Halloween

This year it was a little more fun for Lil E since he is almost 2 and can walk around. He did amazing, loved to be out walking, enjoyed the costumes and going door to door and most of all, his first ever tootsie pop. Only one costume got him and one house was super scary (if it wasn't for him, they would have scared us really good). V stayed home with daddy and passed out candies. Dad said they sat out in the driveway and V is in jumper and everyone just adored him. Both boys were dressed in their Hawaiian outfits that Grandma sent them (they have 2 each and I'm sure they'll get more). D was trying to dress as a vocaloid but was missing stuff. She had a good time trick or treating with me and Lil E. Other than that things have been going great. D's been struggling in school, but it is a hardcore curriculum at the Charter school she is attending. I commend for even attempting that because I don't know how I would have fared. This girl is growing like a weed, she towers over me and especially when I am wearing flats. Lil E has been learning new things everyday. He is trying to talk. We are coming up to his final preemie check ups, last eye appointment next week (unless they find something wrong), last preemie well check up at our local Children's Hospital to make sure he is progressing properly and doesn't require any further interventions. V is the muscle man, he went from rolling over to crawling to pulling himself to stand in a one and half week time span. He is trying so hard to walk. He does not want to sit when he pulls himself to stand, he starts crying because his poor little guys tire out or he ends up falling straight back and thumping his head on the ground. Other than that, we are trucking along. I've been venturing out in the world of baking and trying out new dinner entrees. I've been checking out food blogs have gotten some really good recipes from a lot of them and the family has been enjoying them as well. I don't know how I find time to do all of this with the 2 little's, but I do it. I want our family to eat less processed foods and slowly but surely we are getting there.

Long overdue....

It is very difficult to find the time to update my blog with two boys under 2 and a teenager that just started high school. So much to update on and so little time. Lets break down here. First off SD: Started High School - has been struggling a little with her Latin class but she is really trying. Had a rough start in the friends department, but everyone there wants to be there and is very friendly so she made friends in no time. She is now way taller than me. Spent the summer with her mom, had her ups & downs just like she does at out home but it's to be expected. Baby Boy #1 He is such a handful and such a mama's boy and almost 2 years old already. Dad can not come near me because here he comes. He is learning how to talk and almost everyday he learns a new word. I love how he says "Oh no" and has learned certain body parts and he will say I love you when he feels like it. He is starting to recognize certain letters in the alphabet and numbers. Still co-sleeping with us, not what we planned but we are making the best of it. A couple of weeks ago he got his first bump on his forehead; ran smack into the corner of a wall. I freaked out a little bit but he recovered just fine from it. He adores his baby brother and gets so excited when he sees him becoming more mobile. The first I propped him up on the sofa to sit he was beside himself. I can't wait for them to actually get to run around and play together. My sister came over with her kids and my nephew who is 4 just ran around the house chasing #1 and they were just giggling. It just melted my heart. We are amazed everyday at how big he is now compared to when he was born and was in an incubator. Those were the hardest times of our lives but I wouldn't change it for a minute because he was one amazing little guy that we all just adore (even when he will not stop whining). His favorite movie right now is Cars 1 & 2. Loves to say, Speed, I am Speed & do his fake sneeze like one of the cars in the movie. He knows when the parts are coming up too that little stinker. Baby Boy #2 I can't believe he is already going to be 7 months old. He is progressing so fast that I just want him to slow down and be a baby for just a little bit, but alas, he can not wait to play with his older brother who seems to have so much fun running around the house. Which is why he started "crawling" (pulling himself forward with just his arms and dragging his legs). He quickly progressed to full on crawling. Before that he would attempt to put himself in a sitting position, he would hold himself up with one arm and do a half sit. I can say that he is fully sitting up, he'll topple over, but for the most part can hold himself up. And the past week and a half he gone from pulling himself up to his knees, to pulling himself up to a full standing position. This is pretty dangerous for him because he still is not that strong and can not support his weight for very long (18 lbs. 3 oz) so he lands up letting go and falling straight back. I just hear a thud, then a wail and I have to run and pick him up because of course he does all this while I am trying to cook dinner or take a quick restroom break (because that's all I get now a days). I know this is bad, but oh how this kid loves to watch television, but only the cartoons. They both watch PBS all day and CARS 1 & 2. I have my good days and my bad days. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed but I always feel blessed with my babies. I love them so much and wouldn't trade them for anything. Is it hard having them close together, you betcha, but it's not the end of the world and they are going to be best buds growing up. I thank God everyday for blessing me with not one but two amazing little miracles.

