Monday, January 26, 2009

This never happens. Ever.

Christmas in January

The boys finally got a chance to try out their new quads! With all of the snow and cold weather, it was hard to find a good day to take them outside. It was finally nice last week, so we had them practice on a little cul-de-sac near our house. They both kept crashing into each other, so it was more like bumper cars at first. Jacob caught on really fast though, so Adam increased his speed from 3mph to 5mph. Gavin stayed at the lower speed because he kept riding up on the curb and getting stuck.

We were so glad we decided to get two because they really loved having their own and riding at the same time. We also were glad we decided to get the same quad for both of them. I could just see them both wanting a particular one and fighting over who got to ride it!




What a proud Daddy moment to teach his little boys how to ride!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The things Jacob says

Here are some funny things Jacob has been saying lately.

1. The other night, I heard Gavin in bed crying for Jacob to stop. I went upstairs to see what happened.
M: Jacob, did you hurt Gavin?
J: No mommy. I was giving him chopsticks.
Chopsticks? I was stumped.
M: What are chopsticks Jakey? Did you pretend you were playing the drum on him?
J: No. I gave him chopsticks on his mouth.
I was in total confusion. Finally he pointed to the chapstick on his dresser.
J: His lips hurt mommy, so I gave him chopsticks.

2. We were having salmon for dinner with seasoning on top (that apparently looked like grass). So Jacob informed me that he would like his salmon without grass.

3. For breakfast, Gavin was eating Raisin Bran. Jacob took one look at his cereal bowl and said, "I would like Raisin Bran without the bran."

3. The first day our Christmas tree was up, I was unplugging the lights before we went to bed. Jacob gasped and said, "Mommy! The Christmas tree lights fell off!"

4. Jacob has learned that his Tag reader only holds five books at a time. So when he wants to add another book, he has to choose one book to put away first. He always says, "I will say bye-bye to that book." So one day Jacob was talking about if mommy had another baby in her tummy. Then he thought for a minute and said, "I will say bye-bye to Gavin." I wasn't sure what he was talking about at first, but it didn't take me long to figure it out. He thought if I was going to have another baby, he would have to choose one brother to say good-bye to!

5. This morning, Jacob was talking about Sy. He told us all about how he came out of his mommy's tummy. All of a sudden, he looked worried. "Uh-oh... we forgot to take his mommy home with us!"

6. Last night, I was laying in bed with Jacob and here was how our conversation went.
J: Mommy, I love you.
M: I love you too.
J: Are you always going to be my mommy?
M: Yes. I will always be your mommy.
J: Are you Daddy's wife?
M: Yes. I love Daddy.
J: That makes me smile SO big.

The things Gavin says

Here are some cute things Gavin has been saying lately.

1. He calls Veggietales Rorytales. Whenever we are having vegetables for dinner, he says, "Dis rorytales?" Or if it is a tomato specifically, he will say, "Dis Bob?"

2. Gavin's favorite Christmas show was Shrek the Halls. We had it recorded on DVR and he asked to watch it almost every night. At first I wasn't sure what he was asking for because he would say, "Mommy, I watch Shrekahall?" I finally figured it out. I have to say, it is a pretty cute little show.

3. Jacob was talking about nicknames the other day. He said, "My nickname is Jakey, yours is Gavey-goo, and Casey's is Case-Case." Then Gavin said, "Mommy nickname is hu-nny?" I guess that's all he ever hears Adam calling me!

4. Gavin thinks that the word morning means time to play. So when I come into his bedroom in the morning, he exclaims, "It mording time!" He then proceeds to jump out of bed and run downstairs to play. At night, he almost never wants to go to bed. He always cries, "It not ni-night time! It mording time!" Sometimes when he is having a hard time going to sleep, I will hear him whisper, "Mommy? Is it mording time?"

