Thoughts of a Spring Evening

(warning...blurry pictures ahead)

We bought Everett his first swing...

 Tonight was the perfect night to try it out...

 We had perfect weather today that made me crave summer and fall at the same time. One two three push...feel the wind through his silly hair...

I gaze at my hydrangeas coming back. They were so dead and quiet all winter. I pray I wake as they did. 

I glance down at the sight of shoes on the wrong feet, but put proudly on by a three year old, and it makes me ponder. What precious moments are these. 

A giggle that only my heart knows. How I love your smile dear Everett. 

I longingly stare at the sunset, wishing I had more a  view. For every color is created by God for God and for us. I see my surroundings in my view also, just amazed at what I have been blessed with. A fence for my house and a swing set for my children.

Could anything be any sweeter than this Spring's night?

Austin found it. He felt the wind in his hair and opened his mouth to feel it too. 

Dare I even say how big my little man has gotten? One week and he will be five. What a glorious 5 years this has been.

Six hands, 30 toes, 3 faces, and my heart that is complete. Thank you Lord for this sweet night:-)

So tired of sickness

Can this winter be over yet? Or was there even a winter? Seriously, up to 70 today and 50 tomorrow, no wonder my family (and myself) are sick all the time! Just to name a few: random high fevers for Austin and diarrhea, cough and congestion for Logan...seems constant, Mike has been feeling like he is on the edge of a healthy breakdown for a while, drinking Airborne every day, I had pneumonia two weeks ago, OUCH, and poor Everett seems to get it the worst. We were "sick free" for about 5 days and now Everett has another ear infection and croup. It came on so suddenly it frustrates me! I put him to bed last night totally healthy, going for a follow up app today and he woke in the middle of the night with the worst croup he has had yet. And yes, he has had this about 4 or 5 times. I had to sleep in his room because I was so concerned about his breathing and every time I didn't hear him breathing I woke up (his breathing was so noisy). Like I said we already had an appointment today for a follow-up for his last ear infection with ear drum burst. I went in with the hopes of getting some steriods for his throat and going home. But nooooo, another ear infection and they gave us steriods for his throat, but it didn't work. My girlfriend has recommended some home remedies for both, so we are trying that out as well.

Seriously, this is so draining! I just want a healthy family so I don't have to overstock in kleenex and tylenol, or run out and buy a humidfier just in case the vaporizer isn't working. Anyways, I need to see the good in all this...thankful for doctors that are available and for being able to get care when I need it. There...I am thankful:-) I am just praying that Everett isn't an ear tube kind of guy.

Like I said, Everett was fine last night, and I have pictures and video to show of it. Usually when mike isn't home during the evenings (which has been 4 out of 5 nights lately) we have a dance party after dinner because I am procrastinating with the dishes:-) Everett found his "cheesey" face for the camera and every time I went to take his picture, he would make this face:

He looks so much like Logan in this picture:

Austin was doing a few dance moves:

Then I scolded Everett for getting in the TV cabinet and he shot me this face...no noise behind it, just a whiny face:

Wanted to share these few...I was practicing with my new backdrop...love my boys

Little Bits of Everett...

No I haven't forgotten about my other boys...but it is fun to record the differences in each at every age. Little Everett surely has a mind of his own...wants his own way and will scream to get it (which he doesn't most of the time). He is already learning to fend for himself. Here in this first video I was pushing him on the big-wheelie and he sure didn't like it when I stopped...oh boy!!




Like I have said, I LOVE that he is a dancing baby. I just figured that boy babies don't dance and I gave up hope. But this little dude loves it. He even got some pelvic thrust action in this video. To warn you...this was taken with my phone, and someone texted me while I was videoing it...that is why there are two farting noises.




Another dancing one. Yes it is the same song, but I try to give him the appropriate songs to rock out to.




Such a big boy at the grocery store! You can see his smile through his pacie

Ok...seriously Logan looks sooo old here! It is my baby with my baby!  And no, Everett is no where near walking right now. He has stood for 5 sec or more, but no steps.

Does any one notice his little tuft of hair on the back of his head? It is like his hair decided to grow from the crown of his head down...bad old mans hair cut...

That's it for my little 10.5month old stud:-)

Back into the blogging world...

Sorry I have been so MIA lately friends and family!! Life has been busy as usuall and the blog hasn't been a huge priority on my to-do lists. I do enjoy it and want it to become more of a habit...so we will be working it into my schedule! I thought I would start where we left off (kinda) and just try and catch up...so I apologize for the Christmas pictures later this January.

