Happy New Year

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Christmas

I really have been putting off this post because everything is so final. I'm so sad that the anticipation and excitement of Christmas is over and we have to wait another year to do it again.

The kids had a wonderful Christmas, they received WAY to many presents in fact as my mom said as we took her trash out "does this look like our economy is in trouble?, nope it looks like excess". She is so right I don't think Fisher Price or Mattel are in any risk of going out of business anytime soon. I think we now own every Diego and Barbie accessory available.

I was given the wonderful Christmas gift at work of being let off an hour early on Christmas morning so I actually made it before the kids woke up. I was so excited I cried all the way home and then again while I sat waiting for them to wake up, and wait and wait and wait. Did someone forget to tell these kids it was Christmas?

I was so tired from the 3.5 hours sleep I got the night before and didn't get any pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits oops but I did get a few others.

Now the tree is down and the gingerbread houses are in the trash although I plan on telling the kids they are simply put away, do you think they will remember next year? The Christmas goodies are all gone and I have the coolest gift a Wii Fit to help me burn off some of the many calories I have consumed lately.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and feel at least half as blessed as I do.

Christmas Carols

I know I said no more posts until after Christmas but I couldn't help sharing our little pageant!

Christmas Traditions

The last couple of weeks have been busy with holiday tradition. Last week the kids spend the night with Grandma and decorated gingerbread houses and her tree. The adults built the house the night before, this is so much fun especially when most of the adults are drinking!

Today the kids and I baked and baked and then baked some more! We made Almond Tea cookies (I saw the recipe in a magazine and thought why not), Oatmeal Raisin cookies, Applesauce Raisin cookies (these are daddy's favorite), Chocolate Chip ( I LOVE the dough!), and we made reindeer cookies. Let me first day that making cookies with 3 three year olds is so much fun and sooooo exhausting! I hope they remember this forever like I do from baking with my mom, brother, and grandpa when I was growing up.

Helping mommy bake

Our Reindeer cookies aren't they cute!

James cookies

Abigail and her reindeer's

Katie's cookies and "big" smile

James and Aunt Linda

Abigail with Aunt Katie

Katie and James they just started and he is already eating candy!

I probably won't make it on again before Christmas or until a couple of days after since I have to work 4-8 AM Christmas Eve, Christmas, and the day after. OMG when am I going to sleep. Pray for my husband and mom that they can keep the kids out of the presents until I get to off Christmas, I'm not sure who has it worse me for having to work or them for the screaming they will have to listen to. My mom has this great plan that they can keep the kids up until midnight and maybe they will sleep late, hahahahahahahahahaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!!!

Well he isn't pregnant!

Took James to the Dr on Friday and was told he had a virus, no big deal nothing you can do. We had a great weekend but on Monday afternoon he started going downhill fast and by Tuesday he was miserable. Took him back to the Dr and after a nasty nasal swap the Dr came in and said "well there are 2 lines", so I said "so either he is pregnant or has RSV". The Dr said I stole his line!

When will the letters RSV put together stop scaring me? I know it isn't really dangerous for him anymore but I thought past 2 it was more of a common cold kind of thing not this God awful cough and pain that causes my baby boy to cry in agony and do nothing for more than 5 minutes other than lay on me.

When the triplets were born we were given the very serious warning that RSV could be life threatening and they got a shot every month for the first winter and we weren't allowed to leave the house. We made it through that year thank God but at 1 James caught it. It took a couple of months before he was really back to himself. So not only does it scare me for my baby to get RSV but it terrifies me that we may somehow expose someone elses baby or elderly grandparent.

I've met many moms that have never even heard of it and I say gee it must be nice to not have that knowledge or fear!

Excuse Me

I have succeeded in teaching my children good manners, unfortunately they won't stop using them.

Conversation in the car yesterday:
James- Doody Waddy
Abigail- laughing hysterically
James- Doody waddy
more cackling from Abigail
Katie- Excuse me James and Abigail mommy doesn't like potty talk and that's rude!

James- doody waddy doody waddy
Abigail- still laughing
Katie- Excuse me guys that's not nice

A little later daddy told the kids something ( I don't remember what)
Katie- Excuse me Daddy that's not right don't say that again.

