Birthdays

This weekend is our family's weekend away up north in Nisswa at Grand View Lodge. I just love it there! I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with everyone. My family decided to do this weekend in exchange of Christmas gifts this year and it is also my and my brothers' birthdays this weekend and New Years, so I guess we will have lots to celebrate. I turn the BIG 3-0! I'm actually okay with it. I'm only slightly depressed about the number because I do realize that 30 isn't old but saying good-bye to my 20's is a little sad just cause so many good things happened in my 20's and in what seems like such a short amount of time (where did the last 10 years go): my first apartment, my first house, getting engaged, graduating from college, getting married, buying my 2nd house, having Tayah and Collin. It's been great but ready for the next 10 years.

So, earlier this week Ben handed me a card. I asked if I should open it or wait until my actual birthday and he said it was up to me. So, I planned on waiting (as tempting it was to open it) then Ben said that I may want to open it a few days early. So, I ripped into the card with no second thought. It was a very sweet card describing how great of a wife I am (well, duh...ha/ha) and then I opened it and at the top Ben wrote: "You deserve something BIG for your 30th."

At the bottom is a picture of a diamond (upgrade the diamond in my wedding ring) and then the words "OR" and then a picture of a beach (trip to someplace WARM for just the two of us).
And it said, "You choose".

I was at a loss for words. How was I ever going to choose? So I instantly tried calling my mom, she wasn't home. I sent my best friend Alicia a text, I needed some insight. Alicia leaned toward the trip cause she said the diamond would make a good anniversary gift. I agreed. Katie said to go with the DIAMOND!! So I thought about it and had wanted to do a trip for Ben's 30th birthday in June. Ben had thought that if we chose the trip that we could go over Valentines Day. I knew we were going to Disney with the kids in March and I was a little nervous about leaving Collin so soon. So, I decided to go with the diamond and then we can take a little trip, just the two of us, in June for Ben's birthday and when Collin is a little older.

So, Ben and I went last night to pick out the diamond so I could have it all set by the time we head up north this weekend. It's so beautiful and I can't wait to see it in my ring.

I will update with pictures from the weekend later. Hoping for safe travels by all as I know the weather is supposed to not be great.

Christmas

Christmas Eve: We spent Christmas Eve at the Cade side. We had a wonderful spread of appetizers and opened gifts that night as the rest of Cade's (We will be heading that way in March) were heading to Florida on Christmas day.

Christmas at the Cade house.

Uncle Robert and Tayah. They have a special relationship and like to tease each other.

Collin and myself next to the Christmas tree.

Christmas Eve Night: We got home pretty late that evening so we quickly put the kids to bed. Tayah was too tired and crabby to put out milk and cookies and the reindeer food so mom and dad had to do that. After the kids went to bed Santa came shortly before midnight.

Christmas Morning: Collin was the first to wake up at 4 a.m. Although he ate quickly and then was back to bed. Tayah kept warning us that she was going to wake up mom and dad on Christmas morning but with her being up late the night before WE ended up waking her up shortly after 8:00 after Collin woke us up for good later in the morning.

Tayah and her walking dog from Santa.

Tayah checking out what is in her stocking.

Ben and his new Fighters Uncaged Kinect game.
My gift from Ben. Ugg slip-ons.
Tayah and her Ken and Barbie.

Collin getting to open one of his gifts.

Tayah and her Cinderella Castle from Santa.

Collin got some blocks.

Christmas Day: We spent the day with my side of the family at my Aunt Christa and Jason's house. There was some serious games of dice going on and we will just say that there was one check made out for 15.00 due to a loss and one person who ended up going to bed at 6:30 p.m. that night (not me, Collin or Tayah). He truly is sorry to everyone!!

I do think we were all a little tired that night. Collin went to bed very easily that night after a busy weekend. His was a great first Christmas!

More Rolling

I caught Collin trying to roll over...I always seem to miss it. So I grabbed the camera just as he was on his side working his way over and this is what I got. He now rolls over almost immediately when you lay him on the floor. He has gone pro.

Rolling

We started to learn to roll. We can now roll from tummy to back and back to tummy. This isn't great video of him rolling but this was just after he had rolled onto his tummy...and then sorta stopped rolling once the camera was rolling.

SNOW....Just a little bit.

