Nana, Bapa, and Thunderbirds

So as I mentioned in the 28 week post, Nana and Bapa are in town. They come in Tuesday night and Justin took off work Wednesday so that we could all watch the Thunderbird show that they were doing for the Air Force graduation. Tyler has been pumped for this ever since we bought him a thunderbird plane. However when we got there, he was hungry, tired, and overall cranky. He was upset that he didn't get to see them land. The rest of us enjoyed the show however. They flew right over our heads and did a great job. The boys left today with Nana and Bapa for an overnight in Montrose. They were very excited to go and helped me pack their bags. They also made sure that we would call them so they could talk to us on the phone and told me many times that they would miss me. However when I buckled them in to the car today there was no hesitation with them driving off without me. Justin and I are going to drive down there tomorrow night when Justin gets off work. We are all looking forward to a fun time at Nana and Bapa's over the long weekend!

28 Weeks!

On Monday I had my ultrasound to check on the placenta. Luckily the placenta moved up on its own so there are no more issues! The tech also confirmed once again that he is still a boy and very active at that. His heart rate was 147 bpm and everything else still looked great. According to the ultrasound he is measuring a week ahead, but he is only in the 75th percentile, so still big but not as huge as we were fearing. We also learned that he is now breech so he flipped since the 24 week appointment. Once Tyler and Carter were down they stayed down, but we also know there is still plenty of time to flip again so it should be fine. It was very fun to watch him move around. He kept opening and closing his mouth and moving his little fingers and of course kicking me in the bladder! Tyler and Carter behaved awesome during the appointment and just colored during the whole time. They looked up a few times, but for the most part they sat quietly by themselves.

On Wednesday I had my 28 week appointment. I am finally gaining the weight like I did with my previous pregnancies. I gained 9 lbs since my last appointment! However since that is only 25 lbs total the doctor thinks its just fine and was actually happy to see it. I was somewhat as my morning sickness is coming back every once in awhile. Everything else looked good during the appointment and when I complained about my back pain she wrote me up orders for a massage once a week for the next three weeks - can't complain about that! I also did my one hour glucose test, which I passed, however I am a little anemic. From there I went to got the routine rhogram shot, which took way longer than it should. Four hours later I was finally home from my day of appointments. Luckily Justin and Nana and Bapa were home so I got to go to them all by myself.

Zoo at Night

The zoo had a special members only event at the zoo at night time! Justin of course was still covering track, but the boys and I went. Most of the animals at the zoo were off limits since it was night time, including the giraffes, but we still got to see the new exhibit, the naked mole rats. Also the hippos were very active playing with their ball in the water and splashing around. The boys loved it! They also got to see the beaver, which is usually in hiding during the day. They still talk about the beavers tail and how it smacked the water. Their favorite part however was getting their face painted. They both decided to do their entire face like a tiger. Carter's person wasn't quite as talented ( I had to tell him to put stripes on) and when it was almost done and Carter asked for a purple cheek the guy obliged so his looked a little funny, but they didn't seem to mind. Once again it was a great time at the zoo!

Garden of the Gods

Justin was gone for state track so the boys were on our own a lot last week and I was racking my brain with fun things to do. So after the eye doctor appointment we went to the Garden of the Gods for a hike and a picnic. The boys had a great time, although I wouldn't let them climb as much as they are used to since I didn't want to follow them up. They still enjoyed crawling thru any cracks they could find and then they loved getting to have a picnic. That night I was brave and just the three of us went to Red Robin. They boys behaved great during the meal and we had a fun time as usual. While they were missing their daddy time, we really had a nice time together just the three of us.

Doctor Updates

Both boys have been to the dentist and the eye doctor in the past few weeks, so I thought I would give an update. They did great at the dentist. Once again no cavities. Tyler got his fluoride and there were no other issues. Their favorite part of course was getting the new toothbrushes and toothpaste.

I was a little worried about the eye doctor appointment, but the boys did just great. We figured we needed a baseline for both boys to see how their eyes are doing, since Justin has such bad eyes. They did everything the doctor asked and did it all without any complaints. Both of them are a little (very little) nearsighted, which "normal" kids are farsighted so it looks like at some point they will be nearsighted in the future. The doctor says it usually shows up around age 8. Justin was in glasses at age 6. He actually said seeing is a learned thing, just like talking or walking is, and Carter sees things better than most 3 year olds. Tyler is right where he should be as well. There is no color blindness, no cataracts, and both eyes are balanced. So everything looks good and we can trust any school or regular pediatrician eye test now knowing that their eyes have no major problems.

My Little Firefighters

The boys have been playing fire fighter for over a week now. They go outside and put on their hats and pretend away. They do everything from hitting the fence with a stick for their "alarm" when there is an emergency, to pretending to sleep, to having kids come to their station to talk to them about fire safety. When its time to come in, they don't put up a fight, but can't wait to go back out to start up right where they left off. They use their dump truck as their fire truck and race around the entire back yard putting out fires, helping crash victims, and anyone else so may need help. The best part is how well they play together - I love it!

