three little minions playing in the tub...

This just cracks me up...We have a shot of Jake hugging on Brock in the bathtub when Brock was Holt's age...now we have a great memory of all three at the same age as before...but wow...three little boys in the bathtub....it ROCKS!

Christmas...

WAS AWESOME! Jake and Brock were sooooo into it...it was AWESOME!

Joe and the boys made cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve-eve...he came to visit us then and give us our stocking goodies at our house.
They put the cookies out at the fireplace and Jake made sure to take down all the stockings and open the flu and glass doors so that he could get in.


Santa came...delivered stocking goodies and then we packed up and made it down to Friendswood to do Christmas Eve with my brother's family and my parents.
Church, presents & our Hornberger tradition of breakfast for dinner on Christmas eve was perfect-o.

Then we spent the rest of Christmas with Mimi & Papi, Santa came to their house this year...we played, ran, walked dogs and did anything little boys like to do.
Holt was such a trooper and eventhough he STILL is not walking...he kept up, in the freezing weather and never complained in order to get to be out with his brothers.
It was another magical Christmas that we are so thankful for.

our little (or big) 4 year old

This kids is growing like a weed.

All three of our boys are in the 80% and above in height and average in weight. This means they all were highwaters because the next size up in pants SWALLOWS them in the waist.
Joe told me the other day...
"you know...we need to really start to make more of an effort to make sure Jake looks good...I know we don't care if his pants are highwater, or his pant fall down to show his butt crack when he sits...but kids are MEAN, and we should at least try to help him out a little bit"
TRUTH.
So...if any of you have any ideas...because this boy's pants just don't fit.

Anywho...off of that tangent...
He is really starting to show his education and it is so fun.
He LOVES to put together puzzles...like LOVES!
He even has begun to take on the task of helping Brock do them too.
He LOVE to help with anything and everything now...and he is actually helping.
He loves to cook, help unpack, dress himself, buckle his own seatbelt, take a shower, unload the car, help in the yard, help with Holt, even trying to "carry him" but "he's so heavy, mom"
Ya, that's the other thing...with this independence...comes...well...independence...
He doesn't like to hold our hands much anymore.
He is starting to call me "mom" not "mommy" or "mama"
It is so bitter sweet.

He loves to talk. He counts all the buses that we pass. He tells me what he sees. He tells me how he feels. We have real awesome conversations about God and Jesus. I LOVE IT! I no longer feel like I am talking just to talk.
Pretty much, this kids, just like all of them, ROCKS!
I am soooo thankful God gave him to us as an older brother.
He is timid and insecure (to be expected) but when he does things he commits to them whole heartedly and does them all with such ease. It is awesome.
The prayers I have for this little man is to learn to be confident.
To be a leader.
To be brave, to know that God doesn't care what any other kids says or how they act, but it is him who decides how to respond.
To be strong...to work his hardest at all that he does, so that he doesn't have regrets.
And to be gentle and caring. To love those around us, even our enemies...something that I need to show a better example of myself.

What an amazing calling to be a parent. Never have I been so stretched, pushed, frustrated, rewarded, loved and humbled all at once in my whole entire life.
And I take advantage of this fact all the time...my prayer for me:
to remember how God GAVE us these boys because He thought we would do a good job raising them...sheesh...for real?
No pressure...
Thank you, Jesus for these lives...please protect them and raise them up to be old, old men who live a life of service, compassion, amazing examples of Christ's love and undying faith.

our little 1 year old

It's official. We no longer have babies in our house. Our last little man, Holt, is growing up right before our eyes. Gosh what an amazing thing to get to raise up three boys. Every day I am just blown away by God giving me and Joe this task...and blown away even more whenever we mess up and these boys still love us and look up to us.

This year has been the hardest, by far. It's weird...the dynamic of going from two to three was not hard in our head because we already knew what to expect. But when it came down to it...the two to three is what definitely tipped the scales. Everything was running smooth until Holt became mobile...ever since then Joe and I have been running around with dark circle embedded under our eyes and the stress of the marriage has increased substantially within a years time...BUT...we would not trade any of it for anything...EVER.

Holt is amazing. He has been the most incredible baby, not only because of who he is, but by teaching his mom and dad so much more sacrifice and selflessness than I feel we have ever had to over come before.
Now that we are a year into his sweet life we can see so many incredible blessings that this year has brought as well as a "light" at the end of the tunnel.
A light that leads to Saturday AM cartoons, super fun exploratory trips and family vacations, bathing and dressing themselves, making their own meals...the list goes on and on...they say bigger kids, bigger problems...all I can say at this point is...BRING IT ON!

So here's some updates on the Holt-ster:
He is the chillest kid...even when it comes to getting up and walking.
He has no desire to do it...end of story.
So, he's either chill or really smart...get mom and dad and brothers to bring me everything...and I move so much better when crawling, so why not?
He walks around furniture like speedy Gonzales, but ask him to venture out...forget it.
However just within the past two days he has made some MAJOR strides in looking like he WANTS to try before dropping to his knees and racing off.
This kid can eat. He out eats both of his brothers combined at times. The problem we have had with the past two is making them eat....the problem we are having with Holt is that he won't stop...this should be interesting.
We have officially put away the bottles and the baby formula is off the grocery bills. However our refrigerator looks like a dairy locker. (whatever that is) Joe and I are trying to figure out where to fit a fridge in the garage so that we can actually keep these boys feed.
Turns out college can not be a concern for us...we just need to focus on getting them feed to actually live to see it.
He loves to "talk" And he's LOUD! It's awesome how he is trying to really interact with all of us...especially his brothers.
He LOVES to wrestle with the boys...he is all head too...head butts from Holt are a norm...the kid is FEARLESS!
He loves playing with his brothers in the sandbox or anywhere outside.
He loves balls and fetch...seriously...I feel bad sounding like he's a dog when I talk to him sometimes...but it's true.
He has a blankey that he ADORES. The smile on his face everytime he sees it is priceless!
So pretty much Holt ROCKS!!! We ADORE him! He is THE PERFECT fit to our family and we could not be any more thankful for his sweet little life.