Six Months of Pure Pax Pleasure!

 how delicious is this kid!!

i mean seriously. i can NOT get enough of him.

he is the happiest baby to ever luge down to planet earth and if i'm being quiet honest i think he might be the cutest!! 

 this kid is proof that God will not give you more then you can handle.

he is a breath of fresh air. 

i imagine having him as a baby is what it would be like to have a girl. 

(put down the weapons, i realize some of you may have a little girl that is extra challenging, but from my observations, most baby girls are pretty chill at least 50% of the time)

see with my first 2 i still haven't experienced "chill" any percentage of time.

i love them madly, but chill, they are not!

then this kid comes along...

and i understand what it means to sit through a church meeting with a baby on your lap that holds still and its not because they are sleeping. 

i understand what a peaceful car ride is,

(when its just me and him)

 or how some parents take their baby to the movies or out to dinner with them

and they just sit there in their car seat with their slobbery toy as happy as can be. 

  i never understood those things before.

i just thought all people with babies or toddlers lived a crazy, loud, chaotic, non-stop, energizer bunny kind-a life. 

and if they had their little ones in tow and they were quiet and happy 

they must have been heavily medicating them,

because there was just no other way they could be acting so, i don't know, lovely?

but it turns out,

some kids have a "low" switch

because this kid is mellow jello and totally awesome.

I'm thinking people who have a whole gaggle of kids must have babies just like this one 

because if i was guaranteed to have more little pax men, well, i would go get myself knocked up right now. 

just sayin...

his smile, cheeks, lashes, belly laugh, green eyes, dark hair, and squishableness are all just a big bonus. 

 we love you little Paxy Poo i think we'll keep ya around!

Eggs and Engagements

i promise its easter and not a photo shoot.

but it may as well be. 

i mean look at all these beautiful people. 

i'm actually not sure why we haven't been contacted by whoever takes the pictures that come in the really expensive frame, when you buy them. 

because 8x10's would be flying off the shelves everywhere and we would be fake family for people all over america.

it may take a couple shots, but you can't rush perfection!

and on a completely unrelated note,

this is CLASSIC Mac these days.

his facial expressions and excitement kills me. 

the easter bunny nailed it, as you can see. 

i mean, a mickey mouse sucker?!

can life get any better!!

well... yes, yes it can, because we also get to add another lovely lady to the family.

my bro austin tricked this awesome girl into joining crazy town on October 11th.

hooray for new sisters!!

i need more girls in my life. 

happy easter!!

gold medal

i was out on a run the other day pushing the double stroller with 2 sick babes who desperately needed some fresh air and no music because i needed to be able to hear their little whines and whimpers

when i passed one of my neighbors on the trail,

she said as she ran past sporting her iPod and solitude

"running with a double stroller, you deserve a medal"

and you know what kept going through my mind for the rest of my run... 

 how YES, YES i did deserve a medal. 

not because i was out running, which was more for my sanity then anything.

but because i was going on week 3 of ear infections and RSV and bronchiolits and breathing treatments and antibiotics and vomit and fevers and the dreaded man cold

 (visit http://www.ashleyandamber.com/2014/03/manfreakincold.html for more info on that) 

but because i had not gone out for milk and kept on going.

and that my friends is why ALL OF US MOMS out there deserve a medal

at some time or another.

and not just any old medal, a GOLD. FREAKING. MEDAL.

because we keep waking up and showing up.

and coming back for more. 

no matter what!

i could be all "melt your heart, these three boys are my gold medals and i don't need anything more"

because they are all pretty dang fantastic and i don't know what else could be better then being a mom to these monsters, sick or healthy.

but sometimes, whether we want to admit it or not,

WE WANT MORE

nobody said to Michael Phelps or Joan Benoit. 

You are stupendous at what you do..... good job... keep it up... see ya around!!

