The Percivals

what clara, ben, and jack are up to

2012-01-30T11:30:00.000-06:00

so that i can remember, here's a bit about what each of my kids are up to right now:

clara (4 years, 6 months)

she loves being a big sister, and is an amazing helper. loves to sing loudly and makes up the best songs. is becoming quite the artist, and is big into drawing houses, snowmen families, and coloring. favorite shows are dora the explorer, sesame street, and go, diego, go. she is stingy with showing off her dance moves. is a great little mommy to jack and will talk, sing, put his paci in, and keep him company when momma is busy. sometimes plays really well with ben, but usually bosses him and makes him say "yes ma'am" to her. has lost most of her interest in playing with babies and dolls, instead prefers cars and animals (to play with ben and benton, no doubt). she has such a tender and compassionate heart. loves her honey. she is such a prayer warrior and never forgets to pray for someone in need, and they remain on her prayer list for months and months. loves school and amazes me with her learning of letters, words, and concepts at school. she is so smart! has an amazing memory and forgets nothing. clara is motivated to eat by the possibility of dessert. she still wears night-time panties (although they're hardly ever wet in the morning). her favorite songs are "mighty to save" and the "crayon box song." she chatters all day long and tells stories much like her daddy - long, full of details, and lots of hand motions. clara is very expressive, and uses words way beyond her 4 years. she nurses her animals when i nurse jack. her favorite time of day is when daddy comes home. she's quite dramatic, and a bit of a hypochondriac these days. she's my big helper and now makes her bed along with picking up, gathering trash, and fetching shoes and diapers. clara tells zach these big, long stories every day about her day at work, all about the customers, and the phones that she sold. she still loves sleeping with her blanket and lili the lamb, along with a whole herd of stuffed animals. has a deep, raspy voice. she hates when she can't get her arm in shirts or her socks are twisted. is tall and thin, with super thick hair that's getting darker, and beautiful blue eyes. says "i love you" many times a day, and is full of hugs and kisses for her momma, daddy, and brothers. wears 4-5t clothes. clara is such a blessing!

ben (2 years):

is all boy. he loves getting messy, playing in dirt, and throwing balls. favorite shows are "backpack" (dora) and "oh dego" (go, diego). hums the whole time he's eating. is kind of a scardy cat. ben loves all forms of transportation: cars, trucks, dump trucks, ambulances, planes, school buses are his current favs. he's getting pretty stingy with his mouth kisses, but loves to blow kisses, give five's, pounds, and hugs. he's very social to strangers, especially the ladies. he knows a handful of shapes, can count to 10 in english and spanish, and knows about half the abc's. when asked colors, everything is either green or yellow. he has a good ear for music, and his tune is spot on. favorite songs are "jesus loves me," "blue skies and rainbows," elmo's world theme song, and my ring tone when honey calls. ("hey momma"). he's sensitive and compassionate. almost never hits others or takes toys, but has become quite the tattler on clara. gets lots of mileage out of "no whar-a." ben is an excellent eater who usually has seconds. his favorite foods are cuties, cereal with blueberries, poppy seed chicken, pasta, green beans, pizza, and all candy. he's still sleeping in the crib, now with a pillow, 2 night-nights, and eddie the elephant. his vocabulary has exploded the last 4 months, and says a few new words each day. talks in 3-4 word sentences. he loves his poppa and girl gg. ben's favorite time of the day is when daddy comes home. loves ping-pong balls and paddles. he's developing this extremely fake laugh and fake cry, along with a cheesy fake smile. ben is so polite, always saying thank you and usually says please too. he makes us laugh daily. when asked a question, the answer is usually "no." my favorite words he says are "poo pong" (ping pong), "dng-dng-dl" (triangle, his favorite shape), and "doo dee" (cutie, those little oranges he loves so much). i especially love when he says, "momma, eat doo dee!" ben's little front teeth are getting more crooked because he sucks his lip when tired. he has super thick hair that's getting darker, and rocks some thunder thighs and barrel chest. he has beautiful blue eyes. he is wearing 2t clothes and size 5 diaper. ben is such a blessing!

jack (almost 4 months):

is figuring out his hands, and can bat at toys and yank his paci out. takes 3 naps a day. sleeps from 9pm-6 am with a dream feed at 10:30 pm. however, he no longer gets to sleep in the swing at any point in the night, and has woken up every hour or so (the past 4 nights). he eats every 3 - 3 1/2 hours, and loves to nurse. is a super smiley and sweet baby who loves to be sung and talked to. jack is an easygoing guy, except the past few nights! loves getting a clean diaper, and could be naked all the time. he doesn't make much of an attempt to roll during tummy time. loves to watch his big sister and brother. jack's favorite time is his bath and wishes he got one every night. prefers to have an evening nap on my pillow. when he's mad, his high-pitch scream will ring your ears pretty good. we still joke he sounds like an angry kitty-cat. jack loves his momma. he still loves to be swaddled, and will go to sleep when he's fighting it if he has his blanket. has figured out his tongue, and likes to stick it out. is super cuddly. like his brother, jack has some big ol' thunder thighs and a barrel chest. he rocks the "fro-hawk" with a little rat tail in the back. he has the sweetest gummy smile and deep giggle. he's wearing 9 month clothes and a size 2 diaper. jack is such a blessing!

i am so blessed to be clara, ben, and jack's momma!

love these punkin heads!

Nathan's Story: A One-in-a-Million Miracle

2012-01-23T19:10:00.000-06:00

There are a few events in life that make you drop to your knees and incoherently beg God over and over to intervene. A few occasions that make you realize what's really important: Your relationship with the Lord and are you living according to his will? Have you told your family and friends how much you love and appreciate them? Are you living a life that makes a difference and matters on this Earth? A few times where a specific event makes you realize that this world is not our home, and we need to live life to the fullest. A handful of events that makes you slow down and focus on what really matters. A time or two in life that you aren't beginning and ending your pleading prayers to God, they're just a continuous stream of pieced-together "Please Lord...heal him...need more time...love him so much...please, God, please."

That time came for us last Sunday, January 15th at about 11:30 AM.

(please note: this is the most accurate portrayal of events and info I have. Some details are pieced together, some medical info changed from minute-to-minute)

Last weekend, my brother Nathan and his wife Katie were in Houston running the Houston half marathon with four of their good friends, Marc, Sarah, Sleeve, and Hayley. They had all signed up together months ago, trained for it, and were making a weekend of competing together. Because of their varying paces, they weren't all running as a group the whole 13 miles.

Marc and Sarah crossed the finish line first, and Nathan was supposed to be close behind, within a couple minutes. When Katie finished next, some alarms started going off in their heads. Where's Nathan? Shouldn't he be done by now? They started calling his phone, looking amongst the thousands of people lining the streets, and headed to the medic station to see if Nathan had checked in for help with his foot that was hurting.

As we now know, Nathan collapsed at about 200-400 yards from the finish line. He was seizing and his heart stopped beating, within sight of the medic station. Within minutes, the medics had shocked his heart, were performing CPR, and had him loaded on an ambulance headed to Memorial Hermann Hospital MICU in critical condition. Once there, he was stabilized.

Meanwhile in Abilene, we were just getting out of church and home to get lunch started. Honey and Poppa were still at church, Zach and I were at their house, all with our phones still on silent. We had missed calls from Katie, and my parents phone was ringing repeatedly with unknown long distance numbers. By the time I finally picked up the phone, I learned from Brock of what happened to Nathan, and that his friend Frank was with Nathan in ICU. Apparently, they were spectators that stepped in to help, angels in disguise. Brock only had Nathan's first name to go off of, and looked him up on the marathon roster, searched Facebook, and was calling numbers from there.

At the same time, Zach got a call from some friends at church who had been contacted via FB, and Honey was talking to the Houston police. We quickly got Honey and Poppa packed and on the road to Houston with tears and a prayer. Within the hour, Hunter, Jenn, Jack, and I had packed and made arrangements for the kids and were Houston-bound. Kelly and Nancy, Katie's parents, along with all her brothers and sisters were driving from Ft. Worth and Abilene, as well.

In the ICU, doctors had lowered Nathan's body temperature to around 91 degrees so that his organs didn't have to work so hard. He was on a ventilator to breathe, under heavy sedation, and hooked up to all kinds of monitors and machines. At this point, we learned the cause of his collapse was exercise-induced arrhythmia brought on by dehydration. Katie and my parents were by his side, and friends and family were filling the waiting room.

By the time we got to the hospital at around 7:30 PM, doctors had outlined the plan to keep Nathan under sedation and his body temperature cooled for 24 hours, or until 5 PM on Monday night. We were specially praying that Nathan's body would stay under and stop fighting to wake up, so that he could rest and heal. I breathed my first little sigh of relief that night when I could hug and kiss Nathan and Katie. They wouldn't know the extent of his injuries until they began to wake and warm him the next day.

Sunday night, the first I got to see Nate.

Most of Monday was a waiting game. He had a stable night, and was more relaxed under sedation. The initial tests on his heart were looking hopeful. At 5 PM, the warming his body temperature started, going very slowly over the course of 8-12 hours. By Tuesday morning, he was back to normal body temperature, and they started trying to wake him up. The cooling pads remained on him, so that his body didn't try to overcompensate and run fever.

Monday night, doctors had told us Nathan could probably hear our voices. When I got the chance to go back to see him, Mom and I were holding his hands, stroking his forehead, and rambling on about anything I could think of. After we left to go back to the hotel that night, Katie was talking and Nathan immediately responded to her voice with his increased heart rate and eyes opening! (We later joked he was bored with listening to me ramble and really just wanted to hear Katie :) We were praising God for great progress! The night was long and restless, filled with Nathan opening his eyes, trying to wake up, extreme discomfort from the vent, and Katie by his side reassuring him he was ok and she was there. Brain scans came back with no damage.

Tuesday morning, I got to go back and see him again. Doctors wanted him awake as much as possible, as he was initiating breaths and breathing over the ventilator some, but was breathing much better awake and agitated. He had a 30-minute breathing trail, and got off the vent about 9 AM. At that point, he was responding to commands, squeezing hands, and opening his eyes often. The vent needed to stay in for about another hour after it was turned off. As you can imagine, Nathan didn't remember much, and Katie and Honey rarely left his side. Each time he opened his eyes, they would reassure him they were there, he was alright, and answer questions he had without telling too much information.

Tuesday afternoon brought a much lighter atmosphere for Nathan's herd of friends and family. We could visit one or two at a time, and would report back to the waiting room with our funny Nathan conversations. As he was coming out of sedation, he was saying and doing some funny things that made us all feel so much better. When Nathan asked about his time and if he finished the marathon, he got upset when he was told he "almost" finished. Because he wouldn't remember and we didn't need to upset him, we told him he did finish. In fact, Nate, you got first!

Tuesday afternoon, Jenn, Hunter, Jack, and I had to head home. We were so relieved to see Nathan awake and talking, but didn't want to leave. Our heads and hearts stayed in Houston, while we waited for news at home. Jack was absolutely perfect while we were there, and Nana and G-Daddy treated the other five to tons of fun, playing, and love. We didn't worry about them for a second, and they had a blast.

Nathan's team of doctors began running tests, and first up was the EKG. It uncovered a little irregularity with his heart beat, so more tests were done. Over the next two days he had an MRI on his heart, heart catherization, brain MRI, and a few other tests that all came back clear!

