a blessed April 2011...

family photo at Easter (please just look at the adorable kids...S & I are still half sick here)

April was a month of peace for me...at least as far as my attitude was concerned.  As far as happenings, it was far from peaceful!  Steve had a couple days of meetings in Chicago for work, we dog sat, and we started brainstorming and talking to contractors for a major remodel project that we plan on doing this summer.  And we also got hit with another horrible stomach/flu bug, as did many many people that we know here in the cities.  This was by far the worst one that we have had this season though, as it combined all the yuck of vomiting and diarrhea with the high fever and chills.  C got it first, then W got it 12 hours later.   W had it bad.  Bad enough he could not keep anything down and after 4 days of him being sick and not getting better we ended up having to take him in to urgent care which sent us right to Children's Hospital, where he was there for about 24 hours getting IV fluids.  The doctors there were great and explained the medical down-spiraling cycle that happens in small children with viruses like these, not making us feel like we did something wrong in taking care of him.  The stress of the hospital stay was enough to bring S's and my defenses down and then we both caught the bug.  This was right before Easter and my parents were planning on coming up for the Easter weekend.  I had planned great fun and good food...instead Mom and Dad stayed in a hotel, helped take care of the kids so S & I could be sick, helped clean and take a trip to the laundromat, and ordered (and paid for =) Easter pizza.  We were so very thankful for their help!

washing out the sick at the laundromat

As far as my attitude goes though, you would think that after my post about frustrations last month that this whole thing would take me over the edge.  But while S was in Chicago for meetings, God kind of kicked me in the butt as far as how I have been acting and feeling lately.  Which had been a lot of "WHY ME/US?! and WHY AGAIN?!"  While S was gone I was crabby about being alone and some other issues, and getting frustrated and was retreating to my ugly "WHY ME" mood.  I wasted quite a bit of time on the computer with blogs and random shopping, when I should have been paying more attention to the kids.  I came across a blog post with the title "called to the crazy," and while the post didn't really have anything to do with me or what I was feeling, the title struck me.  Our life is crazy, and will probably always be because we have kids and we live and breathe =).  I needed to stop having that WHY ME attitude and really think about how God is calling me to be a mom and how I can work for God's good in every situation, even our "crazy".  That combined with some thoughts and Bible passage that friends shared here, along with thinking about some great sermons from Rev Sawtelle about God being good, helped me come to a peace that I haven't had for a while.  God is good.  Always and forever.  And He works for the good of those who love him.  Although He works for HIS good.  And HIS good might not always amount to daisies and roses and chocolate sundaes in our lives.  We have to trust Him and have hope.  And remember how blessed we truly are...

being goofy in "new" shorts from Aahma B

G notes:

• Meal: macaroni & cheese, hot dogs, and peas
• Veggie: peas or green beans
• Fruit:  grapes or strawberries
• Snack:  crackers and peanut butter
• Treat:  chocolate chip cookies
• Doesn't like: raisins
• "Oh mom!  I feel like I could just cry forever!"  (wailing as I removed a splinter from her foot)
• "Eeny meeny miny mo.  Catch a tiger by the toe.  If he hollers 'no! no! no!'  Eeny meeny miny mo."

W notes:

• Meal: spaghetti (without meat)
• Veggie: corn or raw carrots
• Fruit: apples or grapes
• Snack:  fruit
• Treat: m&m's
• Doesn't like: potatoes, peas
• (sigh) "Momma, I can't wait until I am a adult and then I can drive a car."
• "Eeny meeny miny mo.  Catch a tiger by the toe.  If you don't let him go.  Eeny meeny miny mo."

C notes:

• Meal: macaroni & cheese
• Veggie: corn or peas
  
• Fruit: grapes or bananas
  
• Snack:  Trader Joe cereal bars (we call them "ba-bars" at our house)
• Treat:  yogurt raisins
• Doesn't like: a whole bunch of things!  very picky 2 yr old right now...
• momma: "what would you like for lunch?"  C: "hmmmmmm....ice cream!"
  
• "Eeny miny mo.  By the by the toe.  Let go.  Eeny miny mo."

a blessed March 2011...

Meeting our new niece, Evelyn, for the first time

*family shot in NE, enjoying no coat and sandal weather!!!

March was a month of frustration.  Frustration in being sick again and again.  Frustration in the cold wet windy weather with no sign of spring in sight.  Frustration with potty training not going well.  Frustration in having to find child-care for the boys 6 times to do different school things with or for G.  Frustration at work for S with many different issues.  Frustration with door falling off the van and the stress and mess that needed to go into fixing that.  Frustration in the momentum we were building in organizing and home life coming to a drastic halt...even going backwards.  Frustration in everyone's attitudes.  While it is not always easy for us to accept help, we were truly blessed by others this month.  And for that we got over our crummy attitudes and were very thankful.  Thankful for those who watched the boys or all the kids so we could do some fun school activities.  Thankful for a neighbor who made us supper (after watching our kids).  Thankful for a sister-in-law who vacuumed the entire house (while watching the boys).  Thankful for all the help I got when our van door fell off.  Thankful for neighbors who were willing to watch the kids and pick me up from the shop.  Thankful for prior insurance company who completely covered the door falling off, no questions or hassles, as it seemed to be a result from the accident we had a year and a half ago (and thankful that van doors just don't fall off without reason).  Thankful for family and friends who invited us for playdates while S was working some long hours.  So while in my head I kept thinking that it was such a carpy month, when I reflected on all the blessings that were shown to us by others, I was a little overwhelmed.  God does not promise us an easy life, but He does promise to provide us with the means to do the work He has set before us.  So thank you Lord for sending us others this month to bless us and help us make it through.  And thank you to all who helped us out, we love you and appreciate you very much.

real life at the Bruin house...potty time

reading with Dadda before he goes to work...

