Four Months

I can not remember a thing from when Eli and Owen were four months old.  I specifically remember thinking "there is no way Ill forget the first giggle, the first time they roll over, the first tooth, first time they tried solids, the funny things they did, the first 'fill in the blank.'
Well let me tell you, I have forgotten ALL of it! I can not remember anything from when they were four months old without going back to look at baby books and blog posts.  So, now that I know that in a few months from now, Ill forget everything that Cash is doing now, I ought to make sure I document it.  I cant let his milestones fall to the wayside because he is the poor third child.  Just today at his well-check the doctor asked me how he did with his two months shots, and I couldn't even remember. I said to her "he must have been fine because I don't remember at all!"  She just laughed and said something like, that's a third child for you!

Dear Cash,
You are four months old!  You are a chunky baby, just like your brothers were, and have acquired quite a few nicknames around here:  Baby Cash, Cash-Man, Casher, Cashew.

You are still sleeping in our room at night, but have moved to the crib for naps.  This is mostly  because we are still in the process of getting Owen into his new room with Eli (what a process!!!).  You declared your bedtime to be 7pm and really don't every want to stay up past that.  On good nights you wake up just once and sleep between 5-8 hours for the first stretch and then another 4 or so after that.  You are usually awaken by your gassy tummy, or an explosive poo that is seeping out all over the place.  On that note, you blow out almost every single diaper.  I change and soak your clothes on a daily basis! I have tried every diaper on the market.  I guess you just have a strong  little tush and an intestinal tract in good shape!

I pretty much just feed you on-demand.  Mostly because I have so much other stuff going on in my head to make sure everything is getting done, everyone is being fed, and napped and still alive, that I just cant seem to remember the last time I fed you, so I just wing it and feed you whenever. You hold on to my thumb so, so tight while I nurse you until you fall asleep, it seems to help you relax.  I love the feeling of your little hands gripping my thumb, the warmth of your little body against mine.  You are a good eater, and only nurse for nourishment, not comfort.

You smile all. the. time.  Even in the middle of the night when you wake up, or when you are beyond tired because I kept you awake for way too long because we were playing with friends at the park, or when I make you come run errands with my while the boys are in school and you have been strapped in your car seat or the carrier all day, or when your brothers are screaming and poking you, or when you get waken up from a nap from either Eli or Owen screaming.
Those chunky cheeks are just so fun to kiss, and I can not get enough of you! You are such a joy to be with!

You graduated from the play mat on the floor to the Exersaucer.  I love the Exersaucer! You can sit in it forever and not get bored.  We have to be very careful that we make sure its not littered with your brothers Legos or small toys before we put you in because you have already started picking things up and your hands go directly to your mouth.  I still cant tell if you will be a finger or thumb sucker.  If I had to put money on it, I would say you are, you always have your fingers/thumb/jamming your fist or mine in your mouth.

Whenever I am in the room, you follow me around the entire time like I will disappear if you take your eyes off of me.  When I leave at 6am to go for a run, somehow you know I have left and Dad says you wake up as soon as I walk out the door.
You like going on runs with me and do very well in the stroller, you almost always fall asleep.

You still seem to like to be swaddled at night, but usually are totally out of it by the time you wake up.  We are going to start this week to put you down without the swaddle, wish me luck.  We don't make good sleepers around here, and you are no exception, but I am ready to do away with it.  Although you aren't the best sleeper, your calm, sweet demeanour makes up for it.

You checked out with a clean bill of health at your 4 month check-up.

You have been getting a lot of "check-ups" around here, but at your real appointment you had these stats:

Height: 24 inches (50%)
Weight: 16 lbs (90%)
FOC: 43 (60%)

You take the poking and prodding from your brothers in stride and have started watching them as they play around you and stay entertained by them.  Eli is very sweet with you and loves to look at you and comes up to you often to say hi and rub your head.  Owen likes to hold you and tries to console you when you are crying in the car by holding your hand and saying "Baby, baby, baby, its ok  Baby Cash."  The other morning we were sitting on the couch together and Owen held out his arms to me and said "Ill take him, you go get some coffee."  While the offer was beyond adorable, I was just imagining you sliding right out of his arms, off the couch and onto the floor!  It also made me think that maybe I drink too much coffee in the morning!

While I can not believe you are already 4 1/2 months old, I also cant believe we have only known you for 4 1/2 months.  You are the perfect addition to our family and I already have a hard time remembering it without you in it!  LOVE YOU!

Thanksgiving Holiday Round-Up

This month I have been trying to talk to Eli and Owen about Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful.  Granted, "thankful" is a toughie in terms of emotional range, and I used some big words (grateful, appreciate) but I also did my best to frame it in their "what makes you happy" way of understanding the world.  So, I was explaining to them the kinds of people and comforts that they have in their life that they should be thankful for.  

I think we all want our kids to be thankful for what they have, but it can be a tall order for little ones, so I came up with an idea to make a "Wall of Gratitude", I saw something like this in a magazine and thought it would be a fun thing for us to do every night this month.  We each picked a different color marker and each night we talk about what we are thankful for.

Of course being 3 and 2, a lot of the times it was things like rocks, clouds that rain, rain, rain, the TV we watch our shows on, my Switch and Go Dino, Smarties.

But after a few days, they started to understand the meaning a little better. 

It was a really fun thing to do leading up to Thanksgiving this month and has lead to some fun/funny/interesting discussions at dinner.

