Sunday, May 24, 2009

May 24, 2009

Summer is just around the corner and the 4 of you are changing every day. I could write a book about the funny things you do and say! I love that each of you can make me laugh just by being you!

Eli: Sweetheart boy! You are an outside boy for sure! You love to explore, but not necessarily get dirty. While your brother and sister go right for the sandbox, you are happy to stand around the edge for a while. Your grandma showed you how she can do "underdog" while you are in your swing. The other day I was pushing Allie and you walked under her swing (almost knocking you over) and said "underdog!" I love to hear you mimic all that you hear around you. Your vocabulary continues to astound us all. Thank goodness for trains, trucks, and cars...your favorite things lately. We live in such a great spot for you to look out the window at all of the cars, trucks, and buses that go down our street. By far you are the most gentle with your baby sister. You seem to really be delighted by her, and she feels the same way about you! Daddy and I will only put her in your crib because we know you will protect her. Thanks for always putting your shoes and hat away when we come inside. You are such a responsible helper and good listener Eli, I love EVERY inch of you!

Cara: Guess what you can do? Blow your nose!!! A recent cold went through our house and your nose ran for days. You would come up to me and say, "Mommy get boogers, tissue?!?!" Ha! You are starting to have an opinion about what you wear. You love to wear pink and aren't sure about other colors, but you know when something isn't pink. You think it is funny to say "ugly pants or shirt" since mommy always says "pretty shirt!" You are developing a love for chocolate and call it "ka-ka-let" When you drink your whole sippy cup you say, "yittle bit more?" Oh Cara, you are a good girl. Sure you have your moments of anger when you hit or poke an eye or two. But, for the most part you are an independent girl who likes to please. Your favorite snack these days are marshmellows and your favorite fruit is applesauce! You are my girl Cara, I love you to the moon and back!

Brady: Hi strong boy! I can't belive all you are doing these days. In the last three weeks you have gone from a boy who crawls to a big boy who walks! Hooray for you! Having three walking toddlers makes going outside so much easier. You are trying so hard to keep up with Eli and Cara and you are doing a great job! You may not be as fast, but they know you are a lot strong than them. You always win in a wrestling match or tug of war. Speaking of tugs of war my Brady, you are a stubborn one! We have to use time out in your crib lately because you like to dig your heels in and not comply with us. But as stubborn as you can be, you can be 10 times as sweet. I love your sweet kisses and snuggles! You just LOVE to play with play doh and you still love sweets! Mommy is kind of sad because your tiny hair is starting to grow in. I love to pet your soft fuzzy head. Brady boy, you steal my heart every day!

Allie: Oooo Allie, couldn't adore you any more! You are a big, big girl! 90th percentile for everything! I brag all the time about how easy you are to take care of, it is true! It is easy to get pushed to the side around here with three toddlers around, but you are so happy to just eat, play, and sleep. Your smiling blue eyes and big grin melt my heart! You are sitting up like a pro and I don't think it will be long before you crawl. Your excersaucer is your little vehicle to cruise around the house in. I have to say you sometimes drive me crazy in that thing because you are always under my foot, or running over it! You really torment Brady who is a little unsteady on his feet. You chase him in that thing as he screams for help! We are so grateful for you darling Allie, you bring sunshine in our house everyday.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

May 6, 2009

Eli: You are the reason I sat down to write tonight buddy! Your ever-exploding language is keeping me laughing day after day! Yesterday as I got you up out of your crib, you dropped all of your stuffed animals and said, "Bye guys. See you later aliigators!" When you saw the garbage truck on Monday morning you said "taking stinky diapers," to which I asked, "Where will the truck take them?" You answered, "to grandma's house!" Eli you are a sweetheart. You share without fussing, you give kisses and hugs willingly, and you are kind to everyone. Our family is luckly to have you Beezer! I thought of one more precious thing. Tonight after we said our prayers, you took your Elmo's hands, put them together and said, "Elmo pray to Jesus." Too cute...

Cara: A few days ago mommy put you in a nightgown for the first time! What a big girl...you looked so precious. I love how in-tuned you are to me Cara-Beara. When I come down dressed in a nice outfit, you look at me and say, "Mommy pretty!" You are a cuddly little snuggle bug and daddy and I often fight over who gets to hold you when you get hurt. I bought you a baby doll bathtub for $1 and you think it is the greatest toy on earth. I love watching you lovingly wash you baby and imitate my every move. You are learning to say "I'm sorry mommy" when you make a mistake and it is the sweetest thing!

Brady: My stubborn little cutie! You give mommy a run for her money every day. We have had a few "standoffs" lately. I ask you to do something and you just tuck your chin down and refuse. Luckily, if I stand my ground long enough, you will give in. You are a tough boy Brady! You love to tackle your brother even though he doesn't like to wrestle. I'm so glad that you still will snuggle mommy and give me kisses. Ooo..how I love your sweet kisses Brady boy!

