House of Testosterone

It's summer!

2011-06-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

Kids are out for summer and we are trying to make it a fun one!

Alex graduated kindergarten and is moving onto 1st grade next year. Aidan graduated prek3 and will be moving into the regular prek4 class this Fall. And Andrew will be heading to the 3 yr old preschool class in the Fall at the Church. Alex lost his 2nd tooth recently and was very excited with his 2$ tooth fairy money. Alex started the Boys and Girls club today and will go every day until the end of June. They keep them pretty busy with activities--swimming 3x a week and going to the movies once a week. They will also do a few field trips and go to the park a lot!

Aidan also had his first day of summer school today. He will go for 3 weeks and then have a 2 week break and then do another 3 weeks. He seemed to have a good day today and even told me he learned "the letter A makes the a sound" Andrew will start summer mom's day out tomorrow. Very much looking forward to an hour alone!

As for me--I have gotten into the Nursing program at school and will start nursing classes in the Fall. I have one class to take this summer--Microbiology and am dreading it. Really hoping it isn't too hard! It's only for 6 weeks so at least it will be done and over quickly. I have recently heard about the WIA program--workforce investment act--and am waiting on more information about it in July. Apparantly there are grants available(free gov't money!) that I may be qualify for since I have a degree but haven't been able to get a job in that field. I am really hoping to qualify for it especially since it will reduce my student loan debt!

A few new pictures of the kids:

Recent pictures!

2011-04-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

I am on a roll tonight!
Just wanted to post a few recent pictures of the kids since they can change so quickly!

And a video of Aidan talking!

Alex is 6!

2011-04-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Alex is already 6! Doesn't seem like that much time has passed some days. Alex has recently learned to ride his bike without trainers as well as lost his first tooth! We are working on reading but I think he is still a long ways off. Also working on no thumbsucking which he seems to get better at.

Alex had a wonderful birthday party and got most of everything he wanted!

Alex also got his orange belt in his karate class a few months back! He should be getting his next belt sometime soon. He really seems to like karate but it is at 530-630 on a school night and he gets very tired and has some trouble on some days.

Alex riding his bike

2011-04-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

Alex is now riding his bike without training wheels!!

Alex also lost his first tooth the same week he learned to ride without training wheels!

Spring is here!

2011-04-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Spring is one of my favorite times of year! Cold and dreary winter leaves and with that so does my seasonal depression! With Spring came Alex losing his first tooth AND him learning to ride his bike without training wheels. All in the same weekend!

I also have started back to school at the beginning of March. I am taking 2 classes and they are going well so far. I won't hear until summer if I get into the nursing program. I really hope I get in. I did very well on my NLN test so am hoping that helps me get in.

Aidan has been doing well. We still butt heads frequently since he is so strongwilled. He started back at Tech for the Spring Quarter for Speech and is really liking his new clinician so far. He is talking so much and his understanding seems really good! Mainly we are working on articulation b/c his pronounciation of words is not that good!

Andrew is Andrew. Still good-still a huge talker-better than Aidan most days. Picking up on Aidan's bad traits--like throwing things. He also likes to bite Aidan. He bit him on the butt a few weeks ago!

Halloween

2010-12-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

Oops, just realized I forgot to post our Halloween pictures, see I told you we have been busy with life!

Our crew went as the Toy story Gang, Alex was Woody, Aidan was Buzz, and Andrew was Trex!

Been a while, time for an update!

2010-12-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

We have been very busy lately, have had Thanksgiving, school functions, karate tournaments, 2 rounds of sickness, a week out of town, and then regular, everyday life thrown in as well.

Let's see, Alex went on his first hunting trip to Texas with my dad and a few other family members. He was gone all Thanksgiving week. I went to Mississippi with the other 2 and Edward's Mom and sister to see some of Edward's family. We were hit by a very bad stomach bug. Alex had a karate tournament and placed 3rd for Chanbara(sword fighting), 4th for self defense. He is very proud of his trophy. Alex also had to get a tooth capped b/c he had a cavity that grew from within and it broke his tooth, sucks we didn't know it was there :( Alex also is sick again, suspected flu but who knows! Aidan is doing well-enjoying school, singing Jingle Bells. Andrew is also doing well, talking lots, enjoying Mom's Day Out, and into everything. They all got to go see Santa which was a success, no crying! Andrew got a big boy haircut, so sad, but he is still a cute little boy!

Have taken really cute pictures of the kids for the Christmas card but it looks like I have very little time to sit down and actually make it, so family members, you may receive a facebook card :) I heard on the radio that it is kind of tacky, but that is all the time I have!

A few pictures
Aidan signing Jingle bells for a city function

Pictures I was going to use for the christmas card

Andrew's haircut, and yes I do believe I will grow it back out. I love the long look for him and I think Edward prefers it as well

As for me, I stay rather busy and have gotten into couponing. It is so much fun! I love seeing how much money I save(tons) and being able to help out family members with the free things I get. Edwards thinks I am a bit neurotic though :) Edward has now switched to working days, I am loving that. No more sleeping the day away on his off days, we can actually get more accomplished, he can take the kids to school(we are rotating days), pick them up, and be a lot more helpful in general. It is very nice. Of course on the days he works he is gone by 430 am and home by 7pm and in bed not too long after, but can help put kids to bed and I think we are both enjoying that. No more worries for me about people breaking in, and trust me, I am neurotic about that too!

Oh, the kids got their new bunk beds, aren't they fabulous!

Edward is on his 2 week vacation right now, which we are all enjoying! Kids are out of school for 2 weeks at the end of this week and I think we all need a break. Alex needs a little time to get better! He has been hit with too many bugs this season. We will be going to Dallas on the 19th-23rd to have Christmas with family and then we will be back home to have Christmas here.

Our Christmas card preview

2010-12-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

Seasonal Chic 2010 Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

School has started!

2010-09-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

Aidan and Alex both started school last Thursday, the 26th. They both seem to be enjoying it. Alex is in Mrs. Neal's class and from what everyone tells me, she isn't a nice teacher at all. I don't know but so far he has had no issues with her and says she is nice. I am hoping it stays that way and he has a good first year.

Aidan also started school at Lincoln Center. He is Mrs. Anderson's class, which is the 3 yr old class for special needs kids. I have only met 3 of the other children in the class(the boys) and they seem really sweet. I am not sure what issues the other children have but honestly I think my worries about him being around other children with problems worse than him(like autism)and him picking up bad behaviors have been eased. Not saying he still won't pick anything up but I think it is going to be ok!

Andrew starts Temple's Weekday program next Tuesday and will go Tues/Thurs from 930-230. I met his teacher the other day and she seems really nice, as did the other children.

Andrew's 2 yr pictures

2010-07-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Had a little time over the weekend and it was nice and overcast so I decided to do Andrew's pictures, only a month early.

Happy 3rd Birthday Aidan!

2010-07-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today is your 3rd birthday and it has turned out to me a mighty fine day. You got to have a Toy Story party at Chuck E Cheese, which was awesome. You got some awesome presents-Toy Story PJs, Woody doll, Buzz doll, remote control car, giant 18 wheeler, books, Lincoln logs, and a ton more stuff.

Today I actually got you to say "3 yrs old" I don't think you have a clue what it means but you did say it several times!

From left to right-my nephew Maddox, Aidan, my nephew Mitchell

We also got him a new bike and it is a hit!

Alex singing Twinkle Twinkle

2010-07-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

After Andrew started singing, Alex decided he would as well.

Andrew singing Twinkle Twinkle

2010-07-09T07:35:00.001-07:00

He just began to sing in the last few days. It's a little hard to hear him since the other 2 are being very loud!

Vacation Bible School Program video

2010-06-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

Alex and my neices had their bible school program at Temple Baptist Church on Sunday and it was very cute. Alex hid behind the boy beside him so you can rarely see him but you can see my neice as she loves to perform!

My carbon copy!

2010-06-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

I love how Andrew takes after me, finally got a child of mine that you can look and tell we are related!
A picture of my sister and I, I do believe I am the one on the right, but I could be wrong!

And Andrew:

Silly Andrew

2010-06-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

Andrew is so different from both of the other 2 boys. He is happy like Alex was as a baby/toddler but he is also extremely active. His physical skills are better than many of Aidan's!

He decided he wanted to wear Alex's boxer shorts, so he put them on all by himself.

