Messes

Wednesday night Patrick finished eating dinner before Marshall and wanted to get down. So, he got down first and went to get his toy vacuum. He came over to Marshall's chair and began to vacuum underneath it while Marshall finished eating dinner. Patrick said the entire time, "Oh, Marshy. Oh, Marshy made a mess! Clean up!" I died laughing while Patrick just kept cleaning up the kitchen. Can you guess what I say every night when the boys are done eating dinner?! What's even better is that both boys beg to clean. They run over the basement door and want me to open it so they can go get the broom and vacuum. However, I have a funny feeling that this urge to clean will disappear as they become teenagers. I'm sure when they are 15 I will not be able to get them to pick up after themsevles for anything!

Top Ten

Top Ten Signs It's Time to Get Rid of the Pacie:

10. You (Mommy) realize you have one on you at ALL TIMES.

9. You begin to panic if you do not have a pacie in your pocket, diaper bag, car, etc...

8. You use it as a be-quiet-I've-got-two-other-babies-to-tend-to tool. I guess this one goes for Patrick's lovey, as well!

7. There are pacies hidden in every nook and cranny of your home.

6. You have been known to search the above said nooks and crannys on all fours in attempt to find a pacie.

5. Your child knows you will search for a pacie on all fours for him, so he's saves his energy and watches you crawling around the house like a mad woman!

4. You find yourself always browsing the pacie aisle at Target to see if they are on sale.

3. Your child will keep a pacie in his mouth 24/7, if you let him, and must have one in his mouth and one in each hand.

2. Your child has mastered eating and sucking on the pacie at the same time.

1. You look over and your child has the ENTIRE pacifier in his mouth- not just the part you suck on. AAAHHHH!!!!!!

Sneak Peek!

Graham is such a happy little guy these days!! He has discovered that he can reach for objects with his hands and this is his new favorite activity. He has mastered batting the low hanging ornaments on our tree! Here's a little sneak peek at Baby's First Christmas...Enjoy :)

It's Snooooowing!!!!!!

Saturday morning we woke up to snow! Not a lot of the white stuff, but just enough. Patrick looked out the front window and said, "Snow! Snow!" We have been talking about what snow is, so I was happy he recognized it! In the past the thought it was rain and I have been explaining to him that when it's really, really cold outside all the rain turns into snow. And, snow is white (gotta work in learning our colors any way possible! Patrick still thinks everything is green.)...So, we bundled up and went out to play. And, don't worry. I did try to put hats and gloves on them, but they wanted nothing to do with wearing them! They played for a short while (I'm talking 2-3 minutes, max!) before they were wet and cold.

Patrick and Marshall checking out the white stuff.

Marshall got brave enough to walk through it!

Patrick had fun running through the backyard and falling down in the snow...

until he realized the pretty white stuff was wet and cold!

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves!!!

Last week was leaf clean-up time!! Before bagging all the leaves, I decided to take the boys out and let them play in the pile. They had a blast!!! The leaves came up to Patrick's shoulders and when he got in them he said, "A pile, Momma! Look!" The big boys ran through the leaves, jumped in the leaves and basically, made sure they were no longer in a nice pile ready for me to pick up! So much fun, though, and totally worth it. :)

Graham sitting in the pile of leaves

Marshall playing in the leaves

Patrick having a blast!

Mr. Clean

Yesterday, while I was cleaning up lunch, Patrick walked over the the kitchen counter and kept saying, "Daddy! Daddy!" He was pointing to the bottle of Mr. Clean Multipurpose Cleaner that was sitting on the counter!!! I showed him the bottle and sure enough, he pointed directly to Mr. Clean and said, "Daddy!" I am somewhat confused by this one, I must admit. Those of you who know Robert know that he looks nothing like Mr. Clean! Robert is not bald, not this tan and not as "rough" looking as Mr. Clean. And, he certainly DOES NOT clean!!!! I guess I'll just have to trust Patrick on this one...

Brothers and Chopsticks

As part of Patrick's Multicultural November at school he got to eat rice with chopsticks!!! He had a lot of fun and was able to bring his chopsticks home. Of course, he wanted to have them in the car. So, I got them out of his bag and let him hold them in his car seat. Big mistake!! As I'm driving down the road I look in my rear view mirror and see that Patrick has given Marshall a chopstick and that they are using them as swords to poke each other!!! Our ride home from school involved pulling over into a parking lot, me taking the "swords" away and the boys screaming the entire way home. Lesson learned- brothers and chopsticks do not mix. AT ALL!!!

