Fun visit!

Jacob and Berkley:


The kiddos:


The sweetest little girl ever:

Check out those dimples!!!!



Little photo-op of Cadence and Brody:

Brody getting a little frisky with Cadence:


My good friend Shannon and her daughters Cadence (18months) and Berkley (9wks) are home for a visit from Arizona and they decided to make the 5hrs round-trip trek to come and visit us! It was so good to see them and it's been forever! Jacob warmed up to Cadence right away and it was only about 5 minutes before he invited her into his bed. (Careful Jacob, her daddy is a police officer you know...) And Brody seemed to especially like Berkley... he wanted to examine her up close and share his toys with her. We had a great visit that included Olive Garden (what else?) and good conversation - like we see each other a couple times a week - that is what is so nice about good friends :)

Other news:

Earth day = not so good. On Earth day, not only did I forget our reusable grocery bags when I ran to the grocery store but I also confused the heck out of my kid. As I was putting Jacob in the car to head to the grocery store Jacob notified me that there was an old animal cracker on his seat that he picked up. I told him I would buckle him in and then take care of it. Well, I forgot... so as I'm driving Jacob lets me know that he still has his old animal cracker. So I roll down the window and tell him to throw it out, which he does. Minutes later, Jacob asked for a tissue for his nose. So I hand him one and moments later I hear "Mom, roll window down!". As I glance back, I see Jacob poised and ready to toss his tissue out the window as I'm cruising down the road. On Earth day. I quickly realize my mistake and think about how can I explain this to him... so I told him "we can throw out the animal cracker because birdies eat them, but they won't eat the tissue so we have to throw that away in a trash can, does that make sense?" His response? "Not really." :\

Brody is a climbing FOOL! The kid chooses not to walk yet, but he will gladly climb up any chair that is accidentally left out. Unfortunately today Brody climbed up on the table and Jacob, always eager to help discipline Brody, decided to pull him down. As you can imagine, this did not go well. As I was consoling Brody, I found Jacob in his room and asked him what happened. His response: "Jacob hurt Brody. Jacob in time out." And the best part is... I wasn't even the one to put him in time out, he knew the routine and did it himself!

Also, Jacob had his sling removed last week. While he still doesn't like to be picked up under his arm pits, he is mostly back to normal. Although, he will most likely have a bump on his collarbone for the rest of his life!

We can't wait for our Florida trip! We leave Sunday out of Detroit, hopefully the weather is decent for us and the kids tolerate the traveling well!

A few more Easter pics...

Jacob LOVED dying Easter eggs! In fact, once we were all done he wanted to peel off the stickers and do them again!

And here is a picture of Brody sleeping through his Easter dinner:

I love Juicy Juice!

A couple weeks ago I signed up to be part of a Juicy Juice Moms Panel to provide my input on all things Juicy Juice. Unfortunately I was not selected to be part of the panel, but they said I could apply to host a JJ party. So we DID get accepted for that and received all this free stuff that made our usual "family dinner" extra fun. I've always been a fan of JJ since it's 100% juice and all, but now they make products with Immunity boosters and DHA for brain development... sounds pretty good to me! The kids (and adults) loved the new juices, btw...

So we hosted our party on Saturday and the weather was BEAUTIFUL!! It was warm, but not hot, and sunny with just enough breeze. All winter long, we've been cramming our group of 8+ adults and a bunch of kids into our modest homes saying "Can't wait until the weather warms up so these kids can go crazy outside..." Well, we learned this weekend that the whole "outside" thing is kind of over-rated. For one, instead of having a well contained mess, it is now spread all over the house AND the front yard. Additionally, our house becomes MUCH dirtier when the party begins outside because everyone tracks dirt into the house by either going to the bathroom or kitchen. And, speaking of dirt, everyone (especially the kids) got very, very dirty.


One kid in particular found himself VERY dirty. Of course, it's my kid. Brody LOVES being outside. Unfortunately for me, he is a magnet for dirt. He loves to play in it, eat it, roll in it, whatever. So on Saturday, Brody was crawling around the yard doing his part to be the dirtiest kid when Jacob decided to help him. I was inside at the time working on dinner and Kyra and Janet informed me that they suddenly heard Brody laughing and giggling like crazy. They turned around to see what was so funny and found Jacob pouring shovelfuls of dirt and sand on top of Brody. And Brody loved it. He couldn't get enough. Thought it was hilarious (as did Jacob). It was at that moment that Brody earned the nickname "Pig-Pen", you know from Peanuts? There was no hope for him either, only a bath was going to get him clean again so I made him stay dirty like that until we went inside. And then he made our bathtub appear as though we were giving the dog a bath :\



All in all though it was a great night. We had tons of fun and we also found a new appreciation for days and nights when the weather is not suitable for outdoor parties!

Other things going on...



Jacob is doing pretty well with his recovery. The first couple nights were rough. He would try to turn or move in the night and it would cause him a lot of pain. I would go get him and then he would request that I rock him. Unfortunately, the only rocking chair is in Brody's room so I spent a few nights being very jealous of Lisa having rocking chairs in each room (genius!) and contemplating a midnight remodeling project. Most of the day he is perfectly fine, occasionally he will forget and do something that causes him pain but luckily it's only momentary. We have a follow up appointment for tomorrow and we'll see if the doctor wants us to continue using the sling or not. Believe it or not, they say a fractured collar bone heals in 1-2 weeks, crazy!

The funny thing about last week was that Brody was being EXTRA cranky (teeth?) right up until Jacob got injured. Then he was suddenly chill. On Wednesday (the day after the break) I realized it was about 2 hours past Brody's usual nap time and I went to put him down. He started playing in his room while I was getting his bed ready and since he was playing so good, I just jumped on the laptop and waited for him to get whiny before I put him down. Next thing I know he crawls into my room, so I follow him into my room and continue on the laptop while he plays. I then realize I hadn't heard any noises from him for a few seconds and I look down and the poor kid was crashed out on the floor! He had his head flat down, right between his legs. It was adorable. I put him in bed beside me and watched him sleep peacefully for awhile... just melted my heart :).

Brody wearing Daddy's fire hat:

In other Brody news, I think he is getting very close to walking. He can now stand unassisted for huge lengths of time. I think he could take a few steps if he really wanted, but he is nervous. I think it is a lot like crawling... he knew how to do it for several weeks before he actually started doing it... so we'll see. Hopefully it will be any day now.

Jacob learned a new number last week: 14. We were eating some Easter candy and Jacob came up to me and asked me for a piece. I gave him one. After that was finished he came back up and asked for two. I gave him two. After those two were finished he comes up and asked for fourteen. I thought it was hilarious, but in a straight face I said "oh, okay" and counted out fourteen to see what he would do. His eyes got really big and the look on his face was like "JACKPOT" and he held his hands out to collect all the treasure! I then said "why don't we just do one at a time"... he agreed and I'm sure he was thinking "I knew it was too good to be true!". It cracked me up. He knows numbers 2-13, so I just found it so funny that he jumped to fourteen.

Aaron has been busy lately. If he is not out catching perch, he's been on-call for wildfire safety. Thankfully he hasn't been called out to any fires yet and the rain today (and yesterday) makes me think it won't be happening soon (hopefully).

Not sure if I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but the boys and I are headed to Florida with my mom for a week in 13 days (but who's counting?)! Aaron will be gone all week as well, planting fish for work. It will be a busy week, but should be fun. Debby and 7 month old Robert will be joining us for 4 nights and we will be visiting Magic Kingdom and Sea World. We also hope to fit in a visit with some old friends (and Florida locals). Can't wait!

Easter Recap

My little Easter bunny:





Jacob (not) eating his Easter dinner:
Collecting Eggs (Yes, there is STILL snow in shady spots!):
Noah and Jacob (and Uncle Mark):

Noah with a basketful:


Showing off his loot:
Family photo with strange lighting:


Mark, Lisa and Mason (Noah was sleeping):
Jacob and his basket (Notice how Brody is totally uninterested):

What, it's Saturday already? I haven't even done my Easter weekend recap and the next weekend is already here :0! Yikes...

Anyways, Easter weekend went really well, it just might be Jacob's favorite holiday. Saturday we went over to Aaron's parents to celebrate and had a nice dinner and egg hunt. Jacob LOVED it! He was SO excited over every single egg he found (all 42!), it was so fun to watch. Then on Sunday, Jacob had a partner in crime with him on the egg hunt and they were hilarious to watch. Jacob and Noah would point out eggs to each other and put the eggs in each others basket! It was so funny and something that I doubt will last long... maybe even by next year they will realize what is IN the eggs and no longer want to share them! Church went pretty good, too. Jacob did cry when we left him, but he allowed the teacher to comfort him so I knew he would be ok. Plus, he had Noah there with him.

Brody isn't a fan of Easter. He cried when you showed him an egg and then he cried when you took it away. Additionally, he was crawling around outside on the deck and got about 6 splinters in each hand before he started whining and we realized what had happened. And to top it off, he cried for the very first time when we left him at Church :( It's totally age appropriate, but it made me sad and made it difficult to enjoy the service. By the time we picked him up though, he was happy and doing great.

Well, I think that is about all of the Easter recap I had. I've got more stories and pics I'll add tomorrow hopefully from the past week!

Poor Jacob =(

Jacob had a rough night tonight. Aaron got home at his usual time and started getting the boys ready to play outside. Jacob, who was super excited since Daddy just got home AND he gets to go play outside on such a nice day, ran to the door to get his shoes and collided with Roxy (who was also VERY excited to go outside) and falling to the ground. The results were NOT good. I knew something was wrong after Jacob was still upset 30 mins later and no longer cared to go outside. He fell asleep for a bit and then woke up about 6:30 and was still sobbing from the pain. I wasn't sure what to think because he could still move his arms and there wasn't anything sticking out, but he clearly pointed to his collarbone when you asked him where he was hurt. So off to the urgent care we went where the doctor found what he believes is a fracture on the x-ray right where Jacob winces when touched. Jacob was pretty freaked out the first half of our visit, but calmed down thankfully and was very cooperative for the second half, including the x-rays. He didn't mind his sling at all initially, but when it came to bed time he informed me that I could take it off now because he was "all better". I told him we have to keep it on until we see the doctor again and he then attempted to flip himself over in bed using his bad arm (even though it was in the sling) causing him a great deal of pain again and breaking my heart :( Ugh, I just feel terrible for him and I'm terrified he is going to forget during the night and try to use that arm again at some point. We'll keep ya posted...

Dirt and Medicine

Last night Jacob was helping me with the dishes. No, not at the sink... I've banned him from the sink since our last little incident despite his constant requests (and that he reminds me that dad can just get "Another floor"). And yes, I totally see this backfiring on me when he is 16 and reads this then refuses to do the dishes anymore. Anyways, he's been demoted to dishwash assistant which involves taking the dishes from me and putting them in the dishwasher. Once all the dishes were in the dishwasher I instructed him to close the dishwasher up since we were all done. And he replies, "We need dirt and medicine first". At first I thought I heard him wrong, so I asked him to repeat it and when he did he pointed to the little cups on the dishwasher door. And suddenly I realized - Dirt=dishwasher detergent powder and Medicine=the little cascade action packs I use. (Although I never use them both!) It cracked me up... I love seeing the world through the eyes of a two year old.

Brody's 1 year well baby visit

We took Brody to the doctor yesterday for his one year check up and all looks good! As usual, the doctor was a solid hour late, but he always spends a lot of time with us so I guess we won't complain (too much). Brody is now 30.25" tall (75th percentile), has a 40" head (off the charts) and his weight plummeted to 22lbs (35th percentile). The doctor wasn't concerned about the weight given that we weaned recently and he's slowly adjusting to milk from a sippy cup. His shots didn't go over so well. We had an older nurse who proved that experience isn't always best - boy, was she slow! He's been quite irritable the past two days, but he slept GREAT last night so I can't complain! He even skipped his morning milk (usually about 6 or 7am) and slept solid until 9!

Pics from our night...

We had a great time last night! The kids played together really well. Cori bossed the boys around and taught them how to play "school". Here she is trying to teach them to walk in a line:

Then for gym class, she taught them some yoga:
Here is a video of her trying to teach the boys how to sit "Criss-Cross Applesauce" as they say now. It was always "indian style" when I grew up...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Brody's night didn't go as well. The little cut below his eye was the result of a high sticking penalty from a hockey game gone bad with Jacob. Then, the swollen lip was when he brought a chair over with himself while trying to stand.

Today we are off to Mark and Lisa's for a little get together and to watch the Spartans... GO STATE!!!!

Everything can be explained away with teething.

Teething is often used to explain everything in our house. Brody is irritable, he must be teething. Brody has a runny nose, he must be teething. It's raining, Brody must be teething.

The past few days have been a little rough for Brody. He began waking in the night, he was irritable, he had a slight runny nose. So of course my first thought was that he is teething. Brody currently has 7 teeth (4 on top, 3 on the bottom) and they usually come in in two's, so we are patiently waiting for the bottom jaw to even out. So I've been checking the poor kids bottom jaw daily waiting for a sign that the mystery tooth is coming through and I still find nothing. But his teething symptoms are all there, I began to give up and think maybe it is just a cold. Fast forward to yesterday when I was changing Brody and began to tickle him. While he was giggling a ton, I got a quick peek into his mouth and notice a gray area on his UPPER jaw. So I tickle some more to get another view and sure enough, Brody has a molar trying to break through his very swollen gums on his right side. Then I peek on the left and his left molar has already broken through! Poor guy. The good news is that even though we didn't know the cause of his irritability, we still gave him some tylenol so he hasn't been too uncomfortable the past few days.

According to this site molars are supposed to appear between 10-14 months, so those are right on schedule. His missing incisor, however, is fashionably late (8 months). Although the site is from the UK, can I really trust an English website for information on things related to teeth?! :)

So I know I have more stories, but I can't think of them right now. We're hosting our family dinners tonight, so I'll update when I can!