Kylie's 8 Year Check-Up...

Kylie had her 8 year check-up and these are her stats:

Weight: 53.6 lbs. (36%)
Height: 48 ½ inches (21%)
BP: 98/60

She has been super consistent the past three years – all within 1% of each year. She’s growing great!

We didn’t have time for our annual Olive Garden lunch after her appointment, so we went to Olive Garden for dinner instead…just us! We had fun talking and eating and spending time with each other!

One of the most exciting things about her turning 8 is she is finally not required to ride in a booster seat anymore!!! Whohoo! Ohio law states that kids have to be in a booster seat until they’re 4’9” or 8 years old. We still have her in one as much as possible, but at least now if we’re in a pinch she doesn’t have to be in one :)

Kylie's Birthday Party Weekend...

This past weekend was really fast-paced but it was also so much fun!

John and I, along with some of our neighbors, took off Friday to mulch. The guys arranged everything, which was nice, and we had the mulch delivered on Thursday and were ready to go first thing Friday morning. My neighbor and I walked the kids to school and then started helping the guys (they had started around 8:00). While it was hard work, it felt good to be active and hang out with our friends! It was also fun to watch Josh and Ryan ride around in the Jeep and play basketball and just enjoy the day. Around lunch time I had to feed Colton, so my friend and I went and grabbed Graffiti Burger burgers (LOVE them!) and we all took a lunch break. Around this time the sun came out, which was a very new thing for us here in central Ohio :) Seriously though, it had rained non-stop the entire week, so not only were the dry conditions a breath of fresh air, but the sun was the icing on the cake!

We finished everything around 3:00 – just in time to sit down for a few minutes and then go pick up the kids from school. After we got the kids we got cleaned up and my friend and I headed to the liquor store for some strawberry margarita mix. Because it was the start of Kylie’s birthday-party weekend, and her best friend Rachel was spending the night, she got to pick the meal and wanted tacos and watermelon :) So we turned it into a court dinner and had a huge taco bar with watermelon and strawberry margaritas! Around this time my sister Suzie got into town with her new boyfriend Jarrett. We had actually met him before when we visited her in Michigan (it also happened to be the weekend I told her I was pregnant with Ryan), but it was nice to “re-meet” him! The biggest shock of the weekend happened when Kylie opened her present from Rachel…she got her a retired American Girl doll (Elizabeth)!!! I was so shocked at such an extravagant gift…I had no idea what to say…

We all sat outside and enjoyed the fire and drinks while all the kids played. Because the day had been long and exhausting we all went in pretty early. We played Catch Phrase with the girls and after they went to bed I hung out with Suz and Jarrett a little while longer before going to bed.

The next morning we were up bright and early. John took Josh to football practice and I started getting ready for the party. The sun was out and it was warm and gorgeous outside! My neighbors came over and helped me set up a little later as well as John was quickly mowing the grass.

The party was nice…chips and dips and pizza and cake. John’s sister Jamie and her two kids (Mya and Mason) were there, his parents, my parents, my nephew Carson, Suzie and Jarrett, my sister Cindy, and our neighbors and their kids (Jason and Kate and Brett and Kim). We ate and then Kylie opened presents and then we ate cake and then sat :) People started leaving around 2:00 and our family got started on our dad’s birthday present…his garden! They measured and headed over to Home Depot to get the stuff and then we all got to work. Since it had been raining so much the past week, the grass was a muddy mess down there, but we survived! Around 7:00 I went in to make Dad’s birthday dinner (meatloaf) with Cindy. She ended up giving Colton a bath which was a big help. Kylie had gone over to Rachel’s to spend the night, so at least that was one less child to care for :) I gave Ryan a bath and then Josh came in to take a shower. I fed Ryan and put him to bed (by now it was 9:00). Then all the big people came in and showered and we all sat down to a very late, but very good dinner :) We finished it off with a Dairy Queen Heath bar blizzard cake!

Sunday we got up and went to church and then headed over to Josh’s last football game of the season (he will be playing in the Horseshoe in two weeks, but that’s separate). We were at a local high school so we got to sit in the bleachers and the kids got to play on the turf. My whole family came as well as John’s dad. Joshie had a great game…a bunch of flag pulls and some great catches (one of which resulted in a touchdown).

