Allergy Season

Several of my posts have included photos of the boys and puffy red eyes.  No big deal, right? 

Unfortunately, it got a bit scarier when Tyler was having trouble breathing one night.  He was coughing so much he was throwing up.  It. Was. Awful!

He and I were up a good portion of the night together. I finally got him to fall asleep in our bed so I could keep an eye on him but there wasn't much sleeping for me.  I had him to Aunt Sandy's office first thing in the morning (so glad she arrives at 7 am)!  

This nebulizer treatment worked wonders for Tyler.  

When I sent this photo to Jeff he panicked a bit but I assured him it was okay.  I took the day off to monitor our big guy.  We also went home with an inhaler to keep his airways open and we continued our routine of Claritin, Benedryl and allergy eye drops.   Poor guy! 

Thankfully he was able to take a 3 and a 1/2 hour nap to recoup.  I should have too but I hopped on a conference call for work while Tyler rested.  :(

I am happy to say that the tree pollen (particularity Oak, we think) has simmered down a bit and we have our fun, rambunctious Tyler back.   

10 Things Moms of Boys Must Do.

This blog post is too funny not to share.  It is a must read if you have a boy, have a friend that has a boy and especially if you have multiple boys.  All so true.  Check it out here.

Grant: 6 MONTHS!

How in the world is our baby boy half a year (and almost a week) old already? 

Truth: Time flies when you are having fun! 

Can you believe it? 

Constant drool - he is working on tooth #4 already.  First tooth came in on 5/5.  Happy Cinco de Mayo to Grant.  His poor allergy ridden eyes are due to the crazy allergy season we have had at this house.  

He is still such a happy guy.  

He is sitting up by himself for 30 seconds or so.  Usually he falls face first because he is reaching too far for some toy. 

Grant LOVES his toys and constantly has something in his mouth.  

In other news...Grant is on the MOVE!  I wouldn't necessarily call it crawling as he is not moving up on all fours yet but he does roll to where he wants to go or puts his butt up in the air and pushes with his legs to go forward while his forehead is getting rug burn.  It is pretty comical to watch.  The photo above and the following photos were taken in 30 second or so period...

Yep, folks, we now have three children who will not sit still.  Let the fun begin!  

Other news: 

Grant is sleeping 10 hours a night!  He usually crashes around 8pm and sleeps until 6am.  It is the ideal schedule for me.  

I already mentioned his teeth - crazy how fast they have all come at once!  

Eating: Grant is still nursing and I am sending pumped milk to the sitters.  I was getting a bit concerned as he was eating four 4-5oz bottles a day and I wasn't keeping up - mostly due to a big workload lately.  I tried a few ounces of formula again and he threw ALL of it up.  So we tried soy formula and he wouldn't touch it.  Would. not. take. a. sip.  

Sandy tried another kind on Tuesday and after some concerned looks took it.  And no projectile vomit!  Bonus!  By no means are we switching to formula full time but I do like having a back up plan that doesn't involve everyone involved changing clothes.  Thanks to Sandy for taking the risk.  I will have to share the photos of a naked baby on a beach towel later.  :)  

We have also started baby food.  I steamed, blended and froze carrots, bananas (no need to steam) and green beans this past week.  Grant has been pleased with all foods he has tried so far.  I even gave him a few puffs tonight at dinner to keep him occupied while we ate and he really enjoyed picking them up and attempting to get them to his mouth.  I would say two of the 10 or so I put on his tray actually made it to his mouth.  

Grant still LOVES to stand and likes to hang on the side of the couch, with me hanging on.  He watches his big brothers and so badly wants to be in on the action.  I am afraid it won't be long before he is in the middle of all of Tyler and Nathan's antics.  

It sure has been a fun and fast 6 months!  

Pre-school daily chart

This is Tyler's daily chart at Little Rascals.  The class all starts on green, ready to learn, each day.  When they do good or nice things they get to move the clip with their name on it up as instructed by the teacher.  If they are not listening or do something unkind they move their clip down.  This particular day Tyler was on the ribbon which is a BIG DEAL!  You don't get to the ribbon on any 'ole day and the ribbon acknowledgement is rare.  Jeff picked up Tyler one day when he was on the ribbon and was so proud they went to the gas station across the street and said he could pick out any treat and drink.  Tyler chose a Dr. Pepper (I am pretty sure he had never had before but must have seen people drinking it) and a peanut M&Ms (probably because we won't yet Nathan have this candy).  Now he strives for the ribbon every day.  He thinks it equates a Dr. Pepper and gets very excited.  

