Week OFF from Work!!!!!

Bill and I have never been able to take a Monday thru Friday work break. Leaving the company alone for a full week is just tough and creates more headaches than the time off is worth. But this winter Bill and I thought the company could manage and we had good people in place that could keep things going. We gave the guys off on Monday and then met with them Tuesday morning to go over the week's plan and then we started our vacation. The boys got there at noon and we celebrated Christmas. The next day we headed off to Dallas to visit everyone favorite: Uncle John. This house and this uncle is any little boy's dream. They have everything "boy" you can think of. They live on a lake, they shoot guns, they have a pool table, a wii, a toy drawer, big dogs, a farm and a boat. The only thing is they don't do babies. :) But they love us so much that KK get included. I just have to keep him from crying. The pressure was on. Here is the one and only time Uncle John held KK the entire week. Bill grabbed the camera to make sure we remembered it. He even got the screaming monkey and played and entertained Kiernan.

On Wednesday we were invited to Bill's cousin Kim's house. They had their whole family there and we had such a wonderful time. They had great food. They were so nice and included the boys in their gift exchange. Jimmy was playing around with the wrapping paper.

They have four girls between the two of them and they were so nice. Roy and Gavin played games with them.

Here the boys are checking out their loot.

Kathy, Bill's other cousin, got in a little KK time. She passed him off just in time for him to spit up on Daddy. She must have known. Good thing because I would have felt bad.

Here I am hanging out with my boy.

On Friday, Uncle John took me and the boys to the FARM!! The trip was a little long but once we got there it was all worth it. I took the boys on a nature hike and we found coyote tracks. The boys were curious and having a blast until we can upon some random bones and then they got scared and were ready to head back. They stayed right by my side. I was thinking come on kiddos if something comes to get us you really think that I could protect us. Glad they are so trusting to me.

Roy and I spent most of the day we the 22 in our hand. We started out a little rusty but then we started hitting all of our targets. Roy shot at least 150 bullets.

Here we are checking out our hits. We found some bottles to shatter and some metal to hit. Roy set up his coke cup that was half full too. When he hit it the coke sprayed everywhere. It was so fun!!

I must say I am a pretty good shot. Bill was calling me Annie Oakley. I really enjoyed shooting this gun. It was very light weight, has a scope on it, no kick at all and the shot is not loud at all.

The neighbor came by and asked if we wanted to go and feed his cows. The boys loved that and even walked out to take a picture with them.

We finally got KK down for a nap and laid him in the truck with the windows down. Uncle John pulled out the Judge and when we all least expected it, Fired it!! It felt like the shot heard round the world. My ears were ringing and I think I even felt the ground shake. I decided to shoot it and then Bill shot it. I didn't like that one as much. It scared me but a neat gun. It shoots a shot gun shell and spray tons of tiny little bullets.

This is where I found Gavin most of the day. He loves to fish. Uncle John gave him his own fishing pole that is just his size and he knows how to operate.

KK even got in on the action.

He even caught his first fish. I absolutely love this picture.

How many guys does it take to fix the fishing pole?

Five buddies hangin' out doing boy stuff. They are still talking about this day almost a week later.

Day After... Our REAL Christmas!

The boys got to the house a little before noon time. We waited for Ashley and the kids to get there and then the mayhem began. Grammie and Poppy spoil the kids. They got them so much fun stuff. Roy liked his drawing pad for cars. He got an Xbox 36@ Kinect. That thing is so cool. It is an actual camera and puts you on the screen.

Daddy got a dog tag-cross necklace from the boys and a new watch.

This picture makes me so happy. Do you think Gavin liked this skateboard?

Gavin loves playing outside. He also got a new big boy bike.

One of my favorite things to do for Ashley's kids is get them their own personal stool. I think Hadleigh is impressed with it.

I finally made all the boys gather around the tree after all the presents were open to catch a quick 2011 Christmas family picture.

We had a great time and it seemed this year the boys really liked their gifts. That always makes me happy since I brainstorm all year for the perfect gifts! :) Success....

