Dinner Grace

Aaron has always said our prayer before meals. I'm so thankful for the example he is setting by doing this. Although Aaron continues to say his prayer, the boys each want to say 'their' prayer now too. This is the prayer that our nieces have said for many years up at Aaron's parents house.

"I fold my hands, I bow my head, to thank you Lord, for this good bread. Amen."

Brecken's has evolved into including 'My Girls' (his cousins). Leighton's sometimes comes out as, "I fold my hands, I bump my head"...which is true a lot of time :) Here is a video of them both saying their prayer a few nights ago.

3 Months!

Happy 3 months Zoe!

*You have the most contagious little smile
*You laugh when mommy gets your sugar
*You clasp your hands like you're praying
*You attempt to roll over - grinding your face into the floor
*You get up once at night to eat, but sometimes sleep all night
*You still won't take a bottle
*You suck on your bottom lip when you are sleeping

You are such a sweet little thing. I can't imagine life without you :)

Bumbo Babes

I broke out the Bumbo for Zoe to start using. Here is a pic of all three kids in it at about the same age.

Preschool

Brecken started preschool a couple weeks ago. He is loving it & Leighton is adjusting pretty well to having big brother gone for a couple hours.

Eating breakfast...


First day of school pic...


Hanging up his backpack...

Chillin' in Chicago

Zoe, Aaron & I spent a wonderful weekend in Chicago with Aaron's high school/college buddies. All three couples have new babies, so the babies enjoyed each other while the older siblings stayed home & had fun with grandparents!

Day 1: Chicago Style pizza for lunch, followed by a mid-afternoon stroll down Michigan Avenue, followed by an evening of grilling on their terrace that overlooked Lake Michigan & the harbor.


Day 2: We slept until 10:00...don't remember the last time we did that! Our hostess fixed us a tasty breakfast & then the moms did a Segway Tour of Chicago while the dads & babies hung out. The moms took a turn with the babies, while the dads hit Millennium Park - played frisbee & relaxed at a sports bar.

Day 2 - Evening: We cleaned up & while the babies were well taken care of by sitters, we adults went to Rebar for a drink & tasty appetizer.

We then went to Topolobampo for dinner. The majority of us ordered this:



The whole crew: Kara, Chris & Isaac, Tiffany, Zoe & Aaron, Jill, Kali & Jace


Thanks for a wonderful weekend guys!!!

Gone Fishing

The boys enjoyed an evening of fishing at Uncle Brett's last week. Brecken told Uncle Brett that he was going to catch a swordfish or a humpback whale.

He's no dummy.

Leighton gets M&M's or tootsie rolls for going to the bathroom. Today he requested a tootsie roll for his reward. I unwrapped two tootsie rolls (one for each boy, since Brecken gets one for being a good supporter) & gave them to Leighton. One instantly went in his mouth & he held tight to the other one. Brecken was waiting patiently for his bounty & I reminded Leighton that he needed to give Brecken his candy. When Leighton didn't budge, I took the tootsie roll from his hand & gave it to Brecken. Leighton began crying & said, NO, THAT's mine! He pointed to his mouth and cried, "This is Brecken's." He's no dummy. He ate Brecken's first. I was laughing too hard to do much...

Much easier...

I will have to say that I was all worried for nothing. We are completely binky free without any major issues (aside from getting up a little earlier & not napping every day). I've come to realize that Aaron & I were the ones that were really attached to the binky, as is evident by this picture.

He is doing EXCELLENT with potty training. Although we are still not accident free, he has been in underwear since the middle of last week, except for at night. Most mornings he wakes up dry & he is getting to the point of even going on his own! He loves the reward of M&M's. Yea - so happy to be close to having only one in diapers! When we accomplish the potty training, I'll probably move Zoe into the cloth diapers, so that will be a significant savings in the near future.

Brecken is a good encourager, so gets M&M's as a reward too.

Next transition...moving this little sweetie into her crib.

I wonder about myself sometimes...

As if life isn't interesting enough with my crew...I decided to make things a little more interesting. I was apparently feeling the need for a change, so decided to go for potty training & 'binky-be-gone' all in one shot.



BINKY-BE-GONE
We attempted restricting the binky to just bedtime, but (just like big brother) Leighton started requesting it(well, whining) ump-teen times/day. I decided if I was going to listen to whining, we may as well only do it once. I snipped the binky that was on the counter & quickly hid the rest. He whined & screamed for it the majority of the day but finally gave in to a nap at 2:30. I'm sticking to my guns on it & I know tomorrow & hopefully tonight will be better.

POTTY TRAINING
Yesterday, we opted for going potty outside off the deck. Today has been inside on the potty. He's had a couple accidents, but is doing pretty well for the most part. He really wants to be in big boy pants & wants to go on the potty so badly (for the reward of M&M's) that he sat in there for about 15 minutes after one of his accidents...thinking he would go more. I kept telling him that he probably didn't need to go again yet, but he kept trying.

Faceoff

For the past two weeks, we have been working with Zoe to take a bottle...without any success. We have tried 3 different people feeding her...with various types of bottles.

