Frustrated!

We finally got to see a rheumatologist today! I didnt sleep hardly at all last night because I was so anxious to hear what the dr would have to say. I was happy that Bekah had no fever all day yesterday and 2 full nights of sleep with no pain, but worried we would see the dr and then go home for it all to only return again. Because of her feeling better again it left the dr up in the air. He feels it still may be viral, but could be juvenille arthritis. So if the fever and pain come back he gave us orders for more blood work and a chest xray. I hope and pray the pain does not return as it is so hard to see her in so much pain. The fever however was back this evening so we will see what happens tonight.
Caleb had his surgery yesterday to remove his adnoids. He had a very hard time waking from surgery. Usually they get to go home one hour after surgery but we had to stay almost 3 because he refused to drink anything, threw up a lot of phlem, and screamed non stop when he was not asleep. But after 3 hrs he decided a drink wouldnt be so bad so we went home right away! After getting home we gave him some ibuprofen he ate a huge lunch and took a small bottle of milk, slept one hour and woke up like nothing ever happened. We give him ibuprofen every 6 hrs and I forget he even had surgery yesterday. Last night he woke only once on a single dose of ibuprofen! That is better than he has slept in weeks! The Dr did confirm after surgery that he followed suit of his sisters and had very large adnoids. Yeah! That means more than likely we found the true culprit from not sleeping all night since 8 months old! So glad it is over and now we begin praying that his tonsils dont grow and cause sleep apnea again like Bekah's did. Owell we will cross that bridge when and if it comes. We are hoping to cancel the sleep study for next month but will make sure the surgery did indeed fix our little man!

Christmas 2010!

I thought I would write about our Christmas before another day passed because let's face it otherwise it would never happen! We had a great Christmas Eve eventhough we did not get to spend it with my side of the family as planned. My brother and his wife refused to have their children around Bekah so they celebrated without us. I will admit I was pretty hurt and still am a little but I have to respect their decision right? All of the Dr's said she is not contagious which would explain why none of the other 2 have caught it, but what can I do? So instead of infecting my family we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church. They had a camel, donkey, lamb, and other strange animals I know nothing about. Scott and his family would be ashamed but I grew up in the suburbs! Give me a break! Caleb loved the animals! He actually was chasing after the camel when it went into the sanctuary (Scott and Caleb had left the service bc Caleb was bored). I thought some toddler is following the camel...Oh wait that is my toddler! Luckily he only made it no more than 10 rows when I caught him. All three loved the giant slide they built onto two flights of stairs and the cookies! After church we came home and watched Rudolf and slept out in the living room for the night. Ryan checked one more time before we fell asleep to make sure the presents hadnt arrived. She was pretty excited! By midnight Scott moved to his own bed (in his defense he had slept on the floor all week bc of Bekah being in so much pain and in our bed so it was hard to pass up an empty bed) and Bekah lasted until 2am before moving in with Daddy bc of pain in her legs. Once Ryan and I woke in the morning excited Ryan the night before forgot what happens Christmas morning. Well at least for 20 min or so. But then she jumped up and ran to the tree and squeeled with excitement when she saw all the presents! She kept explaining to me that nothing was there when she fell asleep but now their were So many presents for everyone! Once everyone else awoke we had homemade cinnamon rolls (I premade them Christmas Eve) which we put a candle in each of the kids and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Yes cinnamon rolls instead of cake because we have birthday cake only 5 days before Christmas for Bek's birthday! We had our Christmas story and after that we made a giant mess the rest of the day playing with every new toy no longer than 10 min Im pretty sure! At the end of the day during prayer time Ryan did remember to thank Jesus for giving us Christmas. If it made her thank you list (which isnt usually very long) I know that means it was a Great day!

Juvenille Rheumatoid Arthritis?

So we thought our Bekah was better from her post viral arthritis as she was running and jumping with no complaints or fever for 2 full days. However, on Wed after her nap she woke up crying in pain again (refusing to walk) along with another fever. The Dr's at Riley told us that if this happened to see our Pediatrician immediately. Luckily we already had a follow up appointment thurs morning so we decided to just wait it out with Ibuprofen. Once with the Dr I was shocked to hear that she may actually have Juvenille Rheumatoid Arthritis. I thought Riley had definitely ruled that out. Apparently, I was wrong. With this auto immune deficiency it is common to have pains and fevers that come and go. However, with Post viral arthritis once the fever and pains were gone they shoudve stayed that way. We are going to be scheduled a visit with a rheumatologist soon to find out for sure. We know that God loves our little girl and whatever diagnosis or healing that comes we will glorify Him!

Birthday Scare!

On Friday, Bekah woke up extremely whinny as we were preparing for her big birthday party scheduled for Saturday. I figured she was only tired from staying up late the night before. Well once again I guessed wrong. She went down easily for her nap, but when she woke up she couldnt walk because she said her left leg hurt too badly. So I then took her temperature and she did indeed have a fever. She layed on the couch crying the entire evening. Sat morning she woke up and was limping with the a low grade fever so we figured she must be getting better. So we decided to keep the party but only allow family to come to protect other children in case she was really sick. She woke up from her nap 20 min before the party and I realized she was not going to have a lot of fun. She once again could not walk at all and didnt care about all the people and the party. So we quickly had cake to hopefully get her in the mood which did help a little. Then during presents she stood in one place loving all of her presents but wouldnt move or bend down to reach the gifts. After the party I took her temp and her fever had gone back up even after Ibuprofen so I called the Dr as she laid on the couch crying. Of course we were sent to the ER nearby and they were stumped because the pain was never in the same knee at the same time. If it were an infection in her joint it is almost impossible to have 2 joints on different sides of the body infected. But it had to be more than achiness to keep a 3 yr old from walking. After having no clue what was wrong and taking her blood after already attempting and failing the first time which they found a high white blood cell count they decided it must be viral. The next day (Sunday) Bekah still could not walk and still had a high fever. Our pediatrician called to check on Bek and was severly disapointed in our last visit to the ER, so suggested we go to Riley. The first dr who saw us at Riley said he would never send a 3 yr old home who will not walk with a high fever without ruling everything out! So they admitted us and ran several tests. Yes more blood work on our poor little girl but at least they knew how to do it quickly! Xrays on hips and knees to check for fluid and signs of juvenile arthritis. Luckily the xrays looked normal. In the ER alone 3 different Drs examined Bekah do determine what was wrong. Once in the infectious disease unit 4 more Drs examined her! I couldnt believe the attention they gave her. It felt so good to know they cared as much as we did. After everything they are almost 100% sure it is a post-viral reaction in this case post-viral arthritis. A virus never escaped about 2 weeks ago and found its way to her joints. However, they do know they still could be wrong so we have to keep a close eye on her fever. If it comes back we will need to run more tests. Or if the pain becomes severe again and she is back to refusing to walk again we have to run more tests. Some pain may persist up to 6 weeks! We hope not! She has been walking, running, and jumping today but still complains her right knee hurts and now her left shinn. Scott and I were bummed to spend Bekah's 3rd birthday at the hospital, but she scored some pretty cool gifts while at Riley. They made sure it was a special day anyway! It is hard not to continue to worry when Bekah still is not 100% and knowing it could get really bad again with more testing. We are trying to trust God in this whole matter knowing he does care and has his hands on our little girl! Our goal before Christmas is to get some sleep and get everyone healthy!

My Tribute to Ryan!

There are so many things I love about this girl! I know I know one year ago I didnt think the two of us would ever get along again. I still loved her but man alive it was rough! I told Scott a couple days ago that I could have a house full of 4 yr olds. She has become so easy going and obedient that it is hard to believe that last year I thought she was going to be a runaway teenager! Once Ryan had her tonsils removed she has been a new girl. She no longer pees in her pants or throws tantrums. I know the tantrums are partly because she is getting older but I do believe that sleeping better at night has helped too. Who knew that taking out her tonsils really would work and potty train her? I didnt believe it, but honestly was very hopeful. We were out of ideas. Of course having her actually pee in the potty does help me with my patience, which then helps us get along better. Evenings were always long with Ryan because she was tired, but these days that doesnt seem to be an issue. Im so happy for her that she feels better.
Ryan will be 4 1/2 January 5th. Closer to Kindergarten. Arrgh! (even if we do homeschool!) These days she still prefers one on one time, but now it has switched to Mommy time instead of Daddy. During the rest time of the other 2 we do whatever Ryan wants and let me tell you she easily fills that time. She picks things like working on phonics, reading, coloring, puzzles, playing pretend with princesses or my little pony's, playing Sorry or Dominoes, or playing PBS games on the computer. I really do enjoy spending time with someone who can converse and sit still for more than 2 minutes! She is also getting to an age where she calls me out if I do something that is not kind. That I could do without. haha.
One of the new things I love about Ryan is her sense of humor. Recently she has started talking in funny voices and making us laugh quite a bit. She has also learned how to tease. Bekah doesnt appreciate it though! It is neat to see her moving from preschool aged to school aged.
My sad moment this week was when she was complaining of her shoes being too tight which we only bought 3 months ago! Sure enough she needed size 11. I didnt think much of it until we arrived at the store and quickly figured out that 11's are not toddler shoes! First of all, girl sizes are more expensive; and secondly she is growing up! She already grew out of toddler clothes over the summer and now shoes! How does this happen so quickly? Of course she was so proud to pick shoes from the girls section.
Ryan has a very tender heart. She will do whatever Bekah wants so that she wont be upset. Her feelings are very easily hurt which can get me into a lot of trouble sometimes. Ryan clings to teachers and visitors as though she never gets quite enough love. I love every moment that she sits on my lap to read or watch tv because I know this too will be over before I know it!
Ryan is also adventerous! She enjoys trying new things. Whether it is eating something new or going some place new to do a new activity she is game! It is nice to have someone who takes change well and actually prefers it.
Ryan's favorite meal is beans and rice (bush's baked beans with ground beef over white rice with cheese melted on it and sour cream!) All 3 love this meal actually! They ask for it everyday! Ryan's favorite drink is Strawberry Banana Jucy Juice. Her favorite treat is a Twix candy bar. Her favorite cookie is an Oreo. Her favorite Color is Purple. Her favorite cartoon is Curious Geroge and Cat in the Hat. Her favorite stuffed animal is SeaHorse. Her best Friend is Bekah. Her favorite grandparent is Grandpa Moon. Her favorite books are Amelia Bedelia (I dont even know if she gets the humor yet!) She tells me at least twice a week her favorite activity is Ballet even though she tells me she is so sad we cannot afford it. Her favorite "healthy" snack is a cheese stick. Her favorite "unhealthy snack" is Fritos. Her favorite breakfast is Pancakes with sprinkles!
There you have it! My tribute to Ryan! Look forward to Bekah and Caleb's coming soon!

Second Oppinion!

I took Caleb to the ENT last week to see what she thought could be wrong with him. I wanted to know if she thought we should wait for a sleep study or if it was most likely sleep apnea that didnt have to wait for such a miserable study! She thought it would be very unnecessary to suffer until February for the sleep study. With our family history (which she added those girls had huge adnoids! How could they even breathe!) and the fact that Scott and I have seen sleep apnea 2 times already she figured we knew better than anyone else (that is scary). I wish I had as much belief in us as she does! We have also had such amazing results from both of their surgeries. Anyway, she left it up to us but definitely believed that removing the adnoids would get us sleep at night and get him off of his evening inhalants. She said his tonsils are actually small (that gave us so much relief) and should never need to come out for sleep apnea. Getting the adnoids out wont be much fun for a few days but it is not nearly as hard a recovery as the tonsils. Bekah had a hard time from having only the adnoids removed but she has a hard time recovering from anything such as an ambilical cord that had to be burned off at 16 weeks old!!! Gross!!!! So we are counting down the days until Dec 29th! I hate surgery but I do love the results!! We will keep the sleep study scheduled in case the surgery isnt the answer and we are still having trouble, but hopefully we will not have to put that poor boy through that! Yes I do believe a sleep study would be far worse than a quick surgery! Have you ever seen pictures of kids in their sleep study? Pretty rough! But seriously, we have been in constant prayer since 8 months old praying what could be causing such screaming and both Scott and I feel complete peace with this decision. Believe me after 5 surgeries already on the girls it was not easy to come to conclusion that we needed to do it again, but on our "little man."

Our happenings!

This week Scott is finishing the laundry room! Im so excited because our laundry room is part of the new garage which is very cold this time of year. Part of our grand plan was to close it in before this winter. Well winter came quicker than we expected I guess because it is cold! Since I do 99% of the laundry in our home Im ready to have the area heated. It is also our mud room for coats and shoes. The girls hate putting on ice cold shoes and coats. So hard to please! haha. Im hoping by this evening this newest phase of our home remodel will be finished by tonight. May be wishful thinking but it has to get done before the pipes freeze this next week with low temps in the single digits. Im so lucky to have a great hard working husband!!
The kids and I are anxiously awaiting Christmas! It has been so much fun this year as they finally remember what Christmas is from years past. So we have been going around looking at Christmas lights and let me tell you it doesnt take much of a display to get them excited! We do have a farm 2 miles from our home which goes all out and decorates all three homes and the barns and their yards. We call it the Christmas Wonderland! It is awesome! Everyone in Greenwood visits the display every year. We can visit it every night! We hope in the van and drive through a couple nights a week for something to do. It doesnt take much to make a (almost) 3 and 4 yr old happy. Weve visited the museum one day last week and once this week as they have their famous Jolly Days exhibit. With that comes a huge slide from the 2nd floor down to the 1st. All three kids LOVE it! Caleb giggles everytime with huge smiles! There is also a huge pretend cooking Stove with all kinds of foods and desserts with many familiar kitchen gadgets that Mommies and Daddies use at home. This is one of our favorite annual exhibits at the museum. So amazing to live so close to such a great facility! This week we hope to also visit Christmas at the Zoo as Im sure if the girls dont freeze to death they will love!
We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas for 3 days with Scott's family, my family, and by ourselves. I think Im more excited than anyone else! (This coming from someone who didnt enjoy the Christmas celebrations for many years!) I hope when the celebrating has ended the girls will remember that it was all because of Jesus!!

Life moves too quickly!

I actually forgot I had a blog until I saw my facebook page and saw the link. Our lives got busy during the fall with lots of fun activities so by the end of the day I didnt have time to blog. I suppose spending my evenings doing BSF instead of blogging is probably much more beneficial in the long run. I do enjoy it too! Also, lack of sleep from Caleb screaming a whole lot in the night and a whole lot during the day makes a tired mama who doesnt even feel like writing anything. On that note Caleb was scheduled for a sleep study but it isnt until Feb which for 2 very tired parents seems like an eternity away! So we are seeing an ENT to see if she thinks it is indeed sleep apnea without needing the sleep study to prove it. With the family history it certainly wouldnt be surprising. On one hand we hope it is sleep apnea because we know it is curable with surgery. On the other hand the surgery is a rough one! But in the end we are always glad we went through with it. Sleep is so precious to us!
Caleb finally started walking two weeks ago. To be honest I didnt think he would ever figure it out! But he did and that has made him a bit happier and less needy. He has had 2 sinus infections in one months time and a 3 week stint of diarrhea. He is constantly climbing anything he can and pretending to talk on the phone saying, "hi hi!" He loves to wrestle already and I must say he is vicious! We actually run from him! He always win!
Bekah and Ryan are getting more and more independent. As a matter of fact I was begging them to play with me yesterday! I was bored and tired of doing nothing important however they informed me that they would rather play church and school together instead of playing with me. So sad! But dont worry Caleb kept me busy getting into constant trouble! My goal is to keep him alive. Nothing more will ever be accomplished Im sure!
Bekah is turning 3 in 2 weeks! Im more shocked that it means Ryan will be 4 1/2! No way! But dont worry it is also a relief that they are indeed growing up some. I will say that Im dreading having a 3 year old in my house again. I didnt enjoy that age with Ryan and I can already see some of the challenges from then starting with Bekah. The screaming tantrums for 30 min at a time have begun and I dont see them ending soon. However, I do handle them better now since Im not so shocked to see these battles. Im hoping since Bekah was a little more difficult at 2 than Ryan that she will be a little bit easier at 3. Who knows but Im sure it will be a fun year anyway! We of course are having another Dora party (the same as her 2nd bday) to my disapointment, but I guess it isnt my birthday!
Ryan has completely made it to her age level in speech. They are continuing to work with her on Kindergarten speech since she is already enrolled. She told me today that she is so happy that people understand her now when she talks. Im so happy for her! Bekah is making many of the same mistakes Ryan did at 3, but we have not decided if we will have her evaluated now that I know how to work with them. But I like the fact that it is free and having someone else help out. I will decide in January.
Well since Ive written about nothing important and my son is on the kitchen table eating markers I better get away from here! I will write again soon!

Caleb Turned 1!

He did it!! To be honest I didnt think the day would ever come. Ive enjoyed my year with my precious boy, dont get me wrong, but it was a challenging year. He was a perfect baby starting out, but his sisters threw us for a loop. I didnt know I could be so angry with someone I loved so much. It was a constant struggle with a beautiful 3 year old at the time. Both girls underwent tonsillectomies and potty trained. The youngest beat the oldest by a long shot but who is keeping score? Caleb sucked his thumb throughout the night and slept 9-10 hours between feedings. He had reflux but as long as he had his meds he did allright and it really bothered him during the daytime more than at night. He wasnt so good at getting 8 teeth in 2 weeks but seriously who would? I honestly never knew adding a third child would be so hard on Scott and I. Yes I mean Scott and I. Scott has struggled just as much as I even if in different ways. When we added the 2nd I was relieved to have more to do. I was so bored with only one. I played with that girl so much, which explains the only child syndrom she seems to have even with 2 siblings so close in age! haha. I look back to who I was one year ago to now and realize God has been changing my heart. I saw parts of me come out I didnt even know existed during this last year when things were difficult. It was eye opening. Ive spent so much time in prayer asking for more help and more wisdom and asking God to truly help me be more and more like him everyday. Im relying on Him so much more than I did a year ago. Ive realized that being a great Mom who loves Jesus is really hard to do, but with God's grace and help it is possible. For what seemed like a long year I can hardly remember life with Caleb as an infant so it must have been incredibly fast. I wish so much that I couldve enjoyed it all so much more! So yes I wish I wouldve waited a little longer before having Caleb but I know if I wouldve Caleb wouldnt be the boy in the next room. It wouldve been another treasured boy or girl, but my heart wouldnt be the same. God knew Caleb was perfect for our family and therefore allowed me to carry him into this world. Caleb is crazy! He is into everything and extremely stubborn. He knows what he wants and isnt afraid to let us know. He loves his family! Know one smiles as brightly as he does when he sees anyone from his family. He loves to be held and walked with around new places. He points and squeels and hollers constantly. He has some kind of asthma problems and bad reflux at one year of age and working on his next set of 8 teeth! He thinks climbing chairs to stand on tables and brushing his teeth is the best life yet! If he could have anything to eat it would be a dum dum sucker. If he could have anything to drink it would be anything as long as it is in Bekah's sippy cup. If he could play with one toy it would be something with wheels. If he could be anywhere it would most definitely be outside. Doors are a huge nuisance in this boy's life! If he could play in any water it would be the closest toilet. If he could learn something new quick it would be walking all alone. If he could do anything his sisters can it would be coloring with markers. I think this boy is going to do a lot in the next year and change again so quickly only this time I pray I will be able to stop and enjoy it a little more than I did this last year! I love my "little man!"

