Rub a Dub Dub, Three Boys In a Tub

I wouldn't want anything to do with that water when they are done with it. :)

Vacation, Part 2

It was good to see some family while we were there too... We got to see my Aunt Connie, my cousins, and their eight precious children. My boys had an immediate love for their "tousins". They even watched the boys for me so I could do a little shopping on my own... now THAT was a treat!

We also got to see my Grandma Marilyn on my dad's side. She gave the boys "Thomas the Train" books, much to their delight.

Next we went to the Garden of the gods. The boys, and Calvin (yes, we are one of THOSE families who plan their vacation around where they can bring their dog...) loved hiking up the orange rocks, and the biggest bonus is that it wore them out!

Nate, Calvin and the boys at the Balanced Rock.

The next day we went to Helen Hunt Falls. I grew up going to this place and it is absolutely beautiful. The great thing is that it is not as well known and it's more of a local hang out rather than a tourist trap. The boys loved playing in the COLD stream and seeing the waterfall. Nate and I had brought all the hiking gear expecting to hike at least a little, but were quickly thrown back into reality that hiking with three under three is not the easiest, most practical, or wisest thing.

Then we went to this place called Mr. Biggs, and let me tell you...this. place. is. COOL. Nate and I always dream about starting a place like this in Altus, but this place exceded our dreams by a long shot. In an old warehouse building, all under one roof, there is bowling, arcades, go-carts, laser tag, good food, bouncy castles, and soooo much more. And that is not even mentioning the Little Kids Town where we hung out with the boys. There are about 20 rooms for little kids, each one themed with plenty of props such as a propped up car with play tools where the boys can fix a car, a beauty shop with curling irons (without the cords) and curlers, the biggest sand box we've ever seen, and much more. We all had a blast.

Caleb waits on some very high maintenence clients.

All in all, it was an awesome trip. So much fun and so many new memories.

Vacation, Part 1

We just made it back from our vacation to Colorado Springs. We had an absolute blast.!! It was really hard to leave. In the military, often times vacations are spent going to see immediate family, since you aren't stationed near them. For us, that means Kansas and Florida get most of our vacation time and dollars. Although we LOVE both Kansas and Florida, we wanted to go somewhere different this time and actually rest and spend time together as a family. Nate and I both have histories in Colorado Springs...Nate went to the Air Force Academy there and I have family there and have spent most of my childhood vacations there up until I got married. We've never been there together so we decided to go there and start building some memories there together.

Where to start...

I always overpack for vacations, and since our family is growing, and we took our big dog with us, I tried really really hard to pack light and not to bring a lot of "what if this happens" items. Every time I've gone to Colorado in summer, I've always packed jeans and a sweatshirt "just in case" but have never used them...so I skipped them this time. Well, the first two days we were there the high was 55 degrees. Boy those sweatshirts would have come in handy. We went to the zoo with the boys in their pajamas because it was the only pants they had. We bundled them up pretty well though.

All three snug a boos.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was awesome. It gives you a workout climbing up the mountains to see the animals though. You don't feel as guilty eating that funnel cake when you have to take an uphill hike to see the tigers. :) My dear friend, Jen, came down from Denver to meet us at the zoo. It was great to see her and her kiddos, plus she had extra children's coats, which we were thankful for.

The zoo with a veiw.

My friend Jen and I with our children.

We also visited Nate's old stomping grounds at the Academy. He was cool to see the place where he endured hundreds of hours of torture, er, I mean, training. Corban took an instant liking to the place where daddy learned to fly planes and said he wants to be a Cadet when he grows up too. Oh boy.

The United States Air Force Academy Chapel with Nate on stroller duty (I had stroller duty on the downhill climb ;)

Next stop, Focus on the Family. Our boys loved playing here, and Nate and I are all about free fun. Although once we got to the bookstore, the "free" part stopped. Being the book-a-holics that we are, we spent a pretty penny there.

Corban and Caleb put on a show for us.

Love it! Can you tell how thrilled Nate is to put his face

in the cut out of a boy with a dog bone?

Another clap and dance and run around the stage show.

To be continued...

The Truth In Pictures

Everyone always posts the good pictures from a photo shoot. Here is a peek inside a real photo shoot involving three Tolle boys.

Caleb, I know it's naptime, but work with me here please...

Feet down Corban

Sit down Corban

Why the photographer kept asking two toddlers "Where's my nose?" is beyond me, of course they are going to point! And do you really think I'm gonna trust my two year old to hold my two month old? I don't think so!

Everyone is in their own private dream land apparently.


We settled on this one

Let's just say, we all needed a nap afterward.