Playing with Mr Potato Head

The Turtle

2010-06-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

We found a turtle a few days back and took it home to play.

"oh my God"

2010-06-23T20:30:00.001-07:00

This is Aidan's newest phrase. I know it isn't PC or anything, but I can't help but love it! And as you notice, his little brother picked it up too.

Garden-May 28, 2010

2010-05-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

I took new pictures today.
Squash-was growing really well but I pulled out a few of the plants to give it all more room to grow and think that may not have been a good idea. They don't seem to be producing near as much now and not looking as pretty. We will see in a few weeks. There are 2 cucumber plants in with the squash plants and I think they may be taking over as they are doing really well, so that could be the problem, who knows!

Bell Pepper plants-I've been thinking about pruning a few of these out as well to make more room but am afraid to mess up a good thing. We have tons of bell peppers growing, although I'm afraid they may be too heavy for the plants so need to figure something out soon, as to whether I want to get some kind of support for them and even what the best thing would be to get:

Pumpkin plants--These just sprouted up. I am hoping that we have some nice, good sized pumpkins in time for Fall/Halloween:

Watermelon/cucumber--This is the biggest bed we have and it has been taken over very quickly! The watermelon vines are everywhere and I do believe they will be all over the yard soon enough :) I have about 1/2 cucumber plants and 1/2 watermelon plants in here. The watermelon plants have a few flowers on them already, hoping we get some good sized melons out of the plants before the growing season is over.

Tomato plants-we have a ton of tomatoes on the plants, 1 just started turning red, can't wait for the rest to finish ripening!
The topsy Turvy fell one day-it just wasn't strong enough to hold all that dirt/water where we had it hanging so it is gone. We still have the other upside down one but it doesn't seem to grow near as well as the ones we have in planters. It isn't near as leafy or have any offshoots like the other 2 do.

Here is the biggest tomato plant:

And the smaller one--I think we need to get a support for this one but I'm afraid we would damage the roots. This one hasn't grown near as tall as the other, wonder if it is b/c it is in a smaller bucket or what.

So that's the majority of our garden. One section of flowers died--I think I overwatered them, who knows. The other flowers are doing fairy well. I did decide to prune the lilies and that was apparantly not a good idea b/c now they have no flowers on them and haven't for over a month.

I now have a better idea of what we will do next year to have a better setup. I think we are definitely sticking with the watermelon and cucumber, going to still do the bell pepper plants but will do less of them-maybe 6-7 plants total, and 4-5 squash plants total. Edward wants me to do some carrots so I will look into that. I would really like to plant a few plant trees--mainly apple and pear but I don't have the patience to wait several years for them to produce, plus I am hoping to not live here in 5 yrs!

Alex's preschool graduation

2010-05-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Alex had his last day of preschool week before last and they had a little ceremony where all of the kids sang a few songs for all of the parents. Alex sang along with a few but then decided to pout-I think b/c the boy next to him was pouting so he copied him.

Alex and his teacher, Mrs Barron, and the teacher's aide, Mrs Franklin:

At the preschool program:

My neice, Madelyne, she is in the pink shirt:

Aidan's burn

2010-05-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the washing machine moved so that we could gather all of the socks that had fallen behind there. I had forgotten the dryer was running and Aidan leaned up against the backside of it and ended up with a 2nd degree burn on his arm. It looked awful but is healing rather nicely now. Not sure if it will scar but the pediatrician seems to think it will.

Garden in May

2010-05-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

Lots of things are coming up. Have lots of little squash on the plants, tons of tomatoes, saw a few flowers on a couple of bell pepper plants but not many. I just planted the watermelon and canteloupe so not sure if those will even fruit up before summer is over, but fingers crossed! Kids have pulled several tiny tomatoes off of the plants, hoping they will let the others keep growing so we can continue with my master plan of making spagetti sauce.

Pictures from today:

Look at that squash!

These are the squash plants, a few cucumber plants, and a few bell pepper plants

Bell Pepper plants:

Brussels sprouts, I just got these started about a week ago.

watermelon, canteloupe, and a couple cucumber plants. Also just started these a week ago.

Tomato plants:

I also planted pumkins yesterday. I had saved some seeds from last year's pumpkin so hopefully they sprout up in a few weeks. I am really hoping we get some pumpkins and we can decorate our house with them for Fall.

I am loving the gardening thing. I never had much interest in it and really didn't until I started it. But I am loving watching everything grow and produce. I sure hope it all tastes good!

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

I have had a good Mother's Day so far. We went shopping last night to get me some new pants, shoes, and shirts as most of my other pants are a bit too big! Which is nice. I have finally gotten to 195 lbs and am hoping to lose another 40 by Christmas. It is slow going bc I have little time/energy for exercise and am mainly relying on eating healthily but I am refusing to change everything as I want life's indulgences as well. So it is slow, but it's moving down.
Aidan made me a flower pot at Mom's Day Out, I have no clue what it is! It looks sort of like grass, it's not a flower, wondering if it is a herb of some kind. Here is a picture:
Before it sprouted:

Sprouted:

Every mother's day I try to get a picture of the kids and I. I have so few pictures of us together so I make it a point to get one every year on this day!

And this is what my sister Jennifer bought me, isn't she awesome?!

Health Insurance

2010-04-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

We recently found out that Edward's work(or the state of Louisiana) will be changing their insurance carrier. Apparantly every 3 yrs that take new bids to get a cheaper plan to stay in budget. So we will no longer have the wonderful Humana that we have now.

Am I worried? Yes. Mainly b/c I am so used to what we have and insurance can be particularly confusing in figuring out just which plan fits our needs best.

From the information available, it looks like we will be able to choose from Blue Cross Blue Shield which is an HMO plan like we have with our current Humana, a Medical Home HMO plan from vantage, or a PPE plan with Office of Group Benefits. I know we will not go with the PPO plan as we can't afford to pay that much out of pocket until meeting a deductible. I love our HMO b/c it allows us to pay a copay everytime we go and the copay is only 15-25$, depending on if it is a specialist or not.

I have looked into the Vantage Medical home HMO and although I don't fully understand it, it sounds similar to what we have now. Waiting on information from the state that will outline all 3 plans and then we can decide which one to get. I'm truly hoping they are all affordable and we can continue with private insurance.

Oh and from what I have read, sounds like none of them will cover anything to do with hearing aids/implants, which sucks.

Bubble Fun

2010-04-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

The kids got a new bubble machine for Easter and it has been a big hit. Although Aidan likes to dump the bubbles out and Andrew likes to try to carry the machine around, thus dumping the bubble solution out.

Our Garden this week

2010-04-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

Everything is growing so well! I think the squash plants look the best--they are the ones that are the big leafy ones. The bell peppers look really good too of course. And then the tomatoes also look great--I have one that is potted, and then one in a topsy turvy, and the 3rd one is also upside down, but in a different type of hanging basket I got from walmart. Thought I would try out different things to see what does the best. I think I am not liking the walmart hanging basket near as much as the topsy turvy b/c it isn't near as deep as the topsy turvy, which equals less room for roots to grow. Thinking about buying another Topsy Turvy to replace that one with, but not so sure how I would switch that plant out. One tomato plants has a very small green tomato on it--but to be fair, I bought it that way :) I am hoping everything will produce this year. It is a lot funner than I anticipated, especially after all the hard work of setting it up is done. I have NO clue when to expect the plants to start producing fruit and have tried to find some answers on the net, but have not come across anything too helpful. We have red, green, and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, and 3 tomato plants. I planted plenty of everything in hopes that something would produce, haha. My end goal is to have enough for our family as well as to share with the rest of the family. I'd especially love it if I could chop and freeze some bell peppers for fajitas later on and I'd also like to try to make and can our own spagetti sauce and salsa if we can get any/enough tomatoes.

A few pictures:

Tomato plant in a regular pot, this is the one that has the tiny green tomato on it

Topsy Turvy tomato:

Hanging basket, upside down tomato, that I want to put into another Topsy Turvy:

I'm going to take new pictures of the squash and bell peppers today and they have gotten even bigger than last weeks picture, but here is last weeks so you can compare to today's when I go out and get it.

Recent pictures of the kids

2010-04-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

The days go by super fast and it surprises me at times that I have 2 toddlers. It seems just like yesterday when Andrew was crawling around and Aidan was in the beginning stages of his speaking journey. But nope, we have a 5 yr old, a nearly 3 yr old, and a nearly 2 yr old! And here is a few recent pictures to show just how cute(and grown up) they are getting!