Updates

Hello!! Some updates to previous posts. Enjoy :)

All Smiles: Well, I must say, we have been blessed with three beautiful, happy little boys!!! Graham has mastered the "social smile" and will flirt with just about anyone! I am so in love with his big, gummy grin!...Patrick loves to smile, too. He will keep saying "cheese" whenever a camera is present...Marshall has quite a big, mouthy smile!!! Just like his mommy. I do still dream of the day when I can capture all three of their beautiful smiles in one picture.

Pumpkin Patch: The boys still love pumpkins. Patrick still thinks they are "geen" instead of orange. We're working on that one!

The Papi Fairy: Well, she has not made it to the Carraway house. We limit the pacie to the crib only, but Marshy is a hoarder. He reaches in his crib and pulls out as many pacies as his little hands can hold!!! He reminds me of the dog on the race track chasing the rabbit- he will follow you where ever you go with his mouth wide open if you hold out a pacie. This is how we often lure him upstairs to go to bed. Sounds cruel, but he's laughing the entire time!! We're going to have to get his one on our video camera.

Butter: Still a favorite! The big boys will eat just about any veggie if I put spray butter on it. Marshall even says "bubber" now when he wants butter on something!

Big Trucks: Boys LOVE trucks!! They even know what one sounds likes when it drives by our house. We spend a lot of time watching the UPS man do his daily runs down our street!

Exhaustion: I'm not feeling too tired these days. Spent some time trying to catch up on sleep, eat better and relax. Trying to put my OCD tendencies on the back burner when it comes to house cleaning. Not doing so well with this one, but I'm working on it! I cannot stand to have a house that is not absolutely spottless. If only I were this determined to keep caught up on laundry...But, at least I'm feeling better. The nasty sinus heachaches I was getting that actually rivaled natural childbirth have subsided and that makes a huge difference!! I am still on track with my running to do the Flying Pig 1/2 Marahon and I am going to run the Jingle Bell Run/Walk in a couple of weeks!!

Halloween: We actually put all the candy away Halloween night, but the boys have figured out sugar!! Patrick will say at dinner, "All done, Momma. I want treat!" and hand me his plate that does not have a single bite missing!

Milestones

Last night Graham reached a milestone- he rolled from back to front! Go Grammy!!!!! He was quite proud of himself, until he realized he was doing "tummy time." He quickly bagan to fuss and wanted to be on his back. Graham is NOT a fan of "tummy time," but neither were Patrick and Marshall! Graham was all smiles again, though, once he was on his back and Patrick came over to bring him a pacie. Patrick has decided that if a baby cries they MUST have a pacifier- whether they want one or not!

Jack-in-the-Box

Patrick Pretending to be a Jack-in-the-Box

Patrick-in-the-Box!!!!

Patrick not wanting it to be a Patrick & Marshall-in-the-Box

Patrick making it clear to Marshall that he is not welcome in the Jack-in-the-Box!!

Last night while the boys were playing in the playroom we heard Patrick saying, "Jack-in-the-box! Jack-in-the-box!!" I went in to see exactly what he was talking about, since we don't own a Jack-in-the-box, and saw him popping up out of a toy bin that he had taken all the toys out of! He proceeded to carry the bin around, climbing in and popping out. It was pretty funny! Then, Marshall wanted to join in on the action. He climbed in the toy bin, too. Patrick, of course, was less than thrilled about this. The evening ended with the boys wrestling on the dining room floor. Just another episode of Carraway WWF....

Say What!?!

As we all know, kids say the funniest things!! I've been keeping track of many of them over the past year or so and have decided to post some of our most recent favorites. Enjoy :)

Patrick:

"Oh, man!!!" in a high pitched voice every time he drops something, something doesn't do what
he wants it to, etc...
"Come on, peepee, come on!!!" as he slaps his leg when he's sitting on the potty or standing at
the potty.
"I comin', MaChe, I comin'. I comin', Gammy, I comin'!" when Marshall or Graham are fussing
and need attention. Can we guess what Mommy says when one of the boys needs
something and I'm busy with another?!
"Goin' on a tip!!!" whenever we get in the car to go anywhere. Patrick and Marshall get SO
excited if we say we are going on a trip!! Hmmm....wonder if they'll feel that way
after our long car trips over the holidays?!
"Daddy"is a slightly British accent. It cracks us up every time!! Don't know where he heard it,
but Marshall does it too!
"Damn, MaChe!" And, yes, this one if my fault. I apoligize in advance for when Patrick is sitting
at Christmas dinner and looks over at Marshall and says, "Damn, MaChe!!."
New Year's resolution for Mommy is to use less foul language. At least he hasn't
dropped any f-bombs yet, as we don't use that one!!! (Thank goodness!)
"Momma a hottie!" Robert is to blame for this one. I guess Robert's New Year's resolution will
be similar to mine!!

