Theodore | All the Little Grubbs

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Number 3 is 3

3 year olds, memories, Theodore September 8, 2010 Comments: 2

Theodore saying the blessing before we ate at his party.

A couple of weeks ago, August 21st to be exact, my 3rd baby turned 3 years old. Theodore Reece is quite the character. After having a boy and then a girl it was so neat to have another boy, and I thought I had it all figured out. Well, I was wrong. Theodore is the sweetest, funniest little guy but he has also been my most challenging baby yet! He started out not sleeping well, then not nursing well, then not walking until 16 and a half months old, etc etc. I could go on and on about how different he has been from our first two children, but I would hate to sound as if I am complaining. Because even though he has been the most challenging, he has also been the funniest, the one who wants to cuddle, the bravest, the most determined. We gave him such a big name, even though he weighed the least at birth. And he’s really living up to it. I can’t imagine him being anyone else. I am so thankful for every crazy, stubborn thing he does. I know there are families who don’t get to celebrate their child’s 3rd birthday and so I thank God for him everyday.

Blowing out the #3 candle!

“Cheese”

And this is how you will usually find him…Daniel Boone hat,
camouflage boots (3 sizes too big),
enjoying an ice cream cone outside.

Theodore’s Two

Theodore August 24, 2009 Leave a comment

Theodore turned 2 on August 21. We had family over on the 22nd to celebrate and he really enjoyed himself. He was a little tired but he really hung in there. He mostly enjoyed eating, which is the same as any other day. His favorite gift was from his daddy. It’s a play gun that is almost as tall as he is and makes shooting noises. I didn’t go to the store when Chris bought it – otherwise I probably would have pointed out the age on it was for 5 years old and up. Oh well, that’s why he loves it I’m sure. He really believes he is at least as big as Foster. We are in the trenches of training with his behavior right now (more on that later). My favorite thing about Theodore is that he keeps himself busy but would drop everything if someone was willing to hold him and read to him or just cuddle. He is our cuddlebug and we love him so much. The funny thing about him right now is that he is not speaking. He says uh-oh and bubble and that’s about it. Other than that he uses sign language or grunts, whines and points for what he wants or needs. I am so curious to hear what’s going on inside that little mind so I can’t wait until he starts sharing some of his thoughts with us. The main thing I was thinking on his birthday is how thankful I am that he is healthy. The day he was born we wrote on the board “Thank you God for Theodore Reece” and that is still how I feel!

Snow

Katie, memories, Theodore January 20, 2009 Leave a comment

“Mommy, it’s SNOWING!!” When we were headed out the door to a friend’s house for a playdate this morning it started snowing. And for some reason the kid’s excitement about snow is contagious. I love snow. The problem I have though is I really dislike the cold of winter, and here in Tennessee it only spits snow or maybe we get an inch every few years. It isn’t really like the snow the kids have in their imaginations because on just about every kid show or movie when it snows, it REALLY snows. The kids or animals on those movies get to build snowmen and make snow angels. But somehow even a few minutes out in the frozen, white wonderland is enough for Foster, Katie and Theodore, they don’t compare what they don’t have, they enjoy what they do have. A nice lesson for today.

Walking and the budget haircut

homeschooling, Theodore, Toddlers January 15, 2009 1 Comment

Look at that smile! Grammy and I held him down for a short haircut but he forgave us and was off playing happily a little while later. He looks all grown up with all that shaggy blond hair gone. Especially now that he finally started walking! 16 1/2 months is a long time to wait when you have such a chunky guy to lug around. He is doing so well, he’ll be running with the big kids by summer. I can’t wait to watch him and all the summer adventures this year. There is something so wonderful about this stage, between starting to walk and before being able to talk, it can be a frustrating time but it’s amazing to watch how much he can get accomplished with no “words” just grunts, gestures, and whines. Katie and Foster are really enjoying him walking but it’s funny because even though he’s been doing it for a couple of weeks now, they wake up each day and the first time they see him walk that day they’ll exclaim excitedly “Theodore’s walking!” or “Look, Mommy, Theodore just walked all the way across the room!” As siblings they really have genuine joy for each other’s accomplishments, even if they squabble through the day, if someone accomplishes something new they each will cheer and encourage each other. Katie loves to encourage and build up her brothers. I hear her in the background “Good job Foster!” even if it’s nothing new or exciting for him, she acknowledges that he is doing something worthwhile. The kids and I have been down at mom’s this week helping her recover from surgery and I have been reading the best book I checked out from mom’s library. The name of it is 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy. It has been extremely helpful to me as I am trying to sort out what I will teach Foster for his Kindergarten year. Now I just have to come up with a budget and hopefully have the curriculum bought and organized by June or July. Since baby #4 is due July 25 I would really like to have all that planned out so that in August we can just start along with our lesson plans. This, of course, is just the plan because I am a planner and organizer and I enjoy that. However, I can hear all the chuckles out there from those of you who have had new babies and siblings close in age and tried to just survive and keep your house running and keep everyone alive from day to day, believe me I know we will have many days when that will be the case, but having a plan and a schedule make me feel as if I am still in some sort of control over the chaos! If you want to check out Cathy Duffy’s website it is www.CathyDuffyReviews.com It seems to be an abundant source of homeschool information.

