Recycling and Socks

Just some of the sillyness that happens around our house. :)

These particular photos were taken while we were all hanging out in the kitchen, dancing to some fun music, cooking dinner, and awaiting daddy's arrival home from work.  The kids were getting restless - so I grabbed the pile of boxes waiting to be taken out to recycling and told the kids that they were blocks to build with.  They both enjoyed that for a bit.  Isaac especially got really into it.

Eventually Elise wandered off to find something else to do and came back with these puppets on her feet - so proud of herself!  Indeed it is silly to wear puppets on your feet... but incidentally these are SOCK puppets - so she actually rediscovered the original use. :)  Either way - these kiddos definitely keep me entertained!

Daddy's Hat

This kid LOVES his daddy and wearing his daddy's hats.

Thoughtful Artist

 One afternoon Isaac randomly sat down to color and he kept on coloring!  At least 2 hours... solid.  It was incredible.  He drew a photo for each member of our family... aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, you name it.  And for EACH paper he would tell me who he wanted to draw that picture for and ask what that person liked - so that he could draw them something they liked.  I thought that was such a thoughtful idea!  Anyway, I would turn the question back to him and see what he thought they liked.  :)  More often than not (especially with the family members that he knows well) he came up with some great answers!  My favorite conversation was about his Uncle Brent.  He asked me what Uncle Brent liked - and I said, "What do you think he likes?"

Isaac:  "Well... he really likes going to work.  A lot."

Me:  "Yes... what else?"

Isaac:  (thinking hard.... ) "Starbursts!"  

So he drew a yellow square on a paper for his Uncle Brent.  Awesome.

Here's a few of the pictures that he drew.  I was pretty impressed with them!  And I had lofty intentions of actually sticking all of these in envelopes and mailing them to the various family members... but I still haven't gotten to that.  (sigh)

Batman - for his cousin Jake.

 Ballerina with a tutu - for Elise.

 A runner - for his Aunt Tiffany.

 A football player - for Jeremy.

 And a picture for me....  I can't remember all of the details about what it was.  But I do remember that the pink hearts are because he loves me. :)

Through the Lens of Gratitude

Before the sun was up, I knew that today was going to be a difficult one.

Caleb has a cold, is teething, got shots yesterday, and has a double ear infection.  He isn't sleeping or napping well.  Elise has pink eye and has been up since 4:30 am vomiting.  Isaac just has a big canker sore in his mouth and bounds of energy to contribute.  It felt like a lethal combination.

Jeremy stayed home until 9:30 am.  Long enough to help out with several vomit episodes, hold Elise for 30 minutes while she finally slept, put Caleb to bed for his morning nap, and let me clean the kitchen up, feed Isaac breakfast, and shower.  But no sooner was he out the door, then my worst fears were realized.  As I nursed fussy Caleb, Elise started crying and then vomited all over the bed, the floor, and herself.  Perfect timing.  Anyway, the day just seemed to be getting better and better.  I was exhausted, anxious and stressed about surviving the day alone.  As I took a load of vomit soaked towels down to the laundry room, I prayed for extra strength to care for my children and peace to make it through my day.  The thought that came was simple "gratitude".

So here is my day today... through the lens of gratitude.

CALEB

I am grateful that Caleb is alive.  I am grateful he is in our family and that he is getting teeth.  I want him to have teeth!  I am grateful that he is growing and developing normally.  I am grateful that he likes me to hold him all the time - because I like him and it gives my arms good exercise.  I am grateful that he is soothed by the simple act of me holding him!  I am grateful that he is awake and alert and curious and strong enough to fight and resist naps, because I am grateful that he has such an intense interest in life and his siblings and wants to be with us.  I am grateful that he is still breastfeeding, hopefully those antibodies will help protect him from getting too sick from all of this mess.  And I am grateful that his immune system is getting the chance to practice and learn to be strong to protect him throughout his life.