Everything is Excuse me guys! I am so proud my daughter knows excuse me but I can't tell you how funny it is to hear from her little mouth over and over and over again!

Sweet Baby James

**** I typed this over a week ago and could have sworn I published it however when I came on tonight to share some pics with Santa I realized it hadn't published good thing it was saved to drafts*****

James




AKA : Jamie, Jamsey Pansey, Bulldozer, bubby



Born 3 lbs 6 oz

3 years old 32 1/4 lbs



My sweet baby boy was the last to be born having to be forced to leave his mommy, he came out crying and peeing! His delivery is the only one that I felt, he was so high up I could feel them yanking him down it felt like they were trying to pull my ribs out. He was the only one that cried in the delivery room but he was the one with the most trouble in the beginning (and many times since). He was very irratable ( I think he was mad at them for removing him from his cozy home early), we weren't allowed to touch him or speak to him because his heart rate would get crazy. Two days after he was born the dr told me he had wimpy white boy syndrom, he had required another dose or servectant for his lungs and had to be put back on the vent for a couple of hours. Apperantly white boys are the weakest gender and race when born since their lungs take the longest to develop.



However he quickly got over it and he was the first one I was allowed to bathe and the first to eat from a bottle. I don't know how many times they told me he would be coming home soon because he was doing so well, then he would forget to breath and we would have to wait 2 more days only for it to happen again. It was so frustrating but maybe he was waiting for his sisters. He was such a good eater except for the whole forgetting to breath during bottle feeds which turned him dusky and scared the crap out of us. He continued to do this when he came home and had to be watched closely during feeds. He was the first to develop reflux and would puke and scream after eating poor kid, poor couch, poor mom.



I always wanted to have girls thinking they would be more fun and I could relate more but the deep in my heart love for my son caught me by surpise. He has these big bright blue eyes and sweet smile that you can't help but love him and feel happy to be around him and they will just almost get him out of trouble!



At one year old he gave us a big scare when he caught RSV and was so close to landing in the hospital. 3 months later we were still battling the effects of RSV and just 6 months later they said he had asthma. At a little over 2 we couldn't understand nearly anything he said and when his hearing was tested they said he heard everything like he was under water, his tonsils and adnoids were also swollen and needed to be removed. After surgery and a horrific 10 days he was back to trouble and mischief and mealting hearts. Very quickly afterwards he started speaking and catching up to his sisters now while he is still behind he is miles ahead of where he could be.



James is definitly the little brother and can pester his sisters and loves it. The boy will push, pull and pick just to hear them scream. Aunt Linda started calling him a bulldozer and he deserves that title, he is all boy and will bulldoze anything in his path. However if you have never seen an angel you only need to watch James sleep to know they exist on earth. That boy can be so draining but when you see his sweet face while sleeping....... He is wonderful!

Thank you God for allowing me to be Abigail, Katie, and James mommy!

I was given a Fabulous Blog Award by Dorinda. Doesn't that sound like fun? I'm so bad about blogging these days so to be called fabulous? Wow!

Here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

Addictions:

1. Coffee I make sure the pot is made before I go to bed each night so I only have to flip it on in the morning.

2. Weight Watchers- this program has forever changed my life and I call it an addiction because I know that it must be in order to stay the path!

3. Cuddling- Waking up each morning even early isn't so bad as long as my 3 babies cuddle on the couch with me, this is my favorite part of the day and the best part of being a mom.

4. Medical dramas- I can't get enough medical tv I watch House, Grey's Anatomy, ER, and all the TLC specials. My kids will even stop to watch and they always say the same thing the dr is fixing them.

5. Facebook- I must check my facebook account 5 times a day most days. I love that I can quickly and easily keep up with everyone and have some fun at the same time.

My nominations are:

1. Tammie at http://thehalcombhellions.blogspot.com/

2. Leslie at http://www.hagenandmason.blogspot.com/

3. Trish at http://mylittledrummerboys.blogspot.com/

4. Stefanie at http://www.brian-steffierogers.blogspot.com/

5. Hilary at http://txklamms.blogspot.com/

I promise James is next I'll definitly get his done this weekend!