More posts to come... I lost the cable for my camera (AGAIN!) but have a new one so hopefully we'll be back in business. A garage sale this weekend, and then a vacation to Colorado next week means busy times here, but I'll try my best to catch you up on the past month!

For the Grandparents

Here's Canaan loving his mobile... he starts screaming the second it turns off, but I spared you that part. :)

Randomness

One month old!!

I'm going to stop apologizing for not blogging often, because it will probably be hit and miss for awhile. Life is so busy in the throws of motherhood. When there is actually a 15 minute slot where everyone is content and happy, call me crazy, but little things like showering and eating and Facebook draw my attention much more than blogging, though I do miss writing and reading other people's blogs.

Canaan turned one month old this week. I think we are all pretty well adjusting to the new kid on the block. I even get out of the house with all three of them several times a week. However, this is not an easy feat...I love and adore my children but everywhere I go, I'm usually struggling to juggle keeping all of them within arm's reach. People give me looks of pity and usually say something like, "Wow, honey, you sure got your hands full!" (Duh!), "Wow, I'm gonna pray for you, cuz you are sure gonna need it!" (Thank you very much, I'll take all the prayer I can get!) and "Wow, your kids are really close in age." I don't mind the looks, the well meaning comments, and all the stories complete strangers love to tell about how many kids they had and how they managed to live through it.

I do mind the fact that people would pity me though. It makes me soooo sad that in general people view children as burdens instead of blessings. I hate that I would look frazzled and unorganized enough for people to feel sorry for me. It kind of makes me not want to go out in public, not because it's hard with three under three, but because I don't want to give the world a negative view of having more than 2.3 children, let alone having them in two and a half years.

But I digress...

All in all we are making it, and for the most part, just loving life. We've been in Altus for a year this past week and there was something about the one year mark that made this place feel more like "home".

Here are some pics of life the past couple of weeks... Enjoy!!

Canaan Tripp, four weeks old

Our squadron picnic

How could you say "no" to this puppy dog face?

Why, yes, those are buffalo in the background!

After literally 30 picture takes, this is the best one we got. :/

Corban prayed for outdoor toys and boy did God answer his little prayers. We literally went from having no outdoor toys to looking like we run a daycare in less than three weeks...I love garage sales and hand me downs. :)

And a rainbow after the storm always reminds us that God keeps His covenant with us. And their pretty!

Adjusting to Three under Three...

Well, Canaan is two and a half weeks now. Nate went back to work last Thursday and Nate's mom ("Abuela" as she is affectionately called by my boys) left last Saturday. And as life would have it, Corban's Mother's Day Out program ended last week as well for the summer. So, I've been on my own during the dayshift all of this week with the children (read: monsters).

Abuela and the boys

Three under three is a breeze. I don't know what people were worried about... HA! Just kidding!! Three has been an adjustment for sure. Nate and I had to go to Dallas over the weekend to get Canaan circumcized by a Rabbi (no offense to my medical friends...we just prefer the 10 second procedure over the 30 minute one...) and that was the first time we ventured out with all three of them by ourselves. We took up two carts at Toys R Us. TWO CARTS! Let me just remind you I can't push two carts by myself, so the chances of me leaving the house with all three of them by myself will be minimal for awhile.

The boys are all adjusting well for the most part. Canaan is settling in for the long haul in the Tolle house. All of our boys have had colic to a degree, and he carries on that tradition. Caleb and Corban love kissing him and Caleb does get jealous of him and we are trying to teach him to be gentle.

I am healing up slowly but surely. I'm sooooo tired all the time and am getting tired of feeling homebound, but all in all things are going well. Thankfully, the weather has been beautiful and we have spent a lot of time in the backyard. And we are not living in complete filth yet, which is always a bonus. :)

Corban has such an imagination and pretends to be a different cartoon character every day. Mostly he says that he is "Boots", Caleb is "Dora", Daddy is "Diego", Canaan is "Benny the Bull" and guess who Mommy gets to be?...the "Grumpy old Troll." Nice. Nate told him that he and Caleb are "two peas in a pod" and Corban said, "Yeah, we are two pees in the potty."

I love my boys!! Well, that's the update for now...I need to get some rest.

In Case You Haven't Heard...

Canaan Tripp Tolle was born on Monday, May 4th at 12:56 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs, 7 oz., and was 20 inches long.

I had a Muppet Head for an anesthesiologist. First he tried a spinal block which only served to shoot stinging sharp pains down my left leg, to which I screamed and cried (bawled, actually) until they decided that it wasn't working and they decided to do an epidural (which I was much more comfortable with, since I've had three in my past). But the Muppet only was able to numb my right side this time. The doctor started to cut into me and I said "I can feel that!" and they told me that they were only through the second layer and so they would have to knock me completely out. They next thing I said was "can someone let my husband know..." and then I blacked out completely.