5. When he was eating pizza for dinner, he saw that there was parsley on it. So he asked, "That yummy flower?" To his credit, it did kind of look like a flower. ;)

6. I love the way Gavin is still learning how English sentence structure works, so he mixes up the order of what he is saying. Instead of saying, "Will you get me milk?" he says, "You get milk for me?" When Adam asks Gavin what he is doing, he says, "Mommy giving hugs with me" instead of "Mommy is giving me hugs." Instead of saying, "I have sandwich in my teeth", he says, "I have teeth in my sandwich."

7. Gavin has a lot of hair, so I didn't realize for awhile that there was dry skin underneath it all. Adam cannot handle the dry skin, so they were cuddling on the couch while Adam scratched it away. I heard Gavin say, "Daddy? Are you getting the birdies out of my hair?" Where he got that... we have no idea.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Dancing around the house

I am definitely not shy when it comes to dancing. Growing up, my friends and I were always choreographing songs and dancing our hearts out. I was the first one out on the dance floor in junior high and high school. Then, when I became a camp counselor during my summers up at Western, I choreographed songs for my campers. We would practice in our cabin and they would perform for everyone at the talent show. I even showed Adam one of the songs I choreographed the first time I met him (Backstreet Boys ~ I want it that way)... so I'm actually a little surprised he stuck with me after that. Or maybe that's why he fell in love. ;)

This is the latest song I can't help but dance to whenever I hear it. Maybe it's because at Zumba, we learned a semi-choreographed dance to it. Maybe I just need an excuse to dance around the living room. Come on, you know you want to. ;)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Cereal for Casey



Another milestone that involves crying? ;) I think we figured this one out though. Bottom line... Casey doesn't like formula. I was really worried at first, since he wasn't taking a bottle and I was one week away from going back to work. After several attempts with different bottles, we finally discovered that Casey would take a bottle with breastmilk.

That's when I realized why he was crying when we fed him cereal for the first time. It was mixed with formula. Once we mixed his cereal with breastmilk, he was smiling, cooing, even giggling down his new food. I was just so relieved he would take a bottle... thank goodness! I've now become a pumping machine (which I'm not a fan of ;), but at least I have the peace of mind that my baby is eating well while I'm at school.

So grown up

I realized that I never posted pictures of Jacob's preschool Christmas program last month. Doesn't he look so grown up... all dressed up?


Wednesday, January 07, 2009

One more day

Tomorrow was supposed to be my first day back at work. I went in for a little bit today to watch my job share partner teach and get to the know the kids. They are a really sweet class... so so cute. I have mixed feelings about going back, but that definitely helps. Thank goodness it's only a couple days a week.

I just found out that school was cancelled due to the flooding up here. I have to admit, I was a little excited to have one more day off. Instead of going to bed, I get to stay up late and hang out with Adam. Tomorrow, I get to wake up to my boys and my sweet baby and play with them all day. After hearing the message on my voicemail, I was screaming, "Yea, yea, yea!" There's just something about knowing you were supposed to work and now you don't have to. You cherish your day off a lot more than usual. It's almost like a snow day... without the snow.

Immediately I heard Jacob say, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Come here!" So I went upstairs to find him sitting upright with a huge smile. "Mommy! Did you just open a present?!" Because in the mind of a five year-old, that is the only reason you would be THAT excited.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Eight years

It is our eighth anniversary today... and Adam's birthday! I know it seems crazy, but we got married on this day for some very special reasons. One was that it was my grandparent's wedding anniversary. Another was that our relationship began on January 6th, exactly two years before we were married. That means we have been together for a decade today. A decade! That is one-third of my life! Wow... I must really love that guy. :)

Adam's dad asked me the other day what I had envisioned for my life before I met Adam. My hope was for a Christ-centered marriage where we would pray together, serve each other, and have unconditional love in this adventure of life. I can honestly say that all of my hopes were found in Adam. He is an amazing husband and truly makes me so happy. I can't even describe how much he loves our boys and I love watching him play with each of them. One thing is for sure, I definitely didn't envision having three boys! Now I think it is such a blessing and privilege though... to raise Godly men in this world.