Katie

Sweet Katie

AKA- Tator tot, totter dot, and tator. I have no idea where this came from but I've been calling her tator tot since she was only a month old!

Birth 3.1 lbs

3 years old 29 lbs

Katie was baby B snuggled tightly between her brother and sister in my tummy and she fits the middle child mold very well! As a baby Katie was very colicky and everything you have ever heard about the witching hour applied to her. We tried EVERYTHING to calm her but nothing worked more than once and never for very long.

She was the first to smile, walk, talk and the first to break my heart. When she was one day old my mom and I went to the NICU to visit late in the evening, we still weren't allowed to hold them and while I was talking to her she began to cry. My heart immediately broke for my baby and for me, a mother is supposed to pick up her newborn baby and hold her close when she cries and I wasn't allowed. I cried as hard as she did and the only thing I could do was leave her alone, I tried to soothe her but the nurse was insistent that it wasn't my fault and I really needed to let her be so that she would calm down and not complicate her breathing. What an awful thing to tell a new mommy. Katie was also the first to break her daddy's heart 2 days after that. We were finally allowed to hold them but as soon as the nurse handed Katie to Jim she began crying. Poor Jim gave her right to me saying "she doesn't like me". It's almost funny now that she is by far the most attached to her daddy and definitely a daddy's girl!

When Katie laughs the whole world laughs with her and when she smiles it's not just with her mouth her whole face smiles. When Katie started belly laughing I would bore my whole family with phone call after phone call just so they could hear her laugh. That baby can make every wrong in the world right with just her smile and laugh. We took the kids to Sea World a couple of months ago and at the very first show she was so giddy and laughing that everyone around her was watching her instead of the show. I swear I cried because my baby was so happy.

Katie loves to watch TV and if you let her she would stay glued to it all day. They were almost 2 before they started watching TV but once she started watching Elmo there was no going back. Now she loves Dora and Diego and Elmo is long gone. She has an amazing memory and can sing almost any song you teach her after only hearing it once or twice. She likes to play dress up and read books. Her favorite color is purple but that's totally my fault since that was her assigned color from birth but she will tell you that's her color!

Katie is going to have her heart broken a million times because she wears her heart on her sleeve and takes everything so personally, this will definitely mean mommy's heart will be a mess. She loves everything with such a strong passion and truly has a heart of gold. Yep she's mine and I couldn't imagine my life without her and am such a better person for being blessed to be her mommy.

Abigail

ABIGAIL

AKA- Abby, Abby Caddaby (even before Sesame Street), Abby Caddaby Cadoo

Weigh- 2.14 lbs at birth, 30 lbs at 3 years.
Height- 17 inches at birth, 36 inches at 3.

The dr told me at one of my MANY sonograms a couple of weeks before they were born that she was my little pork chop weighing more than the others, the day before their birthday he again measured her as the biggest. Pretty funny that he was within 2 oz with James and Katie but off almost a whole pound with her!
Abigail took to her role as big sister before she was even born, I swear she sat on my cervix She is the definite leader of the group and takes her job very seriously telling them what to do and what mommy doesn't want them to do. She is also the one that comforts Katie when Katie is in trouble, she always wants her big sister, it is so sweet.

On the other hand she makes the games up and expects them to follow her rules and of course she always goes first. She can take most toys away from her brother and sister and they will let her but God forbid they take one of hers.

She was the last baby home, staying a whole week longer than the others. Leaving her there was harder than the day I was released, I truly felt I was abandoning her at least when I left before they had each other. She was just stubborn not wanting to eat. But now that I look back at it I think maybe she was looking for a little alone time and she knew once she came home it was all over.

Maybe it's because of my guilt for leaving her and not visiting as much in that last week but we have always had a closer bond. Abigail will tell anyone she is mommy's girl and while others may hold special places in her heart (Grandpa) she truly is a mommy's girl. Almost immediately after coming home she started waking up before the others and before time to eat and would lay on my chest and go back to sleep until the others awoke. As she got older she started to wake up earlier from her nap and cuddle on the couch with me. I think she just knows how to get one on one time and always has! She was the only one I could ever get to breast feed, I was so excited until I learned that she was simply using me as a pacifier since she had no strong suck and couldn't hold a pacifier in her mouth.