So much going on..

I can't believe it's been almost 6 months since my last post. So much has changed and is continuing to change. SD-She just graduated from Jr. High and will be a Freshman in High School this Fall. I can hardly believe it. At her graduation she received a medal for the top female in History. She has had a lot of ups and a lot of downs. I think it comes with the territory of being a teenager. She had her first boyfriend and experienced her first break up. I told her that maybe it was best if she didn't have a boyfriend just yet (this one was without our permission). She can have friends that are boys and hang out with friends but we prefer she hold off on getting serious with anyone. She got a cell phone and then got it taken away (both by her mom). She was sending inappropriate text messages. Her Dad and I felt she was still a little too young for a phone anyways. She did awesome in school academically. She is a great big sister to her brothers and is a great help with them. I try not to make her do too much though. Baby E is now 18 months old. He got his first teeth around Christmas time, 2 weeks after his first birthday. He started walking on his own in the beginning of March. I got to spend a lot of time with him as I was on Disability/Maternity leave from mid-December through the end of May. This boy tested me with his tantrums, he's gotten better. He just started saying please (I thought he was saying pretty, oops). The mama and dada's come and go, he will go through spurts of saying them. He is almost saying brother, who he now adores (most of the time). He is always giving him kisses and tries to be genle but will get upset at times and try to hit him. When the baby and I came home from the hospital (which incidentally was the first time I had spent away from baby E) he was angry. He did not want to have anything to do with me or the baby. It took him a couple of days. Baby E is for sure my happy go lucky boy who does crazy stuff, and is also our little fiery guy who gets so angry sometimes. He's fallen off the little step out on the patio, face first, only done that once, fallen numerous times off of our bed. I love my little monkey though, he is amazing. Baby V, born March 29, 2012 at 1:55 AM via c-section.I had gone in on the 27th because I had been having contractions all night. I was not dilated they gave me a shot to stop the contractions and sent me home. I slept the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. I had some mild contractions but nothing compared to the previous evening. Dad left to go play his disc golf, I made some tuna for dinner, while in the midst of chopping stuff the contractions started again. I held out until about 10PM then called for my parents to come and watch SD and baby E. They arrived about 11 and we left shortly after. After checking in at the ER they sent me up to L&D. Had me change into a gown, hooked me up to a monitor. After 20 minutes they checked and I was 4cm dilated. On Dr. said she would be delivering my baby. They gave me another shot to stop the contractions so it wouldn't be so painful, got the IV (on the 2nd try might I add). Everything happened so quickly and he was here a mere 2 hours after arriving at the hospital. He weighted 6lbs 8oz and was 19in long. I can't believe he is already going to be 3 months old and has already doubled his weight. He is such a happy, calm baby. He started cooing a few weeks ago and is so strong; he pushes off his feet to scoot forward already and holds his head up like a champ (since he was born, but had his wobbly moments). It's amazing how our little family of 3 has grown to 5 so quickly. On the momma front, I had some issues with my gallbladder and landed up having to have it removed last Friday. I had gallstones. In my ultrasound report it was also noted that I have a mass lesion on one of my kidneys. Waiting on the insurance to approve the CT scan so we can get the ball rolling on this new find. Hopefully it's nothing, but if it is we will deal with it best we can. But for now, I am working and enjoying my time with my babies, because who knows how long I have.