Christmas 2009

Christmas this year was so fun! Three babies to enjoy, three times the presents, three times the garbage, three times the fun! We all had a great day. Riley and Conner enjoyed all of their presents, especiall the rock star stuff...they are so cool. Makenna liked everything her brothers got more than what she got. It was good to buy some pink and purple presents this year.

Michael and I celebrated our 6th anniversary this year on December 27th. We went to dinner and an early movie and had a good time together. It is hard to believe how much we have done in the past six years, what we have accomplished, what we have created, and the love we share.

Santa!

My grandmother, mom, and I took the three munchkins to meet the Head Elf today! I was worried that Makenna would be terrified, but amazingly she did not cry once and simply stared at the man in red with curiosity and wonder. The boys did awesome because they love Santa and the picture turned out great! Can't wait until Christmas morning:)

Virus

I never experienced this with Riley or Conner. Oddly enough, they were both being watched by someone other than a family member by the time they were 5 months old with other kids around. Makenna, on the other hand, is being watched, graciously, by her Nene and Nanny. She is the only kid in the house, so how on Earth does she contract the Roseola Virus? Everything that I read online and heard from the doctor says that it is a very common childhood illness that is contracted around 9 months of age. Guess what? Makenna is about 9 1/2 months old. She felt awful on Sunday, ran a low-grade fever, and then woke up on Monday with speckles all over her back, belly, and face.

Luckily it is only contagious through shared saliva...I guess someone with it kissed her or let her drink after them or somethin, who knows. The boys seem to be in the clear and miss Makenna is on the mend. It looks pretty scary, but fortunatley it wasn't itchy or anything for her, just made her cranky and, of course, she only wanted her mommy.

What month is it?...

Soooo, I haven't updated in a while.... We have had a lot going on since August. When I went back to work, everything seemed to get super busy. The boys are doing great at school. Riley is learning to write his letters, his name, draw shapes, etc, and Conner is doing the same, just at a more relaxed pace. They are both extremely smart and come home daily ready to tell me about their day or show me their latest picture or word.

Makenna is 9 months old, standing while holding on, and trying to get brave enough to get her balance without holding on to something. She still does not have any teeth, but has begun to eat little finger snacks that easily dissolve and can go anywhere she can get her walker to or that she can "army" crawl toward. She loves hanging out with her brothers and gets upset if they don't pay attention to her. I cannot believe how quickly time has gone since she was born.

We did our traditional trip to the pumpkin patch and it was actually cool enought to wear jeans and some sleeves.

Happy Birthday Papa!!!

Today would have been my grandfather's 72nd birthday. He was an amazing man who loved his family, cussed the Bucs on Sunday, and watched old western movies he had seen eight thousand times. I miss him everyday and wonder sometimes what he would think about Makenna. I know he would just adore her, as he did Riley and Conner.

After he died, I told Riley and Conner that Papa had gone to live in the moon and they were ok with this at the time. As they get older, they talk about how Papa is in the moon and how they don't like it when he "rolls the balls" because it makes a loud sound (thunder). They want to go visit Papa and I just tell them that someday they will be able to do just that, but for now he wants them here with us so he can watch them grow up to be big boys.

I miss him so much, but am glad that he is in a better place. I look for him in the moon sometimes and I can feel his love surround us.

Happy birthday Papa, love and miss you!

Summer is winding down...

So...this is officially my last weekend of summer vacation as I return to work on Monday to tackle 200+ schedules for hormonal 8th graders who feel they are ready to move on to bigger and better things :) This morning I thought I would be a nice wife and allow my hubby...who has been working out in the hot sun all summer long, sleep in and I would take the kids...all three of them...out for the morning. We had a nice McDonalds breakfast at the park where Riley and Conner managed to get brand new summer outfits filthly within an hour. Makenna and I watched them play and swung on the swing a little before the flies were just too annoying to stay. From there, we went to my grandmother's house where Riley began his normal poor behavior, but we all survived. Now I am home and waiting for the boys to get here as they talked their Mama into brining them home later. Tomorrow, my last day of summer, we are all, Mama included, going to Busch Gardens to battle the crowds, see the animals, and play in the Land of the Dragons! Summer is so much fun, but I need to go back to work to get a break...seriously:)

Wanted to show off my babies!!!!

We have had a great July...fireworks, the beach, watching the kids grow...especially Miss Makenna...here are a few photos...

Jen had Surgery

Today, Jen had surgery. She is doing fine. Some people have said that the surgery is a major surgery. Judging by her actions today, I would doubt it, but don't let her know I said that. We were back at home by 1pm after an 8am surgery. The only thing this stops is the 25 kids that she wanted to have. Amazingly, she is in very little pain. You may send her well wishes either via this blog or on facebook under my name. Take care all , Michael

Fourth of July

One of my most favorite holidays, next to Christmas, is the Fourth of July! I love it. It typifies summer vacation...you get to stay up late, play outside, eat junk food, and watch beautiful fireworks in the evening sky after a baseball game and concert! Every year we go out and park behind the baseball stadium so that we can hear what is going on in the stadium, the music, the game, the people, and then we take a picnic dinner. Usually it is pizza, but the last two years it has been hamburgers and hotdogs. We take a few little sparklers, a football, a frisbee, and lots of drinks. The boys got to bring bubbles this year and Makenna enjoyed her first fireworks including an icecream cone and sparklers! I look forward to this every year and love watching the kids have fun!

