Paradise City!

We finally went camping to Cuivre River state park in Troy, Missouri on Thursday and it was basically all I thought it would be with an almost 4 month old. Don't let the post fool you, it wasn't Paradise City, far from it but it was the song that was playing (at another campground, so much for 10 quiet time) at about midnight last night while I was trying to sleep! It was quite funny because we heard that song from Guns 'n Roses, take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty, oh won't you please take me home. The only part I could agree with is please take me home! The grass was not green and there were no pretty girls! Once we got everything settled I had no ambition to do anything because poor Luke hadn't napped all day and he was finally sleeping and I wanted to do the same. Luke was exhausted but couldn't fall asleep because it was so darn hot, luckily I had brought a soft blanket from home and as soon as I put that under him he was out. Carlos had to sleep with the boys because Caleb was scared. I couldn't sleep at all because I was just too worried about Luke and I was totally out of my element (I haven't been camping in years). All night I watched as raccoons came around our campsite looking for food...YUCK! I listened to the owls talk to each other and I just waited for the sun to rise so we could start packing and go home! When everyone woke up we started packing up and all of my boys (including Carlos) were so afraid of the numerous daddy long leg spiders that had accumulated on top of our tent, leaving me to brush them off. It is funny being the only girl and I have more guts than all of the men in our house combined. Caleb had an ant crawl on him and you would have think someone was trying to physically hurt him, the blood curdling scream was kind of hysterical! So after all is said and done it wasn't too bad, sleep would have been nice but I am hoping the next time we go camping Luke will be much bigger.
On the homefront, Noah's last day of swimming lessons was yesterday and he passed achieved what I had hoped. I signed him up for more lessons just because I want to keep the momentum going and the teachers at the pool are really great with the kids. I included the pictures of Noah swimming and Luke's famous grin and Mommy holding Luke at the pool! Enjoy!

Luke's precious smile

Luke has the cutest smile lately and is such a happy baby now that he isn't so congested! His latest smile is a wide mouth, toothless grin which is so precious! I forgot to mention that he weighed 14lbs 10oz last week when I took him in. He is back to not sleeping through the night, which is fine, last night he was up every 3 hours. I honestly don't mind that time with him so it all works out just fine!
On the swimming front with Noah, he did awesome today. He went under the water when told and even opened his eyes under the water!! He finally trusted his instructors enough to lie on his back and float and he did it so well. Needless to say I am very proud! (Noah is the one with the that is looking to the side, 3rd one in from the left)

Accomplishments!

This week was a busy week for Noah and Caleb (Luke too!). Caleb started the Chautauqua program at Boone Trail Elementary. He explored his five senses each of the days. Monday when I went to drop him off he cried and didn't want to go, I left and he soon adjusted well and couldn't wait to go every day after that. He felt like a big boy because he got to bring his lunch every day and went to a big school with other big kids. Noah started swimming lessons on Monday and it was quite a site when they evaluated each kid. Most of the kids jumped in the water, swam and had no fear then comes Noah and he wouldn't let go of the instructor so he was immediately put into level 1. This started my frustration for the week. Monday and Tuesday I watched as his teacher asked him to do things, i.e. go under water and Noah told him flat out "no." ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH! I told him he had to at least try. Jenni (my neighbor) took Noah on Wednesday and he still didn't try much but he was slowly going under water. Thursday Carlos took Noah and he was progressing a little better. We went to the community pool yesterday and he is getting much braver. On another note with Noah he has almost mastered riding the bike without training wheels. He just has to get over the fear of falling and it is safe to pedal. Luke had a trying week. He started to get congested on Monday and Tuesday I took him to the Doctor (it had been a whole 2 weeks since he had been last!) and he was fine no infections. It was a rough couple of nights. One night he didn't sleep at all and that is no exaggeration! I had to put him in his bed at one point so I could sleep for a few minutes but he screamed the entire time. Needless to say I was totally exhausted. But he is much better now and he actually slept through the night on Thursday night!! I have come to the conclusion that Luke will probably not go in the church nursery for a while just because I think that is where he is getting sick.

Video of Caleb!

Happy Father's Day!!

