A Few Videos

In calmer, sweeter moments, this is what our house looks like...

And in the not so calm and sweet moments, we leave our house and let them burn off some steam. They're far more confident that I would like them to be.

I'm Not Cut Out for Competition

One of the reasons we wanted to live in this neighborhood was for all the activities for families. Last Saturday there was a race for the kids put on by Run4ACause. I'm pretty sure it's an annual race, and if so, my boys will want to run it annually. They are hooked. I, on the other hand, have some toughening up to do. I do not like the thought of my children working really hard and suffering disappointment. Life, I know, but like I said, I've got to work up some thicker skin before we put them in really competitive activities.

Susanna rooting her brothers on.

Judah's big finish. 

(Please close your ears to the shrill voice in the background. It was my nerves.)

 He got first place in the 4 year old boys group.

 They each won a coffee mug. They were thrilled and have already had several rounds of hot chocolate.

Luke and Eli waiting for their turn.

Their big finish. They both got 3rd in their age groups.

(The shrill voice in the background has gone up about two octaves. It's almost unbearable. You may want to turn your volume down.)

I'm so proud of my boys. They didn't quit when they were behind and really winded. And they weren't nearly as nervous as their mama.

Christmas 2013

Our Christmas present opening, in it's entirety. Long, but so much fun.

 BB's??? Yes!

Eli opening it...

Luke and Eli jumping up and down...

Luke dancing...

And the whole thing live.

Judah's turn.

Wrapping paper flying...

Luke's jersey. I'm bending over in this picture to find Eli's so I can slow the mad scramble on Eli's part to rip through every present left until he found his. 

My favorite quote of the day is when Eli found his FSU jersey, "I'm on fire!!!!" So sad I missed getting that on video.

I have to tell the story about the jersey. Kris found Luke's jersey about a month ago, but it was the only one they had at Target. We never could find one for Eli, but we thought it would be okay. The week before Christmas Eli was wearing his friend's jersey that he left at our house. When I told him he couldn't wear it to school, with tears in his eyes, he said, "Well, will you at least get me a jersey for Christmas?" 

Oh Poo.

I texted Kris in a hurry that we needed to find this kid a jersey, any jersey for Christmas or it would ruin his day. Kris, in his daddy wisdom said that it must be an FSU jersey. I started my mad search that morning, only to be told by every store I could think of that they were out. Except for Sports Authority. I could get one there for $55. Um, no thanks. I called Kris to tell him this, and as I was talking, the thought floated through my mind, "You didn't call the Port Orange Target." I called every other Target around, but I didn't call the Port Orange one because we never go there. In my mind, it's hours away. But I am learning that the Holy Spirit loves to save me from drama, so I mentioned that I could still call the Port Orange Target. Kris said, "Oh yea, that's only a few minutes from my office. I could run over there during lunch if they have one." My sense of direction is lacking, to say the least.

I called, and the fella helping me said, "Well, I only have one FSU jersey left. It's a size 6/7." Eli's size. He held it at the front desk and Kris went to snag it during his lunch break. It was exactly like the one he had bought for Luke. Except it was Eli's size.

God, you love us so well.

I got to tell Eli this story Christmas morning, and his response was, "Well, it's a good thing you listened to the Holy Spirit!"

Yes, it is. It always is.

Judah's favorite.

It seems as though most of our gifts are either on wheels or weapons. I'm sure we should stop and question the wisdom of these purchases, but if we did we would think, "We have three boys. What the heck else are we supposed to get them?!"

November?

Did November happen? I'm sure it did.  I have pictures and tons of life changes to prove it, but good grief, it was a blur!  Until I can catch my breath, here are some moments...

Susanna is learning all about "boy fun".  She's been a good sport so far.

This was our first family meal with everyone in attendance.

These boys love their sister.

You know Eli loves her if he'll let her do this!

Little girl clothes are so fun!

We spent Thanksgiving week in Georgia playing with cousins.  Rae is great with Susanna.

Judah and Micah having fun together.  

Susanna and Grandma Clair having some snuggle time.

November has come and gone, and we do have some sweet memories from it.  We also have a new house.  That is another story...

So Cute I Can't Stand It

I'm pretty sure this has been on my blog at some point before, but we keep going back to this video over and over and over again.  Every single one of us watches this and giggles out loud at how cute it is.

Eli's Birthday Bash

We celebrated Eli's birthday with family the Sunday before his actual birthday.  While I know a day will come where the boys want to invite every friend they've ever had, I am enjoying how much easier a family party is.  They are fully satisfied, and I am grateful!

Again this year, Eli didn't want a theme.  I kept making suggestions, and all he would say is that he wanted strawberry cake. So, Publix gave him the biggest strawberries I've ever seen for his cake, and he loved them.

In heaven!

Batman and his cousin stopped by to eat some cake.

'Cause really, as long as there are presents, that's all that matters to a six year old, right?

A Razor scooter with sparks was at the top of his wish list.  The wheels and the side of the scooter light up and the back break makes sparks.  So fun.

A Day at the Beach

Kris got a new iphone, and he is officially as bad as those people on the commercial.  Just kidding, but he is having fun.

 

Mom, click on the box at the bottom right corner to expand the screen for a bigger view. :)

My New Favorite Song Ever

This song makes me weep in a good way.

What Do You Do When Your Kid Is Smarter Than You?

(Disclaimer: Today was "Mismatch Day".  He doesn't normally go to school - or anywhere - dressed like this.)

You call Papa!

