potty clap

No, we don't have a special "potty clap" that we do around here.  :)  First of all, Caleb and Logan are doing SO good with wearing underwear!  Feels like we're making many, many trips to the bathroom (are their bladders the size of a pea at this age?!?!), but they are doing great at telling us when they need to go.  Caleb has not had one accident since he started wearing underwear on Wednesday.  He has been dry all through the night every night too, so tonight he's in a pull-up - not ready to make the leap to underwear overnight, but we'll get there!  Logan has had some accidents, but overall is doing well.  I'm trying to randomly reward him throughout the day for staying dry.  I'm so glad the timing worked out the way it did that we started with this right before a long weekend with Mike home.  It'll be interesting to see how they do on our little trip to Indianapolis coming up - I'm thankful that it's not a long drive!

Second, Levi has started clapping!  It's so super cute.  Like with most things babies do for the first time it just kinda happened by accident it seemed like, but now he definitely does it.  He's got that beautiful smile with his two little teeth sticking out and then his two little hands clap together - LOVE.  (It started either yesterday or this morning, I'm not sure, things are kind of a blur...)

We've had just a little bit of sickness here.  Yesterday afternoon/evening Logan was having some bowel disturbance, which of course doesn't help the whole potty training thing, so he ended up in pull-ups and diapers.  And, this morning Caleb was pukey sick.  Spent quite a long time laying on a towel on the bathroom floor, and then came out and laid on the living room floor and even slept there for a bit.  After he woke up from that nap he was perky and wanted to eat.  I let him  have some applesauce and toast (it's very hard to explain to a three-year-old why he can't have a big glass of chocolate milk or other such things that he wants....), and since he still wanted more to eat I set the timer and told him if he didn't puke I would make him some other food after the timer went off.  So later he ate two hot dogs and a grilled cheese.  :)  And by late afternoon he was back to normal running around like crazy!  Really, really hope nobody else gets the pukes...

Logan has loved stories for a long time.  He's always asking for Mike to tell him a story, and now he's really gotten into telling stories himself.  He says, "I gonna tell you a story" and then leads into something that has happened in the past.  His stories are usually true stories, but sometimes he kinda combines events.  It's so interesting to see what he remembers!

Caleb especially is constantly asking SO MANY questions!  Always wanting to know how something works, why something works the way it does, what things are made of, where things come from, etc.  I really don't know how to answer his questions sometimes!  If I'm finding his questions hard to answer now, what am I going to do as he gets older??  He also has to be "in the know" - he wants to keep tabs on everything that's going on.  If he didn't hear something I said to Logan, he's gotta ask what I said; or he asks why I'm going into the kitchen, etc.

It's LATE!  Time to check on my boys and get to bed.

thankful

Wow.  It's Thanksgiving again!  Seems like it was just Thanksgiving 2011.  My heart is brimming with everything I am thankful for.  Certainly, I am thankful for salvation through my Lord Jesus Christ.  How wonderful to have that blessed assurance.  Sure, that doesn't make life a piece of cake, but I can't imagine going along without it!

I am thankful for our three healthy, active, funny, inquisitive children.  And, guess what?!?!?!  Caleb and Logan started wearing underwear yesterday and they are doing GREAT!  Yesterday morning they decided they wanted to wear underwear (I've been waiting for that), and Logan has had two accidents, but otherwise they are doing awesome at letting us know if they need to go.  There were times it was a little crazy yesterday (both needing to go, in the middle of feeding Levi....), but I managed and now Mike is home for a long weekend, so that's nice.  We did put them in diapers overnight - sometimes they wake up dry, but we're not going to tackle the overnight training just yet.

The list of things I am thankful for is endless, but you know, I don't have time for a big, long, well thought out post just now.  :)

dark

It is dark out.  It is dark alot this time of year.  Boo!  Caleb and Logan are especially now into paying attention to whether the sun is coming up or going down.

