The Big Day

Today was the big day.  I sent my baby to kindergarten.  It was a very emotional experience for me.  He, on the other hand, did fine.  As much as I was dreading it, I really talked it up, making it sound like I was really excited, and I think it worked, as far as getting him excited and less nervous.  

We got to school and there were lots of kids waiting in the lobby area.  Once the clock hit 8:05, they kids were supposed to put their backpacks by their lockers and head out to the playground.  Sounds like fun, right?  Well....not so much when you are a kindergartener and it's your very first day of school and you are on a playground you've never seen before and there are about 100 kids running around, many of them three times your size.  He kinda freaked.  Honestly, I did too.  He held on tight to my hand, and I held on tight to my tears.  We walked around for a little bit.  I waited for one of the adult supervisors on the playground to come and take him off my hands, but that didn't happen.  So,  we wandered a little longer.  Finally, a fellow kindergarten friend from Kaydens daycare walked out the door with her big brother.  Alleluia!  They were excited to see each other and big brother offered to show Kayden where to go and what to do.  Thank God!  I didn't know how I was ever going to get out of there before my tears started rolling!  So, off they went, and around the corner to my car I went.  I worried a little bit, but luckily, his teacher happens to be a friend of mine, so, against everything I said I wouldn't do, I texted her just to see how he was doing.  She responded with a very encouraging "Great!'.  

By the time I picked him up from daycare he had lots to tell me about his day, and seems very excited to go back tomorrow! 

A two, A three and A five

Well, my number two turned three this week.  Tyler's birthday was Monday.  We celebrated with a combo Tyler-Tyson birthday party on Sunday.  We did a camping theme and everything went really well.  The weather forecast was pretty grim, but by the time the party really got underway, it turned out to be pretty nice.  We were able to do our pinata outside, the kids ran around, the guys fried a turkey and there was lots of eating and relaxing going on.  

The only part of the day that to be a little bit much for me was when we got to the gift opening.  I wasn't sure what the best way to do things was.  Tyler open one, then Tyson open one.  Tyler do all of his, then Tyson do all of his....there were options.  I decided to go with every other one.  Then, things just got crazy.  There was paper flying everywhere.  I feel like I didn't get to see half of the gifts they got and I'm not even sure whos are whos when it comes to some of them.  But they were happy and that's really all that matters.  

*Tyson got a baby and a stroller from Pat and Leah.  He was beyond excited!  As soon as he saw what it was, he was yelling and clapping and smiling from ear to ear!  Once it was open and the baby was strapped in, he headed out the garage door and could have cared less about any of the rest of his presents.  He even insisted on sleeping with the baby AND the stroller!  

Monday was Tyler's actual birthday.  He had his 3 year check up in the morning and he did AWESOME! He was so cooperative I couldn't believe it!  I did ask the doctor about two of the fingers on his left hand that are swollen and have been for a few months.  She seemed pretty perplexed by it and decided to do an x-ray to be safe.  She didn't really find much other than the tissue around the bones is kind of swollen.  She decided we would just keep an eye on it for now.  

After his appointment--because I have an unbelievably flexible job--we were able to stop at Toys R Us for a game and a case for the Leapster he got from Rhonda and Troy, then a quick lunch at McDonald's before heading back to daycare where he celebrated some more!

Tryin' out my skillz

Last fall I talked Mike into letting me buy a fairly expensive new camera.  One of the things I used to convince him it was a good idea was that I would be able to do the kids pictures myself.  So, I decided I better at least give it a try.  

A couple weekends ago we had some BEAUTIFUL spring Minnesota weather.  So, during naptime I took Kayden outside and snapped a few photos of him, and actually, they didn't turn out too shabby!

