{Life Since The Flood}

In attempt to try to play catch up, here is our life in pictures since the Flood. I feel like it has been the longest 2.5 weeks of our life and the shortest all at the same time. We have had some good times, but the time has also been filled with a lot of work, a lot of fighting between the boys and overall exhaustion. But we did have some really fun times, that I don't want to forget. Stress can overshadow anything, and I am trying to focus on the good stuff! But I will be the first one to say, this has been hard and I am hoping for better days ahead.

The Friday after the Flood, Chat took the boys to an Astro's game and Luke caught a foul ball (with a little help from Daddy!). He was sooooooo proud and it made his night! In the past six weeks or so Luke has become obsessed with baseball. Ben was just as happy with the pink cotton candy he got to eat that night at the game. That boy's stomach is an empty hole. He is never full!

Ben asks to hold Drew all the time. For as much as Ben has been struggling the past few weeks, the one person he is sweet to all the time is Drew. He is a wonderful big brother and it brings out the best in him. He will sit on the couch and hold him for quite some time -- way longer than any three year old should want to. And Drew usually is pretty content in his arms!

About five days after the move, Chat had to leave for work to Chicago and it was just the four of us to pack up the house. Those were a hard four days since I had so much to do all the while taking care of three little boys and exclusively nursing one of them. So I documented with a selfie :).

We stayed with my parents once Chat left and we started seeing mold in our house and it was a wild, busy week. And this poor guy kept falling asleep if he stopped long enough. If I didn't watch him like a hawk in late afternoon, he literally would fall asleep standing up it seems. I think he has finally caught up on sleep. Me on the other hand...

Our little captain adorable really found his stride once he turned six weeks. He was very fussy (or "fuzzy" as Ben insists it is) up till then, but slowly came out of it and became much more alert that week we moved. I also think it had a lot to do with the help I got from my parents. I was pushing him so much when it was just me. I had to put him down a lot and not give him the attention he deserved since it was so stressful with so much to do and pack. My parents helped give him that love and attention and coupling that with getting a bit older, he seemed to be much more content.

Sweet friends of mine took the boys one morning to the park and then to Chick Fil A so I could pack at the house with some volunteers from my neighborhood. My friend driving this car actually has two girls, but she took all the boys since they all wanted to sit together and my other friend took the girls in her car. Ha! I love this picture that she captured being a 'boy mom' for the hour!

And Ben found another place to fall asleep....

While Luke put on a show for my mom and me one night. He is such a funny kid!

More sleep for Ben. I have never seen him pass out more than last week. He usually is my night owl and doesn't ever need a nap. It just shows how empty we all were.

I had another friend bring by a care package for me and the boys one day since she knew we were going through a lot with the flood. The boys built this fun building one day with one of the toys in it. I was so thankful that the fighting stopped for about five minutes while they worked together to build it.

Daddy finally came home after four long days. His business was right near Chicago as you can tell. The boys got all suited up with Cubs gear! He came home around 7:00 pm on my birthday night actually. My parents gave us some time to catch up alone and went out to dinner. We ordered Chinese food and just sat and decompressed and watched the boys.

Target started carrying these kids carts near our house. Since we were homeless and needed to be out of my parents house while their housekeeper was there, we went to Target and filled those babies up. Note to self...don't go to Target to pass time unless you are prepared for the large receipt. And yes, the boys wore their Cubs gear for days in a row!

When the boys fighting got to be too much, I would make them go out on the porch at my parent's house. I forget what I was doing here to make them laugh, but screams turned to giggles for a few moments. So I snapped a couple picks so I would remember the happy times :).

Drew finally started smiling! I absolutely love this stage when they start smiling and responding to you. I actually think this picture is of him smiling in his sleep, but he does it awake too now! I still can't believe he is almost two months old.

Camp started this week and Luke got to go to basketball came at Rice University. He LOVED it! We will definitely be doing this again next summer! Ben was at his school camp this week, but needed some time at home too.

Luke improved a lot this week since he hadn't ever really be exposed to basketball. He still needs to some work on dribbling, but luckily he got to take home one of these balls to practice! Since I played basketball growing up, I really hope he plays for a few years.

We actually have some friends from school living in the same apartment complex that we are in. They are just here for a year while their dad is here for a medical fellowship, so sadly they are moving out in three weeks to head back to Iowa, but this has been the best week as far as impromptu play dates! The girls have enjoyed dressing the boys up. Ha ha!

A perk of the apartment is the pool! It is a little hard for me since I can't bring Drew in, but since our friends are living here, she gets in the pool with all the kids and I stay with Drew right next to it. I put the boys in floaties to be on the safe side since I can't be in it. They have a ball!

Benny being such a sweet big brother. He has really taken to his new role so well!

Drew is almost eight weeks and he is becoming quite the chubster. Look at those cheeks and that tummy!

The only thing Luke and Ben can agree on...that Drew is awesome. I am so thankful that they both love him so much.

We have spent a lot of time at my parent's house. I am so thankful for them and how much they support me with my boys. They love their Grandad as you can tell!

I put Drew down for some tummy time (for the first time in like three weeks) and he decided he would rather snooze than work on his neck muscles. Which was okay by me because he looked so sweet!

And then he wanted to sleep a bit in his swing and I couldn't resist taking a picture of his chubby lips and cheeks. The rolls are definitely here.

We took care of my friend's daughter when the older boys were in camp. It was only for 20 or 30 minutes till her husband could get to us, but I had to do a little photo shoot with her and Ben. They either love or hate each other...and they were loving each other this particular day. We secretly hope they wed some day :).

So the plan is that we are staying in the apartment till probably mid August or so. Then we will rent my sister's rental home in our neighborhood and probably tear our house down and build. So we will be temporarily displaced for about 18 months, but at least we will be in a house with a yard. And we can still walk to Luke's elementary school. My goal is to be settled before his first day of school!