Christmas at Home

We had  a quiet Christmas at home with the five of us before the chaos of company arriving and heading to Montrose. We opened all our gifts from each other, from Oma and Opa, and from their cousins from my side. The boys were very excited to give their gifts to each other. Tyler had picked out a Oso toy for Carter and Carter picked out a Monster truck for Tyler. They both gave Nolan some balls, which they loved opening for him and showing them to him.  We were all completely spoiled with gifts and the boys have been playing with them non stop since. After opening we skyped with Oma and Opa to thank them and the playing ensued. It was very nice just to have some time with just us, as that will be a rarity with all the cousins around in Montrose.

Snow!!!

It finally snowed some on the first day of Christmas break. It wasn't much, but at least we finally had some, as the weather has been in the 60's lately. The boys loved getting all their snow gear one and heading outside. They made snow angels, had a snow fight, and just drove things around in the snow. At one point Carter climbed up onto their picnic table. It was more than a little icy and he kept slipping off of it. However he thought it was hilarious and kept getting right back on it. I probably should have stopped it, but I was busy laughing with them and video taping him. No one got hurt and the boys had a blast. Hopefully we will get some more snow soon.

Christmas Program

On Thursday the boys had their Christmas program at school. They were at the same time in different rooms so Justin and I had to split up. Justin went to Tyler's with the still camera and took some video with that and I went to Carter's with the video camera so I don't have as many pictures of him. I am told Tyler did very well and he told me he had a lot of fun. After the program he gave Justin his gift, which was and angel made out of his foot and hand prints and some ornaments he made. Carter did very well also, but when it was time to sing his bell was stuck so he was more concerned about that than actually singing. He then gave me his gift, which was a ornament with his picture in it - very cute. I was very excited to see their programs as the boys wouldn't tell me what they had made or what they would sing as it was a secret. Both boys then sang happy birthday to Jesus with their class and had some birthday cake, along with lots of other good food. We are now on Christmas break until January 6th and everyday the boys ask me if they can go back to school yet.

Tongue

Nolan has found his tongue. He loves to make clicking noises with it and then play with it. Here is a short video of it on his changing table. You can see what he does in the beginning before he got tired. Carter wanted to help take the video as well.

Food!!!!!

Nolan got to try rice cereal for the first time today. It was quite the messy experience and the big boys thought it was hilarious how much he would spit out. However by then end of it he was opening his mouth for the spoon and had learned how to get it back in his mouth to swallow it. I think he even liked it. After a few days of this we will go to barley and then to oatmeal, which Carter is excited about. Carter loves oatmeal and thinks its neat that Nolan gets to eat baby oatmeal with him.

4 month check up

Nolan had his 4 month appointment today. It went well. The doctor was amazed at all the things that he can do, a lot of which she said were 6 month skills. She was impressed at how well he sits on his own, how he blows raspberries already, and how well he stands up. The development survey they made me do showed he was on track in all the areas. There is no more fluid in his testicles, and everything else seems perfect. Once again she and the nurse both commented on how strong and solid he was.  She did say we should let me fuss a little bit when he wakes up in the middle of the night - not let him cry it out, but give him a couple minutes to see if he will fall asleep. She said around 4 months they go through lighter sleep cycles about every 90-120 minutes and instead of just rolling over and going back to sleep they will wake up a little more and see if it gets them anything. Hopefully he will go back to sleep pretty quickly on his own and the waking up at night will be a thing of the past soon.  He got three shots today and only cried for a few seconds and then was fine. We also got the go ahead to start rice cereal. It has changed since Tyler and Carter started on solids. She wants him to try rice cereal for three days, then barley, then oatmeal. If all those seem to be ok with his tummy we can alternate between them for two feedings a day until 6 months. At that point we would start fruits and veggies. I am glad I asked and very glad for a healthy boy! His stats are weight - 14 lbs 10.5 oz, which is the 50th percentile (and also bigger than both Tyler and Carter were at 4 months), height is 24.5 inches, which is the 30th percentile, and his head circumference is in the 40th percentile.

Cookies and Fireman

We did our annual tradition of making Christmas cookies to hand out to the fireman. The boys did a great job of decorating them this year. As we were on our way to the fire station Carter, who was carrying the tin of cookies, dropped them on the garage floor. The boys were immediately upset. So we headed to the store, bought some cookies there, and headed to the station. As always the fireman were very gracious and let us look at the engines. Carter just helped himself and climbed into everything. Tyler was a little better and asked before climbing in. Its always a special treat to go by the fire house.

4 Months!!!

Nolan you are four months old!!! You roll from your front to back like a pro and are very close at going from your back to front. That pesky arm just gets in the way. You go to sleep at night relatively easily. You may cry for 10 minutes tops and then you are sound asleep. Which is pretty great since we can't swaddle you anymore. You go to bed around 7:30 at night, I feed you in your sleep at 10:30 and you wake up to be fed again around 6:30-7. Pretty good I say. You do wake up once or twice to get your pacifier back but those are becoming later and later each morning so hopefully you won't do that much longer. You are now eating 5-6 ounces every four hours. You usually take a good morning nap (if you are in your car seat) and then your afternoon naps are a little shorter and you have a harder time going down for them.

You love to laugh and smile! You are such a happy baby and very easy going. You love to play in your exersaucer, on your activity mat with your fish, and with the music toy Great Oma got Tyler many years ago. You also love to play the Bumble Bee tickling game and be sung too. Lately as soon as I start singing your song "Baby Mine" you start smiling and giggling. Which kind of defeats the purpose of you getting ready to fall asleep but its cute nonetheless. You love grabbing my hair and daddy's nose and you still love watching your brothers play. We can't imagine life without you at this point and can't wait to see what the next month and years bring! I love you Nolan Isaac!