After the game and after the kids got their trophies and we did the pictures, we went back to our house and we got out the giant waterslide that the kids got for Christmas. We set it up in the backyard, sat out chairs and brought out snacks and the kids had a fabulous time playing in the water, and us adults had a great time sitting around talking. Jarrett was joking with Kylie about her “online dating profile” that he “set up” for her…I guess she wants a guy that does not wear capris, works for her dad, doesn’t wear glasses, and I can’t remember the rest. It was so cute hearing them talk!

Then it was sad time…everyone had to leave :( First Suzie and Jarrett left, and then my dad shortly after that. We stayed outside for a while and then as the storms started coming in, we quickly cleaned up and headed inside. Kylie and I played American Girl dolls for a while and then we ate dinner and the kids went up to bed a little earlier than normal since they had had such a busy weekend.

It was a great weekend…I hate that Suzie lives so far away, but at least she’s close enough for visits! I hope the upcoming Memorial Day weekend is just as much fun, if not more!

Happy 8th Birthday Kylie...

My Princess,

Today you are 8 years-old. Wow. I know I say this every year but I can’t help it…where has the time gone? You are blossoming into such a young lady! You ask questions that adults would ask; your mind is always going a thousand miles a minute; you often talk like an adult. Stop it!!! Stay little!!! :)
Daddy and I surprised you for lunch at school today. I brought you Sonic to eat and we sat and laughed and joked with you and your friends. We talked about boyfriends and Daddy told everyone that you couldn’t have a boyfriend until you’re 30, but the boys could have girlfriends now. You were so happy to see us and kept giving us hugs :)

You are about to complete the second grade. You have Mrs. Burns as a teacher, and were super excited when you learned that she was going to be looping and that you would have her again next year. You started the year with addition facts for math and are currently on division and learning fractions. You have done three full presentations in class (Brazil, your science experiment showing how heat rises and the wax museum where you were Jane Goodall), and rocked every single one of them. Your best friend this year has been Rachel and you guys see each other at least once a week outside of school, and usually more than that.

This past year you have been really into Monster High Dolls, American Girl dolls, and now, Lalaloopsie dolls. You have been so creative with making houses and furniture for whichever type of doll you are playing with. We have also had to teach you some lessons about money and not always getting what you want…you had been telling everyone to get you American Girl dolls for your birthday! But you’re smart, and I think you’re starting to understand that everything costs money.

This past year you have lost some teeth…four to be exact! Your hair has been short and long. You have been able to get yourself completely ready in the mornings and completely ready for bed (unless you want me to flat iron your hair…I still get to do that :) ). You were a flower girl for the first time in Aunt Cindy and Uncle Josh’s wedding. Your freckles are multiplying :)

You and I are starting to have some rough patches, but I’m hoping that as you are testing your limits and learning about life, you will remember that I love you more than anything…you are my only girl and you’ll always be my only girl, and because of that, you are so incredibly special to me! I hope you know that you can always talk to me about anything…no matter what, I am always here for you!

I love you so much princess!

Love,
Mommy

Colton: 4 Months

Colton turned 4 months old last week (on my dad’s birthday to be exact). He went to the doctor yesterday and these are his stats:

Weight: 15 lbs. 8 oz (60%)
Height: 26 ¾” (94% - holy cow!)
Head: 41 ¾ cm (35%)

As you can see, this kid is a “tall” one! I’m used to having kids that are fat and short, not average in weight and long! We’ll see if this stays or evens out over the next couple of years… :)
He is becoming more and more fun every day. I hate the fact that he is getting bigger and my “baby” is going away, but thankfully with each day he gets older, he also gets more fun. He smiles and laughs a lot now and he is rolling all over the place! And he keeps trying to sit up that little stinker!

As far as sleeping goes, I can now bundle him up like a burrito in his swaddling blanket and lay him in his bed and he goes to sleep. He is still getting up twice a night, which I’m not happy about, but at least I don’t have any problems getting him back to sleep in his bed after he eats each time!

When he wakes up he is so happy! When I hear him “talking” I’ll unwrap him and watch him happily stretch his arms out and kick his little legs. He just smiles and smiles at me!

The kids are all great with him, and with him getting bigger I can tell they are having more fun with him as well. Ryan is the cutest…if I walk into the room he’s in holding Colton, Ryan, in his sing-song little voice stops what he’s talking about and says “Oh hi Colton!” He says it like he hasn’t seen him in weeks and he’s so excited he’s come to join him :)

I think we’ve all completely adjusted to him being a part of the family now. If he’s not around the kids will ask where he is, and when the kids are praying, they usually remember to include him now :)

Colton Update...

