Riding Bikes

The weather has been pretty crazy this year. On this particular day it was feeling like spring. We knew we better take advantage of the sunshine before mother nature changed her mind. While Jack was enjoying his afternoon nap, the kids talked me into getting their bikes out. Luckily we live on a pretty quiet street. There aren't any houses directly across from us, the house next to us is empty, and not too many other neighbors are home during the day. We took advantage of the open space to ride, or should I say learn to ride. These are the kids' first big kid bikes. They have only tried them out at Grandma Lynie's and Papa Mike's house over the Christmas Holiday. Papa Mike was nice enough to drive them up to us last month, but the weather hasn't cooperated all that much.

We spent most of the afternoon learning how to keep our feet on the pedals at all times and not to turn too sharply. They had a little trouble starting without a push at first, but quickly overcame that challenge. Zoe caught on pretty fast, mainly because she is more adventurous than Noah. The possibility of failure doesn't bother her, so she isn't afraid to try new things. Noah tends to lack in the confidence area and it takes a little more convincing to get him to try new things without being too frustrated when he doesn't get it right away. By the time we were through they were riding up and down the street with little effort. It was fun to sit back and watch them give each other pointers and help along the way. They can't wait to get back out there.

Hopefully Mother Nature will start cooperating and decide that Spring is here to stay.

Spirit Week

Noah participated in his first School Spirit Week. We got off to a rough start, but ended the week strong.

Monday was School Shirt Day, or School Colors day. Noah ended up having a snow day, good thing since I never got around to buying him a school shirt and couldn't remember what his school colors were.

Tuesday was Mismatched Day. We totally forgot about it.

Wednesday was Crazy Sock Day. I was going to have him wear his Christmas Socks, but could only find one of them. This is what we came up with instead.
I dug out a pair of my fuzzy socks and we stuck foam stickers on them.

Thursday was Fun Hat Day...so he wore his Mickey Ears.
Zoe wanted to get in on the action too.
Friday was Pajama Day.
Noah asked if his Dad had pajama day at work too. He didn't understand that the themes only applied to his school. However, Jack gladly joined him in wearing PJs.
Noah's craziest quote of the week:

"The wind will never stop. Satan is doing it!"

Satan has been blamed as the culprit for many things around our house this past week. I wonder if he recently had a lesson in Primary on him.

He was so full of them yesterday, I wish I would have written more of them down. I know one had to do with being able to hold his brother while standing up and that I just needed to trust him.

Other quotes from the week:

"Can you get a picture of just the little kids with the snowman?"

"Sometime can you find a babysitter for Zoe and Jack?
So you, me, and Dad can go do big kid stuff?"

Since when is he a "big kid"? He also refused a Happy Meal this past week because he didn't like or want the toy.

He sure keeps life exciting.

Let's Party

We spent the afternoon celebrating a friend's 6th birthday. First we picked up the boys from school and then headed to the bowling alley for some fun. The kids enjoyed playing on the play structure.
Then we headed home for some lunch, presents, and cupcakes.

Erik, the birthday boy.
Zoe. I asked her to smile and this is what I got.Jack tasted his first cupcake. Did he like it? You be the judge.
We made some crayons with Erik's new crayon maker.
It was a fun afternoon. Noah can't wait for his birthday. Mainly for the gifts he will get. He doesn't want to be 6. You see, then he will have to go to 1st grade and he doesn't know how to read or write words. It's too hard to learn and he will never get it, not for 150 years.

6 Month Stats

12 lbs. 4 oz. (below the curve)
25 1/2 inches tall (10%)
16 1/2 inches head circumference (5%)

So the verdict is that he is small, which I already knew. I was glad to see that he didn't loose any weight from being so sick with the stomach flu. And on a positive note he gained since his last appointment too. The doctor isn't too concerned as this is my 3rd child, not first. He understands that Dan and I just produce genetically small kids. He made the comment that Jack is following the growth curve like a preemie, instead of a full term baby.

I explained that both of my other kids were labeled failure to thrive at some point during their first year of life. They met all the typical milestones on time, if not early, and they loved to eat. They just didn't weigh much. He asked if they required any special medical intervention; I explained that I was told to calorie pack every meal. That they were eating full fat yogurt at a younger age, I was advised to add butter and eggs to anything possible. When they started cow's milk I was instructed to mix at least one serving a day with carnation instant breakfast, or just give them Pediasure. I also told him that with Noah I had to go in every week or two for weight checks and how time consuming that was. He agreed that frequent weight checks were a waste of time.

