Loving Eachother

I love days when these guys all play nice. Or at least sort of nice. It looks like Steven may be biting Elise's back in this photo, but she didn't complain so I guess it wasn't too hard. And sometimes for Steven, not biting too hard is as nice as it gets :-).

Going Green

For St. Patrick's Day I always try to make a fun treat that the kdis can help with. This year we made a rainbow cake with a pot of chocolate "gold" at the end of it. Elise and Steven had a lot of fun putting all the M&M's on to make the rainbow, and ate plenty while they were at it.

Medicine

Tonight Steven kept getting out of bed and wandering instead of going to sleep. I kept walking him back to bed and putting him back in. About his fifth time out of bed he came to me looking slightly.... red and sticky around the mouth..... and said, "Mommy, I eat medicine." My heart skipped a beat. I asked him to take me to where he found the medicine. He took my hand and walked me over to a shelf and pointed to some M&M's and said, "Look Mommy, medicine." Phew, crisis averted for tonight. But this boy is definitely contributing more than his fair share of gray hairs to my head. He is now sugared up and not likely to go to bed anytime soon, but at least there was no trip to the ER involved. I hate scares like that!

Random Thoughts On Being a Mom

Last night as I was clearing Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bullseye and Jessie off of my bed so that I could get in it, I thought to myself, "hmmmmm..... this is something I never had to do before I was a mom." It got me thinking about other things I never did before I was a mom, and I found some of them kind of amusing. So, here are the top ten in random order:

Before I was a mom, I never.....
1. Hid while eating a delicious treat so that I wouldn't have to share.
2. Wiped a runny nose with my bare hand and then wiped my bare hand on an article of clothing to get rid of the snot (usually a kids article of clothing, but occasionally my own)
3. Had yoga pants (or sweats, as Chris calls them) as the main staple in my wardrobe.
4. Avoided the mall at all costs because going there is just such a production.
5. Had my purse full to the brim withtoys, snacks, and drinks everywhere I went, "just in case".
6. Bribed the people I went shopping with by giving them candy, popcorn, and/or soda to get them to behave.
7. Listened to tunes such as "Old McDonald Had a Farm," basically everywhere I drove (seriously, sometimes I will be driving somewhere without the kids and will be a good 5 minutes into the drive before I realize that I am listening to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and singing along for absolutely no reason at all.)
8. Ran out the door to an appointment, church meeting, etc., only to realize when I got there that I was covered in _____________ (fill in the blank with anything applicable- cheetohs, barf, ketchup, glue... you get the idea.)
9. Ate an eggo waffle with peanut butter for breakfast nearly every morning because it was just easier to eat what I was making for everyone else.
10. Went many months at a time without ever sleeping more than a few hours straight (thank you Steven and Cameron :-).
11. Had so much laundry to wash or fold that I could literally bury myself in it.
12. Bought almost everything I own at Target.
13. Accidentally spoke the following words to a group of adults by mistake: "I have to go potty." Ooops, did I say that? I meant I have to use the bathroom!
14. Discussed in depth with another adult how to get someone to go poop on the potty.
15. Been peed on while out and about, and decided that it wasn't really that much pee and it would dry soon so I would just finish my errands rather than going home to change first.

Okay, that was actually fifteen, but it's my blog so I guess I can do what I want, right? Anyway, it is kind of funny how having kids changes your life in so many ways that you would never even imagine, and how it is somehow still worth it. It is hard to imagine what life would be like without my three kiddos. Sure I would be well rested, well dressed, etc. However they are definitely worth it.

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Do You See A Resemblance?

Chris got Steven this little stuffed turtle for Valentine's Day because he said he thought it looked like him. At first I thought he was just being silly, but the more I look at the turtle the more I think he is right. Kind of funny.... what do you think? Does he look like a turtle? In the picture I posted of Steven his eyes look really blue, but they are actually starting to turn kind of green so maybe that is why they look similar, but I also think it is something about the smile and the face shape.

Eight Months

The other day I put a bunch of toys around Cameron to keep him amused while I folded laundry. Instead of playing with his toys he spent a good half an hour playing with his drawstrings. I just love the way he can now entertain himself with the littlest things!

Where has the time gone? I can't believe this little guy is getting so close to one year! Cameron is a lot of fun to have around. He is generally a very happy baby. He has two teeth now and likes trying new food. He has a funny little fake laugh that is sort of like a "courtesy laugh," but when something really amuses him (usually Steven) he just cracks up. He scoots around and pretty much gets where he wants to go, but isn't quite crawling yet. He has started getting up on his knees a lot so I'm sure it won't be too long before he does. He likes toys and can amuse himself for a good chunk of time, but he also still loves being held by his mama. He is starting to develop an opinion about people, and he definitely is not a fan of babysitters. He is finally getting onto somewhat of a schedule. For the first seven or eight months he was a terrible napper and just took cat naps, but he will now take a good nap at 12:00 if I can hold him off from cat napping in the morning. He is a terrible night sleeper though because he prefers to snuggle with mom while he sleeps, and if he wakes up and realizes he is in his crib he is quick to let us know he is not pleased. We are working on that one :-). He is a bit of a chunk and weighs over 20 pounds. He loves his big brother and sister, and is very tolerant of them being all over him. Overall, he is a good baby and a happy little guy. Now if we could just get that night time thing figured out!

