Cutest Kids Ever

Last night our company left - we were lucky enough to have Jeff's mom & his sister Noelle and her sweet baby Sabrina come visit for a couple of days - and we were a little bit sad. So we did what any good parents would do and set up the tent for an indoor campout! That got the kids' minds off of our lonely house and onto something fun & exciting. We got them all snuggled up with their sleeping bags inside the tent and we left to start getting ready for bed. Funny thing happened though; when I checked on them later, Madlyn was nice & cozy...in her bed. Cade was curled up tight...in his bed. Cole was the only one left in the tent and he slept there all night. I guess Mads & Cade aren't too big on camping:) They were so cute about it though and I just had to take some pictures!

Don't you just love the kids' jammie shirts? Mesa Bank was good for something, right?! j/k

I just thought this was a cute picture of Cade - he is pretty funny. Oh, I took him for his 3-yr. checkup on Friday and he weighed 31 pounds. I got to thinking about it and realized that he has only gained about 12 pounds since he was 4 months old. So either he is just small or else he was really huge when he was 4 months. I'm guessing it was the latter!

This boy just makes me smile! He has the funniest facial expressions and vocals! He just loves being a part of the action and thinks he is just as old as the rest of us! Tonight he came up to me and was telling me something and pointing. So I followed him to our front entryway to a closet. He had pulled the vacuum out and started jabbering...I guessed that he wanted me to vacuum. Well, it needed done so I plugged it in and started vacuuming. He lit up and did what he always does - he ran to the vacuum, stood right in front of it and laughed. He's been watching the boys who like me to chase them with the vacuum and I guess this is his little variation on that same concept:)

Seriously, don't you want to just eat him up?

OK so the tent thing was really not a good idea. We left it up today and let them try sleeping there again. Jeff & I have been in our room for over an hour and I just went to check on them because they started being noisy. The light was on and they had a whole party goin' on in there. Toys, cookies from FHE, all kinds of fun stuff! And Cade is seriously so funny. Whenever you ask him to get in bed, he will stand there (or walk super slowly) and say, "I'm gooooo-ing. I'm goooooo-ing." It is so funny. As I type, he is trying to sneak into our room like a puma:) He thinks that if he is on his hands & knees, I won't see him. Speaking of pumas, the other day Cade was looking at a BYU Cougars hat that we have. He observed, "Look Mom! It's a white puma!" "Cade, do you know what a white puma is called? (really it was tan but he doesn't know the difference) It is called a cougar." "No, Mom. Santa is a cougar. The puma is not a cougar." It took me a minute to figure out what in the world he was talking about but then I remembered one of his favorite Christmas movies is "Mr. Krueger's Christmas". Santa Claus, cougars, pumas....they're all connected!

Well that's it for now! I guess it's time for me to work on some other things - I've been procrastinating long enough!

"Since it's My Birthday"

Yesterday we celebrated my sweet Cadeson Glen's 3rd birthday. Wow! It feels like yesterday I was walking around my neighborhood trying to go into labor with him. And jumping on the Slaters' trampoline, and bouncing on my exercise ball, and all the other things I did to try to induce labor, hehe.

Yesterday morning when Cade woke up (as usual, he was the first one), we presented him with his first present: a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch:) He was pretty excited and proceeded to eat several bowls for his breakfast. I had to teach Cole's preschool from 9-12 so poor Cade didn't get much birthday attention for those hours. He did join in the preschool fun a little...and distracted us all a lot. At a couple of points, he tackled Cole and they wrestled on the floor for a bit. I think he just wanted Mom to remember whose birthday it was:) He liked the soft pretzels we made into the letter "x" for snacktime and then when preschool was over we had Ramen noodles for lunch.