So, we will have to go back in at 9 months. He generally lets you skip this well baby check up, but wants to keep a closer eye on Jack's weight gain. So, we both agreed to check it in 3 months.

Other bits and pieces at 6 months old:

Jack has a horrible sounding cough at the moment, poor baby. It is the worst in the evenings, middle of the night, or right when he gets up. Reminds me of croup. I feel bad for him as he doesn't seem to be able to clear what ever is irritating his throat. On a positive his chest is clear and his ears are clear. I think he is just more sensitive to allergens in the air. I think eventually he will be diagnosed with Reactive Airway Disease, or Asthma, and we will have a tougher time keeping him breathing clearly, than we did with his older siblings. It doesn't seem to bother him much, as he has remained pretty happy. He coughs a bit and then will let out a little moan or sigh. It's kind of comical. I'm just getting tired of our 3am stints in the steamy bathroom.

On a positive note, Jack is showing the beginning signs of crawling. Yes, he is becoming more mobile every day. He is really good at scooting backwards and turning circles on his tummy. He can kind of do an inch worm crawl and is starting to army crawl for very short distances. I think his head is still too heavy. He gets ready to move forward, but most of the time it ends in a face plant. He had managed to move forward in an attempt to reach a package of Skittles laid out in front of him, or to get his Binky. He does a lot of indoor swimming, on his tummy with his arms moving and his legs kicking away. It is just a matter of days, until he will be fully mobile. I am trying to prep Noah and Zoe. We can no longer leave little bits and pieces of toys and other objects on the ground.

He has also started humming himself to sleep. And experimenting with his voice. He can make a variety of noises, Noah loves to figure out what he is saying and claims he can say words.

He will lean in and give you a big open mouth, slobbery kiss.

He has also started recognizing people and will often lunge towards that person. This didn't settle with Daddy too well this past Sunday. He reached out for a friend Jalyssa when he saw her in the hall. So needless to say he is becoming more social.

He grabs everything. My hair, the book I'm trying to read, my drink, my food. You name it he will grab at it.

Solids are coming along fine, I just wish he would grasp the concept of independent sitting a little bit better. He can do it for short periods at a time, but is always more interested at what is on the floor in front of him or in his own feet. I guess I don't really blame him. As soon as I put him on the floor to practice sitting, he gets attacked by Noah and Zoe. They are always a little too eager to help him out. It must be overwhelming for him. I hope he realizes that they just love him so much.

Here are a few pictures of him trying to move around on the floor....
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All along I've been thinking that Jackson has been my fastest growing, or biggest kid so far. After talking with the doctor at his last appointment and discussing how tiny he was I decided to look up the stats on the other kids at this age and compare a bit. I was surprised to find out that he is in fact the smallest of the three.

Zoe was 14 lbs. 3 oz, 24 3/4 " tall, and had an 18" head circumference at her 6 month check up. So she weighed 2 pounds more, but was almost an inch shorter, and her head was 1 1/2 " larger.

Noah was 13 lbs. 4 oz, 26" tall, and had a head circumference of 17 1/2" at 5 months, couldn't find stats for 6 months. So at 5 months Noah already weighed 1 pound more, was a 1/2 inch taller, and his head was an inch larger too.

The numbers don't lie. Why do I think he is so much bigger?

Just Because

I must have done something right. My husband surprised me with flowers last week. He also brought me a few of my favorite snacks as well. I'm not sure what I did to deserve such treatment, but it was much appreciated.

Snow Day!

I got a call at 6 o'clock this morning informing me, that all Lyon County Schools were on a 2 hour delay with Morning Kindergarten canceled. (We were very thankful for this call since a breaker was tripped in our bedroom and the alarm clock wouldn't have gone off in time for Dan to get ready for work.) I had to convince Noah this was a good thing to have, he really wanted to go to school this morning, so we all bundled up and went outside to play in the snow for a bit. I actually just wanted an excuse to go outside and shovel the driveway and sidewalk. I know I am a bit crazy, but this is one of my favorite things to do in the winter. I don't like driving in the snow, but there is something peaceful about being out in nature and shoveling snow. I find it therapeutic, it is a good workout, and I get a sense of accomplishment from performing this task.

While I was working on the driveway, the kids started to build a snowman. This is the first snow in a long time that would stick together. They also had a lot of fun waving to the Snow Plow driver. When I was done with my task, I helped them finish up and together we perfected their snowman. Everyone meet "Snowy".

Zoe, Snowy, Noah, and Jack.Just Jack. Noah thought it was important to have a picture of just Jack and Snowy.He then wanted a picture with just the "little kids".
Noah took this picture of us with Snowy.Zoe took this picture of Snowy.
We sure had fun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a lot of fun this year on St. Patrick's Day. The kids enjoyed wearing special shirts to school. They ate "Leprechaun Cereal" (Lucky Charms) and green milk for breakfast. After school we got together with some friends and enjoyed a scavenger hunt in hopes of finding a Leprechaun and his gold. We also enjoyed a fun lunch and playing together. It was even warm enough to blow bubbles outside. We ended the night with our traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage. This year a tried a new recipe and it was a hit with everyone.

Here is a peek at all of our fun.

The leprechaun failed to knock at the front door.The leprechaun emptied the toy box.The leprechaun used the toilet. Did you know their pee is green?The leprechaun helped himself to their fridge, turning the milk green.The leprechaun took a nap in Kambrie's room after making a bit of a mess. Did you know that leprechauns were so naughty?The end of the rainbow.Looking through their new found treasure.The "Gold" at the end of the rainbow. A bunch of green things.The whole leprechaun hunting gang. Erik, Noah, Zoe, Kysha, and Kambrie.Our St. Patrick's Day lunch. A Pot of Gold, clover shaped cheese and bologna, green veggie dippers, carrot coins, and leprechaun dip.
A delicious Pot of Gold. AKA macaroni and cheese.
Noah and Zoe in their St. Patrick's Day shirts. I had trouble getting them both to smile at the same time.
Jack wearing green. I waited too long to buy him a cute St. Patrick's Day shirt, so we pulled out his greenest outfit. We also made sure he used a green blanket all day. He also turned 6 months old today.
Thank You Christensen Family for including us in your fun.

After a fun filled day with friends we headed home to put the finishing touches on our traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner of Corned Beef and Cabbage. Just in time for Daddy to arrive home.

Steamed Red Potatoes and Carrots...
Steamed Cabbage...
Corned Beef Brisket with Sweet Onions and a sour cream horseradish sauce.Unfortunately not everything went according to plan, Noah was a little disappointed in the day. He had a guest teacher, to top that off she was late to school, so they had to hang out in the other Kindergarten classroom for a bit. He then had to do some homework. The leprechaun did more things at Erik's house than at his house, and Erik's mom has more decorations than I do. I also made him pick up his toys. All this on St. Patrick's Day. None of this should have happened on a holiday. Everything should be fun!

I'm still trying to figure out why he thinks St. Patrick's Day is such an important holiday. All I can get out of him is that he likes leprechauns. He even wants to take a trip to Ireland to try and find one. I chalk it up to him being a little tired, or even frustrated. When he gets like this all sorts of things from the past week come spewing out of his mouth and somehow it is all my fault.

He loves structure and routine. He didn't like the fact that his teacher, Mrs. Hoover, was out most of the week to attend her Father-in-Law's wedding. As if the guest teacher being late on Thursday wasn't enough, the yard duty was late the next morning (Friday), so he didn't get to play on the playground. So, it was a week of disappointments at school.

Hopefully next year will be better.

Pasta Baby

We have started feeding Jack more solids lately as he seems to be hungry most of the time. We've noticed he isn't a big cereal fan, nor does he particularly care for bananas. He is more of a savory kid - he loves his daddy's pasta. He couldn't get it into his mouth fast enough. He also seems to prefer vegetables over fruit. Can you believe he is practically six months old?

Noah's Art

Noah's newest obsession is drawing leprechauns, or as he calls them March Pictures. He has been very eager to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year. I don't know how he connected the two together, must have had a lesson or story at school. He has come home everyday with a new drawing. He informed me he was using all his free time at school at the writing center so he can draw new pictures. We were supposed to send some of these out to Grandparents, but never got around to it. He has eagerly passed them out to his Primary Teacher, his School Teacher, Zoe's teacher, his friend's Mom, and he even drew one for Daddy's desk.

Here are a few examples of his talent.
A baby leprechaun. notice the shamrock mobile, the shamrock swing, the shamrock vibrating chair, and the shamrock fan. He drew this one for Jack.The top half of the picture of course is a leprechaun with his pot of gold and the rainbow. The bottom half is of a leprechaun's car, looking like a shamrock of course.He sure is becoming a great artist. I wonder what next month will bring. Easter Eggs? Bunnies?
Baby Chicks? I can't wait to see what he associates with April.