31/365

30/365

 

since mykah hasn't been feeling well, we've taken advantage of new christmas and birthday toys and games.  remember lite brite?  they've changed just a little!

long legs mcgee

look how long those legs are!  she's like a monkey.  and i'm so thankful that she's in kindergarten because she has truly learned how to play these past few months.  she plays and plays and plays.  i've always had to entertain her.  but now she plays.  and she's silly.  and i love that!

29/365

these rule our house here lately.  i took mykah to the doctor because last night she was rolling on the floor, crying, saying her ear hurt.  she's been pretty snotty & coughing for the last few days, so i thought i'd go ahead and take her in.  i really debated this morning though because she was acting fine and not complaining about her ear.  when i'd ask her, sometimes she'd say they hurt, sometimes she'd say they didn't.  i decided to take her anyway since she's had the snotty nose & cough since friday.  good thing i did.  poor girl has strep & an ear infection!  antibiotics for 10 days.

while there, the doctor listened to jaxton and it appeared as though he's still struggling with the double ear infection.  he's been snotty too and coughed while we were with the doctor.  he decided that we'd keep jaxton on the antibiotic that he's already on until he's done with the 10 days.  he's on day 6.  we'll see what happens.

*update : jaxton ended up screaming for 2 days.  so i called back & got a new antibiotic.  the third he's been on in just a few weeks.  if this doesn't clear it up, we'll have to go to the ENT.

* update again : jaxton ended up with a horrible rash the day we started augmentin.  i called and spoke with the nurse, who told me to hold off till morning and see how the rash does without the 2nd dose of antibiotic that day.  later, the rash got worse, so i called again and ended up with an appointment late that evening.  it ended up being a viral rash & we are continuing augmentin for 10 days to see how it goes.

28/365

the perfect birthday present.  from my girls.  i'm LOVING having fresh flowers in my window sill.  not so sure the mister would agree.  i've NEVER been a flower person.  they die way too quickly for me to spend the money on them.  but they just do something to the room.  they make me happy!

27/365

i'm still VERY impressed with the girls ability to memorize our verse of the week.  they've done them all so far.  and karsyn goes to school and shares hers each week with her teacher.  i LOVE this new tradition.  even mykah does great.  she usually has it memorize before karsyn.

26/365

you know, the boy can't move, therefore he is my favorite photography target.
i was looking back at my project365 pictures just for this month and he's on there more times than any other subject.  do you blame him?  but i will try to get more pictures so you can believe that i actually do have 3 children and not just this cutie pie.

he got to swing at granny & poppy's house for the first time.  i thought about putting him in ours just this past week, but thought he probably wouldn't like it b/c he's sitting down.  kinda like his car seat.  but he LOVED it.  and after just a short time, actually fell asleep. 

25/365

i just can't get enough of him.  seriously.

then i wonder ... why were WE blessed with such beautiful, amazing, healthy children?  thank you, Lord.  thank you.

our new favorite

i knew he'd eventually get bigger.  i saw a baby yesterday who was bigger than jaxton was when he was born, but she was teeny tiny.  he's only 4 months old and i already have forgotten him being so little.  he was smaller than she was, but now look at him!!

the exersaucer is his new favorite.  he's always loved his bouncy seat.  then graduated to playing with the toys on the bouncy.  now he thinks he's too big to lay down.  i knew he'd love the exersaucer, but why so soon?!?!  that's a sure sign that he's no longer a little baby.  he's getting to be big.  and he loves it.  i'm not so sure.  if i could just bottle him up ... and put the exersaucer in the bottle ...

she's country

 

why is she so big?!?!?!  when she came home from school today, the weather was beautiful, warm actually, so i had her change clothes and go straight outside to play.  while she was changing, she said "i'm gonna dress country!"  and this is how she came outside.  this girl would love to live in the country for real.  when we go visit my parents, she's in heaven.  and i love that.  

what i'd love even more is if my country girl would slow down.  she's six.  SIX.  how do i even have a 6 year old?  don't answer that.  

24/365

 

the weather was absolutely wonderful today.  it was also the first day the little guy has been in his exersaucer for a lengthy time.  his little feet reach the bottom, but i have to put a few blankets around him to keep him up.  he LOVES it.  and being outside on the deck watching the sisters play?  he was in heaven.  for a good 35 minutes. 

