Jacob's Ailment

Jacob woke up this morning after a great night of sleep and came into the kitchen to tell me, "Mom, my nose is 'fussy'. Can I have some medicine?"

I'll have to check with Sudafed to see if they cover fussy noses along with stuffy ones.

"Are you my mother?"

Jacob has been Mr. Lovey-Dovey lately. He tells me several times a day, "I love you, Mommy. I love you so much." I don't mind that no matter how often it's said. He has also been thinking a lot about the Dr. Seuss book Are You My Mother? He'll ask me in his same sweet lovey-dovey voice, "Are you my mother, Mommy?" "Mom, are you my mother?" Then if Patrick is home, he turns to him and says, "Daddy, are you my son?" Very cute to hear him trying to figure out the different words for Mom. Hopefully with all the terms for the name, I want him to always think of love.

A few more Pumpkin Patch Pictures...

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Ahh, the group pic is my favorite...I actually have about 15 more that you can put together for an idea of what the motions were like when I tried to get just one picture with everyone looking at the camera...this is the closest I came! They're sporting their new tie dye shirts that Christine & Brian brought back for them from their honeymoon.

What is a zillion?

The boys always ask about high numbers and wonder what number is the biggest. They'll ask, "Mom, is 80-thousand-million-200, is that the biggest number?" and other variations of this question. I found a TV program called, "How Much is a Million?" & thought I'd let them watch it. It compares a million, billion, trillion, and zillion by telling how far that number of children would reach if they were stacked up, how much water would be necessary for that many goldfish, how long it takes to count to that number, etc. So they watched this on Saturday morning and after, Nathaniel asked, "Mom, what is a zillion? I have never heard of that. What is it?" I started to plan my explanation, when his Dora & Diego kicked in and he continued, "they must be trying to talk Spanish."

Cheerful Helper

I was emptying the dishwasher this morning and Nathaniel, Jacob, & Leyton were all helping. Nathaniel had a pile of about 6 multi-colored little Gerber bowls and he put the stack upside down on his head and said, "Caps, caps for sale, 50 cents a cap!"

Cute referral to his book called Caps for Sale, a story he enjoys very much, where a peddler walks through town with 17 caps stacked on his head trying to sell them. Enjoyable little story especially when the silly monkeys get involved.

The Sweetest Words

When I was laying by Leyton at bedtime, he said, "Mom, you're the best mom in the whole world."

Now who wouldn't love to hear that?! Goodnight my sweet boy, I love you more than you know.

More Music Enjoyment

The boys continue to pick up new songs all the time. Lately, we've been listening to one of Dierks Bentley's other CD's - Modern Day Drifter - when we're in the car. The two favorite songs lately have been "Cab of My Truck" and "Good Man Like Me." It is very entertaining to watch them sing (you have to watch in the rearview mirror of the car; if you look back, they tell you not to look or not to sing, etc.). Jacob sits in the back and strums his imaginary guitar on his chest & sings quite a few lyrics. Leyton sits and looks all serious when he sings all the parts he knows. I put some of the lyrics below & highlighted & italicized parts that they at least try to sing (even though they don't always know what they're singing about). My favorite part to see Jacob sing is the "beat up bag of red man chew." Leyton is so serious it's like he's studying the lyrics when the song is on. Then at the end of the song, he says, "Get out of my way Cadillac, big white's comin' through." Now this is probably their favorite part. They yell this in such a funny way & they also call it a "Cadillock."

This has led to a whole new exploration when we're driving - always looking for Cadillacs. I have to point them all out. It's very amusing. Nathaniel has also figured out that we should say about ourselves, "Get out of my way, Cadillock, my big Gray (or silver) is comin' through." One of our neighbors has a Cadillac Escalade and I've told them that it's a Cadillac. So today, Nathaniel was wondering if he was home. I told him I wasn't sure & asked if their car was home. He said, "Well, yeah, the Cadillock is home."

With "Good Man Like Me," Jacob probably sings the most. He calls this the baby, baby song. Seeing my two-, almost three-year-old singing, "Where you gonna find a good man like me" is really just a kick. Very cute.

I'm not sure if this is as funny to read about, but it sure is amusing as live entertainment.

Cab Of My Truck
Written by Mark Nesler, Brett Beavers & Dierks Bentley
Cracked winshield, that I super-glued
Crumpled up cans and a beat up bag of red man chew
Fix a flat, Johnny Cash box set
Half a dozen parking tickets that i aint paid yet
And sitten on that cloth bench seat
I got my shot gun girl right next to me

CHORUS
Four wheel turnin', Two hearts burnin'
We go runnin wild
Gonna make a million memories...