I actually have a baby that is a good sleeper at a young age...I can't believe it!

Kylie was a HORRIBLE sleeper! I'm sure most of the problem was that she was our first and we just wanted to hold her all the time. She didn't end up sleeping through the night until she was over 1 and didn't go to bed easily until she was at least 2.

When Josh came along, I got smart and put him in a bassinette in our room. When he was 8 months I moved him over to the crib in his room and after about 2 nights of crying (and only about 20 minutes at that), he could be put to bed awake and put himself to sleep. From then on he was a great sleeper (although didn't sleep through the night until after he was 1 and I weaned him).

With Ryan, I did the same thing as Josh - bassinette in our room, but I still had to hold him until he fell asleep and then laid him down in his bed. I decided to move him to the crib when he was 6 months, and like Josh, after a couple of nights I was able to lay him down awake and he put himself to sleep. And also like Josh, he didn't sleep through the night until after he was 1 and weaned.

Colton? Even better! For the past three nights and during naps we've been able to just bundle him up and lay him in his bassinette and he puts himself to sleep. Since he was about 1 month old he has slept in long stretches at night (with the exception of the last few weeks). And at 4 months of age, I am contemplating moving him to the crib in his room...it sure would save us from constantly trying to keep quiet while he's napping.

So I'm thankful...thankful that I have an easy-going baby and thankful that I'm getting some sleep at night myself :)

An Absolutely Fabulous Day!

What an amazing day I had yesterday!

Our nanny needed the day off, so I stayed home with the kids it was the best day…I feel so rejuvenated and relaxed and happy after it! The day started off rocky with Ryan’s diaper leaking and me having to wash bedding first thing in the morning, but after that it was smooth sailing! I got everyone ready for school and we all walked in the gorgeous weather! I love taking/picking the kids up from school when it’s warm and sunny outside!

After that I loaded up Ryan and Colton in the stroller and my neighbor, who had also taken yesterday off work, and I headed out for an hour-long walk. I got some great exercise let me tell you! My legs were definitely sore afterwards! After that, Ryan wanted to eat lunch (and it was only 10:50!) so I made him lunch and fed Colton. After lunch Ryan asked me if I would “take him up to nap,” so I carried him up and put him to bed. Then I bundled Colton up in his swaddle-thing and laid him in his bassinette and crossed my fingers he would put himself to sleep. I went downstairs and did some things, checked on Colton and saw him wiggling around, but not making a sound, did some more things, and checked on Colton again and found him sound asleep! I was so happy! So I finished up a bunch of chores around the house (which included bringing up the exersaucer and cleaning it up for Colton), make a Paula Dean cake, ate lunch, and 2 hours later Ryan called me up to his room. I smuggled him with kisses and we went downstairs and got ready to play outside.

Soon after that Colton woke up, so I fed him and then we all headed out to the grocery store. Ryan was so good! He’s such a cutie when it comes to food/grocery shopping. I always ask him what I should buy and he tells me “grapes and blueberries and oranges and strawberries and blueberries.” Colton was good until about the last 15 minutes where he started in with his screaming thing. He’s not crying-screaming, he’s just screaming because he wants to talk and doesn’t think anyone is listening to him :)

I put all the groceries away as soon as I got home. I put Colton in the exersaucer and I could see how overwhelmed he was! There were so many toys and so many colors. One time he looked at me and started to cry, but then I rubbed his head and talked to him and he was OK :) Then we went outside in the gorgeous weather for a little bit before leaving to pick the kids up from school. Again, a gorgeous walk over there and the kids were all in great moods too!

Once we got home I immediately wrapped Colton up and laid him in his bed again because he was so tired. Again, he went right to sleep :) Then I started working on dinner since my neighbor and I had decided to do a dinner together. We made a really, really good dinner. It involved some pan-cooked rib eye steaks on top of a four cheese pasta with added peas from Pioneer Woman, a salad and some garlic bread. Our table was stuffed with 6 kids, my neighbor and her mom, John and me. I couldn’t have asked for a better dinner! Oh yeah, and then we had toffee butter cake from Paula Dean :)

After dinner my neighbor had to take her kids to sporting events, so John and I headed outside with our kids. Colton sat in the stroller while Kylie and I jumped on the trampoline and John, Josh and Ryan played baseball. The weather was still so gorgeous! After a while of jumping, Kylie and I got her Kindle and my Nook and laid on the hammock and read. Josh saw us and ran in and got a book and the three of us laid there and read for a while. Josh wanted to go on a walk, so we loaded Ryan up in the stroller, Colton into the Baby Bjorn, and Josh and Kylie got their scooters. We walked up through the new phase of our development.

