Kids In The Kitchen

I love having my kids help me in the kitchen while I cook.  Since I spend a good part of my day cooking, it allows me to spend time with them and give them a love for cooking at a young age.  

Today we had egg sandwiches for breakfast, chocolate chip banana muffins for snack time, PB & J with apples for lunch, and Broccoli-Potato Soup for dinner.  I also made Banana Bread for a snack later on in the week.  So, like I said...I spend a good part of every day in the kitchen. 

While I was in the middle of making dinner, Liam decided he wanted to "stand", which means that he wants to help me in the kitchen.  I turned off Curious George and got him a chair to stand on.  I gave him the bowl of potato skins that I had peeled from the potatoes, an empty bowl, and some measuring cups.  I showed him how to put the skins in the measuring cups and move them from one bowl to the other.  Such a simple thing but he thought he was being such a huge help. He kept saying "sweet" and "oh my goodness" as he would move the skins from one bowl to the other.  I also spent some time teaching him how to say "potato" since he always says "tomato" instead. 

When I was finished making the soup, I brought his shopping cart into the kitchen and told him to play with his new fruit and veggies from Nana so I could wash the dishes.  My mom recently got him the Melissa and Doug fruits and veggies and he LOVES them.  My sister Selina gave him his shopping cart.  It was my niece's cart but when they sold pretty much everything they own to become missionaries, (that's a whole other post that I will do one day)  she gave that to him. He played with it constantly when we went to their house.  

He looked so cute, I had to quick grab my camera and take a picture (or 40) of him helping me and playing with his cart.  I didn't mean to take that many pictures but it can happen easily.  As I was trying to take a picture of him playing with his food, he picked up his potato and started throwing it at me!  I told him to stop but apparently this is great fun for a two year old boy and he continued to do it over and over....until it hit my camera lens and then I had had enough.  I took the potato from him and he moved onto shoving an orange down his shirt and shooting me with a pear! :) 

Having your kids help you in the kitchen really can be so enjoyable!  If you've never had your kids help you cook, I really encourage you to let them!  You don't know what you're missing out on!

About to throw the potato at Mommy...before I knew what was coming! 

A Very Long Week

This past Monday started out fantastic.  I set a new goal of getting up at 6:45AM every morning so that I was up before the boys.  They usually get up between 7AM-7:45AM.  Since I was about six months pregnant, I have been sleeping until they got up, but then it feels like it takes forever for me to get showered, dressed, make up done, breakfast ready, and school started. So I set a goal to get up and get my day started before they get up. 

 Monday morning, Nathan's alarm went off at 6:20AM.  I nursed Alanna in my bed since she was already sleeping next to me, and then once she was back asleep I got up.  It was about 7AM at that point.  I showered, dressed, did my make up, did my hair, made homemade baked peanut butter oatmeal, did my devotions, had a cup of coffee, cleaned up the house a bit...and still the boys were sleeping.  It was 8:30AM at this point!  I felt great!  So much had been accomplished already and the boys were still sleeping.  

The rest of the day went pretty smooth.  The boys got up, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast together, did school, played outside... we just had an organized, relaxed, enjoyable day...

Then Tuesday Morning Began...

Alanna had a doctor's appointment for her three month check up at 10:40AM.  At around 8:30AM, Liam threw up all over the couch.  Great!  Any of you who are close to me know that Liam has had a really, really tough few months.

Back in September he got a staph infection which ended up with him having surgery at KidMed, then taken the emergency room, hooked up to an IV and admitted for 24 hours.  He went on a super strong antibiotic to get rid of the infection.  I believe it was this staph infection that has led to all the other sickness he has been dealing with since then.  I believe his immune system got weak from the antibiotic and he just became susceptible to getting every little thing out there.   About two weeks before Alanna was born, he started getting sick again.  It turned out to be Scarlet Fever!  I thought that Scarlet Fever was unheard of any more but apparently not.  Liam broke out in a terrible rash, got a high fever, double ear infections, and a sore throat.  When Alanna was born, he still wasn't looking completely like himself.  At her two week check up, they saw he still had the ear infections.  In January Liam woke up one morning with a few bumps on his back.  I thought they were some kind of spider bites but after two weeks of them not going away and about 20 more bumps showing up, I realized it had to be something else but I wasn't sure what.  Turns out, it was CHICKEN POX.  Seriously... he had the vaccine!  His doctor said that in rare cases, especially when a child has a weak immune system, they can get a mild case of chicken pox between the time they get the vaccine and the booster when they are four.  By the time I got him checked and realized what they were, he wasn't contagious any more.  So if your kid got chicken pox and we go to the same church...sorry!!! I really didn't know he had them!   Then about two weeks ago, he got another cold and started getting really cranky.  I assumed he had another ear infection so I gave him ear drops and hoped he would start feeling better soon.  He was eating, playing, sleeping pretty well, so I assumed he was ok....

