New Year's Eve Eve

Someone is ready to party:

Merry Christmas!

All I Have to Say About Santa

E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles

We are big Philadelphia Eagles fans around here. Daddy kicked the whole thing off (has been a fan all his life), getting me into the Eagles back in '97 when they won two games the whole season. Then they drafted Donovan McNabb, I got my #5 jersey, and the rest was history. When we were kidless, we went to sports bars every Sunday to watch them play. After one year of that with baby Squash, we signed up for DirecTV's Sunday Ticket and ever since, have been able to watch all the games at home. Now that we have DVR too, the Eagles don't even rule our Sundays time-wise the way they used to (though Dad would still prefer to watch them live so that we don't endure the CONSTANT! RISK! that someone will mention the score).

And mention the score to us, people would, because Lord knows we dress to support our team. This picture was taken of our three kiddos on Monday before school. This is how they all represented since the Eagles were playing the Redskins that night on Monday Night Football.

My little offensive lineman (the back of his shirt says "I never had a choice except to be an Eagles fan"):



And of course, our resident cheerleader:

Moving and Shaking

Less than a month ago, the Truck was not even crawling. Then, he crawled. And a few days later, he pulled up. And now? All he wants to do is push furniture around. He is growing up so fast!

Ohsaycanyousee

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day.

It is also the second grade music program. I cannot wait to attend and see the Squash belt out his patriotic best. He has performed the national anthem for me a couple times and let's just say he inherited his mom and dad's musical genes. Which are sparse.

But I am so very glad that I get to attend this program! I was on bed rest for the first grade music program (in fact, you might argue that my participation in making scenery for the first grade program was part of what landed me on bed rest, but I digress), and I didn't get to go. Not only was I not there for the singing, but I also missed Noodle face-planting in the parking lot later, gushing blood, and having to be rushed back inside (against the flow of outgoing people-traffic) to be cleaned up. OK, I'm less sad about missing that.

Tooth!

I knew it was coming... two nights in a row, Truck was up A LOT, which is not like him. And this evening, I checked and sure enough, there was one sharp little nubbin coming through his bottom gum.

First tooth! He's one day past 7 months.

His big brother got his first tooth at 6 months. At his 6 month checkup, to be precise, when the doctor asked us, does he have any teeth yet? We said no (happy clueless first time parents; and yes we were both at the checkup). Then the doctor checked him out and said, um, guess what? This baby has a tooth!

Noodle got her first tooth at 8 months. I still remember how it was August, and miserable hot hot hot. We went for frozen custard that night and let her chew on the spoon (and taste some vanilla yumminess).

It's going to be awhile til you can actually SEE the tooth, but trust me, I felt it, it's there! Milestone for our little Truck-o!

Election Day

Though it's no 2008, I always love election day.

The first election I voted in after having kids was when we were living in California in 2003. It was the recall election of Gov. Gray Davis. This was the one where Gary Coleman was a candidate? Crazy stuff. Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected. We voted, no joke, in someone's garage.

And here's a picture of me and Noodle from October 2008, watching Obama speak at a campaign event in Kansas City. We decided not to brave the crowds and instead to watch it from my office window.

Snow, Halladay and the Monkey

It's not yet Halloween, but we've already had two "costume events" and have between two and four more to go. Here we have Snow White:



Roy Halladay (who moves a little fast for me to capture him in pictures!):



And one speedy little monkey:



Also, can I just say how much candy we ALREADY have at our house? And we haven't even officially been trick-or-treating yet! It is going to be one crazy year.

Little Pumpkins

We went to the pumpkin patch in Lawrence, Kansas, last weekend. We ran through a hay maze, saw ducks, chickens and cows, picked out four perfect pumpkins and the big kids launched pumpkins from slingshots. Awesome afternoon!

