tatum: two months old

With Cayden and Sawyer, I was so good about doing monthly updates. And with Graham, I think I made it about five months in and things just got too busy. So I seriously doubt I'll remember to do monthly updates on Tatum. But I had this sweet photo of her and realized that yesterday was her two month birthday, so why not!

I mean, at two months there's still a lot of sleeping, eating and pooping going on. Her napping during the day is definitely slowing down a bit. From about 3 o'clock, it's definitely cat naps until bed. Some days I can get her to still take a longer nap after big brothers get home from school, but those are much less now too. But I suppose complaining about that isn't justified at all since she does lay down for bed between 8 and 9 and we have to wake her up at 7 to head out for school drop off.

Tatum also started voluntarily smiling in the last week or so. And it's pretty much my favorite. She also has a small dimple when she moves her mouth a certain way. It's not in a super common place, but it's adorable for sure. And she's working on finding her voice. She surprises herself more often than not and makes us all laugh.

Speaking of laughing... this girl, y'all, she's stinky and loud. She gives these burps that make us all start laughing. It's hard to imagine something so loud (and long) coming from something so small. We just presume she's practicing for when she gets older and will have to compete with her loud and stinky brothers.

Two months is such a short time, but it feels like she's always been a part of our family. Everyone is falling into their own little rhythm and the boys all still adore her. Cayden even got to help out with a bottle last night while I was at yoga.

So happy this sweet little thing has joined us and completed our family. We all think she's pretty awesome.

the cove: hallway bathroom

Check out that before photo! It might be hard to tell, but you can totally see where the previous owner tried to touch up paint; there are several big patches of paint that aren't the same color. I don't know if they tried to color match, or the paint they touched up with was old, but it just wasn't working. And y'all, that's how the whole house was. A big paint disaster.

This hallway bathroom is the kids bath. The room where there will eventually be four kids brushing teeth, showering, primping and wasting time. So this is kind of a mini-makeover if you will. Because let's face it, one sink? Is simply not going to cut it!

But for now, some brighter paint to lighten it all up helps a ton. There's no natural light in this bathroom (but hey, a really cool light fixture circa the mid 90s!), so bright colors was a must! A fun shower curtain helps too. One of the first things we did when we moved in was to replace the toilets. I can't even imagine how much water the toilet in this bathroom was using with each flush. The one we bought is much quieter and flushes a lot faster. And well, cleaner, ha!

Our plans in here are to eventually add a double sink, new light fixtures, new bathtub and tile, tile the floor and add a barn door. The way the door is currently positioned with where the toilet is located causes some hassle – you have to shut the door to get to the tub. And it's a little annoying to always have that door in the way. There's plenty of room in the hallway and should add some character to the space.

For the time being, we're happy with how the mini (and somewhat cheap) makeover went. We're slowly Dave Ramsey-ing our way out of debt and I think this room will be the first that gets a full gut when we're able to save some money.

fall soccer, 2016.

We didn't play fall soccer last year. It was the first year in three years that we hadn't played fall soccer and it just felt... weird. So come spring, we played in a league we hadn't tried, had a good time and decided that if the boys wanted to play fall soccer that we would suck it up and find the money for city league soccer.

And y'all, spending that extra money (about twice as much!) on city league has been worth every penny so far. We used to play in a city league, but since the move last summer, we're in a new city. So new city league. (You following? Cause I think I'm confusing myself, ha!) Anyway, old city was fun and Cayden liked it enough to want to keep playing. But new city? New city is legit. We have referees and goalies. And everyone is checked pre-game to make sure they have the correct shoes and that shin guards are in place. This is new for us and I really like it. And their uniforms? Well, they are perfection. Perhaps a little on the bright side, but we can't lose our kids. So win?

We've had several practices and just finished our second game this past weekend. Before the game, Jeremy kept showing Cayden and Sawyer inspirational videos – professional soccer players performing tricks – and we think it might have inspired them to play a little harder! Because y'all, I've never seen our boys play like that! Cayden's come a long way since his Start Smart days – he almost (so close!) scored his first goal of the season. And Sawyer, who's never played in a city league? Dribbled that ball down the field by himself and came close to kicking a goal. I may have cried a little from being so proud! We're looking forward to an exciting season. Also? We're super-glad these two are able to be on the same team. Makes practice and game day just a bit easier. Ok, a lot easier.

awake baby alert.

Now that Miss Tatum is seven weeks old, she's decided to stop napping so much during the day. I mean, she still sleeps quite a bit, but the time she's awake, she's definitely more alert. And definitely staying awake in longer spurts. We even pulled out the activity mat to try to give her something that would entertain her, but it seems she still prefers other people's faces as her primary form of entertainment. And since she's starting to smile a little more often in response to said faces, I'm okay with providing mine for her to look at. The boys are also starting to realize that she sees them and reacts to them. That's causing a lot of close-talking around here, but it's so cute that I can't be upset.

Some of my very favorite alert time? When Jeremy throws her over his shoulder. She'll pop up on her elbows and practice her head control (which is getting really good!) and look at everything over his shoulder. She's still not above using a good eyebrow raise to control the noggin and I love that forehead wrinkle too. Of course, she looks pretty stinking' sweet like this too.
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cardboard box.

People always say the only thing you need to get your kids to keep them happy is wrapping paper or a cardboard box. And I can agree with those people. At least on the cardboard box thing. Our kids love them. So when we had one this past week that they could actually get in? The possibilities were endless. I just took it out to the recycling bin today... only because it had gotten pretty much destroyed. But it was everything before the destruction. A place to hide, a car, a place to push each other around, something to fight over – you name it and our boys made it that.

Also, I'm trying to reach for our "real" camera a little more often than the iPhone (a Nikon D610 for anyone that's interested). Lifestyle shots are now becoming a goal of mine and slowly, but surely, I'm starting to capture more of those in a medium that I think we'll be able to do something with. Don't get me wrong, I love capturing life with my iPhone and sharing those on Instagram with you, but there's just something a camera with a lens can do that I don't think a phone will ever be able to do.

Now, if Jeremy and I could get our acts together, maybe one day we could actually make some income from this. Maybe. One day? I'll also praise our home on its natural light again. And all the days. Because windows galore and that makes me happy. Unless we ever have to replace all of them and then I'll probably just want to live in a cardboard box.