Madeleine will be four months old tomorrow. She goes in tomorrow for a check-up and shots, I will post her stats then. While I have a chance, I am going to post what she is doing now.
She is wearing size 1 diapers. Her clothes range from 0-3 months to 3-6 months. She is slowly starting to outgrow the 0-3 month clothes, though.
Eating/sleeping has been challanging, especially the last few months. She went from sleeping all night or only waking up once, to waking up every hour to two hours. Usually she just wants to eat and go back to sleep, but she has still does not burp great and is getting gas frequently. We are trying to find something to help that (actually waiting on the dr's office to call about that now), because Mylicon is not doing much. She MAY have one four to five hour sleep session in the mornings (without waking up to eat), but typically she is still eating every two hours...almost on the dot.
She started cereal last month, with apple juice. The dr said that should help her sleep all night. She would eat it, but did not sleep any longer. I have been trying to give her some formula in cereal to see if she would go any longer between feedings. Formula is a definite no go! She hates it. We tried Similac first. She ate it, and about three hours later, she threw up everything she had eaten. None of the other kids would take Similac, so I went and got Good Start, which is what all the boys took. She would (and still does) scream when I put the bottle (I was trying to get her used to the formula)in her mouth and smile or laugh when I took it out. When I tried to give her formula and cereal she would scream when the bowl was in front of her or I put the spoon in her mouth, and smile when I took it away.
She sleeps in her crib during the day and until the first time she wakes up at night. At that point she goes in our room. I try to keep her in her bassinet unless she is eating, but she still wants to snuggle.
At four months old, she still has to be swaddled to go to sleep. Tightly swaddled!! When she is tired and screaming, if you swaddle her, put her pacifier in her mouth and hold her tightly she will usually instantly stop crying and go to sleep quickly. She is the first one out of all the kids that prefers sleeping on her back (all the boys were tummy sleepers...and yes, I know what they say about sleeping on your tummy).
She prefers Daddy when she is playful or talking, but wants Mommy when she is hungry or sleepy (which I guess makes sense since Daddy can't feed her).
She is very alert and loves to watch her brothers and laugh at them. She prefers to be held facing out so she can see everything. She still does not care for her carseat much (or any seat). She does enjoy lying on the floor and playing.
She likes being outside, just walking. When I can't seem to get her calmed down in the house, she usually instantly stops fussing when we walk outside.
This is all I can think of right now. If I think of more I want to remember, I will post it tomorrow with her drs appt stats.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Running Away.....To Madagascar
Caleb was sent to his room earlier when he got in trouble. After a bit, I told him he could come out if he could behave. He looked at me and either said "so" or "no". I am not sure which one, and really don't care because either way it was disrespectful. So, he was sent back to his room.
A bit later I was sitting on the couch and he comes in with a blanket obviously full of stuff, a tin and something else. He asks "When is the next flight to Madagascar?"
"I don't know, but are you running away to Madagascar because you got in trouble?"
He just turned and went back to his room.
Later I asked why he was planning to run away to Madagascar of all places.
"Because they have coconuts."
"Are you planning on living on coconuts alone?"
"Well, they aren't FRESH coconuts?"
Still made no sense to me, so I left it at that.
Do most 10 year olds plan to run away to someplace like Madagascar?
A bit later I was sitting on the couch and he comes in with a blanket obviously full of stuff, a tin and something else. He asks "When is the next flight to Madagascar?"
"I don't know, but are you running away to Madagascar because you got in trouble?"
He just turned and went back to his room.
Later I asked why he was planning to run away to Madagascar of all places.
"Because they have coconuts."
"Are you planning on living on coconuts alone?"
"Well, they aren't FRESH coconuts?"
Still made no sense to me, so I left it at that.
Do most 10 year olds plan to run away to someplace like Madagascar?
Friday, August 14, 2009
Lonely AJ
Andrew has been so funny this week with the kids going back to school. I guess he remembered from last year because he seemed to know exactly what was happening. Monday morning when we were outside waiting on the buses he kept going up to his brothers, saying their name and giving them HUGE bear hugs. It was so sweet.