After lunch, I pulled out some cakes I had made & frozen last week and proceeded to make a very amateur-looking race track cake. The perfectionist in me lasted about a second, especially when I was halfway through frosting and decided my frosting was too thick (too late now) and when I couldn't find the tip I wanted to use for piping the stripes and when I chose not to use the blender for the Oreo race track (never wake a sleeping child) and couldn't figure out another good way to crush them. Oh well. Cade was very excited for his cake and that is definitely all that matters to me.

When Jeff got home, we ate homemade mac & cheese and edamame for dinner (this kid is pretty easy to please) and talked about the reasons why we all love Cade. Maddie said that she loves him because he is a good brother and because he makes her laugh. Cole said that he is a good brother and he plays with him...sometimes. Lane plead the fifth. I said that Cade is a good basketball player, is smart, and gives the best hugs around. Jeff said "That's what I was going to say." He said other things too but I can't remember what they were - sorry honey. We also talked about the day Cade was born - how we had to drive to Grandma's house kind of early in the morning and how Mom was "squealing" in the front seat (quote from Maddie - I promise you, I did not squeal. I barely made a sound. Even when we made it to the hospital & it was discovered that I was VERY far progressed, nobody could have guessed it). How Maddie came up with the name Cade (in her mind, yes...in reality, no:) ) and how we didn't know he was a boy or a girl until he was born, and how he was a big baby, 9 lbs. 4 oz. How much we loved him and were so excited to have him in our family, and how good of a baby he was.

Cade then opened his presents and when he got a plastic bowling set, his eyes got wide and he exclaimed in his cute high-pitched voice, "Oh! I love this!" He said the same thing when he saw the picture my mom had drawn of him playing basketball. "Oh! I love it!" It was the darlingest thing. I know that's not a word but I'm a mom here, not the grammar police.

Cade spent some of the evening watching part of the movie "Cars". "Mom, I told you that we had it!" - again in his cute high-pitched voice. (Ours got lost and we just recorded it on TV the other night and surprised him with getting to watch it for his birthday).

Cade's 3rd birthday ended with him watching country music videos on the computer with his daddy (one of which I heard him singing this morning - "blow, blow, Seminole wind") and then lying down next to him and getting tickles to lull him into dreamland. What a lucky boy. And what a special dad.

I love my Cade boy. He is so smart, funny, sweet, creative, cuddly, athletic, and good-hearted. With just a dash of mischievous and feisty thrown in for good measure. I'm so happy he decided to join our family 3 years ago; he was definitely worth the wait*.



*For those who don't know, my labor with Cade is the only one for me that was not induced...but it was 9 days past his due date. Those were some of the most agonizing & excruciating days of my life. But I think his labor story is my favorite because it was so super exciting to finally be experiencing labor on my own. And the sweet baby I got at the end of it all was the icing on the cake.

Once there was a Snowman...Texas Style

Thursday night, Jeff's sister Lyssa & her children stopped at our house on their way home from San Antonio for a little sleepover. It was such a fun way to break up our week just a little bit and relax from daily pressures. While they were here, they found out that their school was cancelled for Friday because of all the snow the Dallas area was getting; that meant they didn't have to rush home early the next morning to make it back for school - yay! We were all a little bummed though because the snowfall hadn't been too impressive here in Hewitt so we knew school would be in session for Mads.

Jeff went out to start his car Friday morning before work and came back in & said that it was being announced on the radio that some schools were being delayed 2 hours and that we better check on ours. So we checked the website and sure enough - 2 hour delay!! I thought, "Wow. We must have gotten a lot of snow last night to warrant a snow delay." I looked out the window and the ground was basically sprinkled with snow - I laughed because "There isn't even any snow out there!" But I didn't complain because it meant that we got to take our time eating yummy french toast, playing with our best TX cousins, and making a snowman. OK, it was really just Maddie & Jake who made the snowman, which stood about a foot & a half tall - hehe. Everyone else wimped out and didn't last very long outside. I don't blame them though because we desert Arizonans are not prepared for snow and the kids were using socks to protect their hands from the cold. Maddie said "It was sooooo cold. Me & Jake had to share socks:)" Cute kids.

