Jeb at 10 months

Jeb turned 10 months a few days ago. I can't believe it. He is such a happy boy, constantly giggling, especially if his bros or daddy are around. He is becoming a little shy when strangers speak to him and always has a cuddle for mommy. He is pretty content to just sit and watch or play. I did notice a bit of movement the other day, which makes me think that he will follow in Aiden's footsteps and do the "bum-shuffle" instead of crawling. I'm a little dissapointed, but it makes life a whole lot easier if he doesn't mover quite so much at this point. He still is toothless with two big bumps on his lower gum. Doesn't matter though, he still enjoys his food and has no problem gumming it in order to eat. Teething may be the reason for his waking up at 6:00am every morning, or he could be just like Jacob and enjoy the wee morning hours. Tom and I sure don't. Oh well, we sure wouldn't trade him. Just take a look at this giggly boy...see if you can catch him saying "bye-bye" in his own little way!

In Case You Were Wondering

Day Two of the Summer Holiday Break. Much better. Still up with Jeb at 5:00. Not all that hungry. Just wanted to have a chat and play. Boys slept in til 8:00. Thank you for that gift! Off to Odds Farm for some fun feeding goats, etc. Jacob to a friends in the afternoon. Jeb asleep. Aiden watching Thomas. Still tired, but at least I got lunch today!

Day One of Summer Holiday Break

5:15 am: Boy #3 awake, give him Tylenol, assuming it's teeth
5:30 am: Boy #3 not happy, decide to feed him and put him in bed with me
6:30 am: I am still awake as Boy #3 continues to hit my face
6:35 am: Hear legos in Boy #1 and #2 room
6:50 am: Boy #3 in crib and sleeping, I slip into bed
6:59 am: Boy #1 in my room. Bug in his bedroom. He crawls into bed with me followed by B#2.
7:30 am: Decided to get up and make french toast
8:30 am: Step into shower
8:33 am: B2 swings bathroom door open with stool and diego seat. He needs the potty. A not so sweet aroma enters the room.
8:37: B1 comes in and argues with B2 b/c he needs the toilet. Wonder what is wrong with the other two toilets in the house.
8:40: Out of shower. Hear B3 screaming for breakfast.
8:50: Trying to get all boys dressed. Referring a fight between B1 and B2. Explain that this is not a race, yet B1 continues to taunt B2 b/c he "won". Time out needed.
9:30: Head out to get babysitter. Can't find B2's shoes (he has 6 pairs!)
10:00: In hairdresser's chair with a hot coffee. Ahh, two hours of peace.
12:00: Back home. All are hungry again. Throw PBJ at B1 and B2. Feed B3. Get bread out for myself and B1 comes in. Bees. Take care of it and come back in. Get knife and Peanut Butter. B1 in again. Apples on the ground. No use in trying to eat lunch. Will try later.

This is only half the day. Will they all go like this? Must set a new precedence for summer holiday schedule tomorrow. I've forgotten what a house of 3 boys is like and I refuse to let them overtake me!

Schools Out For the Summer!

Ah, yes, we are finally on summer holiday! While I am a little misty eyed about Jacob completing his first year at school, I'm also super excited to be done with it. You see, there are two types of mums here in England. The first are those who are so excited to not have to do the school run, make the lunches, etc. The second are also excited, but their number one emotion is fear. Fear of what to do with a child who will eventually whine with boredom within three weeks. I am with the first party. As I laid in bed last night I couldn't sleep...when I picked up Jacob from school I was more exicted than him! Remember getting out of school when you were a kid and singing the Alice Cooper classic "Schools out for the summer!"? Well, that was me today in my big beast of a mini van. Shades on, windows down, and a slightly embarrassed kid in the back!

This is the beginning of 5 weeks of blissfully easing into the day (versus the usual shot gun approach) and spending some good times with the boys. Let's hope it's as blissful as I hope it will be!

Aiden's Sports Day

Sports Day is a big thing in this country and it's not just primary school, but nursery as well! So, this past Wednesday I was on the field again. This time at Aiden's school. He was VERY apprehensive about participating, so it took a lot of coaxing on my part to get him to do the race. He decided to go for it in the horsey race and the full-on running race. If only he would have run in a straight line, he would have won it. That is the great thing about Aiden - he could care less if he wins. Look how happy the ole chap is. Ah, to be 3 again!

Swim, Jacob, Swim!

Jacob has been taking swim lessons for the past 3 months and loves it! He goes every Monday after school to Ms. Maura's, who teaches out of the pool in her back garden. She is a spunky Irish woman, which is exactly what Jacob needs to get him moving. Parents got to watch at the last lesson on Monday. Here are some of his best moves, even though he forgot his goggles!

Jacob Sports Day at School

The rain stopped long enough on Tuesday so that Jacob could have sports day at school. The kids were all dressed in their "house" colors, so Jacob was representing the red house. On his first race, he ended up dead last. Then, on the relay race, he started first, but, well, it wasn't pretty. Finally, he represented the red house well by taking them from last to first on the all important EGG AND SPOON RACE!! (And I didn't get it on video!)After that was the mums race and I ended up loosing due to forgetting to wear a belt. Hard to run with your trousers falling down! Athletics just don't run in the genes!