Eli is 5!

My Eli turned 5 this month.  I can't believe he's already 5!  He makes me laugh all the time and I love his caring heart.  He's always concerned for others and does his best to be good.  Whenever he makes a wrong choice it brings him to tears and asks if I will forgive him (of course I do).  Eli is still obsessed with asking Jesus to teach him how to "make his feet float on water".  He prays for it everyday and is always asking me facts about Jesus, like how old he is.  Every now and then he'll tell me, "Mom, how come Jesus hasn't come yet?".  I just tell him to have patience.  Eli likes to have fun too.  If he had his way he would play with toys or play outside all day, everyday (just make sure you add in snacks and he's good).  Another thing Eli loves is school.  Danny always gets a kick out of Eli and his teacher Mrs. Shipp because they are best buds.  Although Eli is fun loving he can get upset at times.  For example, Saturday was Kathy's birthday and we all enjoyed some birthday cake.  We took the leftovers home to have another piece on Sunday after dinner.  All of the kids enjoyed their piece and there was only a small square left so I had Bobby throw it away that night.  When Eli woke up the next morning he was looking for the cake because he wanted another piece.  I told him that it was all gone because we all finished it the night before.  He answered, "No!  You ate it all!  You ate it all while I was sleeping!".  I'm still laughing.  I just love him.  He's a lot of fun and brings a lot of happiness to our home.

Snapshot of Eli at 5:
47 pounds
45 inches tall
Favorite movie: Hotel Transylvania
Favorite book: Ninja turtles
Favorite toy: Batman
Favorite food: broccoli (I was surprised)

Pics

I finally downloaded all the pictures from my iphone.  I just love to look back through the pictures and remember fun moments.  Here are some of my favorites:

 Eli used to make this face for every picture

 Best day at the park ever...

 La Jolla

 Summer Soccer Camp

 Lego time

 After swimming lessons-Cade wishing he could sit with the big boys.

 Fishing at Nana and Papa's

 Nolan reading to Cade

USA Women's soccer game.

Lots of fun memories!

Try, Try Again...

Well, I know I said I was going to do better, but I didn't; so I'm going to try again.  I can't believe how quickly time flies.  I logged into my account and couldn't believe how little my kids looked!!  They've grown up so much and I feel like I don't keep up with documenting all of the fun and exciting things that happen to them.  I love being able to spend so much time with them and I don't want to forget all of the great memories.  I mean, let's face it-I'm gonna get old and forget.  That makes me a little sad so I am going to try to do better.  Here's an update on each of my boys:


Nolan-He's 7 now and is halfway through his first grade year.  He is obsessed with soccer.  I think we have about 25 soccer balls around the house-I wish I was joking!  If he isn't doing school work he's watching, practicing or thinking about soccer.  He's an amazing student and has read over 250 books for his AR!!  I'm amazed at his ability to comprehend.  He has good friends at school and his teacher says he's a natural leader that leads by example.  Nothing could make me happier.  He's a GREAT big brother.  He's so patient, kind and generous with his brothers.  He especially likes to play with Cade because he thinks he's so funny.  I just love seeing them together.  Nolan is a good brother to Eli too.  When he thinks I'm not listening, he gives Eli good advice and tells him how to navigate through school.  Another thing Nolan loves to do is give me a hard time about his hair....ugh.  He really wants a mohawk like a famous Brazilian soccer player, Neymar.  He and I have gone round and round about how his hair should look.  We have made an agreement that for school I get to do it and when there isn't school, he is free to choose.  Let's just say we've gone through A LOT of gel.  Who would have thought I could have such a problem with my boy and his hair.  I guess we all have things we like...at least he is a good boy, so I'm grateful.


Eli-Now 4-almost 5-is full of love and fun.  He's always saying "Mom, I love you", unprompted and when I least expect it.  Eli started Pre-K this year and is going to school all day, 5 days a week.  He loves going and enjoys playing with his friends.  He is still going to speech therapy, but I think he's getting a lot clearer.  It's been a long road, but I know Eli is a lot happier.  Eli also enjoys playing soccer and he is going to give baseball a try this season.  Eli is a sweet boy and makes friends wherever he goes.  Bobby and I always get a kick out of him because he's never hesitant to approach someone, but I have had to teach him to ask first.  Eli is our go-to kid to say the prayer.  Recently, he was getting into the bath and asked if his feet could float on water like Jesus'.  I told him no that only Jesus could do it because he is perfect.  Then, with all the faith in the world, he kneeled in the corner of the bath and prayed that Jesus would come down and teach him to make his feet float on the water.  Then he said "Amen", and looked up to see if Jesus was coming down at that very second.  To his disappointment he didn't but Eli is still praying for that every night.  He's very funny and I LOVE to hear him laugh.

