lately
So, I've posted lots of cute pictures lately but not much else.
Tyrone has been working a ton. We had planned a mini getaway to Syracuse 2 weekends ago, but he had a surprise CQ shift, so that was out. 2 weeks before that, he had 18 hour shifts for an entire weekend. We miss him a good deal and are coveting the time that we do get together, as deployment is approximately one month away now. Last night he had to stay in the field and is still out there-in a severe winter weather warning. I hope they come back in soon, we have wet, heavy snow. There will be sleet, ice, and lots of slush.
Gabriel has been on his medication for ADHD (Concerta) for several weeks now. It definitely helps, as you can tell the minute it kicks in in the morning, and you can tell when the effects have worn off (complete melt down!) But, he focus better at school and I have had many positive notes from his teacher, which is wonderful. Gabe's appetite is affected around lunch time, but I have made up for that by feeding him breakfast twice :)
He has Instant Breakfast with whole milk and a Nutri Grain bar or something similar at home, and then I have him eat breakfast at school as well. He normally eats maybe a quarter of his lunch at school, but then his appetite makes a comeback in time for afternoon snack at school. We have dinner shortly after he gets home, and then we offer a snack later then we normally would before bed. It may be unconventional, but it gets the job done...Gabe doesn't have an ounce that he can afford to lose!
Kaleb is just chugging along at school! He is making strides in every subject, has been talking to the deployment specialist about his Daddy's upcoming deployment, and has become completely cooperative and enthusiastic with his teacher. It is such a joy to watch him grow and take charge of himself! He brought home a chapter book by Avi this past week, which made me smile, I so enjoyed Avi when I was younger. I was able to recommend another to him and he asked that I dig out some of my books from when I was younger. Happy to! I never get rid of a book :)
Shiloh is so stinkin' smart! She says things that just blow us away and make us laugh! The other day, she and I carefully did a deep cleaning of the living room. When Tyrone came home on his lunch, Shiloh ran to block his entry, threw her arms wide and said "Daddy! Don't make a mess!" It was hilarious. Also, she was trying to convince me to give her a snack one evening, but I was in the process of making dinner, it was going to be ready in less then 30 min., so I told her she'd have to wait. She clutched her stomach, doubled over, and groaned "I'm sooooo empty!" She is also struggling with being 2 :) Unfortunately we have been having to correct a bit of defiant behavior, but we're getting there!
Emmeline is doing well, too! But, since her 2 month post will be coming up soon, I'll save her update until then.
I am just kind of getting along. This is such a learning process and it's hard to balance meeting the needs of the big kids and doing what Emmeline needs while she is so teeny, especially when it has been just me with the kids so much of the time lately. I know that will be my 24/7 reality before long, but everyday that passes before that is so Emme grows up a bit more. That helps, because as she is able to entertain herself, I am able to more evenly spread myself among the kids. Does anyone have a cloning machine? That would make things MUCH easier!!
We are making progress, though! On Saturday, we took all of the kids to Walmart. The boys needed glasses, according to the school nurse. Well, Gabe will need glasses in a year or two, but not yet. He currently sees a little better then 20/40 and would be able to pass a license exam w/ that vision. Kaleb has perfect vision (miracle!) and the Dr. does not think he will ever need glasses! After that, Tyrone decided to take us all out to dinner. All six of us! I was so apprehensive, but everyone made us so proud! Emmeline slept the whole time, and the boys and Shiloh played nicely, were patient, and ate well. So, yay for progress!
Ok, that was a whole lot of information, but I had a chance to sit down and type it and I felt like I should as I rarely have enough time to do much more then throw a pic or two up with a couple of sentences. If you made it through all of that, bless you!
Tyrone has been working a ton. We had planned a mini getaway to Syracuse 2 weekends ago, but he had a surprise CQ shift, so that was out. 2 weeks before that, he had 18 hour shifts for an entire weekend. We miss him a good deal and are coveting the time that we do get together, as deployment is approximately one month away now. Last night he had to stay in the field and is still out there-in a severe winter weather warning. I hope they come back in soon, we have wet, heavy snow. There will be sleet, ice, and lots of slush.