G notes:

• I was able to spend a lot of time with G at school this month which she really loved (I did too =).  I went on a field trip with her, helped out on the playground and in the classroom for lunch twice this month, and helped with a classroom project.  We also had CE night, and parent-teacher conferences which made for a busy month for us at school.  Her conferences went great and it is so neat to see her growth and improvement as well as have her teacher affirm that too.
• She all of a sudden looks way too grown up.  Maybe because she is acting that way too with being more independent and helpful.
• And then she throws a huge fussy hissy fit about W or C having something she wants and we are reminded that yes, she is just 5.  (To which we promptly remind her that she is 5 and a big kindergartener and should not act like that!)

 W notes:

• W is becoming quite "proficient" in his play kitchen.  We have been getting all sorts of meals and treats consisting of dominoes acting as "chicken with a reduced spicy green pepper sauce", "mango muffins with a phenomenal crumble topping", and "lemon torte with cream whipped to stiff peaks", just to name a few of his dishes.  One of my favorite shows is America's Test Kitchen on PBS, and W loves it too...maybe a little too much! 
• He is trying to talk with big people grammer, and not getting it.  It is too cute to hear him talk that way, and I find myself talking the same with him just because it is too cute.  But as S reminded me, he will never talk the correct way if we don't!  So, W, is is "WE are going to the store, not US is going to the store"
• And he is going to be a heartbreaker with the way he can smile and wink...I think we are in trouble!

C notes:

• C is now a singing fool!  He is picking up all the silly songs we sing for stuff around the house (what, you don't have a pick-up, wash-up, and onsie song?), as well as songs we hear in church, G comes home with from school, the library, and of course CDs we are listening to as well.
• Most of the time he is so good-natured, but that "two" personality is starting, because if something doesn't go his way, he screams and lets us know, and then keeps screaming and fussing and can't let it go.  I know the other two kids went through stages like this too, but it can be hard to remember that...
• Continues his quest to do everything and anything that his siblings do.  Especially his brother.  Crazy thing is that he is starting to be able to physically and mentally keep up with them!

a blessed February 2011...

At L & J's wedding reception

February was about all things love and wedding!  My brother L got married to his wife J on February 12.  It was a fabulous wedding and everyone had such a nice time and a lot of fun!  The best part was seeing how relaxed L & J were about everything, how wonderfully the wedding and reception reflected their personalities, and how excited they were to be married to each other.  When S and I got engaged 11.5 years ago, one of my cousins wisely told us to plan as much for the marriage as for the wedding.  We took this great advice to heart and have treasured the gift that God has given us in our marriage.  It is not always easy, but that is why we work at it and rest in God's hands.  And we can see that L & J are going to treasure this gift of marriage as well.    I love L to bits and am so happy he has found someone to love and spend the rest of his life with.  And I couldn't be happier to have J as a sister-in-law as well!  And excuse me for getting a little (more!) mushy, but weddings are also such a great time to reflect on how thankful for and how much I love my husband!  So cheers to L & J, may God bless them and their marriage!  (and we would like a niece or nephew sometime soon, too - the wedding is done so we can start bugging you about kids, right? =)

At Calvin's Fun Fest

G notes:

• Her reading is continuing to improve.  She has brought home sets of phonics books from school and has been flying through them.  She is finally starting to enjoy reading out loud rather than whining and asking us to just read it.
• was SOOOOO excited about Uncle L and Auntie J's wedding.  She loved the dress we found her, and loved seeing everyone else dressed up too - especially Auntie J in her beautiful dress.  And by far her favorite part of the wedding was dancing at the reception.
• when getting ready for the school carnival, G told us "I am going to meet up with O & K tonight at Fun Fest, k?"  Umm....when did she turn 13?

W notes:

• LOVES kids books on CD. We got a number of them for our trip to Edgerton for the wedding and W could turn the pages at the right times and often asks to listen to them at home as well.
• has started waking up in the middle of the night and coming to ask Dadda to sleep with him because he is "lonely!"
• is very into the disney movie Cars.  He asks to watch "Race Cars!" every Sunday night.  I think G went through this phase and we know other kids that have too, but W has got it pretty bad.  He comes up with all sorts of imaginary play with the characters, sings race car songs, pretends to be a race car and zooms through the house, and of course pretends he is Lightning McQueen, G is Sally, and C is Mater.