Weekend Recap

We had a pretty busy weekend. On Saturday we thought Justin would be covering two baseball games and then have to go into the office that night. In between games Justin came home and we all went to watch a track meet (Tyler has been asking to go watch a "running race"). The boys had a blast watching the runners, the pole vaulters and running around having races. Tyler was very into it, getting into the stance just like the racers did and then running when he heard the gun go off. Ever since then when we race I have to say "gun" instead of "on your marks, get set, go". When we got back from the track meet it had started raining and they canceled the second baseball game. The paper also told Justin he didn't need to come into the office after all - a very nice surprise! Instead we had friends over and had a fun game night.

On Sunday I worked in the morning and the boys worked at home cleaning out the garage. The boys loved helping Justin sweep up the garage and move things around. They also finally got to make me my birthday cake. When I got home we ran some errands, grabbed some lunch, and came home where all three of the boys fell asleep. That night after dinner we all enjoyed a very yummy piece of chocolate cake! Busy but great weekend!

Last Day

Today Tyler had his last day of preschool for the year. They had a nice "graduation" for him at the end of class. First his teacher, Mrs Obernesser, talked about her favorite things from the past year. She then called each child up and said a little something and gave him a packet of things from throughout the year. When it was Tyler's turn she commented on how much she loved Tyler's energy and how she wished she could have some of it. She also said that she loves to hear what Tyler shares at circle time and that he is a great friend. In his packet were art projects he made throughout the year, his place mat that he made at the Open House at the beginning of the year and then a book she made of pictures and samples of his work throughout the year. It was very sweet. We then had a potluck lunch and said our goodbyes. We couldn't be happier with his first year of preschool. I think Tyler had the perfect teacher for him in Mrs Obernesser and he loves school so much.He is already to go back next year. I already know his teacher for next year and she is very different from Mrs Obernesser, which I think will be great for Tyler as well. As we were leaving he told me "mom summer is going to take a long time!". Hopefully it wont go by too slow Tyler! You did great your first year and we couldn't be more proud of how much you have grown and accomplished this year!

Mother's Day

I had a very nice Mother's Day with my boys. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lot of fun enjoying the weather outside. We went out and bought some flowers and planted them in the garden. Carter enjoyed digging in the dirt more than Tyler, who enjoyed riding his "motorcycle" around and playing fire fighters in the van. They both loved spraying each other with the hose however. How Tyler wan think its funny to spray himself in the face with water, but still doesn't like bath time is beyond me. The flowers look great for now, unfortunately is suppose to snow tonight so we will see how they fair. When we were done planting we went up to Fox Run for a little walk around the ponds. A few other people had thrown bread in to the ponds so the boys loved watching for the fish to come up and eat it. They also liked watching another kid catch a craw fish. From there we went over to Heather's for a yummy dinner along with Leah and Seth and Marj and Nate. A very nice, relaxing Mother's day indeed! I am so blessed to have all these boys in my life!

Moms and Muffins

Today Tyler had Moms and Muffins at school. Carter and I got to join his class for a little breakfast. Tyler had painted a flower pot for me and brought home the sun flower he has been growing so we can plant it in our garden this weekend. Tyler loved showing Carter all the things he would get to do next year and show off his room. The class then sang a song for us and it was time for the moms to go so the kids could get back to school work. It was very sweet and I love that I get to do these things with my boys. Here is the video of Tyler singing.

Kitchen Remodel of 2010 - Finished!!!

Thanks to a lot of hard work by Ryan installing everything and Justin doing all the rest, our kitchen is finished. We have a few finishing touches still, such as new outlets, but those will get done this weekend. We still need to paint the rest of the dining room/living room as well and that will get done sometime before the baby gets here. Here is the finished product! You did great babe - thank you and I love you!!

Big Brothers

So in my last post I hope it didn't sound like Tyler's anger is a constant thing. It's the complete opposite of that, which is why its so confusing. His angry spell lasted only 10 minutes tops at the store and maybe 5 minutes at church. Besides those two incidents he has been doing great, especially when it comes to his relationship with Carter. They have been playing so well together. In the car they will start playing I Spy. They do it all on their own and don't even want me to join in. In the back yard they are building things, creating stories to play out, and enjoying each others company. While Tyler can still get bossy at times toward Carter, lately he has been trying to help Carter out when he sees Carter doing something he shouldn't do. At home they build legos together, play fire fighters and police men together, and read books together. Today at the store they were playing Noah's ark in the shopping cart and cuddled up while they were "sleeping on the boat". It has been so great to see. The squabbles they do have they are starting to work out on their own and Justin and I have to interfere less and less. There is very little bickering between them. Tyler is already a great big brother and I know Carter will be as well, because he has a great example of one to follow.

