February Park Fun

We have had a unseasonably warm winter this year which has been great for the kids! At least once a month it has gotten warm enough for Brandon to take the kids to the park to play! I never go because 1. I hate the cold and 2. I have baby Benjamin to take care of. Brandon actually took some pictures the last time they headed out to the park as well as a pretty funny video! Enjoy

 Elias Jerome!!!!! Annie was yelling for Elias

 Ugg I can't get up

Uncle Jordan is the bestest Uncle Ever...not

Adult Update

I just realized the other day that this blog is about our family but almost everything I post about is regarding the kids. So I decided this post is dedicated to Brandon and I! I will start with me since I am boring

Nothing has changed much in my world, I am still a stay at home mom and the Cheer/Dance Adviser at UND. I am not sure if I will continue to coach next year but I should be making my decision in the next month or so.

 I got a wonderful surprise this winter when my parents informed me they are moving here from Virginia! They should be in good ole Grand Forks by the end of the summer and I can't wait to have them here. The kids are absolutely thrilled that cousins Gavin and Skyla are moving here but Annie is pretty sad that cousin Justin isn't coming too..her first broken heart I guess. Brandon is excited about Sunday dinners at my parents house and I am just happy to have my parents close by. I haven't lived in the same town as them since I was 18 and have only seen them once or twice every year since then. I.Can't.Wait.!!!!!

 Other then those two things I am just loving my life as a stay at home mom. Adjusting to 3 really hasn't been that difficult since Elias and Annie love baby Benjamin so much. I spend a lot of time feeding Benjamin which has really been the only obstacle. The kids have watched a bit more TV then I prefer these last 7 weeks but we should be back to our old routine soon enough. Now onto Brandon

Brandon has been keeping himself super busy with work, school and being a dad to 3 kids who want his attention every second he is home and awake. Their favorite part of the day is still when they get to run in and wake daddy up. Sometimes they get so excited I can't hold them off any longer and Brandon gets cheated out on a half hour of sleep or so. I guess its worth it when he is woken up by 2 sweet babies jumping on him. He is still on the midnight shift and honestly I think we both like it a lot. He spends more time with us then when he was on days but the down side is on his days off he is always so tired trying to switch his sleep schedule around . Lucky for him the kids keep him pretty busy on those days off that he doesn't have too much time to be tired.

 He is in his last year of graduate school and will graduate with a masters in public administration in August. We just have to make it to August.... He has class 2 nights a week and he is working on his masters thesis at the same time. One of his classes this semester is pretty challenging but luckily I am able to help him out with it since its mostly math and statistical analysis...guess that ChemE degree is coming in handy after all. This summer he has one more class and comps then he is done!

 He is thinking about exploring a teaching opportunity out at the community college on the Air Force base. He would teach starting in August a night or two during the week. He is going to apply then just go from there. He eventually wants to teach we just aren't sure if the time is right now or several years in the future. He definitely wants to be a Police Officer for several more years before hanging up his badge. Well I think that sufficiently sums up our lives.

Silly kids II

I keep meaning to write down all the funny things my kids say but when I sit down to do it I can't seem to remember anything! I decided to startwritting things down and here are the latest funny things my kids have been saying. For the first addition of silly things they say click Here.

*"MOMMY I AM CROSS!"- Elias says while stomping him foot down in anger. I guess he thinks he is British now..or that he watches too much Thomas. It shows you kids really do imitate what they see on TV.

*"No Annie I can't play blocks right now, I am too busy" Elias says this to Annie then goes back to reading his book.

*"ELIAS JEROME GET BACK HERE NOW:-Annie She loves yelling at her brother, pretty funny

*"I'm sorry mommy, its all my fault"-Elias This is one we frequently hear when we go into the kids room at night to tell them to stop playing and get to sleep

*"Mom, you go downstairs please bye bye"-Elias( Annie contributes the bye bye). When they want to make a mess in the nursery and in the closet this is what I am told.

*" I go poo poo in my butt...but NO poo poo in the bath tub"-Annie

*"I go BIG poop! Frog Frog look Daddy poop look like a frog"-Elias pretty proud of his frog shaped poos

*"MOM, I have a present for you"-Elias What he says when he bring home stuff from preschool

* Dad" elias get back in bed and go to sleep"
 Elias "I can't its too hard. Annie tickling my eyebrows. You go spank her hinny.Spank her butt daddy. Brandon walks in the room to put elias back to bed and to tell Annie to go to sleep and she is passed out! Not sure where he made that one up from!

