Luke update

I forgot to mention that Luke qualified for the Hayes/Hitchcock Spelling Bee. It is on February 17th in Hayes Center. His Dad and I are very proud of him for qualifying!

Another week

Our week has been absolutely crazy. I think I say that a lot, but it definately holds true for this week. Jared has had the flu for over half the week. I think Luke had it for awhile too and now Matthew and Nathan have a touch of it.

We went to the park Saturday afternoon. After a look at the forcast I decided we needed to enjoy the afternoon as much as possible. The kids had fun. Matthew didn't want to leave. On our way down there we ran into Teresa and Kiersten and so they stayed and played for awhile!

Luke and Kiersten swinging.

Nathan hanging out in the stroller.

Matthew enjoying the swing. He was happy as long as Teresa was pushing him!

Matthew had his first outside boo boo of the year.

Nathan enjoyed some ice cream!

Enjoying the day on our "play ground".

My children spend 3/4 of the day in the bath tub. They took 4 baths today.

Papa Jerry hanging out with Luke and Matthew. Papa Jerry and Grandma Tami went to Kearney last weekend and brought all the kids something. They got Luke the workbooks they are working on and they got Matthew and Nathan underwear. Nathan slept with (not in) them that night. They had cars on them!

By the way- Matthew is doing very well with the potty training. He hasn't had an accident since last weekend. Not even at night! All this talk about being a big boy has led him to want to be even more independent.

Of course they had to get the baby something. I think they actually bought the baby something and then decided they better bring something for the boys!

Potty Training- Part 2

I thought I should update on how the potty training is going. Matthew is doing AWESOME! We had a long weekend. He had a few accidents and I was beginning to wonder if we were going to be able to go out in public again! Yesterday and today he has done really well. He hasn't even had one accident and he stays dry during his naps too. We are so proud of him! His brother, Nathan, is watching closely and I plan to try to potty train him in the next couple of weeks!

My little people

Potty Training

Ahhh! Potty Training! I never really thought of this as a big deal. When we potty trained Luke it was extremely easy. We were preparing to move and I just told him when we moved into our new house he had to start using the potty instead of diapers. I put underwear on him and I'm not even sure he had an accident after that. There were times when he peed off the back steps. That was usually because he was outside and didn't allow enough time to get to the bathroom.

So, we started potty training Matthew- well, we started about a year ago. No go. I decided not to try again until he was 3. He wasn't even near being ready. So, when he turned 3 I started trying again. I started doing research on different ways to potty train your child. How little boys are different than girls. Blah, blah, blah. I tried everything. We made charts and bought stickers. We threw Cheerios in the toilet and told him to try to pee on them. I ran water while he sat on the toilet. I made him walk around in his underwear all day. We went through 10 pairs of underwear and he hadn't even sat down to try to pee in the toilet. Needless to say, it wasn't going well. So, I decided to bribe him. I bought a big package of M&M's and made little baggies of M&M's so he had a reward for going. He could have cared less. Wasn't even the least bit interested in them if he had to go pee in the toilet to get them. I bought videos and books. NOTHING! I couldn't even get him to TRY!!! Back to the drawing board.

I decided yesterday to read to him while he sat on the toilet. It was first thing in the morning and my idea was- the longer he sat there, he would eventually have to go. Well we read a couple books and 30 minutes later he hadn't gone. Jacob was trying to get in the toilet and it was beginning to look like we were going to be hanging out in the bathroom all day. I knew this couldn't last much longer, so I tried coming up with a solution. I decided to try to find Luke's potty chair. I found it and took it out into the living room and had him sit on it while he watched cartoons. Still nothing. He got bored with it very fast and was running around the house "in the buff". So, I had to come up with something fast. I finally decided to give in and offered him some pop. I put a very small amount in a cup and told him he had to drink it while he sat on the potty chair. (You see, I'm not big on any of my kids drinking pop. Luke still doesn't get pop except on very special occasions. Even then he hardly drinks any of it.) Well, he sat down and pretty soon I heard him say- "Mommy I peed!" I was shocked and excited. I clapped and made a huge deal out of it.

By the end of the day he only had one accident and that was when he took a nap. I knew the biggest hurdle would be to prove to him that he could do it. We even took a trip to McCook to Pizza Hut to celebrate and he still didn't have an accident. He even woke up this morning with a dry diaper!! YAY!! I am very proud of him!

I am also proud to announce that Nathan also went potty in the potty chair once yesterday. He still isn't sure what all the fuss is about, but I made a huge deal out of it anyway. He refuses to go since, but I am sure in a few months he will want to be big like Matthew. I'm not going to push it too much! I am just excited to have one trying to use the potty before the next baby comes!