Katie and Nathan, as he's sitting up in a chair for the first time. She has been absolutely amazing through it all, his constant support and rock. I love you, Katie!

Wednesday or Thursday, Nathan's team of doctors read about a recent study in the New England Journal. I won't write out the whole thing, but it changed the way his medical team went about finding the cause of his heart stopping. The study spanned 10 years and covered millions of runners of marathons. Here's a brief summary:

"Researchers identified 59 cases of cardiac arrest, where a marathon runner became unconscious with no pulse during the race or within an hour of finishing. Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops because of a heart attack, a rhythm problem, or other disorder. Forty-two of the runners died."

The article told us three things. One, had Nathan been included, he would have been number 18 to survive! He is truly a one-in-a-million miracle, and we know the glory is all to God! Two, almost all of those 59 cases had a previous heart condition that was unknown to the runner. Which, was the case with Nathan as well. Three, Dr. Cianca, who was a contributor of the NEJ article, was the official doctor of the Houston marathon. Another way God is telling us he's taking care of Nathan!

More tests were going to be done, and Nathan isn't going home until the problem is identified and fixed. Thank God for the world-class doctors at Memorial Hermann.

Nathan spent the weekend resting, recovering, and getting stronger. We've gotten to FaceTime with him, and that does this big sister's heart SO good!

Visitors have flooded in, and Nathan spent time with tons of friends and family over the weekend.

This morning, Nathan had a stress test. He ran on the the treadmill for 14 minutes and did great, no irregular beats! There's an EP test (something about the way electrodes fire in his heart) planned for Wednesday. Doctors thought there is only about a 15% chance that there will be an electrical issue. If they see a problem, they can correct it then with an ablation. If not, a defibrillator will be implanted. We are praying for a problem and a fix!

Ready to run on the treadmill, in his Houston Marathon shirt, no less!

Friends, I know this much is true:

1. Our God hears our prayers and petitions. He is mighty to save!

2. Miracles happen every day. Nathan Hathorn is testament to that!

3. God has BIG plans for Nathan, and for Katie. I'm sure of it.

4. I have a much different outlook on life because of what happened, and I hope you will too. We are not promised a tomorrow, live fully each day you are given.

5. Nathan had hundreds and hundreds of people praying for him all over the world within hours of hearing the news, all because of FB. I'm so thankful for technology!

6. There were tons of people who couldn't have just been there at "the right place and right time." There are no coincidences in life, they are "God things."

7. Tell the people you care about you love them today. Don't wait!

8. Don't run marathons, or even half marathons....(only half kidding!)

Nate, I love you so much!

I can't wait to hug your neck again and am eagerly awaiting news of your full recovery. You are so loved and so blessed!

Ben is two!

2012-01-20T09:58:00.000-06:00

Happy 2nd birthday, Ben!

What an incredible blessing that God gave you to us two years ago today. You are sweet, handsome, polite, hilarious, smart, affectionate, and love Jesus (among many other things). I am incredibly thankful to be your Momma!

We started off your day with donuts, chocolate milk, and a Thomas balloon. Much more fun to come!

Happy day, Benjamin Lowell. You are so loved!

January, where have you gone?

2012-01-10T10:24:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's this far into January already! Where has the time gone? Ben turns two in exactly 10 days, and I've not even thought about his party or birthday plans. Guess I should get on that. Like today!

We're currently home sick from school, with Clara and Ben not feeling well for the second day. We're staying in our jammies and taking it really easy, hoping to be good as new soon. Strep is apparently going around, so praying that's not the case with my guys. Although, as you'll soon note in the upcoming pictures, jammie days are not too uncommon around here!

In order to get caught up for some posts I have coming up, here's a few phone pictures as of late. My poor camera has really been getting the shaft lately, it's not as handy to run get it when a cute moment arises.

I was folding laundry and visiting with Jack, and put him right to sleep.

Last week on Zach's day off, we had an early dinner, long baths and Ben a haircut, ate cookies and popcorn in the tent with Daddy, while watching Dumbo. Fun family night!

Back to school last Thursday.

(Don't worry, this was taken at a stoplight)

Jack's first day of school! He was loving Bible here, and I was overcome by what a big, sitting up, school boy he is now. Jenn and I are so happy to be back together at school, I've missed my 12 hours a week with her!

Jack's official first day of school picture, you know, for the scrapbook.

Another in matching jammies, we're really trying to get some mileage out of them before the chubby bunny outgrows his 9 month pair.

Tummy time is hard work!

A really nice day outside a few days ago, so I put these two to work. They were really doing a number on our dirt, tall green weeds, and millions of yet-to-be-raked leaves. (with a mop and broom, no less!)

Our poor yard, maybe it'll get some TLC come Spring.

On Saturday afternoon Poppa so graciously agreed to watch Clara and Ben while Honey and I went running errands and got a much-needed pedicure. Thanks, Poppa! Jack came too, and was such a good boy in the sling. If you've ever "worn" a baby out, you know how people just flock to you to look. There's just something about a sleeping baby all balled up!

Proof that Ben isn't feeling well...asleep on the couch at 10 AM. Never happens.

With one eye opened, too. Poor guy says his "neck" and "horehead" hurts, glad that he's old enough to tell me what's the matter now.

Sister snuggled up in a sweater, slippers, with a bed buddy, and sipping hot tea. It's so sad when they're sick!

Took this one this morning, and haven't stopped laughing since! I love this double chin, giant cheeks, and awesome hair. Glad someone is smiling at me today!

Hope you all are having a warm, healthy Tuesday!

New Years Eve 2011

2012-01-03T12:11:00.001-06:00

What a great weekend we had!

Lauren was in town this weekend, but OF COURSE, I didn't take one single picture. I hate when I do that. However, hopefully she'll be visiting much more frequently in the coming months, and we'll make up for it! ;)

All year long Zach and I look forward to Michael's New Years Eve party! It's a guaranteed night out without the kids, we get all dressed up (some years more than others), get to catch up with lots of friends we don't see as often as we would like, eat some of the most amazing food, and are in awe that every single year the decor is bigger, better, and more brilliant! Love, love, love NYE!

Honey and Poppa bravely agreed to take all three of our kids for the night, including Jack who is not consistently sleeping through the night, and much prefers eating from Momma. We started "bottle boot camp" two weeks before. Although it felt like a lot more work to pump after every feeding to store up a reserve, and endure crying and screaming during his nightly bottle practice, it payed off. Jack got better every feeding, as long as he wasn't already too hungry, already upset, and I wasn't within sight.

I'm proud to report that Jack gulped down all three of his bottles, and the only (almost) crying was from Honey who lost 3 oz of milk due to a leaky bottle :) She knows all about pumped milk being like liquid gold.

Jack with his first over-night babysitters...the best ones around!

Classic in-front-of-the-fireplace-pre-date picture

Our first date in 3 months!

At the party, there was lots of sequins, sparkle, fur, and jewels...per the invitation.

Here's Michael on the dance floor!

(please excuse all my cell pics, dark and a little blurry are better than no pictures, yes?)

Most of the party was outside, and if it weren't for the cold, you wouldn't even know it. The fences were covered in luxurious fabric, the couches and chairs were beautifully covered, there were canopies hung with chandeliers and twinkle lights, and rugs, lamps, and candles were everywhere. It was simply amazing!

Of course, the sparkly ball!

one of the drink stations

There were 6 seating areas, all different. All amazing!

My new friends I met: Elizabeth and Shelly. These ladies were SO much fun and hilarious, we're already making plans to meet again at Michael's summer party!

The food table. I won't lie, I've been kicking myself ever since that I didn't go back and get seconds. Or thirds. Or even touch the dessert table. What was I thinking?!

The big champagne bottle...I think it's been somewhere at every NYE party.

More strangers on the dance floor...I was NOT out there this year, ha!

More decor

I got to kiss this handsome man at midnight for the 6th time.

Funny side note, (to me anyway): Instead of toasting to "No more divorces in '99!" (a NYE Friends reference), we toasted to "No more babies in 2012!"

We are happy with our little completed family!

Zach, Jay, and Will.

The Host-with-the-Most

Another shot with Shelly, Elizabeth, and Michael.

Funny part is, I didn't take any pictures of our friends we've known for years. Oops!

And here's a picture Honey texted me of our three little blessings in the morning.

What a fun night to ring in 2012, it's going to be a great year!

Christmas Day

2012-01-02T14:53:00.000-06:00

Christmas morning was finally here! After quite the late and non-restful night for Mr. and Mrs. Claus, we woke our guys up early to open presents at home. This year, we tried to stress that Santa brought stocking presents, and Momma and Daddy brought everything else. Stockings were filled with candy, fruit, socks and underwear, slippers, hats and mittens, and small toys.

Clara was thrilled with Candy land, new outfits, activity books, and sparkly shoes. A few weeks ago when she sat on Santa's lap at school she asked for "Thomas the Train set, all the trains, all the tracks." WELL, her gifts had already been bought and wrapped, so I got her a Thomas coloring book...it had all the trains and tracks, after all! When she opened it, her little face just fell. She whispered to Zach, "Why didn't I get what I asked for?" He really played up how cool it was, how much fun she would have coloring and putting stickers on, how we don't always get what we ask for, but look how much fun stuff we are blessed with! She was happy with that, and I was proud of her for no pouting, whining, or tears. She's growing up!

Ben opened cars, cars, and more cars. Happy boy.

Jack "opened" one blanket...the sweet little guy has it all, plus he doesn't know better! ;)

We then bundled up and went to Honey and Poppa's and enjoyed a yummy pancake feast. After that, we got down to business opening presents from all the family, which took a few hours with so many of us! We are truly blessed, indeed.

Clara and Ben in their cute new hats from Honey and Poppa

Our family of 5 on Christmas morning.

Just like the previous 10 Christmas mornings, I wish I would've taken just a few minutes for some makeup....oh well!

After presents were opened, cleaned up, hours spent playing, talking, pots of coffee drank, and lunch together, the kids and parents alike went down for afternoon naps. We got a chance to Skype with Grandma, Abo, Jenni, Marco, Niko, and Grammy for awhile and open gifts with them, which was so fun. That evening, we had our church service with Poppa reading the Nativity story. Communion thoughts were shared, and we took the supper together, with Ben following the crackers and juice around the room and sampling along with every adult ;)

Next, the kids couldn't wait to put on "a play" of the birth of baby Jesus. While Poppa narrated, Clara played Mary and a Wise Man, Benton was the Angel and a Wise Man, Ben was a very absent Joseph, Caleb and Clayton were stable animals, Jack was baby Jesus, Honey held up the star, and their Daddies were donkeys and camels.

Let me tell you....this was HILARIOUS. I have a video, but for the sake of all present, I won't post it. The background sound was filled with a terrible rendition of "Away in a Manager" (I believe all those in attendance agree in the no posting, as well) and directing and laughing. Great memories were made!

Mary and the stand-in Joseph riding into Bethlehem.

Getting settled in the stable

Mary and baby Jesus, along with a stable animal that Mary was trying to keep in line...

Wise Men riding in on camels

bowing down to baby Jesus

With his gifts of a wrapped present, gold pot, and a ping-pong paddle!

Precious kids had so much fun! I think we have a new Christmas tradition in our family!

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, food, fun, and many, many blessings. Hope your holidays were blessed as well!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T14:03:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve was spent over at Honey and Poppa's house getting ready for the big day and having lots of fun being all together.

