Sunday, November 30, 2014

Frosty is back…. and some stitches!

Frosty's back!!!!


Our Elf on the Shelf made his return this morning, and the boys were so excited! L especially was really into it! This year, we did something a little different…. we  left a note from frosty, telling the boys how good they had been, but also making a special request. Frosty requested that L pick three toys that he no longer played with that Frosty could take back to Santa, and then Santa could give them to a child in need.

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how this would go over. L tend to get very attached to toys, and I wasn't sure if he would be OK with the idea of giving some of them away. I was surprise, and so so so proud, when he immediately went and picked three toys. And they were nice toys. I thought he might get around this by picking dinky little toys, but he didn't. He pick three nice, sturdy toys and with no hassle.  I'm not going to lie, I had a majorly proud mommy moment!!!

On a different note… I had planned on the boys finding Frosty right after breakfast this morning. We had a nice little Sunday planned, and I thought that would be a great way to kick it off. Unfortunately, our plans got changed. Poor L2 was playing and running around the family room when he tripped and went straight into the side of the coffee table. Needless to say, there was blood. Lots and lots of blood. We immediately piled the kids in the car and headed to the ER, where we spent the next four hours.



Fortunately, he only needed two stitched. The gash was fairly small, but very deep. He did OK, except when it came time to actually do the stitches. L2 is not a fan of doctors as it is, and it ended up taking me and three other nurses to hold him down in order for the doctor to stitch up his forehead. It was pretty awful, but the nice nurse brought him a hot wheels toy as a gift since he was so brave, and L, R, and daddy bought him a cookie while they were in the waiting room. He seems fine now, but we will have to go back to the doctor in five days to get the stitches out!


Friday, November 28, 2014

Happy Thansgiving!

Guys!!! I love the Holiday season!!! 

Did everyone have as good a Thanksgiving as we did? This year was a good one, one to put in the books. My parents came into town and I decided to really give it my all this year! I made my very first Turkey (scary!) and it turned out perfectly, and I made a homemade cherry pie! It's not like I don't cook, I actually really enjoy it, but this was the first year I really attempted the whole shebang for Thanksgiving and I was really proud of the way it turned out! Of course, I was exhausted by the end of the day, after literally spending all day in the kitchen, but it was worth it!



 (My handsome oldest boy!!)

 (Only mildly stressed out while I was cooking up a storm!!)

Really though, is there anything better then getting together with your family, spending the whole day talking and hanging out and cooking and watching football (and maybe enjoying a few beers!). I don't think so. I've always loved holidays, but now that we have kids and especially when we manage to spend them with our extended families from out of town, I appreciate them more and more every year. I know my kids are going to look back on these memories, and I have to say, I think we are creating pretty good ones for them!







We tried to sneak out and take some photos for our Christmas cards. I'm not sure if any of them came out quite good enough for the cards, but they are still pretty cute! I'm not going to share all of them in case I end up using some, but here's a sneak peak!











Not to get all sappy, but we truly have so much to be thankful for. I have three beautiful, healthy, funny, handsome, energetic, loving sons, a husband who supports me and works so hard for our family,  parents and siblings who I adore. We have a nice home and delicious food on the table, and life is overall just pretty wonderful!!






And the best part of Thanksgiving? The fact that it is now officially the start of the Christmas season, my favorite time of the year!!! I pulled out all our decorations today, bought some eggnog from the store, and the kids and I have already watched three Christmas movies! I love this time of year. I love the decorations and the music, I love finding the perfect present for my family (I order something especially special for L today!), and I love the warm and fuzzy feelings that this year brings!!!

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Evicted (The baby, not us!)

Well, S finally won the battle of getting R into his own crib in his own room.

I know, you guys, I know. It's time. On a logical level I totally get that. I mean, he's over a year. We moved L and L2 both at 9 months and people thought we were crazy for waiting that long. I know so many people that move the baby out of there room after a few weeks and feel so relieved to finally have their space back.

I'm just not one of those people. I like having my baby next to me. I like having him in my bed. I like knowing that if he wakes up in the middle of the night I am only a touch away. I feel like I sleep better and get more sleep when he was in our room/co-sleeping. Instead of getting up to comfort him in the middle of the night, walking to the nursery, nursing/rocking/singing him back to sleep and then stumbling back to my bed exhausted, I just grab him bring him into bed and we either night nurse or go right back to sleep.

S has been ready since R was about 7 months. I've held him off as long as I can, but I know it's not totally fair to him when he does want his space back. And I also know I've created some bad (yet wonderful) habits by letting R in our bed and I need to give him the confidence that he can put himself to sleep. That's not to say I'm totally kicking R out of our bed. If he wakes up at night, or in the early morning, he will still be coming in with us. It just works for us right now and it gives me the extra much needed sleep that I need.

So last night was our first night. I have to say, I"m pretty proud of both myself and R. He slept wonderfully, and didn't wake up once throughout the night. I also slept great, and only got up to check on him twice. When we moved L to his own room I slept on the floor the first night, so I'd say I've made some big steps!!! I missed my baby and I missed having him so close to me, but it was nice to not feel like I had to tiptoe around the room when we went to bed in order to not wake him up. S went into check on him before he left for work this morning, and R must have woken up, stood up, and then promptly feel back asleep. Standing up. He was leaning against the crib rail fast asleep!!! I swear, this kid is so funny!!!

