Summer Randomness

Our summer has been pretty low key this year.  With me being super pregnant, hot/humid temperatures, multiple doctor's appointments every week, and a great overall lack of energy, we haven't done anything super exciting.  So, basically, that all translates to mean our summer has been pretty lame by some standards.  However, the boys have gotten REALLY good at using their imaginations and creativity to keep themselves occupied and entertained. It has been really fun to watch them and some of the things they come up with. Here are some pictures of some things that have kept them busy the last couple of months....  Warning:  It's lots of pictures, and pretty random!

Water color painting!  Good thing he needed a bath anyway!

Playing apostles... D is Peter, J is John, and they are fishing in their boat.  J wouldn't keep his "costume" on. 

Matt built a "Knight's Castle" for the boys out of the box for his Father's Day present.  The kids LOVED it!

So, naturally, the next day, I had to make swords/shields for them.  After all, what good is a knight without his shield and sword?  They both LOVED them -  obviously!  Look at those very happy faces!  

Then, they had to have a go at being the "princess" and put on skirts (shirts they put around their waists).

Florida gets some pretty good thunder/lightning storms that frequently roll in out of nowhere in the afternoons.  Here are some clouds from one of them.  It was mid afternoon, and look how dark it got.

The aftermath of the above storm.  Joseph wanted to dunk his head in the puddles.  

More splashing

 Darren decided he wanted in on the head dunking action, too!

 Darren's turn!

Banging on the screen so we could see outside again.

 Helping Daddy fix the vacuums.  

Family slumber party in the living room!  It was fun!  

This is how the food storage area of the baby's room is supposed to look.....

I came in one day to find this instead....

A clue as to who the guilty party might be and what he wanted.....

Caught red-handed having a good time!!

 We even had a visit from Santa in mid-July!

Story time!  We have been involved in the library's summer reading program for kids, so we read lots of stories.  The kids really like it.

Darren has been taking tae kwon do this summer (his one thing), and he is the one standing showing a high block.

Never underestimate the fun of play-doh.  Darren made bug eyes.  Does he look like a giant fly?

He is quite proud of his snowman - in particular, the REAL carrot nose!

Some really good friends gave Matt and I tickets to go to a medieval times dinner and tournament.  It was the coolest date we've been on for quite awhile.  Dinner was served without any silverware, and was pretty yummy.

The procession of knights making their entrance.

We were assigned to cheer for the red knight throughout the tournament.

Our red knight, ready to joust!  It was a wonderful evening!

Even though our summer has not been super exciting, it's been full of the simple little everyday pleasures in life that make life fun.  I wish I would have gotten some pictures of the day the boys decided to move back to Alaska (if only that were real!).  They turned the kitchen into their cabin (which they fully furnished with toys, beds, chairs, etc).  They had so many details figured out and kept their imaginations in full swing almost all day long.  They went fishing, hunted for bears and moose, flew airplanes, climbed mountains, climbed trees, and visited friends we had/have up there.  I felt really bad when I had to give them their eviction notice to move someplace else so I could fix dinner.  But, they found a new place to move to, and all was well.  I am so thankful that both my boys are so patient, have such great imaginations, and can always think up something to do.  It has made life significantly easier this summer and will serve them well in the future!  

Almost There!

I have officially made it to the final trimester.  In fact, I am about 30 1/2 weeks along.  I can count the remaining weeks on my hands!  So far, this little guy seems to be following in the footsteps of his older brothers.  Healthy, strong, and BIG!!  Darren was born at 39 weeks, and weighed 9 lbs.  Joseph was also born at 39 weeks, but weighed in at 11 lbs. 9 oz.  Talk about HUGE!!

Just shy of 29 weeks, I had an ultrasound with this one.  At that point (nearly 2 weeks ago), he was estimated to already weigh 4 lbs. 4 oz., which is about 3 weeks ahead of schedule.  His abdomen was in the 98th percentile.  My belly was measuring 4.5 weeks ahead (there's excess amniotic fluid, too).  On the surface, I joke about how big this kid is going to be, make predictions, etc.  It helps to keep my spirits up amid other complications/issues that are beginning to rear their ugly heads.  The good new is, baby appears to be very healthy and strong.  It's always a comfort to hear that!  Here's a belly picture taken today... Just a little over 9 weeks to go! 

 

For comparison's sake, here's me at approximately 32/33 weeks pregnant with Joseph.  Keep in mind I started my current pregnancy about 30 lbs. lighter than what I weighed for my other two. 