I love the Dallas Cowboys hat the snowman is sporting - that doesn't mean we're fans or anything (it's Jake's hat) - but I thought it very fitting for our "Texas snowman". (Not that I have anything against the Cowboys either...I'm just an AZ girl:) )

Oh, and when I went to get the newspaper out in the front yard, the headline read, "A SNOWY MESS". Haha. Tell that to all the folks in northern AZ and Washington, D.C. and all the other places where they've been getting snowed in all winter:)

It was such a fun morning - thanks McAleavys for coming to play with us!

Update

I just can't seem to get myself updating regularly these days. There are so many things I want to talk about and so few pictures that I have taken. I am sooo bad at taking pictures - I guess I am just having too much fun doing the activities & projects that I don't want to take the time to snap a pic! And while I don't mind posting without pictures (I am a writer, ya know)...I'm pretty sure I know a few people who get bugged by it:) so that's why I haven't posted in a while. But tonight I don't care - so here's your update...without any pictures.

Mads lost her first top front tooth (I know - I really should have a picture of this one). She came home from school one day with her tooth super duper loose. So she wiggled and wriggled and jiggled it until it was barely hanging on. Jeff tied some dental floss around it and attached it to one of our GeoTrax trains. He put Mads in charge of the remote and so she started it and sent it wildly careening down a steep slope...er, she sent it haltingly down the slight incline. It didn't work. She tried one more time...no luck. She decided she'd had enough of the train idea and so we cut the floss off (some was still wrapped around her tooth) and she hung out like that for a while. Finally...after lots of drama & complaining & threatening by Mom to just pull it out, Dad helped her hold her mouth in warm water to soften the gums and she pulled it out, all by herself. Of course, the tooth fairy didn't show up the first night, or the second night. I'm pretty sure it will not be long before the jig is up with Maddie. Not because she's not innocent and trusting and believing but because seriously, how long can you really believe that the tooth fairy is that forgetful?

Cade is stinkin' funny. The other day we were looking at a shape book together and he asked me what a star says. "Stars don't say anything," said I. "Yes they do, Ma. They say...Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are...." Cade is definitely a challenge for me as a mother (not because he isn't smart, funny, or cute but because...well, you know). But I feel like we are making progress in our communications together and he seems to be more happy & well-adjusted these days. It is wonderful!

Cole is also hilarious. I work really hard to give him choices & options because he does NOT like to be told what to do. The boy cannot be rushed either. I can often be heard saying some of the following,

"Cole, if you don't do your chore then Mommy will do it because I need a clean house. But if Mommy does your chore then you will have to do one of mine in exchange."

"Cole, it is your responsibility to take care of this because it is yours and you got it out. If you don't take care of it, then it might get lost or taken away."

So in theory, this works. And it actually does much of the time. But lately, this is what I've been hearing from Cole.

"Mom. You need to do this job because you have to do jobs for me."

"Who got my pajamas out for me? You. So that means you are responsible for putting them away."

Do you see how things have gotten a little distorted? I haven't quite figured out the best way to handle this one:)

Lane is a little blabbermouth. He talks a lot and it is really cute. The only problem being that you can't understand anything he says. He still hasn't said Mom or Dad where I know that's actually who he is referring to. The other night I was making pizza and he was "helping" me and I asked him to say 'pizza'. He did. It was soooo cute! So I kept making him say it over and over again so Jeff & the other kids could hear it. I think now he knows that he's performing and every once in a while, he'll say pizza just to see our reaction! Since then, he has imitated a couple of other words but I can say without a doubt that pizza was his very first word! Oh, Lane had a well check-up last week and he is in the 35th percentile for his height & weight. Can you believe that my 10 lb. 4 oz. baby is only in the 35th percentile? Crazy...