She loves fruits and salads and like her mama thinks hot sauce goes on anything. Her favorite show is Dora. She loves to sing and dance and is gonna be great at sports the girl has more coordination than me. She is very smart she can count to 15in English, to 10 in Spanish (thanks Dora), knows her colors in English and the primaries in Spanish, her alphabet, and most shapes. Her favorite activity is coloring and she is pretty good at it can even stay in most of the lines of a coloring book. Her favorite belonging is her beloved yaya, a lovie with an elephant head, the poor elephant has no trunk because she has sucked it off!

Abigail is a pure joy and pleasure, but I know that when she hits puberty her and I are going to fight, that girl has a very strong will!


Coming soon Katie and James!

Pictures

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Happy Birthday Babies!

OMG my babies are 3! I don't know where the last 3 years have gone, but I know they have been full of smiles, laughter, fun, and lots and lots of love. We had a very busy weekend Nanny (Jim's mom) arrived on Thursday night to spend a few weeks with us and their birthday party was yesterday so we have been busy preparing and partying.

We had a wonderful family party with 4 cakes, yep you read that right my nephews birthday was on the 1st so he was kind enough the share his party. I figure my kids have to share with each other why not another? I did want everyone to have their own cake though since it was still their special day. Aunt Lori was wonderful enough to make 4 wonderful cakes but since every time I asked the kids what they wanted on their cakes the answer changed she did a wonderful collaboration of their request. She made Lane a chocolate football cake and for the triplets she made 3 horseshoe cakes that were linked together with chocolate bridges, they had a gingerbread road with papacyles driving down each cake and wonderful scenery of flowers, turtles, butterflies, and even water under the bridges! Almost everything was edible. I have pictures but they don't even begin to do them justice. Aunt Lori must have spent HOURS working on them and my uncle and his friend even designed something to get them to the party safely! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

There were tons of presents to be opened the favorites by far are the scooters and diego cameras, and the helmets and pads that have been almost constantly since they opened them. We got Barbies and I'm so excited I can't wait to build their collection I loved playing with Barbies when I was little and I can't wait to spend hours playing with my girls!. James got this really cool pirates ship and they have really enjoyed it as well but I don't know what to do with boys toys so I had to instruct Jim to show them. I am so lost with boys toys I just don't know how to play with them since I was a girlie girl always playing with dolls and house, and Barbies.

Today my mother in law and I took the kids to Incredible Pizzeria for lunch and had so much fun. It was great because there were only a few other kids there and we ended up spending 2 1/2 hours there the kids were exhausted when we got home. Chuck E Cheese doesn't have anything on this place!

While the kids were napping I made cookies and when they woke up I took them to the NICU along with a thank you note. This is my tradition my special way to remember them and all the work they do and how important they were to my babies 3 years ago. Every year I've taken them something. Usually the kids are with me and we have to wait in the hall and the nurses come out to see us but this year the kids have had a cold and I didn't want to take any chances. So they let me in to deliver the cookies and it was so overwhelming I've only been in there one other time since they were there and wow it was a rush of emotions. I swear there is a smell that is exclusive to the NICU and as soon as I walked in it hit me and I could so clearly remember walking in those doors everyday and walking out every day with out my babies and then our final days there. Wow I can't even explain how grateful I am for the last 3 years and for the people that helped me have them. So today while I celebrate the birthday of my babies I also reflect on all the people that brought them to us and that helped them survive those early weeks of their lives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABIGAIL, KATIE, AND JAMES


For some reason blogger won't let me add pictures tonight I've tried several times so I'll try again tomorrow, sorry!

I suck

Yes that's right I really suck and I know it! Why has it been a month since my last blog? I really don't have a good excuse. I would love to say nothing has been going on or life was boring but I have 3 almost 3 year olds so who would really believe me? So here is just a little update in the goings on of our lives!

