One Thing - 11/28/14

I can't believe that our Baby Jude will be 6 months old on Sunday! And, yesterday he had his first solid food - squash! Thanksgiving Day is the best time to start solids, right? Jude took to spoon feeding right away. He only ate about 5 bites last night, but he finished everything I made for him tonight.

One Thing - 11/21/14

Apparently, Gloria thought she needed to brush up on her math skills - she joined Jonah in his work this afternoon.

One Thing - 11/18/14

Lydia had a follow-up appointment with her doctor this morning after her UTI last week. She was not too thrilled about another visit to the doctor after her ER visit last Sunday night. But, she did great today! Although she did lay down on the exam table and requested to watch Daniel Tiger on the ipad. Hopefully she doesn't think that is a normal part of going to the doctor from now on! Her doctor would like another urine sample just to make sure the infection is gone. So how do you do that with a 2 year old still that's not potty trained???

More Daniel Tiger in the iPad while on the potty seat...hope this works. If it does, we may be potty training earlier than planned!

One Thing - 11/14/14

Tummy time with Jude in the boys' room

Jude and I hung out with Silas for a few minutes during quiet time. I haven't done very well with getting 1-on-1 time with each kid everyday recently. So, I joined Sy for a bit of his quiet play time. He told me about his matchbox airplane and he built a Lego safe. We talked a little about our old house in Wahoo. There wasn't anything too special about our 15 minutes together, but sometime near the end of our conversation he randomly said, "I like you, Mommy." Thankful for my 4-year-old today!

One Thing - 11/13/14

The boys filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes this morning. Earlier in the week, the boys each took $5 of their spending money and purchased a few items from the dollar bins at Target to add to their boxes. We gave our shipping donations on-line so that we can find out what country our boxes get sent to. It was so sweet to hear the boys pray over their boxes. I loved Silas' prayer that flowed out of a conversation about Christmas and giving - "Dear God, thank you for the boy around the world who will get this box. Help him to know that God gave the greatest gift, salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen."

One Thing - 11/12/14

The boys have been loving the November snow. We got about 12 inches throughout the day on Monday and into Tuesday morning. They have spent about 2 hours each day this week out climbing, digging, sliding, and exploring. I'm thankful that, with a few ground rules and my watchful eyes out the windows, the boys have done really well with playing outside by themselves. And, of course, hot chocolate awaits them when they come inside!

One Thing - 11/11/14

Our sweet girl is still sick. Thankfully, her fever hasn't been above the 103s since our ER visit. We now have some meds that should have her feeling better within a day or so. But, until then, I will gladly cuddle with Lydia and watch PBSkids anytime she asks "Sit by me, Mama?" 

One Thing - 11/10/14

Lydia woke with a fever of about 103 yesterday morning. We stayed home from church, watched lots of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, and alternated Tylenol and ibuprofen all day long. When the meds were working, Lydia's fever would drop to the 99s. She went to bed like normal then woke up screaming around 11:15 just after we had turned out our light. Lydia had vomited in her bed and was cooking. Her forehead temperature ranged from 105.5 to 106.8 on multiple tries. I didn't like seeing those numbers so I took an axillary temp and still got a 104.5. No Mommy wants to see a fever that high! So, Lydia got to be our first child to make an ER visit. :( After 3 hours of waiting and testing for strep throat and a UTI, the doctor decided it was just a virus and sent us home. Oh, how I wished it was something we could have gotten some medicine for so that she could get better right away, but I guess we will wait it out. Thankfully, she slept well from 3am until 8:30ish. Her fever was down to 103 and went back to the 99s with ibuprofen. And, she was adamant about playing in the snow this morning. Let's pray this virus moves out quickly and no one else gets it!

Lots more Daniel Tiger was watched on Mommy's iPad while we waited

Lydia is one sweet girl - even when she has a 105 fever. The nurses were impressed with her politeness throughout our visit. Even when she was refusing ibuprofen from the nurse she kept saying, "No, thank you. No, thank you."

One Thing - 11/8/14

I got to snuggle with this rosy-cheeked sleeper during our family movie night tonight

One Thing - 11/7/14

Jonah turned 6 years old today! We celebrated with a meal of his choosing (cheeseburgers), a few gifts, and then enjoyed cake and ice cream with friends. 

One Thing - 11/6/14

It's a watercolor kind of day! Other than Lydia repeatedly trying to drink out of her cup, we had a great time!

One Thing - 11/5/14

One more picture from our afternoon at the Mall of America -

They all enjoyed this ride and went on it at least 5 times in a row!

One Thing - 11/4/14

Our 2014 Thankfulness Tree is up and being filled with leaves. I'm looking forward to 150 leaves being on this tree by the end of the month!

One Thing - 11/3/14

We met Mike's parents and brother at the Mall of America for lunch and some rides at Nickelodeon Universe today. Fun was had by all!

Jonah was my roller coaster buddy. I didn't get any pictures of us together...too much excitement!

Lydia was just barely tall enough for the log ride (flume). She really enjoyed it, but I could tell she got a bit nervous as we bumped up the big hills. I did my best to tell her what was coming up next. The only bad part about it was that she bumped her nose on the padded seat in front of her at the bottom of the biggest hill. I was doing my best to hold her and brace myself but the floor of our log was so wet that I slid forward pushing her forward. But, it didn't seem to upset her too much. And, tonight she has explained what happened a few times in a very animated manner. I tried to get her story about "bumped my nose" and "big boat" on video, but as soon as she knew that I was recording it she would stop. Lydia also loved the mini power tower, carousel, and the balloon ride.

Silas and I rode the swings together. He said it was the best swing he had ever been on. Sy isn't into roller coasters yet (hopefully one day!) It took some convincing to get him on the Log Ride, but he was pretty thrilled about it afterward!