Two Two Year Olds

Today starts my month of having two two year olds.  You know, the one month out of the year where Tyler and Tyson are the same age?  Yes, they are just eleven months apart.  It always makes me feel good to hear of other families with children REALLY close in age.  A couple weeks ago, I met a mom at Tyler's ECFE class who has children who are just nine and a half months apart.  Craziness, right?  Oh, how those stories make me feel better ;)

So, today is Tyson's second birthday.  We started the day with his doctor's appointment.  After being given a clean bill of health, I took him to daycare and headed to work.  Tonight we had Grammy over for grilled hotdogs and brats and birthday cake and ice cream.  

It's interesting how, with my current job, where I spend all day, every day with two year olds, I find myself comparing my own children to the children I work with every day.  When I compare Tyson to other kids his age (the ones I know anyway), I'm realizing that he talks more than most of them.  He talks a lot.  I am able to understand most of what he says.  Mike on the other hand, sometimes needs some translation from myself or Kayden to help him figure out what Tyson needs.  

He really is nowhere near ready to start potty training.  We are obviously in no rush, seeing as how Tyler is still wearing diapers.  We WILL get going on that potty-business.  I just often feel like I am wasting my time and energy trying to force Tyler if he just isn't ready.  Ugh, that's a whole other post.  

Tyson's interests right now include baseball, four-wheeling, going outside, swinging, eating, drinking "duce and wata", wrestling with his brothers and chewing on his blanket.  Grandma Doris has already had to sew all of the seams on the corners of his blanket because he chewed them apart.  

He is just a very goofy, happy little guy.  He is a great mix of Kayden and Tyler's personalities.  He has Kayden's calm, laid back-ness, and Tyler's energy at the same time.  We love the little guy :)

My not-so-little-anymore boys

Tyler has officially started his first ECFE class and is loving it!  He spends all of his time playing with the exact same toys that Kayden played with when he attended 2's ECFE---the animals!  I have to pry him away from them to get him to try other activities like painting(he has yet to try this), play-doh(nope, not this yet either), the sensory table, etc.  Hopefully in the coming weeks, he will venture out and try some of the other activities in the room.  He also does fine with the separation when I leave the room to have the "parent talk time".  He is getting to be such a big boy!

Another big step in the education department in our house is Kayden getting ready for *tear* kindergarten.  We attended Kindergarten Round Up last night and got lots of information about who the teachers are, and how things in kindergarten will work.  It is absolutely crazy to me, to even think that he is going to be in kindergarten already.  I wish I could just keep him little forever!

Big Boy Beds

For a long time I was totally against ever moving any of my children to the basement.  My thoughts were that it's just too far away from me, and if there were ever an emergency and I couldn't get to them I would never forgive myself. 
Then.....
Last week, I somehow talked myself into it being ok.  I decided that I could no longer handle having all three boys' stuff crammed into one little bedroom when we have a fairly large, four bedroom home.  We actually have two bedrooms in our basement.  So, I decided that the eventual goal would be to decorate one room and make it Kayden's, and then do the other as Tyler's room, but still have them both sleep in Kayden's room on the bunk beds.  I think it's gonna work.  Last night we worked on cleaning out the first bedroom (Kayden's), and putting the bunk beds together.  We got an extra dresser from my parents, and things are starting to come together.  It will  be kind of a long process.  We are going to need to get a few things, and do some de-cluttering and re-decorating, but I think it will work.  Hopefully having the boys' bedrooms downstairs will make it easier for me to move most of their toys and other stuff down there so that the upstairs can stay a little more under control. 
So.....
Last night was their first night sleeping downstairs and they did awesome!  I put a little lamp kind of thing in their bedroom, and left the stairway light on, and put our old baby monitor in the bedroom.  They both stayed down there all night.  They came up this morning for breakfast, then went right back down to build a fort in their new room!  I really am excited about this big step.  I think it will help keep things more organized and under control.  Mike on the other hand, is struggling with the fact that he is running out of places to store all of his "stuff" since the kids have now taken over most of the house.  Sacrifices I guess =)

Rite of Passage

If a trip to the ER is a rite of passage for all little boys, then Tyson can check that off his list.  