The kids all took baths

help make cookies for Santa

Hunter constructed the gingerbread village

Gingerbread houses were decorated

Benton and Ben ate most of their candy, and Clara used up most of the supplies

the finished products were shown off

matching Christmas jammies were opened and put on

books were read and toys were played with

bedtime Bible stories were (attempted) to be read

and when all 6 kids turned into pumpkins at the stroke of 9, everyone went home to set out their cookies and milk for Santa and await his arrival

Christmas morning is coming!

Thursday-before-Christmas

2011-12-28T15:54:00.000-06:00

A few days before Christmas, we started the festivities early. Over at Honey and Poppa's house that night we had a yummy salmon and sweet-potatoe casserole dinner to celebrate Hunter's birthday and have Christmas with Nathan and Katie.

Here's a cute little helper passing out gifts

Glen Orville and Jack Glen. They spent lots of time like this in this chair!

Happy birthday, Hunter!

Ben's "doubt it" face

That morning, Julia came over to open gifts before she headed out of town, and we got to catch up with her for a few hours. Her boyfriend's stepmom made the kids these awesome beanies, and they love them!

"Jack hat!"

"Clara hat!"

"Ben hat!"

stuck in the car seat

Playing with Aunt Julia. Thanks for all our Christmas goodies!

such a cute little penguin!

Zach's store had the opportunity to wear a Christmas attire one day, which turned into "Ugly Christmas Sweater." He really took the cake with Delores, and was an employee and customer favorite!

Nathan and Katie with their niece and nephews!

More Christmas fun to come!

Free Time

2011-12-21T13:59:00.000-06:00

"Free Time" is a very essential part of a balanced life. I would argue that it is especially important to a stay-at-home Momma like myself (and many of you). However, it's hard to fit into my day, and when I can take some time for myself, it's cherished and precious. Lately, I've been evaluating my to-do list for the day over breakfast and figuring out what can fit into that golden hour and 15 minutes... and it got me thinking.

Currently my free time looks like this...with Jack not sleeping through the night consistently, I try for a nap every day. If I feel I can get some blogging done that day, I attempt to upload the pictures in the morning, and write during nap time. I also try my hardest not to do any dishes/mopping/vacuuming / bathroom cleaning or any other yucky stuff during "free time." (with the exception of laundry on Mondays..it's ongoing from morning till night). I normally turn my phone to silent during free time, so I'm not buzzed as soon as I drift off to sleep...the second I lay down.

I would like to know: how do you spend your free time? For the sake of argument, let's call "free time" 1-2 hours in the middle of the day and/or 1-2 hours at the end of the day at your house. You know, when the kids are napping or down for the night.

Do you reserve this time to get lots of housework or cleaning done? Catch up with friends on the phone? Clear you DVR by watching all those saved shows? Do a super cute craft project? Blog? Nap? Have your quiet time with God? Take an uninterrupted long shower? Catch up on reading other blogs and Facebook? Read a good book? Visit with your husband over lunch? Paint your nails? Play solitaire?Wrap presents or address Christmas cards? Get dinner preparations started?

Here's a picture that makes me sad, poor little Jack trying to catch up on some sleep during quiet time!

I'd love to hear how you spend your precious few hours of the day!

Miscellaneous Monday

2011-12-19T12:08:00.001-06:00

This is going to be a quick post filled with lots of pictures on this rainy, cool Monday morning. (Well, afternoon by now.) This is my favorite kind of weather, but I don't really feel like being as productive as I need be today. Holidays are quickly approaching, and there is much to do!

In an attempt to get caught up with blogging before Christmas, here's a giant phone dump post!

My family of 5 after church on Sunday, and the best we could do!

(Please excuse my crying boys and slippers on my feet)

Trying for better luck with smiles with Poppa...no dice.

My car-loving boy.

Jack can work his brows like brother Ben. We call these the "frowny brows"

This little toot was squirmy and fussing from about 6-7 AM the other morning after eating. After we finally gave up, got out of bed, and started our day (ok, really me, Zach was up and getting ready for work) Jack drifted right off to sleep. Doesn't his little smirk just look like, "Finally! A king-sized bed all to myself!"

Loving all Jack's cute winter hats

His Jack Claus shirt

An after-church picture last week. It's the only time we ever take one! Plus, I love the boys in their train outfits.

I love this picture! We've gotten a good amount of rain in the past week (for us, anyway), and Clara was watching it rain through the back door. She went to get Ben to see, and was telling him how thankful we are for God to water our grass, trees, and plants. Clara said, "Thank you, God for the rain" and Ben followed up with "Un-Ew...God!" (read as him grunting the words and not actually saying them, although he can) On repeat all day long.

Precious!

I'm so thrilled to report that nursing is back in full swing at my house. Jack and I are still going strong, but Clara has started up again with all her animals and I LOVE it! She was big into nursing her babies when Ben was born, but not so much since then.

Her techniques have evolved in those two years as well. She always needs a pillow, burp rag, times each side, and burps and changes in between. Phrases like "My baby has been crying all day long, it's just been wearing me out. (Eye roll) I think it's about time for me to feed her with my n*pples. (checks her play phone).

What a precious little Momma she is!

(And yes, that word is said in our house VERY often these days!)

Last week was our bunco "bring something from home" gift exchange. I have to say, I really lucked out with this beauty! We named her Delores, and this handmade work of art may make be sewn on a sweater, hung on my mantle, or as a welcoming wreath on my front door. I don't know, so many decisions! :)

Dress-up at our weekly date with the Hanners!

Love these two!

More early-morning nursing. I can't get enough of how sweet and funny this is, especially when she wants to compare notes on our babies whilst feeding. "Did Jack have a blowout today? Lili just pooped everywhere!" or "I'm so ready to put Lili down for her nap, she kept me up all night just crying and crying!"

And finally, couldn't you just kiss all over that chubby, soft, nakey tummy?!

Happy Monday!

Jack at 2 months (and a few weeks)

2011-12-15T12:21:00.000-06:00

Our sweet little Jack is 2 months old!

Here's some things he's doing now:

- smiling and talking lots

-sleeping anywhere from 4-7 hours at night, a 2 hour morning nap, a 3-4 hour afternoon nap, and a short evening nap

-weighed a whopping 13 lbs 6 oz at his checkup (70%)

-is 23 1/2 inches long (85%)

-head measures 16 inches (63%)

-eating every 3 hours, but working towards 4

-not loving tummy time anymore

-still loving his paci, being swaddled, and the swing

-now sleeping in a pack-n-play, but moves to swing if he's up to eat before 4 hours in the night

-wearing a few 3-6 month outfits, but mostly 6 or 6-9 month clothes

-is wearing the last of his size 1 diapers, then moving up to size 2 (way to many blowouts!)

-is such a sweet-natured and happy baby

Precious boy, we love you so much!

under construction

2011-12-13T14:03:00.001-06:00

My blog is currently under construction...and I need help! Eeekk! Please come to my rescue if this still looks terrible after nap time!

Monday, Monday

2011-12-12T11:24:00.004-06:00

Now, that's attention-grabbing title if I've ever seen one! Forgive my lack of creativity, please.

Nothing really huge to blog about, just checking in with a few new pictures from this past week. We've been staying super busy, as I know you are too. Between the school parties, work parties, bunco parties, tree-trimming parties, book and ornament exchanges, Secret Santa buying, Christmas shopping and wrapping, thank-you note writing, Christmas card addressing, holiday goodies cooking and baking, mini dance recitals....along with keeping up with these busy and active three little ones, I'm worn out.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, "Thank you, Jesus for coffee!" I could write a love song for coffee, with special verses dedicated just to the Dunkin Donuts holiday flavored bags. And Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes, but I don't get to drink 5 cups of those a day like the DD ones. YUM.

Anyway....

Here's a few pictures via my phone:

So this is why Jack cried all the way home!

Poor Jack! The jumping up and down and yelling required to get Clara and Ben to smile scare him every time. Oh, but I do LOVE a good crying baby photo.

Good thing Sister is there to comfort him.

Speaking of things I love, snuggling this warm, sleeping baby is at the very top of my list.

a smile for Momma

Better go be productive now!

the dating scene

2011-12-07T10:44:00.006-06:00

This post is dedicated to all the dates we've been going on lately. We've been having lots of fun!

First up, our play date with the Hanners last Friday. Jenn and I were wondering why we don't get together once a week for some sister/cousin time, and are remedying that now. It was super cold out, but the three oldest bundled up to play outside anyway!

Jenn got out the jump house, which is always a huge success!

"Ring around the rosies...."

"...and we all fall down!"

Ben wanted nothing to do with the bounce house and was content to play with cars, trucks, and grass.

Hot chocolate break

(a first for my kids and they've been requesting it ever since)

Our next date was a donut one, we've only gone twice in the last couple of months. It was long overdue!

Zach with his date

And me with one of mine.

Next, Jack is making preparations for Mom and Dad to go on a New Years Date in a few weeks. Hoping he'll get on board with this whole bottle thing so he can have a sleepover at Honey's!

His second bottle, this one with formula as I didn't have any breast milk stored up. Jack had 2 ounces, not too bad!

Sunday lunch we had a lunch date with Aunt Julia and Aunt Becky after church. We love spending any amount of time with these girls!

After our lunch date, we tried for a photo op. Had to document the cutest little candy cane, snow man, and tiny little drummer boy.

Here's the best we could do:

Poor Jack, he knew he wouldn't get a Smartie for a smile

(yes, bribery works!)

Monday night, the kids and I had a pancake dinner date at Honey and Poppa's house. My favorite. Jack had a snooze while we were eating.

Finally, Clara and Ben are ready for their date with Santa yesterday at school. Honey has outdone herself with shirts, yet again...how cute are those? As far as I know, there were no tears from either sitting on Santa's lap, and Clara asked for "Thomas the train (all of it) and a teddy bear." News to me, this list keeps on changing!

Christmas tree, cookies and milk, and cute smiles

2011-12-01T16:14:00.000-06:00

This Christmas-is-Coming post is brought to you by the letter C...

On Tuesday night Christmas Came to the Percival Casa! Zach had the day off work, and while the two older Children were at school, we Cleaned, moved, Carried and got ready for the fun that night.

Putting up the tree was fun this year with little helpers, and they loved the process. Clara wanted to hear a story behind each ornament she put up. She Carefully tip-toed to the tree, all the while telling Daddy how "special" or "the most beautiful" that particular one was. Ben, on the other hand, lost interest quickly after I wouldn't let him wreak Chaos on all the glass ones.

I thought it was fairly successful only having two ornament Casualties from last year: one because of my Careless packing skills and one Collided with the tile and shattered into a Cazillion pieces.

Here's our Christmas tree!

Our nativity scene, which I have already had to remind Curious little Children many times not to handle, only to look at. Ben has already been Caught playing the "Whoa" game (grabbing a poor little lamb and "Whoa, Whoa, Whoooaa" -ing him to the ground.

Our mantle Complete with 5 matching stockings...looks like Mrs. Clause has her work cut out for her to fill them this year.

After the Christmas tree was up, the fun didn't stop! After seeing the ever-Crafty Meredith throw a party for the return of their Elf, I knew my guys would be Crazy with excitement over the same thing! After sharing the idea with Zach, we decided that night would be the ideal time for Tate the Elf to Come make his debut!