On a little different note, I think we have finally settled on a name for our little guy.  We had a name picked out awhile ago, but it just wasn't feeling quite right to me.  So, a few days ago we made a new list, researched meanings, and decided on a different name.  I'm not going to spill the beans yet, because we are still trying it out.  I think this new name will stick though.  When Matt and I are both confident this new name will stick, then I will tell.  Until then, just use your imagination.  :)

There's Someone I Want You to Meet...

It is one of the newest Technical Sergeants of the US Air Force!  Matt sewed on Tech. about a week ago (I know, I'm a bit slow to post it), which means a rank advancement for him!   He has worked really hard for this, and I am very proud of him and his accomplishment.  Matt recently had one of his supervisors tell him that Matt was one of the very few guys he knew that could become the "full package deal," and mentioned that he's a hard worker with a positive attitude (positive attitude being a HUGE, HUGE deal), is very professional in his conduct, has natural leadership skills, uses his head and has common sense, takes responsibility for his actions, acts with integrity and upholds high moral values.  I'm sure I'm leaving some things out that he said, but I'd say his boss summed him up fairly well! 

The Air Force has a tradition that when someone has a rank advancement, supervisors, co-workers, family members, etc. all have the opportunity to help "tack on" the additional stripe.  This basically translates to punching him in the arm really hard as a way of telling him to not mess up and lose it (not worried about that with Matt at ALL).  I really wish I would have had the camera out when I was preparing the boys for what to expect at the ceremony.  When I told them they would get to hit Daddy in the arm, they suddenly stopped all movement, and looked at me with shock and confusion all at the same time.  It was actually kind of funny!  When the time came, neither boy would actually punch him - until they saw me do it.  Then Darren finally gave him a pretty good punch! 

This first pic is of the punching - Matt, his supervisors, and I trying to persuade the kids that it was actually okay just this once!   

Our first family picture with TSgt. Matthew C. Coleman!

 Mid-motion for a hand shake with the commander!

I'm proud of you, Matt!  Keep up the good work!

All About Darren!

I LOVE my little Darren!  He adds so much sunshine and adventure to our family.  He makes me laugh almost every day with all the silly things he comes up with.  His mind runs about 1000 miles per hour, and he gets pretty creative with his playing.  Here is just one example of his creativity.....

Darren has had a busy last few weeks.  He finished up his very first soccer season, performed in a special mother's day presentation at school, graduated preschool, gave his very first talk in primary (Kids sunday school at church), and is preparing to start tae kwon do next week!  He's done a great job with all of his events, and I'm very proud of him!  Here are some pictures....

For the last soccer game, the coaches invited all the parents onto the field for a kids vs. parents game.  It was pretty cute, and the kids won of course.  :)  Here's Darren and his buddy, CJ, (right side of pic) about ready to score a goal. 

 Post game smiles!!

After the game, neither Matt or Darren were ready to be done, so they had their own father/son scrimmage.  I love how they are both smiling as they are playing! 

Goalie Darren stopped Daddy from scoring! 

Darren scored!!  Yippee!! 

Father and son both had a great time! 

One of his individual "team" pics.  Gotta love the hands on his hips!

His other individual shot.  He can be pretty photogenic when he wants to be.

The Mother's Day presentation at Darren's school was sooo super cute!  They acted out the story "Are You My Mother?"  (Darren was the boat), sang a couple songs, gave the moms a little present the kids had made, and then served us muffins and juice.  I loved it, and Darren melted my heart! 

Then at church, Darren gave a talk about the church of Jesus Christ being restored.  He stood up there in front of all the kids with all the confidence of a pro!  He was not the least bit nervous or scared.  I was very proud of him!

A couple weeks later, he had preschool graduation.  His class and the other preschool class at his school sang a bunch of songs, and then received their "diplomas."  It was cute. 

Here he is, singing away! 

All the graduates.  Darren's class is the whole front row.   

Darren, his diploma, and his teacher, Miss Elaine.   

Even though Darren just graduated preschool,  Matt and I have made a tough decision....  We are going to have Darren do one more year of preschool before sending him to kindergarten.  Several things played into this decision, and it most certainly was NOT made lightly.  I'm not going to explain the many factors that played into our decision, except the most important one.  To put it simply, we prayed about it EXTENSIVELY, and Matt and I are both totally 100% at peace about it, so we know it's right.  We are going to keep him in his current preschool with the same teacher for one more year.  I totally believe that in the years to come, we will look back on this decision with thankful hearts as we watch Darren grow into the confident leader I know he can become.  I love Darren so much, and I am so glad that he is part of our family. 

Halfway There.....

