Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Star Wars - Revenge of the Fifth

5 years ago on November 10th, God blessed our family with a sweet little boy named Landon. In those 5 years this precious boy has brought so much joy and laughter to our family. His little personality blossoms more and more every day as we try to raise him up in the Lord. His gentle and slightly shy spirit come through from the moment you meet our guy. He's very creative and could certainly be characterized as a "thinker". Every day with Landon is a blessing from the Lord that we cherish. I'm not sure when the fast forward button of our lives was pushed, but it is going by more quickly than I ever imagined.
This past weekend our family and friends came over to celebrate Landon's life with us. Landon decided that he wanted a "Star Wars" themed party this year, so Adam and I got our creative minds together to throw him (in his words), "the best birthday ever". Here are some pics with a brief explanation of what his party entailed:




As the guests arrived they were each given a Jedi robe to wear for our "Jedi Training Academy." (I've got to give a shout out to my sweet MIL who cut these out for me. Thanks Mayre!)















Jonah Skywalker, Darth Landon, and Storm Trooper Major:
Some of the children (including ours) had scored some 75% off costumes at Wal-Mart the week after Halloween; one of the benefits of having a b-day so close to Halloween.
















The kids munched on mini Galactic pizzas, Dark side chips and dip, and Yoda Sodas while waiting for all of the guests to arrive.








We played several games to see if the children were "strong with the force". Adam put together an amazing power-point to test for super hearing and super sight, and then the kids went outside to the obstacle course that Brandon, Papa, Joe, and Adam put together. (Thanks again guys!) Darth Maul, aka Brandon, explained the rules to the kids before they began.










The kids listening to the rules of the obstacle course that tested their super speed. Brandon used a scary scruffy voice and a think a few of the kids were a little afraid:)








Let the game begin! Through the tunnel,












under the table,













swing over the lava pit,












walk the plank (watch out for the swinging planets),












find your way through the fog and find an item in the sand pit,












under the soccer goal, pop a balloon to save Princess Leia,












pogo over to Darth Vader,


















receive your light saber and take a swing at Darth.










Turns out Darth Vader wasn't so bad after all. His head was filled with yummy treats for everyone:)









The kids popped bubbles with their light sabers while waiting for everyone to finish the obstacle course.









Next it was time for cake. Each year I make a special cake of the boys choosing. It is so special to see the look on their face the morning of the party as we reveal the cake. This year Adam has started helping me with the cakes and we make a pretty good team. Between his carving skills and my baking skills we came up with Darth head.














Darth Landon and his cake
















Blowing out the candles















About to cut into Darth's head...











Time for presents: Major wrote Landon a special note along with some really cute homemade bath tub puppets.









Major reading the key to the bath puppets. My favorites were "leprosy man" and "black guy." The Smiths are such a creative bunch.











All of the kids went home with a light saber, jedi robe, and a Star Wars mask. We had so much fun with each child and are very thankful that they all came to celebrate Landon with us.











Jonah Skywalker being a guy.













Graham was so sweet during the party. He let his papa cuddle him the whole time.




























Graham and Beau playing before the party.










In case you're just not quite ready to be done looking at pics, I am including our Halloween pics as an added bonus:




This year we went up to Crowley and took the kids trick-or-treating with their cousins. It was so much fun to all get dressed up and cruise the streets.










Adam (Burger king) and Graham (the third musketeer)















The whole clan




Our pumpkins- can you tell we were in a Star Wars kind of mood?

It's the little things

The past few days I've been pondering how blessed I feel to be able to stay at home with my little munchkins. Every day I am tickled by something they say or do. It's so neat to watch them growing and learning, soaking up the world around them.
Yesterday Landon got a letter in the mail from his cousin. He knew it was coming, so every day he checked the mail in anticipation. When the letter finally arrived he ran into the room (out of breath) exclaiming," Mom it's here, it's here!" As he opened his letter, his excitement just made me smile. He was soooo proud of that letter. It really made me stop and think about the little things that I sometimes overlook.
In my day to day life I often forget the notice the blessings around me; a flower, a snail climbing on a leaf, the ability to draw a stick man on the white board. These are all things that my sweet little children look upon with amazement. They make me realize how beautiful the world around me truly is, and how blessed we are by God.
I wouldn't trade these special moments with my children for anything. Who would have thought I'd be learning just as much from my kids as they are from me?

Happy Birthday Jonah

Our sweet Jonah guy celebrated his 3rd birthday a few weeks ago. I can't believe how grown up he is. He is such a compassionate and loving little boy, and we are so blessed that God gave him to us for a little while. I can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with my guy!
Here is a link of some pics that my super talented SIL took at his incredible hulk party:
Jonah's Party

A week of milestones

Today, Graham was in a silly mood and unexpectedly burst into laughter. We caught some of it on tape. He has also started "talking" to us, and telling us about his day. Next week, he says that he'll attempt to ride a unicycle ;)

2 Months

Graham is two months old today! It's hard to believe how fast the time is flying by. We took him to his checkup this morning and he is doing great. He already weighs 12 lbs 12 oz and is 23 inches long. That puts him in 75th percentile for weight and 50th for height. Both of our other boys always weighed in around the 20th percentile or less for weight, so this chunky monkey thing is really new for us. I never knew how much fun it could be to clean out all those little rolls:)
The doctor said that Graham's head is flat on the right side and is a little lopsided. Apparently his muscle is really tight so we have to start exercising his neck and making him sleep on his left side for a month to correct this. I'm so awe struck by my perfect little guy that I don't think I would have noticed if the doctor didn't point it out. Thankfully we caught it early so we can correct the problem before it gets too bad.
So here are some pics of our little guy:

Graham 3 weeks old














Graham 2 months old














The three musketeers














Daddy and Graham-I love how Graham's tiny little hand is holding on to his dad's finger















Graham the Giant and Beau-only four days apart













Brandon and Adam have been best buds since they were little- our babies met for the first time














Cutest smile I've ever seen














Playing in the bouncy














Landon has a way with making his brother laugh













He loves his big brother














Cuddling with Dad













Tired Boy

Not Too Proud

One might be under the impression that by the third baby, this mom might have her act together and know just what to do to keep her baby happy and content, but that's just not the case. So, I am asking for advice from all my mom readers.
I just can't figure out how to get this baby to sleep during the day. We've tried everything and nothing seems to be working. Newborns are supposed to get lots of rest, but we are having a good day if our little Graham sleeps a total of 1 1/2 hours in the day. This leads to an overtired and cranky baby by the end of the day, leading to an overtired and cranky mom as well.
Just for some background info here are some of the things we've already tried. We've tried swaddling, putting him to bed 1 hour after he wakes, rocking, the swing, sleepy wrap, and the car.
The car seat seems to be the only thing that really works, but it's getting hard to round up all three kids and find an air conditioned place to go several times a day. The sleepy wrap will work for about 30 min, but then he doesn't get a good sound sleep. The same goes for rocking to sleep; 10-30 min after I put him down he wakes up crying. I'll try putting his pacifier in, but he gets really worked up and wants to be rocked back to sleep. By the time I rock him and put him back down it's about time for another feeding so the cycle starts all over again.
I know that this too shall pass, but in the meantime it's very overwhelming for all parties involved. I just want Graham to get the rest he needs so that he can feel good and be happy. Any advice is much appreciated.