C notes:

• is starting to sing songs!  His first one was "Holy, Holy, Holy" and you can hardly stand the cuteness when he sings this in his own way.  He can also sing the doxology, almost all of the ABC song, and "Cows" from Philadelphia Chickens (don't own this or know what it is?  if you have kids or know kids go and buy it - Boynton and friends are fabulous!)
• C is starting to be more stubborn with toys.  He is not as easily distracted anymore and if he wants something he intends to get it no matter who is holding it, and the same thing if he has something he won't give it up for anything.  This has led to a lot more fights between him and W... I know they are brothers and brothers fight, but do they really have to?
• has graduated to eating at the table without the tray on his high chair.  He still uses the seat, but it is just butted up against the table now and he eats off the table like everyone else.  He is pretty proud of this, especially how he has figured out how to climb in and out of the high chair and "skootch" it to the table himself too.

a blessed January 2011...

We were all too sick in January for a family photo.  The puppets stood in for us nicely.

January...cold...snowy...sick...sick...sick.  It has been a tough winter for being sick all over the country, but it has hit our family particularly hard.  We have seemed to go from one cold to another to a stomach thing back to another cold virus.  That combined with extended family members spending time in hospitals and it being so cold and snowy outside did not lift the spirits very much.  But still we were blessed.  We were together, we have a warm house, we had good food (even when the momma didn't want to cook it!), we have loving friends and family, we had lots of laughs and cuddles, and all the time together this past month has been a bright spot through all the ick.  We worked at getting back into the routine of school after a lovely Christmas break, and were back into the swing of things by the end of the month.  We had a wedding to look forward to in February and it was fun to shop for clothes for almost all of us (and score incredible deals!!!) and travel to Edgerton to help throw a wedding shower for J.  We went to the library quite a few times and read a lot.  And we were reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness every day.

New books from the library didn't make it past the front steps!

G notes:

• She finally admitted she can read.  We have known this for a number of months, but whenever you would ask her to read part of a book she would reply "I can't read yet!" or stop after a couple of sentences because she wanted us to read the rest.  She still tells us that she can only read 'I can read' books, but we have seen her reading other books outloud to her brothers too...=)
• Learned to ice skate
• Is learning to like different foods including baby carrots, sloppy joes, some soups, and is starting to fuss less when we ask her to try something.
• Has been a big helper.  Not that she doesn't still fuss at us way more than we would like, but you know...

W notes:

• Got the brunt of the stomach bug.  Has never been that sick for that long before!  Made it through though and was a trooper through it all.  (helped that he figured out he got to watch PBS kids pretty much all day when he wasn't feeling good)
• Loves his magazine Ladybug, and also G's magazine Click
• Won the best grandson prize of the month...we happened to be in Trader Joe's on the day that Aahma B was coming later in the afternoon, and as we walk by all the flowers, he excitedly taps my leg and asks "Can I buy some flowers for my Aahma?" 
• is getting more interested in coloring and drawing

C notes:

• He gets the brunt of all the cold viruses we have had.  That combined with molars coming in have made for some crabby days.
• Learned how to jump!  His feet actually left the floor, and he was so proud of himself.  Now we can't get the boy to stop jumping!
• Had his 2 yr well check this month.  36" tall and 32 pounds - 97th percentile for both!  Dr. Tammy was impressed with his speech and vocab, and C also showed off his new jumping skill for her. =)
• Has really turned into a toddler.  There is not much baby left at all!  (sniff, sniff!)

a blessed 2010

Christmas  Letter 2010

Dear friends and family,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year…just a little late!  We hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season.  We loved receiving cards, photos and letters from many of you.  Although this was the year that I was sure I could get our Christmas card out right after Thanksgiving, God put something in our path and we needed to slow down and let everything be for a long while.  But I still wanted to reflect on the blessings of this past year and send our greetings to all of you, so here we are!

 

S – He is still enjoying being pharmacy manager at Costco.  Doesn’t come without challenges though!  The pharmacy has been busy, especially the past couple months, so that means some extra hours.  We are glad Costco is only a mile away so we can visit Dadda whenever we like!  S also keeps busy with house projects, his biggest this year was redoing a retaining wall and our garden area.

 

C – My job has many demands and is pretty much a 24-7 position, but I love it.  I am very blessed that I am able to stay home with our kiddos.  I have now added “room mother” to my list of duties now that G is in school.  I love being able to go to school once a month to be able to help out with lunch and recess duty.  It has been a joy to see G happy and thriving in this new setting. 

 

G – Her whole year has been pretty much the process of getting ready for and starting school.  S and I were a little nervous about it beforehand, but G has always been excited for and confident about loving school.  And she sure does.  She is a Kindergartener at Calvin Christian school and we couldn’t be happier with the school or the great teachers there.   G’s favorite activities are school, reading, playing with her brothers and friends, singing, being outside, drawing/coloring, crafts, and of course putting on shows full of costumes, dancing and singing.