Everett turned nine months on December 23rd and I didn't get around to his 9month photos until 2 weeks later...so technically he is 9.5 months:-) It is getting hard to get him to sit still for these photos as he wants to just crawl around and play! I managed though. His personality has really come through lately and is proving to be a very intelligent baby! He communicates with us all the time and lets us know if he is upset about things. He is kinda a drama-king at times. He learned to wave and actually says "HI"....so that is is first word! I recently was at target and saw a little stuffed lion and I was "roaring" at him, making him smile, got a kick out of it and then walked away from it. Then all of a sudden I hear "raaaoooorr" come from Everett! I thought it was so cute and he kept doing it, so I HAD to get the stuffed Lion...he still roars for us when we say lion or show him the animal. I am having so much fun seeing the difference already in him compared to the other boys. The Best!

He is starting to get some eczema patches which is a bummer because we already have to deal with it for Austin. It didn't start up till after I started feeding him solids so I am curious if there is a food that aggrevates his skin more.
He has started wrestling with his brothers, and Logan tries to squeeze him all the time. The other day I told Logan to not squeeze him and he says "But I just love him so much!!" Hehe...gotta love it!

He looked so cute in the hat, but he was crabby at the time so I had to get one of him being crabby:-)
Check back soon for Christmas photos!!

4 Days...6th Disease...and 1 Day at a time

Why so many numbers you ask? And what do they all mean? Our lives here seem to be living by the numbers around us...4 Days until Christmas, Everett has 6th Disease (Roseola) and I am taking things 1 Day at a time now...

Poor little E has been through so much lately! He recently got his top two teeth only to have the ones right next to them about to break through. Four teeth at once is a doosey and sure explains why he hasn't been wanting ot nurse very often. (Back on track with that now). He recently had a strange high fever for about 3 nights/4days and caused a lot of concern. It got up towards 104 and even his soft spot was bulging out a bit. I took him to the ER, but with a lack of other symptoms (no cold like things, diarrhea or vomitting) they chalked it up to a virus and told me to watch him. Not the best answer from a Children's Hospital. The fever eventually went away around Monday morning and he has been recouperating since then. I had his 9 month well baby scheduled for today for about a month and it was quite convenient considering his recent health. It definitely turned out to be more than a routine visit! As soon as I took his clothes off, I noticed this crazy rash all over his body. Small red dots and blotchyness. The nurse noticed it too and seemed concerned or curious.

(such a swee pic of my man, can't see his rash here, but I am so in love with him! God gave me the perfect third child...He knew exactly what I needed)

I immediately thought back to what I first thought it was in the beginning of the fever (after doing research on the internet) and thought it was Roseola...and I was right! It is basically a benign childhood illness that doesn't have a treatment besides controlling the fever. The rash appears once the fever is gone and only lasts 1-3 days and isn't a bother to the baby. These pictures don't do justice as the lighting in my house isn't that great. But you can kinda see it.
None the less, he is a healthy happy baby! He wieghs 22 lbs and is 29 1/4 inches long. Meeting all the milestones and sure wooed the doc despite his crazy rash.

4 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!!! I think I am more excited than the boys. We have only a few gifts for them this year, but they are so perfect. What fun it is to be a parent and give joyfully to our children! This is an advent calendar I made last year. Each day they put up a new ornament and on the back as a verse to read from the bible about Jesus' birth. Logan and Austin both enjoy it very much.
Logan very much understands what is going on this year and it is great to be starting or continueing our traditions. It is definitely hard being away from family this year, but like I said, I am stoked for our family Christmas!!
Like my star wars snowflakes I cut out? go here: http://mattersofgrey.com/diy-star-wars-snowflakes/ to do it yourself!
Fits in real well huh?

1 Day at a time...so yeah...I am putting my foot down to forgetting and not having a schedule...I am not talking about narowing my day down to every 15 min, but knowing what needs to be cleaned when, what appointments are when, deadlines, birthdays, etc...So so so.....sick and tired of having "mommy brain!". I am doing my best to write things down and keep track of it all. Hard to start a new habit, but hopefully soon I will have it down.
Found this amazing cleaning chart template and it is helping immensly! Go here to download yours and create your needed chores!!

Anyways...not much else going on...one big thing...today Mike re-enlisted! Yup, we are in it for another 6 years, which inevitely will keep us in till the end. Right now we have 9.5 years in so in 6 we will have 15.5 and would be silly to get out. Please be praying for the long year ahead of us with Mike training and going through a rigorous program. We know God has his hand in our family and we are daily striving to glorify Him through all that He has given us!

Merry Merry December

Oofta! What a month so far! The testosterone led family is doing great...and the trying very hard to be feminine lady here is doing might fine too:-) I have started to try and take a new approach on things lately and bought myself a handy dandy personal calendar. I am tired of forgetting (still do) and procrastinating (working on that also) and want to cross things off a list (so accomplishing). It is hard to adapt something like that into my daily life because I am always on the go and don't have a set "station" or desk that I can leave the calendar. It is working for the most part though.

