My 3 Year Old

Bo turned 3 years old last week.  It's strange having a newborn and being able to look at him and think, "Gosh, it seems like yesterday Bo was your size."  Oh how far we've come...
Since Bo is our first, everything is new and we're not quite sure what to expect.  With Cruz, things seem to be a cinch.  Maybe that's why people always say that your second child is so different/easier than the first.  Not because the child is actually better, but because the parents somewhat know what to expect and how to handle it.  Or hmmm...maybe I'm thinking this just because I don't have the added stress of going to work.  Which I still am not missing one bit.

Anyways, Bo turned 3 last week.  We had a big party with the whole family and a few neighbor kids.  The anticipation was at an all time high...I think next year we may not tell Bo that we're having his birthday party until the day before or maybe even the day of.  You know, just to prevent the repeated party questions...

Since our house isn't the hugest we wanted to have the party in the backyard, but the Kansas winds weren't allowing it.  We rented a Spongebob inflatable bouncy for the kids.  It was a hit!

One of Bo's favorite gifts was this four wheeler.  He was the only kid in the neighborhood that didn't have a "ride" like this.  He was pumped when daddy carried it in.  He happily gave rides all day. Even mama and Cruz got a ride.

Here's the whole clan of kids...looking pretty serious.

Okay, now that's better...

Can't forget baby boy Cruz.  Here is chillin with mama and daddy.

Here's a few more pics from the day.

And I believe this may have been the best part of the whole day for the kiddos...

saying goodbye to Spongebob.

Best Buds

Aren't cousins great?

Holding My Baby

I've found that is difficult and time consuming to try and type and hold my new baby at the same time. Therefore, the typing has been placed on the back burner. We have not slowed down a bit over the past month, but the majority of my time has been spent holding my new baby boy. It is so sad to think that he already turns 4 weeks old this week. I love these first few weeks with a new baby, they are so cuddly and will fall asleep in your arms so easily. Bo's first few months flew by and weren't exactly spent cuddling. That child was a sweetheart, but from about 2 weeks to 10 weeks my husband and I spent our time bouncing, swaying, rocking....anything to soothe Bo's cries. And let me tell ya - nothing worked. After we made it through that period, Bo was on the move by about 4 months, pulling himself up by 5 months, crawling before 6 months, then walking by 8 1/2 months! We missed his whole babyhood! He didn't want to be held or sat next to for several months. No cuddling with that boy. I remember the first time he actually let me sit by him on the couch with my arm around him, it was after he was a year old, we had introduced him to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (our savior). Kelly walked in and immediately noticed Bo and I sitting together and was shocked. He's a mama's boy now and loves to cuddle, although we can't quite shake the Mickey habit.
Cruz has been a great baby. He sleeps anywhere and everywhere and rarely cries. He loves to cuddle. The poor guy has already endured a bad cold when he was about a week old, so Kelly and I have found ourselves becoming huge germophobes. It doesn't help that all you hear on the news these days is about swine flu and how bad this winter will be with illnesses overtaking the country. Ugh. How do you nicely say, "Please don't touch my baby!" to complete strangers?!?

Despite the illnesses, we have been out and about. Cruz has already been to the zoo, the state fair, out west to our farm, and was baptized with his cousin Josie yesterday. Here are a few pics.

I can't say how happy I am to be able to stay home with my boys...I couldn't be happier!