Isaac is the first one to leave. He got on his bus and Andrew waved bye to him until the bus was out of sight. Then he continued his bear hugs. When Caleb's bus was coming down the road, Andrew starts screaming "I ZZZZZZZZZZZ" I guess he thought Isaac was already coming home. He waved to Caleb and then repeated the whole process when Bryce's bus was coming down the road.
When Caleb got home from school, Andrew was still sleeping. When he got up and saw Caleb he yelled "BUUUUUUUUUB" (that is what he calls Caleb) and gave him hug. Then he walked through the house saying "I Z?"
Wednesday I had to run to Isaac's school to pay his supply fee. When we were leaving the office I told Andrew we were going to the car. He crosses his arms, throws them against his chest and sat down. I told him to come on and he screams at the top of his lungs "NO, I ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!" and repeated it over and over. We were standing under a metal awning and it echoed bad. I was sure the entire school heard him!
He is getting used to it, but is still very excited when ALL of his brothers get home from school every day!
Isaac is the first one to leave. He got on his bus and Andrew waved bye to him until the bus was out of sight. Then he continued his bear hugs. When Caleb's bus was coming down the road, Andrew starts screaming "I ZZZZZZZZZZZ" I guess he thought Isaac was already coming home. He waved to Caleb and then repeated the whole process when Bryce's bus was coming down the road.
When Caleb got home from school, Andrew was still sleeping. When he got up and saw Caleb he yelled "BUUUUUUUUUB" (that is what he calls Caleb) and gave him hug. Then he walked through the house saying "I Z?"
Wednesday I had to run to Isaac's school to pay his supply fee. When we were leaving the office I told Andrew we were going to the car. He crosses his arms, throws them against his chest and sat down. I told him to come on and he screams at the top of his lungs "NO, I ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!" and repeated it over and over. We were standing under a metal awning and it echoed bad. I was sure the entire school heard him!
He is getting used to it, but is still very excited when ALL of his brothers get home from school every day!
Citizen
One of Isaac's vocabulary this week is citizen. We were studying them the other day at the table while Caleb was doing his homework. Isaac read citizen and Caleb says "I am a citizen." I told him we all were.
"Well, I am a SENIOR citizen."
The ten year old senior citizen!
"Well, I am a SENIOR citizen."
The ten year old senior citizen!
Donor
I was at the store with all the kids before school started. While we were checking out, I had my wallet open and Bryce was looking at my license (yes, the one where I am eight months pregnant!). He asked what the red heart meant. I told him it meant that I was a donor. He asked what a donor was. I explained that if something happened to me, I wanted my heart and other organs donated to someone else.
Caleb heard what I was saying and said "That's gross!" I explained that if it came to life or death, you needed a heart (or lung or kidney, etc), you would probably get over the grossness of it to live. He says "I will just get a plastic heart or kidney or lung!"
At this point, the cashier is giggling quietly.
"They don't have plastic hearts or lungs or kidneys. You either take the gift that someone left behind when they died or you die too."
"I think I would rather just die!" was Caleb's response with a disgusted face.
It made me sad to hear, but I know he is young and doesn't really understand. I can understand why he would think it was gross to have someone else's heart or whatever else, in you, but....
I hope he never has to learn first hand what a gift it is!
Caleb heard what I was saying and said "That's gross!" I explained that if it came to life or death, you needed a heart (or lung or kidney, etc), you would probably get over the grossness of it to live. He says "I will just get a plastic heart or kidney or lung!"
At this point, the cashier is giggling quietly.
"They don't have plastic hearts or lungs or kidneys. You either take the gift that someone left behind when they died or you die too."
"I think I would rather just die!" was Caleb's response with a disgusted face.
It made me sad to hear, but I know he is young and doesn't really understand. I can understand why he would think it was gross to have someone else's heart or whatever else, in you, but....
I hope he never has to learn first hand what a gift it is!
Mady's New Thing
Frozen Turnovers, Anyone?
