All Travis

Costner is all Travis.  I don't think he has any of me in him at all.  And that's okay because I obviously think Travis is pretty cute.  But even though he looks like him, he sure LOVES me. 

 He acts like Travis, too.  He is actually watching TV here last Sunday.

 And he even takes a nap on Sunday like Travis...:) 

 This doesn't even look like him, does it?  He seems to be getting longer and leaner.  Sigh, can we just have ONE fat kid in this house?

Sage's School Play

This past Tuesday, Sage had her school play where they sing some songs that tell a story.  The theme this year was "Fun at the Circus," so they all dressed up like clowns.  They work on it for a few weeks.  Sage had a speaking part last year, and this year, she was a hula hooper.  She was one of 3 clowns, and let me just say that we don't even have a hula hoop, but Sage did it like she has had one for years.  Travis and I looked at each other like, "Where in the world did she learn how to do that?"

Here is video of the hula hooper in action.  I wish you could see her face because she had that serious look like she gets in her dance recitals.  So cute.  And how impressive?!  Someone at Target actually stopped us and asked if she was one of the hula hoopers and how impressed she was with Sage.

The Bunny

My kids LOVE characters.  Jaggar, particularly, is obsessed with them, so when I told them I'd take them to the mall last week to see the Easter Bunny, they were so excited.  I'm not going to lie, and I've probably said it before, but I think the Easter Bunny is weird.  Love Santa.  A 6 foot silent bunny?  Creepy.  But they love him, and Sage has kind of adopted the idea about him herself, so I don't say anything to discourage it.  It was Friday, and I figured there would be a crowd, but there was none at all.  And this Bunny was more than happy to see them.  I have to give him props.  This was by far the most entertaining rabbit I've ever seen.  I got the kids food and purposefully sat right across from his house so Jaggar would sit and eat.  The bunny was standing on top of his chair.  He was dancing.  Waving.  Playing basketball with trash and a wastebasket.  Jaggar was belly laughing at him.  He came over to us again and gave them some bunny ears to wear.  He also didn't mind that Jaggar would run into his little area and hug him no less than 100 times.  He even came over to us a few times and waved to Jaggar and blew him kisses.

Travis always freaks out when I take a picture with my phone of the kids with Santa or the bunny because the photographers are there to make money, but I don't care.  They've never said anything to me, and I have sweet moments to share.

Costner Bleu was asleep when we were there on Friday, but we went back on Sunday and he came to see him.  I'm not sure if he was impressed or not.

Then he went and laid on this bench.  I'm telling you, if he keeps this up, he may rank higher in my book because I personally was very entertained.

A Worker

A week ago, Jaggar was so pleased with himself.  He had a pencil over his ear, and he said, "I'm gonna be a worker just like Daddy!"  Already a big step ahead of our current generation!  :)  I love this boy so much and have such a soft spot for him because he probably gets away with a little more than Sage did.  It's either that special connection between a mother and son or the fact that I'm that tired.  :)  Maybe a bit of both. 

 And in case you wondered, he STILL rocks these glasses.

The Smile!!

We did it!  We finally caught Costner's real smile.  Well.. "we"...Travis did.  We need to break out the real camera and take some real pictures.  My mom got Travis a new lens (Travis broke it in the hospital, remember?  Or "the table knocked it out of his hand."), and we need to take advantage of it, but in moments like these, what is handy and next to us is what wins.  Doesn't it just melt you??

 These are him too, and that is why they're blurry.  He has to have conversation to get that grin.  :)

Catching Up...Kind of.

I can't keep up with this blog at all.  I actually can't keep up with much of anything, it feels, other than what's important.  And by that I mean, vitally important.  For example, we have clean clothes, they just may be wrinkled where they sat in the dryer for a day or two.  :)  I'll get better at it.  Actually...SOMEONE is a bit...ahem...spoiled.  Costner is what they call...rotten?  He can be fast asleep and when I go to lay him down, he screams.  And on the occasion that he does lay down for more than 5 seconds, I go in circles not knowing exactly where I want to start.  Oh well, it's fine.  Clean houses are overrated anyways, but I don't think breakfast, lunch and dinner are.  :)

  I need to upload more recent photos, but this is a week and a half ago when Costner found his hand.  He sucks on them quite often when he's awake and it's so cute.

