Hayden's Prayer

We've had a really nice weekend, again.  Love this time of year, so many things to do and just seems like everyone is in a better mood.  

Cutie hanging out with daddy on the couch

On Saturday, we just hung out with the boys at the house most of the day.  Well Landon and Casen had dress rehearsal from 1-4pm at church for the Little Drummer Boy show they put on this week...and will do again next week.  They had a lot of fun up there.  When they came home we hung out a little more, picked up the house some and then Dessa came over to watch all 4 of them while Mark and I went to a Christmas party with our small group from church.  

I made some chewy lemon snowdrop cookies (thanks pinterest) and they were SOOO good, going to make some more soon.  The boys loved them.  The Christmas party was fun, yummy food, fun games, it was nice hanging out with other adults and having a little break from the kids.  

Preston woke up way earlier than he "should" have though and was hungry and I felt really bad so I had some formula samples that I have put away for Dessa in case she needs them and I told her to make him a bottle to see if he'd take it.  He still refuses solids most of the time, he definitely would have refused while really hungry and mad.  So she did that and kept telling me how horrible she felt to be giving him formula...he had NEVER had any, even while in the hospital.  But strangely I felt ok with it.  I've learned to relax a little...ok a lot....and realize things like that don't REALLY matter and he will be just fine!!  Turns out he hated it and refused to drink any anyways lol.  She got him calmed down though and he was fine until we got home.  She was great with him though, I felt really bad that she was there with him and there was nothing she could do for him, but she really was great with him, really patient and he was fine.  

Then this morning we had to have the boys to church by 8:30am because they were performing during both services (9:30 and 11:30).  We didn't get to see the first service but were, of course, at the 2nd which is the one we usually go to.  The program was really good and the boys were so cute!  I think I loved just seeing them up there singing and really into that even more than the dancing.  Can't wait to see them again next week!!  I have a video that is currently uploading to facebook but it's 13min long so it's going to take awhile.  

After church Dessa came back to the house, she came back out today to go to their performance, and we had nachos that I had made the meat topping in the crock pot...they were really good!  Definitely one to make again!  (again, thanks Pinterest).  She hung out for awhile, scared the crap out of me having 3-4 contractions exactly 4min apart.  Stay put little Isaiah, 35wks is still too early!  3 more weeks and I'll allow you to be born!  

After she left we cleaned up the house a bit more and then decided to make gingerbread houses.  This year we bought a kit that was a little village that had 5 houses in it so we each made one and Preston just hung out with us.  The boys had a lot of fun, Casen's house fell apart...my house building skills are lacking.  But they turned out pretty good, going to put them up on the mantle until Christmas is over.  

Tonight I gave Preston oatmeal for the first time, I mixed it in with some apples and bananas...he actually really liked it.  I do wonder if there is something going on with his gag reflex though.  When he was younger he would gag on his pacis a lot, as he got a bit bigger he doesn't anymore but I did try to give him the 6mo+ mam ones and he gagged bad again.  It's like his gag reflex is really far forward?  But he gags on solids.  He kept gagging on the stuff tonight BUT he wanted it so I kept feeding him. I don't know if it's possible something caused by having that breathing tube in his throat?  Or just him?  If it's something he'll just have to work out and get over?  Either way I'll be bringing it up to his developmental pediatrician and regular pediatrician if he's still doing it by the time we see them next...or if it gets any worse I'll call.  

After that we watched a little bit of Home Alone 2 while dinner finished, ate and then put the boys in bed.  After putting them in bed I hear Hayden talking to himself and he said this:  "I love Jesus, Jesus loves me!  He is my best friend!  I want to kiss him on the wips (lips...and anyone who knows Hayden knows he is obsessed with kissing and always wants to kiss on the 'wips' lol so he was being sweet) all day long!  I love Jesus.  Amen."  it was the first time I've ever heard him saying anything like a prayer on his own, it was really cute (albeit a little disturbing wanting to kiss him all day long haha) but sweet just the same.  

He sits!!!!!

Preston woke up about 45min after going to bed tonight, really congested and annoyed.  So he hung out with us for a bit.  He was in such a good mood after sitting up for awhile, not so congested after that.  He was giggly and playing <3

I sat on the floor with him and sat him up on the floor and he sat up!!!!!!!  ON HIS OWN!!!!  First time ever!!  He stayed upright for a few sec then would lean onto one hand or forward but he still supported himself for awhile!  He did so awesome!!  