We came home from a weekend at "The Pink House", and were relaxing in the living room. I was googling, "Why are my baby's fingers peeling?" when I heard the modem for my computer come crashing down off the top shelf.  Tyson had pulled on the cord, and it landed right on his head.  Immediately, his forehead started bleeding with a pretty large cut in it.  We used a rag to get the bleeding to stop.  When we could finally get a good look at it, we couldn't decide if it was a cut, or if it was more of a gouge.  I called Mike's sister Rhonda to ask her for a little advice.  She agreed with Mike saying that if it was a gouge, they wouldn't be able to do anything for it. So, we stuck a Buzz Lightyear bandaid on it, and ate supper.  After supper, I took another look at it, and decided it looked like it was split open or cut.  So, we decided that I'd give him a quick bath and then Tyson and I would head to the ER to have it checked out.  

The wait at the hospital wasn't long, we were checked in, and headed to an exam room.  We waited, saw a nurse or two, entertained the other patients in the neighboring rooms, ate some raisins, read some books, and eventually saw a Physician's Assistant.  They numbed the area, and the PA decided he would be able to glue the cut rather than stitch it.  So, while the nurse and I held him down, the doc did his thing, and we were on our way. 

Tyson was in good spirits the entire time.  He fell asleep on the way home, and slept like a baby ;)

Cruisin'

Well, my baby finally figured out this walking stuff.  I was starting to worry a little.  He has been walking along furniture and climbing EVERYTHING for a while now, but finally, over the weekend, he just took off.  He's walking all over the place.  I love to watch him wobble around, arms in the air, walking with "high knees", it's all so stinkin cute!  I wish these precious stages would last longer. 

I had him at the clinic last Friday for his 15 month check up.  All was well and it was one of the fastest well-child checks I've ever been to(I guess things in the clinic move more smoothly in the morning than at 4:30, which is the time I usually took the boys in during the school year). I don't remember his exact stats, but I do know that he was in the 90th percentile for weight, 80 something for his head circumference, and his height, well, he is in the 17th percentile.  Every time I think about this, it makes me giggle a little.  Just short and chubby---I love it!
Oh yes, he has also been adding LOTS of words to his vocabulary!  Lately I've heard him say, puppy, mommy, ball, stuck, up, NO, out, go, Maya, down, nigh-night, bye bye, hi.....the list goes on, and new words are added daily.  It's amazing!

Our little "big" boy!

Our "baby" is changing so much every day!  He is saying lots of words, and picking up new ones daily.  He says things like, "mama", "bye bye"(including a little backward wave), "Maya", "Uh oh!", and I know there are lots more, but it's almost 10:00 p.m. and I don't think straight after 9:00.  Sorry.  

He is not walking yet, and has really had little interest in doing so either.  BUT, man, can he climb!  I must have pulled him off the top of the picnic table at least 100 times this weekend!

Just tonight, he found it hilarious to stand next to our end table, and then let go, and giggle at himself standing alone until he fell on his butt.  Then, he'd get up and do it again.  So, maybe walking isn't too far away. I was kind of starting to wonder if I should be concerned about his ears.  Kayden didn't walk until he was 15 months old, but he walked the day after he had tubes put in.  His balance was all messed up because of his ears. Tyson already has tubes, but they haven't been functioning as well as they should, so who knows. 

This new skill reminds me that I need to make sure I get my video camera out soon and get some footage of him scooting on his butt (his preferred method of travel) before he doesn't do it anymore!

Little Fishy

Kayden had his first night of swimming lessons tonight.  It's just a half hour session for four nights.  At first, I thought a half hour wasn't very long, but it was actually perfect.  For me anyway.  Kayden, on the other hand, would have stayed in the water a lot longer.  

He did really well. He knew one of the girls in his class from his ECFE class, so there was some familiarity which is what Kayden usually needs.  He was pretty timid at first, but eventually put his head under the water, and even jumped in.  