Which brings me back to this past Tuesday Morning.

So he threw up.  His face was so pale and he was so upset that he was now covered in throw up.  I cleaned him up and called the doctor to see if they could fit him in with Alanna's appointment.  Thankfully they could.  I thought maybe he had the flu.  He threw up one more time before we left.  Any of you who have little kids or once had little kids, know that a two year old doesn't know how to tell they are about to throw up.  So throw up was all over the kitchen floor.  I cleaned it up and we left for the doctors.  I pulled into the doctors' office parking lot about fifteen minutes later and was so thrilled he had not thrown up in the car.  My happy thoughts came all too soon.  I opened my door and heard Liam moan and then he threw up...all over himself and his car seat.  Thankfully it was contained to just his seat and not all over the van floor.  I was SO thankful that I had remembered to bring him a change of clothes and a trash bag for possible dirty clothes.  

I hated watching him feel so bad.  I pulled him out of the car, took off his clothes in the parking lot, and began to wipe off his hands and face.  He was pale and shaky but all he could do was worry about his beloved crocks!  They had throw up on them and he kept crying saying "got throw up on my crocks."  Liam LOVES his crocks and wears them pretty much every day so this was quite a tragedy for him.  

We finally made it into the doctors' office about ten minutes late.  Not bad for the morning I had just had.  Of course they were SUPER busy that morning.  We waited for almost 30 minutes to be seen.  I read several chapter's of Charlotte's Web (we're reading this for school right now) to the boys while we waited.  Liam was more interested in opening and closing the Sick Waiting Room Door about a thousand times, than listening to the story though.  I kept having to bring him back into the room, so I finally got smart and closed the door and stood in front of it while I read so that he couldn't get out.  

We were finally called.  The doctor said he didn't have the flu... YAY the one good thing that had happened all morning.  But he did have another double ear infection which was causing him to throw up.  She said they were bad and since he was throwing up she highly recommended an antibiotic through a shot rather than orally.  I agreed to it, but didn't realize until after he had the shot that he would have to come back for TWO MORE SHOTS.  It was a three shot series antibiotic that had to be done over the course of three days!  And this shot hurts.  His little leg got swollen and it hurt him so bad.  

So, I spent Wednesday and Thursday morning at the doctors.  Needless to say by the third day, Liam had figured out what was coming and wasn't too happy about it.  He handled it so well though and I was so proud of him.  Ruy, Liam, Alanna, and I were all very much over spending three mornings in a row at the doctors.  It threw off our whole day, our whole routine, our whole school schedule, and was very stressful.  

To give the kids a break from all the craziness, we spent a few hours Thursday afternoon at the Children's Museum with my best friend and her girls (who are also home-schooled).  It was a much needed activity for all of us.  We left in time for Liam to get a nap and then Ruy and I finished up school together.  We ended the night VERY happy that Friday would be a normal day... no shots, no doctors, no going anywhere...just a normal day at home. 

I'm going to try to start my getting up at 6:45AM again tomorrow... 

  I am praying for a relaxing week.

Did I mention that I'm going to start potty training Liam tomorrow??? 

I must have lost my mind. :) 

Here are a few pictures from this past week!  Enjoy!

Liam with the world's longest train.  He gets really angry when it "crashes" every time it goes around a corner.

I will miss his sweet chubby fingers so much when he is grown.

After a very long morning at the doctors... Ruy read his history book to me while we baked C.C cookies. I love this about home-schooling. We just laughed, ate too much cookie dough, and looked at the globe for the countries he was learning about.  

Even Darth Vader wanted to learn some history and have some cookies.  We got this for Ruy for Christmas two years ago.  It's his favorite cup.

