There are no words

D.R.'s brother, Jon, passed away yesterday in the early hours of the morning. Jon was many things to many different people and there is such a void and sadness for those who are left without him. To me and the kids he was a phenomenal brother-in-law, uncle and godfather. To D.R., he was not only a brother, but a best friend...

Jon, wrestling with the boys and cousins.

Jon, holding Shea for the first time... with Walker.

Jon, Stacie and Reese, holding the boys.

Jon and D.R. together on D.R.'s 28th birthday.

Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder with children, spouses and first grandchild (Reese).

Brothers...

Meeting the boys in the hospital.

A sleepy morning with family. (D.R., Jon and Meredith with one of the boys (?), Reese and Jake)

Family fun... I think this was Easter.

Stacie, Jon, D.R. and Meredith. We (the kids) hosted a dinner for Don and Mary's anniversary one year. Family restaurant night.

Don, Jon and D.R.

Jon, D.R. and Meredith and their kiddos.

The infamous Schroeder choo-choo train birthday cake.

All of us in Hawaii.

Jon, Stacie, D.R. and I in Hawaii.

Jon and D.R. at our wedding.

Another wedding shot.

Jon and Dex

Meeting Walker...

... we will miss you, SO SO MUCH, Jon. We love you.

A bit random...

Last week-end, we had a sleepover with some of the kids' cousins. The boys had an absolute blast and, I have to admit, D.R. and I did, too. Sitting here tonight in our little living room/kitchen, looking around the room, admiring how nice and clean this space is when our little tornadoes are fast asleep, I'm remembering something my niece said last week-end. We were getting the kiddos ready for bed and she said, "I want to sleep in the toy room." Basically, we live in a toy room. hee hee.

Separation anxiety has hit Shea full force. She is the HAPPIEST of little girls if she is within a foot of me (or, better yet, clinging to a foot of me). The second mommy is out of sight, however, she will let you know that this is NOT acceptable. Other things that are suddenly NOT acceptable... clothing changes, diaper changes, nose wiping... basically, anything that requires her to sit/lay still for more than 3 seconds. We are definitely out of the newborn phase!!!

Still hyped-up on reflections... the boys busy themselves making suncatchers.

Another new favorite: family trips to Target. We've made a tradition of going once a week to stock up on groceries and other necessities and the boys LOVE it. We divide the list in two and then break. Daddy and the boys tackle one half of the list and Shea and I work our way down the other half. It's way more fun than doing it by myself and the kids get such a kick out of doing it as a family. A few years ago I never would have imagined a trip to get groceries being such a highlight for me... but it is... and I like it that way.

Giggles

The boys are getting goofier and goofier. Dexter spent today trapping his matchbox cars in lego jail towers and Jaxon reorganized his wallet and fake credit cards, while trying to keep Shea in baby jail (apparently, she was being very very naughty). Everyday, it's a new endeavor or a new made-up game. It's even sillier when they work together. Below, a few of their other recent pasttimes.

Here's Jax, pouring over grocery ads. You wouldn't believe how excited he gets when he spots a favorite food (or, better yet, a photo of pop... hee hee).

Dexter has discovered the word "reflection." Here he is, trying to make the sunlight reflect off of the lid in his hands. Earlier today, he excitedly told me he could see his reflection in the toilet water. Yes, that is something only a three year old could get excited about.

Shea is standing! Non-stop! Well, pulling to a stand. Shea started awhile ago, but now it's compeletely official. And she got her first two teeth this week. Unlike the boys, who both started with canines, she went the traditional route and got her bottom middle teeth first. She has celebrated by crawling like a little maniac and pulling herself up on everything in sight. She's still pretty wobbly, but seems to get a real kick out of this newfound ability. I'll have to post photos of that soon, but here she is, trying to share in the enjoyment of computer time. Oh yes, computer time. The boys have recently been given the privilege of 30 minutes of computer time a day. They are loving the freedom to surf half a dozen or so mommy-approved sites and I think it's so funny to see them playing games and exploring the internet.

Yum Yum Week-end

Shea and I flew to Indianapolis two week-ends ago to visit with some of the greatest women in the world. As always, I left inspired and so very thankful for the fantastic family I have... and am counting the days until I can see them all again (August!!).

A few pics of our time together...

Shea, chillin' with Nadine and little Lainey.

Shea and my cousin, Nadine.

Nice and cozy with Graunt (Great-Aunt) Jeanne.

Shea and Lainey adored each other. Lainey was so sweet, continually showering Shea with hugs and kisses. I SO wish we lived closer so these cousins could play together as they grow up!

Lainey, giving Shea sweet cuddles.

