Mace - 15 Months

Yesterday Mr. Mace had his 15 month check with the doctor and passed with flying colors.  He is 27 lbs 7 oz (80%) and he's 33.5" tall (97%).  He's right on target for all of his milestones.  He should have 3-6 words at this age and currently has 6 that he pretty consistently uses.  They are da-da, hi, kitty, ball, on, and up.  It's so cute because Mace calls babies and all animals kitties.  He is doing a good job at pointing at what he wants.  He knows that his shoes go on his feet and hats go on his head.  Yesterday I asked the boys if they wanted to go out for supper.  Mace ran right over to his diaper bag, pulled out his shoes and tried putting one on his foot.  He's such a smarty pants.

He currently likes to help with laundry; he knows to pull the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer.  Then when he's finished he closes the door and after I set it, he pushes the start button.  He is also getting really good at following simple directions like "throw this in the garbage" or "find your cup".

His current favorite activities include dance parties, itsy bitsy spider, emptying the kitchen drawers, and playing with big boys toys.  Now he can walk around pushing a dump truck just like his older brothers and loves to tag along with them.  

In the last couple weeks he has pooped twice and pottied once on the big potty.  We've only put him on there three times so three for three is pretty good odds.  Please note that I am in no way attempting to potty train.  While we are trying to get Cade comfortable with the big potty we might as well do it with Mace too.

What You Don't Want To Hear

This morning when I went to pick Mace up from his nursery room after MOPS I heard the following, "Has anyone seen Mace?"  This was then followed by all of the women responding "no".  The woman started looking around and he was nowhere to be found in the room.  Apparently he likes to wander over to the other side of the room into the other class.  It's a really large room separated by a half wall with a half door in between.  The door must have been opened and he wondered over.  That's the second time I've found him in that room.  Maybe they have better toys over there. :)

My Poor Little Ones

We have snot, coughing, and more snot.  I just love this time of year.  The two little ones seem to be miserable which makes me feel so bad for them.  They have these horrible coughs that sound so giant from their little bodies.  Cade has had to miss two speech sessions this week due to the sickness.  Hopefully it gets out of here quickly and doesn't infect the rest of us.

3 Little Words

I was just telling the boys goodnight as Mitch was preparing to read them a story and Cade looked up at me and said "I love you".  That was the first time he has ever said those words and they were very clear.  I'm not going to lie, it was overwhelming to hear my son utter those three little words after spending so long not talking.

A Normal Day Around Here

So this morning Drew didn't have school.  I had great visions of the boys sleeping in and having a nice relaxing morning.  Normally on school days I end up having to wake them up but on non-school days they don't have any problems getting up early.  This morning was no different.  Drew and Cade were up much earlier than normal and I was disappointed my morning hadn't worked as I had it planned out in my head.  So, I told them they could watch cartoons in my room with me for a little bit before we went down for breakfast.  A little while later I woke again because Mace was awake.  When I got up I realized the boys were gone.  They had sneaked out without telling me and went downstairs.  As Mace and I walked down the stairs, I was scared of the make-your-own-breakfast mess I would find on the counters but I was pleasantly surprised that I found them void of any supplies.  As they sat on the couch watching cartoons I asked them what exactly they were doing coming downstairs without telling me and Cade handed me a wad of plastic.  I grabbed it and studied it a minute trying to figure out what in the world it had come from.  What exactly had they been doing?  It was strange because the bottom was full of white little crystals.  Then it hit me.  They had gotten into Mitch's candy stash.  He had an unopened box of Sour Patch Kids in the pantry and they had helped themselves to the whole thing for breakfast.  What a healthy way to start your day when you are two.  They seemed pretty proud of themselves though that they had only taken one box of candy so I guess we have that going for us.  They didn't wipe everything out.

Then a little later Drew and Cade were upstairs playing and Mace was downstairs with me.  I was cleaning up the kitchen from the actual breakfast I fed them and Mace headed into the pantry.  I was calling for him because I needed to run some dirty towels up to the laundry room and didn't want him in the pantry alone while I was gone.  He didn't come and it was pretty silent back there.  I headed back to grab him and threw all the towels on the floor and screamed when I saw what he was doing.  He was standing at the toilet with his hands inside of it.  Gross yes, but it got so much worse when I got closer.  Drew has had the tendency not to flush the toilet lately.  It's so nasty and I don't know why he all of  sudden started doing that.  So Mace had been playing in a toilet full of pee.  Nasty, nasty, NASTY!  At least he hadn't thrown a whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet again.  I would not have been very happy about fishing out a pee soaked roll of toilet paper and having a pee covered baby.