ELISE

I am grateful that Elise wants me to cuddle and soothe her.  I love her!  I am grateful that she is growing and developing so well and that she is normally healthy and that my stresses with her today are as trivial as the stomach flu and pink eye.  I am grateful that she is so easily soothed by her binkies.  I am grateful for her cuddles, obsession with blankets, never-ending interest in Dora the Explorer, and the way that she is coping with being sick (unless she is actually throwing up - or about to - she just lays there on her pillow calmly).  I am grateful that she loves her daddy and lets him care for her too.  I am grateful that she is willing to drink even just a little bit of "gator juice" to try to stay hydrated.  And I think it is precious when she tells me about how she is feeling today, "mommy - I spit up". 

ISAAC

I am grateful that Isaac seems to have some grasp of understanding that his siblings are sick today.  I am grateful that he is trying to be patient with me (as I take care of the other kids first).  I am grateful that he has been doing such a great job of trying to play quietly, not teasing anyone, and finding ways to entertain himself.  I am grateful that he loves activities like puzzles and games!  I am grateful that he will bring Caleb a toy and sit and talk to him while I am busy cleaning Elise up.

JEREMY

I am grateful that Jeremy has a job to provide for our family.  I am grateful it is a flexible job - and that he was able to work from home for a little while this morning (and probably some tonight and tomorrow!) so that he could help out.  I am grateful that he is totally willing and able to clean up pukey messes, hold sick children, and soothe teething babies to sleep.  I am grateful that he takes a turn getting up with our kids in the night!  I am grateful that he texted me a sweet and flirty text after he had only been away from home for an hour - just to check in on me.  I am grateful that he calls from work to see how we are doing.  I am grateful that he remembered to put the trash out on the curb today for trash day - I had totally forgotten.  I am grateful that he makes me feel like a beautiful woman, even when I am sitting in my pajamas - with no make up on - surrounded by vomit-y towels, soiled burp clothes, and dirty diapers.  I am grateful for his sense of humor.  I am grateful to know that he supports me physically and emotionally and is behind me 100% in this parenting/family business.  I am grateful to know that at any moment - if I needed him - he would be there. 

I am grateful today for these thoughts of gratitude - because seeing today through the lens of gratitude helped me calm down, put things in perspective, and see things as they truly are.  I am grateful for the realization again of how incredibly blessed I am.

Side note:  Another thought that I had that has helped me today, is that today is like a long run.  It's all mental.  I can do it.  I just have to decide in advance that I am doing it.  Start.  And even when it hurts, not give up, but instead keep going.  So often on motherhood days like today, the day simply looks TOO daunting and I find myself thinking all sorts of self defeating thoughts like, "I can't do this.  I can't survive until Jeremy gets home from work.  I'm going to die!" (I have a flare for the dramatic I guess :)  But what I need to do is win the mental game.  It's just like a long run.  Tell myself that I've got that 9 mile run (or this day at home alone all day with my sick, whiney, WONDERFUL 3 munchkins) under my belt.  And start.  And just keep my legs moving... not giving up... until I get there. 

Once Upon a Time

As I put Elise to bed tonight, she was so cute.  As we sat in her chair snuggling together, she told me "Mom, I have 2 brothers."  I said, "you do.  What are their names?"  She smiled and counted on her two fingers "Isaac and Daddy."  :)  After we chatted a while longer Elise asked me to tell her a story.  I asked if instead tonight she would tell me stories.  I'm so glad that I asked her to do that because it was SO cute!!!  She told me 3 stories.  In the first story there was a Princess Mommy, Prince Daddy, Princess Elise, and Prince Isaac.  A lion and tiger came to get them.  Isaac protected us while Prince Daddy held Elise "tight" so that she was safe.  Then they all went to a party.  In the next story, Princess Elise and Dora saved the stolen binkies from Barney.  In the last story there was a mean guy, and Uncle Brent and Daddy protected all of us so that we could be safe and happy and sleep in our beds.  Seriously?  So tender.  After the stories I laid her in bed and sang to her and we prayed together.  I love Elise! 

A picture of Daddy

Elise has been really enjoying drawing and coloring lately.  She is starting to sit and color for longer periods of time and she is doing a great job!  She often draws on the magnadoodle.  And she usually draws faces (no idea where she came up with that idea - but she does it all the time).  Here's one from earlier this month.

