Captain America Turns 4

We've fallen behind on our posts again, and it's actually been weeks since Titus turned 4.   It seems like yesterday we were at the birthing center in El Paso, awaiting the arrival of our little Texan.   My (Stephanie)  parents brought Jack, then 3, and Joe (only 1), to come and meet their little brother.   They were already in bed and I remember them arriving in their jammies giving kisses to little Titus in his red knit hat!  We have loved these four years with Titus and all the laughter he has brought to our family.  He is a good helper to big brother Jack, a crime-fighting side-kick to Joe, and a “gentle” wresting playmate for Ruby (not usually at her initiative).  He is our miniature man.  He doesn’t eat much at all, so we joke that we are keeping him small for bull-riding.  Titus loves to draw, cuddle, eat chocolate, laugh and get tickled! 

After our trip from NY, we made it to Santa Fe in time to celebrate his big day with both sets of grandparents (which in itself is a rare and special treat).  We had a ‘Captain America’ theme and it was a heroic adventure!

Titus got a sweet Captain America helmet.

His meemaw (J.W.'s mom) had arranged for the kids to get a tour of a local fire station.  She got to know the guys over there a few weeks before when they came over to help my dad and take him to the hospital.   While we were there the firemen got a call and had to drive the engines out with sirens blaring and lights flashing.   Cake, presents, family, and fire trucks, what more could a boy want?

Joe's Viking Birthday

Look at these Viking warriors!  What are they waiting for?  

A dragon?  A huge flaming boulder covered in tar flying thru the air?  

No......that would be unsafe......especially at a 5 year old birthday party.   But we did use a trebuchet to launch soccer balls and water balloons at our kids!  And that was a good time!  

Our little man Josiah turned 5 yesterday, and we celebrated his birthday with some of his friends last Sunday.  We went with a Viking/How to Train your Dragon theme.  The kids love that movie, and actually I think I love it even more.

Stephanie made some viking helmets out of 1 gallon milk jugs and I put together some swords using large paint stirrers and some pipe insulation.  We built the catapult out of some scrap wood.  Steph also made a dragon cake to go with the theme.

Josiah enjoyed his friends and the time together.  It's hard to believe that 5 years ago we were in Kearney, Nebraska.  Today Joe is attending pre-school at Trinity Lutheran, and also beginning to homeschool with Steph and Jack.

And, our daughter Ruby is very cute.  

Titus turns 3!

Titus turned 3 on Oct. 22^nd. Our little boy is getting so big. We had a motorcycle theme for him and made a big motorcycle cake to share with our friends at church. Jack painted the flames on the gas tank with edible markers and he did a great job. We got to take in a special snack to his preschool class too and we make motorcycles out of pretzels, Oreo wheels and an apple slice for the gas tank.

Titus is a great kid. We have to go the store a lot in our family and Titus is still sweet enough to raise his hand, jump up and down and yell “I do! I do!” when asked who wants to go with mom or dad to the store. His brothers have out grown that fun. He loves to play with Jack and Joe and joins in the wrestling match or make believe game or “race” when all three boys run laps through our living room and kitchen in endless circles. He is blessing in so many ways, we love him very much and thank God for our little Rex.

Joe Turns 4

Our little “Cornhusker” Joe turned 4 this week.

To some extent, he gets the short end of the stick having his birthday in September. Unlike Jack, his birthday is in the fall when we are at home. ( Jack hasn’t had two birthdays in the same place yet –we’re always somewhere different on our summer assignments. ) But back in July we had a pre-birthday Birthday party for Joe out in New Mexico. He really loves White sands, so we hung out there with our family and we brought a large cookie –cake and sang happy Birthday to Joe.He was so happy.

And then yesterday morning, we got up, ate cinnamon rolls and opened some presents. Joe got a little Batman batcave thing that he’s had his eye on for quite awhile. He and his brothers spent the day playing with it and coloring in some new coloring books.

We spent some time remembering the day Joe was born. We remembered dropping Jack off at Adam and Tracy’s house in the early morning and rushing to the hospital there in Kearney, Nebraska. Steph was laboring very quickly, and we almost didn’t make it into a room before Joe was born! We thought he might be delivered in the hallway!

When Jack was born, we knew we were expecting a boy, but for Joe, we opted for a surprise. So it wasn’t until he came out that we knew the sex. We were so happy for Jack to have a little brother.

Joe was an easy baby. He slept like a champion and was very content. And now he’s starting his second year of preschool!

Ruby turns 1

Ruby turned 1 on August 12th. It is hard to believe that a year has passed so quickly. We celebrated early while we were in Colorado so that some family could be there. We chose a “berry” theme because it was her “Berry First Birthday.“ We had pink cupcakes decorated with strawberries and several cousins to help eat them. On her actual birthday, we celebrated with our second family of good friends from church. Among those dear friends, was Sonia Needs, who helped deliver Ruby and is about to give birth to her own third child.
One Year Ago ……It was a Tuesday afternoon. I remember so clearly going to a tea party with my friend Sonia. Later that night we had a BBQ with other full time campus staff and I was having very mild contractions. We got home and about 9:00pm they were pretty regular. We put the kids to bed, and about 11:30, we headed to the hospital. I labored on my own for a couple hours. About 1:30 we had the midwife Molly break my water and 20 intensely painful minutes later she was born. We did not know the sex ahead of time and I remember being in shock for about 24 hours that she was a girl. I just kept saying, “I can’t believe it’s a girl. J, can you believe we have a daughter – that sounds so weird.’’ I remember all three boys parading into the hospital room with a small bouquet of flowers for me, and a bag of bean burritos from Taco Bell for dad. They were so excited to meet and hold their new baby sister. We were completely unprepared for a little girl so we did not have a name picked out. We left the hospital early, baby nameless. The next morning on our way to her 24 check-up, we decided on Ruby Brooke. She has been our little jewel ever since!!!