Blood draw

We are getting ready to see the endocrinologist next week to follow up on Ryan's Vitamin D levels (he still takes vitamin D drops everyday). To prep for this visit, he had to get his blood drawn. Last time they pricked his heel and just squeezed enough blood out. Ryan wasn't a huge fan bug it was likely more that he was laying on a hard table and they were holding his ankle firm. Fast forward 2 months later for our follow-up. My MIL & niece were in town so I didn't bring the older boys....thank goodness! They used a real band around his arm to check for 'good' veins! I casually mentioned how last time they used his heel. She promised me she would only try one time and if it didn't work she would do the heel, but the doctor wanted an additional test so they needed more blood this time & the heel would take a lot longer. Okay..... His arms didn't present very well but his his left hand apparently had a good one. They let me hold Ryan instead of having him on a table, so for that I was thankful. I grabbed his pacifier as just searching for a good vein he was pissed and giving the nurse the ol evil eye. She understood. I've always been okay when the kids got immunizations, but this was different...probably because it lasted longer than a shot. It probably didn't help that I watched them move the needle around his hand to get the vein. She was gentle & wasn't all crazy-like, but Ryan felt otherwise. He would shoot me a glance, then her. I kept it together but I just wanted it over. When they hit the vein and kept the needle still, he calmed down. She gave him an awesome Daffy Duck band-aid, which Logan thought was cool even though he doesn't know who that is. :)

He does have a little bruise on his hand that you can see in the pic below as he is trying to chew off his hand (perhaps a lil teething as he also has clear snot just like Carter did for every darn tooth). And he is smiling this morning, so all is forgotten. :(

Zoo

Each weekend John looks up races around the Chicagoland area to participate in. All in all he's done 14 races, I think. Most 5K's, but he did a 10K & 10-mile run as well. Very impressive! The boys & I have been to every race to support him...it's been pretty exciting!

We discuss it & decide based on location, cost, giveaways, course. This weekend it was a no-brainer as it was at the zoo! We got free parking, free admission to the zoo, a t-shirt, because of the course bobbing & weaving, we got to see him several different times during the race, etc. it was a bonus that some friends of our joined us after the race to walk around the zoo....we hadn't been there in several months, so it was great...and the weather was perfect fall weather 60 & sunny! We counted on the boys waking us up early, but they slept it. John woke up at 6:30 & we scrambled....John got himself ready and I got myself & the boys ready, made breakfast & packed the bags. It's kind of like my own personal race. :). Thankfully there isn't much traffic at 7:20am! We made it with only seconds to spare. John did great in the race and the boys & I stayed busy looking on the course map to see the next spot we'd see Daddy. Ryan didn't like when we stopped moving so I wrapped & strapped him in the Moby wrap...he was pleased. :). We miscalculated John's speed & didn't see him cross the finish line, but it was all good. He cooled down, I fed Ryan then we met up with our friends (Hannah, Al, Jonathan & Maddie). Here are some pics from the day (since I update from my phone the pics don't post in any order, so they'll likely be random).

The boys first wedding

This past weekend one of John's 2nd cousins, Alyssa got married. The boys were invited to the wedding....we even attended the ceremony (and it was a long one as it was Catholic). Naturally as soon as the beautiful bride came down the aisle, Ryan started fussing and needed to eat. Carter was a smidge chatty & Logan decided to go hang with grandma, but not for too long. Soon after Ryan pooped....loudly! It had a few of us giggling. And so off to the basement to change him & I made it just before the poop leaked out. Whew! Came back. Logan took off his shoes cuz his feet hurt. It was just kind of one thing after another. They did well but I just didn't want to ruin the wedding in any way so I was trying to be on guard with whatever craziness they were going to come up with next. Luckily there were a couple other kids that shared in making noise so we weren't alone.

