I am 5 months old today

How is this possible already??

I am social and charming

I am "talking" all day long and making sure that I am heard (loud!)

I got to see all of my cousins, aunts and uncles for the first time this Christmas

My dad picked out my first pair of kicks

I am almost rolling over all the way but I get stuck

I am over 16 lbs

I wish I could crawl to keep up with my brother and sister

I like being held upright so I don't miss any action

My faux hawk is turning into a comb-over

XOXO,

Mom

I am four months old today

I am all smiles

I am about 14lbs

I suck my thumb all the time

I am very social and love to "talk" with people

I am fascinated with my hands and have learned how to grab things

I love taking baths

I love looking at the planes hanging on my ceiling

I am growing out of some of my six month clothes already

I smile every time I see my sister or brother

I am starting to drool, might be working on my first tooth

We love you baby B!

Our baby is 2 today

Dear Stella,

As we celebrate your second birthday, there is so much I want to say you. My heart is so full of love for you baby girl. I hope you always know how badly we wanted you, how we hoped and prayed for you. The day you were born was like opening a perfect gift. You are the fire and spice of our family, and I simply adore your beautiful spirit. There are times when we hear your laugh - the deep, chuckle that comes straight from the gut - and Daddy and I have to just stop in our tracks and enjoy you. We do that thing where we just have to look at each other and we know what each other is thinking - "how did we get so lucky?" You have a zest for life that is contagious. To see you with your brothers brings us a joy I know you will only understand if you have children of your own someday. I always want to remember you at this tender age. You, with your smirk of a smile, sassy walk and pigtails, are permanently etched in my memory.You certainly wear me down with your strong will - peanut, you really do - but I know that you are meant to be my girl, my precious gift. And I pray that you will someday do something amazing with that determination. Slow down baby girl, stay little a little while longer. 

xoxo,

Mom

P.S. I meant to make you a video for your first birthday, but the last year has been a little busy. So you get two years, because you're that special to me. 

I am 3 months old today

Beckett @ 3 months

I am a happy, smiley sort of guy

I have discovered my hands and feet

I am becoming a great napper

Nothing brings me delight like the attention of my siblings

I am a thumb sucker

I am making all kinds of sounds and discovering my voice

Everyone says I look so much like my brother and sister

I have my first cold

I have slept as long as 6 hours at night

I am reaching and grasping for things

Beach weekend

Some photos from our annual trip to Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast. Kids had a blast and we got to have Oma, G-Pa and Nana and Papa join us this year!

I am 2 months old

I am 11lbs, 14oz and 23 inches long
I am smiling all the time
I burp like a champ
I am starting to like my swing
I am still very much enjoying studying the ceiling fan
I can break out of a swaddle in 2 mins flat
My brother and I have long conversations
I am still rockin' a faux hawk

Kindergarten

Here we go! Cole started kindergarten last week and it hit us hard. When did he get so big? He was a mixture of nervous and excited to start. As happy as I am for him to start his school career, I do miss him so very much during the day. And so does Stella. I am so glad we have had the first five years together. 

After the first day, he told me he had decided to quit kindergarten.

After the second day, he wanted me to not sign him up for kindergarten next week.

After the third day he had made a new friend, decided recess was his favorite part of the day, and that he wants to go to kindergarten every day.

And because I'm nostalgic, a picture of Cole on his first day of preschool, two years ago. *sniff*

I am one month old today

Beckett at one month

I am a grunter and a snorter

I have huge, brown eyes

I have awesome hair - a natural faux hawk and sideburns

I love my pacifier

I like being on car rides

I am very intrigued by ceiling fans

I have a sister and brother that like to help take care of me

I am a great eater and I'm getting big fast

Well this three kid thing is no joke. We are in the trenches and trying to figure it all out, and loving our new addition. So far little Beck seems to go with the flow and even though we're not getting much sleep, he's otherwise a pretty easy baby. Stella is doing a good job as a big sister, always my helper for diaper changes. Cole seems to enjoy having another boy around, he's already starting to teach Beckett about Legos and monster trucks. 

So, if you see a frazzled mom at a store with what appears to be a three ring circus...give her a break. She's probably just hanging on and dire need of caffeine!

Beckett

A few more pictures of our new little buddy...

Party of Five

We are so excited to introduce our sweet son Beckett!