I miss most of her magnadoodle masterpieces though, because by the time I grab the camera - she has erased it.  Anyway,  here's a drawing "a picture of my daddy" that she drew today during church. (Side note:  Shortly after drawing this picture at church today, Elise got frustrated and threw her colored pencil.  It flew through the air and hit MICHELLE - who was sitting behind us - in the face.  Seriously?!?)  Anyway... here's a photo of Elise today - just for fun.  LOVE that crazy girl!!!

Worlds of Fun Date Night

Well... these may be VERY bad photos... but this was the BEST date night EVER!!!

Absolutely awesome.

Epic.

SO FUN!!!!

Just thinking about it makes me smile!

Did I mention that we had a blast?

The details:  On Friday night, September 7th, Jeremy and I left all 3 kids at home and headed off to a Couple's Date Night at Worlds of Fun - our local Kansas City Amusement Park.  It was AWESOME.  We were there from 6-11 pm.  We had dinner first and then hit the rides!  There were 10 couples, and it felt like we were a bunch of teenagers running around an amusement park together. :)

Memorable moments:

- I was EXTREMELY anxious about leaving all of our kids for the evening and nearly canceled 27,000 times... but I am SO glad that I didn't.  Caleb did cry while we were gone, but everyone survived.  Jeremy and I desperately needed that relaxing evening away just PLAYING together. It was important.  I need to remember that.

- They gave out free reusable water bottles and jackets at the door, how cool is that?

- Dinner was yummy.  BBQ and fried chicken and bottomless soda for the entire evening.

- After dinner we hit the rides.  I hadn't been on a roller coaster for 8 years!  I was a little nervous, but determined to like it.  The first ride we went on was "The Prowler" and I think I may have hurt Jeremy's arm by squeezing it too tightly.  Oops.

- Next up, "The Mamba."  We went on that one twice.  By the second time, I was feeling more warmed up to the roller coasters and actually starting to enjoy them.

- Then we went to "The Boomerang", "The Detonator" (Hated it!  Don't want to ride that one again!), the Bumper Cars, and then "The Patriot" (my favorite!!!!!! A roller coaster where you dangle from below the tracks.  We rode that one a couple of times - we pulled the get off and run back through the line and climb on again - maneuver).

- I may, or may not, have had to pee between every single ride.  Classic.

- For the most part, the lines for the entire evening were short.  It was SO nice!

- Back to the "Mamba", the "Viking Voyager" (A classic log ride.  We rode that one at the end of the night and it was romantic to ride with just Jeremy.  We liked that one!), and the "Sea Dragon".

-  I rode every ride with Jeremy and I was really proud of myself about that (since I had been so nervous about the roller coasters). 

- Jeremy trying to make goofy (or sleeping photos) for the roller coaster cameras.

- Having fun visiting, laughing, and catching up with the other couples.

- Oh!  Did I mention that Jeremy is a dare devil?  He can't get enough of the thrill in each ride.  I hang on during the rides - Jeremy lifts his feet and his arms in the air during the rides!  I am still convinced that the only reason Jeremy didn't fall out of the Sea Dragon was because Brent hung on to him. :)

- The consensus: It was a TON of fun.  We were goofy and giddy and silly and we can't wait to go again!

Caleb: 7 Months

Just a little bit about Caleb at 7 months...

