my three little men - week 15

For those following along, this week was a BIG improvement upon last week. The boys were done with their antibiotics and Ivan has been improving everyday. And as of today is no longer coughing at all.

Last weekend we were able to celebrate Clara Beth's first birthday with her. She is just the sweetest. And her Winnie the Pooh birthday was super fun!

The rest of the weekend was fairly layed back and fully enjoyed. After being a sick home for 2 weeks, while healthy, even the mundane things are more enjoyable. It's all in the perspective.

Since we were back on our feet, we got out of the house this week. Monday brought a playdate with friends (Mom's and the boys). On Wednesday we participated in a roller skating PAT party. I was very hesitant to go by myself with all the boys. But they made it very kid friendly.

For starters, it was pretty much just kids 4 and younger. They let you bring strollers out onto the floor. And they had these really neat walker-like-things that the kids could push. The boys had a blast and we will definitely be going back.

Maybe next year Ivan!

Thursday, we had friends over here and now on Friday we are resting up for the weekend. Jason was pretty busy this week with coffe stuff, church stuff, and school stuff. He still managed some playtime.

We were learning about Jonah this week, and this big fish made the story come alive. We even got to read about Jonah while in the belly of the whale.

Ivan Jude- 15 weeks old He's pretty much been living in pajamas the last week. He doesn't seem to mind though.

While sick, he was waking up in the early morning hour, but happily, he is back to sleeping til 7am. We're all trying to catch up. He's found a new play spot this week. Seriously, if I didn't have my blog post on the older boys to rely on, this guy would miss out on a bunch. Apparently he was ready for the exesaucer. He's like, "Come on Mom!"

Also, he's apparently ready to practice sitting up. I've noticed he's been tryig to use his ab muscles to pull himself up, but I though he was WAY to young for this business. Apparently not. And he loves it. SLOW DOWN SON!

This kid is obsessed with his hands. Hoping this is normal, and praying it does NOT mean teeth are coming.

Up next is the Si Guy! Silas John has some BIG news of his own. He wears underwear. Last Friday something clicked in his head. He decided he'd rather do his business in the potty rather than down his leg. HOORAY! So far, he's been even easier than Amos, but a jinxed myself and he had an accident right after stating that at friends last night. Gummy bears go a long ways with this guy.

Last up - the oldest, as he likes to remind us - Amos Jack. And he is so old. Most days he amazes me with what his little mind is thinking. He loves to pretend. He loves to explain. He loves to learn. He also loves his own way and stalling like crazy before bedtime, but we're all a work in progress, right?

He's our little actor, and will make sure and let you know exactly what your lines are. Do NOT deviate. The other day we were playing "Stall-before-bedtime-and-I-get-in-trouble-but-only-pretend". Oh geez.

They bring us so much joy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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my three little men - week 14

If you're following along, you'll know that the two older boys were sick ALL last week. And guess what? Ivan started coughing Saturday evening into Sunday. Nana and Pap visited on Sunday and stayed for our first snow day of the week. Ivan's cough continued but he seemed very happy, so we weren't too worried about it. By Tuesday, I was ready to take him to the doctor because it kept hanging on with a fever off and on and I didn't want to chance him having what the boys had. She said that he sounded clear and everything else looked good so it was probably just a cold. If he got worse, I could bring him back in. Wednesday afternoon, I really noticed his breathing was faster and his lungs were retracting some. From our experience at the hospital, I knew retracting was a sign of breathing problems, but we had just been to the doctor and he still seemed happy. I watched him very closely that night (it was a long night) and then took him to the doctor the next afternoon. This time, the doctor heard a slight wheezing in his lungs and said he thinks its RSV. AHH! But because he was so active and smiling he wasn't too concerned at this point. If he got any worse, we would do a breathing treatment. But he said the third day is usually the worse and then they turn the corner.

Today he seems to be better. Slower breathing and less noticable retracting. I'm still uber vigillant probably because of his history. I just don't think I could go through all that again. My dad reminded me that he's much stronger now than he was then and he did such a good job fighting last time. I really do think he's getting better, it's just hard to stop worrying. Today I'm trying to choose to trust in the Lord, the one who created him when I begin to worry. The Lord is the one who sustains him. My worry does not.

Even though it was a somewhat stressful week, we still had a lot of fun.

The weekend started off with Valentines Day. It was a fun day to celebrate all the ones we love. I attempted to give the boys a HEART ATTACK. And they each had a new book to read. Then they went out with Dad to get Valentines donuts.

We enjoyed our 4 day weekend with Dad due to 2 snow days. We even had Nana and Papa here for Sunday and Monday.

Amos has built a snowman before, but this was the first one he was very proud of.

Ivan got to enjoy a lot of Nana!!! This picture doesn't show it, but he loves ALL the kisses.

We sure have loved all the extra Dad time this week.

The rest of the week has been a bit stressful as I started potty training Silas before I realized Ivan was pretty sick. We've been half-heartedly doing it since Tuesday without any great success. Needless to say, we are ready for the weekend.