While Daddy jammied and got the Children ready for bed, I quickly threw together a party Complete with Chocolate milk, Christmas tree Cookies (which required none of my Culinary skills), and a Crafty little note from Tate.

Clara, the resident alphabet expert these days, Commented that Tate didn't make most of his letters Correctly. I guess I'll have to remind him to print and not write in Cursive next year...

Closed eyes make for better surprises! Clara Campbell was thrilled to see Tate, while Benjamin Lowell had only eyes for Chocolate milk and Cookies.

Enjoying her Cookies before bed.

Commentating Tate's letter to them.

Slurping down his Chocolate milk.

Afterwards, we read the Elf on the Shelf book, reminding us to be Courteous and kind, Clean up our toys, and not to Cuddle Tate while he's observing us for the next month. I love this little helpful and sweet tradition started in our family 2 year ago!

In other news...

Jack is no longer Content to sit and stare at nothing, he is loving playing and looking at toys! I love to watch his Curiosity and motor skills develop.

Conked out! Playing is such hard work.

We've also been getting lots of Cute smiles and a few deep little Chuckles from him. Our family can be found Crowded around him in the evenings trying for those Coveted smiles.

Cute, Crinkled little nose.

This guy has Captured our hearts, obviously!

Hope you all have a Cheerful Thursday!

God Bless America

2011-11-29T13:43:00.006-06:00

"America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests, and teach us what it means to be citizens."

-George W. Bush

November 14th was an exciting day for our family. It was the day my legal alien, green card carrying, Canadian-born, "most patriotic non-American" Momma became a citizen of this great country!

After living in the USA for 31 years, Honey decided she wanted to stay for good. I'm so proud of her and excited for her! Jenn and I decided this was an occasion that definitely deserved a party, so we sent out invites, made some yummy classic American desserts, had everyone sport their stars and stripes, and bought out all the little USA flags in town. Zach provided a wonderfully patriotic, but random soundtrack filled with classics such as "God Bless America", "America the Beautiful," "God Bless the USA," and "My Country 'Tis of Thee," and ranging all the way to"American Woman" and "Party in the USA."

The table filled with apple pie, banana pudding, a flag cake, and lots of other goodies.

The funny part is half of the table decorations we took from Honey's house when she wasn't home! I told you she's patriotic!

Jack being loved on by some of Honey's sweet friends.

Surprise!

Poppa had quite the hard time getting her over to Jenn's house in a timely manner and she kept adding on things to do while they were out, such as grocery shopping. Poppa would sneak off throughout the day to call Jenn and I in whispers, telling us of her latest excuses and delays. Honey later admitted he had been acting a little weird all day. Surely this was because Poppa is so honest and truthful, not because he can't keep a secret... ;)

Party action shot, ha!

American Woman (x 4)

Congratulations to the newest citizen of our great country, we're so proud of you!

Cousins Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T13:29:00.004-06:00

First of all, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all your sweet words of encouragement and affirmations on my last post. Your comments were read over many times, and I SO appreciate them! I realized after posting that I sounded a tad crazy with all the snakes and fangs talk, but that's what I was feeling at the time! Just keeping it real!

I am blessed to be surrounded by friends and family who know what a hard and important job being a Momma is, and affirm me often. I hope you other Mommas have that support system also, because you do such a great job!

Moving on...

We had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving! This year was technically a Percival holiday, but since we couldn't be out there, we did the next best thing! We did get to skype with Grandma, Abo, Grammy, and Grampy that morning though - thank goodness for technology! Holidays with the Kirkpatrick clan is always lots of fun, filled with yummy food, football, and great company. This year was no different!

Sadly, I took zero pictures...shame on me :(

The day after Thanksgiving, we got to visit with my Houston family who were in town. It's always a treat to see Tim, Lenora, Paul and Amber and their girls Raylee and Brin, and Amanda! Nothing like a whole room full of cuties to jog my memory to document all the fun!

First up is Raylee and Ben who are exactly one month apart. Aren't those curls to die for?

I love this one! Raylee got herself a BIG OL' smooch, such sweet kissin' cousins.

Here's proud Honey and Grandma with their youngest, Jack and Brinn.

These cuties are a little over 2 months apart, and Brinn is sweet and cute as could be!

That night, the Hanners came back in town from a San Antonio Thanksgiving, and all 8 of the great-grand cousins were together! Eight cute kids ages 4 and under, wow!!

We then got ambitious and decided to try for the traditional "cousin couch" shot. I wish I had a picture of the 10 adults jumping up and down, yelling, waving toys, putting children back on the couch, and passing out candy for smiles. It was hilarious!

Left to Right:

Clayton, Caleb, Raylee, Ben, Brinn, Benton, Clara, Jack, and Girl GG.

(say that three times fast!)

As always, we are blessed and thankful to God for all we have and the people in our lives.

Hope your holiday was wonderful as well!

Ode to this Moment

2011-11-21T12:18:00.003-06:00

Now, in the past I would post a wonderful, I've-got-it-all-together "Ode to this Moment" time. You know: when the house is clean, dinner is in the oven, the sweet children are peacefully sleeping, and I'm dressed, showered, and have my hair curled. However, that's happened like twice. Ever.

So.

Here's the real "Ode to this Moment" in hopes I will look back on it someday and think, "WOW, when the kids were young some days were really hard, I didn't sweat the small stuff. When I was ready for bedtime at 10 AM and felt like screaming and pulling my hair out and doling out whippings all over the place...I didn't. I merely walked into my room, poured another cup of coffee and blogged about it!"

Because today, at this moment:

-it's laundry day, and I'm on load 4 of 9

-Clara's cough she has had for a month has turned nasty, and we have an appointment this afternoon

-Said sick child won't keep her clothes/socks/slippers on and it's a constant fight

-Clara and Ben fighting over the same toys is driving me up the wall

-I've repeated "stop running" and "stop screaming" till I'm almost hoarse

-Ben dug in the trash and poured out a half-empty Dr. Pepper can all over the now-sticky kitchen floor

-I've worn this tank top and sweat pants since approximately 3 PM yesterday

- said trash cans all over the house are overflowing

-the sink is full of dirty dishes because the dishwasher is full and awaiting unloading

- Jack's swing is out of batteries and we're both sad about that

- every room of my house looks like a bomb went off, spraying toys and books and shoes

-I just got a text that Zach isn't coming home for lunch to help maintain my sanity for 50 minutes

-It's now almost 1 PM and I haven't even started lunch

While gingerly walking through the living room to avoid breaking a toe stepping on hundreds of animals or cars, I notice something odd...

See it?

Yeah.

Those are my curtains pulled down, the rod bent, and them laying in a heap on my couch.

After pulling the children out from behind the couch and piano where they know they don't belong, putting them in time-out, having a little "visit" about what they did wrong, then deciding it's clean up time and lead them in the little song. I give myself a little mental pat on the back for working on my patience that has been so very, very lacking lately.

Then I see this.

I start to sprout horns and a tail, fingers turn to twisted claws and teeth to fangs, while snakes hiss from the messy bun on my head.

Momma is no longer calm and collected. Deep breaths. Internal pep talk.

And that's the story of why I'm blogging while drinking my 4th cup of coffee, with my bedroom door shut, while my kids are watching another Dora while we all should be cleaning, doing laundry, and/or eating lunch.

*****

Tell me I'm not alone, Momma's!

Have you had a day like this??

Turkeys

2011-11-18T10:17:00.005-06:00

I love this time of year where we all focus on how blessed and thankful we are. Blessing overflow in the Percival home!

I am thankful for these two turkeys (and their little brother too)

They're wearing their Thanksgiving shirts circa 2011 - by the very talented Honey, if you even needed to ask!

Here they are wearing Thanksgiving shirts circa 2010

Wearing their shirts last November...my, how they've grown in a year!

Love these turkeys!

6 weeks and Poppa's surgery

2011-11-15T19:06:00.005-06:00

Yesterday our sweet little Jack turned 6 weeks old! I can't believe it. On one hand, I feel like I've known and loved him forever, and on the other hand, it seems like he was JUST born!

Here's a bit about Jack Glen at 6 weeks:

-eats every 3 hours (16 minutes total)

-is very strong and holds his head up all the time

-sleeps in his swing

-loves to hear Clara and Ben talk and play

-doesn't mind tummy time

-can sleep through a lot of noise

-still has all his long hair on top and in the back, but his forehead line is receding like a little old man

-has big, beautiful dark blue eyes still

- is working on some chunky thighs, bum, and has an impressive double chin

-is finding his little voice and starting to talk

-loves to cuddle and rock

-if it's not time to eat and he's fussy, swaddling him all up fixes it every time

-takes his paci really well about 90% of the time

-wears 3-6 month or 6 months clothes

-is in a size 1 diaper

-goes 4 hour stretches at night, an occasional 5 hours, and a one 7 hour stretch!

Here's our big boy after a 7 hour night. I was so proud!

Love our precious boy!

On Tuesday we celebrated his 6 week milestone by spending the day at the hospital. Poppa had carpal tunnel surgery on his right hand, and Jack and I kept Honey company in the waiting room and to visit Poppa afterwards. Many prayers were answered as it was the less invasive of the two procedures, and he came out of it great!

Clara and Ben prayed for and wished Poppa luck before school.

It was Wear Brown Day at school too!

Honey and I had hours to kill in the waiting room, so we took lots of pictures of Jack. Of course! He was a big hit in the waiting room, and I was pretty nervous having such a little guy up there for so long. It's always amazing to me how strangers try and touch babies they don't know, to which I politely as possible tell them no.

Jack even had time to make Poppa a sign too.

...and then he had a big blowout and pooped all over it!

After leaving the hospital, we headed straight up to school to pick up the kids. Caleb and Clayton have had infected ears for quite some time now, and they had an ENT appointment after school, so we got to get Benton too! These cousins always have so much fun together, and I felt like I was herding cats getting 4 kids and 4 bags loaded and unloaded!

Here's my view: 4 blue-eyed cuties!

We layed down for quiet time, played with animals and cars, and a loud and rowdy game of hide-in-seek (which consisted of hiding behind the chair and under a quilt on the couch)

Cousin playtime!

After our eventful and fun day, we were all wiped out and ready for bed!

Sweet Caleb and Clayton both had tubes in their ears early this morning, and already are feeling much better. Many prayers were answered this week for successful surgeries!

Have a good evening, everyone.

Showered with Love

2011-11-14T17:23:00.006-06:00

On Sunday there was a lovely sip 'n see thrown for Jack and I by six sweet friends. We had a great afternoon sipping on coffee and hot apple cider, eating yummy treats (some more than others), visiting, and admiring and passing around the gentleman of the hour, Jack.

Nana hosted our wedding shower at her beautiful home 6 1/2 years ago and Jack's shower this past weekend. It seems like yesterday we were just about to start our married life together, and here we are, celebrating our 3rd baby! Time flies.

It was a beautiful, intimate afternoon, and I left with my suburban filled with diapers and wipes and lots of other goodies!

Unfortunately, I was awful about taking pictures and most of them were blurry for some reason. Sad! Here are the few I do have:

love these!

the gorgeous table. it's a crying shame you can't see just how beautiful the light blue china is!

the lovely ladies of my family (and gentleman)

And...this is where my camera started messing up :( Where big sister hung out most of the time! Girl loves her some Sunday afternoon shower sweets!

