Just random

Besides some boogers (both in our noses & smeared on Hayden's bedroom wall), I think we are healthy!  Yay!

Yes... Hayden's wall.  He is officially that kid.  That kid who picks his boogers & leaves them random places for us to find.  Bathroom counter.  Kitchen table.  And ALL over the wall by his bed.  I may have to sand & repaint!  At least he doesn't eat them?

People all around us are sick.  A few of my poor co-workers kids are having winters like we did last year.  Constant nebulizers.  Hospitalizations.  :(

I feel so bad for them, but inside I'm just so excited, like shout it to the mountain tops excited, that we are rocking this winter (from a respiratory standpoint anyways) after last year.  We aren't even giving Livi any steroids.  Ok, so we have the prescription & we did start it this fall... but keeping up with it is very hard & we failed.  I didn't want to 1/2 ass do it & if she got sick wonder if steroids would have kept her healthy.  So we just didn't do it, decided to rather give her a chance to prove herself.  And she has been fine!  Maybe she will grow out of this after all? 

We have been doing some extra Vitamin D this winter... and maybe its just a coincidence, but maybe that Vitamin D is doing that much for them?  And they are a little older & stronger too.  Whatever it is, I'm glad.  Not that we haven't had our share of crud.  I'm just glad their lungs are tolerating their crud.

And after last weeks video.... look what came home from school yesterday!! 

Actually not his best H, he really has that letter down, but look at that effort!

And this is awesome!

Livi is not much for participation.  She tells me "I didn't write my letters at school today because I didn't want to."  BUT... she is talking there now!  Like in a group setting even!  Poor shy thing will break out of that shell someday.  They have learned so much at school in just 12 short weeks!!  And just 2 days a week... its incredible really!

A shocking video!!!

Don't pay attention to me & Hayden!
His fever is back today, just a little (otherwise we had been fever free since Monday) & he has a TON of drainage, so he has "puked" a few times today.  But otherwise besides lingering coughs & boogers, we are in "relatively good" health.  We are being bums in PJs & enjoying our last day of all of us home for Jeff's Christmas Break.

And while sitting around we discovered one of the kids knows how to spell their name!!  Not write it, but can tell us all the letters in order!  It just takes a little reminder to remember the last letter!



LO.... G.... A..... "N for Nebraska"!!!!

I'm so shocked & proud..... I cried.  Honest.


Hayden writes the letter H on EVERYTHING!  He's got that one down.  Livi can write an O.  Logan doesn't write letters as much so I was shocked at todays discovery!!

2012 in review

Year in review is a blog post I look forward to all year.  An instant glimpse at how amazing 12 months really are!  I looked back over my review of 2011, and smiled.  This is the thought I entered 2012 with:

"I welcome 2012 with open arms. The good & the bad. Because I'm realizing, the tough times only make us stronger. And make us cherish the good ones even longer."

I was right.

2012 was a life changing year for me.  I watched my children conquer sickness.  I watched them learn & grow.  I watched many friends journey down rough paths, and tearfully watched my friend bury her baby.  And I continue to stand in awe of her grace.  I learned even deeper in my soul the the value of love & life.  I learned to{try not to} sweat the small things.  And I grew in ways I never knew were possible.  2012 is a year that will definitely not soon be forgotten.

January:
We gave our first at home hair cuts.  We battled RSV.  We accidentally potty trained Olivia.     

February:
We played in the snow.  We said our prayers.  We found out Hayden is allergic to Amoxicillin.  We danced & sang!  We tried to recover from RSV.

March:
I finally went back to work post RSV & we finally got healthy!  We hit up the Children's museum.  Our talking & learning just took off!   We decided to re-do our bathroom.    And took some "silly baths" in the meantime.  We started counting.  We worked on getting our 2 year molars.  And enjoyed the beautiful spring weather!

April:
We enjoyed the unusually warm spring weather.  We hunted Easter Eggs.  We took a big leap of faith & put our house on the market.  We started potty training the boys, accidentally!  {wow, we really started THAT long ago!}  We marched with March of Dimes to support healthy babies! 

May:
We laughed!!  We kept working on potty training.  We turned 2 & 1/2!  Then there was Mother's Day.  Livi mastered potty poop.  We visited the zoo.  Our year of sickness continued.  We partied in Minnesota.  We sold our house... {for the first time.}

June:
We revisited the zoo & went to the circus!  We had a staycation, during which we camped in a caboose.  We celebrated 6 years of marriage.  Our plans for an awesome vacation, turned into a house roofing project & a Hayden tonsillectomy. 

July:
We beat the heat.  Our house sale fell through.  We watched our 1st fireworks.  We got sick...again, but managed to still get out & enjoy the community days parade.  Livi told her first knock-knock joke.  We goofed around.  We declared Hayden potty trained! 

August:
This month is in a nutshell what 2012 will always be for me.  Life altering.  We went to the fair.  We sold our house... AGAIN! We MOVED!!  And I learned that Heaven gained a perfect angel when my friend Anne tragically lost her daughter Isabelle.  A moment in my life that will change me & the way I view the world forever.  I think of you often Anne & Isabelle.   I counted my lucky stars, slept on the floor in my kids' bedroom for weeks, and I began to view my hard days as a parent very differently. 