The best thing about the morning was realizing that these two incidents didn't even really strike me as crazy or out of the ordinary.  I didn't even text Mitch and let him know.  Well, I guess I did make Drew send him an apology email.  But with three active little boys in the house right now, we're constantly finding ourselves part of crazy situations like these.  I now think of these times as amusing stories to share instead of stressful situations.  The alternative of losing my mind doesn't sound all that appealing to me.

Is it Really That Time Already

I cannot believe that I just had to bundle Drew & Cade up in winter coats, hats and gloves to play outside after lunch today.  It is really cold out there!!  I still want more glorious fall days to be able to play outside and enjoy before the bitter cold temperatures of winter move in.

It Made Me Happier than I Thought it Would

I feel like in a pinch I am really bad about coming up with something quick and easy for dinner.  If I don't make up a menu for the week I'm totally lost at dinner time.  Ask Mitch; I think it drives him crazy when he asks what's for dinner and I say I have no idea.  It is especially difficult because the defrost on our microwave doesn't work.  It just cooks the meat no matter what you try.  So everything I think of I can't ever make.

Mondays are terribly busy days around here.  We get home from speech when I would normally like to be sitting down for dinner.  So, I'm working on finding quick and easy things to be able to still get a good dinner on the table for us.  I'm finding that the easiest way I'm able to accomplish this is by putting something in the crock pot so it's ready for my hungry kids right when we get home.  Over the last few months as I've made crock pot meals I've doubled the recipe and made one for dinner and put the other in the freezer for later when I need a meal.  Today as I was struggling with what I was going to do for dinner because I hadn't yet made my menu, I decided to get one of those meals out.  It was awesome.  I had no prep time at all and we're going to have a great yummy meal tonight.  It's really little things like this that make me so ridiculously happy.  It wasn't that much extra work when I froze them because I was already using all the ingredients and it made no extra dishes (big plus).  Just a bonus meal to use on a day like today when I don't have time to whip something up.  {happy sigh!!}

Boys Update - September

The boys are growing up so fast.  I thought I would give an update on each of their little lives.

Mace
Mace has grown so much in just the last month.  His baby days are definitely gone now.  He loves walking all over the place exploring everything he can.  This week he has been working on going from sitting to standing without holding on to anything.  He's doing awesome.  The first time I saw him try was over at our neighbor's on her driveway.  He wanted to go get the cat and tried three times really hard to stand and walk.  On the third time, he was able to take off walking.  It was so fun to see although a little scary on the concrete.  He can reach the doorknobs now and is trying with all his might to open them when the big boys leave him behind.  He has added "kitty" and "door" to his vocabulary.  He points to what he wants and says "dat" (that).  He clicks his tongue and whistles and loves dancing to music.  I love watching his little dance moves.  It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face no matter your mood.  He still wants to take two naps most days although if you can get him through the morning he'll be fine with one.  His nighttime bottle is gone now and we'll just give him a drink of milk from a cup if he wants it before bed.  I'm worried about writing this for fear of jinxing it but he's been sleeping through the night consistently again which is wonderful.

Cade
Cade is becoming very grown up now.  He is talking up a storm and is trying lots of new words that we can't even figure out.  His therapists all say that is a really good sign that he's trying to say new things even if we can't figure any of it out.  I was able to have my first real conversation with him this week.  It made me smile so big to actually talk with him.  Here's our conversation:
   Mom "What's your favorite color"
   Cade "Green"
   Mom "What's your favorite food"
   Cade "Apple"
   Mom "What's your favorite thing to do outside?"
   Cade "Dig"
   Mom "Would you rather play outside or inside?"
   Cade "Outside"

We continue to do therapy both through the AEA and through a clinic in town.  Combined he has six sessions a month and we see his vocabulary continue to grow leaps and bounds.  He has many two word utterances and the other day even said four words together.  My mouth about hit the floor.  During therapy yesterday he counted to six.  I was not aware that he could do that so what a great surprise that was.  If we allowed him to, I believe he would play all day outside digging in his hole at the back of the yard.  He also is very helpful when we are out working on projects.  He wants to get in there are be of great assistance.

Drew
Drew is becoming so grown up now.  He is very independent and slightly stubborn like his mom.  He is able to carry on such grown up conversations now and sometimes blows me away with what he's able to talk about.  He continues to work on his reading and spelling and is doing a really good job.  He's also super good at adding and subtracting.  We've been doing lots of drawing and coloring and he's enjoying that more.  He doesn't like to get too crazy when he colors though.  I think he did a whole coloring book in blue because that's the color he likes.  I notice that about all his art projects he brings home from school too.  They are only ever one color.  He still loves school and loves playing with his "crew".  He says that all the boys are friends and they are all a crew.  He has come home with some interesting phrases he's learned from some kids and I have had to tell him we won't be using those in our house.  Luckily nothing bad though.  During indoor class activities he's still pretty shy and doesn't like doing his sharing time.  He answers the teachers questions and then I guess she relays his answers to the rest of the class.  I'm really interested to see what they are going to say at his conference in November.        

