Going Cribless

Oh my, we did it.  We pulled the trigger.  As of Sunday night, there are zero cribs in this house.  Eli and Ben are in toddler beds.  I gotta tell ya, I was not looking forward to this move.  I was scared to death.  Even though Noah did great when he moved up, I was really worried about doing it with two little boys at the same time.  I knew Eli was ready.  He slept in a "big boy bed" (AKA a mattress on the floor) when we went to visit my parents recently and he did great.  Ben was the one stressing me out, because he still occasionally wakes up during the night.

As usual, the boys are surprising me and making us proud at every turn.  They are doing great in the new beds.  Ben had a hard time settling in the first night.  First he wanted to get up and play.  I could almost hear him thinking, "FREEDOM!!!!" when he realized he could get out of bed by himself.  Then, he started playing with the lightswitch.  Eli, who was super tired and oh-so-ready for bed, started whining because Ben kept switching the light off.  I ended up laying on the floor in their room until Ben finally fell asleep that first night.  Since then though, they've both gone out pretty easily at night.

Naps are going surprisingly well too.  I was very fearful that "big boy beds" were going to mean the end of naps in our house, which is so not cool!  I'm going to hang on to naps for as long as we can.  It's important for the boys and for Mama's sanity!

Here's a few snaps of my big boys and their big boy beds:

Ben

Eli

"CHEESE!!!" - Ben

Silly brothers

Ben and Eli have story time in Eli's bed

G'night, boys!  (Naptime Day #1 in the beds)

They were super-excited about their new Cars wall stickers, too. 

We're big Lightening & Mater fans!

Eli all tucked in and ready for bed (Night #2)

Goofball.

Somebody doesn't look ready to go to bed yet!

Noah didn't want to be left out, so he's showing off his new Woody & Buzz Toy Story wall stickers

Big brother!!!

And now for the three most adorable sleeping children ever:

Eli

Ben

Noah

Big Boy Beds:  just another milestone on this crazy, fast journey from three silly boys to three grown sons.  I can't believe how fast time can go or how much love two hearts can hold.

We just love these boys!



Sunday Afternoon Well Spent

Hello Blogosphere.  Yes, it's us.  The Withers Clan.  Yes, we own a calendar and I do realize that it's been about 10 months since my last post.  A lot has kept us busy since then.  More on that later (will plan a catch-up post.)  But right now, let's dive in to how we spent our Sunday afternoon.  Super summer fun!!!

Our great friend Allison sent me a link to how to build your own Kid Car Wash.  I checked it out and decided it was something the Withers Boys needed to have.  One trip to Lowe's, one trip to the Dollar Store, and about $30-35 later and here we are!  So.Much.Fun.

Here it is, ready to go!

Noah and Eli are already enjoying it and the water isn't even on yet!

Just like a real car wash

Pure. Summer. Happy.

I must give big props to Nathan, who didn't flinch when I showed him the idea and said, "Here.  Build this!"  He's such a great Daddy!  We had a great afternoon of fun with he boys.  Good memories to last a lifetime!

If you'd like to check this out and make your own, here's the link we used. 

 http://www.thescrapshoppeblog.com/2012/06/best-pvc-pipe-car-wash-tutorial.html

It's really very simple.  The "magic" ingredients are lawnscape misters and sponge balls.  A few of the misters go a long way.  We used 17 of them in our Kid Car Wash and it was PLENTY (probably too many to be honest.)  Sponge balls are super easy to make.  There's a link on how to make them in the tutorial, too.  We used some to hang in the Kid Car Wash and kept the extras to use as scrubbies for the cars and just to throw around.  Much better and easier than water balloons!  The pool noodles were my idea - I bought four of them, cut them up, and hung them on the end of the wash.  Just like in the real drive-thru car wash!

Thanks for stopping by The Withers Blog.  There will be more soon, I promise!

~Abby



I have to tell you, my guys are a well-balanced crew.

Eli gives the best hugs

Ben gives the best kisses

Noah gives the best morning snuggles

I'm such a lucky lady!