We're looking forward to night number two tomorrow!

*Kayden also got his very first sunburn today.  It was about 95 degrees here today, and they spent lots of time outside and in the water at daycare.  Our daycare provider ALWAYS puts sunscreen on the kids (I know this because he has NEVER had sunburn before).  He said she did put it on him, but somehow he ended up with some pretty red shoulders and a red chest.  He hasn't complained about it at all, so hopefully it isn't painful.  I think that if I wouldn't have told him about it, he would have never even known it was there. 

Oh, the things they say!

I wanted to take a little time to focus on the things my boys are saying lately.  Tyson is just starting to say words, and he seems to be adding to his vocabulary daily.  Tyler is talking non-stop, and if I can't understand him, I just ask Kayden what he's saying, and he ALWAYS knows.  It's absolutely crazy.  Kayden is into stating facts.  Mostly things about animals.  He's a smarty pants.  

So, here are a few things I've heard from each of the boys in the past week or so....

Kayden:

K:"Daddy, did you know that spiders have more than two eyes?"

D: "They do?  How many do they have?"

K: "64!"

*I proceeded to google this fact to find out if it's true.  It's not.  They usually have seven or eight*

As we left his doctor appointment the other day, a lady pulled out right in front of me, so I honked my horn at her.  Tyler said, clear as day, "What was that noise?" I said, "Mommy beeped the horn." To which he responded, in the most adult voice I've ever heard come out of his mouth, and with a ton of expression and huge eyes, "You did?"

On the way to daycare, the boys always point out all of the animals and things they see.  We see lots of squirrels, turkeys, birdies, and even deer sometimes.  But earlier this week, as we were pointing out the things we saw, Tyler yelled from the back seat, "(insert huge gasp here) a LION!"  Which, of course, brought a huge fight between him and Kayden because Kayden knows that lions only live at the zoo, and in Africa :)

Tyson has been saying words like, 

"Mama"

"Maya" (the dog)

"Bye-Bye"

"Ball" (this was all three of my boys' first word)

"Uh Oh"

Just another trip to the clinic

I'm pretty sure the Target pharmacists and I are officially on a first-name basis.  It seems like I am there at least once a week for prescriptions for someone in my family. 

Yesterday I was at the clinic.  Kayden had his 4-year well-child check, and Tyson was there to have his ears and lungs re-checked.  

Let's start with Tyson. Dr. Peitso listened to his lungs, and decided that we should keep him on his nebulizer "until the lilacs bloom". That's like, May.  Ugh.  

Then, she looked in his ears.  Left ear, perfect.  Wahoo!  Right ear, waxy. She cleaned it out.  Behind all that wax?  Wait for it:::::: ear infection!  WTF???  Seriously!  So, she is treating him with drops and an anti-biotic, and referred us back to his doctor at the ENT.  It's getting a bit ridiculous.  I can't wait to see his doctor at the ENT, and see what he has to say.  

Then, there was Kayden.  When he went in for his 3-year appointment, he didn't cooperate for his hearing or vision check, and didn't even let them weigh him or measure his height. So, I had been preparing him for this appointment for the past week or so.  We talked about the doctor checking how big he is, testing his hearing and vision, and maybe shots. I was pretty sure she had told me last year that he wouldn't need shots at his four year appointment, but I wasn't making any promises because I know how things can change.  

So, first stop was the little room for his hearing and vision check.  He had done both of these at his pre-school screening, and had cooperated, so I was hoping he'd do ok. 

**side note:  at his preschool screening, they had suggested I have his vision re-checked, so I was curious what they were going to come up with at this appointment**

After some brief instruction, he did great on his hearing test.  Then, the woman explained the vision test to him and got him started.  He held the little pirate-patch-looking thing over his left eye, and recognized all of the shapes. Then he moved it to his right eye.  He did fine on the bigger shapes, but once she got a little further into the test, we noticed him peeking out from behind the little eye cover.  The woman reminded him to keep his eye covered, and he said, "But mommy, I can't see if I do that"::Uh oh::

So, we had him cover his eye and do his best.  Once he kept his eye covered, he had trouble recognizing the shapes.  She said she'd let the doctor know, and then we'd decide if he should be seen by an eye doctor. 

