Happy Easter 2011

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend.  We sure did around here.  And we really didn't do anything fancy, which was exactly what this family needed.  After the last week, which we had something going on every single day. . . a weekend of rest was definitely what the Mommy ordered.

I didn't sleep to well last night, I was up until 3am.  So Jerry was in charge of hiding the Easter Eggs this morning when he got home.  I got the baskets set out before I went to bed, but I didn't have enough energy at 6am to hide the eggs.  Jerry did a great job hiding the Easter Eggs, not too hard and not too easy.

At 8:30, Chloe was the first one of the kids up.  And since she was chomping at the bit, Jerry went ahead and woke Jacob.  But the party couldn't start without Jaxen and I.  We were the last ones awake but definitely not by much.  By 9:30, the kids had found and opened everything and Jerry was headed to bed.

Since then Chloe and Jacob have colored and played and enjoyed a day together.  I am quite happy with them today.  Both of them got along pretty well, while Jaxen and I napped for a few hours.  But my nap was cut short when Jake got hungry.  So I made our annual Easter Egg Salad for lunch.  It was colorfully delicious! 

Now it's Sunday evening again and another week sits on the horizon.  Another crazy busy week that I'm not looking forward to.  I have a lot of Girl Scout Training this week on top of my work schedule and other weekly duties.  But once next Sunday rolls around, I will be done with my outdoor training.  Only thing left will be the Brownie Training I need for next year.

I've uploaded a lot of picture over the last couple of days, so if you haven't already head over to my picasa web album and take a peek.  https://picasaweb.google.com/dailyplanet04

Tooth Fairy's 1st visit...

Friday evening, Chloe reluctantly let Daddy and Uncle Bob pull her super loose tooth out while we were at Alex's house decorating Easter Eggs.  Of course, she was really scared so I started to bribe.  If you know my daughter, you know her weakness is Squinkies.  And that's what she wanted the Tooth Fairy to bring her, enough money to buy a set of Squinkies.

Of course, she's been warned that only the first tooth is worth $10!  The following teeth are only worth a dollar or two.  Besides the money, Chloe got an official certificate from the Tooth Fairy.  She was very proud of the certificate and it's already in her baby book!

While putting her certificate in her baby book, she and I both learn that the first tooth that she lost was in fact the first tooth that came in!  She loved finding out little facts about herself when she was a baby.

Now will someone please tell me what I am suppose to do with the tooth I collected from under her pillow?  I'm I suppose to save it or just toss it in the trash?!

Freeman Candy Hunt

My, my!  Have the kids grown?

Freeman Easter 2011 

Freeman Easter 2010

. . . I think it's safe to say that Jacob has!

Make-over

Wow, look at that!  My blog got a totally new look.  I sat down just to browse new backgrounds so I could change ours after Easter and with a couple clicks it was done!  I think I found my new background source, this 'upgrade' was super easy to do!  I hope you all enjoy it!! 

I'll be back later today for an Easter Update! So stay tuned...

Check-Up @ 4-months

Jaxen's doctor's appointment was this morning.  It was really nice to be able to spend the morning with my boys -- Jacob and Jaxen --  before I had to go to work.  Jaxen was a good and happy baby this morning, totally showing off to the doctor. . . that is until the shots!  Jaxen weighed in at 15 pounds 1 ounce (88%) and was 25.5 inches long (62%).  Which means my little 4-week early baby is totally caught up to other kids his age!  And at 4-months old he is only 4 ounces heavier and 1 inch longer than Chloe was at 4-months and 2 pounds 8 ounces lighter and 1/2 longer than Jacob was at 4-months. 

[Baby book notes: At 4-months: Chloe was 24.5 inches long & 14 pounds 14 ounces.  Jacob was 25 inches long & 17 pounds 9 ounces.  Jaxen is 25.5 inches long & 15 pounds 1 ounce.]

We were given the green light to start trying out infant cereal and stage 1 baby foods with Jax.  He's big enough and can sit with support now.  Now the fun begins. . . messy dinner times!  Also, Jaxen did very well with his shots.  He's running a low grade fever and wants to be cuddled a little bit more than normal.  But I'm totally okay with that!  I'll cuddle my littlest love bug all day long!! 