Allie: You are six months old today baby girl! You are a beauty and your smile melts my heart all day long. I love to go in and see you first thing in the morning. Even if you are crying, once you see me, your whole face just lights up! What a good girl you are. You are on a great schedule and are so easy to take care of. You love to sit in your excersaucer and you can scoot all around the house. You are sitting up on your own so well and it is so fun for you to watch you sister and brothers play. We have to put your bouncy seat away today Allie, and mommy is sad about it. You are just too big for it now, and need to be in a highchair. I'm really going to miss you infant days, you have brought me so much joy!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

My Easter Bunnies

Eli: My handsome little man! You are soaking up the world like a sponge. In just two weeks you will turn two and I'm just enjoying you at this age so much. You are so quirky and rigid about things. You need your "pippers on," your "green cup", and "dog and Elmo" to go to sleep. If not, you are going to be upset! You have discovered the snack drawer and will go to it throughout the day and ask for crackers. Despite the child lock, you can weasle your little hand in there and reach things! Your favorite toys right now are cars, trucks, and riding toys. You also love to take collections of toys from one room to another. For example you will run back and forth between the toy room and Allie's room and bring all of the cars with you. I love hearing you mimic everthing we say! Your language continues to explode and there is nothing you can't say! Mommy is trying so hard to find you a "Snuffy" doll for your birthday as he is your favorite character right now. I love you buddy...every inch of you:)

Cara: Mommy's little girl is growing so fast. You got your first major boo boo right before mommy, daddy, and Brady left for NYC. You ran into the molding on the doorway and got a huge goose egg and black eye! Your poor honey, it turned purple, then green, now yellow! We continue to think that your bark is worse than your bite. You certainly put up a fuss when in a confontation with your brothers, yet you easily back down after just a few seconds of protest. Mommy is so happy that you love to snuggle! You frequently crawl up into our lap during the day and just lay your head on our shoulders. Lately you are into a naughty little habit of squirting things...like lotion, hand sanitizer...anyting you can get your hands on! You have become a finicky eater, usually eating only one good meal a day. Still struggling to learn your colors as you think everything is pink! You can count to ten with us saying one number, you saying the next! You are just a sweet little cuite and mommy LOVES to watch you grow:)

Brady: Hi brave boy! I can't believe all of the miles you have traveled in the last month. Can you believe that you have ridden on 4 airplanes? You are such a good boy when we have to go to your appointmnets. Your favorite activities are playdoh, stickers, and walking behind all of your push toys. Your whole personality is changing since your surgeries. You are no longer the clingy little boy you once were. We see you taking risks and not being afraid to make mistakes! Your language is exploding every day! Just like a big boy you talk about your tubies when mommy cleans them. You say things like "Clean white tubie!" and "Put pajamas on." As mommy turns out the light before you go to sleep, I love to hear you say "Love--ooo" for love you! Brady, mommy just thinks you are an amazing little miracle!

Allie: You are a pudgie little 5 month old! Our little dream baby is starting to be a little more demanding in life! You don't like to be put down anymore, you want to be where the action is! You are getting too big for your swing and your bouncy seat big girl. You love to jump in the jumperoo, sit in the highchair, or in the excersaucer. You grab at everything and with two hands pulls things to your mouth. You finished trying all vegetables and now we are starting fruits:) You still sleep through the night, and we are trying to get rid of your late night feeing. We wake you up before we go to bed and give you a small bottle, I think at almost 17 pounds you should be able to give that up! You still roll from back to front, and are working on rolling the other way. That beautiful smile and those bright blue eyes melt our hearts everyday. I'm just so glad to have a precious baby in our house!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

My Silly Crew

Well my sweeties, you bring smiles to me everyday!

Eli: I just can't believe all that you say these days! Your language is exploding and it is so fun to be your mom. You have caught on to mommy's coffee addiction and will tell me "Mommy's brown circle." Get it? My sweet Eli looks into my cup and he sees a brown circle!!! You also love to say "Oh no goodness!" which is a combination of "Oh no" and "Oh my goodness." You are the neighborhood watchdog. You know all of the neighbors names and the colors of their cars! You love to stand at the window and say "Ann's grey car" or "Daddy's black car." Your imagination continues to grow each and every day. You love to dress up and pile things into the play stroller and walk around the house. You say "Bye guys, see ya" when you leave the room. Every morning you through a fit until we put your "pippers (slippers)" on! Right now you love to snuggle with your stuffed dog and your Elmo in your crib. And yes, you still use your precious yellow binky at nap time and bedtime! I love being your mommy...

Cara: My sassy little buddy! You are trying to be just-like-mommy and I hope I live up to your expectations! When I'm dusting, you are dusting. When I'm feeding the baby, you feed your baby! It just melts my heart to see you nurturing your "mommy instincts!" I love doing your hair every morning. It is so fun to watch you pick through all of your pretties and babble while I brush your hair. We are playing a tickling game lately. I ask you "where do you want mommy to tickle you?" You always say "butt" first, then you add some of your other favorites "wrist, shoulder, neck, eyes, chin, cheeks" I think you know every body part. You want mommy to tuck you in now and I can't leave your room at naptime without hearing "tuck in?" You also have started saying "lub bu" for love you, so very sweet. You make huge messes at mealtimes and make me want to pull my hair out! You are no stranger to time outs and can really be a stinker! Thanks for keeping me on my toes and for being my girly girl.

