Picture Dump

Since I haven't blogged in a few weeks, this one will be picture central. I haven't found a new routine for blogging yet. I used to put the boys down for naps, do whatever had to be done around the house, then blog. There is rarely a time they're all sleeping now so I lost my afternoon chore time for now. I miss writing all our little goings on each day.
We're just chugging along. Harris and Walker have 100% adjusted to Hayes (I think). The first few weeks Walker pretended Hayes didn't exist and I didn't know how good I had it then. He's now interested in Hayes and that's given me cause for concern.

Hayes must have nerves of steel.

Looking over some of these pics makes me wonder if I shouldn't have put the camera down and intervened, particularly in the last one. But Hayes enjoys his brothers and is entertained when they talk to them. He just grins up a storm when they chat him up.
Check out his little smile.

My parents were here a couple of weeks ago so we took the troops to the Children's Museum. They always enjoy that but the day we went it was a total zoo.

I'm glad Hayes is usually pretty chill. This is what he did almost the entire time.

Hayes has also been to dinner with me and my girlfriends a couple of times. He's the strong, silent type when surrounded by women, apparently. Here he is with the ladies.

This is at a table full of women, outside, and there was live music. He slept through it all. I guess it's quieter than what he's accustomed to! He's still sleeping pretty well at night and I am SO THANKFUL. At this stage, we still had to hold Harris almost the entire night to get him to sleep. We just swaddle Hayes and he sacks right out.

I'm sure we're violating 10,000 rules by having a bumper and blankets in this crib. We'll re-evaluate when he starts moving. For now, he just stays right where we put him, which is awesome. I have a new appreciation for the newborn stage, where there is no discipline needed and they don't ever move on their own.

Our babysitter and I took my three and Harris' buddy to a toddler sized amusement park. I thought Walker the daredevil would be really excited about this but we had to do convinving to even get him to ride one ride. Here they are the first time, with lots of kids riding.

Then Walker, who originally didn't want to get on, then didn't want to get off. So he rode all by his lonesome.

That picture just makes me laugh.

Yet another example of something I couldn't have done without our awesome babysitter. I had to leave in the middle and go sit in the car and feed Hayes. It just wouldn't be safe, or fun, to go places with all of them alone just yet. The boys all enjoyed it and we just dodged the rain. Perfect timing.

Harris is on a crafty kick right now so we've been making lots of masterpieces. He always wants me to do something with him. I was putting Hayes down for a nap and when I came out, he'd set up a play doh station with tools for me to play with. So sweet.

I can occasionally get Walker interested if it's something he's seen Harris enjoy. And if there is potential to be messy.

Walker is getting a longer attention span, too. Longer than non-existant is a big improvement! He's getting more obedient all the time, listening better, and is just generally more manageable. I took him to the dr the other day and he was a rockstar, I'm so proud of all his progress!!I think he's proud of himself too because when I brag on him he just beams. People kept telling us that consistent discipline would pay off. After months of this with no improvement, every time someone said that I thought of the saying "Doing the same thing but expecting different results is the definition of insanity." But there is a little progress. Woo hooooo!!We have a long ways to go but it's definitely getting better.
I love this precious little person.

Oh my goodness, Harris' class had a "performance." Their teacher read a story and each kid had a task to perform. The story was about the wise man who built his house on the rock and Harris' job was to hold up a rock every time it was mentioned. I think that makes him the star of the show, right? :)

Did someone say ROCK???

Here are the actors, post-performance.

So stinkin' cute.

That's all I've got. Looking forward to regular blogging again soon. We're Houston bound this weekend to see family and friends. Can't believe we're taking this show on the road but I think it will be fun. Famous last words....


"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Exodus 14:14

Checking in....

Things have been ho-hum around here lately. As ho-hum as things can be, anyway. Walker is learning to fend for himself, bless his heart. Hayes hit his 6 week growth spurt the other day and all I could do was feed him. All. Day. Long. Walker would come ask me for something and I finally just left the pantry door open and he could raid it at will. Don't judge. Now that Hayes is back to eating every three hours, I'd rather Walker not have unrestrained access to the snacks. But before I I cut him off, I had to take some pics of his independent ways.

Blogging causes you to take pictures of the most random things.

That step stool is his best friend. It gives access to all the carbs he can stuff in his little hand.

Walker also chose to help himself to some cake. We were sitting out on the deck with friends and kids were coming in and out. Serves us right for leaving cake on the counter and not paying close attention to what was going on! Harris and Tom had baked it and we had more or less forgotten about it, until Tom caught him redhanded. I should have gotten a pic of Walker, because icing was all over, even in his hair. Anyone want some cake??

Harris celebrated his teacher's birthday at school and wore the party hat for a few days in a row.

We went to the park and when I asked him to put his shoes on he came out in cowboy boots and his hat. Everything is very festive right now.

It was raining one morning and the troops were getting very, very restless so I let them paint. Walker REMARKABLY sat down and messed with it for a few minutes. I'm not being sarcastic when I say it's remarkable. I'm relieved to see him sit and do an activity that isn't pushing a train, however messy it is. It's progress!! And I think he even had a good time.

Little Hayes is smiling! I only caught the tail end of this grin but it's the best pic I have. Is there anything better than a little baby smile?

I've never taken a pic in the bluebonnets and always wanted to, so our fearless babysitter went with me this morning to try and get something cute. I knew it was a little bit of a long shot but we did our best.
Things didn't start off so well.

But I was armed with snacks. And willing to throw myself down on the ground to get some giggles. Thank you Lauren for the cute pics!! Next year there will be another Goolsby to corral. Hope he likes Veggie Straws.

I must have really hit the ground hard in this one.

Hayes slept through most of the pics but when I put him in the car he was wide-eyed and ready to go.

We congratulated the very reluctant photo shoot participants with a trip to the park. This was much more their style.

Doesn't it look  like someone is going to get smacked in the face by a teeter totter? No one did. This time.

We spent our Good Friday enjoying creation, taking pictures in blue bonnets and basking in the perfect weather. I'm so glad that I know what happens in this story and don't have to wait three days to know that Jesus is alive!!
Here's an excerpt from a devotional I read this morning:

There is good news to be heard on this Good Friday -a day that appears to be tragic in its outcome. The good news is this: Jesus is in control of what seems out of control. What feels to us like something that is out of hand is held firmly in the hand of God. God is never alarmed, never caught off guard, never looking to us to grab a sword and make things work as they were intended to work.
Source

Someone close to me is going through something no one should go through. It's a nasty situation and totally undeserved. Don't we all love someone that is going through something awful?? It's comforting to rest in the message that Jesus willingly went to the cross and that God was sovereign even in the most awful of times. And since he's the Great I Am, he's sovereign today. Even when it's very difficult to see. There can be no Easter, no redemption and resurrection, without Good Friday.

We'll be spending time this weekend reading out of The Jesus Storybook Bible and trying to teach our little people how awesome Easter really is. If you're looking for a kid's bible, this one is fantastic. I just got it and was reading to Harris out of it today and the story gave me chills. They don't dumb things down for kids but it is on a level they can understand. There are also cd's with it that I'm excited about. Tom plays the New Testament in his car and Harris asks questions about what he hears, so I think he'll like the kid's version too. We'll also be celebrating with some good friends and possibly eating some chocolate bunnies.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" (John 18:11)