Another attempt at me trying to catch his real smile.  This is pretty close.  It's so sweet.

Evidence of Laughter

I was finally able to catch Costner laughing on video today.  It's not the greatest footage, since I had to hold the phone back behind my head to catch it.  You never know what is going to amuse him, and today it was the phrase, "Did you know that?" that set him off.  So that's what I'm saying to him.  

Baby Talk

Sleepover Fun

Sage spent her first night away from us last Friday night since being diagnosed with diabetes.  It was such a big deal for her, and I'm very thankful for good friends who worked with us so Sage could be part of their daughter's birthday.  They rode horses on Friday afternoon, ate pizza for dinner, had a sleepover, ate breakfast at Chick-fil-A and then went back to ride horses.  She had a great time.

3 Months

Costner Bleu is already 3 months old.  In some ways, it feels like he's so big, but then I go, "Well...3 months is still so tiny," in terms of planning baby 4.  I kid.  I kid.  He still makes those little noises, so he is STILL a newborn.  He has grown out of his 0-3 month clothes for the most part--all of the one pieces and a lot of pants.  He did something pretty awesome on his 3 month birthday, which was a week ago and pictured below.  He laughed!  It was so cute, and it was almost unreal because it sounds so funny coming out of him.  He can get pretty loud these days.  He is such a friendly baby, similar to how Jaggar was, and smiles at anyone who will talk to him.  That smile...it's hard for me to get his real smile in its fullness on here because when he sees the phone, he freezes up.   He is very strong and always seems to turn himself lengthwise in the bed.  He can't stand to be covered up, just like Sage.  Every morning when he wakes up and sees me, he gets the biggest grin like it's the first time he's seeing me again.  It's so awesome.   Such a happy boy he is and a gift to us.  He is very loved, to put it mildly.

 This is kind of the look we get when he is smiling and we suddenly try to take a picture.

 This is a better version than the above picture but still not as big as he really smiles.

 It's hard to tell what color his hair will be. Probably a brown like the other 2 if we go by what's growing on the back of his head.   He doesn't have a ton compared to my other two, but he also has cradle cap.  Thankfully, it's a mild version of some pictures I've seen online, but the "scales" all over his scalp (which I'd have to shine light on and point out for you to notice) give it kind of an orange-y tint at times.  Hopefully that goes away soon.

Tap Pictures

 It's that time of year again--pictures for dance.  I've gotten WAY less stressed about this, almost to the point where I don't care at all.  Some people make SUCH a huge deal about it like they're the kids' bridal portraits.  We get ready in about 15-20 minutes and move on.  And I don't think you can tell a bit of difference in us and those that act as if it's a wedding.  :)  For some reason, this year they have not done any class pictures on the same day.  So by the time this month is over, I will have spent 3, if not 4 (for five year pics) of my Saturdays getting pictures made.  Not cool.  Anyway, here is Sage's tap costume.  She is getting so big.  She poses like this at home and when she gets there, they ask if she has a pose in mind and she clams up.  However, I showed Tracy this picture, and this first picture is the pose they used.  Sage was beaming. 

 Such a ham.  This had a big bow on a headband with it, but they didn't use it.  I personally liked it, so I had plans of my own...

Ha...Travis was not as amused as we were.

Three's Company

Trying to get a picture with everyone looking these days is next to impossible.  This first one is the best I could get, and I'm not complaining.  It's pretty sweet.

 How perfect would this one have been if Jaggar was looking?  Travis has said for a while that he's going to be some kind of spy because no one will have ever seen his face in a still shot.  :)

 Sweet sweetness right there.  Grateful.

Little Ham

And also a little drooler. That's been happening quite a bit lately.