Since he was in such a good mood I decided to put his Santa suit on him and take pics in front of the tree showing off his new "trick"

Big boy!!  6mo 4 days

I love his Santa outfit!

More sitting up

Even sick he's such a happy baby

Man, I love that baby!  I feel so blessed everyday to have my 4 amazing little men.  We have had such an awesome weekend and hope we will have a great week, too.  Hope you all have a wonderful week too!!!  

Decorating the Tree!!!

After I got back from taking Preston to the ER today I put him down for a nap and we decorated the tree with the big boys!  They had soooo much fun.  

Boys sorting ornaments, finding all the ones that are just theirs

Daddy making sure all lights worked

Casen putting on his first ornament 

Landon putting up his first ornament

Hayden putting up his first ornament

Typical Hayden lol...he got really upset because I asked them to stand in front of the tree for a picture and Casen was standing close to one of Hayden's ornaments (which were scattered all over)....in other words, he was exhausted

Casen trying to figure out what he could do to fix it

Lovely picture boys :)

Maggie likes the tree...her with Casen and Landon

Daddy putting up our angel

Finished skinny tree...wish we had kept our HUGE tree we had in Colorado just didn't have space when we moved, had to leave it behind

Another ER Trip

Poor Preston is sick...again.  Over the past 4 wks or so he hasn't made it a full week before he gets sick again.  Last night he had a pretty high fever, today it's gone down though.  But he has a cough, is really congested, runny nose, yucky eye and just feeling bad :(  I called the nurse hotline to see what they thought, see if he could ride it out.  They said with his history and him breathing so fast that we should have him checked out.  

The dr at the ER was awesome, she was going over the questions they always ask...allergies, up to date on vaccines, etc.  When she asked about vaccines I said no, then she asked if he had had any...at this point I was expecting some lecture when I said no but instead she said, "yeah we don't vaccinate my kids either"!  Not often you hear it from a dr, they usually won't admit how they feel about it.  Our old pedi in Colorado didn't vaccinate her kids either though.  So she looked him over and said he has Sinusitis..or a sinus infection.  She prescribed antibiotics but told me it was up to me whether to get them filled or not..it was what they were supposed to do for that so that's why she prescribed them.  Normally we would avoid antibiotics unless the boys HAD to have them but with him he worries us, we don't know how long to let him try and fight things off is ok.  He's already been on quite a few antibiotics because of the NICU, being septic twice, having staph, etc.  So I would really like to avoid them if we can.  So she told me what to watch for and if he starts getting these things we will fill it and start them.  

She was also talking (or I should say whispering) about some things they do.  We talked about our pedi, that I really don't like ours but wasn't able to find anyone else to take people who didn't vaccinate so she recommended one to me that I"m going to look up.  Then she also recommended a chiropractor for us and the kids.  So I'm going to look into doing that for him as well...maybe it will help with him getting sick so often.  

For now, he's ok though, just feeling bad :(  But nothing serious.  Hopefully he doesn't get any worse.  She said she could test for RSV but there is no treatment so the best thing is just to watch him and if he shows ANY signs of having a hard time breathing to bring him straight back in.  

Getting into the Christmas spirit

First, if y'all remember back in Oct we went on a playdate with a new friend, L, and her little girls J and P to the Ft Worth Museum of Science and History.  Today she posted on her Facebook page that they lost her Paw Paw and little J is in the hospital awaiting surgery #2.  She didn't post what is going on but I ask for you to keep them in your prayers.  J isn't quite 4yrs yet, scary to think what might be going on.  Lots of love and prayers to their family <3

Today we decided to start preparing for Christmas around here!  The boys had rehearsal for The Little Drummer Boy performance they are doing at church, so they were there from 1:45-4pm...well they were late, of course, when are we not these days??  While they were there we went and found the outfits they need for the performance, nothing too hard, just a long sleeved red shirt and khaki colored pants.  They said cargo but the boys are so skinny that those don't fit them right, they are way too wide but we found these that are easy to move in yet still look pretty nice so they will look good in the other scenes that they aren't dancing in, too.

