Are you comfortable?!?

I walked into the boy's room to find this...

It looks like Aiden had a rough night and I am sure his legs were tired!

Look what Izzy can do!

Sister can hold her own bottle!  She learned at the perfect time- a long car ride home.  My baby is growing up! {Sigh}

Another one bites the dust...

Aiden had another food challenge today and he is no longer allergic to eggs!  His list of allergies keeps dwindling and now consists of poultry.  I pray one day he will no longer be allergic to poultry as well.  Poor kid would love to try a chicken nugget!

Aiden's Allergy update

Wednesday, Aiden had a 1/2 day food challenge with peanuts.  Every 15 minutes he was given a small bite of peanut butter to see if he would have a reaction. 
We are happy to report... Aiden is no longer allergic to peanuts.  He can now enjoy true peanut butter and fluff sandwiches!  No more soy butter in his future.
Next week, he has another 1/2 challenge to test eggs.  Hopefully, we can mark this off his list as well.  Slowly his list of food allergies is getting smaller and we pray that continues!

Isabelle's birthday present...

She didn't like it at all...

Shots and a CBC (blood work).  It is time to check her thyroid and blood counts. 
She is growing well and the doctor thinks she is really tall for her age.  Official one year stats:  16lbs 2 1/2 Oz, 28 3/4 in., 41cm (head).

No pictures please!  I am not happy with you right now.

Isabelle... Mommy is sorry for your lousy birthday present.  I promise to make it up to you at your party!

Wake up!!

The boys had a little help waking up this morning.  A little girl names Izzy. 

Mommy... Why won't he wake up?!?

After Aiden woke up, it was Ethan's turn...

Maybe a finger up his nose will get him to wake up!

It worked!

Happy 1 year

Isabelle Claire... today is your 1st birthday!  Can you believe it?!?  This year has flown by and sometimes I want to make time stand still.

What have you been up to??
*You are currently weighing in at 16 lbs 4 ozs.
*You are sitting unassisted and roll where ever you want to go.
*You love your stage 2 foods and are beginning to try some table food. 
*You jabber all the time and love to say- Dada, Mama, Nana (during your physical therapy sessions, you cry out for whoever is not there to help you... mostly Mama and Nana.)
*You are in physical and speech therapy 1x a week.  You are learning so much!
*You are a Daddy's girl right now and I am trying really hard not to be jealous.  It isn't working! 
and most of all... you love your brothers!!  Your face lights up the moment they walk into the room. 

I was so worried when I heard you had Down Syndrome but that little extra chromosome that worried me so does not define who you are and you are proving that to us each and every day.  Down Syndrome is a part of our lives now but it is only a smart part.  I wish I would have known then what I know now... you are my Isabelle and you are perfect!

What is that you say?!?  It's my birthday??

You can and will do everything you want to and you will have your family right beside you cheering you on.  We love you so much and are so blessed that you are in our lives!

Happy birthday little princess!

Weekend wrap up...

How would you like waking up to this cute little face?!?

Well... I love it! Even if it is a little too early some mornings.  She is one happy baby!

Brother/Sister love.  This warms my heart!  Aiden is unbelievable with Isabelle.  It took him a while to warm up to her (since she did take his spot as baby of the family) but this kid loves his sister!  He probably tells her he loves her and how beautiful she is about 100 times a day. 

We had a little visitor in our backyard this weekend.

He was pretty cute but he better stay away from our garden!  His little furry friend was in our neighbor's yard and I think I saw them huddled up later discussing their findings.  I am eager to see what our garden produces so I will be ready for them if they set their eyes on our veggies.  (not sure what I will do but don't test me!)
The boys were outside playing this weekend and we look out the window and see Aiden running down the street with Big Giant Monkey.  That was a sight to see!  I wonder what our neighbors thought about that?? He then returns to get him dressed.  I guess Big Giant Monkey is modest. 

Hard to see but he has Daddy's clothes on

Big Giant Monkey has seen better days.  I can't believe I tried to get rid of him when the boys (Ryan included) weren't looking.  He has been some great entertainment for our family.  He is just so darn big!

Gotta love some thighs and biscuits in the morning!  I think it might be time to put the bumper pads back on.  Sister is moving in her crib!

