Thanksgiving Fun

We made Thanksgiving turkeys today! Such a fun thing. The kids loved it and it was fun to start a tradition that they loved. They did a pretty good job too! :)
The turkeys

Big step for this Momma

I made one big step today! Sheila and I had the itch to go do something fun today. Now, in Ontario, while it's cold, that can be hard to do! :) So we decided since it was cold we would got Jolts and Juice and get coffee and lunch. The big step part of that is I have never gone out to eat with the kids and no one that can help me. I have gone without Jason mulitple times but it's always with someone who does not have kids so I have extra hands and eyes to help me. I decided it was time to try and it went great! I have always been worried I would loose control of them . My biggest worry is trying to walk in somewhere, through a parking lot or with a street near by and only having two hands and THREE 2 year olds! BUT one held my hand and the other two held hands down the line. I was so proud of them. They were very well behaved and for the most part did just what I asked them. With no Daddy back up! :) Brogan and Briscoe did really good too and we had a lot of fun! So we had 4 two year olds and 11 month old baby and two mommies! Wild ride but it was fun! Thanks for the fun day Sheila!!

LOVE this fall time!!

I may be biased - but how cute are they????
Little Miss Madison

Cheesy grin Blake!

Happy go-lucky Cam

Their wonderful, hardworking Daddy and his kiddos. We were having a fun afternoon of raking leaves together! It was a wonderful day out and a very fun afternoon as a family! Love that time!!

And with Mommy (who rarely ever get's to be in the pics with the kids!)

Cam mid jump into the HUGE pile I raked up all by myself! ;)

Cam tossed in by Daddy

Madison LOVED it!

Blake was not too sure, especially when he got buried. :)

Fun day!

The boys in their very fun fort!

Can you say cute?!?!

Mama and her three babies - I mean big kids!

Our first day in our big kid chairs - they love them! :)

Can you say DRAMA QUEEN??? This "owie" was three days old! She wouldn't stop whining about it (you couldn't even see the owie anymore! :)) So I put a bandaid on to try and make it better and this is what I got. Oh my...

HAPPY WEDDING DAY!

Congratulations Grace and Tyler! It was an AMAZING wedding and we were so blessed and excited to be apart of it! We are so happy for you and we love you!!

Pictures to come when we get them! :)

(Don't know why the pic is so small!)

Oh Cameron...

This poor kid - he has got some issues! He has struggled with eczema since he was teeny tiny. The last year we are finding that he is probably going to have a lot of asthma issues as well. All the colds he has gotten over the last few months go very quickly to his lungs. VERY quickly. He will wake up in the morning with just a runny nose and by that evening he is really struggling to breath and VERY wheezy. Pretty scary stuff! I don't like it I have to say. At least I am starting to get a feel of things and am able to know if it's really bad and needs a rushed trip to Boise or if we can watch him through the night.



AND, a shout out to our AMAZING pediatrician who gives out his cell phone number and says to call anytime and is always so happy to help. How often do you come across that??? LastC night he talked to me 3 time up until about 10pm and then said that he would talk to me all through the night if that's what we needed to do.



So yesterday, the day before the BIG DAY for Grace and Tyler, Cam woke up with a runny nose. I didn't think too much about it and he was pretty happy for the day. He started getting crabby in the late afternoon and I started to wonder. We went to the rehearsal and by the time it was finished (half hour) Cam was really wheezing and struggling to breath. Got him home and proceeded with a very long night of no sleep! (And Mommy had to get up at 6:20 for hair and makeup!) Cam was doing better and made it to the wedding. Although now that I know he may have strep I shouldn't have brought him. But we were convinced it was asthma not viral. :( Went through the wedding, pictures and all the crazy wedding stuff, then I rushed off to Boise to get Cam checked out.

It's looking like he is just going to be very sensitive and will get sick very easy. And when he does get sick, it will probably go straight to the lungs and cause breathing problems. Poor baby! It's so sad, i hate it! Anyway, got his meds and hopefully he will get a good night sleep. Will find out tomorrow if it's just a viral infection or strep. This is only TWO WEEKS since he had pnemonia and ear infection. -sigh- I am tired... :) So, we are thinking it's probably time to go back to our stricter rules on the kids being around anyone sick. We have slacked off since they are no long at a dangerous risk but if Cam is going to be this sensitive we are going to have to be careful! The doc said he will probably get anything and everything. So back to being the germ nazi cause it's just to much and the baby and the mommy and daddy!