Andrew likes to eat things, as well as sticking them up his nose and in his ears. Here he is eating a penny:

Alex in the tree in our front yard:

Aidan playing:

Andrew:

And a picture that I couldn't decide whether I should share or not. Obviously I chose to, but I may remove it later on, we will see:

Aidan and potty training

2010-04-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Today finished up week 2 of potty training for Aidan. He has done awesome with it and I think has hada total of 1-2 accidents, all of the other pees have been in the toilet. He is not yet pooping in the toilet so he is in pullups b/c I don't want to have to clean nasty underwear. In the last several weeks he has been going and then wanting me to change him immediately but I don't think he knows beforehand that he needs to poop, otherwise maybe he is too afraid to sit on the potty and go, who knows. I'm hoping by the end of the summer, when he goes to preschool, that he will be both pee and poop trained.
I have to say, it was so much easier than I expected! I thought it would be a lot tougher since his language is delayed and didn't know if he would understand what I wanted him to do. What do you know that all it took was seeing Alex go pee before bath and Aidan started doing it. So thanks Alex for showing your little brother what to do!

Our Garden

2010-04-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

Not really sure what got into me but I decided we would do a garden this year. I sure hope it is successful! We have planted bell peppers, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a blackberry and raspberry bush. We also planted some flowers---Alex picked out a petunia, then we got a couple of calla lily's(my favorite!) another type of lily that I can't remember the name of, and then some other flowers that I can't remember.

Pictures:

Easter

2010-04-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Kids had a wonderful Easter. We went to my dad's house for Easter dinner and an egg hunt, which was a lot of fun. Especially since we got to check out my dad's new house, which is awesome!

Pictures:

My twin sister, Katie, and my newest neice Mallory.

Group photo of the neices and nephews

Alex's 5th birthday

2010-04-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

Finally having a chance to sit down and share some pictures of Alex's birthday. He had a very good one--we got them a trampoline to share between the 3 of them and they are loving it. Us too since if we take them outside to jump in the afternoon, they are worn out and go to bed easily! He got a Superman cake for his party and had our neices and nephews(and their moms!) come over and had a good time!

I haven't scheduled his 5 yr checkup yet, but I did measure/weigh him and he is 42.2" tall and 42.2 lbs--61% for weight, 39% for height.

Pictures from the party:

Aidan's haircut

2010-03-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I decided to shave Aidan's hair. Mainly b/c the time before when I cut it with the clippers, I couldn't get it all one length b/c he was having a fit. It started growing back in kind of funky, so I decided I would shave it fairly close and then it would grow back in evenly, at least I hope it will!

Picture of it before I shaved it:

And yesteday at the park-about 4 days after I shaved it:

I think it is super cute shaved, but I really like it longer as well, so as long as it doesn't bug me while it is growing in, I won't cut it, just trim as needed. The only problem with it being this short is that you can easily see his two scars from his surgeries and there is a smallbald spot on the left side from where his incision on that side took a while to heal. Not much of a big deal, but it sure is strange seeing those scars there.

Andrew's 18 month checkup

2010-03-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

Andrew had his checkup a few days ago. He is 23 lbs 8oz, and 33" tall. On the skinny side, but is consistent at 15% on his growth curve, so no big deal. Had to get his glucose levels checked b/c he had been drinking upwards of 70oz of fluids a day-50 of that water. But all is well.

He is talking so much, guess that is the advantage of sitting in on all of Aidan's speech therapy sessions. He is incredibly active-very physical---running, climbing, jumping down the stairs, any daredevil stunt he can imagine, he will attempt it.

He had his first eye exam a few days ago, Alex also had one. They both have perfect vision, but we were also told that they are both farsighted. Not really sure how those 2 can go together-perfect vision and being farsighted, but OK. No need for glasses for any of them yet, but if we notice any of the kids squinting or having problems readin(mainly Alex right now) then we will go that route. I'm guessing that at minimum that will all have at least reading glasses as almost everyone in my family has glasses/contacts. I think kids in glasses are cute, so no big deal :)

He is also fully off the bottle now, thank goodness! It's been about a week now. We had held onto it since he is still in our bedroom since we have no where else to put him, and with Edward sleeping during the day, it was hard to put him down and make him cry while Edward is trying to sleep. But we've settled into another nap and bedtime routine that seems to be working.

A quick video of Aidan and Andrew a few weeks back:

His 18 month pictures we did a few days ago:

Snow Day

2010-02-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the snow started coming down around 1030-11am. It melted soon as it hit the ground. However, it snowed all day and all night and by morning there was about 4-5" on the ground. Kids piled on some clothes--3 layers of shirts and 2 layers of pants, socks on Andrew's hands since we don't have gloves, and then we took them outside. They loved it, it was incredibly exciting for them. However when Andrew or Aidan fell down they would start screaming b/c the snow was too cold and they didn't want to put their hands down to help themselves get back up. And of course I had to take a picture of them screaming and crying.

The Self Sufficient Husband?

2010-01-31T12:52:00.000-08:00

Nope, he doesn't live here. Over the past several months I have realized that Edward no longer knows how to do anything for himself-if he ever did.
The Evidence:
1. He doesn't know how to cook, unless you count scrambled eggs and sandwiches. I don't think he has ever made a meal for the kids that didn't involve chicken nuggets, PB sandwiches, or Mcdonalds. If I want them to have something nutritious, which I do!, then I have to prepare it myself and plate it up and put it in the fridge for later. That is if I am going out, which rarely ever happens.
2. When he loses something, he doesn't know how to look for it. Moves a few things around and tells me he can't find it. Doesn't seem to realize that you must move things in a specific way to look under papers, in baskets, etc. Somehow I always find said missing item within a few minutes.
3. He somehow thinks the counter is the trashcan, or his pockets. I am constantly finding cheese wrappers or Dr Pepper cans littering the countertops. Why? I guess those extra 2 feet to the trash can are too tiresome.
4. A few months back he came home from work and asked me if we had an iron. No, we don't, we have no room for an ironing board and I don't own clothes that need it. His response? We might need to get one, the boss said my clothes were too wrinkly today so you might need to start ironing my uniform. Umm? Excuse me? Those are not my clothes and I'm not ironing them, I have no time! Oh and then I got this gem, "when you wash and dry my clothes, can you make sure to hang up my uniform immediately?" Umm, yea sure. Which made me realize that he no longer does laundry, never really did other than putting something in the washing machine a few times a week or the dryer if I asked him to.
5. Dirty clothes belong on the bathroom floor apparantly as the basket 5 feet away is too far. Oh and stepping onto the actual bathroom rug when done showering? Hmm, apparantly that is too much work as well. Can't tell you how many times I have gone into our bathroom after his shower and step in a pile of water on the floor. Too much work to dry off while standing in the bath/shower and too much work to stand on the actual bathrug.
6. His truck is STILL registered to Texas. He has lived in Louisiana now for 4 years. Why is it not registered here? B/c he doesn't have the title. So he hasn't called the bank who had the title to find out how he can get it--whether or not it was transferred somewhere else during his bankruptcy or what, we don't know, but you have to actually call to find out about that. Oh and he doesn't have a current inspection sticker either. Why? B/c you have to have the registration to do that, and he doesn't have that b/c he doesn't have the title. I've stopped mentioning it to him about 18 mths ago, if he hasn't done it by now, what makes me think he will ever do it? Plus, as late as it is, who knows how much it will cost?! I had set aside 500$ 3 1/2 yrs ago so he could get it taken care of-was really hoping it wouldn't cost that much but we needed to be prepared just in case, however, the money sat there for several months and he told me to send it to a credit card bill as he didn't have time to take care of it yet.

So yes, this is a rant about me being tired of said things. I get it, he works, I don't get paid for my work as a mom/chauffeur/cook/bill payer/cleaner/dog walker/language teacher to Aidan. I understand that the bulk of household/child responsibilities fall on me, but that does not mean that said person can't do some simple things to make my job a little easier-like putting your dirty clothes in the basket, actually using the bathroom rug after showering, and throwing trash away in the trash can.