Gabriel has been on his medication for ADHD (Concerta) for several weeks now. It definitely helps, as you can tell the minute it kicks in in the morning, and you can tell when the effects have worn off (complete melt down!) But, he focus better at school and I have had many positive notes from his teacher, which is wonderful. Gabe's appetite is affected around lunch time, but I have made up for that by feeding him breakfast twice :)
He has Instant Breakfast with whole milk and a Nutri Grain bar or something similar at home, and then I have him eat breakfast at school as well. He normally eats maybe a quarter of his lunch at school, but then his appetite makes a comeback in time for afternoon snack at school. We have dinner shortly after he gets home, and then we offer a snack later then we normally would before bed. It may be unconventional, but it gets the job done...Gabe doesn't have an ounce that he can afford to lose!
Kaleb is just chugging along at school! He is making strides in every subject, has been talking to the deployment specialist about his Daddy's upcoming deployment, and has become completely cooperative and enthusiastic with his teacher. It is such a joy to watch him grow and take charge of himself! He brought home a chapter book by Avi this past week, which made me smile, I so enjoyed Avi when I was younger. I was able to recommend another to him and he asked that I dig out some of my books from when I was younger. Happy to! I never get rid of a book :)
Shiloh is so stinkin' smart! She says things that just blow us away and make us laugh! The other day, she and I carefully did a deep cleaning of the living room. When Tyrone came home on his lunch, Shiloh ran to block his entry, threw her arms wide and said "Daddy! Don't make a mess!" It was hilarious. Also, she was trying to convince me to give her a snack one evening, but I was in the process of making dinner, it was going to be ready in less then 30 min., so I told her she'd have to wait. She clutched her stomach, doubled over, and groaned "I'm sooooo empty!" She is also struggling with being 2 :) Unfortunately we have been having to correct a bit of defiant behavior, but we're getting there!
Emmeline is doing well, too! But, since her 2 month post will be coming up soon, I'll save her update until then.
I am just kind of getting along. This is such a learning process and it's hard to balance meeting the needs of the big kids and doing what Emmeline needs while she is so teeny, especially when it has been just me with the kids so much of the time lately. I know that will be my 24/7 reality before long, but everyday that passes before that is so Emme grows up a bit more. That helps, because as she is able to entertain herself, I am able to more evenly spread myself among the kids. Does anyone have a cloning machine? That would make things MUCH easier!!
We are making progress, though! On Saturday, we took all of the kids to Walmart. The boys needed glasses, according to the school nurse. Well, Gabe will need glasses in a year or two, but not yet. He currently sees a little better then 20/40 and would be able to pass a license exam w/ that vision. Kaleb has perfect vision (miracle!) and the Dr. does not think he will ever need glasses! After that, Tyrone decided to take us all out to dinner. All six of us! I was so apprehensive, but everyone made us so proud! Emmeline slept the whole time, and the boys and Shiloh played nicely, were patient, and ate well. So, yay for progress!
Ok, that was a whole lot of information, but I had a chance to sit down and type it and I felt like I should as I rarely have enough time to do much more then throw a pic or two up with a couple of sentences. If you made it through all of that, bless you!
sister love
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Yesterday Emmeline was enjoying her floor gym, and I guess Shiloh thought she looked lonely. Shiloh put lovey down with Emmeline to keep her company. Lovey is still the be all, end all around here, so this was a definite sign of affection!
community center...again!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
It's true that we see a lot of the community center right now. But, it so very cold out that, while we would LOVE to be outside, we are thankful to be within walking distance of a very nice, warm, place to play. The boys had been put out with me because Shiloh gets to play there all the time and they are always at school, so we went up there and played for about 3 hours today. Dawn met us, and so I got to visit with my friend and the kids got some energy out!
They even played nicely together!
And, Emmeline was there, too! She took a nap, ate, and then was bright eyed and bushy tailed
They even played nicely together!
