I have not done updates on the boys in forever and poor Charlie has never gotten an update. Such is the life of the third child around here. I have lots to say and only 43 minutes before I pick the big boys up from school so a list will have to do.

Andrew:

Loves to eat pesto, cous cous and quinoa and requests Sheppard's Pie for dinner a few times a week.

Loves to go fishing in Papa's pond.

Loves to build elaborate vehicles with LEGOs.

Will do any task I ask enthusiastically if I set a timer.

Does not like to play alone. Prefers Owen to play with him 100% of the time.

Starting to get interested in video games.

Asks tons of questions about God, Jesus, Heaven and dying.

Loves school and church.

He will talk to any and everyone!

Starting instructional tball last week and loves it!

Owen:

Loves his Brudder (Andrew) and his baby (Charlie).

Is becoming a picky eater.

Has pee pee accidents pretty often. He says it's "cause I want to." (Driving me crazy!!!!)

Loves to give me "tisses"

Has the sweetest voice.

Loves  Hotwheel cars and fire trucks.

Loves pretzels

Loves any condiment or dip.

Prefers to hang with the kids a year or so older, not kids his own age.

Knows the ABC song but does not recognize all the letters yet.

Lives for showers and baths.

Keeps his hands in his mouth. (Gross)

Is very headstrong and must do everything himself.

My most affectionate yet challenging boy!

Charlie:

Is 17 pounds of pure squishy love!

Loves nursing but can go 4-5 hours no problem.

Laughs a lot.

Smiles all the time!

Talks a lot.

Rolls over from his back to his tummy and tummy to back.

Loves the pinwheel he got in his Easter basket.

Has dimples that I kiss all day long.

Has light colored hair and blue eyes.

Wears some 9 month clothes.

Has been to Alabama three times.

Done with his infant car seat.

Loves to be carried around in the Ergo and almost always falls asleep.

Wears size 3 diapers.

Looks adorable in bubbles because of his huge thighs.

Bringing home baby

I am trying to get caught up on the blog. I am just trying to hit the high notes at this point. I can still remember the details of the night we brought Charlie home so I need to get them down before I start to forget.

Hospital pictures for posterity sake.

Charlie was born on a Monday and we brought him home on Wednesday night. I actually was in no rush to leave the hospital, I loved the long relaxing days with my sweet newborn. We didn't get discharged until 6:00 pm because we were waiting on an OB from my practice to come in.

It was so cold, rainy and dark when we left. I rode in the back with Charlie and I remember the exhaustion hitting me hard!

I called my dad when we got close to the house and he and Ellen got Andrew ready to meet us at home. My mother in law was at our house with Owen. We walked into a sparkling clean house thanks to my mother in law. We also had two very excited big brothers that wanted to love on their Mommy and baby brother.

 

 

We piled on the couch for some pictures and some cuddles. After getting some Charlie loving all the grandparents left and we were on our own! A new family of 5! We spent the rest of the night cuddling with all our boys. We watched Cars (I think) and went to bed early. We were so thankful to be under the same roof with all 3 of our boys!

The boys wanted to see if Charlie liked his swing.

Easter Weekend

This year we traveled to Alabama to spend Easter with family. It was a whirlwind trip as always but it is always so worth it to see our family. On Friday morning all 5 of us piled into Perry's truck and took off. We had to drive the truck because Perry brought the kayak for a fishing tournament.
It was a nice quiet trip in with the boys sleeping most of the way. I was worried about not having the DVD player but they did great!

 

When we got to Alabama the big boys wasted no time getting to Papa's farm pond to catch some fish. Charlie and I stayed at the house and visited with Nana, Mawmaw and Uncle Clay.

Andrew finally put his new rod and reel to good use. He caught this bass all by himself!

 

When the guys got done fishing we celebrated Papa's birthday a day early with bbq and cake.

 

On Saturday Perry had a fishing tournament all day long! The boys and I went to visit my grandparents  for a little while. My dad and Ellen had just gotten in and we saw my Uncle David too.