So, in order to compensate myself for my grievances, I have decided to no longer do his laundry. Which means I am not picking his dirty clothes off of the bedroom/bathroom floor. If he puts it in the basket(he has a choice of two) then I will wash/dry them, but again, I'm not folding/hanging them up. This has been going on about a week now and I'm not sure he has noticed. He did get out of the shower the other day and went to get underwear, poked his head out and said "my underwear aren't in the drawer, where are they?!" Did he look in the basket that houses the clean clothes, nope. Didn't even occur to him. I haven't said anything about me not doing his laundry, I'm hoping he will figure it out himself , but alas, men can be rather dense about this sort of thing and need a lotof direction in every step they need to take. So I will give him one more week to figure it out and if he doesn't get it by then, I will tell him that he needs to take care of his pile of laundry himself from now on.

Oh and to add one last tidbit, I am glad that my husband is able to work, and I can stay with the kids for now. I know he works 12 hr shifts 5 days some weeks and 2 days other weeks, so yes, I know it isn't feesible for him to do all of his laundry on a day that he works, I'm just asking for a little help such as putting his clothes in a basket so I can then wash them and he can fold them. I don't think it is too much to ask. If I was working I can guarantee I would be doing the same things I am now plus work.

Height and Weight charts of the kids

2010-01-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

Got them all measured today, and it is as follows:
Andrew
Birth: 7 lbs5oz-32%, 21"-87%
2 months: 11 lbs0oz-35%, 23"-56%
3 months: 11lbs5oz-11%, 25"-85%
4 months: 13lbs0oz-16%, 26.5"-94%
5 months: 15lbs0oz-30%, 26.5"-78%
6 months: 16lbs8oz-33%, 27"-75%
7 months: 18lbs0oz-40%, 29"-95%
8 months: 17lbs0oz-11%, 29.5"-95%
9 months: 18lbs80z-20%, 30"-94%
11 months: 20lbs0oz-20%, 30"-72%
12 months: 21lbs7oz-30%, 31"-84%
13 months: 21lbs7oz-24%, 31"-77%
14 months: 22lbs0z-22%, 31.5"-75%
15 months: 22lbs0oz-18%, 32"-77%
17 months: 221bs8oz-15%, 32.25"-61%

As you can tell-low percentiles for weight and high for height-so tall and skinny for the moment.

Aidan:
Birth: 9lbs2oz-87%, 19.5"-42%
2 months: 12lbs0oz-57%, 21.5"-50%
3 months: 13lbs0z-46%, 25"-85%
18 months: 25lbsoz-39%, 31.75-33%
20 months: 26lbs0z-42%, 32"-23%
24 months: 28lbs0o-58%, 35.35"-78%
30 months: 31lbs4oz-67%, 35.5"-30 %

Aidan is average for weight and on the shorter side. I have more of his measurements but not on me, so maybe I will update them when I get a free moment.

Alex:
Birth: 7lbs15oz-50 %, 21"-87%
2 months: 10lbs3oz-19%, 22.5"-38%
4 months: 14lbs4oz-74%, 24.5"-71%
4 years: 41lbs0oz-61%, 42"-42%
I would have to really dig to get most of his, but since I have his baby book beside me, I can add some of the earlier ones and then his current one.

Our 2010 goals

2009-12-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

I rarely make New Years Resolutions, just not my style. However this year I am making a few goals that I would like to be realized by the end of next year(2011). I would like to get this family healthy--mainly myself--I'd like to lose 30 lbs by September, I'd like Alex to try more good for you foods, and I'd like Edward to try to eat a little healthier as well. Not sure I can pull off the last one as he hasn't changed in 30+ years. I also hope to get Aidan pottytrained by the end of the summer, hoping I can also work with Andrew as well. Our next big goal for the year is to get as much debt paid off as possible, we are currently sitting at about 5000$ in credit card debt and 6000$ in medical debt(no interest), not that bad but if it is paid off we can clear up a lot of money to start saving for a house one day. We have been doing the Dave Ramsey Plan for a while and paying down a ton of debt, however dental bills have kept us from really making a dent in it, hopefully by the end of 2011 it will all be gone.

Christmas with the Weavers

2009-12-25T11:59:00.000-08:00

We all had a wonderful Christmas here. We spent Christmas Eve with my dad and family. Had gumbo and crawfish pie and all sorts of other goodies for dinner, a Louisiana Christmas :) It was nice, not too much fighting between the kids. We made cookies Christmas Eve, which was a blast!

Then we sprinkled reindeer food for Santa's reindeer outside and set a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies out for Santa alongside some cold milk. And then bed, which Alex and Aidan didn't manage to fall asleep until 10pm nearly.
I woke up at 5am to Alex in the room, wildly exclaiming that Santa had came and left tons of presents and filled
his stocking! Convinced him to go back to sleep with me for a while and then we all got out of bed at 8am.
Everything was a hit, Alex especially loves his Nintendo DSi, Aidan is digging his playdoh creativity set, and Andrew is loving his Little People minivan and LeapFrog Tad.
The tree filled with presents on Christmas Eve:

Aidan tearing into his stocking:

Alex digging in to his stocking:

And Andrew checking his stocking out as well:

Present opening:
They got Spike the Dinosaur

Oh, and all of these pictures were taken on MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT, the Canon Rebel XS! My camera has been losing function for a good year now and we finally were able to get a new one with our Christmas money!

Andrew's First Haircut

2009-12-12T20:14:00.000-08:00

Andrew got his first haircut while we were in Dallas.

Before:

After:

Christmas in Dallas

2009-12-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

We had an early Christmas in Dallas since Edward had his 2 week vacation. Had a wonderful time, kids enjoyed seeing family and playing with their new toys, as did Mommy and Daddy.
Opening presents:

We also went to the Children's Musuem with Alex and Aidan:

Self feeding

2009-11-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

Andrew has figured out how to feed himself with a spoon. I knew he was getting close as he is also using a fork to stab his food. Today I gave in and gave him his own bowl of applesauce. He managed to get most in his mouth. Next time we will do yogurt since it is easier. I thought this would come a bit later than 15 mths but he likes to be a big boy like the other two.

Halloween and La State Fair

2009-11-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween plans were to go to the downtown trick or treat on Friday the 30th and then to go to the Louisiana State Fair in Shreveport on Saturday. No going door to door as last year the kids liked the downtown stuff better. However we have had massive amounts of rain this month and Friday we got even more which ended up knocking the power out for most of the town. I even had to pick Alex up from school at 11am bc the school had been without power since 830am and couldn't serve lunch. So the downtown trick or treat was cancelled. So wasn't sure what to do until my dad mentioned that the Shreveport outdoor shopping mall was having a trick or treat as well. This mall is about as big as our downtown is so thought that would work out nice. We went to the fair Saturday and had a great time. Aidan and Alex rode a ton of rides and played lots of games. Even had their first funnel cake. We left Andrew with my dad for the afternoon since Andrew would not get much out of the fair and it would be easier on us.

After the fair we ate dinner with Dad at a catfish/BBQ place and then headed to the outdoor mall. We were not prepared for the amount of people there-took is 25 mins to get from the onramp to the mall-and it is only 2 miles from the interstate. But we made it, got their costumes on and hoped it was ok. It wasn't. It was packed, none of the stores were passing out candy, they had a few tables set up in the center of the mall and the kids each got about 5 pieces of candy. We left. We felt bad they didn't get to do any trick or treating so we headed to near Dad's work where there are a few houses I know of. Yea, not a good idea either as they were evacuating people b/c of the rising waters-optional evacuation but that was a no go. I felt sad they missed out, so did Edward. So Edward went to walmart, bought some candy, and while they were sleeping we filled their pumpkins and this morning told them that the Great Pumpkin came and filled their pumpkins. We got the Great Pumpkin idea from Charlie Brown :) and Alex really likes Charlie Brown. So they woke up to filled pumpkins and all is right with the world again.

So, a massive amount of pictures to share of Halloween and the fair.

Halloween 2009:

Louisiana State Fair:

Fall Pictures

2009-10-24T20:57:00.001-07:00

I got the boys outside and took their pictures today while at my dad and stepmom's house. Planning to use these for our Christmas card this year, unless I happen to get better ones.
Alex:

Aidan:

Andrew:

Fall pictures

2009-10-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

I had planned on doing the boy's fall pictures yesterday. Wanted to take them outside but unfortunately it started raining again. So we did Aidan and Andrew inside and will hopefully get Alex's done this weekend.

Our October News

2009-10-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

Alex is doing awesome at school. He's had one accident so far, but nothing a change of underwear couldn't fix. Has had a few meltdowns when other kids got a toy he wanted to play with, but that's expected considering he hasn't been in a daycare/school setting before. He is learning a lot which I am very happy about. The 4 yrs he was home with me he learned quite a bit, I taught him tons, but he is not the type of kid to sit down and learn unless in a group setting. He is counting to at least 30 now, which kind of seems bad for a 4 yr old, but I could never get him to count past 10 until he started school. He is starting to sight read some words-like STOP and can tell me how to spell more simple words. And the singing. He never was a singer much, didn't sing the ABC song ever, but now he is singing his ABCs all the time, singing nursery rhymes he has learned. His drawing is becoming a lot more defined, not as much scribbling. You can definitely tell he is thriving in school.

Aidan is doing great too. He goes to Tech for a speech eval on Oct 26 and I believe he was accepted into their speech program. I don't think they will eval him and then tell me he doesn't qualify or they don't have room. I guess we will find out more info when we go to the eval. He is mimicking everything we do-dancing, talking, all kinds of things. He is definitely at a fun, but frusturating age. He absolutely loves to dance to the Backyardigans and Yo Gabba Gabba. Having some jealousy with Andrew but also doesn't realize that Andrew does get hurt. But overall his behavior is getting a lot better-not as much tantrums and frusturation. I made him a book the other day that has cutouts of pictures of animals, toys, foods, faces, etc to help him learn the name to associate with the picture. I am no where near done with the book as I just started it and am trying not to buy magazines to rip only a few pages out, so if any of my readers would like to browse some of their magazines to see if they have anything they could send, that would be great. We are basically doing zoo animals, farm animals, house pets, every day foods, everyday household items, everyday outdoor items, face features(eyes, nose, ears)-I have eyes and mouth covered though, that was quite easy. Oh, Aidan also got tubes a few weeks ago b/c of the constant ear infections. I'm not sure if it is b/c his eustachean(did I spell that right) tubes are just too small-which is usually the case) or if it is b/c he had the implant surgery-seems like he had 1-2 ear infections before his first surgery and then from 1-2 yrs old had maybe 7, and then after his 2nd surgery(in June) has had 3-4 more. So who knows if he would have had it no matter what, probably so, but tubes are in. Has post op the other day, one ear was clear, one ear was filled with fluid. So he is on antibiotics and ear drops. He rarely gets ammoxicillan anymore, I think he has built up a resistance to it so we have to go for the heavier stuff. We go back in 2 weeks to make sure the infection is clear, if it isn't, I have no clue what step is next. Maybe allergy testing to see if that is a reason behind all the fluid/infections.

Andrew is also doing really well. He is 14 mths old now, walks so fast, very close to running. Has 5 teeth with at least 1 more coming in. Finally sleeping throuh the night for the last month, however the past few days has been waking up. He is always trying to copy his big brother, which is so cute to watch, but also scary ad he isn't the big boy he thinks he is. He's a good eater so far, seems Alex is my only picky eater right now, he loves cucumbers, bell peppers, blueberries, blackberries, and a lot of other things.

First day of school

2009-09-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been a few weeks since school started but I am finally getting a chance to post about Alex's first day of school. He had a great first day, was very excited to go, is loving his teacher, except when she moves his name from green(good) to yellow(a warning) and then to red(not good). He begs to go to school on the weekend and this wkd is labor day wkd so no school on monday and then there is a teacher inservice on Tuesday/Wednesday, and we will be still in New Orleans on Thursday, so he will probably be rather unhappy that he only gets to go once this week.
In his uniform

Andrew is 1

2009-08-19T10:40:00.001-07:00

Andrew turned yesterday. We celebrated with pizza and cake with our local family. He had a really fun time and really loved the cake. Andrew is walking a lot now but still likes to crawl, it is so much faster! He has 3 teeth, and 1 more trying to pop through. He has several words-mama, dada, byebye, nightnight, uhoh and maybe a few more I can't remember. He loves climbing onto everything and has figured out how to get on and off the couch.

Pictures from his birthday:

Smash cake

Tooth #3 for Andrew

2009-08-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

Andrew popped his 3rd tooth a few days ago, around the 7th of August. Quite different from Aidan who didn't pop his first one until 13 mths.

Aidan's 2 yr checkup

2009-08-06T18:30:00.001-07:00

We had Aidan's 2 yr checkup today, almost 1 mth after his 2nd birthday. He weighs 28 lbs, is 35 1/4" long. He also has a double ear infection, he just had an ear infection 3 weeks ago. We have an consult with an ENT on September 8th to discuss tubes. Talked about development and he is spot on for most things--he walks, runs, climbs, jumps, can go up and down stairs, shows me what he wants-most of the time. He is on a 10-11mth level for speech-which is right about where we expect him since he has only had one ear turned on for 11 mths. He has a few words-mom, uh oh, tries Up, tries hand(an), tried TaDa(ah), occasionally he will clap when we say YAY, and will wave when we say BYEBYE--those are without visual cues. Still a ways to go, but we will get there, right now I'm trying to teach him names of objects--working on dog, ball, kitty, and several others. English is like a foreign language to him-he hears what we say he just can't make sense of it yet. Our speech therapist is supposed to be contacting Louisiana Tech to see if they can give him more therapy there. We should know something next week sometime if our ST remembers to call. If she forgets then I will call them later next week. I'm confident that will take him though as around here the chance to work and learn from a Cochlear implant kid doesn't come very often. So I'm sure we can persuade them to do therapy with him.

First steps

2009-07-23T19:46:00.001-07:00

Andrew is starting to take steps, he has done as many as 4 single steps, I think me have a walker in a few weeks.

Aidan swimming

2009-07-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

Singing Happy Birthday to Aidan

2009-07-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is the first year you could hear us sing Happy Birthday to you so I wanted to get it on video. I think you paid more attention to the candle though. It took 3 tries to get a good take as Daniel decided he needed to change up the words to his own name so I had to get him to sing correctly, silly boy. Happy Birthday Baby!

Happy Birthday Aidan

2009-07-12T21:13:00.001-07:00

Today you turn two. It has been a long road to get here yet seems like it has gone by in a flash. You amaze me everyday with what you do-whether it is copying your big brother by carrying your chair into the kitchen, climbing onto the stove just to get to the microwave to see if there is food in there, or you sitting with me on the couch, content to let me read you a book. You are finally doing really well at holding my hand to go down the stairs and not running off the moment I ask for your hand while walking in a busy parking lot. You love to help me with the laundry, I hope that lasts! Since your recent surgery, we are in the middle of a battle of the wills with your other implant. Anytime something pisses you off, you yank your ear piece off the moment you can, and believe me, you get pissed off quite a bit in any given day. Alex likes to take your toys, mommy doesn't let you help walk the dog or run around outside in 105 degree temps, etc set you off and off comes the ear piece. You did this for a few months when you first got it and then eventually realized it allowed you to hear and then became eager to use it. So I am hoping soon you decide to like it again. We are all looking forward to having your left ear activated on August 3rd and are all hoping it gives as much hearing as your right implant. For your birthday you got plenty of things--a new big wheel bike from Mimi, some dino pajamas from your Great Aunt, some money from different people, Alex picked out a shape sorter-I think that is your most favorite as you have carried it around all day. You also got a movie(Space Buddies) from Aunt Jennifer, and your online birthday buddy Rylee got you 2 really cool puzzles and a coloring book. We usually go to the zoo for birthdays, but since yours is in the summer and 100 degreee weather, we decided to let you have a pool party. Everyone loved it. You have a swim vest and you can go all over the pool with that thing. You love jumping into the pool, such a daredevil you are. In the last few days I have really noticed your words and that you have 2 consistent words now that are correctly used. You love saying UhOh and when someone drops something, or something happens on tv or any other situation, you use it correctly. You also have been saying Mom and seem to have finally connected it to me. I thought you had over the last few days but on your birthday I went to the movie with Aunt Katie after the party, and when I came home at 10:30, yes you were still up for some odd reason, you said "MOM" I asked daddy if you had been saying it all day or if you had only said it when I came in and he told me he hadn't heard it since I left the house and then came home. So it seems like you have finally figured out that I am mom! Yay!\

Mimi gave you presents early since she was here when you had your surgery and post op appts:

Dino pajamas:

Birthday party fun, we had pizza, Sesame street cake, presents, and then the pool

At the pool, you are a little fish!