Next, we met with his regular doctor.  They had him put on a little hospital gown(way cute, but apparently not very cool, because he immediately wanted his blanket to cover up his exposed legs--whatev).  She checked his ears, eyes, tummy, breathing, etc.  Everything looked fine.  The only "concern" was that based on his weight and height measurements (39 pounds and 39 inches) he is "almost in the zone of overweight".  WTF??????  Are you serious?  So, quick lecture on giving him skim milk and healthy snacks.  I listened, but pretty much let that go in one ear and out the other. He is by no means overweight! I am still in shock over it, but whatev(again). I could go on for days about this, but I'm not going to let it bother me,and I'm just going to forget she ever said it.  

The doctor mentioned that he could get all of his kindergarten shots today.  I think the total would have been like five or six shots.  I told her that I hadn't really prepared him for shots, so I thought doing all of them might be a bit much.  We decided to do two shots and wait until his 5 year appointment for the rest.  So, out goes doctor, in comes 2 nurses for shots. This is where I got a little nervous.  I wasn't real sure how he was going to take this.  But, I laid him up on the exam table, talked to him and held his arms while he got one shot in each thigh, and believe it or not::::NO TEARS!  I couldn't believe it!  He did awesome!  

Once the shots were done, we packed up and headed out the door, since I had to get Tyson home and get Kayden to school.  
So, since we were REALLY short on time I took my apparently overweight kid through the McDonald's drive through, and we were on our way.  What?  I got him apples instead of fries.  Geez. 

4

Kayden turned 4 on yesterday, and I was absolutely dreading it!  I'm not sure why, but the fact that he is going to be four years old really freaks me out.  It seems like three is still little, and four is BIG. 

This means that he'll be in daycare full-time for just one more school year, then he'll go to kindergarten.  This means that I no longer have three boys, three and under.  I now have three boys four and under.

He talks about all these new, big boy things he wants to do.  He wants to go to swimming lessons, he wants to go fishing, he wants to go to school, he wants to ride a big boy bike(which is what we got him for his birthday), not his trike, he wants to help shovel the driveway, he wants to help make supper...

But he still needs his blankey at bedtime, or when he's sad.  He still wants help going potty.  He still wants to rock with his mommy.  He still needs help buckling his seat belt in the car.  He still needs a hug and a kiss every morning when I drop him off at daycare.  He still likes to be carried.  

I know that my kids growing up is inevitable.  It's going to happen.  I just wish it wouldn't happen so stinkin' fast....

Uh oh!

I just wanted to point out (mostly for family journaling purposes) that Tyson now waves bye-bye, throws things on the floor and says, "Uh oh" then laughs like it's the most hilarious thing he's ever seen, and also officially has his two bottom teeth!

Baby turned BIG BOY!

On Wednesday, I took Tyler to get his first haircut.  His hair had gotten ridiculously long, but on a good day, was absolutely adorable. Curly, blonde, whispy, it was baby hair. 

Then there were the not-so-good days.  Days when he took long naps, or when he spent a lot of time with his winter hat on, or days when he smeared his breakfast/lunch/snack/snot in it.  It got bad. 

If it were up to Mike, he would have gotten his hair cut months ago, and we wouldn't have spent $10.00 to cut it, he would have had me cut it at home, like I do his and Kayden's.  So, I made the appointment, and when I got there, I told Christina to just cut it with a scissors, not too short. So, there he sat, on the special little boy seat on the big haircutting chair, with his little green smock with racecars on it.  He sat unbelievably still. She cut away.  With every snip, he looked older and older. By the time she was done, I had another (slightly shorter) Kayden. I swear to you.  They could be twins.  He looks so different, but so handsome.  