I am officially halfway through this pregnancy.  I am 20 1/2 weeks to be exact.  Aside from all the typical pregnancy complaints, everything is looking good so far.  There is no hiding the baby bump anymore - in fact I am already measuring a bit bigger than average (no surprise here).  I am being brave and actually posting a belly pic.  In previous pregnancies, I have not been very compliant with requests for pregnant belly pictures.  I don't like how I look when I'm pregnant.  So, the fact that I'm actually posting this at this stage is kind of a big deal. 

About a week ago, I had the traditional 20 week ultrasound.  It's looking like this baby is already full of personality.  At a 13 week ultrasound, baby stuck his tongue out at us.  Last week, we watched him jab  himself between the eyes with his hand, and just wouldn't cooperate for the poor technician.  I had to get up and walk around to try and get baby to move positions 3 times during the ultrasound.  He finally cooperated just enough for the technician to be able to get the pictures/measurements she needed.  When the doctor came in to talk to us, he said everything looked good.  Baby is weighing in at just under a pound, which is a little big for his gestational age, but not alarmingly so.  Lengthwise, they didn't give me a measurement, but they did say he's measuring about a week ahead of schedule, and has really long arms and legs.  I'm not surprised - my other two were the same way.  He also has the same head shape as Matt and Joseph, and his side profile looks pretty similar to my other two kids' ultrasound pictures.  At the very end of the ultrasound, he finally let us verify gender.  At an ultrasound at 13 weeks, we were able to see what appeared to be BOY parts.  This time, he still appears to be a boy.  Consistency is good! 

See that white, semi-horizontal oval shaped blob above baby's neck?  That's his hand, and this picture was taken right after he jabbed himself in the face with that hand.  This little guy is already pretty strong, and moves ALL the time.  I can already SEE some of his kicks and punches if I watch my belly long enough.  Both boys are so excited to be getting a little brother - though Darren has made it clear that he still NEEDS a sister (Ha! I'm not promising anything!).  Anyway, we are all anxious to meet this little guy in just over 4 months. 

The Singing Debut Of.....

Joseph Porter Coleman

Here are 2 little clips of Joseph singing 2 of his favorite songs...  The first is "Wee Willie Winkie" and the second is his slightly own version of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."  He just turned 2 1/2, and even knows to take a bow when he's done!  I love this kid! 

A couple more years, and he'll be ready for a real live audience!

Soccer Time!

Darren has been super duper excited to play soccer ever since I asked him if he wanted to start playing this year.  So, I signed him up, bought the gear (thank you Craiglist!), and has wanted to put it on every day.  Here is one day that he did so......  Although he doesn't have his team jersey yet, and he put his chin guards over his socks instead of underneath.  I love this picture, because it shows his excitement to play like the big kids. 

Well, he had his first practice this week, and well.....  it was entertaining!  Matt and I were the loudest parents on the team.  :)  We both kept hollering about something - usually something along the lines of:  "No hands!  Put the ball on the ground!"  "Listen to your coach!"  "Wrong way, Darren!"  "Pay attention!"  Darren was continually distracted by the other teams on surrounding fields (he's ALWAYS been super curious!), and just wanted to kick the ball around.  His coach seemed to have a really rough time keeping the kids rallied together.  Several kids kept running off in just random directions.  One of the drills was running/kicking the ball down the field, and then kicking the ball into the net.  Darren's version was pick up the ball with his hands, run to other end of field, set ball down about 3 feet in front of the net, kick the ball in, raise both hands high above head and excitedly exclaim:  "Score!!  I did it!"  We couldn't help but laugh and shake our heads.  I think I want his confidence!  It was similar stuff to this throughout the whole practice. 

My favorite part of practice was the last 5 - 10 minutes.  It was an unofficial scrimmage - no teams, just one ball, and kids were given instructions to try to kick it into a goal.  We learned a few things from watching this:

1.  Darren is a ball-hog. 

2.  Darren will do just about anything to get the ball - he even reached his hands into the middle of a few kids trying to kick it at the same time, picked up the ball with his hands, and moved it away from the others so he could kick it. 

3.  Darren LOVES to be "Leader of the Pack,"  and keep others entertained.  Actually, we already knew that about him, but it was pretty evident on the field.  

At one point during the scrimmage, Darren picked up the ball with his hands, and just took off running.  EVERY. SINGLE. TEAMMATE followed him in a single file line.  Darren went ALL OVER the place, to include running through the middle of a couple games in progress.  He had the BIGGEST grin on his face, it was priceless.  I was laughing so hard (so were several other parents), it hurt.  We really have a lot to work on with explaining to him how the game works, but his first practice was pretty entertaining.  We'll see how the rest of the season goes.  .......