Video Time

Here are some videos just for Cayden :)
They are videos I had loaded earlier this month, but hadn't posted.

This first one is Lucas and Wyatt trying to do somersaults on the couch.


This is Luke and Jaxon playing together, just being cute. It is a long one, kinda drags at the end, but it should help keep Cayden occupied.


And last is a video from Don. You can hear he is actually shocked that the boys got found trouble while he was washing dishes.

Sunday Picnic

This evening we had a picnic in the park. Counting our five, my brothers three and add my Mom in gave us nine people to feed. We had ourselves a feast! I had slow cooked some shredded pork all day and boiled up some corn on the cob, and my Mom brought mac and cheese and fruit cups for dessert.

Before, during and after eating dinner, the kids were running all over the place. Cathryn seemed to be the boys favorite tonight. They were climbing all over her and chasing her every chance they got. Mike and Matthew were trying to find bugs on the trees to put in Matthews little bug catcher. After dinner we walked over to the lake to feed the ducks. We went through so much bread, Wyatt was so excited, he threw a whole piece of bread in the water.


While walking back to the cars to go home, we noticed the sprinklers were on by the parking lot. Wyatt ran right to them and after a bit of convincing, Mike, Matthew and Cathryn joined him and Don. Michael and Cathryn jumped over the water spray and Matthew was so excited about playing in the water. Lucas joined them after a while, but preferred to stay out of the water for the most part. Jaxon on the other hand- wanted nothing to do with the sprinklers at all. I would definitely classify this as a perfect evening.

They're baaack!

Yup! Michael, Cathryn and Matthew are back in town! The boys were so excited to see them today when we met up for lunch at Sonic, that they wouldn't stay seated in their wagon. Not that they generally do like to stay in the wagon anymore, and that is just t-r-o-u-b-l-e for me. Our trips to the store have become farther and further between because I have a feeling they will give me a meltdown one of these times soon, and honestly the thought scares the bejeepers right out of me. Seriously, picture yourself in a fairly quiet grocery store on a weekday morning and then the overwhelming sound of kids screaming and crying in the next aisle over with their mom saying "I mean it, sit down!" over and over again. In my head, I tell the lady to get a grip on her kids and take them home because they are obviously not wanting to be there. But Oh my gosh! THAT woman is going to be ME!

So, just the thought of it traumatizes me, so I have been sticking to a little one on one runarounds when my mom comes over. It will be nice with Michael here, so he can help me get in the groove of getting out of the house, but with an extra set of hands.

In other going ons, Don has introduced the boys to drinking out of the water hose. Even though when their little hands try to turn the hose towards them and water pours down their stomachs, soaking their shirts- they love to hold the hose and drink out of it. It is the cutest thing to watch when the big "that is COLD" gasp comes out and their eyes get all big. But just 2 seconds later the shock has worn off and they are right back into it.

Bedtime

This is what happens when the boys don't get rid of their energy before bed. They try to get it out when we put them in their cribs...

**This video is a bit loud**

Bumpity bump

This morning Lucas had a Dr appointment to look at his neck. After she saw the bump and felt it (it is squishy and moves a bit) she determined that the bump is a big lymph node. Apparently lymph nodes are the "drainers" of bacteria and can sometimes get swollen when it is draining any infection you may have. Recently Luke had a fever and was not feeling well and right now we all have a bit of the sniffles, so that could be the reason it is so swollen.

She measured it and said if it was not gone in a month -or if it looks red or irritated- to come back in. It doesn't seem as Lucas even knows it is there, so hopefully it will be gone very soon and we can stop worrying about it. =)

2 Year Check up

Wyatt, Jaxon and Lucas are now old enough....
*to not use the choo choo wagon to go to the Dr's office
*to recognize that we are in the Dr's office
*and old enough to stand to get their weight and height measurements taken.

So even though we did not have them restrained and they waited about an hour over all, they did really well at their two year check up. Here are their stats:

Wyatt 24.0 lbs and 33 1/2 inches tall
Jaxon 25.0 lbs and 34 1/2 inches tall
Lucas 26.13 lbs and 35 1/2 inches tall

After their appointment was over, I had gotten home and noticed Lucas has a cotton ball sized lump on his neck when he turns his head. My mom had a fatty tumor on her neck when she was little, so we are hoping it is the same thing and can just get it drained or removed. Tomorrow morning I will take him in to get it checked out and let you know what the Dr thinks about it.