Once we got home it was snack time and then baths and bed. We had all kids into bed by 8:50 (including Colton, who again, I just wrapped up and laid down in his bed!) and John and I watched a little TV and then went to sleep ourselves. And as a super bonus, Colton only got up once during the night, unlike his “usual” of 3 times that he has been doing the past 3 weeks.

So that was my day off, and like I said, it was one of the best days ever!

Mother's Day 2011...

I had one of the best Mother’s Day weekends that I’ve ever had!

The weekend started with me going to a happy hour after work on Friday for a friend’s birthday. I really had a great time hanging out and catching up with some old friends from work. When I got home I helped get everyone to bed and held Colton and watched TV and listened to the rain.

Saturday we woke up with a huge goal…get the gardens in! John headed out with Ryan to get a backpack-contraption to use to kill weeds in the yards, Joshie was still over at my parents’, Kylie was at Rachel’s, and Colton and I just hung out. After John got back he killed weeds and then he and the other court guys went and ordered our mulch (we’re all taking a day off work and mulching all of our beds in a couple of weeks). When they got back we all just hung around and talked. It was semi-warm out, but it was so dark and gloomy that it made me so tired :( It started raining (really just sprinkling) and after getting Colton to sleep in my arms and sitting on the couch, I decided that the gardens were going to have to wait! I was relaxed and enjoying the afternoon.

Late Saturday afternoon John took the kids out to get my Mother’s Day present. So I continued sitting on the couch with a sleeping Colton :) I can’t say enough how nice it was! Then my dad came over and sat with me and watched TV with me (he was actually enjoying Gilmore Girls :) ). We decided on Chinese food for dinner and my dad went and picked it up. John and the kids got back and we all had a great dinner. John thought it would be best if the kids gave me my present that night because the next day was going to be super busy. So the kids gave it to me and I was so happy – a Nook Color! I love to read, but rarely have the time. But now it’s super easy for me to carry my “books” with me so that when I do have time (during lunch at work, Kylie’s gymnastics, etc.) I don’t have to worry about not having a book.

Sunday we got up for church and packed everything up to be gone for ½ the day (Joshie had a football game right after church). One might not think that would be a big deal, but John and I get up 2 hours before we have to leave for church every Sunday, and we go and go until we walk out the door. We have to get ourselves ready, the kids ready (although Kylie can get herself ready, I love to do her hair), breakfast for the kids, the house cleaned up from the night before, all of Joshie’s football stuff packed up (since John is the coach he has a whole bin of stuff that needs reorganized each week), and then we have to pack the stroller, folding chairs, blankets and the diaper bag. Man, I’m exhausted just sitting here thinking about everything we do each Sunday morning!

Church was great because it was also Baby Dedication, so we had little Colton dedicated, and cousin Reese was dedicated too! Colton was pretty good during the ceremony…up until about the end and then he started fussing. Thankfully our pastor kept saying “I’d better hurry this up before Colton gets too made” :)

After church we quickly changed and headed to Joshie’s football game. They were playing an undefeated team and Joshie had already made up his mind that they were going to lose. We set up camp on the sidelines – it was a muddy mess! I had on flipflops and we all still had our church clothes on (casual, but still Ryan had on khakis and a nice polo) and everything was a muddy mess! I told Ryan to be careful because he was getting really muddy and he looked at me and said “it’s OK Mommy, you can get it out.” Clearly I’m the queen of stain fighting :) Even though it was muddy, it was still really sunny and warm out, so I was not complaining at all considering the conditions we’ve been having.

The little football players started out the game by yelling “happy Mother’s Day” to all of us and running over and giving us a carnation. It was a sweet gesture that my awesome husband, the coach, had thought of. Then they started playing and Joshie had a terrific game! He scored a couple times and had a bunch of flag-pulls, some of which were really needed at the time. The Saints ended up winning by 3 points!!! I was so proud of the whole team, but Joshie was such a superstar!

After the game we went home and put a sleeping Ryan to bed and fed Colton and headed outside. Kylie gave me the present she made me in school, which was a whole book of poems about me and how much she loves me. It was so sweet and I know she was so proud of it!