A boy and his cat

2009-07-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

Jasper found a cozy spot with Andrew and the jumperoo this morning

And Andrew found himself a soft spot on Josie

Our 4th of July

2009-07-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

Didn't go quite as planned, Aidan got burnt on the grill lid which resulted in him screaming for the next hour and a half and then he was fine. Went on the boat with the kids, Andrew wanted to dive head first off the boat :) but overall went very well.
Alex ready to leave the house

Andrew with Katie

Aidan on the deck at the cabin

On the boat:

Watermelon eating, Alex not pictured as he doesn't eat watermelon

Cupcakes the day after

Tooth #2 for Andrew

2009-07-06T11:01:00.001-07:00

Andrew popped his 2nd tooth last night, it wasn't there in the morning and was there at night when I was settling him down for bed!

Andrew's official 10 mth pictures

2009-07-01T20:05:00.001-07:00

Apparantly I went picture crazy, but oh well, at least when my children are gone and moved away, I will be able to look at how innocent and sweet and cuddly and adorable they used to be.

More 4th of July style pictures

2009-07-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

A little more cooperative today, I love how happy Andrew is, truly a sweetheart.

Group shot was a lot harder to get

I think Alex is a really good looking boy, especially when he smiles!

Modeling his new shirt I got him from the Audubon zoo

And Mr Aidan, oh that's right, Aidan was moody and refused to partake in picture taking, so not many from him.

Aidan's birthday presents from his July birthday buddy

2009-06-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Aidan got his birthday presents in the mail from Rylee today. He loves them and is actually playing with the puzzles right now.

Andrew is 10 mths old

2009-06-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

So Andrew is now 10 months old(and a few days) and doing great. Heading into hist first birthday soon. He is very active. Cruises everything, can hold onto objects and let go and stand unsupported, crawls everywhere, figuring out how to manipulate toys more. He claps, waves occasionally, feeds himself, and knows how to get what he wants from others. Not sure when he will start walking, but thinking by his first birthday, unless he really slows down. He says mama, dada(not sure he knows who daddy is though), baba(no connection to anything), has said byebye a few times, and said night night(nigh nigh) yesterday, but again not sure how many of those he knows the meaning of. I for sure know he knows who mama is. Oh, he also has 1 tooth, with another working it's way up. He is about 20 lbs and 30" tall.

Early 2nd Birthday pictures as well

2009-06-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

I also did a few of Aidan's birthday pictures. He wasn't too cooperative so we may try again later. This is one of his birthday shirts and we are waiting on another one that has his name on it so will try and get better shots then.

I took a few more the other day, he of course thought he needed fruit snacks while taking pictures.

Aidan is opening his presents from his Mimi/Pawpaw and Great Aunt Genelle

His favorite

Our early 4th of July pictures

2009-06-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

So I know it is over 2 weeks away until 4th of July, however I wanted to go ahead and do their pictures since Aidan is having surgery next week and we will be busy going back and forth from New Orleans.

Andrew's "official" 9 mth pictures

2009-05-31T20:27:00.001-07:00

Got to them today, not too shabby.

Rainbow Cake

2009-05-31T09:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Alex and I decided to try a new recipe for a Rainbow cake, it seemed interesting. The end result was pretty, although it didn't ice very well b/c I made the icing a little too thick, so other than it crumbling when I iced it, it came out pretty nice.
We started with 2 white cake mixes and mixed it according to the box directions

We then separated it into six bowls(about 1 1/2 cups each I think)

We then dyed each bowl of batter a different color, we used plain dye, but it called for gel dye(gives stronger colors I think)

We then put the dyed batter into the cake pans. All you do is measure out some batter, put it in the middle of the round cake pan, then put the next color right on top. Don't spread anything, just continue to work through the colors, adding them to the top, the weight of the batter will force the layers of batter out all by itself:

Then we baked the cakes(yes it was 3 layers-should have probably done 2 since it was just The kids, Ed, and myself:

Iced--you use 2 tubs of coolwhip and 1 large pkg of vanilla instant pudding mix. I used 1.5 large pkgs and it was just a little too much and made the icing too hard to spread. You can also use regular icing, I think it would be really good with creamcheese icing. You don't have to dye the icing but we did.

Swimming Fun

2009-05-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

We set up the kiddie pools a few weeks back. Of course they now both have holes in them thanks to the neighbor kids deciding they needed to swim too. Gah, hate those kids, but what can you do, Alex is convinced they are his friends and have a fit when I send them away. They won't be allowed in next time. Anyway, Aidan and Alex loved it of course. Andrew-hated it every minute, it was apparantly torture for him. Hoepfully just too cool for him, we will try him again and just let the water sit out all day to hopefully warm up.

We also took them to my grandmother's house, she has a big in ground pool. It was rather cold as it has tons of shade, but Alex and Aidan did really well after they got used to the cold. Andrew again screamed and cried, and Edward ended up just holding him outside the pool.
I bought a shirt/short set that is the internal floatation device in it for Alex and it worked really well for him, seemed to give him more confidence and by the time we left he was "swimming" around on his on.

Andrew is 9 mths old

2009-05-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

We had his 9 mth appt and he got some shots, boo. He was not happy. He also popped his very first tooth on May 25th about 9 mths 1 week old. Thankfully he was a happy teether for that first one and hoping the rest come in just as easy. We weren't expecting a tooth as Alex didn't get one until 10.5 mths and Aidan didn't get one until 13.5 mths, so it was a shock. At Andrew's 9 mth appt he weighed 18 lbs 6 oz and 29-30". He wouldn't be still enough to get an accurate measurement. I went back and looked and at 10.5 mths Aidan was 20 lbs and 28.5" so Andrew is still taller so far.

Andrew moves like crazy, pulls up, cruises, all over the place, but still no sleeping through the night for him. He is up 2-4 times a night, which sucks. He is doing a mix of baby food and regular food, spagetti and meatballs were a big hit, as were the blueberries. All very messy though.

A post about myself

2009-05-09T22:11:00.001-07:00

Rarely do I post about myself, mostly it is the kids. However, I am proud of myself right now. I finally decided enough was enough and that it was time to start working out regularly and eating better. Usually I seem to start and then get bored/tired of working out and just stop. The last 6 weeks or so I have been pretty dedicated to it though. I asked my Dr for a perscription to Adipex and I think it has helped curb my cravings a lot. I am down 14-15 lbs already in only 6 weeks and am hoping to be down 15 more by the end of summer. Then I move to the next goal which is to be down another 25lbs by Christmas, and then to be at my goal weight by August 2010. Seems like a long way from now, but I really hope to get there.

what's new

2009-05-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

Alex has been enjoying swim class, he isn't very good at actually swimming, scared to float on his back, kind of scared to jump in for the teacher to catch him, but he is learning. We had a scary incident where he was in the pool holding the ledge with a few other kids before class started-teacher no where near us yet. He decided to copy his older cousin and jump in. Yea, he couldn't get back to the side, I freaked, ran to him and was able to reach him and grab him up. Scared both me and him, but no lasting trauma. Class actually ends next week and I think we will sign up for another class-just have to find out when sign ups are.

Aidan has figured out how to escape the crib. Fun times here. He boycotts nap most days and takes me 1-2 hrs to get him to go to bed at night. Unfortunately he won't sleep in the big bed with Alex-he just jumps around and I really don't think he is ready for it. I'd like to get a crib tent where I can zip it shut and he can't escape, but I don't want to spend the money for it. He is trying to copy a few words-like "Hi", we heard him say "Bye" once, but it was a random fluke, he does say "UhOh" in correct context and "Hot" which sounds more like "Haaa" Still babbling mama, hasn't connected it to me yet. And we are teaching body parts-he points to a body part, I tell him what it is. We of course can't say the body part and him point to it, but that will come one day. Right now it is just more exposure to language. His finger got shut in the door at the Dr's office a few weeks back. Yesterday the nail fell off. I am assuming the nail has been dead this entire time b/c it was a little weird looking and something hit it yesterday(not sure what-something Alex did) and he came to me and it was barely hanging on. I pulled it the rest of the way off with no pain or blood and it seems like there may be the beginning of a new nail there.