Beckett Jace Pearson
Born July 29, 2013 at 4:24am
6lbs, 15oz and 19in

I was blessed with a peaceful and easy delivery and he is just perfect! He has lots of dark hair, big almond shaped eyes, long fingers and toes and the cutest chubby cheeks. We are all feeling well and enjoying our first day together.

We are simply smitten! More photos to come.

What Dads do

I always see Dads throwing their little ones up in the air, and the kids are usually screaming with delight while the moms are cringing with fear. I was talking to my mom about it once and she had read something that explained why they do this. Apparently it's their subconscious way of teaching kids, "the world is a dangerous place, and the world is a safe place", as they rise and fall back into Daddy's arm. Maybe so...but this seems more like it:

But...who am I to get in the way of fatherly traditions. Here are our photos:

Take me out to the ball game

Cole had a blast during his first year playing T-Ball. It was so cute seeing how all the kids improved in such a short amount of time and really started to understand the game. We loved his signature thumbs up that we would get from the field. Go Mariners!

Waiting on baby

We are on official countdown waiting for our little baby boy to arrive. We are getting so excited to meet him!

After some pre-term labor symptoms, I have been on bed rest for going on four weeks now. We are so thankful that baby has stay put and we have made it past the 34 week mark.

Here I am at 33 weeks:

Oh yeah, we Pearson's grow 'em big. Baby is measuring about a week ahead, as I have with my other two. As my OB noted at my last appointment, this is what happens when a Great Dane marries a Chihuahua. We had a good chuckle over that one.

Being confined to my bed has been extremely boring tough, but I am again reminded that we are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. I don't know we would do this without all of the support from our family and friends. We have had both of our parents doing an amazing job helping out with the kids. Cleaning our house, making meals and spoiling our kids rotten with all kinds of fun activities and special attention. Friends in town have brought us meals, special treats and gifts for baby, and also helped out with watching our kids. My friends and family farther away are always checking in with me, keeping in touch and praying for our little one. And of course, Jeff has been amazing stepping in as super Dad to take over the normal morning and bedtime routines. We are truly blessed.

I don't think it will be long now as I am certainly running out of room for this babe to grow much more. He is currently doing a number on my ribs with what I imagine are some sweet some little feet kicking away.

Thanks again to ALL of our treasured family and friends from near and afar who are praying for our family. We feel it!

Celebrating Father's Day

I was going to write Jeff a mushy Father's Day card this year but I am so continually impressed with him as a Dad that I wanted to put it on our blog so I have it forever. 

You think you love your husband, and then you have kids and your heart falls in love with him in a whole new way. There is just nothing more precious than seeing the adoration your kids have for their father. I think that Dads have a great challenge in balancing their work, being a devoted husband, maintaining other relationships and just the busy rhythm of life. I am so proud of the father that Jeff is to our children. He gives and gives to our family, and I know that this will make such a difference in the lives of our kids. And this is why I adore him so much.

He reads to our kids. The same requested books over and over, with silly voices and animation that takes it much beyond just reading. 

Getting them meals, changing diapers, giving baths...he does it all. I think he recognizes that these acts of basic care go much father. There is something special that happens when you are bent over the changing table giving your child your full attention. I love to hear the giggles and coos that come from their rooms when Daddy is getting them ready for the day.

When I came to him in a bit of a panic to share that we would be having a third "bonus" baby, he just smiled ear to ear and started to celebrate.

When there are projects around the house to be done, he finds ways to include the kids as "helpers". Even when it means the project takes three times as long, he lets them be right by his side. I used to spend hours in my dad's shop playing with his tools, and I never felt more special.

When our son said he wanted to try playing baseball this year, even though Jeff has never played the game, he got out there with all the other Dads and his new mitt to help Cole warm up. 

He prays for our kids. Consistently and lovingly.

When Cole comes to him and asks him to play catch/go swimming/ride bikes/do a puzzle...etc., there is no golf tournament or basketball game that is more important.

Seeing him with Stella is a whole new level of cuteness. He has a tender way with her that I had with my dad.  I love seeing how she is a daddy's girl already.

I could go on and on...I simply love this man. 

Happy Father's day honey, we love you!

This one is killing me lately. In a good way. 

He is riding his bike without training wheels. 