Love Fall!

Fall has been a great time for us so far even though it doesnt feel like fall here at 85 degrees! Owell that makes it even more enjoyable I guess. We have been super busy with many activities during the week and soon to add all the fun Halloween/Fall activities on the next 3 weekends. Ryan started back up in her speech therapy 5 weeks ago and already has shown great improvement again! She is so excited to be speaking more clearly. When she gets a new sound correct she lights up. Im so proud of her for how hard she works at her speech. The girls and I joined BSF (bible study fellowship) on Tues mornings and all of us love it! The girls talk about their classes all week and cant wait to go again. I spend almost an hour 3-4 nights a week studying my lesson because I enjoy it so much! Wed nights the girls and I go to church for sunday school classes which they love too! They get to be in the same class together which they think is so special. Bekah loves being big enough to go on Wed nights since 2 yrs olds arent technically aloud but since she is potty trained they are letting her come too. Apparently, she even sits still which I find very hard to believe. Ive never seen her sit still for more than 3-4 min at a time! I guess it is the environment. Thurs mornings all 3 kids and I attend story time at the library. That is not my favorite activity, but the kids really like it. If I could get rid of something library would be it. However, they do learn a lot and love it so I guess Ill keep sticking with it. Wed and Fri mornings we have school at home. Bekah has officially started the curriculum I made up for Ryan at the same age. She loves it! I never thought she would start as young as Ryan did, but she was asking and showing some signs she was ready to do more than we were. Ryan has really come a long way on her phonics and has begun to read some words. Weve been very slowly working on some stuff without her really knowing it and when I realized some of it was finally sticking it made me feel pretty good to be honest. It is so neat watching your own child learning to read. Very rewarding! It took me a while of trial and error to figure out how she wanted to learn to read, but I think for know what we are doing is helping her. She is also doing her Kindergarten Saxon Math and loves it! She is flying through it as well. We did her assessment last week to make sure she was ready to move on and afterwards she told me this was too easy! I guess she is more of a math brain. That's my girl!! On Sundays, we attend church in the morning and a small group in the evenings. All this to say, we are having fun doing a little bit each day but not too much. Since we've begun all of these activities the girls behavior at home has been much improved. We were home way too much this summer and I think they were getting bored. The rest of this month should be a lot of fun as we go to the pumpkin patch, 3 halloween events, the train show, and zoo boo!

Random!

I want to say one thing...I LOVE MY CHILDREN!!! Each one is so different and perfect in their own little way! Even after the last 3 weeks I think Ill keep them!

I asked Bekah if she wanted me to pray and ask Jesus for anything tonight. She said, "Please ask him if he can give us a big green chair so that God can sit in my room with me."

Caleb is saying mama and dada this week!! Mama when he is whinning of course and dada when he is getting his diaper changed (not sure about that one) So adorable!

Ryan is telling me that she loves me at least once every hour!

So, Ive joined BSF and we are studying Isaiah and I love it! Such a great book and I actually took a class in college on the book of Isaiah bc I like it so much. The prophecies and revealing of who God is is what draws me to that book. We've studied chapter 1 so far and have truly been challenged in my walk with Christ, but who wouldnt if they were truly studying His Word! Love it! On top of that, my girls have never come out of a sunday school class as happy and excited as they did today after their first BSF class!

It's my birthday I can cry if I want to!!

I dont know what is up with my kids but apparently beautiful fall weather doesnt make their world! However, for me I can be in an amazing mood when the windows are open and I can wear pants with a tshirt rather than shorts. I feel like nothing could ruin my day. Not so for 3 little Moons! I must excuse Ryan because she did undergo surgery only a little over 2 weeks ago and her dr did confirm that she indeed is not fully recovered. It was a rough surgery for the girl. After day 3 she couldnt handle being stuck on the couch watching tv any longer. However, she didnt feel well, which resulted in a lot of fighting with siblings and crying spells for no apparent reason other than not feeling well. Her medicine tasted nasty and the only way I could get it down her throat was once she was in intolerable pain and could no longer stand it. Im sure that only made the medicine even worse. Since the surgery, Ryan has been glued to me! We were pretty close before, but now it is a bit over the top. She doesnt want me to go anywhere without her and wont let anyone give her any medicine except me. She follows me around the house like a lost puppy. Ive gotten a lot of nice hugs, kisses, and I love yous. Those are so sweet but the rest can be hard on everyone. I know that this too will pass and the fear from surgery will subside, but untill then we will continue to deal with clingyness, outbursts, crying, fighting, and misbehavior. One amazing side effect since having surgery is that she has only wet her pants one time!!! Im not sure how long this will last but at least we are not dealing with that frustration with everything else!
Now Caleb...hmm...wow I wish I knew his deal!! We finally have him sleeping all night now that he is on reflux meds again, a very limited diet, and a steriod treatment each night for asthma. We are having trouble pinpointing which foods are causing diarrhea but it seems to be wheat or oats. If it is wheat it isnt every time, but almost 100% that oats is always a culprit. Milk however seems to be fine (at least in small amounts). During the day, however, this kid is a grouch!! If we are not holding him or helping him walk he screams. So frustrating when Im trying to do something besides hold him! Not to mention Ryan hasnt been feeling well. He is teething too, but meds dont seem to make things any better. Only thing that stops the screaming is a bottle, holding him, or helping him walk. So is he just spoiled!? When i say screaming I seriously mean it! That boy can scream! Ive never heard a baby cry as loud as he does. Unbelievable. The girls hate it as much as we do but I just wont hold him everytime it happens so there is a lot of screaming going on here. Yah you know you want to stop by! haha.
Bekah I think is just tired of all the attention for Ryan's mouth and the fits from Caleb. So, Bekah has resorted to her infamous whinning. Im telling you folks this girl has it down. I can calmly tell her no to the same question at most 5 times but by the 6th time I start to loose it. She walks around mumbling and whinning almost non stop anymore if she doesnt get what she wants. If we do happen to say yes to a reasonable request well she only takes part in it for at most 5 min. She has absolutely no attention span! I dont understand it. Does she not feel well? Is she ADD or ADHD whatever they call it? Is she going crazy from the constant noise that she feels she must add to it? Scott and I call Bekah our party pooper (not to her face of course but sure would like to some times) bc many a times she ruins any fun our family starts to have by whinning to go home. That is where she is whinning bc she is bored!!!!
So in the midst of all of this I continue to love these cute and adorable creatures! Every night before bed I tell Scott I cannot do it anymore, but when I wake up God gives me energy and determination that today will be different. Not usually, but there are a few good moments in there. Ive been trying to use these horrifying moments to teach these girls what makes Jesus smile bc our only purpose in this life is to do just so. For us big people we call it honoring Him. My girls love to imagine themselves making Jesus smile so when they do that one thing that they know makes it happen they get so excited and tell me that they made him smile this time. How cool is that? They are starting to understand a little more everyday how to Honor their Savior! So, I guess these rough days, even on my birthday, are for a reason. I have to do my best everyday to be a little more patient, more loving, and more content so I too can make my Savior smile! Happy birthday to me!!

New Van!!

We replaced our temporary van with a much nicer and newer van!! It is awesome!! It was sooner than we wanted but our other one was about to loose the transmission. Scott was so afraid we would get stranded somewhere one day. Putting more money into it would not make any sense so we started looking to see what we could find. After looking at every model we could find we fell in love with the Chysler Town and Country Touring!! Stow and go seating which can be used for more than seats, DVD, deep back storage, and of course doors that open with our keyless entry, and affordable with so many features. Those were the big features we loved including many more. After that we found the perfect one and bought it! It is very red, 2006, 60K miles, and in very good condition! Got it for a decent price and should last us quite a while! Now I can travel out of Greenwood because I have a DVD player. After my last trip up North I promised to never go anywhere again with 3 kids before I get a DVD player!

Urologist and ENT!

Ryan finally saw the urologist in regards to her daytime wetting that to be honest can drive a mother crazy!! He basically concluded that this is caused from not releasing all of the urine during output. Because of that the child will have to go much more often and more urgently causing them to have accidents. So to help Ryan finish each time she has to sit on the potty backwards so that she has no choice but to release it all (it is impossible to stop this flow this way) every 2 hours. I looked at the Dr like he was crazy because I know there is no way this girl can go 2 hours without having to go pee! She drinks like a camel!!! She chugs everything put in front of her. So after a week of trying every 2 hours she was wetting in between of course! So now we have our alarm set every hour and we'll see if that makes any difference. I personally think that Ryan drinks too much and has to go very often and she gets tired of always having to go so she tries to hold it and of course fails!! She never has accidents at church or during preschool speech which is 2 hours long! I dont know though there could be something wrong with her bladder. But we will try this crazy Dr's advice. He says if this does not work she needs to take a bladder relaxant (which I am against doing) and if that doesnt work then do some testing to see is she has some bladder or nerve problems. I think if we get her off of sippy cups that would help a ton. She prefers the sippy because she can chug. After a few times she always wants to go back to having that lid and chugging. When she uses a real cup she drinks much less which I think would at least help some. The other culprit to her problem is being tired! The girl hasnt taken a nap since a few months before her 3rd bday. Sometimes though she needs one. When she is tired you can forget dry panties!! Another reason she is so tired is that she is waking a lot at night from probably sleep apnea. So we went to the ENT and she confirmed that she may indeed have sleep apnea and many times clearing sleep apnea has helped with wetting!! So surgery is scheduled for Sept 2nd to have tonsils and adnoids taken out. We are hoping all of this works together and we find a way to have 2 girls with dry panties all day!! Not looking forward to this surgery again as it was hard on Bekah for a while who is much tougher than Ryan. But after lots of love and tv I know she will recover just fine!!

Where did the last month go!?

Ive been so busy these last several weeks getting caught up on photo books from all the kids pictures since January that I got behind on blogging. Both of which are simply for me so that I can remember what life was like back in the day! Because believe it or not I will forget how hard and how fun these days were. Going through life you think you will never forget but we certainly do, but I'm hoping by writing every now and again and keeping up on all my favorite pics I will have a lot of memories.
This last month we have been busy with several important Dr appointments and just having fun enjoying the healthy season of the year! Although it has been extremely hot we have had fun outdoors and indoors. We have spent so much time swimming in the neighbors pool this year it has been great fun and a life saver with this heat. Ryan was a little fish this year, Bekah was always ready to leave as soon as we got in (she quickly figured out that if she said she had to go poop then we would quickly take her home and she would sit for a really long time on the potty so as not to have to go back!), and Caleb well he loved having all 20lbs of himself held in my arms the entire time we were there (at least an hour, talk about heavy!!). We spent a lot of time in our backyard on the swing set, in the playhouse, and in the sandbox. Caleb has mastered climbing all 6 steps up to the top of the swing set slide and climbing all the way up the very large slide then joyfully sliding back down on his belly! Ive never had a 10 month old who could climb so well! He has manged a lot of bloody lips this last month as well! Shocking I know. The girls spend their entire time pretending to go places like Fortwayne, the zoo, museum, preschool speech, and church with their imaginary friends Lucas (which Ryan informed me is a girl. who knew?) and Abby (Bekah's friend). It is to the point that they aren't wanting to play with Scott and I much anymore. Strange, but nice! So glad we had them so close together!! We have also spent a lot of time out front playing as well. The girls love to ride their bikes on the driveway and in the street (don't worry only with us!). They also love playing with all of Scott's wonderful treasures throughout the entire garage! You would be impressed with the imaginations these girls have in order to have so much fun with such weird items. Caleb's favorite thing out front is the mulch and Scott's small water fountain in the garden!! Annoying!! But he is also in love with riding in the wagon! He points at everything as we walk and makes lots of noise. Too cute! We have also gone to many of the parks around Greenwood, one day a week at Grandma Moon's house, 2 mornings of 45 min of school, the museum of course, the zoo, the local pool once, the library just to play in the play area and on the computers, and many trips to the grocery store with all 3 (what an adventure that always turns out to be!) As always it turned out to be one great, fun summer!! However, I'm looking forward to the next season and all the exciting fun that fall brings in Indiana!! Even among the colds that will inevitably invade our home!!

Rough 2 weeks with Caleb!

As I said, in an earlier blog, I was going to try and supplement some formula for Caleb. I figured, of course, that it would be a miserable experience and I was right! At first, I could only get him to take some in a sippy cup while holding him but still he would only take 2 ounces at the most at a time. He just wouldnt suck on the bottle at all. I tried several but he would only chew on it then fall asleep. Then in the middle of weaning Caleb got really sick. 103 fever with no symptoms for 4 days. The dr became very worried about him bc of dehyrdration and crankiness. By the 4th day, he cried non stop all day and the 2 nights before he did the same thing all night. So the dr wanted him to get some blood work done to make sure it was only viral and to see if maybe his crankiness was more from bad dehydration. After waiting 5 1/2 hrs in the ER our dr called to see what the hold up was and agreed with us that we could go home for the night since it was 11:30pm and see how he does one more night. We were still not close to being seen! If he was dehydrated or it was more than a simple virus he was going to be admitted. Once we got home though Caleb's fever finally broke and the next morning he was almost normal again besides exhausted! We were so glad we werent able to get Caleb's blood done since it proved to be unnecessary! It did end up being only Roseola which his Dr said she hasnt seen too many kids get it that badly. Poor guy! Im sure the weaning caused a lot of the dehydration issues. I did go back to nursing but by then my milk supply had been greatly affected but at least he was getting something. After he was fully back to health I went full gear into weaning again. It was horribly frustrating since he basically had only taken 6 ounces of formala or whole milk in 2 1/2 days. I was giving him fluids through fruit and yogurt but it was barely keeping him peeing. Finally though, I found the magic bottle that he took!! I found the recommendation online and thought I would try one more. He loves it!! He took 10 ounces the first time! He even strokes it while eating just like he used to do my belly! I actually had a few tears of joy when I saw him taking it so peacefully and imagining him soaking a diaper soon! Now I have freedom again too!! I really thought he was being stubborn but it really was the bottle! Poor little guy! Weaning has been a miserable expierence 2 out of 3 kids. Makes me really question why I ever start nursing them. Im sure if I have another one someday I will nurse them too and go through all of this again. Oh the things we do for our kids! They are just so darn cute!

Love the heat!

Is it bad if I admit that I look at the date and get scared of winter coming in a few short months? I hate winter with little kids. Summer is so much easier! I dont have to put on coats, shoes, socks, or hats. Instead we wear as little as possible to stay cool! Scott hates the heat and I must admit I used to as well, but now that I have little kids (and a pool next door) I love the heat! I love that the playroom is barely messy because the kids spend most of their day outside. I love going swimming most days at the neighbor's pool. I love that it doesnt get dark until 10pm. I love that bath time is so much shorter than in the winter because there are so many better things to do than play in the bathtub. I love watching Caleb crawl as fast as he can anytime he hears a door open so he can explore the outdoors. I love finishing dinner and the girls being able to play out back on their awesome swing set while Scott and I finish eating and talking without kids around about our day. I love watching Bekah do crazy acrobatic things on the swingset, baby slide thing, and really anything her arms or feet can dangle from. Oh yes, lets no forget I love the ice cream from Mrs Curl, going to the park, teaching Bekah how to ride a bike, watching Ryan imitate everything that Cailou did that day on tv, watching Caleb eat bugs, rocks, leaves, and grass, playing red, grean, yellow, purple, orange, and pink light with the girls (I can give you the rules to the Moon's version of red light green light when you are dying to try it out), I love seeing my handsome husband come home from a hot day with his Sexy tan, and finally all the squeels and laughter from all three beautiful little ones God has so blessed me with! So for those reasons yes I am so sad when each days passes and winter is a little bit closer to ruining my fun!

PS. I even wrote this while taking care of a 9 1/2 month old with 103 fever from either hand, foot, and mouth disease or Roseola. Let's just say that he is miserable and I was in the weaning process which has definitely been halted since he was becoming dehydrated. So I guess this means even through the tiring times I still have so much to enjoy!

Got our numbers!

Ryan and Caleb both had their check ups this week at the dr. Ryan for her 4 yr and Caleb for his 9 month. After spending 1 1/2 hrs at the doctors office Ive decided I will never do 2 children in the same visit again. It wasnt because they were so slow but because I had so much to discuss about each of them. Im thankful for a doctor who does take the time to listen and offer ways to help. Caleb weighed in at 19 lbs 4 oz which is less than a lb heavier than his 6 month checkup. I had been worried the last 2 months that my milk supply wasnt doing it's job for him and had been trying to get yogurt and other milk into him to help him stay full longer and sleep longer! I mean the boy doesnt look malnurished but is constantly hungry because my milk stinks at this time. However, the kid wont give it up and let me give him something else! But after talking to the Dr we are really going to try to get 6-8 oz of soy formula into him each day and also allow him the comfort of nursing and hopefully that will help the boy sleep longer for naps and night time. Yogurt before bed has helped a lot but we are hoping formula will help with naps. Caleb was only 28 in long which is fine, but Im in shock that we have a kid only in the 50 % for height!! That's why he doesnt look like he is getting skinny. Owell average or tall I still love my Little man!! He is adorable!!
Ryan was happy to have her checkup with a doctor she describes as "very nice!" No shots this time bc I wasnt ready for Hep A and I had already promised her that at 4 there were no shots. So we will wait for a shot that I havent looked into yet. However she was of course 90% for height and 10% for weight. My skinny girl! Takes after her mama! I also talked to the Dr about Ryan's still constant problem of wetting her pants several times a day. Scott and Ive come to the conclusion that something just isnt right. We have tried everything and no matter what she still has accident after accident yet her sister 1 1/2 yrs younger has no trouble. I thought Ryan was being stubborn and defiant but the more I thought about it the more Ive realized that that isnt her personality. She loves to please us and do well and hates to be disciplined. So we decided to ask a dr. After a normal pee test (which Ryan thought was really fun) the dr has decided to send us to a urologist to have her checked out. The dr did noticed that the dimple abover her bottom is not centered to her "crack." That could be a sign of nerve problems. I couldnt believe that even a dimple above our bottoms has a reason and can tell us things. God is amazing!!! Anyway, she could be fine but we need to get her checked out to make sure her nerves to her bladder our working correctly. Should be interesting! She may even need to have an MRI done of her spine. Now that Ive been told what could be the problem Im hoping she is just defiant! haha! Boy our attitudes can change so quickly! Im just praying that whatever her problem it is minor and we can get her fixed up so she isnt embarrased as she is getting to an age where she is definitely understanding. Now I have to be ready to forgive myself if there is a problem that she couldnt help after I have been hard on her the last 1 1/2 yrs! That will be so hard to do! I know that her tender heart will have no trouble forgiving me though!