And this guy was our perfect pumpkin picker:

Blur of a Weekend

I am not recommending this. But someday, I am going to want to remember how it was that I packed so much into a measly two days. So I am going to write it down. This is how we spent our Saturday:

SATURDAY:
10 AM - Noodle, dance class (accompanied by Mom and Truck); Dad and Squash, basketball orientation.

11 AM - Noodle, birthday party (again, accompanied by Mom and the faithful Truck); Dad and Squash, grocery shopping.

12:30 - Birthday party over; Noodle's friend comes over for an hour (because friend's mom is out of the country and friend's brother has soccer game [and friend's dad can only be in one place!]).

1:30 - NAPS. Dad puts beef stew in Crock Pot. Mom drinks a Coke and a half. The rest of the day looms!

3:30 - Squash - soccer game (the rest of us attend and cheer him on). Dragons win, 1-0, still undefeated. Weather is spectacular. Truck sits happily in his stroller for 3/4 of the game while little sibs jockey to entertain him with toys. Noodle consumes snacks and holds court as the official big sister of the Truck.

5:30 - Dinner - beef stew and biscuits. Thank goodness for the Crock Pot.

8:00 - BEDTIME. Noodle and Squash have a sleepover in Squash's room. Party time! I plan to make enchilada casseroles for two friends who just had babies, plus one for us, but realize I don't have enough tortillas (list-maker's fault; not grocery-shopper's!).

9:00 - Unplanned trip to grocery store.

10:00 - Make enchilada casseroles (times three!).

11:00 - Read book for next weekend's book club -- Room by Emma Donoghue which is so good and wretched for making me stay up so late!

I was going to write out Sunday's schedule too, but it's too exhausting to think about. Suffice to say, it involved 10 loads of laundry, company for dinner, Sunday School, another soccer game (another win!), and the blessed moment when BOTH Noodle and Truck were asleep for approximately 30 minutes AT THE SAME TIME.

Thank goodness for Monday morning!

Sporty Spice + Her Brothers

We are in activity overload at our house. The Squash plays soccer, which means practice twice a week, plus games on the weekend (often two games on the weekend). Dad is the coach, so we can't miss anything.

But it's Noodle who is doing us in. I signed her up for a "sports class" which is soccer and baseball skills combined (throwing, catching, hitting, kicking), and then I signed her up for basketball. She loves them both -- but they have two weeks of overlap. Plus, I signed her up for a four-week dance class that also happened to start last weekend. So last week and this one, we have had sports on Wednesday; basketball on Thursday; and dance on Saturday! Sheesh! Luckily, it all ends in November -- and we're not signed up for anything then. Yet.

At least my little (huge) guy is happy to just tag along and watch:


He weighed in at 20 lbs., 10 oz. (90th percentile) and was 28 inches "tall" (also 90th percentile) at his 6-month check-up. He was a rock star for his shots, only crying when the injection went in, and being Mr. Happy Go Lucky Baby by the time we were back in the waiting room. We played a lot of peek-a-boo while waiting for the doctor, and also read his favorite book (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can YOU?), but the highlight BY FAR for Truck at the doctor was watching "The Price is Right" in the waiting room. He loved that wacky Drew Carey. Go figure!

6 Months Old

Tomorrow, the Truck will be six months old or -- as his brother puts it -- 0.5.

He drools constantly but has no teeth. He loves to sit in his high chair at the table with us and chow on baby food, finger food, and anything else we give him. To eat Cheerios, he'll try his "pincer grasp", but then give up, shove his wet fist into the pile of Cheerios, and then see what sticks to his fist.

He has started babbling with syllables, and we swear we've heard both "mamamamama!" and "dadadadada!" He laughs when his brother and sister laugh. He loves to watch soccer practice. He also likes watching football with Dad (hence, the shirt above!).

He scooches himself around, and has just started pushing his large belly off the ground. He also rolls all over the place. His favorite toys are his chewy Sophie the Giraffe and his box of blocks. He likes to bang the blocks.

