The Journey of Parenthood…

Big Three Recap: September 2018

Rather than do individual posts or a family post for this month I’m lumping the big three kid’s summaries into one post and then Spear will have his own 🙂 

Zach and Kye have gone camping a couple times now and have really enjoyed it. At this stage Britt is old enough to be part of the outing and have fun and was SO excited to be included in the camping adventure. 

I think it’s so important to have quality time with each kid and we love doing guy time/girl time activities but it’s also important not to limit things to being “just guys” or “just girls.” Zach and Kye have plenty of bonding activities that are just for them (football games…golfing…) so camping really is a good thing to include all the kids on once they are old enough. And eventually we can all go as a family!

I was especially excited for Britt to go on this trip because she and Kye needed some bonding time together. Britt and Tess tend to stick like glue to each other which often leaves Kye out. He and Britt play SO well together but just don’t often have that opportunity. This weekend was SUCH a great chance for the two of them to reconnect! 

Getting ready to go!

This year rather than camp in tents Zach rented a cabin. It was VERY affordable and gave a much more comfortable sleeping arrangement. We discussed in the future doing the cabin for us adults and sticking the kids out in a tent 😉 

He has really loved camping at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park! 

The big excitement of their weekend? The water area! They added this big blob jump thing and they all LOVED it!

All three of them had such a great time (and no one started puking like what happened last time they went camping!) but it was especially great to hear that Britt did SO great. She didn’t complain at all the whole weekend and she and Kye got along super well and Zach said it truly couldn’t have gone better. She earned her big kid credit for sure 😉 

As our kids get older seeing the sibling dynamics are so interesting. For our crew birth order hasn’t been the determining factor in who is closest. Right now it’s about the gender. Britt and Tess are SO close and it’s really been hard for Kye. I’m so thankful he and Britt got to really connect and share these memories over this weekend. They are best buddies too…we just have to remind them that once in awhile 😉 

Since that weekend Britt has been more mindful to spend time with Kye. Britt is just one of those people that everyone is drawn to so she has to manage being pulled in multiple directions! 

When we had Tess’s BBB appointment at Disney we really realized how she struggles a bit to make decisions and doesn’t do well speaking up when the “spotlight” is on her. These are traits I can relate to as I’m extremely indecisive. I want to work with Tess on that and thought the big two kids being away would be a great change for a TESS YES DAY. It was ALL about her and SHE made all the decisions! 

We’ve also been working on making sure Tess has a chance to speak. With so many kids the quiet ones often get left staying quiet. Tess takes time to draw out and is slow to speak up so we’ve been making an effort to ask her direct questions and not allow the other kids to speak over her. It’s really made a huge difference and she’s talking just as much as they are now haha!

I love how simple her day was. She was excited to just have quality time with Mommy! She chose to read books…

Play ponies (which these are actually MY little ponies!)

Watch Mickey and the Roadster Racers

And she wanted to make her own lunch 😉 

 

She also just wanted to circle things in the magazine 😉 

And do puzzles 

(side note but I got these at the dollar spot at Target and they are so great for letter recognition!)

I let Tess choose where we ate dinner. At first she said ChickFilA so I started getting ready and then she changed her mind to McDonald’s…so I immediately stopped gettin ready ha!

Stopped by the dollar store first to grab some movie candy for our movie night!

This girl loves her a happy meal!

I’ve NEVER been a big McDonald’s fan. I loved their chicken nuggets as a kid but then they stopped serving honey as a dipping sauce (not honey mustard…just plain honey) so I stopped liking them. But now that they serve breakfast all day? GAME CHANGER. I LOVE me an Egg McMuffin!!!

When we were at Disneyland we happened to walk by Spiderman (which was so weird to me btw…there is no Marvel presence at Disney World so seeing Spiderman there was so different!) and Tess said she loves him so she wanted to get his candy. Y’all. What a rip off! Three itty bitty baggies of gummies? 

We watched Nemo and I don’t think she ate a single snack but we sure did love the cuddles! She had a GREAT day and did so well making the decisions! 

The next morning she was so cute lining up all her little people. She said they were waiting to get into Disney World haha!!!

Tess also had her Muffins with Mom this month. It is SO SAD that this is the last Muffins with Mom I’ll have until Spear!!! I can’t believe Tessie will be in KINDERGARTEN next year!!! 

We had a wonderful morning together at her school and I’m so thankful she attends where she does. I’ve always been so happy to have all my babies there. 

Whenever Zach goes to the school for Dad’s Day he always takes the kids out to lunch after. I don’t have that luxury b/c, hello younger sibling, but I still wanted to make it fun so we had a picnic lunch outside with Spear! 

Love this sweet girl and the joy she brings each day!

Since the big two had a blast camping with Daddy I wanted to make sure they had some Mommy time too this month! I had a really, really hard emotional night on a Friday night. I came home extremely upset in a way that doesn’t often happen. One of those times where you are crying so hard you don’t even see what’s in front of you? Like that kinda crying. So it was really well timed for me to have a day the next day where I got to pour into two of my children. It was just as much for ME as for them!

Britt and I took a lunch date to Mellow Mushroom. 

Slightly awkward posing spot…

When your food takes FOREVERRRRR you get free dessert!!!

We had fun catching up and talking and eating our white pizza together. I love spending time with my biggest girl! She’s such a blessing to me!

That same afternoon Kye and I went out for some one on one time too. Y’all he reads SO FAST that he is always on the hunt for new books. I know we have a library but it’s so hard to make the time to go when the kids get home so late (they don’t get off the bus until after 4!) and he has a hard time having time to go to the library during the school day now that he’s switching classes and has his gifted class too. 

So we hit up Goodwill and went through ALL the books and did find quite a few!

Then we rewarded ourselves at The Mix!

