Happy Mother's Day

Life hasn't stopped recently and I've had little time to update on our comings and goings.  Today is Mother's Day.  The day every mother waits for to be pampered and appreciated.  For us, I was just greatful for a slower weekend without as many places to go.  Although I cleaned the inside yesterday and Garrett worked outside, it still felt a little slower paced.

I wanted to share some of our Easter photos of our family.  We really got a good shot of us five.  Its hard now with three kids to get that perfect one.

For Easter, Jay and Mason each got bikes.  Mason's bike is a balance bike with no pedals.  He's so short, he can't reach the pedals, but it is another way for him to learn without training wheels.  Jay just needed a new bike because his was getting small.  I know they don't fit in an Easter basket, but instead of candy and such, a gift that they can get more use out of is better in the long run.

Today was not only Mother's Day, but Taylor's dedication day.  Our church has changed a few things and now they only do it twice a year, with at most 10 couples at a time.  This is the time we show the church that we are going to raise our kids in a Godly home.

The kids all did great.  Taylor jumped around in my arms and made noises the entire time and Mason stole the congregations heart when he wanted to hold her Bible.  All in all, it was a great time.

Last but not least, I'll leave off with a picture of Mason.  We had spaghetti the other night, and we've really been better about letting him feed himself.  He uses a spoon, but also uses his other hand to shovel it in,  he definitely created a mess.

Hopefully the next update won't be as long, but a few things coming up if I don't get to update.

Jay's finishing up Kindergarten and me my 10th school year.  Yikes!!  The time has flown by.

Garrett's preparing to go back to Mozambique this summer.

We are starting the transition for Mason to get therapies through the school system.

T-ball is ending soon.

And many more exciting things that will really need to be shared.

Until next time....

Carline thoughts

Wow, where do I start?  It has been a very busy month of January with school delays because of the cold and days off because of snow.  Being a mom of three, with a full time job isn't the easiest thing either.  You never know, what kid will be sick, whose diaper needs changing and what appointment will be next, but we make do.  Some days we just fly by the seat of our pants and go with the flow.  My routine this year after work has been to go to carline to get Jay from school then to head to the little one's daycare.  We do Jay's school work in the car and eventually make it in to get them.  Once we get home, my second job starts of washing bottles, getting dinner ready, straightening up anything that needs to be straightened and hoping no one hurts themselves.  Or cries hysterically for something.  Sometimes we have practice of some sorts to go to or we just hang around the house after that.  By 8:00, once the kids are in bed, I'm ready to relax on the couch.

As I look back and think about this last month, I think back about how far Jay had come with his reading and everything he is doing in school.  He is always excited about little things going on.  Just last night, Garrett was quizzing him on the kids in his class.  Each kid is associated with a number.  Garrett went through all twenty-two numbers and sure enough, Jay could tell us everyone, and even added in who was bad or good.  It's the crazy things kids remember.

Mason is thriving, although not really talking much, he is making more sounds.  He can say "no" and motion all done.  More exciting this past month, he has gone potty.  Both pee and poop on the potty.  We know potty training will be a process and will be more tricky since he can't really talk much, but we are up for the challenge.  My hope is by October when he is three, he is totally potty trained.  I think we have some time.

And my girl, Taylor.  Sometimes I think poor Taylor with all these boys.  Last month at her four month visit she rounded out at 11 pounds 6 ounces.  A tiny thing.  She has begun sleeping through the night with occasionally waking up at 4:00 to eat.  If she sleeps the whole night I usually feed her around 5:30 before I leave.  And in the last week, she had begun to really talk.  She laughs and giggles at her brothers and makes all sorts of noises.

It's crazy how fast time flies and how each one of them grows up.  I'm always looking forward to the next thing my kids learn how to do.

Been a while

So it's been quite a while since I've updated the blog, but I'm a mother of three with a full time job and am always on the go.  I last updated before thanksgiving when Taylor was two months old.  Two months later, I'm getting around to another update.  

Lots has happened since then .

1.  Mason got his third set a tubes the day before Thanksgiving.  He has become terrified of doctors and he really didn't want to be at the surgery center that morning.  Forget the gown, he did not like it so he got to wear his own clothes.  He did get through it and was easier when he woke up.  Later that day, he was Christmas shopping and acting normal.