And, Emmeline was there, too! She took a nap, ate, and then was bright eyed and bushy tailed
brownies
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The boys are home on winter break, so, among other things, we made brownies today!
See the cocoa on her face?
Cracking eggs
Gabe is actually the master egg cracker!
And, just 'cause I'm crazy about them, some more pics...
Emmeline helped too....
See the cocoa on her face? 
Cracking eggs
Gabe is actually the master egg cracker!
And, just 'cause I'm crazy about them, some more pics...
Emmeline helped too....
more play dates!
We met Sara and her girls, Caydence and Savannah, at the community center last week. We met another little girl, and the 4 of them had a great time! The ladies that work there had even baked cookies, so the girls had a little "tea party" break. So cute!
bubba
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Shiloh's Bubba would do anything to see her smile...even lead a cheer with a pink pom pom. What more could a little girl want?
playdate with sheena and stormie
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
We were so happy to get a chance to meet up with Sheena and Stormie this afternoon at the community center. We had lots of fun visiting with our old friend and meeting our new one :)
All 3 girls
Proud big sis
Watching big sis!
Playing!
Sheena's a Mommy!
All 3 girls
Proud big sis
Watching big sis!
Playing!
Sheena's a Mommy!paci chronicles
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Shiloh Isabelle is a girl who has loved her pacifier "paci" from the time she was an itty bitty baby. I was blown away by how badly she "needed" it, since neither of the boys had cared much for one. We even had a pediatrician comment that Shiloh had a strong need for non nutritive sucking and that the pacifier was good for her.
The paci didn't impede her speech or her teeth, so we let it be for a long time, especially with all of our constant upheaval. Many moves, Daddy coming and going because of the Army, potty training, new baby, etc. But, a few months before Emmeline was born, I told Shiloh that big girls only have a paci at bedtime, and we were going to start leaving it there. I prepared for a backlash....and was pleasantly surprised. She asked for it twice that first day, and not at all after that. She happily left it in bed, and the only time it made an appearance downstairs was when she would "sneak" it down as a game (to hear me say "Shiloh! Where do big girls keep their pacis?!" At which point she would laugh and bring it to me....like the tent picture in the last post which was actually from a couple of weeks ago.)
She had 3 pacis left and I wasn't going to buy anymore. She started chewing them at night, so slowly, they started getting holes. One would get a hole, I'd tell her it was broken and throw it away. Then the second one. When she put holes in the last one, I was torn. Would we ever sleep if I got rid of the last one and didn't buy her more? I mean, she still cries if she loses it in the night! But, we didn't have a chance to get to the store that day, so I bit the bullet, tossed the last paci, and put her to bed. She asked for it once, and I reminded her that it was "broken." She nodded, and that was that! No tears, and, what's more, no waking up in the night, b/c she's not looking for it anymore!
Easy Peasy, I couldn't believe it. She is now paci free....just in time for us to have another daughter who is wild about her paci.... :)
1 month {e}
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Little Miss Emmeline is already one month old! She is doing really well and starting to settle into more predictable routines. This is a good thing, because for a while I felt like I was never going to sleep, ever again! This is not to say we are getting tons of sleep, but for 1 month old, she's doing pretty well, averaging one 4 hour and one 3 hour period of sleep during night time hours. Generally, she would like to sleep later in the mornings, but unfortunately we all have to coordinate our schedules and the boys need to be up at 6:30 to get ready for school.
As you can see in the pic....she is smiling now! At first it was just an unpredictable smile here and there, but she has been more generous with them the past few days, smiling at her brothers, sister, Daddy, and, in this pic, Mommy. Nothing is better then baby smiles! One of the things that I'm happiest about...we are still nursing! My confidence with this took a serious blow after Shiloh, who was tongue tied, but Emme and I are still going strong!
Emmeline did have a small set back with her weight gain when she had jaundice a few weeks ago (like all of my other babies), but we did the bili blanket here at home, and got that behind us quickly. I don't know what she weighs right now, but I know she's growing, because she is now too big for her newborn size footy sleepers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
