Reasons to Celebrate

February is a month of birthdays in our family on both sides.  And, this year was a big year for my parents because they celebrated 40 years on the 4th!!! 

Blaire and I knew that a party would not be their speed so we chose to put together a video and book full of cards, pictures and messages from family and friends who have been a part of their life for the last 40 years if not more.  My parents have known each other since junior high so there were quite a few people that we wanted to get in touch with.  Blaire and I, with the help of many others pulled off a surprise at brunch last weekend when took my parents out "for mom's birthday".  Thank you to all those who helped put together the slide show, sent cards and letters and acknowledged what an awesome accomplishment this is.

Last weekend was also Brice's birthday party with his friends as well as my mom's birthday on Sunday.  Come Sunday night, I was feeling pretty good that I had pulled everything off and now that I look back on the past week I am glad all the sicknesses waited!  Here are the pictures that recap the weekend!

 Brice wanted a Harry Potter themed party so I had the boys draw names out of a hat of a character from Harry Potter.  Brice was Harry of course but also bowling with us was Dumbledore, Ron, Neville, and Hagrid.

 Brice and his friend Stephen.

 He designed the cake himself!

 "Who wants ice cream?"

 My dad put a personal touch on Harry Potter.

 Kyle did so well despite the super noisy bowling alley!

After drinks were served at brunch, we presented Mom and Dad with the book of cards and letters.  The best part though was that my mom's sister was able to find their wedding invitation!  They were both surprised to see that after all these years!  I only have one picture from the restaurant because they don't like to be the center of attention.  After brunch, we went back to their house where we all watched the slide show (Blaire did an awesome job despite some major hiccups along the way, read computer crash!).  I am glad that we were able to surprise them as much as we did with me snooping around their house, stealing pictures.

We have had some awesome Reasons to Celebrate and are so thankful for all of them!!

The Boys's Stats

Remember Valentine's Day??  It's kind of hard for me to remember already because we have been so busy!  Brice's birthday, Brice's party, my mom's "birthday" party, President's Day, school, pink eye/ear infection for Anna... But, on Valentine's Day, I took Kyle for his six month check-up and then today I took Brice for his, gulp, seven year old check-up.

Both boys passed with flying colors.  Kyle was 18 lbs, 9.4oz (60%) and 27.75 inches (82%).  He had to get three shots, two of which were immunizations and then the third was his first dose of the flu shot.  I take him back mid-March to get the second dose.  He was just pitiful and it was probably the closest I have come to crying when one of my kids got their shots.  That little man is just too sweet and has never done anything to anyone.  I think I am going to have the most trouble disciplining him because he is so laid back and good so much of the time.  The doctor actually wants him eating a little bit MORE formula than he is taking.  This is hard because he LOVES his food and he is so interested in the other two, that he doesn't want to sit still to drink his bottle.  We are working on the sippy cup to see if he would like to take it better from that.

Brice was a rock star today answering all the questions by himself and acting like he owned the place.  No problem, done this before, where do I sign to get the heck out of here...He now weighs 58.5 lbs (80%) and is 51.5 inches (94%)!!!  When I post pictures of his birthday party you will see he is a head taller than some of his buddies in his class.  He said at the end of his exam, "Do I have to get a sticker?", in other words, I'm too old for that mom, please don't make me walk out of her with a Spiderman sticker.  Right this instant I am looking at his baby book where I have records of every doctor visit and the page is covered with stickers from those visits when he was so brave, had to get shots and then so excited to pick out a sticker.  I am seriously so proud of the kid he is but man, it does hurt my mommy heart that he is so grown up at the ripe old age of 7.

Just for kicks, Brice at six months of age was 17lbs 2 ounces and the same exact length as Kyle.  Looks like that extra fridge in the basement is going to come in quite handy for feeding these boys.  Oh and Anna, well she was tipping the scales at 14 lbs!!!  And, a full inch shorter than her brothers.

My sweet boys!

"Please enjoy the music while your party is reached"

Here are some videos of Anna.  I have plenty to blog about but thought you could enjoy these until I can get to all the blogging about birthday parties and such!  The first one is here singing her own version of the Strawberry Shortcake theme song.  The second one is us having a tea party earlier that morning.  Also, Anna said something that I always want to remember the other night.  I put Kyle in his high chair to give him dinner and he started crying with the lip out and whole nine yards.  Brice turned around and said, "What's wrong with him?" since he hardly ever cries.  Anna, without looking up from the iPad says, "I don't think he likes his outfit."  Brice rolls his eyes and responds in his parental voice, "I'm pretty sure that is not it."!!