Brady: You are a hilarious boy these days! You are getting to be quite the tough guy and are trying to wrestle Eli all the time. You start this growling sound and go up and tackle him. The problem is that he is completely afraid of you and runs away! Someday we can laugh at him for running away from you when all you can do right now is crawl after him! You are still loving you blanket and bite it as you fall asleep. Your favorite breakfast is cereal bars and you ask for all the leftovers on Eli and Cara's tray. Your favorite treats are still cookies and "mumums" of MnMs. You are learning your colors and doing great! I love the way you say "Ba-LOO" for blue. Mommy is so proud of how brave you are when we give you a bath and flush your tubies. Now you just sit there and hold the tubies for me. You love to make big messes in the play room...you pull out every book, every Little Person, and every Easter Egg. I'm so glad you give mommy kisses and snuggles when I ask. Nothing is sweeter than a snuggle with Brady...

Allie: My big girl! I can't believe how much you have grown! I have to say you are growing too fast for me. I want to stop time for a while because you are just delightful. Mommy and daddy love to oogle over you and just love the way you suck in that lower lip and smile with your eyes. You are having a lot of fun in your jumperoo, rolling over, and putting toys in your mouth. You are fighting nap and bed time now, we haven't done the best sleep training yet! Sometime soon we will start giving you veggies! I just can't say how happy it makes me to go in and find you awake and smiling every morning. My world just wasn't complete until God put you in it:)

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Silliness and Sassiness

Life at our house continues to be loud and chaotic.

Eli--you are such an imaginative boy. Your new favorite activities include putting on sunglasses, hats, and random shoes and walking around pushing the stroller or grocery cart. You often will say, "Bye guys" and even will carry one of Cara's purses with you. You don't realize how silly you look. You love describing what you see outside. You stand at the window and say things like "grandma's brown car" or "big loud truck." You are very interested in what color things are, and you are about 70% accurate:) You give kisses and hugs to everyone, although you like to withhold them from mommy because you know it gets me!

Cara---what will I do with you? I love you little girl, you are my best bud, but I like the book about strong willed children was written for you. Today I told you that I think you will grow up to be a bull fighter...it suits you! You love your mommy and your care and concern for me melts me heart. You are having a lot of fun lately destroying your food and not eating it. Many times in a day you are ending up in a time out in your crib for various offenses like throwing toys, spitting, hitting the baby, being defiant. I hope you don't lose that spunk, I just have to figure out how to deal with it!

Brady--what would you do without your Poppa? You love your grandpa so very much (he loves you too!) Your favorite thing to do is play chase these days, even though you have to be carried around. We all spend a lot of time carrying you and running after Eli and Cara. I know you are a thrill seeker...I can't wait to ride the JackRabbit with you at Seabreeze someday. Your stubbornness gets you into trouble sometimes, but you are learning that a quick time out can be a good thing.

Allie---my sweet little cupcake! We got out the jumperoo yesterday and you love it! You figured out how to jump away within minutes. You are talking all the time, an adorable little babble "aahhhh, arrgghhh, aahhooo." Feeding you is difficult right now because you are very nosey. You constantly whip your head around to see what is happening in the room. You are still eating only rice/oatmeal...I plan on trying veggies after your appointment next week.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The Clean Team

After dinner I was walking around cleaning the baseboards with a broom. As always, Cara you were behind me immitating my every move. You will silently follow me from room to room as I clean and do just what I do. It is too sweet! Tonight you brothers joined you and I as we cleaned. Eli had his play dustpan and Brady crawled along with us carrying a play mop. I kept saying, "Come on Clean Team" and then you each would say "clean team." It was so adorable to watch you each trying to be just like mommy:)

Today Allie you just started talking up a storm. You definitely are learning that your can make neat sounds with your voice. You make sounds like "goo, arggg, and ahhh." You are becoming a nosey little girl and you turn your head towards sounds all the time.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Allie: My sweet, sweet baby girl. I just can't imagine life without you. Your whole life so far has been consumed with Brady's illness. Mommy is away from you so much that it breaks her heart. The wonderful thing about you is that when I come back I always get a sweet smile and coo from you! You really are a gorgeous baby with a sweet temperment. Today you rolled over from back to front for the first time...hooray! You eat every 3-4 hours and eat rice/oatmeal twice a day. You take a nap from 10-11:30, 1:30-3:00, and a short nap later in the day. You sleep in your swing during the day and in your crib at night. You sleep all night from about 9pm until 7:30am. Your giggle is so darling that it melts my heart. You laugh and smile most at your daddy who always says to you, "I've got a crush on this baby!" Allie you don't get out much becuase of the circumstances, but I promise to show you so many exciting things in the months ahead. Love you baby girl!