23/365 AND post #1,000

this is what i'm dealing with, folks.  she's such a character.  and i absolutely love that about her.  we had a really fun day today.  i let the housework go and we played and played.  i'm pretty sure we counted 9 games of princess candy land we played.  and i won ONCE.  that's it.  and she played by the rules.  you don't even know how many times i wanted to cheat just so i could win.  it was very hard for me!  and she's a competitor just like her mama. 

and how in the world is this post #1,000?  part of me can't believe that i've ONLY posted 1,000 times because it seems like i've had this blog forever.  another part thinks 1,000 is a lot.  whatever.  1,000.  that's a lot of posts.  a lot of words.  a lot of pictures.  and i'm very glad i've done it.

4 years old

better late than never.

this brown eyed girl melts my heart.  still.
most days she's a handful.  but she's always entertaining.  this girl is a HOOT!

she had her 4 year well check yesterday and she took those 4 shots in her legs like a champ.  she did so good.  we talked about it beforehand, so she knew she'd be getting shots.  i was so proud of how well she did.

she was 44 lbs.  41 inches tall.  she's taller than karsyn was at this age, which shocks the heck out of me.  i really thought mykah was our short child.  she definitely has a different body build than karsyn has.  she's thicker.  not fat.  just thicker.  big boned, maybe?  karsyn has always been long and lean.

she passed her hearing test.  good to know.  and i'll use that in my defense often.  and her eye test went well too.

i had to talk to the doctor about her health because, for the past month, she just hasn't acted well.  and i've mentioned it to him before and his response was that if she wasn't well by her 4 year well check, then we'd do blood work to see what was going on.  after i talked to him that time, i decided to change her diet.  she still drinks lactaid milk.  and i feed them rather healthy anyway, but i started forcing her to eat more fruits and veggies at every meal.  more than what i normally gave them.  and she fights it every time, but she's learning fast.  and the change in diet seems to help some.  the dark circles under her eyes aren't there and her color is returning.  she's still pretty lazy, but i think that may just be her.

so we discussed all of that and he did say that her tonsils are swollen, so that she, most likely, has had mono and is on the tail end of it.  definitely explains it.  there's nothing to do at this point and hopefully she didn't infect anyone else.  when she first got sick, i took her to urgent care for a sinus infection and she was on 7 days of antibiotics then.  i'm definitely praying she's on the end of it and she'll be back to herself in no time.

she still doesn't seem 4 to me.  how is she that old?  how are any of my kids as old as they are?  and why does time have to go by so fast.  we are working on preschool stuff and she's doing so well.  she does know all of her letters, so we're working on perfecting our writing of the letters.  she's pretty smart and is a perfectionist too.

i love that she still likes to be the baby though.  she still wants me to hold her.  she still wants me to rock her.  she still likes to snuggle.  she's not a morning person, so those morning snuggles are guaranteed daily.  and that thumb and "gankie" are still there.  her personality is bigger than texas and i absolutely love that.

22 / 365

reality is ... this boy likes to be held.  truth is ... his mama likes to hold him.

BUT ... we are working on sitting and holding his head up better.  which leads us to our new booster seat.  this was one of my favorite items with both girls.  it's the fisher price healthy care booster.  and it's perfect.  so i knew i'd have to buy a new one for the boy.  and he loves it.  i put him in it last night while we ate dinner and he sat there and played the whole time.  i had to put blankets on either side to keep him upright, but he did so good.

4 months old

he's way too big.  {sigh}

my little buddy has his 4 month well check yesterday.  here's an update on all things jaxton ...

* 13 lbs 14 oz - 25th percentile
* 25 1/2 in - 70th percentile
* so basically, he's long and skinny
* growing wonderfully
* is a thumb sucker indeed
* can finally get his hands to his mouth, which has helped a lot in the car just now.  instead of screaming, he sucks on his fingers.  our ears can rest a little now.
* eats 5 oz every 3 hours
* sleeps from 7:30 pm to 7:30 am on average
* naps well.  usually takes one long nap (3 hours or so) and 2 short naps
* took his shots like a champ.  although he did scream until we got to the car and i put a bottle in his mouth.  poor guy!
* still working on getting his head and neck up more
* loves the stroller.  we went to ikea the other day and he stayed in the stroller for the entire hour we were in the store
* has the cutest little laugh
* is a really laid back boy
* drools like a mad man
* had a double ear infection and eye infection 2 weeks ago.  still has a double ear infection, so he's back on antibiotics for another 10 days.  hopefully this clears it up for good!

how is he so big?  the last 4 months has gone so fast, but it still seems like he's been in our family forever and ever.  just today he seems like a baby.  not a newborn anymore.  we got him a booster seat with a tray that he likes to sit at with a few toys in front of him.  he normally doesn't like tummy time, but did it like a champ today.  HE'S BIG!  and my heart loves him so.