Cade-2-Is so cute and fun.  He has brought so much laughter to our home.  He makes me laugh everyday.  He wants to be a big boy, except he doesn't want to go to school.  He loves his time at home with me, and I love having some one-on-one time with him too.  Whenever the older boys have had a long weekend the first day they go back to school Cade likes to cuddle up and sit with me for a while.  I just love it.  He loves to watch sports and play sports too.  I was at a loss as to what to get him for Christmas because we already have a soccer ball-well more than one-and a football.  I was able to come up with a few things, but it wasn't easy.  Cade still loves his paci.  It's so funny when he tells me "Ma-I want my paci in my mouth".  Maybe one reason I haven't been very diligent about doing my blog is the fact that Cade was collicky until he was 8 months old.  Only within the last year have I felt like we were getting our lives back to normal.  It was a difficult time, but Cade is worth it.  We have barely started working on potty training, but I'm not to worried about it for now.  My thing is to wait until they are 3.  It's just easier for me.

Bobby is keeping busy with work and triathlons.  He LOVES taking the boys to soccer and seeing them have a good time playing sports.  It seems like we are always at practice or a game, but it's so much fun for all of us.  Yes, we still have 2 schnauzers, who I have nominated for the most annoying dogs in the world, but we'll keep them:P.  They do make me feel better when Bobby is out of town so I guess that's how they earn their keep.

Here's to hoping I can keep up this year!  (At least I got one really good post in, right?)

School Days!

After enjoying a wonderful summer the boys were ready to start school, and I was definitely ready too! Nolan started his Kindergarten year at Yuma Lutheran. He was so excited! He was ready to see his friends from last year and no longer be in the Pre-K class. This year his teacher is Mrs. Pendleton. She is a seasoned professional and was excited to have a good boy like Nolan in her class. I'm excited to see Nolan grow!

Eli started another year of preschool at the Treehouse. Eli loves the Treehouse and wanted to go to school just like his big brother. This year Eli has Mrs. Lisa as his teacher. We know Mrs. Lisa from church so we were excited to hear that she would be his teacher at school. Everyday Eli asks to go to school, but for now he is going twice a week. This year he is also eating his lunch at school, which he really enjoys! I'm looking forward to this year being a big year for Eli!

Triathalons!

Bobby has started doing triathlons and is actually pretty good at it. He has a lot of fun training and racing-which is good because Bobby needed a good stress reliever. Bobby's Dad, Danny, goes with Bobby to all of his races. It's a lot easier than having me go because I'm no help with the kids around. I never realized how intense triathlons are, but racing requires quite a bit of equipment! It takes a lot, but it's definitely worth it for Bobby to relieve some stress!

Brothers Gotta Hug!

It's funny have three boys! They're each so different and have wonderful things about them.

Nolan is so smart! He amazes me everyday with the things he says and thinks of. He's in Pre-K this year and has started reading already! He can also count to 100 and more all by himself. I am so very proud! Nolan also loves to play basketball, baseball and soccer. Nolan could spend all afternoon playing basketball in the backyard. I love to see him having fun. He's also become quite the friendly kid at school. He has lots of friends and is a great big brother. I love to see him make the boys laugh. Of course, Nolan and Eli have their moments, but what siblings don't?

Eli is such a funny boy! He loves to have fun and play. Bobby always laughs because wherever there is fun, Eli will find his way there. He loves school and nursery. It makes me laugh because he just runs right in and sometimes he doesn't want me to take him home. Eli's absolute most favorite thing in the whole world is sea life! He loves Sea World and asks to go back every week. The last time we went I didn't think we were going to get him out of the the sting ray tank. He loves sharks and his favorite toy, Sharky, goes with him everywhere. Eli can be very persistent and stubborn, but that's part of the Eli package.:)

Cade smiles more than any other baby I have ever seen. He loves Nolan and Eli so much! Cade is very curious. He's learning how to wave and crawl. I've caught him standing up in his crib a few times and I am not ready for that yet. I hope he keeps crawling for a little while longer. Cade isn't the best night sleeper quite yet. We are still working on that. Hopefully soon he will learn to love sleeping at night as much as I do.:)

First Tooth Lost!