See what I mean about the blurry?

Thank you Jana, Jenn, Lori, Macey, and Sara - we know we are loved!

here lately

2011-11-09T15:45:00.005-06:00

Here lately we've been...

-loving having Zach off for the week

-spending lots of lazy family mornings in our jammies

-recovering from our painful couple of days last week

-cuddling sweet Jack

-breaking up fights...I mean... facilitating play time with Clara and Ben who always share

-changing out everyone's closets from summer to winter clothes

-packing up Jack's newborn wardrobe (sad!) and my maternity wardrobe (good riddance!)

-mourning the fact that we ate our last wonderful dinner from church friends last night

-getting a bit more sleep

-loving the cool, fall weather

-amazed at how much Clara is learning in Pre-K about letters

-watching Ben's vocabulary really take off and the new words he learns every day

-still getting used to daylight savings change

-wearing our new turkey shirts (compliments of Honey, of course)

-going to a little friend's sweet party and taking a turn at the pinata

-having some tummy time (both Jack and Ben)

-loving the new swing from Auntie Jenn's house and getting more sleep because of it

-did I mention we've loved having Zach home this week?

Here's some phone pictures from the past week:

Have a great Wednesday, everyone.

Jack's newborn and family pictures

2011-11-06T19:44:00.015-06:00

Two weeks ago, the amazingly talented Tammy Marcelain came to take our pictures! Tammy has been there with her camera for all the big events in our lives from engagement, bridal and wedding pictures, to capturing precious moments with all three of our newborns. Thank you Tammy, we love you!

Enjoy these images, I had a hard time narrowing them down to my favorite 30 to post!

Today

2011-11-02T15:34:00.001-05:00

Today I got a wisdom tooth pulled and a cavity filled.

Jealous?

Jack-O-Lantern

2011-10-31T21:25:00.010-05:00

The cutest thing I've ever seen: my precious little Jack in a pumpkin! I can hardly take it, I love it so much! Eeeeeee!!!!

Black Cats, Turkeys, and Pumpkins...Oh My!

2011-10-31T10:11:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween!

Hope your weekend was a fun and relaxing as ours! Halloween has never been one of the bigger occasions we celebrate, but as the kids are getting older, it's getting more fun and we're getting into it more. Not the scary/spooky aspect, but the cute costumes and chocolate part, for sure!

Saturday night we carved our first pumpkin! Zach and I can remember carving pumpkins as kids (once or twice), but not since then. We weren't too ambitious with the design, but the kids were impressed anyway. Actually, Zach did all the work, with Clara occasionally assisting as she didn't really want to get the guts on her.

Jack and I supervised and took pictures.

(I can't believe I'm really posting this gross picture of me...scary indeed!)

Ben could've cared less about the pumpkin, he was happy to play in the mud and get dirty for awhile. Typical!

My night pumpkin shot isn't uploaded anymore! Oh well, I've got more Halloween posting to do.

Sunday night we decided to forgo Trunk-or-Treat at church and visit our families houses instead. Glad that still makes everyone involved happy, one year we'll have to go all out. Until then, we loved a few laid-back stops with the ones we love!

Meet the cutest black cat, pumpkin, and turkey!

The GGs handed out candy, toothbrushes, and glow bracelets - big hit!

The next stop was Aunt Becky's house, and Ma, Pa, and Aunt Julia were there, too. Bonus! The kids loved their big Halloween gift bags of books, candy, games, cars, and toys. Jack even got one filled with his Momma's favorite chocolates :)

love this one!

Everyone looking, no one crying! What a Halloween success!

More costumes and pumpkins to come!

Pavlov's Baby

2011-10-27T13:28:00.002-05:00

I was a psychology major in college, which feels like a million years ago...5 years in December to be exact. While I did well in school (graduated a semester early Cum Laude, thank you very much, ha!), most of my psychology knowledge has not been put to work since then. In fact, my brain hardly functions at all these sleep-deprived days.

Anyway.

I do remember enough to know that I have created a little Pavlovian classical conditioning case on my hands. You know about Pavlov and his experiments with dogs, yes? (Sara, please don't judge me too harshly!)
Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus acquires the ability to illicit a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus. In his experiments with dogs, Pavlov would pair feeding the dogs with the sound of a bell several times, then use the bell alone. Just as he predicted, the dogs would then begin to salivate to the sound of the bell without the food (it became the neutral stimulus). Therefore, the the bell is now the conditioned stimulus, which in turn, produces a conditioned response of salivation.

Now, after I apologize for butchering that process and leaving out a whole lot of important information, I'll explain why I'm writing about that to begin with.

When Jack is nursing, I have a handy little nursing app that tells me when he last ate, which side, and has a little timer. Very helpful! In the night or when there's a lot going on, I set an additional timer on my phone that goes off audibly, instead of having to check it. Every time Jack hears that timer go off ("The Stars go Blue") he gets busy, busy, BUSY because he knows eating time is over!

This cracks me up every time, especially since most of the time, he's not doing much eating at that point. Classical conditioning at 3 weeks old? Amazing.

Pavlov's baby

Lots of fun costume, dance, and school parade pictures to come soon. Well, maybe not soon, but eventually!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T21:17:00.006-05:00

On Saturday we had a much-needed family day! Cinnamon rolls for breakfast, movie in our jammies, trip to the pumpkin patch, great naps, playing outside and in the water hose, back porch hair cut for Ben, long baths, early bedtime, and watching the Rangers game. Wonderful!

Our pumpkin patch trip was not the most successful in terms of pictures, however. In fact, most of them are outtakes. It was crowded, windy, and my kids weren't cooperating, so here's the best we could get!

Turned Sideways Pumpkin

Profile Pumpkin

I Want to Hold Jack Pumpkin

Pirate Eye Pumpkin

Itchy Eye Pumpkin

It's So Bright Pumpkin

Open Mouths Pumpkin

Sleepy Pumpkin

Can't Lift It Pumpkin

Can We Get This One? Pumpkin

Ben, Please Quit Throwing it Down Pumpkin

Daddy Pumpkin

Ben Ran Off Pumpkin

Momma Pumpkin

Ben Ran Off II Pumpkin

Jack Cuddles Pumpkin

Maybe if I Don't Look We'll Quit Pumpkin

Ben Finally Smiles Pumpkin

Clara Finally Smiles Pumpkin

...and that's a wrap!

Which is your favorite pumpkin picture of these three little punkin' heads??

a weekend with H&P

2011-10-18T16:05:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we spent lots of quality time with Honey and Poppa while Zach was working some long hours. As usual, we love spending time with them and did plenty of relaxing, playing, visiting, napping, and coffee drinking. A low-key weekend was just what I needed after my first week on my own!

The weather was (and still is) beautiful and starting to cool off. Here's the guys enjoying some swing time on the porch.

love these three!

Friday night (10 days old) Jack's cord fell off, thank goodness. Real baths for this boy now, which he immensely enjoyed!

Thanks, Honey!

After church pictures with the GGs

and Honey and Poppa

proud big sister

Jack rockin some awesome after-bath hair

After we dropped the kids off at school today, Jack and I came home and snuggled in bed in our sweats. Enjoying these days at home with only my baby boy, they'll be gone before I know it!

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Since we've been home

2011-10-14T16:25:00.007-05:00

Jack is 10 days old today, I just can't believe it! Our company has gone home, our nighttime help is sleeping through the night at their houses, Zach is back to work and working long hours for iPhone launch weekend, our wonderful class from church have started meals every other night, and my reality is setting in...I have a pre-schooler, a toddler, and a newborn! :) Wow! The older two are going through some hard adjustments, routines are being re-learned, and I'm quite emotional these days. All to be expected.

Here's a few (of the million) pictures from this past week.

Clara can't get enough of 'baby Jack'. She thinks he's the cutest baby there ever was (she's not partial at all, ha!), and is always talking to him, holding his hands, getting stuff for me, and washing up to hold him.

It took Ben a couple days, but he's warmed up nicely. He loves to say "Jaack", cram a paci in his mouth, and throw away dirty diapers. He does not love that sometimes Jack get swaddled up in his night-nights when I don't have any of Jack's blankets clean, but I don't really blame him. I can't believe my (first) baby boy is so grown up!

my three boys.

watching football with Daddy.

all ready to go on our first outing! (6 days old)

We met Grandma and Abo at Cracker Barrel for brunch and went over to visit Ma and Pa afterwards.

Not the most perfect family picture, but at least everyone is looking!

Then, on Monday night Jack had another important milestone - his first bottle! He sucked down 3 ounces from Daddy while I was out shopping.

Speaking of out shopping, it was Dittos for Kiddos time again! Although I was not very prepared and didn't have quite as much physical and mental energy as usual, I came home with some good stuff.

For Clara:

5 church dresses, 2 sweater dresses, 1 everyday dress

long-sleeved leotard, long coat, fleece jacket, and 3 two-piece outfits

3 sweaters, 2 long-sleeved tees, pair of brown pants

5 pairs of jammies, ballet shoes, Converse shoes, 4 books about heaven/angels/Jesus.

For the boys (who needed NOTHING at all):

Jack - 4 winter church outfits, paci clip, feeding spoon

Ben - bunch of animals and bugs

As usual, I'm a picky name-brand shopper at Dittos, and everything I got ranged from $2-$8 with the exception of 2 of Clara's dresses that I payed more. Once again, I'm a happy bargain shopper!

More Jack lovin'

playing Noah's Ark

Jack had his one-week check up, which went great. He is 8 lbs, 5 oz ( 50%) and 20.5 in long (60%) Dr. W said he's "perfect!"

I also had to visit my doctor for a few little post-partem things this week, and Dr. M agreed to pose with Jack for a picture although he had just soaked his outfit. She said she's held babies in worse condition...

She's the best!

Today was my first day at home with all three, no school, and we couldn't leave the house as I'm (still) waiting on my new phone to arrive. There were definitely times in the day when all 4 of us were in tears, but we made it. It will only get easier from here!

Jack's Birthday

2011-10-11T13:03:00.008-05:00

*Warning: This is our birth story. If reading about this type of thing is scary or uncomfortable to you, please check back next post!* I never wrote down our birth stories with Clara and Ben, and regretted that I don't remember all the details about such an important and amazing day. Zach (with a few reminders from me) journaled throughout the day.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

4:45 AM - Arrived at hospital and got checked into our room. We think it was the same room Ben was born in! Posed for my LAST pregnant picture ever! (39 weeks, 3 days).

5:30 AM - Taryn was our morning nurse, and we get started on paperwork.

5:50 AM - Started IV and an extra bag of fluids, as I was still a bit dehydrated from being sick.

6:00 AM - Dr. M rounds, broke my water, checked me (dilated to a 3), and sets up a contraction monitor. As she has thought for awhile, I had "lots of fluid"and soaked through two sets of bedding very quickly.

6:15 AM - Started the pitocin drip. I started feeling some pretty good contractions almost right away.

7:00 AM - Change of nurse from Taryn to Stephanie.

8:00 AM - Changed my 2nd bag of fluid, sheets, and have to put on an oxygen mask. There were "variables" in Jack's heart rate during contractions, and the oxygen and extra fluids were to help even his heart rate out. At this point, she said it "wasn't C-section concerning", but we were doing preventative measures. I had to turn onto my right side, as that appeared to be what kept Jack's heart rate most consistent. Dilated to a 4. At this point, we started feeling anxious as turning from side-to-side and oxygen is what I did when Clara was born, and she was born face up with the cord around her neck. Had Zach call my Mom and let her know to come as soon as she dropped my kids off at school.

