We are now living in our new house. Yay! We have double the square footage we had before and it feels as if we can breathe. We are so thankful for the blessing of this new house! The move has been rather successful and we feel very moved-in. Life has awarded us with lots of updates from the last several weeks, so here goes.....
Collin aka My Little Monkey
...continues to be an uber-sweet addition to our family
...has been rolling over from front to back for about a month now.
...has new monkey bedding
(smiling up at Daddy who was cute enough to put Collin in a matching monkey sleeper for this photo shoot)
...continues to have the bluest eyes
...doesn't know it yet, but is very blessed to be able to grow up in this new, wonderful home
...continues to have lots of hair (which is lightening), loves his hands, and enjoys being snuggled up in his bouncy seat
...is undeniably precious in all ways
...continues to be a big hit with his brother and sister, who consistently greet, kiss, and hug him
...despite my disbelief, is now four months old
...has recently discovered his feet, though hands are still his passion
...is really getting into playing with his toys
...he does really well with grabbing onto said toys (and anything else that comes into his reach) and especially loves to chew on them
...is an extremely happy baby
...celebrated his first Valentine's Day
...surprised me by sitting up for the first time yesterday (Saturday)
(he LOVES his glo-worm) :)
"I did it!"
"Look at me Daddy!"
...can stay straight up like this for a few seconds
...and then bends over like this, but keeps his balance (for the most part)
...(as I am constantly reminded by everyone) has gotten so big so fast (he's crazy long) and yet he remains my sweet little (yes, little!) baby.
-------------------
Anna aka My Cupcake
...was overwhelmingly excited to move and would ask many times each day, "Our go to the new house?"
...was crazy happy to see her big girl bed waiting for her in her new room and surprised us by sleeping in it for the first time our first night here and has ever since (with absolutely no problems)
...is really proud of herself and declares upon waking, "I sleep in my big girl bed and with my big girl pillow!" She also now tells her paci "bye, bye" and leaves it in her bed after she wakes up.
...is always in one of three states. 1) Very happy.....
...which usually shows itself by way of jumping up and down
...2) is being extremely loving and affectionate
...or 3)is unhappy about one of life's many tragedies
...still is very much a Daddy's girl, though is starting to show some Momma preferences (yippee!)
...is very curious and likes to check everything out, know what everything is, do what you're doing, and eat/drink what you have. Here she is trying on my sweater....
...continues to be VERY excited that we are at "the new house!"
...will turn two years old on Friday. My favorite thing to do with her right now is to ask how old she is ("One!") and then ask how old she will be after her birthday to which she almost always replies "Two, I be two after my birthday!" However, every once in awhile she will get a twinkle in her eye and instead reply with some big number (that she knows is incorrect) like "Six!"
...is really excited that we are going to a restaurant just for her birthday
...likes to discover how the new house makes shadows and rainbows as the light filters in in different ways
...is obsessed with being in the basement
...has started to love letters and can recognize quite a few. My favorite is that she knows 'y' and will argue with me when she asks what a 'v' is and I give her the correct answer and she always responds with a stinker faced, "No, that Y!"
--------------------
Benjamin aka My Buggaboo
...is an amazing four year old
...continues to almost daily celebrate that Collin "is here" or that he "gets to stay with us"
...has started saying random phrases that I didn't even know he knew, like asking Dave in the car one day, "Are you dead meat Daddy?"
...loves his new sunglasses
...and toy car that he got with his birthday money
...has a new closet that has a shelf low enough that he can reach all of his shirts and now picks out all of his clothes each day
...enjoys taking random toys, swords, and pretend tools and destroying boxes
...likes to go to school (on the few days that it's not either snowing, he's sick, or both) but will honestly tell you that he'd rather stay with me and his siblings
...is becoming rather creative in many ways - drawings, making up songs, etc.
