Friday, January 29 {evening}

We were still playing outside when daddy got home.  Daddy is always good for a few pushes.

"Higher!"

Luke is such a boy.  He loves his dirt.  This day he was making a mud cake.  He patted it down into the bowl, brought it to the play house and "cooked it" in the oven.  I was offered a bite, but I could tell he'd already sneaked some by the dirt around his mouth. ;-)

We went inside to make dinner.  You'd think I'd have taken a picture of what I cooked, but no.  Just of my drink.

Dinner- pork chops and sweet potatoes.  Jack was ready for bed so Ryan snuck away for a few minutes to put him down.  I didn't take a picture because poor Jack was beyond ready for bed!

Dessert time!  I stuffed some ice cream into the peanut butter cups.  Delicious.

This girl loves dessert.  Loves with a capital "L."

Dancing in the kitchen as mommy and daddy cleaned up.

(insert train noise here)

After a little more play time, it was bath time!  Luke hopped in the tub a few minutes before Beth, she took her sweet time brushing her teeth.  She tends to chew on her toothbrush... Like her father...

Mommy read books and put Luke down.  He has a library book on dump trucks.  He usually picks out library books based on two criteria: big machines or potties.  He likes potty books too, hopefully he'll be on his way to potty training soon.  He still uses his Nuk for betime and for church, he has what's probably an unhealthy obsession with it.  He loves it so much, it's probably why it's so easy for us to get him to nap and go to bed at night- he's looking forward to his Nuk!

Daddy read to Beth.  Read a few books, talk about their days, say some prayers, sing some songs.  He's a wonderful daddy, and she's a lucky little girl.

The toy room was surprisingly not a huge mess at the end of this day.  This is actually rather clean!

Friday, January 29 {afternoon}

we took advantage of jack's long nap and made gluten free peanut butter cookies.  the resolution that day from a book i'm reading called small steps for catholic moms was to bake a cookie shell with the kids, and teach them that god fills us up with sweetness like we filled our cookie shells up with sweet ice cream (pic later!).

of course we couldn't wait until dinner to try the cookies!

beth declared them delicious.  i thought they were undercooked.

our shells, made by stuffing cookie dough into a muffin tin and hollowing some of it out.  it served its purpose.

daddy came home for lunch and played with the kids.  this is a tickle game, where he was asked to copy her and then once she'd get both of his arms up in the air, she'd tickle him!

luke finished lunch on the floor next to jackson while beth and daddy played.

after lunch... wonderful rest time.  for everyone, even for finley.  luke napped, beth had quiet time upstairs, jack napped, and mommy napped too.

nap's over, time to play some more!

beth set up a party during her quiet time.

jack was all smiles, showing off his tongue during a post-nap diaper change!

we played outside for the rest of the day on this glorious afternoon.

jack ate some pine needles and leaves.

 

 

 

luke pushed his mowmow, carrying a pumpkin leftover from halloween

 

beth sulked a little, finding the pumpkin (which luke tossed out of the wagon) to be a very nice seat.

after getting bored in the back, we moved out front to ride bikes and run around on the driveway.  luke can officially push himself on the tricycle now!

my three babies.

Friday, January 29 {morning}

ryan and i woke up friday morning with bright-eyed and bushy-tailed jack jack.  at 6:30.  he played in bed while we tried to doze in and out for the next 30 minutes.

after i changed jackson, i walked upstairs to see this.  beth was playing quietly with her new dolly, as she does every morning, waiting for me to come upstairs to get her and her brother.

luke was waiting for me in his crib, yelling "mama!" and showing me that his nuk was still in his bed.  sometimes he throws it out of the crib, but not today!

i changed his diaper and let him pick out his clothes for the day.  both beth and luke usually pick out their clothes and i help them get dressed.  beth's usually very creative with her choice in outfits while luke's are more straight-forward.

beth played with jack while luke was getting dressed.  she was looking through a book of saints, we are still trying to come up with a name for her new doll.  She's contemplated Maria, Theresa, and Alyssa.  So far, nothing is sticking.

Finley hears us upstairs and decides to come up and joint the party!

He heads straight to the window to spy on the neighbors dogs.

luke chose his favorite socks, halloween socks from grandma that used to be beth's.

downstairs for breakfast.  luke and beth notice dust in the sunlight streaming into the kitchen and decide to chase it!

jack played in his exersaucer for a bit.  he usually lasts long enough for me to get breakfast on the table for the older two.

i get the coffee on for me.  my sweet, delicious breakfast.

...and jack decides he's had enough of the excersaucer.  not even 5 minutes until the crying starts.  no worries, he'll spend the next 30 minutes on my hip, right where he wants to be.

luke and his beloved orange juice.  he drinks just about two sippy cups full every morning, it's the first thing he asks for when he comes downstairs.

breakfast this morning...corn chex for the kiddos and wheat knock-off chex for me.  one of the few gluten-filled foods we have in the house, something i eat on a regular basis.

beth opts for dry corn chex and a cup of milk.

luke also has dry corn chex, but later decides he wants some "mama chex" with milk.  he devours them, and i'm happy he's gettng a little extra fiber.

after breakfast, our day gets off to a nice start.  the play room is relatively clean, and luke immediately pulls out his train tracks.  beth grabs her doll, and jack eats a toy on the floor.

after a bit of playtime, jack is ready for a nap at about 9:10. he'd been up for a few hours at that point, and was more than ready to sleep.  he graced us with a 3-hour nap, something he'd never done before!  i put him down to bed in my bedroom and came out to find beth and luke playing hide and seek.  beth counted...

...and luke hid.

we grab our rosaries for a decade of prayer before i turn on word world.

they are entranced for a lovely 30 minutes while i read a quick meditation and get dressed.  they love watching word world and super why, two shows i've recorded on our dvr.