Hello September!!!

Well, here we are again.  It's been about 5 months since my last post.

 Have you missed us?? 

We're still here and doing well.  The family of five is beginning to feel normal.  It's still not easy, but we have made it to the point where I am able - though not often willing - to take all three boys out by myself.  Usually it's just over to our buddy Sy's house to play, but the four of us have gone to the grocery store together.  Once.  Not planning to do that again, but it's good to know we can survive it if we must!  ;-)

We have much to look forward to.  September is my second most favorite month of the year and it is the threshold into my absolute favorite . . . . October.  In my mind, it's more like "Ahhhhhh"-ctober.  That's how it makes me feel.  Deep breath in and out . . . . "Ahhhhhhh."  Doesn't that feel great?  I love the fall - cooler temps, pumpkins, apples, trees in color, even a little football!  Who loves sweatshirt weather?  This girl does!  The fact that I get to celebrate both my anniversary and my birthday in these months just adds to their appeal.  ;-)

For the first time as a mommy, September also means the start of school!  Noah starts preschool in just a few days and I have to tell you that I am so excited!  We found a great school with an amazing teacher.  I'm anxious to see how Noah does with other kids his age.  I've gotten involved with the school as treasurer, so it's keeping me busy and introduced me to so many great new friends.  It's awesome!  I'm sure there will be many more posts with preschool news, stories, and pictures.  For now, the big question we are all asking is,

"I wonder if Dog-Dog is going to go to preschool, too??"  ;-)

I can't finish this post without a picture or two.  Here's a couple recent shots of us!

Noah, Momma, and Eli



Sweet Ben.  He wouldn't go down the Slip n' Slide, but he likes to get wet and rolls balls down it!




I just love this pic . . . . and these little boys!



This is a test . . . .

. . . . . this is only a test.  Had this been a real blog post, there would have been a story.  Some pictures, perhaps a funny anecdote about the boys.

There will be more coming soon.  Promise.

Super Saturday: Blanket Fort

Today was a low-key, hang out at home family day.  The boys never even made it out of their PJs!  (Although that happens more often than I'm comfortable admitting!)

Before naps, we decide that the day was perfect for a blanket fort in the living room.  Something simple but super fun!  The boys loved it.  I wasn't sure if Ben would like it.  We have one of those expandable tunnels for the boys to crawl through and Ben is completely terrified of it.  I thought the blanket fort might scare him too, but he loved it!  He was all grins and smiles.  He's smiling much more now and becoming more comfortable and SILLY.  So funny!

A few pics of our "Super Saturday" fun.  Enjoy!

Moms on a Mission

At the beginning of March, my friend and fellow Korea adoptive mom, Amy, asked if we would join her in making donations of Rice Cereal and Desitin ointment to send the Holt International in Seoul.  (Holt is the agency in Korea that helped us bring Noah and Ben home.)  I thought, sure - we can pick up a couple boxes of cereal and a few tubes to send over.  We shared what we were doing with other "Korea Moms" that we know and BOOM!  Talk about a snowball effect!  We had an overwhelming and wonderful response from family and friends.  Last night all of the Korea Moms came together not only to compile and box up the donations, but to connect, share stories, and make new friends.  What an awesome night.  We had so much fun, I can't even describe it.  By my count there were 13 moms there - all in different phases of the process.  How lucky we are to be able to share this fellowship of adopting to expand our families.  It creates a special bond.  We came together and shared stories, pictures, plans, challenges, advice, and good times.  It was a perfect GNO (Girls' Night Out!)

Here are a few shots of the moms and our mountain of donations.  

It warms my heart to think of all the sweet Korean babies who will be helped by our efforts.

Korea moms!!!! 

So happy to meet, know, and learn from each of you!

 

 

To all my family and friends who donated, THANK YOU!  I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.  I hope to pay your kindness forward many times over.

A special project, a special bond, a special night.  THANKS, LADIES!!!!  And thank you Amy for getting this started.  She is such an awesome mom and I am proud to call her my friend.