I finally asked the doctor about Jaxen's belly button.  I couldn't tell if anything was wrong with it, but it's always looks odd to me.  He doesn't seem to be bothered by it - but at times, his belly button looks swollen and bruised.  Come to find out, Jaxen has an umbilical hernia, which should go away on it's own.  Which some of you might know what that is, but I had to ask for further explanation.  And I will share it with you!  When his umbilical cord was cut and tied off, a part of his intestine got caught in his belly button area and was tied off with it.  So the bruising isn't because of his belly button, it's actually the color of the intestine.  Nothing to be concerned about and he said that it wasn't something that the delivery doctor did, it just kind of happens -- more often in baby boys -- Just something we have to watch, to make sure it goes away on it's own. 

And as most of you family have seen and probably commented on, Jax also doesn't like to use both sides of his neck.  He uses both sides but he prefers to look to the right all the time . . . which is making his head sit kinda tilted on his shoulders.  I thought it was because he is still small, so I left it alone.  But the doctor mentioned it this morning, he asked some questions and took note of his preferences.  But the doctor said not to worry.  He's not majorly concerned, Jaxen might grow out of it but it's definitely something to watch.  But in the worst case scenario, if he continues on this path eventually his muscles on the right side of his neck will shrink and he won't have the full range of motion that he should.  So between now and June (next appointment is at 6 months) we have to work with him and make him use the other side.  Otherwise, he'll have to wear a brace or do physical therapy to stretch the muscles.  Again, right now it's not worth worrying about to much -- Doctor stressed that to me!! -- Just something to watch.

And that was our appointment in a nut shell!  Jaxen's next appointment is at 6-months old - June 20th.

2-Week Calendar

We have a busy calendar the next couple of weeks. . . Not sure if I'm coming or going!

Monday, April 18th - Jaxen's 4-month check-up @ 9am

Tuesday, April 19th - Easter Egg Dying with the McCrea kids

Wednesday, April 20th - Girl Scouts @ 7pm

Thursday, April 21st - Girl Scout Earth Day Celebration @ Camp Reeder 6p-8p

Friday, April 22nd - Easter Egg Dying with the Barta's

Saturday, April 23rd - Freeman Easter Hunt @ the City Park

Sunday, April 24th - Easter!!

Monday, April 25th - Heidi has GS Camping 101 Training 6p-9p / Joanna's babysitting all three kids!

Tuesday, April 26th -

Wednesday, April 27th -

Thursday, April 28th - Heidi has GS Camping 102 Training 9a-4p / PAYDAY

Friday, April 29th -

Saturday, April 30th - Heidi has CPR Training 8a-12p & First Aid Training 1p-3p

Sunday, May 1st -

Monday, May 2nd -

Tuesday, May 3rd - AMANDA'S DUE DATE!!  Hopefully, she doesn't have to go past this day!  And I hope she doesn't have the baby on a day when I'm booked, like Girl Scout Training!  I'm so ready to meet my neic-phew.

4 months

Jaxen is officially 4 months old today.  And even though he has his well baby checkup tomorrow morning, I wanted to do an update just on him.  There are so many things that he can do nowadays.

Jaxen is getting so close to being able to roll from his back to his belly.  He gets about 95% of the way and then he gets stuck by an arm for a toy.  It's quite amusing watching him try.  I'm sure he will get it any day now.  He can easily roll from his belly to his back.

Jaxen is also getting very vocal.  He seems to be able to carry on his side of a conversation - if you speak fluent Baby.  Giggling is not a problem, he finds his brother and sister absolutely hilarious sometimes.  Jaxen can also grab ahold of his toys if they are in reach. . . and just like Jacob everything he grabs goes straight to his mouth!!  Toys, hair, hand, blankets, burp rags, doesn't matter!

This afternoon, we fed Jaxen infant cereal for the first time.  He absolutely loved it!!  He would grin and kick his legs like crazy asking for more.  He was by far the easiest baby I've ever fed.  He wanted every ounce in his mouth, he kept it off his face for the most part.  I thought that maybe because he was born early, he'd have a hard time figuring out the whole swallowing thing - after all it took him a while to figure out the suck and swallow.  But we had no issues, he seemed to love it.  I think I'm going to slowing start introducing him to some baby food veggies.