Well, that's all that I can think of right now. I'll have to look up some of the older ones. But, the Carraway's are now off to prepare for our family outing to the mall. Totally Robert's idea, not mine!!

Big Boy!

Yes, Graham is becoming a big boy!!! He has decided he must be sitting up at all times- no reclining. I don't know if he does this because he's just getting older (don't think the other boys wanted to sit up this young) or because he wants to know when his brothers are moving in for the kill!! When Graham is sitting up in the exersaucer-his new favorite thing- Patrick and Marshall come over to play with him and he absolutely loves it.

However, I must admit, this makes me a little sad. Graham is no longer my squishy little newborn!! He is growing up. This summer I had a mother of three tell me that she appreciated and enjoyed the newborn/infant stage more and more with each baby because she knew how quickly it passed. I definitely think this is the case with me, too. I am relishing in the first smiles, cooes and milestones much more these days and try to take extra time to appreciate them. I know that all too soon Graham will be less reliant on me. He will no longer rely on me for food and extra cuddle time. He will be running through the house with his big brothers recking havoc!! But, at least for a short time more he is my little guy. :)

Halloween

Patrick is Ready to Get Candy!!!

Marshall Loves Chocolate!!

Our Little Monkey


Graham's First Halloween!!!



Momma and Her Boys!


Daddy and His Boys!

Happy Halloween!!! We had a blast Friday night trick-or-treating! All three boys were in a pleasant mood (very rare) and we went up and down our street to collect candy. Although, I must admit I was dreading the whole thing up until about 6:30pm because for the past month Patrick and Marshall have wanted nothing to do with their costumes. Patrick would just say, "Marshy monkey, Marshy be elephant." He didn't want to put either costume on! And, when we went to a friend's house for a party Friday morning, Patrick was scared of all the kids in costumes! But, he warmed up at the party and we ended up making some arts and crafts, having lunch and heading home just in time for nap. Thanks Colleen for a wonderful time!!!...So, Friday around 6:30pm Robert told the boys it was time to put on their costumes. They both just looked at him confused for a minute, but when he said they could get treats if they wore their elephant and monkey the switch was flipped!!! Patrick was all about his elephant outfit!!! Marshall didn't conplain too much because his big brother was doing it, so it must be okay. So, off we went to trick-or-treat!! Patrick carried his little brothers' candy bags and at each house the held them out to collect candy. However, he was somewhat confused by the whole process! He got a sucker at the first house and began to eat it. Then, at the next house he wanted to put the half eaten sucker into the candy bowl and pick a new piece!! It was hysterical! Once we got past the whole don't put your old candy back, just take another piece thing they all had fun. Marshall is a huge chocolate fan, as his face is a total mess in all of our pics! I think they both should have had terrible stomach aches, with as much candy as they ate, but they crashed from their sugar highs and drifted off to sleep quite nicely!!

Robert and I then headed out, with Graham, to our annual neighborhood Halloween block party. It was a ton of fun!!! We sat by the fire pit, ate smores and had lots of great food! Thanks, Don and Terry, for the awesome pulled pork you smoked!!! Graham was a trooper at the party and got to be passed around the whole night. He just smiled and cooed at everyone and seemed to enjoy himself. He's our party baby! He went to his first outdoor party when he was only 4 days old, so I guess he's got it down!!

The Carraway's had a great weekend, overall!! The boys have somewhat adjusted to the time change and we have a week of temps in the 70's!!! So, we'll get to spend lots of time outside this week burning off all the extra energy they have from eating all of our Halloween candy.

Exhaustion

I think I'm definitely getting to the point of exhaustion!! I was wondering this morning why I feel so tired and decided to think through our 24 hour schedule. Here goes!

4am-ish: Graham wakes up for his first marathon nursing session.

5am-ish: I go back to bed.

7am: The big boys wake up and want their 4 packs of Quaker instant oatmel and "white juice" (not to be confused with milk!)

8am: Attempt to get the boys dressed before Graham wakes up to nurse again.

