A True Gentleman

This post is about my little man.

Pudee.

Pudee is now 8 months old. He sits up, babbles constantly, scoots around ON HIS TUMMY (something that I have very much looked forward to since he has hated his tummy since Day 1), loves both baby food and table food - especially Homemade Chicken and Dumplings, and hardly ever makes his mommy crazy.

Seriously, hardly ever.

I can't imagine having an easier baby. Maddox has seriously mastered the practice of "Ladies First". In this house, it's his sister's world and he in totally content just living in it.

My mom often said that her third child was raised in the backseat of a car. When Tevyn was little, Tierra and I had quite the schedules. My mom spent most afternoons running us from activity to activity.

When I found out I was pregnant with Maddox, I really thought that it wouldn't happen. My kids were so close in age that I figured we'd still be staying home most of the time.

Very much not.

This little boy has learned to pretty much go without a nap schedule because of his sisters. But better yet, he endures it without making much of a fuss.

This new rush rush rush lifestyle has given me new appreciation for feeding time. Maddox is pretty much exclusively nursed so I play a pretty big part in mealtime. Actually, I play a pretty big part in all mealtimes because you can see what happens when he's left alone with food. But, I'm especially grateful for the times when I can take him in my room and lock the door.

When I nursed the girls, I really didn't feel this way. It was always kind of a burden when it was time to eat. I would always think, "Ugh... It's really time to feed you again?!" It was hard to just stop what I was doing and focus on the baby for a few minutes.

But that was before my days were spent taking care of all three kids. I very rarely get time to have Maddox all to myself. It's sad to say, but most days I'm just trying to keep Maddox occupied with toys or books, so that I can take care of all the girls' needs.

Every morning I tell myself that I'm going to set aside a few minutes to just play on the floor with Maddox.

"I'm going to spend some time with just Maddox as soon as I....

run everyone to swim lessons,

clean the kitchen,

start a load of laundry,

make snacks for the girls'

start planning dinner,

do dishes,

fill sippy cups,

get out the pool, sidewalk chalk, bikes and slip 'n slide,

fold a load of laundry,

chase naked Sloane around because she's taken of her diaper for the 10th time today!,

put away pool, sidewalk chalk, bikes and slip 'n slide,

fill sippy cups AGAIN,

LUNCH! (oh yeah that's just before lunch)

quick visit to the park,

load two screaming girls into the car after playing at the park,

put Sloane down for a nap,

help Holynd find a movie for quiet time,

clean up dirty sippy cups and snack that is now mashed into playroom carpet,

tell Sloane to get back into bed,

fill Holynd's sippy cup,

water garden and plants,

tell Sloane to fall asleep or ELSE!,

start dinner,

help Holynd into a princess dress,

help Holynd into a different princess dress,

help Holynd into A THIRD princess dress,

fill another sippy cup,

clean up Holynd after princess dress ends up in the toilet during a potty break,

clean the bathroom now that it's covered in toilet water,

keep dinner from burning,

change Sloane's bedding after she EXPLODES through her diaper during her nap,

bath Sloane,

give girls otter pops and scoot them out the back door and onto the deck,

FINALLY get 10 minutes to just feed Maddox uninterrupted/get mad at self because there will be no playtime today,

feed everyone dinner,

make Sloane's bed,

bath everyone,

clean up tub and floor after Sloane empties an entire bottle of shampoo in the tub and it overflows with bubbles,

tuck Maddox in a apologize to his still-smiling face - tomorrow we'll get playtime Pudman,

help brush two sets of teeth,

help put on two sets of pj's,

help say two prayers,

read a story,

clean up kitchen AGAIN

There's no doubt that Maddox was meant to be a third child.