Mama's new toy

I know, I know, if you have been patient and checking in from time to time you will see that I have been a MAJOR slacker. 2 moves in six months, three kiddos, and a very hard working hubby all contribute to the utter exhaustion that hits me like a freight train by 6 pm!

However, my man surprised me with my most favorite gift this season.



.. any guesses??

A new camera! Even though manual is the length of a Stephen King novel, which means I will need to take a week long vacation to make it through....I have been having a fun time experimenting and capturing some fun moments!!

147 shots in two days....it's safe to say my kids have had it with me

 

Tricky Treat!!!

Halloween is one of my most favorite holidays! There is no pressure. Dress up in a costume, grab a bucket, and go door to door and get awesome candy! That is exactly what we did. We have a Halloween tradition that I started when Jace was around two years old. The day is spent making scary crafts, baking halloween cupcakes, watching a couple scary videos, and ordering Eagles pizza for dinner. Then....time for the goods!!!

This year Halloween was a blast!! 2 of the 3 boys were so excited and into it we could hardly contain ourselves. When I say we, yes, I include  me. When those kiddos hit the hay big mama raids the candy bowl as though the world may come to an end.

Heading out for some fun!!

                                                                         Sprinting door to door

(I have no clue where they get that)

                                                              Mommy and her sweet tooth apprentice

                                                                                 Lil Pumpkin

                                                                              Tricky treat!!

                                                                     Sawyer checking out the loot

Needless to say, this was an awesome Halloween!! Next stop....Turkey day!!:)

Jace's day!

Oct. 14  2004 changed our lives forever.... This was the day we became parents.Our world has never been the same and we  feel so lucky and blessed to have such wonderful kiddos. It all started on this day, with this little guy.

Jace has been such a joy and has grown and changed so much in the last seven years! Here are some of my very favorite pics of my guy!!

We had an awesome birthday celebration! It was a busy weekend of non stop fun for everyone! Friday was our family night...Jace wanted pizza and cake and we all watched the movie Zookeeper (since he plans on becoming one in his future career path). He opened all of his presents and we chowed on junk food and sprite!!


Saturday our favorite cousins rolled into town and we took some friends to an arcade, then off to Red Robin for dinner. Meg and Justin didnt want to miss out on the fun so they joined us too!!

We wrapped up the weekend Sunday with dinner and pumpkin pie.  Eloise and Bev, Matt and Erin all came over to wish our guy a happy birthday.


It was an amazing weekend to celebrate one of the loves of our lives!!

Happy birthday Jace!! We love you so much.

Clone Wars Part II

There is no denying two of our three munchkins have inherited some very strong Irish genes.  Jason often refers to them as Fed Ex and UPS because they don't look a whole lot like him.
Well, I have been cleaning and packing away some things and came across a picture of Jason as a baby. After seeing this picture there is no doubt the Souder genes pulled through on number 3!

Ridiculous

That is the only word I can use to describe my blogging lately. I could go on with a list of excuses but I will hold back. I am hoping now that we are getting more settled, BOTH boys have started school (which I will blog about) and I have a couple of free minutes a day I can get back on board.

Here's a peek into what we have been up to lately!

Jason- Busy, busy guy opening Piada's. So far we have Bexley, Lane Ave, Gahanna, and the latest...Easton all open.   Two will open in the Dublin area around November.All are doing really well and Jason is very happy with his job...what more could a girl ask for? He's been amazing at juggling work responsibilities coupled with making sure not to miss a soccer game or date night. I don't know how he does it. I am so lucky.