This is his picture before surgery.

2.  We celebrated thanksgiving with each of our families.

3.  We celebrated Christmas with both of our families.  Jay received tons of Legos which he has now put together and they cover my buffet in the kitchen.

I don't think it will ever look the same again.

Mason got little people toys and Taylor, well, what do you get a three month old? Who knows??!!  She did end up with a shopping cart that Mason has played with a couple of times.

4.  Jay also started his first season of basketball.  We've had two games thus far and we can already tell he is awesome on defense.  Jay is very aggressive and goes after the ball.

Here's just a little bit of what we've done.   Hopefully I'll have time to update after Taylor's four month appointment Monday.

Two months

Taylor is two months old today!!  Crazy to think she has been around that long.  We went to the doctor today and was able to get all her stats as well as two shots she really didn't like.  Today she weighed in at 9 pounds 1 ounce in the 6th percentile.  She measured 21 inches long which is the 3rd percentile.  (She managed to make it out of the 0 percentile.). She is still small, so says everyone.  I think she is the perfect size.  When she is awake, Taylor is really alert and can really hold her head up.

At the doctor's office, I had a sidekick with me, Mason.  He started to have a cold this weekend, but when I got to him this afternoon it seemed like it was gone. I had already made him an appointment with Taylor, so he went with me anyway.  I wanted to get at least a prescription to use if needed.  Mason needs to be well by next Wednesday.  He will be getting a tube put back into his left ear.  Even though he is only two, this will be the third time he has gone in for tubes.  The poor kid has been traumatized the last two times we have been to the doctor.  Today, he cried in the hall when we saw the doctor and when we weighed Taylor. Forget weighing him.  Mason just wanted to escape.  Fortunately, the nurse had a sucker for Mason.

This past weekend, Jay has really dressed up like a superhero, but has really used his imagination.  Here's a picture of our superheroes:

Happy Halloween

Halloween is over, but we all had a good time and the kids scored some candy.  Definitely not as much as we left out for the halloweeners, but enough to satisfy their taste buds for a while.

This year, Mason fit in his same costume as a dragon, but filled it out better.

Jay was a Ninja Turtle, but had the Hulk costume underneath it to bulk himself up.  We honestly didn't spend money on it this year.  He had all the turtle gear from his Birthday.

And last but not least, our newest Taylor was a monkey.  I borrowed this costume from one of my friends who had thei son in it a couple of years ago.

We ventured out around 6:30 with some of our friends.  We had a great time!!

In the end, Mason had fun getting into Taylor's car seat and covering himself up.

We hope you had a good time as well!!

It's about time

We have had a lot going on recently since I last posted about Jay's birthday.  It's about time I post something.  Life has been crazy around here recently and has really not left any time to post anything.  

1.  Kindergarten 

Usually, Jay's day starts off with Garrett dropping Jay off at Sunny Days, but on the first day of school, Garrett took him.

Jay started his first year of school this year.  So far so good!!  He has enjoyed most every minute of it.  He has only had two yellow days where he did not follow directions and was really upset about it.  Other than that, he has been all greens and really happy about it.  It took a while for him to learn names, but I think he is starting to learn names now.  He is learning new things and having all sorts of fun.  Yesterday, Gus the Bus came to school, today was picture day and later on in the month they have their first field trip to Riverbend Farm.  I love hearing what he has done throughout the day, if he can remember it.

2.  Family of 5

On Wednesday, September 18th we welcomed our third child into this world, making our family complete.  

Taylor Kate Olin entered this world at 5:35 PM weighing in at 6 pounds 4 ounces.  She has been a blessing thus far, although Mason is hit or miss with her.  Sometimes he likes her and sometimes he doesn't.  He wants all the attention.

3.  Soccer

Jay entered into another soccer season this fall.  Games started after Labor Day.  He has been enjoying himself this far.

4.  New Car

After however any years of Garrett owning a Jeep, he sold his black one about a week and a half ago.  Said to see it go, but he decided to get a new 2014 Dodge Durango.  More room for the kids than his jeep had, and no we were never planning to get a minivan.

5.  Mason is 2

We have a two year old in our midst.  On Tuesday Mason turned two.  He has no clue it was his birthday, but we plan to celebrate this Saturday at the church.