I hope all the wonderful Dad's are having a great day today and they are getting some rest and relaxation in before Monday.
It seems like this weekend was very busy. Friday we went to go pick blueberries and we go to the farm and it was closed for the weekend! We did lots of running around, I was trying to find a diaper bag (my obsession with purses carry over to diaper bags when I carry one around). I found the one I wanted but couldn't justify spending 50 dollars on it so I am just sticking with the one I have for now. We stopped to get gas after that and of course the boys (C.B.I.: certified bathroom inspectors) had to use the restroom. I take them in and notice that there is a very elderly woman in the handicapped stall going to the bathroom with the door wide open. I quickly shield Noah and Caleb so they wouldn't be rude and made them go in the other stall. So while the boys are using the bathroom I hear her crying for help. I go outside the door (I noticed her husband standing outside the door) and tell her husband she needs help and that there was no one else in there so he could go help her. He told me "no, can you help her?" Now I am the first to help with anything but this woman, who is now standing at the door with her pants down to her ankles in a gas station, needed someone else. I have a newborn to take care of and wasn't going to get germs and besides the fact that I had Noah and Caleb with me, how was I going to explain this to them? So this bad excuse for a husband goes out to the car (leaves his wife with her pants down) to go get his daughter in the car, geez don't you think she should've taken her in the first place. We quickly go home eat and go to Carlos' baseball game. This game was much better and they won 15-7. Carlos did hurt himself again and he was nursing his pulled muscle in his leg.
Saturday started my emotional roller coaster. I have been on the hunt for that perfect bathing suit (does it even exist) and while I can still wear a bikini I was leaning towards a tankini. We went everywhere looking for the perfect suit but the tankinis were not cutting it. So after many stores and many hours out with 3 kids I settled on one that I bought at Kohl's. Now I suddenly understand why shopping for bathing suits can be so overwhelming to women...Completely depressing. Even though I am close to my pre-pregnancy weight skin just doesn't sit the same way it used to when I was 18! We then take the boys to Wabash days which is a little carnival in town celebrating the coming of the railroad here way back when! The boys loved it, they got to ride on some cute kiddy rides. Noah loved the little roller coaster and Caleb loved the fun slide. It was nice for me because when my kids are having fun I love to see that so that lifted my spirits. We come home at around 8 and I put Luke to bed but he doesn't sleep long...He is full of gas. We had gotten Chinese food and I didn't even think about it bothering him. Well he was up till 10:45 screaming his head off. I was emotionally and physically drained so I felt awful for him. Carlos told me to just put him in his bed and let him scream, but I didn't have the heart to do that. I put him on my chest, gave him gas drops and just prayed that he would feel better. He finally fell asleep and didn't wake up again till 3:30 (he sleeps so much better next to me).
Sunday comes and which should be a relaxing day for me is just filled with chaos! I wake up and totally forget it is Father's Day so I neglect to wish Carlos a happy day (hey he forgot my birthday one year so we are even now). I get out of bed at 8 feed Luke, take a shower, get dressed, get the boys dressed, fix breakfast, feed Luke again and head out the door by 9. Pretty good but just stressful. I get to church set up for the nursery, the one person who is suppose to serve in one of the nurseries fails to show up so I fill in. The kids are good but we have one that won't stop crying and I am just done on the whole crying thing, I page his mother and get him the heck out of my nursery (nice huh?). They bring Luke to me twice to be fed and each time he doesn't want to eat because it is too loud...Leaving me with a screaming Luke! I leave church go home to get changed then run to Wal-mart to get some groceries. I just feel so spent with energy today. I am starting to think that me doing the nursery is doing nothing for me and I am not doing anything for them if I am always filling in for people who never show!
Goodness can you tell it has been rough weekend, I am ready for Monday to come!

See you later Alberto!

