Family Movie Night

Grandpa Ron and Grandma Connie had gotten Emma a biographical book about Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Emma enjoyed it so much that we have been reading "Little House in the Big Woods".  Shortly after we began reading it, the kids started playing "Little House."  Emma works in the kitchen, and Caleb lines up all the stuffed animals we have in the house and shoots them with his Pooh-Bear gun.  Then they smoke the meat and store some of it for winter. =) 

My mom found a DVD that had two Christmas episodes of Little House on the Prairie.  So, we all got cozy on the couch and enjoyed an episode together.  It was great fun, and happened to be an episode that told the story of Baby Jesus.  Now, every time Emma sees a Christmas star, she says, "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus" just like Carrie did in that episode.  It's sweet.  And, Noah even held Ezra's hand during the show:

Christmas Shopping

We took a trip out to the Thousand Oaks Mall.  Neither Ben nor I had seen it since all the renovations.  When we entered the parking garage, it said there were 997 spaces available.  By the afternoon, I overheard a store clerk saying that the garage had been full so he had to park farther away.  We had all the kids with us, and it was quite an enjoyable trip.  We didn't accomplish much in the way of Christmas shopping (although most of it was done anyway), but we looked at decorations, enjoyed walking around the mall as a family, and even enjoyed some ice cream as a reward for such good behavior.  There was a man playing the piano in the middle of the mall, and Emma and I enjoyed dancing together to his beautiful music.  For the pictures, Caleb stepped in for me. =)

Still Happy...

Happy Baby

                 
                                      

Dress Up

I had just been telling my mom how Noah wasn't really into dressing up like the other kids are.

Apparently I was wrong:

 This is all he wants to wear, everyday.

Full House...

Yesterday, we had a LOT of friends over.  Luckily, Auntie Katie came over to help.  And to tell you the truth, it went remarkably well.  I don't even think we had any screaming!!  There were nine altogether, but somehow I didn't get a picture of Cadence??  (Oh, I think I took her pictures with Kelly's camera.)

Field Trip

We have been learning about fish lately, so we were down in Ventura and decided to stop in to the TAT, Tropical Fish store by Target.  The kids loved it!!  Noah was in the stroller (with Ezra), which made it safer for all the fish in the store.  But we all had a great time, and it was really neat to be able to see first hand some of the things we had learned about fish.

The outfits...

You know when you receive clothing from people, and there are some outfits that you just can't wait to put on your child?  Well, a woman from our church had gotten Ezra two outfits that were organic cotton, and totally cute.  I have been so excited for Ezra to wear them, but they were size 6 months.  And, not hand-me-down 6 months, but brand new 6 months (it makes a big difference!!)  Well, the day has come.  There were two outfits and due to his massive spitting up and tendency to explode out of his diaper, he got to wear both of them!  

Dr. Appointments...

Today we went to the doctor for Noah's two year check-up (yeah, we're a little late), and Ezra's two-week check-up (pretty late on that too!).

Here's the stats I know:

Emma weighs 41 pounds!!

Caleb weighs 38 pounds!!

Noah weighs 28 1/2 pounds and is 35 1/2 inches tall.

Ezra is 11 pounds, 9 1/2 oz. and is 22 inches long.

They had talked about possibly referring Noah to be tested for Speech Therapy, but have decided that first we are going to test his hearing.

Ezra has a little bit of eczema, and the doctor said we should use Aveeno instead of Johnson and Johnson's.  I hadn't thought about it at all, but the minute the doc said "Aveeno" I remembered that... (Guess who??  His older twin of course!!) Caleb had a similar situation and I had used Aveeno with him.  Go figure.  This is just getting weird!!  But all in all, it was a great appointment and we were glad everyone is healthy!!

Six Week Check-Up

Today I had my six week check.  Everything was great and I'm all healed up.  I haven't lost any weight since the day after I had him.  So, a good twenty or more pounds is just hanging on!!  But that's okay, I am glad to be healthy, and although losing the rest of the weight is on my "list", I've got a few more important things for now...

P.S.  Sorry about all the posts at once, I was a little behind!!

Decorating the Tree

The kids had a blast decorating the Christmas tree at my parent's house.  

Three generations!

Emma decorating Daddy!!

Noah is worn out!!

Company Christmas Party

Last year we won a bunch of stuff.  This year, we did not win anything, but we enjoyed a lovely dinner and a night out (with Ezra), and most of all... we counted our blessings.  We have so much to thank our God for.  We have a Savior who bore our curse.  We have everything. =)

And, the big kids got to have a sleepover with Grandpa Ron and Grandma Connie, complete with Mickey Mouse pancakes and everything!!  

Thanksgiving...

On the eve of Thanksgiving, we got together at my parent's house and had tamales.  Here's the best family picture:

Then on Thanksgiving day, we read stories about Thanksgiving and ate at my parent's again that night after Ben was off work (Thank you Mom and Dad for feeding us so much that week!!)

The kids had a blast with their cousins:

And then we had another "Feast" at Grammie's house, and the kids got to play and run around with their other cousins.

