YAY!

Matt comes home tonight!!! Need I say more than - YAY!

SMILE

Trip to Houston

Matt's been out of town for almost 4 weeks now. He's been able to come home on weekends which has been great. I decided to save him a roadtrip and the kids and I drove to Houston to see him over Memorial Day weekend. Matt's apartment is a few minutes walk to the hospital he's been working at. It's kind of interesting to me that there are about 12 hospitals all across the street from each other in this one section of Houston. Right next to these hospitals is a great park with the Houston Zoo and gardens, and a natural science museum, etc. So we spread out the fun over the weekend with Matt's sister and her family who live in Houston just a few minutes away.

Saturday morning we hit the zoo.

I think the lion drinking fountain is a staple at all zoos.

Matt's sister got the kids tickets to ride the carousel. Luke chose the panda.

Maya chose a dolphin.

It was a lot of fun. We headed back to the apt around noon, which was nice because we avoided the major afternoon crowds at the zoo.

Here's Matt and Seth hanging out in the apt.

Matt's sister watched the kids and sent Matt and I on a date. It was really nice to be kid free for a couple of hours. Maya and Luke had a blast playing with their cousins.

On Monday morning we headed back to the park to check out the science museum and see a shark movie. While we waited for the movie, we checked out the exhibits.

Maya striking a pose next to the triceratops skeleton.

The T-Rex skeleton. Maya heard scared face and Luke heard scary face. Love it!

In front of the shark next to the IMAX entrance. It was a 3D Imax movie about all different kinds of sharks. Really cool. Felt like I was really next to the sharks, minus the cold ocean water and fear. Once again, Maya being scared and the boys being scary.

Luke was waiting all week to see the "Bruce" movie.

In the museum, they had a fun chemistry demonstration. I even learned a thing or too and a bunch of fun "experiments" we can do at home in our kitchen. In these pictures, the kids are learning how things expand and contract with temperature. They are holding a little glass tube that had colored water in the bottom. Their warm hands made the air trapped on the bottom expand and push the water to the top of the crazy straw type tube.





After the museum, we decided to walk to some playgrounds on the otherside of the park. At the halfway point was this great splash area near a pond with paddle boats and ducks. Luke had fun getting his feet wet in the heat.

It was a fun trip. Seth even slept through the night! Maya and Luke loved playing with cousins and getting to see Dad. The 3 hour car ride wasn't even that bad. Any longer and it might have been. It was a fun Memorial day weekend.

1 more night and this whole ordeal will be over. Matt will be home to stay! YAY!

Happy Birthday, Maya!

Time for another birthday shout out - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAYA!!
She is 7 years old today.

Some of her favorites:

She loves to sing, dance, play piano.

She loves to draw, write books and make cards.

She loves to swim.

She enjoys playing with her Webkinz.

She loves animals.

Her favorite books are Junie B. Jones books - reads them constantly.

Her favorite cookie is chocolate chip.

Her favorite pizza is pepperoni.

She is such a good kid, a great helper, an awesome big sister!

I love you, Maya!

In the hospital, 1 day old. Born 7 lbs 8 oz.

Helping with the laundry

1st birthday

Kickin it old school

Supergirl, Halloween 2006

On the beach, May 2008

Maya Aldasha Wilde, now, 2009

Happy Birthday, Matt!!

Born on May 12, 1976, weighing 8 lbs 15 oz (just didn't want to hit that 9 lb mark did you?), Matt is 33 years old today. Happy birthday, honey!!!
I wish you were in town so we could spoil you, but since you are not, here is a little public display of affection. For those who don't like the lovey dovey types of messages, look away now.

How to start. . . what do I love about this man? Just about everything. He's not a perfect person, but he is perfect for me. You all may not believe this, but in almost 9 years of marriage we've never had a real fight. It's hard for me to imagine Matt even raising his voice in anger. That's just not who he is. Who wants to waste time arguing?

He makes me laugh everyday, always has. Our children can't get enough of him, so much so that I can barely give him a hug when he gets home without the kids pushing me out of the way. The picture below is pretty typical. If they're awake and Daddy's home they're glued to his side.

He is an amazing father. From the beginning with Maya, who was not an easy infant, he would stay up through the night just holding her. He's not afraid to be silly making faces and making up silly words and games for their entertainment. I hope our children always realize, even in their teenage years, how lucky they are to have him as a father.

I can't get enough of him. I always think it's funny when I hear women say that after a few days of having their husbands home they can't wait for them to get back to work because they're in the way. I have never had that thought come close to crossing my mind. His vacation days always pass by way too quickly whether we spend the week at home relaxing or in Hawaii checking out as many beaches as we can.