After we got to the hotel & all checked in we went downstairs for appetizers, drinks & dinner. In hindsight, with 3 kids we probably went down a bit too soon as you know....in a wedding there isn't much for kids to do. ;). Logan was taking off the Velcro table skirt from the food tables every so often and hiding under the tables....and Carter was throwing that darn Tao around playing catch with others. Ryan got passed around and did really well until he had to eat....which of course was around the time dinner was starting. So I went up to our room to feed him & brought Logan with me to let him run around a bit. Uncle Troy was kind enough to take Carter for a little stroll. When I came back down I grabbed my new favorite accessory...my Moby wrap. It made eating dinner much easier so I could help the older boys. John & I each took a kid up to the buffet and they got some delicious food and are very well! We were able to make it till the first couple songs even though the kids were so tired. John & I danced the twist with the boys and without my knowing Chris (cousin) took our picture on the dance floor...it is really cute!

We took the boys upstairs & got them ready for bed. John headed downstairs while I hung out with the boys till they were all sound asleep....apparently I dozed off for about 45 minutes as well. :). Then I set our iPhone baby monitor app and went to join my hubby. We had a nice time...got in a couple slow dances...had a couple shots/drinks and stayed up having fun with some family....which even included a 1am taco bell run. :). Our monitor only went off once & I ran up there and everybody was still sleeping so perhaps somebody coughed & set it off (one iPhone stays in the room & acts as the monitor & if a noise is made it automatically calls your other iPhone....pretty cool actually). I was glad that our room was practically above the reception so it wasn't far if it did go off.

In the morning my SIL & I ran to Dunkin Donuts to get donuts for everybody and then we took the kids down to the pool. They had such a great time swimming....we did too, but the water was a bit chilly so we didn't stay for too long. Plus we had to get home for Buddy then head to our pal Chayce's 4th birthday party. :)

Fun weekend! Congrats Alyssa & Luke!

'Arm' painting

This weekend we attended Chayce's birthday. The kids had a great time making Umi Zoomi (their new favorite tv show thanks to the theme of this party....it is actually really cute & has helped them with the not-as-popular shapes) shape belts & playing bingo & of course, bouncing in the bounce house. A surprise face painter showed up. Logan stood by as each person got something awesome painted on their leg or arm. I kept asking if he'd do it....he kept saying no. He looked at his arm and said 'Mom, I fink I'm gonna keep it it just like this'. (plain). Aw....come on kid....get a lil messy! So....I went & got Carter. He'll go along with it. He chose to have a truck on his arm and he thought it was supercool. The artist did such a nice job!!! So as any good Mom would do I was all.....Logan, Carter did it. And to my excitement (I don't know why I wanted him to get painted so bad!) he said 'okayyyyy'. I suggested a guitar since that is what was on his shirt and he thought it was a good idea. :). Here are their cool arm paintings:

Awesome Hats!

Haha! I took the boys to the mall tonight & we swung into The Children's Place. I saw these hats & had Logan try it on & then he gave one to Carter...how cute are they??? Crack me up!!

Logan's 1st Dentist Appointment

Today Logan had his first dentist appointment. We waited a bit longer than 'normal', but it's been kinda a crazy year.

I went first & had to get x-rays. The technician was pretty great with kids; she put Bubble Guppies (kids tv show) on the ceiling tv and while I got x-rays she told Logan they would play a game running back & forth (so he wasn't exposed)& he thought it was fun. After running back. & forth 4 times she asked him how many times they ran and he said, 'too many!'. Haha - that kid. He watched intently as they did some minor scraping and then polishing. Logan asked me if I hurt. I told him no and that the polishing kind if tickled. They offered to start cleaning his teeth while I got mine polished and I declined as I didn't know how he'd handle it (glad I waited).

He had no problems getting in the big chair...kinda excited cuz Mickey Mouse was now on. He got to wear cool guitar sunglasses. Enter the dentist. Logan was scared and said it would hurt. We assured him it was just a mirror that he was looking to count his teeth - so he was okay. Doc counted his teeth - all 20 present and accounted for! Then....doc saw some tartar build up. I knew it was there and we had gotten better at brushing those two bottom teeth, but alas some scraping had to occur. Logan wasn 't a fan (who is?!) but he did well. He eventually did shed a couple tears and said 'mommy, I think I'm done'. So the dentist just scraped a bit more then said there was only a bit more that he would get at the next visit. We will just make sure we brush longer and concentrate on those front teeth.

Then the assistant came in to clean - again, she was great! She let him feel the motorized toothbrush on each of our fingers first and we giggled pretending it tickled. She mentioned that the toothpaste was bubble gum flavor (he hasn't had gum yet so I said it was like candy). She had him smell it and he approved. He was scared but she did a couple then he realized it wasn't so bad. He also got vitamins for his teeth (it is so much nicer that they can paint it on your teeth and it just leave it rather than those icky fluoride trays back when I was a kid....I hated those!).

All in all he did great! He got to pick a treasure from the treasure box & chose a green fish/shark pencil sharpener. :).

Leaf sun catcher

Our theme in school the next two weeks is all about fall/leaves/apples. Today the boys made handprint trees & leaf sun catchers. They had a good time painting their hands & doing handprints....and shredding tissue paper!

In other school news, Logan had forgotten the number 7 the last two weeks when counting, but it appears that he found it again. :). We are working on correctly pronouncing all the 'teen' numbers and ensuring that they are said in the correct order. He does great with the alphabet.... Sometimes the letter K is said twice instead of J and LMNOP is said quickly, so we are slowing it down a bit to make sure he says it clearly. He enjoys saying the alphabet and we are certain to always give high 5's when he says it right! Sometimes he enjoys doing the robot dance while saying them....what a goof, but it is funny stuff to watch!

Here are some pics of them working on their projects:

Writing letters

In preschool, one of our daily activities is practicing writing letters....right now we've concentrated on Aa, Bb, & Cc.

Today we were wrapping a birthday present for his friend, Chayce. I wrote his name in pencil on the card and told him to trace it. To my surprise, he wrote above it and I watched him study the letters then write above them. He did a really good job; I was so proud of him!

Dinosaurs it is! (I think)

We have been discussing Logan's 4th birthday party. He wanted Spiderman and was very excited. I think he heard this from his friend, Jonathan and he worships the ground he walks on. I was all for this party idea, but as I researched it....we just don't know enough about it for me to go all out on decor and for him to understand. I then suggested an Octonauts party as that is one of his favorite shows. The characters are weird, but I had ideas flowing....an under the sea theme if you will. Then we ventured to Target for some essentials and we took a trip down the toy aisle. Well, he fell in love with a dinosaur. We've been home for 3 hours and it is all he is talking about. I asked if he wanted a dinosaur party and he seems very into that idea. As of right now, Spidey & the Octonauts have left the building. In fact, I got him a dry erase board (to practice letters ) and he paused to draw the dinosaur....inside Target, then proceeded to draw a map from our house to Target....to get that dinosaur! It is very cute! He is getting so big!

Ryan

Here are some pictures of my littlest man. At 3.5 months old he is smiling more & more, holding his head up pretty well and rolling onto his side. He loves getting a bath, he enjoys being held, he is a belly sleeper (only one of my kids that didn't like sleeping on his back), he can be a spitter if he is not held upright for about 5-ish minutes after a feeding. His schedule goes something like this:

Wakes only once during the night around 4-5am; sleeps till about 8ish, eats, looks around for an hour, naps till about 11:30ish & repeat around 3:40ish & 7ish. Then he tops off for the night around 8:30 and sleeps till 4ish. :). It is a pretty good schedule and works for us. We have to watch our noise level when we are upstairs doing school cuz he can wake easily.....I'm contemplating a sound machine.... During his awake times he is actually looking around, it's cute.

Preschool

We decided not to send Logan to a traditional 3 year old preschool for various reasons, but I still wanted some structure & learning to take place; I don't want him 'behind' when he attends 4 year old preschool next year. Enter my friend Jen that is homeschooling her sons...one that is Logan's age and another that is in 1st grade. Her & I developed a preschool curriculum....including our daily routines, weekly themes, worksheets, crafts and field trips....all kinds of fun stuff! We do preschool everyday. I turned our upstairs hallway into our 'classroom' where we do our daily stuff (prayer, color of the month, calendar, alphabet, counting, weather & pledge of allegiance). The boys have been into it everyday so far! It is mainly for Logan but Carter joins when he is awake. Here are some pictures of the projects we've done so far. The themes have been "All About Me" and the five senses.

Post from my phone?

Can it be? Why did I not look for this app sooner!!! If this works I just may be back into blogging. I loved doing it in the past and am sad that I stopped.

Here is a pic of Ryan doing his first push up....what a strong little man!