Shea, loving Lainey's lap...even if they're not that far apart in size!!

Lainey, Shea and Graunt Kaye.

Great Granny and Shea play with Lainey.

I was so happy to introduce Shea to our Great Granny!

Here's Lucy giving her little 'cuz a little smooch.

My cousin Sally, keeping Shea nice and giggly.

Graunt Kim with Shea. Yes, there was a definite pass-the-baby theme going on all week-end. I have to say, I had it pretty easy!!!

Shea and Graunt Kathy, practicing silly faces. Graunt Kathy was endeared to Shea on our first night there when she rescued Shea from her crib, letting her stay up past her bedtime. :) That's what aunts are for, right?

Graunt Kelly, sharing breakfast and brochures with Shea.

Seventh-Month Shea!

Attempting the splits, while wearing her fancy shoes and a dress I wore when I was a baby.

Serious Shea.

Dex- top and Jax- bottom, also glad their little sis is seven months old!

A few random thoughts on Shea (they're random because I'm trying to make lunch WHILE I do this... if I wait until I have the time to organize my thoughts, this will NEVER get done!).

Shea turned seven months old this week. I'm constantly amazed at how fast time goes with little ones. As one of my mommy friends said, recently, "The days can seem so long, at times, but the years just fly by." This is very true.

Last week-end, Shea and I took our first airplane ride together to go visit the gals in my dad's side of the family for our annual Yum-Yum week-end retreat. She was amazingly spoiled by all, but I didn't exactly expect anything less!! :) Of course, that also meant that I was spoiled, as Shea was either held or played with by a great aunt, cousin or great granny the entire week-end and I, for the most part, had an empty lap (something that doesn't happen too often). I was so glad that she was able to meet some of the fantastic women in our family and that they were able to meet her. I made the same trip with the boys when they were the same age. I'll be posting photos sometime soon.

That same week-end, Shea made her first attempts at pre-crawling and within two days of returning home, she officially entered the mobile-baby phase. She is crawling all over the place!! I remember the boys were speed rollers/crawlers. Shea is a little more cautious about her movements. She keeps her tummy low to the ground and appears to be creeping up on her prey. It's pretty cute.

Then, yesterday, she decided to pull up to a stand. I used it to my advantage and changed her diaper with her standing up, holding onto the back of the driver's seat in our car (since she's also got the determination her brothers had when it comes to trying to escape diaper changes!).

She took her first big-girl bath with her brothers this week-end. Dex and Jax thought it was about the coolest thing EVER. They each carefully took turns holding her in their laps while I washed her up. Then, they gently washed her hair with a washcloth, which D.R. and I thought was one of the sweetest big-brother moments we've witnessed, yet. Shea also thought bathtime with her brothers was a lot of fun. I'm beginning to think everything is a bit more fun for a baby when you have two goofy brothers to keep you entertained and happy!

Shea continues to be a champion sleeper, she adores her daddy and continues to be far more interested in her brothers' toys than in her own.

I remember sitting in the operating room before Shea was born and all I could think about was how much I missed the boys and how sad I was that there was going to be this new little creature taking me away from them. I was so afraid I wouldn't love her the way I love the boys and that a new baby would just upset the way our family functioned. Last minute fears, I guess. Of course, within minutes of her birth, the love just poured out of me and it continues to grow, just as it does for her brothers. It's humbling for me to see how profoundly three little people can affect my life. Yes, our family functions differently, now... but it's not any more difficult that it was before. In fact, in some ways, I'd actually argue that it's easier. Shea brings a level of peace and calm to our family and can make each and every one of us smile, at times when we ordinarily might not want to.

Okay... time to get back to the munchkins... and lunch... and the adventures the boys have planned for our afternoon (surely, that will involve disassembling the couch and/or kitchen table!).

Snow pics

Scenes from our living room window... And it looked like so much fun, I had to run outside and join them!

As usual, I giggle everytime the boys concentrate with their tongues out! Too funny.

I love how they work together on random projects. I have no idea what they were doing here, but it involved a salad spinner and a strainer, and they were doing it as a team! (Jax- blue, Dex- brown)

Dexter decided to mitten-swap about every five minutes. Once his original pair was too wet and snowy to keep his fingers warm, he played musical-mittens until we went inside. Good thing we have that big box of mismatched mittens in the closet! Here he's actually trying to squeeze into a pair of Shea's mittens.
He soon swapped those for one of last year's mittens and one my gloves.

Nope, Mommy's glove is just not a good fit!
Man, this is too cold!! I need a new glove!
Jax, enjoying buckets and snow... what more could a person want?

Hmm... something is missing. What could it be? I SAID, something is missing!
Not that!!! :)