 

W – He is our sensitive little guy, reacts to every little thing, can’t stand and conflict or tension, and has a tender heart for everyone around him.  This has not always made it an easy year, especially with him growing more to the point now where he can verbalize and understand his feelings and also with having G go off to school, but the sweet hugs and snuggles and smiles have got us through it all.  W’s favorite activities are reading, storytime at the library, playing with his trains and trucks, being outside and playing ball, eating fruit, and playing with his brother and sister.

 
Little C – It never ceases to amaze us the amount of growing and changing that the kids do when they are little!  He started out the year not even walking, barely talking and relying on us to feed him and do everything else, and now he is running all over, talking very well for a just two year old, and insisting he do most everything by himself.  Little C’s favorite activities are reading, playing with trucks and trains and toys, getting into mischief, climbing on everything, and following and copying and playing with his siblings.

We also had a busy year with lots of activities and trips –

January:       Little C turned 1, enrolled G in Kindergarten for the

                         fall at Calvin Christian
February:     Little C had dental surgery, month full of sick and snow
March:          Eastman Nature Center classes for G, trip to farm for

                         Mom and kids while S painted our bedroom
April:              trip to MI to celebrate Grandpa Aukeman's 90th birthday
May:               Mother's Day in Willmar, vacation to Nebraska - Omaha

                          zoo and Marcus & Amy’s house
June:              worked on garden, W turned 3, VBS, strawberries
July:               10th anniversary, visits from all the Roskamps
August:          green beans from the garden, G turned 5, annual trip

                          to the state fair
September:   G started school!, C started teaching W's

                          Sunday School class, relocated and painted office
October:         beautiful fall weather, big bike ride with the Bruin's, rock

                          work on the farm
November:   Little C had 2nd dental surgery, hosted Thanksgiving

                          with family and friends
December:    sadness in losing a baby by miscarriage, joy in watching

                          kids' Christmas programs and celebrating holidays with

                          family

This is not the place to put all the details and sadness of what we have experienced in the past couple months, but we were definitely given a greater appreciation for this blessed season and the true meaning of Christmas.  Without Christmas, without Jesus’ birth to celebrate, the birth and death of any one of us is completely meaningless.  God gave us a great gift by sending His son to the world to save us, and through Him we have redemption and hope and a future beyond this world.  We know that our lives, no matter how long or short, have purpose.  God’s plan is way bigger than what we can comprehend.  So all we can do is trust and hope, and know that we are fully resting in His almighty hands.

We wish you God’s peace, joy, and hope for 2011!

Love,

S, C, G, W, and Little C

a blessed November...

OK, feeling a little blah about the monthly posts, and also not feeling like taking a lot of time to do one for November, so I am going to change things up a little bit: 11 thoughts and 11 photos for the 11th month...in 11 minutes.

Thoughts'n'stuff:

1. C's dental surgery went very well at the beginning of the month, big thanks to Aahma B for coming up to help us out with the kids, and also big thanks to our church for providing meals that week - what a blessing!
2. G had a day off of school so the teacher's could work on quarterly report cards, and she was very put out about it. "Why do the teachers need a work day anyway!!!" She was mopy all morning and I finally took her and the kids to noodles for lunch to cheer her up! The girl still loves school.
3. We are still working on potty training with W. It is still going very slow. W still says he will go on the potty when he is 7. Sheesh.
4. We sold green car!!!! YAY! SOOOO happy to be back down to 2 cars. Thanks to S's sister M and brother-in-law C for passing along the information and our 8 billionth craigslist ad to C's co-worker, who purchased the car. Super nice lady who loves Honda's and will take good care of green car.
5. Little C still imitates his brother and sister constantly. Fun to see some of that - like wanting a kiss when he gets a bonk ("bonk.....head.....kiss?"). Not so fun to see some of it too - like fussing when turning off the tv after a video.
6. S turned 32 this month. His birthday was on Sunday (typically the busiest day for us with church and all the activities that go with it), and also right after C's dental stuff, so I wasn't sure we would have anything for his birthday! But we were able to find a gift, make a cake, come up with dinner, and even invite J&C and family last minute to come over making it a really nice day for S and all of us. (Random fact, S's birthday falls on the same day of the week as his brother J, and both G & W too!)
7. Had our first parent teacher conference for G this month. Also got G's first report card. Other than keeping focus, she is doing so well in school! We could tell that, but it was nice to hear that from her teacher Mrs. B too. Also found out that G is working in the challenge program with a few other classmates doing some creative writing - so excited about that!
8. S always asks G how her day was when he comes home in the evening, and has started asking W too. W is taking this seriously and is now thinking of things for us to do during the day to tell dadda later. =)
9. My brother M and pregnant sister-in-law A came to visit us over Thanksgiving. There was a big winter storm predicted for the day they were planning to drive up, so they decided to come the night before and just drive late into the night. We were all very glad they did, plus it felt like we got an extra bonus day to spend with them too! We had a great time with them - lots of visiting, card games, reading kids books, trip to Old Navy at midnight for the girls, and trip to IKEA for M&A to get a baby crib!
   