Happy Birthday Mitch

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday.  Over the weekend we were able to have both of our families over to celebrate with a football game and good food.  His gift from everyone was a giant seafood boil.  To say he was excited would be putting it mildly.  It was a great time getting to spend the day with everyone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MITCH!!!!!

A Change in the Air for Naps

I remember when Drew was two and decided he didn't want to take a nap anymore.  We had a gate on his room so he still had to stay in his room for a couple hours and he would eventually fall asleep after looking at books for awhile.  Then after he turned three he was completely done with any nap attempt.  Cade has now also gotten to that point.  Sometimes he'll get out of his bed and then lie under it.  I'm not really sure what that's about but he has taken multiple naps on the floor in the last few weeks.  Most other times, he makes his way down to the playroom.  If Drew is resting with his stuffed animals in the guest room, Cade will just play by himself.  Otherwise the two of them play or read books.  I'm not ready for Cade to go from 3 hour naps to nothing.  He's not even 2.5 yet.  I used to work with people that would talk about how even their kindergartner still took naps on the weekends.  I don't understand that at all.  Why do my kids want to quit when they are two?  

Jab to my Heart

I was just talking with Drew as he was unloading the dishwasher.  I was giving him suggestions of what his reward could be when he gets his reward card full of punches.  He looked at me and said, "Daddy is the best Daddy but you are cranky all the time.  One time Daddy let me have the marshmallow cereal that you don't let me have."  Really?!?!  Yesterday he informed me that he liked Daddy best because Daddy always buys things for him.  Gotta love that he tells you what's on his mind.  I guess I'm going to have to develop thick skin for the next few years.

Making a Change in Dinner

Dinner together is something that is very important to us.  From the time that our kids were at least 9 months, they sat with us at dinner and ate what we ate for the most part.  It was important to us that from the beginning they learn about family meal time.  There are foods of course that little ones cannot feed themselves either because they are not ready to use a spoon and plate or because mommy doesn't like them to make super big messes.  Take applesauce or messy spaghetti for example.  That means of course that we have to eat our food while at the same time feeding the baby and making sure the older children have everything they need.  This causes some problems for impatient hungry little babies.  Mace is now screaming when he wants another bite if it has not been given to him fast enough.  This is through no fault of his own though.  For a year he was able to communicate with us in no other way than to cry.  That was the way he let us know he was hungry, tired, or dirty.  Now we have to break that reinforcement and get him to communicate with us in ways that do not cause pain to our ears.  (I'm not kidding...you should hear this kid scream.)  I remember going through this with the other two as well.  To break the yelling for food cycle, we introduce signing to our kids.  Drew only ever had a few signs because he talked early.  With Cade's talking issues he has quite a few that he learned and uses.  Tonight we taught Mace to sign "more".  When he yelled for a bite I said "more" along with showing him the sign.  He immediately did the sign and got a bite and gave us a big smile.  This happened three times tonight and he did the sign right away every time we showed him.  It's just amazing to me how quickly they can pick up on things.  He has also recently started giving high fives and waving bye.  It's fun that you can show him something one time and see him start to do it.  

He'll Get it Soon

Mace is working on walking.  I really think it won't be long until he's buzzing around at lightning speed.  Every night after dinner, Mitch and I sit and make Mace walk between the two of us until he no longer has any interest.  He's getting pretty good at it too.  He'll take about 5 steps and he'll have the biggest smile on his face the whole time.  It's great to watch.  Last night, I was standing in the kitchen when Mitch sent Mace towards me.  I stepped backwards as Mace came towards me and he paused, keeping his balance, and then kept walking.  It was the furthest he had gotten.  I can't believe that soon he'll be out running around with the older two.

Words I Never Thought I Would Hear

Friday at dinner Mitch was talking to Drew about school that day.  Then I heard Drew utter a phrase I really never expected him to say, "I love school!"  I could not believe my ears.  Mr. School Is Not Going to Be Fun now loves school.  We'll see how long that attitude lasts.  Do boys still think that when they're 16?

My New Helper

With Drew being at school in the mornings, Cade has stepped up to become my new helper around the house.  On Wednesday, he helped me unload the dishwasher and organize the diaper laundry.  Today, he was a very good helper at the grocery store.  It's nice to see him wanting to help and do the things Drew normally did when he was here.  I also noticed this morning that he talked a lot more while we were shopping.  Drew is usually the mastermind behind their play so it's a change for Cade to be the one in charge.