"Nan-nee"

My boys were absolutely enchanted with cousin Annie. Lucas- who is so reserved and loves to play hard to get- was not only allowing Annie to love on him, he was enjoying it! Jaxon said her name within two minutes of meeting her and Wyatt let her carry him downstairs when he woke from his nap, no shyness or wake up grumpiness.

As night fell and morning came, she jumped right in to change their diapers and clothes when they woke up. Annie stayed up past midnight with us both nights just trying to squeeze in as much time together as we could. She endured weather over 100 degrees at the park and going out to breakfast with us when they boys were not on their most accommodating behavior. She happily shared her meals with hungry little mouths and didn't mind at all when the boys wanted to rough house with her.

Nap time and bed time heard echoes of "nye-nyte nan-nee" and big shows of kissing and waving through the windows up to the top of the stairs. And finally when they woke from their nap today and no Annie was to be found- the boys (and I) felt better after we called her and said our goodbyes once more.

You are a gem with a heart of gold and even though you were only here for a few days, you will be missed for many days to come. XOXOXO



Frame by Sonja Welli Designs

Girls Night Out

My cousins (Annie and Jennifer) are in town right now. They are staying two nights on the strip and then will stay at our house for a couple nights. Last night I met up with them for a late dinner at the Flamingo Hotel. They were all dressed up in their fancy Vegas clothes and looked gorgeous! Once we got to the restaurant, I had such a great time chatting and catching up with them. Everything from how it stinks to be 30 to finding out how so and so are doing kept us talking until about 11pm. It is so great to have them here, conversation is effortless and I am always amazed at how comfortable it is to have most of my family around. I am so blessed to have them be a constant part of my life.

Frustration

In spirit of the fact I am frustrated that I have yet to lose weight, here is a video to maybe give me a hint of why that may be...

Surprise!

You like the new look? Most of it is done, please let me know if you are having any troubles viewing it.

I have been told by many people that they don't know how to leave a comment. Here is a quick tutorial. Click on the word "comment" below the post you would like to comment on. Then click on "Post a Comment". Type a comment in the box. If you do not have a Blogger account, you can leave your name at the bottom of your message and click on Anonymous and then click on "Publish your comment".

Now go on, give it a try!

Hey!

About a week ago, Don hinted that my habit of generally prefacing a conversation with "hey" (as in- hey, can you grab that... or hey, what is that...) is slowly getting on his nerves. I have tried to stop and have caught myself a few times lately, but for the most part, I thought it was going pretty well.
That is until we heard Lucas say "hey" about a hundred times today (no exaggeration!). Since Luke doesn't have a huge vocabulary, the word "hey" seems to nicely cover everything he wishes to say. Once he did say, "hey, move!"

On another note, Don and I had a date night Friday night. We caught the movie "Knocked Up". That movie is over two hours long! But it was a great movie, one we would definitely rent to watch again. Afterwards was a late night dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The whole night was fantastic and we are glad we took the opportunity to get out when we could. Many thanks to my Mom for a night out much needed!

Today we took the boys and met my Mom and Matthew at one of the water feature parks around town. Out of the four children, Wyatt was the only one running into the water! The others were not so sure about the cold weather, even though it felt about 100 degrees outside. After about 45 minutes, Matthew got a bit more into it and would put his feet over the sprays, but Jaxon and Lucas still weren't too thrilled to be there. But HEY, we got some cute videos and memories, so that is all that counts!



And here is Matthew getting a bit more comfortable with the water

Mommy Brain

Recently, I have begun a class online to help me with my scrap booking. This week we are working on journaling (writing about the photo, where we were, what makes it special, etc). I have scrapped about 20 pages, but really have only journaled a handful of them- nothing pops in my mind to say. I see the picture and can remember when it was taken, what was going on or who we were with, but nothing else happens in my brain.

This is where "mommy brain" comes in. I converse with 3 toddlers every day who have but a vocabulary of maybe 100 words between them. My vocabulary has been simplfied to teach them simple words and actions. The news in not on, except if we keep PBS on and forget to turn it off during dinner, and mostly I chat with my friends online more so than the phone. I wonder how many words a day I speak to an adult, or how many conversations I am having with adult people everyday, that don't concern the kids.