Anyway, I think that this step is really making it hit home that my baby isn't such a little baby anymore. Bittersweet to say the least. But, on the bright side, at least when I read in bed at night I can actually use the bed side light instead of using my iPhone!!! Silver linings, am I right?

So on we go to the second night. Cross your fingers we all have as good a night again as we did yesterday!!!

Sunday, November 9, 2014

R's first birthday party!

What a wonderful, amazing weekend we had. We celebrated R's first birthday this weekend with a party. I know his birthday was actually was on Monday, but it worked out for everyone to have the party the weekend after, and we were lucky that both sets of our parents were able to to make it from out of town.



Kids birthdays are kind of a double edge sword for me, especially when they are super young. On one hand, I absolutely love throwing parties of any kind, I love celebrating my kids, and I love getting together with friends and family. On the other hand, they can be super stressful and sometimes I wonder why I put myself through the wringer for a party they won't remember.



This weekend totally ended up being worth it. We haven't had both sets of our parents together for almost five years and we had so many wonderful friends make they trek out to celebrate our little guy.


My parents got here on Thursday, S's parents got her on Friday, and the party was on Saturday. Throw in R's one year doctor appointment and shots, and this week was pretty insane for me. I feel like I spent the whole week cleaning, running errand, preparing food and planning, but it all ended up coming together  perfectly!





We ended up having about 20 people total over at the house, including a handful of kids who ran around like crazy people….. they had fun though!!!



 We got R to take a quick morning nap before the party, so although he got a bit overwhelmed by all the people a few times, overall he was really good and seemed to have a good time!


R had his second "smash cake" and dove right in again. We had to take it away from him finally before he ate the whole thing!





It seems a little surreal that all the celebration is over now, and now he is just one. I really cannot believe a year has gone by since this love bug came into our lives, because I can't imagine our family without him. It's a little bittersweet, but I also love the little boy he is becoming and I love watching him discover new things.




Happy first birthday, my sweet, sweet boy. I love you more than word can even say.


Monday, November 3, 2014

Happy First Birthday, R!!!

One year ago today, my sweet baby R burst into this world. He came fast and furious, with no time for pain medication, barely enough time for my doctor to even get there. One would think with that kind of entrance he would be my dramatic baby, a handful…. but he's the exact opposite.  


R, you are the quite possible the sweetest thing I have ever met in my life. L is my funny, sensitive one. L2 is my stubborn, sassy one. Any you, my baby, are my sweet one. (At least for now, we will see what happened when you turn three!)

I can't believe it's been a year since you've been born. This year has been amazing and wonderful and exhausting, and maybe one of the best years ever, all because you were finally here. It feels like you have always been apart of this family, we wouldn't know life without you.


(A little birthday breakfast for my birthday boy!)

You have been walking for a few month now, and you are getting steadier and faster everyday. You walk more than you crawl. You're still not saying a lot of words, it's mostly "babbababa". It's cute though and you always manage to make what you are feeling known. you like to dance when music comes on and you wave "hi" and "by". I'm hoping you say "mama" soon, although Daddy is pushing you hard for "Dada". L would also like if you made his name your first real word.

We are still nursing and I'm so glad that that relationship is still going strong. I am going to stop pumping since we will start transitioning to cow's milk and I will no longer need a freezer stash. I'm very excited to stop pumping, but I am so happy you are still nursing. Those moments between us are so sweet and special and I'm not ready for them to end.


(Getting a treat at Paradise bakery with L2 after school)

You are finally sleeping better at night, although you are still in our room. S is making the push to move you to the crib in two weekends and I think I'm going to give in. I guess it's time. You usually wake up around 4:30 and come into bed for a "sleep curse" and then spend the rest of the night co-sleeping with me. I love your cuddles and I'm fine if you still want to come sleep with us in the early mornings! You have also started napping in your crib, which is a pretty huge victory and does make it easier for me to get stuff done (or relax, or take a nap) while you are sleeping.




You have pretty much stopped baby food in the past week or so and are eating whatever table food we eat, just cut up small. You have yet to meet a food you don't like, although for some reason you seem to prefer cheerios that have been spilled on the floor by your brothers than eating them in your highchair. You nurse about three or four times a day still, but your main nutrition is coming from table food now.

You love your brothers. You and L2 especially seem to have a special bond, probably because you two spend more time together lately while L is in school. You two fight more, but you are always wresting and playing. I love watching you guys interact. Your first kiss was for mommy, but your second was for L2 and you love giving him kisses these days.


(He was a little hesitant at first, but once he tasted it he went crazy and dug right in!!)



I loved spending the day with you today. Your brothers were at school for half the day and Daddy was at work, so it was just me and you for awhile. I love that time alone with you. We had breakfast and hung out and played. After L2 got home from school (he had an early release day) we went over to Paradise Bakery and you guys got to have a special birthday lunch and even shared a cookie. Then we picked up L and came home for naps and waited for Daddy to come. We made a special pasta dinner for you and had a cupcake and then opened presents.



(The last two pictures are blurry, but this is the face he made when he opened every present. So happy and excited and shocked. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!)

It was just me and Daddy and your brothers for your birthday tonight. On Saturday we are having your big first birthday party. Your Grandparents are coming into town and all of our friends are coming over to celebrate you. It's going to be big and loud and crazy, and I can't wait, but it was nice to have just us tonight. Our little family of five. I love us.




So Happy, Happy, Happy birthday my sweet R. Words cannot describe how much I love you. You are sweet and beautiful and funny and loving. Thank you for being ours.