Love these girls...

I can't believe that in the month of May... Isabelle will be turning 1 and Mikayla will be turning 13 (today to be exact!).  Big years for these two girls!

Mother's day...

These 3 little rug rats have given me the most special title I could have every asked for... Mother.  I love these little guys more than words could say.  They are all so different and I am excited to see their relationship as siblings evolve. 
Each one of them has their own special personality which can test my patience but also teach me something new each and every day. They are helping me to grow and change as a person and a mother.  I have a long way to go but each day I am becoming more like the mother I choose to be.  Some days I take a few steps backwards but others I take leaps forward.

 Ethan:  You gave me the special title of Mother.  I had always dreamed of being a mother growing up and the night I sat in disbelief after seeing those pink lines, I knew my dreams were coming true.  You were the easiest pregnancy but you were very stubborn and wanted to enter the world in your own time.  This was just a glimpse of what was to come.  You like to do things in your way and in your own timing.
After a difficult delivery, our little toddler entered the world and we were now a family.  You taught us what true love meant and how to put someone elses needs before our own.
We are so blessed that you are our son.  You are smart, a great big brother and you make us laugh constantly.  You make Mommy and Daddy so happy!  We are so proud of you and love you so much!

Aiden:  We are so lucky you came in to our lives.  I had a brief meltdown when you weren't the girl we initially thought but now I can't imagine our lives without you. 
You are the life of the party, the class clown and keep us on our toes with your witty comments.  You can be ultra sensitive at times but also extremely loving.  I love your tender heart.  Mommy and Daddy love you so much and are extremely lucky that you are apart of our family.

To my little angel:  We weren't lucky enough to get to meet you but we will one day.  I learned a lot from you in our short time together.  I learned to trust God more instead of thinking I can be in control of everything.  We love you and you are not forgotten.

Isabelle:  Sister... you are loved!  This day is extra special because of you.  You gave me another title I wasn't expecting... Special Needs Mother.  But girl... we are rocking it.  I am learning each day to make the most of this life and live it to its fullest.  I am learning to not judge as much and to love with everything I have.  I am still learning to be more confident and not worry about what others think.  With a little time, I will get there.  You are perfect just as you are!  Mommy and Daddy love you with all our hearts and are so blessed to have you in our lives.

I feel so blessed to have each of you in my life.  I am excited to see each of you grow and mature but do me on thing... slow down a bit!  You all are growing up way too fast!!
Mommy loves you to the moon and back.

Speech therapy update

I was able to sit in on Isabelle's latest speech therapy since I took off work on Thursday for the boy's field day.  (Remind me not to take off on a Thursday again!  I had to keep reminding myself that I did actually have to go back to work the next day. Boo!)
We are very thankful that Mrs. M goes to the daycare to work with Isabelle every week.  I haven't been able to attend a session since Isabelle's first consultation.  So yesterday, was very important to me.   I was able to ask her some questions and I soaked up all the knowledge I could possible remember during our short session.  I am always eager to learn new exercises or anything more that we can do to help Isabelle.  I was probably told but I had forgotten that I need to be prepping Isabelle before each meal.  Now I know the exercises and techniques to help prepare her tongue and to strengthen her muscles.  So if you see me out and about with Izzy, don't think I am torturing her!  I am just working on her muscles and tone.
The past few months we have been worried about Isabelle and her bottle feeding.  She coughs through out the entire feeding.  I was beginning to wonder if she was aspirating and needed to have a swallow test.  At this point, we are going to keep a close eye on her and the swallow test might be in her future but for now, we are going to try a few different things first. 
Now is the time for us to introduce the cup.  I have already bought about 5 different kinds and she hasn't taken to any.  I recently bought a special bear straw cup that was recommended by many moms of babies with DS.  We are currently waiting for that to arrive via mail. 
Next new adventure is learning more sign language.  I went to a class last night for introductory sign language.  I am ready to start teaching Izzy so I am hoping she is ready to learn. 

Lots of homework but this little girl is worth it!

2012 Field Day

Both boys had their field day yesterday.  We had a great time and the weather was perfect. 

 Aiden was so excited since this was his first Field day- Kindergarten.

Attempting to pick up marbles with his toes.  

