Potty training?

Everyone asks me "so, how is it having 3?" and really, so far life around here is going pretty good. I mean, we have our rough moments, hours, and days :) but for the most part we're doing pretty good. I have been attempting to potty train James but it's not going too well. He loves to wear his big boy underwear and he will tee tee pretty much any time I sit him on the potty but he's yet to actually tell me he has to go, so we're just being pretty casual about it right now. Like today the boys played outside all morning and it's pretty chilly so I had them bundled up and James in a diaper because I wasn't up to undressing and taking him in to potty every 15 minutes - sometime I feel like I'm the one that is being "trained"!
The boys have really started to form their partnership in crime and keep me on my toes. I've found that there is not one safe spot to put things in their rooms that they can't climb on or open to get to. We've had entire book shelves emptied and bottles of lotions smeared all over their faces when left alone too long in their room. James has also started waking up in the morning and climbing in to the crib with John-Mark to "chat". It really doesn't bother me too much because it keeps them from yelling for mommy too early :)
Gracie is getting sweeter and sweeter by the day - she's finally started to give us lots of grinners which I LOVE! I love going to get her in the morning because she always give me the biggest smile and is always in such a happy mood when she gets up. We've gone back and compared her baby pics with the boys and she definitely looks most like James. (I'll have to post a comparison for you all to see). I wonder if she will have hair as white as his is!?!
We've had some nice weather which has been nice to be able to get out of the house more. The boys love to play in the dirt all day and then come in and ask to take a bubble bath :) Love it! I'm ready for weeks of sunny 60 degree weather to come our way!
Our church is starting small groups up again next week and I look forward to getting back in to regular play groups and bible study with other women. We've been laying low since Gracie was born but it's time to get back out and fill our weekdays with fun at parks, the zoo and more!
Here are some pics from our week:

Lefty pitcher maybe? :)

John-Mark is serious when he's playing in the dirt :)
Hi pretty girl!!
The boys really do love to give their baby "sisser" kisses - s0 sweet - Gracie looks a little unsure :)
The first time I pulled out James' new big boy underwear he put it on his head and called it a hat - how do boys just know to do this kind of stuff!?! Do little girls automatically put panties on thier head - guess I'll find out soon enough but I don't remember doing things like that.

James & George :)

Today I got to take the boys to see Curious George! James LOVES Curious George so I was super excited when I found out he was coming to town. I wasn't sure how he would do - be scared of him or be excited - James LOVED him! He went right up to him and talked and talked. He gave hugs, high fives, and knuckles. It was really sweet! John-Mark likes George as well but he wasn't too big on seeing him in person. He likes him better on the big screen:) When we left James said "Bye George, See ya' yater!" George is going to be here for a couple more days - we may have to go visit him one more time - so fun!

A hug for George!

You can see James is loving this and John-Mark isn't so sureThis picture cracks me up - The Man with the Yellow hat was trying to get John-Mark to give him 5 and he was doing his famous "No" while throwing his hands down - can you see that bottom lip sticking out!? stinker!
James trying to sweet talk him into letting him wear the yellow hat
Knuckles to George :)
James' friend Beau came to see George too. It took him a minute to warm up to him but James helped him out and sat with him.
One more hug before we leave - precious!!

Here's a new pic of Gracie - trying to get a pic with a good grinner isn't easy at this age - the flash on the camera always distracts them! This is the best I could do - oh how I love my sweet girl!!

2, 17, and 29 months!

Really?My BABY is 2 months and my other two babies are almost 1 1/2 and 2 1/2. Sometimes I feel like that commercial "life comes at you fast" :) Yesterday we got our new insurance card with the addition of Gracie and the letter lists all the people covered under our insurance and it's crazy to see our family of 5 listed out! We kind of have a big family - ha! Jeremy and I laughed about how quickly we went from a family of 2 to a family of 5! To think that this time only 3 short years ago we had just started telling people we were expecting our first baby. I was Ms Professional working as a credit manager at the bank, wearing pantyhose and high heels every day! Wow - that Michelle is on vacation right now :) I'm sure at some point I'll join the professional work force again but that seems a million miles away to me right now and as hard as some days can be with three babies in diapers I wouldn't trade it for anything! It's already going by so fast - before I know it they are all going to be in high school - aahh! I don't like to say "I can't wait" but I do look forward to all the days ahead, like what they will be like when they are 4, 5, and 6 and asking me 1,000 questions at every turn. Will Gracie love doll's and dress up or will she want to be just like her big brothers and play with balls all day long? Or when they are 11, 12, and 13 and going through those early awkward teen years and what they will be like when they are all in college - will they all go to the same school, will they all be best friends and look out for each other (like I pray:)). So many amazing days to come!

Gracie turns 2 months tomorrow and she is growing so fast. She went for her 2 month check up and she weighed in at 9lb 6oz and is 22in long. Her little cheeks have really filled out in the last couple of weeks and she definitely has those "Allen" baby cheeks like the boys had at her age. Yesterday I picked up a 0-3 month sleeper and thought it looked too big for her but I tried it on her and it fit her perfectly- that's when it really hit me how much she has grown! She's starting to coo more and give more grinners which I love! She loves to watch her brothers and sometimes if she's in her swing and gets fussy and one of the boys goes over and gets in her face and starts talking to her she'll calm down and just listen and watch them. Some mornings she and I will go in and get the boys up and I'll lay her in the bed with James while I change John-Mark and she LOVES it! James loves to give her "muckles" (knuckles) and high fives depending what her hands are doing. Too cute! She is almost sleeping through the night - woo hoo! Two nights in a row she has slept from about 10:30 pm until 6 or 6:30 am which is helping me feel "normal" again. She still doesn't like to take naps in her bed but will do great in her bouncy seat all day long - slowly but surely I'm working on it :)

James and John-Mark are starting to play more in thier room together. Whenever we send them in to "clean up" thier blocks or books they end up playing for hours instead - which works fine for me too:) They usually end up climbing in to their toy box and throwing all the toys out and making a bigger mess - but they're having fun! They have the toy box that my grandfather built for me as a little girl so I can clearly remember me doing the same thing and having sooo much fun in that toy box!

It has been pretty cold around here lately so we have stayed in the house most days - Jeremy had to run to the store and decided to take John-Mark for the quick trip - we just kept his warm pj's on him and threw his coat and gloves on to keep him bundled up! He and James both love wearing gloves! Such silly boys!Stay warm everyone!

Oh, I almost forgot - I don't have any pics of the boys in their Alabama gear because they were in bed when the game started but ROLL TIDE!!! We won the National Championship last night against the Texas, 37 to 21.

RAMMER JAMMER - IT'S GREAT TO BE FROM ALABAMA!!