Happy Birthday Johnnie

Johnnie turned 5 years old today. It's hard to believe how quickly he has gone from being our only baby to a big boy who is going to school everyday along with being a big brother to 2 little brothers & a baby sister. Our boy is usually very well behaved & his daddy & I are still trying to get used to him asserting himself. He is very sweet & always the first one to try & help us out especially with Holly. He no longer really enjoys being in front of the camera & basically just puts up with his mama & the crazy amount of photos I like to take. This morning before he left for school I had to get his official photo since I don't think he or his teacher would appreciate me coming in to take his photo at 9:50am so here is Johnnie at 7:15am. Such a big boy with the leftover tattoo from his party on his face, wearing his I'm 5 sticker on the outfit he picked out for the day himself. The baby fat is completely gone but if I look really hard I can still see that little baby face he used to have. At his official birth time he was sitting in his Early Bird class & I imagine he was getting this Happy Birthday hat from his teacher to wear all day. It made him feel really special to have the attention put on him. He wore it all day & then all evening until it was time for bath. I wanted to share this photo because he loves to investigate stuff (a leaf here) & mostly because it shows off his cute little dimple. Like me he only has the one on his right cheek. And this next photo is one of my favorites I have taken recently of him. Eyes all sparkly, small smile, looking right at me & being totally cooperative. I love this face! And tonight his grandpa & Auntie Kim came over for dinner & cupcakes & to open some presents. And here he is in all his glory. Birthday hat, Batman cape, Batman tee-shirt & his cupcake with his 5 year old candle.And at 5 his favorite thing is still superheroes which is how we chose the theme for his birthday party this year. We honestly were not planning to have a party for him this year but weeks before his birthday he started asking questions about the non-existent party so I decided we better not disappoint him. So we quickly planned a small party with food, a cake, some of his friends & of course a Batman bouncer. A Spiderman cake. Birthday wishes. And most importantly friends & family (some sporting superhero themed tee-shirts.). And no party or event would be complete without the attempt at a family photo. And now with 6 I think we are going to be lucky to just get some of the kids looking forward but today we lucked out. It may not be portrait worthy but it does include all of us & everyone is looking at the camera. Small miracles. And I absolutely love it!

Tuesday Check In

1. My boys have always enjoyed certain household chores. But the favorite has always been spraying & wiping. Usually more spraying than wiping but at least it's a start. And Jimmy is no different. Now when he grabs that spray bottle I point him toward a window or glass door.2. With the addition of a new family member laundry has been raised to a whole new level. In order to keep up I now do at least one load a day if not two so when my boys ask me if they can paint I reluctantly say yes. It makes a big mess but it keeps them busy, happy & outside for a good long time. And then we get pretty pieces of art to hang in my office but they also really enjoy painting their faces. 3.And as you can see they are often very proud.
4. And little brother Jimmy likes to do whatever Johnnie does.5. And for once Joey didn't paint himself. He was too busy eating fruit & painting the outside of the house.6. Grandpa just returned from a business trip in Hawaii & Holly was very happy to see him or at least calm in his arms. Maybe she knew he brought mama some Kona coffee & chocolate covered macadamia nuts & she would get a little taste at feeding times.7. Joey is becoming such a big boy. His preschool teachers say he is thriving in class now that his big brother is no longer there with him. Maybe it's because he is now the big brother in school but whatever the reason we are so happy for him & so proud of him. But we still can't keep his clothes on.8. I just ordered 401 photos yesterday. YIKES! Some for photo albums, some for scrapbooking & some to update the frames in our home with more recent pictures that now include Holly.

9. Holly is 5 weeks old. She still spends a lot of the day sleeping & I'm glad I captured this face. This is the smirk she gives as she falls asleep. 10. I take Holly on a walk most mornings. She usually stays awake for about one block & then she falls asleep & peacefully just enjoys the walk.

Soccer.