9:00 AM - Angela (the charge nurse) came in. Stephanie was with another patient pushing, and I would get another nurse for the day. She got me another fluid bag (3rd), said I could take off my oxygen mask for awhile, helped me take a potty break, and got me a new gown. I was dilated to 4, 80% effaced, and was rating my pain a 6 on a scale of 10. The oxygen mask was really making it difficult to breathe through my contractions, and I was feeling panic-y. Called for an epidural, but Angela had to go check if that was okay since I was a 4, but it was my 3rd baby and I could go quickly.

Our only picture was taken early in the morning in our few minutes of downtime.

9:30 AM - Kristen is my new nurse, and she is precious! Brought pillows for my back and legs, and had to put my oxygen mask back on. She apologized and said I would be on oxygen the remainder of the day, even while pushing. (This news almost made me cry. It was uncomfortable, made my mouth and nose really dry, and I felt like I had to learn to breathe differently in pain. I decided I had to make peace with it - we'd be together all day and I knew Jack needed it!) I had to turn onto my other side, and started switching sides about every 15 minutes for a good part of the day, depending on what Jack's heart rate was doing. Rating my pain at about a 7.

9:45 AM - Dr. Emmitt comes for my epidural! He told me probably 4 times what a good job I did holding very still, and I told him this wasn't my first time ;) It was an excellent epidural, and within 5 minutes I wasn't feeling the pain, but still had feeling in my legs and feet. Honey, Poppa, and Jenn got there during the epidural and had to stay out in the hall, and when it was over they came in. Within minutes, I got very itchy all over my torso and hot, which can be side effect, but not one I'd experienced before. I could've kissed Dr. Emmitt before he left, I was so thankful!

10:00 AM - Catheter inserted, which I was ready for with all those fluids. Checked and dilated to a 4 still and 80% effaced. Honey and Jenn come and sit on my bed and are rubbing my shoulders, holding my mask to my face so I could take it off, and encourage me to get some sleep. Twice I drift off (in a matter of seconds!) to Jenn rubbing my forehead for about 15 minutes. I didn't last long, as I had to keep changing sides and get re-situated.

11:20 AM - Checked and dilated to a 5 and 80% effaced.

12:00 PM - I tell Kristen I'm starting to feel pressure again, and she checks me at a 5/6 and 100% effaced. I get some medicine in my IV for a blood pressure drop. Also, my pitocin is shut off temporarily due to variables in Jack's heart rate being too close together. Off and on for the next hour I still have contractions, although not quite as strong. However, I'm starting to get more and more feeling back and the pressure is increasing.

1:30 PM - Dr. M checks in and I'm at a 5 and 80% effaced (differences in the person checking, I guess). Dr. M is asking Kristen about my output not matching up to how many bags of fluid I'd been given, so I felt now was the time to fess up...that morning I had a couple of times that I didn't have time to call for a nurse, get all unhooked, and make it to the bathroom. Zach would just add a couple of new towels! They all thought that was hilarious, but the only reason I confessed is I didn't want my 5th bag of IV fluids! When you gotta go, you gotta go! Started my pitocin drip up again, and my pain shoots up quickly. I ask about another epidural or restarting the one I had, as mine has worn completely off.

2:00 PM - Dilated to a 7, fully effaced. My pitocin was upped, and I'm feeling everything. The contractions are minutes apart and peaking off the little grid. At this point, "my team" of Zach, Honey, and Jenn are all at work talking me through contractions, soothing my hair, rubbing my shoulders, putting cold wash cloths on my head and feet, holding my mask on my face to get a break from the band, and getting their hands squeezed off. Still switching from side-to-side, but get a few minutes of relief on my back every once in awhile.

3:00 PM - Kristen started setting the room up, and Poppa and Nathan said their goodbyes and went to the waiting room. Fully dilated.

3:10 PM - Dr. M comes and gets all ready. An anesthesiologist knocks on door to give me another epidural, and was told he's too late - we're ready to go!

3:15 PM - Ready to start pushing, and waiting on the first contraction seemed like it took forever. In those couple of minutes with everyone ready and waiting, I started to say, "I can't do this!" With everyone reassuring me I could and Jack will be here soon, it was time. I was so thankful they let all three of my coaches stay, I needed all of them!

The first contractions I pushed with my oxygen mask off, and had to put it back on for the rest. There was once or twice when I screamed out from the pain, and Dr. M was very calm and soft-spoken saying not to waste my energy on yelling when it could be put to better use pushing. Love her! :)

3:30 PM - After 4 contractions and 15 minutes of pushing, Jack Glen Percival was born! He was born face up with the cord loosely looped around his neck. (that's 2 out of 3 of mine - little stinkers! Presenting face up or "sunny side up" is the most difficult way to deliver) Dr. M was holding him up rubbing his back trying to get him to cry out, and he would only stick his bottom lip way out in a big ol' pout! Dr. M said that was a first for her to see that pouty lip, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we heard that precious little first cry.

Zach got to cut the cord (a first for him!)

Seeing Jack for the first time!

Such an emotional, beautiful, precious moment.

So completely in love!

Meeting Daddy for the first time

8 pounds even, 20.5 inches long. Absolutely perfect!

Our precious nurse, Kristen. Love her.

Happy birthday, Jack!

family of 5

2011-10-09T20:11:00.004-05:00

Wednesday morning Clara and Ben met baby Jack. I thought I would burst with happiness seeing my precious little family all together for the first time!

My little family is complete!

Hospital stay and going home

2011-10-09T12:31:00.009-05:00

Tuesday about 6:30 pm we got all packed up to leave the Labor and Delivery floor and head over to Mothercare. The nursery came to take Jack for his bath, vitals, and observation while we got settled in for the night.

Honey went to pick up Clara and Ben to come meet their brother, but sadly, didn't get to hold him that night. Jack was still warming up his body temperature after bath, but they loved looking at him through the window.

Zach got a chance to watch Jack's first bath in the nursery, and took some pictures for me.

He didn't love the bath part, but was totally relaxed while getting his hair washed!

Clara was excited and happy to see me, and couldn't stop talking about how cute/sweet/tiny baby Jack is and how much she loved him already. Ben, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with me in the hospital gown and bed.

Jack got Clara a Rapunzel doll from the movie Tangled, and she couldn't believe he knew just what she wanted ;)

Jack also got Ben a package of cars, which he loved as well.

Sweet boy had a good first night, although no one gets to sleep for long with all the traffic in and out of the room all night. When I did have the opportunity to sleep, I was so keyed up and kept thinking over the day and how precious and blessed we are! Zach went home with the kids, as they were missing him. Honey stayed at the hospital with us.

This boy was lifting his head off your shoulder at 45 minutes old. Amazing!

Up bright and early on Wednesday morning talking to our amazing doctors and getting some cuddling in with Jack after his little procedure. Poor guy!

Getting dressed to go home!

Much happier after being wrapped up and warm.

Getting the car all loaded up. It really hit me then...there are 3 car seats in there now!

Leaving the hospital on Wednesday at 5:00 pm (a little over 24 hours old) and it was overcast, windy, and in the mid 80's. Beautiful!

We left the hospital and went straight home to get Clara's dance clothes, changed her in the car, and went up to dance. Me and Jack got dropped off at home while everyone else went and got supper and picked up Clara. Sadly, we didn't have any front door pictures or ones of giving Jack the tour of the house. Such is life with the 3rd child, I guess! ;)

Welcome home, Jack!

Who Loves Jack?

2011-10-09T11:59:00.003-05:00

Momma loves Jack

Daddy loves Jack

big sister Clara loves Jack

big brother Ben loves Jack

Honey loves Jack

Poppa loves Jack

Uncle Nate loves Jack

Auntie Jenn loves Jack

Grandma loves Jack

Abo loves Jack

Boy GG loves Jack

Girl GG loves Jack

Pa loves Jack

Ma loves Jack

Lots more friends and family love Jack, too!

Jack's first bath

2011-10-09T11:27:00.002-05:00

Jack's first bath by his Honey at 4 days old. He loved having his bottom in the water, and didn't really care for anything else. There's nothing like a yummy-smelling freshly bathed baby!

Jack Glen Percival

2011-10-07T19:38:00.003-05:00

Jack Glen Percival

born Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

3:30 pm

8 pounds even, 20.5 inches long

We have had a busy and wonderful week and are at home bonding with Jack, resting and recovering, visiting with lots of family, and big sister and brother are getting used to (and loving) their new role. We are so blessed with a perfect and beautiful son!

I'm working on our birth story post, so be looking for that soon. Thanks for all your prayers, congratulations, and well wishes!

Baby Eve Predictions

2011-10-03T21:53:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is the day we welcome Jack Glen Percival into the world!

I can hardly wait to cuddle and kiss and love on my baby boy who I've known and loved for 10 months now. His little life has already been prayed over many, many times by many, many people and we covet your prayers for a safe delivery and healthy baby tomorrow as well. He is one loved and blessed boy already!

What are your birth predictions for Jack?

*****

(For a point of reference:)

Clara Campbell

6 pounds, 15 ounces, 18 1/2 inches

10:44 pm

Benjamin Lowell

8 pounds, 6 ounces, 20 inches

8:04 pm

Zach's predictions:

8 pounds, 8 ounces, 20.5 inches

7:30 pm

My predictions:

8 pounds, 1 ounce, 20 inches

5:10 pm

*****

I would love to hear what you think Jack's stats will be!

change of plans

2011-10-02T20:33:00.002-05:00

...and you know I don't like change!

Last night I got a nasty stomach bug (again) and are still feeling weak and yucky tonight. After talking with my OB tonight, our induction date has been moved back to possibly Tuesday or Wednesday. As you can imagine, I'm SO upset! I'm ready to meet our sweet Jack, ready to not be pregnant anymore, have everything all ready to go, and had a date to look forward to.

However, I know it's for the best and wouldn't do anything to harm or expose our new baby to a virus. Plus, I knew deep down I am in no physical condition to labor and deliver feeling like I am right now.

I'll keep you updated as we find out more tomorrow!

Well, Jack. Looks like you got an extension on your eviction! Only for a few more days though, ok?!

Eviction Notice

2011-09-30T10:27:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Jack got his eviction notice!

Can't wait to meet our precious baby boy!

(oh! and check back here on sunday to give your baby eve's birth predictions!)

10 Things You Should Never Say/Do to a Pregnant Woman

2011-09-27T20:54:00.003-05:00

My wife has graciously agreed to let me guest post on her blog. As our final pregnancy (Lord willing) comes to an end I, Zach Percival, feel it is my husbandly duty to share a list of things that you should never say or do to a pregnant woman. Much like we all know that you should never ask a woman if they are pregnant unless you already know the answer, these are things that throughout 3 pregnancies I have been told are unacceptable. My intent is not to call anyone out, but I do feel the need to share these with the masses so you and those you know will understand proper pregnant interaction etiquette.

*Disclaimer: All of the following have been said or done to my wife during one of her pregnancies. All of the following comments are my own, from the husband of a pregnant wife's perspective.

1) Never say, "You look like you're about ready to POP." My wife is neither a corn kernel, nor a balloon. This is highly offensive to someone who is already self-conscience about the child that is protruding from her abdomen. Whenever you say this to a woman who is pregnant woman please run away before her pregnancy hormones force her to slap you in the face.

