Christmas 2012

It never fails, we prepare for over a month for Christmas Day and try our hardest to remember the real reason for the season and then in a blink, it is over.  Right now I really should be cleaning up the tornado that blew through my house yesterday, but instead, I am blogging.  This Christmas good probably not have been more perfect than it was.  We have three happy, HEALTHY children whose faces lit up yesterday morning as they came out of their rooms.  (okay, Eli really didn't know what was going on, but he was pretty darn happy still to say the least and just went with it) 

To back up a little, Casey had to work on Christmas Eve in the morning so the kids and I decorated Christmas cookies for Santa...we started with 8 and by bedtime there were only 2 left for Santa.  Then we spread some Reindeer Food in the front yard so the Reindeer could find our house and they could refuel.  Then we went to the children's mass where we met my parents.  The kids were awesome in church which is always a blessing in itself.  Then we headed home and my parents came to spend the night so they could be here when the kids woke up and spend Christmas morning with us.  Well Eli decided 3:45 was a good time to wake up, thankfully the other kiddos slept until 5:45-6ish.  And then the unwrapping began.  Ashton had asked Santa for Power Rangers Samuari Sword and at the last minute a skateboard, and Reese asked for presents...thankfully Santa came through for both.  We openned gifts, ate breakfast then everyone got ready for round two and Mo and Mimi's.  We had a great time with Jac, Mark, Cash, Walker, Bill, Diane, Mo, Mimi and all of us, celebrating Christmas day.  Ashton and Reese were knee deep in presents and when I asked Ashton if there was anything he didn't get, he said No.  So I think that means it was a successful day.

The Christmas celebration did not end there though.  Casey and I had been saving the best present for Ashton for last.  For over a year Ashton has been talking about getting on the airplane to go to Molly and Grandpa's house and we finally figured out a way to make that happen.  So for over a month Casey, Grandpa and I planned this trip.  Around 4 pm yesterday Ashton told me that Daddy had said I had a present for him.  So right then we told him that he was going on an airplane to Molly and Grandpa's house.  The smile on his face brought more joy than anything I have ever seen, which was good considering I couldn't stop crying.  So a couple hours later Casey and Ashton boarded a plane and flew to Midland.  Meanwhile, Casey's dad asked his mom if she wanted to go with him to pick up a friend of theirs from the airport that needed a ride.  Kathy went with Hal not knowing who she was really picking up.  The text I got from Casey "Well that was a big hit." explains it all.  When I tried to talk to Kathy a few minutes later she was speechless.  While it was hard to go to bed on Christmas night without my husband and oldest baby, I am so thankful that Ashton got to brighten his Grandpa and Molly's Christmas.  In a few days they will be heading here to do Christmas with us and will bring Ashton home, but until then, Ashton gets to hang out in Midland with two of his favorite people.

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas and I wouldn't change a thing.

Cereal

We waited a little longer before trying cereal with the advice from our pediatrician.  Eli didn't have the best head control/strength at four months, so after a little extra tummy time...two a days, and some time in the exersaucer and bumbo we got there.  So this past week we tried cereal and you would have thought I gave him a hot fudge sundae!  He loved it!

Christmas Program 2012

Ashton had his Christmas program last Monday night.  I loved last years and this years did not disappoint.  Thankfully Molly and Mimi were there to join Casey, Reese, Eli and I watch Ashton.

'Tis the Season

Last weekend Casey, my dad, and my brother in law (Mark) went hunting leaving the rest of us behind.  While the guys had a good time unfortunately they had nothing to show of there trip.  While they were gone we got into the Christmas spirit.  Ashton helped me stamp all of our Christmas cards, the cousins had some time together and there was a lot of santa hat wearing to go around.  I love this time of year!

 

5 Months

FIVE whole months!  Wow!  Elijah Hayes Lee all I can say is this is the time of year where I feel extra thankful and really reflect on all the blessings in my life and this year, you are one of the greatest blessings I have and am beyond thankful for.  So here you are little man broken down...

