Joseph's 3rd Birthday!

Some of the traditional Larson Family Birthday Pictures. We decided to celebrate his birthday a day early, since Scott was away doing Tough Mudder on Oct. 8. 

Then Ian presented Joseph with his "birthday badge", which Ian had made in the hours he was awake that morning before Joseph was... I thought it was so sweet that Ian remembered and wanted to make sure Joseph had one. Ian wrote "Happy 3rd Birthday Joseph" on it all by himself. 

We then enjoyed breakfast with Daddy, and Joseph got to sit in a special decorated chair. The rest of the day was pretty normal, but we sang to Joseph several times. And we bounced around balloons.

Joseph had been asking to have a "hard taco" not a "squishy taco" from Taco Bell for his birthday dinner. But then Scott offered him his very own pizza from Little Ceasars, and Joseph quickly decided that was better. 

He was thrilled! Joseph shared a slice with Daddy, and Daddy only. 

Then it was time for cake! Joseph selected this pink cake with tons of sprinkles. 

Joseph (and Ian) had been eagerly anticipating opening all the presents that had been sitting on the mantle all day. First to be opened was a homemade police badge and police hat that Ian had made during naptime. Joseph had wanted his own ever since Ian came home from preschool with one. As you'll see, Joseph didn't take off the hat the rest of the night. 

Some favorite presents were badge holders with retracting clips, a baseball bat and ball from Daddy, a bunch of wooden puzzles, an egg-shaped alarm clock just like his brothers, a book about the seasons, and a couple guns that launched little circles up really high. He felt really special, and spoiled!

Helen enjoyed the festivities from her bouncy chair. 

And here are some pictures from the archives to show how much (and how fast!) our baby Joseph has grown into a preschooler!

Joseph smiles and makes silly noises and faces constantly. He wants to do everything Ian does, but also enjoys playing by himself where he won't be bossed around by his big brother. He smells everything -- from boxes of macaroni to blankets, to Helen's feet, to his fingers after using the bathroom. While trick-or-treating, he even smelled every single piece of candy he received before dropping it in his bucket. 

He enjoys animals, meat, his favorite yellow blanket, string cheese (he asks for it about 6 times a day) and toy cars. He still nurtures his stuffed animals and has several favorite "pets" that he likes to sleep with. He doesn't have many fears -- he seems only afraid of Buzz Lightyear flying out of his dresser drawer at night (this started after he saw a clip from Toy Story) and the red light that blinks on the smoke detector in his room. He picks at every mosquito bite and scab, which is why he has had staph infections so many times, and is covered with tons of tiny scars. Joseph sleeps about 13 hours at night and relishes his long afternoon nap.

 He eats nearly anything we put in front of him, and lots of it. He has several favorite friends and when one little friend had surgery a month ago he prayed for her spontaneously throughout the day. Usually his prayers are said really quickly, and almost unintelligibly, and are exactly he same as the time before. He has a really cute lisp and has had an excellent vocabulary from a young age. Joseph still always wears his pants and shirts backwards. He's a natural athlete and is left-handed. We think he is so much fun, and we are so glad he's in our family! Happy 3rd Birthday J Don! We love you so much.

4 Months

On Joseph's birthday Helen reached the 4-month milestone. 

She started sucking on her fingers and fists and grasping blankets. She loves to hold her muslin swaddling blankets and bring them to her mouth. She struggles to hang onto toys that are handed to her, and she doesn't try to reach out for things yet.

She's now going to bed for the night around 6:30-7:00 pm (hallelujah!) and sleeping until 7 am. She usually wakes up once or twice during that time. During the daytime she follows a pattern of awake for 1.5 hours, asleep for 1.5 hours, repeat until bedtime. She still requires on a tight swaddling and a binkie, and then she puts herself right to sleep.

She's putting up less of a fight with tummy time, and is strong enough to hold herself up for about 10 minutes at a time. Joseph loves to roll her over when she is "done". She just took her first bottle (hated it), as well as a second and third (loved it. Note to self: this little girl requires heated water)

Joseph likes to pinch her hairline. Helen doesn't like this, but usually waits to cry until he's been at it for several (unsupervised) minutes. She is growing lots of long pieces of blonde hair on top. 

