My 3 Wiggy Guys, All Wearing Yellow Ties.

“There is no other relationship quite like that which can and should exist between a boy and his dad. It can be one of the most nurturing, joyful relationships in life, one that can have a profound impact on who boys become and also on who dads become.”

M. Russell Ballard, “Fathers and Sons: A Remarkable Relationship,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 47

There's not much else to say except that my boys certainly are lucky to have a dad like James, and he in turn has been made into such a better man because of them. I can't believe they are all mine--all three of them--but I feel so much gratitude that they belong to me. I gave all 3 of them Yankee's hats for Father's/Future Father's Day and James got a few bow ties (which he spent over an hour trying to tie before church!) He says he's grateful that he not only got some new apparel, but a new hobby! Per usual, the boys wanted their ties to match Dad's and I made those yellow tie wearing boys stop and take a picture before running into church. They might not all be looking at the camera, but shoot darn heck they are all smiling!  

We had a feast of a dinner (and breakfast, might I add) to celebrate the awesome Dad in our home. My favorite part of the day was hearing this conversation over dinner:

Ev: I'm gonna keep getting bigger and bigger and I'm gonna be a Dad just wike you! (pointing at James)
James: Ah, that's so nice Ev!
Ev: Um...am I going to be called James when I'm a Dad?

Happy Father's Day James and all the amazing fathers in our lives! We love you all!

My belly.

 19 weeks. 21 weeks.

22 weeks, beginning and end of week. I don't know why. And hello little photo bombers!

Then, this week, pop goes the weasel:

 23 weeks, ya'll.

A little Father-Son Action

Our church hosted a Father-Son Campout this last weekend and all three of my boys were beyond thrilled to spend some time in nature. I was thrilled at the thought of a pedicure and sleeping in, but I've got to admit that a quiet home was only awesome for about two seconds and then I missed my boys terribly. But this isn't about me, this is about them, and boy did they have a BLAST!!! They went to a campground in New Jersey and since being back I have heard T say at least a million times, "That was my first time ever sleeping in New Jersey. I just still can't believe I did that!"

We are a little low on camping gear (ie--we got nothin!) but luckily some friends had an extra tent and sleeping bag so we were set. T and Ever were so excited to sleep in a tent that they wanted to go to bed almost immediately. Luckily, James kept them up for the fireside festivities...but not much longer! Not that they went to sleep right away. I got a phone call from a sleepy, crying Ev a little before 11 pm saying, "Mommy, I want you here. I don't want you to be wif da gills. I just love you foweva." I assured him that I loved him forever also and that Daddy would keep him safe in their tent! Gosh, that little one sure knows how to get to me.

The report from the boys was that they roasted hot dogs, marshmallows and starbursts, and ate lots of cheetos and reese's.  Supposedly they didn't have much patience with roasting because they were so dang excited, but luckily they were OK with slightly cold hot dogs. And by OK, I mean they gobbled those puppies in two seconds flat!

A blurry but a goodie of T roasting a mallow!

My heart melts a little when I think about how these little boys are mine and their Daddy is awesome enough to take them camping. Good men-folk in my life I tell ya. I love that they had so much fun. I just love them.

His first graduation

Well, that's it folks. Talmage's preschool days are officially over. We celebrated the five sweetest little 5-year-olds in their very first graduation ceremony and I've got to admit, they'll be lucky to get this much hoopla from their high school graduation! Us Moms worked pretty hard to make it awesome and memorable for the kids, and in the most humble way possible it was incredibly impressive!

Talmage, Grace, Ava, Vivi and Sam (with the cutest hats made by Sam's mom Ann Dee)

Preschool was a family affair and couldn't have been possible without all these wonderful mama's and the most patient little siblings in existence (we're missing Vivi's sister in this shot!). Totally unrelated, but sometimes I forget how tall I am and then I look at this picture and think, "Wow Heath, you're pretty dang tall!"

Turns out this graduation stuff is hard work, and a little overwhelming. We all know how much Talmage loves pictures (oh wait, not even a little bit) and after a few minutes of all the moms playing paparazzi with the graduates, "Look this way!" "Smile!" "Put your hands up!" "Put your hands down!" he kind of broke down. And by kind of, I mean, well...let's just say that a sobbing T sat in my arms for the rest of the ceremony. It was heart-braking and I felt awful for not preparing him more for the events of the day. The party wasn't a total loss for him though--once the formal ceremony was over he had a blast eating the graduation treats and playing with his friends. But the gorgeous formal graduation photos that everyone else got? Well this is mine!

My puffy-eyed graduate and me!

I made these cupcakes for the occasion and the kids went crazy for them! And btw, all of the gorgeous pictures in this post are from Lynda's fancy camera.