Andrew is a busy little boy. Pulling up, cruising, he can move between two objects as long as they aren't too far away-not walking, just more of a lean and grab while standing. He has let go while standing a few times and was able to stay up a few seconds, I wouldn't be surprised if he was walking within 6-8 weeks. I don't remember the other 2 doing any of this as early-I think Andrew is about 1mth ahead of Alex, who cruised at 10 mths and walked at 12. I don't remember when Aidan cruised, but didn't walk until 15 mths. Still waking up a few times a night for a bottle, hoping that ends soon.

A few new pictures

2009-05-07T20:54:00.001-07:00

Just sharing a few recent pictures of the kids.

Molly

Andrew and I

Alex

Aidan

A few new pictures

2009-04-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

Got in a few pictures of Andrew today. He was not very happy with me putting that hat on him. But darn, it looked so cute!

Finally got a picture of him standing in the crib, he pulls himself up constantly.

Alex's first Swim lesson

2009-04-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

Signed Alex up for swim lessons today. They are twice a week, an hour each time and last 4 weeks. I'm thinking they probably do a 2nd class after that and I will try and sign him up for that as well. He loved it! It was a nice opportunity for him to get around some kids and learn something in the process! He is barely big/strong enough to hold his own body up on the litle ledge but he did it! Got a few mouthfuls of water but was great. I didn't even have to convince him to get in the pool, I was shocked!

Easter 2009 pictures continued

2009-04-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

Finally got them their baskets. We told Alex he had to go to his room so the Easter bunny could come. So he went and hid under his bed, ha. Aidan did not like his chocolate at all so mommy got to eat it. He did like the individual pieces, just not the hollow bunny or the crackle bunny. Alex loved all of his and ate every bite. And yes Andrew is missing from the pictures, he was napping.

The baskets after I stuffed them last night(alex's on the right, aidan's left):

Blow dried Aidan's hair this morning and Alex wanted his done as well:

And one picture of Andrew from yesterday, he is really good at pulling up

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated Easter at Pappa Daves and Granny's house along with Marie's 1st birthday. Kids had a blast. Saturday we went to Grandmother's house for Easter lunch and another egg hunt. Aidan didn't quite get it this year but still had fun eating his candy. We will give out Easter baskets later this afternoon after Aidan is up from his nap and Edward is up from working all night. We decided not to get Andrew a basket this year since he is too young anyway. I'll add basket pictures tonight after they get them.

Aidan and Maddox comparing their goodies:

Group shot:

The Hunt:

Alex's first dentist appt

2009-04-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

Alex was lucky enough to get his first dentist appt on his birthday. He should have had it at 3 but we just never got around to it. I am so proud of him. He sat perfectly still in the chair, opened his mouth wide when asked and did wonderfully. I have been pumping him up to see the dentist for the last 1-2 weeks, so maybe that helped. I am just thankful he wasn't like the other 4 yr old little girl that screamed the entire time.

On to the teeth issue--according to the dentist his teeth look great, we are doing a good job brushing and should start flossing them once a day. No cavities or any other issues seen. His two front bottom teeth are still a bit crooked-but he says that shouldn't be a problem when the permanent teeth start coming in. He did say that we may have to worry about ovrcrowding later on, but too hard to tell if it will be an issue or not.
Alex walked out of there very happy and proud of himself, with 3 stickers, a book, and a car :)

Happy 4th Birthday Alex

2009-04-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Somehow our little guy is now 4. Not quite sure how that happened as it has passed by very fast. He had a great birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, complete with a delicious Spongebob cake. Lucky him gets to go to hi first dentist appointment this afternoon.

My, how have you changed!
Here he is soon after he was born

Some pictures from his party:

He got some great presents-some bubbles with accessories, a Robot transformer thing, some new clothes, and Bolt the movie. We got him a fridge toy to help build words and a few Leap Frog movies to help with letters since preschool is starting this Fall.

The cake

A picture from today telling me he is 4

The rest of Alex's bday presents from us:

Please teach your kids some respect

2009-03-23T18:16:00.001-07:00

Seriously, how hard is it to teach your child to respect other people's things? To teach your child to stay out of other people's yards unless invited. So we have the best toys on our street, we paid good money for them too! I get very annoyed when I look outside my window and find someone else's children riding around in our Powerwheels. Did they ask? No. Did I know them? No. Did I yell at them to get the heck out of our yard and off of our toys? Hell yes! My 4 yr old knows better than that. I have drilled into him that we do not go into another's yard unless invited, we also do not use their toys unless we are invited over. If my 4 yr old knows this, why doesn't a 7 and 8 yr old? Probably the same reason why a 7 and 8 yr old were playing outside alone, at 7:45 pm, no one outside calling for them, but it is getting very dark and we only have 1 street light on our street and they were from the next street over--meaning they have to walk through a patch of hills/woods/dirt to get over here. So if one of you arelike my neighbors and don't buy any fun stuff for your kids, please go to Walmart and buy something b/c I am tired of your children at MY house playing with MY KIDS STUFF. Seriously, a tball set costs 10$, the shovels/pail about 12$, you don't have to buy them a 400$ powerwheels, just something to freaking play with!
Ok, rant over.

Andrew is 7 mths old

2009-03-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

And was happy and cooperative today, so new pictures!

Got him on video

2009-03-15T19:49:00.001-07:00

Andrew is getting big!

2009-03-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

So Andrew is a few days away from 7 mths old. It is crazy, I can't believe it. He is now sitting very well, can even get himself up all by himself. He is also moving around quite a bit. Not full on traditional crawling, more like a army crawl-although it is more like a squirm. Anyway, he is very fast and into everything. I measured him yesterday and he is 28" and 16 pounds. So right now he is continuing on his tall streak.
A few pictures over the last few days:
Practicing for Easter pictures:

He fell asleep in the jumperoo:

6 months already!

2009-02-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Time sure does fly by fast. Not too sure on height but he is 15 lbs I believe. I will hopefully bring him to the Dr for his checkup on Friday and can get official stats. We have started solids and he is liking some of it. Likes the fruits and orange/yellow veggies. Not too fond of peas. Liked the bite of yogurt I gave him. I have been rather lax and haven't done the 3 day rule between foods, oh well :) I have already posted in the post below his 6 mth pictures I took so enjoy.

Andrews 6 month pictures

2009-02-17T13:45:00.001-08:00

Eyes

2009-02-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

After taking these pictures the other day, I realized just how different their eyes are. Alex's have a greenish hue to them, Aidan's are a bright blue, and Andrew's are a deep blue. I still think Andrew's will change color, although not sure if it will be brown like I thought before.
Alex

Aidan(his is a little overexposed, so just a smidge darker than this)

Andrew

Sick House

2009-02-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

So today hasn't been all that good.
This is how the day went today(Wed)
5:30 am-Alex comes to our room telling us he peed the bed. Get him changed and let him get in bed with us.
8am-Wash his sheets
1130am-Get his bed made up.
3pm-We are outside, Alex poops his pants. Figure he just didn't want to come inside to go to the bathroom
3:15 all cleaned up
3:45pm-Alex pukes all over the couch. Yuck.
4pm-Get Alex out of bath and into clean clothes
4:10pm-Alex pukes all over Andrew's blanket on the floor
4:30-get Andrew's blanket in the wash
4:35-puke again
4:36-yep, more puke
4:40-you guessed it, more puke.
5pm-hmm, haven't seen any puke in a while, must be getting better. Still don't give him any supper as he says he isn't hungry anyway
6:30pm-Alex is hungry, give him some popcorn chicken
7pm-good, must be better, haven't seen any puke for a few hours. Give him some milk
7:30-he wants a yogurt smoothie, hasn't thrown up previous milk so figure should be ok
8pm-goes to bed
9pm-wakes up puking again. Strip the sheets, pillowcases and clean him up. Give him Andrew's quilt to use as it is the only big one available.
9:10-yes, more puking. And yes, he got it all over the quilt.
9:30-yet again, more puking. We have run out of clean sheets, pillowcases, and blankets. However his quilt(the one he peed and puked on once today) is almost finished in the drier.
10pm-yep, he is at it again
1030-even more coming out. Get him in a fresh pull up as he sat in the puke. He finally goes to sleep and stays asleep.

