Memories

Last Wednesday Molly slept in her own room overnight for the first time. She did great and continues to be an amazing baby. We are so blessed! Oh, and she has decided to become a thumb sucker.

Matthew quickly recovered from his head injury and is becoming quite a character. The other day I was pumping a bottle for Molly and he came over and pointed to the milk and said, "Coffee?" I told him it was Molly's mike and he pointed again and said, "Hurts?" How cute is he? Looking out for his mommy:) He vocabulary has taken off like crazy he is talking non stop. I wish I could remember all of his funny sayings. He has two books that he is really into. One of them is a Wall E book called Smash Trash. He has almost the entire book memorized and fills in the words as I read. His favorite line in the book is "Oh a goody." The other day he got his favorite truck book out that Drew and I have probably read to him 20 times (in a 2 day span) and he started "reading" a couple words from each page. Obviously he wasn't reading but he was saying the right words on each particular page from memorization.

Andrew is really into this new train show, Chuggington, on the Disney channel. He decided one day that everyone in our family would be a character. He is Wilson, Matthew is Bruster, I am Koko, Molly is Little Koko (not really a character, just a mini me), and Drew is Dunbar. I'll ask Andrew to do something during the day and he'll say, "Mom, did you forget what we are doing? I am Wilson." Sorry, don't know how it slipped my mind. Matthew has caught on quite well and frequently calls me Koko throughout the day. "Bounce house Koko?" And then the other night Drew pulled in and the boys started yelling, "Dunbar is home, Dunbar is home!"

Recent Andrewisms:

A few weeks ago when my parents came over to watch the kids instead of having Sunday dinner. Andrew said to my mom, "I just sent Matthew a message on facebook to see if he wants to come over and play." I can't remember ever mentioning sending someone a message on facebook but obviously he picked up on it at some point.

Yesterday I asked him if he dried his hands after washing them. "My butt was itchy so then dried on my pants."

This morning Drew and Andrew were playing Legos. Andrew would come in the kitchen to show me their creations. Drew helped him follow the directions to build a helicopter all by himself. Andrew ran in and showed it to me. Then a few minutes later he ran back in and showed me the helicopter with a couple of extra pieces and said, "This is my imagination step that I forgot."

Tonight at Sunday dinner Andrew was washing his hands before dinner. He was with my mom using soap that had little beads in it. He asked what they were and she told them they get your hands cleaner. He said, "You mean like they kill the germs?" She told him yes and he said, "Do they have little guns in them?" She asked where he learned about guns and he said, "It was on a show I saw at Biminim's house" (his imaginary friend).

And last but not least I cut 6 inches off of my hair! I guess you can say I have a "mom cut". I'll post pictures as soon as I download them.

OUCH!!!

So last evening we decided to make a trip to Home Goods in hopes of finding something for our dining room wall and something for the front entry. Drew met us there and the kids were troopers. We found a few things. One being a bench for our front entry. We headed out to the car and it was really windy and freezing. I had the stroller with Matthew and Molly and Drew had Andrew and our purchases. I ran to the car, got Matthew out, put him in the car and told him to stand by his seat. Then I turned around to get Molly and by the time I turned back around Matthew was face first on the pavement! I have no idea what happened! Obviously he fell out of the car but I don't know how. I picked him up and saw a HUGE knot on his forehead along with a nice scrape. My stomach sinks just typing it. I felt horrible. Drew became the calm one in the situation and helped calm everyone down. Matthew was acting fine once he got over the shock so we headed home. Not what I expected on our short little shopping trip.



Matthew was up several times during the night. We are guessing it's because he likes to sleep with his hands on his face and then his face down. I think he would touch it and then it would hurt and wake him up. Drew ended up sleeping on his floor. He is truly SUPER dad. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Here's a pic of the boys ready to take Andrew to school on the new bench. Now we just need some art work above it.


Some recent Andrewisms:

He is really turning into quite the mathematician like his dad. Yesterday after nap he wanted to watch his new favorite show, Chuggington. There are 3 mini episodes on each show. After the first show was over he asked to watch another one. I told him that was enough and he said, "If I watched another show I would have watched 6 episodes!"

This morning when we were waiting for Andrew to get out of the car at school, Matthew was telling Andrew to stay. Andrew said, "Matthew, next year you're going two days and I'm going four so you'll only miss me two days."

This morning when I was trying to get all 3 kids out the door by 8:30, Matthew was throwing one of his "two year old fits" and Andrew was helping me by keeping Molly happy. I heard Andrew say, "Molly, wouldn't it be great if there were just no two year olds?"

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Saturday was Matthew's big day. My baby boy turned 2! We had a "dog" themed party starting at 10am. Grandma, Poppa, Pete, Jill, Kiersten, Kaitlyn, John, Christina and Josie were in attendance along with his buddy Bobby with his mom and dad Lindsey and Bobby. We had bagels and coffee from Bread Co (Panera) and my artistic husband designed a cake that looked like an M&M (Matthew's favorite thing in the whole world).