21/365

my three loves.  we had a great day today.  we started out with some snuggling and being lazy on the couch, followed my a play date with a sweet friend down the street.  we ended with doctor visits, but the day was wonderful.

20/365

19/365

mykah and i have been working on her letters.  she knows them all, we just need to work on writing them.  she's doing GREAT.  she wanted this chalkboard to say "Christmas".  can you tell?  my favorite is the "R".  or maybe it's her eyes. 

18/365

hello,  friday.

17/365

he laughed out loud.  he's done it before, but not to this extent.  and, i must say, it was THE cutest thing ever.  ever. ever. ever.

16/365

 

i'm trying really hard to focus on mykah's eating habits.  this girl has an eye for junk food and it easily takes over.  i have to be very careful with her.  she hasn't felt well for a month or so now and i'm trying to really crack down on what goes into her mouth.  i only let her drink water and an occasional chocolate milk with sugar free chocolate syrup.  and i make her eat her fruits & veggies all gone at every meal.  i've never forced them to eat all of their food, but i now know that i have to force this one to eat the healthy food on her plate at all meals.  

now, that being said, i also want my children to be happy and to be able to give them things that they like.  we don't buy ice cream.  we don't buy cookies.  we don't bake cakes.  so, to fulfill this girls sweet tooth today, i gave her a small bowl of light cool whip with some sprinkles.  

she. was. in. heaven.

teamwork award

i admit, i was a bit shocked, but not totally.  karsyn had her semester kinder awards yesterday.  everyone got awards and as i heard some of them read off, i wondered each time if that would be the award she received.  writing?  kind words?  most improved?  the list went on.  finally, the terrific teamwork award was called, followed by my girl's name.  we talk about teamwork all the time at home when trying to get both girls to cooperate while cleaning up a mess, making beds, etc.  it's preached here.  we help each other out every time we get a chance.  but to hear that she's applying it in school made my mama heart happy.

even better .. her best friend got the exact same award.  i'd like to be a fly on the wall to see how those girls interact with each other at school. 

15/365

 so proud of my girl

14/365

it was a bumbo-in-the-sink kind of day here.  this boy was pretty fussy all day, so i just did what i could to make him happy.  this worked for a short time. 

words to remember

on the long list of my favorite things about kids, is the little words they say.  sometimes they make them up, sometimes they try hard to say it the right way, but it's always their way.  and it's so darn cute.  here are some of my favorites that my kids say ...

*yestertime = yesterday.
*basketti = spaghetti.
*fry fries = french fries.  both of my girls have always said this.
*banilla bars = granola bars.
*brefast = breakfast.
*breeving = bleeding.
*alligator = elevator.
*verections = directions.

13/365

the girls did amazingly well this past week learning our verse of the week.  mykah even memorized it!  {HIGH FIVES all around!!!}

so this is the verse for this week ... "always pray and NEVER give up.  luke 18:1".  i chose this one because we've been talking to karsyn a lot lately about never giving up when she is trying new things and to always remember that God is with her.  that it is okay for her to pray at school to herself.  that it's okay to tell her teacher what her new verse is.  and that no matter what she is feeling (sad, scared, excited, happy...) that God is always there.

12/365

 

cookies were the party favor of choice for the 4 year old's party.  they were made by a sweet friend, who is amazingly talented.  and they were perfectly perfect in every way.

11/365

those toes are 16 weeks old.  baby feet are adorable, aren't they?