Nolan lost his first tooth! It had been loose for quite a while but we couldn't quite wiggle it out. One morning while he was eating his egg sandwich-out it came! At first I thought he had swallowed it, but luckily he didn't. The Toothfairy brought him a dollar so he was one happy boy.

T&A And BMT

In other words: tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and ear tubes! Poor Eli had to have these three procedures done this month. Apparently he couldn't hear very well. I had no idea. I also learned that he had sleep apnea and of course he was always a heavy breather. So, after a trip to the Ear Nose and Throat Dr., we got Eli all scheduled.

We got to the hospital early in the morning. Eli wouldn't take the medicine that relaxes you before getting the anesthesia. The anesthetist was a little nervous, but 45 minutes later Eli was done. He made it through the surgery very well, but it was really sad to see him lying there and crying because he was in pain. While we were in recovery he threw up mucus slime that was so terribly disgusting! During all of Eli's little colds his drainage was going down into his lungs so he was getting rid of all that junk. Poor guy! We were able to go home after an hour.

Recovery was very grueling for the first week. The hydrocodone they gave him for pain was making him throw up so we got rid of that and just stuck with tylenol. Eli isn't a very good medicine taker so that fight was very difficult. Once he was able to eat soft foods I mixed it in with applesauce or yogurt. Thank goodness for that! After we got that squared away recovery was much better-minus the extremely stinky breath!!!! It was terrible!!!!

So, now Eli can hear, breathe, and eat much better. I'm glad we made it through!

Cade William

I guess we can start with the biggest change in our family...A new baby! Cade William was born on August 15, 2010. He was my biggest baby at 8 lbs and 7 oz. His delivery was definitely the easiest. I woke up at 5:30 with small contractions. Bobby decided he'd better not go on a bike ride and stay put in case my contractions increased. And boy did they! The boys had broken our camera a few weeks earlier and we had put of buying another one. So as my contractions continued Bobby called his Mom to come over and he ran to Wal-Mart to get a camera. He took forever! Finally he made it home and Kathy came over to watch the boys. We got to the hospital at about 8:30 and I was already an 8-9. I couldn't believe it! I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to get the epidural but I was able to get it. Whew!

At 11:00 Cade was born. It was a very easy delivery! When he first came all I could think was that he looked just like Bobby. He also looked so little to me, but the nurse let me know he was a big baby when she told me how much he weighed. I couldn't believe it. He was even a week and a half early! He's been a stinker here and there but we love him a lot, especially since he's grown out of his colic. He loves his brothers and loves to smile. I love that boy!

Way Behind..

I am really behind, but I'm going to attempt to catch up on the last bit. Wish me luck!

Favorite Sayings

Nolan is such a funny boy!  He says some of the funniest things.  Here is a list of some of my favorite phrases:

1.  "Okay, but not today"

2.  "Umm...I guess so"

3.  "Baby brother, you're so gooey, gooey, gooey."

4.  "This looks pretty nice".

5.  "Just one more minute".

6.  "Daddy says I can...".

7.  "The clock says..."

8.  "Umm..how 'bout no".

9.  "I don't love you, I love Daddy".

10.  "Baby brother I just love you".

I Don't Want To Go To School

Nolan is getting ready to start preschool at the TreeHouse so in order to get him used to going to school I've been taking him once a week for a couple of hours.  If you know Nolan you know he is pretty shy and new things are not always his favorite.  So this has been a big step for him.  Of course he cries when I drop him off, but once he's there he does fine.  Since he's been going he insists that I read Llama Llama Misses Mama.  In the book the little llama is shy and misses his mama.  Whenever I read the part about being shy Nolan says "I'm shy too".  I think he can really relate to the llama.  At the end of course the mama comes back and the llama loves school.  After we finish he always tells me "You always come back for me, Kitty".  He's doing really good at the TreeHouse and I know he's starting to feel more comfortable.  Luckily the people there are really great and have REALLY helped Nolan feel welcome.  I do love the TreeHouse!(I hope I can receive a promotional discount:))  But seriously, it has been a great experience for us.  