Time to get wet!

Ethan's turn...

Unlike when we were kids... they competed against their class and not the other classes.  After lunch, they competed in the tug of war and the relay race.  These two events are exciting since they do actually compete with the other classes.
I didn't realize at the time but when Ethan was in Kindergarten I took him to McDonald's for lunch and this started what is now known as the Field Day tradition.  Don't dare try and change this because it is a tradition!  Oh my... lesson learned. 
We headed back after lunch and this is what Aiden come out to the fields looking like...

I didn't have the heart to tell him that girls are really the only ones that do the ribbon on the sleeves.  Then I tried to get him to untuck his shirt and all I could manage was to at least get him to pull his shorts back down a bit so he didn't resemble Urkel.   What happened to him after I left his classroom?!?  At least, I can say that he is comfortable in his own skin.  No worries about confidence with this kid!

I missed Ethan's relay.  I guess I wasn't paying attention so I caught a picture of him resting. We all had a fun day together and this just means we are closer to summer!

Aiden's baseball party

Aiden finished up with his baseball season last Saturday.  A small cheer from Mommy could have been heard if you listened closely.  I love sports and the kids are having a blast but they sure do keep us busy.  I am not sure what I will do when I can actually go home after work and stay there.  I might be able to do a little house cleaning every once in a while.
After Aiden's game, we went to a park to celebrate and get trophies.

Another successful baseball season complete!

The latest happenings...

The kids have all been busy with projects at school (including Isabelle). 
Isabelle has been doing a lot of art projects at daycare.We love that they take pictures so we can feel like we aren't missing out.

Aiden finally brought home some art work.  I was quite impressed.

Ethan has been a busy bee as well.  All though his project sounded interesting, I am not too happy to have this lying around the house.

Ethan dissected Owl pellets aka Owl hair balls and this is what he found.  We have a small skull and claws.  You would have to ask Ethan what animals these came from.  He lost me shortly after he started describing everything.  This kid is smart!  Now he wants to keep his findings in his bag.  I am not sure where you store this kind of stuff but we have been trying to keep Aiden from coming in contact.  I almost lost my lunch so we know he would lose his.
Ethan gave me a nice surprise last week.  He came home and said that he had an early Mother's day gift for me.  He had saved up his points (good behavior) at school and bought me this necklace and bracelet.  Brings a tear to your eye, right?!?  But then he told me that there just wasn't anything in the treasure box that he wanted.  At least I was his second thought!

  I sure do love these kids.

Big boy

My little boy is growing up too fast!  He got a new set of braces today. 

Now he has braces on the top and bottom.  A spacer was put on the roof of his mouth during his first visit to the orthodontist and soon we will be given a key to start turning and widening his smile.  We thought we would be getting the key today so he was happy to leave minus the key.  It definitely sounds painful so I don't blame him.  We will make sure to have plenty of Tylenol to help ease his pain. 
He no longer looks like my little boy... he is growing up into a fine young man.

Good clean fun...

This weekend, we had to prepare the house for an important event... Owen's baby shower.  Owen is the newest nephew to be adopted into our family.  He is already loved by so many.
Friday night, we cleaned and cleaned.  Afterwards, as I was relaxing on the couch I thought to myself- we need to have more people over to the house more often.  Our house was so clean and everyone pitched in to help.  I liked it!!
Saturday was a busy day -of course, we started out at the baseball fields.

Princess Isabelle in the shade

Then it was back home to rest and get ready for the baby shower. 

Our house was full of family and friends all gathering to celebrate the arrival of Baby Owen. Isabelle is no longer the baby in the family but I think she is excited to have a younger cousin.  She thinks he is pretty cool even though he doesn't do too much.  

Ian copying Isabelle

She was worn out after the shower.  It is hard being "on" for 3 hours straight.

 Isabelle had a few wardrobe changes through out the day- thanks to a diaper mishap but she rocked each outfit along with her signature bows.

  The boys loved having everyone over because that meant their friends would be over as well.  This is about the only time that their toys actually come out of the closet. 

Sunday, we headed to church and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. 

This is how my little lady likes to ride around town.  We had a talk about lady like behavior as soon as we got home.

 Although we were busy, I love weekends spent with family and friends.