Most Likely an Alien Abduction

After Mace's birthday he was abducted by aliens.  I really don't know how else to explain what has happened to my baby.  He was a nice calm, easy going baby.  Now he's a cranky, screaming, angry one year old.  He now spends most of his time screaming.  I'm not talking about a little baby yell or cry.  I'm talking ear piercing, brain rattling screams.  I don't even know how he can be that loud for how small he is.  But luckily it's only when we're in the car, at a restaurant, while I'm getting lunch or dinner ready, or while he's playing.  The aliens also altered his sleeping as he is no longer waking up at night.  It's so nice that he's finally back to sleeping well but I don't know if I would have exchanged that for all the screaming.  Hmm, I'm not really sure which is worse.  Hopefully whatever they did to his little brain doesn't last long.

Drew's Day

When I picked up my little guy today he had the biggest smile on his face.  When the teacher called his name, he came running out the door to us.  The first thing he said to me when he got to us was that he thought it wasn't going to be fun but it was.  That was honestly the greatest thing he could have said.  Especially when coupled with the excitement in his voice.  I'm so glad that he had a good day and is looking forward to going back.  When I asked his favorite part of today he first answered with snack time but then quickly changed to everything.  Could there be a better answer than that he loved everything they did?

Drew's 1st Day of Preschool

This morning we dropped Drew off for his first day of preschool.  He was apprehensive as we left him there but he was brave and went with the teacher and didn't cry or cling to us.  We weren't sure how he was going to handle it.  He's been telling us for months that he didn't want to go and that it wasn't going to be fun.  Now we'll have to see if he actually participated.  Generally at MOPS and Sunday School he doesn't participate much.  He prefers to just sit quietly while the other kids play and sing.  Hopefully he's growing out of that.

I just can't believe he's old enough to be going to school.  I almost teared up a little when we were going in to the school but I held it together.  It's been a rough week for me trying to mentally prepare myself for my little boy growing up.  It's definitely much quieter here at home without him.  Really it's kind of boring.  He's really most of the entertainment in this house so we're going to miss him for the few hours he's gone during the day.  On the way home Cade started crying as we drove out of town because he wanted to go back and get Drew.  Then after being home 22 minutes he asked if it was time to go get Drew.  It's nice that he loves his brother so much and misses him.

We're meeting Mitch for lunch today to make it a special day for Drew so we'll see if we can get any stories out of him.  Stay tuned.

Oh Cader I am Sorry

I feel really bad because when Drew & I were just looking through costume ideas on the web I instantly thought of Cade when I saw this....

http://spoonful.com/halloween/best-boys-halloween-costumes-gallery/10062#carousel-id=photo-carousel&carousel-item=26

2012 Vacation

This year instead of a fun beach vacation we got a minivan.  When our van died and we had to put a bunch of money into it and then ended up needing to get a different one when our engine blew we had to kiss a fun summer vacation good bye.  To say that Drew was sad that he didn't get to go back to Florida would be an understatement.  About daily since we got home from Florida last summer he has been asking when we were going back.  We had to explain to him a few times before he got it that we got a minivan instead of a vacation.  It was a good lesson for him about how we have to save money to get fun things.

We still wanted to do some fun things with the boys and have a little staycation.  On day one we went to Independence.  We had lunch at a deli in town we'd never been to and then went to Heartland Acres.  They have animals, classic cars, lots of tractors and farming and history items.  The boys really liked the tractors and animals and got bored quickly with the museum type items.  Once we left there we recharged our batteries with some ice cream and a pit stop at home and then went to the aquatic center in Cedar Falls.  It was our first time being there and the boys loved it.  We were even able to have Aunt Amanda come and join us for a swim.  We wrapped up our day eating at a new place on the hill that had just opened.  Lets say that we were praying that none of us got sick.  It was the worst food we have ever had anywhere.  

Drew by one of his favorite tractors

Boys by Big Bud

When Drew saw this TV he asked what it was.  I almost died laughing that he had no clue that it was a TV.

Day two had us stopping in Dyersville for a yummy breakfast and then heading to Dubuque.  We went and watched a barge at the lock and dam but we only could only stay for about 30 minutes.  The days we did our staycation had 110 heat index so we didn't want to be outside for very long because we were just melting.  Then we headed to the National Mississippi River Museum.  We had a lot of fun walking around seeing the different animals and exhibits.  I thought we were going to die walking around on the boat outside though.  It was 2:30 in the blazing hot sun and my clothes could have been wrung out after about 2 minutes.  It really started to feel like Mitch was trying to torture us making us look at all of the outside exhibits.  Lets just say that I hate being that hot.  A quick walk through of the next building and we were ready to be on our way.  We had some snacks to re-energize headed to Crystal Lake Cave.  It was a nice change to be down where it was like 55 degrees.  Drew really liked it and did so awesome leading the way and making sure I knew what was ahead of me.  He followed all the rules and was very careful not to touch the sides of the cave.  Mace was a little challenging to carry around in the parts that I had to bend to get through.  Cade was a real challenge there.  He wanted to walk but when Mitch put him down he would splash in the puddles and touch the walls.  It was a pretty confined place for a two year old but he did pretty well.  After the tour we headed to have some dinner and then stopped by Aunt Shantel's house.  The boys always enjoy getting to visit her puppy.  After that we headed home and all slept like babies after a hot day walking around