- He is absolutely adorable, of course!
- He is SO mobile!  He still "only" rolls - but he is extremely proficient at getting around.  Much more so than my other kiddos at this age (at least if my memory serves me correctly :).  He simply rolls and pivots and twists and reaches and stretches - and somehow can manage to make his way all around a room - and even out into the hallway.  He loves being on the ground and rolling around.  It's probably his favorite thing to do.
- He is in LOVE with his older siblings.  His face lights up and he has the hugest grins when he sees Isaac and Elise.
- He loves to spit, blow bubbles, and chomp on his tongue.
- He drools like crazy!!!  (no teeth yet)
- He chews and chomps and drools on anything he can get his hands on.  (Since he can move around so well we are having to already be really careful of any possible choking hazards on the floor).
-  He loves his daddy - and he often makes the sounds of "dadadadadadadadada" - but he isn't connecting that to Jeremy yet, at least I don't think so.
- He had a cold for the last 2-3 weeks.  Runny nose, wheezing, nasty cough.... no fun at all.  He has been a bit crankier and has even been on breathing treatments (nothing too severe though).  He is still sick now.  Hopefully he gets better soon!
- He is NOT sleeping well.  NOT AT ALL.  It's because he has been sick and I feel terrible for him and don't want him to have to cry when he is sick.  So now he is having a super hard time going down for naps and he is waking up LOADS at night (every 2-3 hours still!).  It is terrible!!!!  Luckily at night he goes right back to sleep after he eats, but still... Last week there was one day when he only napped for 20 minutes from 6:30 am to 8:30 pm.  LONG days for both of us.  I am hoping that we can get him back into a good sleep routine soon.  But he needs to get healthy first.
- He still usually (when he is not sick) takes 3 naps a day.  At least one of those naps is at least 1 hour.
- He still wears 6-9 month clothes.  He weighed 18 lbs. 8 oz. at his most recent doctor appt.
- He is SO social and interested in everything that is going on around him all the time.  He is not a snuggler anymore.  When he is in my arms he arches his back and whips his body around and lurches forward to see what is going on.  I have to keep a good grip on him - I think he thinks that he could just fly off to wherever he wants to go at any moment.  You can see it in his eyes, he WANTS to be in on the action. :)
-  He is a smiley, happy, easy going guy most of the time.
- Food.  This month I tried to introduce him to foods using a different technique called "Baby Led Weaning".  Basically you start off giving the kid solid real food from the beginning, instead of baby food.  Well... I read a book about it and was excited to try it - but it did NOT work for us.  Caleb seems to me to have a tongue thrusting/heightened gag reflex issue.  Nothing major, but when he chomped on real food he ended up gagging and spitting up/vomiting all over.  After just a couple episodes of that - I was done with the idea.  So we went back to baby food.  I have offered him squash and sweet potatoes.  Both 1-2x.  He just spits it all out right now and kind of gags about it.  I used the "Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder" twice (plum and watermelon) and both times he seemed to really do well with that, so I need to try that again.  Essentially, he is extremely interested in food, but we are still struggling to get the ball rolling in that department.  It has just been awkward and difficult, I feel like a first time mom again about some of it.  Anyway... I am sure it will all work itself out eventually.
- He is still a champion nurser.  He goes from 2-4 hours between feedings.  He is fast and efficient.
- He still spits up a ton.  Often.
- He takes a bottle well from Jeremy - he does that a couple of times a week.  But the last 2 babysitters we had try to feed him, he freaked out (screaming for 30-45 minutes) and refused the bottle.  So confusing!
- He seems to be becoming a little more clingy to me.  I can walk in a room and pick him up and all of his life problems go away.  He quiets down immediately for me.  He loves it when I hold him and I do end up carrying him around a lot.  My left arm should be extremely ripped... but it's not.  I swear he has said "mamamamama" a couple of times when he is referring to me or wanting me (and Jeremy agrees), but we may both be a little crazy.  But he definitely makes that sound "mamamamamama" often. 
- He is extremely giggly and ticklish.
- He loves his toes!
- He still uses his binkie - but mostly only for bedtime.
- He likes it when we sing to him, read him stories, play with him, really he just likes to be with us doing whatever we are doing!
- He still likes his jumper and does well in that.

He is darling and wonderful and we love him and his little emerging busy boy personality so much!!!  Grateful to have him in our home and family.  :)  Love you Cub!

More Bowling

Saturday morning we decided to head to the bowling alley as a fam.  We had a blast!!!  We bowled just one game - and we had the bumpers up (my score was still un-speakable... but oh well...) and it was perfect.  The kids got really into it and we had SO MUCH FUN.  Jeremy helped both of the kids bowl and they loved that.  When it wasn't her turn to bowl, Elise was strutting about and dancing to the music.  Isaac was keeping track of the scores and cheering us all on.  It was such a fun family morning! (photos courtesy of Jeremy's phone)