Cubs, Crab Boil, and Cones on Fire

Today was full of the memories you laugh at down the road.

Wes attended his first major league baseball game, first Cubbies game ( ex utero), and first Astros game all in one! Luke spent most of the game yelling at the players--as in "home run Baez!" Or "strike out guriell!"--earning lots of funny looks from our fellow spectators, and Derek spilled an entire water bottle all over himself in the top of the third, so he spent the entire game asking to go home. 

Dinner was a southern-style shrimp boil, meaning Ken ate the sausage and corn, I ate the shrimp and potatoes, and the boys ate some bread.

We also celebrated Luke's birthday two days early due to a work conflict on Thursday, and apparently totally failed in our choice of presents, as we had a very sad, weeping Luke on our hands. 

At least we managed to pull of his dessert of choice: a donut with mint ice cream and a cone on top. And he was only momentarily sad when the cone briefly caught on fire from his birthday candles. 

Happy Memorial Day to all! 

Birthday Dejavu

The best third birthday ever. As we discovered when Luke turned three. 

Just like last time, there was a fire station, pizza in the park, a new baby, and fiery cupcakes. Unlike last time (luckily) it was threatening to rain the entire time so we were nice and cool (which in May in Houston is just bizarre).

If it ain't broke...

(No Longer a)Baby D

For his third birthday a few weeks ago, Derek decided he wanted to a) wear his pajamas all day, b) watch shows, and c) eat cereal for breakfast and hot dogs and mac and cheese for dinner. Presents and cake were a bonus. 

Derek is the entire range of extreme human emotion encased in one rather large, squishy little boy body. At his three-year-old check-up the doctor told us he is at about the 92nd %ile for weight and at about the 70th for height, meaning he is one compact, solid little kid. He is mostly happy and exuberant and excited, though his lows are heart-wrenching. He also feels all of your emotions, too, and will say things like "I took your food. Now you're sad." (sad face)

Self-portrait a la train tracks. 

Derek loves toys--like really, really loves toys. Action figures and little trinkets and trains and cars and sharks and stuffed animals and legos. (non-exhaustive) He also has a vivid imagination and can play by himself for hours, totally spoiling us just in time for the summer, when I will once again be in charge of keeping everyone occupied and entertained for extended stretches of time.

He also, in true middle-child fashion, is loud. Not necessarily with words, though he can certainly project that little baby voice when he wants to, but he loves to bang and shriek and scream and whatever else will make a large impact. 

Derek is also just about everyone's favorite. His nursery leaders love him, his little friends love him, his teachers love him, parents of other kids love him, (and of course, we love him), strangers love to comment on him, even Luke's classmates love him. He has mastered the adorable little toddler voice and faces and can charm the pants off of anyone he meets. 

Just try to resist that little face. 

Wesley's First Month

Baby Wesley made it to a month a while ago, and all of us are still alive! 

What this really means is that people's comments of "You look great!" (implied: for someone who just had a baby) are slowly becoming offensive. 

Wesley is a baby. He sleeps and eats and poops and is awake. A lot. Like way more than other babies. He opened his eyes about five minutes after he was born and hasn't closed them a whole lot since. Thankfully he does sleep at night and will usually give me at least a four hour stretch. He is also, unfortunately, kind of a light sleeper for a baby. Like with our other boys, knowing that noise was going to be pretty constant around here, we have tried to let him sleep amongst the chaos and get used to bangs and sudden explosions of word-vomit and shrieks of laughter/dismay, but he still gets nicely woken up in the mornings when Luke and Derek come barging in.



He is also, bar none, our noisiest sleeper. He wiggles and grunts and squirms and lifts his legs in the air and sneezes and coughs and snorts and has totally robbed me of my light super-mom sleep. So between Ken (who could sleep through vomiting and screaming and all sorts of pandemonium) and I, I have no idea whether or not we are actually waking up when Wes needs us, poor kid.



Wesley likes nursing, his mom, sleeping while being held, and showers. He greatly dislikes his car seat, being left alone for longer than five minutes, his tongue and lip stretches (a result of his tongue-and lip-tie clippage at two weeks), boogers, and waking up to find himself alone on the floor somewhere.





One thing has been consistent across the board with all three boys: those expressive Young faces!

Easter & A Baby Blessing

My first (and possibly last, for a little longer) day back at church was happily both Easter Sunday and baby Wesley's blessing.

And in true third child fashion, the baby blessing outfit that was worn by both Luke and Derek (not to mention the other six Young grandsons) was lost in the mail (it arrived about three days late). So Wesley got to sport a rebellious non-white outfit for his baby blessing. Luckily he was nice and sleepy and didn't make a peep the entire time. 

What a beautiful, gratitude-filled Easter day!