December 10-11th snow storm. We were stuck inside all weekend. I think we got somewhere around 17 inches. I heard on the news that this December is the 5th snowiest on record, and we aren't even half way through the month yet.

I guess I can't complain about Ben and his new toy. He did get the plow for the 4-wheeler and he has used it several times already.

Sidewalk.

Shoveling out the entry way.

4 Month Checkup

Collin and I had his 4 month checkup last night. Collin and I went alone because Tayah said she didn't want to come with for support. She said she wanted to just stay home with dad.( Remember: DON'T HURT MY BROTHER!!!). Collin is healthy and doing well. He has gotten so much stronger since his last appointment. The doctor put him on his tummy to see what he would do and he rolled right over. Of course he would, he has yet to do that for me, although he has came so close many times. YAY COLLIN!! Shots went well. He didn't even cry for the first shot. Once the second shot came he started crying though. He did very good. He is right about in the 50th percentile for height and around 25 percentile for weight. Our next step is to start to introduce cereal and fruits and veggies!!

He was 12lbs 15 oz. and 24.5 inches in height.

Don't bother me. I'm watching the news.

Okay, here is a little smile. Still happy, bandaids and all.

4 months old...ALMOST.

Don't even tell me that my baby is almost 4 months old. He is getting so big!! Here is a picture of him from the other day. He is getting so strong and getting much better about being on his tummy. Doing much better about lifting his head too. Yay!! We have a 4 month checkup coming up next week, which means more shots. Boo!

Also I recently decided to stop with the breastfeeding thing after his 4 month checkup and going to strictly just formula. I'm sorta sad and regretful about stopping but I also am really ready to be done with it. Right now my life revolves around feedings and if I am away from Collin for more than a couple hours I have to worry about being back home to feed or pump. I feel like I haven't had my body to myself in over a year. Being pregnant for 9 months and then breastfeeding for another 4 months after that I have just been all for Collin for the last 13 months. I am more than grateful that I could provide for him for that long and have no regrets AT ALL. He was sorta a picky eater for a while and for a while would not take a bottle, and then for a while wouldn't take any sort of formula. But more recently I have been able to get him to supplement with formula, but it has been a very gradual process. He is just a hungry, growing boy and I am now confident he will do fine on formula. Breastfeeding is probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done and I really give props to the moms who stick it out for a whole year because I don't think I could. Anyway, that is the latest with my growing boy. I will update with his stats after our checkup next week.

Holidays are HERE!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did!! We spent the afternoon at Ben's parents to eat and then at my parent's house in the evening to eat. It was all wonderful!! It's really starting to feel like the holidays are here. I like it!!

Tayah and Blake eating. Not sure what kind of face this. It's a Tayah face.

Cousins. It's fun because Blake is getting bigger and old enough to play with Tayah. They do pretty good together too. Blake thinks Tayah is pretty funny.

Here is Collin taking a little nap on the chair at Grandma Val's and Papa Dave's.

Saturday Ben, Collin, Grandma Julie, and Papa Dan went to Quady's Tree Farm to cut a Christmas tree. Tayah spent the night at Grandma Val's so she missed out on the tree cutting but we waited to decorate it when she got home. Here is a picture of Grandma Julie and Collin keeping warm in the truck.

Tayah decorating the tree.

This isn't a great picture and you don't get the true affect of how tall this tree actually is. Not nearly as pretty as in person.

3 months Old

Sorry the video is sideways. I forgot to flip it before uploading it.

This is actually hard for me to even believe that my little one is 3 months old. That hardly even seems like a baby-baby anymore. Sad. We are just getting so big way to fast for mommy.

• He is over 11.5 lbs now.
• Wearing a size 1 diaper.
• Wearing size 3-6 month old clothes. Outgrew all of our newborn clothes.
  
• He eats every 2 hours, almost on the dot, except for at night.
• He is eating 4 oz. (2 oz of breast milk mixed with 2 oz of formula)
• He started to sorta (most nights) sleep through the night. Usually asleep by 9:00 and up to eat at 4:00. Then down again for another couple hours.
  
• He is sleeping in his own crib in his room now.
• Coos and makes noises.
  
• He is smiling A LOT now.
• Started to laugh.
  
• Found his hands- in his mouth usually.
• Found his tongue- sticks it out.
• Kicks his legs and arms like crazy now.
• Will roll to side when laying on his back....but doesn't like laying on tummy for tummy time.
• Started sitting in the bumbo chair and Exersaucer to strengthen neck and sorta likes it to look all around.
• Has had 2 haircuts already.
  