Except for this one, which is from my phone! I also made these little bags full of goldfish and swedish fish with a tag that read, "You are O-fish-ally in Kindergarten!"

Happy Graduation Talmage Scott, the first of many! I love you and I'm so proud of everything you do and everything you've learned this year in preschool. Next week is Kindergarten orientation--bring it!

Cronuts, Pizza, Cute Kids and a Real Lawyer, in no particular order.

Let's just start this here blog post with the cutest Subway picture of all times. All those little bodies squished together and looking out the dark window is just about enough to make me take them all home. You know, except not because the 480 square feet thing. But that little Norah-girl on the right? I'd take her home for good regardless of how much (or little) space I had because she is just the sweetest, loviest, littlest baby girl ever and those full kissy lips--yeah, she's something else. Do you see how she's holding on to my shirt like that? It's one of my baby favorites and I'm counting down the days (read: months) until I have a little girl of my own in my arms! Norah and her family just moved across the country and in a fit of despair Talmage cried, "Why does everyone I love move to Oregon?" Two best friends in two years are pretty crazy odds...but looks like we have a real reason to visit that gorgeous state!

Hands down the biggest and most adorable game of Duck, Duck, Goose Central Park has ever seen. Everett was one of the last to be picked (littlest kid problems) and when it was finally his turn he looked at me with so much joy and shock and then started running as fast as those little, slightly bowed legs could carry him. So sweet, that one. He just looked over my shoulder and said, "Mom, can I wite somefing on dat bwog?" and when I said sure, and asked him what he wanted to say, he whispered with a grin, "I wuv you, say dat, ok?"

If there was ever something worth waiting in a super long line for, a Dominique Ansel cronut would be it. Luckily, a friend got a super large order and cabbed them back to the UWS so that everyone could try, and none of us had to be at the bakery by 5 am. Yes, people start lining up at that time...at the latest. This months cronut flavor was blueberry lemon and holy hannah, it was absolutely out of control. And in full disclosure, I ate a whole one and made all three boys share the other one.

Another big piece of news from this week (you know, right behind my blueberry cronut) is that James was sworn in to the California State Bar. His Judge swore him in here in NYC, and we celebrated with a pizza lunch and Magnolia Bakery cupcakes. That salad pizza was mine and it was every bit as wonderful as it looks. The boys thought the whole experience was pretty cool, and kept commenting about how proud they were that Daddy was now a real lawyer instead of just pretending to be one!!!

registered

I'm not quite sure why, but it was more difficult and took more paperwork to get my 5-year-old into kindergarten than it took me to get into college. Sheesh, and I'm not joking. But he's in--thank heavens friends, he's in. He was on the wait list and then he was not, and after spending an hour yesterday in the office filling out so dang many papers and giving them every piece of ID I own he is officially a student. He just couldn't get over the awesomeness of it all, and I couldn't get over how big he looks standing outside his new school. Or maybe how small he looks--I can't decide!

Memorial Day

We continued our Memorial Day Celebration on Monday by heading to Staten Island to tour the rest of the Navy ships docked for Fleet Week. Once James found out that he'd be able to step foot on the USS Cole he was sold. This Destroyer was bombed in Yemen in October 2000 and is considered one of the precursors for September 11th and the war on terrorism. We felt honored to be there and tour this ship which boasts such rich history and a spirit of determination.

 

There were some BIG guns on this Destroyer. The one pictured right above shoots 70 pound bullets--which is basically my boys put together (plus some). There are also 90 missiles aboard the craft and a whole lot of other weapons, including the 50 caliber machine gun that has been used since WWII (because as our tour leader said, we don't mess with perfection!) I was again reminded how grateful I am for our military.

It was one of those days where my boys just loved the heck out of each other and were the best of friends. I LOVE those kind of days. My favorite conversation was when Everett said he was going to be in the Navy someday and asked T if he'd join as well. Unfortunately for Ev, Talmage said, "No, sorry. I can't join the Navy because I'm going to work at Trader Joe's when I grow up so I can organize things!" It was hilarious! Eventually Ever told us he'd have to talk to Uncle Chase about going with him, which sounded like a very sensible plan. I didn't have the heart to tell Ever that the Navy won't accept people with heart disease such as his. Blah for the lameness of that disease.

 

The boys were star-struck with all of the sailors, especially once they got sailor hats of their own. They wanted to look like Pepa and I'm pretty sure they made all of our military family proud! Even with the ship tours, the Veterans BBQ, dancing to live music and eating ice cream, the best part of the day was running into the Moncur family on the Staten Island Ferry on our way home. I LOVE seeing old friends, especially randomly in this big old city!