The One I LOVE!!!

I forgot to post on Father's Day...so I am posting today. I have the BEST husband in the world. We have been together so long, that I can't imagine a day without him in it. If you know us, you know how much he gets on my nerves and how I hate the way he gets the boys all crazy before bed and how he constantly is making noise, I think just to annoy me, as I enjoy peace and quiet when I can get it. He is, however, very much in love with me. He makes me feel beautiful on days I just know I look afright, he gives me comfort even when I push him away because I like to cry alone, he knows what I need and when I need it. Michael is truly the best husband and DAD ever. The three kiddos adore him and beg for him at times. He always pulls through his exhaustion, my nagging, and their whining and gives us exactly what we need; him :) Yesterday we had been married for 5 years and 6 months exactly. I am looking forward to the next 5 years and 6 months to come:)

Catching up!

Who knew that having two rambunctious boys, a three month old baby girl, a husband in college who I swear has ADHD and a full time guidance job at the end of the school year would keep someone so busy?!!! I have been thinking about blogging since the last time, Conner's birthday, but just simply haven't had the time. So here is what we have been up to:


1. Conner broke his right forearm, both bones, by playing/climbing in a low-growing tree. I know I must be a horrible parent to let my son not only get hurt, but break both of his bones in his lower arm. Here is a picture of the x-ray that freaked me out and of course Conner in his dinosaur "slingy".







Of course this happened the day before Mother's Day! Conner is fine and has a blue cast on until June 10 and then we go in for more xrays.



2. We visited the Museum of Science and Industry. The boys loved it and had a great time playing with the stuff. They have a whole room just for kids to play...it was an afternoon well spent :)





3. Makenna is getting sooooo big :) She has started eating some solid foods, well what the experts call solid, I call it soupy, but anyway...she loves sweet potatoes, green beans, and bananas. She prefers mommy to feed her at 5:15pm and Lord help whoever has her if I am late getting home from work. She is smiling a lot more, has two top teeth that will be in by the end of the summer, and has already begun yelling at her brothers when they don't pay enough attention to her :)

As busy as we are here at home and all the stuff that Riley and Conner can get into...I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything in the world.

Happy 3rd Birthday Conner!!!!

Now: April 2009

My baby boy is 3 today! He is my more daring boy, always has his opinion and is willing and ready to share it. He loves his mommy, daddy, his brother and his sister. Conner has a beautiful spirit and I can't wait to see what he will discover next!

Then: April 18, 2006

Conner is a fast learner and tries to copy everything his big brother does, even if I just told Riley not to do it:) He loves duckies, spaghetti and meatballs, riding his bike, and running. It seems like it was just last week I found out I was pregant with him. Expecting when Riley was only 4 months old scared us to death, but we were ready for the challenge of having two energetic boys so close in age. Conner was and still is a blessing to our family!

Happy Birthday Conner-Man! Love you lots:)

Happy 4th Birthday RILEY!!!!

Today my first born is turning 4! This is his last official year of "toddlerhood" as he will be ready to enter kindergarten next year. He is a big boy who claims he is not going to cry the next time he has to get a shot, who knows his ABC's, can count all the way to 20, when he wants to, and who loves his brother and his sister dearly. Riley will definately be the athlete of the family as he already wants to play every sport he has seen and will play t-ball next spring...he wants Santa to bring him baseball stuff. He will also be my rockstar...he loves his guitar and likes to listen to music all the time!
Riley became the center of our world 5 years ago...in late July of 2004 when I found out I was pregnant with him. He is Papa's buddy and mommy and daddy's pride and joy. He has taught us so much about ourselves, our relationship, and how to be good people...because Riley is always watching :)

Love you bunches Riley-Bug...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Birthday fun

So, I will be 28 on Tuesday and my hubby is taking me out tonight for some dinner...just the two of us, no kiddos in tow! This morning I went and got my hair straightened...it needed it for sure, but I got some "me" time out of the whole thing anyway. Michael did a good job with the three little ones all alone here for the morning. He has also been diligently working to get the house cleaned up as well...all of this part of my birthday gift. I don't really need anything, so just him doing this stuff for me is all I really want:)

In other birthday workings...Riley will be 4 on Wednesday and I have to find him a Bob the Builder Cake to take to school for his little party. They want to watch "Bolt", the new movie and have cake at school. So part of our adventure tonight will be to hunt down Bob so we can turn him into a cake for an energetic 4 year old :)

Let's begin...

So I have been reading some blogs, mainly by best friend's, and really enjoy the little stories and tidbits people share. I decided that it would be cool to have a blog of my own in order to share family news with people I don't always have time to call on the phone or stay in touch with like I should. With this new technological age we are in, everyone is online, even my grandmothers and their siblings, so this should be fun and entertaining.