We ditched the Pull Ups at night. 

Baths are totally last year. Showers are what five year-olds do.

And another accomplishment I will leave out, but something Mom really appreciates :)

Quotables:

"Mom, how do you say taco in Spanish?"

"Cole, come here. I want to teach you how to use the cool vacuum."

"I really can't today Mom, I have a million things I have to do today."

"I'm actually having a pretty good day actually."

"I decided when you ask me to do something, I'm not going to listen anymore."

"Stella! Ugh. She is always messing up things in my life!"

"Do you know what I hate more than acorns? Strangers. And cats."

And then there is this one. Goofy, hilarious, loud and wild. Whines like all get out. Adorable.

Baby #3

Had another ultrasound yesterday, the anatomy scan where they look at all sorts of things to make sure baby is healthy is growing as expected. Cole and Jeff joined me for the appointment, Cole liked hearing the heartbeat and requested to hear it several times.

Baby looks great! We saw the four chambers of the heart, the brain, stomach, kidneys, little fingers and toes. Oh and he's definitely baby boy! My OB's office just got a 3D ultrasound machine so we were also treated to that. Here is a 3D image of the little man...still a little like a skeleton at this stage but I love that you can see his little hand.

I am 5!

This is a bit behind, Cole turned 5 last week but we had to move his birthday celebrations back a bit after we all got the stomach flu. Super fun times!

I have to say I was so impressed with my little guy. This year he has been anticipating his birthday more than ever, counting down the days on a little calendar on the fridge. Jeff and I got hit with the flu last, right before his birthday. On that day we couldn't get out of bed and so he spent the day with his Oma and GPa. We had no cake, no special dinner or presents wrapped, and he had to miss school in case he was still contagious. 

I had asked him what he wanted for birthday dinner and he chose Lucky Charms and Corn dogs. So we slapped that together and I had managed to run to Target to grab him a new Hot Wheels track. He was the best sport and kept saying that he hoped that we would start feeling better soon.

Enjoying his lovely birthday dinner and his new race track. Why the Christmas pj's? I don't know...

We rescheduled his birthday party with his friends to this week, at his favorite spot - JJ Jump. Please don't laugh at my ridiculous attempt at creating a Lego cake.Cole kept asking me why it looked like a shoe.

Things I love about Cole right now:

He still uses the word "actually" all the time. Ex. "I rode down the hill really fast actually." "I think I would like a grilled cheese sandwich today actually."

Snuggles. He is a cuddly little guy who begs me on a daily basis to sit down and "snug". As much as it as can be hard sometimes to stop everything I'm doing to do it, I know it won't last forever and I'm glad he is so comfortable being affectionate.

All boy. Everything turns into some kind of shooting device, a launcher...always getting muddy and finding "treasures." I love it.

A kind brother. Stella can keep up with a lot, but she's at the age where she is constantly destroying and taking things apart. Like a carefully crafted Lego tower. He's pretty patient with her and I often catch him hugging her and giving her kisses. I love the bond between them.

We love you buddy and are so proud of the big boy that you have become. I know the next year will be a significant one and we can't wait to see how you continue to grow and change with all that is to come.

Baby boy!

This week we had the first trimester screening which included a detailed ultrasound. Great news that our little baby looks wonderful! We got to see the little toes, the four chambers of the heart, and learned that we have an active one :) We also learned that we are having another boy!

A little bit of cute

 Ainsley, Holden, Connor and Stella

 Just too cute, Holden loved the piano

Cousin Connor with the littles

Here we go again!

We loved having two so much, we decided to do it again. Baby Pearson #3 is expected to arrive August 2013!

Stella's 1st Birthday

Catching up a bit on the old blog... 

Stella's first birthday fell on Thanksgiving day this year, so we officially celebrated a few days later. Both sides of the families gathered at our favorite local pizza joint. Stella definitely has no problem being the center of attention, she absolutely loved her special afternoon.

 

Loose rainbow theme. She wore her rainbow leggings and we had rainbow cupcakes.

All eyes on Stella. And she loves it.

No surprise, she ate the whole thing.

Cute shot of cousin Berkley

She got lots of cute new outfits!

Showing off her balancing skills

Both kids have these cool puzzle stools with their names on them from Oma and G-Pa.

 

We love our sweet Stelly Belly!