10. Hosted Thanksgiving for the first time (between that and the parent teacher conference, I was feeling way too grown up this month!). It really wasn't that scary being that I split the food with sister-in-law C (Thanks, C! Everything was delicious!!!). I did prepare and cook the free-range turkey, and freaked out only a little bit when trying to get it and the stuffing in the oven - why haven't I ever paid attention to mom or grandma when they were cooking the turkey for Thanksgiving????? Thanks to an oven bag, it was not hard at all and the turkey turned out great. We had such a lovely Thanksgiving. J&C and girls and Pippin joined M&A and us, as well as friend C from church. It was such a nice group and we had a very relaxing day with lots of food, fellowship, and laughter.
11. And we did take advantage of Black Friday this year. We have been using hand-me-down TV's almost since we have been married, and have talking about getting a new one for quite a while, but S said that when we did get the TV, we were going to get the TV and all accessories to go with it! We didn't do a speaker system, but we are set up now with a nice new big flat screen, blu ray, and lap top so we can stream internet to the TV as well. Felt a little crazy just buying all that stuff, but we had saved and found good deals, so we went for it!

Photos:

family photo - was hoping to take this on Thanksgiving, but didn't think about it, so this was the day after (the turkey remains are on the table ready to be thrown out, does that count as a holiday picture?).



silly faces!



squeezy happy faces!



reading books with Aahma B



I love it that the boys want to dress up with G yet



"ooooooo, look at that turkey!"



that turkey...=)



happy thanksgiving table

(and C was napping, we didn't just leave him out!)

Took some Christmas card pictures of these cute people while they were here. We got some great ones and then a few iffy ones (see preggo pic in A's post here) - the great ones were due to the cute model couple, and the iffy ones were due to the photographer. =)



the kids love doing silly faces for the camera



We got Christmas trees and decorations up on time this year! Makes the house look so festive and really puts us in the mood for December and the Christmas season.

So there you go. Something a little different. I don't know that it went any quicker (11 minutes? Are you kidding me?), but was nice for a change, at least for me! May you all have a great December and blessed Advent season!

a blessed October...

family photo on "parade couch" at the Anoka Halloween parade - one of our favorite fall outings! J&C live right on the parade route, so we always park in their driveway, share their comfy seating, and have fun chatting the afternoon away during the 3 hour parade full of floats, marching bands, princesses, and other various celebrities all dressed up in costumes. (oh, and did I mention the candy? yeah, we usually have enough to hand out to trick-or-treaters just from the parade! Pretty sure the kids won't let us get away with that for too many more years...)

Excuse me, do you know where October went? I really don't know why it went so fast, and I really don't remember what we did. That should make this a short post, eh? See ya next month!!!

Just kidding. The month did go by really fast, though. I think part of that was because we had some beautiful fall weather and were able to get out and do a lot of things just soaking up the last bit of warmth before the white stuff flies here on the frozen tundra. We went on a great bike ride with the kids and S's parents and sister, got to spend a great weekend on the farm, and topped off the month with a fun afternoon at the Halloween parade and a great fellowship dinner with couples from church.

October wasn't all happiness and fun though, especially toward the end of the month. We were busy getting ready for dental surgery for Carsten the first week of November, S was incredibly busy at work (of which there is no end in sight yet...blurg), and we hit a raccoon (yeah, a raccoon!) with our van resulting in $1000 worth of damage, way too much time on the phone with insurance, and monkeying around with schedules and cars to get it fixed.

G notes:

• She learned how to tie her shoes!! We had been showing her how for the past couple of months, but not really pushing it. All of a sudden something clicked one day and in 5 minutes she was a pro!
• G also overcame a bathroom issue at school thanks to a little incentive. Every toilet at school except 1 is an automatic flush toilet. G would wait for that manual toilet everyday (along with a few other girls) and it was starting to take longer than the teacher wanted. We were politely informed of this, and decided to offer G an incentive. G had been wanting the giant fairy wings in the picture above ever since we spotted them at the store. I told her that every time she used the automatic flush toilet, she would get a "brave girl point," and if she got enough points, then she could have the wings for Halloween. The next day G got 2 brave girl points and has not had a problem since. She got her wings (which can take out small armies...or cousins...or neighbor friends and dogs), was extremely happy and proud of herself, and her teacher thanked us.
  
• Other kindergarten highlights: being very special person, making applesauce, playing with friends at recess, being line leader, playing a doctor in the "doctor's office" corner and looking at real x-rays, and pretty much every day that she gets to go to school is still exciting and special for her. Makes her momma and dadda so happy!
• At home I think we have finally gotten into a school routine and things have settled in here for days "with G" and days "without G." There is a lot of "school" play at home, and W is more than happy to join in and play the part of boy classmates of hers. They pretend to ride the bus, go on field trips, different things in the classroom, and of course eating lunch out of lunch boxes.

W notes:

• W finally settling into the school routine has been a relief this month. This poor boy felt like he was left in the dust, things changed all over the place, and didn't know how to act or what to feel for the month of September.
  
