Daddy's Shirt

It is almost 10:45pm and Kevin is still awake. I eventually brought him out with us to snuggle since I caught him doing somersault's in his bed, and feared him waking Tyler up. He snuggled with me for awhile and then requested snuggling with daddy. After a quick snuggle, Kevin took to just sitting by Adam while he did a few things on the computer. They were so cute together and Kevin eventually asked "white shirt me like daddy", and when I went and actually got a white shirt of Adam's to wear, he was so excited. He put it on and then looked down at himself, at daddy, and then back at himself. He tapped his chest and said "me white shirt like daddy's, mommy picture me". So I quickly ran to get my camera and he ran over to the hutch. He is so proud to be wearing daddy's shirt...and it is a reminder to us to see how little he is compared to us.

All about Kevin at 2 1/2.

At a few days shy of being two and a half, I took some pictures of him this morning and decided to interview him this afternoon. I asked him the following and all of the answers are his words exactly, though I did omit the "ums" as he thought of things. :)

Favorite color: I like green.

Favorite number: Two

Favorite shape: Oval and Triangle

Favorite animal: Giraffe

Favorite food: Bread

Favorite drink: Chocolate milk and grapes

This was as far as we got though as after these questions, he decided that he was all done and ran off. :)

Masters of the Universe

Today included a mandatory nap this afternoon for everyone under the age of thirty. All of the boys are just exhausted from all of the fun and excitement with Aunt Elaine, Uncle Mike, and Benjamin over the last several days and from our big outing to the Minnesota Zoo yesterday. We tried to head this off by putting everyone down early last night for bed, but even that didn't starve off the exhaustion, and hence tantrums, today.

Thankfully, all three boys napped well. Tyler was the first one up, and when he woke up, he headed downstairs to "play actions figures" while I worked on some ironing and watched him play. It was quite the setup and eventually I went and grabbed my camera.

Originally, the "evil guys" were ALL of the Masters of the Universe characters (toys from Adam's childhood). And the "superheros" (i.e. good guys) were all of the other action figures he had dug out (i.e. McDonald's toys, Toy Story, Mickey Mouse, etc.). I watched as he battled them all out and eventually they all ended in a big pile.



And he explained that only one "superhero" was left. A bear known as Merlin who was battling his way out from the bottom of the pile.


I will admit that I truly didn't understand the rules of the game, even as I watched. But I did enjoy watching him work through his imaginary world as he played "action figures". And as you can see below, Kevin truly didn't understand the game either when he came down from his nap. So when he grabbed his favorite Masters of the Universe figure, a purple animal of some sort, Tyler was distraught that Kevin wasn't playing right.



After a brief discussion about how he needs to explain the game to Kevin and share nicely with Kevin, they got back to playing together without all of the screaming and yelling. And it probably helped that Kevin moved on to a green dinosaur as he main guy rather than the purple animal thing.

Five month old Jacob!

Jacob is now five months old! It is so crazy how quickly time passes. It still seems like yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting for his arrival...and here is he getting so big! Last week he discovered his voice and has been chatting up a storm since. He loves it when he can sit on someone's lap and just take turns telling stories. He is also one heck of a happy baby. Very rarely is he not smiling or laughing, and lately Adam and I agree that it is due to teething (as he is constantly trying to gum his hands...or anything else he can get in his mouth).

As far as mobility, he is getting there somewhat quickly in our opinion. He has figured out how to role both ways and does so very quickly. And over the last couple of weeks has perfected his scoot. He pulls his knees up under him and even though his head is still on the ground as he can't lift it, he scoots himself forward. And combining the scooting and rolling, he is quick to move around on the floor...often suprising us with a new location if we leave the room for a little bit.

He is still an amazing sleeper! I really can't complain one bit since we turned the corner on sleeping. He tends now to get up just once at night. We put him to bed around 8 or 9 and he will sleep until 4 or 5. And if I am not being lazy and put him back in his crib after eating, he will normally go back to bed. However, if I just try to fall asleep on the bed in his room he won't...as he prefers to just talk and giggle instead. :)

He's still just nursing. I have tried on two occasions to give him some baby oatmeal, but he really isn't interested. I also tried giving him pureed apples one day, but his response involved gagging, spitting the food out, and some quite disgusted faces. Apparently, he thought apples were something horrible. And I couldn't help but laugh because still today Tyler has the same response to any potatoes and Kevin to green beans.

This morning we all went out and took a few pictures of Jacob to celebrate being five months old now. He enjoyed watching the birds in the bushes behind me. :)

More pictures from playtime today.

A few more pictures from playtime today. Tyler also worked hard on the blocks. He ended up with 23 in a tower and he named it "fast fall" even though he was adamant that the tower was not going to fall down or be knocked down. Unfortunately, as you can see little brother Kevin was determined to knock the big tower over. And Kevin succeeded once and then once gravity won. Thankfully, after a brief conversation about practice, he was game to rebuild each time.





He then decided that he would add some big blue slides to the top of the tower so if daddy went to work he could have fun at the tower and slide down. :)



He was pretty upset here as he is rebuilding it for the second time and declaring that everyone give him space. :) But neither Kevin nor Benjamin were buying it. :)

And Jacob just had a blast watching all of the bigger kids play around him for the day. And he has made friends with the gecko in the jumper and is obsessed with it. :)

Block Tower

Kevin set out to build a block tower this morning, and I had my camera. Our cousin Benjamin is visiting and I couldn't resist some pictures of all four boys playing downstairs this morning. More pictures to come, but this series was just too cute not to share right away.

Starting out.





Slowly getting there.


He finished it! He used twelve blocks, so very impressive. :) I asked him to smile and he was trying hard to pick it all up to show me.


Then a BIG smile! It is so fun to finish your project. :)


But of course, knocking down your tower is also a lot of fun. So Kevin is telling me that he is going to "crash blocks down". ;)



Here he goes!

After a few practice runs with his hands, he ultimately decided that kicking it over was best.

Success!!!

Chatterbox

Jacob started "talking" last night and has been doing this nonstop since! It was definitely intense for Adam and me this morning as we tried to wake up and he was all ready to chat for the day. Apparently, he found his voice and is ready to catch up with his chatty brothers.

Here is some video of him chatting while on the ottomon for the glider. He was having fun laying on it and kicking at the chair to make himself rock. And just chatting up a storm.

He even did this for the half of our long stay at the car dealership today. Thankfully, he eventually fell asleep (as it was so quiet in there and there was no getting him to be quiet). One guy commented that he sounded like a cat. ;) I personally think baby eagle for some reason. :)

Zoo and Costumes

I have more pictures but life has been a little busy lately so I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and post. So for tonight, I am posting a few pictures of our zoo trip last week and then two of the boys playing dress up. And hopefully I can post more soon!


Tyler working hard to brush the goat. This was his favorite part of the trip. Mine was seeing the new penguin exhibit. Kevin enjoyed the tiger. And Jacob seemed to enjoy his nap in the stroller.




This is our Ninja Tigger. Anymore, Tyler is constantly flying around the house jumping, kicking, and making the necessary hand movements in an attempt to be either a super hero, a spy, or a kung fu panda character.


One incredibly happy Kevin as he is now FINALLY big enough to wear the Pooh Bear costume. He was just so proud to put it on and walk around patting his tummy while daddy, Tyler, and I kept calling for Pooh Bear.






Kevin anxiously awaiting to start our day at the zoo. His "big list" consisted of seeing tigers, lions, bears, and lots of kids. We fulfilled all but the lions, as our zoo has none. Tyler's list was purely playing with kids at the playground. And my only hope was getting to see the penguins.

Playing at one of the play areas and wearing our cowboy hat. He just climbed on top of a big turtle climber and was very proud of himself.

Jacob just hanging out and watching kids play at the kid area.

This is one of my favorite. They have started to willingly hold hands more and I love that they do it without direction. We were leaving the kids play area and I caught them grabbing each other's hand to walk to lunch and had to snap their picture.

I love that they do this because not only is it so cute, but having to hold Jacob, carry bags, and then having Tyler and Kevin argue over who is holding my hand, holding on to the bag, or grabbing my clothes was getting old (though I love that they know to grab on to me somehow before walking around cars or into a store). So now, I can grab either Tyler or Kevin and the other will grab their brother's hand. Much more civilized this way. :)

Rules of being a super hero

Tyler just wanted to share the following with you. In case you are not aware, he is our resident super hero and always willing to help us around the house and protect us if needed. He has five rules (Kevin is currently in training under them) and thought that others might like to know them as well, in case you want Tyler to teach you too. I also typed this out exactly as Tyler said it so it is official super hero business. :)

Rules of being a super hero:





Rule #1 - You need to learn to fly. If you see a thing that is so wide, you jump so wide. And also you see a small thing, you jump small.





Rule #2 - You always need a cape to rescue people. And you need some cards so people can know when to call the super hero's.





Rule #3 - You need a sidekick so the sidekick can help people too. Your sidekick needs to have something like letter on his shirt so everyone knows what his name is. And he needs a cape.





Rule #4 - Super heros need to be trained. And super heros need to have super hero pens, a mask, and wristbands. You also need superhero gloves and ropes so they can land. They also need watches so they know what time it is so they will know when to rescue people.





Rule #5 - If you are a person and you make a super hero costume, you need all of my rules and walkie talkies so you can call other super hero's to make friends. Like me Tyler wanted to be a super hero so we made an outfit and did it. I love being a super hero.