NO, they are handed a freaking medal.

and yes i realize i'm never going to stand on a podium while the national anthem plays and be handed a shiny piece of hardware for being the best mom to play the sport!!

but i'm going to show up and lace up and do my very very best for these little men

cuz when all is said and done they really are better then any gold medal. 

but i still went and bought myself something bright and shiny 

as a reward for not putting 500 miles of open road between me and my 4 sick boys.

and for the record if i was gonna have a theme song playing while i handed myself these new kicks

it would be

"EYE OF THE TIGER" or anything from the original "FOOT LOOSE" sound track!

*

 KEEP 

CALM

AND

MOM

ON

*

L.O.V.E.

 21 Valentines day cards 

signed by GABE!

how long do you think that should take before you excuse yourself 

and go slam your head in a door 

because it would be less painful? 

 im not sure how long it "should" take 

 but it took me about 5 minutes,

i feel me and homework have a long road ahead of us,

 as it teaches me yet again
another lesson in patience!

and its adorable how hard he concentrates on every letter and how his tongue follows along proving he is laser focused, but i am not kidding when i say it took a good 90 minutes for him to fill out every last one of those lightning mcqueen  V-day cards and so help me......
i LOVE him!

we go all out for the "day O' Love" here at the Echols house.

toys and candy waiting when big and middle woke up was mind blowing. 

gabe even score his very own bottle of "cheers" which he thought was pretty amazing!!!

he reluctantly saved it for our special high class valentines day dinner!

as i said, no expense is spared. 

unless you count plates or forks or knives or cups as an expense

then i guess some expenses where spared.

but i got the very bestest most expensive plastic table cloth i could find on the dollar isle.

this style of family eating is not for everyone. 

say if you value things like manners and napkins and such,

but if you wanna blow some little kid minds throw pasta and sauce in the middle of the table 

and go to town with your hands.

to quote gabe "what is happening?" 

it didn't take him or mr. mac long to get in the spirit of things.

{it was just another meal time for mac}

  

we invited nana nancy and grandma-great over since they were dateless 

and quickly conceded that the no fork rules only applied to those 80 and younger. 

it didn't take gabe long to forgo fingers all together and move to a dog style of consumption.

but what are you gonna do? tell him to use some manners? 

you should probably just join him at that point and at least keep your hands clean. 

and while we are on the subject of holidays that are often over-hyped and under-delivered.

a very sneaky leprechaun broke in and turned our milk green. 

that was the beginning and end of it!

#saintpattysdayfail

i sure hope the easter bunny gets his her act together!!

I Believe...

There are not many things better in this world then watching your husband exercise his priesthood authority. 

My testimony and belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is something that has never wavered,

 not because i have a complete understanding of it.

and not because i've never questioned it or the trials i've gone through

but because

I BELIEVE faith is a choice!

 We live in an imperfect world, surrounded by imperfect people who do imperfect things.

and what a relief that is considering that i too am imperfect.

but my Heavenly Father is NOT.

and my Savior Jesus Christ is NOT.

and if I BELIEVE those two things, then my questions become irrelevant 

because at the end of the day i trust my Heavenly Father has a plan for me,

he knows what he is doing, and if i ask he will NEVER lead me astray. 

and to say that we are surround by imperfection 

does not mean there is not PERFECTION all around us.

 the birth of a child is PERFECTION no matter the outcome. 

that spirit has come to earth for one purpose!

 to receive a body. 

that earthly body will NOT be perfect.

but that spirit has every opportunity to be perfected through our savior

Jesus Christ.  

I BELIEVE being a parent is PERFECTION

not because i am or ever will be a perfect parent

but because the opportunity to serve a child day in and day out

through the ups and downs, darkness and light, tears and smiles

is a path that if you walk down hand in hand with our Heavenly Father

leads to nothing other then eternal happiness. 

 I BELIEVE a mothers love is PERFECTION.

i know this because i've looked into 3 tiny sets of baby blues on the best and worst of days and never wavered in the LOVE and DEVOTION i feel for them. 

 I AM BLESSED

 i will never ever be able to repay my Heavenly Father for the blessing of being a mother to these 3 imperfect little boys.

but i will walk down that path with him hand in hand

wrapped in imperfection and do all i can to help my three littles gain their very own testimony

so someday they can be just as imperfect as their daddy.

because spending eternity with all my imperfect men

WILL BE PERFECT!!