rough couple of months

So I wanted to do a quick post so that people don't think I disappeared off the face of the earth or something. Sorry about the lack of posts, I'm sure you've all been beside yourselves because I haven't posted lately! As many of you know I had a miscarriage in July and then we finished out summer and things got crazy getting Parker ready for Kindergarten. This past week Kaden got the flu (complete with throwing up all over my bed at 2 am) and then all three kiddos got the cough/cold nasty nose combo. To top it all off I had another miscarriage and had to go in for another little fun surgery on Saturday and so things are a little nuts around here. I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and tasty treats! We have felt very blessed and I must say I have the best Husband in the world. He has been amazing as well as my family - I am so glad we get to live here so close to everyone I don't know what we would do without thier love and support.
As rough as things have been, there is some exciting things going on as well. This Thursday I take off with my Mother in law and my Mom and sister and aunts and grams for a two day trip in Disney world and then a fabulous 7 night western carribean cruise. I am excited and I think it will be just the break we all need! Once again kudos to the Husband for taking on 10 days of kiddos with no help from me! What a guy!

Kaden Henry

This is our Kaden "Hengry" as Parker calls him! He is hilarious. Sometimes a little too funny for his own good. He has been having a rough time with life these past few days since his brother started kindergarten and the world has become such an unfair place. I was just sitting here thinking about him and decided I would do a little post so that later on when he looks through the books of these things he will know that I was thinking of him. Kaden had a rough start from the beginning, he was born at 35 weeks and I only held him for a second before they took him to the NICU. It was so hard not having him right there by me to hold and get to know. I pretty much camped out in there for the next two weeks though - thanks to the most amazing mom who came to stay with Parker (who was just 16 months old). I remember holding him with all of his tubes and sensors and worrying at every noise - but he was still just the cutest thing. He would always try to pull the tubes out of his nose and throat and I should have seen right there what a go getter he was. He is now a VIBRANT almost 4 year old and you would never know what a tiny little thing he started out as! He is so funny always making us laugh and I marvel daily at how smart he is. He loves his brother and sister and loves to annoy them too! Right now my favorite things about Kaden are in no practicular order
His teeth (see photo below... can you say orthodontist?)
the way he talks (mom, Bwin keeps twying to pway wiff my stuff!)
the fact that he is still a snuggle bug when he first wakes up from his nap.
I am so blessed to have these crazy kiddos and I thank Heavenly Father everyday for this little Kookoo bird - as we call him. He really is a "wild and crazy guy!"

check out those chompers!

He hearts my ipod too!

this picture makes me laugh my head off!

Motherhood

I'm feeling like a little bit of a failure tonight. I finally figured out why Parker was being so weird about the whole school thing, he finally told me that he gets nervous because he can't "do his letters." I feel so bad. We have worked on his letters and we read every night, but he still has a hard time recognizing letters (especially the ones not in his name!) He can spell his name but is having a really tough time writing it and he gets frustrated so quickly when I try to sit down and practice with him that now I don't know what to do. They are working on the letter M this week and so we worked on his homework tonight and he does great coloring in all the pictures that start with M but when it comes time to write it, unless he's really focusing, it's a mess. And if I try to help at all or correct at all he just puts his face in his hand and says "aahhhhhh I just can't do this" I am looking ahead to what I am thinking may be a long kindergarten year.... and I can't even think about after that. I feel bad because I don't want him to be frusterated and I feel like I let him down or maybe we didn't work on it enough, then I think - he's just a barely 5 year old boy and it will come with time....anybody wanna back me up on this?

Also I found these pictures I took of the kids at the park a couple of weeks ago... makes me think of the future... they were driving the jeep at the park....scary right?

Brin in the drivers seat....


I don't know what frightens me most, Brin driving or Kaden hanging halfway out of the car!

The world is right again.

So things are slowly getting back to normal. Parker is a real Kindergarten loving kid and yesterday I was dancing to some music in the family room with the kids and he threw his head back and was laughing and said "mom you're funny." So I took a deep breath and thought, even if I do embarrass him beyond belief the older he gets, at least I'll always be funny. That's enough for me! Kaden is BESIDE himself with how unfair life is and has taken up quite the career in whining, so we are relishing that. Brin is her usual sassy self and is experimenting with pushing the whiner around now that she doesn't have Parker watching her every move. I am trying to get my house in order and things ready to go for my one cruise that is coming up in 2 weeks! I can't believe it. Anyways, thats the update!

wow

Apparently once you start Kindergarten your mother becomes the most ANNOYING person in the entire universe. Here is how things went yesterday after I picked up Parker from school:

Me: "Hi bud how did it go did you have so much fun?" (waiting for the gush of info that I thought would obviously come rushing out of his mouth)
Parker: yep
Me: what did you do
Parker: just stuff
Me: tell me about your day did you love it?
Parker: it was fine.

Later that day his cousin Halle called and asked to speak to parker
Me: Parker the phone is for you it's Halle
Parker: oh thanks - "Hey Halle ... Yep I went to school...I did good
(I can hear her asking him something)

Parker looks back at me in the kitchen out of the corner of his eye and then takes the phone and walks down the hall to his room and closes the door! HELLO! What all of the sudden he's 20?
I followed down the hall and listened and I hear this:
Parker: "yeah I was just a weensy bit nervous ... like you know what I mean?" (what???)
since when does he say "you know what I mean?"

After he gets off the phone with Halle I go back to making dinner and he is watching PBS and I ask him:
Me: "so what did you talk to Halle about?"
Parker (not even looking up from the TV "just school stuff - it wasn't anything about you."

Need I say more? Apparently I have become the epitome of uncool....
Then this morning I decided we needed to have a chat about him being a little more respectful of his dear ol' mother and he put his face down on his bed and said
"mom, this is not working for me."

WOW... this is all I can say WOW.
the end.

A weensy bit nervous.

So today was Parker boy's first day of Kindergarten! The PM kind of course. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. After breakfast he was ready to go except we still had 5 hours until it was time...yikes. Danny gave him a blessing before he left for work and Parker was soooooo blasted cute. I asked him if he was excited and he said..."yeah" and then he came over to me and told me in my ear that he was "just a weensy bit nervous". He got all dressed right down to his "uncle Dustin" shoes and put on his batman back pack and off we went. His teacher is very nice and I think she will be great for Parker. I went to leave and he looked a really weensy bit nervous for just a second but he was doing great by the time I rounded the doorway! Great job Parker! Talk about deja vu' Parker's Kindergarten classroom is the exact same classroom I was in for my first day at Broadview also - QUITE a few years ago! too weird.