I forgot

My previous post was so long, I forgot to mention our busy weekend. My grandmother's house sold so everything had to be moved out. Saturday, Drew headed over there to help out and graciously took Andrew with him. I hung out with Matthew and Molly and then picked Andrew up about 11 for lunch and naps. The weather was miraculous. It was supposed to be rainy/snowy and cold. It ended up being sunny and 50! Thank you grandma! Drew got home just in time for everyone to get ready for Kaitlyn's first birthday party.



Pete and Jill had a great party. The kids and adults had a great time. My mom said she looked over at one point and Andrew was running in place. He was so excited he couldn't contain his excitement! I told my mom we don't get out much:) Kaitlyn was a little over whelmed but once she figured out how delicious her cake was she was very happy. Jill made Kaitlyn her own special cake and then she made individual cakes for everyone else. Amazing!





Sunday was a really rainy so after church we hung out. Then Drew ran a few errands and we grocery shopped after naps. Then we headed back to my grandma's so Drew could break down a few shelves. I didn't know what to expect this weekend with Drew being gone most of the day Saturday after a L.O.N.G week but it worked out perfectly. It's amazing what a little sunshine can do!

Updates on all 3

Matthew:
I was holding Matthew at church on Sunday and we were singing "Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ...." before the Gospel. Matthew of course had been talking the entire mass about everything under the sun. He kept repeating something so I leaned down to hear what he was saying:
Matthew: Love Him, Love Him
Mom: Love Him?
Matthew: Yes
Mom: Love Who?
Matthew: Jesus

Wow, I was blown away, it brought tears to my eyes. Here I was thinking that he had no clue what was going on.

Then today at lunch he was wanting to be held (because he is exhausted from not wanting to go to sleep last night and waking up in the middle of the night). So I was holding him and he says, "circle"
Me: Circle?
Matthew: Yes
Me: Yes your cup is a circle and the table is a circle.
Matthew: No, you circle.
The he grabbed my arms so they were both around him in the shape of a circle.

And finally, he was just eating Krunchers at lunch. After he ate a chip he yelled, "LOUD mom, Loud!" I said, "Your chips are loud?" He said yes and I said, "Yeah, Uncle Pete thinks so too." Then he said, "He at work"

Molly:
A few weeks ago Molly rolled over from her back to her belly but after that she didn't really do it again. Then Sunday night she did it while she was playing in her activity gym for everyone to see. Yesterday she continued to roll over every time I laid her down and decided she is going to be a belly sleeper. Which is great, except when she wakes up she wants to be on her back and she hasn't quite mastered that yet. So she gets very frustrated. I have a feeling she'll figure it out sooner than later.

She has also decided that all of the sudden she despises taking a bottle. She gags and chokes as soon as you put the bottle in her mouth. Really? I mean I admit I haven't been great about giving her a lot of bottles just because it's easier to feed her myself. So I learned my lesson. I've tried giving her a bottle for like 4 days straight now and she's not budging. I tried switching from Dr. Brown's to Playtex and she took one Playtex bottle on her baptism then decided she doesn't like those anymore. Just wonderful! Guess I'll keep trying.

Molly also has two new friends. My friend Lindsey had a baby girl, Mia, on February 12. And my friend Catherine had a baby girl, Margaret Elizabeth, this morning! Congrats! I'm hoping to take the kids to see Mia and big brother Bobby tomorrow and I'm really hoping Catherine posts some pictures of Margaret since she lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Andrew:
Last night we were all in the family room. He, Drew and Matthew were playing Legos. We got Andrew a little set to make a "city car" for Valentine's day and both boys love playing with it. Strong willed Matthew REALLY wanted to play with it so Andrew finally said fine. Drew and I made a big deal about how he was such a great big brother. Andrew says, "You can say that again." Where does he come up with this stuff?

Andrewisms/Molly 3 months

Tonight at dinner Andrew asked everyone what they were doing for Lent because he had talked about it at school. He said, "I'm giving up chocolate, not vanilla, just chocolate." I told him that I was giving up sweets and Dr. Pepper. He said, "Well, I can see you're not giving up Bud Light!"

The other day we were doing a puzzle and he was separating the side pieces from the middle pieces. As he was putting them in their piles I would say "Yes....yes...yes" He turned to me and said, "mom you're making me lose my focus!"