Jace- Our little first grader is a busy little bee as well. The bus rolls in around 7:20am to pick Jace up and he is off for the day.... Loving every minute and making new friends. We love his new school and he seems to be learning many new concepts each day. The Oct. conference will give us more insight into his day. The only things I typically hear are..."school is fun, lunch was good, I had fun on recess." BOYS! Jace is also playing soccer this season. We took a break for a couple of seasons as I realized he was a little too young to play when he cried on the field and ran to me every time someone took the ball. Obviously didn't get my lack of competition in sports! He is also joining cub scouts. I will officially be a 'den mother.' All I can say is, daddy will be doing the camping. Sunday and Wednesday are his days of learning religion. He is attending the Sunday school at the church and starts up Awana on Wednesday nights with his best friend Josh.

Sawyer- Our preschool newbie is doing really well. The first few days of school were quite an adjustment as he really hasn't been away from me...EVER. He attends the Gahanna Christian Academy preschool two days a week from 9am-3pm. It has been a great experience thus far helping him to gain independence. With that in mind can we say we are down to one in diapers! Heck yeah!! Well, I will follow that up with.... for the most part. Without too much description let's just say number two is still a work in progress. Apparently there is a ghost who follows him toilet to toilet waiting to "grab his butt" while he goes poopie. Hmmm, hope this phase breezes by. Nonetheless, at least we have the majority covered. He is also playing soccer this season. The first practice was a little frustrating for mommy. First of all, I had to play. Hi, have you met me? Secondly, the listening skills he does have were non existent that practice. Since then he has turned a corner and has natural talent, again not from me. Aside from that he is happy to play his trucks and trains and is still my little cuddle bug.

Declan- The big D. Literally speaking. Tiny goose is tipping the scales at 22.5 lbs which is 1.5lbs bigger than both the other boys were at the 14 month check up. He is such a little love bug always hugging and giggling. He has an infectious laugh that no matter how the day is going makes it even better. He is pulling himself up, walking around furniture, and getting ready to take off any day. He is such a little angel.

I guess that leaves me. I have been busy trying to keep everything together and making our busy days run smoothly. I am loving the busy schedule and look forward to Fall


!!

A story for the day....

This summer I have been focusing much of my attention and devotion to parenting to the child who seems to be needing me the most.  Between the new baby, the move, and all of the changes, Sawyer has been having a lot of difficulty adjusting.

However, I realized with lots of consistency, and positive behaviors...he has been making big, positive changes. Our playgroup yesterday kept commenting on how different Sawyer has been acting. I was so proud, all of the hard work over the last few months has really paid off!!

Fast forward to today, we decided to go to the club so I could workout and the boys could play with friends, and have a snack. As we are walking out Sawyer tells me he wants to pee in the grass.....which is one of the techniques we have used this summer to help with potty training. (In writing that sounds like a dog training technique)....I tell him no,but don't have time to explain why not because we bump into one of our new neighbors, who has known the Souder family for years and might happen to be the town reporter.

I am talking to her and she is all over Declan. She looks at me and asks..."This is Sawyer right?"

"This is Declan, Sawyer is right over there..." midpoint  we catch the exact same thing....Sawyer with his pants down, peeing on the bushes, waving to us.

My eyes are huge. She begins to cackle and walks away...barely able to mutter the words "goodbye" and continues all the way to her car.... drives by still laughing louder than I have heard.

A day in the life....

Party weekend

This year we  had a lot to celebrate! We made it! What better way than to have a couple parties?! Uncle Matt's birthday is right after Declan's so we had a weekend of fun!:)


The weekend kicked off with a backyard wiener party that Erin hosted in their backyard. ( I am referring to hotdogs!) It was a perfect evening and lots of fun for everyone!

For Declan, we have the one year keg party tradition that started with Jace. There were several reasons Jason explained to me why we had to have one. Number one on his list....it's more economical. Clearly... We had a few friends stop over for slip and slide, Eagles pizza, and cupcakes!

The link below are the party (both) pics... sifting through you may notice a big difference....all of the pictures are more clear! Erin generously agreed to take the party pics for me with her beautiful camera as I knew I wanted to document this occasion with something more than a Iphone camera!

We had a great weekend with family and friends and it was definitely a first birthday party to remember!!:) (Thanks Erin;) )