Happy Birthday Nolan

Nolan is now a 4 year old! This last year has been a really great one for Nolan. He has grown and changed so much and I'm so proud of him! He's a wonderful boy who remembers everything! He's a great brother to Eli and has been so much fun. We started the day by going swimming at Aunt Vivian's house. We had lots of fun and then headed to watch Ice Age 3-which he has been waiting to watch since he saw the cardboard cut out at the movies last year! After the movie we headed back for pizza and Ice Age cake. Nolan was so excited and had so much fun opening his presents. We then headed off to the fairgrounds to watch fireworks.  We happened to show up just as the demolition derby was starting which was very interesting.  Once the derby was finished they had some pretty good fireworks.  After all was said and done Nolan came over to me, gave me a big hug and said "Thanks for my birthday". What a good boy. I love you Nolan!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I love my boys!  They are so funny especially when they are together.  Nolan always tells me "I love my baby brother.  He's so gooey!".  Eli has really been getting into rough housing with Nolan.  It's so hilarious to see Eli tackle Nolan and if I tell Eli to stop Nolan always assures me that it's okay.  I love watching them become friends.

Bear Foot

The other day I asked Nolan to put on his shoes and the conversation went as follows:

Me: Nolan can you please put on your shoes?

N: No.  I want to keep my feet open.

Me:  Oh, you mean barefoot.

N:  I don't have bear feet!  I have boy feet!

All I could do was laugh:)

Time is Flying!

Eli loved watching the chickens.
Shadow the wolf
Madison and Eli

ready to go

Eli's ready too
Nolan's favorite
Before the rides
Had to get the hat!

It seems like time has been flying by!  I just can't believe it.  We went to Disneyland and it was one of the best trips ever!  We had a great time.  Danny and Kathy came with us which was great to have some extra help.  Nolan's mission the entire time was spend as much time with Goofy as possible.  We got to see him before we got into Disneyland at our hotel.  Nolan was so happy he could hardly contain himself.  It was so much fun to watch him!

We enjoyed lots of rides and Nolan even got to participate in the parade.  It was so cute!  One night Bobby and Danny went to ESPN Zone and the other night I forced Kathy to go on the "big kid" rides.  It was hilarious.  I laughed so hard I could hardly concentrate on the ride.  On the last day we were there we also had breakfast with Goofy.  It was so worth it.  Nolan had so much fun-but I don't think he ate very much.  Then we headed off to California adventure.  I had never been there before so that was a lot of fun.  The kids loved the Playhouse Disney play and my favorite was Monsters Inc.  So cute.  I was sad that we didn't make it over to Toy Story, but we did see the Brother Bear show so that was fun.  Nolan was so tired at that point he could hardly make his way back to the car.  Now every time someone says California he immediately responds by letting me know that he wants to go back to Goofy's house and see Mickey Mouse too.  We are definitely going back next year!

My sister Ashley came to visit with her little girl, Madison.  Nolan was so excited that his cousin got to sleep and play at our house!  He told me repeatedly how cute she is.  It was really funny.  Whenever I say goodbye to my family I always shed a tear or two-but as she drove away I felt a little homesick.  So the following day I packed up my kids and drove up to Snowflake.  This trip up was SO much better than the last time we went up, so I was grateful for that. When we got up there it was so fun to see my family's face.  They had no idea we were coming.  We had a great time just being with them.  I think it's a great place for my kids.  There are animals, fruit trees, vegetables growing, a pond where you can feed the fish and tons of space to run and play.  Not to mention a wolf lives there-also known as Shadow, my parents' Queensland heeler.  Nolan loved it up there.

Things were going great until Thursday when Eli started throwing up in the car on our way to feed some mini horses.  He didn't stop and I had to take him into the hospital.  When I told Nolan that we were going to have to take Eli to the doctor he said, "Oh no Kitty.  I'm so sad.  What can we do to make him better?".  This was my first time going to the emergency room.  It was a little scary at first but as the night wore on Eli started to get a little better.  Of course Nolan came with me and I was surprised at how determined he was to not fall asleep in the hospital.  He was pretty good while we waited.  Finally at 3:00 we were able to go home.  On Friday Eli didn't throw up anymore but he had a terrible fever.  Finally I was able to get it down, but that night Nolan told me he had a stomach ache too.  I had a hard time believing him at first because he often tells me that when he doesn't want to do something-like brush his teeth.  So I told him to come and get in bed with me.  10 minutes later he was throwing up.  I was pretty much up all night with both of the kids trying to get them through this terrible flu.  The next morning Nolan seemed to be through the worst of it, but Eli still looked a little under the weather.  I decided to drive home figuring that Eli would sleep the majority of the way and prayed his fever wouldn't come back.  So we made our journey home.  The kids are good travelers and did very well, until we got about an hour from home.  Eli had thrown up again.  I couldn't believe it.  After we got cleaned up we finished the drive home.