A picture to follow.

Fourth of July Week

So it's been awhile since I have posted because I feel like we have been so busy trying to enjoy the nicer weather. I did take a lot of pictures last weekend though, so there are a lot to look through and they are in no particular order.

Since the last time I posted, a lot has happened. One of the first big things was Friday night, after a fun day at a local pool and ice cream, Kevin managed to fall at Barnes and Noble and hit his head. So we spent Friday night together (as Adam had a dinner meeting to attend for work, but when I called he came to help) at an ER. Kevin was incredibly brave and ended up with more stitches, but this time on the opposite side of his head and slightly higher than the last set that he just got out.

Saturday morning wasn't as lazy as we expected after the late night as the boys were all up bright and early. This worked out well though because a friend from law school came over with her family to visit. Then we loaded up so Adam and Tyler could go watch Cars 2 at the movie theatre while Kevin, Jacob, and I ran errands. After that we headed off to a corporate associate picnic for the rest of the evening.

We wished Sunday could have been lazy, but it wasn't. Adam ended up working all day and the boys and I spent the entire day working on yard work and cleaning out their sandbox (as we accidentally left the lid off one night and then it rained). So come Sunday night we were all just exhausted and went to bed early.

The following week was much less eventful in terms of ER trips and yard work, and was a lot more exciting when it came to fun stuff. We had a fun play date at a new place this week with our friends Grant and Josie. It is called Pump It Up and has HUGE inflatable slides and obstacle courses. I will tell you that once I saw them I did worry for the boys safety (and Kevin reopening his wound) but after two hours they were accident free, smiling, and sweaty. :) We then got a "not so fun lunch for Angela and I" as the kids were all pumped from playing and being together, and yet tired too. Once we made it through lunch, we decided that since we were at the mall, might as well let the kids keep playing. And so they did.

We also went to the gym several times so the boys could play and run around. A few days I wore Jacob in a Moby wrap and just walked and other days I dropped him off in the infant room and went to workout without him. Tyler and Kevin are definitely adjusted. They fight over who gets to carry the card (or push the button on the van...as they take turns doing each), play "statue" all the way to the door, and then race to the child care center making sure that they go the long way so they can walk the steps by the cardio equipment and see everyone working out. They battle it out as to who gets to sanitize their hands first and then I struggle to get their name stickers on before they race inside. When its time to go, the competition to be first continues as they try to get their own stickers off their backs, block each other out of the hand sanitizer, and their continue their "race" to the car via the cardio equipment. Thankfully, yelling "statue" tends to slow them down and they actually stop their race long enough for me to catch up with Jacob.

Jacob does well too. Most of the time he sleeps, and when he doesn't he enjoys just being held. He is currently the youngest and so he tends to get carried around more while they tend to the older babies and kids in the toddler area.

Friday we went to the doctor to go get Kevin's latest stitches out. And then we had Jacob's four month appointment. Jacob had to get three shots, but did amazing. In fact, he laughed through the first two and then cried through the last. But once he was upright he was all smiles and snuggles, and promptly fell asleep when we got to the car. He weighed in at 15 lbs, 3.2 ounces and 24 1/2 inches, 46th percentile and 20th respectively. He did well passing all of the milestones (making eye contact, laughing, babbling, rolling over, and grabbing for things) and liked getting some attention from the doctor. He also surprised us over the last few days and went from sleeping about 4 1/2 - 5 hours in his "long stretch" to sleeping 9 hours!! He has done this several times and it has been amazing!! (The downside...is that with three kids in the house the odds of sleeping that long are slim...as it has only meant one night where I have slept that long as either Tyler or Kevin has gotten me up instead.) So, we now lay him down at the same time as Tyler and Kevin (7:30).

I also have to pause here to note that Tyler and Kevin have taken to staying up as late as they can anymore. Kevin no longer wants to sleep in his bed and now runs to Tyler's no matter how many times we put him back to his bed. I think that he just naps too long for what he is needing for a 7:30 bedtime. And since Tyler doesn't nap, this causes us to stress a bit as we know that Tyler is going to be exhausted the following day. It would be fine if Kevin would just crawl in and lay nicely, but being a little boy who is laying in bed with his big brother he feels the need to tackle, tickle, and talk to Tyler. And of course Tyler loves it and eggs it on. So lately we have resorted to eventually separating them to different rooms and then moving them back once asleep. We aren't sure how to solve this quite yet, but are working on ideas. So that is the interesting parenting issue we are currently having with them sharing a room.

