Nashville

Enjoying a stop in Nashville for a couple days at Uncle Spencer's house.  Boys had pancakes on the back porch this morning.

Took the boys to the Underwater Aquarium Restaurant in the Opry Land Mall.  They absolutely loved it.  How cool is to watch fish, sharks, eels and rays as you eat.

Julia loved how dark it was in the restaurant.  She hates bright lights.  She happily looked around at all the colors and then fell asleep.

The boys with with their "shark friend", as they called him.

Shep didn't know what to think about the shark at first.  He was surprised and excited.

Sweet girl dozing off after her big outing.

The boys wanted pose with the big guitars in front of the Grand Ole Opry.

Conner came up to me in the restaurant and said, "There is a gift store in this restaurant and they have stuffed animals."  Nana Wees said they could each pick one out.  Conner picked out a dolphin and Shep picked out a Shamu. Then as we were on our way to the check-out he spotted a big yellow rubber snake.  Well, so long Shamu.  We tried to talk him out of it, but to no avail.  He had already named it "Snaky"  He is quite pleased with his choice.

Sprinkler fun this afternoon!

Tomorrow we're on to the cabin near Gatlinburg! Yay for fun family time!

Moving

Moving is never simple.  Moving with kids is definitely not simple.  It seemed like we were packing for weeks, because we were.  I couldn't pack during the day because I had way to much "help" and I couldn't pack at night because I had a colicky newborn.  So, it went on for weeks.

The boys love adventure and new things.  They have been so excited to pack up and start the moving process.  Here they are helping Zack load up the van with boxes.

Oops...a little mishap.

Trying again.

So, where are we now?  We turned in the keys to our apartment of 3 yrs last Wednesday.  We are now all in AR and then going on vacation with Zack's family.  We are waiting.  Waiting for a job.  Waiting to see where we will be next.  All our belongings are in storage.  We'll be house sitting for a few weeks when we get back to Austin.  It's been strange not having an address.  Last week was hard.  Just trying to take it one day at a time.  Learning to be grateful.  Learning to live by faith and not by sight, which is easier said that done.  Learning what it means to truly persevere in prayer.  Trying to embrace the adventure of the next couple months, instead of falling into self-pity.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Eph 3:20

Our girl

It just occurred to me that I could blog!  I've been M.I.A and it hasn't totally been because of the new baby.  My dear old dell computer won't download the new internet explorer and that's the one blogger is using now.  Anyway, I have Zack's mac this afternoon, so here we go!

We have a little girl now!  Today she is one month old.  We did not find out what we were having and with all the boys in our family, to say we were shocked is an understatement.  Julia Evelyn Rose was born at 3:26 pm on April 20th.  She weighed 7 lbs, 9 oz and at 21 in long,  is my longest baby yet.  I think I'm still processing that we had a girl.  I would have been completely happy with another boy.  I think I felt, "Well, now what do I do??"  Buy bows, right??:)

How are we adjusting?  Well, going from 2-3 has been hard for me, but partly because of everything else going on in our life right now.  Julia is somewhat sensitive (the boys overwhelm her, which is understandable:) and fussy, like Conner and looks exactly like him.  She hates her carseat and won't take a passie, BUT she sleeps very well at night.  At 3 wks, she was already going 3-4 hrs at night between feedings, which I'm sure is normal, but compared to my boys is absolutely amazing.  I'll take some daytime fussiness for all that sleep I'm getting at night!  I'm feeling great.  My recovery has been quick and easy.  So grateful.

At this point, the boys don't pay that much attention to her.  I guess I was expecting Conner to be more into her, but I think her birth was anti-climatic for him.  We waited and waited for this baby for 9 months and then when she came out she didn't do anything by cry, sleep and eat.  They both desperately want her to notice them.  I'm hoping when she gets a little they'll enjoy her more, but then again, they are boys, so maybe not:)  Conner told me shortly after she was born, "Babies are boring.  I don't get to ride my bike much anymore."

She's growing well and starting to be more alert.  I'd say Zack and I both feel like we are really enjoying this little girl.  Maybe we feel more competent as parents...more relaxed.  It has been an adjustment, but it's been fun.  We have felt so much love and support by all our family and friends.  The generosity of those around us has been such a wonderful blessing.

I was going to post pictures, but they are all on my computer.  The boys rest time is over, so uninterrupted computer is over, too.

I'll post more about our up coming fun and crazy summer.

What is your favorite?

The boys and I needed something to do, so we did a little survey after dinner.

What is your favorite.....

color? C: black S:blue

toy? C: cars and my bike S:trains and blocks

fruit? strawberries and tomatoes S: blueberries and grapes

TV show? football (that's my boy!) and golf S: basketball

movie? C: Trucks, Trucks, Trucks S: Mater's Tall Tales

lunch? C: peanut butter and jelly S: Cheese

clothes? C: gym shorts and t-shirts (and he's only 4. I have a feeling this will be our wardrobe for awhile) S: Super-man outfit

game? C: chutes and ladders S: Candyland

snack? C: fruit snacks S: suckers

animal? C: cats and deer S: dogs and cats

song? C: This Breaks My Heart of Stone, In Christ Alone and Jingle Bells S: Jesus Loves Me and Come Thou Fount (We like to sing. They each get to pick two songs at bedtime)

book? Cars, Trucks and Things that Go S: Star Wars books

friend? Xavier (from school) S: Judah

cereal? Chocolate Cheerios S: Central Market Peanut Butter Balls

thing to do outside? Ride bikes!! S: Playing cars

thing to take to bed with you? Stuffed animals S: purple puppy

thing about our family? our baby S: daddy

What do you want to do when you grow up? hunt S: SUV driver

bible story? C: Moses and the burning bush S: the ten plagues

What makes you laugh? jokes S: when people make silly faces

They loved doing this and wanted more questions!

egg hunt!

After decorating eggs, we had a little egg hunt. The boys had been looking forward to this for quite awhile. A few weeks back we picked out some baskets and eggs at the dollar tree. Conner picked a basketball egg basket and Shep a soccer basket.

And...they're...off!! Racing to the spot where Dad hid the loot.


Shep actually was a better egg hunter. Conner raced around too much and missed most the eggs.

Love this shot of my big boy!

A friend walked by and offered to take a family picture. Yay! Our next family picture will have five people in it.

Shep counting his eggs.

We officially have enough candy to last for a year. We still had stuff leftover from Valentine's Day. Good thing Shep has a birthday in a couple weeks. He's requested a pinata and what a convenient way to make most of our candy disappear!

Happy Easter from the Stanton family!

saturday morning fun, part 1

Enjoyed a fun morning with Daddy decorating Easter eggs. This was our first year to attempt it. Last year, they probably would have broken all the eggs. We had a few close calls, but no broken eggs or spilled dye.

Conner ran into our room this morning exclaiming, "It's 7:04!! Time to decorate eggs!!" It's like he was expecting us to just bound out of bed with all his energy and enthusiasm and couldn't understand why we weren't quite as ready as him to get up.

So excited to start.



Saw somewhere to try using a whisk for decorating. What a great idea.

Holding up a finished product.

Decorating the eggs with stickers.

So fun! I think they turned out pretty good.

Coming soon: Part 2, the egg hunt

swimming and popsicles

Swimming + popsicles = very happy little boys! So excited it's already time to hit the pool. Definitely, one of the best perks of apartment living.


Love all the shades of blue in this picture.

Can life get much better?

Well, yes it can. Popsicles anyone?

Having fun in the sun with my boys!

In other news, 9 more days until the big due date:)