Sliden' rear back window
So it's an easy reach to where my cooler keeps 'em
iced down cold
Roll of duck tape, WD-40
Ain't nothin too loose or licked too tight for a man like me
I might take it slow, 30 through town
But on a back dirt road
Girl, i put the hammer down

REPEAT CHORUS


Good Man Like Me
Written by Del McCoury
Now that old car, it ain't gonna last
You ride around all day, I buy the gas
The more I work, the more you spend
Tell me honey baby when will this all end

CHORUS
Her bags are packed, my nerves are racked
She's got a one-way ticket, ain't comin' back
Oh baby, babyWhere you gonna find a good man like me

Take a look at this house turned upside-down
I hung the clothes on the line, they blowed down to the ground
I try to eat my own cookin' but its awful bland
I'm tellin' you right now things are out of hand

REPEAT CHORUS TWICE
Where you gonna find a good man like me

Family Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

We enjoyed a family trip to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend & tried out a new one in Lawrence: Schaake's Pumpkin Patch. We had a wonderful time. It was sunny and about 75 degrees, with a good breeze. This pumpkin patch was a very nice size with plenty of activities & a bonus of FREE admission for the whole family. Jacob wasn't in the mood for a hayride, so I took Leyton, Nathaniel, and Leah on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch. Leyton & Nathaniel picked the biggest pumpkins we could handle without much help to carry them. Leah got a small cute one. Somehow we managed without a stroller or baby carrier to get myself, three kids, and three pumpkins (the ones the boys picked were a pretty good size) back onto the wagon to ride back to the farm site. There were also farm animals to see on the ride out and back, so that was a fun part, too.

Meanwhile, Jacob and Patrick walked out to a closer patch & Jacob picked a "white" (very unripe, light green) pumpkin right off the vine. He was very selective and determined with his selection from what I'm told. HE wanted to choose it, HE wanted to pick it up, and HE wanted to carry it all the way back to the farm site. I shouldn't be surprised with my independent little guy. He's very proud of his pumpkin, which now sits on the front porch. It was also cute today that each time we went outside or left the house, he said, "Mom, I'm going to go check on my pumpkin, ok, Mom?" We kept good track of it today and I am wondering if he'll check on it again tomorrow. It's so cute.

After pumpkin selection, the kids played in the straw maze, straw "romp" areas, slides, swingsets & more. I was able to get some pictures, but I'll have to post those later. We ended up with a range of sizes with our four pumpkins & they added up to about 45 pounds. I'm going to have to do some recipe investigation to see what I can make after Halloween! I know I'll roast/toast the seeds and I'll make at least one pumpkin pie - so yummy with the fresh pumpkin. I guess maybe pumpkin bread? I know I've had pumpkin soup before, too, that was good. We'll see!

Leah's 12 Month Stats

We visited the doctor today and she's doing great. She came in at 29 3/4 inches long (75th percentile), 21lb 3.2oz (55th percentile), and 17 7/8 inch head circumference (70th percentile). So, she's right on track. The milestones she met for 12 months were waving, saying "Mom" & "Dad" for us appropriately (still not the best "MOM" - more like "MMMM-om" occasionally - not often enough for me?!), clapping, standing unassisted for a few seconds, and holding something in each hand & banging them together. Enjoy the simple things in life. She's a cutie.

One thing that's changed & wasn't a doctor's office thing, but she is really starting to want to go to her dad more. I usually get the kids pretty strongly the whole first year, then the second year they start branching out more to Dad. It's definitely starting. I like to call her an "equal opportunity daughter," though, because she often reaches from one of us to the other. Then she transfers for a quick minute, & then usually wants back to Mom. I'll take that anytime!

Happy Birthday, Leah!

WOW, can't believe the day has come already. Little Leah turned one on Saturday. What a great day. We actually celebrated her birthday Sunday since we had a wedding to attend on Saturday. Today we went to mass, came home & had a nice lunch of spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, steamed vegetables, and then CAKE and ICE CREAM! Well, unfortunately, Leah didn't get any ice cream - milk allergy = Hives (we actually even let her try a few bites at Red Robin on Friday night, & when we got home her belly & all were covered with hives). Oh well, she'll take the cake! She did enjoy her cake today. She also enjoyed her new gifts: we gave her a rocker, and from some family she received a cute outfit, cute sweater, a Care Bear, and some fabric hand-crafted books. It really was a fun day. Her brothers sure enjoyed opening the presents to "help" her! Ha, ha.

