my william. my ONE YEAR OLD.

happy.happy.happy birthday, my william.

i cannot even believe that you are a YEAR OLD today...it seems like just yesterday i found out i was preggers with you---when our henry was only 3 months old and our jake wasn't even two years old yet---you were so incredibly unexpected!...and that is the sweetest gift.

you were born such a gentle spirit. so easy-going. so content. so easy to please.

i wanted to consume you the first moment i saw you.

daddy was instantly smitten & so HAPPY to have his THIRD son

your brothers fell in love with you instantly.

it has been so incredible to watch you grow over this first year...
to watch your personality develop & come out...
you are so much like your brothers, in so many ways and so incredibly unique at the same time.

i love your fighter's spirit. {although it makes many things quite difficult} ;)
you, by far, have the biggest fighters spirit, compared to your big brothers {not an easy feat and yet you have somehow, managed to surpass them}

i love how you laugh every.single.time you get your bottle.
i love how you smile at your older brothers.
i love how you calm as soon as i hold you in my arms.
i love how you get beyond excited when your daddy gets home from work.
i love how happy you are when you wake up in the morning.
i love how you hold your arms up high in the air to so subtly ask {or more accurately, tell} me to hold you.
i.love.everything.about.you.

you LOVE playing with your big brothers

you love watching 'super why' with henry.
you love pulling everything out of the kitchen cabinets.
you love being read to.
you love playing hide 'n seek {and always.always.always find your older brothers}

you are my 3rd amazing. my sweet william, we are so crazy in love with you.
you have made our lives complete.

i love you.
i'm proud of you.
you are amazing.
you make my heart happy.
i am so happy i get to be your mommy.
i have waited for you my entire life.

happy birthday, my william.
xoxoxo

{sneak peek} our "little gentlemen's" birthday party

...more to follow...

my henry. my TWO YEAR OLD.

HAPPY.HAPPY.HAPPY birthday, my little man, my 2nd amazing, my fun adventurer, my henry.
i simply cannot even believe that you are TWO YEARS OLD today...

i remember seeing your face for the first time---i was so.incredibly.in.crazy.love with you...even though you were screaming--all the time...and the 2nd day you were in our lives, i think it can, to this point, be considered one of the.most.difficult.24.hours.of my life.
i don't think there were more than 2 seconds that you were not screaming at the top of your lungs...and i was helpless to make anything better and that broke.my.heart.

you continued crying for the majority of your life---probably about 85% of the day---up until recently, praise god! that is behind us!! {with the random exception of the night time screaming}

you have become such a fun spirit that i LOVE being around!!
i simply cannot get enough of you---of your laugh, your handsome face, the way you have to run laps around the house every.single.time after you eat, how you never tire of me reading you your favorite book, how you always say, "hold me mommy. hold me." your love of music & dancing, how you grunt when you get frustrated, your love of being a big helper, basically, i LOVE everything about you.

you are my 2nd amazing.
you are my henry.
i could not be more in love with you.
and like i say to you & your brothers many times throughout the day,
i love you.
i'm proud of you.
you are amazing.
you make my heart happy.
i am so happy i get to be your mommy.
i have waited for you my whole life.

xoxoxo

{now, a funny side story...
i am one of those silly moms that remembers pretty much every.single.detail about my three amazings and if i question if i will absolutely, positively remember it, i write it down...
well, i OF COURSE remembered what my jake was wearing on the day he turned TWO :) and so would have planned on putting henry in the same shirt...but, the FUNNY thing is that sean got him dressed today & just happened {unless my hubbie is foolishly sentimental like me, which i am pretty sure, he isn't & it was just pure coincidence}
to put him in the exact.same.shirt that jake wore...}

be.still.my.happy.heart.

how.did.this.happen?

{jake at 1 week}

how is it possible, that my first amazing, my sweet jake, is starting pre-school tomorrow?
how is it possible that my little man, who i remember the exact moment i found out i was preggers with him, is now 3 1/2 years old and i will be driving to his first day of school tomorrow?
how.did.this.happen?
anyone who knows anything about me, knows that i don't want him to go.
i don't want to drive him to school tomorrow morning.
i don't want this day that i have been dreading for about 1 1/2 months now, to actually be here.
i don't want to be without him for 5 hours every week.
BUT, i also know that this is the best thing for him.
jake is so ready for this.
he is so ready to head out with his backpack on and walk towards new adventures...

{here's to this mommy keeping her sobs quiet enough on the way home, so my henry & william don't hear me...}

how.did.this.happen?

{me & my first amazing at 6 weeks}

sometimes, something that may be good for one of our tiny amazings, may not be so good for us...
like sending said tiny amazing to preschool.
one word can describe my feelings about this---sad.
but, as any good mommy does, it's called 'it's not about me. it's about them.'
if it were about me, i would keep my jake home with me until next september.
but, since this is about my jake, we will send him in december. {tear.sniff.tear}
this little man of ours is ready.
mommy, not so much.
but then again, i don't think i will ever really feel "ready."

my only question....how.did.this.happen?

9 month stats

{william}
weight: 18.2 lbs
height: 2 feet 5 1/2 inches

{henry}
weight: 21 lbs
height: 2 feet 5 inches

{jake}
weight: 16 lbs 6 oz
height: 2 feet 3 1/2 inches

time.stand.still.

saturday park fun.

four of my favorites.
loves.of.my.life.