10/365

i'm actually pretty proud of this cake.  it was easy.  and it tasted pretty good too.  a 4 cake for my 4 year old.  where has the time gone?

poor buddy

my poor little guy is sick.  for the first time.  and it makes my mama heart sad.

here's how the last few days have gone.  friday & saturday he screamed and refused to sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time.  he was up from about midnight to 7am saturday night/sunday morning.  i debated saturday on taking him to urgent care, but really wanted to wait to see our pediatrician.  luckily, our pediatrician's office is open on sundays, so as soon as i was able, i called to make an appointment.  i REALLY thought he had an ear infection. 

the result ... "there's nothing wrong with him that i can see".  she knew, by looking at his chart, that he was being watched because of an enlarged kidney before he was born, so she wanted to get an ultrasound of his kidney to make sure there were no blockages that could be causing pain.  we had to wait from sunday to wednesday though without knowing what or if there was anything wrong.

he seemed better and was sleeping again, but started getting some green gunk in his eyes that was only getting worse.  today he had his ultrasound at 8:45 and an appointment with his pediatrician at 2:00.  praise the Lord, the ultrasound results showed nothing wrong.  i was very happy that his kidneys were perfect and wouldn't need a follow up at all.

my next concern was what else was going on with him that would cause him to stop sleeping & start screaming.  he's always been such a peaceful, happy baby.  something changed.  dr. henderson sent us to another room to have some test done on his ears because "his ears are really tiny".  both ears failed the test, which meant double ear infection.  eye infection was added onto that diagnosis and an oral antibiotic & an antibiotic eye cream were ordered.

i KNEW something was wrong.  i'm so thankful for my mommy intuition and that hopefully my little guy will be feeling better soon.  this is what he looked like these last few days ...

he definitely hasn't been his smiley little self and i can't wait till he's back to being himself.  having a sick little one is so hard!!

dr. henderson did say that "it's not good that he's not even 4 months yet and he's already getting ear infections".  looks like we're already on the road to getting tubes. 

9/365

i have been a freak lately about making sure my whole house is organized.  and i've stayed on top of it every day since then.  my pantry being organized is HUGE for me.  it must stay organized.  if it's not, it makes me crazy.  so for it to look like this and be filled with snacks ....
i have a big smile on my face just looking at it.
i am a weirdo when it comes to clear containers with white lids.  seriously.  weird. 

8/365

sweet, sweet sisters.  sometimes.

7/365

this girl is, BY FAR, the best big sister ever.  seriously.  she was pretty good with mykah, but she was just 2 years old and still a baby herself.  now, she's 6 and a HUGE help.  the thing is, she WANTS to help.  i never make her.  i think her favorite thing to do with him is to snuggle.  and he loves her just as much in return.

6/365

i am constantly trying to find new ways to fill our home with Jesus.  this isn't something i've always been that good at.  sometimes we went to church.  sometimes we prayed before we ate.  sometimes we read bible stories.  sometimes.

now.  it's all the time.  we seldom miss a week of church.  we pray all the time.  we even pray when the girls are fighting.  we pray before meals.  we pray before bed.  we pray before we leave the house for school.  we read a devotional at breakfast and we read a bible story at bedtime.

we so desperately want our children to grow up knowing who God is and what He did for us.  another way we are making Christ the center of our home is by having a "verse of the week" for all of us to memorize.  easy enough for the girls to learn.  "you fill me with joy.  psalm 16:11"

5/365

he has noticed his fist.  it's quite hysterical.  he just stares at it.  doesn't help that when he is laying in bed or when i'm rocking him, he can get that fist to his mouth and suck his thumb.  so i'm pretty sure he's trying to figure out how to get it to his mouth without laying on his tummy. 

4/365

i cannot believe how much i love this little guy.  i seriously could hold him, squeeze him, and kiss him.  all. day. long.  (and most days i do!)

3/365

i can't get enough of my THREE kids.  it still shocks me that i have THREE kids.  and that one of them is a boy.  seriously.  how blessed am i?

2/365

the girls were pretty insistent that they were going to see snow this year. as a matter of fact, i was pretty stoked when we saw that our friends still had some snow on the ground right in their back yard.  my poor texas girls didn't hang too long though.  they were freezing!  that didn't stop them from having a little snow ball fight, attempting to jump in the snow on the trampoline (fail.  mykah slipped and cried), and making snow angels.  in what little snow they did have, the girls were in heaven for a short while.

1/365

here's how we brought in the new year.  we were in oklahoma.  the kids were in bed by 8:00 and we were right behind them by 10pm.  we. lived. it. up.  let me tell ya.  you know you're a parent of small children when ....

we tossed around the idea of letting the kids stay up this year, but it just wasn't worth it.  all of our children really enjoy (and need) their sleep.  so off to bed they went.  it was a very enjoyable new year's though.  we really enjoyed our time with our friends.