He is a great napper at school -- usually takes at least 2 1.5ish hour naps a day, sometimes 3. He is a less great napper on the weekends! He goes to sleep around 8:30 PM and USUALLY sleeps until 6:30 AM. Occasionally he wakes up around 3:30 or 4 AM, and boy, is he starving! Truck must eat!

Incidentally, we DO call him Truck at home. I am a little curious if he will ever learn his real name...

We're off for our check-up and shots in a little bit. Stats to follow!

Fall is Here

We went for a family hike last weekend. It felt like fall was here. Only going to be in the 50s today, but sunny and relatively wind-free. Gorgeous!



Noodle liked gathering acorns. Squash was all about trying to jump up and hit branches. And Truck? He was just taking it all in.

Illin' and Chillin'

At 5.5 months old, Truck does not have any teeth. He does, however, have a favorite toy: Sophie the Giraffe. She is squeaky and tasty (apparently).

Truck woke up at 4 AM today with a fever. He has been fussy ever since. Poor guy. No other symptoms, not even a stuffy nose, knock on wood. I finally got the rest of the crew out the door to soccer, and within 10 minutes, he was fast asleep. That was an hour ago. I think he just needed some peace and quiet to rest. I won't mention to him that at 4 AM there was PLENTY of peace and quiet to be had.

Does anyone else's coffee maker automatically shut off after an hour or two? It is so irritating. I know I should drink it right away after brewing, but geez, Mr. Coffee, sometimes THINGS HAPPEN. I sure could go for a nice hot cup right now. But you are OFF. Maybe I will go make another pot.

Truck's New Tricks

And now we are sitting!

Well, sortof.

Truck on the Move

This weekend, the Truck started doing two new things. First, rolling over front to back (he had been doing back to front for awhile). This means he can now roll himself places. Second, CRAWLING!!!!! He doesn't quite get the "head up" deal yet, but he burrows his head into the carpet, sticks his bottom in the air, yells, and then scooches forward. He cannot be contained. You put the boy in one place now, and when you come back, he's across the room.

He also, unfortunately, has his first sniffle, which isn't causing him too much trouble except (of course) at night. Last night, he didn't go to sleep until 1 AM. And he woke up for some snuggles at 3:30 AM. Ugh, great way to kick off the week. He went down around 10 PM tonight. Fingers are crossed that he stays that way til morning. It doesn't help that we are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch and I see loads of lightning on the horizon. I love a rainy night for sleeping...but it better not wake up that baby!

Five Months Later

Truck is 5 months old today!

He loves playing upright these days, in his walker and new (to us) Exersaucer. He also loves shoving anything into his mouth, especially his stuffed bear, Phoenix. He smiles at everyone. He has moved his way through rice cereal and oatmeal in the last 2 months, and through the whole repertoire of baby food veggies (squash, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans), and next week, we start on fruit.

His very favorite, without a doubt, #1 thing to do is eat his toes! He loves lying on the ground, chewing on his toes. He does not take a Binky or suck his thumb. He is our perfect little Truck-O.

Girly Girly Girls Night (Plus One Small Truck)

Let me tell you what passes for a wild Friday night around here for me and my Noodle. Dad took Squash to his first NFL game tonight (Chiefs/Eagles preseason, and we are BIG Eagles fans). So it was just me, Noodle and Truck. What did we do?

First, I let Noodle watch "Phineas and Ferb" while I fed Truck up in his room. A little peace for him before the chaos of "Noodle Night" began.

Then, we went to IHOP. I let her order the chocolate pancake with whipped cream. I have never ever let her big brother order it. She is dying to tell him.

Then, we went to Target. She insisted that ALL her friends wear dresses and she has NO dresses at all. I found four. Hey, they were on clearance, and they were so cute. I wish I could wear these cute cotton dresses!

Then, I let her pick out a snack (she picked Chex Mix Original Flavor) (after I vetoed cheese popcorn because EW.) and we hit the video section. I let her pick any movie she wanted. She picked Strawberry Shortcake.