Game On

Judah loves the Wii, and he has become quite the master at the sword fighting game.  He actually gets a higher percentage than his brothers.  I don't know that his technique is exactly accurate, but he does really well.  And, it's the cutest thing ever.  I tried to get him on video, but every time I turn the camera on he comes over to me to check himself out, "I'na see!"  I did get a few seconds of cuteness...

The Moment We've All Been Waiting For

Luke's Exciting News

Eli Rides a Bike

Kris "taught" Eli to ride his bike last night.  I say "taught" because he held on to his shirt for about two seconds and then Eli took off.  He was definitely ready.

I love the hands swinging and then on the hips at the end.  That's my, "I'm so proud of myself, but I'm trying to be cool about it" move.

They were literally racing three minutes after Eli learned to ride. A little brotherly competition.

A Butterfly Experience

For Christmas, Raeanna gave the boys a butterfly garden.  It came with a coupon for caterpillars that we "grew" in our garden.  The boys (and I) loved it!  I'm finally getting around to posting this, even though we did this in February.

Our baby caterpillars.  Every single day you could see them getting fatter.

 Once they got fat enough they went into their chrysalises.

 They grew for about ten days...

 And then became beautiful butterflies!

 Once it warmed up a bit, we released them in our yard.

A (bit long) video of us watching one of the butterflies coming out of its cocoon.  It's been since February, so it's crazy to see how much Luke has grown up in four months!

Luke Rides a Bike

Bye, Bye!

We are all on the mend.  Luke and I both had Scarlet Fever, which is just a scary sounding way to say we had strep throat and didn't know it until we got the rash that goes along with it.  I sent Luke to school on Tuesday  because I had no idea he was still sick until he broke out into a nasty looking rash Tuesday night.  I knew he didn't look like he felt 100%, but I kept trying to talk to him about how he felt until he said, "Mama, you've asked me one hundred times!" 

Okay, then. 

I knew I had a sinus infection but couldn't figure out why I could sleep four hours during the day and still happily go to sleep at night.  Let's just say the laundry got washed, everybody got fed and the rest took care of itself.  Anyway, we're much better.  Unfortunately, over half of Luke's class was out today.  Most with a rash.  I have been assured that it could have come from other sources, but you can imagine that I have heaped mounds of guilt upon myself about not realizing Luke was sick before the rash.  C'est La Vie.

Anyway, Judah is the star of this post with his new, super cute trick. It's much cuter in person, of course.  And I tried to explain to him that the screaming at the end takes away from the cuteness, but he said to stop wasting my breath and feed him more sweet potatoes.

Luke and Eli's School Christmas Program

Luke and Eli had their Christmas program at school last night.  They sang songs for us and then, more importantly, we ate cookies.  I cry every single time my children perform.  If I didn't know that I was one of the many weeping mothers I might wonder if I had a hormone imbalance.  But I recognize that this is what happens when we become mothers.  Any time one of our offspring look unbearably cute, we smile, our chins wobble and then we weep.  It's inevitable. 

This was only Eli's second time in front of the large crowd.  This is what he thinks of performing for the masses (Eli is in blue):

Luke, on the other hand, is a seasoned veteran (Luke is in pink, next to the tallest girl in the school.  I told him to choose his place in line more wisely next time.  She made him look like a peanut.) 

Keep Your Eyes Peeled for the PayPal Button

I think Judah has decided that my beef vegetable soup is his favorite meal.  I had to take a little video of him eating the other night because it was ridiculous how much he was enjoying his food!  By the time these boys are teens, I will either need to have found a part time job or to have added PayPal to my blog so my friends and family can donate to the "Feed the Hoffmann Boys" fund.

Can you believe the intensity?! I think the scream at the end meant, "Stop wasting my time, Mom, and give me more soup!"

Judah At Six Months

We had Judah's six month check-up yesterday. He is 27 1/2 inches and 17 lbs, 1 oz. That makes him about 80% in height and 50% in weight. I find it so hard to believe there are babies much fatter than him! I had all three boys with me at the doctor's office yesterday, so that is all the info I have from his check-up. I guess he's fine otherwise. If not, I wouldn't remember if the doctor said anything else or not.

He is almost sitting up now, he just needs one finger holding him to keep him from dumping over. He sleeps through the night, praise Jesus! Once we got his cast off I felt happy about letting him work it out at night. He's wearing shoes now 24 hours a day. Most of the time he doesn't seem to mind them. I try not to notice how gross the shoes laces are, since they are his favorite thing to chew on and he spits up on them regularly.

Judah is a really happy baby 99% of the time. He's been teething lately, so that 1% is a little painful for all of us. He loves his brothers. And he LOVES his daddy. If Kris sneaks in the room while I'm nursing him he'll stop and get really still, and then he'll start smiling before he even turns around to see him. It's like he has a Daddy radar. Then he'll turn over and reach up to put a hand on Kris' face and just smile and stare at him. Precious. When I get him up in the morning he puts his chubby arms around my neck and buries his face into the side of my neck.

It won't be long before Judah starts crawling. He definitely does not stay in one place anymore. He rolls around front to back, back to front, side to side. Bathing him is a major work out. He thinks it's so funny to make me work so hard to get him clean.

Luke and Eli make Judah laugh. He'll hang out of the side of his stroller watching them like he's at the circus, which, is quite appropriate around here most days.

(The entertainment is Luke hitting a beach ball. The big commotion at the end is Luke doing a split after he accidentally stepped on a toy. It wasn't pretty; however, after many tears, he was okay, and I think he will still be able to father children one day.)

Eli Saying the "Gwessing"