• Likes to be held close to mommy but daddy is better at getting him to fall asleep.

Shots

Collin and Tayah were both due for Wellness Checkups in October. Collin due for his 2 month checkup and Tayah her 4 year. Collin was due for his first set of shots and Tayah was due for her 4 year shots and Kindergarten shots. Tayah hasn't had any shots in the last 2 years (they don't do shots at 2 years or 3 years of age). So, the last time she had shots was when she was 18 months old. I was a little worried because now at 4 years of age she is a little older, a little bigger, and a little wiser when it comes to the whole business of shots. Those that know Tayah well, knows that she doesn't take pain very well. She has a short tolerance for pain to the point that it usually teeters on the edge of going bazerk. I debated on even telling her about the shots. I thought maybe she would worry more about it if she knew what was coming. Well, a couple of her friends at daycare had gotten their 4 year shots before her so she heard them talking about it. So, the next words out of her mouth are "Mom, do I have to get those shots?" So I let her in on what would be happening. I told her she would be getting shots and it was just a little poke, like when she got her ears pierced, and she would have to be very BRAVE. She was all prepared and ready to be brave. So, they did all the regular checkup stuff first, checked blood pressure, heart, eyes, ears all that and that went FINE, NO PROBLEM. Then, Mom and Dad went first and got flu shots and WE didn't even cry. "Okay, Tayah. Now it is your turn." Nope. Didn't want any part of that. So, I first tried a little bribing with ice cream and finagling. Didn't work so well. So, I pretty much picked her up and just laid her on the table and pinned her down (gently of course and trying to talk to her to distract her.) If you could have seen the pure terror in her eyes it would have surely broken your heart. Yes, she screamed and yelled but with 5 shots later (2 in each leg and 1 in the arm) I am happy to say she is done with shots now until she is 12. I can't blame her too much because who honestly would enjoy getting 5 shots. Next was Collin's turn and after that traumatic experience I let Ben take over and be next to Collin when he got his first set of shots. I was nearby still trying to get Tayah to calm down as she is yelling at the nurse, "DON'T HURT MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!!" Fortunately for all of us Collin only cried a little bit. Tayah called grandma on the way home to tell her and in a very sad voice told her and papa about what happened. She even said, "Collin cried a little bit and I cried A LOT." So, I'm glad that is over and I get to do it again with Collin next month. Yay!! And yes, we did get ice cream after our appointment and it did make the owies feel a little better.

So...here is Collin with his owies and band-aids. He was actually a trooper and did GREAT!!

Collins Stats: 11lbs 7 oz. and 23 inches.

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. Tayah was a pink poodle, which was a hand-me-down costume from my cousin Talia. It was exactly what Tayah wanted to be though and it was very appropriate since she called her baby brother "poodle" when he was in me for the 9 months. Collin is still obviously too young to really go trick or treating but he was dressed up as a puppy this year. Also, appropriate since his name means "little pup". Two of the cutest puppies I have ever seen.
We headed out early this year and made our rounds then came home early to hand out candy to all the kids. Tayah loved handing out the candy and seeing all of the costumes.

Wonderful Weekend

Saturday we spent the day at the A Maze'n Farmyard in Eden Valley. What a cool place!! This place is right up Tayah's alley with all the animals they have. We can't wait to go back. They had every sort of farm animal you could think of, plus some. It is very hands on and they do a great job keeping the place very clean. We will definitely be going back.

Here is the website to check it out. www.amazenfarmyard.com/





Sunday, Ben and I spent the morning and afternoon celebrating with my best friend, Alicia, and her husband, Jason. Their daughter, Hayden Kylee was baptized and they had asked Ben and I to be her godparents. We were very honored that they asked us. She did such a good job and we can't wait to see her grow up and be such a close part of her life. Collin and Hayden are bound to be good friends.