September:
We played at our new neighborhood park.  The kids had lots of football weekends with dad.  We got settled into our new house, got big kid beds & I finished my first new house project!  And took the first of many trips to the pumpkin patch. 

October:
We enjoyed the beautiful fall weather.  Jeff got a new job!  We spent more time at the pumpkin patch.  Took 3 year pictures.  The kids started preschool & I turned 30!!  We survived the dentist!  We went Trick-or-Treating.

November:
We had a PaRtY!  We checked how much we grew.  MY BABIES TURNED THREE!!!  I did more painting.  We gave thanks.

December:
"Accident happen, & that's ok" became the kids favorite saying.  And accidents did happen!  We continued to learn so much at school.  We saw Santa.  We played in the snow.  We had our first ever Christmas Program!  And were extremely blessed this year at Christmas.


I put together this blog, in laughter & in tears.   It is truly so fun to look back on all the amazing memories of the last 12 months & sit in wonder & awe of how amazing life is. I am blessed.  And I am excited for all of the love, laughter & memories that 2013 will bring. 

Christmas 2012!

We had a very blessed Christmas this year.  The kids got extremely spoiled & we may have to get a bigger house in 2013 to house all their new toys!  {Just kidding!}  But organization & spending some serious time in the toy room is top on my 2013 to do list. {Well that & finishing the kids' bedrooms once!  Any volunteers to come clean & paint Olivia's bed & dressers??}

This is the first time in my nursing career that I have worked Christmas day.  I have worked Christmas Eve overnight often & just stayed up sleepless on Christmas day.  But this year I worked both the Eve & the Day.  Which actually wasn't so bad.  We spent the weekends before & after with family & didn't feel too rushed.  Plus we actually had a real Christmas at our own house for once.  And due to a low census at work, I did get to come home Christmas Day afternoon & have a yummy meal with my little family, decorate some cookies for Santa & read some Christmas books to the kids before tucking them into bed (so Santa could come!)

So here you have it.... Christmas 2012 in pictures.  Lots & lots of pictures!!

Christmas #1:  Great Grandpa & Grandma Siebert's house!

 My pretty, pretty princess!!

 Now she's a working guy.  What you can't see is that she is still wearing heels!

 "Train track guy!"

 Princess Logan :)  Yup, this is the dress up outfit they fought over!

 Princess Hayden!

 This makes me think of the song "Let them be little." by Lonestar.  I am in LOVE that song.  Life gets tough soon enough.  I will let my 3 year old boys play & dream & be princesses if they want to! 

 Out to eat at Chances R Sunday for lunch & an "attempted" visit with Santa!

Liv & her 2nd cousin Avery.

Christmas #2:  Grandma GG's house

 Should have just gotten her boxes!

 Best shot I could get of the boys in their new hats!

Christmas Day night deorating cookies for Santa.  He came to our house while we slept on the 25th, & we did Christmas at home on the 26th.

 She did a really good job!

 Logan prefered to eat the frosting with a spoon!

 Hope Santa likes them!!

Christmas #3:  Home

Santa & his Reindeer ate almost all of our cookies!

 

Stockings & Santa gifts....

 After thoughts somehow always end up being the favorite gifts!

 Hello Kitty Earings in her stocking!

 A break for the kids to play with & sort through their new Santa gifts, while we made some good breakfast.  They can only handle so many presents at a time.  They want to open each box & play with each thing before moving on.  So a breakfast break worked perfectly!

 Then we opened presents from Mom & Dad.

 Then we had all day at home together to play, watch movies.... do whatever.  I loved that!

 Again, after thoughts are always the best gifts.  This little potty was in a $10 bath tub kit I got for Liv & this dolly potty was a huge hit!

Christmas #4:  Grandma & Grandpa Maas'

Grandma Maas got a new puppy.  The kids LOVED her!

 And I think she loved them too!  Between Hayden & Addie, I'm not sure she got put down all weekend?!

 She was such a good sport!

 We didn't get to spend quite as much time there as we had planned, because we had sick kids.  Liv was day 4 of 6 of a 102 degree fever.  Poor baby.

 Logan's 103 degree fever started that day.  He was so tired!  Luckily his sickness seems to have passed more quickly. 

 Hayden doesn't get fevers like the other 2, so he managed pretty well with this crud.  He & Addie had a lot of fun.  They are 2 peas in a pod!

Presents!  Look at this patience! 

 WOODY!!

 2 beautiful Jessies!

 He got too tired... and needed help opening :(

 Ava!

 I think its fair to say they had a good Christmas!?

 Poor Logan.  Its so hard to be sick on Christmas!

 Not sure who enjoyed the train tracks more, the kids or Jeff?

 Livi during an energy spurt on Ava's gift & Addie on Grandma's rocking elephant.

We hope you had a blessed Holiday Season & got to spend some time with your loved ones.