11:30pm-Andrew wakes up, I fix him a bottle. I then hear Aidan start throwing up. Great.
11:32 get Aidan out of bed, take clothes off. Bring him into living room with me while I feed Andrew.
11:45pm-Put Andrew back to bed. Strip Aidan's bed and put fresh sheets on it.
11:55-Put Aidan in bed. Realize I forgot paci, go to get it off dresser, he pukes again.
12am-Strip bed and him again, get him clean. Decide to fold the clothes as we have a ton as I have done at least 12 loads today! He throws up once more.
12:25-Put fresh sheets on his bed.
12:30 put Aidan to bed.
12:39-I think I just heard Aidan throw up again, off to go check.

Icecream

2009-01-31T19:13:00.000-08:00

Me and the boys went to Sonic to try out the Jr Candy Sundae. It was just their size. And for the first time I let Aidan eat his all by himself.

Why yes, that is icecream in my hair

And one of Andrew since he is so cute

All clean now

Andrew is no couch potato

2009-01-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

The boy is trying to hard to sit. I give him a few more weeks to hopefully get it. Unfortunately for me, he is up on his hands and knees rocking back and forth. He hasn't gotten it yet, but when he falls to the floor he moves just a bit.

Matching outfits

2009-01-31T18:58:00.000-08:00

I got the 2 little ones matching overalls for the summer. Andrew is so long I keep underestimating his size so they fit now :) But luckily for me, they let out at the shoulders so I can make them longer!

Aidan is crawling off to get the dino

He now wants the dino that I had to hold for him to stay there

Meet Jasper and Josie

2009-01-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

Our new kittens are so sweet. We have had them for about 2 weeks now. We got them at 5 weeks old, so they are 7 weeks now, almost 8. Completely litter box trained :) Alex loves them, but is a tad rough. He likes to stuff them in drawers.

Our Christmas

2009-01-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

Our tree looks pitiful, thanks to my children:

New kid table

Andrew is 4 months old

2008-12-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

We have the official checkup tommorow but according to my scale he is around 13 lbs and 26.5 inches. Much taller than the other 2 were at that age. And a couple new pictures:

These hands are interesting:

Feel the love!

2008-12-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

Smile for Mimi

2008-12-10T19:14:00.001-08:00

I thought I would bribe Alex to smile for Mimi so I could at least get a "nice" picture of him. Yea, bribes don't work. Here is what we got.

This will have to do:

Christmas baking and decorating

2008-12-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I decided we needed a Christmas tree in our house. So, Alex and I headed to Wal-mart and bought a cheapy tree. We then baked us some sugar cookies, decorated them, and then decorated the tree. I have to say, decorating a tree with three children running amok is pretty hard. I thought I did well by buying shatterproof bulbs. I didn't think about the hooks to hang them with. So Aidan is pulling all of the bulbs off, which I then place at the top where he can't reach.
Here are the pictures:
Enjoying just baked cookies:

Decorating them, he ate the majority of the sprinkles before they made it on the cookies:

Yum Yum:

Christmas tree:

Group shot. Yes, Aidan is eating a bulb:

Being a good brother:

A few pictures of Andrew is his Xmas outfit and stocking

2008-11-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

Took a few picture of Andrew today in his Xmas outfit. He was in a happy mood. Hoping to get a few other the other 2 boys soon. He has really found his hands and loves having them in his mouth.

Huge smile

Holding his stocking

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

What's new

2008-11-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

Gearing up for Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping here. Kids are good. I am trying(and have been trying) to teach Alex his numbers. For some reason he always counts 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, no matter how many times I correct him. Oh well. Have also been trying to teach him how to write some letters, mainly his name. Not doing so good with that either ;) He can write an A somewhat. Maybe I am just trying to teach things above and beyond his skill level. He knows his shapes, his colors, recognizes some numbers, some letters, but has a good memory for stories. He can pick up any book and tell me what each page is about, so we are good there :)

Aidan is doing good. He walks all over the place now and is getting to be more of a toddler than a baby. Doing a little better at leaving his cochlear implant on. He is responding to really loud noises like the spoon on the mixing bowl. But still doesn't respond to other things, or our voices. He is currently hearing at 45(or maybe it was 40) decibels. That is the level at which you can hear people talking, so we do believe he can hear us. The main thing is teaching him to discriminate between important sounds(us talking, sounds from toys, dogs) vs things that are unimportant(dishwasher running, tv). So he can't pick out sounds yet so he doesn't know where things are coming from. The speech therapist has us getting on his level and having him watch our mouths move when we talk so that he will imitate that movement, thus creating more sound from him. Different sounds feel different on the throat so once we can get him to make his mouth move in a different position AND make noise at the same time, he should recognize a different sound coming from him. Anyway, the ST thinks he is behind in a few other areas than language. Namely in his ability to imitate things. I personally do not think he is as behind as she thinks he is. He does imitate things I do--he puts a toy phone to his ear(even though he can't hear anything), he tries to give Andrew food, he waves(although only after you wave to him, not of his own accord). We are teaching him to point. He will do it but does not do it for something he wants. He will jusy point at the wall :) and think it is funny. So we are working more on that with him as well as working on more signs.

Andrew is now 3 months old. He is about 11 pounds and 25 inches. He still spits up a ton. Seems like he(and I) are always covered in foul smelling spit up, yuck. He is starting to roll over. He can roll belly to back pretty well but only does it at night. He is trying to get from back to belly but only gets about 1/2 way over(arm gets in the way). Well, after after another spit up and change of clothes he actually just managed to go from his back to his belly. Yay Andrew! He smiles quite a bit now but it is so hard to get on camera. He is also starting to laugh a little bit. It will probably be at least another month before I get a full blown belly laugh but it is coming.

O, what everyone likes to see, new pictures. I took these for our 2008 Christmas card:

Aidan refused to look at the camera and it is really hard to get him to look anyway

And here is the result of the Christmas card I put together, courtesy of www.scrapblog.com Love that site!

And a funny picture of Aidan in his sunglasses

Halloween

2008-11-03T18:22:00.000-08:00

Kids had a great Halloween. I took Alex to Temple's Fall Festival on Thursday. He got to climb into the firetruck and check it out, look at a hot air balloon(too afriad to get in), ride a pony, and play a few games. Good time had by all. Friday afternoon we did the downtown trick or treating. I was shocked at how much candy the kids got. We then headed to Shreveport to my dad's/stepmother's house for a Halloween get together. Kids enjoyed getting to see their cousins and got even more candy :)
Pictures:

Edward and the kids:

Me and Andrew:

Andrew as a cow:

Alex as Dash from Incredibles:

Aidan as a bumblebee:

Sick House

2008-10-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

So it appears that we are all sick here(except Edward). Andrew just has a little nasal congestion, Aidan has a horribly gunky nose, slight fever, and just all around miserable, oh and a night time cough, oh and he is teething. Alex has the night time cough and a little congestion but for the most part is over it. Unfortunately I went to the Er Sunday night b/c of breathing problems. After 3 breathing treatments, steroids to open my lungs, chest xrays, and some meds I was diagnosed with asthma(got a puffer for that) and either pneumonia or bronchitis(they weren't sure) but the antibiotic I got covers both so all is well. Feeling a lot better today, still have a bad cough, had to use the puffer once already, but not soo bad considering how bad yesterday was. I am just hoping the kids don't get worse.

Andrew is 2 months old

2008-10-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

Andrew is now 2 months, seems to have been going by so fast. Haven't taken him for his official checkup, but by my calculations he is 12 lbs and 23", we will see if I am correct next week.
Here is a picture I took yesterday:

Matching outfits

2008-10-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

A few days back I went shopping to find Alex a light jacket for this winter since it gets cold enough for a jacket but not cold enough for a big thick jacket. I had the hardest time finding something and really wanted a windbreaker. But I did find a light fleece hoodie with pants and a tshirt. Decided Aidan could use some more pants so I got them both an outfit. Today was their first day of ever wearing a matching outfit

Aidan waiting to go outside:

Zoo

2008-10-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo on Friday(10/10/08) and had a good time. Alex ran from each area wanting to see all the different animals, but didn't want to look too long, guess he was afraid that the animals would disappear if we lingered. Aidan loved seeing everything and Andrew slept most of the time :)Unfortunately the camera died before I could get a shot of Alex or any more of the kids and animals.

Feeding the ducks

Andrew sleeping

New picture of Andrew

Aidan and Alex