Fun Pictures of Ellery

Ellery is starting to talk more and more and show her preferences. For example some days she wants a mohawk in the tub while other days she cries if you try. Hopefully we can get her some more girl toys for Christmas. A friend of mine pointed out that she loves to carry a purse or handbag, but it is usually filled with cars and trains. She is a girly girl who loves her bows, but isn't afraid to get dirty and play with the boys. She also loves playing with her baby dolls and is tending to them like I tend to Bryson. She is my girl who knows what, when, and how she wants something. I respond to her well!

No Naps

I knew our days were numbered, but I had hoped I had a few more numbered ones left. Mason has officially given up naps, he now has quiet time. In his quiet time he plays with his cars, reads books, and makes tents for him and Double. Occasionally we are lucky and he naps one or two days a week. It is usually towards the end of the week when he is tuckered out. It does make a quick and easy bed time. He used to come out with multiple excuses to delay bedtime and now if you wait 5 minutes (taking care of Bryson) to give him his last hug and kiss he is out cold in bed. Ellery is another story, she is our late night party girl. She parties in bed with a stack of books. It is not uncommon when we go tuck her in for the night having to remove 20+ books for room for her to sleep.

You say Potato I say Potatoe

Can you believe this? Completely organic sweet potatoes straight from the Chaplin garden. We have had great success with the garden this year. I can't believe we payed money the previous year for a CSA when we can grow most of it in our own yard. Someone else in the family is going to have to start eating tomatoes in the future. I have given tons away and eat at least one everyday. Our pepper plants took off and I thought pulling carrots was fun until we started digging for the potatoes. I kept meaning to look up when I should harvest them, but we are heading out of town and they were overgrowing into the yard and taking over the garden I thought what the heck lets just see. This was my first go round on harvesting potatoes and it was pure joy. The kids loved helping dig and when we would find these whoppers they were even more excited to keep digging. This is just from 1 sweet potato plant that I bought for $2.99 and I broke that plant apart into 4 plants in the garden. I thought it was a bit pricey at the time, but it has payed off. We will be having organic sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving at our house along with other tasty treats in the months to come. If anyone has a sweet potato recipe, send it our way. We also have just had plain sweet potatoes with dinner and they are might tasty. I really wish we could have captured the joy of digging for these!

Mason showing off the cleaned off version. I was explaining to a friend that they were as big as his head and she thought I was kidding. I tried to tell her I wasn't and here is the proof.

I couldn't resist weighing the biggest one.

Bryson 2 Month Check Up

Height 23.5 inches (72%)

Weight 12lbs 8oz (70%)

Head 39 Cm (27%)

After nursing 12lbs 11oz and I thought it was a terrible feed and didn't think he ate well.
He is checking up nicely and staying on his curve. I think this just confirms I am pumping cream for this child. He got his shots, and one would think it would get easier, but it breaks my heart every time when they scream like that.

The Big Pout

I know this shouldn't make me smile, but his little pout is so gosh darn cute!

Bryson 2 Months

It is happening again. Bryson is growing fast and looking big for his age. I am not sure where I like being on the spectrum of kid size. Mason was big for his age, Ellery was small, and it appears Bryson is going to be big. Some one suggested we go for #4 to get the average kid, but I will kindly decline that suggestion. I think I am pumping cream for Bryson.
He is a very happy baby and smiles a lot. He also has a serious look to him and will furrow his brow as well. Usually he is mainly smiles, but when he is serious it makes you wonder what he could possibly be thinking to be that serious. No belly laughs or rolling over. He does enjoy his tummy time and loves watching the kids. I am not so sure it is watching the kids as just looking at who can shove their face closest to his first. He seems to enjoy it so we will roll with it until cold season hits. He is also starting to sleep 6-7 hours straight for me at night on a more regular basis. He tends to go down around 10 or 11 and get up around 5-6. We still swaddle him, but most nights her works and works to get his arms free and then falls asleep. It might be time to break out the sleep sacks and give up on swaddling him. He also really enjoys looking at his mobile in bed. Head control is pretty good, almost ready for the bumbo chair. I am also sad that he is growing out of his 0-3 month clothes. I think it is because he is my last little one, it brings a little tear to my eye. I had to take him to 3-6 month sleepers, because I felt like I was stunting his growth with how tight they were getting. He still enjoys being held, but he is getting a grip on reality that he can't be held all the time. Although I do find myself sitting down with him like he is a good cup of coffee or a good book and just really enjoying the cuddle time.

Give the baby a bottle

I have been trying to pump once a week and give the little man a bottle. I of course don't give him the bottle. Nana gave him his first bottle and to date he has now had a bottle from Grandma Ellen, Rob, Mason, and Ellery. I am not sure who enjoyed giving him the bottle the most? Smiles were all around!