Baby book

The other day I was thinking I need to find a baby book for the baby. I have received some gifts and need to get them written down somewhere. Not to mention I need to start now with some of the stuff so I can actually get it done.

So, today while I was in North Platte, Jared's Mom and I went to the Bible Bookstore. I was looking around and found one baby book. I was debating whether I should buy it. The cover of it was pretty cool and one of the things I loved the most! I finally decided to buy it- with a little push from Jared's Mom. I wish I had some similar ones for the boys. Here are a few quotes from it...

Just think,
Your daughter is here not by chance,
but by God's choosing.
His hand formed hers
and made her the person she is.
He compares her to no one else-
she is one of a kind.
She will lack nothing
that His grace can't give her.
He has allowed her to be here
at this time in history
to fulfill His special purpose
for this generation.


Before you were conceived , I wanted you;
before you were born, I loved you;
before you were here an hour, I would die for you.
This is the miracle of love.
Maureen Hawkins


When I went up to pay for it, the lady at the counter said I was lucky I found a book. She has had several people looking for a baby book and they have been told it will be after March before they will have more. This was literally the only baby book in the entire store. I really hadn't looked anywhere else for one, but Wal-Mart. So, I was very glad I made the decision to buy it!

I had my doctor's appointment today and everything is good. He did tell me not to over do it. I laughed and reminded him I have four little boys at home. Although, I know what he meant.

Jacob

I received an e-mail asking how Jacob was doing. I guess I need to update my blog a little more. Jacob is doing great. We had his 12 month check-up last week and he is doing great!

He has such a funny personality. Last week he was throwing socks at the boys. He was laughing so hard Jared and I sat and laughed at them!! I tried to get a video of it, but my video camera had a dead battery. His laugh is hilarious!!

More baby stuff

I was blessed to have Aletha come over and spend a few hours with me last week!! She brought us lunch, which was awesome and our kids played very well together. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the kids together. Of course, she also came bringing a gift for the baby!! Thanks, Aletha!! It was so good to see you!

Pink, pink and more pink! =)

Last night we went to a supper at my Grandma's house to celebrate the January birthdays. Unfortunately I took my camera, but forgot to take any pictures. I have pregnancy brain. That's my excuse anyway. My Aunt Nancy informed me that she was so excited to hear we were having a girl she had to get us something.
Thank you Nancy!! They should fit her perfectly this Spring and Summer and we needed a pink blanket! =)

Tori's game

We made it to Tori's basketball game against Paxton last week. It was a good game, and of course they won. Here is Tor shooting a free throw.

Getting ready to shoot. I took some other pictures of her playing, but they didn't turn out very well.


Grandma, Jacob and Matthew having fun during the game.

The boys enjoying a sucker during the game.

Future drummer?

Luke brought a drum home last week. He had a blast practicing. To be honest, it had me hoping he doesn't choose to play the drums when he grows up. I will support him in any decision, but I was secretly praying he chooses something that doesn't make my head pound! =)

From the look on Jacob and Luke's face I might end up having two drummers! I think we'll have to refinish the basement with sound proof walls so they can practice down there!!

My boys!

Papa and Nana with all their grandsons

Papa, Nathan, Matthew, Nana, Jacob and Luke

Some girly baby stuff...

Jared and I were able to go to North Platte together this week and spend some time alone together. We did a little shopping. Although, we really didn't need too much, I was excited by what we found.

These are actually two of the things we bought the day we found out what the baby is a girl. Blogger is messing with me!! Sorry! These are Jared's favorite outfits. I wonder why?!

These are the things we found while we did our little shopping. The first boots we saw at Wal-Mart and I thought they were really cute, until I saw the other boots (with the fur) in Payless. To be honest I found a lot of cute stuff, but this is all we bought. I'm trying to be reasonable about what we buy. Trying. I didn't say it was going to work, but we are trying!! I am a little shocked at how much fun it is to buy girly stuff!

My friend, Teresa brought me this outfit. It is adorable and should fit her perfect next Christmas!

Sick kids

All the boys, including Jared, have had colds lately. I have been lucky to have dodged the bullet so far. They all seemed to fight it off on their own, except Jacob. He was getting worse, last week, so I took him to the doctor. I figure he had an ear infection or something close. Instead we found out he has pneumonia. He finished his medicine Monday and is still congested, but doing better.

I know you can't tell from this picture, but he is the happiest sick baby I have ever seen!

Jacob's First Birthday

I'm behind on posts again. We had Jacob's first Birthday party two weeks ago!

Jacob really enjoyed his cake.
He tried to share with everyone, but no one would take him up on it.

Everyone watching to see what he is going to do.

Playing with his gift. He loved it, but Nathan stole it from him after the party.

I love this picture!! Joe, Sawyer, Sarah and Peytie.

My Grandmas.

Jacob eating the wrapping paper.