Welcome to the Hurricane season of 2006! Carlos just happen to be in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday when Alberto (Carlos' middle name) went right over him. He was on the phone with me throughout the night and I was giving him updates on the weather because he had no cable in his hotel room. Thank God everything was very minor, just lots of rain.
Carlos has been busy with work so much lately that he hasn't been able to play on the church softball league but this month he has been playing. His team won on Friday (just barely) they played against a local bar and there was a play that was called in our favor by the umpire and the other team didn't appreciate it. So they took it upon themselves to tell the guy from our team who was involved with the play that he was going to hell...Grow up!! Oh yeah they are such good standing citizens of society by having bad sportsmanship, cussing in front of small children and other things that I couldn't believe were going on! Gosh, I am far from being miss goody two shoes but come on!!!
The pictures are of Carlos playing softball, Carlos' new car and of Luke helping me on the computer!

Ok, another link but this is really interesting too!

I found this on the NY times and if you download the MP3 file, see if you can hear the noise. I couldn't but Carlos and the kids could.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/12/technology/12ring.html

I need a neon sign!

This I think is the only way that Noah and Caleb will know where I am in the middle of the night without totally freaking out. Last night was insane! Luke woke up around 11:30 to eat (he went to bed at 7) and while I am feeding him I hear little footsteps downstairs then I hear the scream like someone was hurting my child. Seconds later (he must of scurried up the stairs in record speed) Noah comes bolting into Luke's room crying therefore waking up Luke out of his "dream feed." ARGHHHHHH! I finally got Noah settled down and started the task of putting Luke back to sleep. Fast forward 3 more hours and Luke is up again, Noah is sleeping next to me in my bed so I think all is safe. Minutes later while I am feeding Luke I hear the footsteps again downstairs and the scream of Caleb! Seconds later he comes storming into Luke's room and for all who know Caleb he is not quiet by any stretch of the means and can be quite dramatic. So now I have Noah(woken by Caleb's screams), Caleb and Luke up and I try to get the big kids to bed. I finally get Luke to bed. Wouldn't you know it that this seems to only happen when Carlos is out of town. I am just so thankful that I don't have to mess around with bottles (I honestly don't know how people do it) because I swear that would make my life even more difficult.
So a neon sign (good visual stimulation) pointing to Luke's room telling the boys Mama is feeding their brother might solve my problems!!!

Luke's Pictures

Today Caleb, Luke and I went to the Picture People portrait studio and had Luke's pictures taken. I was just minutes away from giving up because he was kind of fussy but then he gave us some beautiful pictures. The picture where he is sleeping was so funny because he was fussing so much then I put him down on the beanbag and he fell asleep and gave us that beautiful shot. He is so cute! Enjoy!

Milestone to report!

This week has been very mellow. Noah is attending Vacation Bible School at our church's main campus in St. Peters which is about a 20 minute drive from our house. Our friend Laura has been so nice to take Noah there and back (she is a teacher at VBS and lives here in Wentzville). It has been nice because it gives Caleb and I some time to spend together, which he really needs sometimes. I have been trying to play baseball with him in the morning but he informed me that I am a "bad pitcher." I try so hard but I am downright awful! The picture to the left is of Caleb at the park, looks so cute!
Luke has rolled over from his tummy to his back. He started last week once, but I didn't think much of it since it was in the middle of the night, but then on Monday he woke up from his nap (yes he is a tummy sleeper, no need to criticize) and he was on his back. I took him to the Doctor today for his follow-up after his ear infection and his ears are great. He weighs 14 pounds! He is just doing really well we are blessed to have a really easy going baby.
There isn't much to report on my end. Carlos bought a new car yesterday. He got a Mazda 3, it is very nice and gets good gas mileage so he should be happy.

Bumbo mania

This week has been surprisingly quiet, the taxi cab has been put out of service for the summer. Sunday I went to church and didn't leave the house again till Thursday, it was so nice! Monday I decided that Luke needed a Bumbo. A Bumbo is a new seat that assists 3 month olds to sit upright without any assitance. I just find that he likes to be sitting instead of laying in his bouncy seat. I will attach a picture of him in it, he looks so cute.
We have also been working with Noah to ride his bike without the training wheels which is quite hard! The kid has little or no ambition! He will be the only kid in college with training wheels on his bike! Any insight on how to teach him would be greatly appreciated. The little girl next door to us (she is one day older than Noah) keeps teasing him that she knows how to ride her bike without training wheels.
That is about all that is going on here...pretty boring, just the way I like it!!