Looking at some turtles

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Mace in the cave

Cade enjoying his freedom in the cave

Mace - A Year Old

I can't believe my baby is one.  Although it feels like forever ago that we welcomed Mace into our family, it doesn't seem possible that he's one already.  He's no longer a baby!!  He is definitely starting to show his personality and is loving being involved and playing with his older brothers.  Right now he has a handful of words.  It's the cutest thing to hear him talk.  He says hi, night night, uh-oh, ma-ma, da-da and he waves bye-bye.

We are currently working on switching him from formula to milk. With the other two it was no problem.  We handed them a sippy cup with milk in it and they chugged it.  Mace hates milk.  If we can even get him to take a drink of the cup he starts gagging and spits it out.  Then he becomes suspicious of all cups we give him and won't even try the water for fear that we are trying to trick him and give him more milk.  He likes cheese and yogurt though so the doctor says it not a big deal to get his calcium that way.

Mace hasn't yet started walking but cruises around all of our furniture and goes like a crazy person with his walker.  It's so fun to watch.  He's going to be keeping up with the big boys soon.  It's the funniest thing to see the older ones running up and down the hallway upstairs with Mace chasing right behind crawling as fast as he can.  I think he starts to get frustrated that once he catches them they head to a different area.

I took him for his one year check last week and couldn't believe how much he had grown.  He's now off the charts for his height (32.25") and is 75% for weight (24 lb 6 oz).  With him being really tall and only 16 months younger that Cade, I think he's going to catch him soon.  A lady at church on Sunday asked Mitch if Mace & Cade were twins.  I can see a lot of those questions in our future.  That is, once the people get over how much Cade looks like Mitch.  We get that comment ALL THE TIME.

Here are some pics from Mace's party.  It was so great that we were able to have all of our family (less one uncle) over to celebrate his big day.  We had a lot of fun.

He shoved his piece of cake into his mouth.  He wasn't messing around.

Mace & Cade playing with some new presents

Happy boy!!

  

Biggest Fan

THE OLYMPICS ARE STARTING!!!!!!!

I absolutely love the Olympics and have been anxiously awaiting this day since the closing ceremonies of the last one.  I really can't even explain how ridiculous my excitement is.  Happy viewing and cheering everyone.

Flashback

I just found this post Mitch had that never got published from four years ago.  It's Drew as a baby and I think he looks a lot like Mace.  I forgot how crazy Drew's hair was before we cut it.  His hair is just like Mitch's and gets fluffy when it gets long.  Enjoy....

OK I finally got the pictures off the camera. Here are some before and after pictures from Drew's haircut.

Mace May Be Cured

Over the last month or two we have been trying to give Mace little bits of dairy or soy every few days.
Sadly, he continued to get sick with every attempt.  That is, until this week.  He tried a small amount of goldfish crackers for lunch Tuesday which had previously made him sick.  Then for supper that day he had maidrites seasoned with multiple things containing milk and soy and seemed to be OK  Last night I fed Mace a little homemade mac and cheese and he never got sick.  We felt pretty confident that he's doing better and fed him a whole grilled cheese sandwich for dinner tonight.  Then Mitch decided to give him some frozen yogurt for dessert since the other two were having it.  If he doesn't get sick tomorrow I think we'll know for sure that he's all better.  That will be so exciting.  It'll be great if we can feed him real cake for his party on Saturday.

So Much Sadness

On Saturday I went to a funeral and watched as they buried a 44 year old mother of 4 who died in a car accident. Now on Friday I have to go and watch as they bury a 33 year old father to 4 small children.  In exactly a weeks time these 8 children each lost a parent.  I just can't imagine that kind of pain.  Thank you Lord that I still have both of my parents.


How would I explain to our children that their daddy wasn't ever coming home?  How do you make small kids understand that Daddy is happy with Jesus now when all they want is Daddy to read them a story and tuck them in?  How do you keep the memories alive for them as their young memories begin to fade?  I hope I never have to figure out the answers to these questions.


All of this sadness happening to people that I know is really putting into perspective my stresses with my children.  Even though our kids often make us want to pull our hair out we know we are so very blessed just to have these boys and it's a gift that we are both here to love them.  I am so thankful that I can kiss them and tell them that I love them and pray that God will allow me to stay here and do so for a very long time.