I am constantly telling Andrew to get out of the freezer. We have one of those refrigerators where the top doors are the refrigerator and the freezer is a drawer on the bottom. Andrew has recently learned how to open all of them and I am constantly telling him to get out of them. Apparently, when he is getting into the freezer he is sneaking bites of frozen apple turnovers. Yesterday I told him from another room to get out of the freezer. When I got into the freezer later, I saw the turnover he had been knawing on.

Yes, I feed him, all the time!
Yes, I feed him, all the time!
Peek A Boo
Pretty Girl
PB & J
STUCK
"Snay!! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!
You know you are in trouble when the two year old is pulling pranks on you. Definently Marmar's grandson!!
Andrew got up at 5:30 the other morning (thank you Bryce!). He came in carrying his wipes and a pull up and giggling. I did not know why he was giggling, but took the pull up and wipes and laid him down. This is what I find when I open the wipes:

Now, this is obviously a plastic snake, BUT when the room is kinda dark and you have just awakened....not to mention the copperhead that was found in our back yard recently....well, let's just say that Andrew found a way to wake Mom up! I quickly realized it was fake (Andrew's laughing and saying "SNAY" over and over helped), but it startled me enough to wake me up!
Andrew got up at 5:30 the other morning (thank you Bryce!). He came in carrying his wipes and a pull up and giggling. I did not know why he was giggling, but took the pull up and wipes and laid him down. This is what I find when I open the wipes:
Now, this is obviously a plastic snake, BUT when the room is kinda dark and you have just awakened....not to mention the copperhead that was found in our back yard recently....well, let's just say that Andrew found a way to wake Mom up! I quickly realized it was fake (Andrew's laughing and saying "SNAY" over and over helped), but it startled me enough to wake me up!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Back to School
The boys started school Monday. We had orientations for all of them last week. Seems like they all have pretty good teachers this year.
Caleb is in the fifth grade. His homeroom teacher (he has one teacher half the day and then changes classrooms and has another teacher the other half) is from Arkansas and misses a lot of the same things we do! She was also a GT teacher. Since Caleb did not make it in the GT program here (although his test scores were REALLY high), I was really glad to hear it. I was telling her that he gets in trouble when he gets bored and that if she has to give him extra work to keep him busy than to do it. She told us she used to teach it and she knew what to watch for and would let him do research or other work. If she sees that the work they are doing is too easy she will get his work from a sixth grade book.
She also has some very neat incentives for her students. For one thing, the kids get paid weekly. They get $5 a week (with the oppurtunity to make more money) every week. They each have a checkbook and are responsible for keeping it balanced (after she teaches them HOW to keep it balanced). If they lose a letter grade in conduct, they lose a dollar each letter. If they get an F in conduct, they don't get paid. They earn extra money by doing odd jobs around the class. The first nine weeks, Caleb will make $7 a week (assuming he keeps an A in conduct). He is the pet lover (the room is a pirate theme) this nine weeks so he is responsible for taking care of the animals (they have a gecko and two fire belly frogs). He loves this!
All and all he is excited about school this year - which was much needed!
Isaac is in second grade. He, too, will have one teacher for half the day and then change to another teacher the second half. He seems to have very nice teachers as well. I hope they are able to continue his love for school and can strengthen his reading!
Bryce is in first grade. He has the same teacher Isaac had last year. The only downside, she is on maternity leave until JANUARY! This could be interesting. The teacher that is teaching until January is BRAND NEW!! I don't really have a problem with that, teachers have to get their start at some point. We joked last year that Bryce was the reason his teacher retired (not to him though). Now we joke that he will make or break this teacher. Realistically, there are students MUCH worse than he is, so if she can't handle him.....
He got his sight word list the first day of school. They start with list A and get a new list every week. I guess she tested them Monday on the lists to see how far they could go. Bryce is on list D, but knew all the words on that list when he came home on Monday.
All three boys are at different schools this year. Two of them start school at the same time and get out at the same time. You are not allowed to drop them off until 20 minutes before school starts. With the lines these schools usually have to drop off and pick up kids, I don't think I would be able to take them to school and have them there in time. They wanted me to take them this year, but I don't think that is going to work!