The next thing I remember is waking up (barely) and there is stone silence as I'm being rolled down the hall. I asked through my grogginess, "Do I have a baby?" but was so scared that something went wrong during the delivery. The nurse replied, "Yes, he's with his daddy" and I was so relieved that I blacked out again.

When I woke up in the recovery room, I was so loopy and out of it that I don't remember much, but I met my beautiful baby boy who sported a full head of brown hair, and resembled his brothers in many ways.

I must say that this has been my hardest recovery yet. Note: 3 cesarean sections in two and a half years is NOT recommended. I'm just now starting to be able to get out of bed without excruciating pain. But of course it's all worth it...

In case you are wondering about Canaan's name... "Canaan" was the Promised Land in the Bible, and literally means "Humble". "Tripp" means "the third" and is also the namesake of one of our favorite authors...we thought it appropriate since he is our third son.

Both boys are adjusting well to their new baby brother. Caleb is so curious about his baby and Corban is eager to try and help.

Nate's mom is here to help with the transition, which has been a blessing. I'm dreading next Monday when I am all on my own with this three active boys.

We've been sooooo blessed by our military family here and our church family in Lawton. My friends here threw me a shower where they showered us with tons of diapers and frozen meals (which was a GREAT idea!) and our church gave us a shower with sweet handmade gifts and a generous cash gift that helped us get some much needed outdoor toys that all the boys will enjoy. We were again humbled by how God has greatly provided us all of our needs and even some of our wants!

Thank you all for sharing in our joy. I am so blessed to be the mother of these sweet boys. I'm just sad it all goes so fast. Here is a little part of one of Nate and I's favorite poems:

"Settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby, 'cause babies don't keep"

Nate and I often remind each other that "Babies don't keep" as we truely try to enjoy each moment with our boys. I know that the next few years are going to be crazy, busy, and chaotic with three under three, but I don't want to wish this season away, I want to cherish each moment, because it goes too fast.

Well, I have a newborn who's crying, so I guess I better sign off...

Twas the Night Before Canaan...

So in about twelve hours from when I write this, I will be heading out to meet my third baby boy...I am so excited!

Corban was 9 lbs. 4 oz.s two weeks early, Caleb was 7 lbs. 2 oz. two weeks early, so my guess is that Canaan will fall right in the middle at 8 lbs. 3 oz. I have a red head, a blondie, and would LOVE it if the dominant Hispanic genes on both Nate and I's side will step up to the plate and give us a dark haired baby. Both of my boys so far have been born bald and have stayed bald their entire first year, so if Canaan is born with a head full of hair, that would make my day.

But of course we will love him no matter what he looks like...

Well, we will try to update you all and post pictures as soon as reasonably possible. We are so excited to meet our newest little blessing. If you think about it, please pray for us in the upcoming days...we're gonna need it!

Two Weeks To Go!!

Two weeks to go!!!

...Or less, but shhhh....we are not hoping for that. (Babies are much easier to care for when they are contained...;) Our calendar has something on it every single day until the Big Day, which is scheduled for Monday, May 4th.

We are so relieved to have Nate's sweet Mama coming out on the 30th from Florida to help out with our bambinos while I am recovering.

This week I am dedicating my life to a Children's Consignment Sale in Lawton. If you volunteer three hours or more you get to shop before it opens to the public. My only motivation is the hope of finding some outdoor toys for my boys (i.e. plastic playhouse, picnic table, basketball goal, climbing cube, slide, etc.) Now that we have a dog and are attempting a garden, we need something for our boys to play with outdoors. And holy cow, new outdoor toys are ridiculously expensive...to the point where Nate again declares that we are in the wrong business. I mean seriously, how Fisher Price and Little Tikes can charge hundreds of dollars for a few pieces of neon plastic that fade in the sun within months is just pure robbery. But I digress. So, think of me volunteering my 9 month preggo self on Thursday all for (Lord-willing) a few long sought after outdoor toys.

Next week we are heading to Oklahoma City for a couple of days for some doctor appts. for the boys. This will be my last chance for some shopping in civilization before Canaan's arrival. Target and Babies R Us, here we come!

We have been incredibly blessed by those around us lately, and feel like we have some sense of a support system here now, which is a huge blessing. Nesting has begun in full force and I am literally working my tail off sun up to sun down trying to get our house in order to run smoothly for at least two months post baby. There are many more projects to do, but the essentials are done.

Please pray for us these next couple of weeks, if we come to mind. There are so many unknowns and details to work out. Being an hour away from the hospital brings extra work and planning, and I have been having a lot of anxiety. I am getting so excited for the snuggly newborn stage though and can't wait to meet the newest Tolle. We'll keep you posted...