 I painted her toenails for the first time this month. It is much easier when she is asleep! For now she and I have a matching color.

Lately the kids and I congregate on our living-room chairs, usually following one of Helen's feedings. First one son, then the other will climb over the arm of the chair and slide into a teeny slot alongside me. We will read, play with Helen, or just talk about what to do next. I love how the next few pictures capture one of those cuddly, close moments in time. 

And this picture, because most of our days are passed half-dressed, or sporting a worn-this-BYU-shirt-4-times-without-washing-it ensemble. 

When left unattended, Joseph is usually tempted to force Helen to "wave" and Ian has to keep reminding Joseph that "if you stand on Helen it will break her organs." They both love her a ton -- Ian cherishes her as something to dote on and and protect, and Joseph enjoys her as a favored plaything. We are all so glad she is here, and judging by her increasing number of laughs and smiles, we think she likes us too.

3 Months Old!

It's not that I didn't love our boys as babies... it's just that this time everything has been such a dream. 

When walking a bundled-up, soundly-sleeping little Helen back to her room one night I thought "she truly is a bundle of joy". 

She is such a sweet, happy infant, but I don't think that is the only factor. Her arrival and the entire process of settling her into our lives and our family has been a joyful experience. 

My two older boys are at such independent, fun stages too. They play constantly with each other, and other than breaking up fights (and trust me, I do a lot of it!) they entertain themselves. They are easy to take places right now (so long as there is nothing breakable and noise is welcome). They dote on Helen and don't react negatively to the time it takes to care for her. They love to help by bringing diapers and finding the swaddling blankets for me when it's naptime. The fact that Helen is so low maintenance so far certainly helps them enjoy her too because it requires so little effort to make her content and satisfied, so we just get to enjoy her the rest of the time she's awake.

 I cannot believe what a complete 180 this experience has been from bringing Joseph home. No offense to Joseph intended -- he was a beautiful newborn, and it was not his fault that I had a horrible recovery and that his acid reflux made him scream all the time, or that Ian was a holy terror and resented being a big brother. I am just so thankful that every one of those factors was different this time around. 

I think it also helps that this time around Scott and I have learned from our mistakes and we -- let's face it, I  -- am not as high strung as when Ian and Joseph were tiny. 

I guess the point of this post is just to record that raising Helen has been a joyful experience. That adding her to our family has been a joyful process. And this whole experience has made me believe that we could actually have more children. I love being Ian, Joseph and Helen's mom!

Galveston

Although the traditional Larson Family Beach Weekend wasn't feasible with a newborn this year, I couldn't let a summer pass without at least a quick trip down to the sea. And as we discovered last year, the end of September is ideal for beach-goers! 

Ian "read" books the entire drive down there. Joseph whined "When are we doing to be there? It takes a loooong time to go to Galveston!" the entire drive down there. Helen slept. 

My boys get some strange enjoyment out of wearing life jackets -- like it's an item of dress-up clothing. 

Joseph declared he was a "sand farmer" and raked a large portion of the beach.

Helen pretended the wind made it impossible to breath, and then, exhausted, slept for the rest of our time at the beach. She stayed swaddled up in the bouncy chair and remained totally un-sandy!

Check out those thighs! I am so proud.

Ian and Joseph switched attitudes from last year, and I wish I had a picture that captured it. Just imagine Scott in the background, standing in the water with Joseph clinging to Scott's neck and screaming to head back to shore, while Ian is in the forefront falling backwards into the waves over and over again, while squealing with glee. It was hilarious.

Isn't this adorable?

Building a huge castle ... 

...and digging the World's Biggest Hole. 

Ian was delighted to climb inside it and "lose" his legs. 

Joseph was delighted to strike a vulnerable target.

Awww... pulling legless-Joseph out.

Such a cute Beach Baby.

We are all smiling (or at least looking pleasant) for a family picture! That alone made the day a success.

We decided at 10 am that day to go to the beach, and just drove along the island until we saw an access point we liked. So especially for a spur-of-the-moment trip, I thought it was a huge success!