TWO!

Happy Birthday baby girl!  Yesterday marked 2 years since our sweet Claire entered our lives and turned our world upside down.  It has been so much fun having a little girl... dresses and bows, pigtails and sparkly shoes... but she loves the dirt too - she's not afraid to sit down on the lawn and start digging in the dirt with her bare hands.  And at the playground she isn't shy either - she takes off for the biggest slide every time, and if Boden can climb it, she thinks she can too.

Claire is really starting to talk alot and in 4-5 word sentences.  It's been so much fun to hear her language skills take off.  She and Boden have a lot of fun playing together (most of the time).  It's fun to listen to their conversations.

She loves to help me cook and constantly pushes a chair up to the island when I'm making dinner so she can "help."  And her favorite food by far is cheese...she would probably eat an entire block of cheese every day if we would let her.  She gets into the fridge approx 3x AN HOUR and brings me a cheese stick that she wants me to open for her, and then throws herself down when I deny her the 3rd cheesestick of the day.  A few days ago I caught her actually just taking bites our of a big block of cheese.

Claire loves technology, she can work my iphone better than I can!  Today we were organizing in the garage ands she went inside.  I went after her when she didn't come back in about 2-3 min, and found her upstairs on our bed playing a game app on Michael's ipad.

She is such a good big sister too - she wants to hold Titus all the time, she tries to help feed him ("open mouth Titus!"), and is always excited when he wakes up from a nap.  Recently she has started trying to read books to him too.

Claire is such a fun, crazy, spunky, busy, little girl.  She is teaching me so much about motherhood.  I always thought Boden was strong-willed, but then I met Miss Claire.  Maybe it's just the age, but this girl knows what she wants and is determined to get it!

I am so thankful to be her mama and I can't wait to see the woman she grows up to be.  I know God has big plans for her life.

"Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.  Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands.  How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! ..."  Psalm 127:3-5

little worship leaders

these two crack me up... a little morning worship time at the Brueseke house:

Preschool part 2...the school bus

Yesterday was Boden's first day riding the school bus! He was so excited.  He wanted to go out and wait for it long before it was time.  It was a weird feeling putting my baby on a school bus - it's impossible to me that he is old enough.  It's only the preschoolers on his bus and they have seat belts and a supervisor other than the driver, and they pick up/drop off at our driveway.  Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd be so ok with it.  We only live about 5 minutes from his school, so it's not a big deal to take him, except that I have to take the other two little ones with me and get them in and out of the car to take him into school and pick him up.  and pick up is in the middle of naptime.  So, we are all pretty excited about the bus! :)

He came home yesterday feeling like such a big kid.  He got to sit next to one of his classmates and talk and play.  The only disappointment was that he had to get off so quickly - he is one of the first stops.  

Today he was all ready with his lunch packed, his backpack on, and his bus tag around his neck, standing at the end of the driveway. We saw the bus coming, prayed about his day at school, and then right as he is about to get on he says he has to go potty...like, really bad.  I definitely did not want him to have an accident, so no way I can tell him to wait until he gets there. And the bus can't wait.  I told the driver to go on and that I would bring him to school.

Poor Boden, he was devastated.  I had no idea he was SO excited about the bus.  I knew he wanted to ride it, but he was really, really upset.  So upset I wasn't sure I could get him calmed down enough to go into class.  He kept saying things like:

"just call the bus driver and have her come back for me"

"I can't go to school if I don't go on the bus"

I can't calm down, I NEED to ride the bus!"

I tried calming him down by talking about how he gets to ride the bus home and how he can ride the bus tomorrow.  And, at least he still gets to go to preschool today and he will still see all his friends, and how fun that mama gets to take him today.  He wasn't having it.

On the way to school he kinda calmed down and then he got upset again because "I can't pretend this is the school bus because it isn't yellow!", "This isn't the same road that the bus takes to school!", "my whole day is ruined now" and "but I don't wanna go through this door because when I come in the bus I go through a different door", and "but now I don't get to walk in a line with my friends!"  

We did finally make it into school and I dropped my little guy with red rimmed eyes off at his class. I told the teacher what had happened, just in case he has a hard day.  But, I'm hoping once he saw his friends and started playing he'll forget all about it.