Nicknames: Eli (guess not really a nickname anymore but your day to day name, Peanut (still daddy's favorite) and Booga Bear(mommy's name)

Likes: Mommy, Daddy, Ashton, Reese, bathtime, being outside, your activity mat, exersaucer, bumbo seat, sitting on Mommy's lap and leaning up against her thighs to a "sitting up" position, eating, being held and cuddled, nap nanny to snooze or to look around in, your changing table to look out the window...you LOVE to be held, which is a catch 22...I love to hold you and try to take it all in since you are my baby, but sometimes Mommy/Daddy need their hands to be free!, Love your frog light up toy on your carseat that plays music...this is mesmorizing!

Dislikes: being in a room alone...you prefer to have people around, while you love being held, you do not like to be put over my shoulder because then you can't see everything...always facing forward seems to be the preference, TUMMY TIME!  Ugh, this is a hard one...we are still working on trying to strengthen your neck and need to do this, but you hate it.  This morning though you did roll over from your stomach to your back twice in a row, so you finally seem to be getting it that maybe you won't be forced to do Tummy Time as much and/or will start to enjoy it

Milestones: As I just mentioned you are finally rolling over!  You are grasping toys much better and change hands with them and you are starting to play in your exersaucer by hitting the buttons and grabbing the toys on it

Feeding:  Still half and half.   You usually get 2 bottles of breastmilk and 3 of formula a day and then I feed you in the morning, afternoon and before bed. You tend to eat about 8- 9 times a day with one feeding around 3 am, 5 am, then five bottles between 6-4:30 when I pick you up, 5 PM we nurse and then around 7 PM to finish the day. You are taking about 5 oz at each feeding...this really hasnt changed since last month...no cereal yet, this will be very soon though!

Sleeping:  Well, as mentioned last month, I was worried about Daylight savings and it did hurt.  Your pretty good sleep schedule regressed to going to bed around 6 and waking around 2 am.  And then, you got sick!  Ugh!  So the last week and a half you have been a) sleeping in mommy/daddy's room b) in the nap nanny so you can be elevated and can breathe a bit easier and c) waking up at 1 am to eat....I am thinking this is part illness/part growth spurt since you seem SO hungry then.  So hopefully we can get over this cold and get back to better nights.

Behavior: You are a happy go lucky guy.  Even grandma said, she had never heard you cry but just once, and that is when you were feeling really crummy with fever.  You have such a great disposition and you SMILE ALL THE TIME!  Oh how I love you!

Clothes/Diapers: You are in size 2 Pampers diapers and 3-6 month clothes.  You are a small guy according to the doctor, which I find kinda funny considering you are bigger than Ashton and Reese both were at this age.  Due to your recent illness we went to the doctor a week ago and you weighed in at 13 lbs 9 oz.  So apparently small, but you know what they say, the best things come in small packages!

"Firsts": You celebrated your 1st Thanksgiving and unfortunately you also got your first fever that day along with your first real cold which developed into a double ear infection and eye infection.  You took your 1st road trip to San Angelo and got to meet Mema, Grandma and Great Grandma.  You rolled over for the first time as well.

Looking Forward to: Trying cereal, using the jumperoo and working on sitting up.

Eli you continue to fill my heart with more love than I ever could have imagined.  It is hard to remember life before you.  I never knew I wanted three children but now I never could imagine life without three children.  You are my sweet baby boy and will always be.  I adore you my lil man and look forward to the next month!

Twice the fun, the twins are ONE!

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE,

DOUBLE THE FUN,

LOOK OUT WORLD,

CASH & WALKER ARE ONE!

 

I want to send the HAPPIEST of Birthday wishes to my two favorite nephews!  You both make this world a brighter place and to think how far you have come in one year.  From a mere 4 lbs 10 oz on Cash William and 4 lb Walker Kevin, these two have no premie left! Two different personalities, two totally different looks, but two perfect souls that melt your heart.