The Lineup: Avent, Soothie, Playtex, Nuk, Adiri
The Opponent: Cute, but stubborn, Miss Zoe

And...we have a winner!
The Adiri Natural Nurser is our new best friend. I was hesitant to buy a bottle that looks like a boob...but hey, it makes sense, & now, I'm it's biggest fan :)

2 Months!

**Update from appointment** - Zoe weighs 10lb 13oz & is 23" long

At 2 months you:
*Smile - especially for your daddy.
*Coo
*Hold your head up well
*Are not a fan of tummy time
*Get up once at night
*Prefer sleeping in your swing or bouncy seat
*Will not take a bottle

It's hard to believe you are 2 months old Zoe Lynnae! We go to the doctor tomorrow to see how much you've grown!

Day 1...weaning of the binky

Aaron & I have finally decided to wean ourselves from the binky...or I mean, wean Leighton from the binky. If the child could figure out a way to eat while sucking on his bink, he would have it in 24 hours/day. Brecken was about this age when we tried to restrict his binky use to bedtime/naptime. It worked briefly, but then I had to pull the mean mom trick to completely wean him.

I told Leighton that we needed to break him of his binky...and he said, NO mommy...DON'T BREAK ME! It's been 30 minutes since I took it. He screamed for the first 10 minutes, but is now distracted. We'll see how long that lasts :) I'd say pray for Leighton, but I think I may be the one who needs the prayers...

Beemer Update

We were able to bring Beemer home from the vet yesterday. He is acting normal, despite the large incision on his abdomen! We have to keep him crated because he thinks he can run all over the house & jump up on the furniture.

The vet called this morning with the test results & Beemer does NOT have pancreatic cancer. This is good news. The mass that they found is actually dead tissue around the pancreas. The vet said this could still cause issues later on, however, it is still a better diagnosis than cancer! Now, he just has to heal from the ruptured pancreas, infection & surgery.

He's enjoying the extra attention...

Puppy Prayer

Please say a prayer that our dog, Beemer, will pull through. On Friday, he got really sick all day (at our in-laws) and he hasn't eaten anything since. We picked him up on Sunday & I took him to the vet this morning. They thought it was an obstructed bowel, but upon further investigation via a surgery, they found that his pancreas had ruptured. The vet said it ruptured either because of an abscess or because of pancreatic cancer. We will know the test results in a few days. We're praying that it's the abscess, but he will still have a rough road. The vet said he has a 60-70% chance if that's the case. He's a sick, sick doggy...and we are very sad :( Aaron & I got Beemer a little over 7 years ago - he's part of the family! He has to stay at the clinic to recover, which makes it even harder. We want him at home with us.

Smiles

Zoe has been smiling for about a week now & I was finally able to catch some with my camera!

A Fun Visit

Our cousins flew their plane into Clay Center last night on their way south & spent the night. They continued on their journey today, so we took a trip to the airport to see them off! The boys had fun sitting in the plane & watching them fly.

Aaron & the boys checking out the plane.

Brecken, Leighton & Mitch

Trying out the headphones

They pulled the plane over to top of the gas, with the boys in it. I rode with them...Brecken was afraid they were going to put them up in the air.

Ready to go!

Leighton watching them take off.

Mitch 'waving his wings' at us.

Sweet...but slightly sour

My normally cute, sweet 2 year old is going through a rough spell right now. He is demostrating a split personality...

Sweet Leighton:
1-Tells his daddy "I lub you daddy" & wants a hug whenever daddy leaves for work.
2-Loves to hold his baby sister.
3-Enjoys playing with his big brother.
4-Sits with mommy, plays with her hair & gives hugs.

Sour Leighton:
1-Throws temper tantrums & screams loudly when told no.
2-Pokes sister repeatedly in the nose or head until she cries.
3-Pinches, hits & pulls Brecken's hair when big brother antagonizes him (or does this sometimes unprovoked).
4-Hits at mommy when she tells him no or to stop doing something.

Molars? Adjusting to new baby? Terrible twos? Testing boundaries? I think he's got a lot going on...but wow, hope this phase passes soon! It's a lot of work for mommy with disciplining...almost more exhausting than being up in the night with a newborn! Thankfully, sweet Leighton is around much more often than sour Leighton. Hopefully the visits from sour Leighton cease :)

1 Month Old!

It's hard to believe that Zoe is 1 month old today! The month has flown by. Her 1 month check up was this morning. Isn't her onesie adorable? My friend, Kara, got Zoe the onesie & neat 'monthly' cards.

Weight: 9lbs 4oz (52nd percentile)
Height: 23 inches (96th percentile)

She is starting to sleep for longer periods of time during the day & at night & is overall a happy & content baby. She loves listening to her big brothers & being snuggled by whoever is willing :)

9 Years

9 years ago today, I married my best friend!

In the past 9 years, we have:

Lived in 5 homes, in 3 different cities/towns.
Had 5 jobs between the 2 of us.
Had 3 children.
Purchased 80 acres to build a home on.
Started a grassfed beef operation.
Made many happy memories.

I look forward to what the next 9 years will bring us! Love you babe!

Vacation

Last week we took a vacation with my entire family to Branson. We spent a lot of time at the pool, took in a couple shows & visited some friends. It was a fun week & just good to get away!

Here are some pictures from our week.

Visiting friends - Brecken, Zoe, Leighton, Reese & Keira

Pool Time



Shepherd of the Hills Show


The Butterfly Palace

Noah, the musical