To my boys...all four of you

Dominic,
What a funny little man you've become! The last few months, you and your little brothers have really begun to bond. You can make both Patrick and Jackson giggle ceaselessly with the silly, three-year-old things you do. You are still very protective of both of them, even going to the extreme of hitting the aggravator of a fight between the two of them. When either of them throw a fit, you are quick to ask them "What happened? Do you want your boo-boo and blankie?" You are very good at sharing with them.
You've also become quite the talker. You come up with new, hilarious things every day that never stop making me laugh! Your goofy grin can make me smile, no matter my mood. You love dancing and singing and rocking out of your guitar and you are starting to know and love Jesus, too. A few days ago at the pool, I commented on what a beautiful day it was to play outside and you said "Thank you, Jesus, for letting us play at the pool," which made me tear up! You always remember to say prayers before meals, even when your dad and I don't. We love watching you growing up. What a great treasure it is for me to be able to spend so much time with you as a now stay-at-home mom.

Love,
Mommy

Patrick,
Oh, funny, funny little boy. Your personality has only gotten bigger and bigger, but you have begun to mellow out a bit. You are walking all over, following your big brother around endlessly! You two have quite a love/hate relationship, fighting and beating on each other one minute and giggling and being silly the next. Your vocabulary has grown a lot recently. Your "Help, Please" and "Up, please" and "Thank you" melt my heart! You can also say "Jackson," "Mom," "Dad" and quite a few other words.
You have become a very happy little man. The littlest things make your face light up with a big smile. You love going outside and playing in the sprinkler or with water guns. You are such a joy to your dad and I!

We love you,
Mommy

Jackson,
You are the momma's boy of the bunch. I love that! You still like snuggling with me and your dad. You are also a bit more timid than your brothers, and maybe a bit more stubborn. As a 17 month old, you are still obstinately sticking to the crawling, rather than walking. I'm not sure what this says about your little personality, but I like to think that you just don't care what everyone else is doing--you are going to do your own thing! You walk when you want to, but usually, you don't want to. You are getting to know many of your animal sounds-cow, sheep, dog and skunk (pinching your nose) and know quite a few of your body parts. Your little smile when you are praised is just adorable. You clap for yourself. You are very mellow. When we went to the parade last weekend, you sat on your dad's lap for over an hour just taking it all in! Your temper tantrums are pretty funny, too (am I allowed to laugh when you are throwing a fit?) You dramatically throw yourself to the floor with your face buried until someone picks you up. Maybe you'll be our little actor of the family!  Thanks for all the happiness you bring to this little family!

Love,
Mommy

Baby Boy Four,

Baby Boy Four (upside down) at 10 weeks.

You are a great blessing to this little family. Mommy is getting her barbershop quartet! We've decided that you'll have to sing bass :) We found out on March 16th that you'd be joining this family. I'd say you are more onery than your brothers--this has been my most difficult pregnancy, but I really don't have much to complain about! At our 10 week ultrasound, we found out that you are alone inside me (insert huge sigh of relief) and at our 18 week ultrasound, we found out that you are a little boy, and 7 ounces-right on track for a mid-November delivery. We are very excited to meet you and welcome you into the chaos of this family. Don't get too used to the quiet inside there, little one, because you probably won't experience too much of that for the next, oh, 18 years :) Dominic thinks we should name you "Jesus," or, more recently "Mr. Potato Head" We might just have to go with one of those names, as we are starting to run out of boy names! :)

We love you so much already!

Mommy