Caleb is in the fifth grade. His homeroom teacher (he has one teacher half the day and then changes classrooms and has another teacher the other half) is from Arkansas and misses a lot of the same things we do! She was also a GT teacher. Since Caleb did not make it in the GT program here (although his test scores were REALLY high), I was really glad to hear it. I was telling her that he gets in trouble when he gets bored and that if she has to give him extra work to keep him busy than to do it. She told us she used to teach it and she knew what to watch for and would let him do research or other work. If she sees that the work they are doing is too easy she will get his work from a sixth grade book.
She also has some very neat incentives for her students. For one thing, the kids get paid weekly. They get $5 a week (with the oppurtunity to make more money) every week. They each have a checkbook and are responsible for keeping it balanced (after she teaches them HOW to keep it balanced). If they lose a letter grade in conduct, they lose a dollar each letter. If they get an F in conduct, they don't get paid. They earn extra money by doing odd jobs around the class. The first nine weeks, Caleb will make $7 a week (assuming he keeps an A in conduct). He is the pet lover (the room is a pirate theme) this nine weeks so he is responsible for taking care of the animals (they have a gecko and two fire belly frogs). He loves this!
All and all he is excited about school this year - which was much needed!
Isaac is in second grade. He, too, will have one teacher for half the day and then change to another teacher the second half. He seems to have very nice teachers as well. I hope they are able to continue his love for school and can strengthen his reading!
Bryce is in first grade. He has the same teacher Isaac had last year. The only downside, she is on maternity leave until JANUARY! This could be interesting. The teacher that is teaching until January is BRAND NEW!! I don't really have a problem with that, teachers have to get their start at some point. We joked last year that Bryce was the reason his teacher retired (not to him though). Now we joke that he will make or break this teacher. Realistically, there are students MUCH worse than he is, so if she can't handle him.....
He got his sight word list the first day of school. They start with list A and get a new list every week. I guess she tested them Monday on the lists to see how far they could go. Bryce is on list D, but knew all the words on that list when he came home on Monday.
All three boys are at different schools this year. Two of them start school at the same time and get out at the same time. You are not allowed to drop them off until 20 minutes before school starts. With the lines these schools usually have to drop off and pick up kids, I don't think I would be able to take them to school and have them there in time. They wanted me to take them this year, but I don't think that is going to work!
SLEEP
I NEED IT!
Mady is not doing too great in the eating department. She should be going four to five hours between feedings now. She is more or less going every two hours still. First thing in the morning we might get a four or five hour stretch, but the rest of the day....and ALL night lately, she is eating every two hours.
Last night she was up every hour.
I want to continue breastfeeding, but....
We started cereal with juice almost a month ago. It does not seem to help any. We are now starting cereal with formula to see if the two together can fill her up better.
She does not wake up and cry (usually) for a long period of time. She fusses or cries until I wake up and feed her and she goes back to sleep. That is great....except I am still having to get up every couple of hours.
Mady is not doing too great in the eating department. She should be going four to five hours between feedings now. She is more or less going every two hours still. First thing in the morning we might get a four or five hour stretch, but the rest of the day....and ALL night lately, she is eating every two hours.
Last night she was up every hour.
I want to continue breastfeeding, but....
We started cereal with juice almost a month ago. It does not seem to help any. We are now starting cereal with formula to see if the two together can fill her up better.
She does not wake up and cry (usually) for a long period of time. She fusses or cries until I wake up and feed her and she goes back to sleep. That is great....except I am still having to get up every couple of hours.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Figs
We have a fig tree in the backyard. The boys like to go out and eat them. This evening Daddy brought some in and offered one to Andrew. Andrew excitedly asked for it. He put it in his mouth, immediately spit it out and said "UCKY"
For the last hour, if we say fig he screams. I was eating some ice cream and he kept asking for it. I finally said the ice cream had figs in it. He said "UCK" and then ruined my ice cream time by saying over and over "igs in i ceam" He did not, however, want my ice cream after that!
