking about these sweet little boys and I am doing a terrible job providing anything . about their lives. I suppose this is a good way to prove later that I did not forget about the middle child either. Today is sweet Andrew's 2nd birthday and a perfect time to start documenting more of the fun they've all been having! He's at such a cute age, it's hard not to want to snap pics of his little face. Here are a few from our pumpkin patches. Party pics and updates to come. Better late than never! Happy Birthday Anders....