9am: Try to get out the door to the gym or to take Patrick to school. Not doing so good with this one. We usually don't get out the door until closer to 9:30.

10am: Hit the gym!! Try to get my workout in before one of the boys needs a diaper change or Graham needs to nurse. They don't change diapers in the playroom at the gym, and they obviously won't nurse my newborn!!

11am: Thankful that my run is over and ponder why my runs have been so difficult to get through this past week. Try to hop in the shower and hope I'm not called to the playroom for above mentioned duties!!

12pm: Come home and make lunch for the big boys and nurse Graham if not already done at the gym.

1pm: Pray for naptime to be here!

1:30pm: Naptime for the big boys and total awake time for Graham. Waiting for the day when all three nap at the same time. But, at least I get some quality time with just Graham :)

2pm: Rush around like mad trying to get dishes done, laundry going, house picked up, etc...

3pm: Feed Graham.

3:30-ish: Big boys wake up, have snack and play while Mommy watches the clock tick down until bedtime.

4pm: Am thankful that our babysitter comes in Tues., Thurs., and Fri. to help me out!!

4:30pm: Run errands if sitter here, watch clock tick down 'til bedtime if she's not here and of course, nurse Graham.

5:30pm: Start dinner for big boys and call Robert to see when he's planning on making it home.

6pm: Dinner for big boys and yet another nursing session for Graham.

6:30: Bath time. Sitter does it if she's here while I clean the kitchen and try to start dinner for me and Robert. It usually ends up that Robert makes dinner because 2 or more of the boys are not following Mommy's Master Schedule!!!

7pm-ish: Robert usually comes home and we eat dinner while the big boys wreck havoc around us.

7:45-ish: Get Patrick and Marshall to brush their teeth, read stories and go to bed.

8pm: Clean kitchen, pick up house, check email, get ready for bed.

9pm: Sit on couch and feed Graham constantly until he falls asleep around 10:30pm.

10:30pm: Make the boys oatmeal for in the morning, make sure my gym bag is packed and the boys' clothes are layed out.

11pm: Usually in bed falling asleep in about 5 seconds or less!!

So, I guess I'm pretty tired because our schedule is somewhat busy and hectic, Graham is in a growth spurt so he's waking up to eat every couple of hours at night (not following Mommy's Master Schedule!) and I am beginning my 1/2 marathon training schedule. Between being a 24/7 buffet for Graham and running my rear end off I think my body is giving up. It's telling me to rest. So, tonight I will attempt to go to bed earlier and I'm thinking that Robert and I will "eat on our own," meaing that I eat whatever with the boys and Robert picks up take-out for himself!! As I'm typing this I am reminding myself that these are precious days. I will miss the craziness of having three boys 2 and under, someday, but just not today!!

Headlocks and I Love You's

Tonight we had a first- the first time Patrick said I love you to Marshall!!! After dinner the boys were running around and Patrick ran up to Marshall, wrapped his arms around him and said, 'I la you!!" It was so adorable until I turned around to look at them and realized that Patrick had Marshall in a headlock! This headlock quickly turned into a wrestling match in our living room. Oh well. I like to think that Patrick was just giving Marshy a big bear hug, not putting him in a headlock, because he loves him soooooo much!! Have a great night :)

Big Trucks

What is it with boys and trucks and cars?! Patrick and Marshall are crazy about them, so crazy that I got the crazy idea to buy them 30 matchbox cars. Now my house is covered in tiny little cars and trucks. And, in case you were wondering, it hurts really bad when you step on one barefoot!! But, back to the cars and trucks. When we are in the car (usually with at least two matchbox cars for each child!) Patrick goes nuts when he sees a truck on the road. He yells, "Big truck, Momma. Big truck!" We end up spending the entire car ride talking about these big trucks. I have started using it as an opportunity to help him learn his colors, but I am failing miserably, as every truck is "geen" to Patrick. Well, today was a special day. There were big trucks doing work on our street. Patrick and Marshall sat and looked out the window and watched them for literally an hour! I thought we were never going to get out the door to go to the gym! We finally did, though, and when we returned the big trucks were still working. There was even a dumptruck and backhoe (I think that's what is was. We just called it a "digger truck.") So, Patrick decided he was not going to eat his lunch unless he was looking out the front door. He just HAD to watch all the trucks. What did I do? Well, I totally gave in and we all sat in the front door and ate lunch on the floor while we talked about all the trucks. Totally not something I would normally let them do, and I have a feeling I am going to pay for this later. But, at least they ate and there was minimal damage caused to my floors. Only a few mashed blueberries on the entry rug!! Well, I am off to clean up matchbox cars and blueberries. I am dreading when they wake up and notice that all the big trucks are gone. I truly believe that the love for trucks, cars, dirt and even bugs is not learned- especially bugs. I think that little boys are born loving these things!! And, I'll save our bug mashing experiences for another post. I'll have to get a picture to put with it, as Patrick runs around the backyard with a Cincinnati Reds small baseball bat and kills any bug he finds!


