Arrival and Departure

Christopher playing in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Chad loves hiding under the sheet and making a little tent for himself.

Mammie and the boys.

Chad and Christopher "sharing" the wagon (Chad is still working on making enough room for Christopher).

Evan took a bath with his brothers for the first time this past week. He seemed to like it and only cried when we took him out.

Aunt Sheri arrived from Congo on Friday and got to meet Evan. She hadn't seen us since Christopher was 2 months old. It was wonderful getting to hang out with her.

We went to my sister Brandi's house on Saturday. The last time we were at her house was Thanksgiving because Samantha's immune system has been too weak since then to be around us and exposed to our germs.

Samantha wasn't too sure about the camera but she loved holding baby Evan. She has been practicing with her baby dolls. When my mom wanted to hold him Sammy insisted that it was still her turn. She didn't want to let go, it was really cute.

Cousins! Christopher (21 months), Chad (3), Samantha (2 and a half), Evan (almost 1 month), and Ethan (4).

Ethan did a great job holding Evan too.

We have survived another week

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day. We tried to get pictures the 3 boys together, but they did not want to cooperate and we could not get all 3 of them to smile at the same time. However, both Chad and Christopher loved holding Evan.

Christopher loves playing with Evan's stuff. We are still working on getting him to realize that some things are only for Evan.

Evan was 9 pounds 7 ounces at his 2 weeks check up. He was 8 pounds when he was born so he is really getting big! Everything looked good. His cord stump fell off when he was 10 days old. Chad was so happy to see that Evan has a belly button just like him.

Christopher loves "playing" with Evan.

Chad gives him hugs when he starts to cry.

Evan is awake a lot more often then my other boys were at this age. He will just hang out on the floor or in his bouncy/vibrating seat and take in his surroundings.

Chad loves holding Christopher's hand whenever we leave the house. He is the protective big brother. They have been playing really well together with very little arguing.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming to have 3 kids so close in age. One day Evan will sleep for 6 hours straight through the night, but the next he may be up every hour or two. He is not at all consistent with his sleep. I would love to get him to be on some sort of schedule, but I am not comfortable letting him scream/cry long enough for him to put himself to sleep at this age.

I am still trying to find which way is going to work best for me to feel like I am in control of the chores that need to be done around the house. Every morning when i am done feeding Evan I put a load of laundry in the washing machine. Sometimes I am able to put it in the dryer as soon as it is finished, but other days I have to wait until Christopher and Evan are napping. I try to do the dishes after the kids go to bed each night. That way we will always have clean clothes and dishes for the next day. Right now I still need Rich's help to get the sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and bathrooms done. We take turns watching the kids so the other person can get the cleaning done. I will be so happy when I can get it all done by myself again. If anyone has a system that works for them please let me know as I am very open to suggestions!

Sometimes I feel guilty about not having more quality one on one time with Chad and Christopher. But I feel super blessed that I get to stay home with them to see them grow and learn each day. I just find myself having less time for them individually and doing most things as a family. Which is fine, I am glad we get time together, I just am trying to figure out how to do more things alone with each of them. Pray that I have enough time (or make the time) to spend with each of my three boys, as well as completeing my school, cleaning the house, and sleeping (without my mom's help).

Mammie (my mom) was a huge help the first 10 days after Evan was born. She would watch all 3 of the boys so I could nap or do school. She also managed to do laundry, clean up, and prepare meals for all of us. She is superwoman to me! She is now staying at my sister's house so she can watch my 4 year old nephew and 2 year old niece who is fighting leukemia during the day while my sister and brother-in-law are working. She still comes over a few nights each week to hang out and help me catch up on cleaning the house. She is flying back to Zambia on Sunday. We are really going to miss her.

Week 1 with Evan

This is Chad holding Evan for the first time. He is a proud big brother.

Chad offers to hold him and change his diaper on a regular basis. When Evan started crying the day after he was born, Chad said, "It's okay new baby, Chad is here, I will make you feel better." It seems like he grew up overnight. He is such a big helper.

We haven't gotten out of the house much since Evan arrived (except the occassional trip to the grocery store or a walk to the park with Mammie). Chad and Christopher are becoming really good friends. They play so well together. Chad is a little bossy sometimes but Christopher doesn't seem to mind.

Evan is changing so fast. It's amazing how quickly they grow up. He loves hanging out with his daddy.

Rich is a big help with the boys when I need to rest or do homework.

Me and my 3 boys! They love to sit with me and their new baby Evan.

Evan is not a morning person. He prefers to sleep all day and stay awake all night.

Chad and Christopher have been spending time with Mammie when they first wake up so me and Evan can get more rest. They are always in a good mood first thing in the morning.

We are all enjoying being a family of 5. You can pray that Rich and I are able to get enough sleep and manage our time so we can stay on top of our school work. In some ways having a third child has been a big adjustment, but most of the time it just feels normal and the transition has been mostly smooth. We'll see how things go once my mom leaves and I have to do it all by myself...

Richard Evan Schmalzbach is here

On February 5th 2009, Jamie gave birth to a beautiful baby boy at 10:10pm. He weighed 8 pounds even and was 21 inches long. She called the midwife at 7:49 that night to let them know that her water had broke. Her labor progressed until about 9:30 when she went into transition. It was intense for about 30 min and Rich caught the baby. Jamie did an amazing job. Everyone is doing great. His name is Richard Evan Schmalzbach. We will call him Evan. Thank you everyone for your prayers.

Chad's Third Birthday

Chad had a Disney Cars cake this year. It's the first time I didn't make him a cake myself. He is getting very opinionated these days. He loves anything that has to do with race cars. Both Chad and Christopher really enjoyed the "race car cake" from our local grocery store called Brookshires.

A couple of little boys in our neighborhood have scooters and ride them up and down the sidewalk in front of our house. Chad has been asking for one so he can be like them (they are older than him). He looks really funny when he is "riding" his scooter. He drags one foot most of the time and still frequently falls off. Good thing he wears his new "race car" helmet and elbow pads!

Two peas in a pod

Something is really funny

Wow, look how tall they are!

Picking flowers for mom.

Look mom, I can roll over.

Introduction and Purpose

I have been talking about creating a blog since Christopher was born on June 4 this year but just kept putting it off. We live in Texas but have family on the East Coast and West Coast and in Germany and Zambia and wanted a way to keep them updated since we don't get to visit in person very often. To my friends who have recently created their own blogs, thanks for the inspiration. I am excited about documenting the lives of my kids and the potential for more frequent communication between long distance friends and family.