He definitely deserved the orange Tootsie-pop he got when he was all done.

*Pee*

We currently have two kids in diapers. Anyone who is a parent these days, knows how expensive diapers are.  Plus, my boys apparently pee A LOT because we aren't able to use those generic brand diapers.  Major leakage.  So, we spend, I would say, at least $60 a month on diapers.  This drives Mike nuts.  He has been randomly putting Tyler on the potty, and yesterday, he finally went.  Maybe I'm weird, but I am not nearly as excited about this as I should be.  I hate potty training.  It's such a process, and a pain.  It's so much easier to just put a diaper on a child, rather than worry about making sure they go potty every 10 minutes, cleaning up the mess when they forget or choose not to use the potty, cleaning up the floor after they use their new-found toy to spray urine all over my bathroom, find a potty in a store within 5 seconds, before we have a mess, driving frantically down the freeway when a little voice from the back yells, "I gotta go potty!!!".  

I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

But, hey, he did it.  

Wahoo.  

I think. 

Tyson::9 months

Tyson had his 9 month appointment on Friday.  His ears were clear of infection, his breathing was back to normal, and he is a healthy 21 pounds!  I don't have all of his stats handy right now, but he was in the 50th-60th percentile in everything.  I was kind of wondering about his weight, because he has really gotten kinda chubby in the past month, but I guess he's normal :)   

He also is pushing his second tooth through, which has made for a couple sleepless nights!

When you're 10 months old...

When you're 10 months old....

*you are working on pushing your first tooth all the way in

*you are crawling around in your own goofy way

*you are FINALLY sleeping through the night (most of the time)

*you can eat two containers of baby food for supper, which leads to...

*you're kinda chubby, but cute chubby

*you could watch your big brothers play for hours

*you never get tired of playing peek-a-boo

*you are a real trooper since you've been struggling with ear infections for months

*you are out-growing your tiny, cute, little size 2 diapers (tear).

*you are ready to move out of your carrier car seat and into a big boy seat (another tear)

When you're 20 months old....

When you're 20 months old...

*you really should have your first haircut, but your curls are so stinkin' cute your mom hasn't taken you in yet

*you are adding LOTS of words to your vocabulary every day!

*you love to tell us when you poop

*you can get in the ball-pit Santa brought, but you can't get out, so you yell and scream until someone comes to help you get out

*you refer to all kinds of fruit as, "nana", which really annoys your big brother who constantly corrects you by telling you the real name of the particular fruit you are referring to as "nana". 

*you are working on getting all four of your 2-year molars at once, so you LOVE to chew on your stinky blankey, or as you refer to it, "mine". 

*you do not like to sit still at basketball games, or anywhere besides in front of a movie for that matter

*you love to annoy/play with your big brother, and you love to talk to your little brother in a squeaky baby voice

*you're a bit of a klutz, and if you almost, but not quite, fall, you always look at us with wide open eyes and say, "whoa!"

*you think that you NEED juice to survive, and milk or water just won't do

*you love fruit snacks and Hershey's Kisses (what, that doesn't sound like a healthy diet?  don't judge.)

When you're almost four....

When you're almost four-----

*you go potty ALL BY YOURSELF (most of the time anyway)

 *you really like gum

*your knees always hurt because you're growing stinkin' fast!

*you go to the dentist, and you sit in the big chair all by yourself

*you don't take naps every day, but some days you really should

*you have had your preschool screening, and are really starting to freak your mommy out by talking about going to kindergarten

*you recognize almost all of the letters in the alphabet, and all of the numbers 1-10

*the newest word in your vocabulary is "penis", and you blurt it out whenever you feel like it, and aren't afraid to point it out randomly.  (we're working on forming an understanding of when and where it's ok to use this word)

*you love to be the biggest brother, but  have a new-found love of  being rocked before bedtime, just like your baby brothers