In other news, Maddie tried to watch TV this morning before church (we have 9am meetings). I had to ask her several times to turn it off. So...I decided that we need to take a little hiatus from the television and told them that we would not be watching at all this week (even Mom). They played so well all afternoon and didn't even ask to watch but this evening, Mads kept saying, "Mom...I really NEED TV." Um, do you think maybe she watches too much? I usually keep their TV time pretty regulated but the past couple of weeks I've been pretty lenient and obviously it is no good. Haha. Although, I probably should have thought before I gave my verdict because Jeff's out of town all week and I have a hard time going to sleep with him gone and I usually watch television until I can't stay awake any longer. Oh well, I'm sure this purging will be good for me too - it's not like I don't have plenty of other things to keep me busy. Like homework, right Mom??

Well...that's it for now. Maybe I'll update a little sooner this time...and with pictures!

Round 10

We're sick at our house...AGAIN. I swear, I think someone in the family has been sick every day since before Thanksgiving. Of course, we've had short breaks where's everyone has felt good but even then, Lane's had a constant runny nose. Which doesn't help his ears one bit. Ugh!

Cole has been throwing up tonight. When stomach stuff comes around, I just dread Cole getting it because it always seems to hit him the hardest. Or maybe it just manifests itself in different ways with him. With the little guys, I get to change a few extra fun diapers. With Cole, he pukes. A lot. When he was about 15 months, he got the stomach flu and threw up for 11 days. It was terrible. We had just moved into our house and I remember sacrificing myself many times just so he wouldn't get it on the carpet. Those were days of many showers and many many loads of laundry.

So tonight Cole gets to sleep with us (trust me, it's a rare treat) so he doesn't have to climb all the way down from his bunk bed to make it to the bathroom. When I gave him the news, he smiled his sweet smile and said "Thanks Mom." I told him he just couldn't throw up on me:) He agreed.

Here's hoping that the rest of us stay healthy this weekend!

Two Funny Stories For Today

We were out until bedtime last night so I had Maddie wake up early to take her shower this morning. She came out of the bathroom protesting, saying that "someone else is in the other shower and I don't want the water to be cold". I assured her that Dad would only be a few minutes and that the water wouldn't be cold. We checked it just to make sure and so she climbed in. As she was finishing, I went to check on her and she was not happy with me. Apparently, I was wrong and her water was COLD. She wrapped up in her towel and refused to get dressed because she was too cold:) Anyways, just a little bit later, Jeff came out and asked Mads how her shower was, if it was cold or warm. She gave him that look you saw in the picture (yes, she's good at it) to let him know that she was not happy to report that it was cold. I sheepishly asked Jeff how his shower was and he informed me that it was FREEZING and that hot water can't be used in two different places at the same time or it will just be cold for both. Sorry guys:)

This afternoon I opened the garage to go get Maddie from school and two dogs that were just roaming around the neighborhood decided to grace us with their presence. They ran into the garage, jumped up on me, and then proceeded to climb in my van! So if you know me at all, you know that I am not a dog person...AT ALL. I was totally chicken! I started yelling at them to get out and was so afraid to touch them lest they turn on me or one of the boys. They made themselves at home, one climbed up in an empty carseat and another walked all the way to the back seat (and they were not small dogs). I could NOT get them out. I was desperate. We were trying for several minutes and I was late to get Maddie and I didn't want her to be standing outside in the cold for too long...I wasn't sure what to do. But then I remembered the leftover ham I had in the fridge - I was saved! I ran inside, grabbed the meat, tempted the doggies with a couple of pieces and then threw it away from the driveway. They ran out and got their meat, we closed the doors as fast as we could, and we high-tailed it out of there. Of course this would happen to me.

Anyways, hope we gave you a little chuckle!