2) Never touch a pregnant woman's stomach. You know what on second thoughts...don't touch a pregnant woman period. You are probably okay if she invites you to feel the baby kick, but proceed with caution if the temperature in the room is over 85 degrees. You may also be okay if you are a female family member, or even a very close gal pal (by "close" I mean you have matching heart necklaces that say "Best Friends" when pieced together). Asking to touch her belly as you extend out your hands does not make it acceptable. Also, if you just go in for a feel without permission you better be ready for the pregnant lady "bow" drop (a swift drop of the elbow onto your forearm). Personally, I've never understood this fascination anyway. I would never walk up to another woman and start randomly touching her (husbands, this also will upset your pregnant wife), so why on earth people feel the need to touch on or grope a pregnant woman's stomach is beyond me.

3) Don't try to come up with clever nicknames such as "preggo" or "preggers." A pregnant woman's window of humor is about as small as their window of comfortable temperatures. Unless you are ready for her to start coming up with nicknames for you, don't do it.

4) Don't refer to, comment on, or even think about a pregnant woman's weight/appearance. Here's some examples: "I'm glad I wasn't big and fat this summer" (oddly enough said to her by someone who is pretty chubby herself), "You look like you were due last week" (this comment will make you due for a swift kick in the pants), "You look tired/hot/ready" (thank you Captain Obvious, just because you think or know she feels that way doesn't make it okay to say), "Ah look at your little tummy starting to poke out! I was glad when I got to that point so I didn't just look chubby" (did you just call my wife chubby?), "Wow, that shirt makes you look super pregnant" (I'm sorry Tim Gunn, did she ask your opinion), and "With my boy I carried all over too" (rephrase this to "You're all tummy, I was just fat everywhere with mine," this is okay because you are bashing yourself and making her feel like she is winning at being pregnant).

To make it simple, the following are things you are allowed to say to a pregnant woman:

"You look tiny!"

"You look beautiful!"

"You are aglow with the light of a million fairies."

If you can't say one of these just smile lovingly (without an ounce of pity in your eyes) at her and maybe she'll just think you're weird and not condescending.

5) Never offer unsolicited pregnancy comparisons. There is no trophy for the "World's Worst Pregnancy." Let's face it, between the hormones, general and overall discomfort, fetus pressing on your organs/ribcage/bladder, sleepless nights, painful contractions, nausea/vomiting, and a whole host of other things, pregnancy is not a vacation. It's pretty hard to get sympathy for you from someone who is experiencing any or all of those things while you are not. Also, commenting on how you only gained 12 lbs. when you were pregnant or how you know what she's going through because you were sick the whole first trimester but never threw up will only get you dirty looks. For the husbands, don't ever complain about anything without immediately following it up with, "but it's NOTHING compared to what you are having to go through right now." You can never be more tired, in more pain, more frustrated, or had a longer day than her. To sum it up...you lose.

6) Don't guess at the due date. If you guess to soon, you just called her fat. If you guess to far away, you just called her fat.

7) Don't guess at the number of babies. What's the matter with you?!?! You just called her fat again!

8) Don't ask if this was a surprise or a planned baby. Do you really want to know the details?

9) Don't say, "Third baby, eh? Don't you know what causes that by now?" I'm sorry we didn't have cable for 6.5 years of marriage, what else are we supposed to do? ....See what I mean....did you really want the details?

10) If you have to help a pregnant woman up, don't grunt or make a noise...period. Do I really need to say why this will get you into trouble? If you are a buck-fifty, scrawny guy like me just pretend that you are back in college trying to help a girl you like move her dorm room. Strain all you want, just keep it to yourself.

If you have done something like this in the past, or are just looking to score some brownie points with a pregnant lady in your life, let me close by giving you some things that you CAN do to make a pregnant woman happy:

1) Offer back/shoulder/foot rubs every chance you get.

2) Compliment her daily.

3) Do stuff for her that she hates doing (laundry, dishes, cooking dinner, vacuuming, etc.)

4) Make everything all about her, because when baby gets here it's all about baby.

5) Don't make her go through the discomforts of pregnancy alone (if she's throwing up, hold her hair back).

6) Thank her daily for going through all the ups and downs of pregnancy so that you can both have a baby to love on. Babies are indeed a blessing, but there is no greater blessing than a loving wife.

-Zach

camera dump

2011-09-27T11:17:00.003-05:00

Thank you for all your sweet comments about the little boys room! Made my day!

In an effort to not get too far behind on blogging these next two weeks, here's a bunch of pictures from my camera. The kids are home from school today, as the stomach bug hit our house yesterday. Thankfully, they seem perfectly fine and full of energy today. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling great and am missing out on 6 hours of "me" time. Oh well! Enjoy some pictures of these cuties.

Happy Tuesday!

Ben and Jack's Room

2011-09-25T16:01:00.009-05:00

THE BOYS ROOM IS FINISHED!

(besides the bumper pad ties, name blocks, and hanging the lantern/mobile above the crib)

And here it is...

(not to worry, the shelves will be taken down long before we have anyone sleeping on the top bunk)

I am one happy Momma!

Now all we need is you, Mr. Jack Glen Percival!

the makings of Ben and Jack's Room

2011-09-23T17:04:00.000-05:00

Now that my precious little boy's room/nursery is almost complete, I'll share some pictures on how the process came together. I must say, I couldn't possibly be more thrilled with how it turned out! Better than I had hoped, actually. The room turned out amazingly budget-friendly as well, I am SO proud of our thrifty selves.

I'd have nothing at all done and if it weren't for my amazing Momma and husband. Seriously, they have worked their tails off, the pay isn't good at all, and the "boss" can sometimes be cranky! :)

I came to Honey quite a few months ago with this picture from Serena & Lily that I was absolutely in love with. I however, didn't love the price tag(s), the fact that I would need two for the bunk beds, nor the thought of spending that much money on something for my toddler and infant's room. Plus, I still had the crib bedding to think about. Honey said exactly what I had hoped, "Oh, we can make that!" Bless her!

Inspiration:

The navy and white stripes with pops of lime green look so fresh and clean, boyish, and would grow well with them. The room shown in the catalog is even decorated with huge initials, which you know I already had!

I started collecting my fabrics: (top to bottom)

Remix Argyle lime/white/blue (fabrics.com)

Navy twin and king size RE comforters with shams (Target)

Premier Prints Zig Zag chartreuse/white (fabrics.com)

lime green 100% cotton (Hancocks)

Metro Living Circles Navy (fabrics.com)

(not pictured is white 100% cotton from Hancocks)

And here's a super bright idea Honey had...buy lightweight, soft comforters from Target and make our own "Ronan" bedding by sewing 6 inch strips of white right on top. She kept calling them "cheater" quilts, but I think they are a huge time-saver and worked out beautifully. When I went to our Target, they only had one twin-sized and one king-sized comforter, so I scooped them both up. I had actually thought in the store we could cut up the king-sized one to make two twins (makes sense right?) but it would be too small. Turns out, a twin and king were perfect, and we would use the extra for other projects.

I bought a few things before we even got started:

2 lime green dot sheets (Target, on sale), two navy sailcloth window coverings (Target), a sweet "brothers" picture frame (Kohl's), and a big J to match Ben's B he already had (Joann's).

Once Honey figured out all the sewing math (you know lengths and widths and seam allowances, number of stripes per comforter etc), we were off! Many, many Saturday and Sunday afternoons were spent visiting, working, and making magic happen up in the sewing room. My jobs were limited to ironing, pressing seams, seam ripping, drink refilling, and various projects that couldn't mess things up! :)

Of course, we had anywhere from 2-5 little helpers around at all times, so play breaks, snacks, stories, and cuddles were frequent.

Quilt #1 complete!

Being the talented and resourceful seamstress she is, Honey cut up the lime green fabric to make the binding, and sewed it right on top of the existing navy binding.

On days where we couldn't be over there working, I did a few little projects on my own. This was a little table I had gotten at a garage sale about 3 years ago and it used to be Zach's nightstand.

Primed (I should have sanded a bit, but skipped it)

And painted.

With the drawer lined and the handle scrubbed with Bar Keeper's friend (that stuff works miracles, I tell you!) it looks as good as new.

Since Ben's room used to have a bright blue/light green/brown color scheme, so his letter was almost a periwinkle blue. Both got sprayed with 2 coats of navy and two layers of Mod Podge.

Chevron fabric to cover the arch in the window and the completed king-sized pillow shams.

Zach got in on the projects as well!

He made a trip to Lowe's and bought some particle board to make storage shelves for their shared closet. The Percival and Hanner boys are very well dressed little men and have LOTS of handsome clothes, so we needed to utilize all the room we could!

Assembled, primed, and painted... awaiting bottom closet rods, touch-up painting, and organizing.

My emailed proof of the sweet little print I got from a sweet little Etsy shop, IAdoreDecor.

Out of order, but the "before" closet shot. Not very inspiring, to say the least.

I also recovered a lamp shade. The process was a bit harder than I anticipated and quite tedious, but I was pleased with the end result. Well, I should say I'm pleased with ONE SIDE of my lamp shade, the only side you'll see! My shade was not drum-shaped like I had originally planned on and the fabric is extremely unforgiving. I had to tell myself, "If it looks awful, I'll just throw it away!" in order to actually get started cutting and glueing. I think that'll be my crafting mantra from now on. I finished it off with some navy biased tape that Honey had in her stash.

For the crib bedskirt, I brought over Ben's previous skirt that I wasn't using anymore. The long side got ripped off and leftover navy comforter was pieced together to make a new skirt. We felt so resourceful!

You can also see the fabric for the bumpers being cut and measured in this picture!

And the inside long sides of the bumpers monogrammed with his name and initials. Honey can do it all!

There were lots of other steps and projects besides the ones shown, of course, but you get the idea. Have I mentioned how AMAZING my Momma is?!

I can't wait to show you the finished room!

Scarf Swap

2011-09-23T11:21:00.006-05:00

For the third year in a row, I participated in Meredith 's scarf swap, which did not disappoint, as usual!

I was matched up with Sarah over at Sassy Southern Mama who is just as cute and sassy as her blog title suggests, plus super sweet and a redhead to boot! We both agreed we wear scarves as an accessory and not to keep warm, both wear a lot of solids, and thought prints would be fun. Sarah, I enjoyed getting to chat with you over email, look forward to reading your blog about you and your precious girls, and LOVE my scarf!

I sent Sarah this scarf....

...she sent me this one!

Great minds really do think alike!

Can't wait for the cooler temperatures to start wearing it. Oh, and happy first day of Fall!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T12:05:00.000-05:00

FULL TERM!!

2011-09-19T15:15:00.003-05:00

As of yesterday, I'm officially 37 weeks pregnant! This means I have been pregnant for 260 days, Jack would be very, very gladly welcomed to come at any second, and my What to Expect app has said baby is the size of a watermelon for 3 weeks in a row now. What's next? An even bigger watermelon? Oy!

37 weeks:

Since I've got my grouchy pregnancy panties on today, and they're in a big ol' twist (you don't want to hear about it, trust me) I'll make this short.

At 37 weeks:

* I'm still dilated to a 1, 25% effaced for the third week in a row

* Still no talk of induction date, but I'm gonna keep asking!