After we left the store it was time to pick them up so we went back to get them and I remembered we were supposed to look for an elf to do Elf on a shelf.  We didn't want to spend the $30 to get it with a book, that elf is kinda weird looking anyway.  So after picking them up we went to Target and Mark went in and found one.  It's by Elf on a Shelf but is plush, and really cute, I think at least.  We decided to name him Elfis....like Elvis lol.  Mark's idea and the boys liked it

Preston really liked him too

Well he liked to eat him....

After we got home with Elfis we cleaned the house and Mark got out the tree while I started dinner.  The boys helped put the tree up and then came and helped me make potato soup.  While Mark finished cleaning up we started making some Christmas treats.  

Preston kept attacking everything we put in reach

He didn't stay long, he doesn't like his bumbo but he sat with us for a little bit then went to cuddle with daddy.  

Making White Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzels...which BTW are AWESOME!!!

Hayden helping put hershey's kisses on the pretzels

All of us adding m&ms after we melted the kisses just a little

Finished products, both turned out so yummy and the boys did an awesome job.  We are going to make things like this and package them up as gifts to the aunts, uncles and grandparents this year...shhhhh

By the time we finished cleaning, setting up the tree, cooking dinner, making those and eating it was past bedtime so we didn't get to actually decorate the tree tonight but we will after church tomorrow.  Think we might decorate gingerbread houses tomorrow too and make the lemon cookies I bought the stuff to try to see if we want to give those as gifts too :)

My sweet big boys

Haydy trying some of the holiday pretzel treats

Sweet boy

We are so ready for Christmas!!!!  Can't wait to see where Elfis is in the morning ;)

PBJ is 6mo old!

Half a year already...wow!  Makes me very sad :(  He might (probably) be our last so seeing how fast it's going by with Preston is making me really sad.  But it also makes me really proud of how far he's come.  6mo ago we weren't sure we'd get to this point.  He is such a strong, amazing little boy and we are so blessed to have him!  

He is now 16lbs 4oz, as of this morning after a feed.  I don't know how tall he is but I'll see if I can measure him soon.  I was thinking he had an appt coming up in Dec for his 6mo appt but I just called and it was set up for Jan 20th!  He would be almost 8mo then.  So they rescheduled it but the soonest they can get him in is Jan 9th so he'll be right over 7mo.  So I want to measure him to see how big he is now.  But he's doing really well.  He does seem to have a hard time maintaining his body temp and it will drop easily and quickly if he's not kept warm, but other than that he is doing great!

He is still nursing pretty much full time.  We did start solids at about 4.5mo but he's only had them maybe 5-6x since then.  He is now eating really well when I offer but I've only been offering about once a week.  I think now that he's 6mo we'll start offering more often, maybe every other day and work up to every day?  We'll see how he does.  I have found that if I offer too often he isn't interested, he is still mostly wanting to nurse.  He hasn't been feeling well the past few days so he's been eating more often, 11x on Tuesday!  But usually he is nursing 6-7x in a 24hr period for about 5min each time.  I'm really happy we've been able to make it to 6mo.  Considering he didn't attempt to nurse a single time until he was 15 days old it's amazing!!!  He is probably the best nurser I've had too, from the first time, he's latched perfectly and had no issues.  He has bit me quite a few times but we are working on that and he only does it when he's done nursing and just messing around so I just stop nursing him and tell him ow...he isn't doing it nearly as often anymore.

We are about 1/2 cloth and 1/2 disposables lately.  I really want to move more towards full time cloth, we've just been so busy I've been taking the easy way.  Not that using the cloth is hard it's just disposables are even easier lol.  I'm really sad that I can't find anymore new BumGenius AIO diapers, he's outgrowing his smalls and they are our favorites for going out, I want mediums!!!  

He's getting really strong and pushes up really well on his tummy.  He isn't getting on his hands and knees yet, I think we are a ways away from that still but he kicks like crazy and can turn in a circle on his tummy and back.  He loves to lay on his playmat and play with the toys, it's his favorite thing aside from being held lol.  He still needs pretty much full support to sit up or he falls forward immediately.  He loves to stand but doesn't attempt to walk when you hold him, Hayden did that at 2mo so makes me wonder if Hayden was weird or if all babies do it lol.  I can't remember if Casen and Landon did it.  Oh well.  He is still just rolling from his tummy to his back but is starting to try really hard to get from his back to his tummy.  He also now reaches out for everything!  He is really interested in food now and will grab it and try and eat it.  As soon as we get his highchair (one of his Christmas gifts) we are going to start offering him table foods to see how he does, for now we are just doing purees.  

