Smoky Mountain Vacation Summer 2011

In June, we took the kids on vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains! It was beautiful. We all loved the incredible waterfalls that provided entertainment as well as awe.
I will never forget a couple of moments of this trip. The first being the 5 mile round trip hike up an altitude difference of 1700 feet. I expected to hear a TON of whining on this hike. There was a little, but for the most part our kids were in their element. Cy set the pace on all of our hikes and he just seemed to really enjoy the freedom of running up the mountain. Will, being only 3 at the time, had a harder time keeping up. But he was a trooper. And Lana did a great job on the trip too. I am always amazed at how content she is.
The next moment was not so good. Cy tripped at the top of one of these beautiful waterfalls. I have never been so scared in my life. Both Shane and I saw it and were far enough away that we could do nothing. By the grace of God, he caught himself. It looked kind of like, he stopped short at the edge of the cliff and since he didn't know it was the edge kind of stumbled back. In all honesty, I think I will never stop replaying that moment in my head. I am just so thankful that he was and is okay.
The last thing I will always remember from this trip, is that we learned a few days after we returned that Cy had pnemonia. Ha! We were "making" him climb mountains, while he had pnemonia. I'm pretty sure that is a dumb parent moment. However, we just had no idea that his cough was that bad, as he only coughed at night and never really complained about it. He was fine a few days later after a couple doses of strong antibiotics.
Well I do believe we had fun in the Smoky's. And I believe the Cresses are going to be hikers. I look forward to the many years to come when we continue to keep up with Cy and hopefully by that time his brother and sister.

Cades Cove Cy has no fear! He crossed this bridge countless times.

Will playing in a stream. This was a blast! We brought some water shooters and had some fun with those too.

It looks like they are way up high, doesn't it? Well, they're not. They loved finding these bolders on the side of the trail to climb up on. Where they are in this pic, is only about 2 feet off the ground.

Karen and the boys walking behind a waterfall.

Another waterfall.

My latest project: Will's baby book! Yes, he will be 4 next month

Click here to view this photo book larger

Thank You Cars 2

When Cy was around 2 years old, he went everywhere with the red car (Lightening McQueen) he has in the picture below. It is the one toy I know I will never ever get rid of. He loved the movie Cars and his Lightening McQueen car.We watched Cars SO many times and we acted out SO many scenes from Cars with his Cars toys. Now that he is bigger we still act scenes out from movies (it's his favorite playtime activity). But I will always think fondly back to the days when Cars was his world, you know the time before Light Sabers made its way into our house. But this weekend we watched Cars 2. Thank you, Pixar for making a movie my children love, so once again we can be playing Cars in my house. It has given me great joy!

Healthy choices

Dinner time has been a struggle in the Cress house. Cy does not eat ANY vegetables. We have been working on fixing this issue. He is a very stubborn little boy and it has taken us week but here is our first small victory. Yep, that is Cy eating a carrot! In the past, he has even told his entire preschool class that he is allergic to carrots. But THEN, we watched Bugs Bunny the other day and Will has been eating tons of carrots so he can be, "Just like Bugs Bunny." Cy picked up his half eaten bag tonight and enjoyed his veggies. Thank goodness for old school cartoons. I do believe this is the first time TV has ever taught my children anything positive.

We have also been trying to cut fast food out of their diet. Here are the boys with their homemade "Happy Meals" with a mom approved toy. They were a hit!

Will has been funny lately...

During the last thunderstorm he asked me (in his most earnest voice), "Mom, is that dinosaurs making those sounds?"

Then today while we were checking out at the drive-through pharmacy he told the pharmacist, "Thank you, medicine farmer."

I do love that boy!

Life with 3...

Adding a baby to the family seems to be so much easier when you've already done it two times. We are loving being parents to our three children. So here are a few pictures of life with the Cresses for the last month.Cy is doing great as a big brother (again). Really he has matured a lot over the last month. He seems to be more willing to help and when asked to do something responds so much quicker now. He loves his little sister. I've warned Lana though (having big brothers myself) that he will forever be her protector.
However, Will is having a hard time adjusting to life as a big brother. He has been getting into trouble a lot more lately. We have found that his temperament is a whole lot better on days when we lavish him with attention. This doesn't usually happen with gifts...but the picture below is after he earned the Megamind movie. He received this for learning how to buckle his own seat belt. We have been working towards this goal for months. Once he did it, we made a big deal out of the achievement.Here's my baby girl sleeping. This is her primary day's event. I could watch her sleep all day long, and some days it seems like I do.Last night was a mother son dance at school. The boys LOVED it! I so enjoyed watching them break dance and spin in circles so many times it made me want to be sick. I wanted to share this picture of my sons as they were full of joy on this night. They are growing up so fast, and it is times like these that remind me to cherish their childhood.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, ..... All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Colossians 1:16
It is an honor to share my house, life, and all that I have with my children. They were created for God and His glory!

P.S. The pics were obviously taken by me and not Shane. I'm no photographer.

Lana- 9 days old

Shane and his sister, Erin Weiss, both enjoy photography. They got together on Saturday to take some pics of Lana. She has posted hers on her site. They each brought props or backdrops and their own ideas to the shoot. I think all the pics turned out great.