Change!

Ryan will be 4 on Monday!! I cant believe it! I love that girl so very much! My firstborn! Poor girl has put up with so much, but always tells me it is okay and she still loves me! She is a great big sister (most of the time! ha) and a great daughter! I think about her first year and how nervous I was as a new mom with every decision Scott and I made for her and how that still holds true each time she goes through a new phase of growing up. Lately Ive had trouble knowing when she is ready to do more and be more responsible. Ive come to the conclusion lately that we really need to teach her and allow her to do much more for herself and for us. She wants to but sometimes it is just easier to do it myself and less mess. But at the same time since I have 2 others pretty young it actually makes it harder. I would love to spend less time doing things for her and instead have her do them while I take care of the other two. She is ready and always asks so now is the time! Whew! Wish me luck!

Fort Wayne!

Scott was heading up to Fort Wayne to put up siding and change some windows for friends of ours and thought that it would be great if the kids and I drove seperately to be with him those 3 days. I would be able to visit with friends and have a short getaway with the kiddos. The day before I was really certain it would be a rough trip knowing Caleb was beginning horrible stranger anxiety and knowing that 3 kids are hard enough to take care of on my own at home let alone away from home. I really did want to see friends and Scott insisted I try it and leave early if need be. I will say it was a rough rough trip! The drive up (2 whinny girls and screaming baby), the crying Caleb every time I left the room, the wetting of Ryan's panties every hour, the nastiest hotel ever (carpet was so nasty we wouldnt let the girls out of bed), Scott backing into our friend's truck with our van, invading our friend's home the 2nd night so as not to have to keep the kids off of the carpet, getting little sleep, almost falling asleep on the drive home the first hour, a total drive home time of 3 hrs and 45 min when it shouldve only taken 2 hrs, and 3 screaming kids the last 2 hrs. But at the same time I think it was a good trip! I got to have lots of adult conversation, Scott made some money, we got to see and visit with friends, the girls loved playing with someone else's toys, they have amazing parks in Fort wayne that we visited, I didnt have to cook for 3 days, I learned a lot from a good friend/good mom, Girls got to go to vbs one night at our friends church bc they allow 2 and 3 yr olds at theirs and it was AWESOME, and oh yes I was able to hold my Caleb man a lot and bond with him! If we only look at the work and frustration of a trip we can easily miss what we did enjoy. If was really that bad I wouldnt have stayed the whole time. I talked about leaving early many occasions but everytime decided to stay so as not to disapoint the kids and Im glad I did! I survived. I also saw a lot I feel like I do right as a mom and a some things I would like to change! Here I am almost unpacked and feel pretty good after having one amazing day with all 3 kids! Im now ready to celebrate Ryan's 4th bday tomorrow with friends and family!

Am I a failure?

Growing up I always thought I wanted to be a teacher and a mom. As long as I can remember those were my "dreams." Then when I started attending CCG in middle school and meeting so many families such as the Allens I learned that I could be "just a Mom." I had no idea a woman could work at home caring for her family. So that then became my dream. I would go to college to be a teacher (which turned into children's ministry) and be a stay at home mom! Well I did that. Here I am 3 kids later wondering what I was thinking. After the first 2 I still felt like I was handling it well but after Caleb entered the world I realized it was gonna be so much harder. Im sure it is bc they are SO close in age but I cant change that so here I stood...3 AWESOME kids 3 and under! In the beginning I was completely overwhelmed by a newborn, potty training barely 2 yr old, and a very jealous tantrum throwing 3 year old. It was hard!!! I never thought I would get through it. I would say Im through it but really Im not. It's just different challenges with the same AWESOME 3 kids! After 8-10 weeks though it all seemed more normal and a way of life. I would go through spurts of confidence and then spurts of feeling completely overwhelmed. What causes those sudden feelings of being overwhelmed...demands/responsibilites adding up. Ive always wanted to be the Mom who took care of all the housework, laundry, cooking, taking care of the kids, homeschooling, and whatever else came natural for me. That is exactly what I do just add on that the bill paying, money keeping and accounting for the business. Then upon marrying Scott who had a great Mother who did everything for her kids I felt like I had to do the same for Scott. Well several times these last 8 months Ive hit a bottom and have gone to Scott frustrated and out of gas asking for help but not a clue how he could help. This last week I hit another one of those points and was determined that I couldnt do it again to me or my family. I become so cranky and withdrawn until one night Im in tears. This last time I realized I feel like a failure. I have so much on my plate but I cannot handle it but as a mom I feel like I should be able to. It is not like Scott isnt willing to help I just never asked. I never felt like these were his responsibilities so never asked. If I ever asked Scott to do any type of cleaning he would without a bit of complaining bc that was another great thing about his mother...she taught her boys how to help around the house. Plus he is naturally a helper. So am I failure? I feel like it but Scott says Im not and I know God says Im not. There is only so much time in a day and taking care of my AWESOME kids is number one on my list and just playing with them so the rest gets pushed back until I become overwhelmed. I guess in that aspect Im not a failure bc I do have my priorites straight however I am a failure at being humble and asking for help. I have promised Scott that when I am behind on housework I will tell him so that he can help bc he doesnt have a clue what needs to be done when but does know how to do it. I just thought Scott should offer so as not to sound like a nag but he actually prefers to be asked so that is what Ive committed too so that in 2 months we dont go through all of this again. I LOVE my husband and 3 little kids more than anything in the world and am so amazingly blessed for some unknown reason and want to do my best at being a Mom so that Ryan, Bekah, and Caleb all grow up to love and serve Jesus Christ with their whole hearts in order to honor HIM!! I want Scott and I to model a Christian marriage so that one day each of them will be so truly blessed as well by our Great Lord and Savior!!!

Unlimited Home Construction

Sometimes having your own business can be great and sometimes hard. The greats...Scott being able to put work aside when he wants to if we need him at home, Scott doesnt have to answer to anyone but ME (haha), Scott can make his own schedule, he can come home for lunch on most days, he can be home for dinner on time most nights, and we can usually make better money. The hards...sometimes people dont pay until way after we have already paid for their supplies with our own personal money we needed to pay our own bills, seems like Scott either has too many jobs coming in at once or not enough, very unpredictable, PAPERWORK, wife as your boss, and stress of running a business and supporting a family at the same time.
Scott had a really good solid year from May of last year until May of this year. He even kept busy through winter thanks to a very nice basement remodel. Summertime is usually our prosperous time of year and we save up for winter however we havent had much in 5-6 weeks. Plus someone owes us quite a bit of money. That hurts! We have money set aside for these events but even still it can cause quite a bit of stress. We know they are good for their word but when business is not coming in at the same time it is hard to believe we will be alright. It is human nature to start thinking if it is slow now what will winter hold? The cost of supplies have doubled and some have tripled which could be a major culprit. Because of the recession many manufacturers were put out of business so now the 1 or 2 left have jacked up their prices thus causing Scott's estimates to be higher than some want to or can afford to spend. I dont blame them!! We figured if we wouldve waited to add on to our house until this spring it would have cost us 3 times as much as it did!!! That is ridiculous but also a part of life. You think when a recession is ending is good and whew we made it through but really it is just beginning for us I think. During the recession everyone wanted to add on and remodel bc they couldnt sell and cost of goods were at an all time low. Now people realize they can move to a new house again without loosing too much on their current home and so are doing. Not like they were but it is beginning to pick up again. Because of these slow times for Scott he has decided to change his name. He has wanted to for quite sometime because his previous name made it sound like he only did repair work and not the big jobs like room additons and remodels which he prefers! He will still do repair work but hopes to get more big jobs. Scott's dream is to someday build a custom home. I pray that God honors his hard work and grants this desire. Scott is so good at what he does and really does enjoy it! Not many people can say they honestly love what they do but Scott can and that alone is a gift from God! God is good and I know he will provide for our family in some way and at the right time. Scott is working hard on tyring to advertise his new business name and hopefully that will bring in some extra work! God has never let us down!

On the move!

Mr Magoo (Daddy's nickname for his little buddy) is on the move now!!! This is the day Ive been dreading since he was born. I knew once mobility came my life would be even crazier keeping up with 3 under 4! I will admit is is really cute watching him explore the house for the first time. He thinks everything is so fascinating. But with 2 older siblings it is hard to constantly watch to make sure they keep all the tiny pieces off of the floor. The girls are learning and soon we will be through yet another phase of life. He is also experience a whole lot of new teeth. He has 4 coming through the top all at once and for the most part is not happy about it at all in the night. I feel for him though. It cannot feel too good. He has started taking to a paci which has helped a lot with his sleeping issues. It must soothe his little gums. He was a thumb sucker up until these teeth started coming in. Although it was super cute a paci is much easier to take away than a thumb. Mr Magoo started on some whole milk which turned into diarrhea so is now on goats milk. So far no issues and he loves it! He takes it right from a sippy cup! Ive never had one like a sippy cup before their first bday. Even Bekah who wouldnt take a bottle either. Im so glad though that he likes it already. Should make weaning down the road a little easier. He is also taking to table food quite well. He still likes the baby food fruit but otherwise he eats what we are eating within limits. I cant believe he is already 8 1/2 months old. Time is going too quickly! Should be a fun summer with a newly active baby!

Sleeping Again!

After 6 weeks of Caleb not sleeping or eating well I was becoming quite frustrated. By not sleeping well I mean he was up almost every hour screaming! Around the 4 week I could no longer blame teething, eating new foods, or a never ending snotty nose. I finally thought of reflux. So I immediately took him to the Dr to see if we could increase his zantac that he has been on since 4 weeks old. Because he hadnt been eating well he hadnt had enough weight gain to increase his dose. Instead however, the Dr decided to try a different medicine. After a few days we noticed he was seemed to pull, tug, and bite less while nursing and seemed to sleep a little bit better. Then another cold creeped into our house thus adding to his congestion. So after only a few days of sleep Caleb starting waking often again. Then this last week I had to take Caleb in for his 2 week check to see how the reflux med was working and to see if he was gaining any weight. He was back to waking every hour but was still eating much better than before the new medicine. Well come to find out he had his first ear infection. I have taken him in so many times thinking he had an ear infection in the past but I was always wrong. This time I go in for a reflux check and he had an ear infection. Good thing I had to go in anyway otherwise I wouldve never taken him in to have his ears checked. I had decided that maybe these just werent going to be a part of his life like Ryan and Bekah. So after 2 days on Amoxicilin Caleb is back to sleeping until 5am when he nurses!! We are all sleeping again! My frustrations with nursing him last Month are over too thanks to his new reflux medicine! Praise the Lord!

Accomplishments!

Bekah can finally eat anything she wants!! She has been back on a normal diet since November except for oats. She would still get diarrhea if she had oats in anything she ate. Unfortunately some of her favorite foods (like nutrigain bars) have oats. But 2 weeks ago she seemed healthy and asking for a lot of foods with oats so we decided to try oats again in her diet. Amazingly she has been fine!! Every couple months we have tried and she failed but this time as she said herself, "I all better now Mommy! I can eat granola now?!" Ive never seen a girl so excited after Sunday school simply because she was allowed to eat a cup of cheerios with all her little friends. Praise the Lord for healing her body over the last year! It is so hard to believe that less than a year ago she was hardly able to eat anything that tasted good! It is likely that Bekah's system just needed some time to heal after so many infections (mostly a long long case of giardia). Im so happy my Bekah Bek's can be so excited about something so simple!

Caleb is finally sitting up on his own!! I really was starting to wonder if he would ever do it since both sisters did at 5 1/2 months old. The boy could get himself out of his bumbo without getting hurt but couldnt master sitting up on his own. I told him the books say 4-7 months is when they should sit up on their own and if he didnt do it by his 7 mo birthday I would be very worried and tell his dr. Well the week before his 7 month birthday he did it! It is so nice because now he can sit next to his basket of "safe" toys and play. We are able to get a few more minutes with him content on his own again. Next he will be crawling but at his rate we will be pleased if it is before Oct 1 2010!!

Ryan has finished her first year of homeschooling or should I say survived! Just kidding she loved it! We only had school once a week for one hour learing every letter sound and writing them by fun worksheets, crafts, and games. After that we had one day a week focused on a number 0-10. Throughout we also worked on shapes, colors, rhymes, same or different and so on. The girl has loved most every minute of school. She asks if we are having school almost every day. Some of her biggest achievements so far are that she can write her own name, count to 30, recongnize 0-20, can name every letter and their sound, cut straight lines, and follow directions well. Im proud of her and have enjoyed teaching her so much! We also spent the year visiting the childrens museum and attended some preschool classes offered, story time at the library, ballet, and many other fun outings! We have ordered curriculum for this next year as she is getting bored and ready to slowly learn new exciting things. We are going to try to have school 2 times a week starting after her 4th birthday in July. We are going to start phonics, math, and bible. Should be a fun year!!

My Girls!

Ryan and Bekah are growing up so quickly!! It is that time of year when I start thinking that Ryan will be another year older this summer and I quickly get sad because I dont want her to grow up. I cant believe she will be 4 in July! She tells me very often that God just made her this way and she just has to grow up. Ryan has really started coming out of her shell. I would no longer describe her as shy. She is far from it so much so that we have really started talking to her about strangers. She has really started discovering that she doesnt need help with anything and wants to do everything herself. This is hard because it usually ends up with a big mess to clean or takes twice as long. But I stop myself often to allow her to try. This last week I asked Scott if she would ever be quiet. I swear for 4 days straight she never stopped talking. I dont just mean conversating with me I mean talking so much and fast I coudnt get any words in and she was gasping and stuttering most of the time! I just wanted some silence! But I also thought it was very cute! She still loves Ballet, school, helping Scott and I do anything, the Allens, being outside, riding her bike (long distances!), talking, singing, playing pretend house, school, church and ballet, church, eating out at Chinese and Mexican. He favorite meal in the world right now is Beans and rice! Ryan is a joy in my life!!

Bekah! This girl is crazy!! Someone said at church that she is my quiet and shy one! Hahahahah! Yah she is in public and around strangers but as soon as she steps foot into our house she is wild!!! She never stops moving, jumping, running, dancing, laughing, galloping, spinning in circles, and standing on her head! We read her a book and she paces around the room. She will not sit on our laps for more than a page of reading, but if you stop reading while she is pacing she gets quite upset. She is going to be so hard to homeschool!! She doesnt even sit to play a game! Bekah is the most persistant child I know. If she wants something she will say it over and over, and over, and over no matter what you tell her she will keep repeating it. She doesnt start yelling it or throwing a fit she just continually repeats herself as if we just might change our minds. I will say it drives me CRAZY! How many times can I repeat the same thing without raising my voice. Sometimes I really think it is a test. Other times though Scott and I agree it is kinda cute. She can be mean too! She is a great biter and pincher! She has left some blood on Ryan many times. But Bekah couldnt live without Ryan. She would do anything for her in a second. If Ryan cries because she isnt getting what she wants then Bekah will give it to her. If Bekah is given anything she always asks for one for Ryan. She hates when Ryan leaves her and always asks about her. Bekah loves to be outside unless it is raining (she is scared to death of the rain right now!) Bekah has grown up way to fast because she has to keep up with Ryan. She definitely seems like a 3 yr old in a 2 yr old's body. She is agreat mommy to her baby! She tries to nurse her from her belly button, feeds her, clothes her, kisses her a million times a day, takes her everywhere, sleeps with her, and plays house, church, ballet, grocery, and school with her. Oh yes and most importantly this girl loves the mud!!! She asks to play in the mud everytime she goes outside. She loves to dig in it with her finger nails! yuck!! Bekah is such a beautiful girl and so much fun!

Frustration to determination!

My perfect baby has changed to a not so perfect baby. He seems to have a preference about food and doesnt care if he sleeps all night anymore. It is hard when Ive been spoiled for 6 months. Ive tried so many different ways to feed this boy and nothing seems to be the answer. If he eats solids he doesnt nurse well and if I only nurse him he gets mad because he wants food. But not baby food. Our food which is still too flavorful for his tummy. He loves fruit but I dont want him only eating fruit either. He is such a big boy so I have been very surprised to see him struggle to eat both solids and nurse without getting too full. He'll go 5-6 hrs during the day without eating sometimes so of course in the night he wants to make up for it. That does not make me too happy. Not only has this frustrated me immensly but he has found a way to entertain himself while nursing. He has always been a puller and tugger so I have had to nurse in a position I dont really enjoy but Im able to hold his head in tightly so he cannot pull and tugg. But since growing new teeth (as Ryan would say) he has started biting me when I hold his head in. If I dont hold in his head then he goes right back to pulling and tugging. Youd think after 7 months he would know how to latch on correctly without my help!! Nope not at all! He also enjoys pinching my neck while nursing. So to add to it Im trying to hold his head in, hold his hand, and hold his strong body with only 2 arms! All this to say that I woke up this morning completely frustrated, tired, and declared I was switching to formula. For once, Scott did not say anything instead just said he was sorry it has been so difficult lately. Because of a bad night Scott stayed home with Caleb while Ryan, Bekah, and I went to church. The message was just what I needed to feel like I can finish my year out for Caleb and for myself. Steve talked about how our natural selfish person does what we "feel" like doing instead of taking up our Cross and doing what God wants us to do no matter what. He gave a handful of examples but all I could think of was nursing. Surprisingly that wasnt one of his examples (haha), but he spoke right to me. Yes I want to quit because it is getting harder than it was, but is it as hard as it ever was with Bekah? Yes I want to quit because it hurts, but its the best thing I can do for Caleb. He doesnt know he's hurting me. God has given me a great milk supply and I need to use it. This Cross Im going through right now seems so small compared to the Cross Jesus actually carried, but it is real for me right now. I had a much better day today and realized after the time of reflection that I only have 4 months to go before I can start weaning and holy cow I cant believe it! Where has time gone? I will hang in there and when I look back I will be glad I did!! God is so so good!!!!!!!

We figured it out!

So I had written earlier that I was going to scream if we didnt figure out nap/rest time for Bekah soon. After several different approaches we found that something that is working very well!! However, I will say it is something I said I would never ever do! That is why I should quit saying never. It has bitten me in the butt more than once since having children. So here it is: At 1pm I take Bekah in her room and rock her to sleep. Crazy I know but it is the only thing that has worked. I was afraid if we did it then she would want it at night too but she has never asked. I rock her and she asks me to sing Jesus Loves Me. By the second to third time I sing it she is usually out! So she is now asleep by 1:10pm instead of 2:30pm after fighting me for an hour and a half. If she is still asleep at 3pm we wake her up so that she will fall asleep that evening at 8pm. Since implementing this we have not had a single issue with this girl. She stays in her bed with no problems at night and goes right to sleep and she is not over tired during the day from no nap. This means less fighting with Ryan! I kind of enjoy the time with her to rock her since time alone with Bek's comes very few times during a week. Now Im not angry and frustrated and neither is Bekah. Now I usually get my 30min-1hr break at 2pm when Ryan watches Cailou and Word World all depending on how long Caleb sleeps!! I also get almost a full hour of one on one time with Ryan before her tv/rest time starts. So in the end everyone wins!!!
Bekah is such a crazy girl!!! She cant even sit still to play a game. She paces around the room while she waits for her turn! Oh she is going to be fun to homeschool!

6 Month Check Up!

Caleb is 6 months old and I can hardly believe it! The first year always goes by way too quickly! He weighed in at 17 lbs 6 oz and 27 1/2 in long. Not too bad! His weight slowed a little but that obviously is not an issue! He didnt have much of an appetite these last 3 weeks due to getting two teeth! He is so cute with his new little teeth. But he did not grow those things without letting us know. He didnt sleep, play, or eat well, but we loved him anyway. It was hard to deal with bc we have been so spoiled by such a perfect baby. His newest milestones are rolling over, holding and eating toys very well, pulling my hair and pinching my neck while nursing, hollering to make sure he is heard, and eating baby food. We gave up on cereal and went straight to the baby food which has proven to be what he wants. Since starting the baby food though he is no longer on a daily predictable schedule which I must drives me crazy. It is hard when one day he wakes up at 7am and then the next at 8:30am. Ive decided to quit worrying about it and eventually he will get himself on a schedule again. He still takes 3 naps a day most days of the week which is crazy!! He still cannot sit up on his own but is getting closer. It is hard to believe since both girls did by 5 1/1 months old. I hope this just means he will crawl late too! Im not in any hurry for that! By the way he is such a cutie pie!!!

One amazing husband!

Have I ever told you what an amazing husband I have? Well I will tell you now! I never thought growing up that I would ever marry someone like Scott. I had hopes for someone like Scott but didnt think men like that really existed. I figured I would rather be single than have a husband who drank or didnt respect me. Scott is so patient! I dont know how because Im not at all patient, but he never ever looses his temper with me or our kids. Today I was having a terrible day and felt like I was being a jerk and he still went out in the rain to Mrs Curl to get me some ice cream. Why? I dont know! God knew I could never handle a husband who yelled or a husband who drank even one beer because of my upbringing so being the Most Gracious God ever he gave me the perfect husband for me! Yes he does have faults but they are hard to see in a man like Scott. He is even a hottie!!! Our kids and I are so blessed to have Scott in our lives!

Im at a loss!

So when I talk to all of these experienced Mothers out there I hang on to so much of what they say because I need all the help I can get. However, one thing Ive been told by so many of these Mothers is that rest time for non-nappers are essential for both me and my kiddos. So I had in my mind that it must work well then and I would get a full hour of me time. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! What a joke!! Rest time/nap time has become the absolute worst time of my day! I hate it and I dread it! First of all, 1pm is rest time/nap time. Caleb goes down for his second nap so it should work out perfectly. Right. Ryan goes to her room to rest and Bekah goes to her room to "nap." This should be awesome! Nope not at all! Ryan is so worried that I will forget that Calliou starts at 2pm and she will miss it therefore she asks every 10 min or less if rest time is over. Yes we have put a timer in her room and that did not help one bit! Bekah is only 2 and thinks she is as big as Ryan and wants no part of actually sleeping. If I do not sit by her bedroom door she Will Not stay in her bed no matter what the consequence. She will take herself potty a dozen times and never actually go, she will get clothes out of her drawer to change into a more comfortable pair of pants, and she will simply wander in circles around her room. If we do get her to actually sleep it isnt until 2:30pm. So if you want to see Jennifer in a really Bad mood then stop by around 1:30pm because usually by then Im fuming!! Scott and I have gone over thousands of ideas to fix our problem and have tried some only to conclude they didnt work either. We decided to not care if Bekah naps and just let her have rest time/room time like Ryan. Well by 4-5pm she is tired and sometimes falls asleep. That then makes it hard to get her to bed at night again. Which is a problem if she takes a nap at all really. We have had nights where Scott and I have gone to bed at our usual 10pm and she is still awake. One night Bekah was awake until 11:45pm!!! I was fuming again!! So this brought Scott and I to try only letting the girl nap for 30min-1 hour. Yah that was terrible too! This only made the girl whinny and grumpy. She took almost 2 hrs to really wake up and play well again. We are afraid if she quits taking naps which she obviously needs still that she will get sick more often and be a grouch! After 3 days in a row without a nap she is unbearable in the mornings let alone in the evenings! If she misses the nap we have to put her to bed by 7pm which will not be any fun come spring and summer. Scott will have barely been home from work which is not good for either of them. Scott does not like what this rest time/nap time does to me or the kids. It only makes us all miserable when we have been told it is supposed to be medicine for all of our souls. I dont know what Im going to do but I know I cant continue doing what we are doing much longer. I know one thing for sure...We need to do what works best for OUR family! That just may not be what everyone else does. Please let me know if you have an unconvential way of doing things that might just work for us!

Tonsilectomy

Well it is finally over! Bekah had her surgery two weeks ago today. As soon as the surgery was over and I saw how miserable my little girl was I started thinking Scott and I had made the wrong decision. Afterall, was Bekah's snoring really that bad? Maybe she was waking in the night crying because of bad dreams and not sleep apnea. Scott of course said it is too late and we cannot worry if it was the wrong decision. The dr told us it would take up to a month before we noticed a change in the snoring. However, after 2 days the girl stopped snoring and was sleeping through the night! On pain meds of course but still sleeping through the night. Bekah hadnt slept through the night in over 5 months!! So it was then I realized yes we did make the right decision even if she does suffer for a couple weeks from the pain. It was a very long first week! Bekah basically cried the first 3 days all day. On top of that Ryan developed a small cold and was jealous of all of the attention Bekah was receiving. I wanted to pull my hair out, comfort my child, scream, cry, and wanted it all to end. But we made it through and by the end of the first week we could see our Bekah coming back to herself. She is now sleeping very well and almost too well these days. She isnt wanting to take naps anymore. When she does take a nap she will not fall asleep until 10pm or 11pm!! We just dont know what to do! She is too young to give up naps and after a couple days is way too tired. Weve tried a lot of things so Im not sure what we will do about this. Very frustrating!! Maybe skip the nap and go to bed at 7pm instead of 8pm. We did that tonight wo we will see how that pans out. We may just have a very frustrating year ahead of us.

Ryan has been enjoying speech class. I didnt realize that we would basically be reteaching her vocabulary. For example, when she says back or bat they both sound like ba when she says them. Or Moo and Moon both come out Moo. Basically she leaves the last letter sound off of every word which is hard to understand when so many words have the same beginning sound. She is doing great and loves working on her words. In a couple months Im sure we will see a huge improvement!

Caleb is 5 Months old!!! Such a big boy! Not sure his measurements but I can hold him and know he is growing. He is so much easier to hold and entertain. He still sleeps almost 18 hours out of the 24 because he is a sleepy head! I feel like Im constantly putting him to bed. Hopefully he will get rid of his late nap soon. He loves his cereal in the evenings. I plan to start some fruits and veggies in a week or two. I havent added any more cereal during the day because he is having trouble enough pooping it all out! He is so close to sitting up on his own and rolling over with all those rolls on his legs! His favorite activity is naked time at 7pm! haha! He also enjoys Ryan in his face. By in his face I mean litterally. She just doesnt understand personal space yet! He giggles anytime Ryan comes near him. He had a few nights where he slept all night until 6:30am or 7am. To be honest I hated it bc I couldnt go back to sleep which made for a longer day. However when he wakes between 4 or 5am I can easily go right back to sleep and sleep until 8am when the girls get up. I prefer it and actually hope it stays this way. Im usually not sleeping well by 4am anyway so I might as well nurse. After nursing I sleep amazingly well and he is finished within 10-15 min!

We are hoping to have a great week getting back into our routine and enjoying the warmer weather!!!! Yeah!!

Hair Cut!

Well it finally happened! Ryan was left alone with a pair of scissors for a few minutes while Grandma Moon went to peel an apple. In Grandma's defense, I have done the same thing many times thinking she wouldnt do anything in those short few minutes. However, this was the time Ryan got an idea. She cut Bekah's very pretty hair! She cut the front side as if she was trying to give her some bangs. The only problem is that bangs dont go all the way over to the ear! So I had a friend come over and she did what she could to blend the damage. Not a whole lot could be done but it did help some. I asked Ryan why she would cut Bekah's hair and she said, "Mommy I tried to cut it by the play table, but Bekah wouldnt let me. So I had to go to the play kitchen to do it. She just wouldnt listen mommy." Too funny! Not exactly a reason for why she did but rather how she did it. Im just so glad she didnt cut her ear or do worse damage than she did. In a couple years we will laugh about this Im just sure of it. But for now Im sad every time I see my cutie's new do!

Ballet?

Who would've ever thought that my daughter would want to take Ballet? Who would've thought her favorite color would be pink and all she would want to wear are frilly dresses with bows and flowers? God is too funny! I love Ryan for who she is becoming. This girl always wants her princess dress on and gets so excited every time it gets washed. She plays house and is always the Mommy or the "boss" as I see it. Playing school and church she is always the teacher. She makes her sister stand up to sing songs for church and fold her hands and close her eyes to pray. She makes her go to sleep in her bed and pick up her toys when playing house. She always pretends to take Bekah to the library, the movies, the museum, and Walmart. Of course Bekah does as she says bc she is the "boss." In this respect, I definitely see her mommy. I always played these same things with my brother. However, I did not enjoy dresses and being girly at all! I still dont enjoy it so much. I do like to wear pink shirts these days but definitely not when younger. Ryan is always twirling and dancing across the living room floor when she has a chance. Doing Ballet moves I have no idea where she learned them. So, after talking to Scott I found a place she could take some Ballet that also teaches tap. The girl loves it!! She is adorable learning it. If you excuse the times she stops to pick her nose she looks so pretty too. I dont know if she will ever be good at Ballet or Tap, but for now it is something active that she enjoys so we will keep at it! I just want to encourage her girly tendencies as the one thing I never liked about myself growing up was that I wasnt girly.

Speech Therapy!

Finally, Ryan is starting speech therapy next week! We met with the preschool speech therapist at Westwood Elementary in Greenwood today. She finally called to have an evaluation of Ryan's speech. The teacher was very impressed by Ryan's vocabulary! She couldnt believe some of the words she knew. She complimented me for working with and spending so much time with her. She said she could definitely tell we take time for her. Yeah a compliment!! Ive done something right! Maybe not everything but at least something. Anyway, Ryan did not score well at all on articulation which I expected. That's the whole reason Ive been trying since November to get her into therapy. So on Friday I will meet with the teacher and discuss the game plan on how we will fix this small problem for Ryan. Then the teacher plans to start her therapy next week! Im so excited because I know this will help Ryan tremendously! She gets so upset when people dont understand her.
Also, in regards to Ryan, she is doing so much better at obeying and using the potty! It seems like we passed another testing period. It was not easy and I wanted to give up so many times. I also wanted to cry, scream, and beat anyone or anything. Crying I did but the other two Im glad I held back so not to have any regrets. So, until the next testing we will enjoy the sweet little angel girl we have now!

Surgery #3!

We finally were able to have Bekah seen at the ENT. She needed her checkup for her ear tubes and she has been snoring at night, waking frequently in the night crying (for the last 4 months!), and whinny most of the day and tired from not getting enough sleep. The Dr said what we expected. Sleep apnea is causing her to wake and cry in the evening which is then making her very tired the next day. The sleep apnea is from her tonsils becoming too large. So we have scheduled her 3rd surgery in 1 1/2 yrs! Poor girl! This one is gonna be the worst of the 3 so we are praying she does well. The dr is also gonna check to make sure her adnoids havent grown back. If they have then she will remove them yet again. She is also going to fix her ear that has a tube falling out. We are praying this surgery helps Bekah get some sleep at night which then means all of us will too!! Yep it's not the baby keeping us up at night rather the 2 yr old. We are so glad that this is all we have had to deal with as we know there is so much worse she could be dealing with. Bekah is a trooper though! I love that girl so so much!

4 Month Check up!

Caleb weighed in at 16 lbs 6 oz. 26 1/4 in long! Great numbers for my "little man!" To put these number in perspective. Caleb is 1 pound heavier than Ryan was at 4 months and 3 lbs heavier than Bekah was. He is taking right after his Daddy who was also a chunky monkey while a baby. Seeing that Scott slimmed down Im not too worried about it! Caleb is a chunk and difficult for me to hold for long periods of time. We took him out of his infant carrier because I couldnt carry it anymore. However, it is difficult to lug him around without it. Now Im looking for a small stroller to put him into from the car. That would make my life a little easier Im sure. We finally started Caleb on cereal at dinner time. That boy loves it! He sucks it right off of his spoon. After 9 tsps with 2 oz of breast milk I cut him off! Piggy Pigs!! Caleb is finally using his legs to stand. It took forever but he will do it now. This is much later than the girls but I think Caleb is just going to take his time at everything involving work. haha! Oh well he is adorable and can get away with it!



In March Caleb will be seeing an eye doctor for his eye. He has a blocked tear duct but is always getting infected. He has been on 2 oral antibiotics in less than 2 months and eye antibiotics all the time! Hopefully they will be able to help him out!

Completely Potty Trained!

Well she did it!! Bekah is potty trained! She has not had an accident in a couple weeks! She does have trouble in church with being in nursery but with us or grandparents she is perfect! Hard to believe that I have two wearing big girl pants. So far it is definitely helping Ryan do better while at home. Ryan is different than Bekah in that she is perfect in public but defiant at home with potty training. But we have started consistently discipling Ryan for "accidents" because Bekah started using her panties as well. As soon as we disciplined Ryan, Bekah has been perfect and it has helped get Ryan on our page. We figured at 3 1/2 the games are gonna end. Now we are down to one in diapers after having 3 in diapers at one time. Praise the Lord!!

Turkey Run State Park!

We just had an amazing 3 day family getaway at Turkey Run State Park! Scott and I went last year for our anniversary and loved it so much we thought it would be fun to take the girls this year. They have an indoor pool, game room, dinning area, and giant meeting area. The girls loved it all!! Caleb liked it too I think! We basically swam the whole time. We swam so much that all of us had the most dry skin ever. It was flaking and burning like no other. But totally worth every minute of it! The girls have improved so much since summer. It was nice to have a few days with Daddy to ourselves. Scott had a great time playing with the girls and just relaxing. The girls enjoyed the playing games and eating in the dining room. The girls also were able to feed the birds at the nature center. They thought that was pretty neat as well. They were angels the whole time so I guess that means they loved it! I will say that getting 3 children to sleep in the same room when one nurses is quite the challenge but somehow we overcame it. But I will say that was not without some frustration. Everyday since we have been home Bekah wakes up and asks if she can jump in! So cute! Ryan asks everyday if she can go back to her hotel. Caleb seems to be pretty happy to have his bed back and quiet while he sleeps (which he does a lot of). Im so glad we took the trip and cant wait to go back next year!

One Long Week!

Last week was a week I never want to experience again! On Tues night I went to bed with a stomach ache and Ryan went to bed feeling fine. However, at 1am both of us started vomitting! By 3 am Caleb was awake too screaming. Scott was trying to catch Ryan's vomit and keep Caleb calm. We still dont know what was bothering Caleb. He did have a sinus infection and eye infection that he was just put on antibiotics for on Tues afternoon. That could have been the culprit or maybe he had a stomach ache too. Ryan and I did nothing all day Wed but get sick. By evening Ryan was feeling a bit better but I had developed a nice fever. My fever finally broke by Thurs morning but was so weak still. Thurs night I thought I was getting through it until I woke up Friday with more diarrhea and extreme nausea! All day Friday I layed on the couch wishing I would just throw up already. Friday night I went to bed nauseated but a bit better. I then woke up with a migraine at 3am and then another one at 8am on Sat morning! Just as the 2nd migraine began Scott ran to the bathroom announcing he was sick. I couldnt believe it. I just wanted it all to end. Ryan was feeling better although still tired and Caleb was definitely getting over his sinus infection and Bekah was still showing no signs of the flu, but I was exhausted. On Sunday we stayed home from church hoping to rest up so we could start a fresh new week. We were able to do that! By Monday we were all feeling well hoping for a great new week! The girls and I spent the morning making cookies for the Allen family. The girls wanted to make sugar cookie cutouts. They did all the work and I just supervised. They did a great job! We then delivered the cookies because Ryan was so excited to make someone else's day. The Allen's were thrilled and ate every one before we had even left! What can I say I taught my girls well! Tomorrow we are headed to the museum for the Barbie exhibit and their favorite exhibit Egypt! Should be a great time!

"The Caleb Man!"

Yes that is what we call him! Im not sure how that happened but it has become his nickname. Even Ryan calls him that. Caleb is getting so big! We just had to upgrade him into a new car seat because I could no longer carry him around in his seat! It was just too heavy and I actually found out at the dr that I actually had enjured myself! I dont remember what the dr called it but he said I basically pulled something out of socket (which is apparently very easy to do) between my breasts. Those of you medical people can inform of the name. He said it would take 6-8 weeks to heal without lifting anything however I will be lifting anyway because I have 3 kids under 3 1/2! Owell I will be fine. I just cant hold Caleb on my chest that is when it hurts most. Anyway, that story told to convey how heafty this boy has become! He is 3 1/2 months old these days and weighs over 15 lbs. He is moving into 6-9 months clothing because of his belly but his arms and legs are way to short for that size! He is also no wearing size 3 diapers at night just like his sister Bekah!
He has starting to giggle and is very ticklish! I absolutely love his smile and it is very contagious! He has developed an absolute love for his sisters. He always smiles when they come near him. Caleb has been such a joy to nurse! I think because he is already on a very regular schedule, sleeps 10 hrs at night, and eats efficiently! I never enjoyed nursing Bekah and Ryan was okay but so hard to figure out what I was doing being my first time. But with Caleb I actually thought to myself, "Wow I only have 9 months left!" It kind of made me sad, but I know Ill be ready by then. Ive had a terrible fear of getting pregnant again on accident and not being able to finish nursing him. Silly I know. But Im tyring to convey how much Ive enjoyed it this time around! At 4 months I usually start on cereal but with Caleb I plan to wait if he is still thriving and sleeping so well. What is the point when life is easier without it still. We'll see how long he holds out! Caleb loves his bumbo and his play mat. I must say he also loves Dora time: sitting on the couch with his sisters watching Dora! I think he's taking lessons from Swiper! I think that will be the only way he survives with 2 big sisters! haha! Anyway, we love, love, love our "little man!"

3 months old!