Grandpa's Garden

This summer we spent the day at my grandparents house in Ottawa, KS. Mabes slept in my arms the whole day, while the boys explored My grandpa's garden. They were beyond themselves with excitement watching my grandpa trek through this giant garden. With shovels in hand, they were grandpa's best helpers…sort of. ;)

Welcome to the World Mabeline Joy

The Story of meeting our daughter...

I woke up sick for the third day in a row on a Wednesday morning. Not just a little sick, the I can't get out of bed I'm so miserable sick. This wasn't just any Wednesday though....it was Wednesday, April 30th the day we had set to have a scheduled induction. Judge away...no shame in my game. I've been pregnant 30 months out of the last four years. My body was done, exhausted, and tired. We felt like this was a good choice for our family with a move only three weeks away and two other children. I knew down deep that I was way too sick and way to weak to go through with the induction, but I also knew that the sooner we had the baby the more time I had to recover before having to pack our entire house and move our whole family. So I took some medicine, told the doctor I was fine, and went to the hospital.
We planned on trying to go as long as possible without an epidural and then be open to one if wanted or needed. The induction was slow to start because I wanted to have my water broken first to see if labor started on it's own after that. I can't remember exactly but sometime around 1:15 the doctor broke my water. I labored hard for as long as my body could handle it. It was hard and painful, but a really beautiful time of Matt and I working together to get through each contraction. I was so sick that week and after falling over during a contraction with Matt having to catch me, we decided that I needed an epidural. I was way to weak to continue to labor without an epidural. I was very sure of the decision. After the epidural, I was able to let my body rest. My body was exhausted.

I was able to lay down and just relax. I couldn't sleep but I did rest. I sat and chatted with my sister, my mom, my friend Lindsey (who was our nurse), and our photographer, who also happens to be one of my dearest friends. It was good for my soul to just sit and talk with them about my little girl who was on the way, talk about her crazy big brothers, and random things like good restaurants. I was pretty hungry by this point! Those popsicle don't really fill you up! ;)

We waited a long time for my body to dilate and be ready to push. The boys were in the waiting room for hours! They only destroyed a few things…

We figured with this being my third baby that things would move quick, unfortunately they were pretty slow for a third baby. Finally, around 9pm it was time to push. Pushing is the easy part for me. Two pushes and there she was...our beautiful baby girl, Mabeline Joy. She was precious and perfect and wonderful. I was so overwhelmed with emotion to see my daughter. To be honest, I always thought I would be a boy mom, I love boys. Bring on the wild and crazy. But heart melted to see my little girl. I get excited (and sometimes terrified) thinking about what a joy it will be to watch her grow up. I pray she grows to be a strong, gentle, kind, Godly woman, who loves Jesus above all else.

Bram Mac 2 years

Bram Mac 2 Years Old

Happy 2 years Brammy

Stats 

Weight   30 lbs 2 oz (75%)

Height    34 1/2 (70%)

Head Circ  19 1/2 (90%)

Skills

-wrestling big brother

-giving kisses

-throwing a football

-hitting a baseball without a T and with a T

-catching a big ball

-he loves to throw a ball up and kick it

-running fast (as he calls it) 

-TALKING! All the time! He can say long sentences and he has his favorite phrases; such as, I do it or I need it! When he wakes up in the morning he cries, "I need you, mommy, I need you".








Struggles

 -sharing with big brother

-sleeping! (moving and having a baby sister has really thrown Bram's sleeping routine off)

-loving Mabeline too much! Sometimes his hugs and kisses are a little intense! ;) 

Nicknames

brammy, bammy boo, bam bam, bamalicious, brama-lama-ding-dong, 

Letter from Mommy
Dear Brammy,
  Happy two years old! We love you so much! It seems like just yesterday I was sneaking into the NICU as much as they would let me to hold you on my chest. You have grown up so much over the last two years. Your personality is so much fun to be around. People are drawn to your sweet smile and tender heart. You LOVE your family. Everyday you say, "I wove you mommy", often times without even being prompted. You are always the first one to tell mommy she looks pretty whenever I put on "real clothes". You always say, "petty mommy", without being prompted. What a sweet guy. You remind me a lot of your daddy. I'm so thankful God made me your mommy. You love being a big brother and a little brother. You look up to your big brother Titus so much and Mabie is your favorite little lady. We are praying that God saves you at a young age and that you grow up to be strong, wise, discerning, Godly man, who loves Jesus, and loves People. 

 We love you, Bam Bam.
Love, Mommy

My little Tornado turns 4!

Titus Lair Marasco 4 Years Old 

Happy four years, Titus!

Stats 

Weight   37lbs 8 oz (75%)

Height    42 (90%)

Skills

-can print most letters in your name

-ride a bike like a champ! 