P.S.  The trouble with a 4 year old who can read:

I was reading the books about Thanksgiving I got from the library to the kids.  One of the stories had quite a bit of reading, so I was "paraphrasing" in order to give them the most important information.  Caleb told me, "Mom!  The last word on the page was "grains" and you didn't say that!!"  Oops.  =)  

Enjoying the Christmas tree...

So, we put up our Christmas tree the day before Thanksgiving [I know it's been a while, but I have not been very good about keeping up with the blog.  Luckily, my sister-in-law reminded me that I have been lagging!! =)]

Anyway, this is a picture of the kids in their jammies... It would have been our Christmas card, if there wasn't one child missing!!! =)

Fun Friday

Cadence and Lyric (my nieces) came and hung out with us on Friday.  Here is a picture of Cadence and her Auntie "See-saw".  She even fell asleep on me and let me cuddle her... just until Mommy was available.  =)

Child Labor...

Just to be clear, I didn't ask Emma to mop the kitchen floor and the bathroom floor.  She begged me to let her use the Shark H2O mop.  I LET her do the kitchen and the bathroom.  I did the rest.

Oh yes, Caleb had to have a turn too.

Look Who's Getting Big...

Ezra at 6 weeks.

One Month

Ezra is a month old!!

We had fun putting up our (fake) Christmas tree!!-Ben starts his "work week" on Thanksgiving day, so we figured we might as well put it up and enjoy it now!!  

Here are the big kids with our tree:

He's Growing...

Ezra at three weeks old:

It Seemed Like A Good Idea at the Time...

Well, today was one of those days.  We all have them, you know.  Ezra was up at 1:15 am, which was normal.  Then, Caleb was up at 2 am to go potty, then 2:15 am to blow his nose, then at 3 something am to tell me he had a bad dream.  Then Ezra got up to eat again at 4 am, which is again, pretty normal.  But he didn't want to go back to sleep.  So at 5 am, I just brought him into the bed with me and he fell asleep.  But alas, Caleb was up again at 6 am to go potty, and left his door open, so Noah got up and started getting into trouble in the living room.  I came to get him, and Noah threw a fit, so he ended up screaming in his crib for a while.  Then everyone decided it was time to start the day!

After breakfast we were getting ready for a walk, and Emma got into trouble for using unkind words with Mama after I asked her to change.  Then, Caleb threw a big fit and ended up on his bed (which was all for nothing, because all I was going to do was ask him to flush the toilet, but he assumed he must be in trouble so opted for crying on the floor).

The walk was a nice break, but I decided we all needed a do-over.  So, since my mom was babysitting the cousins, I thought I would take the kids over to Grandma's, which they love, and then take the big kids to the library to choose some Thanksgiving books.  When we got to the library, it was closed!!!  By this time, you just have to laugh.  I mean, really.  But, my mom ever-so-kindly made us all lunch, and we had some fun on starfall.com, and then came home for rest time.  

After dinner, Ben had to go to work (it's night shift week!).  A friend came by to bring over some hand-me-down clothes, and her two kids were playing with all of mine.  In the next 30 minutes, Caleb hurt his ear, Emma cut her gums and was bleeding, Ezra was screaming to be fed, and Noah did this:

TWICE.  They took the sink out of the play kitchen, and Noah climbed into the cabinet below the sink opening, and stuck his head and arms up through the opening.  You can't see in the picture, but there is a microwave above his head, so you can't pick him up through the opening (not that he would have fit that way!).  The only choice was to go back down through the opening.

The first time I helped him out (and told him not to do it again).  The second time I took pictures and told him he was on his own.  He got himself out.

Anyway... today was a day.  I can't wait to see what tomorrow has for us...

Matching...

The first time the boys have had matching shirts... 

"Mysterious"

Caleb and Emma have two new favorite words.  "Mysterious" and "suspicious".  I have been hearing these a lot.  The other day, I made tea for the kids.  Caleb told me, "Mom, there is something really mysterious going on here.  My tea just keeps getting tastier and tastier as I drink it!!"

Deja Vu

 Caleb  Ezra
  CalebEzra

They look so much alike sometimes, it is uncanny.  It amazes me.  Even many of their facial expressions and mannerisms are similar.  And yet, God has made them each unique, I am anxious to see what differences and similarities we will see as they grow and change.  And even though these pictures don't even do justice to their similarities, I still don't look at Ezra and think, "Oh, Caleb."  I look at him and think, "Ezra."  =)

Update on Ezra

My SIL (look at me, trying to be like a pro-blogger, my sister-in-law) reminded me that I needed to post some pictures of Ezra.  Tomorrow we go to our appointment to try and get him a birth certificate.  Only after running around getting letters and records from his pediatrician and my OB/GYN.  

Anyway, at Ezra's one week check-up he had already gained 1/2 a pound, so I think he is doing okay.  