• He is continuing to grow out of naps...now when he does get a good nap it affects bedtime for him, and it is getting easier for him to make it to bedtime without meltdowns when he doesn't nap.
• W has started picking up S's old Calvin and Hobbes comic books and can spend 15-20 minutes quietly looking through them. Something his sister and his cousin K have done before him...can't believe he is old enough to start that!
• Still 3, still dealing with meltdowns and power struggles, but S and I have both commented that he has gotten much better this month. Hopefully it will continue to get better.
• Trying to get him interested in potty training. Read the books all the time with him, talk about it, he knows everything and how it works...but he first would say that he wasn't going to sit on the potty until he was 4. Apparently he figured that was too soon because he has now bumped it to 7. Oh help us all.

C notes:

• C had a hard month with his teeth. They were obviously hurting him and he spent a lot of time with his fingers or hands in his mouth. He also was waking up at night more, and his eating was affected too.
• Really picked up on imitating his brother and sister. Not only in actions, but in words too. He watches them constantly and always has to have, be doing, or sing/say what they are. Makes us realize what a huge influence his siblings are going to have on him...
• He has started putting 2-3 words together for phrases quite a bit this month and tries to have conversations with us. The phrases do have clear pauses between the words, which as so cute. This new jump in communication has been great. He also can ask for help clearly, will direct us to what he wants us to do, and will also come and tattle on his brother and sister - running up to us crying "bonk...ME!"
• Still is crazy for books...which is great since he developed this interested much later than G and W did. He just didn't have the patience for a long time. But now we spend a good amount of time during the day reading him (and the others) books. C also loves story-time and going to the library now too!

cutie patooties...

a blessed September...

family photo taken by our favorite photographer (and s.i.l), c.e.b.

OK, ok, technically this photo was taken on the last day of August, but it really started September off for us so you get to see them here. We asked our lovely s.i.l, C, for a photo shoot in honor of our 10th anniversary this year. We did one with her for our 5th anniversary, and I would like to do this at least every 5 years. (I stole this idea from my Aunt K and Uncle H! =) Although mild obstacles occurred - a little confusion between a boat dock and a boat launch gave us a late start (the two gals who have no boat or lake knowledge should not have been the ones talking =), and then with 90+ degree weather and 90% humidity we were all a little sweaty and the kids were fussy and crabby. As you can see though, we got some nice pictures and had so much fun. Thanks again, C!!

September was busy with starting school for G and getting used to that schedule for all of us, and also it was the start of church programs and Sunday school. I am teaching W's class this year - six 3-4 year old boys! We also got our first taste of fall weather - 4 days after the 90+ weather on the first of the month, it was 60 degrees and we were scrambling to find jeans and long sleeve shirts that fit.

G notes:

• Oh this girl loves school! And that is so wonderful for S and I. It is great to have her excited to go every day. She also loves telling us about school too when she gets home (one of the things I was worried about was the typical answer "fine." to the "how was your day?" question.). After her first full day at school, she sat with me and told me all the details...then we went over to our neighbors house and she told Mrs. L all of the details...then she talked to Aahma and Boppa R on the phone and told them all the details...so by the time S got home at 7 that night, she didn't want to tell him ANYTHING - "I am tired of telling everyone the same story!" So I had to fill him in.
• For the month of September, they worked on colors and shapes...pretty basic for starting kindergarten! Each day they had to wear a specific assigned color for the day - this was a challenge being that this girl only wears pink, but really fun for G to help look for different colors in her clothes to wear. When they finished all the colors and shapes, they took a class field trip to the Walker Art Center and spent time in the sculpture gardens as well as the museum. G's favorite part was riding the bus! We do not get bus pick-up where we live which is very disappointing to her - she actually asked us if we could move so she could ride the bus.
  
• Other highlights for her have been being the milk helper and class leader, painting, library and storytime, singing, and playing with new friends at recess of course.
• Things that we are having to work on are being distracted and taking a long time with bathroom breaks, eating lunch and different projects. She is doing well in everything other than that though, and some of those things are just going to get better the more days she is in school (I have a feeling the novelty will wear off sometime).
• As usual with our kids, life and schedule changes don't really affect them too much during the day, but it comes out at night when they sleep. All the kids have been waking up more frequently, having nightmares, and of course wanting to all sleep in our bed since school started. Just takes time to work itself through...
  

W notes

• It took W a while to get used to G being in school 3 days a week. Not only did he miss his sister, but play is just different for him depending on whether she is here or not. Not much competition for toys when she is at school, a lot more when she is home...just hard for him to figure out his place again.
• He is enjoying some more attention from mom on school days though, and his relationship with C is growing too. That has been really fun for me to see!
  
• W was a little slow warming up to Sunday School this year, but by the end of the month, he was more excited about going and didn't cling to me the whole time. We are hoping he grows a little more in this area this year as he really has a hard time being apart from S and I yet.
• Storytime has started again at the library and continues to be a favorite activity of W's. He loves to listen to the stories and of course getting to pick out new stories to bring home and read.
  

C notes

• C has been just a lot more clingy since school started - I am sure it affects him too, although not as easily seen as with W and G.
• He really has been playing with toys by himself a lot lately. He of course is interested in the big kids toys and art supplies that W and G play with.
• We finally made the jump from C screaming to get what he wants to him yelling for "Mumma!" or "Dadda!" There are more times where he will ask with a please, too, without being prompted. My baby keeps growing up!!!
  