Say "Yes" to the Dress

Today I took Anna shopping for a flower girl dress.  My mom and sister were able to come along which was a huge help since I had Kyle with me and he just wanted to be held since it was nap time.  We had fun picking out dresses to try and on and seeing Anna model them.  We narrowed it down to two dresses and then the decisions began.  I am not going to tell you which dress we bought but it was one of these.  I am going to try and keep it a surprise until my cousin's wedding the end of April but as far as family goes, I am sure my mom has already told each and every one of you via phone!  And, I of course will be emailing the bride and groom so they know what to expect. :)

Also, cannot let this post go by without saying HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY to Jack!

Seven!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRICE!!!!  I am having trouble accepting the fact that you are SEVEN years old today.  What a big kid that seems to be to me.  I think it is so hard for me because I know how fast it goes and how quickly the years fly by.  It is hard for me to remember you being little even though I remember so many details of the day you were born. You still are such a perfect kid, always obeying the rules, thinking of others and trying your hardest.  Below are some things I would like to always remember about you...

~Officially 7 at 4:45pm
~Loves Harry Potter, Georgia Bulldogs, playing outside and art
~Always helping mommy and daddy with Anna and Kyle
~Have lost 5 teeth and have had 2.5 permanent ones come in
~Excel at school and very social with everyone
~So generous and thoughtful (making cards for people for no reason at all)
~Favorite foods...sweets, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, shrimp, Gatorade, Mexican food, Cracker Barrel,
~playing baseball for third spring in a row
~all around the best kid we know!!!!

We love you, kiddo!

Brice when he was two!

What Do You Do All Day??

As I've said before, I am not one to really celebrate or make a big deal out of Valentine's Day.  Tomorrow will be just another day for me with some acknowledgement of the hearts and candy but otherwise just another day.  Another day where some would wonder "What Do You Do All Day?".  I would imagine that quite a few stay at home moms are asked this question by those moms who work or their husbands which is probably worse.  When I was working, and people asked what I did I would tell them I was a NICU nurse and sometimes they would jokingly respond, "Oh, so you just sit around and feed babies all day and change diapers?".  Ha ha.  Yep, that is all and for quite the price too.  I was a pretty expensive babysitter and oh, by the way, sometimes I was in charge of keeping someone alive!

Well, now some days I feel as though my brain is mush.  I don't have to calculate medications or figure out which IV medication is compatible with another or divide and multiply and figure out how much milk to order for my patient to eat over the next 24 hours.  So, What Do I Do All Day?  I wrote this post mainly to remember my day-to-day life with little kids.  Even though my brain is mushy right now, I know I am doing something important even though most of it will not be remembered!

It depends.  On the day.  But, for the most part, it's a cycle.  A cycle that I thrive on actually.  I know what to expect from the kids and they know what to expect from me.  There are days of course that vary but for the most part it looks like this...

4:40am-Justin's alarm goes off so he can go instruct bootcamp ( I roll over and pretend I don't hear him and admire the fact that he works out that early in the morning)
6-6:30am-Anna wakes up and comes into our room "Come rub me some more."  I take her back to her room, give her back a few strokes and then a kiss and then I go get back in bed to contemplate the day
7-7:30am-I hear Justin and Brice get ready for school and Anna talk about anything and everything and then I decide to get out of bed myself and to get Kyle up for the day.  He is usually awake, just laying there sucking his finger.
7:30-9am-This is breakfast time, which includes, feed Kyle, feed myself, clean up dishes, turn on some TV show for Anna, get Anna dressed for the day which takes forever some mornings, get Kyle dressed, let him play...
9-9:30am-Kyle goes down for nap but before nap time, this is what it looks like

At this point I usually play with Anna or do laundry (if it's Wednesday or Brice needs a clean uniform) or make the beds or shower myself, or workout.  I like to change it up each day so as to keep the mush in my head from getting mushier.
10-11-Anna begs me for lunch which I keep denying her until 11:00.  I will sometimes give her a snack if it is closer to 10 but if it's nearing 11am, I make her wait.  Then I make her a "butter-jelly".  Here is what she looks like if she doesn't want to help clean or do laundry...

11:30/12-Get Kyle up if he hasn't already woken up, feed him, and change him and play with him.  Feed myself while answering five million questions and demands from the princess.  Basically, I'm her Lady in Waiting.  Sometimes, we will go outside at this point just to get a breath of fresh air if we haven't been to the grocery store or Target or some place.  Lately, I have been trying to limit the places we go where there are five million other germy kids hacking, and snotting all over the place.
12:30-1:30-I try to get Anna to have rest time and put Kyle down at some point depending on when he got up.  I then sit on my computer in a haze or workout or get little things done.  Have you noticed that I haven't mentioned cleaning in this post yet??  That is because I rarely do it, not kidding.  Today I spilled an entire cup of milk all over the kitchen and myself which FORCED me to clean the floor.  Otherwise, I do the bathrooms every two weeks, dust when I can and vacuum even less.  Some days it drives me nuts but most days, I just look past it.
I so wish that I could have a glimpse into what my great-grandmother, grandmother and mother did on a day to day basis with little children running around because I'm willing to bet they HAD to get the cleaning, laundry, ironing and cooking done.

Anyway, 2:30 rolls around very quickly and that is when Brice gets off the bus and homework begins.  Kyle gets up around 3:30 and Anna is released from her room around this time.  That is when the real fun begins and the countdown to bedtime begins in my head!  Hopefully, the weather is nice so that after Brice completes his work, he and Anna are let out the door.

If it's not a nice day outside, and we are forced to stay inside then this is what goes on in the basement.  Stir crazy, slaphappy, call it what you want...

 Around 5pm, Kyle goes down for his third nap and then I fix dinner.  I try to plan three or four meals a week and sometimes I get to make them and other times I don't due to sports or time or Justin needing to work or what have you.  The point is, I do try but we eat lots of grilled cheeses and tomato soup around here.
6:30pm-Depending on Anna's mood, I will sometimes go ahead and put her in the tub and then bed around this time or I will get Kyle up.  Brice is totally self sufficient and can shower by himself...

By 7pm I am so ready for the day to be over so that I can make lunches and then collapse on the couch and watch whatever Justin has turned on.  While this is not too glamorous of a day, there are moments of the day that fill me up so greatly I think my heart might burst.  I took some cute videos of Anna the other day and will try to post those soon.  My big boy will be 7 in just a few short days, Anna was so sweet today and with her little face in her little hands, leaning on the counter, said, "I am so sorry that you spilled that milk all over yourself, Mommy" and then there is Kyle who as soon as he gets tired, whimpers and upon being picked up puts that left middle finger in his mouth and his head on my shoulder.  I could hold onto those moments forever.  The hours fly by somehow and some days I do not feel productive at all and even though I do truly now feed babies and change diapers all day long, it is so worth it.  I love them and know they love me back.  And, that my friends is 1000x better than chocolates, flowers or hearts and truly what love is about.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Record Breaker

Kyle may be the last one born into this family but he is not going to be last in the teething department!  Brice and Anna both had teeth at six months but if I recall correctly it was just one and then the second one lagged by a couple of weeks.  Not Kyle.  Right before he turned six months, I noticed two little buds in his gums where his lower teeth have now poked through.  Three days before he turned six months, the first one broke through and then three days later the second one.  He was just not himself all last week and Justin said, "I bet he is cutting four or five teeth and we just don't know it.".  Well, sure enough, after one of his naps, I put my finger in his mouth to massage his gums and there were two top teeth about to poke through!! I couldn't believe it.  My last baby getting all these teeth and at the same time.  We had two days last week that were not fun because we could tell he was hurting.  Justin cleaned out Babies R Us of teething rings and bought him a fresh bottle of Ibuprofen which Kyle can now take that he is six months old.  Thank goodness!  Kyle seems in a much better mood now that all four teeth have actually broken through.  One nice thing about having such a good baby is that you know for sure when something is going on with them.  Little man was NOT himself, he was just trying to be a Record Breaker.  Four teeth in six days and at six months old.  You have your siblings beat, Mr. Kyle!  Now, you may stop growing up so fast because it is breaking your momma's heart!

 Bottoms, front and center.

 Tops, left center, left incisor.  Sorry for the boogie.

Where he wants to be for the past week, held, with fingers in his mouth.  I'm actually surprised he has fingers still or that he hasn't sucked a blister on one of them.  Also, if you run into me on the street, my shoulders will be soaked with drool.