Other updates:

Logan just had his Christmas Program...which I had to miss because Austin was strangely sick just for that morning. Mike was able to go and video taped it. Logan and I watched it later together and he sang me every song:-) He was so proud! I had told Logan that I was sad I wasn't able to go and to prepare him for the worst told him gently that neither Mike or I would be able to go. I hoped that Mike would be able to and like I said he did. Mike caught Logan's reaction to seeing his Dad on the video and it was priceless. Soooo glad Mike went.

Austin is doing well...his old self. Still quite the funny guy with such an independent persona. He is enjoying Everett more and more and I think they will be good buds. Austin loves to pretend play and recently pretended to be a doctor "Mom...are you a boy or girl (girwal-is how he says it)" and then writes it down on a pretend clipboard. Love him!

Everett is cutting the top four teeth right now...seems like it has been over a month since this started and I can't WAIT for them to come through! He is crawling all around the house, and I am really enjoying this curious stage. He doesn't really crawl full force, just kind of meanders around putting random things in his mouth...like dog hair. He has pulled himself up several times, but it still isn't consistent. He still nurses, but is very active so it can be hard to get him to any where else besides his quiet room. I am struggling with if he is getting enough from my milk OR if it is just his teething...we are gonna give it some time and do some experimenting with other foods to find out. Other than that...he is still the happiest baby!

My photography sessions have slowed down, which is nice for the holidays, but I am so pumped for this next spring and summer...got some awesome new places to take people and new ideas! Somehow I do still have time to do some home-made crafts. This fall wreath (yes I know it is winter now) took me about a month, but I got it done in time for Sept! No one ever told me how much burlap sheds...it is awful...it turned into an outside project. One of my favorites though!

And since I didn't have much time to make a Christmas wreath...I just tweaked the fall one with some Christmas tree branches and ornaments and wwwhhalllah!

Funny story...I missed watering the tree one day and after that noticed that it stopped soaking up water. So, in my craziness I asked my incredible husband to help me cut some more off the bottom of the tree in case some sap covered the bottom preventing water being drunk by the tree. In his awesomeness...he did it with help from a friend. That was much more of a project than we expected. The tree is now about 4 inches shorter and lost all the bottom branches. It looks cleaner and healthier though! Oh well!
Hope you all are having a good December and have a Merry Christmas thus far! Miss you family and friends!

PS...oh I will have a good story for you guys next time hopefully...seriously...God is really wanting us to trust Him lately in the most crazy circumstances!! All Glory to Him!

Everett...oh Everett...

Wow...did we kick ourselves in the butt!! We boasted about our two older boys being great sleepers at night and now...we have the worst. Well, I know there are a lot of terrible sleepers out there, so he is one of the worst. For the first few months I chalked it up to on demand nursing and him not having a schedule because of our busy lives. Then I hoped once he started eating he would sleep longer...nope. I also hoped that he would get on some kind of routine at night...like getting up at certain hours and eating, then going back to bed easily...nope. NEVER has the same night twice. And I am not talking about one night sleeping for 4 hours and then the next night up every 2...I am talking about just plain inconsistency!

For the past 4 weeks he has been the worst. First he was sick...ok kid, you get extra attention at night for being sick. Don't like seeing and hearing my baby have croup. Then once that was over he started teething...two teeth later he gets sick again. I just couldn't believe it! I thought breastfed babies weren't supposed to get sick so much! So I took him into the doc yesterday and she said he has "baby asthma"...WHAT?!?! So here goes trying to figure out if it is asthma or not. She gave us an inhaler and singulair to give him daily. I feel so bad giving him the inhaler because it amps him up so much. He looks like he was given a cup of sugar! I just wish we could figure out what really is wrong and get him to sleep.

Last night he was up till 1230am...a first for him and a first for our marriage. Let's just say the strain of no sleep and conflicting ideas on how to deal with this isn't easy for us. I have ordered the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child because I have heard rave reviews about it and am waiting now over a week for it (come one person, don't you know I need to sleep!?!).

Anyways...I really shouldn't complain because I know some people have it worse. And I am so grateful for my little Everett. Even though he is sleeping horribly right now, he is still an easy baby. He plays a ton by himself and the other boys. Is sitting up totally on his own now, just waiting for him to figure out crawling. He is going through a screaming phase...and yes I mean high pitch shrieks. If any one has been on the phone with me while he does it, you know know what I mean. I count every day a blessing that he continues to nurse because this was about the time when Austin stopped. He loves to nurse and we are pretty good at it still:-) He is so chunky and may be the biggest of the boys. Over 18 lbs and over 27 inches long. Well into 12 month clothing! He may be a ninja for Halloween...if I can find the costume. That means that all three boys were this ninja for their first Halloween. Hand-me-downs are starting to be sentimental! Well, if you have any tips please let me know. We are going to start the cry it out method soon and try and wean him down to 1 feeding a night. Pray for our patience with our little guy!!

Three sweet monsters

Went to the park, took some pics, loved them:-)

This one makes me laugh

This one makes me happy

This one melts my heart:-)