• Seemed to us that C was teething most of the month as he was fussier and had a finger in his mouth all the time. We didn't think much of it until we caught a glimpse of his upper teeth and they didn't look right. Took him into the dentist at the end of the month, and it turns out his molars are full of cavities and he will need to go into Children's hospital again the beginning of November to get them all crowned. This mostly comes from genetics as we are so careful with the sugar that our kids eat - no juice or soda, no hard candy or really candy at all, and limited other sugary treats. And we brush their teeth all the time! This means though that October could be an interesting month as you can tell that his teeth hurt him.
  

a blessed July...and August...

I know that I have not kept these monthly posts up, but I did not want to stop them all together, so I am going to catch you up on July and August in one!

July family photo on my birthday

July was a good month. We didn't make any trips or have anything big looming or planned, but ended up having a month full of fun stuff. There was my birthday, our 10th wedding anniversary (which included dinner out, by ourselves!, thanks Mom and Dad R), and a visit from my brother M and his wife A, and also a short visit with my brother L and his fiancé J who were engaged this month too! We also spent a lot of time outside in the garden and in the backyard with the kiddie pool and sprinklers going.

August family photo in sil M's pool

August was an anxious month. Getting ready for G to start school! Yikes! Along with getting school supplies, we also had times to visit and help Mrs. B in the kindergarten room, an evening with all the kindergarteners and their families and an all school picnic to help us get ready for her big first day of school. We also were able to squeeze in a pool party, roadtrip, day at the fair, and a fun 5th birthday party for G into the month as well.

August brought our first harvest out of our garden as well. Being that we planted the garden a month late, we enjoyed fresh beans a month later than when most people did. Which means we got to enjoy a really long season of fresh green beans. And ours definitely the most productive beans we have had yet! We were able to freeze 8 quarts, and missed out on freezing another 8-10 quarts due to our galavanting all over the country. We also had several meals of fresh beans (enough so the kids would say "beans, again?"), so yummy. I am enjoying G's help and interest in the garden this year a lot. She wanted to plant the beans, help weed the beans, and of course pick them too.

G notes:

• She learned how to skip!!! This is something that she has been wanting to do for some time, but couldn't quite get it. Well, one day in Target, she finally got it! So she skipped up and down the isles while the boys and I made quite a scene cheering her on. Yeah, we are that crazy family you roll your eyes at in Target...
• Her drawing ability really has come quite a ways. Now she is adding words and crazy faces to her drawings...so much fun! She also is drawing everything that she can think of - basically anything that she can't spell the words out to that she wants to write. Yeah, I would say she is ready for kindergarten!
• We started reading chapter books with her before her quiet time every afternoon. Have read Charlotte's Web and are in the middle of Stewart Little. S and I are enjoying this just as much as G is!
• Loves being outside. Loves putting on shows. Loves visiting with our neighbors and their dogs. Loves going to the park and playing with friends and cousins. Loves green beans. Loves riding her bike. Loves summer. LOVES the fact that she will be turning 5 and going to school.

W notes:

• His vocabulary and speech have progressed a lot these months. Other people comment that they can understand him a lot better (especially over the phone). He talks more like a little kid now rather than a toddler.
• He comes up with grand stories to tell us, has a great imagination in playing with G & C and also by himself. He also instructs us how to respond to his stories and games.
• Wakes up in the morning asking for an apple to eat and if we can play a game before C wakes up. Orchard Game being his favorite, "ticket booth game" (Monopoly Jr) being second pick.
• Dislikes the doctor's office very much. He vividly remembers the drs and examinations and shots that needed to be done with the polyp we found at the end of last year. Then in July he got hand, foot and mouth and also got a hairline fracture in his foot that required an x-ray. None of these incidents helped his dislike of drs! But we are making progress thanks to Dr. Tammy and had a good 3 yr well check in August. Insert stats here when I remember where I stashed that note (forgot regular book I record that in that day) and he is in the 60th percentile for height and weight.
• Loves playing ball! Has endless patience with trying to hit a ball with his bat, asks constantly to play "baseball guy" or "football guy" or "basketball guy". My favorite part of it though is that he goes through the whole process of pretending to put on the pants and the shirt and the helmet and throws us the same and makes us do that too.
• Loves playing with his trucks. Loves playing with G. Loves reading G's books. Loves playing in the park. Loves being outside. Loves to snuggle. Loves his dadda.