 

 

And not to be forgotten, Happy Birthday to my wonderful brother in law who shares this special day with his two boys.

 

 

 

 

Something to blog about

Thanksgiving 2012, it was a memorable one.  To start with I have to say it was a wonderful holiday spent with FIVE generations, and that alone is AMAZING!  We were so thankful that G.G. openned her house to us and let us pretty much invade it for 3 days.  Now, getting to San Angelo, that is where the fun really began....

We had been planning on heading to San Angelo for months to spend Thanksgiving there.  Casey and I had decided our game plan was going to be to leave after work on the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving so hopefully the kids would sleep.  I had packed all bags the Sunday before and had even created two bags filled with "presents" wrapped up for the kids to make the trip a little more exciting.  I had snacks packaged and drinks ready, anything to make the trip go a little smoother.  Casey and I both got off work early and I grabbed the kids.  When I got Eli, I noticed he had an extremely stuffy nose and nasty cough.  He had a rough night the night before and apparently he had gotten worse as the day had progressed.  So on my way home I put a call into the pediatrician to see if they had any advice.  First real road trip and first real cold?  Ugh!  Once I got home with the kids I gave Eli a bath, rubbed vicks all over him, and fed him.  Then off we went!  4 PM departure and according to the GPS, arrival in San Angelo 9:18 PM.  Casey and I both knew it was not realistic to arrive then, but we were hopeful to be there around 10 PM.  I had suggested we try and make it to Austin and then stop and let the kids eat, feed Eli, then hopefully Eli would go down for the night and the Reese and Ashton would sleep as well.  Well the trip started off great.  Eli and Ashton both fell asleep within 15 min and Reese was watching the IPAD quietly.  I even said to Casey, we need to enjoy this moment.

So about an hour and fifteen minutes into it Eli wakes up and starts crying (5:15 PM).  Then Ashton says he needs to go to the bathroom (5:45 PM) so we stop at a gas station near Bastrop and give everyone a stretch, change diapers, etc.  Eli didnt want to eat so we put him back in.  We were hoping to make it to Austin before we stopped for dinner so we loaded up again and off we went.  Traffic was awful and then we finally stopped in Bee Caves (north of Austin) at a McDonalds around 7PM.  I was wrangling the three kids while Casey was getting food.  I started to feed Eli, he was doing okay, just extremely congested and then it happened.  He started choking.  Eyes/face got all red, he couldnt catch his breath...SO SCARY! Finally he stopped coughing and his color went back to normal but it was scary enough.  Casey and I both agreed we wanted to get him checked out.  Maybe we overreacted but it was extremely scary and to go another 3 hours with a baby in that shape didnt seem smart.  So I found a nice couple and asked where a ER was and they told us it was in the same strip center we were already in.  Meanwhile Casey walks up and asks me to find someone to help as Reese had spilled her entire drink all over the table/floor where we were eating.

We got to the ER, and they were super sweet.  Long story short, in 45 min they had checked him out and said he just had an extremely nasty cold (viral) and to just to saline/humidfier/vicks and said to follow up with pediatrician if he got worse.  So off we went at 8:45 PM.  We debated on getting a hotel but we were all so wound up that we decided to press on.  Everyone climbed back in and off we went.  The kids were all being total rock stars I have to say.  We made it to Llano around 9:45 PM and at this point GPS said we would be there around 11:30.  I had just texted Casey's mom and mine to tell them where we were when Casey and I felt us hit something.  I saw a deer on the side of the road that had been hit and we knew that isn't what we hit but we weren't sure.  I asked if we were okay and Casey said he thought so.  Then 10 minutes later he said we weren't and needed to pull over.  So we pulled over onto some dirt road in the middle of nowhere and it was PITCH BLACK!  Ashton and Reese were asleep and when Casey got out he saw that we had a flat tire, driver's side front.  UGH!  So my awesome husband got to getting out the spare and working on changing the tire.  Meanwhile Eli got irritable so I took him out and started to nurse him.  And then it happened, blow out number two....from Eli.  All over him, all over me!  Beyond gross!  So I got to changing him when he decided to upchuck all of what he had just eaten as well.  So I found a plastic bag, through all the clothes in and got another outfit.  Finally around 11 PM Casey was able to finish up and we got back on the road.  He said we would need to stop once we reached Brady to get some air in the spare he had just put on.