We've been busy!  Nothing new there.  Last Saturday Mike worked all day on the corn harvest with my dad.  The boys and I managed to meet up with him for lunch and then ride in the combine a bit as well.  We got all 5 of us in there!  On Tuesday Mike took the day off of work to help finish up the corn harvest.

Sunday I spent both the morning and evening service in the nursery.  Yay.  Oh well!  Hoping for better "luck" tomorrow and that I'll actually get to sit in a service!  :)

Monday night was the 5th week of the class Mike and I have been taking.  We are really, really enjoying it.  Gotta keep reminding myself each time we pay the babysitter that's it's worth it, but it totally is.  This time it's a 20 week class, so it'll take us right through the winter.

Wednesday morning Caleb and Logan went to their friend Benjamin's house to play.  I had everyone loaded up and out the door by 9am!!!  I didn't have major plans (usually I make a huge to-do list when I have opportunities like this, but things are so crazy I didn't even have a chance to think about what I should do!), so Levi and I just went to Target to get a few things (the new Target in Grandville - don't get me started......grrrrrr......) and then headed home.  After getting Levi to nap, I got a few things done but then laid down myself for a bit!  That's a very rare treat!  Didn't have a ton of time before I had to get Levi up to feed him so we could then leave on time to pick the other boys up, but any bit of peace and quiet is treasured.

Thursday evening I met up with my friend Jen from college.  She's a professor at WMU now, and teaches a class one night a week at their GR campus downtown.  She lived in Florida after college up until this summer, so it's nice to have her closer now!  On my way into downtown I was reflecting on my years working at Crowe, and I gotta say, I do NOT miss it!!  I am so glad to be out of it!  Even though there are plenty of times now that I think I'm going to go crazy and I desperately wish to get out of the house (and be leisurely about it, instead of rushing around to get alot done before I have to get home again...), I LOVE being a stay at home mom and am so thankful that I can do this.

Yesterday was a fun day!  Mike worked a half day then we dropped all the kids off at his mom and stepdad's.  We headed over to the mall to see Lincoln (movie just came out yesterday, it was really good).  We haven't been to a movie in YEARS.  And it's so weird to go to one in the middle of the day.  We did a little shopping afterwards and then in the evening our Sunday School class from church had a get together.

We didn't have any specific plans today, but things still always end up a little crazy.  I went out for groceries this morning while Mike stayed home with all the boys.  This evening Mike is out for a bit with Caleb and Logan getting dog food (which means they went to Meijer, so I'm sure they're spending time looking at the fish and riding the pony).

Caleb has gone on the potty several times today.  He didn't want to wear a pull-up, and he's gone in it a couple times, but he's also been using the potty some, too.  So I don't know where we're at with that.

Logan has been asking pretty much every day this month if we can put the Christmas tree up.  One more week!  That also means it's almost their birthday. I'm not ready for that!

Logan definitely seems to be more sensitive.  The other day was kind of rough, and during quiet time I was in the office upstairs on the phone with Mike for a few minutes and I was crying.  Logan was in their room down the hall and must have heard me.  Way later, after suppertime, Logan said to me, "I forgot to make you feel better upstairs."  I didn't know what he was talking about and asked him to explain.  He said something about me crying upstairs.  Melt!  What a sweetie-pie!

Levi is "talking" more - he's got some new noises.  He's gone from doing just the "ahhhhh" noise to now doing more of a "da-da-da" noise.  And he loves to talk A LOT!  I love having a conversation with him - he really enjoys it when we go back and forth.  He's not quite scooting yet, but we're right on the brink.  I'm totally fine with him staying in one spot for now.  He's really good at a couple of his toys - he likes to play with the music table, and he can do the one toy where you push a button/pull a lever and it pops up.  He loves watching what's going on.