Swimming Pro

He did it! Finally, on hie third try, Carter passed Pro I in swimming. Even though he missed two out of his five lessons his instructor said he was ready for the next level. I think she was surprised when I told her this was his third time taking it. For a special treat for the last class Carter got to go down the big water slide with the instructor. He didn't want to go at first and covered his eyes the entire time, but he did it and LOVED it. I asked him if he wanted to do swimming again and he said no. He wants to do soccer next. So it could be another year or two before he passes the next level, but at least level one is done!

Merry Christmas!

Hairy Toes

Its always something when you live in a house of boys. On Wednesday morning I was getting Nolan dressed when I noticed his toe was swollen and red and kind of purple in color. I called Justin up and we noticed that some of my hair was wrapped around his toe. At first Justin tried to cut it out, but that didn't work. Using a baby wipe he ended up getting about three pieces of hair from around it off, each about an inch and a half in length. We thought we had it all but wasn't sure. However Nolan's toe was now three times the size of the other ones and the color was getting worse. It was also cut up from the hair on the bottom of his toe and had some puss coming out of it. We called out doctor who told us they would squeeze us in. We all went and they saw Nolan right away. I am glad we went because after they looked at his toe under some magnifiers they saw some more hair wrapped around. They pulled another two inches of hair off. The doctor said it was the worse she had ever seen. Luckily his toe will now be fine and he is on antibiotics for infection. I guess I will be getting a haircut.

Something Significant for Christmas

Since we already did a toy drive this month we decided we would do something different instead of the Angel Trees for the kids to give at Christmas. We want the boys to know how blessed they are to get to live where they live. That around the world there are kids who don't even have water or food to eat, let alone any toys. Every year our church puts out a catalog called Something Significant for Christmas. In it are ways to give money to help mission groups and the needy all over the world. Tyler, our animal lover, wants to give baby chicks and goats for families so they can raise them  and then use the eggs and milk for money.  Carter wants to buy drinking water for a children for a whole year so that they can drink cold water like he loves to . We decided Nolan would give the gift of a hospital delivery for a mom in India. The boys are very excited about this. I am a little worried that since they aren't doing anything tangible (like actually handing out the gift) they wouldn't get it as much, but I think they do. I love that they each picked out something important to them as well.

Breakfast in Bethleham

Our church had a program called Breakfast in Bethlehem. All families were invited to come for a pancake breakfast and then watch a Christmas play. When we got there all the kids got a bag of goodies. Inside each bag were crafts for the kids to do and props that they would use for the play. Carter was somewhat cranky at first, but once he got over that both boys loved making their crafts and eating their pancakes. They also saw some friends from their classes at school so that was fun as well. One of Tyler's friends actually insisted on sitting by him during the play.
During the play the boys used their sheep puppets they made to be the sheep for the shepherds, the had angel halos for when the angels came,. crowns for the three kings and then had flashlight to show the kings how to get to baby Jesus. It was very fun and I hope they do it again next year - it would be a great tradition!

Christmas Time

We have been getting ready for Christmas around here! The boys insist on listening to Christmas music whenever we are in the car and can't wait to go look at all the Christmas lights. Since we will be in Montrose at Christmas we put up our artificial tree on Saturday after Thanksgiving. The boys had a great time seeing all their old ornaments and putting them up on the tree. The also enjoyed "helping" me decorate and seeing their stockings.

We also took out out advent calendar, which has some part of the Nativity in each box (a sheep, a star, Mary, etc). The boys love taking a piece out each day and placing it on the manger scene. At the Christmas program we went to we also made countdown chains to Christmas. Each piece of chain has a part of the story of Christ Birth on it. The boys have enjoyed listening to that as well everyday. Justin and I wrapped all the gifts and pout them under three. The boys are asking if everyday is Christmas so that they can open their gifts. I thought the countdown chain and their advent calendar would help with this, but I guess not. Either way its always fun to watch this time of year through their eyes.

Well, We Did It Again....

Another Pederson will be here! This one's due date will be August 15th, three days after Nolan turns one. Most likely the newest one will be here for his birthday - Irish Twins! I discovered on Sunday that we were expecting and my first appointment is the 14th. We will wait til at least that appointment before we will tell anyone.

Why this baby does come as surprise, we also see Tyler and Carter's relationship so we hope having two more as close will be a good thing.  And this way I won't be stressing trying to conceive my girl. Either way this will be our last baby so I am going to enjoy every minute of it.  Because of our history I am nervous, but we are very hopeful to be a family of 6 in 9 months!

Tyler's Prayer

A few nights ago Tyler was praying before bed. I was already excited because he wanted to pray on his own and didn't ask from my help at the beginning. His prayer went like this:

"Dear Lord, Thank you for my mommy because she gives the best hugs and has red hair like me. Thank you for my daddy because I am going to be just like him when I grow up."

Can't get much better than that.

House of Sickness

Since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving all of us have been sick at some point until today. Fun time I tell ya. We were suppose to go and enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner at Todd's house. However on Wednesday I was feeling bad and by Wednesday night I knew we couldn't make it. We called and canceled. This actually turned out to be a good thing as on Thursday Tyler and Carter both got sick. We laid low all weekend and it seemed that on Sunday night everyone was feeling well so we went to church/school on Monday.

About halfway through my work day , Carter was having some more symptoms so I had him be with me in the office for the rest of our time there. When we got home he seemed fine again, as he did Tuesday morning so I brought both boys to school and Nolan and I enjoyed a coffee date with a high school friend. As soon as we got home from school both boys started having symptoms again. So we stayed home Wednesday, as did Justin as he started feeling bad that night as well. On Wednesday night Carter got sick yet again so all the boys stayed home another day while I enjoyed MOPS. So far so good today. Everyone finally seems to be feeling all the way better. Thank goodness!!