Then, we came home. I set her up watching Strawberry, took Truck upstairs for his last feeding and into his PJs and crib, and then washed bottles while she finished Strawberry.



[Look at this beast! Can you see how he gets his ENTIRE fist into his mouth?]

THEN (no, it's not quite over yet), I read The Little Mermaid to her. I answered 500000 questions about the book (Mommy, what's heartbroken? Mommy, who's Sebastian? Mommy, where's Ariel's voice? But what HAPPENED to the necklace?) And then she finally went to sleep. Hopefully she will remember it as the awesome night that it was.

Time for me to go fold some laundry!

Back to School

Look at these monkeys!

This is the three of them on big brother's first day of 2nd grade. He came home that night missing his 2nd top front tooth (has already lost 2 on the bottom and 1 on the top). Alas, he swallowed it. Guess what? The tooth fairy came anyway!!

Second grade is all it's cracked up to be. I think this is the year they learn cursive!!

Sis is back at preschool and happy as a clam. She came home today and told me she has a new boyfriend named Logan (her old boyfriend Liam moved away this summer). She said her two good friends were mean to her today (one said she was a bad dancer, and the other said she didn't like her dress), so she decided to play with Logan. 3 1/2 is an awesome age!

And Truck is doing fantastic at his new school. He has lots of plump new friends who are so darn cute. School wears him out so he is going to bed around 8 these days and you will hear NO COMPLAINTS from me. Speaking of which, time to go wash the bottles, etc.

Park-a-palooza

I read about this idea in Family Fun magazine and decided to modify it for our family's last day of summer vacation last Sunday.

When the kids woke up, in the middle of the living room floor (where I knew they would be headed to watch cartoons), there was a note explaining that today was PARK-A-PALOOZA and we would be going to not one, not two, but THREE parks.

There was also an envelope that they had to open. Inside, four dollar bills and a note that they each got $2, because our first stop would be the gas station where they could each buy themselves an "11 o'clock treat" (that is, a treat to be eaten at 11 AM!).

Then as soon as we had eaten breakfast, we loaded into the minivan with a pile of bottled waters and headed to a local park that we don't often go to. I told the kids we had 20 minutes to spend at each park. We spent a little longer, but it was nice to have this time limit set from the start because there was no whining when it was time to leave.

We went to two more parks, same drill, and had the BEST time. The kids made friends everywhere we went, they ran around and got sweaty and exhausted, and generally had a blast.

We stopped at Fazoli's on the way home and treated ourselves to lunck with lemonade and all the garlicky breadsticks we could eat. We will definitely do it again next year. Even though it seemed a little ridiculous that August 2 was the "end" of summer...

Peek-a-boo

Truck and I went to the doctor today for his 4-month check-up. He weighed in at 19 lbs (90th percentile) and is 26 inches tall (97th percentile). Official Truck Status was awarded! He was a champ for his shots. He slurped down the Tylenol, then let out a yelp when the nurse stuck him, but he was smiling by the time we were out in the waiting room. He fell asleep, not surprisingly, on the drive over to day care and hopefully will do a better job sleeping for them there today.

The best part of the doctor's appointment was when we were in the exam room and I was trying to keep him occupied while we waited for the doctor. I decided to lay him on the table and play some peek-a-boo. We had never played it before. He LOVED it. Every time I "appeared" and said peek-a-boo (from behind my hands), he laughed a full-body laugh. Mama, you are SO hilarious!

Truck at School

Truck had his first day of school today. It went great - much more smoothly than the first day of school for either of the other two back in the day. They looked at me funny when I said he would drink four 6 oz. bottles. Hello, he is a truck! He ended up eating only three, which was nice because #4 has to be formula. I am pumping to the max at work (three times a day, at 9:30, 12:30 and 3:30), and that results in about 18-20 oz. total. Plus he nurses in the morning first thing and then about 3 or 4 times before he goes to bed at night (6, 7:45, sometimes 8:30, and 9:15). Anyway, I am ok with him eating formula for whatever he wants beyond the first three bottles at school. He is getting plenty of breast milk!!

He didn't cry when we dropped him off, and he was smiling and looking around when Dad picked him up. I think he likes having all the new faces to look at, especially his new friends. He didn't sleep very well but he doesn't sleep very well anytime that I am not there putting him in bed (his naps for the past 2 weeks that he's been home with Dad have been sporadic).

Anyway, it was a successful first day. I am very proud of the little Truck.

The Squash is Seven

He's seven!!

Truck Update

Here is a picture of the Truck from today, age 3.5 months. No, he does not roll over, though he does occasionally pull his legs up as if he would. There's a lot of belly to roll over, so we are not holding our breath.

He chows on cereal two meals a day. I am not sure how many ounces he eats a day, since he's been almost exclusively breastfed up to now, but starting tomorrow, he'll be doing bottles of it, so we will see how much he drinks.

He sleeps from about 9:30 PM to 7 AM. After he wakes up, he eats, hangs out for about an hour, eats again, then takes a nap. He usually takes one long afternoon nap and several catnaps during the day.

He loves going swimming, having people make faces at him and getting tickled. He dislikes being strapped into his carseat or his stroller. He likes going for walks facing out in the Baby Bjorn. He is just starting to laugh.

Everyone in the family calls him Truck or, more often, Truck-o. His favorite song is one we made up called "The Troublesome Truck." Noodle and I know all the words.

Happy Moments

Really liking this quote today:

“Cherish all your happy moments: they make a fine cushion for old age.” – Christopher Morley

Going back to work tomorrow morning after being off since January (first bed rest, then maternity leave). Nuff said.

5,500 Miles

After 38 days and 5,500 miles on the road, the five of us are back from our epic adventure. We visited relatives all over the west coast and Colorado. We slept in more different beds than I can count. We were driven to wit's end by our three-year-old. We watched our two-month-old become a three-month-old. We spent a LOT of hours together in a minivan. I have listened to "Barbie and the Diamond Castle" at least five times and sortof know the words to the theme song sung by Katharine McPhee. My (now) seven-year-old learned to play Monopoly, Payday, Gin Rummy, Cribbage and Poker. My three-month-old can hold up his head and laugh.

It was the best month of my life. This was my favorite picture of the trip. Captured the sheer glee of Noodle, age 3.5!

The Truck

It's official, we have a small truck on our hands. Or, more accurately, a big truck. At his 8-week check-up today, Z weighed in at 14 lbs., 10 oz., and measured 24" tall. That's off the charts (or "99th percentile") for weight and 95th percentile for height. He is officially a truck. He also continues to do his excellent sleeping, including a nice 10:30 PM to 6:30 AM stretch last night!

Happy Memorial Day!

No Jinxing

Not to jinx it, but at seven weeks old, this little guy is sleeping through the night! He started going from 11 PM to 5 AM last Thursday, and has consistently gotten longer as the week has gone on. Last night, 10 PM to 5:30 AM. KUDOS to Mr. Z! We are all very pleased.

Related

August 29, 2003. The Squash, 6 weeks old.


And today, May 24, 2010. Mr. Z, 6 weeks old.


Definitely related.

10 Good Things

Ten Good Things Today:

1. Z smiling at me for the first time (while singing him the Winnie the Pooh song).
2. My cousin's ultrasound and adding another GIRL to our cousin menagerie.
3. Our brand-new neighbor (and Baby Z's best friend to be) Baby Williams came home from the hospital.
4. Despite it raining all day, it was NOT raining when I went to pick up the kiddos and thus I did not get wet.
5. Watching "Make Room for Multiples." Love that show. And it makes me feel like life is manageable.
6. Fish sticks for dinner = the kids clean their plates.
7. Soccer practice rained out = I get to watch American Idol!
8. Noodle proudly showing me all the letter "I"s in her "Silly Tilly" book. She'll be reading soon!
9. Z and I survived another telephone CLE. Only 2 more to go... (and Anna Nicole Smith got a mention during the CLE!).
10. Getting to get in bed and read US Weekly at 9:30 PM! Thanks Daddy for taking this Z shift!

6 Weeks Old!

Mr. Chunks is 6 weeks old today! And right on schedule, just like his brother and sister, he has been treating us to some big, full-face smiles as a reward for making it through these first challenging weeks.

In true Chunk fashion, he has already outgrown most of his 0-3 month clothes. Luckily, this onesie is a 3-6 monther. It should last, oh, another week or so! It is from a company called Retrofit Baby (www.retrofitbaby.com). They make adorable personalized onesies and burp cloths that make super gifts! I sure was happy to receive them.

Tornado Alley

Last night, we had quite a storm blow through our neighborhood. It was not officially a tornado, but everyone is wondering if maybe it was, because of all the damage. There are a lot of trees down that look like they were just chopped off about 2 feet up the trunk, and almost every street sign in the neighborhood is bent over or gone.

We had some minor roof damage (missing shingles) and our swingset took flight and took out our neighbor's fence.



Our patio furniture all ended up in a bush, but none of it was damaged (the glass tabletop ended up across the yard, but did not break, yay!).



There were four trampolines on our block that all ended up in various chunks on various lawns. They did not survive.



When we went to bed, it was raining and there was some lightning, but nothing seemed too bad. We were under a severe thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch. But about midnight, my husband and I both heard a huge crash and sat up straight in bed. We didn't even hesitate before grabbing the three kiddos and heading to our basement.

We have a finished basement, so it is pretty luxurious for a storm shelter. Luckily, the baby has been sleeping in a Moses basket, so he was easy to transport (just grabbed the basket out of his crib!) and didn't require any special arrangements once we got there. He also didn't wake up (hooray). We have a guest room in the basement, so we put the older two kids down in the double bed in there. They didn't wake up either. We have a futon in the playroom, so we just put that into bed-mode, and crashed. I couldn't believe how well I slept -- there is no noise in the basement even in a crazy storm.

Around 3 AM, Baby Z woke up to eat and we moved everyone back upstairs. When we came down for breakfast, I opened the blinds and that's when we saw the damage in the backyard.

All in all, lots of damage to "fun stuff" (as one neighbor's son put it!), but not too much damage to houses, and no one was hurt. Thank goodness!

Happy Mother's Day!

May Afternoon

Since part of the reason I started writing this blog was to show my far-flung friends "what it's like to be living in Kansas," here is a picture of what we do for fun on spring afternoons:



As you can see, it is loads of fun:



Yesterday, there were actually seven kids in our driveway from about 4:30 til dinner. The two big boys were riding their bikes back and forth down driveways trying to do jumps on the curbs. The four girls were alternating between launching rockets on the stomp rocket launcher and throwing a frisbee (and getting it stuck in trees). Kid #7 was Baby Z, who was just taking it all in!

Chunks

Here is Baby Z at four weeks old (yesterday). Time is flying by! And he is chunk city, already wearing his 3-6 month onesies. He hasn't been to the doctor since his 2-week check-up (where he weighed 9 lbs., 7 oz.), but I estimate he weighs at least 11 lbs. by now. Chunks!

My Favorite Skirt

I love this skirt. Know why? Because I am wearing it right now, and it is the first non-maternity item I have worn since Baby Z's arrival almost 4 weeks ago. Woo hoo! I have it in three colors, so I think this will be my new "go to" look for a little while.

I bought these last year, but they are still available in lots of colors at www.oldnavy.com for fifteen bucks apiece. Deal!!

Noodle and Z

Our Noodle just adores Baby Z, as you can see. She is also a very tempermental three-year-old who alternates between ecstasy and tantrum. Luckily her little bro tolerates it all very well. Here she is in a moment of bliss:



And here is a funny contrast. Baby toes:



And Noodle toes: