4 score and... actually 4 months

Abbott is 4 months today. About a month ago Tiff and I were at our wits end with a colicy baby that was either crying or sleeping with not much in-between. From the time the older kids went to bed until 11 to 12 at night, one of us was rocking Abbott the entire time in an attempt to keep him happy and quiet until he fell asleep. One good TV thing I found during this time was since I was up I could watch the beginning of the Jimmy Fallon show at 11:30. When he finally fell asleep around midnight he would sleep well until 4 to 6 in the morning which any new parent can tell you any solid sleep beyond 3 hours is gold. He would wake up around 4 to 6 to eat and it was always a crapshoot as whether or not he would go back to sleep at that time. I can recall many early morning trips to the livingroom in a sleepy haze to rock a little boy that refused to settle back down to sleep. Another good TV thing I found was that Fox News replayed The Factor episode from the night before at 4 in the morning.

Abbott during less happier times.

A month later our little diaper full of cries and frowns turned into a bundle of giggles, smiles, and laughs. A couple of weeks ago he decided that swaddling at bed time was not for him, and would no longer take the pacifier at night. Both of these unnerved us not knowing then how we would get him to go to sleep. As most kids do, Abbott figured it out.

The first way had to do with self soothing which he figured out by finding his thumb. I know you're thinking "so what, babies suck their thumbs all the time." Well not our kids. Neither Aidan or Asher sucked their thumbs and had paci's until they were 1, which is when we took them away. This is a whole new arena for us, and I wonder at what point and time do I need to remove Abbott's thumbs.

Self soothing with a little thumb action

The second way, coupled with the first, had to do with sleeping. When it is time to sleep, and he will let you know when he is tired, we rock him a little and then just lay him down. It's just that simple. If he cries we give him a little time, check on him, and if he's fine let him carry on. So now he sleeps better on a schedule and when he wakes up he is all smiles; a completely different kid. Some of you may subscribe to the 4th trimester theory, I know I do. The 4th trimester is the first 3 months after the baby is born where it is all about physiological needs. Sleeping, feeding, and changing is all there is to their life. But once they hit the 3 to 4 month age they move from those physical needs to also having social needs. They react more to your voice, they smile when your eyes lock, they develop more of a personality. Abbott has finally hit that point.

So Happy 4 month Birthday little boy. You have two parents and two siblings that are head over heels for you.

BFFs

I think they are starting to like each other a bit more...

The Park

Beautiful day - we decided to take a trip to our neighborhood park.

King of the park
I don't think she ever takes a bad picture...

Our neighbor from the old house, Angelina. The kids love her!

Abbott was a big fan of the swing!

He gave LOTS of smiles and laughs to big brother. :)

Bobcat Badge

Aidan earned his first badge in Tiger Scouts - the Bobcat Badge. He was very excited. I'll have to say, he was the cutest cub scout in the group too.

Sissy love. And I love that smile with his missing front tooth!

He's always such a good boy. :)

Getting his first badge.

His Bobcat paw print.

Aidan with his new badge and his handsome Daddy.

His best friend and fellow Tiger Scout Kyan.

Drinking Bobcat pee (aka- yellow Gatorade).

They did a tribal dance during the Pack Meeting.

Big changes for Abbott!!

Big changes here for Abbott this week. After really never loving his pacifier like his brother or sister, he has decided to completely stop using it altogether. We feel like we've been trying to get him to like it for awhile now, knowing it's our golden ticket to calming him down and getting him to sleep, but he wants no part of that anymore. And after really not seeming to happy to be swaddled and it really not calming him down at all anymore, we stopped swaddling too. But - it is all working out great because... he found his thumb! And he is doing a fantastic job of putting himself to sleep these days. And looks insanely cute doing so. We are super happy that little man figured out what worked for him and we are all sleeping better for it!! I guess we have mixed feelings about no paci, knowing we can't take his thumb away when we are ready for him to be done, but it was what he wanted and he let us know that! :) He is also really "playing" with his toys - batting them and reaching for them. And giving tons of smiles and coos. And rolling over while sleeping from tummy to back. Whoo - a whole lot of change!! Love him.

Lego Time

When I was at the Women's Retreat, Jake came over and he, Matt, and Aidan put together Jake's new Lego set - a VW Bus. They stayed up until midnight. :)

It Finally Rained

We have finally gotten a little rain. Not much, but enough that the kids made it outside and got a little wet before it stopped. After about 90+ days of over 100 temps, no rain for about 3 months, and not a lot of days when we could play outside this summer, the kids were ecstatic when they heard raindrops and immediately headed outside!

Ashy turns 4!!

More pictures later - but wanted to post of picture of my beautiful daughter on her 4th birthday, Abbott when he turned 3 months, and Aidan on his half birthday.

