Are You Sleeping?

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping

Brother John, brother John?

Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing

Ding ding dong, ding ding dong.

For some reason I have come to sing this song quite a bit with Andrew…in the bath, getting ready, and just whenever. It resulted in him saying “John” in the cutest way imaginable. He would sing “Joooohn” every time he would say it – adorable! He would move his mouth in this certain way and his little voice is just the cutest. Well, I know have a new favorite Andrew word….sleeping. I sounds something like bleepbling. Love it! This type of talk goes for blums (drums), blime (climb), and blubs (gloves). I just can’t get enough of this kid!

Here is a demonstration of Andrew saying “sleeping” in his own cute way!

And a encore production of Andrew and his digital mirror since he says “John” towards the end.

Zippitty Zoo Dah

Andrew’s preschool class had a field trip to the zoo yesterday. After keeping him home from school sick on Monday and Tuesday I deemed him well enough to attend. The poor kid had been preparing for this trip all month – I just HAD to let him go! With a bit of a drippy nose and a nice cough we ventured to the zoo. Shelley came with us and I was SO glad to have her company and help! We spend a nice chunk of time just sitting in one of the bird aviaries eating apples and chatting while Andrew watched the birds run around on the ground. 

I had to get a picture of Andrew  by his favorite zoo animal….well…it wasn’t really working and he loved them all so I got a good one by the zebras. He is giving me a thumbs up – I was pretty impressed!

Carter was a champ. He had no morning nap, but seemed to be alright. Thank goodness he can drink out of a straw, so the straw sippy seemed to keep him occupied for a bit.

We met up with Andrew’s class for lunch and his best friend from school R (for privacy and protection reasons) was SO excited to see him. She had missed him at school the previous days and it was so cute to see them give each other a HUGE hug. They were so giddy and played and played together. They just adore each other. She is one cute little girl!

After lunch we went to the sting ray exhibit. Andrew stuck his hand in the water, but this was short lived as the one of the rays came up and flapped its wing or whatever it is and splashed the water. That was all it took – Andrew was scared to death of them! His sweet teacher tried to convince him to try again, but no luck! This picture pretty much sums up how he felt about the rays! I wouldn’t let Carter touch that water…you think I’m crazy! Who knows what kind of sea poop is in there and I just know his hands would end up in his mouth before I could wash them. Shelley was so wonderful and held him while I tried to keep track of Andrew. He sure enjoyed watching the waterfall. What a water baby! 

We skipped out on the train ride at the end. Andrew was pretty upset not to get to go, but we were spent. I promised him we would go next time. Carter was getting a little crabby and the only thing that would make him happy was my hair. Yes, the child loves hair. He reaches for Andrew’s all the time and if you put him up on your shoulders he is more than thrilled. It is quite funny!All in all I would have to say it was a nice trip to the zoo. We are going to have to make a few more trips in the near future before the heat REALLY starts to set in. I am so not ready for the summer to come!

Popcorn Popping

For family night last week we decided to use my Valentines Day present to make homemade Kettle Popcorn (thanks to our wonderful friends Josh and Melissa for sharing their recipe and showing us this fabulous kitchen accessory!). It was lots of fun and it was very entertaining to watch the boys respond to the popping corn!

I LOVE kettle corn…yummy!!!!

Day of Rest

I love Sunday. I love having my whole family home together. I love spending time with Bry. I love not having to look at my to do list. I love going to church. I love that the boys nap extra good on Sundays…and this Sunday was nothing less than a wonderful Sunday.

Carter and Andrew have been under the weather so Bry and I took shifts taking care of them at home. I got to go to the first part of church and he the second part, hey it is better than nothing. The highlight of the day was nap time for the boys. After Bry and I attempted to figure out why our e-filing of taxes got rejected (that is a whole other story) we laid on the couch with no t.v. and used this little beauty.

I believe Julia got this for me for my wedding or bridal shower many years ago and we have used it a couple times, but we really have fun with it yesterday. We answered question after question about favorite restaurants, the perfect date if money was no issue, your spouse’s biggest phobias or fears, five things you love/respect about your spouse, what first attracted you to your spouse, good luck charms, most prized possession, and more and more. I think one of the best ones was sharing a memory from each home we have lived in…starting from childhood to the homes we have had together. We had some good laughs. We spent a long time just sitting and talking….it was wonderful!!!!

We spent some time with the boys once they got up and took some ridiculously cute pictures of them in the bath.  After the boys were in bed we enjoyed a little National Treasure (I am not sure which one) and a very belated Valentine’s day dessert. Molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. We had the most divine molten cake on our honeymoon…I don’t know if we will ever have one that tasted that good, but this one was mighty scrumptious!

I love Sunday.

Individual Worth

When you feel worthless, “remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” Refrain from repeatedly thinking or saying negative words about yourself – there is a clear different between humility and humiliation. Identify and use your unique talents rather than dwelling on your weaknesses. – Elder Anthony D. Perkins

BLOG POST #200

All Worth It

I love baby fingers, especially little chubby ones. A baby’s touch is a one in a million feeling. Sometimes Carter does this thing when you hold him where he just rubs your arm…ah, it just makes me melt! Recently when putting him to sleep and rocking in the chair, his little eyes will be closed and he will put his hand in the air to feel around…he touches my chin, nose, mouth….and he finally discovered my eyelashes. He just runs his sweet little fingers back and forth across my eyelashes.  All the lack of sleep, cooking, cleaning, and responsibility of a mom is SO worth it when you have a moment like this.

Disclaimer and a Little Venting

Now, regarding the post below, yes it was only six children and was a bit chaotic….but we survived. I do like think that experiences like that and caring for other people’s children do not really affect my decisions regarding my family. I mean really…there is no physical way for me to have a 13 month old and a 9 month old….with an additional 3 year old, 4 year old, 6 year old, and 9 year old (forgive me Camille if I slaughtered your children’s ages!). We could have those ages when we adopt more, but realistically we just would not do that to ourselves.

Something else that has been on my mind lately is the life of a working mother. Ah…the life of a working mother – where do I start. Unfortunately in the times we live in there are many families where it is unavoidable to have mom work in order to make ends meet or to make it so there is just that bit of extra to be comfortable. I do consider it a blessing to be able to work from home and am able to spend time with my kids without having to send them off to daycare. I get so jealous of those moms who get to just stay home. Wow – what would that be like!

I find myself wondering what I would do to fill my day if I didn’t work. I get jealous of moms who can just play all day, plan fun activities, go to endless playgroups, nap when their children nap, and even plan themed educational activities. I imagine my house sparkling clean and never running out of milk because I always have time to go to the store. I dream of getting to bed before ten and getting a good night’s sleep. I am grateful to have a job and am able to supplement Bryan’s income. It sure takes A LOT of stress of our finances. I just want to say what a blessing motherhood is and and there are so many joys in raising children…I just wish I had more time to do it. I am grateful for work and a job to do at home.

One day I hope I will be able to just be a mom or be at a point in life when I can work a little less.

I have edited my original post because reading back it did sound like I hate my life and my responsibilities, but I do love to keep busy and have my day filled with things to do – Even if I was not working I am sure I would find enough things to fill my day that I would still be wishing for more time to spend with the kids. I am SO grateful for a secure job that I can do at home that allows me to create my own schedule and still spend time with my boys!

**Please take note, if you are interested in working at home I will not be of much help in finding you work….I am so blessed to be in the situation that I am. If transcription is what you desire I suggest researching a training company and getting certified and then find a company that is hiring. I wish I could do more to help, but I don’t really know what else to offer!

Busy, busy, busy

I was a bit on the busier side of life this past weekend…Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to be exact. Bry and I took care of his brother’s kiddos while he and his wife went to New York City for a wonderful vacation – lucky them! I may have been on my toes a bit more than usual and lacked quite a bit in the sleep department, but overall things went well and we have fun spending time with our nieces and nephews!

I have to give a huge thanks to my mom and sister Shelley for being my saving grace on Friday and Saturday. It was quite a fiasco to get all the kids to their respective schools and activities and they saved me by coming and getting Andrew and taking him to school and even picking him up. Shelley even accompanied me to Carter’s 9 month checkup where I had Carter, Andrew and Eli! 

I am not sure I have fed so many children so many meals at once…Carter and Eli are of course spoon fed, bottle/breastfed…and Andrew needs quite a bit of help with spoon feeding and Emma is quite the little eater…the little lady was always hungry, but yet weighs nothing!

The babies did pretty well. The first day they even napped in the afternoon at the same time – it was great and I was able to get some of my typing done that was due. Eli is an angel child when it comes to going to bed. Feed him a bottle, give him his blankie and put him in bed and he goes to sleep. He sure is a mover though – kept me on my toes. Carter did pretty well considering he is such a home body. He sure did love all the fun toys though!

All six children were fresh and clean each night. I found that bathing the babies together first…then Andrew…then the girls was the easiest. Just drain and refill three times! It was quite a system, but it worked! Look at these two cute little nakey chunkers!

  Emma and Andrew were the best of buddies the whole time we were there. Andrew just adores his little cousin and they played SO nice together. I don’t even know if I can recall even a major squabble between those two. They played in Emma’s room and climbed on the chair together. 

Emma, Haley, and Andrew watched a movie and even played princesses. Haley and Emma were so sweet to give Andrew a crown when he kept saying “king, king”.  Hmm…I think we need to find a more masculine crown for this boy! 

After baths we all got on the girls’ bed and read stories together. They each got to pick a book and then we sang a song. Andrew so loves his cousins!!! We spent time in the backyard and Carter had his first experience crawling on the grass. He was not too sure about that.

Notice Andrew on the cell phone out there. His new favorite person to talk to is Aunt Shelley – he has become quite fond of her these days!

My mom accompanied us to the park on Saturday afternoon for some In-n-Out and play time to wear the kiddos out. They had fun running everyone and Bradley was riding his bike up and down all sorts of hills. I think everyone had a blast. They were all exhausted when we got home!

The babies were so funny with the crunchy, dead grass. They pretty much stayed on the blanket to avoid the prickles. They don’t interact too much with each other, but it is so cute when they do!

We got home Sunday night about 10:30 or 11:00…the boys were awake and so happy to be home….I think Carter’s face says it all. He sure missed his house and toys! We were so glad to be able to help out Brig and Camille and happy that they had such a great time. Their kids were great and it was such a blessing that all the kids got along so well! One of these days (hopefully not too far off in the distant future) Bryan and I will be able to get away for a night or two for a little vacation without the kids….if I can handle it – I might miss them too much!

One More

Lo and behold another tooth has graced us with its presence! I was feeding Carter yesterday playing peek-a-boo under the highchair and I got him laughing really good and there it was on the top right, right next to his other two top teeth. I didn't even know he was teething. What a trooper!

Nine Months

Carter is now 3/4 of a year old – holy cow! This baby is growing way too fast, but we are enjoying every minute of it. He is becoming quite the little character and such a joy to have in our lives.

STATS:

• Weight: 18.4 lbs (10-25%)
• Height: 28” (25-50%)
• Head Circumference: 45.6 cm (50-75%)

• Started making really cute baby noises on a consistent basis, including mamamama, dadadada, bababa, and other noises I am unable to spell or do justice to with typing!  
• Popped his first top tooth on 01/10 and his second on 01/12. 
• Started eating bits of the Gerber puffs without gagging on 01/15.
• Got a old and subsequent ear infection, but I had no idea he had one…and only found out because he was having some reflux and I also wanted to get Andrew’s ears checked. I hate not having warning signs of ear infections…kinda scary, but at least we could it – along with Andrew’s! They both had left ear infections, imagine that!.
• Started crawling officially up on all fours and moving forward 01/30…but that is about all he did. He has officially starting army crawling rather quickly as of 02/07. He still gets up on all four and likes to go into what I call the stink bug position with his bum in the air, but after a few attempts at crawling the right way he gives up and does the army crawl to get to where he wants to go!
• Started sleeping in his own room 01/26.
• Is definitely a mama’s boy. Bry thinks it is so funny to hold him and walk around the kitchen and watch Carter move his head so that he always has me in his line of sight.
• His personality is definitely coming out – he flirts at church, whines on the floor at my feet when he wants to get picked up, laughs at Andrew, makes the cutest pouty face, cuddles when he is tired, flails his arms and legs when he is excited, and has the most hysterical, infectious giggle (possible second only to Andrew’s laugh when you tickle his chin). 

• Somehow he contracted what I assume to be Roseola and was quite sad, needy, and a not good sleeper for a couple days. We spent one night up every 2-3 hours (and when I say “we” I mean me and Carter…Bryan is dead to the world at night! lol) I am happy to say he has full recovered and is eating and sleeping like the good little angel baby he is!
• He does this really funny thing with his tongue – kinda like curling it around the side of his top lip and sucking. He was doing it a lot when I was feeding him sweetened pear sauce (he doesn’t get sweetened fruits often). It was SO funny!
• (not exactly the tongue thing I was explaining, but still cute!)

 

• And he still ADORES his big brother !!!!

Carter still does not take a bottle, but likes to chew on them. I thought he might like some water in a bottle, but no – just likes to munch on it. Andrew thought it was pretty fun to put it in the baby’s mouth – cute boys!

The center of attention….nothing new for this little man!