Christmas #1

We kicked off our Christmas extravaganza at my parent's house this weekend. I just now realize that I did not get a single picture of my Mom or Dad who did 100% of the gift buying, wrapping, and food preparation. Thank you!

 

 

These cousins had a ton of fun playing together.

 

Great Grandma Maxine and her great grandchildren.

 

Great Grandpa Rex and Great Grandma Elouise with the crazy crew.

6 Months

 

Lots of new skills clicked for Will this month. He is a pro at rolling over and will spend time on his tummy without getting immediately mad. He is also sitting pretty good on his own and he has started babbling Daaaa-Da-Da-Daaaaa. I think he likes to hear himself talk. It's fun for him to contribute to the noise in the household. Unfortunately he has continued to be sick. He's had a horrible cough for over a week. I feel like the little guy can't catch a break. This means he is still not sleeping through the night. He loves to whack his hands on things, we call him a boxer. He still loves his pacifier (so do we). He is a happy guy, for the most part. A cute guy for sure!

Catching Up

Wow! I think this is the longest I have ever gone between blog entries. It's indicative of what's going on in our life right now. The adjustment to three children, a new job with lots of hours for Scott, and me doing all of the kid shuffling while working part time has left very little time for anything else. I'll do a quick recap of the last month.

After a month and a half of solid ear infections Will had tubes put in on November 25. The procedure was fast and easy and he was feeling great shortly afterwards. He slept through the night for the first time in two months! He hasn't done it again regularly, darn.

 

The next day I had some basal cell skin cancer removed. I had to wear this beast of a bandage for 4 days and couldn't lift anything heavier than 5 pounds for two weeks. Wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have three children under the age of 6. Scott had to adjust his work schedule to do all of the daycare drop offs and pick ups for a week. I had 25 stitches but the scar is healing nicely.

 

 

 

The next day Scott took the kids to his parent's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. This gave me a nice 24 hour break from kids demanding things from me. And gave the kids some great time at Grammy's and Papa's.

 

Earlier this month Scott got to escape for his annual deer hunting weekend.

 

Because I was still on my lifting restriction Grandma Joan and Papa Jake had to come to town to help me out. The girls got to see the Nutcracker and take a horse drawn trolley ride.

 

 
 

 Last Friday night we started our Christmas cookies and finally wrapped them up on Sunday. 

We ended the weekend with our annual giving event.

Charlie was adorable at her preschool holiday program. Her class started singing their first song and one girl started stomping her foot. Before we knew it the entire class was stomping their feet and you couldn't hear a word they were singing. Too cute!

 

Sleepy?

 

Doesn't he look guilty in this photo? In addition to being guilty of being cute he is guilty of being a horrible sleeper. In fact, I crown him the super-duper grand champion of not sleeping. This kid is killing me. For the past 2.5 months he has not slept through the night. Not even close. In fact, he wakes up and wants to eat every 3 to 4 hours. He went for longer stretches when he was 6 weeks old. I've tried to break the habit by letting him cry. He cries for a solid hour with no signs of relenting. I've tried to rock him back to sleep without feeding him. He wakes up every 40 minutes if I do this. We've tried swaddling, not swaddling, cereal in his last bottle, pacifier, no pacifier. Nothing is working. Last night we put him to bed at 8:00. He was awake at midnight. I rocked him to sleep and he was awake again at 12:45. I fed him. He was awake again at 5:45. At this point we are just trying to hang on until next week when he has his tubes put in. We are praying this will provide all of us some relief. Little stinker!!

Five Months

If I had only two words to sum up month five those words would be ear infection. Poor Will has had 3 consecutive ear infections over the past month. They have been so bad that he's had two ruptured eardrums. They hurt so bad that he refuses to eat. The pain and hunger mean he's waking up multiple times each night--anywhere between 2 to 6 times. He hasn't slept through the night a single time in the past month. I am also in pain. Last week, after the 3rd diagnosis the pediatrician gave us a referral to ENT. We will be getting tubes soon. When he is not in excruciating pain he is the happiest little guy. He loves to smile and talk and watch his sisters. We've gotten a few laughs out of him this month as well. 

Beanie Weenie

 

I have a hard time coming up with dinner ideas. Each week I ask the kids for suggestions and they usually don't come back with anything other than cinnamon rolls, tacos, or macaroni and cheese. Today, Evy came up with a new idea. "That thing with the hot dogs cut up and beans and that sauce." I finally realized that she meant beanie weenies or beans and franks. Apparently this was one of her favorite dishes at preschool. I figured there had to be more of a "recipe" than dumping hot dogs into a can of beans so I Googled and found this recipe. I am shocked to report that it was very good. And, Evy ate three bowls full. Not the healthiest possible dinner idea, but I call it a win-win. And this gourmet dish is going into the rotation!

A Week of Halloween

We kicked off Halloween on Friday, October 24 at Scott's office celebration.

 

 

On Saturday we hosted 15 kids for Evy's Halloween birthday party.

 

On Saturday night Scott and I escaped to an adult Halloween party.

 

On Monday the girls wore costumes to dance class.

 

On Tuesday we collected pounds of candy at my office.

 

On Wednesday we finally got around to carving pumpkins.

 

Friday started off with a Halloween party at Charlie's school (I don't have a photo). Then, on Friday afternoon Evy had a costume parade at school.  

 

After school on Friday, Evy's friend had a little pre-trick or treat party.

And then, after we had been celebrating Halloween for 8 days we finally went Trick or Treating.

Charlie's loot.

This is what Will did while I took the girls trick or treating.

 

And then he woke up and was ready to party!

 

Bonus Question: How many different costumes did Evy wear throughout the week?

 

 

 

Turning Six

Turning six is a big deal. Such a big deal that it requires a month long celebration!

 

Evy kicked off her birthday celebration early in the month with Scott's side of the family.

She shares the "Fall Birthday Celebration" with two cousins and this picture is becoming an annual tradition.

Evy has recently developed a love for mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Evy chose to have a Halloween themed party at our house. We invited 15 friends and did Halloween crafts, games and a piñata.

She asked everyone to come in their costume.

I did not make the cake this year and afterwards Evy told me the ones I make taste much better than the store bought one. Score for Mom!

It wouldn't be a birthday celebration unless the little sister was totally mad that she wasn't getting any presents.

And for the grand finale Evy opened presents from Mom and Dad on her birthday morning.

And enjoyed her traditional birthday pancake breakfast. That's a wrap on turning six.

Evy's Six Year Birthday Interview

The Birthday Interview--Six Years

 

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Pink

 

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Mac 'n Cheese

 

Q: Who is your best friend?

A: Heather, Emme and Addison

 

Q: What is your favorite thing to do?

A: Go on the climbing tree

 

Q: What is your favorite song?

A: Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert 'Somethin Bad'

 

Q: What is your favorite treat?

A: Suckers

 

Q: What is your favorite drink?

A: Grape Juice

 

Q: What is your favorite show or movie?

A: Lion King 2

 

Q: What is your favorite toy?

A: Kiara

 

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

A: Go to the zoo

 

Q: Where is your favorite place to go?

A: Florida

 

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: Lion King and Little House on the Prairie

 

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: Where mommy works

 

Q: Are there any other things you want to tell me about being six?

A: I like to do big girl things like take care of my brother and sister by myself with no one watching over me and crossing the log bridge by myself. I like to go outside by myself.

 

Here is last year's interview

Sweet Sister

Evy is an awesome big sister. After getting home from school the other day she asked me to sit Will next to her while she ate her snack. A minute later I looked over and she was holding his hand. What a lucky little guy to have such a loving big sister.