Lana's first photo shoot

Lana Joy

Our Lana Joy was born on February 3, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. She was 7 lbs. 7 oz and 20 inches long. My very first impressions were that she is a quiet baby. She only gave a little whimper upon arrival (and hasn't made a whole lot of noise since). After birth she was purple, but I watched her skin turn pink within minutes. She had very long fingernails and she keeps scratching her face. She is skinny! My boys were always a little bigger and grew so fast. I wasn't prepared and had to send Shane out for some newborn clothes, since 0-3 month swallowed her. Lana has a dimple on each cheek that you can see when she moves her mouth a lot. So far she sleeps well and has been waking up to eat about every 3-4 hours. I really can't believe how perfect she is and how easy it has been to add a third kid (so far).

Proud big brothers!

The before picture.

Cy's five year pics

Cy is 5!

My firstborn son is five. I love celebrating birthdays. I tend to go overboard. But not this year. We had a small party with family. Here are the highlights of our day.

We had a 4 1/2 foot Subway sandwich, Star Wars cake, and shower of presents from family. What more can a five year old ask for?Here he is eating birthday breakfast. Pancakes and bacon. Yum!

Prego facts

Each of my pregnancies have been different. This one is full of it's own peculiarities.

* We are due February 8th...9 weeks left.
* I have craved fruit this pregnancy. But nothing else very constant. I do drink a fruit smoothie made from orange juice, yogurt, a banana, strawberries, and blueberries almost every morning.
* I get sick at night. I try to eat as much as I can in the morning as possible. Starting a few weeks ago my lunch has started to make me sick too.
* Even the smell of McDonald's makes me ill.
* I take medicine for nausea. If I didn't pregnancy would be intolerable, but I still feel way better than when I was pregnant with Cy and Will.
* This little girl kicks harder than her brothers did. Shane can attest to this, it is not just me forgetting what it was like. She will all of a sudden move making short "spastic" movements. It can kind of freak me out if I'm not ready for it. I do love feeling my babies move inside me.
* I sleep on my stomach still. It's a little modified, so don't worry I'm not crushing her.
* My bladder is the size of a pea. I have to go so much more often than in prior pregnancies. This makes me believe I am caring lower or something.
* I am terrified of the birth this time. I have given birth twice without drugs and have found the experience to be empowering. However, it's still not easy and hence I am terrified.
* I gave birth to Will in 51 minutes. So if I go into labor, don't be surprised if I drop everything and speed to the hospital.
* I have had braxton hicks contractions from about 20 weeks on with all three of my kids.
* Shane has now done most of the dishes, vacuuming, dusting, etc for the last 7 months. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who takes care of me when I'm not at my best.
* I hate being pregnant, but I love the outcome. It is all worth it.

Cy went on a bear hunt

Back in September during our town's homecoming, Cy was selected to be the ring bearer at the homecoming dance. He rode on top of a convertible in the parade.He then got to dress up like a little man to present the crown. He told us that he was going on a bear hunt since he had the job of being the crown "bear"er. His little mind is always in overdrive when it comes to his imagination. So everyone had to do a short biography, including the crown bearers. It included questions like "who are your parents" and the real kicker..."What do you want to do when you grow up?" Well, that's how I phrased it to him. He replied, "When I get big, I want to drink soda." They did announce that at the dance. You have to really listen to hear it, but the laughter can certainly be heard. Once the crown has been given to the new king, it is customary that the court dance. At the end of the video below, you can see the students trying to get Cy and the little girl to dance. When that didn't work the student tried to dance with him. Watch his reaction. Poor guy--he's going to have to have a better response the next time a girl asks him to dance. Perhaps that's a mom's job to teach her son how to dance.

Soccer

Cy has been playing soccer this fall. These are some pics of him aspiring to be David Beckham. Actually, one of his problems out on the field is that he doesn't want to be Cy. He likes to spin and pretend to be Mater while running down the field. But focus at the age of 4 for 45 minutes is asking a little much. So there is lots of grace and we just want him to have fun. So really these are just some pics of Cy having fun.

The boy in the blue shirt is his friend Tug. Yep, he's stealing the ball! And normally Tug's so good at sharing with Cy. What happened? :)

THE Thomas the Train

Any parent of boys probably understands just how great Thomas the Train is in their child's eyes. Will is especially fond of Thomas. We heard that Thomas was coming to town and so we bought tickets to ride on THE Thomas Train. We kept it a secret until we got there and it was so thrilling to see their eyes light up. Will said, "Mom, we get to ride Thomas?!" Make sure when you picture him saying that to note that his little voice got higher at the end. Too cute!

I do have to say that God has been using this experience to speak to me a little. I was super excited to take them. As a parent I wanted to be there with my child to enjoy every moment and watch them take it all in. I just keep hearing in my heart, if that is how you feel just how much more does your Heavenly Father desire to meet with you and share time together. I am truly blessed to be able to have that kind of relationship with Jesus Christ. He wants to meet with me! I just pray that I have the childlike faith to find the pure joy in our time together.