My sweetheart

One of the reasons I wanted to start writing this was to keep track of some of the sweet things Noah (and of course the other two) says and does.
Noah seems to be quite empatethetic. He covered his ears and buried his head in the chair when his brother and sister got their immunizations at their last check-up. He looks after Nathan in the backseat when he cries, trying to give him his pacifier, playing the music on his toy, or talking and singing to him. "It's OK Nathan. We'll be home some and feed you, OK?".
This past weekend when I wasn't feeling well, I laid down on the bed next to Noah (he was of course watching Little Einsteins) for a minute with my head down on the pillow. Noah crawls over to me and rubs my arm. I hear, "It's OK Mommy, you will feel better, OK?." Then he bends down and gives me a little kiss on my arm. I teared up.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not thinking he's so sweet when he's hitting his sister over the head with a block. Or whining over getting ANOTHER Little Einsteins put on "Mommy's TV". But even as I write this, with Claire in my lap, Noah is sweetly coming over to me and patting me on the back to show me Doctor Noah-- or Noah with a baby wipe over his mouth, which he is now using to clean the TV.

Our weekend

After a relatively healthy winter so far, lately we have been hit by one round of colds after another. First Noah, Claire and Nathan...then Claire & Nathan....now Nathan and me. Nathan is on his second round of antibiotics for an ear infection in his OTHER ear. Apparantly when he gets these colds, the drainage sits in his ears and leads to an infection. As common as ear infections are, we have only had to deal with one from Noah when he was about 10 months old and that is it. Now at 2 1/2 months, Nathan has already had 2. :(
The great thing about having kids is that they stop for nothing. Illness, cold weather or just plain ol' exhausted parents doesn't get in their way!
We did go on our first minivan shopping trip Saturday. The kids did amazingly well for sitting in a dealership for 2 1/2 hours. They loved climbing all over the new cars, but John and I didn't do as well. I'm going to guess it's because the salespeople saw 3 kids in car seats and knew we were in desparate need of a larger vehicle and would do anything (or so they thought) to get one. They must have thought that we had not done any research whatsoever into the vehicles or their prices. Oh well, there are plenty of other dealerships to buy from. In the meantime we are nice and cozy in Big Blue, but are still getting around.
A stranger gave me a hug as I was loading the kids and groceries into the car on Friday. I needed it.
I was wondering if I would be able to find the time to write in this, and wasn't sure how often. Since I put Nathan down 10 minutes ago, I've had to stop writing 4 times and go upstairs to tend to Noah and Claire (once to put on a new episode of Little Einsteins, once to move them from playing on the stairs with a plastic storage tub, and once to break up a fight over the train track and one stop was down here to stop Claire form pouring her scrambled egg into a play tea cup).

The minivan

So we have decided that we are now that family. You know...the family with a minivan. Well, to be fair, where else do people put 3 kids...especially 3 in car seats? We bought Big Blue (the Rainier) with the hopes that it would take us through a few kids, even 3 if we needed to. I mean, there are 3 seat belts back there right? Well, Noah just moved to the "extended" car seat, or the big car seat that fits a child up to 65 lbs in a 5-point harness-- the safest way to ride for toddlers. Normal 5-point harness seats fit children up to 40 lbs, which Noah clearly is not (38lbs at his November 2008 check-up). Anyway, with the new big seat, all 3 car seats are beyond snug in our backseat, and the kids are only growing. Not to mention the 3 sets of diapers, extra change of clothes,blankets, DVD player, toys, books, and endless snacks and drinks we tote around. Toss in a double stroller and the toys for the sand box at the park and we have one full car.
So now John and I have researched minivans so much that really we could be salespeople for them. And as soon as he is off call (Tuesday) we will be going to look at them in person. We already have our local dealerships giving us information. With us now being a family of 5, and the need to travel, a minivan is really our only option. And honestly, we are excited about it. :)

Getting Started...

I thought that I would start kind of "making notes" about things that happen around here. I have never been much for writing, at least beyond to-do lists and what I force myself to include in scrapbooks, but as life gets busier I am realizing that I can't remember some of the funny things the kids say or do. So I thought I would maybe write a paragraph or two as I get a chance (Noah is crawling all over me even as I write this, and the other 2 are sleeping!) and maybe end up sharing it as a way to keep in touch.
I suppose the first thing is from yesterday when we took On the Border by storm. The kids always love to see Uncle Josh (OK, me too, but I also love a good discount!) and we were right in the area so we stopped in. And we also brought a few friends with us. Let's just say Josh normally avoids tables with 8 kids 4 years old and under, and only half as many adults, but he took on the challenge. The look on everyone's face in the restaurant when we all walked in was priceless. I think all of the kids behaved exceptionally well, and I'm glad that we all had lunch together. I am irritated and occassionally even hurt when I hear people act like it's crazy to try to take my 3 kids out at once or stare at us like a circus show in the grocery store. Sure our outings are sometimes difficult, stressful, or overwhelming, and there are plenty of times when we change plans or come home early. But while 3 kids are triple the work, they are also triple the fun and joy. And wouldn't it just be boring to walk around Target without a baby strapped to your chest and 2 toddlers running around!? :)