I guess most of these are from Elias so I will have to pay more attention to the crazy things Annie is saying for next time.

My 3 Loves

It seems like only yesterday that I was a newlywed with no real responsibilities. I could sleep in until noon (or later) on the weekend or go for a 5 mile run on a whim. In a flash I am a mini driving, cloth diapering, stay at home mom with three beautiful children to take care of. I never in a million years thought I would enjoy being a mom as much as I do, its crazy to think of my life any other way. This post is dedicated to my wonderful babies(yes I still consider them all babies), they truly are the light of my life and I don't know what I would do without their smiles and cuddles!I am so thankful that they all love each other and love playing with each other! Her are some pictures from the last couple of weeks!

My not-so-little Man

Well it has been 6 weeks since Benjamin came into this world and it feels like he was always here. I don't even remember what the days were like without him, more sleep I am sure! He recently has began to smile and it melts my heart. I love that I am the only one who can make him smile on demand although Daddy and Grandma Mim have squeezed a few smiles out of him too. We spend pretty much every second together and sometimes I can't resist taking pictures of him in say Annie's baby stroller or cuddling with his siblings. I was worried how the 3 kids would interact but so far so good! Here are some silly, cute and misc pictures of Mr. Benjamin!

 Benjamin starting to smile

 HAHA I couldn't resist

 So strong, a little tummy time

 passed out on the floor during nap time

 Smart like daddy...how cute is he!

 Swinging away 

 Wide awake at the basketball game

Happy Valentines Day

Every year on Valentines day I make as much heart shaped food as possible, make the kids little baskets with a new toy and some treats and just spend the day loving on them, this year will be no different. The day started off rough. Benjamin is sick along with Mommy and together we got close to zero sleep. I didn't have the energy for my usual heart shaped pink pancakes but thankfully Elias was OK with heart shaped "special" toast (cinnamon sugar). Brandon brought home Burger King, a man who knows my heart. Then let me collapse in bed for a hour while he and Annie cleaned the house..what a honey! For lunch we had heart shaped grilled cheese and after nap its time for the Valentines baskets. Brandon has class and I have a game tonight so no date for us but spending the day with my 3 beautiful children is good enough for me! Hope everyone was able to spend time with the ones they love.

 Speical toast

 Yummy Breakfast, they like to eat looking at the picture of the three kids...they love each other for sure!

 A very exhausted Daddy reading with Annie and Benjamin before he went to bed

 Heart shaped grilled cheese for lunch

Elias' haul from preschool Valentines day

The Magic of Disney

After our trip to Disney World in October the kids have talked NON STOP about going back. They will frequently ask to go see characters or to go on a airplane. With the obsession of Disney not fading anytime soon, we decided to not let the opportunity of seeing Disney on Ice slip by. On Thursday Mickey and Minnie were at the public library to read to the kids. Uncle Jordan and Daddy took the older kids while Benjamin and I attended a meeting for cheer related stuff. The kids had a great time although the boys epically failed at getting any pictures of the occasion. Friday night was the night of the show, we braved -20 degree weather to head to Disney on Ice! We bought the cheap tickets but in true Ralph Arena fashion, there isn't a bad seat in the house. Annie was her usual active audience member screaming"I SEE PLUTO, I SEE FLOUNDER"...and so on. Elias sat quietly at first and looked through his program before he became enthralled in the show. At intermission they each got a snack and a toy which just added to the experience. Benjamin slept through the entire thing and woke up right when we got home in time to eat.The kids had a bath and finally got to bed around 10:30. If you every get the chance to see Disney on Ice...DO IT!

 Waiting to see Mickey and Minnie!

 No more being afraid of these two!

 Never let a Eberhardt man use your camera...no memories will be captured!