...gave us our first opportunity to call 911 on Friday. He was jumping up and down on cushions. He shot himself in the air with the idea of landing on his bottom. He missed the cushions and landed with his tailbone right onto the ground. After which he jumped up and started stumbling away while making a scary grunting sound. After handing off Collin to his aunt, I ran to him and caught him just as he arched his back, went limp in my arms, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, turned dusky and stayed unconscious for a few seconds. His uncle quickly called 911 and the EMTs checked him out and thankfully discovered that he was okay. He recovered rather quickly except for some paleness and awe that Firemen came to his house.....
...it's easy to be thankful in the moment when something you're worried about turns out okay and then move on, when the alternative would have required much prayer and requests to God to make things okay. I'm choosing to be extremely grateful that God protected my son that day, that he didn't injure his spine, that I was able to catch him before he went limp over the tile floor, that even through the hard moments, I get to rejoice in the unbelievable blessings of these three sweet babies that God has allowed me to mother!
-------------------
Animals and Loss
After we moved to the new house, Milo (aka the most affectionate cat in the world) wouldn't hardly come out of his cage and didn't seem to be eating or drinking. His eyes also looked sunken in and he couldn't meow. We took him to the vet on Friday (we moved in on Thursday) and they discovered that he was severely dehydrated and probably would have only survived another day. They kept him overnight and sent off his blood work. The next morning we received the devastating and shocking news that he had severe kidney disease and wouldn't be able to live with his kidneys failing so much. Since he had spent the day and night getting IV fluids, he was feeling better so they let us take him home with some medicine and special food so that we could spend some time with him before he needed to be put to sleep (which the vet thought would be a matter of days). We had absolutely no idea he was sick, so I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to be with him as much as possible and love him until he was too tired and wanted to sleep all day for two precious days. He really was an amazingly sweet cat who loved me probably as much as anyone has ever loved me. He actually was the one to choose me when we went to the pound as newlyweds to pick out two kittens to join our married home. We were taken into a room full of cages that had anywhere from 2-6 cats in each. While walking from cage to cage, my heart melted when he reached his paw through the cage door and wrapped it around my hand. He declared me as his the moment we met and I will always be sad to be without my "Handsome Bubby" as I called him. :(
...he loves to lay on clothes/towels that are lying around, so I put one of Dave's sweaters on the couch downstairs to encourage him to stay down with me as much as possible...
...Milo and Pepper are only six years old and I really thought they would be a pair in our family for much longer and am quite sad that Pepper has been separated from her brother.
...Zoe has adjusted to our new house well and likes her new bed...
...While I was taking Collin's four month pictures in his (temporarily purple) nursery, I thought it was funny that Zoe was trying to look out the window, but was just too short.
...Pepper has had a lot to adjust to...a new house and the loss of her brother, but is doing rather well. She ran around meowing a lot at first after Milo was gone, but now the only thing I notice different about her is that she spends much more of the day close to me.
--------------------
...going after Grandpa
...helping Grandma make a snow mountain
...snow much fun!
---------------------
...Collin sitting in his high chair for the first time
...Grandma's only girl with (soon-to-be) five boys!
...Anna and cousin Jack!
...group shot
Collin aka My Little Monkey
...continues to be an uber-sweet addition to our family
...has been rolling over from front to back for about a month now.
...has new monkey bedding
(smiling up at Daddy who was cute enough to put Collin in a matching monkey sleeper for this photo shoot)
...continues to have the bluest eyes
...doesn't know it yet, but is very blessed to be able to grow up in this new, wonderful home
...continues to have lots of hair (which is lightening), loves his hands, and enjoys being snuggled up in his bouncy seat
...is undeniably precious in all ways
...continues to be a big hit with his brother and sister, who consistently greet, kiss, and hug him
...despite my disbelief, is now four months old
...has recently discovered his feet, though hands are still his passion
...is really getting into playing with his toys
...he does really well with grabbing onto said toys (and anything else that comes into his reach) and especially loves to chew on them
...is an extremely happy baby
...celebrated his first Valentine's Day
...surprised me by sitting up for the first time yesterday (Saturday)
(he LOVES his glo-worm) :)
"I did it!"
"Look at me Daddy!"
...can stay straight up like this for a few seconds
...and then bends over like this, but keeps his balance (for the most part)
...(as I am constantly reminded by everyone) has gotten so big so fast (he's crazy long) and yet he remains my sweet little (yes, little!) baby.
-------------------
Anna aka My Cupcake
...was overwhelmingly excited to move and would ask many times each day, "Our go to the new house?"
...was crazy happy to see her big girl bed waiting for her in her new room and surprised us by sleeping in it for the first time our first night here and has ever since (with absolutely no problems)
...is really proud of herself and declares upon waking, "I sleep in my big girl bed and with my big girl pillow!" She also now tells her paci "bye, bye" and leaves it in her bed after she wakes up.
...is always in one of three states. 1) Very happy.....
...which usually shows itself by way of jumping up and down
...2) is being extremely loving and affectionate
...or 3)is unhappy about one of life's many tragedies
...still is very much a Daddy's girl, though is starting to show some Momma preferences (yippee!)
...is very curious and likes to check everything out, know what everything is, do what you're doing, and eat/drink what you have. Here she is trying on my sweater....
...continues to be VERY excited that we are at "the new house!"
...will turn two years old on Friday. My favorite thing to do with her right now is to ask how old she is ("One!") and then ask how old she will be after her birthday to which she almost always replies "Two, I be two after my birthday!" However, every once in awhile she will get a twinkle in her eye and instead reply with some big number (that she knows is incorrect) like "Six!"
...is really excited that we are going to a restaurant just for her birthday
...likes to discover how the new house makes shadows and rainbows as the light filters in in different ways
...is obsessed with being in the basement
...has started to love letters and can recognize quite a few. My favorite is that she knows 'y' and will argue with me when she asks what a 'v' is and I give her the correct answer and she always responds with a stinker faced, "No, that Y!"
--------------------
Benjamin aka My Buggaboo
...is an amazing four year old
...continues to almost daily celebrate that Collin "is here" or that he "gets to stay with us"
...has started saying random phrases that I didn't even know he knew, like asking Dave in the car one day, "Are you dead meat Daddy?"
...loves his new sunglasses
...and toy car that he got with his birthday money
...has a new closet that has a shelf low enough that he can reach all of his shirts and now picks out all of his clothes each day
...enjoys taking random toys, swords, and pretend tools and destroying boxes
...likes to go to school (on the few days that it's not either snowing, he's sick, or both) but will honestly tell you that he'd rather stay with me and his siblings
...is becoming rather creative in many ways - drawings, making up songs, etc.
...gave us our first opportunity to call 911 on Friday. He was jumping up and down on cushions. He shot himself in the air with the idea of landing on his bottom. He missed the cushions and landed with his tailbone right onto the ground. After which he jumped up and started stumbling away while making a scary grunting sound. After handing off Collin to his aunt, I ran to him and caught him just as he arched his back, went limp in my arms, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, turned dusky and stayed unconscious for a few seconds. His uncle quickly called 911 and the EMTs checked him out and thankfully discovered that he was okay. He recovered rather quickly except for some paleness and awe that Firemen came to his house.....
...it's easy to be thankful in the moment when something you're worried about turns out okay and then move on, when the alternative would have required much prayer and requests to God to make things okay. I'm choosing to be extremely grateful that God protected my son that day, that he didn't injure his spine, that I was able to catch him before he went limp over the tile floor, that even through the hard moments, I get to rejoice in the unbelievable blessings of these three sweet babies that God has allowed me to mother!
-------------------
Animals and Loss
After we moved to the new house, Milo (aka the most affectionate cat in the world) wouldn't hardly come out of his cage and didn't seem to be eating or drinking. His eyes also looked sunken in and he couldn't meow. We took him to the vet on Friday (we moved in on Thursday) and they discovered that he was severely dehydrated and probably would have only survived another day. They kept him overnight and sent off his blood work. The next morning we received the devastating and shocking news that he had severe kidney disease and wouldn't be able to live with his kidneys failing so much. Since he had spent the day and night getting IV fluids, he was feeling better so they let us take him home with some medicine and special food so that we could spend some time with him before he needed to be put to sleep (which the vet thought would be a matter of days). We had absolutely no idea he was sick, so I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to be with him as much as possible and love him until he was too tired and wanted to sleep all day for two precious days. He really was an amazingly sweet cat who loved me probably as much as anyone has ever loved me. He actually was the one to choose me when we went to the pound as newlyweds to pick out two kittens to join our married home. We were taken into a room full of cages that had anywhere from 2-6 cats in each. While walking from cage to cage, my heart melted when he reached his paw through the cage door and wrapped it around my hand. He declared me as his the moment we met and I will always be sad to be without my "Handsome Bubby" as I called him. :(
...he loves to lay on clothes/towels that are lying around, so I put one of Dave's sweaters on the couch downstairs to encourage him to stay down with me as much as possible...