Angry Spell

Tyler has had a rough couple of days. I am seeing behavior out of him that I had never seen before. Needless to say we are trying to figure out what the root of the problem is. It started when we had to go get a few things at the grocery store. Like usual they know if they behave they can have a cookie from the bakery (they are free). However when we got to the bakery they had no cookies. Both boys started crying and I told them if they behaved the rest of the trip they could have a fruit popsicle when we got home. They were both fine until they started arguing over who would stand on which side of the cart (they both wanted the same side). I just stopped the cart and waited for them to work it out. Tyler decided he would hit Carter to work it out. I then took Tyler to the other side and told him he lost his popsicle. This just turned into a very angry Tyler who was then hitting me. I would calm him down only to have to him ask for something else (riding his bike when we got home, his popsicle back, etc). Each time I would tell him no because of his poor choices and he would start hitting, kicking and even trying to bite me. He was also screaming and crying this entire time. Since we were already in the check out lane at this point I quickly paid and we left. When we got home he had a very long stay in his room until Justin got home. Justin then also took away his bike for a few days. He did much better the rest of the night. Then yesterday at church before school started he once again was pushing his brother and yelling at him. I put him in time out where he continued to carry on. I finally took him to the bathroom to try to calm him down and he slapped me in the face. No idea where this came from. He then had to stay with me the rest of the morning instead of getting to play in one of the classrooms before his school started. He was then an angel the rest of the day and had zero problems at school. So far today he has been great and I have seen him stop himself a couple times when he is getting upset. I am not sure if he is overtired, is reacting to all the talk about the baby, needing more one on one time, or what. I am hoping this behavior wont continue on however. We have seen Tyler get angry before and have worked on positive ways to be angry time and time again. He and Carter push each other and hit each other like normal siblings do on occasion. They know the consequences of that however and accept them. He has never acted out like he did the past few days though. I have never seen him just go into a rage like he did. I hope we wont see that again. This parenting stuff is hard.

An Answer to Everything

Carter is such a little problem solver. He always has an answer to everything. If we tell him he can't go outside because its raining he will tell us "but I can use my umbrella". The other day we were out running errands right before Justin had to go into the paper for work. We stopped at McDonald's since it would be quick but told the boys we wouldn't be playing. When Carter asked why we told him because daddy had to go to work. Carter responded "but daddy can take his car and then we can stay and play with mommy." The other day took the cake however. I was driving the boys home from school and they had fallen asleep. Justin was already home finishing up the last stuff before we could install everything in the kitchen. I told him the boys had fallen asleep so now lunch was going to be off. We decided that we would let them sleep longer in the car, go get the counter tops and then grab lunch (yes we ate out a lot while we didn't have a kitchen). Well as I was getting back in the car the boys woke up, and were not happy. Both of them crying because they were still tired and now hungry as well. We asked them what they wanted to eat and neither liked the others choices. We decided to go to Five Guys because a grilled cheese sandwich is kind of like a quesadilla for Carter and they have hamburgers for Tyler. However Carter didn't like this at all and was screaming away. I decided to try another tactic and said "what if the baby wants Five Guys?" Carter stops screaming to say "but the baby can't talk!!!" and then goes back to screaming. Justin and I both started cracking up which made the boys start laughing and we got to enjoy a nice lunch together. Love this boy of mine.

Fire Station!

On Friday Tyler got to go to Fire Station 1 for a field trip. As you can guess he was very excited! Carter and I got to come along as well which was a lot of fun. This fire station is one of the oldest in town and it even has a pole the fire fighters slide down! Tyler and Carter thought that was pretty cool, but were sad they didn't get to go down it. We got to see a tour of the fire house, which is much different than the fire house we usually got to. Instead of their own rooms all the fire fighters share a room and their kitchen is very tiny. The fire fighter then talked to the class about Stop, Drop and Roll, and about checking their smoke detectors and having a fire plan. Tyler reminds us every day that we need to go over these things. After that we got to see the truck. They have both a pumper truck and a ladder truck, but the ladder truck left right after we got there. Of course the boys loved climbing around in it nonetheless. After that Mrs. Obernesser got to put on all the fire gear - mask and all - so that the kids could see what the fire fighter would look like if he came into your house during a fire. Right when she was putting the oxygen on, the fire fighters got a call so they had to quickly leave. They kids went back to school had snack and music and it was time to go home. It was a really fun field trip and I love that I get to go along and help out!

24 Week Appointment

On Wednesday I had my 24 week doctor appointment. According to the doctor everything is perfect - my blood pressure, my weight (so far I have gained 16 pounds total), and my measurements. However with my measurements I should be measuring at 24 centimeters and I am already at 26 centimeters. The doctor is not concerned in the least though. This pregnancy is still very different than they boys. For one I am no where near the weight gain that I was with the boys at this point, but at the same time my wedding ring has already had to come off. The boy is already head down, and will mostly likely stay down at this point. I am carrying him pretty high up so far as well. My next appointment will be another ultrasound to check my placenta and then my one hour glucose test. We are getting closer!

My Birthday

On Wednesday I had my birthday. I was woken up by all the boys singing me happy birthday and giving me my cards. Earlier in the week they had already given me my presents, as Tyler and Carter couldn't hold it in anymore. They both got me a Willow Tree statue of a boy that resembles them. I love them. The boys had school, I had work and a doctor appointment, and it was a normal day. The boys behaved well all day and were very sad that we didn't have a stove to make me a chocolate cake. We went to dinner when Justin got home and then worked on the kitchen some more. It was a great day thanks to all my boys!