When I had walked in the door the night prior and was so upset I was just crying and crying and crying and literally didn’t even SEE that Kye was awake. It was like 10 at night and of course it just happened to be the one time Zach let him stay up super late to watch football or some sporting event (I can’t even remember). 

It CRUSHED me that HE saw me so vulnerable and emotional. BUT it was a good opportunity for us to talk and for him to know that it’s healthy to get those tough emotions out in a place where you feel safe and surrounded by people who love you. Sometimes we all need a good cry and it feels better when you purge those hurts. It’s okay for him to see me sad sometimes, it’s good for the kids to know that parents feel emotions too and for us to show them healthy ways to work through those tougher moments. 

Daddy took the kids to DQ for I think the first time ever?!?! They all loved it!

The school had a dress up week this month. Kye is ALL ABOUT IT but Britt isn’t as into it. I am always down for my kids to do them if they want to but also don’t push it. If they really want me to help them come up with something I always do…but I think it’s great that Kye is at an age where he can do it himself and help Britt too 😉 

Although his help may not always be so helpful haha he made this mask for her to wear for game board day as “Guess Who.” Thankfully she decided not to wear it haha!

Monopoly Man!

Nerd day was my fav…Kye was SO AWESOME!

Old Man/Lady Day

The kids had a boosterthon thing this month where they ran laps to raise money for their school. I took Spear to watch and it was one of those times where I walked away just filled with gratitude and thankfulness that I get to be a stay at home mom and have the opportunity to attend events like these. My kids LIGHT UP seeing me there and I love that my presence brings them joy and pray that’s always the way they feel when they see me 🙂 I always want to be their biggest cheerleader in life! 

I know Kye is getting older and will probably reach an age here soon where he’s not as eager to have me attend things so I’m soaking it alllll up while I can!

Britt’s dream finally came true this month…her teacher pulled out her loose tooth at school! Making her and Kye tied for the number of teeth they’ve lost!

Another big milestone this month is that Kye is able to reach the peddle on the driving lawn mower and mowed the grass himself for the first time ever!

Lots more little things from this month:

Britt loves to watch movies on this portable DVD player, we used it WAY more than I ever thought we would! (here’s a link for the DVD player…and a link for the Minnie Mouse headphones). 

Such a Disney kid…she made a hidden Mickey on her worksheet 😉 

While Britt was at gymnastics one week the other kids and I went to a kids sale (I wasn’t able to shop the pre sale like I normally do!). We lucked out with FSU being so awful this year they still had a cute little shirt for Spear left…and Kye was able to load up on some good books!

Kye has decided to play basketball this winter! He’s very excited about it and has been practicing a lot in the backyard. He cracks me up how much he still loves wearing dress up clothes 🙂 

Beautiful weather = fun outside time!

Johnny Appleseed Day!

I started a basket at Christmas time for Christmas books and the kids LOVE it every single year so last year I packed away any Halloween books we had in order to save them to pull out at Halloween. I used our candy bucket as a display spot for them and the kids really enjoyed it so much. It makes me want to have a basket out year round and switch out for each season of books! 

Tess was so cute reading the stories…I caught her “recording” her reading with her camera 🙂 

I’m trying to be more intentional in showing my family love the way they best receive it and I surprised Tess with some fries when I got a coffee at McDonald’s. She was SO EXCITED and appreciative! 

Tess is THE BEST at changing out the toilet paper roll. Even better than Daddy 😉 

She loves when Britt does her makeup! 

Every year we have a a tradition of going to Toys R Us and making wishlists. This year…no Toys R Us. So the kids were SUPER happy to have a random Lakeshore Collection catalog to circle through. I think by the time I finally tossed the catalog that every single item had been circled haha. And I didn’t order a single thing from it! But they had fun!

I will say the benefit of no Toys R Us is that it really is making it easier to CUT BACK on the toys. They don’t see commercials or ads or know the “hot toy” for the year. So they really didn’t have ANYTHING to ask for. Which is great! We don’t need more junk just to have junk!

The girls made friendship bracelets for each other!

For book club this month we met at a new spot – Woodstack BBQ. I hadn’t eaten all day and was STARVING so I thought it was like BEYOND AMAZING. But I think I was the only one so I need to go back one day when my belly isn’t super empty to see if I still love it or not. 

For our book this month we read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. It’s SO SO cute. I LOVED it. I think we all did! I will say the Netflix movie isn’t NEARLY as good as the book. We’ve really been having such a great mix of people at Book Club meet ups. We had some deep talks this time and all got pretty emotional…def not related to book discussions 😉 It’s been SUCH a blessing to have our monthly Book Club meet ups! 

On top of the monthly book club book I’ve also been really working this year on personal growth. I finished Girl Wash Your Face this month and have totally joined the Rachel Hollis bandwagon. I LOVED the book. Loved, loved loved! 

Add it to your wishlist. READ IT! Perfect book to read at the end of the year to get your butt in gear for the BEST YEAR EVER in 2019!

Once I finished it I decided to read Uninvited. Several blog friends recommended it on my IG Stories when I shared some of the personal stuff I’ve been struggling with and wanting to work through. I also cannot recommend this book enough either…I will be discussing it more in the future for sure! 

In the summer we got into a decent routine of Daddy picking up pizza on his way home from golfing on Fridays and then having an outdoor dinner and swim time! On the official first day of fall we were still swimming!!!

We celebrated our swim fun with cookies from Fresh Beginnings! I LOVE that they keep hooking us up with free cookies…they are legit THE BEST. They are perfect for holidays, celebrations, and make a great gift. You can get yours here: https://www.freshbeginnings.com

And use discount EMILY20 for 20% off your order!!!

Videos: 

Emily Parker
Latest posts by Emily Parker (see all)

You may also enjoy:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *