"Help. Blanket. Ollie. Pik. Dog. Reetar."

Nelson and Henry never had a special animal or blanket that they just had to have at bedtime. I always wanted them to when they were really little because I thought it would be cute. Later I was relieved that they didn't because it would be a hassle at bedtime if the special something was missing or in the wash. So now we have Jack.... I have always tucked him in (well, not always but most nights) with a firetruck blanket that was a gift from a special friends mom (Hi Heather Bush!). It didn't become an attachment thing until recently. But now everynight he lays down and says "Help. Blanket," and I have to pull it up to his chin just right or we have to do it over again. He also has a Scentsy Buddy named Ollie that is filled with the newborn nursery scent and that has become another attachment at bed time. "Help. Blanket. Ollie." About a month ago, we added Penelope Pig. "Help. Blanket. Ollie. Pik." Next up the dog, which is as big as he is. "Help. Blanket. Ollie. Pik. Dog." They all have to be placed just right otherwise he will get up and come get me to fix it. So a couple of weeks ago he added a toy fire truck. His bed is getting crowded now and well, a this is a "soft" fire truck but it's no stuffed animal so it couldn't be comfortable to roll into during sleep. But still... "Help. Blanket. Ollie. Pik. Firetruck." Well... now this week we have added a toy that he got for his birthday from Aunt Pam. A guitar. That makes noises. That he won't let me turn off. And his bed is really crowded. And noisy. "Help. Blanket. Ollie. Pik. Firetruck. Reetar."

7th Anniversary

Tomorrow is the 7th anniversary of my 25th birthday. The day that I gave birth to my second born son, Henry Cole. Like his older brother, he thought induction was a ridiculous idea. His due date was August 26th. We were scheduled for induction in the early morning hours of September 1st. The night before we watched the Rangers play in overtime and shortly after the game was over my water broke! (same exact scenario with Nelson!) We left Nelson with my parents and rushed to the hospital. We should have known better than to be in a hurry because it was a long 19 hours later before we met Henry. We had an eventful labor. His heart rate dropping due to cord compression (fixed with an amniotic infusion). My heart rate going thru the roof for unexplained reasons... you should have seen the look on James face when he came back from getting coffee to find a cardiologist and several extra nurses in the room checking me out. Needless to say, he did not leave the room again for ANYTHING. Besides that, I got an epidural that caused numbness on the wrong half of my body. Not fun. But.... it was all worth it. As soon as Henry was born they had to do a little work on him but a few moments later when they laid him in my arms I was in awe... here was this beautiful, bald, tiny baby...7lbs 10 oz and 21 3/4" long. I couldn't believe it! He was so different than what I was expecting... After all, his older brother came in to this world chubby and with a head full of dark hair... looking just like me! Henry looked NOTHING like me. We later realized that he was a spitting image of James. Seven years later we see that he not only looks like James but he acts like him too! ;) Henry is a very passionate little boy. Full of energy and love....and sometimes a little vinegar. I love him to pieces and feel so blessed to be his mom! And it's pretty cool sharing a birthday with him too!

I wanted to post a newborn pic of him too but they are all on disc in the attic.

My Daddy's a Firefighter!

Jack is in love with all things related to firefighters. Any time we visit James at work he wants to spend the entire time climbing on the fire engine. He even has to say good-bye to it! He has several toy fire engines, fire trucks and somewhere even a firefighter. He also has a book about firefighting that makes the siren noise when you honk the horn on the attached steering wheel. James brought his bunker gear home last night and at bedtime got decked out while Jack was looking at his firefighter book in bed. James walked in to the room and Jack lit up! How cool to have your firefighter daddy read a firefighter book to you at bedtime decked out in bunker gear?! Jack LOVED it. I just love all the thoughtful things James does to make memories for our boys. <3

His face as James walked in...

The First Week of School

Nelson and Henry survived their first week of school!

Henry was really dreading 1st grade (thank you Nelson for making it sound scary!) but he loves his teacher and really enjoyed the first week. He had his very first spelling test and made a 100!

Nelson was excited to start 4th grade. This year he will have 4 teachers that he moves between for each subject. 6 including music and PE but he doesn't have those every day. He was excited to have his 2nd grade teachers daughter as his homeroom teacher this year. It turns out that Jack isn't so noisy and rambunctious when his brothers aren't here to wind him up. We are working on learning colors but every time I show him a color he says no. It wasn't his idea so it couldn't be that color! He is starting to get back on track with potty training. Friday and Saturday he didn't have any accidents!
Kash is 3 months old now. He is doing the usual eating, sleeping, pooping really well. :) He is smiling and laughing now and I think starting to notice he has hands. I love this age when they begin to see things for the first time.

In addition to school starting, I have began babysitting for a friend who teaches here. She has a precious baby boy that is a couple months older than Kash. He is such a sweet happy baby! I've started trying to get in shape.... well, a different shape. I am working on my eating habits and trying to get fit. I've lost 3 lbs in 2 weeks so that is a plus. I'm using myfitnesspal.com to set my goals and track my progress.

James is working hard to keep our family going. He is contemplating running again. It's been over a year and he went for a little job a few nights ago and enjoyed it. I worry about his back but he is released to run as of July. The boys and I will enjoy watching him race again if he chooses too.

If this week is a sign to what the school year will be like, it is going to be great! I'm so excited (and sad at the same time) to see my boys growing up. I'm so thankful to be their mother!

Monday Madness

I came home from the grocery store just in time to cook supper but found a project - along with loads of saw dust - in the kitchen. What a mess... (glad to have the new door though!).

Jack refused his nap today and in his sleep induced clumsiness knocked the door off the stand and on to his sweet little dirty toe.

Then cried himself to sleep. I love this picture...dirt and all.

Jacks First Trip to Timeout

Jack decided to hit Henry and really liked it because of Henry's overly dramatic reaction. Surprisingly, the time out worked pretty well. He didn't enjoy going to the corner and kept leaving but soon realized he was going to keep going back until he decided to tell Henry he was sorry. He finally decided he was ready and said "sorry" to Henry (actually said it where we could understand) and gave him a big hug & kiss. And you know me, I take pics of everything and couldn't possibly leave out Jack's time out. He's cute even when he's in trouble. :)

Moments Like This...

Make my heart smile.

Brothers

Saturday Night Bedtime

James and I took Nelson & Henry on a date Saturday - Smashburger, TCBY (Orange Leaf is my favorite but it's across town from the movie theater), and Harry Potter in 3D. Jack and Kash were at home with a sitter so the boys really enjoyed some uninterrupted time with Mom & Dad. When we got home it was time to get ready for bed. They had a good time trying to get us to change sleeping arrangements around for the night!

They really wanted to sleep together.

Jack giving his sad face... please can Kash sleep with me? (no!) Penelope Pig telling them goodnight :) Henry wanted Jack with him but that didn't work out. Nelson's always happy to have his bed to himself!

Head UP!

Kash really thinks he's getting big. He's doing a great job holding his head up. His 2 bigger brothers are pretty proud of him too :)

Camp Money

Nelson & Henry both had $50 in the camp accounts for buying snacks and drinks at the camp store. They each also bought a ball cap. Nelson spent some of his money on buying a snack for a couple of friends he made. What a sweet kid! We got their refund check (leftover money) in the mail today and Nelson still had $20 and Henry only had $8! At first I was blown away... how much junk did he eat/drink at camp?! Then I remembered he was also buying snacks every day to enjoy on the way home from camp. Haha! I wonder if these current spending habits are a glimpse into how it will be when they're older. Conservative Nelson & big spender Henry!

Lock him up?

This whole waking up to the sound of furniture moving, courtesy of Jack, every morning before the sun comes up is not working out for me. Especially when I get up to discover he's already been into things (like my sewing supplies) without waking me up. Grrrr... I've got to get a lock for his bedroom door that he can NOT open! Even when I let him stay up late he is up and into stuff before the sun, LITERALLY! I woke up to his furniture moving at 6:15. He was getting a chair in position at the stove so he could "cooook, hot." Aah....

Jack, it's summertime. That means we sleep in until at least 8:00 and we do not set alarms unless we have somewhere to be. Please don't make me start setting an alarm so I can wake up before you!

(The picture is not from this morning. He pushed a chair up to the stove yesterday like he tries to do all the time. This time I let him pretend cook with me instead of moving the chair back immediately.)

A Glimpse of Our Day

The boys washed the car today then decided to dig rocks and wash them too :)

Kash thought it was best to stay in the A/C and nap while the bigger boys had their fun!

Thirsties Duo Wrap w/Snaps in Cool Stripes

I forgot what I put under the cover here but this is a couple nights ago - probably a applecheeks insert wrapped around a gcloth. Or maybe two gcloths with the hemp in the middle. Or a flat with a gcloth. I can't remember. Any way, the thirsties duo on the small rise setting fits perfectly and holds all well.

Body Style Trend

Jack and Kash had their 2 year and 2 month check ups today (Wednesday). Jack is recovering from hand foot & mouth disease. That kid is going to be the one that gets all the "normal" childhood illnesses. He showed his independent, my way or the highway, two year old attitude at the doctors office. Thankfully our pediatrician chose the right profession and just goes with it. He let us know what we already know - "mine", "I do it", "nope", and "don't want it" are all normal favorite phrases for a child his age. :) Jack is weighing in at 26.8 lbs (30%) and is 35 1/4" tall (66%).

Kash is healthy as a horse. Eating, peeing, pooping, sleeping good. Following objects with his eyes, turns head side to side, turns head towards noise, and can lift it to a 45 degree angle.... that last one got me.. I know what different angles are and I now understand what the doctor was asking but for some reason I could not wrap my mind around what he was asking in that moment. Thankfully James was there to straighten that out. And to be clear, Kash CAN lift his head off the ground when laying on his tummy! Kash is weighing in at 10lbs 15oz (29%) and is 23 1/4" tall (63%)

Notice they are both slightly taller than average and thinner than average. The doctor noticed a body style trend here... (remember James was with us and the doc's seen Nelson & Henry too). They are all built more like James. Which I think is a good thing. :)

Potty Training Tuesday

Potty training is still the same. As a matter of convenience for me, when we're out and about we throw a diaper on. I'm sure that is confusing and the reason we have accidents in the car and other places but not at home. When this case of diapers is gone that's it though... it'll be time for me to deal with it and go to the potty frequently when we're away from home or have more laundry by putting him in cloth diapers while we're away. He's doing good though. More and more he'll tell us he needs to go, especially if it's #2, when we are away from home.

Oh! I almost forgot. We opted to stop using the potty chair. First of all, I already have two toilets to clean. Second, cleaning a potty chair is kind of a pain in the tush. And 3rd, he's plenty big enough to get on to the toilet with a step stool. We bought the potty seat with handles to sit on the toilet so he doesn't fall in. It is Disney Car's and is cheap at Target. He loves it.

Henry Speaks

Oh Henry... Sometimes that boy just does not know when it's not a good idea to speak his mind. Bless his heart, he is SO honest. We were at Sonic for lunch Saturday. When the car hop brought our food out I had the back door open tending to Kash so she got a good view of all 4 boys. She was so sweet and went on and on about how handsome they are.

Well Henry decideds he wants to talk to her. Before I go into what he had to say, let me describe our sweet car hop. She is a thin older woman with bleached blonde hair piled up on top of her head... kind of a messy but cute. Lots of lipstick and lipliner.

Well Henry asked, "What happened to your hair?!"

I interrupted with, "Henry, hush!"

She said, "Oh, that's okay (with a chuckle). It's windy today so it's a bit messy."

Henry then said, "Well you look like you got shocked!" He is very serious.

I again am trying to quiten him but she says its okay and goes in to detail about her use of hairspray. Oh my! I was embarrassed. So was Nelson. He let her know that he loves poofy hair. LOL!

After she walks away, I tried to explain to Henry AGAIN that we shouldn't always say whats on our mind. And if we are going to tell someone how they look, it should be nice so we don't hurt feelings. He was sure she didn't have hurt feelings because she said okay and laughed. He was also sure it wouldn't have hurt his feelings because, "I don't care what anyone thinks about the way I look." I couldn't let it go so I reminded Henry how earlier in the day a little boy wasn't being nice to Jack and it really upset him. Henry really defended him and the boys mother stepped in to get her son. I told him that car hop was probably someones little sister. He understood that and insisted on going to apologize. He waited on the sidewalk for her to come back by. When he got back in the car I asked what she said to him after his apology. "It's okay, honey. Jesus loves you!"

Something else about Henry this weekend that made me giggle... the picture below is his bulletin from church Sunday. (I stayed home with Jack & Kash) He wrote this to James after James told him to pay attention to the pastor...

Diaper Review

I finally ventured in to trying the diaper cover route. The first one I tried was the Thirsties Duo Cover (cool stripes) and it worked wonderfully! I used it over a kissaluvs fitted size 0 overnight (about 9 hours) and no leaks! Kash even had what I would consider an EBF Blowout when he woke up but it did not BLOWOUT. The kissaluvs - thirsties combo kept it all contained. I give the kissaluvs fitted and thirsties duo cover a thumbs up!

The second one I tried was the rumparooz one size cover. It was a bit complicated to get the right fit. I find that is the case with all one size diapers that I've tried. I know it'll be easier when Kash is bigger. He is just 11 lbs now and has skinny thighs. Once I got it adjusted correctly I used it over an origami folded flat diaper (actually a flour sack towel from target that I heard about on a diaper forum!) wrapped around a gcloth hemp sandwich. It worked wonderfully! Kash wore it all night with no leaks. I also used it with a fuzzibunz perfect size small insert laid in it. He had another good poop without it blowing out the legs. So... another thumbs up! :)

Cloth!

Okay. I'm sure you've heard... I'm ...cloth diapering.... *gasp*. That's right. And I LOVE IT! I only wish I had started with Nelson. Talk about a money saver! It's still saving money just doing Kash but not as much as it would have if I were using more hand me down diapers than new ones. It's not the old thin flats with giant safety pins and ugly plastic pants. They have more modern version of those AND cloth diapers that function and are easy to use just like a disposable. I've tried several brands and still have some to try but am already learning what my favorites are. There are flats (that you have to fold to get multiple layers of absorbancy), prefolds (like a flat that has been folded and stitched down so you don't have to fold it), and fitteds (like a prefold that has been cut into the shape of a disposable and elastic added to the legs and waste) that all require a diaper cover. These were the "scariest" options to me so I have yet to try them. I have some on the way though because I've done more research and they are not only cheaper, but appear to be pretty easy to use, wash, and the covers come in adorable patterns and colors! You can just let the cover hold it in place (they wrap around like a disposable diaper), you can use an old fashioned diaper pin, or you can use a new invention... the snappi.... to hold it together. I'm excited to try these soon. I started with gdiapers, a hybrid diaper that you have a cloth exterior, a snap in water proof pouch that you put either a cloth or a biodegradable flushable insert into. They have worked great and are a great intro for those who are a little scared of going full fledged cloth. Plus they are really trim and cute. Cute is important! I just find they have to be changed more frequently and aren't as good for overnight use. I've been using FuzziBunz perfect size, too. It's a pocket diaper. They fit really well and are super easy. It's like a waterproof cover with a stay dry lines that has a pocket that you stuff with one of their absorbant inserts (or a prefold like I do sometimes). I also just use them like a cover and lay the insert or prefold right on top and wrap it around Kash. My favorite diaper though is another pocket diaper. The Applecheek. It fits amazingly well, is easily adjustable to get a truly PERFECT fit and their inserts are super trim and SUPER absorbant! Plus they are just plain cute on him! They come in two different sizes ranging all the way up toddler days. In fact, today Jack wore one of the size 2's that I bought for Kash to use later. I was avoiding the car seat toilet incident today. It fit him perfectly and he really seemed to like it. It wasn't so "diaperish" feeling to him. I put him in it tonight too with a Fuzzibunz insert and a Blueberry insert to boost it. I'm expecting no leaks! He's also been using Kushies overnight with no leaks but the others feel and look more comfortable to me. Another option for cloth diapering is AIO or AI2 (all in one or all in 2) which basically means it's a diaper and waterproof cover all in one or all in 2 peices that snap together. And, you can get any of the diaper styles I've mentioned in except the gdiaper brand, in a one size fits all. That means it should work from birth to potty training by adjusting snaps for the rise, and sometimes elastic (like the wonderful adjustable waist pants you can buy for kiddos these days) for the legs and waist. We own 3 of these and I have found that they are just too bulky for newborns. I've heard from others that around 4 or 5 months they start fitting great. And really, I guess since newborns aren't moving too much bulkiness doesn't matter but I just prefer not to use them. Except at night. We can stuff them with extra inserts and get a good 10 hours of night time out of them.





Well... that's the beginning of our cloth diapering journey. I'll fill you in on the washing/drying part next time!

Potty Training Tuesday

Potty Training... or, a term I've recently heard, Potty Learning. That sounds a little more accurate here because I'm not full on training Jack. It's more of a self paced learning. He does EXCELLENT when conditions are perfect. Like when we're at home, naked, with the bathroom door unlocked, and I'm not fussing over getting him to go. The best times are when I'm not thinking about it. He just goes on his own. It's when I'm thinking about it and asking often, "need to go potty?" that he refuses and ends up going in his undies or more likely, the floor. He also likes to go in his car seat. I can't figure that one out. Even when we just went to the restroom or even after adamantly refusing to go right before getting in the car... moments later he'll go in the car. Not always but that's one of his favorite places to have an "accident." I think he's doing great though. Not Nelson's successful one week boot camp training from Daddy but he'll definitely be done before Henry's "i'm wearing a diaper 'til I'm three." Phew!

No. Mine!

It's funny how different all the boys are. By the time Nelson was two he not only new all the basic colors, but also the different shades and could say them as clearly as I can. He still talks a lot (and deep for his age I think) and absorbs everything. Henry at that age wasn't talking so much and wouldn't really show me that he knew the names of the colors but he would always group like color objects together.... and toys... always lining them up and categorizing them. He still organizes everything (movies, books, clothes, etc.) perfectly. Jack is 2 now and it just dawned on me that we need to start working on learning our colors. He already knows most of his body parts and is really starting to talk. But he was not in to what I was trying to teach him today. (I know he'll get it one day) He was cracking me up! We had the giant legos ready. My plan was to build towers out of each color and let him knock them down. I started with red tower building and everytime we picked up a red block I would say red. He would then say, "No. Mine!" and take it away from me. Those happen to be his two most used words. Imagine that. He is every bit of a 2 year old boy! ;) We had fun though.. building an array of multicolored towers and crashing them down. Kash slept peacefully through it all. I can't wait to see how his personality turns out. (yes, I realize he is slumped down and looks uncomfortable in that pic but he was breathing and asleep and I needed him to stay that way!)

Clean Enough

I put the boys to bed DIRTY last night. *gasp* They spent a lot of time outside... and not just in regular dirt. Daddy was working on his new truck so there was grease involved. And a can of spray paint that ended up turning Henry's entire bike, along with his fingernails, black. We went to James' captains house to finish up the truck and they all fell asleep on our way back. It was already 10:30 so in to bed they went.

I didn't put Jack in the tub straight away this morning and while I was occupied with something else I heard noise in the kitchen. Then I heard water. When I got to the kitchen I found the step stool right in front of the sink, the water running, the plug in the drain and Jack in the sink holding a glass. Apparently he was ready for a bath. We added some dawn and now he is squeaky clean.

But apparently squeaky clean is not enough. Henry woke up and was sent straight to the shower. Jack wanted to "showa" with Henry. Henry is always happy to have company in the shower and enjoyed shampooing Jack's hair.

But apparently that wasn't enough. A few minutes after Henry & Jack got out of the shower, it was Nelson's turn. Jack wanted to "showa" with Nelson. Surprisingly Nelson was okay with that so he got shampooed again.

Hopefully that is clean enough because between all that, my shower, Kash's bath, and laundry, I think we've used enough water today!

Another Day

I am terrible at keeping this updated. It's been a few months and I won't go into great detail getting caught up because if you know me well then you already know what's been going on. A recap:

The boys had a great school year. Jack is still Jack and a little bit of a stinker. James is back at work full time and loves one job, not the other. His back is great now. Captain is a giant puppy. Annoying inside the house but cute outside. Kash is doing amazing despite his scary grand entrance that was followed by 5 days in the NICU. We are blessed. :) I'm learning how to cloth diaper and I love it. I may create a detailed post about that another day.

It's summer time. Baseball season for Henry is over and Nelson's team made it to the playoffs which starts next week. They are both going to summer camp soon and are excited about that. It's not overnight, just day camp because 1. Henry isn't old enough for overnight yet and 2. I'm not ready for Nelson to be gone overnight for a week yet. I'm not sure he is ready for that either. Other than that I think we're having a pretty low key summer and hopefully the boys are not bored with me yet. I have plans for the zoo, plans for swimming at the lake, and trips to the movies but we haven't done any of it yet. It's been sooo hot. If we could just get going earlier in the day before the heat takes over!

Snow Day!

What a fun day it was last week when it snowed. We didn't think it would actually happen but it did! We are all so excited when after the church the soft white snow replaced the sleet! And even more excited when we remembered that James' dad had given us the sled that was James' when he was a little boy... off to the school we went to slide down the big hill! James and all 3 boys (yes, even Jack!) enjoyed going down. It didn't last too long though because we weren't all dressed quite warm enough. So we hurried home for some delicious hot cocoa that Mrs. Cook had given us (her own recipe) for Christmas. What a great day!

Broken Bow Trip

James and I decided that before he goes back to work (which may be next week!) we should go on a little trip. Once he starts back to work, he won't have any time off again until baby Luke arrives. Oh! I can't remember if I did a previous blog about this or not but baby #4 is a boy and will be called Luke Ryan! Our family will be complete in May!... or June. Anyway, we thought we better take advantage of all of us being home with no plans for a few days and we loaded up and headed to Lakeview Lodge in Broken Bow, OK. It was so beautiful! The weather didn't get as warm as it was forecasted to so we were under dressed. But it was fun to see all the landscape and the boys got to go hiking and learned how to skip rocks on the lake, tried their hand at making arrowheads and did some rock collecting. Our trip was cut short because Jack had a crazy reaction to something (???) Blog about that coming soon. So we can't wait to go back when it's warmer and we have more time. Scroll over the pics below to read the captions :)

Jack's Adventure's in potty training...Part 2

Jack is really getting to know his potty chair! We've had it out where he can see it and he loves to sit on it and even points to his diaper and then to his potty so he is starting to get what it's for. He also goes to sit on it everytime James says that he needs to go potty :) Soon we'll start the real potty training boot camp... I'm not looking forward to that but I am looking forward to the end results!