First off James is doing much better on his potty training his accidents are getting back to few and we haven't had any poopy underware in a while, knock on wood. I would be thrilled to tell you that nap times have gotten better and it isn't a daily battle to get the boy to nap but, well that would just be a lie. I really think the boy would like to give up his nap and he may even be ready for it but I am so not ready for that and don't even know how that could possibly work. If I let him give up his nap than I assume he would be ready for bed earlier right? Well how do I do that when the girls are still napping everyday and wouldn't be ready to go to bed as early as him. Since they sleep in the same room this would be a problem. We do have another bedroom and I could separate him but I just don't think he would be to happy going to bed without his girls. So whats a MOM to do?

We saw the ENT for his 6 month follow up on his tubes. He had a pretty nasty ear infection and had to do antibiotics. I wasn't really surprised since he had nasty stinky goop draining from that ear a couple of weeks prior, but it had stopped and he never ran a fever so I wasn't concerned. I thought that was the job of those tubes to drain the fluid? His speech is still behind the girls, he still can't be as understood as easily as them but I think given time he will catch up.

The girls are doing wonderfully, they have adjusted well to their big girl beds and are now very interested in learning to write their names. I would like to start doing a few very short lessons with them and have started looking online so hopefully that will help.

Me- I had my surgery on October 24 and all went well I am feeling pretty good just sore in the morning and if do to much. I have learned that not lifting them is impossible, I've tried but discovered the first time we went to a public restroom someone has to pick them up to put them on the potty! Oh well I try to be good the rest of the time until I cleaned the kitchen today and had to move all the chairs to sweep and mop under the table but the cleaning fairy didn't show up this week. I also am a really bad patient and couldn't stand the dermabond they put over my incisions and I picked it all off, Abigail told me the other day to stop picking. Oops think I can still use that one on her now that she caught me? I did have 2 endometriomas removed one right on the c-section incision and a smaller one about 3 inches above it. I'm a little nervous about my next period since that will be the test if we got them all. The smaller one just started bothering me a few months ago so I hope there aren't any small ones waiting to grow into problems for me. Mimi was wonderful and kept the kids for 6 days so that I could recover and Jim could study full time for the first part of his CPA exam, fingers crossed he passed!

We had a wonderful Halloween the girls were ladybugs and James was a zebra. I got their costumes at Old Navy the day after Halloween last year and paid less than $5 a piece for them! No such deals this year though. We went trick or treating with daddy and grandma, hitting about 12 houses and they were so excited to get all that candy. They would have gone all night I think if we would have let them. When we got home they dumped their candy on the floor and counted it as Grandma and I looked through it. They were so funny, it was like Christmas morning they wanted to open everything however they would take one bite and throw it away and get the next one. They went through almost all the candy and bounced off the walls like they were drunk. I got a glimpse of Katie at 21 and boy she is gonna be a funny drunk if the candy was any indication! While it was a late night and they ate WAYYYYYY more sugar than this mom was happy about at least the candy is gone!

Here are some pictures from the night.

My little ladybugs and zebra walking with grandma

Counting our loot!

Abigail in grandmas wig

James see the chocolate! Katie admiring herself

Abigail in the boots We must add the wig "Drunk" Katie couldn't hardly stand up

Yep that's my man, his daddy is so proud!

Nap and Toy He*l*!!!

Ok I know a few weeks ago I posted that triplet toddlers can be fun and while I still think this "can" be true that is not my current prospective! These days things are so challenging and James is still my biggest challenge.

First off since switching to toddler beds 2 weeks ago the kids are still going down great at night with no fight or playing. Naps however are pure hell!!! I am having to sit in their room or sleep on their floor for them to fall asleep and some days it takes an hour to get them to fall asleep. I am in no way ready to take naps out of our day and really I don't think they are either. I have tried everything leaving the door open, yelling, begging, threatening, bribing and yes spanking to no avail. Abigail usually settles right down and Katie doesn't get out of bed just sits up and talks to James. James will not stay in his bed unless I'm in the room and even then he will kick the wall, bang his head on the wall, talk, sit with his feet off the side of the bed anything but lay down and go to sleep. On the days that I work at 4am I just take my pillows and blankets and sleep on the floor this works but when I don't work I would like to get some things done.