Co-Sleeping: My Struggle with Sleep

I realize that co-sleeping is very much discouraged in America and I too have had my own struggles with this idea. I still try every night to lay Collin in his crib, and Ben says, "Just let him sleep with us", as we are trying to let him "cry it out". I have gotten encouraging words from other moms saying that they too had their infant sleep with them for a short period of time and to enjoy the moment as they grow up so fast.
When Tayah was an infant I very much discouraged her sleeping with me. I did not want to start a habit that would be hard to break. With Collin my thoughts have changed a bit and it started when his pediatrician actually sorta okayed the idea. She basically said to do what works and what gets us both the most amount of sleep. Co-sleeping is actually a pretty common practice in many other countries and a very natural parenting belief by many cultures. Just not so much here.
I had been bringing Collin to bed with me when he would wake up to eat since day 1, and he would sometimes fall asleep in my arms and I too would fall asleep with him next to me. I would wake up and put him back in his crib, next to our bed, only to have him wake up crying a few minutes later. I would go back and get him, bring him to bed with me to try and get him back to sleep, only to have us both fall asleep in bed. Eventually I just gave up in bringing him back to his crib because I found that if I didn't move him he would sleep all night long without even waking up to eat during the night. The other night I did lay him in his crib in his room for the first time and he slept 8 1/2 hours by himself. It was soooo NICE and very ENCOURAGING!! But the last few nights have been unsuccessful in that department and he has moved back in bed with me. The good news is that he is sleeping through the night, as long as he is next to me. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment and hoping that Ben is right when he says he won't do this forever. I'm surprised Ben is so okay with this idea and all I can think is that we may need a bigger bed.

Why Do Some People Choose to Cosleep?

Cosleeping supporters believe — and some studies support their beliefs — that cosleeping:

• encourages breastfeeding by making nighttime breastfeeding more convenient
• makes it easier for a nursing mother to get her sleep cycle in sync with her baby's
• helps babies fall asleep more easily, especially during their first few months and when they wake up in the middle of the night
• helps babies get more nighttime sleep (because they awaken more frequently with shorter duration of feeds, which can add up to a greater amount of sleep throughout the night)
• helps parents who are separated from their babies during the day regain the closeness with their infant that they feel they missed

It all started here. This is Collin and I sleeping in the hospital the night he was born.

2 Months Old

We are a big 2 month old now!! Our newest trick is that we SMILE!!

Golden Birthday Girl!!

We officially have a 4 year old in the house now!! Can you believe it? It was a weekend of parties and a birthday that would never end. Friday, Tayah had her first sleepover and had her friend Ella over for the night. We got a Bounce House for the girls to jump. They loved that and burned alot of energy doing so. Sunday we had some family over for a little birthday party. She got many great gifts. She is a very lucky girl!! Monday, was Tayah's actual birthday so we celebrated by going out to dinner. Tayah chose to eat at Space Aliens. Levi, Steph, James and Cole joined us for dinner. It was a great Golden Birthday!!

What I learned in School

So I am in the livingroom reading a book to the kids. Tayah's in the bathroom and yells down the hall to me.

Tayah: "Mom, Know what starts with the letter P."

Me: "What"....why I asked I could see this coming a mile away.

Tayah: "Pee, pee starts with the letter P."

Thanks Tayah. Thanks for that bit of info.

The Latest with Collin

Collin was baptized over the weekend at St. Francis church in Buffalo. We elected Jason and Katie as his godparents. When Tayah was born Justin and Holly were already a couple with probable future plans of getting married (which they now are) so we had chosen them as Tayah's godparents. We didn't want to play favorites so we promised Jason that he could be the godparent for our next child if he finds a girl who can join him in that role. So, now Jason too found a girl and is married and are happy to be the godparents for Collin. Here are a few pictures from the day.


He did so good! He didn't even cry when Father poured the water on his head. This was about his reaction the whole time.
Jason and Katie also helped us out a couple weeks ago while Ben and I had our first evening out to attend a friend's party. It looks like Jason was alot of help.


Here are a couple more of the latest with Collin:
This is my view of Collin for part of the day. Collin will have a fussy time during the day where he just wants to be held so I put him in his front pack attached to me and he can be glued to me while I go about my day. He doesn't seem to mind.

It's tough being cute.
I have to say we have started a bad habit. Please don't call social services because I assure you we are careful and check on him often. But Collin sleeps incredibly well in our bed, like to the point where if I let him sleep there all night I think he would sleep through the night. We doze off in bed together during feedings but I eventually put him back in his crib next to our bed. We have started a habit where in the morning I wake up about 4:30 to feed him, and then I get up to shower and get ready. Collin goes back to bed with Ben and Tyke. He looks comfy, right?