 Benjamin ready to go to Disney on Ice

 Elias looking over his program while Annie is already into the show

 So Wonderful

 Annie wanted a better look so she climbed onto Daddy's lap for most of the show

 Elias decided that was a pretty good place to sit so he joined in the fun

Annie clapping along, she had SO MUCH FUN

The Best of Friends

One of the good things about having my first two kids so close together is that they have become the best of friends. At first Elias just orderd Annie around and would pick on her but as Annie has gotten bigger and started to stand up for herself their relationship has turned into more of a friendship and less of a master and his servant. (The ability of her to tell on her brother MAY have contributed to this as well.) In the last few months I have caught them playing house, trains and all sorts of imaginative games together. Despite Elias' language problems, Annie seems to understand what he is saying and they just have the best of time playing together. Half the time when I peer in on them, if I am discovered I am immediately told to go away ( always with a please so I oblige). I love our days when I sit feeding Benjamin and Elias helps his sister with the Thomas seek and find or they play hide and seek together.He recently began to teach her. We think he is imitating things he does in preschool and it is so precious! Now they give each other hugs because they want to and not because they are being told to in response for unkind behavior to one another. There were some really stressful times when the kids were younger but its the times like these that makes it all worth it! I only hope Benjamin can be as close to Annie and Elias and they are with each other. Here are some pictures of my babies being the best of friends.

 Elias teaching Annie all about the animals in his animal book

Elias was proud becuase she found the monkey so he gave her a hug

They were rough housing and ended up sitting like this after Annie took Elias down, I guess it was time for a rest.

The love affair continues

Two years ago I started my cloth diaper journey and I have been slowly becoming obsessed ever since. I took inventory the other day to discover I have 32 all in one diapers, 6 diaper covers with 15 inserts, 6 printed diapers, 3 potty training pants and 15 liners and 14 newborn diapers..yikes I think I would need quads to use all of those at once! I wish everyone would realize how easy cloth diapering really is and how much money you can really save by using cloth over disposable, not to mention the environmental impact. People's number one comment about cloth is how gross it is well I am here to tell you that no encounter you have with your child's waste are pleasant and I would rather rinse it off into the toilet and wash the diaper then squeeze it into a diper genie where it will sit in a landfill forever. Here are some of my favorite pictures of my diapers and descriptions about each of them. If anyone reading this wants to dive into cloth diapering, head to cottonbabies.com to buy them!

 Benjamin sporting the flip diaper cover. I never knew these would work so great as newborn diapers! Its a adjustable diaper cover with inserts. I used these on Annie until she was 2 or so.  I guess I am going to get great use out of these once again!!

 Flip potty training system. Same cover as regular flip cover only they have a slimmer design and the snaps are on the stretchy sides to make cleaning up messes easy and to make them easy to pull up and down.

 My favorite Christmas present this year! Albert design diapers. They are one size so they are supposed to fit 8 to 35 pounds but they are still a little big around the legs so I haven't tried them out yet.

 Artist series print diapers. I actually hate the patterns but they were on clearance so I couldn't resist getting great quality bumGenius diapers for so cheap!

Benjamin sporting one of his newborn diapers. He should be able to wear these until he is 4 months or so.

A visit from Kellie

On Thursday evening Kellie walked through our door to the excited screams from Annie and Elias. The kids haven't seen Kellie in a month and they were pretty excited to see her again! Kellie got put on Benjamin duties right away as we headed to the basketball game for the evening. On Friday she came over and played with Annie and Elias who were once again delighted to see her. Annie ran up to her screaming hi kellie hi kellie hi kellie, in true Elias fashion he hugged her..backwards of course. Kellie's mom treated us( and Benjamin) to Olive Garden and the he and Kellie spent the night snuggling on the couch while I got to update the blog!

Kellie and Benjamin snuggling at a basketball game

A little baby-Kellie snuggle time!

Kellie and Annie both looking beautiful after waking up. Annie from a nap and Kellie for the day

Night Owl

For the first almost 4 weeks of his life Benjamin was a night owl! He would snooze all day and party all night. I was getting an average of 1 hour a sleep a night for a few weeks and I have to say it was exhausting and I am glad he has figured out that he should sleep at night for mommy and not all day long! Here are some pictures from our sleepy days and sleepless nights

 Sleeping during the day

 Snoozing the day away

 Sleeping through the NDSU-UND Bball game

 Sleeping prince

 Chillin out sleeping

 Taking a little day time cat nap

 PASSED out

 tired during the day from partying all night

 Always falls asleep on daddy

 WIDE awake at night( in a giant sleeper that now fits:(

 Who says its time to sleep?

 I don't want to sleep!

3 am..time to party!