Brotherhood

We all knew it was pretty touch and go for a while as to whether Jaggar would have anything to do with the baby, considering he believed him to be a dog.  But that is the far opposite as to how he is with him.  Actually, if we could meet somewhere in the middle, it'd be awesome.  Just because he's "just hugging him" about 1000 times a day, and by that, he's laying on top of him.  Costner doesn't seem to mind, which is a good thing since it appears there's nothing any of us can do about it.  I'm thankful Jaggar has such a big heart for his baby.  We did go through a phase where he'd say, "You're such a BABY," to the baby, but that has passed.  These two are going to be the best of friends, I think.

My most favorite picture...I plan on having this in a frame/

 Sometimes, he looks like he might be a blonde but who knows?

 Angels

Our Snuggle Bunny

Costner is such a snuggly baby.  Even though he looks disgusted in that first picture with Travis, he's not.  He is pretty content most of the time.  SO thankful for that.

Sweetness

I think Costner was 2 1/2 months old here....or close to it.  I love spending my days "with the boys."

 I don't think he and Jaggar look alike at all.

One Day

Jaggar is a HUGE fan of the Toy Story movies.  He got the first one for Christmas, and we watch it all the time.  There's something about that 3rd one though...it just hits too close to home.  I think it's a great movie, but the thought of my children...not being children one day...is just gut wrenching.  One night, Travis was watching the 3rd one with Jaggar, and I'd already put myself through the torture a few times.  I asked him, "Hey...um have you seen how this ends?"  He was only half paying attention to me and nodded yes.  Hmmm...okay.  About an hour and a half later, when Travis came upstairs with tear stained cheeks and red eyes, I knew I was correct that he had not seen it.  He said, "Why in the world did they do that?"  THEY didn't do anything wrong.  The fact is...children grow up.  It particularly hits me with Jaggar, who loves his toys more than any child I've ever seen.  He is SO serious about his toys.  But Sage, too, loves playing.  I brought her dinner to eat in her room last night because I heard her playing school, and I said, 'You can eat in here since you're busy teaching."  She said, 'Oh great!  Lunch in the classroom."  haha.  They spend hours setting up zoos with their animals.   These moments won't last forever, and  to think about that when mine are in the prime of their innocence and care free days is more than I can bear.  So for now, I relish those moments...always knowing in the back of my mind they don't last forever...and occasionally having this clip to remind me and bring it to the front of my mind.

Have a kleenex ready.  I can't even talk about the ending of this movie without crying.

Nap Time

This is what nap time looks like at our house through the week.

The Best Lullaby

Since Costner was born, I've discovered something he loves.  He can be screaming his head off, but if I lay him down and turn the hair dryer on, he instantly relaxes.  Sometimes, he'll even drift off to sleep.  It's so funny because it's something I can actually get done without him thinking he needs to be held.  The second you turn it off though, be prepared for the interrupted meltdown that had been occurring to resume.  Funny guy.  This is how he is with it on.

The Sweetest Girl

Sage is still the most tenderhearted child.  A few weeks ago after church, she handed me this note.  She always writes notes on our dry erase board, "Thank you for taking care of me."  Is everyone that lucky?

My Valentine

Clearly blogging is not my top priority these days.  I just can't keep up.  We are outnumbered now, and it's not the most difficult thing in the world, but when it comes to sitting at a computer and throwing some sentences together that are coherent, that is pretty much impossible.  As I write this, Costner is beside me working up into a full fledged fit and kicking my laptop.  Matter of fact, he just kicked the disk drive open.

Anyway, Valentine's Day snuck up on me this year.  It's not like I plan for weeks, but I was literally buying things for Sage's class party and for my own kids the day before.  And I get an F for presentation.  I may or may not have just given Sage the bear I chose for her in the Target bag right after school.  And Jaggar just chose this little M&M fan that he thought was the greatest thing in the world.  I said, "Do you want that for Valentine's Day?"  YES!  So...I don't even have pictures because it was pretty pathetic.  Travis wasn't even here for it, and when my in-laws came by after work with gifts for the kids, I didn't even know what it was for.  To my own credit, again, Travis and I didn't even see each other, so it just didn't register for me that it was Valentine's.  We are in some transitions right now, so it makes the familiar nonexistent.  I'm ready for it to be done so I don't seem like an airhead.  Anyway, this was my Valentine, just a little over 2 months old at the time.