He is scared of figs!!
For the last hour, if we say fig he screams. I was eating some ice cream and he kept asking for it. I finally said the ice cream had figs in it. He said "UCK" and then ruined my ice cream time by saying over and over "igs in i ceam" He did not, however, want my ice cream after that!
He is scared of figs!!
Skirts and School
I KNOW! I KNOW! I am not doing well on here lately! School has started, things will calm down....eventually!
Did that title grab your attention since I have all boys in school?
I looked in Caleb's handbook to make sure he is still allowed to wear shorts. I did not see anything under the uniform pants section, so for some reason I read on to the uniform skirts section.
They specifically put that ONLY GIRLS are allowed to wear skirts to school. Are there THAT many cross-dressing 4th and 5th graders?
Guess I will have to take back those skirts I bought Caleb!
I will try to post about the kids going back to school after the kids go to school.
Did that title grab your attention since I have all boys in school?
I looked in Caleb's handbook to make sure he is still allowed to wear shorts. I did not see anything under the uniform pants section, so for some reason I read on to the uniform skirts section.
They specifically put that ONLY GIRLS are allowed to wear skirts to school. Are there THAT many cross-dressing 4th and 5th graders?
Guess I will have to take back those skirts I bought Caleb!
I will try to post about the kids going back to school after the kids go to school.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Wing (Wo)Man
Paul has made comments before about the attention he gets when he has one of the younger kids with him. Andrew gets him lots of attention when they are out alone, so we call him his wingman.
When we were at Isaac's orientation Monday, Mady started getting restless. Paul walked outside with her. He was sitting on a ledge with her and got comment after comment on how cute she was and woman coming up and talking to them. He even had a woman that came and sat down next to them.
We got home and told me if he was single......
I told him if he was single with a child he would have FIVE children. Kinda puts a kink on the wingman theory!
When we were at Isaac's orientation Monday, Mady started getting restless. Paul walked outside with her. He was sitting on a ledge with her and got comment after comment on how cute she was and woman coming up and talking to them. He even had a woman that came and sat down next to them.
We got home and told me if he was single......
I told him if he was single with a child he would have FIVE children. Kinda puts a kink on the wingman theory!
HAHA!
Guess who has gotten up every morning this week, taken a shower, dressed nicely, combed his hair, etc. Who knew Terminix could do so much more than kill bugs? I should have called them out a LONG time ago!
Paul was out mowing last weekend (in shorts and sandals), out in the ditch behind our house. It was pretty high, but he had sprayed round-up in the ditch a couple of weeks ago, and it was brown and dead, so it was pretty easy to cut down. He was just about done (and it was raining) and he stepped down and his foot moved. He looked down to see a Copperhead (about 2 feet long). Luckily it took off into the horse pasture behind us and did not bite Paul.
We are wondering if that is what got Trip and Jake. Jake was already going down hill, but quickly took a turn for the worse when we put him down. Trip was perfectly fine and then wasn't. We have a shed in the dog area on the back of the property. Trip liked to sleep under it or behind it and Jake was frequently behind it or between the back fence and shed. Prime snake areas!
We are wondering if that is what got Trip and Jake. Jake was already going down hill, but quickly took a turn for the worse when we put him down. Trip was perfectly fine and then wasn't. We have a shed in the dog area on the back of the property. Trip liked to sleep under it or behind it and Jake was frequently behind it or between the back fence and shed. Prime snake areas!
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Beach Vacation

Paul found us a house on the beach for Labor Day weekend. YAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have been planning on going to the beach since January when we went initially, but life has been crazy and we never got arrangements made. We figured we were not going to get to do it this summer. BUT, Paul found us a beautiful house right on the beach AND it is "off-season" so it is cheaper. The only downside is that the boys will have to miss a day of school (maybe two). Of course, they are not too disappointed!
Everyone keep your fingers crossed there will be no hurricanes that weekend!! I really could use a vacation (as I am sure everyone else can as well). Last years hurricane that hit us was on Labor Day!
I CANNOT WAIT!!!
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