So off we went again.  I had been texting/calling Casey's mom and mine to keep them updated.  I mean the ER and then a flat tire?  Really?  Oh well, all we could do was laugh.  Around 11:30 we made it to Brady and got some air and then headed on.  Casey and I both were pretty tired at this point but knew we had only about an hour left.  We were both so ready to be there.  We were laughing how our 5 hour and 15 min trip was turning into the marathon of a trip full of bad luck.  And then it happened, in our rearview mirror flashing lights, yes, pulling us over.  Casey said, the speed limit is 45, I swear that is what the sign said.  So out come two policemen shining flash lights in our car waking up one child (thankfully it was Ashton and not the younger two).  License and Registration please.  Casey handed it over and the policeman said, "Mr. Lee are you aware your headlight is out?"  Casey and I just looked at each other and all we could think was what the!  Casey said no, and we both asked if it was the driver's side light, thinking maybe when we hit whatever it was it bust the light....but oh no, it was the passenger side.  Casey told the policeman he had no idea and had just gotten done changing a flat and I chimed in and said that was about an hour after we had left the emergency room with a sick child.  I am pretty sure both officers thought we were making this up.  Thankfully the officers were super nice and said they were just going to run Casey's license and then write us a warning.  Thirty minutes later (yes it is midnight at this point) we were back on the road.

At 1 am we pulled into G.G.'s house.  Our trip finally ended and we got everyone in bed by 1:30am.  That was just the start to Thanksgiving and it was a memorable one already.  The next two days were spent with family and yes, five generations.  The kids GREAT GREAT Grandmother was able to come to the house for Thanksgiving.  She is going to be 101 in December which is amazing.  We had a great time, despite the fact that Eli's cold got progressively worse.  And while he celebrated his first Thanksgiving he also got his first fever.  Casey and I decided to leave Friday morning so we could get Eli and Reese (who started getting a green snotty nose) to the doctor Saturday.  Thankfully our ride home on Friday went much smoother and we left around 9 am and arrived safe and sound at home around 3:15. 

I took both sick kids to the doctor yesterday and came back with 4 ear infections and one eye infection.  Despite the rough parts of Thanksgiving I have to say I have so much to be thankful for each year.  Three healthy kids (for the most part), an amazing husband, and an extended family who are such blessings to us.  All of these wonderful people are because of an amazing God who put each of them in my life.  Happy Thanksgiving!

100 years apart!!

Happy Halloween

 

It finally got here!  Since September Ashton had been asking if it was time to go trick or treating, that doesn't make for a long wait now does it?  Well I was so excited on Wednesday to tell him the day had finally come!  The plan was for my Red Samauri Power Ranger and Cinderella to go trick or treating with everyone, but not before a last minute change in costume.  Aunt Amber sent an adorable Tinker Bell costume complete with light up shoes and wings to Reese and despite the fact that she was already dressed up as Cinderella she decided she wanted to wear the new costume; however, she did not want to take off her Cinderella costume....our solution?  Tinkerella!  Tinker Bell costume on top of Cinderella....and I must say she was a beautiful Tinkerella!  We started trick or treating around 6:45 and the kids lasted a lot longer than I had anticipated...Reese was done at 8 and Ashton went just 15 minutes longer.  They got a lot of loot and had a great time!  Meanwhile, Mr. Eli slept in Mommy and Daddy's room to avoid the constant door belling ringing and knocking.  It was a great night and we were so lucky to have Mo, Mimi, Grandpa and Molly all here to enjoy it with us.

 

 

We were trying to get Reese to put the wings on, thankfully big brother was there to show her how they worked....