Our other problem is cleaning up toys. My kids come by this honestly because I am not a good housekeeper by any means and kids or no kids I never have been. My mom loves to tell the story of when I was their age and I was told to stay in my room until it was cleaned up and several hours later my brother finally cleaned it up for me because he wanted to play!

I've tried all the same things as nap time and I've even told them I was going to throw their toys away, this worked once or twice and then they said ok. So 2 days ago I started filling up the trash bag fully expecting a big fight, but to my surprise the fight only last 1 minute and they were over it!! I took the toys to the garage and the next day filled it some more, the real surprise was they helped me!!! Seriously these kids started throwing their toys away and didn't care when I said the trash man was going to take them!!! Really what is wrong with them? Is this my paybacks for being such an awful housekeeper? How do I correct this before it gets any worse? I am really at a loss and wish that I could send them to day care just so someone else could teach them how to pick up. On the other hand give them a baby wipe and they can "clean" everything in the play room for hours!

Anyway I'll close this with some fun pics from the last week we went to the park and to the zoo lots of fun!!!


We got to be among the first to see the new
baby lion cubs at the Fort Worth Zoo,
this mama has quads!
Abigail riding her bike!!
James "riding" his friends big bike
Abigail pushing Katie

Best Friends

Abigail announced today that Katie is her best friend and then they kissed and hugged! OMG I can't tell you how my heart melted and I wished I had my camera in my hands. I have no idea where she learned about best friends but I'm sure jealous that at almost 3 she already knows who hers is.

I imagine that over the years it will change from day to day especially as we go through the lovely hormonal teenage years. Why didn't my mom give me a sister it's just not fair.

On the other hand it really made me wonder what will this do to James? Will he feel left out? Will he fit in with them or will he have to watch from the outside? How is it that the girls already have a closer bond with each other than James? I figured I had a few more years but do I really?

I know I ask myself way to many questions!

2 days down

Well we are done with 2 full days and so far it isn't as awful as I thought it would be! Yea!!

They have gone down now 3 nights without any fight and the last 2 they have stayed in bed all night with no problems. Naps are a little different but not as bad as it could be I guess. They really aren't doing anything different than they did in cribs except now they can get out and run around the room.

They have always talked and played in their cribs for a while before falling asleep and they are doing the same in the beds but James is getting out and running around. The girls do great they never get out of bed until someone comes to get them which is what I told them.

I've ended up laying on the floor and taking a little nap in their room the last 2 days to keep them in bed but I'm really hoping we can get past that soon because honestly the floor ain't that comfortable!

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement I'm really grateful to have you guys supporting me.

In other news James is gonna drive me to drinking soon. The boy is just crazy and God sure knew what he was doing when he only gave me 1 boy that's for sure. He does everything I tell him no to and no punishment seems to stop him. I've tried time out, I've tried yelling, I've tried whispering, and I've tried spanking and the child just laughs at me. I'm really at my wits end with him and ready to ship him off to the zoo so I can have a break.

Tonight after he peed in the potty he climbed in the bath tub with all his clothes on and emptied the bottle of shampoo on his arms and legs and then got out and ran around the house! I just don't know what else to do with him, any suggestions?

It's Done

Well we have done it. The baby beds are gone, 2 on the curb for the trash man and one hiding in the garage. Toddler beds have been put together, new pillow cases on them and my now "big kids" are sleeping in them.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

waaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........................................

Jim laughed at me when I fled the room crying, Abigail was so excited to put herself in her bed, James jumped right in, right out, and so on, and Katie had a small melt down but Abigail gave up her teddy bear and Katie settled in.

Fingers and toes are crossed and I'm praying to the Big Man upstairs that I don't seriously regret this decision.

Here are some pics of the monumental move for our household.

The last time they all slept in one bed almost 5 months old. Its funny but I can't remember now why one of the girls is naked?

I probably cried that day too!

Mommy made us all get in here together for one last shot!

Abigail loving on the teddy bear in her new bed

Abigail ready to go without the teddy bear!

Katie with the prize teddy bear and all her other sleeping buddies heaven forbid we take one out and now we have a new one.

Look at how excited he was!!! Can you believe that before we got home he told me he wanted his baby bed?