I did have a hard time not laughing and smiling at some of the things he was saying (like that my van wasn't yellow so it wasn't like the bus), but I felt bad for him too.  While I know that in the scheme of things, this is not a big deal, but to him, today, it was HUGE! It was so not his fault that he didn't remember to go potty - at barely 4 I'm pretty sure that's still my responsibility to remind him to go before he leaves the house.  But, I think he learned a few things today.  We talked about not letting something bad ruin your whole day, and how he can still have a good day even though it didn't go the way he planned.  We repeated "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" several times until I finally got him to crack a smile.  And I'm pretty sure I won't have to remind him to go potty before the bus comes again...

Preschool!

Tuesday was Boden's first day of Preschool! He was so excited, talking about it all summer long.  It's hard for me to believe he is already 4 years old and ready for Preschool...it goes way to fast!

packing up his school supplies

The "Lightening McQueen" lunchbox! 

I have to admit I am really NOT a fan of character themed items for kids - shoes, t-shirts, etc. I try to keep it to pajamas only.  I had him convinced to get the gray and green backpack rather than the cartoon character one, and even talked him into a very sleek gray lunchbox.  But I noticed he just kept eyeing that obnoxious race car, and I felt guilty.  Who am I to judge what's "cool" to a 4 yr old?  So, we put the boring gray lunchbox back and left the store with bright red Lightening McQueen, and a very excited little boy.

 I may have gotten carried away and took a whole bunch of pictures...

"come on mama! I wanna go to school!"

 when we got to school we saw his friend Taylor who is going to be in the same class

 don't they look so cute walking down those big hallways?

He walked right into the classroom without me, didn't even look back.  Such a big kid. :(

Didn't even take 30 seconds for him to acquire some type of costume, no surprise there

This is his teacher, Ms. Kristine

I couldn't even get a wave "goodbye" - he was ready to play.  I was a little teary at this point, but so happy to see how independent he was about the whole thing.  I know he is going to love preschool!

We are so thankful for such a loving, intelligent, sweet boy.  God has really blessed us. Boden's name means "messenger" and we have been praying over him since his birth that he would be a light in this world...that through him, others would come to know Jesus as their savior. Even though it may seem like it's "just" preschool, this is the first big step for him to begin reaching out to the world and having an impact on his peers.  As our family and friends, we ask that you would please join us in praying for him and his new adventures in preschool.

I also interviewed him when he got home from school....I'll have that video posted soon!

Oh, the drama!

Yesterday we had a beautiful 72 degree day.  I decided we should walk to the park, and that Boden should ride his bike while Claire and Titus rode in the double.  It's about a 1/2 mile to the park, but he's been doing so well riding lately, that I thought he could handle it.

Halfway there he started complaining about his knees hurting from all the pushing and his nose hurting from riding so much...really? His nose? Yes, I confirmed that he was indeed complaining of his nose hurting.  I'm still scratching my head about that one.

Anyway, he's whining and trying to convince me that I should carry Titus and his bike (while pushing the stroller) so he can ride in the stroller the rest of the way... not happening. Finally I just told him we were turning around to go home and that I was sure he could make it back home.  He reluctantly got on his bike and started pedaling.  I said "See Bo, I knew you could do it!"  To which he replied in a very calm voice.....

"yeah, I know.  I was just being dramatic." and off he rode...

while I tried my best to contain my hysterical laughter, In fact I'm still smiling just thinking about it.  I can't imagine where he has heard that phrase before.  ;)

Run Home Boden!

Boden had his first T-Ball game yesterday!  The YMCA started a Little Hitters T-Ball League this summer for 3-5 yr olds.  Boden has been so excited to play baseball, so we signed him up! And Daddy signed up to coach!  

Here's a few clips from the game.  It was HOT, but the kids had a blast.

  And Michael did a great job coaching too :)

the birthday ferry ride

July 15 marked Boden's 4th birthday.  Its hard to believe it's been 4 years already.  It's been interesting to have Titus - he looks so much like Boden that I'm flooded with vivid memories of Boden's baby days.  Some days it feels like it was yesterday, other days it feels so long ago.

To celebrate, we decided to go for a Ferry ride.  There is a pedestrian Ferry here that goes between Portsmouth and Norfolk.  None of us had been before, so we thought it would be a fun adventure.

leaving Portsmouth - looking towards downtown Norfolk

we thought Boden would be excited about riding the boat and seeing the ships...but I think he was a little  nervous.  I asked him if he wanted to come to the railing and look, but he kept saying "I can see them from here!"  He was content to sit on the bench and enjoy the ride.