Missing you...

I miss my grandparents so much every day, but most of all at the holidays! This time of year was full of so many special traditions. It was the time we had our shop til you drop annual Christmas shopping. Full of fun, eating, visiting and of course shopping!! Most days I still don't really believe they are gone. I still pick up the phone to call them or think of the next time to visit. Miss them so much!

Granpda was so full of life and fun! He was the life of the party. Always made us laugh with the things he came up with. Always with Grandma in the other room yelling at him for one reason or another. They fought like cats and dogs. But you still knew they loved each other so much. They were married for over 50 years, how many people can say that?
Grandma was such a strong woman. She was a fighter all the way! I think on some of my really bad days if I were to call her and tell her how hard the kids were being she would say "sorry honey" - but then basically tell me to buck up! She would tell me a story from when she was little or what her mom had to live through until I got the point that my life isn't so bad! She wanted to meet this great grand kids more than anything. Wish she could have! Oh, I miss them so much, it aches!

How blessed am I to have had them! To have all these amazing and special memories? And so blessed to still have a set of Grandparents here with us that are absolutely amazing too. And who love their Great Grandkids more than me I think! ;)

Madison

Madison Joy. My little firecracker! She is full of life, spunk and stubborn to boot! :) Poor girl, she has a double dose of stubborn from her Mommy and Daddy!

Madison is a fun little girl to have in the house. She is VERY opinionated! She is starting to decide what she does and does not want to wear and WHEN she wants to wear it. She knows what she wants and she tells ya. :) I think she is going to be a lot like her Momma in the clean and organized area! When it comes to cleaning up toys, I always help the kids put away the toys in certain bins. So the balls go in one bin, the books in another and so on. So little Miss Madison wants the same thing - the boys of course could care less!! So it makes for some interesting cleaning times while the boys are trying to put the toys away and getting upset because Madison throws everything out that they just put away. All the while yelling NO NO NO!! She doesn't have any real loves yet, other than her Mommy. And I am not just saying that! This girl is SO attached! I can not ever sit down during the day with out a her wanting (and of course all the others but they usually go play better!) to sit with me and crying if I say no. Everywhere I go she goes. Sometimes it get's hard, especially if I am trying to do anything but it's still sweet!

She does really like to color and is never ready to put them away. It's fun to see them getting into coloring and crafting! We also have a drawing toy she LOVES. She loves music, especially in the car. She always asks for a CD and is very opinionated about which songs she wants to listen to. She is VERY adventerous, loves being thrown, tossed, flipped. Climbs anywhere and everywhere. Loves to be outside and going on walks. LOVES the park and anytime we drive past one I hear "Paak, Paak, NO MINE!" She thinks any park is hers and that no other child (other than Blake and Cameron) should be able to play on it without her permission! Has started sleeping with a pillow - they all have - and that just looks WAY too grown up to me! Has started screaming and shrieking when she get's excited. It's pretty cute, loud but cute! Last night we told them Grammy and Grandpa were stopping by and the shrieks that came out of her were defening! She just screamed and jumped and yelled BAMPA, MAMMY!!

Madison loves to eat! This girl can put the food down too! :) All day she follows me around saying "E, E, E, Mommy!!" Her favorite thing is fruit snacks! I have to be careful about asking them if they want a snack because the word snack means fruit snack! She stands at the cupboard and says NACK PEASE!!! All that food isn't doing much though, she is still at about 23-24lbs and wearing mostly 18month clothes. We are starting to run into the too tall but too skinny problem for clothes!

I love Madisons spunk and life! Some days, it really wears me out though! :) She is doing so much better in her obedience and being happy. We still butt heads a lot throughout during the day with who is in charge and cheerful, quick obedience. Some days are really long and hard - but she has been making big improvements. That is always encouraging to see! So thankful for this girl - excited to see what God has for her! Love you Madi!!!