Here's the sick man Ivan. Still a cutie, even when he doesn't feel good. He's been hanging out in pajamas all week, but he did get a bath today so smells sweet.

Before he started coughing a lot, he was "talking" up a storm! He has found his voice and loves to use it. He's also started grabbing on to things, and will hold on for dear life.

 

I didn't manage to get individual pictures of the boys this week, but because we were potty training, Silas mainly had his pants off. I couldn't resist a potty training shot.

Lots of time indoors, means lots of time playing together. These two couldn't be any sillier. They've done a pretty good job, but we still have our fights.

 

 

Amos' new thing is to pretend like he is Ivan. He likes to hang out all the places that Ivan does and roll around, or squeeze in.

And he some how "accidentally" managed to rug burn his forehead. He, of course, needed a bandaid,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ivan jude - month 3

Month 3 has brought more! And lots of it. More sleep. More hair. More smiles. More laughs. More personality. Time definitely starts to speed up again. I feel like that month went by pretty fast. It must make up for the first two months that feel like they are in S L O W M O T I O N.

Ivan and I are starting to figure each other out, and our family is finding a lovely NEW normal. Can't imagine life without this little guy. It's definitely MORE fun!

 

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my three little men - week 13

What a week! This was definitely one I was glad to see the end of. Being sick is never, no way, fun. It is so hard to see your kids sick, and essentially do nothing about it. We didn't step outside from Sunday evening to Thursday. Talk about stir-crazy. And our big Thursday excitement was a trip to the doctor where we found out Amos and Silas both had ear infections (Silas had a double) But HALELUJAH Ivan is currently fine. The doctor checked, last time they were sick was in May. They are now happily taking their "yummy" medicine. I am so glad that we are past the phase where they hate to take medicine and I have to force it down their throats. Happily taking it is sooo much better.

Someone wasn't too sure about the doctor. Luckily, they came home with balloon animals.

Despite sickness, we did have some fun. Pre-sickness, the boys spent the night at Grammy and Gramps house. They got to do all the fun things that always happen at Grammy & Gramps, plus they got to see their very first basketball game. My Mom said that Silas was so torn between the basketBALL game and the band playing the DRUMS and GUITARS behind him. They loved it.

While the boys were busy having fun, we had some fun of our own. With only one child at home, and one that slept most of the day,

we were able to finally lay the floor in our playroom! It was such an easy, uncomplicated job and it made a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE, difference.

 

It's been so fun to put the room back together. It is finally becoming the room I envisioned! Right now it is functioning as our playroom/school room/office. In the future it might be something else. But it is BIG improvement from this:

We also thoroughly enjoyed the nice weather. On Sunday, we finally light up our pile of brush that has been accumulating. Jason wasn't sure how easy it would be to get it to burn. However, we through our Christmas tree on top. They weren't kidding when they said Christmas trees burn. I was sitting at the table inside, when I caught sight of the flames. And this was after he started spraying it with the hose.

After getting that fire calmed down, we enjoyed smores around our fire pit. Enjoying the sunset! It was a perfect end to the weekend.

This was Amos' first Valentines that he could appreciate. We started by making some Valentines for our family and mailing them, and then for our friends. Not sure when we'll get those out, but it will probably be AFTER Valentines. We talked a lot about love - which Amos is very intrigued by.

The rest of the week was pretty much filled with SNOT, snuggles, SNOT, coughing, and SNOT.

Plus I did finish a couple of projects. The playroom and my new chalkboard. I was a little bummed when the buyers of our old house wanted our chalkboard because I had a perfect place for it in our new house. BUT, my style had changed since I made it 4 years before and I was glad for a reason to make a new chalkboard. White cracked paint replaced with dark stain and alittle smaller.

Ivan Jude - the almost 3-month-old.

He's had a fantastic week, (which was necessary with his other two brother being sick) The weekend involved a killer growth spurt - eating every 2 hours, but since then he's been sleeping 9-10 hours at night! SLEEP, glorious, SLEEP! We have arrived. I'm a much better Mommy when I get to sleep all night long.

Ivan is almost always ready to smile. Unlike the other two, though, he needs a bit more attention. He's ok by himself for alittle bit, but then he needs Mom to come over and give him a big smile. It's interesting how early they start to become distinct.

This guy loves his hands and will chew on them any chance he gets. I thought this meant he was ready to drop the swaddle and soothe himself with his hands. But, nope, not yet. We'll try again next week.

Silas John- He's got his basketball shoes on. And he loves to show how fast he can run in them.

Once the doctor looked in his ears, he asked me if he'd been really fussy this week. He hadn't, poor guy, just pretty mellow and out of it. I kept asking him how he felt, and he kept telling me he felt good. I knew that wasn't the truth, but he really didn't let on how terrible he must have felt.

Amos Jack: His favorite thing, T-REX. And here he is pretending to be one.

He definitley was more vocal about how he felt, but his answer would change depending on what he got for feeling good or feeling bad. Feeling bad? I get chewable tyenol - ok, I feel bad. Feeling good? I get to go outside - ok I feel good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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