...Milo and Pepper are only six years old and I really thought they would be a pair in our family for much longer and am quite sad that Pepper has been separated from her brother.
...Zoe has adjusted to our new house well and likes her new bed...
...While I was taking Collin's four month pictures in his (temporarily purple) nursery, I thought it was funny that Zoe was trying to look out the window, but was just too short.
...Pepper has had a lot to adjust to...a new house and the loss of her brother, but is doing rather well. She ran around meowing a lot at first after Milo was gone, but now the only thing I notice different about her is that she spends much more of the day close to me.
--------------------
Snow
We have had a TON of snow lately! We actually haven't been able to see the grass except for the first day we moved in. The kids made a snowman in the backyard after the first snow and then got to play out front one day with Grandma and Grandpa. Here they are throwing snow at Daddy in the window....
...going after Grandpa
...helping Grandma make a snow mountain
...snow much fun!
...Dave had to shovel a path on the deck and backyard for Zoe to be able to go outside as we got about ten inches one day!
-------------------
RSV aka The Longest Lasting Virus EVER
Benjamin got sick with RSV. He had some slight trouble breathing and was breathing fast because of it and was started on breathing treatments. He did really good with them! He calls it "The Moo-chine." The poor guy was sick with it for a week and a half and still has trouble exerting any energy without bringing on a coughing fit.
...it wasn't long before Anna followed in his footsteps. She was excited to use the nebulizer like her big brother. Anna thankfully didn't get as sick as Benjamin. She used the nebulizer for a week and continues to have a bit of a cough.
...despite my best efforts, Collin's sibling shared their germs with him. The doctor said it's really contagious, so we weren't surprised that they all three got it. He was pretty pitiful. He didn't hardly smile or show us much personality for a few days and has an awful cough with it.
...it wasn't long before Anna followed in his footsteps. She was excited to use the nebulizer like her big brother. Anna thankfully didn't get as sick as Benjamin. She used the nebulizer for a week and continues to have a bit of a cough.
...despite my best efforts, Collin's sibling shared their germs with him. The doctor said it's really contagious, so we weren't surprised that they all three got it. He was pretty pitiful. He didn't hardly smile or show us much personality for a few days and has an awful cough with it.
...he continues to cough quite a bit and needs his nebulizer, but is much happier.
The New House
Here's our new wonderful home!
...and here we are about to eat in our new dining room for the first time!
...and here we are about to eat in our new dining room for the first time!
...Collin sitting in his high chair for the first time
--------------------
Aunt Kelly's Baby Shower
Aunt Kelly's Baby Shower
Dave's sister, Kelly, is going to have her first baby in a few months. She was here visiting and was able to spend a few days and night at our house. The kids were really tickled to have her spend the night here and we really enjoyed the time with her. This weekend we went down to Dave's parents' house for her baby shower. The kids had a lot of fun getting to spend time with everyone.
...while everyone else was getting ready for the shower, Daddy and baby snuck a snuggle.
...who wouldn't want to snuggle with this sweet pea?!?!
...they went on a walk since the sunshine warmed the day so nicely.
...while everyone else was getting ready for the shower, Daddy and baby snuck a snuggle.
...who wouldn't want to snuggle with this sweet pea?!?!
...they went on a walk since the sunshine warmed the day so nicely.
...Grandma's only girl with (soon-to-be) five boys!
...Anna and cousin Jack!
...baby love!