Asher - 4 years
Asher's favorites:

favorite color - purple and pink
TV show - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Food - cheese, sushi, chips
Toys - princesses
Best Friend - Aidan
Movie - Snow White
Favorite thing to do outside - Ride my scooter

She loves her brothers so much!! She prefers cereal to pancakes any day. She is learning more and more when we do "school" and usually sits really well and pays attention. She is a great helper and a great sleeper. When I lay her down for a nap she never complains, although lately if she doesn't fall asleep she pops up after about 5 minutes and says she napped and is awake now! I usually let her stay up because she isn't usually grouchy. :) She takes a lot longer than Aidan to fall asleep at night. She needs lots of hugs and kisses, back scratches, and wants us to come in and say goodnight "one more time." She has the most beautiful hair that she still lets me do, although I don't think she likes me to do it as much now. She prefers to wear dresses to anything else. Her favorite princess is Aurora. She had her first sleepover at Miss Jada's house and did great!! She is a joy and sweetheart and blesses our lives every day!!

Abbott - 3 months

Abbott is now giving TONS of smiles. He is sleeping much better and is on a fairly decent schedule. He usually gets up around 8 and eats. Naps around 9 or 9:30, eats at 11, naps around 12 or 12:30, eats at 2, naps around 3:30, eats around 5ish, then takes a short nap in the evening after this, eats around 8, and is in bed usually by 9ish. He is getting up at least once in the night, but some nights it's more... all in all we have seen BIG improvements in sleeping since getting him on a schedule. He loves to grab his binky or stuffed animals and hug them when we put them on him. He still doesn't seem to love his paci all that much. We give it to him but he can't really keep it in his mouth by himself yet. He talks and coos a lot and has the cutest little dimple. He LOVES his brother and sister so much!! He fits best in 3-6 or 6-9 clothes. 0-3 are getting too small now. He takes bottles great and even spent his first night away from Mommy while I was at a church retreat. He took the bottles great and even had his brother and Sissy feed him. He's not a big fan of tummy time still, will sit in his swing for just a short time, and prefers his bouncy seat to most other things. He LOVES staring at the ceiling fans like his Sissy. He is holding his head up pretty good so his brother and sister really enjoy holding him a lot. He is so joyful and cute when when smiles at us!!! He still has his fussy times, but we are learning what they mean now. He still pretty much hates being in the car and usually cries most of the time although it seems to be getting a little better. He likes one song by the Wreckers and when we play that really loud it seems to help. He still loves his bath and seems to enjoy walks now that it is nicer outside.

Aidan and Daddy - looking more alike every day! 6 1/2 years

October marks Aidan's 6 1/2 birthday! Stop growing up son! He is now in first grade, reads really well, and his teacher tells us he gets along great with others and is a good role model. He gets good behavior marks every day. He also loves to ride his bike to school and is working on learning to ride without training wheels. He is a great big brother and the first thing he likes to do when he gets home is play with his sister. He is a Tiger Scout and wants to try playing Tennis, although we may wait a little bit on that. He falls asleep within a minute or two of laying down at night. He is great at singing and says it is his "talent". His best friend at school is Kyan. He loves Legos, Bakugans, and Hot Wheels. He loves the color red. He also loves cereal for breakfast over anything else, loves Chinese food, and hates cheese. He is a sweet little boy, a great big brother, and a fantastic son.

I love you kiddies!!! I can't believe I get to be your Mommy! xoxox And please stop growing up!

Tiger Scout

We have a Tiger Scout Folks. And a SUPER handsome one. I am really looking forward to watching Aidan start this new chapter of his life following in the footsteps of his Daddy, Grandpa, and Uncles. I love the idea of him and Matt doing Scouts together.

Pumpkin Patch

The littles and I had a great time with my friend Kelly and her girls. It was a actually a very fun ride to Sweetberry Farms even though we were in the mini van for an hour with 2 4 year olds, a 3 month old, and a 9 month old! Between nursing, feeding the kids, changing diapers, getting the babies into their baby Bjorn's, loading up strollers, and trips to the potty, it was a busy but SUPER fun day! We did the mini maze, a hayride, and the girls did the train ride. We also picked out some pumpkins to bring back. Only wished Aidan and Daddy could have joined us!

The girls in the mini maze

Needed a hat to protect Abbott's head from getting sunburned. This one was Aidan's and it was way to big but still super cute!

Caught this cute little pose. :)



Two of my little pumpkins

All in orange. :)

Love his feet!

Hannah and Asher

She loved feeding the goats...

And the horses.

Melts my heart.

Up on the haystack.

Major Cutie

Major Cutie reporting for duty....

Express Game

With the incredibly hot summer, we have had pretty much no interest in going to a baseball game. We decided to go to the last regular game of the season as a fun night with the family before school started. It actually ended up being really fun and not to hot! It helped we were able to hang out in the Intel club to keep Abbott cool for his first baseball game and even sat in one of the suites for awhile. We were worried about Abbot being hot, but I think we were all cooler than expected! It was a lot of fun and the kids even ran the bases with Daddy at the end of the game! A great time!

Train time before the game.

Aidan and Spike. Ash wouldn't take any pictures with the mascots. :)

The tooth from Carus Dental. How fitting that Aidan had just lost his teeth!! He was so excited to see the tooth!

Hook 'Em!

The sky doesn't even look real.

Abbott enjoying the game with Mommy.

Daddy and some cuties.

Pops and Zach

Looking pretty cozy for his first ever baseball game.

Great view!

2 tired but very happy kiddos after the game.

A great night of family fun!