 

We went to lunch and I ran into Wal-Mart for a few last minute Easter basket goodies. Wal-Mart is almost enjoyable when alone...almost :)

 

Saturday evening we went to dinner to celebrate Papa's birthday. While we were there we ran into some of Perry's extended family. I had never met some of them and neither had the boys but you would have thought Andrew had. He gave them all hugs and was not shy at all! I don't know what got into him but he made his way to the next table of people that we did not know and gave them all hugs too. He was so funny and the people just carried on with him.

 

When we got home we got the boys ready for bed and got to work with our bunny duties.

 

 

The next morning the boys tore into their baskets and we ate breakfast with Nana and Papa. They got ready for church and we got the boys ready to take some pictures with them.

 

 

 

We went to church with my grandparents which is also the church Perry grew up in.

After church we had lunch at my grandparent's house with all my aunts, uncles and cousins.

A mistake I seem to make every year is not taking pictures before church. Next year I will make it a point to get those pictures before everyone is tired or starving.

 

 

 

 

After our delicious lunch the older cousins hid eggs for the littles. In our family the last 4 great grandchildren are all boys! It was so fun watching my boys play with their cousin Bryant. I know these boys will have some fun adventures in the years to come.

 

 

 

 

After all the eggs were collected we stayed outside and enjoyed the beautiful day.

 

 

 

Charlie and Granddaddy had the right idea!

 

We left my grandparents house around 3:00 to go pack up at Perry's parents house and hit the road.

We made it home at about 8:00 Sunday night and we were all beat!

 

We are so thankful for both of our wonderful families. God has truly blessed us and we are so thankful. It was awesome this year talking with Andrew about Easter as he is getting old enough to understand more. We had some great conversations about God's love for us and Jesus' sacrifice so that we can have eternal life. It is truly exciting to see him growing.



Oldest and Youngest

We visited our family over the weekend for Easter. On Saturday my granddaddy held Charlie for the first time. At our last visit he had a cold and didn't want to spread the love.

My granddaddy's middle name is Britten, he passed it down to my dad and then onto my brother. Now Charlie gets to carry it on. My granddaddy was so happy when I told him we were going to use Britten for Charlie's middle name.

So here's the oldest and the youngest of the Brittens.

School Easter egg hunt

The boys had an Easter egg hunt at preschool last Wednesday. After one of these events I am always so thankful for the teachers the boys have. We have really been blessed by the ladies at their school. They love our boys and we love them too.

This year the hunt was in the sanctuary because it was so cold outside.The boys had been to an egg hunt the previous Saturday so they knew just what to do. Andrew took off at once and I only got pictures on the back of his head until he returned with his basket. Owen was more particular and only wanted golden eggs, once he realized that all the eggs had candy he gathered all he could. After all the eggs were found the teachers collected the baskets (to even up the baskets) and the Easter bunny paid the kids a visit. The boys stood in line to sit on the bunny's lap much to my surprise. There is just something creepy about the Easter bunny costumes.

All in all we had a great time and I look forward to next years Easter egg hunt.

Here's the preschool egg hunt from 2011 and 2012

If you look at the 2011 picture you can see how Andrew and two of his friends have grown. They've been together since they were 2.

 

 

Happy Wednesday

The big boys are off at school and Charlie is taking a nap on me. The boys are celebrating St. Patrick's day today at school by wearing green and enjoying a special snack. It's a beautiful day and we have plans to have lunch at the lake complete with a little fishing and feeding ducks.

I'm hoping some outside time will help the boys burn off some energy. They have really given me a run for my money lately.
Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Happening Now

Charlie and I are sitting in the parking lot at church. This is our 3rd Sunday back and we still have not managed to make it for both worship and Sunday school. Today I wont make it to either!

We're sitting in the car because Charlie needed to be fed before the service. Perry went ahead and went in with our Bibles and Charlie's infant seat.
After feeding Charlie I decided to go ahead and change him in my lap. Before I could finish he sneezed and poop flew all over my sweater.

I know that lap changes should be reserved for desperate situations. It's so cold this morning and I didn't want to change him in the seat with my van door open like I usually do.

This was after he spit up all over my shoulder. I was able to clean that up though without much of a spot but I draw the line with bright yellow baby poop.

Maybe next week. I bet Perry feels silly carrying an empty infant seat in and out of worship with no baby.