The days are really long with Tim gone. For those of you who have husbands that work long hours or are single-handedly raising children... you have my utmost respect and admiration! The countdown is on... Tim only has one more week in MO and then 2 weeks in Russellville at Wild Fire Fighting school and then we leave on a big family vacation to Florida! Yea! Can't wait... except for the whole bathing suit thing! Yikes.
Boys are doing fine. Last week Nana and Papa Doc came up to watch a T-ball game and Nana spent the night with us and helped out the next day. We were also very lucky this week to have Grandma and Grandpa O. come stay with us for a couple of days and help out. The boys loved the extra attention and playmates and it gave me some free time to do some work and I even had a day to run errands in Hot Springs ALL BY MYSELF, which is rare and greatly appreciated. Nate had a little virus on Monday... I call it a fever virus because that seems to be the main symptom... Ben now has it... I'm sure Zac will wake up with it tomorrow! Oh well, at least there is no vomit involved.
Since the last post, Nate has played at least 3 more T-ball games. He is really a good little player who takes the game seriously. His batting stance is the best on the team as is his swing and he's pretty good in the field too. His favorite thing is to slide in to home plate ... needed or not! My sweet Nate... it has been brought to my attention that the reason Nate and I seem to "butt heads" so much of the time is because we are both alike (my sister and husband pointed this out). You see, both Nate and I are very ... stubborn... and we both like to sulk a bit when we are not happy. This means that I am often in a battle of wills with a 5 year old.... arguing on his level. For example ... Nate might say, "You are the meanest mom in the world... " to which I reply, "I am only mean because you made me be that way"... now how mature is that! Oh well. I am just praying that my lack of patience is due in part to Tim being gone. I must say, my little Nate is one smart cookie and he can give me a look that just breaks my heart and makes me apologize for any mean thing I might've said... but then there is his "other look".... I must brag that my little preschooler can read 4 and 5 word sentences. He can also understand some of the words that I spell out! We even have homework 3 nights a week! He is going to surpass me in smarts by the time he is in 5th grade at this rate! He really is bright and loves to ask questions. Sometimes he is my greatest challenge but he is also one of my 3 greatest joys!
My precocious Zac. The day he turned 3 he began to mimic everything big brother Nate does or says from "that is so Awesome" to "you are meanest mom in whole world"! He even crosses his arms over his chest, looks up and loudly sighs when he is not happy (this too is a Nate action). He is just so darn cute that it is hard to stay mad at him. He frequently says "I am soooo sorry" and "I love you soo much", as well as "Iworry about you mommy." Adorable, I know! He is the king of excuses and lately I have even heard him say "Jesus told me too..." hmmmmmm! His favorite is "my legs are too short".... we hear this one when he doesn't want to walk anymore. The most popular phrase I hear throughout the day is , "I not pay attention"! This usually follows the question, "Zac, why did you do that?" Also, cleaning up toys is not Zac's favorite activity. He often tells us he is too tired as he watches dear Nate pick up the toys. Nate is my best helper in the house, he is like me, in that Nate and I are the only ones that are concerned that every toy is in the correct place. Zac also thinks he is "five" (like Nate) and he says this as he holds up 3 fingers... we are working on this. He misses his daddy very much. For Zac it seems to get harder every week with more tears. Luckily it's almost over.
Our sweet Ben Ben.... he hasn't been feeling too good the past week or so. He's had a cold and now a little virus... hopefully he is on the mend. I'm just amazed at how fast he is growing. He is such a joy and his big brothers adore him and love getting right in his face and talking to him. His two little teeth just shine when he smiles, which is the majority of the time. He loves the outdoors like his two brothers and I know the time will come when he will follow them on many great adventures; right now I just cherish the time that I have with him when he is still "mine". He is a little blondie right now with big blue eyes and he gives wonderful wet kisses! He sits up for time on end but has expressed no interest in crawling, thank goodness! He squeals and sounds like a little puppy when he gets excited! I'm constantly trying to figure out what his personality will be like.
Well, as you can tell, it must be quiet here because I've gone on and on about my precious boys. I'll try to get some pics... right now... I'm just too busy trying to keep up with these 3! Till next time...
