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I really don't know how parents of larger families do it - there is just way too much to keep track of with each child and their individual needs. 

Poor Caleb, he's dealing with a few extra things right now.  I don't remember if I mentioned this before or not, but a little while back he failed the hearing test at school, so next week he has to go into the Health Department for a retest.  Last week Mike took Caleb and Logan in for dentist appointments.  Caleb has one cavity (the first of any of the kids), and needs to get in to an orthodontist.  :(  We knew that was coming at some point, but were hoping we had another year or two before having to start with that.  He has a cross bite and needs to get an expander to help correct how his teeth are growing in. 

I was relieved how Logan checked out at the dentist.  Last year the hygienist said she had to do quite a bit of cleaning and he needed to work on his brushing.  Well, he must have improved because she said he looked great this time!  Levi and I go to the dentist tomorrow afternoon.  I know I'm going to need some work done.  Good times.  We've been selling a lot of wood this fall.  Looks like I know what that money is going towards!

A few months ago we noticed a couple bumps on Levi's torso that looked like warts.  Then all of the sudden he had a bunch of them on his torso.  And, a few days ago he told me they were on his legs, too!  He has an area on both of his upper thighs that has them.  This morning I was in to the doctor with Jackson for his 2 year check-up, and asked him about it.  He said it's probably a virus that just needs to run it's course and could take several months.  I'm going to take a closer look when Levi gets home from school, and if it doesn't match a picture that the doctor showed me, then I'll need to get him in to be looked at.  But, if it matches the picture then it's this certain virus and we just have to wait it out. 

So, yeah, Jackson had a well-child visit to the doctor this morning.  Besides charming the whole office (no surprise there), he checked out really well.  He came in wearing his new cow backpack, carrying his combine, and saying 'hi' to the nurse.  He was jabbering like crazy, and had no problem making himself at home in the exam room.  Jackson is 27 lbs, which is 36th percentile; and 2' 11", which is 67th percentile.  He was going on and on about his "pombine" (combine), so at the end of our visit the nurse went to great lengths to find him a combine sticker because she knew they had some somewhere.  She took him in the office area by the receptionists while I was checking out, and I heard all sorts of "oooo's" and "ahhhh's" over him.  ;)  And, on the way out there was a newborn baby in the waiting room that he just had to check out.  What a sweetheart. 

Mike and I have been saying we'd really like to freeze this age.  It is just too much fun.  I remember loving from 2-3 with Levi, too.  With Caleb and Logan I don't know if that age was just too much work with two of them to enjoy it, or if it's all just a blur and I've forgotten.  :)  Jackson definitely has challenging moments where he trying to assert his independence, but problems can usually be fixed with food or sleep.  :)  He is turning into such a little boy with a big personality, and it's pretty awesome having a front row seat.  He is learning and trying new words all the time, and I especially enjoy seeing how he remembers things or when he follows directions.  He still calls all of his brothers "Wuvi", and while he calls both grandpa's "Papa", he does differentiate between Grammy (more like "Gammi") and Grandma (actually comes out sounding like "Obama"...).  Jackson is very social and enjoys a good party - he was so jazzed up at a family dinner the other night; Christmas should be a good time!  (*Ahem* Think he takes after his daddy???) 

Mike and my dad finished corn harvest on Saturday.  I had two boys that were a little sad about that (Levi and Jackson).  Levi was almost in tears.  He absolutely LOVES combining, and could ride for hours. 

Last week was the visitation and funeral for my grandma, and it was a blessed couple days with family.  My sister was able to fly in for a few days, and it was nice to have some extra time with her.  I had some out of town cousins that were also able to make it in.  The funeral was special as it was performed by the pastor that my grandma worked with for several years in Florida.  We always heard so much about Jim Blizzard, but I had only met him once or twice.  Her love of Christ was very evident - my mom was able to read my grandma's testimony that she had typed up a few years back, and that was very special.  The Gospel was clearly shared, and I hope it planted a seed in some hearts.  Mike stayed home with the boys while I went to the visitation, and then for the funeral we were able to take the three older boys.  It was a LONG day between all the driving, funeral, lunch, graveside service, and then dinner with the family; and they really did great with it all. 

Thursday evening we had Parent/Teacher Conferences at school, and we were so thrilled with each of the reports.  Caleb's grades are very good, as well as his behavior.  His teacher noted that he is gentlemanly, and is showing self-control even when others around him are misbehaving.  He could work on his desk organization (No surprise there! Ha!), but she wasn't overly concerned.  Logan is also very gentlemanly, and she mentioned how he is very perceptive of other people's feelings.  His grades are very good, and the teacher said that maybe sometimes he's afraid to try something just because he thinks he might not do it well enough (something I've noticed at home as well).  Levi's teacher said he is "...kind and considerate.  He is quick to help others.  He works hard and does his best."  What more could you ask for??  He has a couple things to work on academically (writing the letter "a", and sounding out words), but if they are trying their best, and their behavior is good, we are so very pleased.  Friday evening we took them out for supper as a reward, and they all agreed on Pizza Ranch.  (Did you catch that?  They all AGREED on the same place!)

I've been trying to decide how to rearrange bedroom assignments upstairs to get Jackson up there soon.  I may be insane, but on Saturday we decided to move Levi into Caleb and Logan's room.  Yes, all three of them together.  So far they've actually been sleeping at night, so that's a good sign.  Getting him moved in there required a major cleaning/reorganizing on my part.  A couple hours into it when I was sitting in the middle of their room with piles of *junk* all around me, I wondered what in the world I was doing.  But, clearly their stuff needed some attention, so although it was painful, it was good I did it.  Levi is all moved in, and now his old room is ready for Jackson to move up.  Now, the problem is, even though I've been thinking about this for a while, I don't know if I'm ready for Jackson to move up....  All this room switching is causing a ripple effect through the house which is a bit overwhelming, but it needs to be done.  Once Jackson is moved upstairs, I'm going to move some of the stuff from my office down to his old room, then hopefully turn my office into a hang out/reading area/lego building spot for the boys.  My plan is to also get a bed set up in the extra bedroom, and still use that room for clothes storage (since I have tubs of clothes in every size, and I need to access them frequently).  I'm just about ready to throw all our extra stuff into a big pile and start it on fire, but I'm too cheap to do that, so I'll keep dealing with it.  :)