His hair is finally starting to fill in more!  It's a really pretty color too.  In certain lights, especially sunlight, it has a red tint to it....totally suits him.  But in just regular room light it's a light brown.  He has really pretty eye lashes too, they are really long, you can see them in that pic above.  

He also loves to give kisses!!  It's the sweetest thing ever!  When you hold him if you ask for kisses he'll grab your face and give you a really big kiss :)  Yesterday he went to stay with Aunt Dessa while I got my hair redone and as soon as I handed him to her she said hi and he got a huge smile on his face and I took his paci and he leaned in and gave her a big kiss.  He LOVES his Aunt Dessa.  She put a video up on Facebook last night while she had him, she was laying on the couch with him sitting next to her belly and when she'd tell him to kiss Isaiah he'd kiss her belly <3  He is so smart! 

Mean Moms

Sometimes I wonder why little kids in Landon and Casen's grades are so, where are their parents?  How did they even learn to treat people that way?  Then, I enrolled Hayden in gymnastics and quickly exactly how some of those kids get like that.  Their parents.

Hayden is the only boy in his gymnastics class, there are about 6 girls.  There is only little girl, R, that he gets along with, she's a sweetheart, very sensitive but also a little rough and crazy...like Hayden.  She has a little brother and him and her mom watch each week.  Then there are the other girls, every one of them is stuck up and just mean.  Hayden likes them all, he likes everyone, and he just wants them to like him and laugh at him.  So he's always trying, always goofing off trying to get their attention and make them laugh.  One little girl, M, is sometimes nice to him.  Then the others are ok, not outright mean, except on occasion, except one little girl, K...she is a total snob and always mean to him, she is always tattling on him.  I try not to let it bother me because they are 4–5yrs old but I do wonder WHY they act like that...but I don't know why I wonder, because I know exactly why....their moms are the exact same way.  All, except R's mom, are total snobs.  I have tried smiling and saying hi since the first week but rarely get anything in return so I've stopped trying lately.  They never talk to me but always talk to each other.  I try and be nice and one of them was asking where to find the onesie stickers for the months the baby is and no one knew and I had just ordered some for  Preston and Isaiah so I told her where to get them.  There is a little bell the kids get to ring when they get a new thing on their own and all the coaches and parents clap.  I always clap for their kids...but they never do for Hayden.  It's all so petty, I have no idea what I have done to them, but they obviously don't like me and their kids don't like Hayden....whatever.  I try not to let it get to me.  

But today, I was trying to really be on top of Hayden and him paying attention.  He's easily distracted and will start goofing off, talking and just not paying attention.  When he does it he gets out of line or even still stands in line but the other little girls will just come and get in front of him...there has been more than one occasion where all of the other kids will have a turn 2x before Hayden gets a turn.  So I kept telling him today to pay attention, stay in line, settle down, etc.  Then a few times other girls got in front of him so I told him he needs to be paying attention he's supposed to be behind whoever and to tell whoever was in front of him that and get back in his place and just pay attention.  Well apparently this really annoyed M's mom because one time M got in front of Hayden and she, in a really rude voice, just says "M just move back" and turned to me and said "does it really matter?  I dont' think any of them are in the line they started in (actually they were), it doesn't matter when he goes"  I told her it does matter because he gets distracted and all of them will have 2 turns before he ever gets 1.  I was SO pissed.  I wanted to go on to tell her that I pay the same amount of money a month as she does and so it does matter that he is only getting 1/2 the turns as everyone else.  I'm sure it'd matter to her if it was her kid getting passed up 1/2 the time.  She kept huffing and puffing, rolling her eyes.  

Then at the end of class K's little sister had mini candy canes and handed them out to everyone except Hayden and R.  R was crying while her mom put her shoes on and someone asked why and her mom said she didn't know, but she did, I heard R...it was because she was left out.  All of the other kids and their moms were going to lunch together why couldn't they wait until they had left the gym to do that?  Of course they don't care, they are raising the future mean girls, they didn't correct it, they just allow them to leave people out like that.  

I really have never been around moms that are just so stuck up and outright rude and mean to other people and it's amazing to see it already in their kids.....sad really.  I can't stand to be around people like that and I'm really tempted to just pull Hayden out of gymnastics but I don't want him to miss out because of people like them.  Sucks.