Christmas Day

We did not have the kiddos on Christmas Day this year so we got up super early and went to Ashley's to watch the kids open all their loot. KK got his first gift. It was a dino popper. He loves it. He will sit and watch it forever. He can't exactly grab the balls yet but he will get there. Ashley made us French toast and hot chocolate. DELICIOUS!! Then we headed over to Mom and dad's to eat and visit with the family. I grabbed a quick shot of our little family's first Christmas.

We set Kiernan and Hadleigh down to play together. Can you tell they are getting some teeth? Looks like their gums have got them in chew mode.

All was going well until Hadleigh decided to start beating on the top of KK's head. Guess she thought it was a drum since he doesn't have any hair. Kiernan became agitated very quickly and we had to have Jillian come in and separate the two.

The best part of the afternoon was when Jillian and Rocco began to perform. They danced around and sang songs together. Both of them were not being shy at all and singing at the top of their lungs. They had the whole family rolling in laughter.

GG came down and is looking and doing great since her surgery.

Mom was Santa and delivered all the goodies.

Finally when we got home we went next door to visit. We had more turkey and I ate four tamales. They were amazing. Rosa loves to mess with Kiernan but KK always seems to cry with her. She gets her feelings hurt but always comes back for more. She absolutely loves him.

But his favorite is Mr Jesse. He will spend hours in his arms. He laughs and plays. Usually he falls asleep in his arms and I leave and go do some chores around the house and he brings him over once he is awake. This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I will post pictures of the day after when we got the boys and the presents really started to pour in!

6 Months Old Today

Kiernan did great at the doctor today. He was the star of the office. All the ladies were commenting on how cute he is and how handsome he was dressed (of course courtesy of my sister). He is doing great and doctor gave him a great report. He wants me to get him eating more food. I got to figure out a way to get KK more into it. He says by next visit I need to get him eating all the 1s and 2s. I got a ways to go. He takes about three bites and he is done. He is taking to the formula though.

Stats:
Height: 26.25 cm
Weight: 16lbs. 4oz.
Head: 43 cm


Looks pretty good! I forgot to get the %s. Sorry Ash!
I got a new camera for Christmas. Yay Me!! I have been messing around with it and testing the new capabilities. And I figure why not try it out on the cutest little guy in town. I have seen some cute Christmas pictures from photographers on Pinteressst. So I am such a wanna be photographer that I thought I would try it out. Look at my cute bubba. I still need to work on the lighting and the camera stuff but it is super fun doing so many photo shoots. I have seen one where they give the baby a Xmas ball off the Christmas tree but this year I did not put any of those one the tree so I settled for a snowflake. This one is not as cute as the one that was posted on the site but I am working on it.

6 things I love for 6 months of life

1) When KK is ready for sleep, he likes to be cradled like a baby and a blanket over his head. He is the lightest sleeper EVER but if you get him in this exact position he can sleep through his brother's basketball game.





2) I love when I give him a spoonful of food (any food!) and he always taste it and acts like he is going to throw up and makes this gag face.





3) I love when I get right in his face and he places both hands on my creeks. His hands are always super hot and it warms my face.





4) I love in the morning at 6:30am when I bring him into my bed and nurse him and he falls back asleep in my arms.





5) I love when someone else is holding him and I begin to talk and he turns to look for me. He must know where his mommy is at all times.





6) His smile!! Ohhhh.... and his laugh too!

Half Way There...