**Despite the date stamp on these pictures... they were all taken today 04/17/2011.  I have no idea why the camera is wrong but I will fix it.**

Things to Do List

... for Saturday, April 16th ...

and because three kids never leave me alone to get everything done

... and Sunday, April 17th ...

Deep Clean

• Front Room
• Living Room
• Kitchen
• Laundry Room
• Master Bedroom
• Bathroom

Wash & Dry Laundry

Wash winter coats

Fold Laundry

Put Laundry Away

Dishes

Dust

Clean windows

Vacuum

Change Jacob's Bedding

Sew on Chloe's Girl Scout Badges

Update Blog - (this list doesn't count!!)

Hello Springtime!

Today was a beautiful day!!  Started out around the freezing mark and go well into the seventies.  The wind is still blowing good so long sleeves are still required, but getting outside and letting Jacob run and Jaxen soak up the sun, was awesome!! 

Heck, it's been a good day all around.  This morning, Jerry had court for our accident in January.  It's finally all behind us.  The judge looked at the accident report, seen that we didn't damage any property other than our own and dismissed us from any fines or fees.  Yay!!  Another chapter behind us, but let me tell you, Benton County Court was a bear!  Jerry had to sit through 5 hours of felonies and misdemeanors before they did traffic court.  Thankfully, Joanna had the day off of work and was able to come hang out!  Well actually, we left Caleb's truck and a cell phone with Jerry and Joanna, the boys, and I hung out at her place.  It was fun, relaxing and way better than chasing Jacob around the courthouse!!  Luckily, Jerry got out of court 30 minutes before I had to leave to head home to get Chloe.  So everything worked out perfectly today!!

I'm hoping the rest of the evening goes by as well.  Jerry's napping and I have 2 kids fighting and a cranky baby. . . guess I can't complain!!

Hoppity Hop,

the Easter Bunny pictures are here!!  How adorable are these?  LOL

Paradise

What an awesome way to spend a beautiful Sunday!!

 

Bunny and Bruises

We took the kids to see the Easter Bunny at Walmart today, since we won't be in town next weekend.  It was a lot of fun!  I don't have the pictures yet, because I didn't want to wait around for a couple hours.  I will make sure I post them on Monday after work.  I got one picture will all three kids and then a picture of just Jaxen and the Easter Bunny for his baby book. 

While we were at Walmart, Jacob was so excited to see the Easter Bunny that he totally ran towards the bunny but forgot to pick up his feet, tripped and hit his head on the concrete floor!  We had to let the next group of kids behind us go while we got Jacob to stop crying.  He really hit his head hard. . . he has a big goose egg on his forehead and around his eye is a little swollen.  Hopefully, it won't turn black and blue.  Oh well, he's definitely a boy and he bounced.  Had it been Chloe, she'd still be crying about it.

The weather is beautiful!!  We have the windows open and the fresh air whipping through the house!!  I've cleaned the bird cage, vacuumed the carpets, started the dishwasher, and finished a load of laundry.  I still want to mop the kitchen floor and clean out the dogs room since I can open the big window and let it all air out. . . I hate the smell of bleach in a closed up house!  Also some time today or tomorrow, the kids and I are getting outside and cleaning out the garage!!  I'm so ready for winter to be gone for good.  But unfortunately, it's going to cool off again for a few days.  That's when I plan on packing to next weekends trip, but while the weather is nice, we are spring cleaning around here.

Here's how our week looks:

• Monday - Work for Heidi & Jerry / School for Chloe
• Tuesday - Heidi & Jerry (and the boys) to Warsaw / School for Chloe
• Wednesday - Jacob & Heidi have a Wic Appt / Heidi work & Chloe School / Heidi & Chloe Girl Scouts
• Thursday - Heidi work / Chloe school / Parenting Seminar at Chloe's school from 630-8
• Friday - I have the day off to pack for Iowa. . . as soon as Chloe gets off the bus, we are Iowa bound!!
• Saturday - Amanda's Baby Shower & Joanna's Bridal Shower
• Sunday - Traveling back home. . . and getting ready for the upcoming week.

Whew!  I'm going to be a busy Momma this week.  I also have a few 'special projects' I need to get done before headed to Iowa next weekend. . . we will see how much I can multi-task!!  LOL

The boys. . .

They definitely look alike in these pictures. . . but Jaxen definitely has more hair!!