Claire however was very curious!

when we arrived in Norfolk we looked for a place to eat dinner.  The first thing we saw was Joe's Crab Shack, right on the water, and Boden decided he wanted to eat crab for his birthday dinner.  Sounds good to us!  

waiting for his crab legs


turns out he LOVES crab legs!



the view was beautiful.  I kept trying to take pictures of all boats passing, but the sun was setting right in front of us and it was too bright for my cell phone to get a good shot...and the nikon was tucked away in the stroller, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

I did get a shot from the Ferry as we were leaving Norfolk to head back home


Claire with Daddy & Bubbe watching the Paddlewheel on the back of the Ferry. 

Finally a shot of all 5 of us...even if not everyone is looking, I still love it!

Happy 4th Birthday Boden! We love you so much!

the beach

I mentioned before that while Nana and Poppa were visiting we took Titus to the beach for the first time.  I thought he would really enjoy the nice day, being outside, change of scenery, etc.  

But, as you can see, he was not a fan...

Bo and Claire, however, LOVE the beach! Its so much fun to watch them play and explore.

Michael spends  a lot of time "playing defense" when we go to the beach.  Boden and Claire have no fear of the water at all.  They will run right out into the crashing waves, get knocked down, sand in their face and get back up and do it all over again.

Tactic #2 to keep Claire out of the waves for a few minutes...snacks!

Pretty much the only thing that kept Titus from screaming was nursing.  So, while I didn't get to do much playing in the sun, I did get to enjoy the view and the breeze and just relax.  I'm sure it won't be long and Titus will be charging out into the waves with his sister and brother and there won't be much relaxing happening, so I will enjoy it while I can.

"I think I'm gonna go to the boat store today"

good thing pastor jim preached about staying out of debt last week :)

a whole month already?

*warning: prepare yourself for photo overload!*

I can't believe it, a whole month has already passed since Titus was born.  It's been a busy 6 weeks with lots of family and visitors and learning and adjusting to being a family of 5.

Titus is a sweet baby and is so loved by his big sister and big brother.  They always want to be near him, kissing him, talking to him and holding him. He loves to smile at them, and we love to see his toothless grin.  Every one of those smiles is gold to me...a sharp contrast from the screaming.  He has been a bit colicky, so evenings are a little rough around here and there isn't much sleep happening at night.  But, hopefully that won't last too long and we'll all begin getting a little more rest soon.

He is definitely growing well...at 6 weeks he weighed 13lb 7oz and was 23.5 in long! He has gained 5 pounds since birth!

Bubbe & Zeyde (Michael's mom and stepdad) stayed for about a week after Titus was born.  They were a huge help with the kids and with meals while I was resting and recovering.  Then Grandpa and Grandma (Michael's dad and his wife) came for a few days.  The kids loved having them here.  They also made it possible for me to make it to church just one week after Titus was born....there was no way I could have made it out of the house with all 3 kids and have been dressed and presentable in public so soon!

Claire, Titus and Bubbe

The 4 Brueseke boys

Claire and Grandpa

Then a few days later, Nana and Poppa (my parents) arrived.  Poppa helped us out with some projects around the house - a new garbage disposal (yay!), some painting, a new bathroom vanity/sink, and started some grass growing in the back yard.  And Nana helped out with the kids and the LAUNDRY...which I had been completely neglecting.   We did have a little fun too - we took Titus on his first trip to the beach.  Although, he didn't quite enjoy it like we had hoped...he pretty much cried the whole time. :(  

After about a week, Poppa had to leave for a business trip, while Nana stayed another week and a half to help me adjust to life with 3 kiddos.  I loved getting to spend this time with my mom and she was a huge help to me.  I think she might have enjoyed spending time with her grandkids too :)  Poppa then came back for a few more days before they made the long roadtrip back to to Nebraska.

It was so great having family here to help us through the first month.  I was able to rest a lot, the kids got the extra attention they needed, and the house didn't fall apart....we are incredibly blessed and so, so thankful.

Nana and Titus

Claire helping Nana play Sudoku

Poppa meeting his newest Grandson

Here's a few more pictures of what we've been up to for the past 6 weeks:

Brothers

swimming

lovin' on babies

multi-tasking

Mama and her boys

hard to believe Claire and Boden were once as little as Titus

my parents brought my old guitar for Boden to play - he LOVES it!

playing at the park

this is how moms lose the baby weight...we don't get to eat! 

Daddy and his babies

Frozen Yogurt Bar

Bathtime

apparently Claire is more interested in texting than in the story book

a little chutes and ladders

Bubbles!

It's still so wild to me that we have 3 kids!  They are such an amazing blessing.  Thank you Lord!