Cade - 3 Month Therapy Update

Cade has had a big week.  His vocabulary has increased so much and we are so excited with his progress.  This morning at therapy his therapist wanted to talk with me before they started.  It has been three months since he started therapy so we had to look back at his previous goals and set new ones.  She was very happy with the progress he has made lately and he had met all of his goals.

In the last week he has learned boat, me, blue, Dew (Drew), barn, and bowl.  He has also added the two word phrases Mommy eat and Bob on.  We are just tickled with how much he has started saying and how many signs he is using.  It just makes it so much easier for him to communicate with us.  Keep up the good work Cader!

Things That Make Me Smile

• Baby smiles
• Hearing Mace saying "hi" in his sweet voice
• Fall
• Seeing excitement on my child's face
• A good meal
• A clean kitchen
• When my husband holds my hand
• Spring
• The ocean
• Watching my children explore the world
• Laughter from my kids
• A kiss from the man who stole my heart
• Ice cream
• Vegetables ready to harvest in my garden
• Brownies
• Time to read a good book
• Catching up with girlfriends

Bad Ideas for Today

• A trip to a fabric store I've never been to before thinking it would be quick and easy to find things I found on the internet this morning.  Mind you, I didn't write anything down either before leaving the house so I couldn't even ask for help when I got there.
• Taking 3 boys to a fabric store where only the little one fits in the cart
• Thinking the boys wouldn't touch stuff in a store full of goodies
• Telling Drew the truth when he asked if the ham at lunch was from a pig.  Apparently he's a vegetarian now.  
• A painting project in the driveway with Drew involving 15 year old foam paintbrushes and a jello paint mix that I apparently did very wrong.  

Our Garden

yummy basil

Mitch and I have enjoyed having a vegetable garden since we first got married.  In the last few years we have been unable to grow anything between building our house and waiting to get a yard.  So this year we were super excited to be able to get a garden in and went all out.  This year we are growing garlic, lettuce, carrots, corn, garden peas, snow peas, onions, dill, basil, cilantro, cucumbers, two varieties of potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus and different varieties of peppers.  We have also planted a strawberry patch and have blueberries, blackberries and grapes. 

Our corn and eaten lettuce & carrots

 In the beginning we had some problems with rabbits so we put up a short fence and that has helped.  Then in the last week, a baby deer has been getting in and has eaten my lettuce and the tops of all of my carrots.  Hopefully we don't get too much more damage.  We don't want to have to take out Bambi.   

Our mass of potato plants

Last weekend we were able to harvest some potatoes and used them for mashed potatoes to go with our steak for dinner.  Oh my goodness.  They were the yummiest potatoes I've had.  The skins came right off  when I cleaned them so I didn't have to peel them and they were so buttery and creamy.  Delicious!!  We have never grown potatoes before so we are very pleased with them and I can't imagine ever wanting to buy potatoes from the store again.  We have also been using lots of our herbs lately.  I just love having an herb garden because they are so expensive at the store and you never use all of them before they go bad.  It's great to go out and pick just what I need for dinner that evening. 

Do you see all those?

My tomato plants this year are unlike any I've ever had before.  I have some that are almost as tall as me.  I know I'm not very tall but come on.  They are huge!!  And loaded with tomatoes.  I'm so excited to stock my storage room with goodies for the winter.  It'll be so nice not to have to buy so much at the grocery store because these three little boys eat a LOT.  

What a Difference

In five minutes last night Mace went from looking like a baby to a big boy.

My Cloth Diaper Journey

I had looked into cloth diapers before having both Cade & Mace but because of their food intolerances felt it would have been a disaster.  Then with having two little boys in diapers I started to get really stressed out about buying diapers all the time.  In March, I was changing Cade and realized I was about out of diapers even though I had just bought some.  In my frustration, I went downstairs, got on the computer and purchased the cloth diapers I had looked at so many times over the last couple years.  I then anxiously waited for my shipment to arrive.  

It was a bit of a mess in the beginning.  The shipment was all screwed up when it arrived and I had to call them 3 different times before it was all figured out and I had the right things.  Then the diapers didn't fit Mace right.  They were so tight on him even though he was 18 pounds and they were supposed to go to 25 pounds.  The snaps were digging into his skin leaving marks every time and about rubbing him raw.  Plus they leaked CONSTANTLY.  I was so disappointed but didn't want to give up using cloth.  

After the disappointing start with the gDiapers, I started researching again like a crazy person.  I became completely obsessed with cloth diapers and read everything I could find.  I finally decided to make another order with a small variety of diapers so I wasn't tied down to one brand again like last time in case it didn't work out.  Within the next couple months I made a few more purchases watching my stash grow.  In the beginning I was having to wash every day because I only had five diapers.  Now I can go 2-3 days between loads which is nice.  I've also moved Cade into cloth.  He's too big for most of the pocket diapers so I've got him wearing a Thirsties cover with flour sack towels.  He seems to like them and will reach for them when we go to change his diaper.