Alanna rolled over for the 1s time on 2-18-14.

Right after she rolled over.  So proud of herself :)

Proud Big Brother

Alanna.Three.Months

Three Months 2-14-14

11 pounds, 23.5 inches

You started reaching for things.  You hold onto your favorite bunny now.  You like her soft ears.  You like to hold onto a blanket when you sleep.  I have been giving you your little brown blanket that is super soft and has your name on it.  You love to hold it and suck on it.  You suck on your hands.  You like it when I make clicking sounds with my tongue.  It makes you smile so big. 

 You got your first cold.  It was so hard to watch you cry and struggle to sleep because you felt so bad.  You went on the swing for the first time.  You sat in the Bumbo seat for the first time.   You went on your first big trip.  We took you to PA to meet Granny and Poppop.  

You nap 2-3 hours in your crib, twice a day most days and then you sleep in the ergo at least once a day.  You still usually go to bed in your crib at night, but after a few hours are in bed next to me the rest of the night.  

You celebrated your first Valentine's Day. You got your first rose from Daddy.  You smiled so big when he came over to you with your rose.  You are Daddy's girl.  

You did so well at your 3 month check up.  You rolled over from your back to your belly for the first time while we were there!!!  The doctor said you are VERY strong.  She said you are ahead of most 3 month old babies and that you are more where a 4.5 month old baby is.  You are growing so fast.  Daddy and I love you so much.  

Valentine's Day

I know many people who won't celebrate Valentine's Day.  They think it's silly and just another commercialized holiday to get people to spend lots of money on flowers, cards, and candy.  While I do understand what they mean, I have always enjoyed Valentine's Day and I do celebrate it with my family.  

I remember as a little girl always getting a single rose from my Dad on Valentine's Day and I loved it.  So it was really special yesterday morning when Nathan got home from the fire station and had a single rose for our sweet baby girl.  I think what was even sweeter was the beautiful smile that Alanna gave Nathan when she saw him walk into the room!  She is Daddy's girl!

Nathan bought me a beautiful rose bush.  I am SO bad at keeping plants alive but I am determined to actually not kill this one so that I can plant it in the spring.  He also bought me a bag of Lindor Chocolates but um...they are all gone already so I didn't get a chance to take any picture!  Don't judge...at least I am being honest! :)

The boys loved their Snoopy dogs that Nathan brought home for them.  Each Snoopy was holding a heart box with chocolate in it.  The chocolates didn't last very long.  They must take after their mother!  This was the only picture of the boys I could get because as soon as I took it Ruy ran off yelling "Liam hurry up and follow me before she tries to take another picture of us!"  :)  

Valentine's Day was also Alanna's three month birthday.  It's hard to believe that much time has passed already!  While I was taking her three month pictures, the boys wanted to get into a picture with her.  I couldn't convince Liam to let me take one of the three of them but I'll take what I can get.  I'll be doing a separate post on her three month milestones soon.  

My Mom came over and babysat for us that evening so Nathan and I could go out to dinner.  We hadn't been on a date since our 4th wedding anniversary back in August.  Needless to say, it was a much needed date night.  We took Alanna with us because I'm not quite ready to leave her yet. 

We had planned to go to Carrabba's for dinner but when we got there, they had a TWO.HOUR.WAIT!!!  

I laughed to myself, told the hostess thank you and we left.  We ended up going to a Mongolian Grill right across the street instead.  It was very good and we enjoyed ourselves so much.  My husband is an amazing man and I am so thankful that I am his wife! 

 I hope everyone else enjoyed their Valentine's Day as much as we did!

A Little Bit of Brotherly Love

I was in the middle of getting breakfast ready yesterday morning, when I looked at my sweet baby girl and decided she looked so precious that she needed her picture taken. I love the little outfit she had on (it only lasted about an hour...then she threw up on it) from my recent consignment store shopping trip.  It even matched her favorite little bunny which made her look even cuter!

Ruy just recently learned how to hold Alanna while standing up, so he wanted to have his picture taken with her.  He is looking so grown up lately I can hardly stand it.  It won't be long and he will be strong enough to hold me!

While I was making breakfast, I turned around and saw Liam putting Alanna's "Monkey" (what he calls her Bunny) on her head.  He then very proudly says "Look Mommy!  I put Monkey on Alanna's head!"  Little did I know that Ruy had done the same thing just a few minutes prior and Liam was just copying Ruy...
Brotherly Love :)

Alanna's Outfit
Shirt: Baby Gap; Pants: Carters (from a consignment store)  Headband: Dollypriss

1/12 Monthly Update on Liam

 

Liam
January 2014

Ruy woke you up on New Years Day when he got up.  You woke up like you usually do, needing to be held and snuggled by Mommy but you soon cheered up when you jumped into my bed with Alanna, and Ruy.  You had fun jumping on Bubby and kissing Baby Girl.

 We had a funny conversation at dinner one night...

Me:  "Liam can I eat your bellybutton for dinner?"  (Yes, moms' say weird things like this to their kids) :) 

Liam: "No!"

Me: "Why not, what does it taste like?"

Liam:   "NUTELLA!!" 

Liam LOVES nutella so it was super funny that he said that! 

You surprised me one day during school.  I told Ruy it was time to do our "pledges" and you started saying the Pledge to the American Flag!  I had no idea that you had been paying attention all the months that Ruy and I had been saying them before school!  You can't say all of it by yourself yet but almost all of it!  You're such a smart little boy! 

 

You played in the snow!  You didn't remember it from last year, so you were super excited about it!  You had such a fun time playing outside in it with Ruy.

 

You LOVE your little sister.  You are always saying "It's okay Baby Girl" when she cries, and you kiss her all the time.  You love to hold her but it usually only lasts a few second and then you are over it. 

 

You built a tall tower and kept knocking it over and yelling "CRASH!"

 

Ruy tried to teach you how to clean the bathroom.  You had lots of fun!

 You are such a funny little boy.... so full of energy and life!  I love you Pumpkin!

1/12 Monthy Update On Ruy

I decided since I am doing monthly posts on  Alanna, I would also do monthly posts on the boys.  This will be a way to record fun things we did, funny things they said, and things they learned.

Ruy
January 2014

You woke up New Years Day bright and early as usual and full of energy.  You jumped into bed with Alanna, Liam, and me and we welcomed in the New Year laughing and loving each other!

You did so well in school this month.  Your cursive is amazing and you have gotten so good at subtraction.  You recently got interested in wolves and we have enjoyed studying about them.  I love all the wonderful drawings of wolves you have done.

 

You love your new baby sister and are always so sweet to her.  You love holding her and making her smile.  You even put her to sleep one time this month. 

You have been dying to try out our ice cream machine so Daddy got it out and you two had so much fun making it. 

You built a tower taller than yourself and you thought it was the most awesome thing ever! 

 

You decided to teach Liam how to clean the bathroom.  You talked so sweetly to him while you taught him.  "Liam you want to help Bubby clean the bathroom today?!"  "Ok Liam, put the sponge here and scrub like this."  "No, don't put your whole hand in the toilet water, now we have to wash your hands really good."  "Good job Buddy, you are doing a really good job!"  I stood outside the bathroom and listened to you talk to him for a while and just smiled because it made me happy watching you be such a good big brother.  You were very excited after you two got done cleaning the bathroom.  You said "Mom, now I don't have to clean the bathroom any more!  Liam can do it now!"  You were not very happy when I told you that he was too little to do it on his own but you two could keep doing it together :)  

You had such a great time playing in the snow.  You went out and explored the woods behind our house for about two hours!  

 

January was a good month!  I can't wait to see what February has in store for you! 

Love you Muffin! 

A Break From The Snow

I don't know about you, but everyone in my family is ready for Spring.  I always tell people that I like it to be cold in November and December but come January 1st, it should be back to at least 70 degrees outside.  Unfortunately for me, this never happens.  But I will take the random 65 degree days we get in February and enjoy them while they last.  

Today was one of those random days.  It was so beautiful out today!  So after church, we came home, had lunch and then played outside for a while before nap time.  

I pushed Liam on his bike while I held Alanna in the Ergo, and then I put Alanna in the swing for the first time while Liam played on the slide.  Alanna was not too thrilled with the swing.  It only lasted a few minutes.  Maybe she will like it more in the spring when she can hold herself up a little bit better.  

The rest of this week is supposed to be cold and rainy so I'm going to look back at these pictures and  remember that Spring will be here before I know it...