I set up a craft table for the kids where they decorated a dog bed (shoe box) for their own little puppy using stickers, glitter glue, scrap booking paper and markers. Then they each got a little blankie to keep their puppy warm. The project actually worked out better than I expected. The kids worked on them then played and then came back to work on them later. Matthew got some great gifts. He got a huge bowling set, art supplies, a vintage Thomas shirt, some cash, and grandma and poppa got him a bounce house. Of course once the kids saw that, they ran to the basement and it was set up in no time. They bounced and bounced for the rest of the party. It was a very successful party!






After naps we went to Build a Bear so Matthew could pick out his own animal and experience Build a Bear for the first time. He picked out a horse and a little Olympic hooded sweat shirt for the horse. Andrew was the perfect big brother. We warned him ahead of time that this was Matthew's special day and he was PERFECT. I was so proud of him. We stopped by Chick Fil A on our way out and headed home for Matthew to open a couple more gifts from mom and dad. Oh, and Andrew got him the slinky dog from Toy Story.



We laid low after church yesterday then headed to grandma and poppa's for Sunday dinner. This morning Matthew slept until 9:15!!! That is by far the latest any of our kids have ever slept! Andrew of course was up at 5:30 but I'm glad Matthew was able to catch up from his big weekend.

Check Ups and Conference

Matthew and Molly did great at their check ups. Here are their stats.

Matthew: 2 year check up (Jan 21, 2010)
Weight: 26lbs, 12oz (40%)
Height: 36 in (80%)
Head: 49.8 cm (75%)

Molly: 2 month check up (Jan 21, 2010)
Weight: 12lbs, 2 oz (75%)
Height: 24in (85%)
Head: 37.9cm (25%)

When Dr. Bob walked in Matthew was sitting on the table in his diaper. He said "Okay, who's going first." Matthew tucked his chin into his chest and whimpered, "Me". It was so pathetic and cute. He did great when the nurses where taking his measurements and vitals but as soon as the doc walked in, it was a different story. Dr. Bob asked Matthew to open his mouth and he pursed his lips together and said "mmm mm". As soon as he was finished he sat back in the stroller while it was Molly's turn and he was a little angel, eating his cookies. Molly did great. She was smiling at everyone. Matthew went first for the shots too. He only had to get one and he didn't even cry. That's my tough boy. As the nurse went to stick Molly with her FOUR shots, she was all smiles. She didn't cry after the first shot but 2, 3, and 4, her face turned bright red and she wailed. My poor baby.

Molly was pretty much out of commission the rest of the day. She slept and ran a fever. I just felt terrible. Drew of course had to work late on this particular night. But I managed to get the boys bathed and Matthew down. Andrew stayed up until Drew got home and felt so special.

Once Andrew was in bed, Drew recapped his parent/teacher conference with Andrew's teacher. I was so jealous that he got to go but at the same time thought it was cool that he did go. Some highlights.
*Andrew needs to work on his pencil grip and recognizing the number 9.
*When doing a shape puzzle he told the teacher all of the shapes and then pointed to a
Trapezoid and said, "And that, I think that's a Parallelogram."
* He did some really cool projects in which they had to follow directions. Being the oldest in
the class his always turned out a little more detailed than the rest of the class, as they should
have. Example, they made a rosary out of little pieces of paper to work on gluing with real
glue rather than a glue stick. The teacher said most kids did about 10 pieces of paper for the
beads. Andrew's has about 30 or 40. Kind of funny.

Highlights

Last weeks highlights:

We had a visit from my friend Lindsey and her son Bobby who is Matthew’s age. We were so happy they made the trip out here. Andrew had a hard time. He was extremely needy while they were here and talked like a baby. I guess that’s textbook when a 4 year old wants more attention but it’s still annoying:)

I have been released to do normal activities again so I have started running. I love having an outlet to release my "energy". Of course finding the time to run with 3 kids at home in the middle of winter is not an easy task. But I have been able to sneak away a couple of times right when Drew gets home from work (if I’m organized enough with dinner and Molly’s eating schedule) and on the weekends. Something is better than nothing.

Friday after the kids went to bed Drew took back the new TV for a different one. The newest one is a little bit smaller so it can fit on our swivel bracket. It is a nice addition to the family room.

Saturday, first thing we took the boys to get thier hair cut. They look so old. I told the lady doing Matthew’s to just trim it up and she used the clippers all over! I guess he won’t need a haircut for a few months. After the Hair Saloon, I started to get organized and figure out what I need for Matthew’s birthday party. It’s pretty much impossible to run errands with all 3 kids at this stage of the game so I like to get everything I can done on the weekends.

Sunday, my friend Annie came out to meet Molly and see our house. It was so good to see Annie. She recently moved back to St. Louis and we could never find a time to get together. So we were so excited Annie was able to come over and catch up. Annie is going to be Molly's Godmother so Molly was especially happy to meet her Godmother.