We were happy to get home, but that night Eli started again with a fever and throwing up.  He just couldn't get over the illness.  So on Sunday I took him back to Urgent Care.  The doctor opened his mouth and saw that his tonsils were swollen and his throat was also swollen and red.  He diagnosed him with a sinus, tonsil and nose infection.  So after getting some antibiotics Eli is finally on the mend.  Yeah!

So now we are on our way to some more great summer adventures.  Swimming lessons (hilarious), cooking class, going back to Snowflake, San Diego and Nolan's birthday...It should be lots of fun!

Gpa

Bobby's grandpa passed away last month.  We went to see him a week before he passed away and looked better than ever.  It was good because he got to see our kids one more time.  He was a funny guy with nine lives.  He lived through so many things and managed to keep going-it amazed me.  He lived through WWII and had some sort of bomb explode which required his stomach to be lined with sheep lining, several strokes, a broken neck (which he had to wear a halo) and an amputated leg.  He lived through a lot and was still able to keep a smile.  We have so many fun memories of Grandpa.  He will be missed.

A Little Behind

Well, I must say I'm a little behind on my posts....Maybe someday I'll be a little more on top of things.  It's been a crazy few weeks.  Bobby and I went up to Phoenix so he could run in a race.  It was the first time we had left town in almost a year.  I know-we're so sad.  Hopefully I can catch up in the next few posts...

Just Grow!

In Sunbeams-which Nolan really enjoys now, yeah!-his teachers gave him a little box and planted a seed.  For the past week or so Nolan has been watering it and we've been sure to keep it in the sun.  Unfortunately, our seed hasn't sprouted so the other day I asked Nolan, "Nolan, what does our plant need?".  I'm waiting for the response of sun or water, but he says, "it needs to grow".  I laughed so hard.  How true is that?  

On a side note of funny things Nolan has said...Eli kept getting into the DVDs, which normally isn't a problem but he was opening them and trying to take out the disc.  I had repeatedly caught Eli and would tell him no and try to give him something that was more interesting.  About the fourth time of me moving Eli away from the cabinet Nolan tells me, "Kitty, just put Eli in his cage".  So hilarious.  I don't really put Eli in a cage, but that's what Nolan calls the play pen.  It's so funny how simple solutions are for kids.  Oh to be a kid again.

Happy Birthday Eli!

Learning how to walk-Yeah!
Getting into the wipes.
First Birthday Cake!
He loves to wear hats.
He also loves the toilet water.  Thanks Nolan for keeping him out:)
He loves to get into cupboards.
A little rough housing with his brother-yes Eli started it.

Eli turned one this month!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone by.  It seems like time goes by so fast.  Eli has definitely brought fun and happiness to our home.  I remember a couple of hours after I had Eli I just had an overwhelming feeling of joy.  I wondered if that was normal, or just the epidural wearing off, but now that I've gotten to know Eli I know it was because I was so happy to have him a part of my life.  He is so much fun and laughs all the time-I can relate!  He's a good little boy who can really hold his own with his brother.  I am so thankful for Eli.  I know that having a brother has been the best thing for Nolan.  When I went to the hospital I was so sad because I was convinced I was ruining Nolan's life.  Nolan wasn't going to be the only one I loved and I felt so guilty, but now that Eli is here I wouldn't have it any other way.  Eli has brought so much fun to our house.  He thinks Nolan is so funny-even when I'm sure Eli will cry because Nolan wants to wrestle him, he laughs.  I love every second of it.  It makes me so happy to see them together and I pray they will always be friends.

Eli is a lot of fun, but also very curious and HUNGRY!  If you have something-he wants it.  If you're eating something, he wants a bite-I take that back, he wants the whole thing!  The only thing I've ever seen him turn down is ice cream (that is not my gene).  He's so much fun to watch when he finds something he's interested.  My favorite thing is to watch him study a page on a book-he's so intent.  As my mom says, "you can tell the lights are on".  He's very smart and of course so handsome!  I love the look on his face when I pick him up from behind and he looks back to see who it is and smiles.  When he looks at me like that it's almost like he's saying "Oh it's you.  I'm so glad it's you."  I love his hair, his dark eyes (Nolan says they're black), his sweet smile and laugh, and his ability to make everyone feel so happy to be around him.  I love him so much and I'm so excited to see what life holds for him.