I now love my cloth; even though my mom still thinks I'm crazy for doing this.  The best part about cloth is how stinking cute the diapers are.  There are so many cute designs you can get.  They really aren't that much work and I haven't had any blowouts since switching.  With disposables I was having a heck of a time containing Mace's messes.  There were a few diaper changes before that required both of us to change our clothes afterwards.  It was honestly so disgusting.  Now that's no longer a problem.  We do however have a few potty leaks but I'll take potty over poo getting on everything any day.

Cade: Our Little Hero

In the last couple weeks, Cade has saved Mace's life at least twice.  The first time Mitch had taken the boys upstairs while I was cooking dinner.  After a little while I heard the door open at the top of the stairs.  I thought it was Mitch so I told him that supper would be ready in a couple minutes so he could go get all the boys.  After a couple minutes I was hearing a lot of grunting and noises coming from Cade so I went to the bottom of the stairs and checked out the commotion.  What I saw made me sprint up the stairs as fast as I could.  Cade was on his knees at the top of the stairs holding Mace's shorts as Mace was hanging over the top step.  You could see Mace's little bottom so I knew Cade had a good grip on Mace while he was trying to wiggle his way free to get down the stairs.  Cade is the one who opened the door but then realized Mace was going to fall down the stairs and had to stop him from doing that.

Then today after lunch the boys got down and I put Mace in the living room while I went back to the kitchen to make his bottle.  I heard a lot of screaming from him about 30 seconds later.  He had made his way quickly back to the kitchen and was under the counter where they had eaten lunch.  I think he has realized that they are all giant pigs when they eat and there are always a plethora of crumbs to choose from after meals.  I generally can't keep him away more than a tenth of a second in order to get the floor clean so I'm usually sweeping around him.  During all the screaming, I saw that Cade was grabbing at Mace's mouth yelling "out!!".  I got down on the floor with them to try and figure out what was going on and saw that Mace had gotten a giant chunk of apple off the floor and had shoved it into his mouth.  Cade knew he shouldn't be eating it and was trying to get it out of his mouth.  I'm so glad that Cade loves his little brother so much and is always looking out for him.

Brotherly Love

I must be dumb.  I never knew the boys would start fighting this early.  In my head, I thought they wouldn't start fighting until they were about 10 & 8.  Boy was I wrong.  There is fighting between Drew & Cade all the time now.  They fight over toys, or who gets food first, or who gets to sit where if they are watching a movie, if someone is making too much noise in the van.  It's crazy.  

This week has been a really good week though.  Drew has been the best big brother.  He has spent his days explaining things to his younger brothers and coming up with games for them.  He has volunteered to keep Mace out of the kitchen while I load the dishwasher and has asked what he can do to help me clean.  I've heard him talking in the sweetest voice to Mace that just melts your heart.

Yesterday Drew and Mace played forever in the "top bunk".  They took the cushions off the loveseat and pretended it was Drew's top bunk and the floor where they put the cushions was Cade's bottom bed.  Mace loved getting to play with his big brother.

This morning, Cade wanted to play with the V.Reader.  He's not very good yet at doing it by himself so Drew got it out and played it with him.  He was explaining everything, teaching Cade what he needs to do in order to work it.  They were so cute holed up in the couch watching a story together.

It's so nice when there's a break from the fighting.  I know that it is just going to get worse as they get older so I really love the quiet moments when everyone is getting along and life is as it should be.

This is Why I Stay Home

I was just in the kitchen making banana bread while the three boys were playing in the living room. Drew & Cade built a house out of the couches and blankets.  Then they were pretending that Mace was the Big Bad Wolf.  Drew even had safety glasses on for safety while building their house.  It was so cute to listen to the three of them playing together so nicely and to hear the fun stories Drew weaves while he plays.  That child has a very large imagination and Cade is always willing to go along for the ride.

Cade's Speech Troubles

Back in October I spoke with Cade's doctor because I was concerned with his lack of speech.  He only had a couple words that he used and he didn't imitate sounds.  This was so different than or experience with Drew.  Before Drew turned two he was speaking in 5 word sentences and always used proper pronouns.  He just talked and talked and it was never silent at our house.  So when the only noise we really ever heard from Cade was "aaaaaah", it didn't seem quite right.  Our pediatrician told us that he needed to learn 3 new words a month for the next three months so that by Christmas he should have added 9 words to his vocabulary.  When we came to December, we had gotten Cade to say about three new words a month but he only said them once just repeating us.  He failed to incorporate any of them into his speech.  The doctor then referred us to a speech therapist.  We had to wait until February to get in to be tested.  It was an hour of the therapist playing with him observing and asking me tons of questions.  When it was finished he was determined to have a speech delay and was eligible for therapy.  Then we just had to wait to get on to the schedule.