-draw a person with head, body, arms, legs, and facial features

-get dressed on your own. You love to pick out your own outfits, and they are pretty interesting! ;) 

-you're great at making friends and really love playing with other kids

-you are a big help with your baby sister. You love to run and get diapers when mom need them for Bram or Mabes.

-you are becoming a great swimmer and are very brave in the water. You love your goggles!

Favorites

-you love any and all super heroes

-Raphael is your favorite ninja turtle. You say it's because he has a bad attitude.

-hitting baseballs in the backyard

-swinging on our swing set 

-Your favorite park is Franklin Park

-Your favorite book is The Three Little Pigs (any and every version) 

-You love reading with daddy at night. You and daddy are reading through a chapter book called My Fathers Dragon. You guys usually read a chapter every night. 

-Riding in daddy's truck and grand daddy's BIG smacker truck! (Which is the nick name you gave his truck!) 

-playing with your best buddies: Hudson, Bayley, Tyson, Shepard, Annie, Ryder & Croix 

Letter from Mommy
Dear Titus,
  You are growing up too fast! I can't believe you are four years old! I love watching you grow and learn. It's such a joy to spend every day with you. You are becoming such a "little person" every day. You and I talk all day everyday about so many different things. Just today you asked me when my hair is going to turn white. We talked for about 15 minutes about white hair! I love seeing you learn and grow. You are very smart! You are a great friend too. You love playing ninja turtles, power rangers, and wrestling with your friends. We love being around people and people love being around you. Titus, you are a great big brother! Bram and Mabeline are so blessed to have you as their biggest brother. You love to snuggle with Mabes and you are always willing to help me find her paci. You and Bram love to wrestle. It's fun to hear you teaching Bram about the world around you. I love you so much. I'm so thankful you are my son. There is nothing you can do to make me love you any more or any less. I love you.
Love,
Mommy

And so it begins (Titus' first day of Pre-school)

And so it begins (Titus' first day of Pre-school) 

This handsome guy grew up over night. I swear last night he was four months old, drooling everywhere and snuggling on my chest at nap time. Now he's huge. I'm so proud of him. He was so excited for his first day of preschool. He asked me when school was going to start almost every day this summer. Finally, it's here. Happy first day of preschool big guy. I love you.

Bram Mac 18 Months

Happy 18th Months Bram Mac 

Stats 

Weight   27lbs 8 oz (80%)

Height    32 3/4 (50%)

Head Circ  18 1/2 (40%)

Skills

-Running
-Jumping
-wrestling with daddy and big brother
-so many words: mommy, daddy, Tito, Gigi, Papa, ball, football, basketball, run, play, please, help, all done, more, and outside (all words he says unprompted often). He also can repeat almost any word you ask him to say.
-He can pair two small words together like "all done"
-great fine motor (can put small peg into a hole)
-likes to attempt to color with big brother
-great at making shots on his mini basketball goal

Struggles

-lots of yucky sick bugs during November and December (he does a breathing machine almost every night before bed)
-sleep has been hard when Bram has been sick or teething. He has popped several new teeth this winter!
-It's hard when he can't do everything that big brother does (color, paint, etc). He tries very hard!  

Letter from Mommy
Dear Brammy,
  You have grown up so much over the past 6 months! You love life and are such a fun boy to be around. Your quiet yet joyful disposition makes everyone who encounter you smile. Your big eyes and big smile light up the room. You love to play basketball. All day long you ask mommy to play "baskaball". We usually go to the basement and play on your little goal, but what you really want to do is go outside and play on the big goal! It has been way to cold to do that very often this winter. It is definitely your favorite when we are able to play basketball outside. You love dogs right now! You and Beau (our boxer) are best friends. You guys rolls around on the floor together and you even lay next to him and suck your thumb when you are tired. You are such a sweet boy. You bring us so much joy. We love you, Bam Bam.

Silly Things My Kids Said...that I never want to forget

Silly Things My Kids Say...that I never want to forget

Date           Age    Kid                Comment or Convo
11/7/13       3         Titus             During lunch out of no where T said, "uhhhhhh Mom, when can we                    go back to Florida!"                

11/3/13      3         Titus              T walked into a large room where Daddy was teaching a premarital class to about 70 people, he watched him for a few minutes, and then looked and his grandparents and asked, "Is he Jesus?"

11/12/13    3         Titus             Mom: Titus do you remember your teachers name from school last year
                                                  Titus: F U.  (then he rambled some other letters)  (he had no idea what   he was saying, but matt and I started cracking up)

1/10/14      3          Titus            While praying for a friends baby girl who is in the hospital T said, "Dear God, please be with Charlotte, please heal her tummy, give her mercy, and grow her into a strong Godly Man. Amen."

3/13/14                   Titus              T was playing baseball outside with Daddy. He was doing a great job hitting the ball and Matt said, "T how do you do it" and Titus walked up to the plate look at Matt and said, "I DO what I DO."

(I will continue to add onto this post)