I can't believe that six months is already gone by. I have had a lot of ups and downs of being a new mommy but I am so happy to have Kiernan in my life. This winter KK is sporting beanie-visor hats. I LOVE them and think every baby needs one in their wardrobe. My sister is obsessed with clothes but none of her kids have one. Guess she doesn't agree. But look at how cute. He thinks his mommy is crazy.He still loves to take baths. He stays in there forever and kicks his legs at the water. He has gotten better about having to get out and get clothes on. He use to scream but now he has toughened up and allows me to get his clothes on quickly and without crying.Kiernan is already sitting up basically under his own power. He balances pretty good and plays on the floor his his toys for about 20 minutes before he gets tired. He even sits up really straight.When he starts to get tired he slowly starts leaning forward until he face plants into the ground.He is such a trooper because the dogs are obsessed with him. He just closes his eyes and lets them lick. I constantly have to tell the girls to back off but KK just looks at them and laughs. All they have to do is walk by him and he starts to laugh.They also have been caught having a staring contest.He plays on his back with all the hanging toys but most of his time is spent rolling onto his tummy.And finally...... We have a tooth poking through. I think with the looks of that tooth, I am going to retire breast feeding. I gave it a good run but I think my milk is producing enough to feed my hungry boy. He seems to fill up better on formula and sometimes it is just easier to bust out a bottle rather than a boob. Last night, Kiernan slept through the night again. I feel like a million bucks today!!

H@me Depot

As we were walking through the store I am enthralled by all the Christmas decorations. They are everywhere. I am seeing what decorations I cannot live without when I hear Bill from across the store yell, "Summer, hurry come here!!" He is waving his hands in a panic. I hurry over thinking he has found the greatest decoration ever when I stumble upon him setting up the boys for their picture with Santa. Since when is Santa at Home Depot? All the boys sat down and we snapped a picture. No it is not great but it sure does beat standing in that long line at the mall. Plus it was free. Now that is the kind of Santa picture I am all about. :)

Sleeping Situation

So I have come to the end of my rope for little KK's sleeping pattern. I was losing sleep and I have never been so tired in my life. Everyone under the sun has been giving me advice to get him to sleep and nothing was working. Same ole' story. This weekend I made it my mission to figure this kid out. I am the adult here and so I should be in charge, right? KK wakes up every 2 or 3 hours. I am not a good sleeper so once I get back to bed it takes me a moment to go back to sleep so I feel like when I finally get back down, he wakes up and I start the whole process over again.
So I started Friday night and began the "let him cry it out". This was really a LONG night for me. He would wake up at his usual 11:30pm and cry. I went in put his paci in and hushed and patted his butt for one minute and walked back out. He screamed bloody murder for the next five minutes. I went in again put his paci in, flipped him over and hushed/patted for the next minute. The first battle was for 30 minutes. Finally after 30 minutes of wrestling, he went down. Then he woke up at his usual 2 or 3 hours and did the same. I did breakdown and feed him at 3. Super hard first night.
Saturday I was told try formula. Ya know, thicker and can fill baby up and make him happy. In KK's defense it was a rather unusual night because we went down to the riverwalk and so it ended up being a late night. He did the usual routine but seemed to shut it off a little quicker and only woke up twice. But the problem was the 6:00am wake up was for good so it made me really cranky.
Sunday came and everyone has told me I have to sleep when he naps. KK is almost 6 months old and I have never done this. But today when we got home from church and Gavin's bball game, I laid down and fell asleep for 30 minutes. I felt so good when I woke up. By 7:30pm KK was totally ready for bed. (I also have been trying to hold him to 8pm) Really, I'm trying everything. But he was ready for bed so I took him in and loaded him up with formula. He gave a little fuss but them went soundly to bed. AND THEN......... he slept soundly til 5:30am. That is right guys.... He Slept Through The Night!!!! I went in and grabbed him and hugged him. I was so happy. I took him into my room and nursed him back to sleep and he slept til almost 8:00am. I feel like a new woman today. I was completely breaking down and I feel completely rejuvenated. Now let's hope I can make this a habit for him.

MIA

Kiernan is growing like crazy. Every time I look at him I think something has changed. I worked really hard over Thanksgiving to try and get him on a better sleeping and eating schedule. I tried to stick to the book and make me be the boss of him. I did not think I made much progress but I had to keep him home today from daycare and he has been amazing today. He has ate like a champ and slept like a champ. Maybe I did something right???!! He also only woke up once last night which is a change from his usual every three hours. Ash and I got to hang out some for the holidays. It makes me sad at how little we get to hang out since we decided to shake things up and have three kids a piece. I mean really no wonder we get anything done in life. Every chance we get we drag the kids out and take pictures. You can tell by each expression on the kids face what each one thinks of our camera.