C notes:

• Yeah, going to stop recording "new words" now. He knew over 50 words by the time he was 18 months, which was right around where W & G were too. Our kids have always been gifted with words and for that we are very grateful! C is adding new words all the time and is talking in small phrases now too.
• This boy can get anywhere now! He loves to run, especially after his sister and brother, and wants to be doing anything and everything they are. He especially loves to copy W. If W has a book in the car, C wants one. If W wants and apple for a snack, so does C, etc. etc.
• C also had his 18 month well check at the dr. Insert stats here when I remember where I stashed that note (forgot regular book I record that in that day) and he is in the 97th percentile for height and weight. Only 2.5 inches shorter than W! They are going to be the same size here sooner than we think.
• C has really developed a love for books lately. Before he liked books, but you always had to pick short ones as his attention span was very short with them. Now he brings us books, asks us to read them, asks us to read them again, and then goes back to the bookshelf for more. He can also be distracted from being fussy or upset now by books, which is great!
• Loves yogurt raisins. Loves being outside. Loves shoes (will wear anyones lying around!). Loves being held. Loves getting into everything. Loves his brother and sister. Loves to smile.

a blessed June...

family photo: best we could get! =)

June was a month of VBS, strawberries, garden and sick. The sick was the hard part. I got a terrible head cold, then the boys got hand-foot-mouth disease. Not fun! We had to stay home-bound for the last few weeks of June so that we did not spread it further. I always think that we never go anywhere, but once we couldn't go anywhere, we missed the few places we did go regularly (church, library, parks, cousins'/friends' houses). Thankfully the weather was pretty nice and we played a lot out in the backyard. And one thing neat to see with being stuck at home with each other was how they really had to play with each other. C is getting big enough now that he wants to join in the play so I have really been working on G and W to include him.

talking on their "phones"

playing computer games, or watching G play computer games

G notes:

• wants to be big and do things for herself that I have to work at letting go a little, like use a knife to butter her own bread.
• and at the same time seems to have regressed a little - awfully fussy, wants to be picked up and carried and ride in the shopping carts...she wants more attention that is sometimes hard to give when you have 2 other little ones to take care of.
• LOVED VBS! It was so right up her alley...following a schedule, doing crafts, recreation time outside (which she keeps mixing up and calling "craftreation"), following instructions, etc. Makes us realize more and more how ready she really is for school this fall.
• Has memorized, like really memorized ("hidden in her heart" type memorize), her first Bible verse. It was from VBS: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" Matthew 5:6. She will say this out of the blue for us here and there, and keeps asking questions so that she remember what it is about too. Awesome.

W notes:

• turned 3! Yay! Loved his birthday weekend and sharing it with lots of family. This was the first year where he really got that his birthday was special - I remember that when G turned 3 too, and that is so much fun!
• is starting the process for giving up his nap. There have been many afternoons that we have not been able to get him down to sleep for a nap. (Obvioulsy resulting in crashing around suppertime or very early to bed.) I am so not ready for this yet, although on days when he hasn't slept, we have been able to get him to do "quiet time" like his sister, which means he is getting big enough to grow out of them. He understands that he needs to be quiet and read books on his bed and he can't come out until the set time on his clock - and he does this quite well, none of the excuses or escaping or whining that we had transitioning G with that.
• have I ever mentioned that this boy loves fruit? He could eat it for every meal and snack and still go for more. So the summer fresh fruit season has been awesome so far. I try to vary the fruit that he has, and often have to not put the watermelon on the table until after the main course is finished otherwise he won't want to eat anything else but the watermelon (or whatever fruit we are having)
  

C notes:

• still teething...still growing...although I have noticed a lot less awkward falls this month - less tripping over nothing falls, but more "I want to try that because G&W did that" falls.
• I think we may have turned this sweet baby into a couch potato during our sick period. We watched a lot more kids tv and videos and movies while we were all sick, and of course C watched right along with us. And now he points to the TV and grunts (his way of asking to turn it on), and whenever any sort of moving picture is on (even if it is a small sports clip on ESPN.com that S is watching), he finds a pillow or chair or lap and settles in like it will be an hour long movie. He can say "boaw-boaw" and sign the paws for Blues' Clues theme song, can toot the whistle with the Dinosaur Train theme song, and dances with glee to the WordWorld theme song. He also has caught on to the big 2's fussing when you turn the TV off and will shout "NOOOOO!" right along with them. (Yes, we have our issues at this house, and are working on them, thank you very much)
• Loves to go and play outside and will go and grab his shoes and bring them to you, and if you are busy and can't comply, he will put his own shoes on (crocs work well for this), stand at the door and scream short screams over and over to get out.
• And has aquired that bad habit too - grunt screaming for things he wants rather than using his words. Thankfully this is getting better, but we were all at fault too because there were 4 people that could get him what he wanted just so he would stop!
• New words (I think this might be the last time I do this - getting harder to remember what is new now that he is talking/signing so much!): listen/hear, bicycle(this is such a fun sign to watch him do!), flower, guy, ear, nose, mouth, teeth, hair, toes, feet, outside, "Blues Clues", hi, good (in response to "how are you?"), and he also likes to answer any question that is asked him - if he doesn't know the right answer? he will just say "Bubby" confidently enough that others will look to me for interpretation...which I don't have.
  
• and much to my mother's shagrin, he has gotten really good at saying "Boppa" for my dad...and as much as she (and I) tried to get him to say "Aahma", he would just look at her, smile sweetly, and say "Boppa!" So I leave you with a cute picture for my mom:
  

playing on the front steps with Aahma R