And so the Bolander sports life begins. Johnnie is signed up for his very first organized sports team. Soccer. Ages 4-6. And today was the first game. 1pm. Field of Dreams Field #1. The Wahoos (his team) vs. The Batfish. It was quite entertaining. 10 little boys on a field running, kicking towards whichever goal they happened to be near, tackling each other & pretty much just a free for all going after a ball. Johnnie has been a little reluctant to play because he was worried he wouldn't score or be good enough. But within minutes of the game starting that worry subsided as he dribbled the ball down the field & scored the 1st goal of the game. And when he turned away from the net he was really proud of himself as he went to throw his arms in the air. He spent most of the game running laps around the field but he did get a few more good kicks in. And each time the other time had the ball he ran back to protect the goal. The game ended early for him once he was kicked really hard in the knee & decided he was finished but I would say his 1st game of soccer was an overall success.

Holly is One Month Old

& getting bigger EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. She literally outgrew her Newborn diapers & Newborn clothes within days. One day they were huge on her & not 3 days later they were too tight. She started of in the 10% for weight & height & now she is in the 50% for both. She weighs 9 pounds 5.5 ounces & is 21 inches long. She sleeps 14-16 hours a day. She eats every 3 hours all day & every 4 hours at night. The only problem is that even though she is only usually getting up once a night to eat she stays up for 1-3 hours which means I stay up for 1-3 hours. She spends most of her days sleeping, occasionally cooing at me, crying if she gets cold or not fed quick enough, trying to lift up her head during tummy time & is very easily startled by loud noises. The boys love to kiss her, hug her & are constantly patting her head. She smiles as she falls asleep & is just such an adorable addition to our family. While trying to take her one month photo today she yawned a lot & spent most of the time sleeping. I love watching her grow & look forward to watching her change but knowing every day is one step closer to us having no more babies in our home makes me wish time would slow down just a little. We all love you Holly Moon!

Love is

seeing all the hands in my life touch the new life that was growing in me just 4 weeks ago.

Another First

The 1st day of school has finally come to the Bolander house. Johnnie woke up this morning excited to start school. With his new haircut, his 1st day of school outfit, his new shoes & his Batman backpack he was ready to go. Holding his sign to show us what day this was he was all smiles. We made it to school & I think I was more nervous than he was. His day was made easier by the fact that one of his closest friends from daycare was in his class. While waiting in line he flashed me a smile to let me know he was okay since I was already crying & then he told me I would be okay since I would have Holly with me all day. So then we entered his classroom to listen to the 1st Day of School book before all the parents were dismissed. With one last look at the Loving Hands wall (Handprints of the kids with one parent made during orientation- Johnnie's is the 2nd one from the left on the top row made with daddy) this tearful mama left her little boy to enjoy his 1st day of school.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Holly is now doing tummy time a few times a day & she can pick up her head & turn it from side to side but she still only makes it a few minutes before she gets ANGRY.2. While doing tummy time Johnnie often lays down next to her to try & convince her to pick up her head. Such a helpful big brother. 3. Since Holly's arrival I can't pick up the kids (for at least 6 weeks) & so Jimmy has become much more of a daddy's boy. At first I was sad but seeing moments like this remind me that I'm okay with having daddy's boys.4. While Holly is falling asleep she often smiles which in turn makes us smile.5. Joey remains a daddy's boy & this is his favorite way to watch tv. With almost no clothes on & laying on his daddy.6. My goofy boy. Always taking the time to have fun even when trying to climb a tree.7. Mama & her girl. Miss Holly doesn't look very happy in this photo. Probably because she is in the sun outside when moments before she was happily asleep in her swing.8. Jimmy is trying to give up his nap but as you can see he is definitely not ready for that.9.Holly Moon is 3 weeks old. She hopefully is ONLY going through a growth spurt because she has been eating every 2 hours & as much as I want her to grow I would like to get some sleep too. Here she is enjoying Labor Day in the backyard. A rare photo with her eyes wide open. 10. Wanted to share 2 photos that show what a difference 4 weeks can make. Pregnant with Holly (photo by Sara) & the photo we used to announce the birth of Holly. She was 1 week old.