HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!!!!!!

Today is the day the world's most original Papa was brought into this world! I am so happy to say that my boys have the best papa in the world and when it comes to his children and grandchildren there is nothing he would not do. This amazes me at times considering he is an only child and never really had to give anything up for anyone else. I want to take the chance to thank my father for a few gifts he has given me in life that he may not even know about, thank you for giving me the gift of gab that I have, my love for travel, my appreciation of music, and my guilty love of ice cream and little Debbie snacks! Thank you for introducing me boys to matchbox cars and always having a new one for them when you seen them, thank you for giving Elijah his first fishing experience, and thank you for getting down and playing with them even after you have worked hard all day. Daddy, overall thank you for being you and as much as we pick on you and jab you about certain things we love you for who you are and the entertainment and great stories you bring to our family!!!!

We love you Papa, Happy Birthday!!!!

FoF

I am not really sure where the week has gone and I have not blogged about anything so here at the very least is Five on Friday!

1. We had our "big" ultrasound on Monday which was very exciting because finally Cookie was able to see the baby. Although baby #3 was being lazy and did not move very much and we were not able to get all the measurement we needed so we have to have a follow up in two weeks. A plus to the follow up is Grammie and Kiki will be here and get to go!

2. We are officially half way through our third pregnancy! I can not believe that we are already at this point and how different life is about to become in the Popotte house.

3. Elijah thinks we should name the baby, Spiderman Baby. This is top of our name selection so if you have suggestions please feel free to offer them.

4. We had a wonderful time celebrating Cookie's birthday last week with a nice family dinner out, some yummy cake, and we surprised him with a seat for his bike to ride around with Samuel. I think and hope he enjoyed his 35th birthday!

5. I start a new class this weekend which is on literacy and I am so excited about it!!! I can not wait to learn how to actually teach children to read, I am so happy I went back to school!!!

OK well time to do the afternoon clean up and get ready for the weekend!!

Five on Friday

1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY COOKIE!!!!!!! My darling husband's birthday is today and we are so excited to celebrate him!

2. Elijah thinks that everyone should have a bounce house on thier birthday is is very upset that we did not order one for Cookie.

3. On Wednesday November 4th it has been 9 years since our friend Matt passed away, I can not believe how much time has passed and how much things have changed. What I find even more unbelievable is how his mother gets out of bed everday and functions, Joan Hunt is truely one of the most amazing women I know & I am very proud to call her my friend!!!!

4. We were exposed to the H1N1 this week and so far so good everyone is still healthy, I am praying we stay thay way PLEASE!!!!

5. Week 19 in the pregnancy & I can not believe it. We have our "big" ultrasound on Monday morning I will be breath and rest a little easier once we see a healthy baby! Oh and side note I can not get it out of my head that it's a girl, why???

Family Pictures

Sunday we were lucky enough to have some family pictures taken with the sweetest woman, Molly! My girlfriend Carla had used here a few months ago and we were lucky enough that she had a cancellation this past weekend and was able to fit us in. We had a lot of fun but Samuel was not in the best of moods with the time change and he bumped his head after only about ten minutes of being there but I think we will get a few out of it. We are going to try again in the spring after the baby arrives, I am already looking forward to it!

Trick or Treat!

The excitement that was in the air the days leading up to Halloween would have made you think that it was Christmas. I am happy to report that the boys love Halloween as much as I do & that Cookie has also learned to love it too!!! We had a busy day carving pumpkins and playing outside in the nice fall weather and then after nap time we headed out to trick or treat the neighborhood with Elijah & Samuel's friends Ava & Micheal. It was so much fun to walk around with Carla and Anthony and share the holiday with good friends, I think I might be getting corny as I get older and have more kids! Here are a few pictures of the evening, ENJOY!!!!

FoF

Friday it is so here is my list....

1. I LOVE Halloween, always have & I thank my parents for that. Every year we could be whatever we wanted, we trick or treated for what seemed like hours, and then back to our house for a neighborhood Halloween party.....it was awesome & I hope the boys grow up to love it as much as I do!

2. I am still getting use to Samuel's new hair. Most mornings when I go in to get him I still pause and look at him & think I really do miss his afro.

3. My baby belly is really starting to get bigger and bigger. The baby is moving alot these days & I can not believe that I am already 18 weeks and almost half way there.

4. I think I am the only mom I know that did not enter her kids into the Gap photo contest.

5. It was fourteen years ago this week (26th) that Cookie and I had our first date. I wish we had a babysitter that lived close so we could have had a moment out for a decent meal to reflect and enjoy eachother, I miss going on dates with my husband!

Mommy confessions

I have a few mommy confessions I need to get off my chest! Some of them seem to be on going and some have only happened once. Prior to becoming a mother I thought this job would be a piece of cake, I knew there would be some hard days but what I did not realize is there would be so many challenging days. So here is my list:
~My house house is never clean, no matter how hard I try I can never get it to stay clean!
~Elijah has a fresh streak in him that truel only comes out on me and I often feel responsible for it because I did not address it sooner!
~I am very nervous that baby #3 is going to be a girl and not going to be as beautiful as the boys, yes I think my boys are beautiful!
~Samuel and his climbing drive me crazy and I often put him in his chair and offer him a snack just to be able use the bathroom!
~Some days I am jealous that Cookie gets to go to work!
~Sometimes I use homework as an excuse to get out of the house to have some quiet time and a soup at Panera Bread!
~I long for the day we live near family that wants to be a part of the boys life and actually give us a helping hand!
~I find that I am sometime jealous of moms who do have family that can and will help them with no strings attached. It is REALLY hard to do this without any help, somedays
~Hardly ever do I sit an eat a meal I just seem to serve the entire time and that is getting old really quick.
~My boys survive on chicken nuggets, bagels, and Annie's Mac & Cheese!

I know that none of these things make me a bad mom but if I could fix just a few maybe I would be a slightly better mom for my boys!!!!!

Fall Frolics....

In an effort to get the boys out and burn off some of their endless energy Uncle Jay was kind enough to build us a giant leaf pile! I was so excited to take them out and see what they did with it and how they liked it. Elijah loved it and could not get enough and did not want the fun to end when the rain started to fall. Samuel on the other hand kept a distance, ventured into the pile once & discovered he hated it and never returned. I wonder will he like the life pile more next year & how much bigger does the leaf pile need to be for three kids???

THAT IS MY HAT!!!

Today while getting ready to go outside I was putting the boys coats and hats on, simply enough right???? Yeah well then I put the hat the Michelle made Elijah when he was a baby on Samuel and all hell broke out. Elijah instantly ripped the hat off his brother's head and put it on his own and FIRMLY informed Samuel that it was his hat not Sammy's! I never knew he had such a strong attachment but who could blame him it is beautiful and cashmere, he is so my son!!! I wonder if maybe over Christmas vacation on her lack of free time if Auntie Michelle might make Samuel a special winter hat too?????

Bye Bye Afro Baby....

Bye bye afro baby.....Hello handsome toddler!!! Finally after pondering when would be a good time to cut Samuel's hair we just jumped in and did it. The past week had been a hand full with his hair between the food, stickers, and toys he likes to store in it and the dread locks that were starting to form in the back it really was time to get the 1st hair cut. So, without any planning we just went out and did it! He was fantastic he sat in the chair calmly the entire time just looking at himself in the mirror and waving to anyone that came in. I will be honest I a little teary eyed watching my baby's afro fall to the ground and watching this toddler appear before my eyes! I have to say I think he might of even gotten cuter since his hair cut.