Another cute picture

Theodore, Toddlers December 22, 2008 Leave a comment

I couldn’t resist posting this picture of Theodore. It really shows his personality, he was crawling upstairs at Aunt Diane’s house and he knew he wasn’t supposed to be since we had taken him down about 10 times already. But wherever there is climbing and an adventure – Theodore will be there! Chris and I always talk about what a sweet, fun baby he is and we can’t imagine our family without him. I can’t wait to see his reaction on Christmas morning!

It’s our house…

Foster, imagination, Katie, Theodore December 16, 2008 Leave a comment

One of the lastest interests for everyone at our house is to make a “house” out of all the pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, etc. that aren’t nailed down. When I unloaded the Christmas tree from this box they were very excited. Foster and Theodore were in the “house” as Katie did most of the running and loading of all things soft into their new home. The funny thing is the box lasted much longer than I thought and kept everyone entertained for a least an hour, even little Theodore had a blast. Nothing beats a cardboard box, soft stuff and an imagination.

Theodore’s first professional haircut

motherhood, Theodore, Toddlers December 3, 2008 1 Comment

This was Theodore’s first “professional” haircut. The girl that cut his hair was very patient and sweet. I had to hold him on my lap so I couldn’t get a picture of her actually cutting his hair but his face sort of tells that he was ready for the whole experience to be over with. I was amazed he didn’t cry though. All of my children have been so hairy at birth and as babies that I usually have to do the first few haircuts on my own. I remember one of Foster’s first I put him outside in his highchair and gave him a chocolate popsicle to entertain him while I did my best not to cut his ears off. It worked so I did it this past summer with Theodore only I put him in the exer-saucer instead and he had a red popsicle. The only bad thing is the aftermath of a sticky, hairy baby and seat to clean. But, as with all things in motherhood, whatever works right? Let the baby nurse all night for a good night’s sleep, let the toddler have his paci until he’s 2 for a good night’s sleep, etc etc. I believe most mommas would be much happier if they would realize that your children will live through not going by the book, just like you did. I needed to hear the following when I had my first baby, “This too shall pass, Be present each moment, the housework can wait…” Our mother’s intuition tells us all this but society tries to rob us of our children’s precious years by making us feel that staying home, or working part-time is somehow “less than”. When what is really “less than” is wasting time on making money and gaining stuff that will break or get lost or be given away by the time your kids move out. Sooo…to whoever is out there and has the patience to read my posts, I guess you understand where I am coming from and that is that mom’s should make whatever sacrifices to stay home they can, it really is worth it!! Try it and you’ll see….

Concentration at its finest…

baby, Theodore November 21, 2008 Leave a comment

trouble maker

Theodore, Toddlers November 21, 2008 Leave a comment

Theodore’s accomplishments today included figuring out how to put the ball down the chute on the learning home toy and I am sorry to say that his second was learning to climb up on the dining room chairs. Which means now that Katie and Foster’s safe place to build or draw is now fair game for Theodore. And it also means a new challenge in training, because it will only be a matter of time before he will be on top of the dining room table and that is just way too dangerous. Sigh….so I see lots of paddle use in poor Theodore’s future….again. You would think he would use some of that ingenuity to learn to walk since he will be 15 monthes old tomorrow, but noooooo….he would rather climb, climb, climb. He’s so precious though, with that sweet personality it’s hard to really get upset with him.

sissy and brother

3 year olds, Katie, Theodore November 19, 2008 Leave a comment

Theodore and Katie love bathtime and she is really posing in this one! Say Cheese!

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