Another interesting point is that Kevin has decided (on his own) that he is finally done with diapers/pullups. Not exactly what spurred this, but Thursday when we got home from the doctor he asked for big boys (he usually does this when we are home for extended periods) but we haven't looked back since! Definitely crazy as it has been a worry in the back of my mind for months, but apparently he just needed to decide for himself!

Later in the day on Thursday we had a fun visit from Uncle Nick, Aunt Mary, and cousin Jay. We all enjoyed getting to see them, and Kevin and Tyler LOVED getting to play with Jay. They took turns destroying the play room, chasing each other in circles upstairs, and getting Jay to stick his arms up by asking him "Jay how big are you?". And since Friday was Aunt Mary's birthday we all got to go to a fun lunch to celebrate. Tyler and Kevin were very sad that they had to leave Friday night and yelled promises of coming to visit Iowa, Jay's house, and playing more with him as they drove away. :)

Saturday was fun as the boys and I went swimming at the gym's pool. Jacob went to take a nap in the nursery and eventually we got called to come pick him up as he was upset and only wanted to be held, but they had too many babies to tend to as they were busy. It worked out well though as I was just about to call it good with the swimming anyways. Neither Kevin or Tyler wanted to leave though, so it was slow going getting them changed and walking to pick up Jacob. And then all were crying as we left the gym, and it was quite the scene as I juggled carrying Jacob and Kevin and had to nudge Tyler along (as he also wanted carried). Adam was working Saturday so when we got home, we all laid down for naps and rested. And eventually when I reached my "stressed out" point after dinner I called Adam and he came to the rescue. Thankfully, once he got home he got the big kids to bed and took care of Jacob for me so I could go to bed early.

Sunday was much more relaxing as Jacob slept for nine hours and given that I went to bed before him, I got a TON of sleep! We had a very fun day on Sunday. After church, Adam surprised the boys by letting them go play on the school playground. They climbed the rock wall, the spider web, and everything else that they could (Adam included) and had a great time. Tyler has been wanting to play on the playground since last summer but we never have...so this was HUGE in his book...and Kevin got to show off his crazy climbing skills to daddy.

After that we headed home for lunch and then laid down for naps. I headed off to the grocery store with my super helper Tyler (who took care of the list all by himself and was so proud of it) and Adam worked from home and kept an eye on Jacob and Kevin. When the boys all got up we all headed outside to swim and play outside. We set up the tent, got Jacob comfy in his swing, dad set up the pool and water slide, and we all spent the rest of the day and into the evening in the backyard. We all had fun playing and visiting without work, chores, or electronics. And were so grateful later when Adam grilled up dinner for us as we were hungry!!

Adam took off the Fourth of July and after a fun video chat with Grandma G. (who has been in Thailand for the last four weeks and will still be there awhile longer so we haven't gotten to talk to her as much lately and LOVED getting to see her) we loaded up the car for a day trip to Clear Lake, Iowa. We met Grandma and Grandpa Thimmesch for lunch and then headed off to find some things to do. We ran across a firefighter museum and we all loved getting to see all of the things they had. Kevin enjoyed seeing the old antique truck and Tyler got to ring the bell for the firehouse. Across the street was the actual fire station and all of their bays were open with firefighters sitting outside. So we ventured over there and they were nice enough to let the boys in two different engines and show us some of the different parts of the trucks.

After that we headed to a local park to play where all of the adults took turns being a scary animal and chasing the kids (Kevin and Tyler and other kids that were there) around. I am not exactly sure how the game evolved to that, but it did and so us adults took turns chasing and playing with the kids. And once Tyler and Kevin were sufficiently red cheeked and sweaty we headed to get some cookies and water before loading up to come home. We got home shortly after dinner and headed out back to play for awhile before going out to see fireworks.

We lucked out and managed to see a small show close to home, as in retrospect we don't think that Kevin would have enjoyed the loud "boom booms" of bigger fireworks this year. I didn't enjoy being outside as I was a mosquito magnet, so I went and hid in the car with Jacob while daddy stayed out with Kevin and Tyler. I could see them pretty well and had to laugh as I watched Tyler dance around daddy and Kevin (who were sitting on a blanket calmly) and anytime Tyler would see the "bigger" fireworks (as you could see a few different bigger displays from where we were) he would throw his arms up and do some sort of crazy, kid jump/fall in excitement. I didn't see much of Kevin as daddy had taken the second blanket now that Tyler and I weren't using it and wrapped it around him and Kevin to snuggle and protect them from mosquito's while Tyler danced and jumped. Adam said that Kevin was so sweet just sitting there snuggling and wide eyed watching the show. And the whole way home both boys just talked about how exciting it was to watch the fireworks show.

So definitely a lot of fun and excitement this last week, and looking forward to more fun this week. But for now, here are pictures I took over the weekend (and thankfully Grandpa Thimmesch took a few pictures of the boys driving the firetruck).