Unfortunately the sitting didn’t last long as we needed to go and get the kids new shoes and I wanted to get a cover for my Nook. We all decided that we would meet back for dinner after our errands. My mom kept Colton for us because he had finally fallen asleep with her rocking him on the front porch.

Again, how easy it seemed to g shopping with only three kids and no stroller :) Isn’t that funny? I’m sure if you ask a mom with three kids if it’s easy to run errands she would say “no,” but for us it was great! We got the screen protector put on my Nook and the kids all got new tennis shoes. We headed back to our house, fed Colton, and our family, my mom, and my sister and her husband all headed to a new Japanese steakhouse that had opened up by our house for dinner. I was excited because the kids had never been to one, and I thought they would have fun…and I was right! They really enjoyed the fire and trying to catch food being thrown into their mouths :)

After a great dinner we headed over to Rita’s for some Italian Ice. I was excited because one of the daily flavors was s’mores, and I love that flavor! We waited in the long line and finally got up to order and they were out of my s’mores!! But the nice owner found one that I believe had been put away for someone (an employee maybe?) and gave it to me. It was so sweet and made my day! We all went home and ate our dessert and then it was time to get ready for bed.

It really was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time. The whole day John just kept saying that we would do whatever I wanted and whatever would make me happy. He really made the day so special for me…I can’t thank him enough!

1/2 As Many Kids...

Yesterday, right after school, my mom took Joshie and Ryan down to Athens. Today is the annual Accounting golf outing that my parents have been taking the kids to since I think Kylie was 1 or 2. And John and I had gone to it before that.

So last night, I was able to come home from work to a quiet house! Kylie was already at gymnastics, and Colton was being a quiet angel :) I was able to talk to Miss G. about how the day went without being interrupted 500 times by little blondie (aka Ryan). When she left, I was able to feed Colton and watch what I wanted to watch on TV with any interruptions! After I was done, I was able to load him up and go and watch Kylie at gymnastics. He was so good in his carrier and even fell asleep, so I was able to give Kylie my full attention.

After gymnastics, we went home and waited for John to finish mowing. During that time I was able to do Kylie’s hair and work on her spelling with her. When John was done we loaded up the car (very easily with an almost 8 year-old and Colton already in his car seat!) and headed to dinner. Dinner was really easy and really fast! We were able to get dessert, come home and eat it, and send Kylie up to get herself ready for bed. I fed Colton and got him ready for bed and he fell asleep. John and I were able to peacefully sit on the couch (as opposed to crashing onto it from exhaustion) and watch a movie.

Now don’t get me wrong, I obviously love the boys very much, but last night was a glimpse at how easy our life would be if we just had two kids, and especially if they were spaced as far apart as Ky and Cojo.

That being said, I look forward to going home to a loud house today and little blondie yelling at me as he’s running to the door “Mommy, you’re home!”

Weekend Recap...A Little Late :)

Thursday already? Really? Where on earth did the week go???

Well here is the weekend recap from last weekend…just in time for the next weekend :)

Friday night Josh had his first real sleepover. His friend Noah came over Friday evening, and since I knew the house was going to be super crazy anyway, Kylie had her BFF Rachel spend the night too. We had pizza for dinner, milkshakes for dessert, and the house was a crazy madhouse! I think the kids (who all slept down in the playroom) finally fell asleep around 11:30. Unfortunately for John (only because he’s the one that heard them and got up), certain kids were back up at 5:15 the next morning. Our house does not get up that early, even on a workday!!!

So Saturday we took all the friends home and Josh and John went to football practice. After that we hung around the house for a while until John’s parents came over for a little visit before we all headed out to Kylie’s last gymnastics meet of the season – Championships! And thankfully, my parents kept Josh and Ryan and brought them closer to when the meet actually started (there are about 2 hours of warm-ups and stuff before a meet even starts).

Kylie did wonderfully at her meet! She had her highest bar score and her highest all-around score! She got 4 medals and 1 trophy and all red ribbons. We were so proud of her! She wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner afterwards, so we went over there and waited about an hour since we were a party of 8. By the time we sat down for dinner, it was 9:00! But the kids were amazing! And outside of poor Ryan constantly rubbing his eyes, you wouldn’t have known that the kids were even tired. It was really a wonderful dinner and I had such a great time.

Sunday was church and a football game. Yet again it was chilly and on the brink of raining the whole time, which stunk, but Joshie did really well (pulled some flags and scored a couple of times). Afterwards we came home and just tried to chill and get ready for the upcoming week.