Here is Tyler with his Dr. Pepper and peanut M&Ms.  

Don't let this one day fool you.  While, thankfully, a majority of Tyler's days are blue or purple, we have had several yellow or red days.  If Tyler does get his clip moved down it is for not listening and occasional talking back to his teacher.   This kind of feedback is NOT well received at home!  

The color chart is a good tool for Tyler and for his days not at school he will ask "What color am I right now?"  He probably has more red days at home than anywhere.  He HATES to be on red or yellow so once you tell him his color his behavior often changes quickly or he goes down for a nap.

Most of the time we are very proud of our big guy and cannot believe how fast he is growing up and what an intelligent little man he is becoming.

Happy Easter!

Easter morning started with baskets from the Easter Bunny.  I reused baskets from years past because honesty, they don't care about the containers at all!

Tyler was very excited for a new Superman shirt. 

Tyler got everyone's gifts out for them. 

Nathan was not impressed and just wanted his milk.  

Side note: This kid is a milk drinking fool!  We go through 5-6 gallons of milk a week!  And I only have a 4 year old and 2 year old that drink milk!  I am going to need a cow in the back yard! 

Poor Grant - the bunny ears were too cute not to grab at the dollar store.  

Grant was not in love with the ears.   

Then we were off to church.  

Waiting for church to start. 

Nathan had a muffin walking up to church and was saving some for later in the service. ;) 

These two are best buds. 

Since we had to get to church a bit early on Easter Sunday to get a see we had a few extra minutes to keep Nathan entertained so he used his streamers that were handed out for the service and we took some photos.  

We actually got a family photo with a majority of us looking at the camera!  

LOVE! 

Do I not have the most handsome set of boys?  

Krista and Tyler after church.

My attempt at a brothers photo after church before naps. 

Notice how annoyed Nathan and Tyler are. 

This was as good as it was going to get.  

After naps it was out to Grandma and Popo Francis' for dinner and some tractor and lawnmower rides!

Nathan drove the tractor with Popo! 

Then they switched. 

Nathan in his Superman shirt from his Easter basket.  He is a huge super hero fan! 

We flew the airplanes they got in their Easter baskets too! 

Sweet boys.  

We are so thankful that Jesus gave his life for us so we could have new life and we celebrate his amazing gift on Easter and everyday! 

Happy Easter! 

Easter Egg #3

I know, I know - I am so far behind.  How did we get to May 9th already?  This last week has been a blur and the dark circles under my eyes are due to allergies and sick kiddos (more on later).  Hopefully we are on the mend and all three boys are sleeping as I type this.  Let's see if I can make it to the end of this post with that still the case. :) 

I am confident Tyler and Nathan enjoyed this Easter Egg hunt the most.  My mom and day host the annual Easter Egg Hunt in the dark!  The boys were ready with their headlights so they could carry their baskets and pick up eggs.  

Warning: lots of pictures! 

Out the door!

Stu and Barb's niece, Sophie, joined us for the kid hunt which was restricted to the front yard.  The back and side yards were for the adults.  Yes, the adults hunt and it gets intense.  

Nathan didn't want to stop for a photo.  He wanted to keep hunting. 

Checking out their loot! 

Seriously, this kid just has cuteness written all over him.  (I might be a bit biased.) 

His light was still on and he wanted to keep it on.  It was a bit bright when he looked at you.

Barb's sister, Mary, enjoyed cuddling Grant.  

Poor Barb got spit up all over by Grant a few minutes later.  My mom gave Grant his first 4 ounces of formula while we were on the Easter Eve scavenger hunt and apparently it didn't sit well.  Sorry, Barb! 

Apparently the prize was one that several hunters wanted.  

My grandpas solving the world's problems.  

Some of the crew! 

Why do you keep taking my picture? 

Grandma passing out prizes.  

My mom put together 22 dozen eggs with candy, money and 120 prizes that she and everyone bring.  It is the big daddy of egg hunts! 

Tyler and I lined up all their #s which correspond to prizes and I think Tyler and Nathan took home about 1/3 of the prizes.  Tyler just kept jumping up "That's mine!" 

So proud of his prize! 

Jeanne displaying her Airgas golf towel...lucky her!  

Jeff was mocking an unnamed individuals catching ability. 

Nathan was so tickled by the head massager.  

The boys were up until 9:30 which is VERY late for our house but it was worth it for the amount of fun we had.  

By the way, Tyler is the only one awake as I finish up this post!  I might be able to get some laundry folded now too!  Yippee!