First Swim

Not sure why we waited so long, but Mason finally had his first swim in our pool and he loved it.  With the water being so warm it felt like a big bath for my little man.  I'm sure he will be swimming around like J&H in no time.

 

 Tyler was teaching Harper to do the back stroke . . .

 

Ready, set, go . . . 

These little fish never get tired of the water!

 

Friday Fun

This was my first long 5 day week of work since maternity leave and I survived, barely but I did!  Tyler and I hit up a quick happy hour to celebrate the accomplishment then picked up the kiddos and headed to Myriad Gardens for a fun Friday evening play date!

The kids were just as excited about Friday as I was!  These were their Friday morning before school smiles.

Our evening of fun started with a little game of tag

 Then a little stroll around the canal to find the ducks and fish

Jackson has discovered his pockets!  I now have to start checking pockets before washing any of his clothes, you never know what you are going to find! 

 

Harper can smile with her eyes open!

Jackson isn't the best at handling being dizzy!  He was too funny, stumbling around.   

 

 

 

This picture cracks me up, Luke was trying to sneak his arm around Harper and little miss wasn't having it!  

This just about sums up trying to get three toddlers to look at the camera! 

Then off to the fountains, it was a chilly evening but that was going to stop the kids!  We started in some clothes . . .

 Then we transitioned to diapers and underwear .  . .

Then swimsuits . . .

Not sure what J&H were doing but it kept them busy!  Ava is escaping in the background :)

So much fun!  Perfect night catching up with college friends and seeing all the sweet kids play. Too bad I didn't get any pictures of the youngest siblings being entertained watching Jackson, Harper, Luke and Jack.

 

3 Months

Time please slow down, my baby boy is growing up too quickly!  I just can't get enough of my little man.  Mason is such a chill and loving baby.  He has started interacting with Jackson and Harper more and more.  He loves all the attention they give him and he loves to flash them his gummy smile.  The love Jackson and Harper have for Mason melts my heart. 

Mason is definitely following in his big brother's footsteps.  Non-stop ear infections, congestion, wheezing, gunky eyes . . . tubes are in his near future.  One more ear infection in the next month and his tubes will go in at 4 months.  Mason may be sick but he has been a trooper!

These smiles just about sum up how amazing this little boy is ALL the time!

 

I am one lucky momma to have these three in my life!

Back to Work

Today is my last day of maternity leave so I'm spoiling Mason with lots of love, attention and cuddling all day long, which is basically what I did for the past three months.  I have shed lots of tears over this decision and I'm sure there are still more to come.  Tomorrow is going to be an extremely hard day.  This is by far the toughest decision I have made in awhile and I'm still not convinced it is the right decision long term.  When I had the twins I didn't think twice about returning to work.  This time around is different.  Mason is our last baby so I want to enjoy every minute with him.  Jackson and Harper are also at such a fun age and I would love to be home with them everyday and get them involved in activities outside of daycare.  But on the other hand I enjoy being challenged and having adult interaction on a daily basis :)  Working also makes me appreciate my time with the kids even more.  This will be a decision I will constantly be reevaluating.  With how much we are paying for daycare it will take a lot to make it worthwhile.

I have been a different person/mother/wife for 3 months.  I haven't been stressed to get things done around the house and I haven't been in a constant rush.  It has been so great having flexibility!  But with returning to work, my anxiety level is already increasing thinking about getting on the highway tomorrow evening at 5:10 with all 3 kiddos crying for dinner, when I still need 30 mins to throw something together when we finally get home.  Then rushing everyone through dinner and cleanup so the kids can have maybe 30 mins to play before we have to start baths and head to bed.  Then after bed squeezing in laundry, house cleanup, yard work etc before I can sit down for maybe 10 mins to relax before heading to bed.  It will take a little time but we will get back in our crazy routine and hopefully all will be normal again.

Tomorrow I will be missing this face, smiles, laughs and coos all day long.  5:00 will not come quick enough!  And as always I will be missing Jackson and Harper just as much!

Happy Birthday America

We had a fabulous and exhausting 4th of July weekend full of friends, family, swimming, food, fireworks and lots of fun!  The 4th is definitely becoming one of my favorite holidays. 

These little ones loved wearing their red, white and blue to celebrate America's birthday!

We kicked off the holiday weekend with our 2nd annual neighborhood block party.  We are blessed with the most amazing and FUN neighbors.  These kiddos are going to have so much fun growing up with all their best friends down the street. 

 

 

 

 Harper's face is priceless and sums up her love/hate relationship with fireworks!

Then Saturday morning we headed to the Edmond parade.  Jackson was in heaven with all the fireworks and tractors and Harper was more interested in her donuts!

After the parade we loaded up the car and headed to Great Grandpa Jack's for some family time in the sun!  The three little ones crashed on the drive out there. 

J&H had no fear jumping off the diving board

 

 Enjoying some homemade ice cream!

After a super busy 4th of July we tucked in the three kiddos around 7:30 and Tyler and I enjoyed the fireworks from our backyard!  Major perk of country living.  It was so refreshing to have a little quiet time to reflect on how blessed our little family is.

We topped off our holiday weekend with a little BBQ and swimming at our house.  J&H swam for 5 hours straight!

Such a fun weekend!