This year has gone by so quickly and she changed so much; hard to believe it's been a year since our little pink, 7lb 5oz, little one arrived. She's such a happy girl and is really understanding a lot now. Sometimes it really seems like she says words, too. She'll say words that sound like "hello," "get up," and "diaper." Obviously not 100% clear, but she says them at appropriate times & it does sound like the words. She also answers yes & no often when you ask her a question. Not quite walking, but definitely standing & moving along well. I'm sure the walking will be here soon.

Photo Fun

The Silver Lining(S) Right When I Needed Them...

The setting: Last night was one of the toughest nights at home that I can remember. I worked that day and Patrick was working through the evening also. Jacob wasn't feeling well (we've had all four children go through a cold in the last four weeks...Jacob was the last and actually the worst) and Leyton & Nathaniel were really challenging me with lots of screaming, wanting things "NOW!", etc., and really just wanting to catch up with Mom after I was gone all day. Leah was doing well, just also needing to catch up with me. Jacob was wanting me to hold him on the couch mostly & not hold anyone else. I can understand that. In any event, by the time I tried to get some food for them for dinner and get to the store to pick up some medicine for Jacob, I was just super worn out & needless to say, the evening was not going very easily.

In the midst of the constant ping pong battle of trying to help everyone with what they needed, my first silver lining appeared. Leah has been pulling herself up plenty using chairs, couches, etc., but decided to try something new. She was sitting in the middle of the floor a couple of times, and ended up standing herself up on her own, without pulling up on anything. There she stood in the middle of the room, waving her hands with her cutest little proud grin for all to see. Perfect 10! Then the boys, of course, took a break to notice her accomplishments and did their great cheering section action for her. It was like everything stopped to enjoy the moment. Thank you, Leah! I needed that smile!

Then, when it was bedtime, that was another juggling of being able to get one down at a time to make things easier step by step. I did my best to get Leah down first, then convinced Jacob to lay down in bed with a book while I took care of Leyton & Nathaniel since they seemed more tired. One down, then two, then three. My last few minutes with Jacob before he went to sleep were my next silver lining. He was laying there with his little cough and hoarse voice telling me his random evening thoughts he always has. He told me he wanted me to push him higher on the swing, that he didn't want a cat to come in his room, etc. Then, he took my arm & put it around him and he said, "Mom, I'll take care of you 'cause I will hold you; OK Mommy? Mommy, I love you so much." Wow, that just helped make everything easier to handle and helped me get through the rest of the night. Even when he wasn't feeling well, he was just the sweetest little guy. Thank you, Jacob!

All in all, the kids really are great. We all know, though, that sometimes it's a challenge, yet there's always those little positive moments that are just so precious that it makes everything seem even more worth it and that you know being with them is worth having the challenges, too. I love them so much!

Best Big Brothers

Leah must have 3 of the best big brothers. They are so encouraging to her it is unbelievable at times. I can't help but smile when they're cheering her on lately. She's been progressing a lot at standing on her own when she lets go of holding on to something. When she does, the boys will all three sit and smile, clap, and tell her, "Great job, baby girl! Yeah, Leah! You're doing a great job!" Meanwhile, she just smiles and smiles and almost starts to clap until she sort of loses her balance a bit and plops down. So neat to see all their love for each other.

Picnic Sunday

What a wonderful day we had today. We have a picnic basket that we got for a bridal shower gift that we had actually never used (in more than 10 years!). The boys have been wanting to use it, so today was the day. When we got home from mass, we packed a picnic and headed to the park. It was a beautiful sunny fall day with a nice breeze. We stayed there for a couple of hours and played, ate lunch, and played some more. What a nice day with my family! I think everyone had a great time.

New Shoes?

So, just out of curiosity, I'm starting to wonder how long new tennis shoes are supposed to last for these kids. I bought the boys new shoes in mid-August. I've noticed this week that they are literally about to wear holes in them. I think most of it is from riding their bikes & they use their auxiliary breaks = dragging their feet. Leyton's really has a bigger hole & it's just hard to believe as they are quality shoes and about 5 weeks old?! Yikes. Welcome to the real world of boys, right? We sure can be hard on things!

"Amazing"

This has been Jacob's new word this week. He's just saying it on occasion and it's very cute. One instance it comes to mind...we were on a walk & he & Leah were riding in the stroller. He asked me if his brothers were home from school yet, I told him not yet. He said, "Amaaa-zing." Just so cute since he doesn't really know for sure what it means, but likes to say it with his cute little grin.