Note: Whan Patrick woke up from his nap this afternoon he was VERY disappointed that the "big trucks" were gone. The trucks being gone resulted in a 30 minute crying fest. It is 7:30pm and he still walks by the window and says, "Where big trucks go, Momma, where go??"

Butter

Patrick has a new favorite food-butter!! Many of you know of his GI issues he had the first 18 months of his life and our attempts to get him back on the growth charts. This had led us to feed him anything he likes (our Feeding Team and Cincinnati Children's Hospital has always been on board with this!) He is very fond of Quaker Instant Oatmeal made with whole milk (we go through about 30 packs a week) and now butter. Butter on bread, butter on crackers and probably anything else I'd put it on! Last night the boys had grilled cheese sandwiches, steamed veggies and fruit for dinner. Half way through the meal Patrick requested crackers and I gave him a few. He then requested butter. He ended up eating about 8-10 saltines lathered in butter. So, I'm guessing if he keeps this up he will surely move up on the growth charts. The problem, you may wonder? Well, it is "okay" to feed my child butter on everything??? Kind of a little strange, but who am I to judge strange food likes. I eat ketchup sandwiches daily!! That's right- just bread and ketchup. Love it! And, Marshall is somewhat "sturdy," we like to call it! He really probably does not need to eat several tablespoons of straight butter a day in addition to his normal intake!! Oh well. At least I offer fruit, starch, protein and veggies at each meal. I'm thinking I may have to start buying butter in bulk at Sam's!!! And, I will have to refrain from eating massive quantities of butter, too. I have no excuse- NOT pregnant again in case you were wondering ;) and my daily 5 mile runs would definitely not burn off all the butter the boys have been consuming. Until next time- at toast to BUTTER! DOWN THE HATCH!! (just for you, Ash and Jess!)

Shan :)

The "Papi" Fairy

All 16 Pacies Marshall Keeps In His Crib- The Rest Are In Various Stashes He Has Around The House And Car

So, we have a little known problem in the Carraway household. It involves the pacifier and Marshall. I had almost removed the pacie from Marshy's life, but in recent months I had way too many moments of weakness and gave it back to him. Yesterday he called the pacie by name and this made me realize I have a BIG problem. When he says "papi" he wants the pacie. And he says "papi" ALL the time!!! My solution?! Well, I heard a nasty little rumor that the Pacie Fairy is coming to visit a close friend of mine's son. I'm thinking she will have to swing by the Carraway's house on her way out of town!!!! I will keep you all posted on how this goes......And, on a totally unrelated topic- I have packed up all the maternity clothes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yipppppeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since I can wear my pre-pregnancy clothes now and have a track record of leaving maternity clothes in the closet too long, I figured I must pack them away. We all know that if you leave maternity clothes out too long you end up needing them sooner that planned, right?! :)......Well, laundry is calling my name. Have a great evening.

Shan

The Pumpkin Patch!!

This past weekend the Carraway's went on a family fieldtrip with Patrick's class at school. We went to Iron's Fruit Farm to go on hayrides, pick pumpkins and even pet donkeys and goats!! The boys had a blast and were even kind enough to pick some small pumpkins, squash and gourds for baby Graham!!! It definitley takes both of us to handle all three on outings like this, but it's worth it. It was so fun to see the big boys running through the pumpkin patch looking for the perfect item to pick!! These items have become objects they throw at each other now that we have them at home. Boys will be boys, right?!

Graham and his goodies!! The Hayride

Marshall Picking His Pumpkin

Patrick and Mommy

Patrick Standing on the Pumpkins

The Boys Petting the Donkeys

All Smiles!

Our boys have been full of smiles lately. Even Graham has started to give real smiles, instead of the I'm-about-to-make-a-dirty-diaper gassy smiles!! These smiles make the sleep deprivation so worth it!! And, Patrick and Marshall have figured out that when we say "cheese" we want a nice toothy grin. Maybe some day I'll get a photo with all of them actually smiling. A mother can dream, right?