Finally we have tried to get ready for the holidays. KK has gotten some new gear to wear. The Xmas tree is up and beautiful. The outside lights are struggling but are somewhat up. Shopping has started and for me basically complete. I like to get it done. Bill will ALWAYS wait til the last minute and then think we have to run out and buy, buy, buy. We will see what the next month holds.

Look at this cute lil' holiday filled outfit. LOVE IT!!! His teacher at school has taught him to stick his tongue out. Right now it is super cute but guess at some point I will have to teach him that this is not nice. But for now I will enjoy how cute he is.....

Did you do any shopping on Cyber M@nday?????? I DID.........

Rollover

That is right...... Little man has officially rolled over. This afternoon he fell asleep in his car seat. I of course tried to gently get him inside and execute the perfect transfer. I failed and he began to cry. I thought he was really tired so I let me cry for a few minutes. When I could tell he was not going to calm himself down and go back to sleep, I walked back in and sure enough he was looking right at me. He started laughing. Such a cutie!!

Sleeping Not so much....

Well my little Kiernan was a champ last night. He went down at 7 and woke up at 3 for a feeding. Awesome..... But when I got back to my bed I could not fall asleep. I tried everything. I had such anxiety and had my to do list rolling in my head. I wanted to make sure that I take care of work stuff in the morning. KK will be at school so I can get everything done!! Problem was I couldn't turn it off and go to sleep. I am also going on an ACTS retreat and I am giving a talk so I had that playing through my head as well. Thinking of all the things that I needed to get ready for that weekend. Making sure I leave enough milk for my baby. He has been a big eater lately. Then I was thinking about the baptism and that I hope everything goes well. I hope the boys will get to come. I was thinking about Halloween and that I haven't even tried on KK's outfit. I thought about the pile of laundry that is getting higher and higher. Plus we had company this weekend so I thought about the huge pile of dishes that need washing. I thought about if my boys love me. And if my husband thinks I am a good wife.

All these thoughts randomly piled in my head and the end result.... I NEVER went back to sleep. Bill's alarm went off at 6:30am and I told him go back to sleep, I'll get Gavin to school because I am up already. Finally heard Kiernan at 7. What an awesome night of sleep. Too bad his mommy didn't sleep like that. I have found since he has started sleeping in his crib that I really have to wake up to go to the opposite side of the house to get him. Then I sit there for 15 minutes and by the time he is ready to transfer back down I am ready to go. Guess I'll try again tonight.

Doctor Visits Galore

Kiernan had his 4 month old check up this week. Life has started to get a little easier these days. I feel like I am getting a hold of this mommy thing. Kiernan has been extremely happy lately and sleeping pretty good. He started on rice cereal and seems to gobble it down.
Height: 24.5 31%
Weight: 14.8 58%
Head: 41.5 28%

Doctor said he looked great. I can really tell he is putting some pounds on him. He is talking all the time and really is alert at what is going on. He is putting his butt in the air so I am thinking he will be rolling over soon.

Then Thursday morning, we get a call and Gavin is sick. He comes to our house and seems to be playing and doing fine. I keep asking if he thinks he needs to go see the doctor and finally he tells me he does. I make an appointment and they say to come right away. We get there and wait. and wait. and wait. We wait in the lobby.... and then in the room. Both boys became extremely irritable and started fussing. Yes both boys. I had KK in my left arm and Gavin in my right. Gavin started crying and wanted to leave. I finally convinced him to fall asleep and she would come.
KK passed out in the doctors office and Gavin finally falls asleep on the table.

Finally some quiet time to myself when in walks the doctor. A quick test and sure enough... STREP!!! Off to wait at CVS for the prescription. I mean really will this day ever end. Finally got them home and they both took long naps. Gavin took his meds and is already feeling better. I love antibiotics.