* Now measuring at 39 weeks, still have "really good fluid," and I'm thinking there's a big ol' baby on board.

* I have lots and lots of contractions, timable ones, even. And the pressure, ohh the pressure!

* Honey and I are on track to finish the nursery this week, so be looking for a post about it.

* Still need to shop for a baby book.

* Hospital bag is ready to go, except actually putting it in the suitcase.

* Clara prays 3 or 4 times a day for "Baby Jack to come to us soon, healthy, big, and strong" and hugs, kisses, and talks to him all day. What a sweet girl!

* I lost a pound at my appt today.

*My "friends" back ache, heartburn, excessive urination, round ligament pain, sleeplessness, leg cramps, and of course Braxton Hicks are still always around!

* I had a chocolate lover's mini blizzard from DQ last night, and it was AMAZING.

* My ankle bones are non-existent and have been for over 2 weeks.

* I'm trying my hardest to enjoy the last few weeks of ever being pregnant, but having a hard time savoring.

* Sweet Jack still gets those mean ol' hiccups 6+ times a day.

Oh, and here's one more little sneak peak of Jack's crib bedding that's not done yet. I'm giddy with excitement to have it finished!

A precious little knit elf hat and diaper cover, made by the very talented Lauren. I love it! Can't wait for newborn pictures!

Here's 36 weeks:

And 34 weeks, 5 days.

Guess who my photographer was? After about 8 different tries with Clara, this was the best one we got. I saw it and thought, "Why haven't I been taking headless shots all along?" So much easier!

2 weeks and 6 days to go.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

a date with Poppa

2011-09-16T10:02:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday night Poppa called and asked if he could take my little girl out on a date. Before he could even finish his sentence I was telling Clara to get her shoes on and get ready to go! Do you even have to ask, Poppa? I was excited for her, and excited to have some one-on-one time with Ben.

She was so thrilled to get ready, put on her new jewelry, and asked since it was a "special occasion" could she wear her lip gloss? Precious girl. I am so thankful for her Daddy and her Poppa taking her on dates that are so special to her, model early on how men should treat women, and have times she'll always remember . I used to go on one-on-one dates with my Daddy and Grandpa growing up too, how special those memories are to me!

the mandatory pre-date picture

It was a surprise where they were going, and I don't think she could've been more thrilled to end up at the fair!

Eating hotdogs, funnel cakes, riding lots of rides, and just being with her Poppa.

Ben wanted a picture with Poppa, too. To avoid one sad little boy, we left at the same time as them, walked around the mall with Honey for awhile, and met Zach at work when he was closing. Crisis adverted!

When Poppa brought his very excited and talkative date home that night, he made plans to pick them both up in the morning for a date to the zoo and park! Our Poppa is the BEST!!

All ready to go on Date #2!

While they were gone, I made the most of my morning by doing something I'd been meaning to for awhile: cleaning out all of Clara's outgrown clothes, from newborn all the way up to 4T. It was an emotional task, as I pulled out precious little outfit after precious little outfit, remembered when by big helper girl was just a tiny baby, and reminisced over what occasion she wore it/who gave/made it for her. I set aside one tote for keeper stuff, and piled in the rest in sizes all over my living room. I was thankful Girl GG came over to help and put up with my "oohhhs" and "awwws" when I pulled out 80% of the clothes and told a story about them! I'm thankful some of it has gone to "good homes" with precious little girls who will make their own memories wearing them, and still looking to sell the rest.

Is it just me? Was cleaning out and getting rid of your kid's clothes hard?

Or is this the hormones talking?

Thank you, Poppa for loving on my kids. We love you!

maternity pictures

2011-09-12T14:26:00.006-05:00

Last night we went over to Jenn's house for her to snap a few maternity pictures of Zach and I. At 36 weeks pregnant, I had deemed it too late to take any professional maternity/family shots, (mostly due to my excessive swelling and double chin, ahem) so we opted for a few pictures in the field behind her house sans kids. Jenn is super talented, the price was right, and it only took about 20 minutes start to finish. About half that time being getting me hoisted over the barbed wire fence and making sure the cows wouldn't charge at us!

Enjoy some of my favorite shots.

Thank you so much, Jenn! I'm so happy with how they turned out!

Plus, my husband is hot! ;)

first day of school

2011-09-06T19:17:00.005-05:00

Today was our first day of Preschool, and it was an all-around good day. Clara said on the way home, "It was the best day ever!" and as far as first days go, I have to agree!

Ben wasn't feeling the pictures this morning...too bad for him there were many more to come.

First Day of School 2011

Clara all ready for Pre-K

Ben all ready for Nursery E

Ben with his wonderful teachers, Ms. Laura and Ms. Michelle

Clara with her wonderful teachers, Ms. Lori and Ms. Hollie

ready to get started!

cousin picture

(which I had to be apart of because of a sad Ben whom I had just tripped over)

Just for fun, this is our 2010 first day of school picture!

2010 cousins picture

Off to a good start!

crockpot

2011-09-05T13:32:00.003-05:00

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! What all did you do?

We did nothing at all exciting, well...I should say the kids and I didn't. Zach went down to Brady, Texas for the World Famous Brady Goat Cook-off, a tradition his friends have been doing for 6 or 7 years now. Camping, fun, great friends, some very interesting people-watching, tons of yummy food, relaxing, packing way too many people into a run-down motel, Texas country music, and a good ol' goat cooking competition. It's a great time, although I've only gone twice in all those years. Seems like I'm always pregnant on Labor Day weekend? I would have NOT been enjoyable to be around this year, to say the least.

I stayed home and did some boy room projects, and we were SO ready for Zach to pull in on Sunday. I'm sad to report we've done no backyard barbecues, no swimming/sprinkler play, no watermelon and homemade ice cream - nothing at all to send off this summer :( Kinda fitting though, good riddance hottest summer in history!

This is a crockpot kind of post. You know the kind: "Just throw it all in there." Maybe someday soon I'll have an actual topic with pictures that match it to write about. Until then, I've done a lot of spray painting and a little modge-podging:

Today, of course, is laundry day. I'm trying to get our hospital bag together this week. I just folded his sweet little coming home outfit, washing some new blankets, and trying to locate all my nursing jammies and stuff for me. Wishful thinking that it's coming sooner rather than later, but I'd rather be prepared! 4 weeks, 6 days to go...

On Friday, Honey and I went and had a much needed morning of pampering. We got a manicure, pedicure, eyebrow wax (my first one ever), and did a little shopping. It was blissful, and these feet were LONG overdue some lovin'. Thanks, Seize the Deal!

Ben is Mr. Independent these days. He's been a big eater from the beginning, and pretty much refused being spoon-fed baby food when he first tried finger food at 6 months. Up until this past week, I was still able to feed him yogurt and he'd share my ice cream if we had some for dessert. No more! I need a hose to get this guy clean after meals.

School starts tomorrow for us! For some reason I don't feel ready. Believe me, I'm ready for two weeks of visiting and teaching with Jenn and loving on my nephews in class, 6 hours away from my kids twice a week (oh come on! you think that too!), and some routine to our lives. I guess I need to pick out some first day of school clothes, find those nap mat covers I put away (so I'd know exactly where to find them back in May), and get all our backpacks and lunch boxes out in order to feel ready. It's baths and early bedtimes for us tonight!

Clara's little eye is almost completely back to normal looking, I'm shocked. I thought for sure with how swollen and cut it was she'd be bruised for longer. Must be that little icepack she still insists on putting on it 4 times a day.

The weather these past two days has been amazing! Thankful for cool mornings and evenings, and days that aren't blistering hot. Maybe I'll muster up some energy to take my kids to the park after naps...that'll really shock and excite them!

And finally, here's the one and only picture on my camera to represent all Zach's hard work and my hours of organization on Saturday, and it doesn't even show anything...oops! I guess they're on my phone. We'll just call this the "before" boy's closet shot.
My handy husband built, sanded, primed, painted, and installed shelves and new rods. I bought cute little bins to organize two little boys stuff, cleaned out totes, washed clothes, organized the dresser, etc. You see, Jenn and I share clothes for our guys and I'm gonna have to work to stay on top of all the switching we're gonna be doing. Thankful that we have boys born in January, two in March, June, and October - we've got all seasons and all sizes covered! I'm not biased or anything, but we pretty much have the 5 best dressed guys out there. I can't wait for Ben to wear all those winter 2T sweaters, sweater vests, corduroy pants, puffy vests, collared shirts...oh my!

And it wouldn't be baby closet nesting if Jenn wasn't there to help, bring a yummy dinner, tell me to take it easy, and pretty much save me hours and hours. What do people do without sisters?!?

That's all for now, friends!

random

2011-09-01T14:47:00.005-05:00

I have some random updating to do, so I'll go ahead and number them. I just like it better that way, don't you?

1. Poor Clara's little eye from yesterday's post! On Monday night she randomly fell out of bed at 4 AM. Luckily, I was awake and could attempt to stop the blood-curling screaming without waking the whole house...to which I failed. Clara claimed she just fell on the floor, but she had to hit the bookshelf, a book, or the bed post because of that cut. Her first black eye, right before school starts.

2. Speaking of school, Meet the Teacher is tonight. My kids aren't going, as I am meeting parents. Shopping for all those supplies is a real job though, and we're only in preschool.

3. I love to match my kids, and my husband along with them on Sunday mornings. It just makes me so happy! But you already knew that....

4. Today is September 1st, and to some of you that means dove season. To me, it means if precious Jack decides to come a MERE TEN DAYS early, I'm having a baby THIS MONTH! Oh, how I love the sound of that.

5. Above mentioned Jack gets the hiccups at least 6 times per day. That's a lot for the poor guy!

6. My beautiful and amazing sister turned a year older last weekend. We celebrated with a roast and potatoes family lunch, yummy cream cheese pound cake, and presents. So glad she's my best friend.
7. Erinn drove in from Ft. Worth that morning to surprise Jenn, and she was so thrilled. The whole family was happy to catch up with Ernie too, it had been forever since we've seen her!

8. Today also marks a monumental day in the Percival household: as of today, we officially have more than 4 channels for the first time in our married life. My first time ever, actually. Thanks to my costs-saving and discount-wielding husband who has been pushing hard for it in time for football season. I'm dvr-ing (?) plenty of Dora the Explorers as we speak.

9. Zach also got roped into yet another nesting project that doesn't involve me actually nesting. Funny how that works out, right?! He is putting his amazing woodcrafting skills to use once again making shelves for the closet in the boys room. I'll post pictures when he's done, because I like to brag on Zach and Honey for doing all my projects for me! :)

10. Clayton (L) and Caleb (R) are the sweetest and cutest little chubby-cheeked guys you'll ever see. They were on the cover and featured in an article of Abilene Living about all the twins born lately. Celebrities, these two!

11. My MIL's birthday was yesterday. We called before putting the kids into bed to sing our terrible and loud version of Happy Birthday, and Ben got scared and cried. It was that bad, I guess. Hope you had a good one, Leah!

12. Our best attempt at a cousin's picture on Sunday...it's not very good at all.
13. There's supposed to be a cold front coming through this weekend, weather in the 90's. Today it's partly cloudy out and feels amazing! I made the statement yesterday I would never, ever complain about the cold this winter....you can hold me to that, too.

14. That's all I can think of right now, hope you are enjoying your Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T13:11:00.003-05:00

Day #1

Day #2