happy first birthday, chubby!

our fourth little boy

wyatt james

turns one today! 

as cute as our babies are {i kid, but it's true}...we regret to inform you all that there will be no more babies in this house, my friends. we are ready to close the baby chapter of our family's story and move on to far more exciting, big boy action and adventure. take a good look at this one-of-a-kind cuteness. this little guy will be the last you'll see of it! 

my favorite thing about this cutie, besides his unbearable handsomeness, is his name. we named our last baby boy after two of the baddest cowboys in history: wyatt earp and jesse james. or maybe i took james from that super hot jesse james that sandra bullock was so fortunate to be married to - the world shall never truly know. too bad he cheated on her. anyway, i digress....

this song that i have playing - the joker by steve miller band - always reminds me of my little space cowboy. and i'm sure it will every time i hear it for the rest of my life. and i love that.

i say it each time...but, oh, how it really feels like just yesterday that i selflessly went through the excruciating five minutes of labor with you, mister wyatt. 

exhausting, i tell you. 

you made me push a whole two times. who do you think you are?

 you have no shame. i think i know who you got that from. {ahem...dad.} 

flashing your back fat like there's no tomorrow. that should be illegal.

and those cheeks. 

please, wyatt. there will always be food available to you, i promise. 

you don't need to hide any away for the winter.

the love your brothers have for you is more than i could have ever hoped for.

you are their baby brother.

  

and always will be.

there will be years where you'll hate it.

but i hope that one day you'll embrace it.

and you'll always be my baby boy. 

no matter how much taller than me you end up to be.

thank you for completing our family, wyatt.

you've filled a place in my heart that i never even knew was there.

and i couldn't be happier or more grateful.

'cause i'm a picker

i'm a grinner

i'm a lover

and i'm a sinner

i play my music in the sun.

~ ~ ~ ~

happy first birthday, chubby!

i love you to the moon and back.

#3 turns 3!

liam alexander.

it was three years ago that you came into my world and instantly made it a better place.

mikey, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure about you. he was concerned that the two of you looked too much alike.

 isaiah seemed a little worried, also, but has since grown to adore you.

 you were the perfect little addition to our family.

you brought joy everywhere you went.

 

it took a lot of self-control every night for me to abstain from eating your chubby little toes for dinner.

and i'm sure you'll beg to differ, but you definitely have your not-so-cute moments. kinda often, actually.

but with that cute little face of yours, you could get away with anything.

even with wearing a dress (as your dad called it) to your baptism.

your smile is contagious.

with you, life's a beach.

you make me fear our food bill when you're a teenager.

you keep dad in shape. relatively.

you have always been one silly little goose.

and already a lady's man.

how can the ladies resist you when you flash them your "blue steel" look.

you make this journey of life so much more worthwhile.

the happiness you've brought to my life is more than i ever imagined or can even comprehend.

when i try to comprehend how much i love you, i just cry. it's too much. more than i can even hold within my body and it all leaks out as tears of joy.

you know you have my heart, but you've been your daddy's boy from the start.

you're a wonderful little brother - always cheering for your kuyas.

and you're just as amazing as a big brother. wyatt is so lucky to have you watching over him.

you like to sleep naked. even when we're camping in the freezing cold.

and such a tough guy. always all smiles - even through tears right after you face planted during our camping trip.

you even locked yourself (and lilybeth, oops) in auntie lacy's car at yosemite. i'm convinced it's because the two of you wanted to eat all of the chocolate cookies in the car.

with you, there's always something new every day.

and i will never tire of your sweet surprises.

you're one of best things i've done with my life.

and i know it's only going to get better.

thank you for choosing me to join you on your journey.

i have a lot to learn and i'm so glad that you're the one to teach me.

happy 3rd birthday, sweet boy.

i love you to the moon and back.

christmas already

i can't believe that christmas eve is just 8 days away! short of a case of wine to gift, we pretty much have all of our christmas shopping done. that's huge, because i'm usually running around like a madwoman on the morning of christmas eve trying to find those last minute gifts. i triple like that we got done early this year and i love that i was able to put some good thought into the presents. i hope everyone loves them!

in our house, christmas is all over the place. 

the stocking are hung.

the boys' nutcracker collection is on display. for some reason, they loooove these things. here are a few of my favorites.

yes, that's a clone trooper nutcracker. whodathunkit?

christmas cards are arriving.

shutterfly finally just shipped ours. i hope we can get them to everyone before christmas! hahah

the tree is up and trimmed (finally!) and i got a sneak peek of my christmas presents - and i must say, they are the best presents ever!

wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!

xoxo, the adams six-pack 

it's official!!!

liam's starting preschool!

yikes...yikes...and more yikes.

the whole process leading up to yesterday's IEP meeting has weighed heavy on my heart since it began. survey after survey. questionnaire after questionnaire. psychologists and psychiatrists and teachers and then some in and out of our house on a daily basis for assessments. hearing these strangers talk about my baby and try to "figure him out" has not been easy. this is why i've been pretty off the radar on my blog. i wanted to focus my energy on what was really important at the time - placing liam in a preschool program where he would thrive and be happy.

and finally, some three months later, we have received the results of all his assessments and they describe him pretty perfectly. his social and behavior skills are deficient, which i think will be helped by placing him in a preschool site with other children. and his cognitive skills are way beyond his age level. there were 8 different specialists present at the meetings, many of whom conducted assessments with liam, and all of them were blown away by his intelligence. he was completing puzzles and problem-solving tasks that are age-appropriate for a second grader. the school psychologist said that he finished the testing for a 3 year old with no problem, so she gave him items that were typically given to 5-7 year olds "just to see if he could do them", and he did. all of them. another psychologist saved a piece of paper from her assessment with liam where he had written the entire alphabet in completely legible handwriting. there is no question that our liam is incredibly gifted. now, we just need to focus on the areas where he is deficient and do our best to prepare him for kindergarten.

the decision as to his placement has been made. he will be going to the school site for the same program that he has been with in-home for over a year now. he has made such great progress with them, we didn't see any reason to change things. the only change is that he will be at a school with other children rather than at home with Mom. he will even have the same teachers as he has had in-home, which will hopefully help him transition smoothly.

tomorrow is his last day of in-home sessions, then i have two weeks to spend with my baby before he officially starts preschool. i'm excited for him to start this next chapter of his journey, but i'm also a little sad. therapy in the morning with liam was what ran my days for the past year. i can't help but feel like, "what am i going to do now?" but i'm sure wyatt and i will find plenty of things to do to occupy our time while all of his brothers are in school. :)

i brought liam to his school yesterday because i wanted to see how he would take to the new environment. i feared the worst - tantrum at the door, refusing to go in, kicking and screaming. to my surprise, i got the complete opposite. we walked right in, he recognized a few of the people there from visits at home and found a spot in the play room with one of his teachers. i toured the school a bit and when i came back to him, i found him playing happily and he looked like he didn't even notice i left. i ask him, "do you like your new school, liam?" he answered, "yeah". i asked, "are you ready to go home now?" he answered, "no. no, thanks." i can't even clearly remember because everything was such a blur, almost like a dream, but i'm pretty sure i cried. (i cry about everything.) i think i was just having a hard time realizing that we are finally at this point - the point that we have been preparing him for for the past year - and that he is ready. 


wish us luck!!!


liam has a huge team of people supporting and guiding him. i wish i could give each of them the world. but, i can't. so instead, i made them some cards.

liam and one of his teachers, melissa. she has been such a blessing.