Molly is 3 months old today and continues to be such a good baby. She loves her brothers and smiles as big as she can when they talk to her. Now she is really into talking back to them.

Watching the Olympics

The Ups and Downs of Motherhood

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday. The day started off early with Matthew up at 5:15. I began to doubt my ability to be a stay at home mom for one more day (in the winter). I decided to look for a fun project to do with the boys. Then the day turned around. We made some really cute jester hats and masks. Then Drew and I celebrated Fat Tuesday by picking up Outback for dinner. It was delicious.

This morning we headed to mass for Ash Wednesday. Everyone got ashes including Molly:) Matthew of course didn't realized that he had a dark cross on his forehead. So when we got back from receiving ashes he pointed to me and said, "Mommy, owie!" He thought I got an owie. Then I pointed out Drew's and Andrew's to him and he was quite amused.

After church, Drew took Andrew to the dentist and I brought Molly and Matthew home. Drew called after the appointment with some bad news. Note: This is very embarrassing and I am beside myself but it's life and that's what this blog is about. That being said, Andrew has 10 cavities in his 20 baby teeth and needs one crown. Some background: I had/have horrible teeth and have a horrible fear of the dentist. At this point I don't know if this is something that is inherited or if I have completed failed as a mother in this area. I am so disappointed in myself. I mean my one job is to take care of my children. Teeth fall into this category and I have failed. The next step is getting everything fixed without traumatizing Andrew along with having insurance cover as much as possible. The dentist said our two options are bringing Andrew in for 4 separate visits OR booking a room at Children's hospital and putting him under to have everything fixed at once. :(

Time to pick up my chin and be the best mom I can be. Looks like flossing is going to be a nice Lenten activity.

Molly's Big Day

What a better way to spend Valentine's Day than spending it with family and friends celebrating Molly's baptism. It was just an amazing day! We were able to take our time getting ready, finishing up party preparations and spending some extra time with Drew's parents. Then we headed to mass. It was such a nice mass. We were surrounded by family and friends and the Gospel reading was the Beatitudes. The boys enjoyed sitting by different people and were really good. Molly of course did great. Fell asleep in daddy's arms. Then it was her special time. My good friend Annie is Molly's Godmother and my brother John is her Godfather. It was such a special time.
Matthew fell asleep in my mom's arms right before the ceremony began and Andrew was SO intrigued by everything going on. One of the pews at church had a large cushion on it. He could not get over it. So he asked Drew if he could go sit there. There he was; legs crossed, reading a book all by himself on the pew that looked like a "couch". It was so funny.
As we walked out of church the snow began to fall. We hurried home to get the ham out of the oven and the food on the table for our guests. The party was AMAZING. There was so much joy and happiness surrounding Molly and our family. It was just the perfect day and I am so thankful! (Christina the red wine on the carpet didn't affect the day one bit...please don't worry!)
By the time everyone headed home the roads were getting slick but thankfully everyone made it home safely. The rest of the evening we hung out by the fire, and enjoyed hanging out with Drew's parents. Thanks to our family and friends for making Molly's big day so special!

What a Week!

By Tuesday night I thought for sure it was time for the weekend. I hadn't even made it to hump day! Wednesday was another long day due to the cold temps, kids not feeling 100%, and Drew working late. Let's just say I survived. Thursday brought some light at the end of the tunnel. Andrew went to school for the first time since I can remember:) He came to the car SO excited about his Valentines from all of his friends. It was so fun to see him like that. Then that evening, Molly and I had some cocktails, shopping, and fun with my mom while supporting a great charity, St. Martha's Hall. Vie, a local boutique, had a special event in which 20% of their sales that night went to St. Martha's. My mom and I got some GREAT deals and had a great time. Molly smiled really big when I was trying on my first outfit; a true shopper:) Friday was long but I knew the end was in sight. (I know a terrible attitude; it was just one of those weeks.)

I thought for sure the weekend would turn my attitude around. Unfortunately Andrew woke up at 4 am on Saturday. He did not go back to sleep. Drew was up with him trying to get him to stay in bed. So when I came to help at about 6:30, I knew by looking at Drew he needed to go lay down or it was going to be a LONG day for everyone. He went and laid down while I gave Matthew breakfast, fed Molly, and tended to crabby Andrew. Drew came down about 45 minutes later with a good attitude. I asked if I could go for a run to relieve some stress and prepare myself for a day of cleaning. We were having Molly's baptism Sunday with the reception at our house. I came home to Matthew screaming and Drew about ready to lose it. I took Matthew and had him "help" me downstairs. Then Andrew came down, not as whiny. I asked him if he was doing better and he said yes. Then about 2 minutes later he started gagging and sure enough my biggest phobia in life happened! AAAHHHH! Why did things continue to go downhill? We confined him to the couch as I sprayed Lysol over the entire house. (Later I had to open the doors with the 20 degree temps because it was a little much). After about 30 minutes, I was pretty sure that he got sick because of his cough and all the drainage. I let him eat a few crackers and have some water. He continued to ask for food and to get off of his couch so eventually we assumed he was better. Then he woke up from nap with a 101 temperature. I called the pediatrician just to let them know what was going on...well guess what?! They told us to head to the ER.

The nurse said that there was a good chance he could have pneumonia considering all of his symptoms and it would be too risky to wait until Monday to bring him in. Meanwhile, Drew's parents were about 30 minutes from arriving after a long journey from Oklahoma. Drew took Andrew, they checked in to their hotel and I continued to clean with Matthew and Molly. Long story short, Andrew had a sinus infection and was not contagious, Drew's parents arrived safely and Molly was going to have an amazing baptism and party the next day!

Since my week turned around at that point, I'm going to do a separate, more uplifting post for Molly's big day.

Who Dat

I'll get to the Super Bowl in a minute...just been waiting to use that title. So last Tuesday on the way to school Andrew started coughing, the bad kind. I was thinking oh great his teachers are going to love me for sending him to school. He had a good day but later told me his teachers said not to come to school with a cough. Oops. I kept him home Thursday because it sounded worse and he was losing his voice. At the same time as this cough ordeal he began developing quite the A-TI-TUDE! By Friday I was ready to throw in the towel. It was snowing but not the fun kind to play in. It looked pretty but by the time it hit the ground it melted and was a slushy mess.

To keep the boys busy, I decided to have them make binoculars to watch the snow. That lasted about 5 minutes but I got a cute picture. I guess I forget that boys don't really put a lot of effort into art projects. I had all these fun materials out and Andrew took the black paint and said, "I'm going to make burnt binoculars." And he proceeded to paint them entirely black. Matthew enjoys taking the lids on and off the paint way more than painting. But hey, at least I can say I tried.


We laid low the rest of the weekend. Drew hung the TV in our room which ended up taking all day because of a few unforeseen problems. But he was determined and we're so glad because it really improves the feel of our room. We were planning on going to my parents for Super Sunday but both boys are battling coughs and we didn't want to infect the other party goers. Drew did a cute art project with Andrew to get him excited about the game. They made each member of our family a football cut out and a helmet for each of the boys. We decided to get Pappa Murphys pizzas for dinner. Andrew, Molly and I were cheering for the Saints so Drew convinced Matthew to cheer for the Colts with him. Two minutes into the game Matthew started repeating "GO SAINTS!" for the rest of the game...they knew:)





Yesterday we watched periods of snow and then the big snow moved in last night. I took the boys out right as it was starting to come down harder and then Drew took over when he got home so I could relax for a few minutes. Andrew has a snow day today (I'm so ready for him to go back to school!) so we braved the negative wind chills and shoveled the driveway. I bought the boys shovels at the grocery store this weekend and they were very excited! Matthew was pretty miserable. Every time the wind blew he yelled "GO IN". We were only out about 20 min but everyone got some nice rosy cheeks. (It took us the same amount of time to get bundled.) Our next "snow" play was inside, in the sink...it was much warmer.




I took me a few days to finish this post so the dates may be a little off but you get the idea:)

Videos

Also, I've caught up on pictures to previous blogs:)

Molly laughing at Daddy and the boys eating dinner


Trying to get Matthew to say sanitizer. The empty hand sanitizer bottle is his favorite toy because of the lid that screws and flips open and closed. Drew LOVES how he says sanitizer so I wanted to capture it on video and ended up getting a pretty good snapshot of his speech right now.