Blake

My little Blake. This kid is just a mix
that always keeps me guessing and on my toes! He is a very sweet thoughtful boy. He is usually doing nice little things to the other kiddos. If anyone is in trouble he gives them toys in their crib, he's good and giving hugs when someone is sad or just because. He is still pretty quiet. Although when he gets excited it really shows!! :) He is still shy but is warming up a lot quicker than he used to. He has had a very stubborn and defiant side come out, which has surprised me! Oh man, it's really been hard with him. One minute he's really loving and the next he's in a complete stand off with me. I love that passion in him and I am just praying that Lord will help me and Jason to guide him and use in the right way. Until then it's going to be hard...Daddy has never witnessed this - it's just between me and Blake! :)

He LOVES music. It's so cute, loves to dance and is always asking me to turn on a "dd" (cd). Loves books, I find him sitting off by himself all the time reading to himself. He loves his Daddy. They all get excited when Jason gets home but Blake get's the most excited and animated. Blake also loves movies, WAY too much. I think I will have to be careful or he will be a tv junkie!! And he will actually just sit and watch it for quite a while, very engrossed in it.

He is not talking a ton but has a decent vocabulary. He does a lot of talking to me in his foreign language with a few understandable words thrown in there. He will try and repeat anything you ask him too, it all kind of sounds the same though. :) I like how hard he tries to copy though. He's about 25lbs and is tall and skinny! He's gonna be a lean machine, Cameron will be the big husky linebacker! He's wearing 24 months to 2T clothing and size 6-7 shoes.

Blakes has the sweetest kisses. When I ask for a kiss he comes running up with his lips puckered making kissing noises until I give him a kiss. It's very sweet! He likes to give great big bear hugs too. Daddy has been teaching them to do that - I really like those bear hugs! Blake is a joy - he's a wonderful blessing to our family. And even on our hardest days - I don't know what I would do without him! I am excited to see what the next year will bring with him!

LOVE you Blake!!!

Cameron

It's been a while since I did an update post. So, I am trying to catch up!

Cam is such a blessing! He is so happy - just about all the time. I appriciate that so much. He's so loving and sweet! He is always giving me kisses and hugs! He will come running in the room grabs on to my leg, pats it, sighs and says hi mommy, love you mommy. So sweet, I love it!

I think he is going to be one smart cookie too. He figures things out I have never even told him about. He surprises me daily with the things he knows. I usually only have to tell him something once and he remembers. He has started praying, they all three love to pray which is awesome! They always remind me before meals that we need to pray. How great is that??

Cameron is a TALKER! He talks ALLLLL the time. He really is very understandable most of the time too. He is FUNNY - I love listening to him and all the cute things he comes up with and puts together. He's got a pretty big vocabulary so far. When you ask him a question and the answer is yes he says "OH YEA". Love it! He gives me a wap on the bottom and says "Mommies bum bum?" He has learned to say bootie too from his Dad. :) He says cool dude and dude. Way cute. I have got to start writing down the things he says because I forget and they are just to dang cute to forget. Likes to point at anything and everything and say "Wa Dat?" (What's That) He uses "that" for anything he can't think of a word for. Funny conversations.

He is a ball fanatic! He LOVES balls, LOVES to throw them. His newest favorite is the soccer ball. I didn't think anything would ever trump the basketball but it has! Have to work on that... :) He has a great arm, and is a great shot with the basketball. He can catch too.

He is a very good obedient boy. Just happy and nice most of the time. His biggest problem is whining..A LOT. He tends to be a bit of a stinker to the other two and just prefers to be left alone. That's probably because they are always taking stuff from him! But we are working on teaching them to love each other and to be kind to one another. He is very sensitive to discipline, rarely get's in trouble but when he does it really hurts his feelings. He recovers fast and moves on happily.

Have a mentioned how much he loves his thumb too???? Bad habit, but so cute! Love his monkey and puppy. Has to sleep with both of them. Has a pillow in his bed that he LOVES! Loves fruit snacks and pizza. Just a joy to be around, going to keep us laughing I think!

Has almost all his teeth. Wears 24 month to 2T clothes. Is in a size 5 to 6 shoe. He is a solid boy! Weighs about 26lbs.

Love this kid!!

More on the other two to come...