He eats every three hours, which means I get up about twice a night.  He has been very sweet about going back to sleep after he's done eating.  Unfortunately, the big boys have been getting up before 6 am ever since we changed the clocks!!  But, we are enjoying our new family addition, and he is doing great!!  Daddy's is off starting tomorrow, so we are all looking forward to some time together as a family.  

Psycho Sally...

Okay, I usually blog about the kids, or our life in general.  Today, you get to read about just one of the crazy things about me.  Now, my birthday was in October too (we have a LOT of October birthdays in our family!).  So, my MIL (that's blog speak for Mother-in-Law), got me these really cool bamboo pants for my birthday.  They are super soft, and black, and I don't know how it happened that I no longer had any black workout pants (I used to be a personal trainer, an aerobic instructor, and I worked at a gym!!).  But I really needed these pants, not to mention they are AWESOME.  So, I was so excited about this gift.  Here's where it gets a bit personal.  They were a size Medium.  I tried them on that night, and although they were snug, I could get them on, and they looked moderately decent.  Fast forward about a week or so, and Ben asks me why I haven't worn my new pants.  Well, I wasn't sure if I should keep the medium or exchange for a large.  But, I decided to keep the medium, since I can actually wear them right now, and the hope is that I am not going to get larger, but that I will lose at least some of the pregnancy weight and they will fit me better and better.  Another couple of days goes by and Ben still hasn't seen me wearing the pants.  Then I tell him.  I am afraid to wear them because they're nice and I don't want to get them dirty.  He laughs and reminds me that they aren't doing anyone any good just sitting in a drawer.  So, the other morning, I triumphed over the Psycho Sally in me, even if it was just for one day.  We went for a walk.  I called Ben to tell him.  I wore my new pants.  They are awesome.

The Country Fair...

I have been amazed at how quickly all of you have gotten up your Halloween pictures.  I like to lag.  =)  So, we had a very nice time at the Country Fair at our church.  The kids brought home way more candy than they'll ever actually get to eat, (although I am pretty sure I have seen Daddy sneak some here and there!), they enjoyed the bounce house, and I didn't get many pictures because I had to feed Ezra when we got there, and then I was trying to watch in two different directions all night.  But, it was a great time for the kids.  My mom had bought a big bag of candy for us to pass out (our neighborhood is very popular for trick-or-treating).  I didn't think there was any way we would be able to get rid of that candy!!  But, between the trick-or-treaters who came while I was getting everyone ready, and the ones that came in the fifteen minutes after we got home from the church... all that candy was gone.  Seriously, the streets are lined with cars, people who dropped off their kids and are waiting to pick them back up at 8pm.  There was a ton of kids.  But, everyone is safe, the kids had a good time, and here's to another year of my least favorite holiday gone by. =)

Caleb is a Knight (big surprise!), Emma is Belle (although with a veil on her head, so maybe she's Belle getting married??) and Noah is what I call Super-Baby.  Basically, we didn't have any money to invest into this holiday, so they all wore something that they already had.  

Amazing...

WARNING: this post contains sensitive material.  

Okay, I am continually amazed by the way God has created our bodies, and babies and mommies, there are so many things that have fascinated me this past week and a half.  One of the things that they do in the hospital when you have a newborn is administer a Vitamin K shot, which helps newborns with blood clotting.  We had decided to go ahead and get the Vitamin K shot (we opted out of the eye goop, and the hep B vaccine) since we knew that Ezra would be getting circumcised.  No real medical reason, just thought he would prefer being like Daddy and brothers.  Anyway, getting a vitamin K shot proved to be a difficult task.  They don't have it at the pediatrician's office, the hospital won't administer it unless we took Ezra to the Emergency Room, and none of the pharmacies carry it.  After some further research and a very helpful talk with a midwife, we came to the conclusion that the actual benefits of this shot compared to the risks were not worth all the effort we were going to in order to get Ezra this shot.  This is the interesting part:

When babies are born, they do not have the full amount of clotting factor... well, this can be a problem in some babies, but for most, it is not.  Our pediatrician explained that it is because they have not yet fully built up the "good bacteria" within their intestinal systems.  But listen to this!!!  Not only is there a higher concentration of Vitamin K in the colostrum (the stuff just before your milk comes in), but after the first week of life, the baby has built up sufficient amounts of the "good bacteria" to be able to clot on their own.   The midwife specifically put it this way, that the baby has sufficient clotting ability by the eighth day.  Now, perhaps that isn't super significant yet... but, in Biblical times, boys were circumcised on the eighth day!!!!  And, not only did this just completely amaze me, how God perfectly designed that all to fit together, but before knowing any of this information, we had made an appointment to have Ezra's circumcision done, and do you know when his appointment had fallen???  On the EIGHTH day. I'm not even kidding!!  Ben and I were talking about how God told the Israelites to circumcise on the eighth day, and He didn't necessarily spell out WHY he told them that, He just expected them to obey.  And it was for their good!!  

Anyway, I am just in awe of all this, and although it may not interest everyone else the same way, it tickled me enough to blog about it.

P.S.  Ezra is doing very well since his circumcision, and healing up just fine.  His doctor said there was very little bleeding.  Yeah God!