Meeting an Astronaut

Our church had an astronaut as a guest speaker. While we were singing our hymns and listening to announcements astronaut, Clay Anderson, talked to the children ministries and showed the kids pictures of him in space and in his space suite. Mason thought it was cool to meet a real space man, and now wants to be a fireman/pilot/space/racecar driver. All those careers wrapped up into one job. If he learned anything from the astronaut is that follow your dreams and perseverance pay off. He applied over 15 times before NASA accepted him into the space program. He also knew that is what he wanted to be as a child. If I learned anything is to nurture my children in following their dreams and go for what they want and not to worry about all the stuff in between! Follow your dreams and dream big.

Pumpkin Patch

We headed out to the pumpkin patch for the afternoon. Bryson slept through most of the festives, while Mason and Ellery enjoyed spending time with Rob. He doesn't always get to enjoy time with them at the pumpkin patch, but we had a great afternoon together. I am amazed at how much they have changed from the year before when I look at them posing in front of the height chart and climbing on the pumpkins. A friend of Rob's rented a fire pit so we ended our night roasting hot dogs and marsh mellows over the fire

My Little Man

Rob said I don't take enough pictures of myself with the kids. Nor do I post many pictures of me. So Bryson and I took time to strike a pose. He is quite the smiler these days.

Peas in pods

Threes a crowd and we love having a crowd around!

Blow Dryer

Ellery is becoming quite the mimic and was pretending to blow dry her hair. She couldn't resist the urge to push the cool shot button multiple times because I wouldn't let her actually turn it on. Well, I didn't realize you could push the cool shot button so hard and get it stuck. I mentioned it to Rob as a funny story and got an even funnier story out of him. I walked into our bathroom and in his sink is my blow dryer taken apart. He couldn't resist the urge to take something apart and fix it, it is just the kids called him away before he could finish his task and he hid it in the sink. I think I should buy a new one, but Rob wants the challenge of fixing the old one.

Mason-Ellery-Bryson Ring

What a wonderful husband I have. He came home with a present for me the other day and it is a wow present.

To give a little history on the story.... A few months ago Rob was working an overnight and asked me if I had checked the front entry for a package. He failed to mention that the package he was inquiring about was for him, not me. I got all excited seeing the box outside the door and then quickly realized it was for him. Boo Hiss. He was driving home from work the other day and asked me if I had checked for any packages. I was catty and said, why you expecting something, but never looked out the door for a package. Of course Rob got home and asked if I really checked for a package, which I didn't, and said that I should go and look. I was getting excited, but not sure if I should be, so I went and looked out the front door and I spotted a bouquet of flowers along with a small box. I brought all of the goodies inside and opened the box. The box was filled with what looked like lose tea leaves. I love tea, but I was expecting something different. I said oh, what kind of tea is this and Rob encouraged me to keep looking because it wasn't tea leaves. I wanted to let out a huge sigh of relief, but didn't want to show that I wanted something more than tea. I got something more and much better than tea. It was a beautiful silver ring from Nelle and Lizzy that has 3 rings interlaced with all of our children's names on each ring. I LOVE IT! It was very thoughtful and sweet of him and I can't thank him enough for all the love he gives us!

Tummy Time

Bryson really enjoys his tummy time. I think he enjoys it more when he has his siblings dancing and running around him. I enjoy it more when they don't. They always want to dance around him with toys in hand and sometimes the toys fall. Bryson hasn't been hit with any yet, but I think it is only a matter of time.

I also had to run upstairs for something really quick. I hear Bryson squawk and come down and find Ellery moving him around and attempting to position him so she could pick him up. She loves her brother and wants to help mommy out. She just doesn't understand Bryson doesn't want that kind of love and I don't need the help!

Why Only When Rob is Gone

My crazy evening.....Operation Urination

Where do I start. I believe it all started in the bath tub. Bryson was in his bouncy seat in the hallway and being uncooperative. I turned my back to the tub a few to many times. My little ones were smart enough to sneak some drinks while I wasn't looking. They were able to sneak more than I thought.

The evening in a nut shell. We put a pull up on Ellery to sleep just in case she has an accident in the night. I am too tired to deal with waking up and having to change her sheets, so we wear some protection. She was still up at 9:45 just sitting in her bed reading books, but she came out to say she needed to go and had already went some in her pull ups. Got her all squared away and back in bed. Bryson would let me put him down for a bit, but wasn't ready to go to bed himself. He was fussy, so I decide to check and change his pants. I wasn't quick enough, or the cold air hitting his body gave him the urge to go to the bathroom resulting in a need to change his pjs. While I was getting Bryson taken care of, I hear Mason. Very unusual to hear something from his room this early in the night or any time for that matter. I decide to go investigate and find Mason standing in the corner of his room bottomless and peeing on the carpet. I loudly say Mason what are you doing and he turns and looks at me with a where am I look and he stops peeing. I ask him what he was doing and he tells me he thought he was outside and he was watching his bench grow. Was he watering the bench with pee in his dream????? One will never know. I think he was so tired and he was dreaming he was outside. We are busted, we sometimes let him go to the bathroom outside behind the bushes. Well, it came back to bite me. Operation Urination had me up late cleaning carpets and tucking each kid in for the second time. All this while Rob is working an over night at the hospital. I am sure he was devastated to miss such an important operation.

Daddy Time

Bryson was enjoying some quality daddy time. He was very interested in looking at Rob and of course Rob was making funny faces. He also was teaching/lecturing him on life in general.This is what Bryson thought of the life lessons talk and faces. Need we say more.....

New Puppies

We got new puppies in our house. This is the latest game we like to play at our house. Mason took it to the extreme and started liking himself and even tried liking others. Ewwwwww.

More Smiles

We are just all smiles in this house!

New Smile

If you ask Ellery to smile this is what you get.
Say Cheese!

Holding

We have reached a whole new level of holding Bryson. They both used to get really excited to put the boppy in their laps and hold and look at Bryson. Now that he is getting some head control we have been propping him up next to them and everyone is thrilled. Well, maybe not Bryson when his sister has him in a head lock hold. Although it doesn't look like he minds it too much!

Sprinkles

While Nana was here visiting we of course made more bows, but we also found some bling in her craft box and we got creative. We made Ellery a purse and spruced up one of Mason's cars along with a treasure chest. Mason didn't know we called it bling and he kept asking if he could have his treasure chest with sprinkles on it while I was making it. I sure do like putting sprinkles on things.

Cousin Cody

Cousin Cody came through for a visit. He has a girlfriend in Lincoln so we get the pleasure of him stopping in for visits on his way too and from. The kids are super excited to see him. He came through a few days ago and when I told Mason Cody would be at the house when we got home from school today he stated "we get to see Cousin Cody again!" It is fun seeing Cody and chatting with him. He has a great sense of humor and can tell a story with flare along with a charismatic personality, he is a hit.

First Day of Pre-K Preschool

Today was Mason's first day of Pre-K Preschool with Mrs. Hirth. He will be going 5 days a week from 9-11:30. He misses his old teacher, but didn't have any trouble today transitioning to a new teacher. Everyone was lined up in the hall waiting for the door to open and Mason went running to the front of hte line to be by his friend Brielle. Once Mrs. Hirth opened the door Mason was the first to enter the room all by himself because all the other kids were standing by their parents waiting to go in. We were in the back of the line, but kidless. No problem leaving us today, I had to go find him in the room and make him give me a hug and kiss good bye.
When I picked him up from school today this is how our conversation went:
Me: How was your day today?
Mason: I'll tell you about it when we get home.
Me: Did you learn anything today?
Mason: Probably
Me: What did you learn today?
Mason: Some stuff, but not for very long. It was a terrific terrific Tuesday.

Papaw George Lights It Up

Papaw George came up with Nana and we put him to work. Not on purpose, but Papaw George has some mad electrical skills being he is an electrician and all. He was able to put up a ceiling fan, fix some outdoor lights, fix the office light fixture, wire a garage light into Rob's work bench, and change all of our can lights in a blink of an eye. He was able to do all of this even with some special help. He was even able to throw in some ladder lessons for Mason. A BIG THANKS to Papaw George and all his work. He did get to go golf and we cooked him a steak dinner, but I have a feeling we might owe him more.

Mason Asks Nana a Question

Mason asks Nana a memorable question one morning while visiting. I was sleeping in so I missed the event. You snooze you lose in this house of funnies. I hear it was a doozy and the conversation went something like this.
Mason was sitting at the table with Rob and Nana. Rob had his back turned to Mason and Mason blurted out and asked Nana if she had milk in her boobies. Rob's ears perked up and Nana immediately said NO while Rob told Mason that's not a question we ask people. Nana then tried some damage control by saying that she didn't have a baby and just moms that have babies have milk including animals.
I am not sure if Mason was satisfied with all the responses, but he hasn't asked anyone else to date if they have milk in their boobies.

Fun with Nana

Nana came up for a visit over the holiday weekend. We had a great visit with Grandma Gray.
She had a great time playing with the kids. I am not sure who wore who out more?
She got plenty of holding and snuggle time with Bryson.

The big highlight of the weekend for the kids is she brought a hamburger and french fries cake. They of course loved dipping it all in the ketchup provided aka red frosting. When she first disclosed the cake she told them if they ate their dinner good she would give them some hamburger, they both looked at her funny until they realized it was a cake and then mass excitement broke lose along with clean happy dinner plates.

Help from Grandma Ellen

While Rob was out in DC playing, Grandma Ellen came to help me out! A big thanks for all of her help with the kids!!

Daddy Fun

Rob took a trip to DC through his FBI Citizen Academy contacts. He had a wonderful time and I am lucky he is over the age limit to join the FBI or he might have decided on a career change. They did some normal tourist sites, but were able to get some VIP access in the White House. Might not be too impressive, but they did get to sit in the office chairs and desk of Speaker of the House etc etc. They went though FBI head quarters and met the Director of the FBI and then got to tour Quantico. A dream come true for Rob. We now have to refer to Rob as Special Agent Rob.