What can I say - 33 and I still think he's HOT! Sometimes I can't help but stare and my heart starts to beat faster because I can't believe that he's mine. You still have to explain that one to me, Matt.

I love you, honey! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Not all bad

I don't want everyone to think I'm a big old complainer. It is very hard for me to have Matt gone. A 6-week-old, a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old are a handful and keep me constantly busy. This is a hard thing. But I can still see the funny things. I love Seth's smiles, which he is giving us more of everyday. I'll try to catch a picture of it, but the delay on my camera will make it difficult. Luke likes to sing "I am a Child of God" to Seth when he is crying. Matt and I love to hear him sing it because as Luke sings it, the words are "parents kind of dear" instead of "kind and dear". It makes us laugh. Maya is such a great helper. She reads stories to Luke when I can't and entertains Seth in his bouncer while I'm trying to get things done around the house. It also helps that I just have to last until late Friday night for the next few weeks when Matt gets home. Then I have him around until Sunday afternoon. Too short, but I'll take it.
I do have to say thank you to so many friends who are ordering me to call them so they can help. It's nice to know I have them when I need them.
Like I said a few posts ago - I will survive. .

Week 1 down

Week 1 with Matt in Houston is just about done. Hopefully he gets to come home for the weekend tonight. Weekends on my own with the kids are the hardest, so if I have a husband on the weekends, I'll be able to do this.
I definitely have moments everyday where I honestly wonder if I'll be able to do this on my own and I'm not sure I'm gonna make it without breaking down and crying due to being overwhelmed. Seth is a little high maintenance when he's awake, so he needs to be held and bounced and walked with a lot. (Sometimes I just wish someone else was here to hold him to give me a break.) This is usually accompanied by Luke being a typical 3-year-old and either getting into something he shouldn't, having a tantrum when he gets caught, or just plain wanting my attention focused on him. (Luckily he is very good to Seth.) Maya is as good as can be and even a much needed helper. I just hope she doesn't feel neglected by me.
The craziest part of the day is bedtime. Seth cries a lot in the evenings (similar to the way Maya was, but not quite as severe - my family may remember Maya's 3 hour cries every night when she was an infant.) So through the whole bedtime routine, Seth cries. Sometimes I can get him to calm down in the swing, but mostly he cries. While he cries, I have to convince Luke to get into his jammies, then get the kids to brush teeth and say a family prayer. I sing Maya a song (while Seth cries) and kiss her goodnight. She gets to read in bed everynight until 8:30. She is a piece of cake. Then (while Seth cries) I read Luke a book and sing him a song and hope that after I tuck him into bed he'll stay there. I put Seth down, even though he's crying, and give Luke my full attention while I tuck him in. It helps give him the "mommy time" that he needs and he's more likely to stay in bed. Usually he sneaks out a few times. This can end up in a yelling battle, but doing this on my own with an infant in my arms, I quickly learned that yelling just makes everything worse - and I'm not much of a yeller as it is. Then, once Luke is in bed, it's finally Seth's turn. I nurse him and he falls asleep in a nice quiet house. This routine is usually finished by 9ish. Then FREEDOM, much needed freedom. As tempting as the quiet time to myself in the evening is, I can't stay up too late or I'll be hating life when Seth needs to eat in the middle of the night.
Sunday was the worst - mainly because it was the first night and I was feeling sorry for myself. I've made a conscious goal to keep in control of my emotions, no matter how much Luke makes me want to pull my hair out. I keep my voice low, and think before I threaten with punishments. So far, so good.
Like I said - week 1 down and I'm still alive and my kids still love me and feel loved. . .I hope.

3 weeks to go!

I, I will survive. . .

As long as I know how to live, I know I'll be alive! (- think 70s music if you're confused)

I survived night 1 alone with the 3 kids without my husband - though I didn't survive it very gracefully. Hopefully tonight will be a little smoother. Only 27 more to go. . .

Welcome to the Gun Show

Say hello to Thunder and Lightning!

Time to Compare

So, I thought it would be interesting to post baby pictures of Maya, Luke, and Seth for comparison. Let's see eveyone's opinions about who looks like who.

(Seth - 5 weeks old)

The left picture is Luke, probably only a week or 2 old. The right is Maya, a little over 2 months old.

(The quality of Maya's picture isn't great. It's a picture of a picture. We only have pictures from her first few months of life from other people because our camera (old school, film camera) was broken and we didn't know it. Pre-digital camera era for us. We got a digital when she was 3 months old.)