I definitely can't leave Caleb and Logan alone in a room with Levi yet...  The other day the three of them were in the living room and I was in the bathroom getting ready so I was watching them in the mirror.  Levi had bumped one of his toys with his foot and Caleb thought that was cool and wanted him to do it again, so first he kinda just grabbed Levi by the foot and turned him a little, but then he actually started to pick him up....Caleb had Levi about halfway off the floor!  Yikes!

growing

Levi is growing, but a little closer to normal now.  :)  He weighed in at 18lbs 10oz at the doctor tonight - I think that was 74th percentile.  He's a happy, healthy little boy, for which we are very thankful!  And, we actually don't have to go back in for him until his 12 month check-up (no 9 month)!

behind

Uh-oh, I'm falling behind!  So, pardon the not-very-well-thought-out post as I just try to cram a bunch of stuff in that I don't want to forget.

One night last week I took Caleb with me to the grocery store.  He got to ride in a cool cart, and afterwards we walked over to the Hallmark store because he noticed they had a Christmas tree up, so we checked things out over there.  He really liked seeing all the Christmas stuff.  (Speaking of Christmas, Logan frequently asks when we can put the Christmas tree up...)

On Thursday I went to a friend's house to help her with her photo editing software, and took just Logan with me.  He got to watch tv with her kids (who we often have playdates with) and then he and I went to the new Target together.  He got to choose out a little matchbox plane for himself, and he chose one out for Caleb, too.

I LOVE it when I have the chance for some one-on-one time with my boys!  The dynamic is so different than when I'm trying to manage the chaos of all three at once.  :)

For Halloween Caleb and Logan dressed up like pirates and went trick-or-treating to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I stayed home with sick Levi.

So, yeah, Levi's been sick with a cold.  He's still kinda snotty, but he's finally napping better this week than he did last week.  Last week was kinda rough with him.  It sure seems like he's teething, too, but I don't see anything ready to pop through.  There was a night last week that I was up 3x with him, 1x with Logan, and Mike was up 1x with Caleb...  Otherwise Levi's been doing great at night - thank goodness!  Caleb and Logan are more and more often waking up scared or needing help with blankets or something.  Not sure what to do about that...

Sunday morning was Levi's dedication at church.  What a blessing to have that opportunity, and to share it with some of our family and church family.  It was a little nerve-wracking going up in front of church with a 6-month-old that spits up profusely and two almost three-year-olds, but we did it!  Levi didn't spit up at all - the pastor held him and we don't have a dry cleaning bill to pay!  :)  Caleb and Logan liked the sound their steps made on the stage, so they stomped around a little, but not too bad.  Right away they spotted our friend, Edina, in the front row with her camera so they were smiling like cheeseballs.  After church our family came back to our house for a brunch.  The baby of the hour napped through the whole thing!  Which worked out really nice.  :)

Levi is 6 months old already!!  I can hardly believe it.  It's mostly a blur of chasing his older brothers around with a little bit of feeding and diapering him thrown in there.  :)  He can't sit up on his own yet, but it seems like it won't be too long.  He seems awfully close to scooting - earlier this evening I was noticing him pushing with his foot trying to reach a toy.  He is very happy - smiles and laughs alot (especially at his brothers!).  He is ticklish in his ribs.  :)  He's got a pretty good grip - will grab my face and give big "kisses" (really, he's just trying to find something, anything, to chew on...).  He's  been eating all sorts of stuff: avocado, banana, applesauce, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots...  He takes three naps a day and has four meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an evening snack.  He's been waking up earlier since the time change, but it's been working out okay.

It's taken 6 whole months, but yesterday Caleb just started imitating me feeding Levi.  :)  He had a stuffed animal (frog) and was holding him and told me he was feeding him just like I feed Levi, and he even had to change his diaper later.  :)

Yesterday after Mike got home from work we loaded up the family to go vote.  The boys got a bunch of stickers, which they loved.  Logan must have heard a volunteer telling a voter that if they wore their sticker they would get a discount at Crazy Horse or Salt & Pepper, so on our way out Logan asked where we were going.  I told him we were going home and he got all upset.  I asked where he wanted to go and he said he wanted to go to Crazy Pepper!  :)