Recently, my hairstylist was telling me about a marriage series her pastor was doing on the Song of Songs. She wasn't married, but couldn't say enough about how this series had been impacting her life. So Adam and I have been taking a few nights each week to just relax, cuddle on the couch, and listen to them. There are questions to ask each other and we've had some really good discussions. I have learned so much and really feel like our marriage has been strengthened as a result. Anyway, I was so glad she had the courage to tell me about it and I wanted to pay it forward. :)

Adam had to work tonight, but I'm hoping we will get a chance to celebrate our eight years soon! Now that our kids are healthy again.

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Laying low...

Tonight Adam and I were going to celebrate our anniversary. He had the weekend off and my mom was going to watch the kids for us. We were going to eat at the Melting Pot or P.F. Chang's and spend the night at Embassy Suites (where we stayed on our honeymoon night).

Plans changed a little last night.

8:00 pm - As we are getting Jacob ready for bed, I realize he has a fever. So we have him drink a full glass of water, give him some Tylenol, and tuck him into bed.

2:00 am - We hear Gavin coughing and realize when we get upstairs that he had thrown up all of the french fries he ate at Red Robin. Let me tell you, he ate a LOT of french fries.

On a side note, I am not so good with throw up (even if it is my kids). It takes everything in me not to throw up myself. If Adam is home, he always cleans it up and I'll do the laundry and scrub the bed/floor/carpet afterward. I can't describe how thankful I was for Adam to be home to tag team the sickness with me. SO thankful.

2:30 am - Just as we finish cleaning up everything, I go up to lay some towels around Gavin and find that he is throwing up again. So now we have to repeat everything we did thirty minutes earlier, plus give him a bath.

3:00 am - I am worried about getting to Gavin fast enough because our bedroom is downstairs. So we carry Gavin into our bedroom and let him sleep in his sleeping bag on the floor. Just as we get him settled in, he throws up again.

3:30 am - As Adam and I are climbing into bed exhausted, I hear Casey's little cry. So I feed Casey.

6:30 am - Casey wakes up to eat again, but thankfully goes back to sleep.

8:00 am - Jacob and Gavin get up for the day. Jacob starts to throw up and I run him to the bathroom. We made it.

The rest of the day went a little better. Gavin seemed to feel like his little self again and was fine. Jacob slept on the couch in and out of a fever all day. I don't think he even moved.

6:00 pm - Jacob throws up again. This time, we don't make it to the bathroom. More scrubbing and laundry.

7:00 pm - We all go up to our family fun room to watch Wall-E... really cute movie by the way.

8:00 pm - Take all of Jacob and Gavin's fresh laundry out of the dryer, make their beds, and tuck them in. Gavin looks at me and says, "Mommy, I'm all done with hoo-ah. I feel better and better."

Hoo-ah is our family's name for throwing up. Adam tells the boys if they feel sick to run to the toilet and say hoo-ah. So Gavin ran to the toilet randomly throughout the day and said "hoo-ah" in his sweet little voice. I don't think he gets it yet. ;)

All in all, I'm not too sad about tonight. My mom said she would come down after our anniversary so we can go out. And even though they were sick, it was nice to cuddle up with popcorn and watch a movie together. We even danced at the end.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Happy New Year!

I was really grateful just to be at home with my family for the New Year. Adam was on-call, but ended up getting to spend the evening with us. I was SO happy. We picked up a pizza, got some fun New Year things at Party City and just hung out together. We celebrated early with party poppers, silly string, blow horns, and sparklers. Jacob and Gavin loved it. I don't know if they understood what we were celebrating, but they loved it. (We promised Jacob we would wake him up at midnight to say Happy New Year with us, so we did. He was totally out of it, but seemed appreciative that we remembered.)



These were the same sparklers we used at our wedding when everyone was sending us off. Who knew back then that our our kids would be using them someday? :)
Here is a picture of our mess!

The next day, I took down all of our decorations and Christmas tree. Everytime I took down an ornament, Gavin tried to put it back up. It was so cute... they were all piled up together at the bottom where he could reach.
When I was getting together the Christmas books to put them away, he was laying on his tummy reading them one last time. A little nostalgic like his mommy I guess. :)