Christmas 2009

We had such a lovely, relaxed Christmas. Jeff had to work on Christmas Eve so that kind of stunk but it gave the kids & I the chance to do some cooking & sewing together. I had decided to make stockings for the kids this year but procrastinated and ended up starting & finishing all 4 of them on Christmas Eve. They liked helping me, especially Maddie. We also made a chocolate cheesecake, cheesy potato casserole, and bundt rolls together. Mads & Cole kept saying, "This is the best Christmas Eve ever." It was so perfect. We were all working together and enjoying each other's company and I was keeping my patience and everything:) Cade came walking into the kitchen, "Mom...it's snowing!" So we looked out the window and sure enough, there it was! It didn't snow for too long and it didn't really stick but it was so magical. We haven't really had snow on Christmas so it was exciting for the little ones. Later in the evening, we had dinner with our friends, the Stirlands. It was freezing cold outside with the wind howling and I just kept thinking how peaceful & calm it felt in their home that evening. While we were there, we looked out the window and saw that the lawn was covered with white. Again, magical!

Before we went to bed, we gave the kids one present to open and they were surprised to find....a pair of new jammies! I know, we're so original. But they were excited and they all put them on and posed for some pictures...except Cade. He had even picked out his new Lightning McQueen jammies by himself and he absolutely refused to put them on. Funny kid.

Christmas morning dawned (way too early since I had stayed up until 3:00 am finishing the stockings, cleaning the house, & playing Santa), and Cade was the first one up! So we chilled for a little while, Jeff built a fire (the coolest thing to have a fireplace), and then we woke Mads & Cole up. We let Lane sleep for the main event and then he had his own private gift-opening party. Santa brought Razor scooters for the oldest 3 and they were pretty happy about that. We were all pretty spoiled and spent a fun day playing with our new toys.

In the afternoon, our friend Erin & her son Dillan came over to hang out & eat some Mexican haystacks. The kids had fun playing with Dillan and I loved chatting with Erin. I think Jeff enjoyed just relaxing and letting someone else listen to my chatter:) We finished up the evening by watching the last half of Home Alone...classic.

It was such a wonderful holiday. I absolutely loved just being with my family and enjoying the spirit of Christmas. We've also had such a fantastic Christmas break and I am super sad to see it come to an end.

Here are a few pictures to document our day:

I'm not sure what Mads is doing here but I just thought it was a funny shot of her...and so typical. I think she might have been trying to convince me that it was time to eat a snack:)

Here is a close-up of Cole & Maddie's stocking...Mads' is the one on the left. I made all of the boys' ruffles out of the same fabric and then Maddie's stocking was made with that fabric.

Here are all of them in order of age, with Mads' being on the left. I know, I'm a terrible picture-taker.

Here's Cole enjoying his new ride.

Cade playing with the GeoTrax they got...and he's pajama-less. That's right, he didn't wear any jammies that night. He definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer, that's for sure.

My sweet Lane baby smiling for the camera. He loved everything about Christmas!

Mads & Cole eating their breakfast Santa left them in their stockings. Surprisingly, they weren't very impatient to open presents...they were just content to enjoy their stockings. I loved it!

Cade checking out the stockings before anyone else was up. Funny thing about his new jammies...every night since Christmas, I have given him the option of wearing his new ones and he has refused to. Last night, he reluctantly decided to wear them but took them off several times before finally getting into bed (they're the cozy feet kind and he can unzip them). And he ended up taking them off sometime in the night (the boy gets hot). But then tonight he asked to wear them again...so maybe we have a new favorite!

One quick story about Cole: for a few weeks now, he has been begging me for exercise pants. Cade & Lane both have some and for some reason, he decided that he needed some. So like everyday he would ask me if I had found any yet...so funny. Well, I bought him some for Christmas and it was the present he opened last. He just looked at them for a few seconds without saying a word, and then he quickly came over to me and gave me the biggest hug ever. "Mom, I love you." It was really so sweet. I loved how out of everything that he got, that small gift of the exercise pants seemed to touch him the most. Cute kid.

Well, that's about it. We hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did!