Also, in taking care of the three of them in the past two years, my mind has been in survival mode. All about multitasking and getting things done. What is for dinner, has Jaxon pooped in the past 2 days, what is Wyatt trying to say, etc. The chance to really think a situation through and enjoy the actual colors of the sunset or feelings that are felt during day to day activities just really doesn't happen.

In that train of thought, I am convinced that there are parts of my brain which have been unused for the past two years and that I need to start exercising my vocabulary and really thinking about my surroundings, not just skimming past it all just to be sure we are all surviving. Mommy brain - blah.

Cootie Update

The boys are generally healthy, so why do I feel like they have been sick for so long? Maybe because I haven't been able to work out for the past week and a half because I refuse to bring my sick kids in to share their latest germs. I couldn't take them a few weeks ago either because everyone had diarrhea for days. Part of my refusal could also be the guilt I would feel when they cry as I drop them off, wondering if they should just be home. I really need to get out of the house!

Anyhow, Jaxon seems to be the most affected by the Roseola. It could be that since he is the only one with the beautiful rash, he may have the worse case, even though his temp never hit over 103, where his brothers were both over 104. Wyatt is still a bit cuddly, and I am not complaining. He is so flexible and just loves to snuggle. Jaxon looks and acts just like he is not feeling well at all. Poor guy just does not want to be bothered and has the most pitiful cry when he wants something that his brothers just took from him. Once in a while he perks up and plays like crazy with his brothers, but then comes crashing down and just needs a bit of snuggling to regroup. Hopefully in another day or two, this will be out of the house!

Laurie Berkner

Since the boys have been babies, we have videos on the television. At first it was Baby Einstein, then it was Baby Signing Time (which I totally recommend by the way- my boys are still signing for more food, milk, please, etc). After watching these videos hundreds of times and having dreams of E-I-E-I-O in my head, we decided to try something new. After hearing about the Laurie Berkner Band from about 3 other blogs and the Triplet Connection, it seemed like a good direction to go in.

Making a few stops at the mall and WalMart, we couldn't find her DVD and I didn't want to pay $6 shipping when I knew it only cost about a dollar to really mail off Ebay. Finally at a trip to Target I had our video. We have this one, and the boys LOVE IT!

We have had the DVD about a month now, and decided to take a few videos of the boys singing and dancing to it. Enjoy!

We are the Dinosaurs!


Jaxon being Jaxon and then he sings along at the end


Wyatt with the oh-ahh, oh wahhh.

Feeling Blue

Luke woke up last night with a temp of 101.5 crying for water. Poor little guy let me cuddle him for a bit, and then let me know he wanted his bed by telling me "nye nyte" over and over again. This morning when he woke up, he had an ear temp of 104.7 , so I called and got him in at the Doctor. Have I ever mentioned that our Doctor is off on Friday, Saturday and Sundays? Why do my boys ALWAYS get sick on Fridays? Luckily the Doctor in the office seemed to have it together and even though we can't figure out any specific reasons Luke has a temperature (no ear infections, throat is not raw, etc.) I still felt better when I left the office. Luke's temp was about 101. then.

After nap time it was a good thing Don was home. Jaxon had a bit of a temp also, so he joined in on the Motrin/Tylenol regimen. He was all about his daddy, hanging on to Don to the point of Don carrying him all around with him. Dinner was great, all the boys ate fine and Jaxon perked up a bit before bed, until he fell off the couch arm where he was perched and knocked his little noggin next to the little scuff he already has on his forehead.

Wyatt is still tooting along at full speed. He seems to be feeling fine and is staying cool. His addiction to the telephone (any telephone) is getting worse. The was he throws a fit when we take it away (like if it rings or we have to call someone) is laughable. Wyatt will take about 5 marching steps backwards then throws himself on his bottom. It is the cutest temper I have seen, may even be worth sending it in to AFV for a $10,000 contender.

Mostly they are all doing great. Unfortunately biting has made a come back, but most of the time we don't notice someone has been bit until bed time and we are undressing them and see the marks on a shoulder or arm. They will be watched much more carefully in the next week to be sure it is nipped (!) in the bud.