Allergies

Steven has always had terrible allergies, courtesy of his father who also has them. A few weeks ago he woke up from a nap with one of his eyes nearly swollen shut and the other one didn't looks so good either. The thought of allergies crossed my mind but it just looked so bad that I thought it was surely something worse, so off to urgent care we headed for about the 5th or 6th time this month :-). Anyway, it turns out it was just allergies. Who knew that allergies could be that severe? Poor boy. I gave him some benadryl for a couple of days and then switched him from Claritin to Zyrtec. So far he is doing better, but still complains of them itching sometimes. I wish I took a picture with my real camera, but I only took one with my phone so it is not great. Poor boy!

Pigtails are for Babies!

A few weeks ago when I was fixing her hair, Elise told me that pigtails were for babies. I felt like telling her that she is a baby, she's my baby! Yesterday I thought I would try to slip in pigtail buns for church (and pin the bangs back... they're not my favorite look but she likes them). She once again told me "but Mo-om, Bunny tails are for BABIES!" Yes, we call buns bunny tails. Chris told her to get over it because this is not a democracy but a dictatorship and Mom gets to decide how she wears her hair to church. She wore the bunny tails , but not happily. I let her wear her new heart necklace she made to make up for it.So, today I asked her how big girls wear their hair. She told me in a ponytail with a headband on top. Hmmmm....... I like the pigtails better.

The Breakfast of Champions

Don't tell me this doesn't count as breakfast because it is literally all I have consumed today. It may have to count as lunch too. And all you healthy people out there who are thinking I would really feel better if I just had an apple and some orange juice, I think you're wrong.I'm going to blame it on this little guy. If you think he looks sweet and innocent then I might bring him to you around 3am and we'll see how you feel. He was up for literally hours on end last night screaming at the top of his lungs and wouldn't stop no matter what. He does have a cold which I feel bad about, but I tried to explain to him around 1:30 that screaming wasn't making things better for anyone. He wouldn't listen. I think I need a nap.... and maybe some more Dr. Pepper.

My Little Toy Story Fanatic

Steven LOVES Toy Story. He has a bunch of Toy Story figures which we have to haul with us everywhere we go. It just doesn't get any better than Buzz and Woody for him. The other day I was folding laundry and I left a few piles of laundry on the floor in my room to be put away. On the top of Steven's pile was a Buzz and Woody Pajama top. I went downstairs with Cameron to get a few things done and when I came back up he had found that pajama shirt and put it on over the top of his clothing. I love how it is backwards and one of his arms is going through the neck hole. He didn't even care, as long as he had his Buzz and Woody shirt on. And let me tell you, it was quite a fight to get him to take it off before we went to pick Elise up from school. He was just marching around as proud as a peacock that he had gotten it on by himself and he wasn't about to let me take it off.

Haircuts

About three weeks ago I took the kids all in for haircuts. Elise has two best friends at school that both have bangs, and so she has been thinking she would like to have some herself. She had a hard time deciding if she really wanted them though because she was "worried about her look." What? I didn't know that being worried about your look started in Kindergarten! Anyway, she decided to get them and they turned out cute, although next time we get them trimmed we will definitely go a little shorter because it hasn't even been a month and they are already getting too long. Steven just got his standard boy cut which is always an adventure with Steven since he hates getting his hair cut. It was funny to me though that they actually asked if I wanted Cameron's hair cut too. Ummmm..... what are they going to cut off? He doesn't have much hair to begin with. I guess they'll do anything to make a buck though.

Kid Prison

The kids got a soccer set for Christmas. Steven prefers using the nets to lock himself in jail as opposed to actually playing soccer with them. Sometimes he is a funny kid!

New Years

I just love the Rose Parade. I love the floats, the bands, the fly over of the stealth bomber, the family, the food, and the fun. And there are very few places around where you can enjoy 80 degree weather in January... perfect! My kids love the donuts, the poppers, the silly string, the cousins, the second cousins, having Nana and Papa in town, saving seats, the walk to Great Nana house afterwards, the rice krispy treats and hot chocolate, the horses, the bands and the floats as well. It is something they look forward to every year!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle..... Until January?

Yes, this Christmas post is very late. But then, at least I'm not blogging about Christmas in February, even if it is only a few days away.

Christmas morning is always a lot of fun with kids. This was a year of trains and Toy Story for Steven, so it was appropriate that Santa brought him a train tent and a Buzz Lightyear. And for Elise this year was all about princesses and starting school, so she was thrilled that Santa brought her a desk to do her homework at and a princess art set. Cameron was mostly just interested in the wrapping paper and package trimmings and could care less about presents, which was good since he didn't get very many. What does a six month old really need anyway? A few new toys to chew on and he was happy as a clam.

The afternoon was spent with family, and the cousins even did a Christmas nativity scene - or at least that is what I hear - I spent the afternoon sick in bed. I did find a few pictures of it on the camera though so Chris must have snapped a few shots, and from the looks of it a good time was had by all.

A few photos, in random order because I am too dumb to figure out how to get them in the order I wanted: