Picture Time

I wish Jack was in this picture. I'd blow it up in a canvas for sure.

The next series of pictures is called Thunder. Leo has some of the biggest thighs I have ever seen. And if you take off his diaper he's hiding about 5 more rolls. I'm not kidding! I love it.

Are you done laughing? haha.

Extreme Close Up

Rolling

Over

Talking to his hanging friends

Wud up Mom

Slinky wanted in on the picture taking

Haha. Seriously. Where's his neck?

Finn's fever finally broke last night. Poor guy just did not feel good. He was so warm. This morning he woke up ready to go though. Hopefully he takes a good nap today too. I got Leo to nap in his crib this morning for a good 45 minutes. And he's napping again right now, as are the other boys. I'm nervous for next week having zero preschool will be challenging. Good thing it's a "short" week! I better hurry up with my Black Friday shopping lists!! Toodles.

Sickies

I hate when the boys are sick. I mean what mom likes seeing their kids in pain? This morning was typical. Leo was fussing at 5:30, Tom brought him into bed and I made a bottle. Tom left for work and I gave Leo the bottle while he dozed back off to la la land. At 6 AM I hear Finn in his room whining. Which isn't unusual, the kid has been EXTRA whiney lately. His molars are poking through so I have been attributing it to that. Anyways, I walk in there and he says "I'm scared." um, ok - scared of what? It's just his new phrase he's been saying. I don't even think he knows what it really means. Anyways, I gave him his nuks. Jack was still sleeping, so I went back to bed with the hopes everyone would snooze a tad longer. I got thirty more minutes before Jack was up hopping off his top bunk and into the bathroom. Finn was up too wanting to go to the bathroom. As I was taking his pants off, I notice that he was warm. Turns out he was running a 100 degree fever. Poor little bugger. He refused to take his medicine too. Obviously, I wasn't about to give in to that. I said ok Finn we can do this your way (showing him the little cup) or my way (showing him the syringe). He just cried. So I filled up the syringe, laid him back on the couch and pressed it all into his mouth. He didn't like it, but he got the drugs. He ate his breakfast on the couch and drank his milk. I felt bad that I had to bundle him up and bring him to preschool drop off, but I had no other choice. When we got home he seemed to be much better. Eating oranges and watching Beauty and the Beast. But then he fell asleep on the way to pick up Jack from preschool. His meds must have been wearing off. He didn't want any lunch and went straight to nap (after more meds of course). I thought he'd nap extra long, but turns out that was not the case. By the time he was up (1:20) Jack hadn't even gone to naps yet. So now all of my children are up and not napping. Except Leo. Leo is napping. Go figure. The first time I actually get him in a deep sleep during typical napping hours, the other kids refuse. UGH.

Anyway. I am blaming the flu shots this year. I got a horrible cold about 3 days after the shot. As did Jack. And now Finn has a fever. I'm sure it could all be coincidence, but I'm thinking that maybe next year we will just skip these flu shots. Is that crazy?

A Day in the Life

This is going to be a LONG post. But I thought it might be fun. It will probably take me forever to put it together. We shall see.

4:30 AM - Leo is up for the first time since going to bed at 7 PM. Not too shabby. Tom feeds him, puts him in our bed to fall back asleep and is off for the day. Toodle-loo.

7:15 AM - The older boys are up and ready to go. Luckily they are both in good moods and are not instantly fighting. SCORE! We go downstairs because Leo is still snoozing.

Breakfast and cartoons. 

I added a crap ton of creamer, haha. It was delicious.  I had about 8 more cups. Not kidding.

7:35 AM - Leo is up and squealing in my bed.

Good morning baby brother

Practicing rolling over. SO close!

7:55 AM - I need to hop in the shower. I leave all three boys on the rug unattended and hope for the best. I get out of the shower and hear screaming. Jack apparently took Finn's spot. Everyone was still alive so it was a success in my book.

Why wouldn't Bailey start barking like crazy to go outside the second I get out of the shower?

 8:10 AM - Start getting everyone dressed. Thank goodness Jack can dress solo.

8:20 AM - Gotta start packing everyone up and get shoes, coats, and hats on (snowing this morning in MN) so we can leave for Jack's preschool.

8:40 - All loaded up and ready to hit the road

9:05 - Back at home, need to feed Leo and hope he takes a nap.

9:30 AM - Get Leo down for a nap. Clean the kitchen, do a load of laundry, read some blogs, give Finn a snack. I didn't take any pictures during this time. Whoopsie.

10:20 AM - Leo is up from his nap. Entertain the kids for a bit before it's time to pack up again to go pick up Jack.

11:10 AM - Leave to go pick up Jack.

11:45 AM - Home from preschool. Eat lunch, clean up crumbs. Wait for Alissa and Cooper to come over.

12:30 PM - Alissa and Cooper arrive.

CooLeo

12:45 PM - Finn goes down for a nap. Leo takes a tiny snooze. Jack plays with his phone. Cooper eats and snoozes. Alissa and I chit chat.

1:45 PM - Leo is up and ready to play again. And decides he wants to roll over for the first time!!


2:30 PM - Alissa and Coop head out. Time to play some scrabble on the phone

3:00 PM - Finn is up. Leo takes a short little snooze and then is up after like 35 min. What is up with this kid NEVER sleeping these days?

4:00 PM - I'm starting to get antsy. Leo is being fussy. Time to start dinner and put him in the exersaucer where he is content for all of 10 minutes.

On the menu for tonight. Pear Autumn Salad for the grown ups. Mac and Cheese for the kiddos.

5:15 PM - dinner is complete. Dad takes the boys down to the basement while I clean up the kitchen. Then it's time to get ready for swimming lessons. This week dad is in the pool with Finn. I stay home to feed Leo and put him to bed.

6:00 PM - The boys are off to swimming lessons. I make Leo's bottle and turn on Revenge, because I didn't watch it on Sunday and am obsessed with that show!

Nakey boy. Time for PJs

7:05 PM - Leo is down for the count. Quick finish the laundry. The boys are back from swimming.

The curls are back. haha. His hair looks like an afro.

7:15 PM - Start bedtime routine with the boys. Jammies on. Brush teeth. Go potty. Read books. We've been reading books separately lately, I got Finn last night. We read Toy Story, weird I know.

7:30 PM - Finn has to go potty one last time. Jack is already snoring in bed. I pour myself a much deserved glass of wine. Catch up on Facebook and Instagram. Graze around on Pinterest.

8:45 PM - Tom and I watch the last episode of season 2 Breaking Bad. We are obsessed.

10:00 PM - I head up to bed. Do my netti pot because my nose is stuffed. It's stuffed so bad the water wouldn't even drain. I thought it was going to explode in my brain. Not kidding. Make bottles for the night, hoping we won't need both. And check in on Leo.

haha. Do you think he misses the swaddle?

10:15 PM - GOODNIGHT!

For the record, our night was HORRENDOUS. Like one of the worst nights in a long, long time. Finn was up multiple times. Leo was ready to rock n roll at about 3 AM. Hello 4 month restless period. I can't stand you. Today is a new day, but it's again proving to be difficult. BLAH.

Leo's 4 Month and Halloween 2012

Can you believe that Leo is already four months old? Time flies when you are getting zero sleep. And the lack of sleep has NOTHING to do with Leo, believe it or not! Let's start with the stats, shall we? He's gained a little over 3 pounds, grown 3 inches taller and his head has gotten bigger, but gone down in the percentile.

FOUR MONTHS

Height: 26 inches - 75-85%

Weight: 17 lbs - 75-90%

Head - 42 cm - 50-75%

TWO MONTHS

Height: 23 3/4 inches - 75-85%

Weight - 13 lbs 11.6 ounces - 75-90%

Head - 41 cm - 95%

I started giving Leo some rice cereal about a week ago. He wasn't gulping down his bottles, but he wasn't seeming super satisfied after them either. After noticing him smacking his lips while we were eating dinner one night, I decided to give it a whirl. The kid ate the entire bowl the first time! One night I made two bowls because he just inhaled it. The doctor gave me the go ahead to feed him twice a day, but to hold off on any actual baby food until he is closer to five months. He LOVES to eat. And now with these solids introduced he seems to go longer in-between bottles too. And today all three kids were sleeping at the same time for an hour and a half!!!! 

He is wearing size 3 diapers and his 6 month clothes are getting snug. I had him in a 9 month shirt today and it fit just fine. 

He's taking about 3-4 naps a day. The morning time is so hard because we are constantly on the go, so depending on the day it is either one long nap or a few broken up ones. Then usually a pretty solid one in the afternoon and a quick cat nap either before or after dinner. His last bottle usually stars around 6:15 or so and he is sleeping by 6:45 or 7 pm. For a week he had been getting up to eat around 3 or so, I'm hoping that was just a growth spurt and that we go back to sleeping through the night again. I remember the "4 month restless period" and am hoping the worst is over, but only time will tell. 

Leo continues to be the happiest baby on the block. He's ALWAYS smiling and laughing. I'm obsessed with him. He's such a chunk. I remember before he was born I would say prayers for a healthy baby boy. And then I'd always throw into my conversations with The Big Man about how I'd love to have a chunky fat blonde baby. Isn't that funny! Leo has been the greatest addition to this family. I didn't necessarily feel like this right away, but I see now how he truly completes our family. I've become such a boy mom, and I love it. I can one hundred percent truly say I wouldn't change anything for the world. As badly as I wanted Finn to be a girl, I am obsessed with the fact that I get to raise three strong MEN. Let's be honest, the world could use a few more. Am I right?

Here are some of our Halloween pictures from this year. We had so much this year. I love that Jack isn't afraid of anything. The kid went through a haunted yard this year with people in creepy masks coming up to him and everything. Who is this kid?

Leo's First Halloween, he's pretty happy about it

Mom, I HATE tummy time

Finn's pumped about Halloween

Ari the ballerina and the babes

The group

My boys

Our neighbors won this cat! ha

Buzz Lightyear

To Infinity...

And BEYOND!

Seriously, could there be a better Pooh? I think not.

My baby

He loves being outside

Leo and Jameson (7 months)

I need to charge my camera battery now so I can take some better pictures of Leo. He's getting the shaft for sure! Here's to hoping the kids aren't up at 5 AM again tomorrow morning. Damn you Daylight Savings! I'm SOOOOO pumped to vote tomorrow!! 

Meal Planning and Potty Training

I made this new dry erase menu board courtesy of Pinterest and it has been a game changer in this household. What we've been doing is on Sunday after church we go through the ads and plan out what we will have for dinner every week. Then one of us will make the grocery trip Sunday (sometimes I will make it with Finn and Leo Monday morning, like I did today). It is SOOOO nice not having to worry about what to make for dinner every day. Now I just look at the menu and take the meat out of the freezer before I go to bed. On tonight's menu, chicken enchilada soup - thank you Pinterest, again. One of my favorite things about being a stay at home mom is being able to have dinner on the table when Tom gets home. We eat as a family 95% of the week and I think this is SO important. Sometimes every once in a while on the weekend we will make a slacker dinner for the boys and order take out from a restaurant after the boys are sleeping. I never used to consider myself a cook, but over the past 5 years it's become something I've really taken to. I'm by no means great at all, but I know my family appreciates it. (Finn doesn't because he doesn't eat dinner 90% of the time)

As most of you know (because the blog is only read by about 6 people I've given access to) through Facebook over a week ago I decided to start potty training Finn. I'm an all or nothing kind of gal. I won't even begin potty training until I think my kid is somewhat ready, or at least nearing the age of 3. Finn was actually not showing me any signs of being interested in using the toilet, but I was ready and he is almost 3 so we started. I think pull ups are a waste and only confuse kids (except at naps and bedtime, which you might as well just use diapers because they are cheaper) so we were undies all the way. I started on a Thursday and by Friday night we were good to go. I knew Finn was going to be different than Jack because Finn HATED when he got his underwear wet. Whereas Jack would pee his pants and continue playing and didn't even care!! I knew this sensitivity would be good for the long haul, annoying for the beginning stages. I tried so many tactics with him to just go pee and nothing was working. He'd go a tiny bit here and there, but nothing consistent and he'd keep getting his undies wet and freak out. Finally when Tom came home Friday, I went to the club with Jack and Tom gave Finn his iPad and Finn sat on the potty for forever and went to the bathroom a million times. The rest of the weekend we let him have the iPad every time he went and come Sunday night he wasn't asking for it anymore. He was telling us and going all the time! He doesn't even get his diapers wet at naps and bedtime! Jack is STILL getting his pull up wet at night. It's amazing how different each kid is. I have to put Finn in the car twice within 3 hours for preschool drop off and pick up, and I was NOT going to put a diaper on him. I put a towel in his carseat and away we went. No accidents. A halloween party two days after we started potty training? No accidents. Church on Sundays? No accidents. Popping in the toilet? Done deal. If you remember, Jack was not poop trained until at least 3 1/2. The best part of this equation is that this means comes January, I can send Finn to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursday!!!! As long as he can go by himself by this time, which hopefully he will be able to. I can't believe it! We are having a little issue with runny poop (TMI?) today and that has been crazy annoying. Like bagging groceries at cub and Finn freaking out because he has to poop. There is nothing like leaving a cart full of groceries and a baby outside of the women's restroom at Cub Foods. These are the moments people don't warn you about when it comes to parenthood. Seriously.

I've got a 4 month post about Leo but I need to take more pictures of the cutie patootie.

My house has turned into a nuthouse in the past 15 minutes, I gotta fly.