On Monday before Thanksgiving their school had a Thanksgiving Feast that parents were invited to attend and eat lunch with the kids and see them do a little performance on stage.

As always, Thanksgiving is a big deal and big production at our house, and this year was no different.  Just trying to think about it to write this post is exhausting, so I'm going to make this one quick.  But it was such a fun, family filled weekend!  
Blaine was getting off Thanksgiving morning, so I got everyone dressed and ready, and we headed to my parents house to see all the guys frying turkeys and playing poker.  
The crowds started trickling in around 12:30 and before we knew it, we had a packed house.  For some reason, it seemed a little more laid back, maybe even a little smaller this year (about 50 or so), but it was great fun.  Cash did me the favor of taking a decent nap during the festivities so I had a little break and was passed around the rest of the day.  Ethan took charge of the camera all weekend, so not many pictures were taken.

 Hobo trying to get the last of the famous punch.

 We skipped naps altogether on Thanksgiving because it just seemed to make more sense, and at about 4 pm Owen fell asleep while eating a roll!  Rachel was quick to grab him and let him take a little nap on her, she was in heaven!!!!!

 The newlyweds!

It was a wonderful first Thanksgiving for Cash, and for everyone or that matter. 

Around 6:30 just about everyone had left, including the boys (Blaine took them home) and we stuck around to help clean up before heading home and crawling into bed at 8pm!!!!  
I was not able to do the Turkey Trot this year, since I had all three boys, and am still looking for a triple stroller, so I woke up bright and early Friday morning and headed out for my own Turkey Trot!  Later that day, we had a relaxing afternoon at my parents house hanging out with Ethan.

Saturday night, my grandmother, Maw, threw a beautiful party at The Headliners Club for our family and some of her close friends.  To be honest, I was dreading it a little because I was so tired from lack of sleep (ahem, I wont mention any names) that getting all dressed up to head downtown sounded exhausting in itself! What I really wanted to do when the babysitter came was check into a hotel, kick back and go to bed, and sleep the whole night.  
But the party was beautiful, and ended up being so much fun!  It was wonderful to see Maw surrounded by everyone she loves. She was responsible for creating nearly every single person in that room! She has her good days and her not so good days.  She is getting older, and her Parkinson's is really taking a toll.  She has many hallucinations, and she knows that her mind is playing tricks on her which I can only imagine is beyond frustrating. Her caregivers are amazing and have become part of the family. I make it a point to visit her almost every weekend with the boys. I want them to remember what a wonderful grandmother and great-grandmother she is.  The party was really a wonderful tribute to her.

 Uncle Jimmy toasting Maw.

Bright and early the next morning we had polichinkas at my parents house like we do every Sunday after Thanksgiving, followed by dinner with my mom's side of the family to celebrate my other grandmothers birthday.  


I really have to much to be thankful for and spending so much time with my family over this weekend was such a wonderful reminder of how lucky I am to be surrounded by such amazing people.

Shopping in Style

My Friday morning date with Owen this morning was to the grocery store.  I have always been one to give the boys choices (do you want apples of grapes with lunch, or do you want the blue shirt of green shirt).  But this morning Owen decided he was going to pick out his entire outfit for our outing.

This is what it was: his PJ shirt, some pants that were two size two big and backwards, one flip-flop, and one soccer cleat.

When we got to the store he realized he had not accessorized enough, and added a hat.

Oh well.  We made a few people smile as they walked passed us and he was happy.  I just hope his fashion sense improves with age!

Huggie and Halloween

When I picked the boys up from school on Halloween, I was informed that Eli was chosen to take home the school mascot, Huggie.  I did not know there was such a thing, but we got his bag full of outfits, his sleeping bag, and his journal.  The director told me that when Huggie goes home with a student, he, aka, the parents, writes in his journal about all that he did along with attaching pictures.  When Huggie is returned, his new journal entry is read to the school during chapel.  Huggie came home with us, of course during a very busy week.  Lucky for him, he got to come to our 4th annual Halloween Party we host with the Haegelin and Goss Families.

The party was a Xio's this year, and was so much fun! It has been fun to see this group of kids grow up throughout the years and see how our party evolves as they all get older and the group gets bigger and bigger with new brothers and sisters.

Managing three kids took most of my energy and didnt leave much time to take a ton of pictures.

We got there early for some last minute setting up, and the kids let themselves outside to entertain each other while we got things done.

Our Hosts

Porter, Sophia, Eli, Owen, Gage, and Henry

And as most parents know, sometimes a little bribing can prove very successful, and this picture was no different.  We promised candy corn all around, so here is Sarah, handing it out!

And then the guests started to arrive...and the party began!

Thankfully Rachel (she wins best Aunt in the world award!!!) come and picked up Cash and put him to bed so I could Trick or Treat later in the night with Eli and Owen and not have to worry about him.

We had a pinata this year and the kids gave it their all!

 Even little Porter gave it a shot!

But of course their little muscles didnt quite cut it, so Daniel stepped in to make it happen!

Soon after we headed out to Trick-or-Treat.  The boys really got it this year, and were so excited about it, so it was really fun to see them running up to doors and saying Trick-or-Treat and being so happy. 

Huggie did a little Trick-or-Treating himself.

The boys really enjoyed themselves Trick or Treating, and when we got back to Xio's to do a little cleaning before heading home with two "sugar-hopped" kids, Owen took a breather and chose a lollipop to relax with.

On Friday, Huggie returned to school to go home with his next friend.  Owen enjoyed having him at our home, Eli honestly could have cared less!