In April, we were finally able to start therapy.  We now go once a week and spend 45 minutes with his therapist.  They play fun games and work on making different sounds and do exercises to get his mouth working properly.  They also work on signing as a way of having him communicate.  Baby Signing videos were suggested to us by our therapist so we've gotten a bunch from the library to watch.  The boys really seem to enjoy watching them and are quickly picking up different signs.  Drew really seems to be getting into learning signs too.  He's always asking me what the sign is for a word he's interested in and he's always showing the little boys the proper signs.  At first when the therapists seemed to be pushing signing, Mitch and I really questioned it.  After all, we were paying a lot of money every week for them to get our son to talk using words.  I have now come to see that signing has become a very good thing in our house.  Cade is using many signs now instead of just pointing and grunting.  We know what he wants most of the time now which is so great.  I think it has made him more comfortable with his ability to communicate with us and so now he's trying to say even more words than ever before.

We also started with the AEA and have 2 people come to our house once a month to work with Cade.  They have been here once for testing and once for therapy and Cade loves having them here.  He seems warm up more more quickly with them being at our house instead of an unfamiliar location.  He is such a little ham when they show up.  I'm so happy that he enjoys having them here and plays so well with them.  Hopefully that will transfer into quick progress.  I think in the fall I'm going to request that they come more than once a month.  The more access he has to all these therapies the more progress he makes.

Grandpa's 80th Birthday

We recently went to Missouri to surprise my grandpa for his 80th birthday.  Everyone in the family was able to make it, so it was fun hanging out with everyone.  We swam in the lake, played yard games, enjoyed homemade ice cream and even had a volleyball game in the rain.  It was such a fun, relaxing weekend.  The boys did so good swimming in the lake this year.  Cade loved it and Drew was more comfortable than last year. It'll be fun next year when Mace can swim too.    

Boys swimming

Washers & ladder ball

Grandpa with his cake

Mitch & Cade on the boat

Drew on the boat

Grandpa & Grandma and the great grandkids

Grandpa & Grandma with the Smiths

Smiths

Mace in the kiddie pool

Eight Years

 

Mitch & I recently celebrated our eighth anniversary.  It's hard to believe we have been married for eight years now and have been together for 15, which if anyone is keeping track is half of Mitch's life (eek).  We had a nice quiet anniversary.  My parents offered to watch the boys for us and we enjoyed a nice dinner downtown at a restaurant we hadn't been to before.  Then after a trip to Home Depot & Dairy Queen we headed home to watch a movie.  It was just nice to spend time together without the craziness of having the boys with us.    

Current Happenings

What's going on with our family right now?  Let's explore the little men's lives.  

Mace is getting into everything.  He's 10 months old now and can army crawl at a frantic pace.  He's pulling up on whatever he can grab and loves climbing onto the stairs to follow his brothers.  Peek-a-boo and patty cake are among his absolute favorites currently.  He lights up now when Daddy comes home just like the older boys.  It's so fun to see.  In the last month he's had a few sicknesses and has stopped sleeping through the night.  He's getting up 2-4 times during the evening which I'm hoping ends soon.  He's now sleeping worse than he ever did as a new little baby.  

Cade is entering the terrible twos.  The last few weeks have been a little rocky with Cade.  He has started throwing some fits and is getting familiar with time out.  He loves his brothers and is always copying everything Drew does.  Drew has been taking advantage of this lately trying to get Cade to do naughty things to get him in trouble.  When Mace is upset, Cade is right there bringing him a blanket trying to comfort him.  He's so sweet.  We are entering the third month of speech therapy for Cade.  He still does not have many words but he's started making improvement.  

Drew continues to amaze us with his wit, strength, energy and smarts.  Today I had him helping me on a project outside doing some plantings.  He was not listening to what I wanted him to do to help with the project and was doing what he thought should be done.  Then he informed me that four year olds should just be able to do whatever they want.  (Sigh)  Drew currently is working on reading, spelling, adding and subtracting.  He is a very bright little boy but you really have to work on catching that small window when he wants to focus on learning.  He loves being outside playing in the water or digging in the yard.  If Mitch is outside working on a project you will find Drew nearby.  He loves being involved in everything.  

Welcome Back

Lately I have had a few times when I needed information about the boys when they were younger.  So, I've looked to this blog to see if I had written about it.  Being on here looking at all the stories we wrote about the kids made me sad that I haven't written more.  We have been so crazy busy that we never even talked about Mace's birth and he's 10 months old now.  Poor neglected third child.  I'm really going to try and be on here more often and keep up with the happenings of our life so I have something to look back on after they grow up and aren't my little boys anymore.