Then we had the BEST surprise ever! My mom and dad offered to come over and watch the kids instead of us going there for Sunday dinner. I think it is the first time Drew and I have been out since Molly was born. We really didn’t do anything exciting but we were able to talk without being interrupted and that was REALLY exciting. When we got home the boys came running to the door and couldn’t talk fast enough about how much fun they had with Grandma and Poppa. It was a great evening for everyone!

Monday was Molly's 2 month birthday and I had another nice surprise. Drew was off work because it was a bank holiday. My friend Stacy was having a birthday lunch at Brio so I was able to join the girls for lunch! It was so nice to be around girlfriends and get caught up on everything going on with them. Sometimes I feel like I am in this little bubble and don’t have much connection with the outside world:)

Yesterday was Re Registration day at Andrew’s school. We’ve decided next year Andrew is going to go 4 days and Matthew is going to go 2. I’m really excited that Andrew will get more time at school next year since I think he gets pretty bored at home and LOVES school. I’m a little sad about Matthew being old enough to go but also very excited that two days a week it will just be me and Molly for a few hours. And I know Matthew needs the social interaction. After I wrote the checks I called Drew and said…”Maybe I should home school the boys and buy an Escalade.” JUST KIDDING!

Tomorrow I’m heading to the pediatrician for Molly’s 2 month check up and Matthew’s 2 year check up. So if everyone survives (I’m most worried about myself; I hate the 1^st round of shots AND Matthew begins screaming as soon as we enter the doctor’s office) I’ll update the blog with Molly’s up to date stats. Drew is going to go to Andrew’s Parent/Teacher conference which is at the same time as the doctor. So I’ll also update on how Andrew is the smartest kid in the class:) KIDDING AGAIN!

Baby Steps

Drew and I decided on Friday night that it was time to start weaning Matthew from his BELOVED binky. SO Saturday morning when he woke up we convinced him to leave the 3 binkies he sleeps with in his bed (by bribing him with M&Ms). I was shocked at how well he did on day 1 without a binky during awake time. Like the title says...baby steps. He asked for it several times but Drew and I were able to distract him and keep him entertained without his "best friends".

We had a rare Sunday dinner because everyone attended. It was a lot of fun. Then the ride home was interesting with Matthew saying "binky" every 3 seconds. But he survived. I was beginning to worry if I was going to survive the week without Drew home during the day. But so far it hasn't been too bad. I'm not sure if the weaning is related but Matthew has been having some MAJOR tantrums. I think it's just the beginning of the terrible twos that we have ahead of us. I must say he has been a champ and I'm very proud of him. He is talking non-stop. Usually repeating the last word of every single thing we say. It's pretty darn cute having an echo follow me all day.

Molly wore a dress for the 1st time to Sunday dinner

The rest of the weekend was spent working on an organizational project for our playroom and oh yeah; Drew bought a TV bigger than Andrew. Now Drew isn’t one to spend money frivolously. We earned points on our credit card over the past 3 years and were able to use those towards a nice Best Buy gift card. As he was leaving the house he was stressing about making such a big purchase but he did well.

Here is a video of Matthew and Molly while Andrew was at school. I was just taking a picture but instead of saying "cheese", he was saying "M&Ms". I had to take a video.

Happy New Year!

It's going to be an exciting year, I can already tell!

We finally got some snow a few days before New Years. Not a lot but enough for the boys to enjoy before it melted a few hours later. I bundled them up and they had a blast. Here are some pics.





We had a pretty laid back New Years Eve...surprise, surprise. We went to the party store to get some fun party favors, ordered pizza, and watched the OU bowl game, AND Molly had her 1st bottle! Once the 2 hands were on the six (instead of the 12..get it?) we did our count down.




New Years Day we started the year off with going to mass. Then we headed to my parents for the day. My mom had all of my grandma's favorite foods in her honor. It was delish! The boys napped there and we watched some football. Then we decided to head home earlier than expected because Max was outside and it was FREEZING! It was the perfect way to start off the year. THEN Molly went to bed about 11 and didn't wake up until 6:30!!!! What a good baby.




The rest of the weekend was spent organizing all of the new toys and focusing on getting the house in order. We are moved in but put all of our decorating and projects on hold once Molly arrived and for the holidays. Sunday my parents graciously hosted Sunday dinner after just hosting New Years. Molly was all smiles and so alert. She was loving time with Aunt Christina and Grandma while the boys played cowboys and Indians.




Now we are totally going stir crazy because it is SO BITTERLY cold outside. This morning the temperature was 6 degrees when I woke up and they said a COLD front is moving in with the snow we are getting tonight. REALLY? Because the last time I checked 6 degrees is pretty cold! BUT to brighten my day Molly slept through the night again, this time until 7:30 and Matthew slept until 8:45. Now if only I could get Andrew to sleep past 6, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.